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Batsmen let India down against Australia From S S Ramaswamy MUMBAI, Nov 7: Notwithstanding the dramatic 13-run defeat suffered in the fourth and final Test at Mumbai yesterday, Australia held a distinctive edge .........more Ganguly bats for Bengal, keeps mum on fitness KOLKATA, Nov 7: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, recuperating from a groin strain after missing two Test matches against Australia, today . ............more Thankfully, fourth Test wasn’t a decider By Ian Healy Australians of all types loved it, I even had text messages from people renewing their faith in Test cricket because for two days they could not leave...........more New Zealand complete Bangladesh one-day sweep DHAKA, Nov 7: Mathew Sinclair and Scott Styris hit half-centuries to set up New Zealand’s 83-run victory over Bangladesh today as they completed a three-match one-day sweep of the hosts. Opening batsman Sinclair top-scored with a solid 66 while Styris . ............more |
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Narrow escape for Amritsar Club; J&K Police in final Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Nov 7: Amritsar Hockey Club today had a narrow escape against another Punjab team—Sports Academy Jalandhar—in quarterfinals while star-studded side of J&K Police overpowered the locals of Kathua—Sujanpur Hockey Club to enter into the final of ongoing 5th Young Heros memorial inter-state hockey championship at sports stadium, Hiranagar, near here...........more Kathua Stadium XI trounces Shastri Club by 26 runs Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 7: Kathua Stadium XI today supersede the Shastri Cricket Club (SCC) beating latter by 26 runs in a second round match of ongoing cricket tournament at Science College ground here. Batting first after winning the toss, Kathua boys set a target.........more Mohun Bagan in Durand Cup final NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Striker Felix Ibrebru missed twice from the spot as defending champions Salgaocar went down 4-5 on penalties to Mohun Bagan in the first semifinal of the Durand Cup football tournament here today. .....more |
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Batsmen let India down against Australia From S S Ramaswamy MUMBAI, Nov 7: Notwithstanding the dramatic 13-run defeat suffered in the fourth and final Test at Mumbai yesterday, Australia held a distinctive edge over India right through the high-profile series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Aussies, smarting under the unexpected 1-2 defeat suffered against India in the 2000-01 series here, learned their lessons well from that failure by planning meticulously to beard the lion in its own lair this time around. The 2-1 victory achieved by Australia was well-deserved as they looked far better prepared than India whose form had slumped severely since nearly conquering the Kangaroos in their backyard and then recording a historic Test series win in Pakistan. As was revealed later by stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist, who led the Aussies to the series-clinching triumph in the third Test at Nagpur in the absence of regular captain Ricky Ponting, the planning had started soon after the defeat in the deciding Test at Chennai in the previous series. Gilchrist said when the team played and won the TVS Cup one-day tournament last season, he and the others were preparing themselves to take on the twin threat of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for their next visit to this country. The result of this advance planning was evident in Bangalore in the first test itself when the Aussies, despite being confronted by a pitch from which all the grass was removed by the groundsmen by using steel brushes, bested the hosts with consummate ease and conviction. The Bangalore pitch sported cracks resembling a dried bed of rivers, but the Australians made light of this and batted resolutely to clinch the huge 217-run win. The spark for their upswing of fortunes so early in the series was provided by the immensely talented youngster Michael Clarke whose century on debut at Bangalore, the first by an Australian batsman overseas in more than a century, had class and character written all over it. Significantly had ponting been available from the first Test, Clarke would have been cooling his heels in the dressing room. On such strange quirks of fortune are the fates of some rubbers decided! Clarke and left-handed Simon Katich showed the rest of the Australian frontline batsmen how to tackle the Indian spinners on the Bangalore pitch and none learned lessons from their example better than Damien Martyn, later declared the man of the series. Martyn shouldered the burden of carrying the Australian batting on his shoulders from the drawn Chennai Test onwards. The West Australian, who hit two centuries on the tour and amassed 