Thursday, November 11, 1999
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S P O R T | Thursday, November 11, 1999 |
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 Sachin Tendulkar examining the pitch with coach Kapil Dev at Roop Singh stadium in Gwalior on the eve of one day match against New Zealand.— PTI photo |
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Marshall’s funeral on
Saturday JCT
pip AI, move into semifinal HPU
spikers win Himachal
Pradesh boy puts Hanif to shade Four
Indians start campaign today Lyallpur
lads storm into semis Feroz
leads the field with 7-under Pioline
to participate Hockey
team announced |
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Confident India take on Kiwis today GWALIOR, Nov 10 (UNI) — The ideal batting track at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium here awaits the exploits of Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar to begin from where he left at Hyderabad with the hosts itching to take a lead in the five-match one-day series against New Zealand in the third tie to be played tomorrow. Sachin Tendulkar’s epoch-making unbeaten 186 in the second one-dayer and his 331-run second-wicket partnership with Rahul Dravid which ethched their names in the world record books enabled India to level the series with an emphatic 174-run win, but still the task of the Indians remains unfinished. The Kiwi attack might have looked pedestrian as Sachin and Dravid fired on all cylinders in Hyderabad, but no team in an international match can be taken lightly. After their Test series defeat, the visitors had come back in the game gallantly handing out a 43-run defeat to India in the first match at Rajkot. Sachin said the team was “confident but not overconfident” and would go all out to win. “At moment we are focussed on how to win the match,” Tendulkar told reporters after the Indian team had a net session at the Roop Singh Stadium here. Basking under the glorious victory, the Indian skipper, however, in his post-match reactions clearly betrayed his aversion to experimentation at this stage. The Indian selectors though made changes in the team keeping in mind its 76-day tour down under beginning towards the fag end of the month, India’s frontline seamers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad have been rested while Devang Gandhi replaced an injured Sadagopan Ramesh. Srinath and Prasad were replaced by Tamil Nadu seamer Tirunavukkarasu Kumaran and Mumbai pacer Ajit Agarkar. Kumaran, a new face in the Indian side, found favour with the selectors after his 10-wicket haul helped the Rest of India drub defending champions Karnataka by an innings and 60 runs in the five-day Irani Trophy. He will also be in the flight to Australia as also Agarkar. Agarkar was last with the Indian team during the World Cup before injury forced him out. He had given a certificate of match fitness after bowling in a Time Shield match in Mumbai recently. Now it remains to be seen whether Kumaran would find himself ahead on either Debashish Mohanty or Agarkar as Sachin is likely to have only two seamers. “It is too early to comment on him (Kumaran). I observed him at the nets today, and need more time to comment,” Sachin said. In the batting line-up, the Indian skipper has little to decide on and Devang Gandhi, who had a successful stint as an opener in the Test series against the black caps, will have to cool his heels in the pavilion. The toss could prove vital in the final analysis and if making first use of the wicket, India should have no difficulty in putting up a formidable total with its top-order batsmen in good nick. Even under pressure of a target of 350, the Indians gave a fantastic chase to score 306 in the opening tie. “It looks nice and good to bat on,” Sachin said about the pitch. The toss would be “slightly important”, he said. “The bowlers will have a bit of advantage in the early hours. If it is a batting track, that does not mean it has nothing for the bowlers,” he said. In Hyderabad, the visitors sorely missed fast medium bowler and useful bat Dion Nash who is down with back injury. There were too many loose and wayward deliveries for the Indians to score off with Elan. Skipper Stephen Fleming has to stem this rot to make a match of it. Absence of Nash and non-availability of key batsman Craig McMillan for the entire one-day series has been a big blow to the team. “We did not bowl too well in the previous match,” Fleming said and added that he was looking forward to come back in the series. He indicated some changes but refused to divulge the composition of his team. The