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Friday,
December 7, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Srinath, Sehwag back in
squad Post-tea spell was the ‘turning point’ Kumble happy to be back in
form Harbhajan gets
Rs 5 lakh |
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Dharam Singh cremated Gurmukh ousts Jaideep
Kohli India, Belgium to clash in opener Amanjot crashes out; Sunil in semis
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England
crash to defeat Chandigarh, December 6 And today the power of the Indian spinners was on full display at
the PCA Stadium in SAS Nagar as India carved out a comprehensive
10-wicket win over England in the first of the three-Test series with
more than a day to spare. This was India’s first Test win at this
venue.
The fact that the Indian spinners were able to do well on the PCA
Stadium strip which is among the fastest pitches in the country must
have rung alarm bells in the England camp as the next two Tests of the
current series, at Ahmedabad and Bangalore, will be played on strips
which are known to be more helpful to spinners. England will have to
do their homework, and do it quickly as the second Test commences on
December 11, if they hope to salvage some of their pride in the
remaining matches of the series. Otherwise the writing on the wall is
there for all to see. It is obvious that India will go for the kill in
an effort to sweep the series as they did the last time the Englishmen
were in India in 1992-93.
Bowling in tandem from either ends Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh
weaved circles around the England batsmen pulling them to their doom
one after another after debutant Tinu Yohannan, the first cricketer
ever from Kerala to play in the Indian team, had sent back the two
overnight openers, Mark Butcher and Marcus Trescothick.
Of the three Indian medium-fast bowlers who made their debut in the
match, it was Tinu Yohannan who was more impressive. Possibly one of
the fastest bolwers in contemporary Indian cricket, Yohannan was able
to maintain a perfect off-stump line as he made the odd ball move in.
This morning he first snared Butcher (18 runs, 127 minutes, 90 balls,
two fours) to pull him, only to be caught at square leg by substitute
fielder Jacob Martin with the England total reading 68 and 14 runs
later it was the turn of Marcus Trescothick (46 runs, 146 minutes, 95
balls, nine fours) to go, being caught at deep square by Iqbal
Siddiqui, while trying to hook Tinu. And with the departure of the two
England openers they had to rebuild the innings right from scratch.
However, they could never do so with wickets falling at more or less
regular intervals. It was only the fourth-wicket partnership between
Mark Ramprakash and Graham Thorpe which raised visions of a possible
England fightback. But once this pair was broken, by Kumble, there was
simply nothing England could do.
While it was known that Harbhajan Singh would prove troublesome for
the visiting batsmen, specially after his five-wicket haul in the
England first innings, the return to form of Anil Kumble, who ended
the match with six England second innings wickets under his belt, was
really welcome. This was the first time that these two Indian spinners
were operating in tandem on home pitches. Both obviously would like to
forget the South Africa experience as a bad dream. This series against
England might do a lot of good to their confidence.
Having missed competitive international cricket for nearly a year,
including the home series against Australia earlier this year where
the Punjab spinner had earned 32 wickets in three matches, after
undergoing a shoulder operation, Anil Kumble had failed to impress not
only in South Africa in the recently concluded tour but also when
England had batted for the first time in this Test. He did claim two
wickets for 52 but was a pale shadow of his former self, specially in
the early stages of the England innings. Even yesterday when England
batted for the second time Anil Kumble was finding it difficult to
find his rhythm.
But today Kumble was a player transformed. He used the bounce of
the pitch to great effect as the England batsmen had no answer to his
deliveries, specially in the post-lunch session in which he took five
of the seven England wickets that fell. While in the initial stages of
the England innings the Indian skipper opted for pace attack from one
end and spin from the other it was only when Harbhajan and Kumble
started operating in tandem that England wickets started falling at
regular intervals.
Even as Anil Kumble ended the England second innings with figures
of six for 81, Harbhajan also did not bowl badly, claiming two for 59.
While Anil Kumble was adjudged “Man of the Match” Harbhajan’s
name too must have been discussed by the adjudicator, specially since
it was he who broke the back of the England innings. Scoreboard England (1st innings): 238
India (1st innings): 469
England (2nd innings):
Butcher c sub (Martin) Trescothick c Siddiqui Hussain b Kumble 12
Thorpe c and b Kumble 62
Ramprakash lbw b Kumble 28
Flintoff c Ganguly b Kumble 4
White c Dasgupta b Harbhajan 22
Foster lbw b Harbhajan 5
Ormond b Kumble 0
Dawson b Kumble 11
Hoggard not out 0
Extras: (b10, lb13, nb3, w1) 27
Total: 235
FOW: 1-68, 2-82, 3-87, 4-159, 5-163, 6-196, 7-206, 8-207,
9-224.
