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

Feisty South Africans feast on Pakistan en route to semis

MOHALI, Oct 27: Maverick fast bowler Makhaya Ntini claimed 5 for 21 in a devastating display of seam bowling as South Africa steamrolled Pakistan by 124 runs to move to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy cricket here today.

The 29-year-old speed gun whipped the cream off the Pakistani top order before Charl Langeveldt (3 for 20) and veteran Shaun Pollock (2 for 20) joined in the party to restrict Pakistan to a lowly 89 in 25 overs in what turned out to be a one-sided clash at the PCA Stadium.

Credit for the comprehensive South African victory should also go to Mark Boucher (69) and Justine Kemp (64) who put on 131 runs off 187 balls for the sixth wicket to lift their team from a precarious 42-5 and post a competitive 213 for 8 on a track which had a lot of carry and bounce.

The win helped South Africa finish on four points from their three games and become the second team from Group B after New Zealand to make it to the last four of the elite cricket tournament.

South Africa, in fact, topped the group on net run rate and would now play the second semi-final at Jaipur on Nov 2 while New Zealand will play the first semifinal here a day before.

Their opponents would be decided after the last Group A league match between India and Australia here on Sunday, with West Indies having confirmed their berth from that group.

Pakistan, who were skittled out for their lowest total against the Proteas, were chucked out of the championship afer finishing wih two defeats from three matches.

Pakistani batsmen showed neither the application nor the desire to resurrect their innings as eight of them were dismissed in single digit scores. Ironically, tailender Yasir Arafat was their top scorer with 27 and extras were the second highest contributor to the total at 16.

Pakistan were off to a nightmarish start, losing opener Mohammad Hafeez to the second ball of the first over by Ntini who also got rid of a struggling Imran Farhat (4) in his very next over to give South Africa important breakthroughs.

Farhat was caught by Shaun Pollock, the all-rounder taking the 100th catch of his career. He also became only the sixth player in ODIs to complete the unique record of scoring 1000 runs while taking 100 wickets and 100 catches.

Reduced to 2 for 9, Pakistan found themselves on the same boat as South Africans and in fact in a worse scenario when they lost three more wickets in the space of 13 runs.

Pollock sent back Mohammad Yousuf (5) with a peach of a ball that swung in sharply after hitting the deck hard to uproot the batsman’s off stump in spectacular fashion.

Then Ntini, breathing fire on a lively track, removed skipper Younis Khan, who failed in his third match on the trot, and the in-form Shoaib Malik off the second and fourth balls of the 8th over to have Pakistan in a real spot of bother at 21 for 5.

Younis (7) tried to play an ambitious pull shot but was caught by Langveldt at mid on while Malik (0) poked at a ball going down the leg side which was caught by Boucher who dived to his left to take the blinder.

The ordeal was not yet over for Pakistan as they lost wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal, also to Ntini, when he was trapped leg before, the scoreboard reading a sorry 27 for 6 in the 10th over.

It was left to flamboyant Shahid Afridi to repair the damage and the all-rounder did try to break the shackles by hitting a six and a four off Ntini to relieve some of the mounting pressure.

However, Afridi (14 off 8 balls) was a trifle unlucky to be adjudged leg before off Pollock by umpire Mark Benson as replays suggested that the ball might have missed leg stump.

Abdul Razzaq also failed to conjure any magic, being clean bowled by a sharply seaming delivery by Langveldt in his very first over for 5.

Earlier, Pakistan’s speedsters did a commendable job in giving their team early breakthroughs on a helpful track although they did lose the plot a bit in the middle overs to allow the South Africans to score a fighting total in the end.

South Africa’s decision to bat first on the lively track appeared to backfire badly when they lost two wickets in two balls right in the very first over.

It was a fiery spell from speedster Umar Gul (3-36) which saw captain Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs return to the pavilion without making a run.

Smith tried to play a defensive shot on the backfoot but only ended up being trapped plumb in front while the off-colour Gibbs poked at an away going delivery to give Shoaib Malik a catch in the slips.

Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Kallis were both guilty of attempting to play the ball away from the off stump off Rao Iftikhar (2-26) and handing the catch to Akmal, the wicketkeeper having a busy day in the office.

South Africa lost another wicket, that of AB de Villiers, to be reduced to 42 for 5 in the 13th over.

With the fast bowlers getting lot of help from the wicket early on, the batsmen needed to see through the initial overs as the pitch eased down as the game progressed.