tourists do not have outstanding cricketers like Sachin, but their one-day specialists Roger Towse, Chris Harris, Chris Cairns and Nathan Astle could still make all the difference on their day. Daniel Vettori is also capable of spinning the wit out of the rivals if the track offers reasonable turn. Curator of the ground Sanjeev Agarwal expects the track to be ideal for stroke-making as in the past. “However, the moisture in the morning could help the seamers a bit,” he adds that the lush green outfield is also expected to be fast to the advantage of the batting side. Teeams: India (From): Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Vijay Bharadwaj, Robin Singh, M.S.K. Prasad, Nikhil Chopra, Anil Kumble, Debashish Mohanty, Sunil Joshi, Devang Gandhi, Ajit Agarkar and T. Kumaran. New Zealand (From): Stephen Fleming (captain), Craig Spearman, Nathan Astle, Roger Twose, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Shayne O’Connor, Chris Drum, Gary Stead and Matthew Horne. Umpires: K. Parthasarthy and S.K. Gupta Third umpire: Sudhir Asnani. Match refree: Ranjan
Madugulle (Sri Lanka). |
Time to try out youngsters: Sachin GWALIOR, Nov 10 (PTI) — Skipper Sachin Tendulkar said tomorrow’s match gave the right opportunity for the team management to try out young pacemen — Mumbai’s Ajit Agarkar and Tamil Nadu’s T. Kumaran ahead of the tough tour of Australia starting later this month. “They are talented guys and have been selected for Australia. They have not got any chance to play competitive cricket and hence tomorrow would be crucial for them to prove themselves,” Tendulkar told reporters after nets here ahead of tomorrow’s third one-day tie against New Zealand. Tendulkar, who scored his highest one-day total of 186 not out, said the team was confident of maintaining its winning form, but was cautious. “We cannot be overconfident as New Zealand is a good team and knows how to bounce back”. India has a good record at this stadium, winning four of the six encounters it has played here. The home team lost the inaugural match at the Roop Singh Stadium against the West Indies in 1988 and another last year against Kenya. Tendulkar was confident the reverse against Kenya would not be repeated and said he had full faith in his team’s batting. “The wicket is full of runs and I don’t see any problem for our batsmen to score on this flat pitch,” Tendulkar said. “It’s a good track for batting,” he added. Tendulkar gave a hint of worry for India when he announced that Ajay Jadeja was suffering from a sore throat. “He is fine otherwise, but it’s just the thing that happens and you can’t do anything about it,” Tendulkar said. Asked to comment on the performance of Kumaran at the nets, Tendulkar said: “He has to work hard, but it’s too early to comment. I have seen him bowling only today.” Indian coach Kapil Dev was also confident of putting up a good show tomorrow despite starting with new pace bowlers. “They are working hard and I don’t see any problem for us though we are minus our seasoned (Javagal) Srinath and (Venkatesh) Prasad. About the batsmen-friendly pitch, the former all-rounder retorted: “It’s nothing new in India. Pitches have been like that and bowlers have been taking wickets. “Whatever wicket they give us, we’ll play on it and try and win the matches.” Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming said the team management was re-thinking its bowling strategy. “We’re looking at the things that we didn’t do in the last two matches. We have to rework the strategy to come back into the series,” he said. Fleming was happy with the wicket and thought it was a batsman’s paradise and bowlers would have to work hard on it. Following their
humiliating loss in Hyderabad, the visitors were also
considering changes in the team. “We are considering
changes in the team and we will arrive at the playing
eleven tonight, he said. |
Saqlain likely to replace Mushtaq BRISBANE, Nov 10 (AFP) — Pakistani wrist spinner Mushtaq Ahmed is unlikely to make another appearance during the three-Test cricket series against Australia. Mushtaq, formerly one of the world’s most feared slow bowlers, had a wretched first Test finishing with just 3-214 from 40 overs.He was also struck a sickening blow to his private parts while batting late on day one. Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said he had faith in his side and did not anticipate wholesale changes following Australia’s 10-wicket win at the Gabba.But unless Mushtaq takes a bag of wickets against South Australia this weekend, he seems certain to make way for Saqlain Mushtaq.“Mushy didn’t have a good game but hopefully Saqlain will be fit for the next game so he will come back into the side,” Akram said. Saqlain is taking time
