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| Clarke, Katich put Australia in command BANGALORE, Oct 6: Debutant Michael Clarke showed no signs of nerves as he struck an exhilarating unbeaten half century to put Australia in command in the first cricket Test against India at the Chinaswamy Stadium here today. ....................more By Allan Border It was a fantastic day’s cricket. Australia started well by winning the toss and getting first use of a wicket that will only deteriorate as the game progresses. However, even on that typically Indian batting wicket, theAustralian batsmen were not allowed to score at their customary rollicking pace...........more Sloppy
India let CHANDIGARH, Oct 6: India held Pakistan to a 1-1 draw here today in their must-win match which has now left them with only an opportunity to level the eight-match hockey series. ..............more KARACHI, Oct 6: Inzamam-ul-Haq is likely to remain as Pakistan captain beyond their tour of Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said today.................more |
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No one to attend senior cricketers, says JKCPA Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 6: Though junior cricketers somehow are being attended through trials for the forthcoming cricketing season of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the seniors (under-22 and Ranji Trophy) players are yet to get attention of the selectors and coaches appointed by the Association...................more Fayaz Sofi
is new Excelsior Sports Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 6: Peer Siraj-ud-Din and Prof. Bashir have retained the posts of vice-president and resident secretary respectively while Fayaz Sofi was named.........more Shamsher
helps Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 6: A superb bowling performance by Shamsher today helped Vishal Cricket Club (VCC) to reach the semi-finals.............more Desi
medicine By Rajesh Dhar Friends, it is a matter of absolute satisfaction that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) thought it appropriate to have desi medicine to cure desi illness........more |
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| Series win against Aussies to put India 2nd in Test table..... |
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Clarke, Katich put Australia in command BANGALORE, Oct 6: Debutant Michael Clarke showed no signs of nerves as he struck an exhilarating unbeaten half century to put Australia in command in the first cricket Test against India at the Chinaswamy Stadium here today. Clarke, coming in for an injured skipper Ricky Ponting, negotiated the famed Indian spinners with ease on a turning track to remain unbeaten on 76 and take his team to a comfortable 316 for five at close on the opening day. Stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist was 35 not out at the other end on a day which saw the visitors largely relying on their young batsmen to recover from the loss of three quick wickets in the post-lunch session. The 23-year-old Clarke struck 11 fours and two sixes, including one off leg spinner Anil Kumble, who had his joy of reaching the 400 mark somewhat spoilt by the marauding right-hander. Clarke’s Cavalier innings also put in shade the assured performance of Simon Katich who more than lived up to his promotion to the number three slot. Left handed Katich was the only other Aussie batsman on view today to handle the spinners with authority. With nimble footwork backed by bold attitude, Katich made 81 from 168 balls before he became Kumble’s 400th Test victim. Kumble, who had earlier dismissed Damien Martyn (3) and Darren Lehmann (17) to leave Australia struggling at 149 for four at one stage, became only the second Indian to reach the milestone. The day’s score was a far cry from 149 for four that Australia found themselves in soon after lunch. After a cautious start by Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, the Australian innings picked up momentum thanks mainly to Langer and Katich who added 74 runs for the second wicket before Kumble struck his double blow. Hayden, who had been a colossal with the bat on the last tour, perished while trying to sweep Harbhajan Singh in the 18th over. But Langer survived the first session and opened up after the break before Irfan Pathan yorked him with a toe crusher. The left hander faced 126 balls for his 52 that was a right mix of caution and aggression. But it was Kumble’s dismissal of Martyn and Lehmann in the space of four overs that swung the pendulum in India’s favour. Kumble had Martyn caught bat-pad by Aakash Chopra at forward short leg before a circumspect Lehmann tried to