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India see off fiesty ireland |
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Minnows hope to open account
Arjuna’s
eye
Dramatic win for England
Punjab Games close with pomp
Somdev’s defeat ends India’s campaign
Afghanistan may send women boxers for training
Ludhiana claims gold
Central Zone post thrilling victory
Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-1
Police sports meet ends
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India see off fiesty ireland
Yuvraj became the first player in the history of World Cup to take five wickets and score a half century (5/31 in 10 overs and 50 not out) as India huffed and puffed on their way to a modest victory target of 208 in 46 overs. After restricting Ireland to a modest 207, courtesy his five-for, the southpaw batted sensibly on a slow track for his half century as it came in 75 balls and had only three fours in it. India now have five points from three matches having notched up their second win. Put into bat after Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss, Ireland lost two early wickets before rival captain William Porterfield capitalised on an early reprieve to rescue his team. But Yuvraj triggered a collapse that saw Ireland lose their last eight wickets for 85 runs. The giant-killers, who stunned England in their last match at the same venue, tried to make a match of it, but India maintained their composure to log full points from the tie. When India batted, Yuvraj walked in after the hosts lost the important wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, but the left-hander was soon left to rue as a misunderstanding between him and Virat Kohli led to the latter's dismissal. When Dhoni joined Yuvraj at the halfway stage, India needed another 108 runs for victory, and Ireland seemed all pumped up, sensing another upset. But such thoughts were soon put to rest as the two experienced campaigners added 67 runs off 99 balls for the fifth wicket to put India on course. The duo didn't take any undue risk as the asking rate was always under control and the strip didn't allow free-flowing strokeplay. Left-arm spinner George Dockrell dimissed Dhoni with India still 41 runs shy, but Yusuf Pathan, in his customary fashion, clobbered the bowler for 16 runs in the same over to take India within sniffing distance of victory. A sequence of 0, 4, 6, 6 took the pressure off Yuvraj who spent 108 minutes en route to his 47th ODI half century. — PTI Scoreboard
Porterfield c Singh b Yuvraj 75 Stirling b Zaheer 0 Joyce c Dhoni b Zaheer 4 N O'Brien run out 46 White c Dhoni b Yuvraj 5 K O'Brien c and b Yuvraj 9 Cusack lbw b Yuvraj 24 Mooney lbw b Yuvraj 5 Johnston lbw b Munaf 17 Dockrell c Dhoni b Zaheer 3 Rankin not out 1 Extras: (LB-4, W-8, NB-6) 18 Bowling: Zaheer 9-1-30-3, Munaf 4.5-0-25-1, Yusuf 7-1-32-0, Harbhajan 9-1-29-0, Chawla 8-0-56-0, Yuvraj 10-0-31-5. India
Tendulkar lbw b Dockrell 38 Gambhir c Cusack b Johnston 10 Kohli run out 34 Yuvraj not out 50 Dhoni lbw b Dockrell 34 Yusuf not out 30 Extras (lb 4, w 5) 9 Bowling: Rankin 10-1-34-0, Johnston 5-1-16-2, Dockrell 10-0-49-2, Mooney 2-0-18-0, Stirling 10-0-45-0, White 5-0-23-0, K O'Brien 1-0-3-0, Cusack 3-0-18.
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Minnows hope to open account
New Delhi, March 6 Presently, both teams are scraping the bottom, having lost all their previous three matches. Among the two, Canada have a better record than Kenya in this edition. Kenya were walloped by New Zealand by ten wickets in the second match of the championship at Chennai, Pakistan pounded them by 205 runs and Lanka ran over them by nine wickets, with Lasith Malinga accounting for the second hat-trick of (the first was recorded by Kemar Roach for the West Indies against The Netherlands in Delhi) the tournament. Canada, on the other hand, displayed better bowling, and lost to Sri Lanka by 210 runs, to Zimbabwe by 175 runs and Pakistan by 46 runs. They have made progressive improvement, and had their bowling got equal support from the top order batsmen, they would have fared better. Delhi-born Canada captain, Ashish Bagai (he studied at the St. Columba's School), said as much in his media interaction and hoped that the batting would come good against Kenya. "Batting is bit of a problem, but we are getting better," he observed. Bagai said he had many friends in Delhi, and was expecting the crowd to back his team, as Canada are packed with half-a-dozen Indian players, including key bowlers Harvir Baidwan and leg-spinner Balaji Rao (a former India Under-19 and India A player). Wicket-keeper-captain Bagai thinks that "home support" will bolster his team to fare better at the Kotla, and there may be some re-jig at the top of the batting order to make it click. He said Canada were indeed looking ahead to open their account, as they certainly did not want to end with the wooden spoon.
