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

India struggling to save second Test

DURBAN, Dec 29: India were faced with a herculean task of preventing South Africa from recording a series levelling victory in the second cricket Test which was heavily loaded in favour of the home team here today.

Chasing a stiff target of 354 for victory, India were precariously placed at 38 for two with Virender Sehwag (8) and Rahul Dravid (11) being sent back to the hut when play was called off early due to bad light again on the fourth day.

India would now have to bat out the entire fifth day on a last day Kingsmead wicket but the weather could come to the rescue of the visitors as overcast conditions have led to early closure of play on all the four days.

The target appears all the more daunting with the Indians having not scored more than 250 runs in any of the innings in the three-match series so far, a factor which must have been taken into account when Graeme Smith declared the innings on 265 for 8, about one hour before the tea break.

The Indians plunged into trouble early with Sehwag perishing cheaply yet again to an away going delivery while it was the prized scalp of Dravid immediately after the tea break which put the visitors completely on the backfoot.

Dravid, who has the temperament to play a long innings and hold one end up, was caught behind off Makhaya Ntini (2/14) who had also accounted for Sehwag.

The fifth day’s play is likely to throw up an absorbing tussle between India’s key batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, who was yet to open his account, and Sourav Ganguly against the battery of South African pacemen. Wasim Jaffer was giving company to Tendulkar on 22. (PTI)

SCORECARD:

South Africa 1st Innings 328

(A Prince 121, H Gibbs 63,

M Boucher 53;

S Sreesanth 4-109)

India 1st Innings 240

(S Tendulkar 63,

V Laxman 50 No)

South Africa 2nd Innings 265

for 8

(S Pollock 63 no, G Smith 59; S Sreesanth 4-80)

India 2nd Innings

(target: 354 runs)

W Jaffer not out 22

V Sehwag c Smith b Ntini 8

R Dravid c Boucher b Ntini 5

S Tendulkar not out 0

Extras(b-2 lb-1) 3

Total (for 2 wickets,

13 overs) 38

Fall of wickets: 1-14 2-34

Bowling

A Nel 5 - 1 - 17 - 0

M Ntini 6 - 2 - 14 - 2

S Pollock 2 - 1 - 4 - 0

(AGENCIES)

Bengal to meet Jharkhand in final of
Sub Jr national football

BHILLAI, Dec 29: Bengal beat Goa 3-0 in the semi-final to set up the summit clash against Jharkhand in the 43rd Junior National Football Championship for Dr BC Roy Trophy here today.

After a barren first half, Bengal pumped in three goals in the second session after Goa were reduced to ten men following Rosario Mendis' sending off in the 71st minute for his second bookable offence in the match.

Hau Son Pau (73rd minute), Lalchhuanwma (75th) and B Beikhokhel (90th) were the scorers for the winners.

Earlier yesterday, Jharkhand beat Punjab 3-1 in the first semi-final.

The final will be played on Sunday. (UNI)

Hingis confirms engagement to Czech Stepanek

SYDNEY, Dec 29: Former world tennis number one Martina Hingis rewarded Australian curiosity today with details of her recent engagement to Czech player Radek Stepanek, a fact that passed her Swiss compatriots by.

Ahead of Sunday's start to the Australian Women's Hardcourt Championships at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, the former world number one confirmed that Stepanek had proposed to her in Prague last month.

"I'm happy," said Hingis, the top seed in the Gold Coast tournament where she staged her comeback last year after three years out of action due to debilitating foot injuries.

"I was surprised when it (her diamond ring) was spotted right away because in Switzerland I've been walking around for a month and no-one's said anything. I guess people here pay more attention to things." (AGENCIES)

Rastogi moves into ITF Futures final

NEW DELHI, Dec 29: Fourth seed Karan Rastogi stormed into the final with a facile win against Todor Enev of Bulgaria in semifinals of the ITF Men's Futures tennis tournament here today.

Rastogi's excellent serves and quick movements helped him rally to the straight sets 6-3, 6-2 win against his unseeded opponent at the DLTA complex.

In the final, he will play the winner of second semifinal between Alexey Kedriouk of Kazakhstan and Hyun-Woo-Nam of Korea.

Enev, who appeared tired after winning the doubles final with Hiroki Kondo of Japan earlier in the morning, could not match the 20-year-old Indian youngster's energy.

The Bulgarian, however, offered some resistance by successfully holding his serves in fourth, sixth and eighth games of the first set but Rastogi, who was leading 5-3, claimed the set.

Enev took 2-0 lead in the second set but Rastogi came back with a force to win next seven games to win the set and the match.