hit him across the line, only to edge a soft catch to Rahul Dravid at first slip. It was then that Katich and Clarke came together for what turned out to be a record fifth wicket partnership against India. After blunting the vicious turners of Harbhajan Singh and the testing line of Kumble, the two began to play their shots. The run rate, which had hovered over 2.8 till then, jumped to above five in the post-tea session which saw 139 runs flow from 32 overs. Whereas Hayden had used the sweep shot against the spinners three years ago, both Katich and Clarke used their feet to stamp their authority. Harbhajan Singh might have adopted the wrong line on and outside the leg stump but Katich repeatedly stepped out and lofted him over the top. Clarke at the other end was in a belligerent mood, and Kumble was the bowler to bear the brunt. After pulling a long hop from part-time bowler Virender Sehwag over the midwicket fence, Clarke took Kumble head on, lifting him over long on and driving him on the off. Just when it seemed the Australians were breaking loose, a lucky break came India’s way. After adding 105 runs for the fifth wicket, to better Australia’s previous best of 99 between Kim Hughes and Bruce Yardley, Katich missed a pull-sweep off Kumble and the ball rebounded of his body to knock the bails down. But there was no respite for the Indians as the scoring got even better with the arrival of Adam Gilchrist. The ploy to delay the second new ball backfired as Clarke and Gilchrist swung their bat freely. Zaheer Khan might have been the weak link in the Indian bowling. The left arm seamer hit the right line and length straight away but lacked a yard or two in pace. The hosts also had another worry with skipper Ganguly injuring himself on the field. Ganguly writhed in pain whenever he had to chase the ball and at times placed himself in a close-in position. SCOREBOARD Australia (first innings) Justin Langer b Irfan Pathan 52 Hayden c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 26 Simon Katich b Kumble 81 Martyn c Chopra b Kumble 3 Lehmann c Dravid b Kumble 17 Michael Clarke not out 76 Adam Gilchrist not out 35 Extras (b-4 lb-15 nb-7) 26 Total: (for five wickets in 90 overs) 316 Fall of wicket: 1/50 2/124 3/129 4/149 5/256 Bowling: Irfan Pathan 17-6-39-1; Zaheer Khan 14-1-38-0; Harbhajan Singh 28-6-105-1; Anil Kumble 24-2-86-3; Virender Sehwag 5-0-26-0; Yuvraj Singh 2-0-3-0. (AGENCIES) |
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By Allan Border It was a fantastic day’s cricket. Australia started well by winning the toss and getting first use of a wicket that will only deteriorate as the game progresses. However, even on that typically Indian batting wicket, theAustralian batsmen were not allowed to score at their customary rollicking pace. The Indian bowlers toiled hard in adverse conditions and did a fine job for their side. They made the Australian batsmen fight for every run, and forced them to rethink their strategy. From trying to hit the bowlers out of the attack, the Australians started trying to wear the bowlers down by occupying the crease, and that is an outstanding achievements on this wicket. Pathan, Harbhajan and Zaheer had their moments, but to me, Kumble was the pick of the bowlers. He is a gentleman of a cricketer, a magnificent contributor to Indian cricket, and truly a great bowler. It was great to see him take his 400th Test wicket, and I can imagine the celebrations that would have taken place in his hometown and the rest of India, yesterday night. Kumble apart, the stand-out performers of the day were the youngsters Simon Katich and the debutant Michael Clarke. Katich was quite exceptional in his handling of the spinners, and Clarke was simply magnificent in his first Test innings. He showed no nerves, and got down to playing every ball on merit from the moment he took guard. He came in to bat in a dificult situation, with his seniors Martyn and Lehmann having departed in quick succession, but batted quite brilliantly. His lofted strokes were a delight to watch. India’s hopes would have soared when Katich fell, but then Gilchrist sent the bowlers packing with some aggressive strokes. Gilchrist seems to save his best performance for the most critical stages, and this was one such. For, one more wicket in the evening session, and the Australian tail would have been exposed. Gilchrist never seems to get into a shell and loves to get on with it, which is exactly what he did. It’s good from Clarke’s point of view that the captain is out there with him, for he (Gilchrist) will give the debutant plenty of encouragement to continue playing his strokes. As long as these two are together, there is a lot of excitement in store for Australian supporters. I would say that the Aussies hold a 60-40 advantage at the moment. India should aim to restrict their opponents in the region of 350-400. Any total above 400 will increase the pressure on them. After all, they have to bat last on this pitch. |
