THIRUVANANTHPURAM, Oct 25: Expressing satisfaction over the Indian team’s performance in ..........more

Khanolkar’s ton
helps Railways make
a spirited reply

PUNE, Oct 25: Giving a fitting reply to an imposing total by the West Indies, Railways raced to 179 for ........more

Sehwag joins Adidas
bandwagon

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Till now it was just the cricket field where the two were compared........more

Bengal beat Assam,
Maharashtra draw
with Services

IMPHAL, Oct 25: Strong contenders Bengal earned full points against Assam while Maharashtra and ........more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 25: In a surprised move, Pallav Gupta fought from behind to upset the district champion and strong cueist, Kuldeep Sharma (Chowdhary) in the semi-finals league encounter today........more

Inter-College competitions
PG Deptts, Commerce
College in Chess final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 25: Post Graduate(PG) Departments of University of Jammu and Government SPMR College of Commerce have sailed into the final of Inter-college Chess competitions currently underway at University of Jammu, here.........more

Sunita's coach suspended

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Sports Authority of India today suspended drug-tainted athlete Sunita Rani’s coach Renu Kohli........more

Nair hopes India’s winning run continues till World Cup

THIRUVANANTHPURAM, Oct 25: Expressing satisfaction over the Indian team’s performance in recent months, cricket board secretary S K Nair today hoped that the team’s winning run would continue till the next World Cup in South Africa early next year.

"The Indian team has generated a good spirit and they are on a winning path. We hope that this would last till the next World Cup," nair said at a meet-the-press programme here.

Nair said the team had shown a lot of promise in winning the Natwest Trophy in England, the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and the first two tests against West Indies at home.

"When the team leaves for a tour of New Zealand later this year, it would get more practice on pitches of different nature which would be very helpful ahead of the World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe," he said.

Asked whether India should have different teams for tests and one-dayers, Nair said the issue was for the selection committee to decide and some experimentations had already been made in this regard.

"Important players of the Indian batting line-up in ODIs like Yuvaraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif, are not in the test side," he pointed out.

On the resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties, Nair said cricket board could only abide by the Government’s decision in this regard. "There should be specific instruction from the Government to revive the ties," he said.

On the issue of Gujarat being allocated three matches of the one-day series between India and West Indies, Nair said the games had been given on a rotational basis as per the BCCI rules.

Gujarat had three cricket associations and under the BCCI procedures international matches would be allocated strictly on rotation, he said.

To a query on excessive cricket being played leading to player burn-outs, Nair said ICC was allotting matches on reciprocal basis after consultations with captains of all teams, coaches and organisers of member countries.

A team would play a maximum of 35 one-dayers and seven test matches in a calendar year, he said. (PTI)

Khanolkar’s ton helps Railways make a spirited reply

PUNE, Oct 25: Giving a fitting reply to an imposing total by the West Indies, Railways raced to 179 for one at close on a high-scoring second day of the three-day match here today with Shreyas Khanolkar hammering a brilliant century.

In a surprise move, Railways decided to send Khanolkar and Murali Kartik as their opening pair. The gamble paid unexpected dividends as the duo knocked off 167 runs after West Indies had declared their first innings at 449 for eight.

Khanolkar smashed 102 runs off just 92 deliveries with 20 boundaries before being caught by Darren Powell at covers just before the close of play.

Kartik, who generally comes at number ten, also showed his batting prowess and was unbeaten on 72 at stumps while Tejinderpal Singh was on two.

West Indies had earlier recovered from the loss of six quick wickets to post a challenging total. Resuming at their overnight 297 for two, West Indies slumped to 354 for eight before Gareth Breese and Mahendra Nagamootoo came up with fine partnership for the ninth wicket.

Breese struck 57 runs while Nagamootoo chipped in with 39 as they added 95 runs for the unfinished ninth wicket before West Indies declared their innings at the stroke of tea.

For Railways, Kulamani Parida finished with four wickets for 107 runs while Harvinder Singh claimed one wicket.

West Indies found the going extremely tough in the morning session when they could add just 50 runs in 27 overs while losing three important wickets.

