S P O R T S

India-Oz ODI Series
Final ODI washed out
India lose series 2-4
Mumbai, November 11
The seventh and final one-dayer between India and Australia at the D Y Patil Stadium here was today abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy unseasonal rains in the wake of a cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea.

A satellite image of cyclone Phyan is shown on a giant screen at the DY Patil stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. — AFP

Ranji Trophy
Shaky Punjab take slender lead
Chandigarh, November 11
It is strange how a comparatively lesser total put up by the batsmen spurs their bowlers on and gets the best out of them. Punjab seamers did exactly the same thing in the first session on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League “A” encounter against Hyderabad at the PCA stadium here today. In reply to the hosts meager total of 221, Hydeabad lost six quick wickets before lunch and were at one stage tottering at 89 for seven.

Punjabi University team wins cycling tourney
Patiala, November 11
Punjabi University, Patiala, lads secured first position in men’s section of the All-India Inter University Cycling Championship for the 12th consecutive time by securing 56 points. Kerala University secured the first position in women’s section with 42 points.

The National Cycling Championship in progress at the Punjabi University in Patiala on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Khali adds sparkle to Police Games
Karnal, November 11
It was a real treat for 800 odd participants at 41st Haryana Police Sports meet as world renowned WWF wrestler Dalip Singh Rana alias “Khali” shared his experiences. With height of 7 feet two inches, the tallest WWF wrestler stood tall among the sportspersons and asked them to work hard for constant improvement in their performance.

Marat Safin reacts during his match against Juan Martin Del Potro in the Paris Masters Series Tennis tournament on Wednesday. Potro won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. — Reuters

Surjit Hockey
BP beat Punjab Police
Jalandhar, November 11
Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai outplayed Punjab Police, Jalandhar 3-2 in a closely contested game and entered the semifinals during the 26 th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey tournament being held at the Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium here on Wednesday. Earlier Bharat Petroleum displayed good hockey skills steering the team to victory. The goal scored in the last minute of the game by International star Amar Aiyamma helped Bharat Petroleum Mumbai to reach the top slot in the tournament.

Railways eves take lead
Jalandhar, November 11
Women shooters from Indian Railways took a lead in the 25m Pistol event while Maharastra eves registered an impressive win in the 25m Sports Pistol event held during the ongoing 53rd National Shooting championship being held at the PAP shooting range, Jalandhar Cantonment. As many as 1,600 shooters from across the country would be participating in the rifle and pistol events in the coming days.

India-Oz ODI Series
Final ODI washed out
India lose series 2-4

Australia came back strongly from a 1-2 deficit and went on to win three consecutive matches (Mohali, Hyderabad and Guwahati) to pocket the series.

Watson man of the series

Strapping Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was awarded the man of the series in the seven-match ODI rubber. Watson, who opened the innings, was third in the Australian run-scorers’ list behind vice-captain Michael Hussey (313) and skipper Ricky Ponting (267) with 256 runs to his credit with an average of 42.66 per innings from six matches with 93 being his highest score.

The 28-year-old Queenslander also contributed with the ball by snaring 10 wickets, the highest among the Australians, at a strike rate of 22. The prize distribution ceremony was held at the team hotel after persistent rains forced the final ODI at the D Y Patil Stadium to be called off without a ball being bowled.

India 3rd in ODI rankings

Having begun the series with a genuine chance of becoming the top ODI team in the world, India today slipped back to third position.

In contrast, Australia reaffirmed its number-one status after dominant 10 weeks of one-day cricket. India went into the seven-match series as world number two and needed to win the series to topple Australia from the top slot but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men could not capitalise on the injury-ravaged Australia’s thin resource and lost the series. — PTI

Ranji Trophy
Shaky Punjab take slender lead
Amit Khanna
Tribune News Service

VVS Laxman has a close shave against Punjab at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Chandigarh, November 11
It is strange how a comparatively lesser total put up by the batsmen spurs their bowlers on and gets the best out of them. Punjab seamers did exactly the same thing in the first session on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League “A” encounter against Hyderabad at the PCA stadium here today.

In reply to the hosts meager total of 221, Hydeabad lost six quick wickets before lunch and were at one stage tottering at 89 for seven. They eventually managed 198, thanks to a gritty knock by the left hander Abdul Quadri. Quadri in the second session, took full advantage of the sun baked pitch which had by then eased out and it was a lot easier to bat. Punjab’s tiring pacers also helped his cause a great deal.

Earlier in the day, Harmeet tasted first blood and claimed night watchman Absolom early in the innings. He could only manage 8 runs. While wickets kept on tumbling, Suman tried to hold the innings together. He worked the ball around in gaps and patiently waited for the scoring opportunities in his more than an hour and half stay at the wicket. Love Ablish ended his innings with the team’s score reading 52 for 4.

This brought star batsman V V S Laxman in the middle. He was diligently tested outside the off stump by Harmeet and Ablish earlier on during the close to two hours he spent on the wicket. Ablish managed to see his back with Hyderabad having their top seven batsmen back in the hut and stll more than 130 runs behind Punjab’s total. Gony claimed three wickets.