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Sloppy India let no chance to tame Pakistan CHANDIGARH, Oct 6: India held Pakistan to a 1-1 draw here today in their must-win match which has now left them with only an opportunity to level the eight-match hockey series. The Indians needed a win to keep their hopes of claiming the title but the drawn encounter meant that their arch-rivals maintained their 3-1 lead with two matches to go. India must win both of these games to draw the series. An error-prone India missed five penalty corners and as many sitters to allow Pakistan to escape with a draw. After Ghazanfar Ali gave Pakistan the lead in the 22nd minute, India fought back and levelled the score through Ignace Tirkey, whose stunning deflection in the 33rd minute found the net. But thereon, the Indians played some lacklustre hockey to disappoint the large number of fans who had gathered to watch the Asian giants in action. Pakistan, needing a win to clinch the series, made their intentions clear as early as in the first half itself when they earned a penalty corner following a fine move on the right. Sohail Abbas, on the threshold of breaking the world record, was cheered when he readied to take the shot but the roar went louder when he hit the shot wide. That was all the penalty corner king could do as he hardly got any other chance to surge ahead of Paul Litjens’ tally of 267 goals. The Indians, playing without injured captain Dilip Tirkey, were tested by Pakistanis in the first few minutes but the hosts fought hard to keep them at bay. The Indians got into the attacking mode after the eighth minute when Ariq Aziz glided but just missed to deflect in a cross from the right. Breaking the shackles, the hosts opened up their game and made incisive moves but failed to break the Pakistani defence. With the match growing in intensity, Pakistan stunned the crowd with the 22nd minute strike from a penalty corner. However, it was not their ace drag flicker Sohail who took the strike but Ghazanfar Ali, probably keeping in mind Indian goalie Adrian D’souza’s abilities to stop Sohail’s rasping flicks. The one goal deficit spurred India as in the next few minus they came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Ignace Tirkey’s reverse flick from a difficult angle hit the side bar in the 24th minute, three minutes before the same player had muffed up a chance. Tirkey got into the circle dodging past a couple of Pakistani defenders but only to hit the ball on the rise which went well over the post. Egged by the capacity crowd, Tushar Khandekar and Vivek Gupta combined well to make a dangerous move down the left but their effort was not enough to neutralise Pakistan’s lead. The Indians finally made amends with just two minutes to go for the breather when Ignace deflected in a sharp pass from a free-hit from outside the 25-yard that sent the home crowd in a frenzy. The home team proved to be the better side in the second half, dominating the proceedings from the word go but they never managed to cash in on their positional advantage. India’s poor record of penalty corner conversion continued as they failed to score even once from the first five set-pieces they got. They tried everything, from drag-flicks to variation to straight hits, but nothing worked in their favour. "We should have scored from those penalty corners, but unfortunately we could not. We missed many chances," stand-in captain Viren Rasquinha said after the match. "But we will fight to our best of abilities to save the series now," the mid-fielder added. The match was well enjoyed by the local crowd who thronged to the stadium, hosting an Indo-Pak hockey Test for the first time, in large numbers. (PTI) |
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KARACHI, Oct 6: Inzamam-ul-Haq is likely to remain as Pakistan captain beyond their tour of Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said today. "I don’t see any prospect of Inzamam being changed as captain when we sit down to review his captaincy after the Australian tour," Khan told. The 35-year-old Inzamam was appointed captain in January for a whole year, breaking with the country’s traditional policy of naming skippers on a series by series basis. After Pakistan’s Champions Trophy semi-final defeat by West Indies last month, however, his position was under threat, according to media reports. "I think he has done a fine job and he has shown good judgement as a leader. The other players look up to him which is very important and the team is improving," Khan said. Inzamam, currently leading the team in a home one-day tournament also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is the 10th different Pakistan captain since 1993. |
