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Rain disrupts
third day’s play
Good to see Zaheer
strike crucial blows
England tailenders
thwart Lanka |
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Herath plots India ‘A’ collapse Punjab score 10-wkt win Punjab
beat HP
Devi Lal varsity lads hockey champions
Punjab win judo title Financial aid to ailing wrestler
Chandigarh wrestler
in final Tollygunge hold Dempo Churchill Brothers beat Indian bank Bharti strikes gold for Punjab Haryana spikers beaten
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Rain
disrupts third day’s play
Brisbane, December 6 After the entire first two sessions were washed out, only 38 balls were bowled before another spell of steady drizzle brought the game to an early halt on a gloomy day. In the brief period, Australia failed to add to their overnight score of 323 as they lost their last wicket off the first ball of the day. Stuart MacGill tried to pull a loosener from Ajit Agarkar but ended up skying a simple catch to Aakash Chopra in the gully region. The wicket gave Agarkar figures of three for 90, while Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers with five for 95. At close, India were 11 for no loss with opening batsmen Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag on an identical score of five. In all, only 84.2 overs had been bowled in three days of action. But the Met men had encouraging news for the cricket fans with clear skies forecast for tomorrow and the day after. Chopra looked steady against the Australian new-ball bowlers but Virender Sehwag had his moments of doubts against in-coming deliveries from debutant left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken. Gillespie, returning to the Australian team after missing the Indian tour because of side-strain, looked sharp but Chopra showed neat footwork against the aggressive fast bowler. Sehwag could once drive Bracken on the onside but he had problems in picking the bowler’s line who mostly bowled inswinging deliveries at the Indian openers. Although the wet conditions helped the ball swing, the dampness in the pitch meant Gillespie and Bracken could not hit the maximum speed they were capable of. That, however, could change tomorrow when the sun comes out shining. — PTI Scoreboard Australia (Ist innings overnight
323-9): Langer lbw b Agarkar 121 Hayden c Laxman b Khan 37 Ponting c Patel b Khan 54 Martyn run out 42 Waugh hit wicket b Khan 0 Katich c Patel b Khan 16 Gilchrist c Laxman b Khan 0 Bichel c Laxman b Agarkar 11 Gillespie run out 8 Bracken not out 6 MacGill c Chopra b Agarkar 1 Extras:
(b-4 lb-7 nb-14 w-2) 27. Total: (all out, 78.1 overs) 323. FoW:
1-73 2-162 3-268 4-275 5-275 6-276 7-302 8-310 9-317. Bowling:
Khan 23-2-95-5, Nehra 15-4-51-0, Agarkar 25.1-5-90-3, Harbhajan 14-1-68-0, Ganguly 1-0-8-0. India (1st innings): Chopra batting 5 Sehwag batting 5 Extras:
(lb-1) 1. Total: ( no loss in 6.1 overs) 11. Bowling:
Jason Gillespie 3.1-2-1-0, Nathan Bracken 3-0-9-0. |
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Good to see Zaheer strike crucial blows
Indians appear to be in the driver’s seat as far as the Gabba goes. The honours of the first day belonged to the Australians who batted aggressively to average a healthy four-plus runs per over. I am sure captain Sourav Ganguly would have had a disturbed sleep that evening pondering over his decision to put the opponents to bat on day one. The decision to bat or to field first has been a major debate in the team meetings for a long time. The batsmen always feel that on the first day of such a rigorous tour, it’s important that the bowlers make the best use of the prevailing conditions, while not putting the batsmen to test in such an alien set-up. It is also believed that the batsmen understand the behavior of the wicket in terms of bounce and movement and prepare their innings on that particular strip. On the contrary, a bowler always loves to bowl playing their last innings of the match with a decent target put on board. This, obviously, can happen only if our batsmen opt to bat first. History reveals that most Test matches are won when the team is defending a decent total in the last innings. The lessons our bowlers have learnt is that they don’t require to come up with big swing or movement. Instead, it is the subtle movement of the ball within the stumps from the right areas that are likely to earn them wickets. It was a great sight to see the all-cheerful Zaheer Khan making inroads into the Australian batting line-up. The team can’t expect anything more than to see the leader of the pack bowling well to unsettle the Australians from a good position. This five-wicket haul at the beginning of the tour tells you more about the quality of Zaheer. It’s true that the conditions assisted the bowlers. But still, someone had to put the ball in the right places. Normally, it takes some time for the bowlers to adapt to the