HARARE, June 14: India will be up against not only a more determined home side but also a miserable record at the ground when they go into the second test against Zimbabwe starting here tomorrow chasing a rare series win on foreign soil............more

Badani to open innings
in second test: Wright

HARARE, June 14: Indian coach John Wright today confirmed Hemang Badani will open the innings.........more

Busy with wives
Australian top trio in
doubt for Indian series

MELBOURNE, June 14: Australia captain Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne may be ........more

Saheli Barua shocks
Vijayalakshmi in Chess

NEW DELHI, June 14: Already assured of a fourth champion’s title on a trot, Women.....more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 14: The Jammu and Kashmir Wrestlers Welfare Association has lodged a strong ....more

All India Air Force
Hockey Champ at Jammu

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 14: The Air Force Jammu is hosting seven days long All India Air Force Hockey........more

Browne, Mohammed
selected for West
Indies in Kenya

KINGSTON, June 14: Wicketkeeper Courtney Browne of Barbados and Trinidad left-arm spinner......more

Top seed Safin beaten by
Wessels at Queen’s club

LONDON, June 14: Top seed Marat Safin wasted two match points as he was knocked out of the.....more

Mr Suresh Gupta, president, Rotary Club, Udhampur, flagging off a group of 54 trekkers of National Academy, Udhampur for Kullu-Manali Himalayan trekking programme being organised by Tawi Trekkers, J&K. Mr Vishwa Mohan Sharma and Mrs Nisha Sharma, principal and vice-principal of the school respectively also accompanied the group. The group is being led by Mr Tashi Tsering and Dr Avineet Syal and Dr Abdul Mannan as medical officers.

India look set to defy history

HARARE, June 14: India will be up against not only a more determined home side but also a miserable record at the ground when they go into the second test against Zimbabwe starting here tomorrow chasing a rare series win on foreign soil.

India have bitter memories of this ground having lost the one-off test in 1998. Even in Zimbabwe’s inaugural test in 1992, they had to struggle to earn a draw.

On the other hand, four of the five test wins for the hosts have come on this ground.

But to say that the Indians are on a high after their comprehensive eight-wicket win in the first match in Bulawayo would be to state the obvious. The visitors have one of the most balanced sides in years and almost all of them are in top form.

The first win outside the sub-continent in 15 years has done wonders for their confidence and, as some of the players said after the win in Bulawayo, they would go all out for a 2-0 series win.

Having said that, the hosts too have prepared well for this test with captain Heath Streak and coach Carl Rackemann saying they have identified their mistakes in the first test and have modified their strategy. Zimbabwe was very capable of surprising the Indians, both of them stressed.

The Indians are most likely to include Hemang Badani as an opener as his statemate Sadgopan Ramesh has not yet recovered from a back injury. Badani, who will make his debut if included, has never opened an innings in his first class career but has impressed with his sound technique.

He made full use of the opportunity given to him in the tour match against CFX Academy when he scored 35 attractive runs as an opener before retiring. On the other hand, Ramesh has struggled on this tour with scores of just 2 and 17 in the Bulawayo test.

Another Indian who needs to come good with the bat is skipper Saurav Ganguly. After a nightmarish series against Australia back home, Ganguly has so far failed to click on this tour also. Though he has succeeded as captain, Ganguly knows he needs to get the runs on the board to silence his critics.

With conditions once again favourable to fast bowling, the trio of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra would be expected to come up with a performance similar to that in the first test.

Ganguly yesterday cleared all doubts regarding Nehra’s participation in the match saying the left-hander from Delhi will definitely play. Nehra had put in an impressive performance in the first test claiming five wickets including that of Andy Flower in both the innings. But he was stopped from bowling for the rest of the innings for damaging the pitch in his follow-through.

Zimbabwe, who were handicapped by the absence of streak and Henry Olonga in the Indian second innings at Bulawayo, would be bolstered by the presence of fast bowler Travis Friend. Friend had missed the first test due to injury and is all set to make his debut here.

