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‘We expect a tougher fight from Indians,’ says Waugh KOLKATA, Mar 10: Australian captain Steve Waugh today said his team had targetted rival captain Saurav Ganguly to put pressure on the Indians .....more Gopichand
moves into BIRMINGHAM, Mar 10: India’s shining shuttler Pullela Gopichand beat Anders Boesen of Denmark in the quarter-finals of All England Badminton........more SYDNEY, Mar 10: The Australian Cricket Board today named a predictable 14-man squad for the five-match limited-overs series against India starting March 25.....more Australians
hoping to KOLKATA, Mar 10: Perched on the threshold of a dream series win against India at their own den, the all-conquering Australians will leave no stone unturned to realise their mission when they take on the beleaguered hosts in the second test beginning at the Eden Gardens here from tomorrow. ....more |
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J&K Junior fencers win Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: The junior fencing team of Jammu and Kashmir has bagged two medals in the recently concluded 8th Junior........more 10-day hockey orientation workshop ends Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: Ten-day hockey orientation workshop, organised by the J&K Rural Sports Club, concluded at Government Middle.....more Women Cricket Asso holds prize distribution function Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: The Jammu and Kashmir Women Cricket Association today organised its .....more Nonial
XI outplays Excelsior Sports Correspondent NOWSHERA, Mar 10: Nonial XI defeated Hundan XI by 32 runs in the final of the Kartar Singh Memorial Inter-Club ....more |
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‘We expect a tougher fight from Indians,’ says Waugh KOLKATA, Mar 10: Australian captain Steve Waugh today said his team had targetted rival captain Saurav Ganguly to put pressure on the Indians but was expecting a tougher fight from the hosts in the second test at Eden Gardens. "Yes, we have targetted the Indian captain. Any team will do that. He failed in the Mumbai test and we want to keep the pressure on him," he told reporters after a light workout. The Australian captain admitted that Ganguly was a very good player and it was upto him to find his form at his home ground. "He is a very good player and will no doubt try to regain his form at his home ground," he said. The Aussie captain, who has led his team to a record 16 consecutive test victories, felt the emphatic ten-wicket win in the mumbai test has given his side an edge but he was in no mood to take the Indians lightly. "You cannot take them (Indians) lightly. We are expecting a very good fight from them. The team that shows the urge to win more will end up victorious," he said. On the composition of the Australian team, Waugh said off-spinner Colin Miller had a good chance of playing the test though the playing eleven will be finalised tomorrow after having another look at the track. Waugh said the eleventh position in the team could either go to Colin Miller of Damien Fleming or Michael Kasprovich. The Australian captain said the batsmen were now much more confident of scoring runs on Indian pitches as most of them have found their forms. "Our batsmen have got used to the conditions and are now getting runs. But test match is a different ball game. It is important that they get the runs in the tests," the 35-year-old senior Waugh said. About the Eden garden track, Waugh said "it looks a good test wicket. We should expect a good match." On whether the team will be affected by the hot and humid conditions in the city, he said "heat is not going to be a factor. We are prepared." (PTI) |
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Gopichand moves into All England semi-finals BIRMINGHAM, Mar 10: India’s shining shuttler Pullela Gopichand beat Anders Boesen of Denmark in the quarter-finals of All England Badminton Championships to move into the semi-finals. Gopichand downed Boesen 15-11, 15-7 yesterday. Earlier, he had produced one of the biggest upsets at the championships by beating Olympic title-holder Ji Xinpeng 15-3, 15-9 to book a quarter-final place. The 27-year-old from Bangalore has been on the circuit for some time without ever hitting the heights. But remarkably his CV now includes the scalps of all three olympic champions in a sport which made its Olympic Games debut only in 1992. In the past, Gopichand has scripted wins over 1992 gold medallist Allan Budi Kusuma of Indonesia and 1996 atlanta winner Poul Erik Hoyer-Larsen of Denmark. After the victory over Boesen, Gopichand is likely to take on the Dane’s compatriot Peter Gade, the world number one. (REUTERS) |
