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DUMINY STARS IN SA VICTORY
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Indian batsmen need to fire
final odi today
Kiwis thrash Pak by 9 wkts
Marsh unlucky to miss out
Central enter Duleep semifinal
Another win for Model School in Balwant Hockey
Many candidates for hockey coach job
Cyclist accuses NIS coach of harassment
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DUMINY STARS IN SA VICTORY
Port Elizabeth, January 22 Chasing 266 to record its first ever series-win on South African soil, India were tottering at 137 for six in 31.3 overs when rain stopped play for the first time last night. When play resumed after more than an hour's break, India were set a revised target of 260 from 46 overs but only eight balls could be bowled and skies opened up again, leading to another forced break. Play never resumed again and the umpires called off the match with South Africa emerging winners by 48 runs. At that stage India were 142 for six in 32.5 overs. Both the sides will now travel to Centurion for the fifth and final match tomorrow. Virat Kohli waged a losing battle all alone for India as batting colleagues surrendered abjectly before the South African attack. The young Delhi batsman gradually got into the groove and then took the South African attack by the scruff off its neck but ran short of partners as wickets kept tumbling from the other end. Kohli single handedly took the fight for India and played an entertaining knock which came off just 92 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Left-arm pacer Lonwabo Tostsobe (2/25) rattled the Indian innings early on with his two wickets. Earlier, it was J P Duminy's defiant unbeaten knock of 71 and his crucial stands with lower order helped South Africa post a challenging 265 for seven after opting to bat at the St George's Park here. But it was India who took good control over the match by reducing South Africa to 118 for five at one stage, only to see Duminy spoil the visitor's party with his never-say-die spirit. India's chase began on a shaky note with Rohit Sharma (1) failing yet again as an opener but that did not stop Parthiv Patel, who was playing his first match of the series, and Kohli from playing some attacking shots. Twice Patel (11) sent ferocious Dale Steyn to the boundary ropes and Kohli took 10 runs from Tsotobe's one over with two shots to the fence. However, the slow nature of the track soon forced both the batsmen to slow down. Tsotsobe jolted the Indian run chase as he first had Rohit (1) caught at backward point and then trapped Patel, who replaced Murali Vijay in the playing eleven to make things difficult for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men. India had still not crossed the 50-run mark and 15th over was on when Yuvraj Singh hammered spinner Johan Botha for a six to give momentum to the innings but an unnecessary paddle sweep cut short his innings. While going for a premeditated paddle sweep of Botha in the final ball off the 15th over Yuvraj got a top edge going and Protea skipper Graeme Smith converted the half chance diving full length behind wicket-keeper AB de Villiers. Runs were hard to come by but Kohli and Suresh Raina (20) kept things moving with singles and twos and in the process the Delhi batsman completed his fifty off 67 balls. Kohli swung his arms to good effects after getting his fifty as he hit a four off Duminy and then a classy and effortless six over long-off off Robin Petersen. The hapless Petersen was hit for another six by Kohli in his next over but the host spinner made up by the getting wickets of Raina and India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2) in his consecutive overs.
— PTI Scoreboard South Africa Amla run out 64 Smith c Harbhajan b Nehra 18 van Wyk c Kohli b Yuvraj 15 de Villiers c Dhoni b Yuvraj 3 Duminy not out 71 du Plessis run out 1 Botha st Dhoni b Yuvraj 44 Peterson run out 31 Steyn not out 4 Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 10, nb 2) 14 Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 265 Bowling: Zaheer 9-1-55-0, Munaf 8-1-49-0, Nehra 6-0-27-1, Harbhajan 10-0-61-0, Yuvraj 8-0-34-3, Rohit 2-0-6-0, Raina 3-0-13-0, Yusuf 4-0-18-0. India: Rohit c Duminy b Tsotsobe 1 Patel lbw b Tsotsobe 11 Kohli not out 87 Yuvraj c Smith b Botha 12 Raina st Villiers b Peterson 20 Dhoni c du Plessis b Peterson 2 Pathan c de Villiers b Morkel 2 Harbhajan not out 3 Extras (LB-2, WD-2) 4 Total (for 6 wickets in 32.5 overs) 142 Bowling: D Steyn 4-0-15-0, L Tsotsobe 6-1-25-2, M Morkel 6-1-13-1, J Botha 6.5-0-27-1, R Peterson 8-0-46-2, F du Plessis 1-0-5-0, Duminy 1-0-9-0. |
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Indian batsmen need to fire
final odi today
