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India must not let Aussie tail wag
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Pre-season training
helped Hilfenhaus
Big win for BECC
IOA Acting President’s powers debated
Bayern, India squads named
Indian eves finish fourth
Bale double keeps Spurs in title hunt
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India’s Tour of Australia: 1st Test — day 3
Melbourne, December 28 Replying to Australia's 333, the visitors lost eight wickets within 68 runs to be bundled out for 282 in their first innings before the bowlers led by the young Umesh Yadav brought them back in the match. Australia were 179 for 8 in their second knock, leading India by 230 runs on a day when 15 wickets fell on what appears to be a difficult yet not an impossible MCG pitch. Importantly for the hosts, under-fire veteran Michael Hussey (79) was still holding his ground though fortuitously since Rahul Dravid at first slip dropped a sitter off him when the left-hander was on 69. Hussey has now batted for 197 minutes and 134 balls and hit seven fours during the course of his fighting knock that has kept Australia in the hunt after yet another top-order batting collapse. With two full days left in the game, India will look to restrict Australia's lead to under-250 and push for victory while the hosts will also fancy their chances. Umesh was the pick of Indian bowlers with 4 for 49 but no less significant was Zaheer Khan's twin strikes off successive overs.
— PTI Scoreboard Australia 1st innings: 333 India 1st innings (Overnight 214 for 3) Dravid b Hilfenhaus 68 Ishant c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11 Laxman c Haddin b Siddle 2 Kohli c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11 Dhoni c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 6 Ashwin c Haddin b Siddle 31 Zaheer b Pattinson 4 Yadav not out 2 Extras (w1, nb 3) 4 Total (all out, 94.1 ovrs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-97, 3-214, 4-214, 5-221, 6-238, 7-245, 8-254, 9-259. Bowling: Pattinson 23-6-55-2, Hilfenhaus 26-5-75-5, Siddle 21.1-2-63-3, Lyon 17-2-66-0, Hussey 5-0-15-0, Warner 2-0-8-0. Australia 2nd innings Warner b Yadav 5 Cowan lbw b Yadav 8 Marsh b Yadav 3 Ponting c Sehwag b Zaheer 60 Clarke b Ishant 1 Hussey batting 79 Haddin c Laxman b Zaheer 6 Siddle c Dhoni b Yadav 4 Lyon lbw b Ashwin 0 Pattinson batting 3 Extras (b4, lb2, w1, nb3) 10 Total (8 wkts, 60 ovrs) 179 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-16, 3-24, 4-27, 5-142, 6-148, 7-163, 8-166 Bowling: Zaheer 13-1-32-2, Yadav 15-3-49-4, Ishant 11-0-41-1, Ashwin 19-4-44-1, Sehwag 2-0-7-0.
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India must not let Aussie tail wag
There is of course Mike Hussey whose place, along with Ricky Ponting's, was on the line before this Test began and he is a master of staging a rally even if he has the tail for company. The Sydney Test against Pakistan a couple of years back is an example of how Hussey farmed the strike and got invaluable runs and then the Australian fielding made sure that the small target was defended successfully. India will need a solid start and with two days play remaining there is no rush to finish off the match. That of course is in the immediate future but it is the immediate past that has been exciting with the manner in which the Indian bowlers have struck back. Unlike Australia’s lower-order batsmen, India’s lower-order, apart from Ashwin and Ishant Sharma, did not show the determination to stick around and face the fire. Losing Dravid first thing in the morning did not help and when Laxman, who is a slow starter, got out quickly the pressure was back on the Indians. MS Dhoni has changed his batting approach in limited-overs cricket where he bides his time and builds his innings up and only after he has been at the crease for some length of time does he open his shoulders and smack the ball. That approach however is not seen in Tests where it is more necessary and instead he looks to have a go straightaway and he has thus perished to the moving ball behind the stumps far too often. India need his runs down the order for otherwise the batting finishes at number 6. No praise can be too high for the guts and determination shown by Ashwin and Ishant for they did not concede their wickets easily and made the bowlers earn it. Ishant though has not quite hit his straps as a bowler and he seems to have a major problem bowling to left-handers. Umesh Yadav on the other hand has been quite magnificent as he worked up good pace and got the ball to move by pitching it fuller. The canny Zaheer came up with wickets at crucial times and India are in a position to win the game. If they don’t then it will simply be because of those extra runs they conceded to the Australian tail in the first innings.
