HYDERABAD, Mar 30: Pakistan warmed up for their upcoming one-day series in style thrashing India ‘A’ by eight wickets in the warm up limited overs tie at the Visakha Stadium here today............more

Sacking Sourav to
be irrational: Kapil

NEW DELHI, Mar 30: Sourav Ganguly’s form may have deserted him but sacking the team India skipper will be an irrational decision, said World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev..............more

Patil hits out at
selectors for
omitting Kaarthick

MUMBAI, Mar 30: Former India ‘A’ coach and Test middle order batsman Sandeep Patil has hit out at the national selectors for not keeping faith in wicket keeper Dinesh Kaarthick for the one-day international cricket series against Pakistan commencing on April 2...........more

Dravid: India will hit
back in one-dayers

KOCHI, Mar 30: Vice-captain Rahul Dravid today said India will shrugg off the defeat in the third and final cricket Test and come back strongly at Pakistan in the upcoming six-match one-day series........more

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 30: It was women’s day in the ongoing J&K Armed Police inter-Bn sports meet after IRP 2nd Bn emerged winner in Handball and names of winner women swimmers were recommended..........more

Amandeep, Ranbir
make hat trick in hockey

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 30: Amandeep Singh and Ranbir Singh scored hat tricks on the second day of the league round in 18th Gajinder memorial state hockey championship underway.........more

North India body building
Association formed

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 30: Madhav Pujari of Mumbai has been elected as chief patron of the North India Zone Body Building Association........more

BSNL Jammu hockey team
named for all India meet

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 30: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Jammu Circle has selected a 16-member team for the forthcoming 3rd.........more

Pak wins warm up match by 8-wkts

HYDERABAD, Mar 30: Pakistan warmed up for their upcoming one-day series in style thrashing India ‘A’ by eight wickets in the warm up limited overs tie at the Visakha Stadium here today.

The visitors rested key players including captain Inzamam-ul Haq, but were still good enough to restrict the hosts’ second string team to a modest 189 and overhaul the target with four overs to spare.

Shoaib Malik, playing his first match on the tour, found his in-law’s home town a lucky one as he struck a hurricane 81 from 78 balls with four fours and as many sixes.

Opening batsman Salman Butt staked a recall with a fluent 70 as he added 137 runs for the second wicket to round off a perfect preparation for Pakistan ahead of the six match series.

The first one-day international is slated for April 2 at Cochin.

The tie turned out to be a low key affair as Pakistan entered the field without their star player of the Test series, vice-captain Younis Khan, the flamboyant Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana and pacer Mohammad Sami besides their skipper Inzamam.

According to coach Bob Wloomer, three of them were down with flu and two were rested.

An extremely hot day kept the fans indoors, robbing off further colour from the match.

Openers Butt, dropped after the first Test in Mohali, and Mohammad Hafeeez appeared in hurry and added 47 runs for the first wicket before a terrible mix up at the wickets saw the latter being run out for 16.

Malik, who married local girl Aiyeshi over phone from Sialkot two years ago, then joined Butt to hammer the pedestrian India ‘A’ bowling.

He celebrated the team’s 100 with a massive six off Ramesh Powar which also heralded the 50 partnership for the second wicket.

Malik, powered by the dinner at his wife’s residence last night, raced to 50 in just 55 balls with three huge sixes.

Earlier, Suresh Raina saved the blushes for the hosts by compiling a fighting 55 with five hits to the fence to provide their score a semblance of respectability.

Sridharan Sriram (38) and Y Venugopala Rao (20) lifted the team from 31 for two but the batsmen found the going tough against some disciplined bowling.

Pakistan pace bowlers Rana Naved-ul Hasan and Iftikhar Anjum rao operated well with the new ball and troubled the India ‘A’ openers Shikhar Dhawan and M S Dhoni with their teasing line.

The duo constantly probed outside the off stump and soon reaped the rewards when Dhoni snicked a rising delivery from Naveed into the safe hands of Shoaib Malik.

S Sriram joined Dhawan and the duo looked to tackle the bowling with ease. Dhawan cheered the crowd with an elegant boundary off Naved but in the very next ball his middle stump was uprooted by an incoming delivery.

Next in was Y Venugopal Rao who played it safe by getting used to the pace of the pitch as stand-in skipper Abdul Razzak brought in Shahid Nazir in place of Naved.

Spin was introduced soon much to the comfort of the India ‘A’ batsmen. While Sriram looked aggressive Venugopal Rao played a sedate knock before he was caught at long on by Iftikhar to give Arshad Khan his first wicket.

Sriram, who was playing well went for a quick single but the two players ended up at the same end and Sriram was run out for a well-made 38 with two hits to the fence.

Neeraj Patel arrived with a bang and hit a massive six off Arshad Khan to make his intentions clear.

Star spinner Danish Kaneria made his appearance in the 30th over but the leggie’s entry made no impact on the two left handers.

