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Second Test MELBOURNE, Dec 25: Determined to fight back......more
Waugh predicts easy MELBOURNE, Dec 25: Australia cricket captain Steve Waugh predicted....more 26th Junior National JAIPUR, Dec. 25: Delhi has been grouped in pool....more |
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State Billiard and Snooker Champ Ankur again beat Jyoti to enter Jr Billiards final Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 25: After ousting Jyoti Anand in Junior Snooker, Ankur Mahajan again showed a superb performance to defeat Jyoti Anand in ......more 2nd Mobike
dirt Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 25: The week-long 2nd below 150 CC Mobike dirt track race which was postponed....more District
Chess Championship Excelsior Sports Correspondent UDHAMPUR, Dec 25: Abdul Hanief and Jagmohan today entered the Men’s finals...more Bihar Cricket RANCHI, Dec 25: To promote cricket activities in the state with....more Leeds enter gruelling festive LONDON, Dec 25: Leeds United’s talented youngsters enter the traditionally....more |
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Second Test MELBOURNE, Dec 25: Determined to fight back after a huge defeat in the first match, the Onus will be on the Indian batsmen to counter the all-conquering Australians with weather threatening to have the final say in the second cricket test starting here tomorrow. The beleaguered Indians, under tremendous pressure after the 285-run defeat at Adelaide, are all set to bring in V V S Laxman as opener for Devang Gandhi and left-hander Hrishikesh Kanitkar in the middle-order for what is expected to be a challenging test debut. But poor weather, more than any heroics from Indian batsmen led by skipper Sachin Tendulkar or a sensational debut by much-talked about Aussie paceman Brett Lee, looks likely to dominate the traditional boxing day tie at the Melbourne cricket ground. India, who let their opponents off the hook after the opening session of the first test before crashing to defeat, approach the match in a positive frame of mind, but a wicket predicted to offer steep bounce for the fast bowlers has left their task cut out to prevent Australia from clinching the three-test series within the distance. But weathermen have predicted thundershowers on four days of the match at the ground where the Indians hold their best record down under, winning two of the previous seven games, losing four with one ending in a draw. Coach Kapil Dev felt it was time the batsmen came good while Tendulkar vowed to approach the match in a positive manner. Steve Waugh, aiming to become only the second Australian skipper to lead the team to six straight victories, sought to pile further pressure on the Indians as he said the hosts were capable of completing another 3-0 sweep as they did against Pakistan recently. But Waugh said he was aware of the potential of the Indian batting with the bowling also yet to touch top form. We polished them off pretty well in Adelaide and if we can do it again here, then I think we have established that, he said commenting on his side being compared with the all-conquering West Indies of the 1980’s. But if they come back here and win this test people will be saying ‘well, you are not as good as you think you are, he said after both teams held nets on Christmas Day. India’s batsmen, more than their bowlers, have struggled on the present tour with Tendulkar, David and Ganguly together managing just 200 runs in the Adelaide test. All three have proven their class and have an average of over 50 in tests. In bowling, the pace trio of Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar are beginning to forge a good combine with leg-spinner Anil Kumble - needing only five more wickets to move past former spin wizard Bishan Singh Bedi (266) as the second highest test wicket-taker for India behind Kapil Dev (434) - keen to improve his strike-rate on foreign pitches. India will hope for a good start from openers S Ramesh and Laxman, who batted at number three in Adelaide but will be playing his 16th test and 11th as opener. Kanitkar is set to make his test debut after a gritty half century in the drawn four-day game against Tasmania at Hobart. His case appears settled since the first choice of the team management, Vijay Bharadwaj, seems to be suffering from lack of confidence. There is unlikely to be any other change given the quality of the reserves, though the think-tank did toy with the idea of trying out young wicketkeeper M S K Prasad as a makeshift opener. The Australians are on a roll and feel only the weather can stop them from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. Leg spinner Shane Warne is just seven wickets short of overhauling pace great Dennis Lillee’s career haul of 355 scalps to emerge as the highest Australian test wicket-taker. The victoria star, who claimed six wickets in the first test, will be keen to achieve the feat in front of his home crowd. Australia’s only worry will be the poor form of Mark Waugh. The stylish batsman has failed to reach double figures in his last 13 innings barring a century against Pakistan at the second test in Brisbane. Though selectors and his skipper and twin brother Steve have backed him, failure here could well spell the exit for the 98-test veteran. There is much hype surrounding the 21-year-old tearaway paceman, Brett Lee, described by Steve Waugh as the fastest bowler in the world. He is tipped to replace Mike Kasprowicz as the third fast bowler to add more potency to the attack alongside Glenn McGrath and Damien Fleming. (PTI) |
