KOLKATA, Nov 18: India choked again and caved into world champions Australia to lose the final of the triangular series here tonight with a massive crowd of 125,000 stunned by a poor batting and fielding display by the..........more

India to bid for
2020 Olympics

NEW DELHI, Nov 18: Riding high after bagging the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Government today announced that India will bid for the 2020 Olympics as well......more

Mumbai humble Delhi
by ten wickets

NEW DELHI, Nov 18: Wasim Jaffer hit a superb 117 and his unbeaten 185 run opening partnership with Vinayak Mane(63) helped defending champion Mumbai inflict a humiliating ten-wicket defeat on host Delhi in the Elite group‘A’ Ranji Trophy match here today.....more

NZ tour to Pak
given go-ahead

WELLINGTON (New Zealand), Nov 18: New Zealand’s cricket tour to Pakistan will go ahead despite a threat to the............more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 18: Top seed Pallav Gupta, fourth seed, Owais Dar of Srinagar and eighth seed Ishuk Chowdhary among.....more

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Udhampur cagers snatch
victory from Commerce

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 18: Degree College, Udhampur today snatched the victory from city cagers representing Government SPMR........more

District Kathua to host
State Volleyball meet

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JAMMU, Nov 18: District Kathua Volleyball Association has been allotted this year’s....more

Inter-school athletic meet
of Udhampur from Nov 22

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India choke again to give Australia the Cup

KOLKATA, Nov 18: India choked again and caved into world champions Australia to lose the final of the triangular series here tonight with a massive crowd of 125,000 stunned by a poor batting and fielding display by the hosts.

On an indifferent track at the Eden Gardens, the Indian bowlers finally came into their own by restricting the formidable Australian batting line up to 235 for five despite the fielding lapses with VVS Laxman dropping as many as three sitters off some of the greatest one-day batsmen in the world —Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting.

But the Indian batsmen, with the exception of skipper Rahul Dravid (49) and Sachin Tendulkar (44) could not overtake even this moderate total and handed over the TVS Cup to the world champions on a platter.

Although the Indian bowlers did reasonably well, the batsmen succumbed to the pressure and could never really recover from the early jolts to fold up for 198 in 41.5 overs to lose a final at the historic Eden Gardens for the first time.

The home team, desperate to avenge the humiliation in the World Cup final, had themselves to blame for the debacle as they allowed the mighty Australians to wriggle out of a difficult position and take the honours with a 37-run victory.

It was the world champions’ sixth consecutive victory in the series.

Electing to bat, Australia struggled to come to terms with the slow turning track to score 235 for five in their allotted 50 overs mainly due to Damien Martyn’s responsible 61 and a quickfire unbeaten 44 from 28 balls late in the innings by the young Michael Clarke.

The reliable Michael Bevan also chipped in with an unbeaten 40.

The Indian run chase began on a disastrous note as they lost opener Virender Sehwag (5) with just 12 runs on the board.

Paceman Nathan Bracken put the hosts on the backfoot by evicting Sehwag, running in front of him to hold a return catch after the ball ballooned up.

Both Bracken and his new ball partner Brad Williams produced a fiery opening spell to keep the strong Indian batsmen on a tight leash.

Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who joined the action after Sehwag’s early departure, had a torried time in the middle as the first ten overs fetched just 22 runs.

The batting maestro was a pale shadow of himself in the early stages of his knock as he failed to time his shots properly and was was beaten outside the off-stump on a number of occasions.

But both the batsmen seemed to find their rhythm to some extent after Bracken and Williams were removed from the attack, coming out of their shells to play some delightful strokes.

The stylish Laxman slammed Williams for three boundaries before the speedster send him back to the pavilion with a ball that kept a trifle low to uproot his off-stump.

The fourth wicket pair of Tendulkar and Dravid unleashed a flurry of boundaries and the little master seemed to regain his touch clobbering Andy Bichel for three fours in the same overs.

But a hushed silence descended at the floodlit Eden Gardens when Bichel struck back with a vengeance by claiming the prized wicket of Tendulkar and breaking the 63-run partnership.

Tendulkar was clean bowled by Bichel’s off-cutter as he left a gap between the bat and pad. It was a big blow for the hosts who were relying on him to steer the team to the victory target. His 45 came off 66 balls.

Hardly had the crowd recovered from the shock of losing Tendulkar when Yuvraj Singh also returned to the dressing room without troubling the scorer much.

Yuvraj Singh looked distinctly uncomfortable before Andrew Symonds brought an end to his brief occupation of the crease with Matthew Hayden taking a smart catch at first slip.

The home team suddenly slumped to 110 for four by the 24th over, allowing the Kangaroos to take control of the proceedings.

Dravid, who seemed to be in fine nick, and new man Hemang Badani then tried to salvage the situation for the hosts as the duo kept the scoreboard inching towards the target without taking too many risks.

Badani played a breezy 36-ball 30 before becoming a victim to part time bowler clarke to put India in dire straits.

