|
|
|
|
|
Oz go down under, India in final
BCCI mulls severing ties with West Indies
|
|
|
‘Dhoni is looking jaded, time to groom Kohli as Test captain’
duleep trophy
Moritz hat-trick for Mumbai sinks Pune
Aguero too hot to handle for Spurs
Can’t see anything but his goal of lifting the Cup for India
People shirking responsibility: Bianchi’s mom Goryachkina wins title with a round to spare Kashyap goes down in semis United Singhs, Eagles have easy outings WICB solely responsible for crisis: Holding
|
|
Oz go down under, India in final
Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Oct 18 With their fourth win from five matches, the junior Indian team has booked a place in the final of the tournament and will take on Great Britain in the title clash tomorrow. The India team started the match at a high speed and surprised their opponents with their aggressive game, which tore apart the Australian defence. After repeated attacks, India earned their first penalty corner in the sixth minute, which was converted by Harmanpreet, who had scored a hat-trick against Malaysia in the last match. The Indians scored their second goal three minutes later through forward Parvinder Singh, who superbly deflected a cross from the right. The third goal came in the 19th minute when a loose tackle from an Australian defender sent the ball straight to Simranjeet Singh at the top of the striking circle. The crafty forward snaked through two defenders and, showing great presence of mind, sneaked the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper. Four minutes later, India were ahead 4-0. Forward Pawan Kumar tapped in an easy goal as the ball came his way after taking a deflection off a defender’s stick. In the 25th minute, Australia earned a penalty corner, which was converted by Brandan Horner. However, after two minutes, the Indians earned another penalty corner. Harmanjeet’s drag-flick struck the leg of the man in the post. The referee awarded a penalty stroke, which Harmanpreet converted with ease. Australia started the second half with greater speed and purpose and created a couple of good chances but failed to convert. India earned a penalty corner in the 44th minute, and this time Harmanpreet beat both the goalkeeper and the man in the post to complete his hat-trick. In the 64th minute, Australia also earned a penalty corner and Horner successfully converted it to reduce the margin. “This was our best performance so far. The boys showcased amazing team-work and maintained domination against a team like Australia,” India coach Harendra Singh said. “With this marvelous victory, we are very much confident against Britain now. Though we lost to Britain in the league match, the final is a totally different ball game. I believe we have the ability to win the final and defend our title.” Britain beat New Zealand 3-0 to end the round robin stage with a 100 percent win record. Malaysia and Pakistan played out a 2-2 draw. — PTI Final: India vs Britain Live on Star Sports, 6pm
|
|
BCCI mulls severing ties with West Indies
New Delhi, October 18 The “disgraceful” attitude of the West Indies players has left the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seething in anger. The repercussions could be damaging as the mighty Indian cricket board has decided to “punish” the WICB. The BCCI’s emergency meeting on October 21 in Hyderabad could result in a complete boycott of the West Indies bilateral series for “four-five years”, according to Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary. “The BCCI will be exploring three options at the emergency meeting,” Patel told The Tribune. “We will take the legal recourse against the WICB as the tour has been called off abruptly; secondly, we will write to the ICC to impose heavy sanctions on the WICB for dishonouring the contract; lastly, we will review the Future Tours Program (FTP) and sever cricketing ties with them for 4-5 years.” “The unprofessional attitude of the West Indies players will have serious ramifications on the future of our cricketing relations. The BCCI will make them pay for what they did to us,” he said. “It was such a bad behaviour on their part as every day we were pleading with them to complete the series. The matter was between the WICB and players, yet the BCCI decided to help them. And look what they have done to us after holding us to ransom!” Patel said the BCCI has suffered huge financial losses and it will claim damages from the WICB. Though Patel did not go into the financial details, it has been learnt that it could be close to Rs 300 crore. Another BCCI functionary informed that the BCCI is set to lose heavily from gate receipts, jersey sponsorship and broadcast deals with Star Sports and insurance money. “The BCCI will not get the insurance amount as it can’t claim the compensation because the matches were called off,” this official said. “The revenue generation from gate receipts has suffered. The BCCI will lose money as part of TV broadcast rights (about Rs 43.2 cr per match) and jersey sponsorship deal (Rs 1.92 cr per match) with Star Sports. The BCCI will also have to compensate the advertisers who put up advertising boards and banners inside the stadium.” Patel said that the Indian cricket board had been in talks with its Sri Lankan counterpart for “quite some time”, fearing a pullout by the West Indies players. “I spoke to SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and apprised him of the situation. I asked him, ‘Can you send your boys for a short series?’ He gave me his consent after I requested their cricket board. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was also willing to send its team. We finalised on Sri Lanka and they will play the ODIs between November 1 and 14,” he said. Asked about the participation of the West Indies players in the IPL, Patel said that was subject to getting the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the WICB. “Foreign players need to get NOCs from their respective boards to play in the IPL. They are at war with their own board, so this might affect their participation,” he said. Patel said a series against the West Indies is not possible till such time they show “respect” to other boards. “They (players) have to earn the respect back. What they did was unprecedented,” he said. Meanwhile, the sponsors are not too keen on a Sri Lanka series, although the Islanders would be touring the country after almost five years. “The BCCI’s reputation has taken a hit. The sponsors have not taken the pullout lightly. They have suffered financial losses. They know Sri Lanka are coming as a replacement to the West Indies, so it does not invoke much interest. It’s not galli-mohalla cricket,” a representative of a broadcaster said.