Centurion, January 22 The Indians have never won a limited-overs series in South Africa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young bravehearts will leave no stone unturned to achieve the feat at the SuperSport Park here. But it won't be easy for the visitors as with their 48-run win via Duckworth and Lewis method in the fourth ODI, South Africa have showed that they will not allow the series slip from their hand without a fight. Down 1-2 after back-to-back defeats in Johannesburg and Durban, the Proteas made a strong comeback in Port Elizabeth last night to level the series and take it to the decider. But going into the match, India would be a worried lot as their middle-order failed yet again in the series. Young Virat Kohli has been the only bright spot in the series for India in an otherwise out-of-form batting line-up, which has been hit hard by injuries to key players like Sachin Tendulkar and opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. At the St George's Park yesterday, Kohli scored his second half century of the series but his 92-ball unbeaten 87 runs knock was not enough to win the fourth ODI for India. The batting has come a cropper in the series so far with skipper Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failing to consolidate on the starts they got. What will be worrying Dhoni the most is the opening slot as Rohit Sharma's woeful run continues at the top while Parthiv Patel, who replaced an out-of-touch Murali Vijay in the last match, failing to make any impact. With World Cup round the corner, India would not only want to win the series here but also be keen to see the youngsters, who have done well in the recent past, show some character on the pacy South Africa pitches before the game's show-piece event, which stars next month. In the second match, too, it was some superb bowling by the Indians that helped them defend a low total of 190. The likes of Yuvraj and Raina would need to take some responsibility tomorrow to down the ever-fighting Proteas while it is also high time for Dhoni himself to produce something valuable from his bat. Dhoni himself conceded that the middle-order need to fire after the visitors failed to secure a historic series-win in the fourth ODI. "It's (Kohli's batting) a big positive for us. It's good for us at number three. He has carried through the innings but the other batsmen also need to chip in. The middle-order has not clicked," Dhoni said. "It (final match) will be interesting. The team that handles pressure better will win," he added. On the bowling front, the Indians so far did a decent job in the series. But the performance of his frontline bowlers in the last match would be worrying Dhoni ahead of the decider. In the last match, except for Ashish Nehra no other frontline bowler has managed a wicket while part-time spinner Yuvraj got three prized scalps.
— PTI |
Wellington, January 22 Under pressure to perform after being whitewashed in successive series against Bangladesh and India, New Zealand rejigged their batting order with swashbuckling opener Brendon McCullum dropped down to number six. The aim was to give New Zealand strength at the top and tail but McCullum never reached the wicket as his regular opening partner Jesse Ryder carved up the Pakistan attack in a whirlwind reply to an ineffective performance. The only success for Pakistan was when captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and opted to bat, their day going downhill from there. The Pakistan innings lasted just 37.3 overs and the outcome was almost inevitable once Ryder opened up in the fifth over of New Zealand's innings, taking 17 off Shoaib Akhtar including two fours and a six. He made his 55 in only 34 balls in a batting display which complemented the bowling of 22-year-old Southee, who assumed the role of New Zealand's senior quick for the first time and claimed his first ODI five-wicket bag. Southee destroyed Pakistan in three spells in which he ripped out the top order, came back to break up the middle and returned again to wrap up the innings. His figures of five for 33 from 9.3 overs were backed up by three for 26 for Hamish Bennett, playing in only his third ODI and first at home, and two for 33 by the veteran Jacob Oram. Only Misbah-ul-Haq produced an innings of substance for Pakistan, reaching 50 before he was bowled by Southee to end the innings. — AFP
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"Long before his dismissal, watching Poms were bemused that he had not appeared in the Ashes series or in previous one-day contests. Assisted by Cameron White and, incredible to relate, Doug Bollinger, the talented left-hander turned around the Australian innings and along the way gave both sides plenty to think about," Roebuck wrote in his column. "Apart from anything, Marsh's impressive contribution confirmed that the selectors are sending the wrong batsmen to the World Cup. After all, he is not in the squad. It's not entirely their fault," The Age quoted him, as saying. "He has been injured and anyhow it is ridiculous to force countries to name their squads a month before hostilities are due to begin. Apparently it's an attempt to placate printers anxious to get their magazines on the racks. If so, the cart is pulling the horse," he said. Roebuck said that omitting Marsh and other bright players is another black mark against the selection panel. — ANI
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Central enter Duleep semifinal
Cuttack, January 22 East Zone, who had a first innings lead of 37 runs were shot out for a meagre 96 in their second essay thanks to some inspired bowling by RP (3/42), Pankaj (3/34) and Yadav (3/17). Needing 134 to win, Central Zone openers Aakash Chopra (59 not out, 10x4) and Mohnish Mishra (50, 6x4, 2x6) sealed the issue as they won inside 35 overs. The East batsmen simply didn't have an answer to pace and swing generated by the pacers as they failed to survive more than 35.4 overs. Barring skipper Manoj Tiwary (21, 3x4), none of the East batsmen were able to apply themselves. All East needed was to bat out time in order to win by virtue of first innings lead. The East batsmen despite being in an advantageous position spurned the chance of making it to the last four as the batsmen suddenly got into a shell.
