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| Agarkar hammers Zimbabwe into submission RAJKOT, Dec 14: India crushed Zimbabwe under a huge total and dismissed them for 262 runs in ......more On field incidents are RAJKOT, Dec 14: Indian captain Saurav Ganguly today shrugged off the one-match ban slapped.....more Lara passes fitness test, PERTH, Dec 14: Enigmatic batting star Brian Lara passed a rigid fitness test here late today and ....more King enquiry to CAPE TOWN, Dec 14: South Africa’s match-fixing enquiry will publish a second interim report ......more NZ, Ireland win Women’s WELLINGTON, Dec 14: New Zealand triumphed over England by 93 runs at the Women’s World .......more |
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10th State Billiards and Snooker
Champ Kamal beat Khanna to find berth in Billiards final Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: After facing ups and downs in the two hours fight with third seed K K Khanna, Kamal Rohmetra emerged winner in the first semi-final of the senior Billiards in the 10th State Billiards and Snooker Championship being held here today. Kamal did a lot of spade work .......more IInd
Rohit Bhat Memorial Medicos Cricket Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Sandeep XI today reached the final of the 2nd Rohit Bhat Memorial Medicos Cricket Tournament beating DP XI in the first.....more Dev
Raj memorial cricket tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Suraj Parkash hit a splendid knock of 117 runs to lead Choudhary XI to 69 runs victory over Khokar XI in the ongoing Dev Raj Memorial Inter-club Cricket Tournament.......more |
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Agarkar hammers Zimbabwe into submission RAJKOT, Dec 14: India crushed Zimbabwe under a huge total and dismissed them for 262 runs in 47.4 overs to script a 39-run win in the fifth and final one-day international here today and take the five-match series 4-1. Ajit Agarkar played like a soul possessed as he hammered an unbeaten 67 runs off just 25 balls to lead India to an imposing 301 for six after Hemang Badani (77) and Reetinder Singh Sodhi (53 not out) had rescued their team from a precarious 114 for five in the 27th over. The Indians, sent in to bat by Zimbabwe, added 73 runs in the last five overs and an astounding 47 in the final three thanks mainly to agchnics as he set the ground ablaze with seven fours and four mighty sixes including those off the last two balls. Agarkar, who set a new record of fastest fifty by an Indian when he reached the milestone off just 21 balls bettering Kapil Dev’s feat by a single ball, returned back to claim three wickets for 26 runs to become the obvious choice for the man-of-the-match award. Youngster Reetinder Singh Sodhi also put in a fine all-round performance and took two wickets for 43 runs to cap his good show with the bat. Zimbabwe scored at a brisk pace, always in sight of the daunting target but lost wickets at regular intervals. They had some promising stands but none of them could capitalise into a big partnership that was necessary in a run-chase of such magnitude. The highest partnership for the visitors was of 49 runs for the fourth wicket between opener Trevor Madondo, who top scored with 71, and Grant Flower (20). Zimbabwe at the half-way stage were 146 for three but succumbed to pressure losing too many wickets and needed 58 runs off the last five overs with two wickets in hand. They could manage only 19 losing both of them. Madondo and Alistair Campbell put up 35 runs in five overs for the opening wicket before the latter edged it to wicket-keeper Vijay Dahiya off Sodhi, who surprisingly opened the bowling with Venkatesh Prasad in the absence of Zaheer Khan. Sodhi struck again two overs later to have Gavin Rennie (10) caught by Badani at mid-wicket and Agarkar chipped in with the big wicket of in-form Andy Flower for 19 to give India the advantage. Douglas Marillier (38) offered some resistance after Grant Flower (20) and Guy Whittal (10) were also dimissed cheaply. Once Sriram bowled Madondo and Agarkar trapped Mariller lbw, Zimbabwe were struggling at 180-6 with the Indians sensing victory. Captain Heath Streak (17), Mluleki Nkala (17 not out) and Bryan Strang (17) put up a semblance of fight but that was not enough to bring them anywhere near to the Indian total. Earlier, youngsters Hemang Badani and Reetinder Sodhi excelled for India, playing without captain Saurav Ganguly who was handed one-match