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| Honours shared as Test ends in draw BRISBANE, Dec 8: Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman shared a crucial half century partership for the third wicket to thwart Australia’s valiant attempt to force a result in the first cricket Test at the Gabba here today..............more Kandamby
steers MUMBAI, Dec 8: Left-hand batsman Tilana Kandamby slammed an unbeaten half century to steer Sri Lanka ‘A’ to a three-wicket win on the penultimate day of the third and final ‘Test’ match to square the series 1-1 against India ‘A’ at the Brabourne Stadium here today............more Team theme
came BRISBANE, Dec 8: Underdogs India owe their remarkable turnaround in the first cricket against Australia to a magic mantra given to them by renowned psychologist Sandy Gordon.................more Ganguly
wants bowlers BRISBANE, Dec 8: India may have come out of the first cricket Test against Australia with their heads held high, but............more |
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Kanvaljeet replaces Dhruv for Ranji tie against Tripura Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Failing to come out with any action against those created scene at the MA Stadium, here during the Ranji Trophy match against Bihar.........more Nishant
retains Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Nishant Azad retained the Junior Billiards title in the 13th State and inter-district Billiards and Snooker........more Salal Club
bags Kabaddi Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Salal Club bagged the Kabaddi trophy beating Judda Club in the final played during the two-day Dehati sports and cultural festival held at Arnas.........more Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: The 10th State Boxing Championship in all the 11 weight groups started today at the MA Stadium boxing ring.....more |
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| Ganguly
fined 10 percent of match fee....... Ganguly steals
the honour..... |
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Honours shared as Test ends in draw BRISBANE, Dec 8: Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman shared a crucial half century partership for the third wicket to thwart Australia’s valiant attempt to force a result in the first cricket Test at the Gabba here today. Set an improbable target of 199 in 23 possible overs, India lost two quick wickets but pulled up their socks in time to reach 73 for 2 in their second innings to earn a commendable draw against the world champions. Dravid remained unbeaten on 43 and Laxman on 24 at close on the fifth and final day. The teams will now clash in the second Test at Adelaide from Friday. While India could claim a morale victory after gaining the first innings lead and also dominating the hosts during a crucial phase of the game, Australia would take heart from the fact that their batsmen found their much vaunted form on the last day and toyed with the inept Indian bowling. After the Indian tail wagged a bit longer to make 409 — a first innings lead of 86 — in the morning, Australian batsmen made the most of lackdaisical bowling performance by the tourists to post 283 for three before captain Steve Waugh declared the innings in an attempt to score some psychological points over the rivals. Resuming at their overnight score of 362 for 6, notched up 409 in their first innings with Zaheer Khan (27) and Harbhajan Singh (19 no) sharing a vital 41-run stand for the ninth wicket. India lost the two overnight batsmen - Parthiv Patel and Ajit Agarkar - without any addition to their total but Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh defied the home bowlers with their resolute batting. For Australia, fast bowler Jason Gillespie and leg-spinner MacGill finished with 4-65 and 4-86 respectively. Continuing the previous day’s pattern, the bat definitely dominated the ball. Except for Langer’s dismissal for zero, caught by Parthiv Patel off Ajit Agarkar, rest of the Australian batsmen feasted on the Indian attack. Matthew Hayden missed a century by one run but when he ran a four in the first over, he became the third batsman after West Indian Brian Lara and South African Graeme Smith to complete 1,000 runs for the calendar year. It was also the third consecutive time the world record holder for highest Test score was scoring 1000 or more runs in a calendar year. The left hander played some breathtaking strokes to make 99 from 98 balls with 11 fours and two sixes before he was caught while trying sweep Harbhajan Singh at square-leg boundary by Virender Sehwag. Ricky Ponting (50) was the other batsman out when he drove uppishly for Virender Sehwag to grab the chance at gully region. Steve Waugh was more cautious on his final appearance at Gabba and got lucky on eight when Parthiv Patel fumbled an easy stumping chance off Harbhajan Singh. From there on there was no looking back for Waugh who added 128 runs for the fourth wicket with Martyn. Martyn twice smashed Virender Sehwag for sixes down the ground and was unbeaten on 66 from 100 minutes and 180 deliveries when the closure was applied. Waugh himself had chalked up 56 against his name, his 49th Test half century from 102 balls when he decided to Test to gain whatever psychological points he could over the visitors. Some combination at that, after the infamous run out on the second day. In the