Savage
Sehwag unbeaten 309, India
hit back with vengeance
CHENNAI, Mar 28: A belligerent
Virender Sehwag presided over a
bowlers’ bloodbath and blasted an
unbeatean 309 as India responded
emphatically to South Africa’s
massive first innings total in the first
cricket Test here today.
The
dashing right-hander wielded his willow
like a sword and cut the South African
attack to ribbons during his 292-ball
blitzkrieg that powered India to 468 for
one at stumps on day three.
Sehwag
thus equalled his career best score of
309, also the highest Test score by an
Indian, which he had recorded against
Pakistan in the 2004 Multan Test.
India now
trail the visitors by 72 runs and Sehwag
and Rahul Dravid (65) will return
tomorrow to first wipe out the arrears
and then establish a lead.
Sehwag’s
savage innings, the fastest triple
century in the history of Test cricket,
was studded with a staggering 41 fours
and five sixes. He bettered Matthew
Hayden’s 300 off 362 balls against
Zimbabwe in Perth in 2003-04.
Resuming
on 82 for no loss this morning, Sehwag
and Wasim Jaffer (73) gave no leeway to
the South Africans and with the Delhi
opener on song, Jaffer was content
playing the second fiddle.
Jaffer’s
sedate 166-ball knock included six hits
to the fence beside a six and though he
missed out on a personal milestone, the
Mumbaikar had played his part in the
213-run opening stand with Sehwag.
Smiles on
the South African faces, however,
vanished soon as Sehwag went berserk.
Once he neared 150, Sehwag looked in
tremendous hurry and Morne Morkel bore
the brunt of his belligerence in the 61st
over when he was hit for three
boundaries.
It was
then Harris who incurred Sehwag’s
wrath and the spinner was hit for three
successive boundaries as the
batsman’s strike rate exceeded 100.
At 193,
Sehwag did what probably only he can and
went for a six. Even though he did not
connect the Makhaya Ntini delivery
properly, the big flourish of the bat was
enough to send it soaring over the long
leg boundary for a six.
Ntini’s
next ball yielded three runs and Sehwag
posted what entered the record book as
the third quickest double-hundred in Test
cricket that came off just 194 balls. He
in fact took just 23 balls to reach 200
from 150.
Nathan
Astle’s 153-ball double century
against England in the 2001-2
Christchurch Test remains the fastest,
while Sehwag stood second in the chart
for achieving the landmark in 182 balls
against Pakistan in the 2005-6 Lahore
Test.
Records
kept falling by the wayside and Sehwag
went on to post the highest individual
score at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Earlier, the record stood against Sunil
Gavaskar’s name following the
batting great’s 236 against West
Indies in 1983-84.
SCOREBOARD
South
Africa 1st innings: 540
India 1st
innings
Wasim
Jaffer c Kallis b Harris 73
Virender
Sehwag batting 309
Rahul
Dravid batting 65
Extras
(b-8, lb-8, w-2, nb-3) 21
Total (for
1 wicket in 106 overs) 468
Fall of
Wicket: 1-213
Bowling: D
Steyn 19-1-79-0, M Ntini 18-2-99-0, M
Morkel 18-3-56-0, P Harris 36-3-141-1, J
Kallis 12-0-61-0, A Prince 3-0-16-0.
(PTI)
Tata Sumo Grande for
Man of Series
The man of
the series in the ongoing India-South
Africa three-Test rubber will be rewarded
with a newly launched car, Tata Sumo
Grande.
The
four-wheeler was launched by Tata Motors
at the auto expo in January, a media
release said today.
The first
Test of the series is in progress in
Chennai, the second is scheduled in
Ahmedabad from April 3 to 7 and the third
and final Test is to be held at
Kanpur’s Green Park from April
11-15. (PTI)
Gibbs
arrested for drunken driving
CAPE TOWN, Mar 28: South African
opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs was
arrested in the early hours this morning
for drink-driving in Cape Town, reports
said today.
Police
spokesman Superintendent Billy Jones
confirmed a 34-year-old man had been
arrested at 1:45 am near Cape Town’s
Seafront, but said "we are not at
liberty to implicate people by name until
they have appeared in a court of
law."
Jones said
the man, reported by the sapa news agency
and State SABC radio as being Gibbs, was
pulled over for speeding. (PTI)
76,
68 Bns clinch Basketball, Handball titles
Excelsior Sports
Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 27: 76 Bn and 68 Bn
emerged winners in Basketball and
Handball disciplines as the Inter OPS
Sector Jammu Basketball and Handball
championship concluded at Group Centre,
Bantalab. Dr S K Das, Medical
Superintendent, Composite Hospital,
Bantalab was the chief guest on the
occasion. S K Mishra, Second-in-Command,
Group Centre, CRPF Bantalab was also
present.
Flight
problems ground Sri Lanka tour match
SCARBOROUGH (Tobago), Mar
28:
Sri Lanka’s scheduled three-day tour
match against West Indies ‘A’,
planned for this weekend, has been
cancelled because of flight problems.