Earlier, Martyn produced a gritty half century as Indian bowlers exploited a turning track to restrict Australia to 235 for five but all the good work was undone to some extent as the hosts conceded as many as 48 runs in the last five overs.

Martyn held the innings from plunging into total disarray before Michael Clarke’s unbeaten cameo took the Australians to a fighting total.

Spurred on by a vociferous home crowd of nearly one lakh, the butter-fingered Indians had themselves to blame for not pegging their formidable rivals to a smaller total as they dropped as many as six catches, VVS Laxman being the offender on three occasions.

The home team did now allow the huge jolt of losing their captain Sourav Ganguly to injury barely an hour before the match affect them as they went into the summit showdown determined to bury the ghost of the World Cup final.

Ganguly, who suffered a groin injury in the last match in Hyderabad, failed a fitness test but the bowlers did not compound the stand-in captain Rahul Dravid’s misery as they managed to keep the mighty Aussies on a tight leash.

Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik was the pick of the Indians bowlers returning impressive figures of 10-1-30-1 but his economical effort was overshadowed to some extent by a late onslaught by Clarke and Bevan. (PTI)

Scoreboard

Australia:

A Gilchrist b Agarkar 7

M Hayden c Laxman b Zaheer 19

R Ponting c Laxman b Kartik 36

D Martyn c Yuvraj b Sehwag 61

A Symonds c Badani b Harbhajan 10

M Bevan not out 40

M Clarke not out 44

Extras (b-4, lb-7, w-7) 18

Total (for 5 wkts in 50 overs) 235

Fall of Wickets: 1-16, 2-32, 3-112, 4-129, 5-170.

Bowling: Agarkar 8-2-50-1, Zaheer 6-0-29-1, Salvi 3-0-23-0, Kartik 10-1-30-1, Harbhajan 10-1-34-1, Sehwag 8-0-35-1, Badani 5-0-23-0.

India:

S Tendulkar b Bichel 45

V Sehwag c & b Bracken 5

V V S Laxman b Williams 22

R Dravid b Clarke 49

Yuvraj Singh c Hayden b Symonds 4

H Badani c Symonds b Clarke 30

A Agarkar not out 26

M Kartik b Harvey 1

Zaheer Khan b Harvey 0

Harbhajan c Symonds b Harvey 2

A Salvi b Harvey 0

Extras (b-4, lb-5, w-5) 14

Total (all out, 41.5 overs) 198

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-36, 3-99, 4-110, 5-159, 6-168, 7-186, 8-186, 9-198.

Bowling: Bracken 8-1-15-1, Williams 7-1-30-1, Bichel 8-0-51-1, Harvey 4.5-0-21-4, Symonds 7-0-36-1, Clarke 7-1-36-2. (PTI)

India to bid for 2020 Olympics

NEW DELHI, Nov 18: Riding high after bagging the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Government today announced that India will bid for the 2020 Olympics as well.

Stating that all efforts would be made to make the 2010 games a resounding success, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vikram Verma said, "we will work hard to make India a strong contender for the 2020 Olympics."

"Sports in India has seen a resurgence in the last couple of years. We were placed third in the Manchester Commonwealth Games before losing some medals due to doping. Our performance in the Busan Asiad was creditable and in the Afro-Asian Games we were placed second only to China," Mr Verma told reporters at a press conference here.

The minister credited this resurgence and the 2010 bid win to the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"We owe our gratitude to mr vajpayee. It is because of him and the backing of our Union Government that clinched the bid for us. The successful hosting of the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad was also a key factor," he added.

Asked about the one lakh dollar offered to each Commonwealth country prior to the final voting and the Canadian allegations thereafter, he Verma said, "we had been working very hard for the last year-and-a-half and we needed to take some on the spot decisions to bag the bid. Canada had also offered money through sports scholarships and (IOA president) Mr Kalmadi came up with the suggestion that we should provide a sum for training of athletes from each participating country.

"Let me also tell you that the canadian delegation apologised to us and did take back their allegations, which they had made in the heat of the moment after losing the bid. Even Commonwealth Games federation chairman Michael Fennel said there were no irregularities in the bid," said Mr Verma, who was a member of the 50-strong Indian delegation to Montego bay, Jamaica where the final voting happened on November 13.

He further confirmed that the money will only be released after the 2006 games in Melbourne as it was "training money" for the 2010 games. On the cost that will be incurred by the Government for hosting the games, the Minister said the estimated budget was Rs 399.5 crore and "even according to conservative estimates we stand to earn anywhere between Rs 450-490 crore."

Asked about the rising expenditure, he said work will start on upgrading the existing infrastructure and creating the new ones "right now".

"Also better marketing of the event will ensure better revenues and other long term benefits for the city and the country like attracting tourism," Mr Verma noted.

The Minister also said that India had in addition to the 12 disciplines in the games, proposed cricket, lawn tennis, volleyball, basketball and kabbadi for being included in the 2010 event.

