 Ecstatic Team India
celebrates
with
gusto after historic win
BRISBANE, Mar 4: A battle that was
fought as much off field as on field
finally ended in ecstasy for Indian
cricketers and it showed in their
celebrations as they jumped around in joy
after the nine-run win over Australia
that gave them their first ODI tri-series
triumph Down Under.
Harbhajan
Singh, who seems to have become a public
enemy here after his run-ins with Andrew
Symonds and Matthew Hayden, looked the
most jubilant as he hopped around
grabbing a stump and doing high-fives
with his teammates.
In a
thrilling contest that went right down to
the wire, the Indians made history by
beating Australia 2-0 in a best of three
finals to end a gruelling tour here that
saw as much drama off field as on field.
Mahendra
Singh Dhoni’s men screamed in joy,
hugged each other and even did a little
jig while in huddle to celebrate what
would go down down in history as one of
their greatest overseas wins.
The
celebrations were not just limited to the
11 who played today.
Ishant
Sharma, the teen pace sensation who made
life miserable for top Aussie batsmen
throughout the tour but was unlucky to
miss out today because of a finger
injury, came sprinting down to the field
to join his mates.
And as the
Australian dressing room slipped into
despair, having lost the series for the
second successive time that too after
topping the table in the league stage,
the Indian support staff members erupted
in jubilation.
The mood
carried into the presentation and after
being handed the coveted trophy, Yuvraj
Singh uncorked the champagne spraying it
all over his teammates.
And while
seniors like Sachin Tendulkar scurried
for cover, the young brigade soaked in
the moment of glory.
They posed
with the winners’ trophy in front of
the same Australian media that had been
targetting them throughout, at one point
even labelling them the worst behaved in
the world.
The
Twenty20 champions, were at the podium
yet again as winner and rejoicing at the
end of what many described as a trial by
fire tour for them. (PTI)
India
gain points in ICC rankings
DUBAI, Mar 4: The historic ODI
tri-series triumph in Australia has
helped India gain three rating points to
move just a fraction behind third-placed
New Zealand even as Australia’s lead
on top of the ICC ODI championship table
was trimmed to a bare minimum today.
Australia,
which entered the series on 130 ratings
points, dropped to 127 points, the same
as second-placed South Africa but above
Graeme Smith’s side when the ratings
are calculated beyond the decimal point.
India, in
contrast, gained three ratings points
from the tri-series which it won 2-0
after today’s nine-run win over the
Aussies. India now sit alongside New
Zealand on 113 points but behind Daniel
Vettori’s side when the ratings are
calculated beyond the decimal point.
Meanwhile,
Sri Lanka, which was third team in the
tri-series, dropped one rating point to
return home on 107 after failing to
qualify for the final.
The
scenario has left South Africa’s
fate in its own hands as it goes
head-to-head with Bangladesh in a
three-match ODI series from 9 March. If
the Proteas sweep the series, it will
reclaim the top spot it surrendered to
Ricky Ponting’s side during the ICC
Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West
Indies.
However,
if Bangladesh manages to win just one
game, Australia will open a two-point gap
with South Africa which will drop to 125
ratings points.
With the
last game of the series between South
Africa and Bangladesh set to be played on
15 March in Mirpur, Australia has been
confirmed as the top seed for this
September’s ICC Champions Trophy in
Pakistan as the cut-off date for seedings
is March 12, six months before the
scheduled start of the tournament. (PTI)
Dhoni
lashes out at Aussie media
BRISBANE, Mar 4: Indian
captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni lashed out
at the Australian media for their
unrelenting attempt to pin down Harbhajan
Singh all summer after his side had won
their first-ever tri-series title here
today.
"Tomorrow
we would be gone. They now need someone
to replace him (to keep themselves
occupied)," said a calm Indian
captain.
"Sometimes
it wasn’t clear if it was only
Harbhajan or Michael Jackson (they were
covering)," Dhoni said after India
beat the Australians by nine runs to win
the best-of-three finals by a 2-0 margin.
Dhoni
commended Harbhajan for standing up to
the pressure and gave a backhanded
compliment to the Australian cricketers
and media for keeping him stirred.
"As a
captain it helped me. More controversies
and he became more determined. He is an
aggressive, expressive player - someone
who fights hard and wins the game.
"The
backlash worked for us. After sometime we
got used to it. We knew everyday we open
the newspaper there would be something.
"The
best thing about human beings is that
they get used to it. Maybe now in India,
I would search the net for what is going
on in Australia (now that we
wouldn’t be here)," he said.
(PTI)
Ponting
expectedly blamed his batsmen and took
the most responsibility himself for his
side’s failure.
"It’s
a disappointing end to the summer.
Whenever we have put on a stand and
there’s been a glimmer of hope,
we’ve lost a wicket. This happened
again today.
"My
own form has been awful and I take up
that responsibility. I am as much guilty
as anyone else. I thought my luck would
change after that 100 (in Sydney) but the
last three innings have again been
failures."
Ponting
offered heaps of praise to the way the
Indians played in the series.
Ponting
refused to believe that controversies has
had a role in his side’s poor
performance in the finals.
