GNDU wins cliffhanger to clinch men title,
DU reigns women

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar paddlers held their nerves in the dying moments to topple reigning champion Delhi University in summit showdown in a five-set thriller (3-2) to clinch men’s title in the North Zone Inter-University Table Tennis Championship, which concluded at Gymnasium Hall, University of Jammu today.

In women section, Delhi University made amends by winning the title prevailing over Punjab University, Chandigarh 3-0 in a lop sided affair.

The final in men section was a high voltage contest which went right down to the wire as paddlers of both teams played out of their skins to dominate the proceedings.

But in the end, GNDU paddlers had the last laugh producing a champion stuff just when it needed most.

GNDU started with a bang as Piyush got the better of Varun Anand 11-5, 11-7 and 11-9.

DU drew parity through Sunal Jain who cruised past Vandit 4-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-6 and 10-12.

GNDU extended their lead as Vikrant subdued Ramit Bhatnagar 11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 7-11 11-6 but DU with made a spirited comeback through Sunal Jain thrashing Piyush 11-6, 11-9 and 11-1 to make the contest tantalisingly close.

In the decider, Vandit (GNDU) eased past Varun Anand 11-6, 11-9 and 11-8 to seal the rubber.

Delhi University had a cakewalk against Punjab University, Chandigarh who offered a meek surrender against a clinical performance by their opponents.

Nikita Rautela got the better of Bhawna 11-4, 11-7 and 11-4 to set the tone for DU to go all out for the kill.

Skipper Pallabi Prasar then make it 2-0 after prevailing over Sunanda 11-9, 11-5 and 11-8 followed by Shayanta Paul who dispatched Depinder Kour 12-14, 11-9, 12-10 and 11-8 to seal the fate of the match.

"It’s a great victory for the team," said upbeat skipper Pallabi Parasar after the match adding "we are expecting the result especially the way we (team) had prepared for the championship".

Women coach Anand Parkash was all praise for his team. "This win would do a world of good for the team which played like true professionals throughout the tournament" he said.

Kamlesh Sharma, manager of the winner team echoed same views. "Credit must go to the team the way they played as a well knit unit".

However, both coach and manager were impressed not only by the successful conduct of the championship by the Jammu University but also other facilities like boarding and lodging being provided to the visiting teams.

"This undoubtedly is one of the best championships hosted by any University" they said.

Defending champion Punjabi University, Patiala failed to live up to the expectations, as they lost to GNDU, Amritsar in women section 3-1 to finish fourth.

In the first single, Ruchi Kalia dispatched Gurpal 11-7, 11-4, 10-12 and 11-6.

Punjabi University pulled one back through Manisha who beat Gagandeep 11-5, 11-5, 10-12 and 11-7 while Akanksha outwitted Ankita 11-5, 11-5, 4-11, 6-11 and 11-8 in a peach of a contest.

In the fourth single, Gagandeep beat Gurpal 15-13, 11-4 and 11-3.

In men section, Punjab University, Chandigarh did the better against PTU, Jallandhar 3-0 sets quite convincingly to finish third.

In the first single, Manpreet beat Ritesh 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7 and 12-10.

Deepak subdued Randeep 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 and 11-8 whereas Rachit outplayed Raghav 11-8, 11-7, 11-13 and 11-7.

Earlier, in the semifinals played in men section, GNDU, Amritsar got the better of PTU, Jallandhar 3-1 sets.

In the second semifinal, Delhi University trounced Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Sudhanshu Pandey, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu was the chief guest on the occasion who gave away trophies to the winner and runner-up teams (men and women).

Prominent among others who were present on the occasion included Dr Meenakshi Kilam, Director Colleges Development Council, Dr P S Pathania, Controller of Examinations, Prof Lokesh Verma, Director, Physical Education, Sonam Angchok, Brij Beloria, Romesh Sharma, P D Singh and Jai Bharat.

All the matches were officiated by Ashwani, Meenu, Ravish Vaid, Ashish Bhasin, Gourav Arora, Raman Sharma and Mahesh under the supervision of Narinder Singh, Ramesh Magotra, Satish Gupta and Sunita Goel.

Women Sports competitions held

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: J&K State Sports Council organised block level Women Sports competition in the disciplines of kho-kho, kabaddi and athletics at Government High School, Majalta today.

In kho-kho final, GGHSS, Majalta defeated GMS, Majalta to emerge victorious.