Bowling: Yohannan 17-3-56-2, Siddiqui 8-3-16-0, Kumble
28.3-6-81-6, Harbhajan 24-9-59-2.
India (2nd innings):
Siddiqui not out 5
Dasgupta not out 0
Total: (for no wkt) 5
Bowling: Hoggard 0.2-0-5-0.
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Srinath, Sehwag back in
squad Chandigarh, December 6 Veteran new ball bowler Javagal Srinath, who was not considered for the first Test against the tourists after he was injured in the last match — an ‘‘unofficial ’’ test — of the South African tour, has returned to the team after submitting a fitness certificate to the BCCI. Also back in the team is Delhi’s Virender Sehwag, who is back in the squad after having served a one-match ban imposed by English match referee Mike Denness in the second Test against South Africa. Although not a member of the team, Sehwag was present at SAS Nagar as the 15th member of the Indian squad on a specific request of the BCCI president, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya. These two players have replaced Baroda batsman Jacob Martin and Railways allrounder Sanjay Bangar. Sanjay Bangar, who suffered a hamstring muscle injury while playing in the first Test, is likely to be out of action for 15 days and in effect will miss the next two Tests against the tourists. Martin was included in the team for the first Test after the ICC insisted that Virender would have to serve his one-match suspension even after he missed the ‘‘unofficial’’ Test against South Africa. The following is the squad for the second Test:
Saurav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Connors Williams, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Deep Dasgupta (wicketkeeper), Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Tinu Yohannan, Iqbal Siddiquie and Sharandeep Singh. The selection of Shiv Sunder Das ended speculation about an injury he suffered while fielding this morning. Shiv Sunder was hit on the back by a powerful Butcher shot and did not return for the field for the remaining part of the day. Speaking to the media, Chandu Borde said the selectors were satisfied with the performance of the new players. Asked it Shiv Sunder Das and Deep Dasgupta would continue to open for India, he said: ‘‘We don’t have any say in the batting order. It is decided by the captain.’’ He disclosed that the selectors did discuss the name of Punjab middle-order batsman Dinesh Mongia but the problem was where to adjust him in the squad. Mongia’s name was in the running as a possible replacement for Sehwag in the first Test before Martin was called as Mongia was playing in a Ranji Trophy tie. |
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Post-tea spell was the ‘turning point’ SAS Nagar, December 6 Asked whether the team would try to go for a 3-0 whitewash the skipper said it was nice to begin the series with a win, adding that efforts would be made to stay positive and play good cricket. “Lanky Tinu Yohannan bowled very well, getting us early breakthroughs. Siddiqui bowled a very good line and showed that he had big heart. Sanjay was a bit unfortunate to have sustained injury. Nevertheless, his batting looked good,” he commented when asked about the performance of the three debutants. About the spin duo he said they complimented each other well. With the wickets at the remaining two Test matches likely to be more spin friendly they were expected to do even better. Veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble, he said, was outstanding in the second innings. A lot of people felt he may not be as effective after the shoulder operation, but he proved it wrong with the excellent spell today. About the restriction imposed by him barring players from speaking to media he said the players had been asked not to speak to media during the Test match. After the Test they were free to talk to media. John Wright, Indian coach, said things did not go India’s way early on the first day. There was not much time to recover after a long journey from South Africa where the team did not have a good series. But Harbhajan’s spell gave the required momentum. About the possibility of wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta continuing as an opener in view of his outstanding performance as an opener, Wright said it was a fact that keeping wickets and opening batting was an extremely difficult job and not many batsmen have been able to do that. However, he agreed that Dasgupta batted very well. Dwelling on the predominantly off-side line bowled by the England bowlers, Wright said it was done in the recent tour of Zimbabwe also. It could be very frustrating for the batsman. But a great batsman that Sachin Tendulkar is he would find a way out. Happy with the selectors for blooding three new faces in the squad he stated that Kerala pacer, who looked like an athlete was supremely fit, was most impressive. It