"You
can’t blame controversy on our
performance." (PTI)
Gilly
walks into sunset with disappointing loss
BRISBANE, Mar 4: Adam
Gilchrist, the most dashing
wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of
the game, bid farewell to international
cricket today, ending up on the losing
side when India beat Australia in the
tri-series finals here.
Gilchrist,
who led his team to a historic Test
series win against India in 2004-05,
announced his retirement from
international cricket during the Test
series against India in January, ending
his illustrious career spanning over 12
years.
However,
while his Test farewell went fine with
Australia clinching it 2-1, the one-day
retirement turned out to be disappointing
as India won the best-of-three tri-series
2-0 with a 2-0 margin.
The
36-year-old, who played 96 tests,
nonetheless finished his career while at
the top of the table of the game’s
leading wicketkeepers by dismissals, with
416 dismissals (379 caught, 37 stumped)
in Tests.
He
compiled 5570 Test runs for an average of
47.60 and scored 9612 runs in 287 ODIs
for an average of 35.89.
Gilchrist,
who played some of his most breath-taking
knocks against India, will be remembered
for being the captain of the team which
conquered the ‘final frontier’
when they beat India at home in 2004-05
for the first time in 35 years.
The
Australian vice-captain has scored 17
centuries, maximum by a wicketkeeper.
Gilchrist
made it to the Australian squad at a
relatively advanced age when he replaced
Ian Healy in the side. He gradually
became one of the key members in the all
conquering Australian team and lent depth
to the batting order.
Gilchrist’s
stellar career also includes the second
fastest ever century in Test history
— against England in December 2006
in Perth. He reached his hundred in 57
balls, one more than Sir Viv Richards. In
the same innings he broke the record for
the most runs during Ashes, plundering 24
from a Monty Panesar over.
He has
also scored hundreds against all nine
Test opponents and has also hit more
sixes than any other batsman in Test
history, recording his 100th six during
the recent match against Sri Lanka in
Hobart in 2007.
In April
2007, Gilchrist lit up Kensington Oval in
Barbados with 149 from 104 balls in the
World Cup final against Sri Lanka. (PTI)
Seminar
organized at New Era Environment School
Excelsior
Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 4 : Seminar on
"Achievements of Present
Government" was organized at New Era
Environment School today.
The
programme was conducted by Department of
Information. About 15 students
participated in the seminar and spoke on
varied developmental aspects. The best
adjudged speakers were given prizes by
the Department.
Tanya
Gautam of 8th class clinched first prize
while Manik Gupta of 7th standard and
Heena Sharma of class 6th bagged second
and third prize respectively. Consolation
prizes were given to other participants.
Principal
of the school said such programmes give
exposure to young minds besides preparing
them for bigger competitions.
Police
Martyrs’ Hockey Tournament
P&S Bank to face
Punjab Police for summit clash
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 4: Punjab and
Sindh Bank (P&S Bank) would meet
Punjab Police for summit clash tomorrow
in the ongoing 3rd All India Police
Martyrs’ Memorial Hockey Tournament
being played at K K Hakku Stadium.
In the
first semifinal, P&S Bank notched up
a hard fought win against BSF by a
solitary goal.
The
contest was a real thriller as both teams
played with great intensity to dominate
early proceedings.
The
decisive moment for the winner team came
in the 43rd minute when Bikramjeet Singh
scored the all important goal through
penalty corner. Despite an absorbing
display of hockey skills, penalty corner
conversion remained a serious issue for
both teams throughout the match.
P&S
Bank got as many as six penalty corners
out of which they converted only one
while BSF received two.
BSF had
their moments in the game but were failed
to deliver the knock out punch.
The match
was officiated by Jaspreet Singh, Satvir
Singh, V K Kohli, Ravinder Singh and P D
Singh.
Sheikh
Owais Shah, IGP Armed was the chief guest
in the match.
In the
second semifinal, Punjab State
Electricity Board (PSEB), Patiala had to
blame themselves for their loss to Punjab
Police by 5-2 margin.
Punjab
Police got into the act in the 15th
minute when Satwinder Singh scored an
excellent field goal to give his team
early lead.
PSEB
responded well by scoring equaliser in
the 17th minute through Ravinder Singh to
make the contest evenly poised.
Punjab
Police on the other hand, seemed
unperturbed with the happenings in the
rival’s camp as they continued their
march in the danger area to keep their
opponents on toes.
Gabbar
Singh struck in the 28th minute to give
his team a vital lead.The second half
started with a bang as Punjab Police went
on to score third goal in the 37th minute
through Satwinder Singh.
For PSEB,
Navdeep Singh managed to pull one back in
the 40th minute to
minimise
the gap.
In the
meantime, PSEB got themselves into a big
hole thereby conceding a penalty corner
to Punjab Police in the 56th minute which
they grabbed with both hands.
Kawalpreet
Singh scored the goal. By then, the
writing was on the wall.
Gabbar
Singh completed the final rituals by
slamming his second and team’s fifth
goal to seal the fate of the match.
The match
was officiated by Sanjay Bhatia,
Bhopinder Singh, Khursheed Ahmed,
Vijaypal Singh and R K Gandhi.
R C
Manotra, Commandant, IRP, 8th Bn was the
chief guest in the match.
The final
will be played at 3.30 pm.
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