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SPORT
Short
Takes
India can rise to
No. 2 in rankings
Dubai: They have lost the tag
of the No. 1 Test team but
injury-ravaged world champions
India can climb to second
in the ICC ODI rankings if
they manage to beat England
4-1 or better in the upcoming
five-match series starting
on Saturday.
Claudius hospitalised
with abdominal pain
Kolkata: Hockey Olympian
Leslie Claudius has been
admitted to a city hospital
with severe abdominal pain
on Thursday. However, the
doctors said the 84-year-old’s
condition is stable.
Bagchi gifts tickets to
U-19 squad
Kolkata: The Prayag United
football secretary, Avik
Bagchi, has given tickets for
the coveted Argentina-
Venezuela friendly to all
members of the club’s U-19
squad.
Robinho out of Brazil’s
friendly with Ghana
Rio de Janeiro: AC Milan forward
Robinho has been withdrawn
from the Brazil squad
to face Ghana in a friendly in
London next week because of
a groin injury, the Brazilian
Football Confederation (CBF)
said on Wednesday. “Milan’s
medical department sent the
Brazilian national team’s
medical department the tests
that show the player’s injury,”
CBF said in a statement on its
website www.cbf.com.br.
Zaragoza buy Portugal
striker Postiga
Lisbon: La Liga team Real
Zaragoza signed Portugal
striker Helder Postiga from
Sporting for one million
euros ($1.44 million) on
Wednesday. The Portuguese
club also said the transfer fee
could double.
Atletico take Brazilian
Diego on loan
Madrid: Atletico Madrid have
agreed to sign Brazil playmaker
Diego on loan from
VfL Wolfsburg, the Spanish
club said on Wednesday. The
26-year-old made his name
during a three-year spell with
Werder Bremen before
Juventus bought him in 2009.
Das wins bronze in
taekwondo
Kolkata: Class XI student
Probal Das won bronze medal
in the U-78kg category for
Bengal in the 31st National
Taekwondo Championship at
Harivansh Tana Bhagat Indoor
Stadium in Ranchi from
August 25-28. It was organised
by the Jharkhand
Taekwondo Association under
the aegis of Taekwondo
Federation of India.
Aditi beats Smriti
to title
Bangalore: Amateur Aditi
Ashok made up for her loss in
the first leg, beating veteran
Smriti Mehra on the first playoff
hole to win the third and
final leg of Southern Swing in
the Hero Women’s Profess -
ional Golf Tour on Thursday.
Ghana cleared to take
part in 2012 Games
Berlin: Ghana has been
cleared to compete in next
year’s London Olympics after
the government took steps to
amend a controversial sports
law, the International Olympic
Committee said on Thursday.
Top seed Sinha ousted
by Prabodh
Chennai: Karnataka’s Suraj R
Prabodh put paid to the aspirations
of top seed Vishwesh
Sinha of Punjab 7-5, 6-3 to
progress to the boys’ semi-final
of the Adidas MCC National
Junior Clay Court tennis championship
here on Thursday.
Verma, Sindhu
inducted in squad
Mumbai: Sameer Verma, a silver
medallist at the Asian
Junior Championships, and P
V Sindhu have been named in
the 7-boy and 6-girl squad for
the World Junior Badminton
Championships in October.
— Our Correspondent & Agencies
England remain unbeaten
Manchester: There was no
end to India’s misery in what
has turned out to be an
abysmal tour of England as
they went down by six wickets
in their one off Twenty20
International, paying the
price for yet another stunning
batting collapse here.
Debutant Ajinkya Rahane
shone with the bat with a 39ball
61 but the Indians lost
nine wickets in the final eight
overs to be restricted to 165 in
19.3 overs. The visitors rode
Eoin Morgan’s quickfire 49 to
chase down the target in 19.3
overs on Wednesday.
Morgan, who struck 49 off
27 balls, was the hero of
England’s chase, striking
seven fours and a six while
Ravi Bopara chipped in with a
useful 31 to ensure that the
hosts maintained their dominance
over the hapless visitors.