wicket and the one who comes to terms with it quickly reaps rewards. Adaptability is also a key factor in differentiating the good bowlers from the others. Ajit Agarkar, who had a pretty ordinary first day, really started off well on the second day to bowl a great line showing more control. He looked as if he was wavering while striving for that extra pace. But when operating at a regulated pace, he not only found accuracy but also moved the ball in an alarming fashion. It is true to say that results are encouraging when bowlers from both ends find the right spots. The saying, ‘Bowlers hunt in pairs’ backs this up. Ashish Nehra, who could be equally devastating in such conditions, is getting into the groove and coming back into the game after a surgery — that itself being a great learning process. The intricate changes that one’s body goes through after an operation to de-stress the load from the injured part should not have a huge bearing on the natural bowling action. I only wish Ashish gets back to form to make this attack more incisive. Damien Martyn sacrificing his wicket for his skipper’s fault and Steve Waugh’s freaky hit-wicket dismissal brought the Indians back into the game. If not for Steve Waugh at the other end, I am sure Damien would not have left the crease. That, in a way shows the respect the Australian captain earns from his teammates. It is a real challenge for the Indian batsmen to stand up to the occasion. The batsmen would be expected to continue the good work already done by the bowlers. Mind you, the Aussie attack is not the best — something in which they take pride. If the rain-gods give way, a result could still be on the card. Chivach Media |
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England tailenders thwart Lanka
Galle (Sri Lanka), December 6 Chasing a victory target of 323, England were 210 for nine with four overs remaining when the umpires offered a bad light stoppage to England’s last pair of Ashley Giles (17 not out) and Matthew Hoggard (0 not out). Sri Lanka scored 331 and 226 in the two innings, while England compiled 235 in its first innings. Scoreboard Sri Lanka, (1st innings): 331 England, (1st innings): 235 Sri Lanka, (2nd innings): 226 England, (2nd innings): Trescothick b Jayasuriya 24 Vaughan c Tillekeratne
Butcher c Sangakkara b Vaas 54 Thorpe c Vaas b Muralitharan 10 Collingwood c Tillekeratne
Flintoff c Tillekeratne b Vaas 0 Read c Jayawardene
Batty b Muralitharan 26 Giles not out 17 Johnson b Muralitharan 3 Hoggard not out 0 Extras:
(b-10, lb-1, nb-7)18 Total: (for 9 wickets, 108 overs)210 FoW:
1-16, 2-62, 3-73, 4-125, 5-125, 6-148, 7-170, 8-204, 9-208 Bowling:
Chaminda Vaas 14-4-23-2, Dinusha Fernando 4-0-29-1, Thilan Samaraweera 3-1-9-0, Sanath Jayasuriya 21-5-31-1, Muttiah Muralitharan 37-18-47-4, Upul Chandana 11-2-24-0, Kumar Dharmasena 18-8-36-1.
— AP |
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Herath plots India ‘A’ collapse Mumbai, December 6 Sri Lanka ‘A’ were 134 for four when stumps were called for the day with captain Naved Nawaz on 46 and A Polonowita on 38. Herath produced a magical spell in which he got four batsmen out in the space of three overs, twice being on a hat-trick. In the morning, India ‘A’ captain S S Das won the toss and had no qualms in opting to bat first. He along with Gautam Gambhir gave the team a solid start putting on 34 runs in just 7 overs with Gambhir hitting four boundaries in his 18. Just when it seemed that Gambhir would carry on from where he had left off at Pune, the Delhi lad edged one off L Malinga to T Kandamby at slip. Das who has had a mediocre series so far and looked like getting out of the bad form along with Mohammad Kaif taking the score along nicely to 72. However, das after making 39 received a beauty from Malinga and saw his furniture being disturbed. Kaif and Badani then both fell when they were looking well set on 33 and 47 respectively. The match changed its course after Badani fell three short of his fifty with the score on 148 to T Lakshita. The medium pacer then two balls later got rid of Rohan Gavaskar to leave India ‘A’ tottering at 148 for five. Scoreboard: India ‘A’ 1st innings: Das b Malinga
39 Gambhir c Kandamby
Kaif run out 33 Badani c Nawaz b Lakshita
47 Gavaskar c Kandamby
Rayudu c Mubarak b Herath
8 Ratra c Mubarak b
Mishra b Herath 0 Kartik lbw Herath
0 Bhandari c Polonowita b Herath 0 Trivedi not out 0 Extras:
7 (7nb) Total: all out in 47.3 overs
172 FoW: 1-34, 2-72, 3-138, 4-148, 5-148, 6-167, 7-167, 8-171,
9-171 Bowling:T Lakshita 15-5-49-2, L Malinga 12-2-49-2,
Sri Lanka ‘A’ 1st
innings: Paranavitarne lbw Kartik 18 Daniels c Ratra b Trivedi
10 Mubarak c Rayudu b Kartik 12 Nawaz batting 46 Jayawardene lbw Kartik
6 Polonowita batting 38 Extras: 4 (lb 3, nb 1) Total:
four wickets in 42 overs 134
FoW: 1-13, 2-32, 3-43, 4-69. Bowling: S Trivedi 9-5-18-1, A Bhandari 11-4-26-1, M Kartik 13-2-48-3, A Mishra 8-0-35-0, A Rayudu 1-0-4-0.