444 runs, looked well in control in every subsequent innings, save the last one at Mumbai when Murali Kartik deceived him with a faster one and trapped him leg before to pave the way for the pulsating home team win. Martyn used his feet well to tackle the spinners but with wisdom coming with age and experience, was also choosy in stepping out, in marked contrast to clarke whose twinkle-toed approach to combat the spinning ball was an absolute treat to watch. Clarke too scored 400 runs in the series, the second biggest tally in the series after Martyn’s, and these two batsmen — with good support from Katich, Gilchrist and opener Matthew Hayden (who failed to take full advantage of starts) — formed the backbone of the Australian batting. In total contrast was the batting performance of the home team which was also handicapped by the elbow injury of Sachin Tendulkar, which forced him to skip the first two Tests, and the thigh strain of Sourav Ganguly which made him miss the last two matches of the series. Barring the occasional sparks provided by Virender Sehwag, the lone Indian centurion in the series, the others failed to do justice to their top billing. There was no steady partnership at the top of the order, with Aakash Chopra and Yuvraj Singh playing musical chairs in the first three Tests before both were dumped in favour of newcomer Gautam Gambhir in the last Test. The result was evident with the middle order coming under severe pressure from the relentless accuracy of Glenn McGrath and the fiery spells of Jason Gillespie, well supported by the nagging line of attack of Michael Kasprowicz. The Indian middle order went into a shell from which they could not recover till the series had been squandered at Nagpur. With the pressure of expectations off Laxman, he produced his best form of the rubber in scoring 69 in Mumbai. The wristy Hyderabadi also strung together a match-winning 91-run stand with Tendulkar who finally showed welcome signs of having fully recovered from his injury during the course of his second innings knock of 55 on a very difficult pitch. (PTI) |
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Ganguly bats for Bengal, keeps mum on fitness KOLKATA, Nov 7: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, recuperating from a groin strain after missing two Test matches against Australia, today turned out for Bengal in a four-day Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka here, but kept mum on issues relating to his fitness. The left-hander, who batted for about 79 minutes and remained unbeaten scoring 12 runs, looked a bit uncomfortable in the beginning but left the field with signs of confidence. He, however, refused to talk about his fitness, saying "whatever I have to say, I will tell after the fourth day". Ganguly’s inclusion in the Bengal Ranji team came as a surprise development when the India skipper last night expressed his desire to make himself available for the elite division group league match at the Jadavpur University Stadium, Salt Lake. In a last minute decision, the Bengal selectors ommitted Nikhil Haldipur and included Ganguly in the first eleven apparently to give him much needed match practice ahead of India’s one dayer against Pakistan at Eden Gardens on November 13, organised by BCCI as part of its platinum jubilee celebrations. Bengal coach Karsan Ghavri termed Ganguly’s inclusion as a morale booster for the Bengal players, but echoed the team India skipper words on questions about his fitness. "There are still three days to go. Let us wait and see," Ghavri said when asked how fit the left handed appeared to be. Cricket association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya, however, said "he (Ganguly) played because he felt he is fit." (PTI) |
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Thankfully, fourth Test wasn’t a decider By Ian Healy Australians of all types loved it, I even had text messages from people renewing their faith in Test cricket because for two days they could not leave their seats or cars wherever they were witnessing the gripping spectacle which was the fourth Test. However, if I wanted to see a two-day hit and giggle, I would rather watch 22 low grade clubbies go round the local park. I simply can’t come to grips with the fact that one of the world’s best stadiums resembled that very park which could not even be trusted by the amateurs. Players who have participated at this level know that this was a stuff up of the highest order and thankfully the fourth Test wasn’t a decider. India fought back well not only from the series loss but also a tough first innings batting and finally threw the shackles away to play reasonably naturally. Laxman at three and Tendulkar, took control of the high class Aussies for just long enough in the second innings. If ever the Indian team are to be world class they must learn to play like this when a win is crucial especially against the champs. They