was good that there was competition among fast bowlers in the country, an area which has been a cause of concern for so long. The boys will have to work hard,” was the candid admission made by losing skipper Nassar Hussain. “We missed a couple of chances that came our way. You cannot afford to miss chances offered by players like Sachin, Dravid or Ganguly. Besides, our total of 278 in the first innings was not good enough. “Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble enjoyed the bounce that the wicket offered. We were troubled by that”. Hussain, however, had a word of praise for his bowlers, saying that they were inexperienced. Putting the ball at the right spot, they did not the strong Indian batting much liberty to score runs freely. He said most of the people had so far talked about the inexperienced bowling attack which was true. But the fact was that most of the England batsmen were inexperienced about the conditions here. Asked about the Indian spin duo who were primarily responsible for the early downfall of England batting Hussain replied that Anil Kumble and Harbhajan were fine bowlers. “England batsmen will have to learn and learn quickly. It’s more of a mental thing. There are areas which we can exploit and score runs and there are areas where we can’t. We will have to work this out.” About the left-arm spinner
Ashley Giles, who was left out of this Test Hussain revealed: “It is a touch-and-go affair. I had a chat with him yesterday. We’ll see what happens at the week-end. We are keen to have him back in the squad. But there is no point in rushing the things.” He praised off-spinner Richard Dawson who bowled well and took four wickets in the Indian first innings saying that he was a quick learner. About whether the strategy England had devised for the Indians worked Hussain said “ To some degree, yes, it worked. In batting it did not work much as our batsmen struggled. No excuse. We will have to work hard and learn quickly.” |
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Kumble happy to be back in
form SAS Nagar, December 6 “It was very frustrating to sit outside and watch the proceedings from the sidelines,” he said as he scripted an emphatic victory for India with a match haul of eight wickets and his dogged batting when coming in to bat as a nightwatchman he frustrated rival bowling attack for long making 37 runs. “I just wanted to bowl good line and length and maintain pressure on the batsmen. I got a wicket early which helped me a lot.” The genial leg-spinner said: “I felt confident when in the first Test during the recent tour of South Africa I was able to bowl 30-odd overs without any trouble. Though I did not take too many wickets, the performance gave me tremendous confidence.” About off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who took a five-wicket haul in the first innings to trigger off a collapse in the England batting, the Karnataka player said Harbhajan was very impressive. “It’s good to have somebody like him at the other end.” Pressed further about the Punjab off-spinner he stated that it was always good to have competition. Further, he said it was good for the team if two bowlers were well in tandem. He revealed that he was not facing any problem regarding his shoulder. Kumble had undergone a shoulder operation near a year back and was out of the squad since than. About the googly which more often than not leaves the batsmen clueless and fetched him so many wickets, Kumble said he was bowling this delivery for the past two to three years. “I usually try to mix up my deliveries. My idea is to create doubts in the minds of batsmen and take wickets.” Kumble also mentioned Tinu
Yohannan, who he said got early breakthroughs for the team. Kumble struck a nice rhythm today and looked like the Kumble of old who scripted so many victories for the country. With Harbhajan also bowling well and pace spearhead Srinath back in the squad, England should expect tougher days ahead. |
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Harbhajan gets
Rs 5 lakh SAS Nagar, December 6 Harbhajan, who bamboozled the mighty Australians in the three-Test series which helped India record 2-1 victory, was given the award by the Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen ( retd) J.F.R. Jacob during the prize distribution ceremony after India defeated England in the first Test by 10 wickets here today. Harbhajan, who struck a nice rhythm, troubled the mighty Australians with his spin. He went on to claim a record 32 wickets in the series. |