The two overnight batsmen, Darren Ganga and Marlon Samuels, and Ryan Hinds were sent back to pavilion when West Indies had scored just 11 runs in the morning.

Samuels edged a Zakir Hussain delivery to wicketkeeper Abhay Sharma after making only four runs while Ganga was caught by Kartik in the slips off Harvinder Singh. Ganga was out for 71 after batting for 282 minutes during which he faced 226 balls and hit 12 fours.

Kartik came up with another catch in the slips to dismiss Ryan Hinds who scored 19. Hinds tried to cut J P Yadav from the backfoot but could only produce an edge which was well taken by Kartik. Hinds faced 38 balls and hit three boundaries during his 68 minute stay at the crease.

West Indies, who took lunch at 347 for five, lost three more wickets immediately after lunch, all three being dismissed by Parida.

But Railways’ joy was short lived as Nagamootoo and Breese defied the attack for close to two hours to add another 95 runs.

While Breese remained unbeaten on a 97-ball 57 which included ten fours, Nagamootoo struck a well made 39 not out with the help of four fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper-captain Ridley Jacobs promptly declared the innings at tea to give his bowlers some valuable practice before the third and final test at Kolkata.

The Railways reply began on a belligerent note with both Khanolkar and Kartik tearing apart the West Indian bowling. Kartik was lucky to have been dropped thrice in the slips but Khanolkar played a magnificent knock, cutting and driving with precision and finesse.

Khanolkar reached his fifty off just 44 balls with the help of ten fours before bringing up the fastest century of his he reached the milestone with a cut to the third man boundary against spinner Chris Gayle.

However, just before the close of play, khanolkar’s innings was cut short by Ryan Hinds. The batsman’s uppish drive went straight to Powell in the covers and his 97-minute knock came to an end.

Kartik in the meanwhile had also reached his half-century making full use of the chances offered to him. He had so far faced 94 balls and hit 13 fours. (PTI)

SCOREBOARD

West Indies 1st innings

W Hinds c Martin b Parida 50

C Gayle b Harvinder Singh 154

D Ganga c Kartik b Harvinder Singh 71

M Samuels c Abhay Sharma b Zakir Hussain 4

R Hinds c Kartik b J P Yadav 19

R Sarwan lbw b Parida 10

R Jacobs b Parida 9

G Breese not out 57

D Powell c Kartik b Parida 0

M Nagamootoo not out 39

Extras (b-9, lb-7, nb-20) 36

Total (for 8 wkts decl in 152 overs) 449

Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-296, 3-302, 4-308, 5-330, 6-347, 7-350, 8-354.

Bowling: Harvinder Singh 21-4-62-2, Zakir Hussain 17-2-65-1, J P Yadav 20-6-38-1, M Kartik 44-10-117-0, K Parida 35-12-107-4, Tejinderpal Singh 13-3-35-0, S Khanolkar 2-0-9-0.

Railways

S Khanolkar c Powell b R Hinds 102

M Kartik batting 72

T P Singh batting 2

Extras (lb-2, nb-1) 3

Total (for 1 wkt, 32 overs) 179

Fall of wicket: 1-167.

Bowling: Cuffy 9-1-51-0, Powell 5-0-37-0, Nagamootoo 4-0-34-0, Breese 7-1-37-0, Gayle 4-1-15-0, R Hinds 3-0-3-1. (PTI)

Sehwag joins Adidas bandwagon

NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Till now it was just the cricket field where the two were compared.

But the comparison will now extend off the field as well what with the swashbuckling Virender Sehwag signing up as brand ambassador for Adidas - who also happen to have Sachin Tendulkar in their ranks.

The company announced at a press conference today that Sehwag will endorse its products - sports footwear, apparel and accessories - for a period of three years initially.

Sehwag, at hand to acknowledge the cheers which reconfirmed his fast-growing celebrity status, said he was delighted to be associated with the sports goods company.

The company was quick to clarify that the earlier endorsement deal signed with Tendulkar in 1998 still stood and it was not replacing him with Sehwag.

"Tendulkar remains with us. We have a deal with Tendulkar till 2004," Tarun Kunzru, managing director, Adidas India Marketing Pvt Ltd, said.