can start again now against the South Africans in a bid to become better cricketers. I was part of the Australian team which won a dead Test against the champion West Indies in 1991 and grew enormously in confidence from there on in. We competed much better in the next series two years later at home only to lose by one run before finally defeating a rebuilt developing side in 1995. Continued improvement, especially consistency is paramount now for the Indians, if they are to be feared worldwide as a team. This crunch series at home for India produced turmoil in so many different areas and must be addressed for cricket to be successful in a world stronghold. Groundsmen being told what to prepare by administrators and captain of the home team and not bowing to those requests. The Nagpur wicket, which was the greatest source of such controversy, was the best of the series which included equally batsmen and bowlers of all types. The final wicket being a disgrace, hopefully because of incompetence and not underhandedness. Television rights are probably being considered in court rather than being celebrated in the glow of a great series. The most influential problem for India for this series however was their injury toll accompanying the lack of batting intent. I have never seen a team encounter such a debilitating list of absentees for a major series. Australia, so well prepared and tough, realistically should have won as easily as they did. We have to look harder in a low scoring match to discuss good performances but there are plenty to highlight from Mumbai. The umpires are the first to rate a mention from me. They were strong, respectful, decisive in tough circumstances and skillful. Pressure packed decisions in low scorers must be nerve-racking but Dar and Koertzen impressed. The mastery of tough conditions by batsmen was going to be brief and fifties will rate highly by the men who scored them. Remarkably it was Tendulkar for India, who has picked up fewer bats than me in the last months, that found his feet and thoughts of old returning. Martyn for Australia has been full of answers to whatever the spinners have tried. Back foot deflections, down the ground power and always so calm building partnerships with batsmen and tailenders alike. I would be interested to know just how the spinners rate their stats from Mumbai. Michael Clarke loves to bowl but that will never happen again I bet. Harbhajan produced what everyone has been expecting and this pitch was so bad that even in-form batsmen could not begin to employ the plans that had worked so well in the series. Murali Kartik will grow from this match. He tried different paces, flights and spins superbly and cracked the top order quickly. No one could overlook the super cool debuts of Dinesh Karthik and Nathan Hauritz either. To wicketkeep so crisply in such tough conditions to the hardest of spinners was spectacular by Karthik. It was sparkling and fresh to see some levity behind the stumps and he really wanted every ball. He had his helmeted head and eyes over everything, even the balls that were full and down legside in the rough. Tremendous performance which disguised the fact that it was his first. Hauritz was the same, using the receptive conditions with variety. Mixing flights, pace and amounts of spin to go with the natural variation. It would be easy to simply get them in there repetitively, but he was better than that and grabbed the chance to demonstrate his athleticism with Laxman’s caught and bowled as well. Another five overs batting by the rookie would have seen him take Australia to victory too. It is a real shame that the game’s infrastructure has robbed the spectators and purists of another 2 or 3 days of excitement. But congratulations to the Indian team for a thrilling win, please take and kickstart a campaign to become better because you are the favourites of so many around the world. It always gives me goosebumps to see the passion of Indian crowds and Mumbai’s atmosphere was the best. A huge thanks to the colourful people who constitute crowds in India and I hope you don’t have to be part of too many more hiccups. An easy Test is probably the best finish to a series which has been decided. Two days effort instead of five is pleasant as a player when you are looking for home. The players will never admit to that but now that it is over, they will be grateful for the extra time to ready themselves for their upcoming series. They will be tough series too and ones I am looking forward to very much. (PTI) |
