 |
|
|
India in B’desh
Sunil Gavaskar Writes... |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HI president Mattoo quits
English premier league
Barca crush Sevilla, go clear of Real
Lee-Hesh to target elusive title
National Rural Games begin
Sirsa set for gully cricket action
|
|
India in B’desh
Chittagong, January 17 During the course of his 55th Test half-century, Tendulkar also crossed the 13,000 runs mark in the longer format of the game. At stumps, Ishant Sharma (1) was giving company to Tendulkar after Shahadat Hossain (4/51) and Shakib Al Hasan (4/52) had mowed down the top and middle order. Sehwag, leading the side in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's injury-forced absence, had earlier derided the hosts as an ordinary side, questioning their ability to take 20 wickets. Poor shot selection, but match not over: Sachin
Sachin Tendulkar today blamed India's batting collapse against Bangladesh in the first Test to his teammates' poor shot selection but asserted that the match was not over yet. On a track that had no demon in it, the Indians got off to a flying start before losing six wickets in the post-lunch session. Tendulkar's unbeaten 76 saved India blushes as the visitors reached 213 for eight at stumps. "The batsmen needed to be patient, tighten up shot selection and hang around for a while to build partnerships," Tendulkar said at the end of day's play. "But it did not happen today. But the game is not over yet. It is a long way to go," he stressed. Derided by stand-in India captain Virender Sehwag as an "ordinary" Test side which lacked the firepower to take 20 wickets, Bangladesh were charged up today and Tendulkar said the host bowlers exploited the early damp conditions on the pitch to good effect. Shakib pats bowlers
Elated after bringing the much-vaunted Indian batting on its knees, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said maintaining a stifling line and length did the trick for his bowlers on the opening day of the first Test here today. Bangladesh have India on the mat at 213 for eight with Shakib and Shahadat Hossain picking up four wickets apiece on the opening day of the first Test. "Our plan was to bowl a good line and length and the bowlers did their job today. Fielders also supported them well though there were a couple of dropped catches," Shakib said after the end of the day's play. "We know that India have a strong batting line-up but they can make mistakes if we bowled tight line and length and that happened. The fast bowlers bowled really well," he added. Tendulkar crosses 13,000 Test runs
On a gloomy day when the Indian batting order collapsed in a heap against minnows Bangladesh, Sachin Tendulkar quietly reached yet another milestone when he became the first batsman to score 13,000 Test runs here today. The highest run accumulator in both the Test and ODI versions of the game went into the first Test needing 30 runs to reach the milestone. Batting on 28, Tendulkar pulled Mahmudullah in the 36th over and the ball raced to the rope to bring up his 13000 runs in Tests in the 36th over.
— PTI Scoreboard
India |
|
Sunil Gavaskar Writes...
Bangladesh underlined the improvement that they have made at the Test level by having India on the run on the first day of the Test. Shakib al Hassan’s decision to field first after winning the toss looked defensive when it was taken.
The delayed start and the overcast conditions would no doubt have given the Indian seamers plenty of help and so he may have wanted to protect his batsmen from that. Whatever his reasons, the way he led the team, his field placing, bowling changes were spot on and he never allowed the Indians to break free. It was a terrific performance by the bowlers, but who would have thought it was going to happen the way it did especially at lunch time when India were 63 for no loss. The one hour of play before lunch saw the Indian openers being beaten by the slowness of the pitch. There was a sort of a tennis ball bounce and the ball seemed to stop on the batsmen. There were plenty of uppish drives which did not go to hand in that one hour before lunch. After lunch the Indians made the mistake of underestimating the bowlers and forgetting that whatever the quality of an attack all it takes for a batsman to be back in the pavilion is just one mistake. Sehwag began the post lunch session with three boundaries to reach another half century and his highest score against Bangladesh but he perished in the next over when he couldn’t keep his back-foot drive along the ground. Gambhir too lost his wicket to an ambitious shot trying to cut a ball that bounced more than he expected. Still it was thought that with two men with almost 25000 runs between them, Dravid and Tendulkar would get themselves in and play the big innings. Shahadat Hossain who was probably smarting from his omission from the playing eleven in the Tri-Nations Tournament bowled Dravid with a beauty. Not too often has ‘The Wall’ been breached in such a fashion and the bowlers delight was understandable. Shakib is hard to get away at the best of times and he got enough turn to keep the batsmen guessing. He bowls a nagging length and he mixed the arm ball cleverly. India kept losing wickets regularly; but for Tendulkar they would have been all out by now. ‘The Master’ batted superbly watching the ball right on to his bat and playing very late so that any movement could be countered. He also kept looking for runs so that Indian bowlers would have something to defend. The ball is turning so Amit Mishra would not be easy to counter and if the skies remain dull then Zaheer and company also would love to bowl. There is no doubt that the first days honors belonged to Bangladesh and now it’s up to their batsmen to drive home the advantage that their bowlers have given them.