— UNI |
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Punjab score 10-wkt win Ludhiana, December 6 Facing first innings’ 104 runs deficit, Haryana in their second essay were bowled out today for 165 runs with only opener Vishal Sahani and two down Vikram Dhariwal making some notable contributions. They scored 81 and 36 runs respectively. Needing just 62 runs for an outright victory, Punjab reached the target without losing any wicket. Brief scores: Haryana (Ist innings):
243 all out Punjab (Ist innings): 347 all out Haryana (2nd innings):
165 all out ( Vishal Sahni 81, Sandeep Kharab 3, Vikram Dhariwal 36, Vaibhav Chauhan 10; V.R.V. Singh 5 for 40, Love Abhlish 1 for 31, Varun Khanna 2 for 48 and Sandeep Sanwal 2 for 39) Punjab (2nd
innings)- 62 for no loss (Amardeep 34 not out, Binwant Singh 24 not out). |
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Punjab
beat HP Patiala, December 6 Opting to bat first after winning the toss, the visiting batsmen seemed to be all at sea against some tight spin bowling by Naresh Kumar and Asim Gupta and their innings folded up at a not too impressive total of 196. In reply, the hosts lost their first wicket cheaply, but responsible batting by Uday and Vipul enabled them to post an emphatic 6-wicket win.
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Punjab cops lift hockey crown Jalandhar, December 6 Earlier, in a keenly contested finals, Punjab Police defeated last years winners BSF 5-2. The action packed match started at a fast note even as the policemen opened their account in 14th minute through a field goal by star player Gagan Ajit Singh (1-0), BSF chased the policemen and managed to score an equaliser in 16th minute, when Harbhajan Singh converted a penalty corner (1-1). Confident looking Punjab Police team further consoildated the lead in 23rd minute when its Sarabjit Singh dodged the defence circle to score an impressive field goal from left flank (2-1). Olympian Baljeet Singh Dhillon made no mistake in converting a penalty corner in 35th minute (3-1). In the second half, BSF made some impressive attempts to reduce the margin, but these were thwarted by the Punjab Police players, who were seen in a very attacking mood right from the beginning of the game. It was Harbhajan Singh, who struck again for the BSF, to score a field goal in 52nd minute (4-2). Policemen, who were looking jubilant over their performance, further pushed the rivals to wall when Prabhdeep Singh easily converted a penalty corner in 60th minute (5-2). |
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Devi Lal varsity lads hockey champions Ludhiana, December 6 The final began on a fast pace with the international Didar Singh of Devi Lal University converting a penalty corner in the second minute. They enhanced the lead in the 14th minute through Daleep Singh. Down by two goals, DU players went all out and made repeated attacks on the Sirsa citadel. Their pressure tactics paid dividends in the 27th minute. Jaspreet Singh scored an opportunistic goal from the left flank to reduce the margin. Much to the dismay of Devi Lal University players, Jaspreet again struck to level the score 2-2. In the second session, Delhi University players reorganised themselves and played better hockey but luck did not favour them. They managed to pierce through the rival defence time and again but fumbled at crucial moments. On the other hand, Devi Lal University forced a penalty corner in the 44th minute and the dependable Didar Singh made no mistake. His electrifying drag flick stunned Delhi University custodian Narinder Singh. DU players pressed hard for the equaliser but unfortunately their attempts missed the target narrowly. Devi Lal varsity lads managed to hang on to the lead till the long hooter and annexed the trophy. The winners also received a cash prize of Rs 31,000 while the runners-up got a cash prize of Rs 21,000. Panjab University, Chandigarh, who earlier in the day had trounced Mumbai University 7-1, pocketed a cash prize of Rs 11,000. Mr Harnam Das Johar, Minister for Higher Education, Punjab, who was the chief guest, distributed the prizes. He also announced a grant of Rs 51,000 for the organisers, Ludhiana Sports Welfare Association. In the girls section, Unique Society, Shahbad, pipped Guru Nanak Pritam School, Shahbad 6-4 to win the trophy. |
