COLOMBO, Sept 12: Captain Sanath Jayasuriya led from the front with a rollicking unbeaten 102 as hosts Sri Lanka consolidated their position for a semi-final berth with an emphatic eight-wicket.............more

Indian team arrives in
Colombo for ICC Trophy

COLOMBO, Sept 12: Saurav Ganguly’s men arrived in full strength here this evening for the 12-nation ICC Champions Trophy that they had almost boycotted last week........more

Hooper concerned about
low-key preparation

COLOMBO, Sept 12: West Indies captain Carl Hooper is worried about the quality of his team’s preparations for their opening ICC Champions Trophy match against South Africa.......more

India beat Korea 2-1 to
finish second in group

NEW DELHI, Sept 12: India beat Korea 2-1 in a pulsating third and final round Group III tie of the Junior Fed Cup Tennis Tournament at La Baule, France, yesterday........more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 12: Government College for Women (GCW), Gandhi Nagar won the Inter-college Handball Tournament beating the arch rival, GCW, Parade 5-1 in the one-sided final which was played at University of Jammu grounds, here today.............more

National Aquatic Championship
Taniya sets new record,
Kailash bags third gold

THRISSUR, Sept 12: Teenager Taniya Ganguly of Railways shattered the women’s 3m Spring Board diving national record on a day which witnessed seasoned police swimmer Kailash Nath and Ambica Iyengar of Karnataka winning their third individual gold medals in the 56th National Aquatic Championship here today............more

Kournikova recovers,
reaches QFs

SHANGHAI, Sept 12: Russia’s Anna Kournikova battled back from 5-2 down in the second set to beat China’s Zheng Jie 6-4 7-6 in the second round of the Shanghai Open today...........more

Sri Lanka crush Pakistan by eight wickets

COLOMBO, Sept 12: Captain Sanath Jayasuriya led from the front with a rollicking unbeaten 102 as hosts Sri Lanka consolidated their position for a semi-final berth with an emphatic eight-wicket victory against Pakistan in the inaugural match of the ICC Champions Trophy Cricket Tournament here today.

Chasing a target of 201 for victory, the hosts lost two wickets in quick succession but the seasoned duo of Jayasuriya and Aravinda De Silva (66 not out) steered the team to victory with 13.5 overs to spare in what turned out to be a lop-sided floodlit Group-D encounter.

Jayasuriya, who was uncertain of playing till the morning of the match because of a shoulder injury, showed no signs of discomfort as he send the Pakistanis on a leather hunt with some cracking shots on both sides of the wicket.

The third wicket pair of Jayasuriya and De Silva stitched an unbroken 156 run partnership to take the game away from the hapless Pakistanis who raised hopes of a spirited fightback by sending back Marvan Atapattu (8) and Kumar Sangakarra (0) early to reduce the hosts to 45 for two at one stage.

With this resounding victory, Sri Lanka have virtually assured themselves of a semi-final slot with minnows holland being the third team in the group. They will play Holland on September 16.

Earlier, electing to bat, Pakistan never really recovered from early jolts and were bundled out for 200 in 49.4 overs with veteran Saeed Anwar (52) and newcomer Misbah ul-Haq (47) being the notable scorers.

It was yet another abject batting display by the Pakistanis and it was thanks to a gutsy effort by veteran Saeed Anwar that the team could reach the 200 mark after having slumped to 17 for three at one stage.

The Sri Lankan run chase began on a sedate note as Jayasuriya looked a trifle shaky in the initial stages with the seasoned Wasim Akram, who worked up a tidy spell, troubling him on a few occasions.

But the flamboyant opener gradually grew in confidence and unleashed a few delightful strokes on both sides of the wicket, defying a shoulder injury which had kept him out of action for some time.

The opening pair of Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, who was quite content in giving as much strike to his partner, put on 44 runs for the first wicket before Atapattu returned to the pavillion trying to steal a suicidal run.

Atapattu pushed the ball behind the bowler and set out for a run but failed to reach the safety of his crease as Abdur Razzak smartly picked the ball and dislogded the stumps at the non-striker’s end with a direct hit.

Kumar Sangakkara, who joined the action after the first wicket, joined Atapattu in the dressing room as he was trapped leg before wicket for a duck with a gem of a delivery from Akram.

Akram got rid of Sangakarra with a viscious incoming delivery which trapped the batsman plumb in front of the wicket and the hosts suddenly found themselves in trouble at 45 for two.

But the two old pros -Jayasuriya and De Silva, who has cemented his position in the team with a few sparkling knocks in recent times, ensured that there were not further setbacks.

After the initial rustiness, Jayasuriya seemed to be in no discomfort at all as he dispatched the loose balls to the boundary with consumate ease on what looked to be a good batting track.