morning, resuming at 362 for 6, india lost the two overnight batsmen - Parthiv Patel (37) and Ajit Agarkar (12) -without any addition to their total but Zaheer Khan (27) and Harbhajan Singh (19 no) defied the home bowlers for well over an hour. The two shared a vital 41-run stand for the ninth wicket that saw India go past the 400-mark. For Australia, fast bowler Jason Gillespie and leg-spinner MacGill finished with 4-65 and 4-86 respectively. (PTI) SCOREBOARD Australia first innings 323 Australia second innings M Hayden c Sehwag b Harbhajan 99 J Langer c Patel b Agarkar 0 R Ponting c Sehwag b Nehra 50 D Martyn not out 66 S Waugh not out 56 Extras (b-4 nb-9) 13 Total (for three wickets - declared) 284 To bat: S Katich, A Gilchrist, A Bichel, J Gillespie, N Bracken, S MacGill. Fall of wickets: 1-6 2-146 3-156 Bowling: Khan 3-0-15-0 (nb-1), Agarkar 12-3-45-1 (nb-1), Nehra 19-1-89-1 (nb-6), Harbhajan 21-1-101-1, Tendulkar 2-0-9-0, Sehwag 5-1-21-0 (nb-1) India first innings (overnight 362-6) A Chopra c Hayden b Gillespie 36 V Sehwag c Hayden b Bracken 45 R Dravid c Hayden b Gillespie 1 S Tendulkar lbw b Gillespie 0 S Ganguly c Gillespie b MacGill 144 VVS Laxman c Katich b MacGill 75 P Patel c Bichel b Gillespie 37 A Agarkar c Hayden b Bichel 12 Harbhajan Singh not out 19 Z Khan b MacGill 27 A Nehra lbw b MacGill 0 Extras (lb-6 w-1 nb-6) 13 Total (all out) 409 Fall of wickets: 1-61 2-62 3-62 4-127 5-273 6-329 7-362 8-362 9-403 Bowling: Gillespie 31-12-65-4 (nb-2), Bracken 26-5-90-1 (w-1), Bichel 28-6-130-1 (nb-3), MacGill 26.1-4-86-4 (nb-1), Waugh 7-3-16-0, Katich 2-0-16-0. |
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Kandamby steers Sri Lanka-A to three-wicket win MUMBAI, Dec 8: Left-hand batsman Tilana Kandamby slammed an unbeaten half century to steer Sri Lanka ‘A’ to a three-wicket win on the penultimate day of the third and final ‘Test’ match to square the series 1-1 against India ‘A’ at the Brabourne Stadium here today. Resuming at their overnight second innings score of six for no loss, chasing a target of 153, the visitors made heavy weather losing five wickets for 57 runs before Anushka Polonowita (22) and Kandamby (63 no) steadied the rocking boat with a 53-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Polonowita was dropped by substitute fielder S Sriram at slips off left-arm spinner Murali Kartik when on eight with the side’s total on 78 for five. Another wicket at this juncture would have cost the Lankans dearly but the sixth wicket partnership flourished cashing on India’s fielding lapses before they lost two quick wickets of Polonowita and Rangan Herath (0). However, Kandamby found an able ally in Omesh Wijiesiriwardene (12 not out) and the two added 44 crucial runs for the unbroken eighth wicket to take their team to a well deserved win. Kandamby finished off the match in style Carting Kartik for a huge six. Kandamby, who got to his 50 in 115 balls, held the innings together and remained unbeaten on 63. During his 195 minutes stay he hit four fours and a six. For India ‘A’, Bhandari (3-40), Siddharth Trivedi (2-37) and Kartik (2-62) were the wicket takers. (PTI) |
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Team theme came to India’s rescue BRISBANE, Dec 8: Underdogs India owe their remarkable turnaround in the first cricket against Australia to a magic mantra given to them by renowned psychologist Sandy Gordon. "Never take a backward step" — the besieged Indian team drew inspiration from this theme when they were down in the dumps after Australia had piled on 262 runs on the first day. The secret formula was worked out before the start of the Gabba Test after consulations between the players and Gordon. The Indians had first turned to a team theme during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa adopting the line "now or never". It was seen as the galvanising theme for the Indians who overcame a horrendous start to reach the final before Australia put an end to their hope with an emphatic win. India have lately been under siege for their poor performance at home when they failed to beat New Zealand in the Test series and were walloped by Australia in the triangular one-day tournament. Their present tour of Australia did not start off well either when they struggled against Victoria in the tour opener and then proved no match to second Grade Queensland Academy of Sports team. Facing the heat from the media as well as from fans back home, the team management took recourse to two measures which seem to have done wonders to their performance. First they sought the services of Gordon and then they requested their cricket board to appoint former Australian Test bowler Bruce Reid as bowling coach. Both moves appear to have paid off as India matched the mighty Aussies in every department of the game which ended in a draw today. The Indian team has planned five themes in all for the entire duration of the Australian tour — four for each Test match and one for the one-day series. The remaining team themes have not been decided yet. Out of the four remaining, three would be decided on the eve of the following three Tests while the last one would be conjured before the one-day series which starts on January 9. Gordon is due to join the team again for a short duration before the start of the third Test beginning in Melbourne on December 26. There was a blanket ban on Indian team members on talking about the team theme. The theme inspired the Indians to dominate three of the first four days of the Gabba Test as they got Australia out for their lowest total this year and then batted with rare tenacity to chalk up 409 in their first innings. Sourav Ganguly was at the centre of India’s revival as he smashed 144 runs — his 11th and most significant century which critics feel could finally allow the Indian skipper to do justice to his abundant talent. The themes could allow the Indians to emerge as the first major threat to Australians in their own den in years. (PTI) |
