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Fleming, Vettori pound Pak bowlers
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Goa
defeat Himachal
East
Bengal beat Tollygunge Vishal,
Ankita power to title wins Namdhari
XI draw with BSF
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India bounce back with three quick wickets Hobart, December 20 Young Parthiv Patel top scored with a patient 49 to stem the
Indian rot as he partnered with Murali Kartik (26) in a 71-run
partnership to take the total to 245 in reply to Australia A’s 311
for five declared. The partnership between the two came handy as the
first seven wickets had fallen for 162 runs. The two got their heads
down and attended to the depressing situation with diligence, placing
the ball between gaps and flicking and cover driving with elan.
Earlier, the top order had virtually crumbled and the team was in a
state of bother when Sachin Tendulkar (36), Virender Sehwag (30),
Sourav Ganguly (5) and Aakash Chopra (46) departed in quick succession
in the afternoon session to give the hosts a firm control of the game.
Tendulkar looked in good touch during his 69-minute stay at the
wicket but he hooked Damien Wright straight into the hands of Martin
Love at deep fine leg for a 45-ball 36. Sehwag also took only 28
balls to move to 30 with five fours when he hung his bat loosely at a
delivery from Shaun Tait to be caught by wicketkeeper Wade Seecombe.
Ganguly made only 5 and was out when he played away from his body
and was caught at gully off Matt Nicholson, the most impressive of all
home bowlers. However, Aakash Chopra batted with such caution that
only 46 runs came from 140 balls in 203 minutes. But he rushed from
the non-striker’s end for a non-existent run and was run-out.
Earlier, Deep Dasgupta (21) who resumed with Chopra at the start of
the day on 37 for one, became the first batsman to be out when he was
ruled leg before wicket to Simon Tait. Patel and Kartik shared the
crease for the remarkable partnership but were out without any
addition to the total after tea. Patel, who also hit eight fours,
was caught in the slip cordon when he flirted with an away delivery
off Nicholson and Kartik was run out after facing 55 balls.
Australia’s fast bowling hope Tait took three scalps but went for
72 runs in his 16 overs. Nicholson was the most impressive of the lot,
taking four for 25 in 21 overs. When the hosts came out for their
second knock, India struck almost immediately, getting rid of openers
Chris Rogers (2) and Michael Hussey (7) through purposeful bowling of
Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji who added one more important scalp
of Martin Love (11) when he had him clean bowled.
Socreboard Australia
‘A’ (Ist innings)
India Ist Innings: A
Chopra run out 46, S Ramesh c Wright b Nicholson 4, D Dasgupta lbw b
Tait 21, S Tendulkar c Rofe b Wright 36, V Sehwag c Seecombe b Tait
30, S Ganguly c Hussey b Nicholson 5, P Patel c Love b Nicholson 49, L
Balaji lbw b Tait 8, M Kartik run out 26, I Pathan c Wright b
Nicholson 11, A Nehra not out 0. Extras: (lb-4, nb-5) 9 Total:
(all out, 82.5 overs ) 245 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-51,
3-104, 4-139, 5-149, 6-150, 7-162, 8-233, 9-233. Bowling: Matt
Nicholson 21.5-13-25-4, Damien Wright 16-9-33-1, Cameron White
13-1-60-0, Shaun Tait 20-2-85-3, Paul Rofe 12-2-38-0. Australia
‘A’ (2nd innings) C Rogers c Chopra b Balaji 2, M Hussey c
Tendulkar b Pathan 7, M Love b Balaji 11, B Hodge batting 11, M Clarke
batting 22. Extras: (b1, lb1, nb2) 4. Total: (for 3
wkts, 18 overs) 57 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-9, 3-28. Bowling:
Pathan 8-1-18-1, Balaji 9-2-34-2, Kartik 1-0-3-0. — PTI |
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Wright
not worried about Sachin's form Hobart, December 20 "He would be fine, he was feeling good today," said Wright after Tendulkar made 36 on the second day of the three-day game against Australia ‘A’. Tendulkar has lately not been his dominant self in Test cricket and has scores of 0, 1 and 37 from three innings on this tour. "He has missed out on a couple of matches but from the view of World Cup and the one-day competitions, he has been outstanding. He is soon going to translate it into Test cricket, I am sure. He is looking forward to the next two matches," Wright said. Wright was delighted with the progress of rookie paceman Irfan Pathan and
Laxmipathy Balaji who had a two-wicket burst on the second evening of the match. "The two new ball bowlers were vastly improved from yesterday. They are young and Bruce (Reid) has been working hard with them. Balaji particularly is a good boy to coach." "I think he enjoyed getting Martin Love out bowled." On injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, Wright said: "I have checked with Zaheer today and he is very confident he would be fit for the Melbourne Test. But he is still to bowl, all said and done." But Wright admitted the injury to Harbhajan Singh had proved to be a big blow to the team. "We are disappointed to miss out on Harbhajan. He has been a tremendous competitor for us. He has done well against Australia and was very keen to prove himself in Australian conditions.