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New Zealand complete Bangladesh one-day sweep DHAKA, Nov 7: Mathew Sinclair and Scott Styris hit half-centuries to set up New Zealand’s 83-run victory over Bangladesh today as they completed a three-match one-day sweep of the hosts. Opening batsman Sinclair top-scored with a solid 66 while Styris made an impressive 51 as New Zealand posted a challenging 250-7 on a slow pitch after electing to bat in the day-night game. New Zealand then restricted Bangladesh to 167-7 for their third successive victory in the three-match series. Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori never allowed the Bangladeshi batsmen to score freely as he finished with 3-25 off 10 tight overs. "It was a nice finish," said New Zealand skipper Vettori. "It’s a good preparation for our tour to Australia. Everyone is happy with the result. We did a good job in batting and bowling." A minor consolation for Bangladesh was Mohammad Rafique’s fine all-round performance. The left-arm spinner finished with a career-best haul of 4-63 to become Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker in one-dayers, surpassing Khaled Mahmud’s 54 victims. He has so far grabbed 56 scalps. Rafique then played an attractive cameo of 21 after being promoted as an opener. He smashed four boundaries, including two in a Kyle Mills over, before becoming one of the three leg-before victims. Khaled Mashud (40 not out) and Nafis Iqbal (40) were the other main contributors, but Bangladesh never got into their stride after losing the first three wickets for just 48 runs. New Zealand had boosted their chances with a steady batting performance despite Rafique’s impressive bowling effort. All-rounder Chris Cairns helped his team set a tough target with his big hitting in the closing overs, smashing three sixes and two fours in his 16-ball 34. New Zealand plundered 99 in the last 10 overs. "It was a hard job for us after they scored nearly 100 in the last 10 overs. But they played better cricket in the series," said stand-in Bangladeshi skipper Mashud, who led in the absence of unfit Habibul Bashar. Sinclair put his team on course for a big total with a 72-run stand for the opening wicket with Nathan Astle (27). Rafique grabbed two wickets off successive overs to lead a brief Bangladeshi recovery, reducing the tourists from 99-1 to 105-4. He had Hamish Marshall caught by Rajin Saleh at short extra cover before holding a return catch to dismiss Sinclair. Sinclair, who made 62 in the previous match here on Friday, struck seven fours in his seventh half-century. (AFP) |
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Narrow escape for Amritsar Club; J&K Police in final Excelsior Sports Correspondent KATHUA, Nov 7: Amritsar Hockey Club today had a narrow escape against another Punjab team—Sports Academy Jalandhar—in quarterfinals while star-studded side of J&K Police overpowered the locals of Kathua—Sujanpur Hockey Club to enter into the final of ongoing 5th Young Heros memorial inter-state hockey championship at sports stadium, Hiranagar, near here. The tough fight between two Punjab teams ended in sudden death when Jagbir Singh netted the all important goal for Amritsar Club making it a 5-4 win after the score tied at 4-4 in tie-breaker. Earlier, in the match time, the dried first half was followed by the tied game at 1-1 score on board. Sports Academy Jalandhar had taking the first lead netting the first blood through Amandeep Singh in the 40th minute but only to be equalised in the 52nd minute by Jagir Singh. When the match could not decide in the stipulated 70-minute game time, the organisers applied the tie-breaker rule, which again ended in a 4-4 draw. Amandeep Singh, Navpreet Singh and Jashanpreet Singh were successful shooters from Academy while Subey Singh and Swarnjeet Singh failed to hit the target. On the other hand, Jagir Singh, Gursevek Singh and Harpreet Singh converted their penalty shoots into goals and Gurvinder Singh and Jasbir Singh missed. Later, in the sudden death, Jagir Singh made the all important goal for Amritsar Club while Jasanpreet missed for the Academy resulting into a 5-4 win for the latter. Now, in the semi-final, to be played tomorrow, Amritsar Club will take on BSF Jammu. Earlier, in the first semi-final, Jammu and Kashmir Police blanked comparatively young side of Sujanpur Hockey Club 7-0. In the first half, cops were not allowed by the young brigade led by an old man (coach) to make much of damage. But after the breather, Policemen fired on all cylinders and added five more goals to bring the tally to 7-0. Sujanpur Club forward line was weak in their attack while experienced side of J&K Police hardly missed any opportunity came their way. The penalty corners awarded to each side suggests that Sujanpur Club had made all out efforts in an attempt to reduce the margin. In all, Sujanpur Club awarded eight corners as compared to nine in favour of J&K Police. None of the 15 corners awarded during the match was converted into goal. Today’s matches were officiated by Jagjeet Singh, Dalbir Mehta, Charanjit Singh, Avnesh Sharma, Jaipal Singh, Sashipal Sharma, Raju and P P Singh. |
