UP edge out Rajasthan by 2 runs

JAIPUR, Nov 6: Opener Gagan Khoda’s brilliant ton went in vain as Uttar Pradesh beat Rajasthan by two runs in a thrilling finish in the central zone Ranji Trophy one day match here today.

Khoda’s 124 runs - off 145 balls and including nine fours and two sixes - had put Rajasthan, chasing a victory target of 224, in a strong position before they succumbed to 241 all out in the last over.

The hosts looked certain of bagging two points from the match, going strong at 170 for four in 37.4 overs with Khoda playing with authority. But some rash and uncalled for strokes by the hosts’ batsmen saw Rajasthan stumbling from the comfortable position to lose by two runs.

Mohammad Kaif gave an all-round performance scoring 62 runs and then claining four wickets for only 23 runs.

Earlier, elected to bat Uttar Pradesh were struggling at 80 for 7 in 19 over with Shamsher, P Krishna Kumar and off-spinner Ashish Kapoor doing the dammage.

But a valiant unbeaten eighth wicket partnership between brothers Mohammad Kaif (62 - 109 b, 1x4) and Saif (87 - 88b, 6x4) propelled UP to a respectable 243 for seven in the allotted 50 overs.

The brothers frustrated Rajasthan bowlers with some sensible batting to put on 143 runs to rescue the visitors from the precarious potion.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh - 243 for 7in 50 overs (Kaif 62 NO, Saif 87NO Krishan Kumar 2-48, Kapoor 2-43) Rajasthan - 241 all out in 49.4 overs (Khoda 124 Kaif 4-23, Brijendra Singh 3-30, G Pandey 2-55). (PTI)

Karnataka 224 for five at close

TIRUNELVELI, Nov 6: A brilliant 106 by skipper SujitSomasunder and his 176-run third-wicket partnership with VijayBharadwaj helped Karnataka score a moderate 224 for the lossof 5-wickets against Tamil Nadu in the south-zone Ranjitrophy league match at the India Cements grounds here today.

Somasunder struck to sixes and four boundries in his 301minutes stay. His 230 minute third wicket partnership withBharadwaj came in 62.2 overs.

Earlier Karnataka, which won the toss elected to bat lost their first two wickets when the score reached 28. Somasunder and Bharadwaj came to Karnataka’s rescue and at lunch the score stood at 61 for two off 36 overs.

At close of play, Bharadwaj with 90 and Anand Katti with1 were at the crease.

The most successful bowler for the hosts was T Kumaran,who claimed two wickets conceding 35 runs. D Vasu, VasantSaravanan and Sri Ram were the other wicket takers.

The 20-year-old Saravanan bagged his first Ranji trt today on the very first ball of his first over when he bowled Girish Rao for one.

Brief scores: Karnataka 224 for 5 in 92 overs (SujitSamsunder 106, Vijay Bharadwaj batting 90, T Kumaran 2/35).(PTI)

Srinath to clash with Federico Rovai in finals

KANNUR, Nov 6: Indian David cupper Prahlad Srinath will clash with top-seed Federico Rovai of Sweden for the ITF Satellite Masters International Tennis Tournament title at the Municipal Jawahar stadium here tomorrow.

In an exciting semi-final, Srinath brought in some extra stuff to edge out a battling compatriot Vijaya Kannan 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) in 156 minutes.

Federico Rovai entered the final, when his countryman Johan Hede withdrew from the second semi-final due to an injury.

Second-seeded Srinath, who got a walk over from German Gerhard Fahlke in the quarter-finals, struggled in the first set to get his rhythm and his opponent took full advantage to win 6-3 in just 37 minutes.

Eighteen-year old Kannan, who trains at Dhaita Academy at Delhi, was consistent with his first serve and was solid with his returns. He wore his experienced opponent down and also blunted Srinath’s stroke play with some accurate returns which the tall player from Mysore fumbled.

Kannan got off to a great start by clinching the first game with an ace and later broke Srinath in the fourth. Srinath also helped him by serving a double fault.

