Daily Excelsior.........sports

Aussie whinging not
acceptable to Harbhajan

NEW DELHI, Nov 8: India’s ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is livid over all the talk about the Wankhede track and the whinging by the Australians ever since they lost the fourth and final cricket Test in Mumbai..........more

Wankhede-like pitches
will ruin interest in
Tests: Imran

JAIPUR: Slamming the Wankhede wicket, legendary all-rounder Imran Khan today said home teams should not ruin the spectator value of Test cricket by stretching their preference for pitches too far.............more

East Bengal to
take on Mohun
Bagan in final

NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Syed Nahim Nabi emerged East Bengal’s saviour as the National Football League champions pipped JCT Mills 1-0 to move into the final of the Durand Cup football tournament here today. ...........more

Clarke’s place is not
permanent yet: Ponting

SYDNEY, Nov 8: Despite his dream debut in the away series against India, talented Australia bat Michael Clarke can’t take his place in the side for granted.............more

5th Young Heros memorial hockey
BSF Jammu enters
final to meet J&K Police

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

KATHUA, Nov 8: Border Security Force (BSF) Jammu today entered into the final of ongoing 5th Young Heros memorial inter-state hockey championship beating Amritsar Hockey Club by two goals to one in the second............more

Ranjit Kalra calls
on Farooq Abdullah

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 8: Senior vice-president and spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket players Association(JKCPA), Ranjit Kalra called on the..........more

Neeraj’s act behind stumps helps ACC win by 3 wkts

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 8: Exemplary alertness shown by Neeraj behind the stumps and later valuable contribution to the team’s score.....more

Ganguly scores
27 for Bengal

KOLKATA, Nov 8: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, returning to action after a two-week injury layoff, looked in good ....more

Dravid being captain helped me in Mumbai .......

Aussie whinging not acceptable to Harbhajan

"I wonder if they had still whined if Australia, and not India, had won the Mumbai Test," Harbhajan said on phone from Mumbai where he helped skittle out Australia for only 93 runs last week and script a 13-run win for India.

With the track continuing to draw flak from past and present Australian cricketers, including captain Ricky Ponting and former batsman Mark Waugh, Harbhajan says enough is enough.

"When we go to Australia, we never complain about the Perth pitch. Or if we are in England, we don’t cry from the rooftop about the grassy and seaming conditions. So why now this outcry?" retorted Harbhajan in his inimitable style.

Harbhajan, who took 21 wickets from three Tests in the series, including the match-winning 5 for 29 as Australians failed to chase a meager 107 for win, said Mumbai has always provided a pitch where the ball grips the surface and offers bounce.

"It has always been the case in Mumbai. Why, I remember when we played a one-dayer against Australia on their last visit in 2001, we couldn’t chase 240 batting second because it spun big-time. We never complained about the quality of the pitch then."

Harbhajan believes the Australians did not have the right defensive technique and judicious selection of strokes to bat in the last innings of the match.

"Indeed, I would say Jason Gillespie showed marvellous defensive technique and had begun to frustrate us. I would say his methods were far better than some of the top order Australian batsmen."

Harbhajan said his point was best illustrated by the way Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman batted on the third morning, playing with tremendous common sense and choosing the right ball to strike.

Harbhajan also took exception to Mark Waugh’s column where the former Australian batsman had criticised Sourav Ganguly and remarked that Indians would struggle to win Tests abroad with such an attitude.

"Really? I thought it was the Australians who were complaining about the Mumbai pitch. It is they who need to get on with the game."

"Incidentally, let me remind him we have not won matches only at home in the last few years. We beat West Indies in West Indies, England in England, Pakistan in Pakistan, Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and even Australia in Australia.

"I don’t think we won there because we had friendly curators."

Harbhajan also batted on behalf of his skipper while reacting to Waugh’s remarks that perhaps India should look for a change in leadership rather than stick with somebody who is concerned too much about tracks. (PTI)

Wankhede-like pitches will ruin interest in Tests: Imran

JAIPUR: Slamming the Wankhede wicket, legendary all-rounder Imran Khan today said home teams should not ruin the spectator value of Test cricket by stretching their preference for pitches too far.

The former skipper said Test cricket was already facing a stiff challenge from one-day cricket and the tendency to have tailor-made tracks needed to be curbed.

"Every country has a right to prepare the kind of wickets which suit their own bowlers. But there has to be a limit. If something is not done soon to curb this trend, cricket is sure to suffer," the cricketer-turned politician said during an interactive session at a function here today.

"In order to gain victory in front of their own countrymen, every team is going too far to prepare pitches favouring their own bowlers. This will ruin interest of the spectators," he said.

Asked about speculation that some of the one-dayers in the India-Pakistan series earlier this year were fixed, Imran said there was no truth in the allegations.

"Some of the newspapers made some speculation regarding results of the matches and unfortunately some of them proved right. But I don’t see any truth in allegations (that matches were fixed). No player compromises with his own performance," he said."