"Friend is fully fit for the game. He looked good in the nets today and is bowling with a great pace. He would make it this time (second test)," Streak said.

Streak himself is raring to go though he is still to be declared fully fit but Olonga will miss the test. Streak said his team had carefully studied the mistakes in the first test and was working hard to rectify them.

"We realised where we had our downfall and hopefully we will put it right in friday’s test," he said.

"We let Harbhajan Singh get away with a bit more than he should have... Now with a better balanced side, without any injuries, hopefully we won’t let that happen again.

"We lacked patience while batting in our first innings and the guys mistimed their shots and we have to address that in this test," Streak said.

Both teams expressed satisfaction with the pitch which seems a little more spinner-friendly than the one at Bulawayo thought the fast bowlers will continue to enjoy an advantage.

Teams (from):

India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Sadgopan Ramesh, V V S Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Hemang Badani, Samir Dighe, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Debashish Mohanty, Ashish Nehra, Sairaj Bahutule, Ajit Agarkar.

Zimbabwe: Heath Streak (captain), Dion Ebrahim, Guy Whittall, Stuart Carlisle, Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Brighton Watambwa, Andy Blignaut, Travis Friend, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga, Gavin Rennie.

Umpires: Ashoka De Silva (Sri Lanka) and Ian Robinson (Zimbabwe).

Match referee: Denis Lindsay (South Africa). (PTI)

Badani to open innings in second test: Wright

HARARE, June 14: Indian coach John Wright today confirmed Hemang Badani will open the innings alongwith Shiv Sunder Das in the second test against Zimbabwe starting here tomorrow.

"Badani will open the batting. He wants to..." Wright said, adding the Tamil Nadu left-hander was given a choice to bat either as an opener or at number seven and he opted to open.

"Looking at the wicket and other factors, I think it is a good opportunity for him. It will not be held against him as he is basically a middle order batsman. It is his first opportunity in this position," he said.

Badani, who will make his test debut tomorrow, has never opened the innings in his first class career but he possesses a sound technique and impressed when given the opportunity in a three-day match against CFX Academy where he scored an attractive 35 before retiring.

Badani gets his first test in place of his statemate Sadgopan Ramesh who has not recovered from a back injury he sustained while fielding in the first test.

Wright said Badani had it in him to make a transition from a middle-order batsman to an opener and expressed confidence that the stylish left-hander will make the most of the opportunity offered to him.

"In my point of view, he has the technique to open the batting. Some people can make the transition and some can’t. There is this psychology of the whole position. But Hemang wants to do it and I think he would do a good job. He will put in his 100 per cent," Wright said.

"He is a quality player. It is an opportunity for him," Wright said.

"A person must want to open the batting. If he is going out in the middle at an unlikely position and is not comfortable, then it is not going to work. But we are in a position where we do not have an extra specialist opener on this tour. If something has to happen, this is the best option."

Wright said fast bowler Ashish Nehra had corrected his run up and would feature in the second test. "In the two nets we had here, there was absolutely no problem with Nehra. He didn’t tread on to the danger line. We are very confident that the problem will not arise again."

Nehra was stopped from bowling in Zimbabwe’s second innings in the first test after he was repeatedly found to be damaging the pitch in his follow-through.

There were some doubts over his participation in the second test but the bowler corrected his run-up and the process was smooth.

"It didn’t require much work. Not at all. It was very marginal in the first place. He is aware of all sorts of things about his bowling. He is also a very quick learner," Wright said.

The coach was diplomatic in his comment on Nehra being dropped for the triangular series starting on June 23 with West Indies as the third team. "Well, he is not in the squad. But he has been our best bowler. He has been a standout performer and I think everyone has been aware of it."

Asked whether the announcement of one-day squad ahead of the second test will affect the performance of those who have been dropped, Wright said, "players have to be professional enough to take the disappointment in their stride and still keep performing."

