Gayle spurs Windies to 251
Ashis Ray & PTI

Kingston, May 18
India managed to rein in the West Indies to 251 for six after opening batsman Chris Gayle’s blistering century provided the hosts with a blazing start in the first cricket one-dayer here today.

Gayle’s cracker of a 123 from 132 balls left Rahul Dravid ruing his decision to put the hosts in before his bowlers put the skids under the West Indian scoring in the rain-hit match at the Sabina Park.

The tall left-hander smashed 18 fours and two sixes in his knock but found little support from the rest of the team with captain Brian Lara being the second top scorer with 35.

Ajit Agarkar was the pick of the bowlers for India with two for 38 while Harbhajan Singh returned an economical 1-33.

Irfan Pathan (1-52) and Munaf Patel (1-48) too came back for tidy second spells after being carted all over the park with the new ball.

The game was curtailed to 45-overs-a-side but it was a negligible loss considering the heavy rains which lashed Sabina Park last night and early morning today.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid gambled on the moisture and green look of the wicket to opt to field first but his bowlers wilted early in sapping heat on a slowish wicket.

The Jamaica jinx persisted for India, but not enough to submerge an entire match. At eight o’clock in the morning after a torrential two-hour downpour and scowling skies, even local man and one of the umpires, Steve Bucknor, was pessimistic.

But a dramatic change in the weather coupled with the new drainage system at the venue miraculously enabled a contest.

Despite the likelihood of some sweating underneath the overnight covers and a lush outfield rendered slower by rain, the Indian quicks, except Ajit Agarkar, made little impression.

Converting deliveries on the off-stump to the onside, off-driving powerfully and glancing delicately, Gayle made mincemeat of the Indian offering. His more sedate partner, Runako Morton, in fact, became a victim of Agarkar, who not only seemed to know what length to bowl, but did so unerringly.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was introduced in tandem with Agarkar. He immediately troubled Ramnaresh Sarwan and soon had been trapped leg before wicket.

But Gayle, to the delight of his home crowd, went his merry way, greeting Virender Sehwag with an over boundary which disappeared into the concrete jungle of incomplete terraces on the Blue Mountain side of the arena.

This had been preceded by a sudden reverse sweep by captain Brian Lara, which took Harbhajan by surprise as much for the fact that it was played so early in his venture. But then, you would expect the master left-hander to produce just that. Soon, he, too, was on song, before he rashly drove Munaf Patel on the up to perish into the safe hands of Mohammed Kaif at extra cover..

As the younger Indian faster bowlers, including Irfan Pathan, failed to exploit the bounce, not pace, in the wicket in energy sapping humidity, Dravid, confronted by Gayle’s onslaught, retreated on the defensive.

He had little choice as his attack was also guilty of conceding extras with no balls and wides. Pathan did swing the ball in the morning, but not with his customary control. He was, of course, a trifle unlucky not to benefit from a couple of well disguised slower balls in his second spell.

Scoreboard

West Indies

Gayle c Dravid b Agarkar 123

Morton c Dhoni b Agarkar 23

Sarwan lbw Harbhajan Singh 2

Lara c Kaif b Patel 35

Chanderpaul c Sehwag b Pathan 18

Samuels run out 10

Baugh not out 12

Bravo not out 0

Extras (lb-14, w-7, nb-6) 27

Total (6 wkts, 45 overs) 251

Fall of wickets: 1-87, 2-94, 3-176, 4-222, 5-233, 6-248.

Bowling: Pathan 9-1-50-1, Patel 9-1-48-1, R.P. Singh 7-0-45-0, Harbhajan 9-2-34-1, Agarkar 9-0-38-2, Sehwag 2-0-22-0.

Sachin’s fitness test on May 23

Mumbai, May 18
The suspense on whether Sachin Tendulkar would be fit enough to play the Test series against the West Indies would end on May 23 when the master batsman will undergo a fitness test here.

“Tendulkar would undergo the fitness test on May 23 and in all probability at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla complex ground,” BCCI sources told PTI.