After holding his fifth service game Kannan had Srinath in all sorts of problem in the next, but Srinath rallied to take it after trailing 0-40 and deuce was called thrice. Thereafter, both held on to their service and Kannan clinched the set when Srinath in haste banged a return into the net.

The second set saw a complete reverse in the trend as Srinath dominated the proceedings and had Kannan in a spot of bother with his low returns to the backhand.

Kannan was also troubled by his inaccurate first serve and was frequently caught in wrong position. Srinath kept his opponent on the run with his well directed strokeplay on either side of the court and also with his crafty returns.

Srinath broke Kannan in the fourth and sixth games with some excellent down-the-line winners and deft placements. He volleyed well and his shots were on target. He wrapped up the set 6-1 in only 23 minutes.

The decider was marked with long rallies and excellent groundstrokes. Kannan after clinching the first game broke his opponent in the next, despite Srinath serving two aces.

Kannan won the third game at 40-0 to race to a healthy 3-0 lead. But Srinath rallied splendidly to equalise at 4-4 and was tied at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker Kannan missed some easy points and allowed Srinath to take a 4-0 lead and win the set and the match 7-6. (PTI)

Injury could bar Rafter from World Championship

PARIS, Nov 6: Nursing a long-term injury, U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter has said that injury may force him out of the ATP World Championship in Hanover.

"I will decide tomorrow (Friday) whether to go play in Hanover," he told reporters yesterday after losing to Todd Martin in the third round of the 2.55 million dollar Paris Open.

"I’ve seen a doctor here and it is pretty conclusive what is wrong. I will make a decision tomorrow," he said, later explaining that the injury was a bruised miniscus in his knee.

"But if I can recover after a match like tonight, I can recover after anything," he said.

Though eager to play in the end-of-season showpiece, Rafter said that resting his knee would give him a better chance of winning next January’s Australian Open.

"I have had this knee problem for six or seven years and it is starting to worry me," Rafter said earlier in the tournament. "I need to decide what my priorities are." (AP)

Van Roost beats Zvereva to reach semifinals

LEIPZIG (GERMANY), Nov 6: Third-seeded dominique Van Roost beat no. 7 Natasha Zvereva 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 yesterday to become the first player to reach the semifinals of the 450,000 dollar Leipzig Open.

Van Roost, who is ranked no. 13 in the world, could meet Steffi Graf in the semifinals.

Graf, coming back after wrist injury, was idle yesterday. She plays Anne-Gaelle Sidot in a third-round match today.

While Van Roost reached the last four, two other seeded players advanced to the quarterfinals but no. 5 Amanda Coetzer was upset by Sarah Pitkowski, who won 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Fourth-seeded Irina Spirlea struggled to oust Magui Serna 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 and eighth-seeded Anke Huber overcame stomach problems to defeat Barbara Schett 6-3, 6-3.

"I hope that I can finally play consistently and win," said Huber, a two-time champion in Leipzig. (AP)

Asian Basketball Championship
Chinese Taipei begin campaign in style

CALCUTTA, Nov 6: Strong contenders Chinese Taipei opened their campaign in style with a resounding 106-76 win over Kazakhstan in a Group-D league match of the 15th Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championship for junior men at the renovated Netaji Indoor Stadium here today.

Displaying a superior all round game, the Chinese Taipei cagers raced to a huge 58-38 lead by half-time and kept up the pressure after the breather with a series of three-pointers in a rather one-sided contest.

Chinese Taipei, who had finished fifth in the last thre editions of the championship, relied on the shooting prowess of Han Siao Yong (17 pts) and Chen Hsin-An (16 pts) to suppress their opponents who paid the price for making a number of mispasses at crucial junctures.

Sharp shooter Sargey Dovin of Kazakhstan gave ample display of his shooting abilities doing the bulk of scoring for his team with 36 points, including three three-pointers, while Maxim Semyonov chipped in with 12 points.

In another Group-C league match, Kuwait had no difficulty in brushing aside the challenge of unfancied Bangladesh with a 67-21 verdict in a low-scoring encounter.