|
|
‘Dhoni is looking jaded, time to groom Kohli as Test captain’
New Delhi, October 18 Dhoni, who has been leading in all three formats as well as keeping wickets, has been under tremendous pressure to inspire the team in the longer format and that seems to have taken a toll on his performance. All three were of the view that Virat Kohli must be groomed to take over the Test captaincy mantle from Dhoni. “In the five-day game, Dhoni looks jaded and worn out. Seriously, for Tests, India should start grooming Kohli. Dhoni is a highly competitive guy and handles the pressures in ODIs and T20s really well, but the Tests are a different ball game,” Waugh said at the Aaj Tak ‘Salaam Cricket’ conclave here on Saturday. Ponting said that Test cricket needs a more aggressive leader, who challenges his bowlers to get him wickets. “In ODIs and the matches held at home, he is happy to put fielders at boundaries and wait for the batsman to make mistakes with the support of the pitches which helps his set of bowlers. But these things don’t work in away tours,” said Ponting. “Especially in Test matches, in places like Australia, England, you need to build the pressure from the beginning and don’t allow the game to continue. You not only need to restrict the flow of runs but also pick up wickets. So, it becomes troublesome for him,” he added. Calling Dhoni a “solid character”, Border said the India skipper needs to be a little more proactive when it comes to Test cricket. Talking about the forthcoming India-Australia series beginning December 4, Ponting said the tourists will have difficulty getting the hosts out twice. “India will struggle to get our batsmen out twice. There is no reason why the Indians can’t compete because their batting line-up is one of the best, but their fast bowlers need to bowl well,” he said. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar echoed this view and said the key to India’s success, in what promises to be a tough tour Down Under, would depend on their bowlers’ ability to take 20 wickets. |
East thrash West, enter
semis
Lahli (Haryana), October 18 If Dinda (3/40) ripped through the top order, Mohanty (4/44) took care of the tail as West were bundled out for just 135 in their second innings while chasing a victory target of 238 at Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium here. Resuming the day on 12 for one, West struggled against the pace attack of the East led by Dinda and Mohanty. West Zone’s second innings lasted less than 40 overs into the day. Dinda bowled Aditya Tare for 11 in the seventh over of the day and five overs later Laxmi Shukla jolted West further by having their captain Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind for nine. East kept losing wickets and were never allowed to form a decent partnership, the highest stand being 28 for the fifth wicket between Parthiv Patel and Suryakumar Yadav. Parthiv made 39, the highest score of the innings, before becoming Dinda’s third victim. Yusuf Pathan was the last of the recognised batsmen to be dismissed, caught behind off Mohanty for 14. The Odisha medium-pacer took the remaining three wickets to finish with 4 for 44. Brief Scores: East Zone: 278 and 281 for 7 decl beat West Zone: 322 and 135 all out (Mohanty 4/44, Dinda 3/40) by 102 runs. — PTI Harbhajan to lead North Zone
Chandigarh: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was today named the captain of the North Zone team while left-hander Gautam Gambhir will be the side’s Vice-captain for the Duleep Trophy campaign starting from October 22. Squad: Harbhajan Singh (Captain), Gautam Gambhir (Vice-Captain), Jeevanjot Singh, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mandeep Singh, Rajat Palliwal, Rishi Dhawan, Nitin Saini (wk), Parvez Rasool, Parwinder Awana, Harshal Patel, S Beig, Gurkirat Singh Mann and Yazuwinder Singh. |
|
Moritz hat-trick for Mumbai sinks Pune
Mumbai, October 18 Mumbai totally dominated the match with their attacking style of play and notched up their first victory in the tournament, and the biggest yet by margin. Mumbai were keen to secure three points which they did with aplomb with a storming first half display that ripped open the Pune defence at the DY Patil Stadium. The visitors remained on one point after a goalless draw against Delhi Dynamos on October 14. Moritz scored in the 12th, 27th and 71st minutes while Subhash Singh fired home in between in the 36th minute of a totally one-sided encounter. Defender Johan Letzelter completed Pune’s humiliation by firing in the fifth in the 85th minute. Mumbai rode roughshod over their state rivals and could have been up by half a dozen goals by half time but for some alert goalkeeping by Emanuele Belardi who had to contend with a jittery defensive four in front. Moritz, who came on as substitute in their lost opener against Atletico de Kolkata, fired in the first in the 12th minute. It was a real beauty as the Brazilian uncorked a powerful left-footed shot from just outside the right corner of the box to the far corner of the net with Belardi diving fruitlessly to stop the shot. The move was initiated by a superb diagonal pass from the left wing from Lalrindika Ralte who had an outstanding game. — PTI
