KOLKATA, Apr 23: Notwithstanding the heat and dust raised over the ban slapped on Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, his prolonged poor batting form and the side’s string of recent failures have cast doubts over his continuance in the team and dented his commanding presence as skipper...............more

Sania aims to
clear first hurdle

NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Down with an ankle injury, tennis ace Sania Mirza said her immediate aim is to clear the first hurdle in the French Open next month while she wants to see herself in the top 20 within a couple of years............more

Ponting’s bat yet
to be cleared: ICC

LONDON, Apr 23: The International Cricket Council said it was yet to clear Ricky Ponting’s newly designed cricket bat though temporary.............more

Spanish duo Ferrero,
Nadal surge into
Barcelona semi-finals

BARCELONA, Apr 23: Spanish standouts Juan Carlos Ferrero and young gun Rafael Nadal took vastly contrasting paths into the semi-finals of the.......more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 23: Various organisations and associations today welcomed the government decision of making sports as a compulsory subject at the school level thereby giving boost to the sports activities in Jammu and Kashmir..........more

40th National Indian
style wrestling
meet from May 20

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 23: 40th senior National Indian style wrestling championship and Hindi Kesari competition will be held under the banner of Indian Style Wrestling Association of India from May 20 to 23 at Ahmednagar (Pune) in Maharashtra.........more

ICC Intercontinental
Cup-matches to
start today

SHARJAH, Apr 23: The Asia region matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup starts here tomorrow, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosting Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the only side out of the 12 participating teams that did not take part in last season’s inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup won by Scotland.........more

Ganguly’s poor form casts doubts over his future

KOLKATA, Apr 23: Notwithstanding the heat and dust raised over the ban slapped on Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, his prolonged poor batting form and the side’s string of recent failures have cast doubts over his continuance in the team and dented his commanding presence as skipper.

Once rated as one of the world’s leading batsmen for his fluency of shots, Ganguly now finds himself in the unenviable position where his average in recent matches has plummeted so low that even some tailenders in the Indian team have outshone him with the willow.

Against Pakistan, in the recent Test series, Ganguly averaged only 9.6 with an aggregate of 48 in five innings.

Even Anil Kumble (95 from five innings unbeaten on four occasions, average 95.00) and Irfan Pathan (64 from five innings, unbeaten once, average 16.00) performed better than the 32-year old batsman, who took the cricketing world by storm in 1996 scoring back-to-back hundreds in his first two Tests against England.

In the just concluded one-day series, Ganguly totalled 31 in four innings, at a miserable average of 7.75. The only Indian player who had an average poorer than Ganguly was medium pacer Ashish Nehra (aggregate 2, average 2.00).

What could be a greater denouncement for a cricketer who has struck 22 tons in 271 ODIs and is only 33 short of completing ten thousand runs — a feat only Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq have achieved!

A look at Ganguly’s performance in the 2004-05 season bears out the downward graph in his batting.

In his last nine Tests in 2004-05, starting from the home series against Australia, Ganguly has culled 363 runs in 12 innings at an average of 30.25. However, the runs include scores of 71 and 88 in the two Tests against minnows Bangladesh in December.

If the twin knocks against Bangladesh are put aside, the player has notched up only 204 runs in 10 innings at an average of 20.4.

His only other 50 plus score during the period has come against South Africa, when he made 57 in the first Test at Kanpur in November.

It was at Brisbane in the 2003-04 series that Ganguly had struck the last of his 11 tons — 144 — in the longer version of the game where he has amassed 4949 runs over the years in 82 Tests at a still respectable average of 40.90.

In ODIs in the 2004-5 season, Ganguly’s performance has been a shade better, though the slump in form is distinctly visible, particularly against superior bowling sides.

The left hander, called ‘the god of the offside’ for his sway over bowlers in the region from cover to long off, has managed 658 runs in 21 innings, since the asia cup last July-August, at an average of 31.33. He has struck six half-centuries during this period, but four of them have come against lesser known sides — Bangladesh (60 and 55), united Arab Emirates (56) and Kenya (90).