— PMG |
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‘Disappointed I didn’t get hundreds’
Melbourne, December 28 "It's nice to get a few runs. But when you get past 50 as a top-order batter, it's your job to go on and make big scores," Ponting, who has scores of 62 and 60 in the evenly-poised match, said after the third day's play here. "I'm disappointed I haven't probably been able to do that in either innings of this game, particularly in the second innings when we were fighting our way back into a pretty strong position. When I got out, we lost a couple of wickets on top of that. Tomorrow morning is going to be really crucial for us now. We need Mike Hussey (unbeaten on 79) now to go on and get a big score," he added. Ponting conceded his side would need a few more runs in the kitty to nail India down. "We're 230 runs ahead now which I think is a reasonable total for India to have to chase. Ideally, we'd like to make a few more runs than that," stated Ponting whose 60 in the second innings played a critical hand in Australia' revival. "There's just enough assistance for the bowlers if you bowl in the right areas for long enough. There's some thickish grass on the wicket. There's more pace and bounce for bowlers operating from the press box end,” added Ponting.
— PTI |
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We can chase anything under 300, says Sehwag
Melbourne, December 28 "We fancy anything less than 300. I think it was a good day for India. The match is evenly balanced, any team can win it from here. We will have to really bat well to pull it off," Sehwag told reporters after the third day's play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The wicket continues to offer assistance to the pacers and Sehwag said batting in the fourth innings won't be easy. "I think the ball is not coming onto the bat. There is spongy bounce on the wicet. The ball is stopping and coming, that is why you are seeing a lot of inside edges on to the stumps. But, rather than batting on flat tracks, I love to play on these kind of wickets," said Sehwag while referring to the dismissals of David Warner, Shaun Marsh and Australia skipper Michael Clarke on Day Three. Sehwag, who made 67 in the first innings, acknowledged the importance of giving the team a good start in their chase. "It is important for us to give the team a good start. And if we are able to do that, we have a very good chance to win the Test match," he said. Sehwag felt the pace trio of Zaheer, Yadav and Ishant Sharma delivered when it mattered. "The captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) said to the bowlers just go there and give your best. The plan was to bowl in the right areas and let the pitch do the rest. The first spell from Umesh was brilliant and Ashwin also bowled well," he said.
— IANS |
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Pre-season training
helped Hilfenhaus
Melbourne, December 28 "Over the pre-season, I spent a fair bit of time with (Tasmania bowling coach) Ali de Winter, identifying a few technical problems. I tried to fix them and feel like I'm on my way back. Most of the work over
the off-season was based on techniques and learning to use the crease a bit better and getting
up over my front knee basically," said Hilfenhaus, who was dropped from the Test squad after a disastrous Ashes series last summer. "So I guess today was just about banging that area. It's got a little bit of movement there if the ball's in the right area and it's hard to start," he said. Hilfenhaus said he
never lost after being dropped and worked hard to get back into the team.
— IANS |
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Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa
Second Test: day three
Durban, December 28 Sangakkara's 108 enabled Sri Lanka to reach 256 for seven in their second innings - an overall lead of 426, eight runs more than the highest successful run chase in Test history. The left-handed former captain shared stands of 94 with Thilan Samaraweera and 104 with rookie wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal as Sri Lanka went in search of their first win in four Test tours of South Africa. Sangakkara, whose first three innings in the series were 1, 2 and 0, had not added to his overnight score of three when he edged the fourth ball of the morning, from Morne Morkel, towards Graeme Smith at first slip. Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher dived for the ball, obscuring Smith's vision, and the South African captain put down the chance. Sangakkara made the home side pay as he constructed a classy innings in overcast and gloomy conditions. Overnight and morning rain delayed the start by an hour and the floodlights were on during most of the day. Sangakkara reached his fifty off 102 balls with four fours and then took command, scoring his second fifty off only 59 deliveries, adding nine more boundaries. It was his 28th Test century. First innings century-maker Samaraweera shared a crucial fourth wicket stand with Sangakkara after the first three wickets had fallen for 44 runs to give South Africa hope of bowling themselves back into contention despite trailing by 170 runs on the first innings. Samaraweera made 43 before being deceived by a googly from Imran Tahir which he edged into his stumps. Sri Lanka pressed home their advantage as Sangakkara and new cap Chandimal scored at almost a run a minute. Chandimal followed up his first innings 58 with 54. With the light fading, Chandimal was caught behind off Dale Steyn.
— AFP Scoreboard Sri Lanka 1st innings: 338 South Africa 1st innings: 168 Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight 7 for 1) Paranavitana c Prince b Morkel 9 Dilshan c Smith b Steyn 4 Sangakkara c Smith b Tahir 108 Jayawardene lbw b De Lange 14 Samaraweera b Tahir 43 Mathews c Boucher b Steyn 3 Chandimal c Boucher b Steyn 54 Perera batting 6 Herath batting 5 Extras (b5, lb2, nb2, w1) 10 Total (7 wkts; 70.3 ovrs) 256 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-20, 3-44, Bowling: Morkel 15-4-43-1, Steyn 16-3-54-3, De Lange 12.3-1-45-1, Kallis 11-1-43-0, Imran Tahir 16-1-64-2.