“The test would take place in the presence of Andrew Leipus — Indian team’s former physio who is overseeing Tendulkar’s progress in the absence of incumbent John Gloster — and selection committee chairman Kiran More,” the sources said.

The champion batsman is recuperating after a shoulder surgery that he underwent in London in late March and is at present training and practising at Chennai’s MRF academy.

Tendulkar’s fitness test is to be held a day before the national selection committee meets here to name the squad for the four-Test series in the West Indies commencing on June 2. Tendulkar is scheduled to leave for London the same night the Test team is chosen to consult Dr Andrew Wallace, who performed the surgery.

No place for Sourav in team: Muthiah

Kozhikode: Former BCCI President AC Muthiah today advised the selection committee to keep away from politics while predicting the end of the road for Sourav Ganguly.

“Sachin or Ganguly, let there be no politics,” he said, adding that while Tendulkar had every reason to come back, it was almost all over for Ganguly.

“Sachin is still young, he has been the role model for the team. Once he is rested and becomes fit, he should be given a fair chance so that the team can benefit the most,” he told PTI.

Noting that Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had to give up the game even when he was in his prime, Muthiah, who was heading the BCCI when Ganguly was at his peak, said, “We cannot have players like Ganguly in the team forever.”

He also said youngsters in the team had raised the performance bar and thrown up a challenge to the seniors, who should be more careful in their approach.

“We have a solid set of youngsters today and the seniors will have to apply themselves more, lest they get replaced.”

He cited Ganguly’s ouster from the team as an example and said there was no need to raise a hue and cry over his exclusion.

When asked about the burnout issue, he said the selectors should opt for a rotation policy.

“Today, we have the best opportunity to rotate the players with so many youngsters knocking at the doors.” — PTI 

Asian Grand Prix
Pinki stars as India grab 3 gold

Bangkok, May 18
Pinki Pramanik was the star of the show for the Indian athletics contingent, which reaped a harvest of three gold, five silver and four bronze medals at the first leg of Asian Grand Prix at the National Stadium here.

The Bengal runner claimed the top prize in the women’s 800m with a timing of 2 minutes and 7.08 seconds to go with a silver medal she achieved in the 400m in 53.86 secs. In the latter race, she pushed compatriot Manjeet Kaur (54.86s) to third place.

Maha Singh continued his good form when he won the men’s long jump gold with a leap of 7.55m. Amritpal Singh finished fourth in the event (7.34).

The other gold was contributed by national champion Anil Kumar in javelin throw, who claimed his first title at the Asian level when he hurled the spear to a distance of 72.87m. Jagdish Kumar Bishnoi was fifth (67.69).

In the absence of Seema Antil and Harwant Kaur, Krishna Poonia had to settle for silver in the women’s discus throw with an effort of 54.32m. The gold went to Song Amin of China who managed 56.99m.

Navpreet Singh won the silver medal in men’s shot put with a throw of 18.61m behind China’s Zhang Ki who heaved the iron to 19.00m.

In the absence of the fancied Ghamanda Ram in the men’s 800m, compatriot Francis Sagayaraj grabbed his maiden medal in the Asian Grand Prix, a silver, with a timing of 1:53.75s. The gold went to Ehsan Moharejershojaei of Iran who clocked 1:53.26sec.

Sunil Kumar left compatriot Pritam Bind in third place in the 3,000m to claim silver medal with a timing of 8:25.93sec. Pritam clocked 8:26.75 while the gold went to China’s Chen Mingfu who won in 8:25.14.

Amidst rains and high humidity, Joseph Abraham brought India a bronze in the 400m hurdles coming home in 51.89 seconds. The gold went to Meng Yan of China (49.86) ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Meleshenko (50.04). Gurpreet Singh brought up the rear in 57.01sec.

Hari Shankar Roy claimed bronze in the men’s high jump when he cleared 2.14m. He finished behind Jean Claude Rabbath of Lebanon (2.21) and Vietnam’s Nguyen Duy Bang (2.18).

