Sinclair scores double
ton for New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH, Mar 16: New Zealand were bowled out for 476 today, with Mathew Sinclair not out on a superb 204 on the second day of the.....more

Brian Lara & Courtney Walsh

Lara searches for
big score, Walsh for
500th wicket

PORT OF SPAIN, Mar 16: Brian Lara will be looking for a big score, Courtney Walsh his 500th test wicket and West Indies their first test win in......more

Ganguly sees no
pressure, keen
to wrap up series

CHENNAI, Mar 16: Captain Saurav Ganguly today denied the team was under any pressure follow.....more

Samir Dighe summoned
to Chennai for third test

MUMBAI, Mar 16: Mumbai skipper Samir Dighe is likely to replace wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia in .....more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: NGR Club won the inaugural match of the Ist Wazir Masih Memorial Football Tournament ..........more

CGEWCC’s Sports Meet
Cricket
Naresh, Atul guide
AIR-DD win over SAI

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: Splendid quick knocks by Naresh and Atul guided AIR-DD (All India Radio— Doordarshan) combined.....more

ASI beat NSSO to claim Badminton team title

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: Balbir Jamwal made it a double win when he won the individual final and fought shoulder to shoulder with B R Mani .....more

21 Bn win opening Kabaddi match in CRPF Inter-Bn

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: The 21 Bn outplayed 136 Bn 35-22 in the inaugural match of the 4th CRPF Inter-Bn Kabaddi......more

Sinclair scores double ton for New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH, Mar 16: New Zealand were bowled out for 476 today, with Mathew Sinclair not out on a superb 204 on the second day of the second test against Pakistan at Christchurch.

The tourists began their reply in the early evening and after three overs had already lost Imran Farhat, caught by Chris Drum off the bowling of Chris Martin for four.

Pakistan were six for one, with Ijaz Ahmed two and Faisal Iqbal yet to score.

It was an intelligent and timely innings from Sinclair —and full of drama as the number three only had test debutant Drum and Martin to accompany him to his double ton.

Drum is no mug with the bat, but Martin had scored just 12 runs from his seven test innings before Friday.

Sinclair nursed the two tailenders, refusing to take runs if it meant giving up the strike, and finally got his 200 when he hit Saqlain Mushtaq over square leg for six.

In the next over Martin was out, bowled by Mushtaq.

The post-lunch session saw a rare even contest in the match with Pakistan claiming two wickets — Adam Parore for 46, lbw to Saqlain Mushtaq, and Daryl Tuffey for 13, perhaps harshly adjudged lbw to Fazl-e-Akbar.

That gave Fazl his best figures in his third test, three for 87. He and Saqlain were the pick of the Pakistani bowlers on Friday.

Waqar Younis proved expensive, being particularly punished by Sinclair, and Mohammad Sami lacked the form that earned him eight wickets in the Auckland test, remaining wicketless.

Sinclair and Parore had a 101-run partnership, which took 132 minutes and 205 balls.

SCOREBOARD:

New Zealand first innings

M Richardson b Saqlain 46

M Bell c Faisal b Saqlain 75

M Sinclair not out 204

S Fleming run out (Younis) 32

N Astle c Moin b Waqar 6

G Bradburn c Farhat b Fazl 0

C McMillan c Younis b Fazl 20

A Parore lbw b Saqlain 46

D Tuffey lbw b Fazl 13

C Drum c Moin b Waqar 4

C Martin b Waqar 0

Extras (lb-17,nb-10,b-2,w-1) 30

Total (all out, 156 overs) 476

Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-163, 3-248, 4-276, 5-282, 6-327, 7-428, 8-449, 9-468.

Bowling: Waqar 34-6-114-3 (w-1), Sami 36-4-107-0 (nb-8), Fazl 32-6-87-3 (nb-1), Saqlain 48-11-134-3 (nb-1), Younis 6-1-15-0. (REUTERS)

Lara searches for big score, Walsh for 500th wicket

PORT OF SPAIN, Mar 16: Brian Lara will be looking for a big score, Courtney Walsh his 500th test wicket and West Indies their first test win in ten outings in the second test against South Africa starting tomorrow.

The home team ended a losing streak of seven successive losses when the first test ended in a draw in Georgetown last Tuesday.

Tomorrow, their confidence boosted by a much-improved display under new captain Carl Hooper, they will hope to go one better on one of their favourite hunting grounds.

"Myself apart when I dropped a catch, we looked like a good fielding side and we looked like a good batting side," said Hooper.

"Apart from Wavell Hinds, we have had all six batsmen getting scores of 30 and (Dinananth) Ramnarine bowling well, so there are a number of positive things which we take into this game.

"We are optimistic we can do well but we are not overconfident and we are conscious that we are playing a very good South African side."

Hooper seemed especially impressed with Ramnarine, who pestered the South African batsman throughout the first test.

"Ramnarine is probably the first West Indian leg spinner for a long time to bowl long spells. I can’t remember a West Indian spinner playing back to back test matches in the Caribbean," he said.

He is also expecting great things of 20-year-old batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, a fellow guyanese, who was run out nine runs short of his maiden test century in Georgetown.

"I’m also excited about him, he is probably waiting for a chance to prove his worth. I’m sure that come the end of the series, he will be one of the outstanding young players," he said.