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Big win for BECC
Patiala, December 28 In the first semi-final match, Mohali won the toss and elected to bat. The team was bundled out for 78 runs in 24 overs. The main wicket-taker and man of the match was off-spinner Ayush, who claimed four wickets for six runs. He was well supported by medium-pacer Anshuman Thakur who took three for 24. The hero of the last two matches, Subham Gill, who had made two centuries for Mohali, failed to was dismissed for 21. BECC opener Jashan scored 40 not out and Kanwar was 30 not out as they chased the target without any trouble in 17.5 overs. Scores: Coaching Centre, Mohali 78 in 24 over (Subham Gill 21, Ayush 4-6, Anshuman Thakur 3-24) lost to Black Elephant Cricket Club 79 for no loss in 17.5 over (Jashan 40 not out, Kanwar 30 not out ) In another semifinal at the YPS Patiala, ground, RCA defeated DMWCC by 83 runs. DMWCC elected to field first and restricted RCA to 125 runs. But the Rohtak boys fought back and took wickets regularly. At one stage, DMW was 26 for six and were ultimately bundled out for 42 runs. Jatin Kaidan claimed five wickets and was named man of the match. Scores: RCA Rohtak 125 in 19.4 overs (Jatin Kaidan 41, Shubham 20, Parvesh 4-11, Gurdeep 3-13) b DMWCC Patiala 42 in 19.4 overs (Jatin Kaidan 5 for 15, Adarsh Saini 3 for 10). |
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IOA Acting President’s powers debated
New Delhi, December 28 These two commissions were composed of retired Supreme Court and High Court judges and their appointments were confirmed after getting their consents. The AGM’s decision has not only put Malhotra in a piquant situation, as the committee/commission members were eminent personalities, but has also thrown up some issues regarding the actual powers vested with the Acting President. Sources in the IOA said the Acting President had the relevant powers to constitute such committees/commissions without going through the route of the AGM and thus, there was no problem in allowing these commissions. However, the counter-point was that the Acting President was not an elected president and hence his decisions needed to be confirmed by the IOA Executive (comprising 73 members) and the AGM. The AGM had “unanimously” voted to disband these committees but at the same time empowered Malhotra to reconstitute them. The point of debate is whether the judges, once appointed, would agree to be members of such panels if they are reconstituted. Malhotra has stated that the Ethics and Arbitration Commissions would be reconstituted soon, though there are differing opinions about how to go about this task. IOA Secretary-General Raja Randhir Singh had detailed some of the important decisions taken between the IOA AGM held during the National Games at Ranchi on February 12 and the last meeting at Olympic Bhawan on December 15, in which he has noted that the amendments to the IOA Constitution, made at Ranchi, were sent to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for approval, signed by former president Suresh Kalmadi. He explained that the formation of the Arbitration Commission, consisting of two retired Supreme Court judges and six retired High Court judges, and the Ethics Commission, consisting of one retired Supreme Court judge and two retired High Court judges, had the signature of approval of the Acting President and did not need any revalidation from the AGM. The other committees, which also now stand dissolved, were the Marketing Committee (Sponsorship and TV Rights), Olympic Games 2012 Monitoring Committee and the London Olympic Games Ticketing Committee. The IOC is also learned to have written to the IOA seeking details about the action taken against Kalmadi, who is presently lodged in Tihar Jail, in connection with the 2010 Commonwealth Games scams, though he has not yet been convicted for the cases he has been charged with. |
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All-Jalandhar semis in Liberals Hockey
Patiala, December 28 EME demolished the Air Force defences and forged ahead 1-0 in the 3rd minute with a penalty-corner goal by center-forward Biju who connected to a rebound to sound the board. EME captain Avtar Singh led assault and played a perfect pivotal role to upset the Air Force defence time and again. He scored with a powerful flick following a penalty-corner in the 12th minute to put his side 2-0 ahead. Gujinder converted a penalty-corner in the 19th minute to score the 3rd goal for EME. Inside-left Solomon split the Air Force defence with accurate stickwork in 43rd minute to score the fourth. Inside-right Varinder converted a penalty-corner in 56th minute to score a consolation goal for Air Force. Last year's runners-up Western Railway, Mumbai, were ousted by formidable Punjab Police by a solitary second-half goal in a hard-fought encounter. The Railwaymen initiated an attack from the right wing in the 10th minute but the centre from outside-right Manish was not properly connected to by Mohammed Tariq. Crossing over goalless, the policemen initiated a few good moves which fizzled out inside the circle. They finally went ahead in the 58th minute through inside-left Harinder Singh an accurate pass from centre-forward