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No one to attend senior cricketers, says JKCPA Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 6: Though junior cricketers somehow are being attended through trials for the forthcoming cricketing season of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), the seniors (under-22 and Ranji Trophy) players are yet to get attention of the selectors and coaches appointed by the Association. This was stated by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Players Association (JKCPA) office bearers, who on a visit to the venue, had a bad experience regarding the casual manners in which the senior players and their career are being treated by the JKCA. Later, talking to EXCELSIOR, JKCPA spokesman and senior vice-president, Ranjit Kalra said, "it was a depressing experience for me and the entire team, led by president, Vivek Sharma at hostel ground of the GGM Science College where only under-19 boys were being attended while under-22 and Ranji probables were being given a raw deal." " Today on the third day (on papers) of the camp at Science College, none of the two selectors, Ashok Dutt and Sant Singh, turned-up hence players practiced on their own without any body attending to them. Moreover, the ground was made available to these cricketers only after 6 pm by the Roshni Cricket Academy," expressing his concern Ranjeet Said. He added that Roshni Cricket Academy has the written permission for the ongoing cricket tournament at the hostel ground of the college upto October 12, whereas JKCA has no such permission to hold any activity leaving the players with no other option but to play or practice on the periphery of the ground. Moreover, most of the senior cricketers, who would be in the final team, as and when picked, were not present in the ground, disclosed Ranjeet. In the meantime, JKCPA has urged the JKCA officials to ment their way and appoint an appropriate person as a coach at least for the Ranji probables. |
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Fayaz Sofi is new treasurer of JKFA's Kashmir wing Excelsior Sports Correspondent SRINAGAR, Oct 6: Peer Siraj-ud-Din and Prof. Bashir have retained the posts of vice-president and resident secretary respectively while Fayaz Sofi was named as new treasurer of the Kashmir wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA), the elections for which took place at Indoor Sports Complex, here today. Fayaz replaced Bashir Ahmed Malik, who, in the recently held general elections of the JKFA, was elevated to the position of general secretary. Fayaz’s name was proposed by J&K Bank representative Ramesh Chander. About 140 representatives from entire Kashmir valley were present in the meeting and voted for the three office bearers. Earlier, Prof. Bashir read out the three point agenda and highlighted the performance of Kashmir wing in his speech. President, Zameer Ahmed in his concluding address stressed upon the members to live upto the expectations of the football fraternity. |
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Shamsher helps VCC to enter semis Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 6: A superb bowling performance by Shamsher today helped Vishal Cricket Club (VCC) to reach the semi-finals beating Friends and Friends Cricket Club (FFCC) by four wickets in limited overs cricket tournament being played at Science College ground, here. Batting first after winning the toss, FFCC lost all their wickets at a score of 102 in 24.4 overs, which, in reply, VCC chased in 24.3 overs with four wickets in hand. Earlier, Shamsher restricted FFCC to a small total of 102 taking five wickets for 18 runs in 5.4 overs. Sagar was only top scorer from FFCC with 18 runs while Sandeep Singh made 17 and Kewal and Naveed added 15 each. Later, Rakesh Koul played a nice innings of 35 runs for VCC while Rohit Mattoo, who also took two wickets, contributed 24 runs. Sandeep was most successful bowler from FFCC with three wickets for 21 runs in six overs. Raj Kumar, Kewal and Chottu shared one each. Shamsher was later adjudged as man of the match. Next match: JCC V/s KHCC. |
