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

State Judo team selected for nationals ................

Wrestling Association organises Dangal .............

United Public School celebrates Annual Day ..........

Sreesanth doubtful, India may field two spinners

MELBOURNE, Feb 9: Paceman S Sreesanth has been rendered a doubtful starter because of fever as India go into the tri-series cricket one-dayer against Australia here tomorrow toying with the idea of fielding two specialist spinners to exploit a slow track.

The fever to the temperamental Sreesanth as come as a big blow for the visitors as the Kerala speedster had made quite an impact in the two rain-abandoned games.

The Indians have not yet decided on the playing eleven for the flootlit encounter but Sreesanth appears almost certain to be in the casualty list.

The visitors have also dropped enough hints that they could deploy the two-spinner strategy against the hosts who are high on confidence after thrashing Sri Lanka by 128 runs in the last match in Sydney.

"Looking at the slow and low conditions which usually prevail at the MCG, we would even consider the option of playing with two spinners," opener Virender Sehwag said.

In case the Indians indeed opt for two specialist spinners, leg spinner Piyush Chawla may get a look in to bolster the spin department which has Harbhajan Singh as the only other slow bowler.

With their first two matches being abandoned due to rain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young brigade will need to pull up their socks against the home team.

While the Indian pacemen have given a good account of themselves, the batting has not shown the desired consistency in the two rain affected games.

One-day specialist Yuvraj Singh has been going through a lean patch since the Test series while the form of some of the other younger batsmen like Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa, who joined the team for one-day team, has also been worrying factor.

The focus will again be on the youngsters who have replaced stalwarts like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the team. Another batting failure would no doubt put enormous pressure on them.

The Australians, on the other hand, have a settled batting line up and the return of Matthew Hayden, who invariably reserves his best against the Indians, has only strengthened the line-up.

Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting is hoping that his champion team carries the momentum into the game against India.

"We’ve got a full game of cricket and a really good, comprehensive win. We’re probably going to get similar types of conditions in Melbourne as well," Ponting said.

"The wicket all year down there hasn’t offered much pace and bounce either, so what we’ve got out of this game we can take down there and hopefully adapt to their attack and adapt to their batting line-up," he added.

Ponting also reminded the Indians that his bowlers have been doing a good job in the one-dayers.

"(But) we’ve got a really good mix and balance with our bowling attack in both forms of the game right now. Our one-day attack the last couple of years has been very solid," he said.

Most Indian batters have not shown a tendency to build on to a good start and hopefully the example of Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni, when they put on 184 runs against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, would not be lost.

Australia appear extremely formidable in all departments even though the likes of Ponting and Gilchrist are not in the best of forms.

They have variety and cricketers with more than one dimension in their ranks. They could use as many as seven bowling options and eight in their ranks can do a good job with the bat.

Sunday promises to be sunny throughout and India would have their first full game. An upset win tomorrow could bring a considerable gap between them and Sri Lanka.

For much of the last two weeks the speed and agility of the young Indian team has been its’ major calling card. Tomorrow could offer a clinching argument, either way. (PTI)

Shahrukh wants Gilchrist in his IPL team

MELBOURNE, Feb 9: Adam Gilchrist has become the most wanted player for the inaugural Indian Premier League with none other than bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan lining up for the signature of the retiring Australian great for his Kolkata team, according to a newspaper report.

Khan, who bought the Kolkata franchisee for USD 85 million last month, has told former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who will skipper the team, to sign Gilchrist for the Twenty20 competition, which begins on April 18, ‘Herald Sun’ reported.

Gilchrist is one of the 11 Australians who have signed an expression of interest for playing in the IPL.

With the sponsorship conflict between CA and IPL organisers lingering on and Australia having commitments in Pakistan in March-April, Gilchrist could be the only Aussie player available for the cash-rich tournament.

Technically, there is also a two-year moratorium on retired players joining a franchisee team but it is understood that Gilchrist’s playing in the IPL has become a mere formality after IPL organisers have hinted that they would waive the "cooling off" period in his case.

The report also claimed that Gilchrist can expect a base payment of USD 300,000, which could double or triple when the franchises bid for players, and he would be earning more in 44 days in the IPL than a full year of international action. (PTI)

Revitalised New Zealand roll over England

WELLINGTON, Feb 9: In a stunning reversal of form, New Zealand thrashed England in their opening one-day cricket international by six wickets and with 20 overs to spare at Westpac stadium here today.

The win came just days after England outplayed New Zealand in all departments in two Twenty20 matches.

Given an extra 30 overs, New Zealand lost the toss but from then on won everything in a morale-boosting performance.

England, opting to bat first, were all out for 130 in the 50th over and New Zealand knocked off the target with the loss of four wickets in 30 overs.

Bolstered by the return of captain Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram, New Zealand showed no sign of the fragility evident when they spent the two shorter matches firmly on the back foot.

"We understood that we had to respond today and put in a good performance and whether we won or not was beside the point. But we came out and won, and won well, and it’s a very happy dressing room." Vettori said.

England captain Paul Collingwood pipointed his side’s problem as simply not enough runs on the board.

"Where we fell down tonight let’s be honest, was with the bat. We were struggling to find the ones and twos even," he said

"if we got up towards 200 runs it would have been a defendable total. New Zealand bowled well and fielded exceptionally well."

New Zealand started today by keeping England openers Alastair Cook and Phil Mustard pinned down - the first boundary from Mustard came only in the seventh over — and the run rate seldom rose above three.

After Chris Martin made the initial breakthrough bowling Cook for 11 in the 10th over, the wickets fell at regular intervals.

Martin bowled Ian Bell for five, Oram bowled dangerman Kevin Pietersen for six and Scot Styris bowled Mustard for 31 to have England at four for 67 in the 22nd over.

England didn’t help their cause with three run-outs before off-spinner Jeetan Patel cleaned up the tail to finish with two for 14 while Martin and Styris both took two for 22.

While the England batsmen played as if the slow pitch held demons, Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum played three overs with caution and then launched into the run chase.

A six from ryder and a four from McCullum lifted New Zealand to 18 without loss and they never dropped below four runs an over after that.

By the 12th over Ryder and McCullum had taken New Zealand passed 50 and hit seven boundaries, as many as England scored in their entire innings.

"Whenever you chase a small total if you can get your 50 pretty quickly you take away all the elements of worrying about chasing it down," Vettori said.

"I think they did a really good job and it sets us up for the rest of the series."

Ryder survived a chance on 21 when dropped by Graeme Swann at midwicket and added another 10 runs before being caught by substitute Luke Wright off the bowling of Stuart Broad for 31. (AGENCIES)

Aussie bowling attack has a good mix, warns Ponting MELBOURNE, Feb 9: After routing the Sri Lankans in Sydney, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has now sought to put the Indians on the backfoot ahead of their tri-series cricket encounter, saying his team’s bowling attack had a "good mix and balance". "We’ve got a full game of cricket and a really good, comprehensive win. We’re probably going to get similar types of conditions in Melbourne as well," Ponting said. "The wicket all year down there hasn’t offered much pace and bounce either, so what we’ve got out of this game we can take down there and hopefully adapt to their attack and adapt to their batting line-up," he added. The Aussie skipper praised the Indian batting against Sri Lanka in the rain-abandoned second tri-series match but gave a thumps up to his bowling attack, saying it was a right mix and solid in ODIs. "They played pretty well up in Brisbane the other night with the bat," he said about India’s score of 267. "(But) we’ve got a really good mix and balance with our bowling attack in both forms of the game right now. Our one-day attack the last couple of years has been very solid," he added. Ponting also said the Australian attack had tied up the Indian batting in their rain-affected opener at Gabba in Brisbane. "Certainly our bowlers controlled them in Brisbane a few days before that. Hopefully, we can just take a bit of momentum out of Sydney game down to Melbourne on Sunday."(PTI)

NCC trounces PCC by 73 runs Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: National Cricket Club (NCC) notched up a thumping 73 run win over Patel Cricket Club (PCC) today in the ongoing President Cup Knock Out Cricket tournament being played at GGM Science College Hostel Ground. Batting first after winning the toss, NCC accumulated 165/6 in the allotted overs with Pranav Mahajan top scored with 43 runs. He was equally well supported by Manish Dogra and Parveen Singh who chipped in with useful 34 and 23 runs respectively. For PCC, Arun Sharma and Lucky grabbed two and one wicket respectively. In reply, PCC suffered a batting collapse and was eventually perished for paltry 92 runs in 29.2 overs. Madan Choudhary was the top scorer with 15 runs followed by Sunny and Madan who made contributed 12 runs each. For NCC, Pranav, Inderjeet and Parveen Singh took snared two wickets each while Sanjay Sharma took one wicket. The umpires in the match were Brij Mohan and Raman Dogra. Cultural bonanza marks AS Kaluchak Annual Day Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: Army School Kaluchak today celebrated its Annual Day with gaiety and fun in the Tiger Auditorium, Jammu Cantt today. Maj Gen Sanjeev Loomba, Patron, Army School Kaluchak was the chief guest while Sadhna Loomba, President, AWWA was the guest of honour. The function began with the traditional lighting of lamp by the chief guest followed by an impressive cultural bonanza presented by the students who enthralled the audience with their superb performance. Hindi play "Formula Ka Raaz" and Lavani dance of Maharashtra were among the notable performances. Rameesh T R, Principal of the school presented the annual report thereby highlighting the achievements of the students in academic, sports and co-curricular activities. Brig J S Soin, Chairman of the school, Sneh Soin and Col Prithvi Raj, Dy Cdr were also present. Vote of thanks was given by school head boy Master Sandeep Singh and head girl Akanksha Mahajan. The function culminated with the singing of National Anthem. Trikuta Club wins inaugural match Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: Trikuta Club thrashed Young Heroes by 11-7 goals in the opening match of District Korfball Championship which commenced at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar today. In the second match, Jammu Blue got the better of Evergreen Club by 17-13 while Jammu Red prevailed over Diamond Club by 15-11. In the last match which played between Jammu Lions vs Rural Korfball Club, Jammu Lions emerged winners with 10-7 goals margin. Earlier, Pardeep Malhotra, vice president, J&K Korfball Association who was the chief guest on the occasion declared open the tournament. Manjeet Singh, R K Sharma, V P Sharma, S K Sharma, Desh Bandhu and G S Bakshi were also present.
Haji Nissar inspects MA, Science College Stadium Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: Minister for Youth Services and Sports Haji Nissar Ali today visited Maulana Azad and Government Science College Stadium Jammu and took stock of the preparations being made for conduct of Snatosh Trophy Football tournament scheduled in June this year. He made a round of both the stadium and inspected the repair and renovation works being carried their for facilitating the sports persons coming to participate in the National level tournament. It may be recalled that Santosh Trophy would be held simultaneously at Srinagar and Jammu cities by mid 2008 for which preparations have been started already. Haji Nissar accompanied by Director Youth Services and Sports Ravinder Gupta asked the concerned to expedite the preparations for making the tournament a grand success. Later, the Minister conducted surprise inspection of Women Poly Technique Jammu at Canal Road and took stock of its functioning. Finding one Harmit Kour Lecture absent from duty, the Minister asked Director Technical Education to suspend her and call an explanation from her.
State Judo team selected for nationals Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: The J&K Judo Association has selected a nine member team for the forthcoming Senior National Judo Championship slated to be held at Cochin (Kerala) from February 14 to 17. Later, the selected judokas alongwith officials of J&K Judo Association met Haji Nissar Ali, Youth Services and Sports Minister apprising him about non release of funds since 2005-06 till date and also for not conducting of the coaching camp by J&K State Sports Council for the championship. The Minister had a patient hearing and assured of personal intervention in the matter. However, due to heavy snow fall, the participants from Kashmir were unable to come. The Team: Boys: Sanjay Khajuria, Bhanu Pratap, Sandeep Sharma, Pankaj Kumar, Pankaj Kumar, Rameshwar Singh and Varinder Sharma. Girls: Nippu Jamwal, Shweta Thakur and Samvedna Sharma. Official: Raj Kumar (Team Manager). Wrestling Association organises Dangal Excelsior Sports Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: Indian Style Wrestling Association today organised a District level Dangal at Mini Stadium, Chadwal (Hiranagar). In all, four wrestlers have won gold medals and were also qualified for the State level competition. In 45kg weight category, Attar Din clinched gold medal while Roshan Din bagged yellow metal in 50kg category. In 55kg weight category, Jahu Ali fetched gold medal while Kulbir Singh struck gold in 60kg category. Rajinder Singh Babbi, former chairman of Kathua Municipal Corporation was the chief guest while Rakesh Khajuria, general secretary of the Association was also present. The medal winners were also given away cash prize by the organisers of the Dangal. United Public School celebrates Annual Day Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 9: United Public Higher Secondary School, Channi Himmat celebrated their Annual Day on a colourful note at Abhinav Theatre today. Former Minister Mustafa Kamal was the chief guest on the occasion while MLC T S Wazir and MLA Mohammed Sayeed Akhoon were the guests of honour. MLA Ajay Sadhotra presided over the function which began with traditional lighting of lamp followed by cultural programmes presented by the students which included Saraswati Vandana, Bhangra, Rouf, Dogri dance, Qawali besides fancy dress competition. Rajni Sharma, Principal of the school presented the annual report. Later, the chief guest presented cash rewards to the meritorious students. The management of the institution has also announced a cash prize of Rs 5,000 for the student who would secured first position in 10th and 12th class in future. Dr S S Dua and Professor Jigar Mohammad were the special invitees.