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

Absence of Kumble
made a difference,
says Inzamam

KOLKATA, Nov 14: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq has said the absence of Anil Kumble has made a difference in the..............more

Ganguly suspended for
two Tests; to miss SA series

KOLKATA, Nov 14: In a harsh decision, the International Cricket Council today suspended captain Sourav Ganguly for two Test matches for slow over rate against Pakistan in the Platinum Jubilee one-day international here putting him out of action for the two-Test series against South Africa starting on November 20..........more

Bahutule spins web
around South Africa

JAIPUR, Nov 14: Sairaj Bahutule exposed South Africans’ weakness against spin bowling with a four-wicket haul as Board President’s XI fought back on the opening day.......more

Kallis keen to test Indians

JAIPUR, Nov 14: South African allrounder Jacques Kallis is keen to upset the Indian applecart in the upcoming two-match Test series and he proposes to do that not with his batting.....more

District volleyball
meet begins

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

KATHUA, Nov 14: Organised by Kathua Volleyball Association, the district championship started today at Government High School, Gurah Mundian ground in Hiranagar, near here................more

J&K wins opening
match in junior
national hockey

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 14: Jammu and Kashmir won their opening league match beating Madhya Bharat 3-0 in the junior (U-21) national hockey championship being played at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh..........more

Absence of Kumble made
a difference, says Inzamam

KOLKATA, Nov 14: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq has said the absence of Anil Kumble has made a difference in the BCCI Platinum Jubilee match.......more

Persist with Ganguly as
skipper: Wasim Akram

BANGALORE, Nov 14: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram today backed continuation of Sourav Ganguly as the skipper.....more

Absence of Kumble made a difference, says Inzamam

KOLKATA, Nov 14: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq has said the absence of Anil Kumble has made a difference in the BCCI Platinum Jubilee match between Indian and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens.

"Although Harbhajan was good but Indian bowlers faced problems because of the dew," he said after triumphing over India yesterday.

Regarding the problem of openers in his team , he said,’’ we have got a very good opener in Salman Butt. He looks very promising.’’

Asked whether 292 was a difficult target to chase, Inzamam said, "it was really a difficult target, but our batters kept their cool and pursued it with patience."

About the recent Pakistan victories after Bob Woolmer joined as coach, he said,"with woolmer joining as coach we are working much more and that has led to the high confidence level we have now."

"We have also improved our fielding which has led to improved performance in difficult ground conditions."

Asked about his back pain, Inzamam said, "the pain developed during the last series but it was not that much serious and it will be okay in one or two weeks."

He also added that it was enjoyable to win at the Eden Gardens where the team was yet to lose a match. (UNI)

Ganguly suspended for two Tests; to miss SA series

Ganguly was found guilty by ICC match referee Clive Lloyd who held a hearing of the match officials. Later, an ICC press release announced the suspension of the Indian captain.

ICC also imposed fines on India’s Irfan Pathan and Pakistan’s Yousuf Youhana finding them guilty of breaching the code of conduct for entering into an altercation during the match.

According to the release, Ganguly breached the clause C1 of the ICC code of conduct for players and/or team officials for his team’s slow over rate in the last evening’s encounter.

Since this was Ganguly’s second similar offence within a span of 12 months — the previous being during the tour of Australia earlier this year — the seriousness of the offence has become more resulting in his suspension with immediate effect, the release said.

The first Tests begins on November 20 in Kanpur while the second starts at Kolkata from November 28. Ganguly had also missed the last two Tests in the recent four-match Test series against Australia due to injury.

Lloyd said "the ICC code relating to over rates needs to be strictly observed and it is important for all the stakeholders in the game, to have matches finished on time."

"The allotted 3 and half hours is ample time to bowl the required 50 overs. So captains need to ensure that all efforts are made to achieve this."

Bahutule spins web around South Africa

JAIPUR, Nov 14: Sairaj Bahutule exposed South Africans’ weakness against spin bowling with a four-wicket haul as Board President’s XI fought back on the opening day of the three-day cricket tour match at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here today.

The visitors were off to a rollicking start as their top order batsmen made the most of a placid track with some aggressive strokemaking before being caught in Bahutule’s spin web.

The Mumbai leg spinner finished with four for 65 before South Africa declared their first innings at 226 for five.

At stumps, the hosts were four for no loss with Dheeraj Jadhav on three and Gautam Gambhir on zero at the crease.

The South Africans lost four wickets, all of them to Bahutule, for 53 runs in the evening session as they slid from a strong position of 164 for one at tea.

But that was not before Graeme Smith and his batsmen lived up to their pre-match statement of playing attacking cricket and putting the pressure on the hosts.

Smith was the dominant partner of the two partnerships he shared with opener Jacques Rudolph and Justin Ontong. After adding 72 runs for the opening stand, Smith featured in a 92-run association with ontong.

The captain however perished when he stepped out to Bahutule off the second ball after tea and was stumped by M S Dhoni.

Smith’s 86 came off 172 balls and contained five hits to the fence.

More notable was the knock of ontong who would be a key element in South Africa’s game plan in the two Tests ahead.

Ontong has been a steady performer with the bat in first class cricket but he was included in the team as a specialist spinner.