Raina hit a straight drive for four while Neeraj made Kaneria’s bowling look very ordinary.

Nazir claimed Patel, who was beaten by the incoming delivery which took away his off stump. (PTI)

Sacking Sourav to be irrational: Kapil

NEW DELHI, Mar 30: Sourav Ganguly’s form may have deserted him but sacking the team India skipper will be an irrational decision, said World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev.

Though he admitted that the southpaw was woefully out of form, Kapil told BBC Sport "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his captaincy."

"The last 10 years India’s management have been more sensible. I hope they don’t make an irrational decision," added Kapil, one of the best allrounders of his era.

Commenting on former captain Bishan Singh’s suggestion that Sourav should be shown the door and a new captain should be appointed, Kapil said such a move could prove counter-productive.

"Bishan played good enough cricket so he can give his opinion. I may not 100 per cent agree that if you lose a test you sack everybody and if you win you make a Prime Minister of somebody," he said.

"You have to rationalise what is best for the team. I am disappointed about Ganguly’s performances but he built the team and put it right on top," he added.

Talking about crowning Rahul Dravid as the new captain, Kapil said,"Rahul Dravid is the only one who can (take over) but he’s doing so well with the bat we can only disturb him."

"People will become all right in a couple of days," he added. (UNI)

Patil hits out at selectors for omitting Kaarthick

MUMBAI, Mar 30: Former India ‘A’ coach and Test middle order batsman Sandeep Patil has hit out at the national selectors for not keeping faith in wicket keeper Dinesh Kaarthick for the one-day international cricket series against Pakistan commencing on April 2.

"Kaarthick is a devastating one-day batsman and should have been retained for the one-day internationals too after the Test series. He should have been the automatic choice for the slot," Patil said here last night.

"I am not against Mahendra Singh Shoni, who is a good wicket keeper-batsman. But my point is Dinesh should have been given sufficient chances to come good and only if he had failed the selectors should have opted for Dhoni," the former dashing batsman said at an informal interaction with reporters at the Cricket Club of India.

Patil was the coach for the India ‘A’ team which visited Kenya and Zimbabwe last season and the squad included both Kaarthick, who did duty for India in the three-Test series against Pakistan, and Dhoni, who has replaced the former for the best-of-six limited over international series.

As well as competing for the prestigious ICC Trophy, the event would decide the remaining five qualifiers for the 2007 World Cup.

Dravid: India will hit back in one-dayers

KOCHI, Mar 30: Vice-captain Rahul Dravid today said India will shrugg off the defeat in the third and final cricket Test and come back strongly at Pakistan in the upcoming six-match one-day series.

"It is a little disappointing to lose the last Test, but that is over. One-day (game) is totally different. We have to look ahead and be positive. We can put up a good performance in the one-day series," he told reporters on the sidelines of a painting exhibition of his mother here.

India went down by 168 runs in the final Test in Bangalore and allowed the visitors to level the three-match series 1-1.

The first ODI is scheduled to be held here on April 2.

Dravid backed captain Sourav Ganguly to rediscover his form with the bat.

"Sourav (Ganguly) has been around for ten years playing lot of cricket. He knows exactly what he needs to do and he is working at it," he said.

"All of us undergo difficult patches in our career at times. I do not think there is anything I need to tell him ... He knows exactly what he needs to do."

Dravid, who hit two separate hundreds in the second Test in Kolkata which India won, said he had mixed feelings about his own form in the series.

"I had a good match in Kolkata and is happy about that. I did not do well in Bangalore. It was pretty disappointing when the team loses since you will feel if you had made a few more runs the team could have done well." (PTI)

IRP 2nd wins women handball title
* Commendation certificate for women swimmers recommended

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 30: It was women’s day in the ongoing J&K Armed Police inter-Bn sports meet after IRP 2nd Bn emerged winner in Handball and names of winner women swimmers were recommended for commendation certificate for their maiden participation in swimming competitions.

The visiting chief guest at the venue for swimming competitions, Inspector General of Armed Police, Naveen Aggarwal was so impressed with the contestants that he recommended winners’ names for cash reward and commendation certificate. He was accompanied by Alok Kumar, CO JKAP 8th Bn and Jehangir Khan, CO Security 4th Bn.

Handball title was also decided in women section with IRP 2nd Bn beating IRP 4th Bn in a close contest 7-6. Anju Devi was top scorer from the winners with four goals whereas, Jyoti Devi made three goals for the loosers. Earlier, IRP 2nd and IRP 4th reached the final securing maximum points in the round robin league round. IRP 2nd topped with eight points while IRP 4th was at number two position with six points. Deputy Commandant, IRP 2nd Bn, M L Mathur was senior officer present in the final.

Meanwhile, in men section, IRP 7th Bn defeated 12th Bn in the Basketball final 42-33. DySP Ranjit Singh scored highest 27 points for the winning team. Earlier in the semi-finals, JKAP 12th defeated IRP 2nd 29-8 and IRP 7th outplayed IRP 9th 48-42.