While Ganguly failed to score a single hundred in the season, he succeeded in hitting only two 50-plus knocks against established teams — 79 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup and 90 opposite England in the Natwest Challenge.

In fact, leaving aside the six matches involving the three minnows, Ganguly has scored only 275 runs in 15 innings at a below-par average of 18.33.

His captaincy record also shows a sharp drop from the heady successes he achieved in the last few seasons that made him India’s most successful skipper ever.

Of the 21 ODIs India played with Ganguly at the helm during the period under scrutiny, one was washed out. Of the remaining 20, India won nine and lost 11.

Though apparently the figure does not seem that disheartening, it needs to be mentioned that five of these victories came against teams like Bangladesh (3), Kenya and UAE (one each).

Ganguly also led the Asia XI against Rest of the World in the Tsunami fund raiser earlier this year, but finished on the losing side.

Damaging Ganguly’s record further, India crashed to their first-ever defeat against Bangladesh in an ODI in December.

The stunning 15 run triumph at Dhaka in the second match of the three-ODI series, was also Bangladesh’s maiden victory on home soil in 36 matches. The win helped Bangladesh square the series, before India upped the ante in the decisive third match to claim the series 2-1.

The Asia Cup was the only tournament where India reached the final last season, but hosts Sri Lanka had the last laugh as they finished champions with a 25-run victory over Ganguly’s men.

India had to rest content with the wooden spoon in the Amsterdam tri-series, before losing the Natwest Challenge against England and making an inglorious exit from the group league stage itself in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Pakistan then put a dampner on the BCCI’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations by winning the one-off match in November. (PTI)

Sania aims to clear first hurdle

NEW DELHI, Apr 23: Down with an ankle injury, tennis ace Sania Mirza said her immediate aim is to clear the first hurdle in the French Open next month while she wants to see herself in the top 20 within a couple of years.

Addressing the press here today, Sania — currently 73rd in the latest WTA ranking said, "I’m aware of the expectations but just because I made it to the third round in the australian open, people should not expect me to win the French Open. I’ll be an underdog there and will try to clear the first round."

Asked where she envisages her five years down the line, the Hyderabad girl said, "five year is too long a time and i’m not a fortune-teller. But I hope to be in the top 20 by the next two years and anything can happen once I reach there."

Talking about french open, Sania said, "clay is definitely not my favourite surface because that does not suit my style of play because I hit the ball hard. But I’m not that bad in clay either and have won a couple of titles in such surface. Above all, playing in clay won’t aggravate my injury."

Accompanied by her father Imran Mirza, Sania said she would soon have a new travelling coach with herself.

"We have shortlisted the names and would soon go for one. A travelling coach means you won’t have to search for practice partners when playing abroad and he would keep pushing you. But most importantly, I should be comfortable with him," she said.

Dispelling apprehensions that endorsement could prove a distraction and affect her performance, Sania said, "a player should know the limit. When I realise endorsement is taking toll on my game, I’ll stop."

Also asserting that she did not aspire to be a model, the only Indian women with a wta title said,"I don’t want to be a model. I’m a tennis player and will remain so till the end."

She also ruled out the prospect of joining politics.

Upset at missing the Fed Cup owing to the ankle injury, Sania said, "I was looking forward to it. Shikha (Uberoi) was here and we could have been a great team. Though they lost to China, all the players tried their best and China was here with their best team."

"Playing this time would have been a risk. Doctors have advised me rest, otherwise the injury can become chronic. Many more Fed Cups will follow," she said.

An Ardent Steffi Graf fan, Sania also said that she would play less doubles matches and would rather concentrate on singles. (UNI)

Ponting’s bat yet to be cleared: ICC

LONDON, Apr 23: The International Cricket Council said it was yet to clear Ricky Ponting’s newly designed cricket bat though temporary permission was given to the Australian skipper to use it.

Dismissing media reports that the bat has been given clearance, ICC said Ponting could use the bat pending the advice of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the ICC Cricket Committee which is chaired by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.