The 24-year old, however, has made it clear that he would be happy more with a role of a top order batsman and his innings today would have helped his cause.

His enterprising knock of 70 that consumed 146 balls and spanned 183 minutes, was studded with five fours and a six off Ramesh Powar.

He was quick on his feet against the spinners and looked comfortable both on the front foot and off the back foot.

Today’s display in unfamiliar conditions could have helped heal some of the mental scar that ontong suffered two years ago when he was the victim of Australian sledging.

Smith, who announced himself to the world with back to back double tons in his first series as captain in England last year, was in roaring form.

His batting proved to be impregnable to the bowlers. A heavily on-sided player, Smith handled both the spinners and the fast bowlers with equal comfort.

He began with a glance to third man boundary of Amit Bhandari and then drove offspinner Ramesh Powar through the on-side.

The placid nature of the track was highlighted when spin was introduced in the eighth over.

The hosts got a lucky break when Rudolph was run out as he attempted a second run and failed to beat Bhandari’s throw from fineleg. The left hander’s composed 26 came from 115 minutes in 102 balls aided by three fours.

The scoring rate picked up further with ontong proving to be more enterprising than his captain. The right hander was willing to step out to the slow bowlers and he asserted his authority with a thumping six over midwicket off Powar.

The tide turned when the tourists decided to go all out against the bowlers after tea.

After Smith’s dismissal, Ontong fell when he tried to hoist Bahutule only to sky it for a well judged catch by Gautam Gambhir at mid on.

Jacques Kallis did not look happy when he was ruled leg before and Boeta Dippenaar too succumbed to his shot making instincts.

Earlier, the Board President’s XI included three opening batsmen in Gautam Gambhir, Dheeraj Jadhav and Sadagopan Ramesh and pacers in Amit Bhandari and Shib Shankar Paul as South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. (PTI)

SCOREBOARD

South Africa 1st innings:

G Smith st Dhoni b Bahutule 86

J Rudolph run out 26

J Ontong c Gambhir b Bahutule 70

J Kallis lbw b Bahutule 11

b Dippenaar c Powar b Bahutule 14

H Amla not out 2

Z De Bruyn not out 7

Extras (b-6, lb-3, nb-1) 10

Total (for 5 wickets decl in 88 overs) 226

Fall of wickets: 1-72, 2-164, 3-190, 4-209, 5-217.

Bowling: Bhandari 7-3-13-0, Paul 11-3-24-0, Powar 27-3-78-0, Bahutule 31-5-65-4, Badani 1-0-5-0, Mongia 11-1-32-0.

Board President’s XI 1st innings

D Jadhav batting 3

G Gambhir batting 0

Extras (b-1) 1

Total (for no loss in 3 overs) 4

Bowling: S Pollock 2-2-0-0, M Ntini 1-0-3-0. (PTI)

Kallis keen to test Indians

JAIPUR, Nov 14: South African allrounder Jacques Kallis is keen to upset the Indian applecart in the upcoming two-match Test series and he proposes to do that not with his batting, but with his genuine fast bowling.

"I have always seen myself as a batter and bowler. The ball is coming out sweetly, and I am confident of doing well," Kallis said.

The 29-year old from Cape Town has emerged as South Africa’s key figure in the last couple of years following the retirement of seasoned players like Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes.

And with a natural swing bowling to compliment his fine strokemaking skills, Kallis will be the nucleus around whom the South African team will be built in the years to come.

Coach Ray Jennings fired the warning shot when he said Kallis would come hard at the Indians with his bowling.

"The Indian players must be careful that Kallis is ready to show up as a bowler," Jennings said.

"There is no doubt in my mind that when I look up at the bowling (strengths), Kallis is here, and the Indians are going to see ... a new Kallis."

Despite being acknowledged as a leading allrounder in contemporary cricket, statistics point to an unfulfilled bowling potential of this soft spoken South African.

Kallis is just 33 runs away from the 6,000-run milestone. With an average of 53.75, he is among the top batsmen. But in 80 tests, he has picked 166 wickets at an unflattering average of 30.68. Somewhat an anti-thesis of Shaun Pollock, the other allrounder in the side whose batting average is as mean as his bowling.

The South Africans have always stressed on the need to preserve Kallis and not compromise his batting for the sake of gaining maximum out of his bowling.

But that line of thinking seems to have changed, mainly due to the retirements of some talented players.

"We have lost experienced players since the World Cup (last year) and you can’t buy experience in some supermarket. It takes a while to replace the vacant slots. We have some good young cricketers coming up, they have to put up their hands and come up with man of the match performances," Kallis said.

All-rounders have become an endangered species, thanks to the ever increasing international schedule. In fact, Kallis is even now coming back from an ankle injury. So, it will be interesting to see how he balances the workload.

At 29, Kallis is at that stage of his career when a cricketer is said to reach his peak.

In the last 10 tests, he has notched up five hundreds —including three scores of 150 — and as many half centuries to aggregate 1246 runs at a bradmanesque average of 89.00.

The last time he was in India in 2000, he had a highest score of 95 which laid the platform the team’s win in the second Test in Bangalore.

If anything, the omen is not good for Sourav Ganguly and his men. (PTI)