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Clash for the Top:
2nd test: 9 am Harbhajan Singh celebrates the wicket of Ashwell Prince on Sunday. — PTI
Sunil Gavaskar
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Punjabi University win AIIU Baseball C’ship
Vijay Hazare Trophy
Akhil Kumar’s (R) bout in progress during the Commonwealth Championship trials in Patiala on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Avantha Masters
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Clash for the Top:
2nd test: 9 am
It was a stunning collapse for the Proteas, who were at one stage cruising along courtesy fluent centuries by debutant Alviro Petersen (100) and Hashim Amla (114). At stumps, Wayne Parnell (2) and Morne Morkel (3) were at the crease for South Africa when play was called off early due to bad light. The South Africans went into tea break at 228 for two but in a stunning reversal of fortunes, the so-far-off-colour Harbhajan picked up three wickets in the space of two overs to wreck the the visiting line-up. The off-spinner ended the day with figures of 23-2-63-3. Pace speahead Zaheer also picked up three wickets conceding 77 runs in his 21 overs Ishant Sharma too struck form and though he had just one wicket to show, the pace he generated in the final session rattled the visiting batsmen. Earlier, 20-year-old Petersen became the first South African in 18 years to slam a hundred on debut, while last match's double centurion Amla continued from where he had left off, scoring his ninth Test ton. ‘Bowlers showed tremendous resilience’ The turnaround they scripted today goes to show how resilient Indian bowlers are, said coach Gary Kirsten, lavishing praise on Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh for their late strikes on the opening day of the second Test against South Africa here. "We were in trouble at tea, let's be honest about that. We were in a spot of bother. All credit to bowlers for turning it around. They showed tremendous resilience. The bowlers in this series have actually bowled very well and they have not got the rewards they would have liked to get," Kirsten said. — PTI Scoreboard South Africa (1st innings): Smith b Zaheer 4 Petersen c Dhoni b Zaheer 100 Amla c Dhoni b Zaheer 114 Kallis c Laxman b Harbhajan 10 de Villiers run out 12 Prince lbw b Harbhajan 1 Duminy lbw b Harbhajan 0 Steyn lbw b Mishra 5 Harris c Dhoni b Ishant 1 Parnell not out 2 Morkel not out 3 Extras (b 1 lb 4 nb 9) 14 Total (nine wickets; 81 overs) 266 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-218, 3-229, 4-251, 5-253, 6-253, 7-254, 8-255, 9-261. Bowling: Zaheer 21-5-77-3, Ishant 17-3-56-1, Mishra 20-3-68-1, Harbhajan 23-2-60-3.
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Terrific comeback by India
India have come roaring back into the second Test and the series with the help of some inspired bowling by Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Zaheer got his bunny Greame Smith once again castling him with a delivery that sneaked between bat and pad and then came back to get rid of the centurions Alviro Petersen and Hasim Amla. He will be the first to admit that it was Ishant Sharma’s fiery spell just before tea that got the batsmen softened up for him to get the two centurions. Ishant bowled some great short pitched deliveries and that seemed to have rattled even the unflappable Hasim Amla for he tried to play shots that he usually doesn’t and that is always a good indication that the batsman is a bit uncertain. Ishant may well have overdone the short stuff for such stuff is most effective when used sparingly and more of a surprise weapon. Having got the batman thinking more of staying on the backfoot rather than lunging forward, the ball that usually gets the wicket is the one that is fuller but a bit wider and tempts the batsman into going for the drive without having the proper balance. Zaheer though got Amla with a short ball as he tried to hook it which again is a shot that he hardly ever plays. Amla got his second successive ton and looked good for another double ton before Ishant rocked him with that short pitched barrage. The other centurion Alviro Petersen got his chance because Boucher was unfit and so Prince was dropped down the order where he has scored most of his runs. Dhoni may have missed a trick in not crowding the debutant and adding to the nervousness he would no doubt have been feeling in his debut before a goodly crowd. There was a bat pad chance if there had been a short-leg in position and once Petersen got off the mark with a glance for a boundary he looked a lot secure. It was understandable that immediately after he got to a century, his concentration wasn’t the same and he was out and that was the start of a collpase. Amla went next and then Kallis, who alongwith the other South African batsmen seemed to have devised the tactic of moving outside the off-stump to Harbhajan and then playing him, also fell when he went for a slog sweep and Laxman took a superb catch running back from slip. That would have been a big relief for Laxman because he had dropped a sitter off the same bowler when Amla was not even near a fifty. Harbhajan then was on a hat-trick as he snared both left-handers Prince and Duminy with quicker deliveries and when De Villiers went for an impossible run and was runout only the tail remained. It’s been a terrific comeback by India and it is now upto the batsmen to ensure that the chance given by the bowlers to win this game is not squandered away. — PMG