suspension for showing dissent to umpire in the Kanpur one-dayer, and pulled them out of trouble after the top order was back in pavillion the score reading 114 for five in the 27th over. Sachin Tendulkar, shrugged off the early loss of Sriram (2) and was in characteristic form striking five fours before being bowled by Nkala for 27. Stand-in captain Rahul Dravid started with a stylish four off Bryan Strang but attempting an ambitious shot off the same bowler after being tied down for some time, he was caught by streak at mid-off. Yuvraj Singh looked good in his short innings of 29 runs but it was really Badani and Sodhi rescued the innings with some fine batting. Badani, who single-handedly won the opening match for India in Cuttack, gave another display of his controlled batting and alongwith Sodhi added crucial 102 runs for the sixth wicket. The departure of Badani, caught brilliantly by Rennie at mid-wicket off Brian Murphy after hitting two fours and a six in his 165 minute stay, set the stage for Agarkar to hammer the beleaguered Zimbabwe all over the ground and he indulged in some lusty hitting. The wiry paceman, who faced ignominy of getting out on ‘ducks’ five times in a row against australia clobbered Alistair Campbell in the innings’ final over for 21 runs including two sixes off the last two balls. Agarkar’s free hitting helped India add a whopping 73 runs in last five overs as he and Sodhi added 85 runs for the seventh wicket. The efforts of Badani and Sodhi were paled by the brilliance of Agarkar’s unbeaten quickfire knock, which included seven fours and four sixes. (PTI) SCOREBOARD India: S Sriram c A Flower b H Streak 2 S Tendulkar b M Nkala 27 R Dravid c H Streak b B Strang 6 H Badani c G Rennie b B Murphy 77 Y Singh lbw b B Murphy 29 V Sehwag c A Flower b B Murphy 19 R S Sodhi not out 53 A Agarkar not out 67 Extras (b-4, lb-4, w-13) 21 Total (For 6 wkts in 50 overs) 301 Fall of Wickets: 1-10, 2-23, 3-42, 4-84, 5-114, 6-216. Bowling: H Streak 10-1-45-1, b Strang 10-0-61-1, M Nkala 9-0-62-1, G Flower 10-0-41-0, B Murphy 10-0-63-3, A Campbell 1-0-21-0. Zimbabwe: A Campbell c Dahiya b Sodhi 23 T Madondo b Sriram 71 G Rennie c Badani b Sodhi 10 A Flower c Sodhi b Agarkar 19 G Flower lbw b Sehwag 20 G Whittall c Agarkar b Sehwag 10 D Marillier lbw b Agarkar 38 H Streak c Dravid b Sriram 17 M Nkala not out 18 B Strang c Yuvraj b Prasad 18 B Murphy b Agarkar 1 Extras (lb-8, w-5, nb-4) 17 Total (all out in 47.4 overs) 262 Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-68, 3-103, 4-152, 5-156, 6-180, 7-210, 8-235, 9-261. Bowling: Prasad 9-0-61-1, Sodhi 6-1-43-3, Agarkar 8.4-1-26-3, Kapoor 7-0-37-0, Sriram 9-0-50-2, Sehwag 8-0-37-1. (PTI) |
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On field incidents are part of game: Ganguly RAJKOT, Dec 14: Indian captain Saurav Ganguly today shrugged off the one-match ban slapped on him for showing dissent and intimidating the umpire, as mere "incidents which are part of the game". He however said the incident was "unfortunate". "It was a part of the game. Such things happen on the spur of the moment and are not intentional," Ganguly told PTI. Ganguly reduced to a spectator in the final one-dayer today, was pulled up by match-referee Bary Jarman of Australia for intimidating the umpire during his lbw appeals in the Kanpur match. The Indian skipper had made three lbw appeals against Mluleki Nkala and all were turned down by umpire C K Sathe which had prompted the action. The unfortunate incident apart, Ganguly was happy with the way series has gone through. "It was a very good exposure for the youngsters as some of them have shown fighting qualities, which augurs well for the indian cricket," he said. Ganguly said India had been playing very good cricket for the last three months. "Before this series we did well in Nairobi, Sharjah and then Dhaka and I think we again played well at home to win the test series as well as the one-day series," he added. On the forthcoming Australian tour of India, Ganguly said with the boys in good nick and team morale high, "I think we will perform well against the Aussies." "In fact all of us are looking forward to an interesting series ahead of us," he said. The Aussies are scheduled to reach India on February 7 to play three test matches and five one-dayers apart from three side games. "Even today the youngsters in the team (Hemang Badani, Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ajit Agarkar) batted well when thing were not going well for the Indians in the morning," he added (PTI) |