GMS Majalta perished GGHSS, Majalta in kabaddi final.

In 100mts sprint, Shivani (GMS Majalta) secured first position followed by Ramana (GGHSS, Majalta) and Seema (GMS, Majalta) who had to be content with second and third positions respectively.

Biaso (GMS, Majalta) finished first in 200mts while Sharda (GGHSS, Majalta) and Bharti (GMS, Majalta) stood second and third respectively.

The matches were officiated by Tilak Raj, Kuldeep Gupta and Davinder.

NP Singh, Principal, GGHSS, Majalta was the chief guest on the occasion who distributed prizes to the winner and runner-up teams.

Seema Sharma, Incharge GMS, Majalta was the guest of honour.

About 97 students took part in the competitions held under the supervision of Salamat Choudhary who was assisted by Arshi Nad and Anil.

Tug-of-War team leaves

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: A 24 member tug-of-war team (men and women) left for Haryana today to participate in the 17th men and women national tug-of-war championship slated to held from November 7 to 8.

The team was selected by technical members of selection committee at Trikuta Degree College, Nardani Raipur.

Sports Coordinator, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Kuldeep Singh and Allah Mai were also present on the occasion.

The Team:

Women: Gousia Bashir, Seema Jamwal, Rabinder Kour, Diksha Mehra, Kusum Jamwal, Bindu Jamwal, Sheetal, Chasmeeda Begum, Taz-ul-Nisha, Shazia Sultan and Shallu Bassan (Coach).

Men: Baba Imtiaz Ahmed, Mohd Rias Akhtar, Wasim Raja Mir, Farooq Ahmed Sheikh, Bilal Ul Majid, Sunil Kumar, Muzaffar Hussain, Alam Khan, Mohd Ashraf, Ashiq Hussain Baba, Sajjad Ahmed and Shamsher Singh (Coach).

Selection trials today

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) would conduct selection trials for girls of Jammu province at M A Stadium on November 7 at 3 pm.

The trials will be held in connection with the forthcoming senior women inter state limited over matches.

The selectors for the trials are Pratibha Wadhera and Anu Sharma.

Rahul, Avnish claim men doubles title

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 6: The duo of Rahul and Avnish made a spirited comeback to got the better of Vikram and Vipul 17-21, 21-19 and 21-15 in the summit clash to clinch men doubles title in the 4th Akhil Mahajan Memorial J&K Open Badminton Tournament which concluded at Indoor Sports Complex, M A Stadium today.

In men singles, Vikram trounced Vipul 21-17 and 21-16 to clinch the title while Diksha eased past Sulakhni 21-16 and 21-16 to emerge triumphant in women singles.

In junior girls singles final, Diksha outplayed Akanksha 21-15 and 21-18 whereas in double final, She (Diksha) paired with Akanksha toppled Sulakhni and Manisha 21-15 and 21-16 to clinch the title.

D S Shivam beat Sarvagya 21-19 and 21-12 in the final to claim mini boys singles title.

In doubles, D S Shivam and Sarvagya cruised past Abhay and Parth 21-7 and 21-16 to lift the title.

In mini girls singles final, Gagandeep overcame the challenge of Megha 21-5 and 21-7 to emerge winner.

In sub junior girls singles final, Keerat had the last laugh against Dipakshi 21-12 and 21-17 whereas Maninder beat Amit 21-16 and 21-15 in junior boys singles final.

The matches were officiated by badminton coaches-Satpal Sharma and Lalita Sharma.

IGP Dilbagh Singh was the chief guest on the occasion while Mrs Dilbagh Singh was the special invitee.

Dr O D Sharma, Dr Pardeep Sankhaydhar, Ajay Sharma, D D Magotra, Kiran Wattal, Ravi Singh, Balbir Jamwal, Gulzar Singh and Major D V Sharma were also present.

Jharkhand-JK tie ends in tame draw

RANCHI, Nov 6: Despite getting almost a day to chase 290 runs for an outright victory, Jharkhand chose to play it safe scoring 167 for three in their second essay against Jammu and Kashmir to garner three points in the plate Ranji Trophy tie on the last day today.

The visitors, who trailed in the first innings, finished with one point from the match.

Jharkhand’s chase began on a disappointing note when Samiullah Baig forced Manish Vardhan (zero) to edge an easy catch to wicketkeeper, with the team score reading only 11.