to recover from knee surgery he underwent after a very
successful season with English county Surrey.He took 58
wickets with his right arm off-spinners in only seven
games to top the first-class averages in England and
guide Surrey to their first title since 1971. |
Marshall’s funeral on Saturday BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Nov 10 (AP) — A galaxy of past cricket stars have said they plan to attend the funeral of West Indies fast bowling legend Malcolm Marshall in Barbados on Saturday. Marshall, 41, died in his native Barbados last Thursday from colon cancer. One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, his death shocked and saddened the cricket world and fans who ranged from heads of state to labourers. Clive Lloyd and Sir Viv Richards, the two captains under whom Marshall played most of his 81 tests between 1978 and 1991, will attend, local spokesmen said. Lloyd resides in England. Richards is in Mumbai. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, who formed the feared West Indies’ pace attack along with Marshall in the 1980s, will also attend, the spokesmen said. Former England batsman Robin Smith and Mark Nicholas, teammates with Marshall during his 14 seasons with the English county team Hampshire have both said they will fly from London for the occasion. Nicholas, now an international television commentator on the game, was Hampshire captain for most of Marshall’s time there. The funeral service will take place in Bridgetown at the 4,000-seat Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium, named after the Barbadian left-hander. The Rev. Wes Hall, himself a former West Indies fast bowling star, will conduct the service, Simmons said. Tributes continue to pour in daily for Marshall. Both of Barbados’ daily newspapers here announced they will publish special editions tomorrow commemorating Marshall’s career. Prime Minister Owen Arthur last week said Marshall’s death was the “most tragic moment in the life of West Indies cricket.” In 81 Test matches
between 1978 and 1991, Marshall took 376 wickets at an
average of 20.94 runs per wicket that is lower than any
of the other many outstanding West Indies bowlers. Until
37-year-old Jamaican Courtney Walsh surpassed his mark
last year, he had been the leading West Indies
wicket-taker in Tests. |
Fazaluddin stuns 4th seed Czech MUMBAI, Nov 10 (PTI) — Davis Cupper Syed Fazaluddin was the only Indian left in the fray after beating fourth-seeded Czech Radim Zitko, as top seed Prahlad Srinath went down to an unseeded Austrian in the men’s singles quarter-finals of the $ 25,000 ITF Satellite Master tennis circuit here today. In the last singles match of the day, Fazaluddin ousted Zitko 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes after Srinath was shown the door by Zbynek Mlynarik, who won 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 in one hour and 44 minutes. The two other Indians among the last eight too bowed out, Delhi-based Vishal Uppal going down fighting to second-seeded German Thomas Messmer 6-2, 4-6, 2-6 in one hour and 37 minutes, and Pune-based Rohan Bopanna losing in straight sets to American third seed Tom Chicoine 1-6, 3-6 in 53 minutes. Fazaluddin, trailing 1-4 in the third set,made a magnificent recovery to oust Zitko. The Indian dropped his serve in the fifth game of the first set but broke his rival in the sixth. The players held serve for the next four games before Fazaluddin again dropped his serve. He played some breathtaking passing shots on either flank to break Zitko and force the tie-break. In the tie-break, Zitko took a 6-2 lead and never looked back, winning the last three points in a row. In the second set, Fazaluddin tightened his game, and with breaks in the fifth and seventh games, won 6-2. In the decider, the Indian dropped his serve in the fourth game and was trailing 1-4 after Zitko held his serve in the fifth game. However, the Indian fought back to break his rival in the seventh and ninth games and served out the set and the match at 6-4. Fazaluddin served as many as six aces, while Zitko fired just one. Both the players had a double fault each. In the Uppal-Messmer match, the former looked all set for yet another upset win with the German serving erratically. The Indian broke Messmer in second, sixth and eighth games to win the first set 6-2 after the German sent down four double faults. In the second too, the German was finding it difficult to serve and made four