— PMG |
|
HI president Mattoo quits
New Delhi, January 17 "I have submitted my resignation to Kalmadi and I now want to take retirement from sports administration. I have served for 40 years and it has been long and fruitful innings," Mattoo told PTI. Apart from being Hockey India President, Mattoo is also the treasurer of the IOA and the Organising Committee of this year's Commonwealth Games. Asked whether he would reconsider his decision if Kalmadi requests him, Mattoo said, "No, I have made up my mind and don't want to get into all these again. I have enjoyed my stint as a sports administrator all these years." The IOA, however, said it will take a call on Mattoo's resignation tomorrow but would like to see the veteran sports administrator continue in his post. OC secretary general and spokesperson Lalit Bhanot said the committee was yet to receive a copy of Mattoo's resignation and would take a decision only after a discussion with Kalmadi. "We have not received his resignation till now. We can take a decision only when it is in our hand. Today being Sunday, we will look into the matter tomorrow once Mr Kalmadi arrives here from Pune," Bhanot said. "But we will obviously request him to continue. We don't have any differences with him. But at the end of the day it would be his personal decision," he added. Mattoo had been at the center of a players' rebellion earlier this week over non-payment of dues. The HI President had pleaded with the players to continue training and wait until after the World Cup for their payments, an offer that was outrightly rejected by the striking campers. Mattoo had said that HI had no funds and had offered Rs 25,000 each to the players, who were not willing to settle for anything less than Rs 4.5 lakh for match fee, incentives and their dues. The matter was later resolved with Kalmadi brokering a compromise deal after team sponsor Sahara India immediately released Rs one crore for distribution among the players. Mattoo, who is known for his integrity and uprightness, admitted that the allegation levelled against him by the striking hockey players and some other officials and the manner in which the crisis was projected left him deeply hurt. "Well, that is one of the reasons. Certainly it did play a role in my decision," Mattoo said. Mattoo said that he has not heard from Kalmadi over his resignation yet. "I have not received any communication from Kalmadi on whether he has accepted my resignation or not. Even if I am asked to continue till the Commonwealth Games, I would not like to carry on," Mattoo said. Mattoo said he had no doubt that the forthcoming World Cup hockey in February-March and the Commonwealth Games in October would be huge success. Mattoo's term as the Hockey India President would have come to an end in February 7, the day of election which would pave the way for a new committee to take charge of the body
— PTI |
|
English premier league
London, January 17 Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka scored twice as Chelsea turned on the style to move to 48 points, one more than champions Manchester United who were made to sweat for a 3-0 home victory over Burnley. Arsenal, third on 42, visit Bolton Wanderers on Sunday while three of the teams battling for fourth place had days to forget as Manchester City lost 2-0 at Everton, Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 at home to Hull City and Liverpool drew 1-1 at Stoke City. Chelsea had won just two of their previous six league games but clicked into gear immediately against an injury-hit Sunderland side described by their manager Steve Bruce as “inept”. The points were effectively in the bag after 22 minutes following goals from Anelka, Florent Malouda and Ashley Cole. Lampard made it 4-0 from close range before Michael Ballack headed the fifth and further goals from Lampard and Anelka completed a memorable win. “It was a fantastic performance, maybe the best this season, and we need to continue to play,” manager Carlo Ancelotti said. United struggled to break down Burnley before goals in the second half by Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Mame Biram Diouf ended the resistance of the visitors, playing under new manager Brian Laws for the first time. “It was a funny game, we had so many opportunities in the last third of the field it was almost embarrassing,” said United manager Alex Ferguson. We didn’t score and then from a breakaway Burnley could have scored.” “At Old Trafford you need patience to wear teams down and when we got the goal I felt it was coming.” Roberto Mancini’s four-game winning run since he took over at Manchester City ended when resurgent Everton outplayed his side at Goodison Park. A free kick by Steven Pienaar and a Louis Saha penalty put Everton two-up at halftime and only the peppered woodwork saved City from a heavier defeat. The win took Everton’s unbeaten league run to seven games and was a wake-up call for Mancini, who introduced Robinho as an early substitute and then took the 32 million pounds ($52.28 million) Brazilian off in the second half after another ineffectual performance. While Everton are on the rise, neighbours Liverpool continue to struggle and they have now dropped 29 points this season compared to the 28 they leaked in the whole of last season when they were runners-up to United. Sotiris Kyrgiakos's scrappy 58th-minute goal seemed likely to give them a much-needed lift after their FA Cup defeat by Reading on Wednesday but Stoke’s Robert Huth equalised in injury time to leave manager Rafa Benitez frustrated again.