Earlier in the day, Imran had offered prayers at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s Dargah in Ajmer near here. (PTI)

East Bengal to take on Mohun Bagan in final

Nabi’s header in the 71st minute off a superb throw by Habibur Rahman saved the day for the red and yellow brigade who were otherwise outsmarted by the JCT team, making their first semifinal after losing to the same opponents in 1999. The final between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, who yesterday booked their berth in the summit clash beating defending champions Salgaocar SC via tiebreaker, will take place on Wednesday. When the two teams last met in the title round in 1994 Bagan had emerged winners.

Nabi’s winner came against the trend of play which saw the Punjab team going close a number of times before missing the goal either due to finishing mistakes or denied by custodian Rajat Ghosh Dastidar. The goal came after one of the few moves made by the Kolkatans — Nabi tried to move in through the right and was challenged by Bimal Barua. In the tussle for the ball, Nabi was pulled by the linesman for an unwieldy tackle but escaped the eye of referee Benjamin D’Silva.

Before Rahman took the throw, the linesman brought the incident to the referee’s notice who promptly flashed the yellow card to Nabi. Getting the caution Nabi went back inside the box and then rose high above his markers to head home the goal and ran back in jubilation. (Agencies)

Clarke’s place is not permanent yet: Ponting

SYDNEY, Nov 8: Despite his dream debut in the away series against India, talented Australia bat Michael Clarke can’t take his place in the side for granted, said skipper Ricky Ponting.

According to Ponting, it’s going to be a tough battle for Clarke and Darren Lehman for a middle order berth.

Lehmann, during the India tour, had offered to step aside to make way for the youngster.

Lehmann is expected to recover from injury and that pits him against Clarke for a place in the final eleven against New Zealand beginning on November 18.

Sydney Morning Herald quotes ponting as saying,"it depends what the selectors think about him versus Lehmann, I guess - it’s pretty much down to those two for that one spot in Brisbane."

Talking about Lehmann’s offer to pave way for Clarke, Ponting said, "as I’ve said all along, I know Darren Lehmann has still got a lot of good test cricket left in him, and one-day cricket for that matter."

"But when someone has performed as well as Michael has on that last tour, he looks to be the future of Australian cricket. It’s going to be very hard for the selectors," he was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Should Ponting’s comments prove prophetic, Lehmann’s offer to stand down for Clarke - made prior to the third Test versus India-would presumably be back on the agenda. The scenario also appears to defy the notion that Simon Katich would be axed in the event of a Lehmann recall, given Clarke’s superior record in India.

"It’s been something that’s been coming for a little while now, probably since the first test of this last series when Michael played extremely well. As the series went on, things fell into place so that selection didn’t have to be made over there," he said. Clarke topped both the batting (57.14) and bowling (2.16) averages during the four-match Test series against India. (UNI)

5th Young Heros memorial hockey
BSF Jammu enters final to meet J&K Police

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

Now, BSF Jammu will take on the Jammu and Kashmir Police for the title clash on November 10 at 11 am at the same venue.

In today’s semi-final encounter, BSF had already taken two goals lead at the end of first half. Both the goals were netted by star striker, Ranjeet Singh in the 8th and 21st minute. However, Amritsar Club reduced the margin after the break. Parminder Singh sounded the board in the 62nd minute.

During the 70-minute match, Amritsar Club got a lot of chances but every time their moves were sabotaged and attempts to level the score through penalty corners were foiled by the alert defence line of the BSF men. In all, Amritsar Club were awarded as many as 14 penalty corners as against only one in favour of BSF.

Ranjit Kalra calls on Farooq Abdullah

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 8: Senior vice-president and spokesman of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket players Association(JKCPA), Ranjit Kalra called on the president of J&K Cricket Association (JKCA), Dr Farooq Abdullah at the latter’s residence this evening.

In a one-to-one interaction, Kalra apprised Dr Abdullah about the current cricketing scenario and the problems being faced by the cricketers in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ranjit discussed at length the recent controversy regarding two selection lists for the ongoing Srinagar Ranji Trophy camp, the dispute over the coach and the ill-treatment meted out to Jammu cricketers at the camp.

He requested Dr Abdullah to kindly appoint an official spokesman for the cricket association who shall brief the media in his absence so that the conflicting statements issued by various office bearers of JKCA from time to time, which often lead to the confusion among cricketing community, is stopped.

Dr Abdullah said that he would be among the Ranji campers at Srinagar in a couple of days and would talk to the officials, coaches and selectors and even take cricketers into confidence before taking any decision.

The JKCA president was unhappy to hear about the sub-standard boarding and lodging being provided to cricketers in Kashmir and promised to take corrective measures so that players are made comfortable and give their hundred per cent to the game.

Dr Abdullah assured that only meritorious players will be considered for the final 14-member State Ranji team so that the team performs well.

Meanwhile, in a meeting held this evening, JKCPA expressed their gratitude to Dr Farooq Abdullah for being so kind to listen to the players difficulties. The Association also thanked Dr Abdullah for ful-filling his promise for appointing professional coaches for cricketers in J&K.

