KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11: South Africa struggled to a 1-0 win against Belgium here today to keep themselves on course for a place in the final of the Champions Challenge Hockey Tournament............more

Lara shows Windies
the way again

COLOMBO, Dec 11: Brian Lara showed West Indies the way again as he helped them to 250 for eight in their Triangular one-day international today...............more

Kumble claims 5 as
England reach 277 for six

AHMEDABAD, Dec 11: India made major inroads into the England batting line-up but were unable to give the finishing touches as the visitors reached 277 for six on the opening day of the second cricket test here today..........more

Pakistan coach to
stay on until
World Cup

KARACHI, Dec 11: Pakistan has extended the contract of cricket coach Mudassar Nazar through until the 2003 World Cup.....more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 11: Title holder Kamal Rohmetra will take on senior cueist K K Khosa in the first semi-finals of the open......more

J&K skaters finish overall
2nd in invitational tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 11: Skaters from Jammu and Kashmir, who participated in the NIT All India Invitational....more

Annual Sports Meet of Amar
Singh Club from Dec 17

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 11: Annual Sports Meet of the Amar Singh Club will commence......more

Wrestling bouts dominate
2nd day of Rural Sports

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 11: Wrestling (Dangal) competitions in various age groups dominated the second......more

South Africa record 1-0 victory over Belgium in Hockey

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11: South Africa struggled to a 1-0 win against Belgium here today to keep themselves on course for a place in the final of the Champions Challenge Hockey Tournament.

The winners scored through Bruce Jacobs in the 51st minute off a field attempt. The victory put South Africa in the second spot behind Malaysia with seven points from four matches.

Argentina are in third place with six points while India are placed fourth on four points.

For the Belgians, their run of defeats continued as they are now the only team without a point in the tournament.

In the extremely humid conditions, it was a listless affair but for South African coach Rob Pullen the win was all important.

"We had to win to stay in touch with the leaders. Hopefully the other teams will crumble under pressure and hand the advantage to US. If India beat Japan then we will be in the play-offs at the very least. Who knows with some luck we can make the final," Pullen said.

The final is to be played on Sunday. The winners of this tournament will qualify for the Champions Trophy 2002 in Cologne, Germany. (PTI)

Lara shows Windies the way again

COLOMBO, Dec 11: Brian Lara showed West Indies the way again as he helped them to 250 for eight in their Triangular one-day international today.

The groundwork was laid by openers Chris Gayle and Daren Ganga, who put on 50 from the first 10 overs on a good batting track after Carl Hooper had won the toss.

The in-form Lara, however, in such good form in the recently concluded test series against Sri Lanka, added even further impetus. The left-hander scored at faster than a run-a-ball on the way to a top score of 60 which included six fours and two successive sixes off spinner Kumar Dharmasena.

Ganga made 50 off 68 balls with five fours and a six, putting on 74 off 72 deliveries with number three Lara.

The West Indies, who lost their opening game of the tournament by four wickets to Zimbabwe on Sunday, scored at more than five-and-a-half an over before Lara’s dismissal.

Sri Lanka then clawed their way back into the game, with Dharmasena bowling Ridley Jacobs (25) and Pedro Collins (0) off successive deliveries in his final over.

Dharmasena and skipper Sanath Jayasuriya were the pick of the bowlers, each claiming three for 50. Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was the most economical, conceding 35 off 10 overs for the wicket of hooper. (REUTERS)

Kumble claims 5 as England reach 277 for six

AHMEDABAD, Dec 11: India made major inroads into the England batting line-up but were unable to give the finishing touches as the visitors reached 277 for six on the opening day of the second cricket test here today.

Leg spinner Anil Kumble bagged his second successive five-wicket haul to derail the England innings which had been given a solid start by openers Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher after skipper Nasser Hussain had elected to bat on a wicket that looked full of runs.

Kumble grabbed the first five wickets including that of Trescothick who missed his century by just one run. From 124 without loss, England were reduced to 239 for six, the sixth wicket being claimed by Sachin Tendulkar, before Craig White and wicketkeeper James Foster denied the Indians any furhter success in the day.

At close, White was batting on 42 and Foster on 15, the two having added 38 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket partnership.

England had their best start of the series with Butcher and Trescothick denying any success to the Indian attack for close to three hours.

They started cautiously, getting the first runs, a snicked four by Butcher off Javagal Srinath, only off the last ball of the third over. They grew in confidence after that and handled the spinners Kumble and Harbhajan Singh well on a wicket reputed to aid the slow bowlers.

Butcher was slightly uncomfortable against the short-pitched deliveries and the new Kerala speedster Tinu Yohannan tested him with well-directed bouncers on a couple of occasions. He was also lucky to see a number of his edges and snicks drop in the no-man’s land. The duo showed good understanding and picked up many quick singles to keep the scorecard moving at a healthy rate.

India brought Harbhajan into the attack in the tenth over itself. The Punjab off-spinner got some turn and bounce from the wicket and was able to confuse the batsmen who however stuck doggedly to their ends.

Kumble replaced Harbhajan in the 20th over but he too could not break the partnership as England took lunch comfortably placed at 79 without loss. Trescothick was on 36 at that time while Butcher was batting on 35.