Rastogi, who has been given the wild card for the ATP season opener Chennai Open, said he was surprised at the meek surrender by Enev.

"I was expecting a tough match today but it looked he (Enev) was out of touch. Maybe he was tired beacuse of doubles final match. I served well and played overall good tennis," Rastogi said after the match.

Rastogi's coach Sanjay Poddar said Enev's inability to cash in on the lead in the second set was turning point.

"I think he (Enev) played good in first set but committed too many errors in the second set. He had a good chance after breaking Karan. But he gave Karan chance to come back and that cost him the set and match," he said.

Enev attributed his defeat to fatigue and injury.

"I played this match just after winnnig doubles. I am playing continuously for a long time and this dried me of energy. Also, the knee injury affected the movement badly, said Enev.

Earlier, Enev and Kondo clinched the doubles title thrashing Sunil Kumar Sipaeya and Alexey Kedriouk of Kazakhstan 6-3 6-1 in the final.

The Indo-Kazakhstan pair was no challenge for the Bulgarian-Japanese combine as Sipaeya and Kedriouk lost on their serves while also not being able to counter the shots by Enev and Kondo.

Sipaeya said he was upset by his early exit in the singles while Kedriouk claimed he was saving his energy for the singles semifinals. (PTI)

8 bikers enter 4/s category final in
Dirt Track Racing Challenge

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 29: Sixteen bikers qualified for the semifinals in 2/s category while 8 secured berth in 4/s category on the opening day of the 8th Mobike Dirt Track Racing Challenge which commenced at Mini Stadium, Parade today. Amardeep Singh finished first in 2/s category while Rakesh Choudhary emerged winner in 4/s category Bikers completed 12 rounds in each heat. 20 bikers participated in the 2/s category whereas 15 competed in the 4/s category.

Earlier, Choudhary Lal Singh, MP was the chief guest on the occasion, who declared open the competition. Siddharth Sharma, Joint Secretary, J&K State Sports Council, Romesh Mahajan, patron JKMSA, Aushotosh Sharma, Nirmolak Singh, Ranjit Singh Chib, S A Hameed, Ashok Singh and Praval Sharma were also present. The competitions were officiated by Pritam Singh, Davinder Singh, Joginder Singh, Jang Bahadur Singh and Parshotam Singh. The event is being organised by Jammu and Kashmir Motor Sports Association (JKMSA) in collaboration with BPCL and sponsored by Kathua Cement Manufacturers Association and Garden Estate K K Resorts.

The Results:

2/stroke Category: Amardeep Singh (1st), Sandeep Manhas (2nd), Pardeep Majotra (3rd), Amit Bhandari (4th), Vijay Singh Rathore (5th), Paras Bhat (6th), Arun Manhas (7th), Vishal Sharma (8th), Pankaj Gupta (9th), Gourav Sharma (10th), Shyam Sharma (11th), Rahul Bharti (12th), Shiv Shakti (13th), Sunny Singh (14th), Showkat Ali (15th) and Rikky Singh (16th).

4/stroke Category: Rakesh Choudhary (1st), Amar deep Singh (2nd), Alok Makhnotra (3rd), Gur Sewak Singh (4th), Simran Singh (5th), Jatin Mahajan (6th), Paras Bhat (7th) and Gagan Deep Singh (8th).

Semifinals and finals of the event will be played tomorrow.

BCC trounces FCC in RCA Cup

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 29: Bawa Cricket Club (BCC) today registered a comprehensive win over Faith Cricket Club (FCC) by 7 wickets in the second match of the RCA Cup Cricket Tournament which commenced at GGM Science College.

FCC won the toss and decided to bat first. They made 155 runs in 23.4 overs. Rishi and Dheeraj were the top scorers with 52 and 50 runs respectively. For BCC, Sonu and Harbans grabbed 2 wickets each whereas Venus, Vikas and Vishav took 1 wicket apiece.

In reply, BCC chased the target in 17.2 overs by losing just 3 wickets in the process. Sachin played a match winning knock of 58 runs with the help of 7 hits to the fence. He was equally well supported by Balbir, who also contributed useful 40 runs. For FCC, Kanwar and Rishi took 1 wicket each. Sachin was declared the Man of the Match. The umpires in the match were Pappu and Chunu. The scorers were Gokul Verma and B B Verma.

Yesterday, Shri Ram Cricket Club (SRCC) trounced Warrior XI by 19 runs in the inaugural match of the tournament. SRCC accumulated 160 runs in the stipulated 25 overs. Rahul played an impressive knock of 63 runs. For Warrior XI, Vishal took 4 wickets.