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Arjuna’s
eye
They have problems with the middle-order with some inexperienced players and some players who are not in top form. Their top order is very formidable, but once you get past that, there seems to be a slight vulnerability that England exploited. Chennai is the latest wicket that has been a little surprising. Normally wickets at the Chepauk and indeed some of the other venues are quite batsman-friendly but other than the track at Bangalore, none of them look that great for quality one-day cricket. This is at the start of the tournament so there is a good chance that they might slow down further as the tournament goes on. With India looking in a strong position at the break in the game against Ireland, it would be safe to say that they are looking very good once again after that scare against England. I notice they have now decided to play with two spinners instead of their normal policy of one. I hope this is not a hasty decision because they have done with just one spinner in the past, and this is the strategy that has paid rich dividends to India over the last few seasons. Hopefully they will think long and hard about this before they meet the stronger sides over the next two weeks and thereafter in the knockout stages. Sri Lanka and Australia shared points on Saturday and it was unfortunate to see a very interesting game get affected by rain. It’s heartening to see that Samaraweera looked in good touch, but the best news for Sri Lanka is the fact that Kumar Sangakkara is in such great touch. He was really looking very good on Saturday against a quality Australian attack. However, it would be even better if we got slightly better starts from Upul Tharanga and Tillekeratne Dilshan. In the bowling, my only concern is the fitness of Lasith Malinga. He is a crucial player but he needs to sustain himself through this long tournament. As we head into the next fortnight it would be safe to say that the three teams from the sub-continent are looking the best. Shahid Afridi, who has been the spinner of the tournament so far, is really leading Pakistan from the front. India and Sri Lanka have also looked assured and both seem to have emerged from the shocks of their games against England and Pakistan, respectively. The other teams are still coming to grips with conditions and have been a little up and down. However, there is almost a month left and that might help one of these teams to come to terms with the conditions. There’s still a lot of time for the struggling teams to find their feet and make a mark when it matters the most. — Gameplan |
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Chennai, March 6 Chasing 172 for a win, South Africa were on course at 124 for three in the 32nd over after openers Graeme Smith (22) and Hashim Amla (42) had given them a sound start before they slumped to 127 for seven in the 37th over on a turning track at the M A Chaidambaram Stadium. They, in fact, lost three wickets — that of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy — at the same score of 124 with fast bowler James Anderson taking two. South African tailenders, however, hung on for a while with Morne van Wynk and Dale Steyn sharing 33 runs in 10.4 overs for the eighth wicket. But once van Wynk was out for 13, Broad dismissed Steyn (20) and Morkel (1) in the space of four balls. — PTI Scoreboard
Strauss c Villiers b Peterson 0 Pietersen c Kallis b Peterson 2 Trott c and b Tahir 52 Bell c and b Peterson 5 Bopara lbw b Morkel 60 Prior c Wyk b Morkel 10 Yardy c Peterson b Tahir 3 Bresnan lbw b Steyn 1 Swann c Duminy b Tahir 16 Broad lbw b Tahir 0 Anderson not out 2 Extras: (b-1 lb-7 w-12) 20 Bowling: Peterson 8-2-22-3, Steyn 9-0-37-1, Morkel 7-0-16-2, Kallis 4-1-14-0, Tahir 8.4-1-38-4, Plessis 5-0-16-0, Duminy 4-0-20-0 South Africa:
Smith c Prior b Swann 22 Kallis c Prior b Broad 15 Villiers b Anderson 25 Plessis run out 17 Duminy b Anderson 0 Wyk b Bresnan 13 Peterson c Prior b Yardy 3 Steyn lbw b Broad 20 Morkel c Prior b Broad 1 Tahir not out 1 Extras: (lb-2 w-4) 6 Bowling: Yardy 9-1-46-1, Anderson 6-0-16-2, Bresnan 8-1-27-1, Swann 10-2-29-1, Broad 6.4-0-15-4, Pietersen 8-0-30-0.