The match
had been scheduled for Shaw Park from
March 29 to 31, but it has become the
latest victim of the Caribbean’s
erratic airline services.
"The
planned tour match has been cancelled
because of flight problems," said a
terse, three-paragraph statement from the
West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)
yesterday. (PTI)
Andy
Roddick eager to make more
memories at Key Biscayne
KEY BISCAYNE (Florida),
Mar 28: For Andy Roddick, the annual
return to Key Biscayne stirs up plenty of
good memories.
He came to
the tournament site as a school student,
bused in with hundreds of other kids for
clinics. Seven years ago, at age 18, he
nearly decapitated Pete Sampras with a
136-mph (219-kph) serve en route to a
third-round upset. In 2004 he won the
title.
"I
have a little bit of history here,"
Roddick said on Thursday.
He hopes
to make more with a title run at this
year’s Sony Ericsson Open. Roddick
plays his opening match tomorrow against
Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki.
The timing
might be right for a repeat of 2004.
Roddick is off to a good start this year
— he’s one of five players with
two ATP titles — while nemesis Roger
Federer has yet to reach a final.
With the
top-ranked Federer off his game, does
that create an opportunity for Roddick?
They could meet in the quarterfinals.
"I’ve
got to get there, so it’s not even
relevant for me right now," said
Roddick, who is 1-15 against Federer.
"I’m
sure Roger would tell you he’s
probably not playing his best right now.
That being said, I think Roger’s
earned the right for us to give him the
benefit of the doubt.
"No
matter how much everyone’s creating
questions, he’s still capable of
coming out and winning this tennis
tournament."
Roddick
said he’s pleased with his year so
far, aside from a third-round loss to
Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Australian
Open. Roddick won San Jose, then beat No.
2-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Novak
Djokovic en route to the Dubai title this
month.
"I
actually feel very confident right
now," Roddick said. "The Dubai
field was about as tough as I’ve
ever seen in a tournament like
that."
Roddick
split this year with hall of famer Jimmy
Connors, who had been coaching him since
July 2006. Roddick’s brother John
continues as coach, but at age 25,
Roddick said he’s ready to follow
his own voice.
"I do
need to take it upon myself," he
said. "It’s my responsibility,
and it’s my career at this
point."
Like
everyone else, he’s chasing federer,
who is No. 1 for a record 217th
consecutive week. Nadal and Djokovic have
won major titles in the past year as they
try to scramble the rankings.
"Novak
seems to be playing well in the bigger
events," Roddick said. "With
the clay right around the corner,
I’m sure Rafa’s licking his
chops and kind of looking at that. So
it’s a good mix right now, and I
think it’s interesting."
Roddick’s
ranking has held steady at No. 6 for most
of the past two years, but his big serve
always makes him a threat.
"Andy’s
definitely right up there," Federer
said. "He puts himself into
positions over and over again, where if
the draw falls his way or he gets a good
day when he needs it, that he could win a
Grand Slam." (AGENCIES)
Kashyap
Rishi Cricket Tournament
Deepu fashions BCC’s
title win
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 28: A quickfire 34 in
as many balls followed by a four wicket
haul by Deepu helped Bantalab Cricket
Club (BCC) to seal a convincing 56 runs
win over Royal Cricket Club (RCC) in the
summit clash to clinch Kashyap Rishi
Cricket Tournament at MAM College Grounds
today.
Batting
first, BCC posted challenging 137 runs in
the allotted 20 overs for the loss of
seven wickets.
Deepu was
the top scorer with 34 runs. For RCC,
Harish was the pick of the bowlers with
four scalps conceding 14 runs in 4 overs.
Chasing 138 to win, RCC never looked
comfortable to got past the target after
receiving early jitters.
As a
result their innings perished at 81 in
19.3 overs. Rajinder (18) was the only
batsman who waged a lone battle against
some disciplined bowling performance by
BCC bowlers who gave no width whatsoever
to the batsmen to open their arms.
After his
heroics with the willow, Deepu once again
got into the act by unleashing a lethal
bowling spell to ripped through the top
order.
He had
match figures of 4-11-4 and was adjudged
man of the match as well as man of the
series.
He also
bagged the best bowler award while Dileep
Bhan of BCC declared best batsman of the
tournament.
The match
was officiated by Jaikrishen and Rakesh
Zutshi. The scorers were Sunil Koul,
Sahil Kotru and Deepak Dhar.
Vijay
Bakaya, former Chief Secretary was the
chief guest on the occasion who gave away
winner and runners-up trophies to the
teams.
Ashutosh
Sharma was the guest of honour. A N
Sadhu, president, Kashmiri Pandit Sabha,
K K Khosa, vice president, H N Tiku,
general secretary, A K Dewani, A K Baroo,
A N Vaishnavi, Rajesh Dutt, Rajesh Kotru
and Kuldeep Raina were also present.
