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India keen to make amends in final
Laxman’s return will be key factor Laxman eager to make up for lost chances Sachin front-runner for Player of Series |
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Unheralded Williams stuns Tyson
Powell’s Olympics
warning to Greene Kanwalpreet’s exclusion criticised
Bhupathi-Paes duo advances to semis Five new records in Haryana athletics
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India keen to make amends in final Colombo, July 31 Despite having emerged a powerful force in world cricket in recent times, the Indians have lost nine finals in tournaments featuring more than two teams and Sourav Ganguly and his men would be keen to make amends in what promises to be an engrossing day-night tussle at the Premadasa Stadium. The Indians have contested 12 finals under Ganguly's leadership and have won just the NatWest Trophy in England in 2002 and have shared the trophy twice in rain-abandoned finals. But most of their recent losses have come against world champions Australia. Skipper Ganguly is not unduly bothered by these statistics saying his team had done enough in the last few years to dispel the notion that they crumble under pressure in the finals. "We won in the West Indies when we were 1-1. We then beat Pakistan when were 2-2. These were as good as finals. Then of course there was the NatWest title," Ganguly said. Ganguly conceded that Sri
Lanka, who have been in good form, are a tough side at home and would be strengthened further with the return of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. "They would be boosted by Vaas and Murali but it isn't as if we would be playing them for the first time, we know how to tackle them." Ganguly and his men, who pipped Pakistan on bonus points to reach the final, are aware that even as India had made bigstrides in recent years, teams such as England and South Africa too had picked up pace. Only consistency in winning was the method to keep the graph moving upward. It is an important season for the unit as it faces strong teams like Australia and South Africa at home and Pakistan would come into the picture early next year. In between comes the prestigious Champions Trophy which could be an indicator of the form book of the frontrunners of the 2007 World Cup. India have been beaten by both Sri Lanka (in the preliminary round) and Pakistan (Super League) here and their narrow win against Sri Lanka in their last Super League match could only be termed as miraculous. Sri Lanka have been further boosted by the return of Vaas and Muralitharan, the lynchpins of their attack, and batting is once again in the able hands of Sanath Jayasuriya, skipper Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene. The noticeable aspect of Sri Lanka's resurgence in this series, after crashing to the World Champions Down Under, is the able support cast of Avishka Gunawardene, Saman Jayatha, Kumara Sangakkara, Thilanga Dilshan and Upul Chandana which gives their batting a very healthy look. Still the Lankan batting is way below India's powerful first seven batsmen which is now back to its original strength with the return of stylish VVS Laxman. Laxman has had a horrid tour, plagued as he has been with a badly bruised left knee. He batted in just one low-key match against the UAE and did not turn up to bat against Bangladesh. He can now leave his stamp in India's quest for a rare title win. Marvellous as Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly have
been, India's batting thrust in recent one-day series has come from Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Laxman, not to forget the little cameos which Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif always seem to conjure up low in the order. It is these three men who are seen as key to India's success in tomorrow's game. India also need to sort out their batting combination. They can not afford two spinners, as there are enough men who can turn their arm over for the second spinner's slot. It must, and probably will, rely on three medium-fast bowlers even though all of them are left-armers, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan. The Indians are an aggressive unit but they need to lift themselves in the all-important game. Australia does it perfectly and seem to reserve their best for the title game. A leaf out of the world champions book would imply that Indians need to be at their razor sharp best in the field, accurate in bowling and bombers with the bat. Any hesitancy will be nothing less than timidity for the ambitious Ganguly's eleven. The pitch at the Premadasa has begun to get a little slower than usual and that could be because of its heavy usage in the preliminary round and Super League stage. It goes without saying any team which wins the toss will choose to bat. Teams (from):
Sri Lanka:
Marvan Atapattu (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Avishka Gunawardene, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumara Sangakkara, Thilanga Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Chandana, Saman Jayatha and Ferveez Mahroof.