Morgan put on 73 runs
for the fourth wicket with
Bopara off only 49 balls to
lead England to a comprehensive
victory despite Rahane’s
61 off 39 balls. Jade Dernbach
(4/22) and captain Stuart
Broad (2/37) helped the hosts
with a flurry of wickets as the
visitors scored only 61 runs,
losing nine wickets in the final
eight overs.
Thirty-three of these runs
were scored by Suresh Raina,
who marked Tim Bresnan and
Broad for special attention,
smashing them for three sixes,
as he took only 19 balls for his
cameo. The hosts, who won
the Test series 4-0, gave
Indians a lesson in Twenty20
cricket as well, scoring their
runs with a mix of defence and
attack. The visitors, in contrast,
appeared to play to the gallery
and largely got their runs in
fours and sixes — as many as
92 of 165 came off boundaries.
England lost debutant Alex
Hales (0) to Praveen Kumar
off only the second ball of the
innings but the experienced
Kevin Pietersen gave impetus
to the innings with a strokefilled
33 off 23 balls with five
fours. Pietersen and opener
Craig Kieswetter (18) guided
England to 54 for one in the
Powerplay but then the hosts
lost both of them in the space
of three runs to bring the
match back on an even keel.
Kieswetter offered a simple
catch at short cover and
Pietersen was stumped off
the first ball by Virat Kohli.
Morgan then seized back
the initiative with 17 runs off
Rohit Sharma in the ninth
over of the innings, slamming
the part-time off-spinner for
two fours and a massive six
over mid-on. England were
90 for three at the end of the
10th over. They took two balls
more than India did for their
Zimbabweans ride
Mawoyo’s 82 n.o.
Bulawayo: Rookie opener
Tinotenda Mawoyo produced
a masterclass in concentration
as Zimbabwe reached 245 for
four at the close of the first day
of the one-off Test against
Pakistan at Queens Sports Club
here on Thursday.
Mawoyo, playing in only his
second Test, batted right
through the day, scoring an
unbeaten and unruffled 82 —
his maiden half-century —
after occupying the crease for
six hours and 21 minutes. He
faced 213 balls and struck 10
fours. He also figured in three
significant partnerships as
Zimbabwe looked to carry on
where they left off when they
beat Bangladesh in Harare last
month. But all of the
Zimbabwe batsmen had to
contend with a box full of
tricks from Pakistan off-spinner
Saeed Ajmal, who took
three of the four wickets to fall
as the home batsmen struggled
to pick his doosra.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul
Haq made the contentious
decision to bowl first after winning
the toss. He pointed to
some green on the pitch and
100 runs — 68 balls to India’s
66 balls. Morgan played a
sensible knock but departed
unhappily as he believed
Rohit Sharma at point hadn’t
caught him cleanly off Munaf
Patel. But after Morgan
departed at 134 for four in the
16th over, the hosts needed
just 32 off 29 balls. Bopara
and Samit Patel (25) then ran
briskly between the wickets
and hit the odd boundaries to
bring the equation to 13 from
the final two overs.
Munaf Patel bowled the
penultimate over, a brilliant
effort as he conceded only
three runs from the over.
Needing 10 off the final over,
bowled by Vinay Kumar, the
first delivery was a wide and
the next three were hit for
fours by Patel as England
reached home with three
balls to spare.
Earlier, the young Rahane
announced himself onto
international stage in blazing
style and Raina exacted his
revenge. The Mumbai opener
had the packed stands in raptures
as he produced almost
every stroke in the book to
rattle up 61 off 39 balls with
eight fours in his maiden
innings in international
cricket. Brought in as replacement
of Virender Sehwag earlier
this week, Rahane gave
India a quick start of 39 from
four-odd overs with Parthiv
Patel (10) and reached his
half-century off only 29 balls
with as many as eight fours.