— PTI |
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Harbhajan out of action for 5 months Hobart, December 20 Physiotherapist Andrew Leipus said the bowler, who underwent an operation yesterday, would have his finger plastered for the next two weeks and would have to undergo rehabilitation for at least five months before he starts bowling. "The ligament rupture on the knuckle of the middle finger will take at least five months to heal before Harbhajan plays competitive cricket," Leipus told mediapersons here. Harbhajan has been suffering from a ligament injury since the end of World Cup in South Africa early this year. He skipped a tri-nation limited overs series in Bangladesh in April but opted for physiotherapy instead of surgery. Leipus said Harbhajan would had been fit to play by this time had he opted for operation then but his decision to go for
physiotherapy was not wrong. "The finger was fine before he left India," Leipus said. "But it flared up again after the first Test. It was a choice of conservative treatment versus an invasive surgical procedure with the associated risks." Harbhajan, who sat out of the second Test in Adelaide where India recorded a stunning win against Australia, said he was recovering well. "I am in good spirits," Harbhajan said. "It (surgery) is over and done with... the surgeon has removed the damaged tissues and stitched the ligament," he said. Leipus said Harbhajan will remain in Australia for the rehabilitation.
— PTI |
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Fleming, Vettori pound Pak bowlers Hamilton December 20 Pakistan were 118 for two at stumps after beginning their reply in rollicking
fashion until both openers fell in the space of three overs, and then the chase
became more circumspect. If Fleming was the star for New Zealand with his 192,
Vettori was the hero. He came in at No 9 and stayed till the end notching his
first Test century with an unbeaten 137. New Zealand’s 563 is a record
against Pakistan, Fleming and Vettori set an eighth-wicket record 125-run
partnership against Pakistan, while Vettori and Daryl Tuffy posted a ninth
wicket record of 99. The run fest was an unexpected outcome after Pakistan won
the toss and sent New Zealand in on what appeared to be dream conditions for
seam bowlers. Black Caps skipper Fleming admitted to some trepidation at
batting first and it was no surprise when opener Lou Vincent fell cheaply. New
Zealand (1st innings): Richardson run out 44 Vincent c Inzamam b Shabbir
8 Fleming lbw Gul 192 Styris c Umar b Kaneria 33 McMillan c Umar b Kaneria
22 Cairns c Khan b Shabbir 11 Oram b Shabbir 6 Hart c Youhana b Shabbir 10
Vettori not out 137 Tuffey by Gul 35 I Butler c Imran b Shabbir 7 Extras:
(b-4, lb-12, w-9, nb-33) 58. Total: (all out in 151.2 overs) 563. Fall
of wickets: 1-16, 2-117, 3-217, 4-249, 5-266, 6-274, 7-314, 8-439, 9-538,
10-563. Bowling: Sami 27-2-126-0, Shabbir 43.2-9-117-5, Razaaq
18-2-74-0, Gul 31-5-118-2, Kaneria 32-6-112-2. Pakistan (1st innings): Farhat
c Hart b Oram 20 Umar c Butler b Tuffey 27 Hameed batting 36 Youhana
batting 24 Extras: (lb-3, nb-8) 11 Total: (for 2 wkts in 28
overs) 118 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-55 Bowling: Tuffey
7-2-26-1, Butler 6-0-41-0, Oram 5-1-18-1, Cairns 4-0-14-0, Vettori 6-0-16-0. —
AFP |
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Batsmen put Lanka on top Colombo, December 20 Samaraweera (142) and Jayawardene (134) created a new record third-wicket partnership of 262 as Sri Lanka consolidated their hold by reaching 563 for five on the third day, 298 runs ahead of England’s first innings total of 265. Their six-hour partnership took the sting out of England’s attack and surpassed Sri Lanka’s existing third-wicket record of 243, which Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva compiled against England at The Oval in 1998. Benefiting from a dropped catch when he was on 74, Jayawardene lofted left-arm spinner Ashley Giles for a six over long-off and smashed 14 boundaries from 246 deliveries to post his 10th hundred in 54 Tests. Jayawardene was eventually dismissed by Flintoff (two for 47) when he gave an easy catch to substitute fielder Paul Collingwood at deep square leg.