This was evident in the way Boucher and Justine Kemp negotiated the bowlers in the middle overs and Younis Khan let Rao complete his quota of 10 overs by the 35th over.

Boucher was the more enterprising of the two, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman reaching his 20th ODI 50 off 73 balls and with the help of six fours.

Kemp also did an admirable job of mending the tattered innings and in the process reached his 50 off 94 balls with the help of four fours and a six.

But just when things appeared to have come back on track, Abdul Razzaq tempted Boucher to go for a big one in the 44th over but the ball took the top edge of the bat and ballooned to point fielder Mohammad Hafeez who also succeeded in sending back Shaun POllock cheaply for two just two overs later.

Kemp, who faced 110 balls and hit four fours and two sixes, was dismissed by Gul in the final over while trying to go for a big one. (PTI)

Stupid move to promote Pathan, says Wadekar

MUMBAI, Oct 27: Call it experiment or strategy -but the Indian team management’s continued insistence in promoting Irfan Pathan to the number three spot in the batting order has come unstuck more often than not of late and is drawing flak from all quarters.

Pathan’s latest flop in the crucial one-down position in yesterday’s ICC Champions Trophy clash against the West Indies, when he was out for a miserable blob, has reopened the debate whether the team management has started losing the plot.

"It’s stupid to send him at number three. They think he’s Kapil Dev but he’s not even half as good with the bat at present. He’s losing focus also (whether to concentrate on his bowling or batting)," says former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar.

It is debatable whether Pathan, at best a capable batsman lower down the order on wickets without much juice in it, has the wherewithal and technical competence to combat the moving ball in conditions helpful for bowlers as has been the case throughout this tournament.

The youngster from Baroda, who impressed everyone on his debut overseas tour of Australia with his pacy left-arm swing bowling, has come a cropper of late both with the bat and the ball often enough for the critics to wonder whether it’s worth sending him up the order.

Wadekar pointed out that though his batting was of a much higher order than Pathan’s, Kapil never went to open the innings or bat as high as the Baroda youngster.

Pathan has even opened the Indian batting in tests and one-dayers (once against South Africa at Kolkata last year and was out for a duck), as Wadekar points out, but the germination of the idea to send him higher in the order started out as a sensational success.

Pathan, who is averaging around 30 in the number three position after 14 innings, has to his credit scores of 83, 35, 37 and 65 in the first four matches that he had batted at this important position which might still be in the Indian team management’s memory.

The first three knocks were against Sri Lanka (at Nagpur and Baroda) and South Africa (Bangalore) and the fourth in Peshawar against Pakistan, but the moment the wicket started to be a bit dicey, as was the case in Lahore, Pathan was found out of depth and went for a duck.

Two more decent scores of 36 and 46 in India’s next ODI series at home on batsmen-friendly wickets followed to lend some support to the team think tank’s viewpoint, but thereafter he has done precious little at this position barring a knock of 64 against the West Indies in the Malaysian tri-series.

Wadekar is quick to point out that by the law of averages, the move has to click once in a while, but maintains that Pathan should not bat higher than number seven in the order.

Pathan’s promotion at Ahmedabad yesterday on a wicket where the ball was doing a bit, lends credence to the argument that the youngster’s batting prowess has been exaggerated a bit, especially in bowler-helpful conditions.

India are playing Australia at Mohali on Sunday in a do-or-die situation and it would be interesting to see where Pathan is sent out to bat against the top class pace attack that the Aussies possess on a lively and bouncy track that is on the cards. (PTI)

Injured Agarkar out, India want Sreesanth

AHMEDABAD, Oct 27: Medium pacer Ajit Agarkar was today ruled out of India’s crucial Champions Trophy match against Australia after a fractured left thumb.

The Indian team management has requested the tournament technical committee to allow Kerala medium pacer S Sreesanth as a replacement for the injured Agarkar.

"Agarkar got the injury yesterday (during the West Indies tie). Most probably he sustained it while fielding," Indian Team Media Manager Rajan Nair told PTI.

Agarkar, who went to a local orthopaedic this morning along with physio John Gloster, underwent a scan which showed the fracture.

"He will not be able to take part in the tournament any further," Nair said.

Technical committee member Ratnakar Shetty said the ICC could give the go-ahead for replacement only after receiving a formal application from the BCCI.

"I understand the BCCI is awaiting the medical reports. And then, Secretary Niranjan Shah would write to dave Richardson. Something will be known by the evening," he said.