The Bangladeshis, who had finished last in the previous edition of the championship held at Johor, Malaysia in 1996, struggled to make any impact against their towering opponents who gave very little room for manouvres under the basket.

The talented Hassan Saquer was the highest scorer for Kuwait with 20 points, while the fleet-footed Salem Fahed and Alrashidi Mutlaq chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Kuwaitis, taking part in the meet for the first time, raced to a 33-10 lead at half time and added 34 points in second half capitalising on a weak defence by the Bangladeshis.

For Bangladesh, Mohammed Kabr Hussain (8) and Fazal Mukim (6) were the main scorers but both their defence and attack left much to be desired.

The first match between Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan was of a high standard with both teams managing to put in their attemps, but the Chinese Taipei cagers took full advantage of their heights to take control of the defensive rebounds.

Hosts India, who find their quarter-final hopes in jeopardy after going down to Malaysia in their opening Group-B league match, will clash with Pakistan in their second game tomorrow.

Altogether 15 teams are taking part in the championship being held on a league-cum-knock out basis. The three top teams of the championship would get a direct entry into the sixth world championship for junior men to be held in Portugal next year. (PTI)

Orissa takes 14 runs Ist innings lead over Tripura

AGARTALA, Nov 6: A fine spell of six wickets for 64 by S Satpathy helped Orissa take a 14-run lead over hosts Tripura on the second day of the East Zone Ranji Trophy match being played at the Narsingh ground here today.

Resuming their overnight score at 77 for four, Tripura were all out for 154. T Chandra, who claimed three wickets for Tripura, scored the highest 56 runs.

After the departure of overnight batsman Asrani, who scored 24, no other batsman was able to give worthwhile company to Chandra.

While Satpathy claimed six wickets in 25 overs with six maidens S Raul wrapped up the tail, taking three for 34.

Orissa in their second innings scored 147 runs losing five wickets before stumps were drawn. R Morris (20), Jaychandra (20) were at the crease. P Mullik scored a fine 52 before being adjudged LBW off the bowling of S Dhanda.

For Tripura Suklu took three important wickets.

Brief score: Orissa 168 and 147 for five. Tripura 154. (PTI)

Sethi beats Rehani in Jaypee Snooker Championship

MUSSOORIE, Nov 6: The prince of green baize game Geet Sethi, did the impossible by making a drametic comeback beating Mukesh Rehani a 4-1 in the S Chand- Jaypee International Snooker Tournament at Residecy Manor, here today.

In the process he reeled of a run of 108 in the second frame with the help of 12 reds, 5 blacks, 3 pinks, 2 blues, 1 brown, 1 yellow and all colors for spectacular clearance, Geet Sethi had to win by a margin of 4 - 1 in todays match to entertain any hopes to qualify for the last eight.

Infact till yesterday he had plans to go by Dehradun Shatabdi Express as his chances to stay in the tournament seemed quite remote. He did not reckon with the glorious uncertainty of snooker. He was a visibly verry happy man after that match.

Yasin merchant had to contend with the might of praprut who was in an invincible mood. He handed out a 4 - 0 drubbing to merchant, the kind of which he is not likely to forget in near future. Proprut is a clear favourite to lift the S Chand -Jayapee Snooker Trophy.

Siddharth Anand was triffle unlucky as he lost two of the three league matches in the decider. He could not make the last eight grade as he scummed to Rafat Habib who moved like a snail today. This is a very good ploy as it can upset the rythem of normally. Otherwise he is endowed with very good potting.

Rupesh Shah dicimated national champion Devendra Joshi, who played far below par in this championship, missing some absolute sitters. Praprut, Sakchai, Geet Sethi, Alok Kumar, Siddharth Rao, Rishab Thukral and Tafat Habib have entered into the last eight. The fait of Faraham Mirza hinges on his outcome with his redoubtable opponent Alok Kumar. (UNI)

Another poor performance by J&K in Ranji
Haryana wins the match by 70 runs

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: Poor batting line-up of Jammu and Kashmir once again exposed when the host got 70 runs defeat in the hands of Haryana in the Ranji Trophy one day match played at M A Stadium, here today.