The
tournament was organised by Kashmiri
Pandit Sabha, Ambphalla in memory of Pt
Triloki Nath Khosa, Ex-president of the
Sabha.
Inter
Battalion Sports Meet
IRP-10th Bn strikes
double in Swimming
Excelsior
Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 26: IRP-10th Bn team
comprised Arshid, Ankush, Mohd Shabir and
Aditya Sharma finished first in 4x10 mts
Free Style Relay today in the ongoing
Inter Battalion Sport Meet.
AP-8th Bn
comprised Raghubir Singh, Pawan, Mukhtyar
and Rajinder stood second.
In 4x100
mts Free Style Relay final, Arshid,
Ankush, Mohd Shabir and Aditya Sharma
again of IRP-10th Bn secured first
position whereas Raghubir Singh, Pawan,
Mukhtyar and Fayaz bagged second place.
In 50 mts
Free Style (individual event), Rajnesh of
IRP-11th Bn finished first while Raghubir
Singh of AP-8th Bn stood second.
The
gazetted officers events were commenced
today in the disciplines of Lawn Tennis
and Table Tennis.
In Lawn
Tennis, SP Ajit Singh Salaria got the
better of SP R K Bhat in the opening
match while DySP Ranjit Singh prevailed
over DySP Sanjay Bhagat in the next
match.
DySP
Daljit Singh overcame SSP A K Atri in the
inaugural match of Table Tennis while
DySP Sanjay Sharma had last laugh against
SP Stenzen Narboo.
In other
matches, SSP Israr Khan defeated DySP
Azeem Qureshi and SSP T Punchok beat SP R
K Bhat.
Other
Results (Individual Events):
Weightlifting
(60kg): Mukhtyar-ud-Din (1st) and Rattan
Kumar (2nd).
62kg: Mohd
Zulf (1st) and Javid Iqbal (2nd).
69kg:
Ravinder Kumar (1st) and Shakil Ahmed
(2nd).
77kg:
Narinder Chib (1st) and Ashiq Hussain
(2nd).
85kg:
Rajnesh Kumar (1st) and Paramjeet Singh
(2nd).
94kg:
Maninder Singh (1st) and Davinder Gupta
(2nd).
105kg:
Rakesh Kumar (1st) and Rakesh Kumar
(2nd).
Shot Put
(final): Mohd Sadiq (1st), Mashqoor Ahmed
(2nd) and Maninder Singh (3rd).
Discus
Throw: Varun Dev Singh (1st), Mohd
Sidique (2nd) and Rajinder Thapa (3rd).
Tripple
Jump: Showket Ahmed (1st), Madan Sharma
(2nd) and Pawan Kumar (3rd).
800mts:
Reyaz Ahmed (1st), Ved Kumar (2nd) and
Shabir Ahmed (3rd).
21 km Half
Marathon: Reyaz Ahmed (1st), Ram Lal
(2nd) and Rattan Kumar (3rd).
Hammer
Throw: Mohd Sadiq (1st), Mohd Sidique
(2nd) and Nazir Ahmed (3rd).
400mts:
Tahir Ahmed (1st), Raghubir Singh (2nd)
and Ved Kumar (3rd).
Team
Events:
Hockey:
AP-8th Bn beat AP-12th Bn and IRP-3rd Bn
beat IRP-7th Bn.
Basketball:
AP-8th Bn beat IRP-4th Bn and IRP-7th Bn
beat AP-12th Bn.
Football:
IRP-1st Bn beat AP-14th Bn, AP-8th Bn
beat IRP-11th Bn, IRP-9th Bn beat AP-5th
Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat AP-12th Bn, AP-8th Bn
beat IRP-1st Bn and IRP-4th Bn beat
IRP-9th Bn.
Volleyball:
AP-5th Bn beat AP-6th Bn, IRP-13th Bn
beat AP-8th Bn, IRP-6th Bn beat IRP-3rd
Bn, AP-9th Bn beat IRP-8th Bn, AP-9th Bn
beat IRP-13th Bn and IRP-6th Bn beat
AP-5th Bn.
Tug-of-War:
IRP-10th Bn beat IRP-7th Bn, AP-13th Bn
beat IRP-2nd Bn, Ap-14th Bn beat AP-8th
Bn, AP-7th Bn beat AP-9th Bn, IRP-8th Bn
beat IRP-7th Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat IRP-11th
Bn, AP-7th Bn beat AP-8th Bn, AP-13th Bn
beat AP-14th Bn, IRP-4th Bn beat IRP-1st
Bn and IRP-13th Bn beat IRP-7th Bn.
Handball:
AP-6th Bn beat IRP-4th Bn and AP-8th Bn
beat AP-14th Bn.
Kabaddi:
IRP-6th Bn beat IRP-8th Bn, IRP-3rd Bn
beat AP-8th Bn and IRP-6th Bn beat
AP-13th Bn.
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