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Waugh predicts easy win for Australia MELBOURNE, Dec 25: Australia cricket captain Steve Waugh predicted his side would not only win the second test against India starting tomorrow but go on to complete a 3-0 series victory. Waugh, whose team have won their last five tests in a row including the first test against India in Adelaide a fortnight ago, insisted his comments were not Bravado but rather a reflection of the difference between the two sides. "There’s a fine line between being confident, backing yourself and having people see you as being arrogant," Waugh said. "Generally I consider myself to be pretty icy in my assessments and if I think we are good enough to win this series 3-0, I’ll say it. It’s not a bluff." Australia won the first test by 285 runs after India collapsed to be all out for 110 in their second innings and Waugh said he thinks the nature of that defeat would have left the tourists with a few scars. "If I was in their position, you would probably be doubting yourself a little bit," Waugh said. "I know they have got plenty of ability, batting-wise they have got a lot of firepower". "But at the moment we are a strong side, if we get a side down then I fancy that we can keep them down." Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar said his players were still confident of squaring the three-match series by winning in Melbourne although he conceded they faced an enormous task. "The Australians do set very high standards for themselves," Tendulkar said. "The whole world is watching what they have been doing in recent times. They won the World Cup and are a very confident side." Tendulkar has hinted that he might move up the batting order to stabilise India’s brittle top order although he refused to confirm the move after India’s selectors decided not to name their team until match day tomorrow. The Australians, by contrast, were quick to signal their intentions to go for the tourists throat by choosing the uncapped Brett Lee in their 12-man squad. Waugh said he believed lee was the fastest bowler he had seen since Jeff Thomson in the 1970s. But the player who is likely to take centre stage is Australia’s incomparable leg-spinner Shane Warne. Warne needs just one more wicket to become the first slow bowler in history to claim 350 test scalps and seven wickets to pass Dennis Lillee’s Australian test record of 355 victims. With the third and final test starting in Sydney on January two and three tests against New Zealand to follow in March, it is only a matter of time until Warne passes Lillee. He is hoping to do it at his home ground in Melbourne in what is traditionally the biggest match on the Australian cricket calendar. Victory in the the second test will also earn Waugh’s men a shot at another slice of cricketing history. The team has already racked up five wins on the trot after beating Zimbabwe once and Pakistan three times before the first test against India. The only other Australian to captain a side to more consecutive tests wins was warwick armstrong who led the national team to eight straight between 1920 and 1921. With another test to go against India followed by three in New Zealand, Waugh is already eyeing armstrong’s record. Teams: Australia - Steve Waugh (Captain), Michael Slater, Greg Blewett, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Brett Lee. India - to be announced. Umpires: David Shepherd (England), Steve Davis (Australia). (REUTERS) |
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National Kabaddi Championship begins today JAIPUR, Dec. 25: Delhi has been grouped in pool "A" alongwith defending champions Pondicherry and Maharashtra in the boys and girls category respectively in the 26th Junior National Kabaddi Championship commencing at the Chauhan Stadium here tomorrow . Mr J S Gehlot, president of Rajasthan State Kabaddi Association (RSKA) said that 23 teams in each group will figure in the championship, which is part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the formation of the state. The participating teams have been divided into four pools and two teams from each pool will qualify for the knock-out round. The technical committee of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI)have announced the following pools for the four day championship with inaugural matches in both the groups slated between hosts Rajasthan and Gujarat. Following are the pools : boys section Pool A pool B pool C pool D Pondicherry Haryana Maharashtra Tamilnadu U P M P H P Vidarbha Delhi Bihar Karnataka Orissa West Bengal Chandigarh Goa Manipur Hyderabad Gujarat Kerala Punjab Rajasthan J K Andhra Girls section Pool A pool B pool C pool D Maharashtra Vidarbha Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Hyderabad J K H P Punjab Delhi Rajasthan Orissa Manipur Chandigarh Kerala Tamilnadu Karnataka Andhra Gujarat Goa Bihar Madhya Pradesh Pondicherry Haryana (UNI) |
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State