Scoreboard England (1st innings): 265 Sri Lanka (1st innings): Sangakkara c Trescothick
b Kirtley 31 Jayasuriya c Trescothick b Flintoff 85 Samaraweera run out 142 Jayawardene c sub b
Flintoff 134 Dilshan batting 72 Tillekeratne b Giles 12 Chandana batting 54 Extras:
(b-6, lb-16, nb-6, w-5) 33. Total: (5 wickets, 172 overs) 563. Fall of wickets:
1-71, 2-138, 3-400, 4-428, 5-456. Bowling: James Kirtley 26-4-98-1, James Anderson 24-5-85-0, Andrew Flintoff 18-0-47-2, Ashley Giles 60-16-159-1, Gareth Batty 41-4-137-0, Michael Vaughan 1-0-5-0, Marcus Trescothick 2-0-10-0.
— AP |
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Goa defeat
Himachal Dharamsala, December 20 On the fourth and last day today, Himachal resumed their batting from 230 for 8. The overnight batsmen Ajay Manu who was batting with 56 and Ashok Thakur (0) resumed the innings and carried the score upto 280 when Ajay was unlucky to miss his century by three runs. He was caught by Adavit off Shadab for 97. Last batsman Mohinder was caught by Shadab off Amit Dani at zero and Himachal was all out for 280. Goa needed 80 runs to win which they made after losing four wickets. Opener Vivek fell lbw to Ashok Thakur for two runs while captain Swapnil scored 17 before being caught by Sandeep off Rahul Panta. Adavit scored 23 and was caught by Rahul off Vishal. Robin D’Souza failed to impress in the second innings and was lbw out to Vishal. Rajesh on 9 and Mandhar on 11 remained unbeaten. |
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Sunday's twin strikes pave way for Dempo win Ludhiana, December 20 The diminutive Liberian striker, who incidentally burst on to the Indian scene as a goalkeeper for FC Kochin some years back, provided the first shock in the fourth minute. Capitalising on a defensive lapse by JCT's stopper back KV Dhanesh who failed to check him inside the box, Sunday Seah booted the ball into the net even as goalkeeper Mansuru Mohammed looked on helplessly. The second goal by Seah came one minute into the second session when he cut in from the right beating the JCT defence, and slotted the ball home, leaving the JCT camp dazed. Such was the alacrity of the Dempo attack that JCT remained under pressure for long spells and when they did pose danger to the Goans, wayward shooting and a strong Dempo defence thwarted their designs. Fresh from their victory over another Goan outfit, Salgaocar, here on December 14, JCT took the field on a confident note with international IM Vijayan and newcomer Manjit Singh leading the charge. Star medio Joe Paul Ancheri, playing as central midfielder, tried to bolster the attack time and again but Vijayan could not achieve much in the face of a stout Dempo defence manned by skipper Stanley Colaco, Valeriano Rebelo and Mewlwin Rodrigues. Midfielder Samir Naik, Mohammed Gafari, and Nacimento Silveira proved tough obstacles for the JCT forwards even as Clifford Miranda's incisive moves posed a constant threat to the Phagwara outfit. JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh made a couple of substitutions in the second session bringing in Stephan Abarowei and Baldip Singh but this did not have the desired impact. Stephan did make some close calls but failed to get adequate support upfront. The spectators had hardly settled into their seats when Dempo dealt a stunning blow in the fourth minute. As JCT stopper back KV Dhanesh, formerly of ITI Bangalore, struggled to check the advancing Sunday Seah inside danger zone, the Liberian proved unstoppable. Sunday's powerful right-footer landed to the left of JCT goalie Mansuru Mohammed giving him absolutely no chance. Sunday Seah again made a close call after Clifford Miranda put him through but despite outpacing a JCT defender, Sunday shot wide. JCT counter-attacked through right winger Jaswinder Singh but his powerful volley off a cross from the left sailed over the bar. Another JCT move went waste when Vijayan back-heeled to Ancheri whose piledriver went out of play. A free kick by Sukhjinder was followed by Vijayan's weak header which was easily collected by Dempo goalie Abhijit Mondal. Two attempts by Jaswinder and Jaspal also failed to achieve the desired result. When play resumed in the second half, Dempo dealt the second blow through Sunday Seah. A move by Samir Naik on the right flank saw Seah making the most of it. After cutting in from the right, he beat the JCT custodian with a deft placement (2-0). JCT hit back through Stephan Abarowei but his shot was punched away by Dempo custodian Abhijit Mondal. Off the rebound, Jaswinder unleashed a powerful volley but the ball sailed over the bar. Stephan's well-attempted header subsequently saw Mondal making another acrobatic save. In the dying minutes, JCT mounted tremendous pressure. Joe Paul Ancheri's cross from the edge of the box went abegging and later his pass to Stephan was intercepted by Valeriano Rebelo in the nick of time at the cost of a flag kick. As the minutes ticked away, JCT seemed to have resigned to their fate and with the long whistle, their dream of avenging last year's 1-3 defeat at the hands of Dempo on this very ground went up in smoke. JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh later rued the defensive lapses which cost his team dear. JCT will now meet Goa's Vasco SC in their next home match here on December 23. |
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East Bengal beat
Tollygunge Kolkata, December 20 Apart from the goal, the tie was reduced to a battle between Tollygunge custodian Chinmoy Banerjee and Baichung Bhutia. During the entire period of the game waves of East
Bengal attacks crashed on the Tollygunge wall and at the end of 90 minutes the orange team’s goalie walked away with full points, thwarting at least four
brilliant efforts from Bhutia. Hardly had the match got underway that Bhutia, collecting the ball on the left, essayed a cross to Junior. The Brazilian, flourished sending a 25-yard shot, that took a wicked dip to curl into the net with Chinmoy looking bemused (1-0).