Having taken a slender lead of 28 runs, hosts started batting in the second innings after the Tea interval. Sunny and Ravi Inder started cautiously and batted confidently before Arjun at the first slip plucked the ball out of thin air to send back last inning’s top scorer. Punjab's batsmen lacked application again just like the first innings and lost two more quick wickets to end the day at 59 for 3 with a total match lead of 87 runs. Sunny played a rash stroke to have his timber castled by a seemingly innocous delivery by Khader.

With two more days to go Hyderabad look in control of proceedings and a result should be on the cards.

Punjabi University team wins cycling tourney
Gagan K. Teja
Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 11
Punjabi University, Patiala, lads secured first position in men’s section of the All-India Inter University Cycling Championship for the 12th consecutive time by securing 56 points. Kerala University secured the first position in women’s section with 42 points.

In men’s section Panjab University, Chandigarh got second position (26 points) while MGS Uni., Bikaner, were third (15 points). In women’s section Punjabi Univesity, Patiala got second position (39 points) and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, were third (5 points).

At the valedictory function of the championship Punjabi University vice-chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh while distributing medals to the winners said Punjabi University had won the Maulana Abul Kalam Trophy twice but will put more efforts to retain excellence in sports and create world class infrastructure for sportspersons. He also congratulated university cycling coach Mittarpal Singh for this win.

Final Results:

1 Km. Time Trial (Men) 1) Gurbaj Singh, Panjab Uni., Chandigarh (1st; 1.11.745s), 2) Sarpreet Singh, Punjabi Uni., Patiala, (2nd; 1.13.633s), 3) Kamninder Singh, Punjabi Uni., Patiala (3rd; 1.13.906s).

Olympic Sprint (Men) 1) Panjab Uni., Chandigarh, (Ist; 1.10.765s), 2) Punjabi Uni., Patiala (2nd; 1.12.060s), 3) M.G.S. Uni., Bikaner (3rd; 1.14.935s).

4 Km. Individual Pursuit (Men) 1) Sarpreet Singh, Punjabi Uni. Patiala (Ist; 5.09.130s - New Record), 2) Ram Saroop, M.G.S.U., Bikaner (2nd; 5.09.853s) 3) Narpinderjit Singh, Punjabi Uni.,Patiala (3rd; 5.20.120s)

1 Km. Sprit (Men) 1) Satbir Singh, Punjab Uni., Chandigarh (Ist; 13.004s), 2) Sukhprit Singh, Punjabi Uni., Patiala (2nd; 12.829s), 3) Satwant Singh, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (3rd; 13.020s).

500 M Time Trial (Women) 1) Rajwinder Kaur, Pbi. Uni. Patiala (Ist, 43.111s), 2) Parvathy V.G., Kerala University (2nd; 43.210s) 3) Vinaya Vijaya N., Kerala University (3rd; 43.630s).

Olympic Sprint (Women) 1) Punjabi University, Patiala (Ist; 1.24.371s), 2) Kerala University (2nd; 1.25.563s), 3) Panjab Uni., Chandigarh (3rd; 1.26.586s).

10 Km. Point Race (Women) 1) Kazia, Kerala University (Ist; 14 points), 2)Sandeep Kaur, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (2nd; 10 points), 3) Malveen Kaur, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (3rd; 10 points).

3 Km. Individual Pursuit (Women) 1) Sayona P.O., Kerala University (Ist; 4.43.125s), 2) Panna Chaudhary, G.N.D.U., Amritsar (2nd; 4.46.173 s), 3)Malveen Kaur, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (3rd; 4.50.282 s)

1 Km. Scratch Race (Women) 1) Mable Anotony, Kerala University (Ist; 1.52.460 s), 2) Rajwinder Kaur, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (2nd; 1.52.815s), 3 Sayona P.O., Kerala University (3rd; 1.53.500s)

1 Km. Scratch Race (Men) 1) Gurbaj Singh, Panjab Uni., Chandigarh (Ist; 1.32.716s), 2) Sukhpreet Singh, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (2nd; 1.32.9598s), 3 Jetha Ram, MGS Uni., Bikaner (3rd; 1.33.210s).

4 Km. Team Pursuit (Men) 1) Punjabi Uni., Patiala (Ist; 4.57.600s), 2) MGS Uni., Bikaner (2nd; 5.01.340s) 3) Kurukshetra Uni., Kurukshetra (3rd; 5.09.867s).

20 Km. Point Race (Men) 1) Jasbir Singh Sarao, Pbi. Uni., Patiala (Ist; 27 points), 2) Pankaj, Kurukshetra Uni., Kurukshetra (2nd; 26 points), 3) Ram Sawroop, MGS Uni., Bikaner (3rd; 20 points).

Khali adds sparkle to Police Games
Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Karnal, November 11
It was a real treat for 800 odd participants at 41st Haryana Police Sports meet as world renowned WWF wrestler Dalip Singh Rana alias “Khali” shared his experiences. With height of 7 feet two inches, the tallest WWF wrestler stood tall among the sportspersons and asked them to work hard for constant improvement in their performance.