Captain Saurav Ganguly said India will once again go in with three medium-pacers and a spinner. "The three seamers have done pretty well and the wicket will help them. I don’t think the wicket will turn much. Two spinners will be a luxury.’’

"There is so much less grass on the wicket this time than the one we played here in 1998. It will be a good wicket to bat on," he said.

Ganguly said he was not perturbed about his own form. "If you look at it, I have failed in only two test matches in Mumbai and Chennai. Here I got a rough decision. I just have to back myself."

He said the team had chalked out a strategy to contain Andy Flower who is having a prolific run against the Indians. "We must bowl in the rightt. He is due for a failure now." (PTI)

Busy with wives
Australian top trio in doubt for Indian series

MELBOURNE, June 14: Australia captain Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne may be unavailable for a proposed one-day series at home to India in September because their wives are due to give birth.

Waugh is due to discuss his availability with Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Malcolm Speed in London during the next seven days, a board spokesman said here today.

"I doubt whether I’ll be playing because Lynette’s due on the 20th of September," Waugh said in Manchester where his team play England in a Triangular series day-night match at Old Trafford later today.

"I think Glenn McGrath’s wife (Jane) is due on the 23rd, so that’s two players who’d be struggling. Shane Warne’s wife (Simone) is due the week after, so it’s a difficult one," the Australian skipper added.

Speed, who takes over as International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive in July, will be in London for the traditional June meeting of the ICC at Lord’s next week.

ACB public affairs general manager Brendan McClements told Reuters: "I know Malcolm has left today for the ICC meeting. I’m sure he’ll take the opportunity to sit down with Steve."

"It’s an issue we talk to the players about and we try to be sympathetic. Cricket is played regularly these days and Steve accepts that. They know this (tournament) is a big money-spinner."

The Australian team do not return home from the three-month Ashes tour until September 1, leaving little rest time before the projected Indian series.

But McClements said the players had already been allocated their minimum requirement of six weeks’ leave, which fell before the Ashes tour.

Waugh said late additions to an already tight schedule were "not ideal" but added the players were aware such tournaments were lucrative for them under a new agreement signed with the board last month.

"The boys know they’re big-money ventures, a lot of money is generated from them, of which the players get a percentage back in revenue," Waugh said.

Speed was quoted as saying by the Australian newspaper that although the players would be coming off a gruelling Ashes tour, they would be expected to honour their increasingly lucrative contracts.

"They are aware that they are well-paid and they will be required from time to time to play in matches when, traditionally, they would have rested," Speed said.

While he is at the ICC meeting, speed is to meet Indian officials to confirm their participation in the three-match one-day series in Australia in late September. (REUTERS)

Saheli Barua shocks Vijayalakshmi in Chess

NEW DELHI, June 14: Already assured of a fourth champion’s title on a trot, Women Grandmaster Subbaraman Vijaylaksmi let complacency creep in as she allowed International Women Master Saheli Barua to inflict defeat on her in a marathon match of the 12th and penultimate round of the 27th National Womens ‘A’ Chess Championship here today.

Despite the shock defeat, Vijayalakshmi (9.5) enjoys a 1.5 points lead over her younger sister IWM Subbaraman Meenakshi, who is on a scholarship with Indian Airlines, and Swati Ghate of LIC.

In with a chance to fill the coveted fourth spot that will ensure a place in the national team is double WGM norm holder Aarthie Ramaswamy of Wipro and IWM Bhagyashree Thipsay of IDBI on 7.5 points.

Bhagyashree has a tough customer in Vijayalakshmi tomorrow in the last round while Aarthie play against lowly placed M R Sangeetha of Tamil Nadu.

Aiming for one more win, Vijayalakshmi became over-ambitious in a queens gambit declined game with white pieces.