Billiard and Snooker Champ Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 25: After ousting Jyoti Anand in Junior Snooker, Ankur Mahajan again showed a superb performance to defeat Jyoti Anand in the Billiards semi-final of the 9th State Billiards and Snooker Championship being played at Amar Singh Club, here today. Now, Ankur will be contesting for the double title in the Junior group. Although, Jyoti was leading in the beginning, but was overtaken by Ankur after the first 50 points game. Ankur never looked back afterwards and won the match 258-182. Earlier, Ankur and Jyoti got direct entry into the semi-finals as per their last year’s performance. The second semi-finals of the Junior Billiards, Sohail Khaleed will take on Jaideep Manocha for the final slot. In the quarter-finals, Sohail defeated Viraj Malhotra in a tough contest which lasted at 150-146 in the one and half hour long quarter-finals match. Sohail was leading right from the start and also managed a sufficient lead. But, Viraj fought back in the final stages, but it was too late to recover. In the pre-quarterfinal tie which played in the morning session, Sohail down fighting Aditiya Malhotra 123-100. Aditiya could not cover the 20 points lead taken by Sohail in the initial stages of the match and lost the first round tie. |
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Bihar Cricket Academy launched RANCHI, Dec 25: To promote cricket activities in the state with a special emphasis on harnessing of talents up to an age of twenty, the Bihar Cricket Academy was formally launched here last evening. Announcing the launching of the Academy, Ranchi District Cricket Association (RDCA) office bearers including its President Amitabh Choudhary said the Academy was constituted with a view to promoting cricket activities in the state. The Academy will not only arrange infrastructure for coaching but also organise seminars, symposiums and tournaments to provide exposure to sports talents in the field of cricket. The Academy will also arrange scholarship for outstanding players besides making available the best training possible. Coaching camps would be organised on turf wickets, he added. Highlighting a few programmes likely to be taken up by the Academy, he said, an inter club tournament would be organised for Ranchi and Jamshedpur from January 27. Spelling out the reasons behind the formation of the Bihar Cricket Academy, Mr Choudhary said no proper training facility at state level was being made available to the players. The players also did not have proper exposure due to lack of promotional activites and desired motivation of the organisers. (UNI) |
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Leeds enter gruelling festive fixtures top of the league LONDON, Dec 25: Leeds United’s talented youngsters enter the traditionally gruelling festive football period top of the english premiership - and facing a tough test. Three matches in little more than a week should provide an indicator of whether they have the staying power required to carry away the silverware. Manager David O’leary has the praise of his chairman Peter Ridsdale singing in his ears after a first half of the season that has seen the side go from an inexperienced group of youngsters to one of the most exciting outfits in the league. "History will show that David O’leary will become one of the truly great managers," Ridsdale said. "He has worked wonders with the players here." Leeds welcome Leicester city to Elland Road for a boxing day fixture tomorrow and visit Arsenal just two days later. Leicester’s visit will mean their manager Martin O’neill will be going to the club for whom he had been earmarked after George Graham’s departure, before the job went to O’leary. Manchester United are breathing down Leeds’s necks and despite British media linking the club to Rivaldo, it seems unlikely they will land the Brazilian European footballer of the year. "I don’t want to leave Barcelona. I’m very happy here and I want to stay on," Rivaldo confirmed yesterday. United will be looking to remain injury-free as they have loaned out highly-rated youngster Luke Chadwick to Royal Antwerp until the end of the season. The second division Belgian side are a feeder club for the treble winners and chadwick joins up with fellow United juniors George Clegg and Kirk Hilton. The 19-year-old carries high expectations as chadwick is regarded as one of United’s finest young players and his loan spell will give valuable experience. The club has done this successfully in the past, with players like as David Beckham loaned out at an early age. Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has pledged his future to the club after, like O’leary, receiving praise from his bosses. "We are not at 2003 yet when my contract ends, but I feel very tied to the club and the work I am doing here," he said "if, at the end of that contract they still want me, then I will stay. "I gain great confidence from the fact that the players we have brought into the club have a great desire to succeed and to win things". "I appreciate the words of support and believe that it will lead us to where we are aiming for. Such support from the board is always welcome, particularly because it has impact on the players." Upcoming fixtures: Sunday: Coventry v Arsenal, Derby v Aston Villa, Everton v Sunderland, Leeds v Leicester, Manchester United v Bradford, Newcastle v Liverpool, Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough, Southampton v Chelsea, Tottenham v Watford, Wimbledon v West Ham. Tuesday: Arsenal v Leeds, Bradford v Everton, Leicester v Newcastle, Liverpool v Wimbledon, Sunderland v Manchester United, Watford v Southampton, West Ham v Derby. Wednesday: Aston Villa v Tottenham, Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough v Coventry. (DPA) |
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