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Punjabi University win AIIU Baseball C’ship
Patiala, February 14 In the last league matches held on the final day of the championship, MD University, Rohtak, lads defeated Hindustan Institute Chennai by 8-7. In other match, Punjabi University, Patiala, lads thrashed University of Pune by 13-2. In the women’s section, MD University, Rohtak, blanked University of Delhi by 10-0 and Punjabi University, Patiala, beat Jiwaji University, Gwalior, by a huge margin of 14-4. Punjab Youth Development chairman Gurpreet Singh was the chief guest and gave away the trophies to the winning teams and match officials. Welcoming the guests, Dr Rajkumar Sharma, Director Sports, Punjabi
University, Patiala, informed that the university was on the verge of winning the MAKA Trophy thrice
in a row. Dean Dr Manjit Singh thanked all participating teams and officials for their cooperation
and successfully holding the event. Youth Development Board Member Amit Singh Rathi, Dr Kirandeep
and the staff members of Sports Department were also present on the occasion. Results: Men section: 1 Punjabi University, Patiala; 2 MD University, Rohtak; 3 Hindustan Institute, Chennai, and 4 Pune University. Women section: 1 Punjabi University, Patiala; 2 MD University, Rohtak; 3 Delhi University, Delhi and 4 Jiwaji University,
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Himachal upset Delhi
Sushil Manav Tribune News Service
Sirsa, February 14 Winning the toss, Himachal Pradesh skipper Paras Dogra invited Delhi to bat first on a pitch that showed uneven bounce. Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan departed without opening his account after facing 8 deliveries. The team had lost six wickets by the 39th over with only 134 on the board and if Delhi could manage a respectable looking score of 234 for 7 wickets in 50 over, it was largely due to some good hitting by their number 8 batsman Joginder Singh (52 not out off 36 balls with five fours and two sixes) and Punit Bist (51 off 40 balls with 6 fours and a six). Rishi Dhawan and Mukesh Sharma bagged two wickets apiece for Himachal Pradesh. Chasing the Delhi total, Himachal opener Sangram Singh and captain Paras Dogra batted exceedingly well, and despite early loss of the other opener Hemant Dogra (1), ensured that their team did not loose grip over the match. Sangram scored 110 off 129 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, while Dogra remained unbeaten with 70 off 86 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes leading his team to victory in the 48th over with seven HP wickets still in hand.
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C’wealth boxing trials conclude
Patiala, February 14 The selection committee members which included PKM Raja, Bhupinder
Singh, Padam Bahadur Mal, Ali Kanwal, Mehtab Singh, Jai Ram and and Gurbax Singh Sandhu, chief coach of India, have prepared a list of the
chosen players and have sent it to the All India Boxing Association for approval. Sandhu informed that the committee had forwarded the list but the final team would be declared only after association’s approval. He said 40 players, including all top players of the country, took part in the trials. “It’s for the first time that we have conducted the trials as per the new weights. Each boxer fought two bouts two prove their worth for this championship,” he added. It is pertinent to mention here that the due to change in weight categories, the final selection has become even tougher. As per sources, with both Akhil and Jitender falling in the same weight category now, an interesting twist is sure to arise in the selection process. Indian squad is sure to miss one of the favourites during this championship. |
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Title win for Dodt
New Delhi, February 14 Briton Richard Finch turned in a spectacular six-under 66 for a 275 total but was pushed to second after Dodt sank birdies on the 16th and 18th holes. "It was a huge relief when I birdied the 18th," Dodt told reporters, after a bogey on the 11th hole had almost spoilt his chances of a first professional title. "I can't describe the feeling that I have now," said Dodt, who started the day one shot off the pace. "To win a professional golf tournament is absolutely huge. I've come close a few times and to actually pull it off is a dream come true." The 24-year-old Australian, a regular on the Asian Tour, had two runner-up finishes in Australia and New Zealand last month. "This win is going to open a few doors for me and I'm really excited. I managed to hold on to my nerves today and I got the job done," he said. The Avantha Masters is the first event of a new joint venture between the European and Asian tours to be known as EurAsia Golf and the event is worth $344,800. "This has been my third week in a roll and I was just hoping for a good week this week," Dodt said. "I stayed patient today and did what I had to do and I played really well." — Reuters
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Kolkata, February 14
Kolkata, February 14