The dashing opener made his intentions clear by spanking Waqar Younis for two consecutive boundaries capitalising on the field restrictions in the first 15 overs. De Silva was also in a punishing mood picking up tearaway fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for special treatment.

Jayasuriya notched up his half century as he glided the ball towards the third man region for a single off Akhtar but was lucky to get a reprieve soon after.

The Sri Lankan captain was dropped by Misbah ul-Haq on 51 in the deep cover area off Abdur Razzak much to the dismay of the Pakistanis who were desperate to carve out a victory and keep their hopes alive.

Jayasuriya also had the distinction of crossing the 8000 runs milestone in the shorter version of the game in his 271st match, thus becoming only the second Sri Lankan and the eighth in the world to achieve the feat.

The stocky De Silva looked quite comfortable at the middle as he went about collecting the runs at a brisk pace as the islanders piled up the misery on the hapless Pakistanis.

The Sri Lankan captain notched up his 13th century in one-dayers much to delight of a capacity crowd who cheered every run by the home team.

The Pakistanis, who have been under tremendous pressure after their indifferent performances in Tangiers and Nairobi in recent times, were outplayed in all departments of the game.

Captain Waqar Younis employed an attacking field hoping to make inroads into the strong Lankan batting line up but without much success.

With no established spinner in their ranks, the Pakistanis found it difficult to stem the run flow after both Jayasuriya and De Silva had got their eye in.

Younis, who proved a trifle expensive in his opening spell, brought in spinner Shahid Afridi in the 16th over but he could not break the partnership which was assuming dangerous proportions.

De Silva, who has been in very good form, also completed his half century as the home team tightened the noose on their opponents. (PTI)

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan innings:

SAnwar c Chandana

b Fernando 52

S Afridi c Sangakkara

b P Gunaratne 4

Shoaib Malik lbw Vaas 1

Yousuf Youhana (run out) 0

Younis Khan

b Muralitharan 35

R Latif c Fernando

b Muralitharan 22

Misbah-ul-Haq b Fernando 47

A Razzak c A De Silva

b P Gunaratne 16

Wasim Akram

b Muralitharan 0

W Younis c De Silva b Fernando 4

Shoaib Akhtar not out 0

Extras 19

(lb-8, penalties-5, w-3, nb-3)

Total 200

Fall of wickets : 1-12, 2-17, 3-17,

4-87, 5-120, 6-141, 7-171, 8-175,

9-198, 10-200.

Bowling: Chaminda Vaas 10-3-27-1, Pulasthi Gunaratne 10-1-49-2, Dilhara Fernando 9.4-0-30-3, Upul Chandana 7-0-37-0, Muthiah Muralitharan 10-0-29-3, Sanath Jayasuriya 3-0-15-0.

Sri Lanka:

S Jayasuriya not out 102

M Atapattu run out 8

K Sangakkara lbw b Akram 0

A De Silva not out 66

Extras (b-2, lb-7, nb-6, w-10) 25

Total (for 2 wkts, 36.1 overs) 201

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-45.

Bowling: Akram 8-0-42-1,

Younis 5-0-37-0,

Akhtar 8-0-36-0,

Afridi 7.1-0-39-0,

Razzaq 3-0-14-0,

Malik 5-0-24-0. (PTI)

Indian team arrives in Colombo for ICC Trophy

COLOMBO, Sept 12: Saurav Ganguly’s men arrived in full strength here this evening for the 12-nation ICC Champions Trophy that they had almost boycotted last week.

They arrived three hours late due to a flight delay from Chennai, but organisers and sponsors were more than glad to see the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid anyway after the contract row almost saw them not playing here in the Mini World Cup.

India, one of the favourites, will be keen to mount a fresh challenge for the trophy which eluded them two years ago in Nairobi, when they lost to New Zealand in the final.

India play Zimbabwe on September 14 and England on September 22 in the three-team Pool B in day-night matches at the R Premadasa Stadium here.

India’s participation in the tournament was secured by International Cricket Council after direct negotiations with over players’ terms with the cricketers. The Indian cricket board, which was initially reluctant to accept the agreement between the players and the ICC, ultimately agreed to select them and send the best team to the tournament.

The players are just back from a successful tour of England which saw them winning a three-nation one-day series for the Natwest Trophy after a memorable run chase and levelling the four-test series one all. (PTI)

Hooper concerned about low-key preparation

COLOMBO, Sept 12: West Indies captain Carl Hooper is worried about the quality of his team’s preparations for their opening ICC Champions Trophy match against South Africa in pool three tomorrow.

While Shaun Pollock’s team played in the recent Triangular series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Morocco, the West Indies players had to make do with a limited warm-up in their domestic one-day competition.

"I’ve been following the progress of the other teams and their preparation seems ideal," Hooper told reporters today.