"We had the master with us. Now we also have the blaster," Kunzru said.

Sehwag hinted he may feature in advertisements with Tendulkar for Adidas.

Though he may have already answered the question on how it feels to be compared to Tendulkar umpteen times, Sehwag obliged again saying, "I feel happy when people compare me to sachin. But I think I have still quite a long way to go."

The other Indian sportspersons who are with Adidas include tennis stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. (PTI)

Bengal beat Assam, Maharashtra draw with Services

IMPHAL, Oct 25: Strong contenders Bengal earned full points against Assam while Maharashtra and Services had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the quarter finals of the 58th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy here today.

Bengal got past Assam 2-1 while Maharashtra and Services shared points at the Khuman Lampak Stadium.

Striker Dipendu Biswas, topping the scorers’ list so far, gave an early lead to Bengal by converting a penalty kick in the 6th minute while Amar Pyne increased the scoreline 2-0 before Assam pulled one back through Sanjiba Rongpi in the second session of the lacklustre encounter.

The second match, however, was in complete contrast to the first with both the teams resorting to attacking soccer right from kick-off.

Maharashtra surprised their opponents by drawing first blood through Altafuddin hameed as early as the second minute into the game and was leading by 1-0 at the breather.

Down by a goal, Services fought back and restored parity through star striker Pradeep Debnath in the 48th minute. (PTI)

Pallav upsets Kuldeep to meet Nishant in Jr Snooker final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 25: In a surprised move, Pallav Gupta fought from behind to upset the district champion and strong cueist, Kuldeep Sharma (Chowdhary) in the semi-finals league encounter today.

With a win over Kuldeep, Pallav has entered the final and now will take on equally tough man to beat, Nishant Azad to take away Junior Snooker title in the ongoing 12th State billiards and Snooker Championship being played here.

Prior to Pallav’s victory over Kuldeep in the evening, Nishant Azad, who was runners-up in the recently held district championship, had already defeated Kuldeep Sharma 65-40, 35-65, 69-10 to consolidate his position in the league round.

Nishant, in his third league match, trounced Owais Amin in straight easy frames 64-13, 75-26 to confirm his berth in the final. In his first league match, played yesterday, Nishant had defeated Pallav Gupta in straight frames.

Pallav, who yesterday lost to Nishant, fought with more vigour and enthusiasm, thereby won both his matches. In his second league match played in the morning session, Pallav outplayed Owais Amin of Srinagar 57-29-50, 75-46.

In his match against Kuldeep, Pallav was trailing by nearly 20 in both the frames, but he fought from behind on both times and won the frames and match also.

"In fact, in both the frames I was trailing by around 20 points, but never gave up and made clean potting when the turn of coloured balls come", said Pallav after his victory of the district champion, Kuldeep.

Asked how he was feeling after his triumph over Kuldeep, he said"It was something special for me because it was for the first time that I was playing for a title".

To another question, Pallav said, "It will not be an easy final for Nishant, because I am going to make all-out efforts to win the championship".

On the other side, Nishant, who has already defeated Pallav in the league round, that too in straight frames, was confident enough to take away the winners trophy.

Most important aspect of the Junior Snooker competitions was that both the last year finalists, Umar Humayoon (winner) and Umar Jaan have already lost. In addition, the present district Srinagar Champion, Younis was out in the pre-quarterfinals round.

With the end of league round, Nishant Azad has topped with three wins, followed by Pallav at number two (two wins) and Kuldeep Chowdhary at number three (one win). Owais Amin has lost all his league matches.

No doubt Kuldeep could not find berth in the final, but by virtue of his third place among the semi-finalists, he is entitled to part of the State junior Snooker team to participate in the coming December national to be held in Jammu.

No dress code

The organising committee of the Jammu and Kashmir Billiards Snooker Association, which had decided to strictly implement the dress code in the semi-finals round, could not do this.

However, hopefully, one of the members of the organising committee, has indicated that proper dress code will be there in the senior Snooker (from quarter-final onwards), which are going to start from tomorrow onwards.