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India reply strongly with the bat
De Villiers puts South Africa ahead
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I have been waiting for this tour for a long time: Ishant
Vani, Aditi stay on course; Gurbani exits
Olympics only goal: Man Singh
South Asian Games postponed
Indian girls script win
Jeev, Bhullar tied fifth
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India reply strongly with the bat
Canberra, December 16 The visitors were 320/6 in reply to hosts' 398/6 declared when rain brought an early halt to the proceedings. Tendulkar was unbeaten on 92 at tea break but didn't come out to bat on resumption as the Indians tested their entire line-up. VVS Laxman (57 not out), Rahul Dravid (45) and Rohit Sharma (56 not out) were also among the runs. Tendulkar came to the crease at the dismissal of Gautam Gambhir (35) in the 21st over and gathered his runs over the next 39 overs, facing 132 balls and hitting 15 fours in between. He shared a 132-run fourth wicket stand with an equally elegant Laxman which drove the hosts to despair. Laxman, who took 66 balls for his 50, also retired like Tendulkar after stroking 57 classy runs. Even if he had come out to bat, the imminent century would not have added to Tendulkar's tally of 99 international centuries or 78 first-class hundreds. Young spinners, off-spinner Glenn Maxwell and leg-spinner Cameron Boyce hardly made any impression and neither did medium-pacers Jake Haberfield and left-arm pacemen Josh Lalor who all have played less than 10 first-class matches. Boyce, however, did manage to grab a couple of wickets, dismissing Dravid and Virat Kohli. Ajinkya Rahane (3) and Gautam Gambhir (35) were the two other Indian wickets to fall in the dull draw. Only Peter George, who once claimed Sachin Tendulkar in the Bangalore Test last year, could unsettle the iconic batsman at times. Tendulkar was in sublime touch, literally toying with the bowling as he could adjust strokes at the last minute and repeatedly hit Maxwell through the covers against the off-break.
— PTI |
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De Villiers puts South Africa ahead
Centurion, December 16 On a day when batsmen continued to struggle on a difficult pitch, De Villiers made 56 not out. He shared an unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 84 with Ashwell Prince (38 not out). Star South African batsmnan Jacques Kallis was the most notable
victim of a pitch with uneven bounce. Shortly before lunch he ducked into a bouncer from Dilhara Fernando, which barely rose above stump height, and took a heavy blow on the left earpiece of his batting helmet. He collapsed next to the pitch but after receiving treatment for seven minutes he carried on batting. He was on 25 when he was hit, on 27 when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva off Fernando and was out for 31 shortly after lunch, caught at third slip off Chanaka Welegedera. Silva also dropped Prince, on 26, when the batsman got a thick edge to an attempted cut off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. Prince earlier survived a chance to Thisara Perera at backward point off the luckless Fernando when he was on 23. Perera struck two important blows for the tourists in the morning, having Hashim Amla (18) and Jacques Rudolph (44) caught in the slips. But he was struck for three fours in an over by Kallis soon afterwards. Kallis looked South Africa's most accomplished batsman before
his injury. Rudolph, batting with a splint on his left little finger after suffering a dislocation while fielding on Thursday, battled for 229 minutes and 140 balls for his 44. De Villiers was more watchful than usual but picked up the pace with a flurry of strokes which took him to his half-century off 91 balls.