The Association hoped that Dr Abdullah shall continue to show his benevolence and affection towards the cricket players. Meeting was chaired by president, Vivek Sharma and attended by Ravi Dogra (general secretary), Sandeep Singh (joint secretary) and Arvind Sharma (treasure).

Neeraj’s act behind stumps helps ACC win by 3 wkts

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 8: Exemplary alertness shown by Neeraj behind the stumps and later valuable contribution to the team’s score today guided Adarsh Cricket Club (ACC) to a three-wicket win over Yorkshire Cricket Club (YCC) to enter the second round of pre-quarterfinals of cricket tournament being played at Science College ground, here.

Neeraj, who earlier took five catches and was instrumental in one-stump out, helped ACC restrict YCC to a score of 124 in 27 overs of the 30 overs game. He later opened the innings and added 20 ball 22 runs dotted with two fours thus guiding his side to chase the target for the loss of seven wickets sparing seven overs of their innings.

Vishal was highest scorer from YCC with 25 runs while Shashi and Parveen contributed 14 and 12 runs respectively. From ACC, Sumesh bowled well taking four wickets for 31 runs in six overs. Satish took three for 15 in five while Ashok clinched two for 27.

Batting second, ACC made 127 runs in 23 overs for the loss of seven wickets. Nitin was top scorer with 29, followed by Sunny who made 28 off 24 balls including four hits to the fence. From YCC, Rocky and Parveen shared two wickets each. Tinku and Rahul bagged one each.

For his all-round performance, Neeraj was named man of the match. Today’s match was officiated by Pappu and Joginder while Narinder Sanotra was scorer.

Meanwhile, according to organising secretary of the tournament, Ravinder Arora, the next round of pre-quarterfinals will start after Dewali with first pre-quarterfinal on November 13.

Ganguly scores 27 for Bengal

KOLKATA, Nov 8: Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, returning to action after a two-week injury layoff, looked in good shape during his brief stay at the wicket on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy cricket match between Bengal and Karnataka here today.

Ganguly, who surprised everybody with his last minute decision to play for Bengal, resumed at his overnight score of 12 and seemed at ease while running between the wickets and executing his shots during his 27-run knock.

The Indian skipper hit an exquisite cover drive off debutant pacer Vinayak Kumar and looked more confident than yesterday as he stitched together a 57-run partnership with Sourashish Lahiri for the seventh wicket.

Ganguly, however, disappointed his admirers who thronged the Jadavpur University Salt Lake campus ground to see him in action, when he got out in the 8th over of the day, edging an away going delivery of Kumar to slips.

Ganguly’s innings in all lasted 115 minutes during which he faced 76 balls and hit four boundaries.

Ganguly had been laid low by an upper thigh strain and missed the last two Tests against Australia.

The left-hander decided to play the Ranji match yesterday in order to get match practice ahead of the Indian-Pakistan platinum jubilee match here on November 13.

Ganguly has been included in the 15-member Indian squad for the match against Pakistan subject to his passing a fitness Test on November 10. (PTI)

Dravid being captain helped me in Mumbai

NEW DELHI, Nov 8: Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik today said having his clubmate and friend Rahul Dravid as captain brought the best out of him in the thrilling fourth cricket Test against Australia last week.

"Definitely it helped. I have played with Rahul (Dravid) in my younger days in league cricket in Chennai. So he knows me very well, and understands my mindset," said Kartik who was man of the match in Mumbai with a haul of seven for 76.

The 28-year old said there was no shadow cast on him by the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

"There is no such thing as shadow. Obviously when you have two world class bowlers, it is a bit of bad luck for the third bowler. There is no need to take it too hard," the railways bowler said.

"I have never been in oblivion. It is just that I have always had to wait. Even now, I have to. And I don’t think I ever bowled badly for India."

A player who has always been on the fringe, Kartik said there was no such a thing as ideal number of Tests for a spinner to prove himself and it was important that the team management was happy with his performance.

"It is a debatable and open thing. At the international level, you bowl the way the team wants you to. Sometimes you are the stock bowler, sometimes you attack."

"So it is important if the team management is happy with the way you bowl. As long as they know what I have done was in direct relation to the expectations, there is always a chance of comeback."

Kartik said the man of the match award at the Wankhede Stadium was something he had not expected, and although it came on a turning track, he would take it anyday.

"I expected the man of the match award in Jodhpur (in a one-dayer against the West Indies when he picked 3-36) when I ran through the top order. But then certain things happen at certain times."

"I did bag the award on a spinning pitch but then batsmen have won so many awards on `pata’ wickets."

"Considering that we had to defend a total of 107 against a team like Australia, and when Harbhajan Singh had failed to take a wicket in the first innings, I am all the more happy to get that award."

The railways cricketer said the public notion about his personality was "media created".

"I say that because at times people have written about the beads I wear, which is very religious to me. We are what you (media) make."

"I have been aggressive and probably mellowed with age. That is the way I play, you can’t be timid on the field."

"But off the field, I am a total contrast. I never had my collars up on the field, as people have written." (PTI)