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Ganguly wants bowlers to pull up their socks BRISBANE, Dec 8: India may have come out of the first cricket Test against Australia with their heads held high, but skipper Sourav Ganguly today said the bowlers needed to perform as a "unit" and take 20 wickets to give the team a chance of victory in the three remaining matches. Although Ganguly was satisfied with the performance of his batsmen, he said the bowlers, especially Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra, would have to do much better in the coming Tests. "Looking at this game Ashish and Harbhajan have to do better. We need to bowl as a unit and take 20 wickets," said Ganguly who was declared man-of-the-match for his 144-run knock in India’s first innings. Ganguly conceded Harbhajan did not have a game as he would have liked him to have but gave a leeway to the bowler saying he was could be having an off day. "I don’t think he bowled well enough. He is a much better bowler than what he has bowled in this match. But like batters have their off games, even bowlers can have their off days. "He is a wickettaker and it is not just because he took 32 wickets against Australia the last time around. He has taken over 150 Test wickets and I hope he picks his form in the next game," he said. (PTI) |
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Kanvaljeet replaces Dhruv for Ranji tie against Tripura Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Failing to come out with any action against those created scene at the MA Stadium, here during the Ranji Trophy match against Bihar on December Ist, the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) today replaced both captains and vice-captain of the team for tomorrow’s match against Tripura. Besides, the confused selection committee for Ranji Trophy has added six more players in the team bringing the total number to 21 as against 16 in first two matches. Although the shifting of trouble shooter, vice-captain, Majid Dar, was justified, but the axe on young skipper, Dhruv Mahajan, who led the State team to a draw against Punjab and win over Bihar was unjustified and unwanted. Now, the J&K team will be captained by senior cricketer and former skipper, Kanvaljeet Singh while Wajjahat will be his deputy in tomorrow’s encounter against North-Eastern state of Tripura. To avoid hue and cry, the final 12 will be announced tomorrow morning before the start of the match. |
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Nishant retains Junior Billiards title Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Nishant Azad retained the Junior Billiards title in the 13th State and inter-district Billiards and Snooker Championships beating Kuldeep Sharma 579-449 in the final played at Billiards Hall here this afternoon. Both the young and promising cueists, who played equally good game, remained neck to neck throughout but with Nishant having made slight upper edges over Kuldeep on the score board. However, in the two-hour match, Nishant remained cool and calm concentrating only on the collecting points out of the three balls on the table. Kuldeep has already won the junior Snooker title beating Rashu Gupta in the final. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Nishant defeated Nikhil Kapahi making it a one-sided match 324-133. Nishant also made a break of 60, the highest in the ongoing championships, bringing his score from 260 to 320 in the last minutes of the game. In the second semi-final, Kuldeep Sharma down Sohail Plassar 357-246 in the 90-minute match. Meanwhile, the senior Snooker final will be played on December 10 at 3 pm between Jaideep Manocha and Kuldeep Sharma. |
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Salal Club bags Kabaddi
trophy in Dehati Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Salal Club bagged the Kabaddi trophy beating Judda Club in the final played during the two-day Dehati sports and cultural festival held at Arnas in Udhampur district. Volleyball final was won by Judda Club outplaying Salal Club. In Tug of War, Salal Club down Judda Club. Wrestling competitions were also held in different weight groups. The results: Karnail Singh of HSS Arnas beat Rattan Lal of HS Salal in 41 to 45 kg weight category; Surinder Singh of HSS Arnas beat Anil Bhat of HS Judda in 51 go 55 kg; Tariq Hussain of HS Judda beat Sanjay Kumar of HSS Arna in 46 to 60 kg; Balwan Singh of MS Ander beat Jagdish Singh of MS Arnas in 30 to 35 kg. In the cultural programme, cultural troupes from different parts of the district presented dogri fold dances and Bhakhs. Director, Youth Services and Sports, Manoj Pant was chief guest on the occasion, who distributed prizes among the winners in sports competitions and cultural programmes. Earlier, Ashok Kumar, district officer, presented account of the activities conducted during the festival. |