— PTI |
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Melbourne, January 22 As women's second seed Vera Zvonareva also progressed, Clijsters was made to work by the awkward Cornet, who fought hard on her 21st birthday but could not prevent the Belgian's 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win. US Open champion Clijsters has a chance to return to world number one, two years after her long break to have a baby, if she wins here and top seed Caroline Wozniacki falls before the semis. "I know (Cornet) didn't get the result she wanted, but it's not a bad place to celebrate your birthday out here on the Rod Laver Arena," Clijsters said. "I hope she enjoyed it. Both Soderling and Murray, the world number four and five, made it into the second week without dropping a set as they steamed towards a possible quarter-final showdown. Murray, last year's beaten finalist, dismissed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, as he seeks Britain's first Grand Slam title in 75 years. Murray, 23, will play either 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis or Jurgen Melzer in the next round and may then face a date with in-form Swede Soderling, who cruised through 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 against Jan Hernych. "I have played well in the first three matches and it's tough to concentrate in this heat. It was a lot harder than the scoreline suggests," Murray said.
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Another win for Model School in Balwant Hockey
Jalandhar, January 22 In another match of the day, Lyallpur Khalsa School, Jalandhar, crushed Government Raj Senior Secondary School, Sangrur, 6-2. The third match between Birsa Munda Vidyapeeth, Rourkela, and Bright Scholar School, Sonepat, ended in a 1-1 draw. The first match between Model School and Sports School started on a slow note with both the teams missing chances. Government School opened their account in the 28th minute off a penalty-corner conversion by Varun Kumar. In the 33rd minute of play, Mandeep Singh netted a field goal to increase the lead. A minute later, Mandeep again struck with a cracking hit and steered the score to 3-0, which was the half-time score. In the second half, Akashdeep scored a field goal in the 44th minute. In the fourth match of the day, BRC Danapur defeated Springdales School, Amritsar, 6-1.
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Many candidates for hockey coach job
New Delhi, January 22 The ten-member selection panel, headed by former India captain Pargat Singh and comprising Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra, advisor Anupam Gulati and former internationals, including three women, interviewed and saw the presentations of 16 aspirants today. There are more aspirants, including former and current India players, in the queue to give their presentations tomorrow. After that, the Hockey India Development Committee, headed by Pargat, will shortlist some suitable names before zeroing in on the most deserving candidates. "The selection of the Indian coach will be done after taking into careful account the various aspects of the job, including the ability and motivation of the selected coach to give a turnaround to the fortunes of the Indian team," a Hockey India source said. The vacancies for coach and support staff came up following the resignation of Harendra Singh and others during the Asian Games in China. The selection of the foreign coach, to replace Jose Brasa of Spain, whose contract has run its course, will be done after the present exercise is over.
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Cyclist accuses NIS coach of harassment
Patiala, January 22 While the Sports Ministry and NIS authorities await a written complaint, the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) has promised strict action against the accused following a verbal complaint. A Sports Ministry official confirmed that action is possible after a written complaint is received. Sources in NIS confirmed that the cyclist hails from Haryana and has been representing Punjab for the past few years. In her verbal complaint to CFI officials she alleged that the coach first tried to be make advances and later sent her a text message. She also alleged that the coach had tried the same thing with another cyclist training at the SAI Centre of Excellence in Patiala. “The day after the text message was sent, the complainant confronted the accused during the morning assembly at NIS and shouted at him in full public view,” claimed a CFI official. “The coach later tendered an apology. “The cyclist has further told us that the coach’s behavior inside the camp was also dubious and we were constantly in touch with our cyclists and women staff attached with them,” he added. Speaking to The Tribune, former Union Sports Minister and president, Cycling Federation of India, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa confirmed that he had got to know about the case from his federation officials. “I know that the past deeds of the coach are also questionable and we would write to SAI to detach him from all women’s camps in future,” he said. All efforts to contact the NIS Executive Director L.S. Ranawat were futile, as he did not answer his phone or respond to the SMS sent on his official mobile. A senior official who holds charge of NIS in Ranawat’s absence confirmed the incident but refused to give details. CFI secretary-general K.V.S. Sidhu said that the federation condemned the incident, and claimed that he had personally spoken to the girl and CFFI stood by her as the alleged coach is a habitual offender. A few years ago, he was involved in a controversy with another woman cyclist, Sidhu added. “We are waiting for a written complaint,” he said.
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Port Elizabeth, January 22
Centurion, January 22
Jalandhar, January 22
Melbourne, January 22
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