In volleyball, JKAP 5th bn emerged winner outplaying IRP 5th 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12). In semi-finals, JKAP 5th bt JKAP 7th 3-2 and IRP 5th defeated JKAP 13th 3-1.

In football, semi-finals line-up has been drawn while IRP 7th and JKAP 14th have sailed into the final.

The detailed results

WOMEN

KABADDI: IRP 3rd bt IRP 2nd 52-43; IRP 4th bt JKAP 13th 57-29; IRP 3rd bt Security Bn 46-37 and IRP 2nd bt JKAP 13th. VOLLEYBALL: IRP 2nd beat JKAP 13th in straight sets. BASKETBALL: IRP 2nd bn blanked JKAP 13th 5-0.

SWIMMING: 25 mts breast stroke: Ct. Arefena Akhtar, IRP 3rd, Ist; Ct. Raj Kumari, IRP 2nd, 2nd and Ct. Rasmeet Kumar, IRP 4th, third. 25 mts free style: Ct. Arefena Akhtar, IRP 3rd, Ist; Ct. Raj Kumari, IRP 2nd, 2nd and Satish Dutta, IRP 2nd, third.

ATHLETICS: Hammer Throw: Sg. Ct. Parwaza Akhtar, IRP 2nd, Ist; Ct. Dilshada, IRP 3rd, 2nd and Ct. Neena Sharma, IRP 4th, third. Javelin Throw: Ct. Simi Sharma, IRP 2nd, Ist; Ct. Asha Jamwal, IRP 2nd, 2nd and Ct. Shaheena Akhtar, IRP 3rd, third.

MEN

SWIMMING: 50 mts free style: Ct. Rajnesh Kumar, IRP 4th, Ist; Ct. Vishal Khajuria, JKAP 5th, 2nd and Ct. Mohd. Sharief, JKAP 14th, third. 100 mts free style: Ct. Rajnesh Kumar, IRP 4th, Ist; Ct. Vishal Khajuria, JKAP 5th, 2nd and Ct. Mohd Sharief, JKAP 14th, third. 25 mts back stroke: SI Sunil Kumar, 4th Security, Ist; Ct. Sundeep Singh, IRP 7th, 2nd and Ct. Dalbir Singh, IRP 4th, third.

ATHLETICS: Half Marathon (21 kms): Ct. Biru Din, IRP 7th, Ist; Mohd. Ashrif, JKAP 9th, 2nd and Ct. Raj Kumar, IRP 7th, third. Hammer Throw: HC Mohd. Aslam, 4th Security, Ist; DySP Ranjeet Singh, IRP 7th, 2nd and Ct. HC Sadiq Hussain, JKAP 8th, third. High Jump: Ct. Jasbir Singh, IRP 5th, Ist; Ct. Kuldeep Singh, IRP 4th, 2nd and Ct. Mohd. Yousaf, IRP 7th, third. Javelin: Ct. Rajinder Thapa, IRP 3rd, Ist; Ct. Kewal Saini, JKAP 13th, 2nd and Ct. Kamaljeet Singh, JKAP 5th, third.

WRESTLING: 50 kg: Ct. Major Singh IRP 6th walkover.

HC. Sunil Dutt, IRP 6th. 55 kg: HC Kamal Singh, IRP 4th bt Ct. Sunil Dutt. 60 kg: Ct. Manoj Singh, JKAP 7th bt Ct. Ashok Kumar, JKAP 9th. 66 kg: Ct. Avtar Singh, IRP 2nd bt Ct. Ashok Kumar, JKAP 7th. 74 kg: Ct. Dhyan Singh, IRP 7th bt Ct. Rashpaul Lal, IRP 7th. 84 kg: HC Balwan Singh, IRP 7th bt Ct. Mohd Iqbal, IRP 7th. 96 kg: HC Ramesh Chander, IRP 7th bt HC Ravinder Kumar, IRP 7th. Plus 96 kg: HC Mohd Sadiq, JKAP 8th bt Sg.Ct. Jaggu Ram, JKAP 14th.

HOCKEY: JKAP 7th bt JKAP 8th 6-3; IRP 7th bt IRP 3rd 5-2; IRP 4th bt Security Bn 4-1; JKAP 7th bt JKAP 14th 8-0.

KABADDI: IRP 5th bt IRP 8th 41-12; JKAP 14th bt IRP 4th 42-19; IRP 5th bt IRP 8th 41-12; JKAP 7th bt JKAP 13th 34-29; JKAP 8th bt IRP 3rd 31-17.

FOOTBALL: JKAP 14th bt IRP 9th 4-3; JKAP 8th bt JKAP 5th 4-3; JKAP 9th got walkover JKAP 13th; IRP 4th bt IRP 8th 4-0; JKAP 14th bt JKAP 8th bt 2-0; Security Bn bt IRP Ist 4-0.