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Punjab win judo title Patiala, December 6 Jalandhar boy Ravneet Singh was declared the best judoka in the under-14 age group. In the girls (u-14) section, Maharashtra collected 23 points to be placed first while Punjab with 21 points had to be content with second spot. Andhra Pradesh garnered 19 points and were placed third in the overall team championship standings. Patiala girl Vandana was given the best judoka prize. In cricket, the hosts, who had routed lowly ranked Pondicherry yesterday, once again came up with a disciplined performance today to down Maharashtra by 8 wickets. Batting first the visitors were bowled out for 130 with Shiekh Mukim scoring an unbeaten 56 while Anoop Kumar scored 30. For the hosts Aman Kumar and Dimpy claimed two wickets each conceding 12 and 23 runs, respectively. In the preliminary league matches of the kho-kho event for under-19 girls, Punjab downed AP by one turn and 7 points while in another match Maharashtra girls beat Pondicherry 18-6. In reply, the hosts raced to their target in just 17 overs with 8 wickets to spare. Amarinder and Jeevan scored an unbeaten knocks of 46 and 24, respectively. Other results Judo (girls, under-14): 32 kg: P. Sahitya (AP)-1, Jyoti Sharma (Punjab)-2, Soniya Rahgwan (Maharashtra)-3. 40 kg: Vandana (Punjab)-1, Meenakshi (Maharashtra)-2, C.H. Archana (AP)-3. 44 kg: Pooja Tilawalkar (Maharashtra)-1, R. Sunitha (AP)-2, Suman (Punjab)-3. 44 kg plus: U. Patil (Maharashtra)-1, Prabrita Kapoor (AP)-2, Sandeep Kaur (Punjab)-3. |
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Financial aid to ailing wrestler Phagwara, December 6 Prof Sital Singh, secretary of the club, today told this correspondent that the modest help was provided to the ailing wrestler at his native village Shahkot, 70 km from Phagwara, where he is battling leukemia, poverty and government apathy. A seven-time winner of titles like Rustam-e-Hind, Hind Kesri, Bharat Bhim and Bharat Kesri, besides several prestigious awards for 20 years. Mehardin today curses the day he decided to become a wrestler. In a chat with this correspondent, he said various governments had ignored him because he belonged to the Muslim community. He was diagnosed with blood cancer about three years ago and the injections recommended by the doctors were very costly will each priced at Rs 10,000. “Since I could not afford them, the problem aggravated,” he remarked. Mehardin took to wrestling at the age of 11 at Tamkot village in Rajasthan and perfected the oriental or Indian style of wrestling on mud. He shot into prominence when he won a gold medal in Iran in 1964. He won the first Hind Kesri title in 1966, Rustam-e-Hind and the Bharat Bhim titles in 1968 and the Bharat Kesri in 1971. He held these titles for almost 20 years. He travelled all over the world and claims he never lost a fight outside India. The announcements by the Rajasthan and Punjab governments regarding allotment of several acres of land to him remained on papers. However, Giani Zail Singh granted him a monthly stipend of Rs 5000 which was discontinued when Mr Parkash Singh Badal came to power. Appeals for help to the Punjab Government also went unheeded. |
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Chandigarh wrestler in final Puri, December 6 Shankar defeated Shyam Lal of Bengal by fall while Narender defeated Punjab’s Sunil Dutt on points. In the 66-kg freestyle, the final would be fought between Mohinder of Services and Paramjeet of All-India Universities. Mohinder beat MTNL’s Pawan Kumar on points while Paramjeet outscored Suraj Mal of Bengal. In the 84-kg class, Anuj Choudhury of Uttar Pradesh beat Punjab’s Sandeep Kumar on points to enter the final. He will take on Sandeep Kumar of Railways, who defeated Haryana’s Jaiveer Singh on points. In the Greco-Roman style, finalists in three weight categories were determined today. While Santosh Singh (Punjab) defeated Vicky Dalvi (Services), Rajesh Pawar (Haryana) beat Satban in the 55-kg semifinals.