In the blue riband event, the men’s 100m, national champion Anil Kumar finished fourth in 10.53 secs. Chinese Yongyi Wen became the fastest man of the meet when he clocked 10.30s. Second place went to Thailand’s Waehara Sondoo (10.43) ahead of his compatriot Seksan Wongsala (10.49).

In the women’s 200m field, Rajwinder Kaur disappointed finishing a lowly seventh in 24.48 secs. Anuradha Biswal managed a fourth place in the 100m hurdles in 14.51 secs.

The Grand Prix circuit now moves to India with the Bangalore leg on May 22 followed by the one in Pune (May 26). — PTI 

Gagan, Dilip raring to go

New Delhi, May 18
India’s campaign for the Azlan Shah hockey tournament, to be held next month in Malaysia, has got a timely boost with two of their star players returning to form, fitness and confidence.

After their stints in the Dutch League, ace striker Gagan Ajit Singh and seasoned defender Dilip Tirkey are back home with renewed vigour and looking forward to join the national camp for the Azlan Shah tournament in Chennai tomorrow.

Down with a wrist injury and bogged by poor form, Gagan joined the Dutch League after being overlooked for national duty. And after spending more than two months in Holland, he is bubbling with confidence.

“It was a very good experience. After the Champions Trophy, I picked up a wrist injury and could not do well in the Premier Hockey League. But now I am feeling good and back in rhythm,” said Gagan, who scored 14 goals in 18 matches while playing for Klein Zwitserland club.

However, he is a bit disheartened that his club missed out on a semifinal berth narrowly.

“We tied with Orange Zwarp on 41 points. But they qualified on the basis of a better goal difference. They had scored 49 against our 48,” he told PTI.

The Punjab Police player is hopeful that the experience both Dilip and he gained from the Dutch League would help in improving India’s performance.

"They (Netherlands) have a good system in place and their planning is outstanding. The way they come up with new gameplans is fabulous. Hopefully, we will implement these while playing for the country,” Gagan said.

Talking about the four-nation tournament India played under coaches Vasudevan Bhaskaran and Harendra Singh at Monchengladbach last month, Gagan, who led the side, said after a long time the team played well as a disciplined unit.

“It was a very good experience. Both are good coaches and the team played well as a disciplined unit after a year or so,” he said.

Looking forward to the eight-nation Azlan Shah tournament next month, in which seven teams who would play the World Cup are participating, Gagan said it would provide a chance to rectify the mistakes.

“It’s a very big and important tournament. Even if we make some mistakes we would get a chance to rectify them,” he said.

Veteran full-back Dilip Tirkey is happy that the Holland experience offered him a chance to improve his fitness.

After the PHL, Tirkey missed out on the Commonwealth Games due to an ankle injury. However, he was drafted into the squad for the Germany four-nation tournament at the last minute owing to the absence of several injury-struck defenders.

“It was really nice, even though I played only four matches. My fitness and game have improved and I’m looking forward to the Azlan Shah tournament,” said Tirkey, who was accompanied by his wife Meera to Holland. — PTI 

Myskina breaks Vinci code

Rome, May 18
Former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina of Russia survived a scare to beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-0, 1-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Rome Masters tennis tournament.

Myskina took treatment on both thighs, confirming later that she first suffered the problem in her opening match.

The momentum shifts between Myskina and Vinci were frequent, with the Russian sweeping the first set but feeling the pain to drop the second. The third set was plagued by six breaks of serves in 10 games.

Second seed Kim Clijsters kept her dream of returning to the number one spot in the world alive as she rallied past Akiko Morigami 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to enter the third round.

Clijsters, the 2003 titleholder at the Foro Italico during her golden season when she reached the top ranking twice for a total of 12 weeks, needs to win another trophy here again in order to top the table.

She has her opportunity, with number one Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo pulling out at the weekend with illness.

But the off-colour Belgian was made to work by number 70 Morigami in the pair’s first meeting. It took three match points to clinch victory in one hour, 47 minutes. She was evenly balanced on 31 winners and 34 unforced errors.

Clijsters lines up in the third round against 16th seed Dinara Safina who beat Italy’s Maria Elena Camerin 6-4, 6-4.

Safina duplicated her best showing in Rome by reaching the third round.

Number five Elena Dementieva didn’t have to strike a ball in anger as China’s Shuai Peng withdrew injured before their second-round match, sending the Russian ahead.

Sixth-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder dealt out Russian Vera Duchevina 7-6 (10/8), 6-2, while Russia’s Vera Zvonareva beat France’s Nathalie Dechy 6-2, 6-2.

Italo-Swiss Romina Oprandi, whose double lip piercing appears to be the only one on the WTA Tour, provided a victory for the hosts as she whipped Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2. — AFP

Tribalism — the force behind World Cup fever

Paris, May 18
It was the Brazilian star Pele who described football ‘the beautiful game’ but many anthropologists tend more to the view of the great Dutch coach Rinus Michels ‘football is war’. Any extra-terrestrial eager for a glimpse of some extreme aspects of Homo sapiens need only do a swift tour of Germany, the globe’s sports bars and living rooms during the World Cup.

For a month, the alien will find the Masters of Planet Earth in a state of tribalistic regression.

Many will daub their faces and don the shirts of their national teams. Office workers, hairdressers and grannies will wonder at Ronaldinho’s dancing feet, marvel at David Beckham’s dead ball skill or argue about referees.

If there is victory, millions will be uplifted. Complete strangers will hug. National divisions will be temporarily healed. The winning players will be placed on the eternal pedestal of the hero, showered with love and gold.

If there is defeat, there will be nationwide mourning. The team that a few days before was lauded as cherished sons will be shunned as if leprous, and a vicious hunt for scapegoats will begin.

Pumped on jingoism and alcohol, otherwise peaceful taxpaying citizens may become hooligans for a night, or wake up to find they have had their butt tattooed with the name of some soccer star.

What is it about football that triggers this extraordinary behaviour? Sandy Wolfson, principal lecturer in sports psychology at Britain’s Northumbria University, says soccer touches on a unique nexus of nerves, a combination of human interaction, culture and genes.

Our response to football is as old as human society itself, she suggests. “It’s got a really strong tribal element,” says Wolfson, herself a dedicated fan of Newcastle United.

“There’s probably a genetic component of wanting to be part of a group. As humans, certainly in our more primitive days, it was imperative to be part of a group in order to survive.

“Along with that, there was also a hierarchy within the group, so that you tended to follow the most masterful or skilful individual who would become your leader. So that may be transposed now onto your football team. That means you get this in-group, out-group mentality, in which you align yourself with your fellow fans.” But for this to work, an individual has to be within a group, says Wolfson.

Face-painting, chanting, jubilation and commiseration are not individual pursuits, which is why most football fans want to be with other people for a big match, says Wolfson.

“There is a contagion effect,” she explains. “You only need to get a few people excited in order to get caught up with it. It could be that it happens more with football than with other sports because there are simply more people around who love the sport.” Cambridge University historian Stephen Tomkins says there are some striking parallels between football and religion.

Both provide staging, ceremony, faith, chants and totemic clothing to provide inspiration and a sense of community. French sociologist Emile Durkheim uses similar language.

He described mass events as a ‘congregation’ that almost literally project people out of themselves, causing them to behave in ways that, at normal times, they would have considered unthinkable.

One such event was the “Football War” of 1969, in which an ill-tempered qualifying match between El Salvador and Honduras for the 1970 World Cup sparked rioting that led to a brief, bloody border conflict.

It is consistently rated the world’s most popular and exciting game. Experts attribute this to the game’s simplicity, the low cost of playing it, the one-on-one confrontation within a short timescale, the swift back-and-forth action and its enduring chance for the underdog. By these yardsticks, other sports don’t come even close. — AFP

Compiled by Pankaj Vasudeva; Graphic by Gaurav Sood

Boxers get cash bonanza
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, May 18
The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), showing the path to other sports federations, honoured all medal winners of the 18th Commonwealth Games at Melbourne with cash awards and mementoes at a function here.

Bantamweight gold medallist Akhil Kumar (54kg) of Railways was presented a cash award of Rs 1 lakh while silver medallists Vijender Kumar in welterweight (69kg) and Harpreet Singh in heavyweight (91kg), both from Railways, were given Rs 51,000 each. Bronze medallists Jitender Kumar (51kg) and Varghese John (plus 91kg) received Rs 31,000 each. The boxers were also gifted complete boxing kits by the federation.

Former International Olympic Committee member and long-time president of the Indian Hockey Federation Ashwani Kumar, who was a welterweight boxer in his younger days, gave away the awards.

Anand slips to second spot

Sofia, May 18
Viswanathan Anand struggled but finally managed a draw with Etienne Bacrot of France in the sixth round of the Mtel Masters chess tournament. The result saw the Indian ace slip to the second spot in the standing list once again as Russian-turned-American Gata Kamsky came back strongly to beat former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine.

But the highlight of the day was the shock defeat of world champion and local hero Veselin Topalov at the hands of Russian Peter Svidler.

Kamsky was at best thought to be a fine player with great fighting spirit at the start of the event. However, the lowest-ranked player here now seems good enough to win the title in the toughest tournament.

Following his fourth victory in the tournament, the American yet again seized the sole lead and is now on 4.5 points out of a possible five. Anand on four points is placed second, while Svidler is third on 3.5 points.

It is most likely to be a three-horse race from here onwards, though Topalov who is on 2.5 points and fourth in the standings, could not be ruled out of the contention.

Bacrot stands fifth on two points. Ponomariov seems badly in need of a resurrection as he has just 1.5 points in his kitty. Only four more rounds remain in the category-20 super tournament being played on a double round-robin basis between six players.

Anand has so far won two games with black, while his form with white pieces has not been as good. The Indian ace allowed the Marshall gambit for once and got nothing as Bacrot displayed a fine opening preparation to get a good position in the ensuing middle game. — PTI 

Bad day for Indian golfers

Macau, May 18
Opening-round woes returned to haunt Shiv Kapur who went seven-over 78 to tie for the 122nd place on a bad day for the Indians as all of them went over par in the first round of the $ 300,000 Macau Open here today.

The Digvijay Singh-Rahil Gangjee duo carded identical rounds of two-over 73 and were the highest placed Indians at tied 46th.

Among his compatriots, Amandeep Johl stuttered to four-over 75, as did Ashok Kumar.

Fellow Indians Uttam Singh Mundy, Arjun Singh and SSP Chowrasia carded three-over 74 for the tied 61st place, followed by Johl, Ashok Kumar, Harinder Gupta, Amritinder Singh (all 75) and the trio of Gurbaaz Mann, Shiv Kapur and Jaiveer Virk (78). — UNI

Patiala trail despite Raina’s ton
Our Sports Reporter

Patiala, May 18
Young Kunwar Raina came up with a superbly organised 125 on day two of the M.L. Markan trophy match being played between Patiala and Chandigarh at the Dhruv Pandove stadium here today.

Chasing Chandigarh’s first innings total of 245, Patiala’s innings folded up for one run less than the total posed by the visitors. Till Raina was batting it seemed that Patiala would overhaul Chandigarh’r total but after his dismissal the hosts batting surrendered giving the visitors the all important lead.

Scores: Chandigarh: 1st innings: 245 all out

Patiala: 1st innings: 244 all out (Kunwar Raina 125, Perry Goel 32, Sahil Sachdeva 21, Preet Kamal 17, Jeewanjot 21, Gurinder 4 for 91, Arjit Gupta 2 for 55, Rahul 2 for 55)

Chandigarh: 2nd innings: 19 for no loss.