The two maintained the momentum into the second half and brought on the team’s hundred and their individual half-centuries. Trescothick came out to loft Kumble over mid-on for a boundary to raise his fifty. Butcher also reached the milestone with a four, driving Harbhajan Singh to the long-off fence.

Things finally started to happen for India in the 40th over when Kumble had Butcher caught by wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta for 51. Butcher, who faced 130 balls in 172 minutes and hit nine fours, went for a forward defensive shot but only managed a snick.

A couple of overs later Kumble produced the big wicket of Hussain, adjudged Leg Before Wicket by umpire Ian Robinson of Zimbabwe. The ball pitched in line and spun the other way hitting Hussain on his back leg. However, TV replays showed the ball could have missed the leg-stump. Hussain made just one run and England lost their second wicket at 144.

Trescothick then added 28 runs for the third wicket with Michael Vaughan, who did not play the first test at Mohali, before Kumble benefited from another doubtful decision from Robinson.

Vaughan was given out, caught bat-pad by Virender Sehwag at silly point but once again TV replays showed that the umpire Robinson may have erred once again. Vaughan made 11.

Meanwhile, Trescothick continued with his attractive stroke-play. The left-hander, who had scores of 65 and 46 in the first test at Mohali, batted confidently and played some fine drives on both sides of the wicket. He took ten runs, including two fours, from a particular over from Kumble to reach into his eighties.

England took tea at 176 for three with Trescothick batting on 99 and Mark Ramprakash yet to open his account. Kumble struck with the fifth ball after tea inducing an outside edge off Trescothick’s bat to give Dasgupta his second catch. Trescothick batted for 244 minutes during which he faced 156 balls, hitting eleven fours and a six off Harbhajan Singh.

Kumble then had new batsman Andrew Flintoff caught by V V S Laxman at silly point to reduce England to 180 for five. Flintoff faced just two balls and failed to score. Flintoff’s dismissal completed Kumble’s 18th five-wicket haul of his test career.

Ramprakash and Craig White then defied the Indian attack for more than an hour in a 59-run sixth wicket stand which took the English score beyond the 200-run mark.

The duo batted fluently and it seemed England were making a fine recovery from the quick strikes by Kumble. But Tendulkar broke their partnership with a beautiful googly that moved quickly after pitching and went through the bat and pad of Ramprakash to crash into the stumps. Ramprakash was out for 37 made off 49 balls including six fours and a six off Kumble.

That was the last success of the day for the Indians as White and foster batted cautiously after that. Kumble finished with figures of five for 80 from his 30 overs while Tendulkar’s one wicket cost him 23 runs from seven overs. (PTI)

SCOREBOARD

England 1st innings

M Butcher c Dasgupta b Kumble 51

M Trescothick c Dasgupta b Kumble 99

N Hussain LBW b Kumble 1

M Vaughan c Sehwag b Kumble 11

M Ramprakash b Tendulkar 37

A Flintoff c Laxman b Kumble 0

C White batting 42

J Foster batting 15

Extras (b-4, lb-12, nb-4, w-1) 21

Total (for 6 wkts, 90 overs) 277

Fall of wickets: 1-124, 2-144, 3-172, 4-176, 5-180, 6-239.

Bowling: Srinath 17-2-71-0, Yohannan 12-2-33-0, Harbhajan Singh 23-5-54-0, Kumble 30-5-80-5, Tendulkar 7-0-23-1, Sehwag 1-1-0-0. (PTI)

Pakistan coach to stay on until World Cup

KARACHI, Dec 11: Pakistan has extended the contract of cricket coach Mudassar Nazar through until the 2003 World Cup.

"Nazar wanted to be in a position where he could plan long-term for the team and produce consistent results," Cricket Board spokesman Khalid Butt told Reuters.

The former opener who played 76 tests between 1977 and 1989 was appointed coach in October initially until January after South African Richard Pybus decided not to resume his contract. (REUTERS)

Jammu Club’s Annual Sports Meet
Kamal to meet Khosa in Billiards semis today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 11: Title holder Kamal Rohmetra will take on senior cueist K K Khosa in the first semi-finals of the open Billiards tournament tomorrow at 4 pm in the ongoing Annual Sports Meet of the Jammu Club presently underway, here today.

In the second semi-finals, last year’s runners-up, Arun Gandotra will be meeting Karan Anand to maintain his status quo.

Earlier, before reaching the semi-finals, senior cueist K K Khosa, who is also patron of the Jammu and Kashmir Billiards and Snooker Association, sidelined his young opponent Basu Devan with huge margin of near 100 points.

In the beginning Khosa had taken a good lead, but had to undergo some slow moves in the middle sparing ample opportunities for young Basu, who made good attempts to recover from the initial loss. But, experienced K K Khosa turned the match towards him through a couple of good recognised breaks and showed his complete dominance thereafter. Khosa won the match 231-135.

The second semi-final comparatively witnessed a slow game from both Arun Gandotra and Sachin Sant. Arun, who last year had lost to Kamal Rohmetra, never allowed Sachin to cover the lead of over 50 points taken upto the first hour play. The final score was 193-102.

Devu and Sansar Singh were markers in today’s quarter-final encounters. Both the semi-finals will start at 4 pm.