— PTI |
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Laxman’s return will be key factor After four year break the Asia Cup reaches its climax with tomorrow’s final. The final features Sri Lanka who are currently riding on a crest of a cricketing wave and India who have been unconvincing in this tournament, apart from a nerve racking win against Sri Lanka which was enough to see the Pakistan team knocked out. Both sides will know that yesterday’s form will be history and that whoever plays well on the night will come away with the spoils. India will hope that they are peaking at the right time and Sri Lanka will want to keep their current run of form together. During the tournament these two sides have met twice and the score is 1-1 and both games were close. My view is that this will be titanic struggle. I believe the return of Laxman will be a key factor and that Sehwag and Tendulkar will combine as the fifth bowler and Laxman will provide the extra runs that India will need. Assuming that Laxman is fit of course, it was interesting that there was rumour that during the tournament his knee injury seemed so serious that he might return home. Now I believe he could well be the difference in this final. Sri Lanka will, of course, have their two main bowlers back and in Murali and Chaminda Vaas they have two potential match winners. I was interested too in our last game against Bangladesh where the humidity levels were as high as I experienced throughout the tournament and the amount of grass on the pitch was similar to that of the Pakistan and Sri Lanka game, both these factors enhanced the sideways and up and down movement when batting second under lights. So the toss might well be a factor. Jayasurya too cannot be discounted in the mix and if India stick to same attack of Pathan and Balaji then I think Jayasurya will be pretty tough on Balaji. I believe India should open with Nehra and Pathan and have Zaheer Khan as first change, Kumble as the number one spinner and Tendulkar and Sehwag to combine. In fact, I was really impressed by Sachin’s tactics against us in the death overs coming round the wicket, bowling leg spin. It was a clever line and difficult to get away. I am sure it prevented Pakistan from scoring 20 extra runs. At night it is not unusual for the conditions to impact on the result and the side batting first I believe has an advantage, in this game I hope that the advantage is minimal. India’s awesome batting line-up should score too many for Sri Lanka to cope with but their rhythm is not as it can be. So the game could go into the death easily with both sides having to hold their nerve. I am going to plumb for Sri Lanka, why because they have been playing the tougher cricket recently and although they may be tired they seem to really want this trophy. So far I have failed to mention two other players Sachin Tendulkar and the tall Sri Lankan quickie. Zoysa, who has bowled well throughout the tournament and I hope that he managed to stay fit throughout the match. Sachin, of course, has not really turned in a match-winning batting performance and is due, will be the man of the moment. So many questions all to be answered to tomorrow’s final. Definitely worth waiting for and no doubt an emotional occasion! Now the million dollar question if both teams are at full strength and based on current form I believe Sri Lanka can win, but who would be so foolish to write off India? It is a good thing I am not a betting man and that whatever the outcome of the game I do hope that the game will be a fitting finale for an excelled tournament. Bonus points apart. The tournament organisers must take great credit for a job welldone. The ground staff have been under pressure to produce excellent surfaces and have done so. The Asia cup was success and may be best team on the night pick up the trophy.
— Gameplan |
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Laxman eager to make up for lost chances
Colombo, July 31 "I will be turning out against a big team for the first time in the tournament. I am keen to do well," Laxman, who has been declared fit for the match, said after the nets at the Premadasa Stadium today. Laxman has had a horrid Asia Cup having played in just two games against the UAE and Bangladesh and missing the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka due to injury. "In fact I have hardly put bat to ball. I played 10 balls against the UAE and could face only three against Bangladesh before victory was achieved." Laxman has been a sideshow in this series as twice he has been hit in the same area of the left knee which has caused his poor turn-out for the team.
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Sachin front-runner for Player of Series
Colombo, July 31 Tendulkar has scored 207 runs with two half centuries from five innings and has also picked up 10 wickets with his sharp turning leg-breaks. He is behind Indian captain Sourav Ganguly (240) on runs scored and his tally of wickets is less than left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan (12) too but overall he stakes a strong claim for the Maruti Esteem which goes to the best player of the tournament. Tendulkar could face a challenge from three other players — Sanath Jayasuriya (278), Shoaib Malik (318) and the dark horse, Pathan. Both Jayasuriya and Shoaib Malik have hit two centuries in the tournament. While the tournament is already over for Malik, another powerful performance from Jayasuriya could still earn the title to the dynamic Sri Lankan opener. Malik has been the surprise packet for Pakistan, hitting hundreds against Hong Kong and India and scoring 48 in the final game for his team against Bangladesh. He also picked up nine wickets with his off-spin bowling. Pathan has played a significant role for India with his front-up bowling and has invariably made early inroads into the opposition. His three for 34 against Sri Lanka came in for high praise from his captain Ganguly. In all, $ 180,000 were put up at stake in this competition in which $ 72,000 have already been distributed. The remaining $ 108,000 will be distributed after the final. The winning team is earmarked to receive $ 60,000. The losers will have $40,000. — PTI
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Giles
shines as Windies collapse
London, July 31 Giles, who took nine wickets in the first Test win at Lord's, grabbed four for 65 as the tourists lost their last five wickets for just 13 runs.
Ramnaresh Sarwan completed his century in the first session after resuming on 87 but was out after lunch for 139, dragging a wide Flintoff ball onto his stumps. Dwayne Bravo was bowled playing across the line to an excellent Giles ball that pitched outside leg and went on to hit off stump. Giles then finally removed Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 45 when the ball ran up his pads and flicked his gloves on its way to Robert Key at silly mid off. Chanderpaul, who was earlier dropped by Vaughan at short mid on, had scored 128 not out and an unbeaten 97 in the first Test at Lord's. Brian Lara fell five short of his century in the 10th over of the morning when he edged a loose drive to Graham Thorpe in a wide slip position. The breakthrough came in Flintoff's first over after he had troubled Lara with some probing deliveries. Thorpe's catch atoned for an earlier spill off Sarwan at gully off the impressive but wicketless James Anderson when the West Indies vice-captain was on 92. England lead the four-match series 1-0 after a 210-run win in the first Test at Lord's. Scoreboard England (1st innings): 566-9 decl West Indies (1st innings): (overnight 184-2) Gayle b Hoggard 7 Smith c Giles b Hoggard 4 Sarwan b Flintoff 139 Lara c Thorpe b Flintoff 95 Chanderpaul c Key b Giles 45 Bravo b Giles 13 Jacobs c Trescothick bHoggard 0 Banks c Jones b Harmison 4 Collins c Flintoff b Giles 6 Collymore lbw b Giles 2 Lawson not out 0 Extras (b-9, lb-5, w-1, nb-6) 21 Total (all out, 91.3 overs) 336 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-12, 3-221, 4-297, 5-323, 6-324, 7-324, 8-334, 9-336 Bowling: Hoggard 18-0-89-3, Harmison 14-1-64-1, Anderson 11-3-37-0, Giles 30.3-7-65-4, Flintoff 15-1-52-2, Vaughan 1-0-8-0, Trescothick 2-0-7-0. — Reuters |
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Unheralded Williams stuns Tyson
Louisville (USA), July 31 The underdog Williams overpowered Tyson late in the round, knocking him down with a barrage of shots to the body and head. Tyson was unable to defend himself at the end as a right hook sent him into the ropes and he slumped to the deck. He tried to get up but couldn’t beat the count. “I came out boxing smart,” Williams said. “He’s a good fighter. “I was so relaxed and confident. I felt like I had him. I kept going and was praying. “I am going to go home and relax and see my family.” Tyson, who was fighting for the first time in 17 months, saw his record drop to 50-5, 44 KOs, while Williams raised his record to 32-3, 26 KOs. This was only the third time Tyson has entered a fight weighing more than 230 pounds. He tipped the scales on Thursday’s weigh-in at 233 pounds. Tyson, who was also cut above the right eye from an elbow, weighed more than 30 pounds less than his opponent. The loss will leave many wondering if this marks the end of Tyson’s career as this was supposed to be his first fight in a quest to regain the world title and get him out of a $ 38 million debt. Asked if this might be time for Tyson to retire, his trainer Freddie Roche replied, “Definitely a possibility. I am not going to lie to him. I am going to tell him the truth. “I’m not sure where we are going to go from here. He’s 38 years old. “We are going to sit down and have a real serious conversation about where he wants to go,” Roche said. Tyson twisted his left knee in the first round which limited his mobility from that point on. It was Tyson’s first bout since his 49-second knock-out of Clifford Etienne on February 22, 2003, which followed his devastating loss to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8, 2002. The bout was scheduled for 10 rounds but it was apparent early that it wasn’t going to last that long. Tyson’s manager Shelly Finkel said the injured knee hampered Tyson. “Mike is resting. He pulled his knee and couldn’t get all the leverage he needed,” Finkel said.
Williams celebrates by proposing Danny Williams capped the best night of his boxing career by proposing to his girlfriend Zoe Browne. The British heavyweight and his partner have been together for 13 years and have two daughters. Williams, (31), said he did not even know his family were in town for the fight and, after he saw them from the ring, he proposed and Zoe accepted. “I’ve never had a bigger moment than this,” Williams told reporters. Perhaps the only person who believed the 9-1 underdog could defeat the former ‘’baddest man on the planet’’ was Williams himself.
— AFP, Reuters |
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Powell’s Olympics warning to Greene London, July 31 Leonard Scott, also of the USA, finished third in 10.04 seconds after top Britons Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell and Mark Lewis-Francis failed to make the final at the London Grand Prix being staged at Crystal Palace. World and Commonwealth champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis was a disappointing fifth place in the final. “It’s all about running fast and beating Maurice,” said Powell who has not been beaten this year. “I could have gone even faster but the starting blocks slipped back. But I am building up my confidence for the games.” Meanwhile, Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva set a new women’s pole vault record for the second time in a week when she cleared 4.90 m. She broke her own record of 4.89 m which she set in Birmingham on Sunday. In the women’s 800m, Mozambique’s Maria Mutola struggled in the home straight before just finishing ahead of Ait Hammou of Morocco in a time of one minute 59.17 seconds while Kelly Holmes took victory in the 1500m. It was a welcome return to form for Mutola who had suffered her first defeat in 37 outings in Lausanne three weeks ago. Britain’s javelin hope Steve Backley, competing at Crystal Palace for the final time, threw a season’s best 83.42m but still finished second behind Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen. “I can take a lot of positives from this into Athens,” said the 35-year-old Backley who will retire after Olympics. Ethiopia’s Haile Gebreselassie, who will quit the track in favour of the marathon next year, will be defending his 10,000m title in Athens and he grabbed a confidence-boosting win in the 5,000m here with a late charge to defeat giant Australian Craig Mottram. — AFP
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Kanwalpreet’s exclusion criticised Chandigarh, July 31 “At a time when hockey fans were looking forward to good showing from Kanwalpreet and Lakra, who have been regular members of the Indian team for the past four years, the IHF shocked the sports fraternity by dropping them at the eleventh hour,” they said in a statement issued here today. Incidentally, Kanwalpreet played in the Champions Trophy, Asian Games, Asia Cup, and Afro-Asian Games, and won praise for his performance as a defender. “The selection of junior and inexperienced players and omission of experienced stars is not a healthy sign,” the hockey vetereans said while appealing to the Union Sports Minister to initiate an inquiry into the selections. They also appealed to the IHF president, Mr KPS Gill, to look into the matter and restore the confidence of the players. |
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Anand to play Kramnik in final Dortmund, July 31 Anand, a huge favourite to win the title this year, will now face Brain Games champion and World No 3 Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, who had to work even harder in semifinals against compatriot Peter
Svidler. This will be the second final clash between Anand and
Kramnik. The two grandmesters last encountered in the World Rapid Championship final in France last year and the Indian had won.
— PTI |
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Bhupathi-Paes duo advances to semis New Delhi, July 31
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Five new records in Haryana athletics Mandi Dabwali, July 31 Similarly, going a step ahead, Babli from Hisar set a new state record in the under-18 discus thrown with 41.56 m. In the boys section Hisar boys set two new records. In the under-18 Dinesh Kumar performed remarkably in the discus throw event with 50.93 m, breaking the previous record of 50.60 m. Another athlete from Hisar, Ramesh Kumar won the long jump with a jump of 7.26 m in the under-20 section. The day’s proceedings were disrupted due to heavy downpur. The Deputy Commissioner, Sirsa, Mr Balraj Singh, inaugurated the event. Other winners: Bharat Inder (U-18 years) long jump; Sandeep Kumar (U-20), discus throw; Rakesh (U-16), long jump; Jagvir (U-14), long jump; Naresh Kumar (U-16), 200 m; Ravinder (U-20), 400m; Rajesh (U-18), 400m, Amit (U-16), 400m, Ravinder (U-14), 400 m; and Naveen (U-16), discus throw. Girls: Pooja Jangra (U-14), high jump; Reena (U-18), high jump; Baljinder (U-20), high jump; Parmila (U-20), long jump; Neelam (U-16), long jump; Sunita (U-18), 400 m; Geeta (U-16), 200 m; Neelam Preet Kaur (U-20), 400 m; Pooja (U-18), long jump; Arti (U-16), high jump; Nisha (U-20), discus throw; Indu (U-14) 400 m; and Anila (U-16), 400 m. |
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Colombo, July 31
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