Daily Excelsior.........State

BANGALORE, Oct 19: Ranji champions Karnataka inflicted a seven-wicket defeat on the New Zealanders after lethal spin bowling led by India stars Sunil Joshi and Anil Kumble sent the visitors hurtling to their doom on the final day of the three-day cricket match here today.

Left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi captured four for 17 and skipper Kumble a brace after an early burst by prolific wicket-taker D Ganesh (3/41) as Karnataka skittled out the Kiwis for 105 and then hit up the required 86 runs in 20.4 overs losing three wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Vijay Bhardwaj followed up his first innings 96 by remaining unbeaten on 33 after Rahul Dravid (18) and opener Sujit Somasundar (19) had made modest contributions.

The match looked set for a draw when the visiting side began the day at 12 for none, but they were left reeling at 60 for four at lunch before Joshi ripped through the middle order where Nathan Astle’s 33 was the best effort.

The Kiwis, who suffered a demoralising defeat just three days ahead of the second test beginning at Kanpur on October 22, put up a poor disply with only three batsmen managing to reach double figures. The Kiwis shuffled the batting with skipper Stephan Fleming coming at number nine.

The memorable victory was only the third instance of Ranji champions defeating a visiting side. Karnataka had beaten the West Indies under Alvin Kallicharan in 1978-79 in Ahmedabad while Mumbai had lowered the colours of Australia, led by Mark Taylor, last year at Mumbai.

There was no inkling of an exciting finish as play got under way 40 minutes behind schedule in the morning owing to overnight showers.

Karnataka, who had beaten the Caribbean side by 11 runs in 1978-79 under the stewardship of G R Viswanath, however made quick inroads as barring the feeble resistance of openers Matt Horne (12) and Matthew Bell (26) none could counter the well directed bowling by the hosts.

Karnataka went into the match without India opening bowlers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, but Ganesh who has been striving to impress the selectors with over 60 scalps in the last Ranji season, once again provided early breakthroughs.

Ganesh struck in the first session by scalping three wickets and Joshi’s confidence was boosted once he dismissed Chris Harris off his very first ball.

Except for Astle (33) and Bell (26) none of the Kiwi batsmen could counter the Karnataka attack as the entire innings lasted just seven minutes over three hours.

Fleming, who had struck an unbeaten 115 on the opening day, chose to come lower down the order which only suited the bowling side. Craig Spearman was bowled by Ganesh misjudging an inswinger from Ganesh as the New Zealanders were reduced to 60 for four in 23 overs at lunch.

The Kiwis managed to score only 45 runs more before being bowled out with Joshi, Kumble and Bharadwaj wiping out the tail, the last six wickets falling for the addition of only 27 runs.

Joshi claimed Bell and Adam Parore (0) in the same over while Bhardwaj picked the wicket of Fleming, who became one of the four batsmen caught by A Vijay.

Kumble mostly attacked with Ganesh from one end and a spinner from the other to great effect.

Karnataka faced a few hiccups before reaching the target in the 21st over and just over 90 minutes.

Openers Sujith Somasundar and J Arun Kumar failed to stay on. Arun Kumar was the first to go, guiding a cairns delivery to Spearman at third slip after hitting a four.

Test batsman Dravid and Somasundar added 38 runs, but first test centurion Dravid (18) who had struck two excellent fours lost concentration and was caught behind by Parore trying to pull paceman Chris Drum.

But Bharadwaj and Thilak Naidu (7 no) brought up the victory.

Bharadwaj hit off-spinner Wiseman over midwicket and Harris over cover for two massive sixes and took 11 runs off the slow seam bowling of a Harris over. His knock contained three fours and the two sixes.

"We wanted to give a tough fight and being the champion side we kept up playing to potential. Our fielding was extraordinary and full marks to a Vijay for taking three brillant catches," a delighted Kumble said.

He also praised Bharadwaj for his fine contribution with the bat and ball.

New Zealand manager Jeff Crowe admitted the poor show was certainly not a healthy sign ahead of the Kanpur test. (PTI)

Youhanna’s blitz lifts Pak to 255-5 against Windies

SHARJAH, Oct 19: Yousuf Youhanna smashed an unbeaten 71 off 47 balls as Pakistan made 255 for five from 50 overs in the Sharjah Cup one-day international against the West Indies here today.

Hasan Raza hit 77 and Inzamam-ul Haq contributed 61 during a 98-run stand for the third wicket after the West Indies had restricted Pakistan to 47 for two by the 18th over.

Pakistan, already assured of a place in Friday’s final, rested captain Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar for the last league match of the three-nation tournament. Wicket-keeper Moin Khan, who led the side, won the toss and elected to bat.

The West Indies, needing a win to qualify for the final ahead of Sri Lanka, struck in the fifth over when Reon King trapped Shahid Afridi leg-before.

The other opener Wajahatullah Wasti made 19 when he lofted part-timer Shivnarine Chanderpaul straight to King at long-on.

Inzamam and Raza dug in to retreive the situation against a West Indian attack lacking firepower in the absence of the rested Curtly Ambrose.

The Burly Inzamam, who came close to being run out twice, hit five boundaries and a six, before pulling off-spinner Nehemiah Perry to Ricardo Powell on the mid-wicket fence.