"It (allowing the replacement) was a mere formality. But the BCCI has to follow the procedure as per the rule book," Shetty said.

The BCCI has made arrangements to fly down Sreesanth to Mohali by tonight as India takes on Australia on Sunday. The bespectacled Sreesanth failed to find a place in the Champions Trophy squad, a decision which had raised many eyebrows.

The Indian camp also had a piece of good news. Munaf Patel, who bruised his right wrist while fielding yesterday, was found completely fit today during a medical check-up. (PTI)

Playing against Pak is most thrilling, says Tendulkar

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: An intense player who plays each and every match, whether against the world champions or minnows, with utmost focus, Sachin Tendulkar admitted any match against Pakistan gives him the best of thrills.

In an interview with NDTV 24x7, first part of which would be telecast on Monday, the batting maestro admitted he is not immune to the customery hype and hoopla associated with an Indo-Pak match.

"It’s like playing the ashes...The feel is totally different. There are so many emotions involved," he said.

Tendulkar, meanwhile, sought to put the lid on the controversy during the 2004 tour of Pakistan where the then stand-in skipper, Rahul Dravid, had declared the Indian innings with the Mumbai batsman on 194.

"I got a message from the dressing room that I should get my 200 as soon as possible. We had decided on a target...And we declared before the target.

"Yes, I was suprised because we had decided something else. Later, Rahul and I sat together and decided we were not going to take this beyond that evening. The matter is over," he said.

Tendulkar, who has single-handedly revived the team’s sagging fortunes umpteen times, says he detests defeat.

"I hate losing. It bothers me. The only person I don’t mind losing to is my son.

"Even my daughter is older now...So I don’t give in to her when we play. She has to understand defeat," he explained.

Talking about the current squad, Tendulkar admitted small-town players like Munaf Patel and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have made a big impact.

"It’s a different culture now. The players are quite dashing, I would say. They are really aggressive they want to go out to win, which is what matters," he observed.

On his wife Anjali, who he rarely speaks about, Sachin said, "she is far more mature than me and wiser than me, that’s for sure. Because sometimes I lose my cool and she says ‘just keep quiet and play’.

Tendulkar was nostalgic when asked about his early days and he recalled his friendship with Vinod Kambli.

"We never used to call while taking a run. I would just look in his eye and i would know if it was yes or no. The opposition found that quite tough to manage."

Clearly upset at Kambli’s meteoric rise and fall in and from the cricket horizon, Tendulkar said, "I feel sad. Such an immensely talented player. It was rather unfortunate. Certain problems in his life, injuries at the wrong time...Didn’t help him."

Second part of the interview will be aired on Tuesday. (UNI)

Ist All India Open FIDE Rating Chess
IMs Himanshu, Girinath among four leading in 4th round

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: International Masters Himanshu Sharma and PDS Girinath were among four leading with four points while top seed International Master Sriram Jha was at second place in the fourth round of the First All India Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament.

International Masters Himanshu Sharma and PDS Girinath secured four points each by defeating their respective opponents—Abid Ali and Sanjiv Kumar in their fourth round matches.

Rahul Sangma and Amardeep Singh Bartakke also secured four points each by defeating their opponents—Diwan Rajesh and Viswanath Sandilya B. International Master of top seed Sriram Jha, Vikram Jeet Singh and Hemant Sharma secured three and half points in the 4th round as their matches with P K Singh, Shreyansh Daklia Jain and Vinod Bhagwat ended in draw.

Results of other matches of 4th round:

Ravi EV lost to Moti Ram; Dave Kantilal equalised with Fredrick John; Prakash Ram defeated Rajesh Kumar Nath; Mohd Irshad lost to Gusain Himal; Nandan Kumar lost to Intikhab Alam; Sangeen Mandre lost to Srivastava KBI, Naveen S Hegde lost to Jitender Rawat; Siddharth Shankar Pratap equalised with Avinash Sethi; Vivek Bharti defeated Sumith Mahajan, Dubey Ankesh lost to Srivastava Mithilesh Kum; Aditya Vikram Ahuja lost to Abhay GN; Ajit Kumar defeated Bir Singh Raminder; Anand Jashwante lost to Hemant Sharma; Anil Kumar Raizada equalised with Rajesh Kumar; Majunath Jain defeated Ajit Singh; Ashutosh Kumar lost to Pawan Bathm; Narender Singh lost to Akshat Aggarwal; Bharath Singh lost to Khalid Amin; Sumit Grover defeated Hemant Kumar Singh; Sanjeev K Duggal defeated Pardip Tiwari; Sathyanarayan S defeated Sarvesh Langer; Biswajit Chatterjee defeated Viswanathan MS; Dibas Kumar Biswas defeated Komal Kishore Debnath; Ritwan Sauntra defeated Hari Sankar Barman; Subodh Kumar Singh defeated Manish Vatsa; Anoop Karnik D lost to Lallan Prasad Chaurasia; Uma Pada Batavyal lost to Divya Kanth Panigrahi; Sharad Kumar Sharma defeated Nitin Khera; Sen Amar defeated Rajani Dev Barma; Priyanshu Tripathi defeated Agrim Pandotra; Rachna Mishra defeated Aakanksha Sharma; Rahul Kumar defeated Anil Naithani; Rakesh Sadhotra lost to Asim Khan.