double faults. However, he managed to win the important points after breaking Uppal in the first game. Uppal broke Messmer in the fourth game but failed to hold his own in the next. He again broke the German in the eighth game but dropped his serve in the ninth and went on to lose the set 4-6. In the decider, Uppal lost his rhythm, dropping his serve in the fifth and seventh games. He served as many as three double faults to Messmer’s one in the final set to lose the set, and with it the match, 2-6. In the Srinath-Mlynarik match, the Indian led 3-1 after breaking his opponent in the third game and holding his own serve in the fourth. He increased the lead to 4-2 after holding his serve in the sixth game, but was broken in the eighth to be four-all. In the tie-break, the Austrian won four points in a row after taking a 3-2 lead to win 7-2. In the second set, the tall Indian was totally off colour and served and returned poorly. He won only the first game on his serve and lost tamely. The semi-finals will begin tomorrow at 4.30. Third seed Vishal Uppal and Mustafa Ghouse bagged the doubles title with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over fourth seeds Prahlad Srinath and Syed Fazaluddin. Uppal and Ghouse, who had also won the first leg, proved to be a superior pair in a match that lasted an hour and 10 minutes. They won the first set with a break in the sixth game to set up an exciting contest. Games went with serve in the second set but not until the winners survived a few hiccups in the 10th game when Uppal, trailing 4-5, had to save two set points to draw level. Results (men’s
singles) quarter-finals: Thomas Messmer (Ger) b Vishal
Uppal (Ind) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, Zbynek Mlynarik (Aut) b
Prahlad Srinath (Ind) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, Syed Fazaluddin
(Ind) b Radim Zitko (Cze) 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4, Tom
Chicoine (USA) b Rohan Bopanna (Ind) 6-1, 6-3. |
JCT pip AI, move into semifinal MUMBAI, Nov 10, (UNI) — Jagjit Cotton Textiles (JCT) of Phagwara today entered the semifinal of the Rovers Cup Football Tournament here with a hard-fought solitary goal win over Air-India at the Cooperage. JCT with a big three-goal win over Dhaka’s Mohammedan Sporting in its opening league encounter, needed a draw but were very aggressive in the first half and then adopted a defence-and-sudden-attack tactic with success as it brought a goal in the 78th minute of the game. Harinder Singh, who had done nothing worth while except foul play — for which he got a yellow card — gave a piercing back pass to Sukhjit who promptly despatched it into the goal. The goal marred the brilliant display of Partha Das under the bar. He must have saved at least three goals particularly in the first half when JCT had swarmed the Air India box in the initial minutes. First Jaswant Singh sent a bullet shot which was parried by Das at full stretch on the sideways in the 10th minute. Eight minutes later Sukhjit was thwarted by him and later he dived in time to pluck the ball from Hardip’s feet. Air-India also had two
opportunities when Anthony Fernades miskicked and in the
36th minute Herbert Phillips got cross legged when
Godfrey Perreira centred just near the goal. |
HPU spikers win KURUKSHETRA, Nov 10 (UNI) — Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, beat Maharshi Dayanand University Rohtak, by 20-25, 25-13, 31-29 and 25-10 in a keenly contested match on the second day of the North-Zone Inter University Volleyball (men) Tournament in the Kurukshetra University sports complex here today. In another tough match of the day Jammu University defeated Lucknow University 22-25, 25-15, 25-12 and 25-15. Delhi University trounced Rohilkhand University, Bareily, 26-24, 25-19 and 25-14. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, beat Kumaon University, Nainital, 25-16, 25-9 and 25-13 while Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, defeated Gurukul Kangri University, Hardwar, 25-22, 25-14 and 25-13. Kumaon University beat Allahabad University by 25-21, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-15. Lucknow beat Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 25-15, 25-19, 24-26 and 25-9. MD University, Rohtak, got walk over against Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, New Delhi. CCS Meerut University trounced Aligarh Muslim University by 25-11, 25-12 and 25-9 in a one-sided match. Host Kurukshetra University defeated BRA University, Agra, by 25-15, 25-4 and 25-21. PTU, Jalandhar beat
Thaper Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala,