A man of few words, Khali was not keen to talk to media and said that he was here to “play” with participants at the sports meet. He said he was going to his native village Dhirana in remote Shillai area of Sirmaur district for marriage of younger brother Bhagat Singh Rana.

It would be “big” affair with large number of friends and relatives joining the marriage ceremonies and enjoying “bhangara and naties”. When asked whether he had invited his foreign friends to attend the marriage, he said he had no friends in foreign and only acquaintances.

Surjit Hockey
BP beat Punjab Police
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Railways eves take lead
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 11
Women shooters from Indian Railways took a lead in the 25m Pistol event while Maharastra eves registered an impressive win in the 25m Sports Pistol event held during the ongoing 53rd National Shooting championship being held at the PAP shooting range, Jalandhar Cantonment.

As many as 1,600 shooters from across the country would be participating in the rifle and pistol events in the coming days.

Results: 25m pistol: Anisa Sayyed, Indian Railways (gold, 773.1), Rahi Sarnobat, Maharastra (silver, 765.8) and Shweta Chaudhary, ONGC (bronze, 574+191.5).

25M Sports Pistol: Maharastra team (gold): Sheila Kanungo (554), Upasana Parasrampuria (665) and Rahi Sarnabot (563), CRPF team (silver): Pushpanjali Rana (564), Rachna Devi (551) and Sarvesh Tomar (547), Uttarakhand team (bronze): Ritu Singh (534), Nisha Rana (499) and Sushma Singh (564).

Junior 25M Pistol: Sanjana Chhabra, Delhi (gold, 564), Rahi Sarnabot, Maharastra (silver, 563) and Aanchal Rana, Himachal Pradesh (bronze, 554).

BRIEFLY

Germany goalkeeper Enke dead
HANOVER: German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after he threw himself under a train at a level crossing, police said on Tuesday. “There has been fatality at a level crossing at Neustadt am Rubenberge,” police spokeswoman Martina Stern said. “He threw himself under a train and died of his injuries. It was definitely suicide,” she added. — AFP

EB will perform better: Ridder
KOLKATA: Belgian soccer coach Philippe de Ridder, who has donned the mantle of East Bengal’s coach for the second term after a gap of three-and-half years, is confident of a better show. “Taking responsibility in the middle of the season is a bit difficult. However, the coach and players all have to face the challenge together,” Ridder said. — PTI

Mixed result for Bopanna
NEW DELHI: It was a sweet-sour day Rohan Bopanna as he crashed out of the singles event of the ATP Challenger tournament in Aachen, Germany but advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles competition. Bopanna lost his opening round match 2-6, 5-7 to local lad Simon Stadler. — PTI

Anand beats Leko
MOSCOW: Viswanathan Anand joined Vladimir Kramnik in the top of the leaderboard of the Tal Memorial chess tournament here, defeating Peter Leko in the fifth round of the event. The Indian chess ace, who opted for outplayed Anti-Meran Gambit with his favourite white pieces, outplayed Leko in 45 moves. — PTI

World Snooker C’ship from Nov 15
HYDERABAD: Players from 60 countries would vie for top honours at the World Snooker Championship 2009 which will be held here from November 15-25. About 250 sportspersons would participate in the mega event that will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Capt P V K Mohan, president of Andhra Pradesh Billiards and Snooker Association, said. — PTI

Yousuf replaces Younus as captain
KARACHI: Controversial Younus Khan was on Wednesday replaced as captain of Pakistan’s cricket team amid intense speculation that he was sacked in the wake of a players’ revolt though the PCB insisted that the change was done only because the veteran batsman wanted to take rest. “Younus has asked for rest and that is why Mohammad Yousuf has been named captain,” PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt said. — PTI

Djokovic in third round
PARIS: Novak Djokovic survived a fightback by Juan Monaco to win 6-3, 7-5 and reach the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday. The 22-year-old world number three saved a set point with in the second set and recovered to seal victory when Monaco hit a forehand into the net on the first match point after an hour and 32 minutes. — Reuters

Phelps makes 200m final
STOCKHOLM: Michael Phelps reached the men’s final in the 200 metres medley at a World Cup short course event on Wednesday but failed to progress in the 100 metres butterfly. The American clocked one minute 56.09 seconds to produce the second-best time in the morning heats, 0.1 seconds behind Swede Simon Sjodin. — Reuters

T20 bad for cricket: Botham
LONDON: Ian Botham lashed out at the administrators for shoving more and more Twenty20 down the fans’ throat and said the slam-bang format has no place in international cricket. “They are playing too much Twenty20 right now. We have just had a Twenty20 World Cup and within a year we’re going to have another in the Caribbean,” he said. — PTI


Former England cricketer Sir Ian Botham at the launch of the ‘Beefy’s Great Forget Me Not Walk’ in central London, on Tuesday. — AFP