— Reuters |
|
Barca crush Sevilla, go clear of Real
Madrid, January 17 With just under half the season gone, unbeaten Barca have 46 points from 18 matches, Real are on 41, and Valencia, who host local rivals Villarreal on Sunday, are third with 35. “Athletic are a very strong side and they knew very well how to defend the lead they managed to get so early in the game,” Real coach Manuel Pellegrini said at a news conference. “We had five or six clear chances but we lacked precision and were missing a bit of luck,” he added. “There is a long way to go in the league and there are 60 points still to play for so nothing is decided.” Holders Barca were ousted from the King’s Cup by Sevilla on Wednesday and Pep Guardiola’s players looked hungry for revenge at a rainy Nou Camp. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry and Messi all went close before Sevilla defender Julien Escude diverted a Rafael Marquez cross high into his own net in the 49th minute. A perfectly weighted, defence-splitting pass from midfielder Xavi released substitute Pedro with 20 minutes left and his delicate chip beat advancing Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop. Messi, who grabbed a hat-trick at promoted Tenerife last weekend, finished from close range in the 85th and then raced on to an Eric Abidal pass in the first minute of added time to score his 14th goal of the campaign, two more in the scoring charts than nearest rival David Villa of Valencia. Bilbao had stormed out of the blocks at their packed and intimidating San Mames stadium earlier on Saturday and midfielder Carlos Gurpegi and striker Gaizka Toquero were denied only by the woodwork inside the first minute. Shell-shocked Real were behind two minutes later when Lassana Diarra could only head a Fran Yeste corner into the path of Llorente and the unmarked striker stooped to nod the ball past keeper Iker Casillas. Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka - who together cost Real almost 200 million euros ($289 million) in the close season - had numerous chances to level. France forward Benzema came closest when his low shot bounced back off the inside of the post in the 34th minute. Gaps were opening up in the visitors' defence as Real pushed forward in search of an equaliser in the second half and a defensive slip almost let in Llorente for a second in the 88th but his shot was beaten away by Iker Casillas. Iraizoz made his best save of the match in the first minute of added time when he flung himself acrobatically to tip away a powerful Ronaldo drive. The Portugal forward ended a frustrating night when he sent a freekick sailing over the bar into the jubilant home crowd. In the early kickoff, Juanfran and Walter Pandiani struck inside the first 10 minutes to give Osasuna a 2-0 home win over Espanyol that lifted the Pamplona-based club to 12th. — Reuters
|
|
Lee-Hesh to target elusive title
The Hyderabadi will open her campaign against world number 27 and 26th seed Aravane Rezai of France in the first round tomorrow. Sania would draw inspiration from her last year’s rare feat achieved here when she became India's female Grand Slam winner after winning the mixed doubles title with
Bhupathi.