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SYDNEY, Mar 10: The Australian Cricket Board today named a predictable 14-man squad for the five-match limited-overs series against India starting March 25. The only change to the side that won this year’s triangular series with West Indies and Zimbabwe was the inclusion of fast bowler Jason Gillespie who is back from injury. Nine of the players already involved in the test series in India will stay on for the one-dayers with the other five being replaced in keeping with Australia’s successful policy of choosing different teams. One-day specialists Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken will fly to India later this month to join the squad while Michael Slater, Justin Langer, Colin Miller, Michael Kasprowicz and Matthew Hayden will return home after the third and final test. Australian one-day squad: Steve Waugh (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Nathan Bracken, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh. (REUTERS) |
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Australians hoping to fulfil dream mission at Eden Gardens KOLKATA, Mar 10: Perched on the threshold of a dream series win against India at their own den, the all-conquering Australians will leave no stone unturned to realise their mission when they take on the beleaguered hosts in the second test beginning at the Eden Gardens here from tomorrow. The visitors, with their confidence at its peak with a record-smashing 16 consecutive test victories behind them, have virtually looked invincible in their current form and only a passionate display by the Indians can stop the Australian juggernaut from steamrolling to another historic triumph. The emphatic ten-wicket victory in the first test in Mumbai has shattered the myth that the formidable Aussies were vulnerable to spin bowling. The victory also proved that they had now adjusted well to the slow wickets in the sub-continent. It has been 31 years since the Australians won a test series in India and captain Sourav Ganguly and his men face a daunting task to prevent the visitors from re-writing their sub-continental track record. Captain Steve Waugh had declared before the tour that their winning streak would mean very little if the team could not win in India and his teammates have responded to the challenge splendidly by scripting a victory within three days in Mumbai. But the Australian quest for a series-clinching victory has suffered a big jolt with the banning of dashing opener Michael Slater from playing the Eden test. Slater has been banned for the test and imposed a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee by ICC match referee Cammie Smith for violating the code of conduct and regulations for commenting on the controversial catch of Rahul Dravid to an Australian radio. The opening batsman has not been in very good form on the tour so far but is known to be a dangerous customer and the Australians will surely miss his services. The Indians, still licking the wounds of their humiliating ten-wicket defeat in Mumbai, will have to put up a far more inspired show to counter the rampaging aussies who seem unstoppable at the moment. Barring maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who literally waged a lone battle in Mumbai, all the other batsmen succumbed without much of a fight on a track which favoured the bowlers. Outplayed in all departments of the game, the hosts will have to erase the bitter memories of Mumbai and start believing in their own abilities. No doubt, the batsmen will have to show more application and determination if the home team wished to keep their home record against Australia untarnished. Unlike the Aussies who have a very balanced line-up, the Indians lack match-winning bowlers while their batsmen have not really lived upto their awesome reputation. The Indians have tended to depend too much on Sachin Tendulkar to pull the team out of the pits and it was high time that the other batsmen showed that they were also good enough with the willow. The poor form of captain Sourav Ganguly has been a worrying factor for the hosts and hopefully the electrifying atmosphere at his home ground will serve as the perfect stage for a return to form. Ganguly, who opted to play for the Board President’s XI to get some practice, scored a patchy 40, while the Aussies deprived him of getting a feel of the bowling by not declaring their second innings. A big score is also due from the dependable Rahul Dravid who has tended to play too defensively, allowing the bowlers to tie him down often. The Indian opening pair of Sadagopan Ramesh and the young Shiv Sundar Das has to provide a solid start to lay the foundation of a big score. The duo has the reponsibility of negotiating the early venom of the Aussie speedsters Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie. But bowling continues to remain India’s main worry and the injury to key bowlers like Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath has only increased it. The Indians were likely to go into the match with four specialist bowlers and retain all the batsmen. Left arm spinner Venkatpathy Raju and Venkatesh Prasad, both making a comeback into the team, were almost certain to feature in the playing 11. (PTI) |