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Dharam Singh cremated Chandigarh, December 6 Wreaths were placed on the body on behalf of the Chandigarh Hockey Association by Mr A.S. Kohli and by the president of Rock Rovers Hockey Club, Mr J.S. Sandhu. Dharam Singh, a member of the Indian hockey team who won the gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, is among several distinguished sportsmen who have died unsung. Despite his achievements as player and coach, his contribution towards Indian hockey was overlooked. The modest Dharam Singh never hankered after awards, a quality which made him stand out from the rest. The bhog ceremony will be held on December 14 at the Sector 15 gurdwara at 12. 30 p.m. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal expressed profound grief over the said demise of Dharam Singh. Describing Dharam Singh as a distinguished sportsstar, Mr Badal said his contribution to sports will be ever remembered. The Chief Minister conveyed his heart-fell sympathies to the bereaved family. |
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Gurmukh ousts Jaideep
Kohli Sangrur, December 6 Third seed Mohammad Salim, also of PSEB, fell to Yogesh Chohan of Jalandhar in five 0-7, 8-6, 7-4, 7-1, 7-2. Yogesh, the junior Punjab champion, started well winning first game rather easily at 7-0. Salim, recovered to win the next two 8-6, 7-4. The match witnessed long rallies by both the players. Salim looked tired after winning his two games and Yogesh, talking full-advantage of this, forced Salim into making errors and to win the next two games and the match. In the women’s singles, top seed Nazma Parveen of Ludhiana along with second seed Saloni, Shahnaaz and Navita entered the semifinals. Nazma thrashed Yasmeen of Jalandhar 7-2, 7-1, 7-3 while Saloni defeated Manmeet, also of Jalandhar 8-6, 7-1, 7-0. Results ( men’s singles quarters): Rohan Kapur (PSEB) b Neeraj Bansal (Jal) 7-4, 7-0, 7-0; Yogesh (Jal) b Mohd. Salim (PSEB) 7-0, 6-8, 4-7, 7-1, 7-1; Gurmukh Singh (Ldh) b Jaideep Kohli (PSEB) 7-3, 4-7, 7-5, 7-5; Harish Chander (Ldh) b Ram Lakhan (PSEB) 8-6, 7-4, 7-5. Women: (singles quarters):
Nazma Parveen (Ldh) b Yasmeen (JAL) 7-2, 7-1, 7-3; Shahnaaz (Sgr) b Heena (Jal) 7-2, 7-1, 7-0; Navita (JAL) b Radha (Asr) 7-0, 7-0, 7-1; Saloni (Asr) b Manmeet (Jal) 8-6, 7-1, 7-0 Men (doubles): Rohan Jaideep (PSEB) b Ram Lakhan Ramanjit (Jal) 7-4, 4-7, 7-3, 1-7, 7-4; Neeraj Manish (Jal, Pta) b Touseef Harinder (Sgr/Pta) 5-7, 7-1, 4-7, 7-3, 7-4. |
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India, Belgium to clash in opener Kuala Lumpur, December 6 The tag of being favourites never sat easy on the Indian hockey team. Bukit Jalil Stadium may be the venue the Indian team consider their own as they play a minimum of three tournaments here every year apart from Test matches, but they have never ever lived up to the hype they as a team generate among hockey fans here. But yet again they start favourites and are expected to cut across the challenge of Belgium in the very first match. The Indian team, training here at the Bukit Jalil Stadium this morning, did their best to downplay the tag of favourites with most of the senior players saying that they would take every match as it came. But coach Cedric D’Souza was all praise for his team and said, “If they don’t win the challenger, it will be a disappointment”. A victory here in the six-nation field will ensure India a berth in the prestigious Champions Trophy 2002 and will also boost the morale of the team going in to the World Cup at the same venue early next year. But the going here would be anything but easy for India.
PTI |
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Amanjot crashes out; Sunil in semis New Delhi, December 6 Sunil Kumar from Chandigarh entered the semifinal via the easy route when his opponent, eighth-seeded Nishank Mishra, conceded the tie when he was trailing 2-5 in the first set. Sunil, in good form, was expected to win in any case, but the exit of second-seeded Amanjot Singh, also from Chandigarh, came as a surprise. He was outplayed by fifth-seeded Tai Wei Liu of Chinese Taipei 1-6, 2-6 in less than an hour. Fourth-seeded Wang-Cheng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei was stretched by Saenguwann Sratha of Thailand before he could win at 1-6, 6-0, 6-4 while unseeded Yu-Da Shieh of Taipei stunned sixth-seeded Anuwat Dalodom of Thailand 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to make the semifinals. In the girls section, Sanaa Bhambri was the only Indian to survive the foreign onslaught as Isha Lakhani, Samrita Sekar and Megha Vakharia all bowed out, though they had put up decent fights. Sanaa was the exception as she hung on tenaciously to outsmart compatriot Samrita Sekar 7-5, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Megha Vakharia went down fighting to second-seeded Da-Jung Hong of Korea 6-7 (4), 6-7 (7); Isha Lakhani was ousted by fourth-seeded Laosirichon Pichaya of Thailand 7-6 (8), 6-1 while sixth-seeded Diana Julianto of Indonesia was shocked by Chin Wei Chan of Taipei 3-6, 2-6. |
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