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Desi medicine for desi illness By Rajesh Dhar Friends, it is a matter of absolute satisfaction that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) thought it appropriate to have desi medicine to cure desi illness by inviting legendary Sunil Gavaskar as Consultant batting coach of Indian team. One can hardly find any better choice in India or even world-over than this former great (Gavaskar) to refine the batting skills of presently out-of-form Indian batsmen. It is better late than never, as the noble sense at last prevailed in the working system of BCCI to invite the cricketing great of Indian origin to attend the camp officials (as unofficial assignments have been witnessed before also). Otherwise, we the Indians have fetish for foreign things. It may be anything – game or gooseberry. Whether good or bad, we adopt them and make them a part of our life, our culture. At the same time we discard desi, how much good, beneficial it may be. We accept desi only when it is labelled foreign. For that matter, it gives one a blissful feeling to see an Indian attending the camp as consultant and not the foreigner whom otherwise you see quite often attending the Indian coaching/conditioning camps. Moreover, the BCCI utilized the services of this former batting sensation at the proper time as it is the home series and this gentleman knows the behaviour of Indian wickets better than any body. His super knowledge will be highly beneficial for the Indian batsmen. But one should not expect over-night miracles. If my recall is right, the Indian Board had done a big blunder in 1998 Australian tour of India, when they invited Bob Simpson as Consultant coach, who on the other hand suspected the action of the then quality spinner Rajesh Chaudhan’s action which made ICC to ban this guy, which in turn helped Aussies on that tour on spin friendly tracks in India. Though the present Indian coach (John Wright) looks to be a genuine gentleman as he never wants to be in lime-light and hardly gets perturbed by consultants, yet it would be an opportune time for Indian Cricket think-tank to make an end to his tenure and assign the job to Sunil Gavaskar. As it is only the desi medicine which can cure desi illness.BCCI ought to say "No" to foreign medicine for Indian illness. Series win against Aussies to put India 2nd in Test table LONDON, Oct 6: India can move to second place in the ICC Test championship table if they win the four-Test series against Australia, which got underway in Bangalore today. India had never been higher than fourth in the official Test table but this series provides an opportunity for it to close to within four points of leaders Australia. If India can win all four matches its rating would climb from 104 to 115 while Australia s would fall from 129 to 119. A narrower winning margin would obviously leave a bigger gap between the sides but even if India only wins the series by a one Test margin (1-0 or 2-1) it will boost its rating to 111 still good enough for second place. Such has been Australia’s overall dominance of Test cricket over recent years that even if the series is drawn, India will go up from fourth to third while Australia’s rating will fall from 129 to 126. Australia needs a two-Test winning margin to improve its rating. A 3-0 or 4-0 away victory would see Australia reach its highest ever rating in the official Test table. The ICC Test championship table: Position Team Rating 1 Australia 129 2 England 109 3 Pakistan 107 4 India 104 5 Sri Lanka 103 6 South Africa 102 7 New Zealand 94 8 West Indies 73 9 Zimbabwe 51 10 Bangladesh 1 (UNI) Kumble wants to become highest wicket taker BANGALORE, Oct 6: Having joined the elite league of 400 Test wicket-takers in his home ground, ace leg spinner Anil Kumble has now set his eyes on overhauling Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets. "Obviously another 35 wickets is probably the target...My immediate goal. I just like to keep getting wickets and I am feeling good at the moment," the 33-year-old Kumble said after getting to the milestone against Australia on the opening day of the first cricket Test here. (Agencies) HYDERABAD, Oct 6: Tennis star Sania Mirza defeated Bardina of Russia in straight sets to enter the quarter-final of the USD 25,000 ITF Women’s tournament being played at Lagos in Nigeria. Down by 3-4 in the first set, Sania fought back with vigour to win nine games in a row to storm into the last eight with a 6-4 6-0 verdict, according to information received here today. She will now play her doubles partner Shelly Stevens of New Zealand in the quarter finals. In the doubles pre-quarters held late last night Sania paired with shelly to script a convincing 6-2 6-2 victory over Daputi Sernande of Brazil and Sivoz Keterzyna of Poland. The Indo-Kiwi pair took control of the game from the start and worked in tandem to outplay Sarnade and Keterzyna without much of an effort. (PTI) |
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