by 25-7, 25-9 and 25-9. |
Himachal Pradesh boy puts Hanif
to shade CHAMBA: Rajeev Nayyar of this Himachal town has broken the world record of staying the longest at the wicket in first-class cricket. The record was set by Hanif Mohammad of Pakistan 40 years ago. Rajeev stayed at the wicket for more than 1017 minutes in a Ranji match against Jammu and Kashmir here when he scored 270 runs. Pakistan’s legendary opening batsman, famed for his impeccable technique, insatiable appetite for runs and above all, his deep concentration had batted 970 minutes in a famous rearguard action which saw his team draw the first Test against West Indies at Bridgetown in January, 1958. Hanif scored 337, then the second highest individual score in Test cricket behind Len Hutton’s 364. His innings stretched from the third evening when Pakistan followed on, 473 runs behind, to the sixth evening when the match was virtually safe. No one had come anywhere near overhauling the time Hanif had taken at the crease and it remained the longest individual innings in first class cricket — till Wednesday. Rajiv Nayyar, the Himachal Pradesh captain batted 1015 minutes in scoring 271 in his team’s drawn match against Jammu and Kashmir in the North Zone Ranji Trophy league game at Chamba. Incidentally, Chamba is the 31-year-old right hander’s birthplace. Nayyar’s innings began on the second morning of the four-day game. J&K were all out for 249 just before close of play on the opening day. Nayyar entered when the first wicket fell at 39 in the 11th over. With Nishal Gaur (69), Nayyar added 146 runs for the second wicket off 66.4 overs. Gaur batted patiently for 312 minutes and faced 227 balls, hitting six fours. At close of play, Himachal Pradesh were 219 for three with Nayyar batting on 89. Incidentally both Nayyar and Gaur had scored centuries against J&K last season. On the third day, Himachal continued to score runs slowly and Nayyar symbolised this. He batted the whole day for 81 runs raising his score to 170 and the team’s total to 407 for six. By now he had already batted over 11 hours. His century incidentally was his 13th in the national competition in his 61st match (113 innings). On the final day, Nayyar had two options. One was to declare and try for an outright victory. The second was to go for more personal records. He chose the latter and soon became the first Himachal batsman to get a double hundred. Wickets fell steadily at the other end but Nayyar just continued batting, put 250 behind him until finally his marathon knock ended when he was ninth out at 552 in the 250th over of the innings. He was bowled by Kanwaljit Singh for 271 for which he batted 1015 minutes — 16 hours, 55 minutes. He faced 728 balls and hit 26 fours and a six. His innings lasted almost three full days. Shortly afterwards the Himachal innings ended at 567 after 255.2 overs. In the remaining time, J&K scored 16 for one in five overs. Rajeev has been playing in Ranji matches since 1986. Till date he has completed 4550 runs with 15 centuries and 40 half centuries in first class matches. Rajeev was given the chance to play for the North Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 1996 for the first time and he scored 108 not out against East Zone. Last year also he represented North Zone in the Duleep Trophy when he scored 90 runs against East Zone and 58 and 48 runs against Central Zone. In 1998, he was the second highest run-getter in first-class up to Ranji league matches when he scored 454 runs with two unbeaten centuries. Rajeev Nayyar has been
awarded the Parushram Award which is the highest award in
sports in Himachal Pradesh by the Himachal Government.
Rajeev’s father, Major S.C. Nayyar, led the
inaugural Ranji team for Himachal Pradesh. |
Lyallpur lads storm into semis NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (UNI) — Lyallpur Khalsa Sr Sec School, Jalandhar, today joined Birsamunda Vidyapitha, Rourkela, in the semi-finals of the 17 Nehru Sub-Junior Hockey Tournament. In a pool II match today, Jalandhar lads beat Birsamunda Vidyapitha 5-2 to head the pool. They are followed by boys from Birsamunda Vidyapitha. Joga Singh put Jalandhar team in lead through a penalty stroke conversion in the 12th minute. Birsamunda’s Manoj Kiro equalised in 29th minute. In the second half, in reply to Jalandhar team’s four goals Birsamunda managed to score just one to complete the scorecard. In another pool II match Khalsa Academy, Amritsar, beat Paradise Academy, Imphal, 4-3. Harmit Singh, who scored
twice, Manjeet Singh and Gurnam Singh who scored once
were the scorers for Amritsar team. Thokchom Tompok (2)