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Kathua Stadium XI trounces Shastri Club by 26 runs Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Nov 7: Kathua Stadium XI today supersede the Shastri Cricket Club (SCC) beating latter by 26 runs in a second round match of ongoing cricket tournament at Science College ground here. Batting first after winning the toss, Kathua boys set a target of 186 runs in the allotted 30 overs for the loss of eight wickets, which, in reply, SCC could not chase and completed the allotted 30 overs at a score of 159 with two wickets in hand. Tarsem Sharma was top scorer with 42 runs off as many balls while Rompy Sharma added quick 36 runs facing just 27 balls with the help of one six and three boundaries. Nirdosh and Neeraj contributed 22 and 15 runs respectively. From SCC, Sanjay (jr), Raman Dutta and Amit shared two wickets each. Batting second, SCC their first six wickets for 47 runs and when tried to slow down the innings in order to save the wickets, the required run-rate went out of their reach. They completed 30 overs quota for 159 runs for eight wickets. Sanjay was highest scorer from SCC with 44 (off 40 balls, 2x6, 2x4) runs while Amit contributed unbeaten 31 ball 34 runs. Munish Chib and Munish Sharma added 19 and 12 runs respectively. Nishat, Tarsem, Mithu, Rompy, Sandeep, Shallu and Nirdosh shared one wicket each. Tarsem Sharma of Kathua was declared man of the match. Meanwhile, the protest committee of Roshni Cricket Academy headed by former Ranji player Nirmal Singh had decided to replay the match between Aryan Cricket Club and RCC Satwari. Next match: Adarsh Cricket Club to take on Yorkshire Cricket Club at 9.30 am. |
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Mohun Bagan in Durand Cup final NEW DELHI, Nov 7: Striker Felix Ibrebru missed twice from the spot as defending champions Salgaocar went down 4-5 on penalties to Mohun Bagan in the first semifinal of the Durand Cup football tournament here today. Ibrebru first missed a controversial penalty in the 70th minute of the match and then again messed up the last penalty kick in the tie-breaker after the two teams were locked goalless during the regulation time and 30 minutes extra time. Substitute Zehry Jirsanga, Mehtab Hossain, Sunil Chetri, Dulal Biswas and Dharamjit Singh converted the spot kicks for bagan while Bello Razaq, Jothi Kumar, Fredy Mascarenhas and Samson Singh (both substitutes) scored for Salgaocar. It was an exciting battle at the Ambedkar Stadium between the Goans and Bagan, bolstered by the return of Tomba Singh and Jirsanga to make up for the absence of Brazilian Eduwardo Chacun, who had to sit out after picking up two yellow cards. Both Salgaocar and Bagan messed up a number of chances but the Kolkatans attacked with more vigour after the introduction of Tomba, who did national duty other day in Kuwait, in the 36th minute. The exciting Tempo continued after the change of ends with the two African strikers Felix and Bagan’s James going close to opening their account. In the 68th minute Salgaocar forced a corner and the flag kick was flicked on by Felix to Bello. The Salgaocar skipper went up in the air but missed the ball and came tumbling down. Referee Ashokan was in perfect position and he pointed to the spot ruling that one of the Bagan player had pushed bello. The Bagan players just could not digest a penalty at this late stage and led by goalkeeper Subrata Pal chased the referee who had to run back to the half-line before the linesmen came to his rescue and helped him out of the protesting Kolkatans. The Maroon and Green Brigade also had the support of nearly 10,000 supporters as they booed and hurled abuses at the match officials. Felix managed to fire his shot straight at the ‘keeper and the moment the shot was saved, the entire Bagan team including the bench and the partisan supporters vented all their anger at the referee, who had to stop the match for a few minutes to allow the tempers to calm down. The beginning of the extra time saw Mehtab darting down the right flank and unleash a shot on the run which went inches wide. The next moment, Salgaocar were down to 10 men after medio Micky Fernandes came up with a hard tackle on Bagan’s star player Tomba. The Manipur player went down with a thud and the bagan players, led by local boy Chetri, charged down to the goan. With the crowd roaring for a red card, the referee ejected the Goan leaving Salgoacar to battle out the remaining 28 minutes. Bagan had earlier introduced Zehry in place of James and Salgoacar brought in Samson Singh looking for the all important goal. But the Kolkatans failed to take advantage of their numerical superiority as the Salgaocar defenders Razaq, Roberto Fernandez and Bento Vaz did a tremendous job to thwart Bagan’s attacks. (PTI) |
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| Raja Shoket Ali S/o Wali Mohd Mir of Gandoh in Doda, who has qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) for lectureship in Urdu conducted by University Grants Commission, New Delhi. | |
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