After the early jolt, Subroto Ghosh (83) and Ishant Jaggi (unbeaten 71 with 7x4, 1x6) took their own time to settle, never showing any urgency to force a victory.

Ghosh, who hit four boundaries in his knock, fell lbw to Jammu and Kashmir’s Arshad Bhat, while playing a little too early.

His departure brought junior international Saurav Tiwari to the pitch, raising hopes in the sparse crowd that turned up to watch the match anticipating a win for the home team.

Much to their disappointment Saurav, who had made a quickfire 89 in the first innings, doled out an easy catch to Safiq Khan off the bowling of Samiullah Baig for nought.

Later, both the captains agreed to call off the tie at 3.12 pm as they saw no possibility of a result.

In the morning, the JK team folded up their second innings at 342, adding just 32 runs to the overnight score.

Brief scores

J&K: 225 and 342 all out.

Jharkhand 301: and 167 for three (Subroto Ghosh 83, Ishant Jaggi 71 not out, S Baig 2/37).(PTI)

England team arrives in Mumbai

MUMBAI, Nov 6: The England cricket team today arrived at the Mumbai International Airport to play seven one-day internationals and two test matches matches.

The English team led by Kevin Pietersen arrived here this afternoon. They will start the series with two warm-up games against Mumbai XI on November 9 and 11 at the Brabourne Stadium here.

The first of the seven ODIs will be played at Rajkot on November 14. (PTI)

Tendulkar notches up 40th test century as India recover

NAGPUR, Nov 6: Sachin Tendulkar gave glimpses of his vintage form by cracking his 40th test century which had eluded him for long as India recovered from early jolts to push for a big total in the fourth and final cricket test against Australia here today.

The 35-year-old Tendulkar stole the limelight with a flurry of strokes and capitalised on two dropped catches to pull the team out of the pits and steer the visitors to a comfortable 311 for five at close on the opening day.

Electing to bat, the Indians were cruising along comfortably at 98 for no loss but lost three quick wickets in the span of 18 runs to slip to 116 for three just before the lunch break with rookie spinner Jason Krejza scalping the prized wickets of Virender Sehwag (66) and Rahul Dravid (0).

But Tendulkar performed the salvage job alongwith the stylish VVS Laxman (64) as the experienced duo put on a vital 146-run fourth wicket partnership to bring the hosts back into the game on a flat track at the newly-built VCA stadium.

Sourav Ganguly was batting on 27 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on 4 at stumps on the opening day which saw both teams more or less sharing the honours.

It was a huge relief for Tendulkar who had gone without a century for the last 15 tests and faced some anxious moments before completing the milestone.

The champion batsman had his share of luck as he was first dropped by Mitchell Johnson when on 85 and then by Brett Lee on 96 and faced some nervous moments before completing the century, his tenth against the Australians. His last century had also come against the Aussies — 153 in the fourth and final test in Adelaide in January this year.

But Tendulkar could not last long after completing the century as he was trapped leg before by Mitchell Johnson with the second new ball at the fag end of the day.

The Indians, leading the four-match series 1-0 and needing only a draw to wrest the Border-Gavaskar trophy, scored at a brisk pace right through the day and would now look to consolidate their position when play resumes tomorrow.

Virender Sehwag, who struck nine fours and a six in making a quick-fire 66 off 69 balls, and debutant Murali Vijay (33), included in the team in place of banned Gambhir, put on 98 runs for the first wicket on a bone-dry wicket before the visitors struck three telling blows to bounce back in style.

Debutant off-spinner Jason Krejza struck twice by removing out-of-form Rahul Dravid for a duck, and then cut short dangerous-looking Sehwag’s innings by turning the ball sharply after Shane Watson drew first blood by getting Vijay caught behind fending at a short, rising ball.

Struggling Dravid was caught off his glove at short leg off a sharply spinning Krejza delivery.

The hosts, looking to adjourn for lunch without losing a wicket, suddenly plunged to 99 for two in the space of six balls and were in deeper trouble when Krejza made a ball turn sharply into Sehwag who leaned back to cut it but only managed to chop it on to the stumps.

India lost three wickets for 18 runs in less than five overs to hand Australia the upper hand at lunch.

However, the first hour of play belonged to India as the two openers raced to 70 without loss in 13 overs.

From the start, the pitch played true to batsmen and the ball came on nicely to the bat. Australian bowlers, barring first-change Shane Watson, could not get any appreciable movement.