Vankim Chander lost to Ramesh Kalai; Rashpal Singh defeated Brijbhooshan Dubey; Chethan Kowndinya lost to Rakesh Shrivastava; Ram Singh equalised with Deepak Paliwal; Gudla Shanth Kumar defeated Rajinder Kumar; Samarjit Paramanik defeated Haroon Rashid; Harvinder Singh lost to Ravinder Ravi; Rohan Arora defeated Kapil Kumar Khare; Khade Ashok Vamanrao lost to Sandip and Mohammad Idris lost to Shivam Srivastava.

Sahil, Akhil sail into 2nd round of Senior Snooker

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: Sahil Aggarwal and Akhil Tandon today sailed into the second round of the Senior Snooker Championship in the 16th Jammu District Open Billiards and Snooker Championship being played at Billiards Hall of MA Stadium, here.

In the first round match, Sahil Aggarwal defeated Rakesh Gupta in a close contest. Rakesh Gupta made impressive start and won the first frame by 56-42. Continuing his performance in the second frame, he registered 63-29 victory over Sahil Aggarwal.

But his performance witnessed sudden nose dive with Sahil winning the third frame with a huge margin of 52 points. In this frame, Rakesh could score only one points as against 53 of Sahil.

After nose dive in his performance, Rakesh Gupta could not repeat his good performance in the next three frames which were easily won by Sahil. In the fourth frame, Sahil scored 69 points as against 36 of Rakesh and in the 5th frame he scored 54 points as against 29 of Rakesh Gupta.

In the second match of the first round, Akhil Tandon defeated Sidharth Bhatia by 3-0. Though Sidharth lost the match yet he posed enough challenge to Akhil in all the three frames. The score was 65-50, 61-24, 54-38.

Third match of the first round of the Senior Snooker could not be played at Honey Mahajan didn’t turn up and Anit Singh got walkover.

The Championship is being organised by Jammu and Kashmir Billiards and Snooker Association.

IAF spreading spirit of adventure, sportsmanship

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: As part of the Indian Air Force Platinum Jubilee celebrations, a record breaking Trans-India Powered Hang Glider expedition is being conducted which touched down at Air Force Station Jammu today.

Piloted by Squadron Leader Ramakant and Sergeant SK Yadav, the expedition will cover about 3650 km from Hindon near Delhi to Chabua, the country’s eastern most airfield. It will attempt to break the national power hand gliding record, held by Wing Commander BK Das, who had traversed about 3000 km ten years ago.

Powered by a 52hp engine, the glider can attain speeds up to 100 kmph and fly up to an altitude of 12000 feet. The glider, which has to follow all national and international aviation regulations, was received by Group Captain JS Kler VM, Station Commander, Air Force Station, Jammu and other senior officers of the Station on its touch down here.

Flagged off from Hindon on October 24, the expedition will land at 21 Air Force Stations enroute. The aim of the expedition is to spread the spirit of adventure and sportsmanship among the general public and also to spread awareness about the Indian Air Force through joyrides to civilians. The Hand Glider will operate at Air Force Station, Jammu from 27 to 29 October wherein joyrides have been arranged for a lot of selected school children and civilians.

Trials for selection of BSNL hockey team today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 27: Trials for selection of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) hockey team will be held at K K Hakoo Stadium tomorrow at 10 am under the supervision of M L Raina and Bodh Raj Sharma, Sports Inspector of BSNL J&K Circle Jammu.

Krishan Lal will be the CSCB observer. The selected team will participate in the 5th All India BSNL Hockey Tournament to be held at Bangalore, Karnataka in January.