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Lara passes fitness test, will play in Adelaide PERTH, Dec 14: Enigmatic batting star Brian Lara passed a rigid fitness test here late today and will play for the West Indies in the crucial third cricket test against Australia. The good news for the beleaguered tourists came after West Indies skipper Jimmy Adams had said Lara’s injuries were so worrying a decision might not be made until shortly before the match starting at Adelaide Oval tomorrow. The outcome is a massive relief for the Windies, 0-2 down in the series and needing a draw at least here to retain a serious interest in the five-match rubber for the Frank Worrell Trophy. Lara, 31, has hamstring and shoulder niggles. The Hamstring problem has plagued him from before the tour, but the shoulder worry developed during his classic 231 against an Australia a side in Hobart, Tasmania, early in the week. But a spokesman for the touring squad management said Lara had now satisfied them he could handle the rigours of a five-day clash. Lara has failed dismally in the first two tests, in Brisbane and Perth, totalling 21 runs in four knocks, but his punishing double century has given the side new heart. Leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo was also declared fit after previously being said to be in doubt with a foot injury. Nagamootoo, 25, is the only specialist spinner in the squad and appears to have good prospects of being called up for only his second test as the adelaide pitch is predicted to be responsive to spin over the past couple of days. (AFP) |
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King enquiry to issue second interim report CAPE TOWN, Dec 14: South Africa’s match-fixing enquiry will publish a second interim report today with proposals on how to stop bookmakers gaining access to players. "It will have proposals on how to prevent a recurrence," John Bacon, spokesman for judge Edwin King, told Reuters. "It will not have proposals on how to deal with any individuals." South African captain Hansie Cronje was sacked in April after admitting taking money from bookmakers. Opener Herschelle Gibbs and bowler Henry Williams, who admitted agreeing to throw matches but said they never went through with the deal, have been banned from international competition until January. The United Cricket Board of South Africa banned Cronje for life from the game. His lawyers have appealed the ban. Cronje has been offered immunity from prosecution if King believes he has revealed everything. Bacon said there would be no direct references to Cronje in Thursday’s interim report. Public hearings were due to restart in October but have been repeatedly postponed due to the difficulty of obtaining crucial phone transcripts from Indian authorities. The hearings are due to reconvene on January 25. (REUTERS) |
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10th State Billiards
and Snooker Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: After facing ups and downs in the two hours fight with third seed K K Khanna, Kamal Rohmetra emerged winner in the first semi-final of the senior Billiards in the 10th State Billiards and Snooker Championship being held here today. Kamal did a lot of spade work, especially in the first half, to emerge stronger in the remaining part of the game, to defend his title. However, Khanna fought back in the last 30 minutes, but of no use, because of the unbeatable lead of over 100 points taken by confident Kamal. Earlier, Khanna made a good start and was leading by near 50 points. The lead remained intact for 30 minutes play. Seeing the score board moving in favour of Khanna, Kamal maintained his cool which started yielding good results. In the next 30 minutes play, Kamal went ahead of his opponent by near 100 points. And, after taking a mild five minute break, Kamal dominated the table and managed an unbeatable lead of 120 points bringing the score to 395-275. However, Khanna, who had seen his certain defeat taking into mind the huge lead of Kamal, set his mind for reducing the margin. He succeeded in his attempt and gathered handful of points in the last 15 minutes play. He reduced the lead to finish the score on board 469-423. In this high scoring match, both the semi-finalists were unable to make recognised breaks in the two-hour match. In the second semi-final which will be played on tomorrow, fourth seed Vishal Abrol will take on Gautam Lakra for the final berth. Surjit Singh, Raveez Ahmed and Shankar Dass were markers. |