|
|
Aguero too hot to handle for Spurs
London, October 18 For long periods of the game Tottenham worried the champions, but Aguero, described as a footballing Mozart the previous day by Tottenham's coach Mauricio Pochettino, was the difference. He opened the scoring after 13 minutes with an angled drive past Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris before Christian Eriksen equalised almost immediately. Aguero restored City's lead after 20 minutes, stroking home a penalty after Erik Lamela had been adjudged to have bundled over City's veteran midfielder Frank Lampard. It was Aguero's 59th league goal for City, taking him past compatriot Carlos Tevez as the club's record scorer in the Premier League. A 60th beckoned shortly afterwards when Younes Kaboul's rash challenge on David Silva resulted in another spot kick but this time Aguero's strike was blocked by Lloris's leg and he volleyed the rebound over the bar. Roberto Soldado wasted a second-half penalty for Spurs and it proved costly for his side as Aguero completed his hat-trick with the day's fourth spot kick after Fabrizio Fabio was red-carded for tugging back the rampant Argentine. Aguero then thrashed home his fourth of the day from outside the area to kill of the visitors, who have now conceded 15 goals in their last three league games against City. Chelsea tighten grip
Chelsea maintained an iron grip on the Premier League top spot with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. Goals from Oscar and Cesc Fabregas made it seven wins from eight games for Chelsea, who overcame the sending off of Cesar Azpilicueta before halftime to stay five points clear of City. Third-placed Southampton came within a goal of equalling the record Premier League win as they crushed Sunderland 8-0 with Graziano Pelle scoring twice for the Saints who were helped by two own goals, including a bizarre one from Santiago Vergini.
— Agencies |
|
Can’t see anything but his goal of lifting the Cup for India
JALANDHAR, OCTOBER 18 But instead of honing his skills for the event, the player is busy knocking on various doors to find a sponsor to fund his trip. “The Cricket Association for Blinds in India is facing a severe cash crunch, so it has asked all 17 players to fend for themselves and arrange around Rs 1.50 lakh for the trip and training preceding the tournament,” said Tejinder. “I've arranged Rs 1.10 lakh, I still need Rs 40,000 to attend the training camp at Cuttack and buy tracksuits and shoes.” He has recently completed his Masters from the Punjab Technical University (PTU) and is planning to do PhD on 'Sports prospects for the blind in India'. While there is no dearth of support and rewards for regular cricketers, the scenario for the blind cricketers is very bleak. With no help from the cricket body and sponsors, they are left to fend for themselves. “Earlier, Milkha Singh donated Rs 12,000 to sponsor my stay at the training camp held at Tirupati in July. Later, a politician gave me Rs 3,000 to attend a selection camp in Bangalore. I managed to attend the camp with that money, but couldn't pay for things like juice and protein supplements during the camp,” said Tejinder. Recently, with the help of a Jalandhar-based petrol pump owner, the player managed to get Rs 1.10 lakhs from one Surinder Nijjhar, a UK-based NRI. The cricketer tried to seek an appointment with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, but he was told to follow a regional news channel to keep track of the whereabouts of the Chief Minster and try and meet him whenever he happened to visit Jalandhar. Tejinder complained that while the government had no qualms in spending millions on promoting kabaddi, it never offered any help to him. Nevertheless, the gutsy batsman is taking all this in his stride, and is focused to give his best during the World Cup.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Harmanpreet Singh came up with his second hat-trick of the tourna- ment as defending champions India hammered Australia 6-2 to storm into the final of the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament here today.
Mumbai, October 18
A virtuoso performance from Sergio Aguero earned Manchester City a 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday, the Argentine scoring all his side's goals in an incident-packed clash at The
Etihad. For long periods of the game Tottenham worried the champions, but Aguero, described as a footballing Mozart the previous day by Tottenham's coach Mauricio
Pochettino, was the difference.
California Eagles, who beat Yo Yo Tigers 68-48 earlier in the
day. United's skipper Sandeep Singh Sandhu was in exceptional form as he executed 12 successful stops, a rare feat in this format. Leading 17-13 after the first quarter, United went on a rampage in the second round, closing it with an impressive 37-22 lead.
United kept up the tempo in the remaining two rounds too, and eventually walked off with a comprehensive win under their belt.
TNS
Hong Kong: