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Thursday, November 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Rahul Dravid likely to stay on as opener Time for John Wright to deliver ICC name umpires for England Tests |
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Aussies favourites to win, says Fleming Brisbane, November 7 New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming has admitted his team has little hope of beating Australia in their three-Test series starting at the Gabba in Brisbane tomorrow.
Air-India beat EME, enter quarterfinals Irina Brar leads
by one stroke Dharmani’s ton rescues Punjab Shafiq Khan helps Haryana reach 282 for 8 HP all out for 145 Punjab 278 for 8 PU eves win
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Rahul Dravid likely to stay on as opener Bloemfontein, November 7 There has been a pressing need for another specialist opener, a quality wicket-keeper batsman, an all-rounder and better firepower in bowling and this defeat has only highlighted the shortcomings once again. The team has swung between experiments and makeshift solutions in the opening slot till one half of the problem was solved by Orissa’s Shiv Sunder Das. Unfortunately, cricket laws don’t permit him to bat from both ends. Not since the days of Farookh Engineer and Syed Kirmani has India produced a wicketkeeper who is both stylish and dependable with the bat as illustrated by the fact that in the last 12 years, only one century has been scored by an Indian stumper. India’s bowling is still so reliant on its ageing seniors that an Anil Kumble or a Javagal Srinath has to bowl 50 and 33 overs and plough a lonely furrow at the opposition. But for once in Bulawayo in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe and then here on the first day, Indian batting has not lasted for more than six hours abroad in the last couple of years despite the presence of three batsmen who are rated among the best in business in international cricket. There is added ammunition for critics now that captain Sourav Ganguly is leaving for home tomorrow to be with his wife and newly born baby girl in Kolkata to return on November 12, in the middle of the four-day game at East London, the only first class match before the second Test. Ganguly’s departure could be seen as dereliction of duty and abandoning of his men at this hour of crisis on a foreign tour by those gunning for his head. For those who choose to have a humane view of it, it is a reflection on how the personal lives of a modern cricketer has been stretched to the breaking point because of endless cricket. Ganguly sought and obtained permission from the cricket board for this visit and despite his two failures in identical fashion against short-pitched deliveries in the Test, it seems the skipper does not think he needs any batting practice ahead of the second Test. All indications point to Rahul Dravid opening the innings for the remainder of the series, an issue forced upon on the Indians because of overflowing middle order now that Virender Sehwag can’t be touched after his brilliant hundred on debut. Dravid, despite his avowed stance to stand by team in crisis, looks not quite comfortable opening the innings but he better start learning to live the life of an opener now that he has been pushed into a corner because of the circumstances. One of the solutions for the Indians could be to make some wholesome changes and then stick by them. Radical issues need radical solutions, a policy adopted by coach Bobby Simpson for Australia in the 1980s when the team lost a number of series for years before making a turnaround in the 1987 World Cup and improving to the point that they are now rated as the world’s best. Indeed, six of the players who played the final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, including Sadgopan Ramesh, Hemang Badani, Mohammad Kaif, Sairaj Bahutule, Harbhajan Singh and Venkatesh Prasad, did not play in this match for various reasons but then chosen solutions are never persisted with. The team management has now declared that Harbhajan Singh is fit for the next Test but there is still a cloud over Mumbai stumper Sameer Dighe who has stretched his back muscle. Dighe is going for an MRI scan this afternoon. Also the team management briefly toyed with the idea of having an expert give a lecture on fitness and mental discipline to the boys this evening but later the idea was shelved. It is also more or less certain that Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh along with Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar will form the bowling bench of Indians in the second Test.
PTI
Bloemfontein, November 7 |
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Time for John Wright to deliver Chandigarh, November 7 Of late India’s performance abroad has come under a lot of criticism, specially after they lost to Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe and then to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka before this defeat at Bloemfontein. It is no use being near invincible at home and then crashing to mediocre opposition abroad Mind you, the South African bowling, without Allan Donald, was the weakest in 10 years, according to experts. The only international class bowler in the South African team was Shaun Pollock and look at the devastation he caused. Sometimes the batsmen have been blamed for the defeat and sometimes it is the bowlers who have taken the blame. But shouldn’t the Indian team as a whole be blamed for the defeat on Tuesday? But more than the defeat the selection of the team should be questioned, specially after cricket coach John Wright admitted in a post-match press conference that India made a mistake by not playing Harbhajan Singh in the match. Does it mean that Harbhajan was fit but was declared unfit prior to the match due to reasons other than cricket. Or does it mean that that the Punjab spinner, for whatever reasons, did not have the confidence of the tour selection committee. (It has now been informed that Harbhajan has fully ‘‘recovered’’ and will be able to play in the second Test.) The selection of the Indian playing eleven can be faulted on more than one count. In batting the team went into the match without a regular opener and Rahul Dravid was pushed up the order to accommodate an extra batsmen (not that it made any difference). And on the bowling front a bowler like Ajit Agarkar was ‘‘rested’’ and two players who had not played in the one-day series, Asish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, were played although both looked rusty whenever they bowled. This was not the first time that the team selection had gone wrong during the current tour of South Africa. One must remember that after India lost the first one-dayer to South Africa skipper Saurav Ganguly had admitted to the media that Harbhajan should have been played in the match. And it must be recollected that with the induction of Harbhajan in the playing eleven India’s performance went up by a couple of notches in the one-day tri-nation series. Therefore does John Wright’s admission mean that the selection of the team was not correct? It is time for John Wright to take some of the blame for India’s string of poor performances in the recent past. For how long will the cricket coach be learning from defeats? The Board of Control for Cricket in India is paying a very hefty salary to the New Zealander and now it is about time that he started earning his salary. He has to deliver and how he does it is his problem. And it must again be recalled that certain functionaries of the board are not too happy on the huge payments being made to the cricket coach. The message to Wright must be sent loud and clear: either deliver or make way for somebody else. Cricket coaches are not difficult to replace. |
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ICC name umpires for England Tests Mumbai, November 7 Bucknor and former Test off-spinner S. Venkatraghavan will officiate in the first test in Mohali from December 3 to 7 while Robinson and former Karnataka all rounder A. V. Jayprakash will be the umpires for the second Test to be played at Ahmedabad from December 11 to 15, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI here
today. PTI |
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Aussies favourites to win, says Fleming Brisbane, November 7 While the Australians have been at pains to convince everyone within earshot that it is shaping up as a close series, the Kiwi captain said the reality was everything pointed to an Australian win. “Statistically wise we don’t match up. That’s being realistic,’’ Fleming said. “All the statistics add up to we’re not going to be there.’’ Fleming’s frank assessment of his team’s prospects was consistent with what most experts expect to happen over the next month. The Kiwis have not won a Test in Australia in 16 years and were beaten 3-0 when they last played the Australians at home in 2000. The Australians, by contrast, have gone from strength to strength in recent years, winning series after series and setting records along the way. They have a powerful batting lineup without any obvious weaknesses, a deadly bowling attack few sides can handle and a great record at the Gabba, one of the bounciest wickets in Australia.
Reuters |
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Punjab’s no to IOA meeting Chandigarh, November 7 Though the host state suggested Chandigarh as an alternate venue, the IOA is reported to have shifted the meeting to the union capital. The organising committee of National Games, preoccupied with making arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Games reportedly found it difficult to provide the required accommodation to the visiting general house members of the apex sports body of the country and offered either to host the meeting in Chandigarh or at Ludhiana on a later date. The IOA, the reports said, wanted the general house meeting as senior administrative officials of most of the National Sports Federations (NSFs) would be in Punjab to oversee the conduct of the Games. Meanwhile, a final decision about the ceremonial kit of the nearly 700-strong host state squad is yet to be taken. Sources said that though a decision was taken at Ludhiana that Punjab participants would take part in the opening ceremony in their track suits, a review of this decision is likely as it may create a “bad impression”. Normally, there is a special prize for the best turnout at the opening ceremony march past and attiring of the entire squad in casuals may have put the home squad straightway out of contention. Further, athletes were unhappy with the decision of the organisers. They said a lot of money was being spent on the conduct of the Games while they were being deprived of their rightful due, they felt. Another argument given was that if the OCNG could spend Rs 16 lakh on fireworks display at the opening or closing ceremonies, why it could not attire the state squads with headgear, decent blazers, neck ties, dress shirts, trousers and shoes. In fact, time is running out. Intriguingly, no one is sure about the exact strength of the home squad. The 700 figure is based on rough calculations. The hosts , it means, are yet to furnish a complete list of participants to the Director of Competitions. No decisions have been taken yet about the flag-bearer and the athlete who will take the oath on behalf of the participants. Mr M.S. Bhullar, Director-General of Police, Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar, will be the Chef-de-Mission of the Punjab squad. In Ludhiana his deputy will be the city Mayor, Mr Opinder Singh Grewal. In fact, the Mayor was entrusted, at the November 4 meeting, to organise track suits and running shoes for the entire Punjab squad. |
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Accommodation plan goes haywire Patiala, November 7 The Organising Committee of National Games
(OCNG) had planned to accommodate technical delegates in hostels of NIS and government guest houses. However, the NIS authorities are now looking for alternative arrangements as the AAFI has announced a national camp for 118 athletes and 35 coaches in preparation for the Pusan Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Track and Field Meet all of which are scheduled to be held next year. This announcement has caught the NIS authorities unawares as arrangements to host technical delegates in all the five hostels of the institute, including the women’s hostel, were almost complete. Out of the 1250-odd technical delegates expected for the games, 700 will be coming to Patiala which is hosting the maximum number of disciplines. Out of these 700 delegates, the OCNG had asked the NIS authorities to make arrangements to accommodate 450 delegates. Earlier, the OCNG had asked the NIS authorities to change the academic schedule of the Diploma in Sports Coaching course and some other courses to accommodate the technical delegates. At present, nearly 300 sportspersons are undergoing these courses and all of them are lodged in the NIS hostels. However, the authorities expressed their helplessness as a majority of the students have come from places as far as
Manipur, Assam and Kerala and it would not have been possible to change the academic schedule for just 20 days to accommodate the delegates. The NIS authorities are now working overtime to vacate SAI, Sports Training Centre
(STC) and the adjacent youth hostels. The AAFI has scheduled its national camp from November 8 and athletes are already trickling in the Institute. Junior national judo and the senior national women hockey camps are already in progress. However, the authorities have nothing to worry on this account as only a small number of campers are attending the judo camp, while the women hockey team is scheduled to leave for the USA on November 10 to play a three-Test series. |
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Games: Abhinav
to participate Chandigarh, November 7 “I have cut short my visit for participation in the National Games and I would love to shoot there as the Mohali range is very close to my home” said the champion. “I will resume the training at Germany after the games,” added Abhinav. The ace shooter has described the month-long training session at Germany with German coach Owe Rleaster, as a lively experience. “Things have worked much better than I expected. Uwe is a thorough professional and very committed to my success. He is also a good motivator,” says Abhinav. His physical training was done under the supervision of D. Munkhbayar, a Mongolian expert who also happens to be the current world champion in women’s air pistol and an Olympics medal winner. Abhinav is strictly following the guidelines of his overseas mentors and also stressing on strengthening his back muscles with special attention on increasing the endurance level. “I am working on the cardio-vascular system as my heart rate is high and I have to bring it down to normal in coming months. The lower the rate the lesser is the body movement while shooting”. |
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Air-India beat EME, enter quarterfinals Jalandhar, November 7 Air-India beat EME, Jalandhar, in a well-contested match 4-3, and Bharat Petroleum outclassed Punjab and Sind Bank Academy 3-1 in the men’s section. In the women’s section, RCF, Kapurthala, started with a win beating Uttranchal XI by 2-0, while Haryana XI demolished Surjit XI 5-0. Rail Coach Factory and Uttranchal XI fought well. RCF got the lead in the 23rd minute through a penalty corner, scored by Mohan Davinder. At half time RCF were leading 1-0. RCF girls were awarded two penalty corners in 42nd and 45th minutes but they were wasted along with a penalty stroke in 46th minute. In the 50th minute RCF girls increased the lead when Mohan Davinder scored her second goal. With this win RCF bagged three points. Haryana XI thrashed Surjit XI 5-0 in a one-sided match. Simarjit opened the account in the sixth minute or Haryana XI, Kiran Bala scored in the 22nd minute, Jaspreet scored two goals in the 28th and 40th minutes and Balwinder finally sounded the board the fifth in the 52nd minute. In the Men’s section, in pool ‘B’ Air-India, had a close match against EME. Both teams displayed fast and aggressive hockey. Air-India got an early lead, in the third minute, through a field goal by Kishore Kumar (1-0). In the 12th minute umpire Satinder Sharma awarded a penalty stroke to Air-India. Cornelius D’Costa made no mistake to covert it (2-0). In the 26th minute EME’s Kamleshwar Ram reduced the margin to (1-2) through their first penalty corner. In the 33rd minute Mumbai players struck again through Olympain Darryl D’Souza, converting a penalty corner (3-1). In very next minute EME’s Satya converted their third penalty to reduce the difference to (2-3). At lemon break Air-India led (3-2). In the 40th minute EME got the equaliser, as a penalty corner was converted by Mahesh Kumar 3-3. In the 51st minute Air-India struck the match-winning goal when Darryl D’Souza scored through a penalty corner. In the third match in pool ‘B’ between Bharat Petroleum, and Punjab and Sind Bank Academy, Bharat Petroleum took the lead in the 27th minute through Sandeep Somesh. At half time petroleum men led by a solitary goal. The second half saw some aggressive hockey by Bharat Petroleum. In the 58th minute, fullback Anurag Raguwanshi converted a penalty corner to make it 2-0. In the 64th minute PSB Academy narrowed the margin through a penalty corner by Domnik (1-3). |
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Irina Brar leads by one stroke New Delhi, November 7 Recounting her game, Parnita said she was “thrilled with her birdies on the 17th and 18th holes. My ball landed so close to the pin that it was almost a ‘given’ putt.” Anjali Chopra took the third position with another round of gross 75, while 13-year-old Nitika Jadeja had a nett score of 72. Nitika, who hails from Jaipur, will be one of the juniors to be watched for the next two days. This swimming champ, who represented her school in Rajasthan, took to golf one and a half years ago. She carded a nett 69 on the first day to head the quest for the Modi Trophy and Siel Junior Girls Trophy (nett-score). her score on the 2nd day was nett 72. Diminutive nine-year-old Tanya Wadhwa from DLF Golf Club is the youngest contestant. She stood third in the World Junior Golf in San Diego, California, earlier this year and it is hoped she will shine on the pristine expanse of the Delhi Golf Course. Other results: DLF Challenge Cup (best nett) over 2 days: Mandira Bhalla — 142, Parnita Garewal — 143, Sonavi Chopra - 143. Manavi Halvasiya — 173, Dona Prasad — 177 and Amrita Nath — 177. |
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Dharmani’s ton rescues Punjab Amritsar, November 7 Services after winning the toss asked Punjab to bat on the green top. Taking full advantage of the morning dew and the conditions ideal for swing bowling, Sudhakar drew the first blood, when he had Ravneet Rickey’s wicket off the third ball of his first over. Ravneet went forward to a full-length delivery from Sudhakar which bounced considerably and managed to take an easy catch at slips. Sudhakar generating a fair bit of pace and taking full advantage of the moisture-ridden wicket gave torrid time to home team. In the fourth over, Punjab’s skipper Vikram Rathore fell victim to Syed Jawed with just one run, caught by Yashpal in the slips. Munish Sharma faced a tough time and envetually was out to Sudhakar in his bid to defend. At this stage Punjab were tottering at 32 for three. Pankaj Dharmani and Yuvraj Singh came together and steadied the innings with a 124-run partnership for the fourth wicket. At lunch the home team were 97 for 3. Dharmani who had earlier hit a hundred against Himachal played aggrerssive innings of 106 studded with 17 hits to the fenceYuvraj who was playing his natural game fell victim to brilliant catch by wicketkeeper Sarabjit Singh off Sudhakar. Yuvraj scored 67 runs. With the departure of Dharmani, Ratinder Sodhi and Sandip Sawal added 41 runs to the total. Punjab (Ist innings): Ravneet c Jasbir b Sudhakar 0, Munish c Reddy b Sudhakar 7, Rathore c Yashpal b Jawed 1, Dharmani c Sarabjit b Pandey 106, Yuvraj c Sarabjit b Sudhakar 67, Mongia c Sarabjit b Jawed 11, Sodhi c and b Sudhakar 48, Sawal c Sarabjit b Sudhakar 17, Gagandeep c Sarabjit b Jawed 19, Vaneet not out 8, Babloo not out 0. Extras (3 byes, 5 leg bye, 5 no balls, 3 wides) 16. Total: 300/9 FOW: 1/1, 2/4, 3/32, 4/159, 6/196, 6/214, 7/244, 8/285, 9/292. Bowling:
Sudhakar 34-9-105-5, Syed Jawed 20-6-61-3, J.P. Pandey 18-3-61-1, Arun Sharma 18-2-65-0. |
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Shafiq Khan helps Haryana reach 282 for 8 New Delhi, November 7 For the hosts, all the six bowlers were among wickets with seamer Amit Bandhari and off-spinner Sarandeep Singh bagging two wickets each. Earlier, after being put in to bat by Delhi, Haryana openers Padamjeet Sehrawat (47) and Chetan Sharma (20) gave the team a decent start putting on a half century partnership. Delhi got the first breakthrough in the 17th over when Chetan snicked one to keeper Pradeep Chawla off seamer Amit Suman with the score at 57. Haryana woes were compounded as Bandhari struck a double blow sending back captain Parinder Sharma and well-settled Sherawat to leave them struggling at 79 for
three. PTI |
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HP all out for 145 Mandi, November 7 After winning the toss, Himachal elected to bat but lost wickets at regular intervals. Rajiv Nayyar, who remained unbeaten with 41 runs was the only batsman to face the hostile bowling with confidence while six batsmen failed to reach double figures. Openers Nischal Gaur and Sandeep Sharma were dismissed for 19 and 22 with score at 27 and 48 respectively, while Amit Sharma scored 14 runs. Jammu and Kashmir were 21 for the loss of wicket of opener Ranjeet Bali.
PTI |
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Punjab 278 for 8 Patiala, November 7 Brief scores: Delhi (Ist Innings): 196 all out Punjab (Ist Innings): 278 for 8 (Sumeet Sharma 98, Gaurav Chopra 31, Tarun Passi 38, Ishan Dogra 31,Gaurav Gambhir 33; Nitin 3 for 85, Kartik Bhatia 3 for 63). |
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PU eves win Kangra, November 7 The winner Panjab University and Raipur players were engaged in a neck and neck fight in the first quarter of the game with score at 18-16. Panjab Universiy players played at well-coordinated and aggressive game after the half time and attained seven-point lead at half time. Mandeep and Kamaljeet of Panjab University and Poonam Singh and Anju Lakra of Raipur University played well for their respective teams till end of the game. Mandeep scored 24 points whereas Kamaljt scored 22. Earlier Punjabi University, Patiala, defeated H.P. University by 13 points with final scores 49-36 for third and fourth positions. After half time Punjabi University players adopted an aggressive posture and won by 13 points. Suchma of Patiala University scored 22 points, while Uhsa of H.P. University scored 10 points. |
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