— PTI |
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Tollygunge hold Dempo Margao, December 6 Dempo, who held ball possession for most part of the match, took the lead in 40th minute through substitute Francis Silveira after they wasted several scoring chances. Striker Sunday Seah, who initiated the move, relayed the ball to R.C. Prakash who, after wasting two earlier chances, uncorked a fierce shot which ‘keeper Chinmoy Banerjee only managed to block and the rebound was slammed in by Silveira. Tollygunge, who relied on quick counter attacks, then found the equaliser a few seconds before the final whistle.
— PTI |
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Churchill Brothers beat Indian bank Chennai, December 6 However, it looked at one stage that the Churchill would be held to a draw since all their attempts were either feeble or thwarted by the bank defence. In the end, Churchill were relieved when Yakubu slammed home the all-important goal in the 70th minute.
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Bharti
strikes gold for Punjab Patiala, December 6 Bharti was followed by Vijay Dhawala of Maharashtra and Usha Shorie of Andhra Pradesh, in that order. In cricket, the hosts had a comfortable outing when they brushed aside the feeble challenge of Pondicherry by a whopping margin of 180 runs. In kho-kho, the host eves (u-17) began their assignments in the league stage on an easy note by downing Assam by one turn and 5 points. Results: Judo (girls, u-17): 27 kg: Purva
(Maharashtra)-1, Varsha (Punjab)-2, Priyanka (AP)-3; 32 kg: P.Shahitya (AP)-1, Jyoti Sharma (Punjab)-2, Sonia Reghwan
(Maharashtra)-3; (boys, u-19): Kapil Chatwal (Maharashtra)-1, Rafique (Punjab)-2, Manjunath (AP)-3; 30 kg: Amit Kumar (Punjab)-1, Mohammad Qayum (AP)-2, Gaurav Duggal
(Maharashtra)-3; 35 kg: Subash Kumar (Punjab)-1, Akshay (Maharashtra)-2, M.Kumara Swami (AP)-3; kho-kho (boys, u-19): Maharashtra beat AP 21-9; wrestling: all preliminary phase: (boys, u-14) 25 kg : Sagar Sanjer
(Maharashtra) beat K.Bhurbhaker (AP) by a fall; 28 kg: Patel Vishal (Maharashtra) beat Sahil Sharma (Punjab) on points; 30 kg: Bhupinder (Punjab) beat Sameer Ahmed (Punjab) on points; 32 kg: Amar Sambalji
(Maharashtra) beat Jagraj Singh (Punjab) on points; 35 kg: Vaij Nath
(Maharashtra) beat Sarik Ibrahim (AP) on points; 38 kg: Manohar Singh (Punjab) beat M.Shekhar (AP) by a fall; 41 kg: Bhagwan Shanker
(Maharashtra) beat Bheem Singh (Punjab) on points; 45kg: Budh Singh (Punjab) beat Manak Vishal Patil
(Maharashtra) on points; 60 kg: Sandeep Kumar (Punjab) beat B.V Abdula (AP) on points; (boys, u-19) 42 kg: Kolpe Dutta Tariman
(Maharashtra) beat G.Aswan Kumar (AP) by a fall; 45 kg: Sukhwinder Singh (Punjab) beat Venkata Kumar (AP) on points; 49 kg: Tarlok Ram
(Maharashtra) beat Lovpreet Singh (Punjab) on points; 52 kg: Shamsher Singh (Punjab) beat P.Satish Singh (AP) by a fall; 56 kg : Jai Singh Yadav
(Maharashtra) beat E.Pali Siriniwas Rao (AP) on points; 70 kg: Harinder Singh (Punjab) beat G.U Kumar (AP) by a fall. Cricket - Punjab beat Pondicherry by 180 runs.
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Haryana spikers
beaten Davangere, December 6 Uttaranchal raised the game by a few notches to win the next two sets and the match.
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Mohindra
heads badminton body Patiala, December 6 Former international shuttler Vinod Vatrana was elected as honorary secretary while former national chief coach T.P.S. Puri was elected chief technical adviser.
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