— UNI |
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Vishal, Ankita power to title wins New Delhi, December 20 Second-seeded Punna Vishal of Hyderabad took one hour and 40 minutes to overcome the young wild card, Divij Sharan of Delhi, in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the men’s title clash while fourth-seeded Ankita Bhambri rode past her younger sister Sanaa Bhambri, a wild card entry, 6-3, 6-3 in about one hour to bag the women’s singles title. Later, the Bhambri sisters teamed up to clinch the women’s doubles title too, defeating Geeta Manohar of Andhra Pradesh and Archana Venkataraman of Karnataka 6-1, 6-2. Divij Sharan, despite his amazing run, ended without a singles title as he lost out in the boys under-18 title clash too. Dubai-based Navdeep Singh, playing under the Delhi banner, was all fire and brimstone as he took apart the game of Divij to wrest the title with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory. Punam S Reddy of Hyderabad won the girls under-18 singles title with a stunning 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 victory against second-seeded Madura Ranganathan of Tamil Nadu. Both Vishal Punna and Ankita Bhambri collected cash prizes of Rs 40,000 each and also return air tickets worth Rs 40,000 each to play in ITF tournaments abroad. Vishal and Ankita also earned 60 and 25 AITA (All-India Tennis Association) points, respectively. AITA secretary Anil Khanna and DSCL Chairman Ajay Shriram gave away the prizes after the week-long intense tennis competitions ended on a pleasant note. The under-14 and under-16 events will start tomorrow. The men’s singles was expected to generate a lot of sparks, but Divij Sharan, after an exacting semifinal encounter against defending champion and top seed Viond Sridhar, seemed to be shorn of energy and the will to engage the crafty Vishal Punna to a battle of attrition. For 19-year-old Punna too, this was one of the most momentous occasions of his tennis career, and when he hit the last point to clinch the title, he had realised a long-nursed ambition of winning a major crown. The DSCL Open, played on hard synthetic courts, was Vishal’s first major title win, though ironically, his favourite surface is grass. His best previous display in the DSCL Open has been a quarterfinal finish in 2001. He was a singles finalist in the National Games held at his home turf in Hyderabad in 2002, though he lost to Nitin Kirtane in straight sets in the crunch match. Vishal, who admits that he needs to improve his stamina and sharpen his concentration to do well on the big stage, did display fighting qualities today, though Divij was certainly not in his element. His energy level was low, and to compound his problems, he was not able to get his first serves across. Yet, he did not allow himself to be used as a doormat by Vishal and stunned the second seed by breaking his serve in the third game of the first. Vishal tightened his game to break back in the fourth and sixth games to forge a 4-2 lead. But he dropped his serve again in the seventh game, but recovered yet again to break back in the eighth, and then held serve in the ninth to win the set. Vishal had it easy in the second set, breaking Divij in the third and seventh games while in the third set, Divij was allowed to hold serve just once-in the third game. Perhaps, the one major mistake committed by Divij was to spread himself thin by participating in too many events-men’s and boys singles and doubles. In the end, he had nothing much to show by way of title, despite his remarkable wins. Ankita proved her worth as a player of potential and promise with her double crown achievement. She packed a lot of punch in her strokes, and showed unwavering concentration to wear out her sister Sanna in the singles and then the other opponents in the doubles. For players like Vishal Punna, Divij Sharan, Ankita Bhambri, Punam Reddy and Navdeep Singh, the absence of the top players of the country afforded a golden opportunity to display their talent and they seized the occasion to make a big mark. |
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Namdhari XI draw with BSF Jalandhar, December 20 After wasting two penalty corner opportunities in 5th and 6th minutes of the first half, BSF opened their account in 12th minute through an impressive field goal by Sandeep Singh (0-1). The lead was further consolidated in 23rd minute as Marinus Lakra dodged the defence circle of the rivals and netted the ball from left flank to sound the board (0-2). Beleaguered Namdharis initiated some impressive attempts on rivals’ box, but in vain. It was only in the 28th minute, when Anmolak Singh scored a field goal to reduce the margin (1-2). The BSF were leading by 2-1 till the lemon break. In the second half, Anmolak once again gained control of the ball in 36th minute and hit the ball straight into box to score an equaliser (2-2). Though BSF was awarded two penalty corners in 55th and 56th minutes, their failure to capitalise on the opportunities, forced them to share points Namdharis XI. In another match, Punjab and Sind Bank registered an impressive 6-1 victory over Army XI. In a one-sided affair, Parminder Singh of the bank struck twice in 11th and 13th minute to score two field goals. Rajwinder Singh increased the lead as he scored a field goal in 33rd minute (3-0). In the second half, Parminder, after getting a pass from Ajitpal Singh, netted the ball in to score his third goal (1-0). Army XI managed to open their account in 47th minute through conversion of a penalty stroke by Avtar Singh (4-1). Anmolak Singh and Rajwinder Singh scored a goal each to fate (6-1). Punjab Police defeated CISF 6-0, while Punjab National Bank Academy settled for a draw with Escorts Ramesh Chander Hockey Academy (1-1) in open matches. In women’s section the PSIEC outclassed rivals Himachal Pradesh (2-0). |
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Ranking Badminton Sangrur, December 20 |
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