West Indies’ last test victory was the first of the series against England last year. After that, they drew one and lost three against England, lost all five in Australia and then drew with South Africa.

Much of their hopes will be pinned on lara, who will playing on his home ground, finally getting a big score.

After resigning the captaincy and taking four months off, Lara returned against England last year and — although he has often batted well — he has struggled to make the big scores for which he is famous.

In Guyana, he hit 47 and 45 and on both occasions was out just as he seemed to be getting into his majestic stride.

"I suppose it is a bit disappointing but the positive sign is that he looks as if he is getting his touch back and perhaps he will get a three-figure score in (the second test in) Trinidad," said Hooper. West Indies’ last test victory was the first of the series against England last year. After that, they drew one and lost three against England, lost all five in Australia and then drew with South Africa.

Much of their hopes will be pinned on Lara, who will playing on his home ground, finally getting a big score.

After resigning the captaincy and taking four months off, Lara returned against England last year and — although he has often batted well — he has struggled to make the big scores for which he is famous.

In Guyana, he hit 47 and 45 and on both occasions was out just as he seemed to be getting into his majestic stride.

"I suppose it is a bit disappointing but the positive sign is that he looks as if he is getting his touch back and perhaps he will get a three-figure score in (the second test in) Trinidad," said Hooper.

Many eyes will also be on Walsh, who took two wickets in Guyana and needs only four more to become the first to take 500 in test cricket.

Some wonder, however, whether the looming target is distracting the 38-year-old from his bowling.

Hooper warned that conditions would be very different to Georgetown’s slow batting pitch and said he believed a result —one way or the other — was likely.

"This wicket is totally different, the conditions are totally different, this is normally a ground where a result is produced," he said.

Hooper, who recalled getting a duck in his first test appearance at the Oval against Pakistan, said he was happy batting down the order at number six to guide the tail-enders.

"Our tail is still long, but we need to have somebody with some degree of experience to hang around at the tail and I think I am the man to do that job."

The match will be the 50th at the queen’s park oval, which will become only the seventh ground in the world the reach the half century mark. (REUTERS)

Ganguly sees no pressure, keen to wrap up series

CHENNAI, Mar 16: Captain Saurav Ganguly today denied the team was under any pressure following the epochal win against Australia at Kolkatta and said it was keen on winning the third and final test starting here on Sunday.

"In that way, pressure is there even when you lose. But we are keen to win the series. We are geared up to achieve our goal," he told reporters here when asked whether he felt any pressure going into the series decider.

Earlier, Ganguly along with coach John Wright and manager Chetan Chauhan watched Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and seven of his teammates going through net practice and strenuous physical exercise at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, the venue of the final test.

Speedster Javgal Srinath, who is still uncertain for the match because of the finger injury he sustained in the Mumbai test, bowled long spells at the nets.

He looked to be doing fine, but Chauhan said a decision on him would be taken only tomorrow.

Along with Tendulkar, openers Shiv Sunder Das and Sadgopan Ramesh and Hemang Badani batted for over 90 minutes each at the nets, while Sairaj Bahatule, Nilesh Kulkarni, Sarandeep Singh and Srinath bowled on the trot for hours. (PTI)

Samir Dighe summoned to Chennai for third test

MUMBAI, Mar 16: Mumbai skipper Samir Dighe is likely to replace wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia in the third and final test against Australia starting at Chennai on Sunday as the India stumper has not recovered from a nose injury he suffered on the last day of the Kolkata test.

Mumbai Cricket Association joint secretary Mayank Khandwala told PTI here today that Dighe would fly to Chennai this evening after captain Saurav Ganguly called up to say that the wicket-keeper batsman be rushed to join the team.

Mongia was injured by an Harbhajan Singh delivery and needed a couple of stitches on his nose yesterday.

Though he came back and kept wickets, there was some swelling on his nose and an X-ray was to be done today.

Cricket Board secretary J Y Lele was not aware of the development when contacted at Baroda on phone and only said an X-ray was to be done on Mongia.

Ranji trophy champions, Mumbai, who are scheduled to play their quarter-final match against Punjab from March 20 to 24 will be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni and Dighe, all of whom would be doing service for the country in the third test. (PTI)

Wazir Masih Memorial Football
NGR Club beat New Bharat 7-6 in sudden death

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: NGR Club won the inaugural match of the Ist Wazir Masih Memorial Football Tournament beating New Bharat Club 7-6 in sudden death at Mini-Stadium, Parade, here this evening.

Earlier, in the stipulated time both the sides failed to score any goal, thus ending the tie in a goalless draw. Later, in the tie-breaker, again the match remained inconclusive with five successful shots into the goal from either side.

However, in the sudden deaths, NGR Club emerged victorious by hitting the golden goal.

Those netted the ball from the winners side were Sohail, Avinash, Rajat, Harinder, Kamal, Parveen Kumar and Sanjay. While’s from New Bharat, Pawan, Raj Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Ravi and Anil Kumar netted the ball.

Today’s inaugural match was officiated by Suresh Dimple, Samsan, Rakesh Sandhu and Raju.

Tomorrow’s fixture: Christain Stars will take on National Club at 3 pm.

The tournament, wherein 16 are taking part, is being organised by the Churchill Brothers Football Club, Jammu under the auspices of J&K Football Association.