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Punjab Games close with pomp
Jalandhar, March 6 While sports city of Jalandhar was all decked up for the ceremony, beaming with double joy as it stood first in the medal tally with 22 gold medals followed by Patiala with 17 gold and Ludhiana with 12 gold. The winning teams were seen celebrating their victory with many of them busy clicking pictures in groups with the trophies. Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal declared the Games closed. Earlier in the evening, renowned Punjabi singing sensation Daler Mehndi entertained the spectators with his evergreen foot-tapping Punjabi numbers as people shook a leg. Chief Minister Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal gave away trophies and cash awards to the winning teams. Sukhbir Badal congratulated the Punjab Sports Department for successfully conducting the Games and said that the Games are just a beginning of a glorious sports culture in the State. The CM said that the memory of Punjab Games would be etched in the minds of people for years to come. "I am glad that these Games have laid a strong foundation of sports culture in the State. But mere conducting of Games is not enough. It is a must that the budding players get state-of-the-art stadiums, good coaches, infrastructure and diet for all round results. I wish to see sports stars from Punjab rising at the international level." A virtually jam-packed stadium echoed with loud cheers when Bollywood icon Dharmendra reached his fans along with sons Sunny and Bobby Deol. People jostled and stood from their seats to welcome them with loud applause. The ceremony also saw singer Bhagwant Mann performing the theme song of the Games. Special screens were arranged for better viewing of the closing ceremony. The laser show was a treat for the spectators. Initially, the stadium floodlights were switched off and people thought there was a power cut. But then came the surprise of the laser show.
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Somdev’s defeat ends India’s campaign
Serbia, March 6 Somdev lost the first reverse singles 4-6 2-6 5-7 to his world number 18 rival in two hours and 44 minutes as India conceded an unredeemable 1-3 lead against the top seeds and defending champions in the first round tie. India will now compete in the play-offs to enter the elite-16 nation World Group while Serbia have advanced to the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, it was a brave-heart performance by the Indian players in the absence of veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as they made formidable Serbians work hard to win the tie. Somdev did extremely well by beating Janko Tipsarevic on the opening day but losing yesterday's doubles rubber cost India dearly. Today, it all depended on Somdev to keep India's challenge alive by drawing parity in the tie but Troicki punctured the hopes of the visitors with a clinical show before the home crowd. If Troicki was confidence personified, Somdev was not even the pale shadow of his usual fighting self once he surrendered the opening set, though he fought hard in the third set. As if loss of form was not enough, poor umpiring added to the frustration of Somdev as yet again scenes of arguments with the chair umpire were witnessed. In the sixth game of the third set, Somdev refused to continue the match over a doubtful call and the match referee had to intervene and convince the incensed Indian to resume. Troicki hit a shot near the baseline at 40-30 which looked going out but umpire ruled the point and thus game in favour of the Serb. Somdev first argued and then refused to continue but the match referee eventually succeeded in continuing the game. In an intense baseline slugfest, it was all about making less errors and encashing on the mistakes of the rival. Trociki did exactly that, showing why he is a top-20 player. After breaking Somdev in the ninth game, for the second time in the first set, an ace gave Trociki his first set point and he made no mistake in converting that. Somdev tried too hard to claw his way back but the story of free flowing unforced errors did not change, severely hurting the chances and confidence of the Indian. — PTI
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Afghanistan may send women boxers for training