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J&K Junior fencers win two medals in Nationals Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: The junior fencing team of Jammu and Kashmir has bagged two medals in the recently concluded 8th Junior National Fencing Championship which was held at Bangalore. Junior boys claimed silver medal in team events, while girls finished third to secure bronze. Soon after their return, the office bearers of the J&K Fencing Association and the team members called on the Secretary, State Sports Council in his office chamber. Secretary appreciated the medal winners, besides the coach and office bearers of the Association for bringing laurels to the State. |
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10-day hockey orientation workshop ends Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: Ten-day hockey orientation workshop, organised by the J&K Rural Sports Club, concluded at Government Middle School, Simbal Morh, here today. Mr Amrik Singh, Sarpanch, Makhanpur Gujran was the chief guest, while Mr Kulwant Singh Kulla, Panch, was guest of honour. The Club claimed that during the workshop, over 100 rural and border area youths of tehsil R S Pura took part. Besides training, a couple of friendly matches were also organised by the programme incharge, Mr Amolak Singh. At the end, Club president, Narinder Sigh and general secretary, Parminder Singh thanked the special invitees and campers. |
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Women Cricket Asso holds prize distribution function Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Mar 10: The Jammu and Kashmir Women Cricket Association today organised its prize distribution function for the winners and runners-up teams of the Provincial level Women Cricket Tournament which was held at Jammu in the month of December. Besides the trophies to the winners of the Provincial level tournament, special prizes were also given to the team members, who represented J&K in the Junior North-Zone Cricket Championship held at Udhampur. On the occasion, the general secretary of the Association, Shambu Nath Sharma also announced the names of best players in the Sub-junior and Junior level. Cheena Sharma was declared best player in the junior group, whileas in the Sub-junior category, Shveta Slathia got the distinguished award. Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Mr Anil Goswami was the chief guest, who gave away prizes to the outstanding players. Mr Goswami was flanked by his wife, Neeru Mahajan, who is president of the J&K Women Cricket Association and Secretary, State Sports Council, Sheikh Fazal Ahmed. In his brief address, Mr Goswami had all praise for the women cricketers. He said the country has a lot of expectations from them, because of their performance in the international competitions including the World Cup. Mr Goswami was of the view that the men cricketers have brought a bad name to the country. "Not only this, the present team has no worth if Sachin Tendulkar is singled out of it", he added. Vote of thanks was presented by the chairman of the organising committee, Prof Ashutosh Sharma, who is also joint secretary of the State Sports Council. The function was also attended by the parents, coaches and officials of the State Sports Council. |
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Nonial XI outplays Hundan XI, wins Karan Memorial trophy Excelsior Sports Correspondent NOWSHERA, Mar 10: Nonial XI defeated Hundan XI by 32 runs in the final of the Kartar Singh Memorial Inter-Club Cricket Tournament, organised by the Indian Youth Organisation (Rural), to claim the winners trophy at Army Ground, Kalsian, here. Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, Nonial XI set a target of 135 runs in the allotted 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets. Jaspal Singh was the top scorer with 54 runs, while Rajinder contributed 28 runs off 12 balls. Rashpal and Sham shared two wickets each, while Romesh took one for Hundan XI. Later, Hundan XI could not face the quick bowling of Nonial XI and bowled out for 102 runs in 18.4 overs. Although, openers Suraj and Surinder Singh contributed 64 runs for the first wicket partnership, but the middle order could not take benefit of a good foundation and lost easy wickets. The whole side was bowled out for 102 runs, thus losing the final by 32 runs. From Nonial XI, Rajinder shattered the opponent’s innings by claiming four wickets, while Jaspal and Mohanty took two each. Mr Satpal, Sarpanch, was the chief guest, while Mr K L Sharma, organising secretary of the tournament conducted the proceedings of the final match and prize distribution function. |
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