Jaskaran Singh and made no mistake to beat the goalkeeper Saurabh Singh. Defending champions PSB toyed with the hapless CRPF. Parminder Singh, Daler Singh, Karamjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh scored a goal each while centre-forward Sumeet Singh converted two penalty corners. In the last match, BSF Jalandhar stopped Hawks Ropar in a closely-contested and charged encounter. Hawks gained 1-0 lead in the 12th minute through Navjot Singh. BSF regrouped their and equalised in the 25th minute through Harpinder Singh. Raising their game, BSF surged ahead in the last minute of the first-half when Harpinder scored again off a penalty-corner. The Ropar lads fought hard while the policemen were reduced to eight men after a brawl in front of the Hawks goal. Ropar used the opportunity, equalising in the 49th minute with Navjot sounded the board again. BSF, once back to full strength, earned two penalty strokes in the 59th and 68th minutes and captain Varinderjeet Singh made no mistake to give a 4-2 win to his side. |
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Bayern, India squads named
New Delhi, December 28 Squads: Bayern Munich: Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Jörg Butt, Maximilian Riedmüller, Rouven Sattelmaier; Defenders: Holger Badstuber, Jérôme Boateng, Breno Borges, Diego Contento, Philipp Lahm, Daniel van Buyten, Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza (Rafinha); Midfielders: Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Takashi Usami, Danijel Pranjic, Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk; Forwards: Mario Gomez, Thomas Müller, Nils Petersen, Ivica Olic. Coach: Jupp Heynckes. Indian National team: Goalkeepers: Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar), Subhasish Roychowdhury (Dempo), Felix (Churchill Brothers); Defenders: Jaspal Singh (Salgaocar), Sameer Naik (Dempo), Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers), Govin Singh (United Sikkim Football Club), Nirmal Chhetri (East Bengal), Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohun Bagan), Adil Khan (Sporting Clube de Goa), Gurjinder Singh (Pune FC); Midfielders: Reisangmi Vashum (East Bengal), Jewel Raja Shaikh (Mohun Bagan), Climax Lawrence (Dempo), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan), Baldeep Singh (Pune FC), Clifford Miranda (Dempo), Lalrindika Ralte (Churchill Brothers), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar); Forwards: Jeje Lalpeklua (Pune FC), Bhaichung Bhutia, Sushil Singh (United Sikkim Football Club), CS Sabeeth (Pailan Arrows). Coach: Savio Medeira. |
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Indian eves finish fourth
Mardin, December 28 What looked like a certain medal after the first half of the championship, was blown away in the last two matches as, following a loss to Georgia, China also proved a tough nut to crack for the Indians. China won the gold medal with 16 points while the silver was claimed by the Russians who finished with 13 points in all. Georgia ended with the bronze while India and Ukraine were tied for the fourth spot with much better tie-break for the Indians. For the Indians, Koneru Humpy played out a draw on the top board against world champion Yifan Hou while D Harika also did not disappoint on the second in splitting the points with Ju Wenjun. The main risk was on board four wherein Padmini Rout held on to her own and also drew with Tan Zhongyi but Tania Sachdev missed her drawing chances against Zhao Xue in a very tense game to eventually lose. In other matches of the day, Russia took a quick 2-2 draw with Armenia as they did not have any chance to catch up with China. This proved a just strategy for the team as they secured the silver without much ado. The Georgians beat Turkey 3-1 after receiving a jolt on the second board wherein Bela Khotenashvili was beaten by Kubra Ozturk. Greece scored a 4-0 victory over South Africa while Vietnam and Ukraine played out draws on all four boards. — PTI |
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Bale double keeps Spurs in title hunt
London, December 28 Victory saw Harry Redknapp's men go four points clear of fourth-placed capital foes Chelsea and five in front of north London rivals Arsenal, who could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves earlier yesterday. This win also saw Tottenham close to within seven points of the top two of City and United, and with a game in hand as well. Bale broke the deadlock at Carrow Road in the 55th minute, although his opener owed much to Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo striker controlled a pass with his back to goal and shielded the ball from several defenders before teeing up Bale who smashed a shot past Canaries goalkeeper John Ruddy. Twelve minutes later Wales winger Bale doubled Spurs' lead with a goal that was all his own work.
— AFP |
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India’s bowlers have given the team a wonderful opportunity to win the first Test. They made up for the first innings when they allowed the Australian tail to add over 100 runs and if they don’t make the same mistakes and can dismiss the remaining two wickets quickly, then India has a real chance of winning the game.