ICC, in a release, said the matter would be raised at its cricket committee meeting on May 16 and 17 in Dubai.

The MCC is concerned that Ponting’s bat has been strengthened by a thin strip of carbon graphite which it feels gives the player an unfair power advantage. (PTI)

Spanish duo Ferrero, Nadal surge into
Barcelona semi-finals

BARCELONA, Apr 23: Spanish standouts Juan Carlos Ferrero and young gun Rafael Nadal took vastly contrasting paths into the semi-finals of the 850,000-Euro Barcelona Open here.

The revitalised Ferrero’s 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over reigning Roland Garros holder Gaston Gaudio stretched for nearly three hours.

That marathon effort was counter-balanced by a quick-fire 6-2 3-0 win from 18-year-old Monte Carlo champion Nadal as Argentine Agustin Calleri quit with back troubles after 53 minutes.

The burly South American paid the price for a hard week on the clay of the Real Club De Tenis, winning his previous three matches with difficulty, playing a total of six draining tiebreakers.

Coming into the quarter-final mis-match, Calleri had spent around seven hours on court.

Eighth seed Nadal, by contrast, was feeling fresh and eager five days after becoming the youngest man in 15 years to win a Masters series title through his Monte Carlo triumph over Guillermo Coria.

"From the beginning I had an easy match," said the country’s newest tennis icon, who has lost just seven games this week.

"I feel sorry for Calleri, we are friends, but he was very tired. Now that I’m into the semis, I’m looking forward to try and win this tournament."

Nadal will face off later today against Czech 11th seed Radek Stepanek, who ended the run of Swiss qualifier Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Stepanek, the Milan singles finalist, improved to 19-10 on the season.

The unseeded Ferrero hammered home his compelling assertion that his best days on clay still lie ahead after nearly falling out of the top 100 in 2004 due to injury and illness.

"I feel very good and I played a good match," said the 25-year-old, the 2003 Roland Garros champion. "I’m very happy with my level today."

"It’s always a tough match against Gaston, difficult and long. The fans may have thought that the old Juan Carlos had disappeared, but I’m back, I’m the same player I was."

The struggle between Ferrero and Gaudio was short on aces — five in total — but the see-saw affair didn’t skimp on unconverted break points.

Ferrero, a former world number one whose current 58th is due for a sharp rise after semis at home and last weekend in Monte Carlo, was successful on just four of 13 chances.

Argentine Gaudio converted a mere three of his 18. The loss was a setback for the South American, who has now lost four of ten in his career series with the Spaniard.

Ferrero plays for the final against Russian seventh seed Nikolay Davydenko, who knocked out Max Mirnyi of Belarus, 6-4 6-4. (AFP)

Making sports compulsory in schools appreciated

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 23: Various organisations and associations today welcomed the government decision of making sports as a compulsory subject at the school level thereby giving boost to the sports activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

These associations termed the decision as a ‘milestone in the history of J&K Sports’ and expressed their confidence that the step would lead to real search of talent at the grass root level.

District Youth Services and Sports Officer Udhampur, Ashok Kumar said that yesterday’s revolutionary step by the State Cabinet was second major initiative in sports sector after the department was made independent sector, bifurcating it from the Education Department.

In a telephonic conversation with this correspondent, he said that there were widespread appreciations pouring in from the field staff of the department serving in the district.

All J&K State Sports Council Coaches Association too appreciated the Sports Minister Haji Nissar Ali for getting the proposal sanctioned in the Cabinet and Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed for giving due priority to the Sports.

In a handout issued here, All Jammu and Kashmir Youth Services and Sports Employees Association, in its executive meeting held today lauded the efforts of Chief Minister and Sports Ministers besides Director Youth Services and Sports Manoj Pant in getting one of the long pending demands of the Association fulfilled.

The Association further urged the government to fulfill other demands which include re-organisation of the Department and removal of pay anomalies of the PETs and PEMs, besides grant of selection grade to the Physical Education Teachers.