Sehwag played in his usual fashion with slashes, chops and flicks off the pads to get runs while debutant Vijay, pitch-forked into international cricket after having played only 21 first class games, looked composed and compact in his defense.

Sehwag struck Johnson for two boundaries in his first over while Vijay, who showed hardly any nerves, cover-drove Lee beautifully for a four to set the tone.

Aussie captain Ricky Ponting brought in Krejza just on the hour, replacing Watson after two overs to enable the medium-pacer to change ends, and Sehwag greeted the new bowler with a lofted four and a huge six over long on off successive balls.

Sehwag completed his second half century of the series with a single to square leg off Krejza in 45 balls.

Tendulkar and Laxman ensured that India came back strongly into the game in the post-lunch session as the two experienced batsmen fetched the runs easily.

Commencing after lunch, Tendulkar and Laxman, who is playing his 100th test, were kept quiet for a while by pacer Mitchell Johnson and debutant off spinner Jason Krejza.

After settling down, Tendulkar - 16 at lunch — began opening out by slog-sweeping Krejza and then lofting the slow bowler for two successive fours to bring up the 150. The first hour after lunch yielded 44 runs in 13 overs.

Laxman struggled with his timing iitially despite having come into this match with unbeaten scores of 200 and 59 in the third test at Delhi.

Tendulkar, at the other end, was fluent as ever and completed his third half century of the series, and 52nd of career, in 65 balls with a couple to deep cover off Krejza.

Tendulkar thus overtook Allan Border of Australia in the number of plus-50 scores in his career 91 (including 39 tons) as compared to the former Australian captain’s 90.

South Africa beats Bangladesh by 12 runs

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 6: South Africa fought back to defeat Bangladesh by 12 runs in a tightly fought, rain-shortened Twenty20 match yesterday.

Bangladesh needed 122 to win under the Duckworth-Lewis system after South Africa was held to 118-7. The match was reduced to 14 overs per side because of rain.

Bangladesh looked well placed early to record an upset win in the one-off encounter at new Wanderers Stadium, reaching 56 for 1 off just five overs after some explosive batting from captain Mohammad Ashraful.

Ashraful hit five fours for his 21 off just 10 balls before being bowled by Johan Botha, while opener Tamil Iqbal top-scored with 25, hitting four fours in 24 balls. But aside from Naeem Islam (15) and Mushfiqur Rahim (12), no other batsmen reached double figures as Bangladesh slumped to 109 for 8.

Fast bowler Dale Steyn starred with the ball for South Africa, taking two wickets for 18 off three overs.

Rory Kleinveldt, making his Twenty20 international debut, took Junaid Siddique’s wicket with his first ball, as the Bangladesh opener gloved a swinging ball to wicketkeeper A B De Villiers. But then Ashraful went on the offensive, striking three fours as Kleinveldt went for 20 runs off his only over.

South Africa raced to 43 off 4.1 overs before losing opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs for 18. His opening partner, Loots Bosman, fell in the next over for 28, leaving the hosts on 58-2.

De Villiers then stabilised the innings, top-scoring with 36, but South Africa suffered a mini-collapse toward the end of its innings, losing three wickets for the addition of just four runs in the space of two overs. (AGENCIES)

I didn’t do anything wrong at Kotla: Katich

MELBOURNE, Nov 6: Australia all rounder Simon Katich does not repent his angry exchanges with Gautam Gambhir during third test in New Delhi, saying the India opener had initiated the "confrontation" with his unpleasant words.

Katich, who escaped censure from the match referee, said Gambhir accused him of blocking his way while going for a run.

"I turned around to see where the ball had gone, and (when I) looked up Gambhir was basically into me," Katich was quoted as saying in the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.

"Next thing you know the ball was coming back at the stumps so, having looked at the footage, I don’t think I have done anything wrong. It’s not like I have pushed him out of the way. My hands were up in the air and I just happened to be in his way. If anything, I probably saved (VVS) Laxman from being run out.

"If they had run I think he would have been run out. He’s not the quickest bloke. Words were said, I didn’t like it and that’s what ticked me off. That’s why there was a bit of confrontation," said Katich who had to be dragged away by vice-captain Michael Clarke and forced an intervention from umpire Billy Bowden who was seen speaking to skipper Ricky Ponting later on.

"I don’t regret getting in a contest out there. I know ‘punter’ probably wasn’t happy with it all, which is fair enough because obviously captains come under scrutiny for all that, and I appreciate that, but it is one of those things that happens," said the Australia opener reacting to Ponting’s request for calm from his players on the eve of the fourth and final test in Nagpur.