In reply, Warrior XI was bundled out for 119 runs in 22.5 overs. For SRCC, Arun and Daman took 4 and 3 wickets respectively. Rahul was declared the Man of the Match.

Aman, Shubam enter Mini Boys final

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 29: Aman and D S Shubam entered Mini Boys final by virtue of their convincing wins in the ongoing Jammu City and District Badminton Championship being played at Badminton Hall, M A Stadium. In the first semifinal, Aman outclassed Sumit by 21-11, 18-21 and 21-17 while D S Shubam trounced Shantul by 21-17 and 21-16 in the second semifinal.

The final line up is also drawn in Mini Girls doubles with Manisha and Payal will take on Prabhjot and Keerat for title clash. In the semifinals played today, Manisha and Payal beat Diksha and Rashika by 21-8 and 21-8. In the second semifinal, Prabhjot and Keerat overpowered Monika and Arohi by 21-14 and 21-13.

In Mini Girls Singles final, Manisha will lock horns with Prabhjot. In the first semifinal, Manisha outclassed Keerat by 21-7 and 21-11 whereas Prabhjot beat Payal by 21-18 and 21-14 in the second semifinal.

Today’s Results:

Mini Boys (Singles): Aman bt Varun by 21-18 and 21-13, Sumit bt Pranav by 15-21, 23-21 and 21-16, D S Shubam bt Himanshu by 21-11 and 21-8 and Shantul bt Chander Dev by 21-12 and 21-14.

Mini Boys (Doubles): Chander and Dev bt Returaj and Siddharth by 23-21 and 21-13, D S Shubam and Sarvgya bt Varun and Akhil, Himanshu and Tarun bt Parth and Rajat by 21-8 and 21-16, Pranav and Shantul bt Lalit and Gourav by 21-17 and 21-15 and Sumit and D S Shubam bt Tarun and Himanshu by 21-17 and 21-13.

Mini Girls (Singles): Manisha bt Anisha by 21-2 and 21-3, Keerat bt Diksha by 21-10 and 21-18, Payal bt Gagandeep by 21-13 and 21-13 and Prabhjot bt Rashika by 21-3 and 21-4.

Sub Junior Boys Singles (Semifinal): Ashish bt Anuj by 21-16, 13-21 and 21-10 and Rohail bt Abhishek.

Sub Junior Girls Singles (Semifinal): Akanksha bt Depakshi by 21-14 and 21-18 and Sulakhni bt Manisha by 21-16, 18-21 and 21-10.

Pawar, Morgan to contest for ICC President’s post

DUBAI, Dec 29: Indian Cricket Board Chief Sharad Pawar will be fighting for the post of President of International Cricket Council in a straight contest with David Morgan, Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board.

With just about 48 hours to go for the deadline for filing nominations, only Pawar and Morgan have filed their nominations for the post, official sources here at the ICC headquarters said here.

"But we are still expecting few more nominations. Officials of ICC Member countries must have been away for Christmas. But as of now, we have nominations from India (Sharad Pawar) and England (David Morgan)," they said.

"These nominations along with the other relevent documents received from the nominees are being sent to A C Muthiah, Chairman of the six-member nomination committee for their decision."

Incumbent ICC President Percy Sonn, who took over the top job in 2006, would be completing his term in June, 2008 but his successor would be named by June 2007. The last date for filing nominations is January 1, 2007.

Pawar filed his nomination after all the four Test playing nations of Asia reached a consensus to support his candidature at the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Singapore.

"All the Test playing nations in Asia — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — have decided on the nomination of Mr. Pawar," BCCI’s Chief Administrative Officer Prof Ratnakar Shetty said in Mumbai.

BCCI is also expecting to garner support from the West Indies, its secretary Niranjan Shah had said earlier this month while disclosing that the Asian Test playing countries wanted Pawar to become the next ICC chief.

South African Sonn became the sixth ICC President on July 8 this year at the ICC’s annual conference in London by succeeding Pakistan’s Ehsan Mani.

In case Pawar succeeds in his bid, he will be the seventh in the line after Lord Colin Cowdrey of England (1989-93), West Indian Sir Clyde Walcott (1993-97), India’s Jagmohan Dalmiya (1997-2000), Australia’s Malcolm Gray (2000-2003), Mani (2003-2006) and Sonn.

England and Australia were the founder members of the ICC founded on June 15, 1909 and India became a full member of the body in 1926.

Presently, ICC has 96 member countries (Full Members 10, Associates 32 and Affiliates 54).

Prior to the appointment of Lord Cowdrey as President from 1989 to 1993, the ICC was administered by the Secretary of the Marleybone Cricket Club. (PTI)