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Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: The 10th State Boxing Championship in all the 11 weight groups started today at the MA Stadium boxing ring, here. On the first day of the two-day competitions, quarter-finals and semi-finals positions were cleared in most of the weights in both junior and senior groups. The finals will take place tomorrow. It will be followed by the prize distribution function at 4 pm. Last year, the overall trophy was taken away by Jammu district. In all, 85 boxers are taking part in this state championship while four girl participants will play demonstrate fights, informed Rajan Sharma, senior boxing coach and organising secretary of the championship. Ganguly fined 10 percent of match fee BRISBANE, Dec 8 : Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was today fined 10 per cent of his match fee by match-referee Mike Procter for a slow over-rate in the drawn first cricket Test against Australia at Gabba. According to an official announcement, Procter also fined the rest of the Indian team members five per cent of their match fees. However, the decision must have still been met with some relief by the Indian camp as it turned out to be far less than feared. The Indians were nine overs short in Australia’s first innings. But the fielders rushed between the overs in Australia’s second knock and a fair bit of bowl was given to spinners Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag as quite a bit of the deficit was made up by the team on the final day today. Australians, in contrast, were up by three overs in their run-rate. (PTI) By Ravi Shastri Saurav Ganguly stole the honours in the rain-hit first test. Justin Langer made a superb hundred, Matthew Hayden smashed a powerful 99, Zaheer Khan and Jason Gillespie bowled outstandingly, but the Indian captain stood head and shoulders above everybody else. In my eyes, Ganguly went up many notches for his sheer application attitude. There was always this question mark about his ability to do well in conditions that favoured fast bowlers, especially on overseas wickets, but his brilliant exploits on the fourth morning should end all such discussions. In fact, his 144 could well be the turning point of the current series. Positive footwork was the key to Ganguly’s bating success. He played shots off the front and back foot with equal ease which showed that he judged the length early and was moving well in defence and attack. Once he had settled down, he took the attack to the bowlers, which to my mind was as important as not getting out cheaply. He will now not only believe that he can bat successfully in trying conditions, but this century will also reflect on his captaincy. India had a great chance to really drive home the advantage by getting Steve Waugh in Australia’s second innings, but Parthiv Patel muffed the simplest of stumping chances. This lapse came at a most inappropriate time, because till then India were calling the shots. Had India got past Waugh, and a couple more, they would have gone into the next match on a great psychological high. Waugh doesn’t need greater invitation to leave his impress on a match, and he crafted a fine half century which afforded him a declaration and the opportunity to get the Indian openers in the last session. Yet. India came out of this match in a good frame of mind going into the next Test in a few days time. Tendulkar’s shocking dismissal was the only real dampener in an otherwise fine all-round show, though Ganguly would have liked Nehra and Harbhajan to find their rhythm and controlled the flow of runs if not take a few more wickets. Akash Chopra did enough to suggest that he is a long term prospect, and there were runs for anguly, Laxman and Sehwag. With Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid due to fire any time, the pressure will now be on the Australians to get their act together. In some ways, this match was an eyeopener as to how much Glen McGrath and Shane Warne have contributed to Australia’s domination in recent years. Without them - and Lee- the attack looked pretty ordinary, barring Jason Gillespie who had the batsmen on their toes all the time. But Gillespie alone is not enough, and the Australian selectors will be pushed to get Lee,at least, into the side quicker than they would have wanted, which would show that India are doing right.(TCM) Nirmal maintains his winning spree Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Nirmal Singh, who dominated the state athletics winning best athlete trophy from 1995 onwards, has maintained his winning spree taking away four medals in the recently concluded State Athletic meet, here. Nirmal has won a gold in 4x100 meter relay, two silvers in 4x400 meters and Javelin and a bronze in 100 mts sprint. A Law graduate, Nirmal is among a few athletes who has such a long stint at the top level in State athletics. State Hero’s Hockey tourney from tomorrow Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Dec 8: Jammu and Kashmir Hockey Association is organising State Hero’s Hockey Tournament at K K Hakhu Stadium, here from December 10. In total, 13 local teams have confirmed their entries for the participation. The competitions will be held on knock-out basis and the final is scheduled for December 15 at 3 pm. |
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