Katich said the matter was since then forgotten and they have moved on.

"It was all done and dusted pretty quickly. I think I was one of the first blokes to congratulate him on his 200, and at the end of the day I don’t think there was any damage done. It wasn’t like we had a physical altercation."

Gambhir was suspended for one test for elbowing Shane Watson while the Australian bowler was docked 10 per cent of his match fee. (PTI)

Police upbeat in Kanpur as Tendulkar opts out

KANPUR, Nov 6: Sachin Tendulkar’s fans were disappointed but the police breathed a sigh of relief as the master blaster opted out of the first three one-dayers, including the one at the Green Park Stadium, against England.

Tendulkar, who decided to skip the first three ODIs considering the hectic season ahead, has been issued threats by militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

"Police personnel were concerned about security arrangements here since reports of threats to Tendulkar because Kanpur is a sensitive place. We would have required to make extra security arrangements but it is clear that now there will be less hassle," said a police official on the condition of anonymity.

But Senior Superintendent of Police Hariram Sharma told that "whether or not Tendulkar is in the team, there will be no let-up in security arrangements. Both the teams would be kept inside tight security rings".

Aniruddh Singh, a die-hard Tendulkar fan, said he would prefer to watch the match on television instead of taking the trouble of going to the stadium on November 20.

"If Sachin is not playing in the match their is no point taking the pain of travelling to a crowded Green Park. It would be better to watch the match on TV," he said.

Another Tendulkar admirer Vivek echoed similar sentiments. "If none of the fab four players, who enthrall the crowd with the strokes, would be there on the ground, what’s the fun in going to the stadium to watch the match." (PTI)

I will play as long as I am enjoying game: Laxman

NEW DELHI, Nov 6: Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have decided to walk into the sunset of their glorious careers but India’s latest entrant to the 100-Test club, VVS Laxman has indicated he will not hang up his boots as long as he is enjoying the game.

Laxman, who became the eighth Indian to have played 100 or more Tests, says he is not thinking of anything else right now except to contribute with his bat and make the team become the number one in Test cricket.

"I am enjoying my game and I am still able to contribute to the team. The word ‘contribution’ is very important to me. I have the responsibility of doing well for the team. As long as I am contributing with good performances, I am not really thinking about anything else," he said.

"I have never set targets. I never played for numbers. It’s better to take each series as it comes. In this series we want to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and we are focusing our energies on achieving that. At the moment we want to be number one in Test cricket and we are confident of achieving that. As long as I am contributing to that goal, I’ll be more than happy," he said when asked about how many more Tests he intends to play.

The stylish middle-order batsman had pulled India out of the rut on a number of occasions and said he loved pressure situations.

"With experience, I have learnt a lot-not only from the ups and downs. The mind is the most important aspect. That’s something I am very proud of, and I am proud of my innings in pressure situations. I really relish pressure situations, when you have to bail the team out, and you can’t do that if you are not mentally strong," he told ‘Cricinfo’.

Asked about his special liking for the Australians, the fighter in Laxman comes out to the fore.

"I like the way they play their cricket. I like that aggression and I like playing fast bowling. Playing against them is always a challenge, and when people are trying to get you out, you also get the chance to score runs.

"It’s something that started early. I played them at Under-19 level, and at that level they had the most fearsome bowling attack. (Brett) Lee, (Jason) Gillespie, (Matthew) Nicholson. I enjoyed playing against them and got some success. It carried on from there."

Looking back at 12 years of his illustrious career, Laxman said he was satisfied with what he has achieved but felt he could have scored more hundreds.

"I am quite satisfied... Because, firstly, with my background, I never thought I would become a cricketer-I wanted to become a doctor.

"I’m quite happy with my contribution to the team. I’m quite happy with the journey I have had. It has made me a better person. I handle situations in life, as a whole, better. And that’s something I’m very proud of. I can take confidence from my career.

"But I would have loved to have more hundreds. There have been opportunities for me to get a hundred when a specialist batsman was batting well along with me but I got out. There have also been times when I could have got a hundred but was left stranded. So there will always be ifs and buts. But in retrospect I should have got more hundreds.

"Probably the batting positions-when you are batting at number six or even five, you don’t have the opportunity, especially in the subcontinent, to get big hundreds," (PTI)