Youhanna, who added 81 for the fourth wicket with Raza, hit three boundaries and four sixes as Pakistan took 99 runs off the last 10 overs. (AFP)

Akram, 5 others named in Pak match-fixing probe

SHARJAH, Oct 19: Pakistan’s cricket team was today rocked by a media report back home that six players, including captain Wasim Akram, were found guilty of wrongdoing by the judicial commission on betting and match-fixing.

Pakistani newspaper The News reported that Judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum had recommended Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed be banned and fines imposed on Akram and three others, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul Haq and Saeed Anwar.

The Judge is also reported to have said Akram should be stripped of the captaincy because he was not a reliable character and the authorities need to keep a close eye on him, the paper said.

The 175-page report of the commission is currently lying with Pakistan President Rafiq Tarrar, the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), for further action.

Yawar Saeed, the manager of the team playing in the ongoing three-nation Sharjah Cup here, played down the newspaper report as being a speculative leak of the recommendations.

You can’t stop newspapers from publishing such reports, he said.

This is all speculative. We have not received any official word from either PCB or the President.

Saeed stressed the team was in good spirits and looking forward to both the Sharjah Cup final on Friday and the upcoming tour of Australia

I can assure you the players are not worried, the manager said. They are here to play cricket and that’s all there is in their minds.

The Australia-bound squad will be picked here on Thursday. The team leaves for Perth soon after the final on Friday.

Malik is the only one among the six players who is not in contention for a place in the touring squad.

Akram was last month appointed captain for the rest of the season by Mujeeb-ur Rehman, the Chief Executive of PCB. The other players were also cleared to play pending the findings of the judicial commission.

Rehman, who had close links with deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has been untraced since last week’s military coup in Pakistan.

PCB affairs are now being handled by Javed Zaman, the only other member of the ad-hoc committee appointed by Sharif to run cricket in the country last July. (AFP)

Distt Table Tennis Champ
Vishal, Saleem in men’s final

Excelsior Correspondent

POONCH, Oct 19: Vishal Ghai and Saleem Bandey today entered the finals of the District Table Tennis Championship in men’s section, while in the sub-juniors, Daleep and Vishal have qualified for the final berth.

In the cadets group, Randhir and Ravinder will fight for the title.

Earlier, in the men’s first semi-final, Saleem outplayed Jagjeet Singh 2-0 (21-17, 21-19), whereas, Vishal Ghai beat Sumesh in straight sets of 22-20, 21-18 in the second semis.

In quarters, Saleem Bandey beat Narinder Singh 2-0 (21-10, 25-23); Jagjeet Singh beat A S Jeet 2-0 (21-13, 21-14); Sumesh beat Javed 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 21-10) and Vishal beat Sandeep 2-1 (23-21, 15-21, 21-9).

In sub-junior final, Daleep and Vishal will clash for the sub-junior title. Daleep entered the finals beating Sachin 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) and Vishal beat Ravinder 2-1 (21-14, 19-21, 21-12) to sail into the finals.

In quarters, Ravinder beat Randhir 2-0 (21-13, 23-21); Sachin beat Prince 2-0 (24-22, 21-19); Daleep beat Jabjapan 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) and Vishal beat Harmantan 2-0 (21-19, 21-16).

Randhir and Ravinder, who could not survive in the sub-junior category made it into the finals in the cadets group. Randhir beat Prince 2-1 (21-6, 16-21, 21-10) and Ravinder beat Atif 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) in the semi-finals.

Earlier, in the quarters, Ravinder beat Jabjapan 2-0 (21-18, 21-16); Prince beat Sachin 2-1 (22-20, 12-21, 21-15); Randhir beat Sohaib 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) and Atif beat Sohail 2-0 (21-10, 21-12).

The championship is being organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Table Tennis Association, District Poonch.

Coaching camps of KVs Jammu teams for Nationals ends

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 19: Coaching camps for Cricket under-16 and under 19 year teams of Jammu Region for their participation in the forthcoming Kendriya Vidyalayas National meet concluded at KV No.2 Jammu Cantt, here today.

The camp was earlier started on October 19 soon after the Inter-cluster Sports meet was over.

The under-16 team will now leave for KV 1 OEF Kanpur where KVs National will be held, whereas, the under-19 team competitions will be held at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow.

Under-16 team is being led by Mr S K Sharma, PET, KV 2 Jammu Cantt, while Mr Kulwant Singh, PET, KV 1 Amritsar is leading under-19 team.

The National level competitions are going to start from October 24 and the final will be played on November 2.

While talking to EXCELSIOR, Mr S K Sharma said that both the teams of Jammu Region are well prepared and better results are expected this time.

British boxer in record 13 second knock-out win

LONDON, Oct 19: A boxer has knocked his opponent out in 13 seconds, including the referee’s count of 10, to record the fastest knock-out victory in British history.

Daniel James, a 23-year-old stable lad, connected with a perfect left hook on and floored Steve Tuckett on Saturday to extend his record to 10 professional wins.

The light-welterweight told Tuesday’s racing post: "I got off my stool and...Just threw the punch. It hit Steve flush on the chin, he went down flat on his back and I knew at once that it was a good one."

In 1989, the referee of a British fight between Eugene Brown and Ian Bockes stopped the contest after 10 seconds.

Bockes had been knocked down but got up after a six count before the referee decided he was unable to continue. (REUTERS)