Taking a cue from her husband, GM Dibyendu Barua’s, opening repertoire, Saheli equalised in the exchange variation without much difficulty and it was a level endgame with the minor pieces getting exchanged at regular intervals when Vijayalakshmi lost control and went down after a gruelling duel lasting 79 moves.

Meenakshi defeated former national champion IWM Anupama Gokhale to put her out of contention for a place in the national squad. The Fianchetto variation of the slav defence gave Meenakshi a level position after the opening and the queens got exchanged as early as on the 8th move.

The ensuing middlegame was played extremely well by Meenakshi and she got a favourable rooks and pawns endgame to romp home in 48 moves.

Swati Ghate outsmarted Sangeetha in a closed variation of the sicilian defence with black pieces. After the exchange of couple of minor pieces and the queen by the 16th move, Swati struck on the queenside with routine pawn advances and got a decisive advantage.

Bhagyashree made short work of Dolan Champa Bose of Jharkhand in a bishops opening game with black pieces. Dolan went for unwarranted complications in the middlegame and had to pay heavy dividends as Bhagyashree invaded through the king side with menacing threats. Dolan resigned in 28 moves.

Aarthie had to sweat hard before getting the full point from Saimeera Ravi in the open variation of the Ruy Lopez with white pieces. After getting a slight advantage in the middlegame Aarthie pressed it home after 55 moves.

Results (round 12):

Saheli Barua (6.5) bt S Vijayalakshmi (9.5); A Gokhale (6) lost to S Meenakshi (8); M R Sangeetha (3.5) lost to Swati Ghate (8); D C Bose (3.5) lost to Bhagyashree Thipsay (7.5); Saimeera Ravi (4.5) lost to R Aarthie (7.5); Y Pratibha (5) drew Nisha Mohota (6); D Harika (5.5) bt Pallavi Shah (3). (PTI)

Wrestlers’ Association complains of non-sporting
attitude by State unit

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, June 14: The Jammu and Kashmir Wrestlers Welfare Association has lodged a strong protest with the Wrestling Federation of India over the non-sporting attitude of the State unit led by Mr Satvir Singh.

In a letter written to the Federation president, welfare association alleged that both president and general secretary ( R K Maini) of the Jammu and Kashmir Wrestling Association were not taking interest in the upliftment of the game in this part of the country.

The State unit has not only failed to hold the domestic activities, but lost faith amongst the wrestlers, who have not been paid their dues with regard to the national participations, alleged the Wrestlers Welfare Association, president, Inderjeet Khajuria.

Furthermore, the secretary never selected the State team in time, resulting into no representation from the State in the Sub-junior and resorted to ‘pick and choose’ in Juniors Nationals.

It is a wanton destruction of the talent at the very young and upcoming stage at the hands of the association, said Mr Khajuria adding that the Association has repeated its misdeeds, within a month’s time, by not giving the wrestlers required time for trials for the selection of the Junior team.

Describing one such case of non-seriousness, the welfare association in the letter pointed that for the junior cadets trials, the State unit issued the handout in the press just a day before the date fixed for the trials, whereas, in Haryana and Punjab the same notice was published on May 25 for trials fixed for June 2 and June 3.

Giving only few hours time for the trials was mere an eye wash because the wrestlers from districts other than Jammu cannot reach the venue for the selection trials, it was explained in the letter.

As per the norms laid down, the State Association has to hand over the list of selected probables to the State Sports Council well in advance for holding coaching camps and other related formalities. And, in response to that, the Council has to pay the campers sufficient refreshment during the camp days. The Council also has the provision of TA/DA for the participants. So by not informing the Council, the Association has denied participants a camp and other benefits.

The Association urged the Federation to look into the matter, so that the indigenous game may not suffer any more in this part of the country.

At present, the J&K Wrestling Association has become a divided house. The infighting and lust for power has dragged the Association to the court of law. And a case regarding elections, filled by one group against those in power, is still pending in the court. The elections were held in March this .