"Our problem is that we are coming off a one-day tournament in the Caribbean, but forever and a day I’ve been saying our wickets are not conducive to good cricket".

"We were wanting to use that tournament as a build-up for this tournament but we were sat in St Lucia and the only chance for practice was when you were out in the middle — otherwise practice was just batting on concrete strips in the stadium".

"It was not ideal preparation and I’d have loved to be able to practise more. I wouldn’t say we are underdone but I would say we could have prepared a little better," he added.

With lowly Kenya the other side in pool 3, Hooper knows that Friday’s showdown with South Africa is shaping up as an effective quarter-final clash in the 12-team competition.

"It looks that way," he said. "The Kenyans are not to be underestimated and they have beaten us before in the World Cup, but you would have thought that whoever wins tomorrow stands a very good chance of going through to the next phase."

South Africa’s recent record against the West Indies is impressive, having triumphed 5-2 in a one-day series in the Caribbean in early 2001.

"They are very disciplined, a good side and we know it won’t be easy," said Hooper. "But on two occasions in the Caribbean we had convincing wins and that is what we will be looking at. "If we’ve had one fault over the years, it’s that we’ve not been consistent but, if we play good cricket, we are capable of beating them. We’ve just got to make sure we put it together."

The West Indies have arrived in Sri Lanka without pace bowler Cameron Cuffy and off-spinning all-rounder Marlon Samuels, both having been sidelined following knee surgery.

Cuffy’s absence and a change in the eligibility rules for West Indies representation has allowed the return of all-rounder Vasbert Drakes, who last played international cricket seven years ago.

The 33-year-old Drakes has played first-class cricket for border province in South Africa for much of that time, ruling him out of West Indies contention as the selectors are only allowed to chose players who play domestic cricket in the Caribbean.

But that regulation has been changed, permitting players to be picked for West Indies if they took part in the domestic tournament immediately before selection.

Drakes, who has been representing Barbados this season, was therefore back in the frame for selection. "It’s a big advantage to have Vasbert as he’s an experienced cricket who adds depth to our batting line-up while his bowling speaks for itself," said Hooper.

"He’s also had a lot of experience of cricket in South Africa, which means he will be able to contribute as we plan our strategy."

The West Indies players will wear black armbands during the match as a mark of respect for all-rounder Laurie Williams.

The 33 year-old, who played 15 one-day internationals, was killed in a car crash in his native Jamaica on Sunday. (AGENCIES)

India beat Korea 2-1 to finish second in group

NEW DELHI, Sept 12: India beat Korea 2-1 in a pulsating third and final round Group III tie of the Junior Fed Cup Tennis Tournament at La Baule, France, yesterday.

Despite the win, which put India in the second place in the group behind fourth seeded Russia, the country failed to qualify for the semifinals.

Russia moved into the last four stage which also features the Czech Republic, China and Belarus from other three groups.

In the match against Korea, after Ankita Bhambri lost a closely fought first match to Jae-Hee Joung 4-6 5-7, it was left to the 36th ranked Sania Mirza to keep India’s hopes alive.

Sania did just that as she thrashed So-Jung Kim 6-2 6-2, leaving the tie to be decided in the doubles encounter.

Sania and Ankita struck a perfect match which proved too much for Joung and Kim as the Indians romped home with a 6-1 6-4 victory. India will have to fight for the 5-8 positions with Uruguay, Hungary and Argentina - second placed teams from other groups. (PTI)

Inter-college competitions
GCW Gandhi Nagar retains Handball Trophy

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Sept 12: Government College for Women (GCW), Gandhi Nagar won the Inter-college Handball Tournament beating the arch rival, GCW, Parade 5-1 in the one-sided final which was played at University of Jammu grounds, here today.

The winners were leading right from the beginning which they maintained till the final whistle was sounded by the table referee.

Heena was top scorer with three goals, while Malti Rajput and Mousmi Verma contributed one goal each to the total. From the losers, GCW, Parade, Monika Samyal reduced the margin.

Earlier, in the semi-final, played yesterday, GCW, Parade thrashed Post Graduate Department of University of Jammu 11-2, while GCW, Gandhi Nagar trounced Degree College, Kathua 11-5 to reach the final.

The competitions were organised by the Department of Physical Education, University of Jammu, here.

Meanwhile, according to Assistant Director, Department of Physical Education, Madan Mohan Sharma, the Inter-college Cross Country competitions in the Men’s section will take place tomorrow at the University campus at 7 am. The participants have to cover a distance of 12 kilometers within the campus.

A day later, on September 14, the Cross Country competitions will be held in the Women’s section at same time and at the same venue. The women athletes’ six kilometers run will also be held within the Campus, added Mr Sharma.