— AFP |
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I have been waiting for this tour for a long time: Ishant
"I have been waiting for this tour for a long time," said Sharma, who has 128 wickets in 48 Tests. Sharma is aware of the expectations as it was here when he first made his mark as an international bowler, dismissing then Australian skipper Ricky Ponting in both innings of the Perth Test. "There are a lot of expectations from me because I had done a good job on my last tour there. I am charged up now. I have different plans for each and every batsman," he said. Sharma, 23, stands to either end the summer a wasted, injury-riddled talent or recapture the magic of a watershed 2007-08 tour Down Under where he found fame taming Ponting. "I went on the tour as a raw bowler and returned a finished product," recalled Sharma. "People came to know me after that tour, they talked about my bowling and it had to be a positive experience for me. I am really excited to go back there again," the Indian pacer was quoted as saying by the 'Courier Mail'. Sharma came off the field twice during India's practice game against the Chairman's XI in Canberra on Thursday but the Indian team management quelled concerns over his fitness. If Sharma finds his bearings on the bouncy Australian pitches, it might spell trouble for the ageing Ponting who has not scored a century for more than 30 Tests now. Sharma has already claimed Ponting six times. — PTI |
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Vani, Aditi stay on course; Gurbani exits
Chandigarh, December 16 Vani beat Raksha Phadke 2-up and Aditi ended Amandeep Drall’s great run with a similar margin. Vani and Aditi were also teammates in the Indian team for the Usha Queen Sirikit Cup, where India equalled their best-ever finish of fourth place at the Asia-Pacific team event. But the day’s big story was the upset caused by Millie Saroha, who beat the 2009 champion Gurbani Singh 4&2 in the day’s biggest margin. The elimination of Gurbani means there will be a new All India Ladies amateur champion as none of the semifinalists have won before. Vani, the current leader on the IGU’s Ladies Order of Merit, was 1-up on the 18th tee with Raksha still in with a chance to send the match into extra holes. But Vani, who has had a great season, with a win in a pro event to go alongside the ones she had on the amateur circuit, won the last hole to close the match 2-up. Thirteeen-year-old Aditi Ashok, winner of the Malaysian Open juniors this season, was in a similar position against local player, Amandeep Drall, who was the topper in the strokeplay section of the tournament. Aditi, a semi-finalist in the last All India Championships in Bangalore, also closed the match on the 18th. The semi-final line-up is as follows: Aditi Ashok v Millie Saroha; Vani Kapoor v Ankita Kedlaya; The quarter-final results are follows: Aditi Ashok beat Amandeep Drall 2 up; Millie Saroha beat Gurbani Singh 4&2; Vani Kapoor beat Raksha Phadke 2 Up; Ankita Kedlaya beat Gursimar Badwal 3&2. |
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Olympics only goal: Man Singh
Patiala, December 16 For the onlookers, being the lone Indian skeet hope in the London Olympics, if he qualifies, should surely take its toll on him.
But Man Singh is just not bothered - that is what his body language suggests. Hailing from Patiala and presently settled in Delhi, Man Singh shot to fame following the Asian Shotgun Championship in Kuala Lumpur recently where he equalled the Asian skeet record. He is presently attending a camp ahead of the last chance in January to earn a quota place during the Asian Shooting Championship in Doha. The young man took the shooting world by surprise following his score of 149 out of 150, one short of the world record. “I missed a bird at the first round and was flawless for the next five rounds where I shot a perfect 25,” recalls Man Singh who equalled the qualification Asian record of 124 and the Asian final record in skeet with 149. “The Asian record is now a thing of the past and my eyes are now focussed on the quota place for the Olympics. I am not bothered about the past record. Instead winning an Olympic medal is my dream,” said the shooter, attending the camp at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club in village Maine here. “Man Singh joined Abdullah Alrashidi of Kuwait as the three-time world champion and drubbed another Asian record holder Saif bin Futtais of the UAE by five points for the gold,” claims Amarjung Singh, coordinator for the camp. Man Singh, who entered the scene in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, has improved with time and was at his best in the World Championship in Belgrade, when he shot 121 out of 125. “I think in shooting you improve and learn a lot with experience and that is what I have done,” claims the Mayo College, Ajmer, student. The shooter is as quick to tell anyone of his keen love for ice-cream and is quick to add that once he wins the Olympic medal, he would surely have his heart’s full of ice-creams. |
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South Asian Games postponed