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IInd Rohit Bhat
Memorial Medicos Cricket Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Sandeep XI today reached the final of the 2nd Rohit Bhat Memorial Medicos Cricket Tournament beating DP XI in the first semi-final which played at Medical College grounds, here. Earlier, after winning the toss and decided to bat first, Sandeep XI scored 186 runs for the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. In reply, DP XI could score 176 runs, thus losing the match by 16 runs. Skipper Sandeep Singh was the maximum scorer from Sandeep XI with 62 runs including five sixes and seven boundaries. Amit Anand and Vishal Puri contributed 33 and 43 runs respectively. For DP XI, Ravi Parihar, Farhat and D P Singh shared one wicket each. Later, despite, Satinder’s fine innings of 62 (4x6, 5x4) runs, DP XI could score 170 in the allotted 20 overs by losing five wickets. Amit Bhagat and Devinder too played well and contributed 35 (4x4, 1x6) and 23 runs respectively. A handful of 34 runs came through extras. Ali was the most successful bower from Sandeeep XI, who took two wickets, while’s Sandeep, Deep Aman and Vishal Puri claimed one each. Sandeep was declared as man of the match. According to the organisers, the second semi-final will be played tomorrow which will be followed by the final. The prize distribution function will take place at 3.30 pm. |
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Dev Raj memorial
cricket tourney Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 14: Suraj Parkash hit a splendid knock of 117 runs to lead Choudhary XI to 69 runs victory over Khokar XI in the ongoing Dev Raj Memorial Inter-club Cricket Tournament being organised by the Indian Youth Organisation (Rural) at Nowshera in Rajouri. Batting first after winning the toss, Choudhary XI set a target of 190 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs, which Khokar XI failed to chase and were all out for 121 runs. Rajeev who hit Khokar XI bowlers hard, faced only 70 balls to score 117 studded with three sixes and 20 boundaries. Jugal Kishore added 19 runs to the total. From Khokar XI, Rajeev Kokhar remained most successful bowler with three wickets, while Vishal and Mukesh shared one each. In reply, Sunny Dutta and Mukesh made a confident start. But early dismissal of Mukesh, who was run out at seven shattered all hopes. On the other end, Sunny Dutta played nicely and scored 40 runs with the help of one six and six boundaries. Tale-enders did their job well, but could not clinch win and the whole side was bowled out for 121 runs in the last 20th over. From Choudhary XI, Jasbir Singh and Rakesh Choudhary took three wickets each, while Rajesh Choudhary and Raj Kumar shared two each. Suraj Parkash for his splendid innings was declared as man of the match. In another match of the tournament, Sharma XI beat Bareri XI by a huge margin of 104 runs. Batting first, Sharma XI scored 194 runs in the allotted 20 overs, which Bareri XI could not able to chase and the whole side was bowled out for 90 runs in 16 overs. Satish was declared as man of the match for his all-round performance. Jaspal Singh and Harvinder Singh officiated the matches, while Dr Gaurav was scorer. |
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NZ, Ireland win Women’s World Cup matches WELLINGTON, Dec 14: New Zealand triumphed over England by 93 runs at the Women’s World Cup Cricket Tournament in Christchurch today. The loss was another blow to England’s slim semi-final hopes. They sit fifth on the points table behind South Africa. Both teams have three wins but South Africa has a game in hand and a better run rate. Ireland picked up their first win of the tournament, beating the Netherlands by 41 runs in a bottom of the table clash. Unbeaten Australia lead the series, followed by New Zealand and India. Results: New Zealand vs England New Zealand 238/8 (50 overs, Rebecca Rolls 65, Emily Drumm 53, Dawn Holden 2-48), England 145 (47.3 overs, Arran Thompson 27, Melissa Reynard 20, Katrina Keenan 3-16). New Zealand won by 93 runs. Ireland vs Netherlands Ireland 232/6 (50 overs, Caitriona Beggs 66 not out, Anne Linehan 54, Sandra Kottman 2-38), Netherlands 191/8 (50 overs, Rowan Milburn 71, Tessa Van Der Gun 43, Saibh Young 2/32). Ireland win by 41 runs. (REUTERS) |
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