and Kaisham Hara (1) were the scorers for Paradise
Academy. |
Feroz leads the field with
7-under FARIDABAD, Nov 10 — The top three players in the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour Order of Merit —Feroz Ali (Calcutta), Amritinder Singh (Chandigarh) and Mukesh Kumar (Mhow) showcased the form that has taken them to the top when they occupied the top three places on the leaderboard after the first round of the Rs 5 lakh Tiger Sports Marketing Open at the Aravalli Golf Club course today. At the 6,129 yard, par-72 course, Feroz led the field with a seven-under 65, while Amritinder and Mukesh were a stroke behind at six-under 66 each. A number of good cards were submitted and Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh was fourth at five-under 67. Twice player of the Year Vijay Kumar was fifth at three-under 69, while twice Indian Open champion Ali Sher was a further stroke behind at two-under. Feroz, who had begun with a 65 but finished tied for the seventh place eventually during last month’s Shell-Aravalli Open at the same venue, was not amused by the coincidence. “This has been my story for the last few tournaments even in the Hero Honda Masters, I started brilliantly, but could not maintain my form. I hope I will do something different here. The field is so strong this week that if I win, I will remember it for long,” said the 1998 Wills Indian Open champion. The Color Plus Open champion was hitting the ball superbly as he made 17 greens in regulation. His only bogey came on the 14th. Feroz started with birdies on the first two holes and then built on the good start by finishing the day with a total of six birides and an eagle. The cagles came on the par-5 12th where he hit a driver and a four-iron to six feet and made the putt. In fact, he could have finished at eight under but missed a straightforward three-footer birdie putt on the 18th hole. Amritinder, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied with his round. He made a bogey on the second hole where he pushed his tee shot into the trees and later produced a bad chip and failed to make the par putt. “That was the only bad chip I hit throughout the day. My short game was very good today and I needed only 21 putts to complete the found. But that if no great shakes as I made only 8 greens in regulation and had to chip from the fringe on many occasions,” he said after completing his round in style with a birdie-birdie finish. In all, the 28-year-old pro had seven birdies. Vishal Singh, winner of Shell-Aravalli Open, had a disastrous round with two double bogies and finished seven-over 79. Gaurav Ghei, the 1997 Aravalli Open champion, finished two-over 74, while Arjun Singh was level-par 72 for the day. Simarjeet Singh led the amateurs with a one-under 71 round, the highlight. being two brilliant shots from the water hazard. Simarjeet made five birdies, one of which came from the hazard on the 8th hole. He also entered theater with his tee shot on the 10th, but made chipped out and made his up-and-down for par from there. Gaurav Kathuria was second at four-over 76. Scores: (after 18
holes): 65 Feroz Ali, Amritinder Singh, Mukesh Kumar, 67
Ranjit Singh, 69 Vijay Kumar, 70 Ali Sher, 71 Pappan,
Mohd Maqbool, Vikramjit Singh, Ramesh, Digvijay Singh, 72
Arjun Singh, KPS Sekhon, Amit Dube, Chini Ali: Ams: 71
Simarjeet Singh, 76 Gaurav Kathuria. |
Four Indians start campaign today TAIPEI, Nov 10 (UNI) — Four Indians, Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal and Amandeep Johl start their campaign in the 132 player field of the $ 1.3 million Johnnie Walker Classic in Taiwan tomorrow. Jeev, 50th on the final 1999 European tour rankings with over $ 25,000 in earnings has been invited by the sponsors. The other three Indians qualified on the basis of their ranking on the Davidoff Asian PGA tour. This is the first time that more than two Indians have qualified for this prestigious event. In 1998, Arjun Atwal and Jeev qualified when Atwal tied with Tiger Woods entering the final round and was paired with him as Woods went on to erase the eight stroke deficit for a historic win as Atwal finished 20th. The 1999 Johnnie Walker Classic is jointly sanctioned by the European, Australasian and Asian PGA tours and produces the strongest field of any golf championship in Asia. World No.1 Tiger Woods will make his first appearance in Asia this year as he comes off his fourth consecutive international victory following a sudden death playoff win in the $ 5 million Express World Golf Championship in Spain. The Indian quarter has won two of the last three events on the Asian PGA tour with Jeev winning the Lexus Invitational in Bangkok the week before Randhawa successfully defended his Hero Honda Masters title in Delhi. Last week Atwal finished third in the Sabah Masters in Malaysia. The four played a practice round yesterday and found the course in excellent condition and a good championship test. The greens were a little firm but the rough not very long making for exciting scores. Also headlining the
field are six time major winner Nick Faldo, South African
US Open champion Ernie Els, former US PGA champion Vajay
Singh, American Ryder Cup team star Jim Furyk, ranked
15th in the world currently and New Zealander Frank
Nobilo. |
Pioline to participate NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (PTI) — Former Wimbledon finalist Cedric Pioline of France will be one of the big stars who will be seen in action in the Gold Flake ATP Tennis Tournament to be held in Chennai next January. Pioline, renowned for his stylish approach and currently ranked number 12 in the world has confirmed his entry, tournament Director Shiela Maniam announced today. “I am very happy to come to India and I hope it will be good for me,” Pioline, 30, who has come up with a string of steady performances this year, has been quoted as saying. Pioline reached the US Open semifinal this year apart from making it to the Wimbledon quarterfinal. He also reached the last eight stage at Rotterdam, Scottsdale, Queens Club. Bracketed among those who has not won a Grand Slam despite considered to have immense potential, he has beaten stars like Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov, American Todd Martin, former world number one Carlos Moya of Spain, Briton Greg Rusedski and Dutch former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, a press release from the organisers said. Kafelnikov, the
defending Australian Open champion, will be among those
to be seen in action at the Chennai tournament, which has
been moved forward from its April slot to be held before
the first grand slam of the year. |
Hockey team announced BANGALORE, Nov 10 (PTI) — The Indian team for the November 18-28 Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lumpur was announced here yesterday by Indian Hockey Federation General Secretary K. Jothikumaran. The team: Goalkeepers: Jude Menezes (Mumbai), R.V.S. Prasad (Services). Fullbacks: Dilip Tirkey (Indian Airlines), Anurag Raghuvansi (UP), Dinesh Nayak (Tamil Nadu). Half backs: Baljit Singh (P.S.B), S.S. Gill (BPCL), Thirumalvalvan (Tamil Nadu), Ramandeep Singh (Punjab), Baljit Singh Saini (PSB), Bimallakra (Centre of Excellence), Shamsuz Zoha (UP). Forwards; Senthil (Tamil Nadu), Gagan Ajit Singh (Air-India), Deepak Thakur (Air-India), Dhanraj Pillay (Mumbai), Samir Dad (Indian Airlines) and Baljit Singh Dhillon (Punjab). Chief coach: V.
Baskaran. Doctor: Dr Rajiv Ahuja (SAI), Manager: K.
Jothikumaran |
Tele conference during one-dayers NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (UNI) — Doordarshan will telecast live a tele conference with at least one former cricketer during the India-New Zealand one-day matches on November 11, 14 and 17. The tele conference will
be telecast after the prize distribution ceremony. This
is in addition to the live interaction by Manoj Prabhakar
and K. Srikkanth. |
Cricket photos’ exhibition NEW DELHI, Nov 10 (UNI) — Cricket photographer Kamal Sharma is holding an exhibition of 2000 exclusive pictures at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground to coincide the final one-day international match between India and New Zealand. The exhibition will be opened for the media, officials and players on November 16 and 17 and for the public from November 18. Sharma has travelled
with the Indian teams to England, Toronto, Sharjah,
Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. |
Haryana beat HP CHAMBA, Nov 10 — In North Zone U-19 Cooch Behar tournament today Haryana beat Himachal by innings and 56 runs. Haryana resumed their innings with 123 for 3. Ishan Ganda scored 120 runs with 10 fours and one six as the side declared their innings at 266 for 6 and asked Himachal to bat with a lead of 150 runs. Himachal started badly and at one stage they were 20 for 4. Pankaj Kapoor saved the team from total collapse scoring 31 runs. Himachal were all out for 94 runs. Scores: Himachal: 116 and 94 all out. Haryana: 266 for 6
declared. Ishan Ganda 120, Parween 37, Anuj 23, Ajay
Partap 2 for 42, Shvinder 2 for 65, Pankaj Kapoor 2 for
46. |