New Delhi, December 16 It was felt that it would be difficult to host the event in the Olympic year, with the London Games to be held in August. Originally, Bhutan was to host the Games. However, at the 41st South Asian Olympic Council held at Dhaka in February, 2010, Bhutan expressed its inability to host them. The South Asian Games is allotted in turn, to each country of the region. India had hosted the Games twice, in 1987 (Kolkata) and 1995 (Chennai). The IOA decision would be conveyed to the Sports Ministry and when the Games are held, the IOA would confine itself only to the technical and ceremonial conduct while the Delhi Government or Union Government would be requested to shoulder the responsibility of forming the Organising Committee and take charge of all other aspects of the organisation. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had observed a while ago that the IOA could not be trusted with Government money for hosting the Games, after the Commonwealth Games scams. In an acrimonious IOA AGM, the first after the Ranchi session, during the last National Games at Jharkhand in February, it was also decided to take up with the Organising Committee of the London Olympics about India’s sentiments at the involvement of Dow Chemicals, the previous owners of the infamous Union Carbide, responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy, as sponsors. The IOA wanted the Sports Ministry to take a stand on the issue, which the IOA will toe as the country’s official view, instead of putting the onus on the Olympic body. Though the word “boycott” was not used at the AGM, which felt that a high-powered delegation, headed by acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra, should go to London to enlighten the Organising Committee and British Parliamentarians about India’s feelings against Dow Chemicals, Malhotra said in a statement that he had written to the Prime Minister, seeking the Government’s views on this sensitive issue, “so that we (IOA and the Government) can have a uniform stand on it”. “We will see how things will work out. But in the meanwhile, there has been no let-up in the preparation of the sportspersons who have already qualified for the Games,” Malhotra added. The AGM also rejected the re-drafted National Sports Development Bill, as it was totally opposed to the clauses on age and tenure limits. (The ministry had claimed that 44 federations had backed the new form of the bill). The AGM was held to primarily ratify the decisions taken at Ranchi, but the AGM unanimously rejected the change in the IOA constitution, as the State Olympic Committees vehemently opposed the reduction of their votes from two to one. Though the IOA, then headed by Suresh Kalmadi, had made changes in its constitution to be in tune with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pattern, the AGM rejected the redrafted constitution. “The entire house objected to it, saying that they did not approve of the new constitution,” informed a highly-placed source. Malhotra has been entrusted with forming a new committee to include new points in the constitution, which should be acceptable to all, without depriving the autonomy of the State bodies. The meeting also declared “null and void” the commissions/committees formed by Malhotra during the past nine months, such as the Ethics and Arbitration Commissions (mostly composed of retired judges), as they felt that he did not have the authority to constitute such committees without the consent of the House. |
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Indian girls script win
New Delhi, December 16 Ireland reduced the margin in the 44th minute through Cliodhna Sargent. India drew first blood in the sixth minute when midfielder Kirandeep Kaur cut past two Irish defenders to set up Anuradha, who made no mistake in beating goalkeeper Pamela Smith Wick. Jaspreet scored for India two minutes before the breather. Ireland scored nine minutes after the break. India mounted attacks and dictated the pace of the game thereafter but were unable to increase their victory margin, as attempts by Poonam Rani and Vandana Katariya went wide. In another match hosts Argentina beat South Africa 2-1 to register their second successive victory. India will now play South Africa in their last round robin league match tomorrow. India need to win in order to play the final on Sunday. |
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Jeev, Bhullar tied fifth
Chonburi, December 16 Westwood, 14 ahead at one stage, was 11 clear of Charl Schwartzel (66) at the end of the day. Tied with Masters champion Schwartzel was American Michael Thompson (66). Six of the nine Indians survived the cut. While Jeev and Bhullar shared the fifth place at five-under 139, Jyoti Randhawa, fighting his way back into form, carded a second round 70, which till the 17th was error-free before a bogey on the tough 18th blotted his card. He was tied 23rd at one-under 143 and his brother-in-law Digvijay Singh (70), starting from the tenth, made two birdies in his last three holes to be tied 43rd at 145. Himmat Rai (69), staring at the prospect of an early exit at six-over, made four birdies in last eight holes to ensure weekend action at two-over 146 in tied 55th and Rahil Gangjee (75), placed comfortably at one-over for the tournament after 17, double bogeyed the 18th to go to three-over 147.
— PTI |
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Melbourne, December 16