"A host country can add three events of their choice to the games. We have given the Commonwealth Federation five choices and whichever three they choose and ratify will be acceptable to us."

Delhi’s Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor, who was also present at the press conference, said India’s successful bid had ensured "universalisation of the games."

He said only two new venues, one indoor and outdoor stadium each were required to be build for the games in addition to the games village being constructed along NH 24 acorss the Yamuna.

"The second stage of the metro from Noida will connect the games village, which will after the event be turned into university hostels. To make the games village an architectural delight, a national competition will be held for architects. It will be a landmark in the city," he added. (UNI)

Mumbai humble Delhi by ten wickets

NEW DELHI, Nov 18: Wasim Jaffer hit a superb 117 and his unbeaten 185 run opening partnership with Vinayak Mane(63) helped defending champion Mumbai inflict a humiliating ten-wicket defeat on host Delhi in the Elite group‘A’ Ranji Trophy match here today.

This was Mumbai’s second consecutive victory while for Delhi, first defeat in two outings, having drawn their opener against Uttar Pradesh.

The victory fetched Mumbai a bonus point and they wrapped up the match with five points.

Resuming at their overnight score of 223 for nine, Delhi could add only one run to their total before being all out.

Amit Bhandari fell to Sairaj Bahutule before he could open his account while other overnight batsman Ashish Nehra added one run to finish with two.

Mumbai’s spinning duo of Nilesh Kulkarni and Bahutule took four wickets each.

Delhi in their first innings had made 199 and in reply Mumbai had scored 239.

Chasing a target of 185 runs for an outright victory, Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffar and Vinayak mane made light of the target and achieved it in just 55 overs without getting separated.

The mumbai batsmen sent the delhi bowlers on leather hunt and finished the job just around tea. (AGENCIES)

NZ tour to Pak given go-ahead

WELLINGTON (New Zealand), Nov 18: New Zealand’s cricket tour to Pakistan will go ahead despite a threat to the team’s safety, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said today.

Nzc chief executive Martin Snedden said the tour would proceed but would begin a week later than scheduled at the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"The delay to the start of the tour has allowed specific aspects arising out of the threat received against the black caps last week to be resolved," Snedden said.

"We have been advised not to comment on any specifics related to that threat."

The scheduled tour was thrown into jeopardy last week when an e-mail threatening the New Zealand team’s safety was received by a New Zealand diplomatic post.

The two-sentence e-mail contained a specific threat against the team. New Zealand cricket has since worked with the PCB, the International Cricket Council, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its own security adviser to establish its source and validity.

Snedden said a five-match one-day series between New Zealand and Pakistan would now begin on November 29, rather than November 20.

Pakistan announced the delay, reportedly at New Zealand’s request, to allow New Zealand players currently touring India to recover from injuries. The New Zealand tour management was unaware of the delay.

Four members of the New Zealand team who refused to travel to Pakistan because of safety concerns arrived home from India today. Captain Stephen Fleming has also returned to New Zealand, suffering from a stomach muscle injury. (PTI)

13th State Billiards & Snooker Championships
No upset as seeded cueists enter pre-quarters

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 18: Top seed Pallav Gupta, fourth seed, Owais Dar of Srinagar and eighth seed Ishuk Chowdhary among six players today qualified for the pre-quarterfinals of the junior snooker in the 12th State and inter-district Billiards and Snooker Championships being held at MA Stadium, here.

Except Owais, all the seeded cueists had straight frames victories.

Defending champion, Pallav Gupta defeated Manik Basotra 3-0 (70-15, 76-39, 45-44 while Owais outplayed Almiyat Ahmed 3-1 ( 55-18, 32-47, 71-39, 61-9.

Another seeded player, Ishuk down Sahil Sharma 62-38, 73-26, 54-24.

Detailed results: Karan Badyal bt Ritish Gupta 58-60, 42-40, 55-21, 42-48, 54-36; Mehraj-ud-din (Srinagar) bt Pankaj Sehgal 75-39, 59-10, 71-56; Tarun Goswami bt Sahil Khorana 51-64, 63-43, 57-32, 52-62, 61-47; Sourabh Sharma got walkover Sushant Khajuria; Sunil Gupta bt Sourav Sharma 48-52, 61-16, 65-11, 59-41; Sahil Arora bt Rahil Gupta 59-21, 64-26, 72-26; Pallav Gupta bt Manik Basotra 70-15, 76-39; 45-44; Rahil Malik bt Suchet Mattoo 41-19, 73-61, 50-40; Ishuk Chowdhary bt Sahil Sharma 62-38, 73-26, 54-24; Yuvraj bt Akhil 57-27, 36-78, 54-26, 52-40; Sumesh Turki bt Gurpal Singh 62-14, 74-30, 67-32; Owais Dar (Srinagar) bt Almiyat Ahmed 55-18, 32-47, 71-39, 61-9.