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BSF defeat Air-India JALANDHAR, Nov 10 (FOSR) — Air-India, Mumbai, began their campaign in group-I on a disappointing note by losing their opening match to holder Border Security Force, Jalandhar, in the 16th Indian Oil Surjit Memorial Stadium Burlton Park, Jalandhar, here. In other matches of the day in group-II, Punjab Police Jalandhar got the better of Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, by a 4-2 margin while last years runners-up Punjab and Sind Bank, Delhi, chalked out a facile 4-0 win over Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala. In the first match of the second day in group-I between Air India, Mumbai, and last year champion BSF was an absorbing affair. Both dished out good fast and challenging hockey. Both the teams exhibited mobility in their attacks and their speedy moves and accurate passes made the exchange brim with life. The security men started the proceedings with a beautiful move in 16th minute from the right flank. Their inside left Peter Tirkey received ball. He made a fine solo effort and dodged past the rival deep defender international Anil Aldrin who blocked him intentionally which made umpire Satinder Sharma award a penalty corner in favour of security men. This penalty corner was taken indirectly and their penalty corner expert N. Kulu, after receiving the ball on the top of the striking circle, gave a nice pass to their unmarked international outside left Harbhajan Singh who made no mistake to ahead his team (1-0). Down by a goal, the Airmen never felt demoralised. Rather, they kept their cool and went on attacking the security men custodian relentlessly though they failed to create any dent. They earned two penalty corners in 9th and 25th minutes but could not make use of them. But their constant efforts yielded result in the 27th minute when their forward international Davinder Kumar found the mark (1-1). They kept up their pressure on the BSF, but the latter too, faced the challenge with grit and determination. They shut all the doors to advancing BSF till lemon break. Both the teams were locked 1-1 draw. After changing over, BSF reorganised themselves. They initiated a move in the 40th minute when Shinu Herenz, outside, right, gave a pass to centre forward Saday Minz who sent a measured pass to Harbhajan near the striking circle who was totally unmarked. However, securitymen again took the lead in the 43rd minute when their outside left Harbhajan Singh dribbled past defenders and shot home (2-1). Punjab Police triumph JALANDHAR, Nov 10 (FOSR) — International players of Punjab Police Parminder Singh, Gagnesh Kumar and Tejinder Singh ‘Sunny’ stole the show against West Bengal on the opening day of the Federation Cup basketball championship at the PAP Sports Complex, Jalandhar Cantonment, here yesterday. The championship was conducted under floodlights. In the women’s section Andhra Pradesh beat host Punjab by 73-50. In men’s section Indian Bank, Madras, beat Vijaya Bank, Bangalore by 52-37. The winner were leading by 24-13 till the half time. Army team defeated South Center Railway, Hyderabad by 62-50. Armymen were leading by 38-19 till the half time. In the women’s section Andhra Pradesh beat host Punjab by 73-50. Andra Pradesh team was leading was leading by 36-28 till the half time. Indian Railway for the better of Madhya Pradesh by 68-28. GND college clinch hockey crown LUDHIANA, Nov 10 (FOSR) — The local Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College outplayed Guru Teg Bahadur Engineering and Technology College, Malout, 2-1 to win the third Punjab Technical University Inter-college Hockey Tournament at the GND Engineering College ground here today. Ludhiana chess LUDHIANA, Nov 10 (FOSR) — The Ludhiana District Chess Association will organise Big-Ben Open District Chess Championship here at the Christian Medical College on November 13 and 14. This tournament will be played on Swiss-league basis in senior and junior categories. Seven players from senior category will be selected during the championship to represent Ludhiana on the forthcoming Punjab-B Chess Championship. This was informed by Dr R. Chawla, general secretary, Ludhiana District Chess Association. Jalandhar enter final PATIALA, Nov 10 (FOSR) — Jalandhar by virtue of their 153-run first innings lead beat Bathinda to enter the final of the inter district match for the M.L. Markan Trophy (U-16) here today. Scores: Jalandhar (Ist innings): 333 for 9 in 90 overs. Bathinda (Ist innings):
180 all out (Imanveer 51 n.o., Ranjeet 49, Sunil 23,
Manjeet 20, Rajesh Kumar 5 for 47, Ishan 2 for 30,
Gurinder 2 for 60). |
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