Patiala, March 6 Following concerns that the Indian women boxers were not getting a venue to practice, the Indian authorities have delayed sanction to Afghanistan campers till April. The Afghanistan federation had asked in December for a sanction to send their boxers for a camp in India. Currently, the Indian team is training at NIS Patiala, but is expected to shift from here soon. Sources in the IABF confirmed to The Tribune that following a request from the Afghanistan Boxing Federation (ABF), the IABF were considering allowing them to travel to India and train here. “The proposal has been received and though a final decision is awaited, meetings have been held in this regard,” they said. The Afghanistan team would comprise of 15 boxers and a five-member technical team. Due to the fact that India is the only neighbour that supports women’s boxing in an organised manner, they sent their request through the Sports Ministry. Women’s boxing has been included in the London Olympics 2012 and India are serious contenders. A senior IABF official said that Afghanistan want their boxers to train at the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NIS), but since the load on NIS is heavy, it has been decided to urge the Afghan boxers to join in April. “By then we will shift our camp in Bangalore,” he added. Col. P.K. Muralidharan Raja, Secretary-General, IABF, told The Tribune that the first preference is for the Indian women as their camp has been shifted to NIS, Patiala. “Once we get our campers to Bangalore, we would get the Afghan pugilists there and both squads can train together for the London Olympics,” he added.
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Ludhiana claims gold
Jalandhar, March 6 Both the Ludhiana and Jalandhar teams were competitive and displayed good hockey skills. Jalandhar took the lead in the 21st minute when Sukmanjit Singh scored off a penalty-corner. Ludhiana scored an equaliser in the 24th minute, again off a penalty-corner from the stick of Harpreet Singh. Jalandhar lost two golden chances to score in the 32nd and 33rd minutes. A minute later, Jalandhar’s star forward Jasjit Singh Kular consolidated their lead. At half-time Jalandhar were leading 2-1.
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Central Zone post thrilling victory
Jaipur, March 6 The Central Zone bowlers led by Indian medium pacer RP Singh (3 for 40), Srikant Wagh (3 for 44) and Pankaj Singh (2 for 29) bundled out South Zone for 194 in 44.5 overs and then returned to knock off the victory target in 48.3 overs by reaching 195 for six. Brief scores: South Zone: 184 in 44.5 over (Dinesh Kartik 89, Srikant Anirudh 53, Murli Vijay 13, RP Singh 3 for 40, S Wagh 3 for 44, Pankaj Singh 2 for 29). — PTI
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Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-1
London, March 6 Kuyt opened the scoring after 34 minutes from point-blank range after some trickery by Luis Suarez and the workaholic Dutchman doubled Liverpool's lead five minutes later after a terrible mistake by the unfortunate Nani. Kuyt put the game beyond United midway through the second half, again with a simple finish, after keeper Edwin van der Sar failed to hold a curling Suarez free kick. United substitute Javier Hernandez scored a consolation in stoppage time. — Reuters
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Police sports meet ends
Jammu, March 6 “Sports provide ample opportunity to young persons to imbibe the team spirit, discipline, coordination and zest for achieving the goal”, he said and called for participation of young boys and girls of the sports of all kinds. Omar said stressed on striving for attaining medal winning position in the events of athletics, swimming, shooting etc at the global level. The Chief Minister appreciated the Jammu and Kashmir Police Department for encouraging sports activities in the State. “It is praise worthy that you despite difficult nature of service give due attention to the promotion of sports and participate in the National and International events”, he said. The Chief Minister gave away trophies and individuals prizes to the winning teams and outstanding sports persons on the conclusion of 59th All India Police Wrestling, Weightlifting, Judo, Boxing and Gymnastics Championships which concluded here this afternoon.
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Bangalore, March 6
Chennai, March 6
Bangalore, March 6
Ireland:
Sehwag c & b Johnston 5
The World Cup has now entered its third week and one team that has been having a roller-coaster ride is England. They have played four games already and three have been tight. However, Sunday’s win would give them a lot of confidence going further. South Africa, who looked so controlled against the West Indies and Netherlands were far from assured.
England:
Amla b Broad 42