However, J&K bowlers had resisted the Haryana batsmen at a total of 213 runs for the loss of seven wickets, wherein Raju Sharma (10-2-26-2), played a key role.

J&K chasing the target of slight over four runs per over lost his all wickets on 143 in 49.5 overs. The host may not have crossed the 100 runs mark, because, at one moment the team was struggling at 81 for nine. It was only the last wicket face saving partnership between Sanjay Sharma and Surinder Singh which yielded 62 runs.

Skipper, Sanjay Sharma, who made unbeaten 53 runs with the help of four boundaries was the highest scorer. Kanwaljeet, who played an responsible inning contributed valuable 29 runs in his 90 minutes stand on the wicket.

Pankaj Thakur (10-2-27-4), who in his accurate bowling bowled out Raju Sharma, Ashwani, Vivek Singh and Vijay Sharma was the main destructor of J&K’s batting order.

Earlier after winning the toss and decided to bat first, Haryana scored 213 in stipulated 50 overs. Although, Haryana’s batting too collapsed when at a moment score on board was 91 for the loss of five wickets, but sixth wicket partnership of 109 runs between Shafiq Khan, 52 (61) and Dhan Raj, 59 (67) helped Haryana to pile up a respectable total. Dhan Raj played master’s inning with two sixes and three fours in his 71 minutes stay on the wicket.

Other main scorer from Haryana was Vijay Yadav, who contributed 38 runs.

From Jammu and Kashmir, Raju Sharma, Sanjay Sharma and Ashwani Gupta took two wickets each, while Vijay got one.

The J&K players wore black badges during the play in protest against denial of match fee to them.

Ist Jammu Gold Cup Football Tourney
Jammu Sports, Young Heros enter semi-finals

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: Luck favoured Jammu Sports Club when they beat BSF Srinagar in a sudden death stroke by 5-4 in the third semi-finals of the Ist Jammu Gold Cup Football Tournament being played at Mini Stadium, here this evening.

This was the second quarter-final played today. While in the Ist encounter, Young Heros outplayed Forest XI, Srinagar 2-0 paving its entry into the semi-finals of the tournament.

In the first match, Young Heros dominated the field during the first half but could not scored any goal. It was only in the 56th minutes when Vijay Kumar made first field goal from Young Heros. The second goal followed the first one when Rajinder Abrol converted a plenty kick into a goal.

Mr Charanjit Singh, venteran footballer was the chief guest in the match.

The second quarter-final which was won by Jammu Sports Club after a neck to neck fight with BSF Srinagar. BSF Srinagar go so many chance to score goal but they could not.

In the normal time the match finished at 1-1. Thereafter, direct plenties too failed to make any difference and both teams equalised the goals by 3-3.

It was only through sudden deaths, Jammu Sports made difference and took 5-4 lead and entered the semis of the tournament.

From Jammu Sports, Asif Sotra scored the first goal in the 7th minutes of the first half, while from BSF Srinagar, it was D Ganguly, who equaled the lead in the 18th minutes of the first half. Sudden death stroke was hit by Naresh from Jammu Sports, while Ajay Singh of BSF Srinagar missed.

Those converted the plenties into goals were P P Mandal, A K Chakraborty and Mother Singh from BSF, while, Music, Samsung and Rinku Gill from Jammu Sports.

Mr S M Gill, MLC was the chief guest in the second quarter-final. Mr Tilak Singh, member JKFA presented the chief guest a memento.

Well maintained ground: Umpires

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: Match referees and the umpires, who conducted the Ranji and Cooch Behar matches in Jammu had all praise for the ground maintained by the Manager, M A Stadium, Mr Ajit Singh Wazir.

In a handout issued here today, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association chairman, Mr Ramesh Mahajan disowned the statements issued by the association office bearers and expressed his satisfaction over the facilities being provided by the State Sports Council.

The statement further said that the Manager alongwith his entire staff has worked day and night to maintain the ground and provide all necessary help in smooth conduct of the North Zone matches.

It may be recalled that some of the JKCA office bearers and players had complaint that the State Sports Council was not cooperating them.