She will figure in three events - singles, women's double and mixed doubles - but fans would be curious to see how she fares in the women's singles. Her best performance came here in 2008 when she reached the third round. She has a tricky opener in Aravane but if she plays to her potential she can beat the French player. Last time the two players clashed was at Madrid event last year with the French coming out as the winner. Sania had beaten Aravane way back in 2006 in Kolkata in their first meeting. Old warhorses Paes and Bhupathi have won all the three other majors in their illustrious career and men's doubles trophy at the Australian is the only one which has eluded them so far. Paes and Dlouhy have a reasonably good warm up to the hard court Slam as they ended runner-up at the Brisbane event though suffered early exit at Auckland event. Bhupathi and his new partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus are yet to play together again but there won't be any problem in adjusting as they have paired before and have been successful. Incidentally Bhupathi won his last men's doubles Grand Slam title with Mirnyi way back in 2002. So he would be hoping that this reunion would end the drought. At the season opener Chennai Open, Bhupathi had partnered Davis Cup teammate Rohan Bopanna and had an ordinary outing as they lost in the second round. — PTI Title wide open: Rafa
Defending champion Rafael Nadal says this year’s Australian Open is a lottery, with any one of a dozen players capable of winning. The world number two Spaniard, who beat Roger Federer here last year in a gripping five-set final, admitted he was not the favourite this time after his injury layoff, but didn’t want to say who he thought was. “We will see what happens, I don’t know,” he said. “A lot of players can win right now. I don’t want to say everybody, but like 12 players, 13 players have a good chance.”
—AFP New cramping rule
At last year’s US Open, Nicolas Almagro took a medical time out before serving for the match because of cramping in his legs in a second-round match at the last US Open. He returned to hold his serve and beat Robby Ginepri in five sets. Under the same set of circumstances this year at the Australian Open, that scenario could not occur - taking a medical time-out solely for cramping will not be allowed under new rules instituted on January 1 by the International Tennis Federation and the men’s and women’s tours. The ATP says the new rule “strikes a compromise between the rule that has just been replaced and the old rule that didn’t allow treatment of any kind.” Once the physiotherapist and/or tournament doctor have determined that a player is suffering from muscle cramping, then treatment is allowed during two full changeovers or set breaks, not necessarily two in a row. But a player can’t receive a medical time out, which is three minutes, solely for muscle cramping.
— AP |
|
National Rural Games begin
Chandigarh, January 17 RESULTS: Volleyball (girls) 1st round: Haryana bt Uttarakhand 2-0 (25-8,25-10), Rajashtan bt Madhya Pradesh 2-0 (25-17,25-13), Himachal Pr. Bt Tripura 2-0 (25-10,25-18), Tamil Nadu bt Manipur 2-0 (25-11,25-9); Volleyball (boys) 1st round: Karnataka bt Uttarakhand 2-0 (25-21), Tamil Nadu bt Gujarat 2-0 (25-22,25-12), Kerala bt Manipur 2-0 (25-15,25-19), Tamil Nadu beat Gujarat 2-0 (25-22,25-12). Kabaddi (girls) league matches: Andhra Pradesh bt Manipur 25-2, Haryana bt Karnataka 40-26, Madhya Pradesh bt Uttarakhand 51-24, Kho kho (girls) 1st round: Andhra Pr. bt Gujarat 10-6, Delhi bt Rajasthan 5-2, Tamil Nadu bt Chattisgarh 19-10, Tripura tied Madhya Pradesh 4-4; Kho kho (boys) 1st round: Punjab bt Tripura 25-2, Rajasthan tied Chattisgarh 7-7.
|
|
Sirsa set for gully cricket action
Sirsa, January 17 “I am genuinely delighted to be an owner of this promising and talented team. This talent hunt will give an opportunity to players to showcase their talent and live their passion of playing cricket,” Sanjay Dutt said in a statement here today. “There are some extremely brilliant players who play in the gullies of our country, and in the process have sharpened their skills, continuously bettering their performances. It is time that their skills are projected in front of the country and they get their due,” he added. Ritesh Deshmukh is the brand ambassador of the event while Jimmy Shergill, Rajpal Yadav, Divya Dutta and Prachi Desai have also been signed as the owners of teams from Jalandhar, Kanpur, Ludhiana and Surat respectively. To be played among 17 teams, T-10 will be played under lights and matches will be telecast live on DD Sports, commencing Jan 19. The tournament concludes February 3. The other teams featuring are from Nashik, Latur, Daman, Allahabad, Lucknow, Gwalior, Amritsar, Panchkula, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Ballia and Patna.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Lionel Messi netted two late goals as champions Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 4-0 on Saturday to stretch their advantage over second-placed Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to five points. Real had earlier slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao, goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz pulling off a string of superb saves to deny the visitors’ expensively-assembled strikeforce after Fernando Llorente’s third-minute opener.
Melbourne, January 17
Chandigarh, January 17
Melbourne, January 17
SA win fourth Test