England’s pace trio of
Bresnan, Jade Dernbach and
captain Broad tried to intimidate
the young right-hander
with short-pitched deliveries
but nearly every such attempt
was met with a ferocious pull
or hook by the right-hander.
Patel got the innings going
with a good-looking backfoot
drive through covers off
Bresnan, but thereafter,
Rahane took over and hit
boundaries at will. He began
with a lofted cut over covers
off Dernbach and then twice
pulled short deliveries from
Bresnan and Broad. — PTI
Kolkata Friday September 2, 2011
www.thebengalpost.com
Lyon king tames
Lankan lions
Galle: Unheralded Australian
debutant Nathan Lyon took a
stunning five for 34, including
a wicket off his first ball as the
Sri Lankan batsmen capitulated
in the dramatic first Test
in Galle on Thursday.
Sixteen wickets fell on the
dusty, deteriorating track during
an eventful second day’s
play which ended with the
tourists enjoying a commanding
lead of 283 runs with four
wickets in hand. Seamer
Shane Watson claimed three
wickets in 10 balls and
another newcomer Trent
Copeland struck in his first
over as Australia, restricted to
273 on the first day, skittled
Sri Lanka out for 105 by tea.
In the second innings, the
Australians also found runs
hard to come by, collapsing to
115 for six when bad light
forced stumps to be drawn.
The tourists lost Watson first
ball and former captain Ricky
Ponting for four, before skipper
Michael Clarke (60) and
Michael Hussey (15) put on 49
for the fourth wicket. Left-arm
spinner Rangana Herath
spiced up the contest further
when he removed both batsmen
in two balls and dismissed
Brad Haddin in his
next over as Australia slipped
from 110/3 to 112/6. Usman
Khawaja was unbeaten on two
and Mitchell Johnson on three
as Australia look to turn the
screws on the hosts when play
resumes on Friday. Opener
Tharanga Paranavitana’s 29
was Sri Lanka’s top score as
the last seven wickets fell for
just 18 runs.
Off-spinner Lyon never
looked back after removing
Kumar Sangakkara with his
first delivery in Test cricket —
the first Australian in 117 years
to achieve the feat. Brought on
after the morning drinks
break, the 23-year-old had
Sangakkara edging the first
USA mine gold in Daegu, Britain get off mark
Daegu: The USA flexed their muscles at
the world athletics championships on
Thursday, harvesting three of the six titles
on offer, while Britain finally won an elusive
gold medal in Daegu.
Kenya extended their dominance of the
men’s steeplechase and celebrated with
some joyous theatrics on the track afterwards
and double-amputee Oscar
Pistorius produced another momentous
achievement, Lashinda Demus in the 400
metres hurdles, 1,500 metres runner Jenny
Simpson and high jumper Jesse Williams
lifted the USA to the top of the medals
table on a glittering night for the
Americans.
Although Simpson’s winning time of
four minutes 05.40 seconds was the slowest
to win a world title, her triumph left
her euphoric. She crossed the line wideeyed
and holding her head after leading
home Britain’s Hannah England and
Spaniard Natalia Rodriguez.
“I am supposed to say I am not surprised,”
Simpson said. “All I can say is that
a dream has come true. Absolutely there
will be a big celebration tonight — I guess I
will not sleep for the next (few) nights.”
Demus ran 52.47 seconds in the 400
metres hurdles, beating defending champion
Melaine Walker of Jamaica into silver
with Russian Natalya Antyukh bronze.
� England’s Jade Dernbach celebrates
the dismissal of India’s M S Dhoni
during the Twenty20 match
at Old Trafford on Wednesday. — AFP
said he was not afraid to bat
last but local wisdom suggests
that the pitch will be flat and
slow — most captains prefer to
bat first to put up a big score. It
also meant Misbah pitched his
own very green attack in at the
deep end. With Zimbabwe
making tentative steps back
into Test, Pakistan have also
used the tour to blood some
new players — including opening
bowlers Aizaz Cheema and
Junaid Khan, who are both
making their Test debuts. — AFP
Scoreboard
Zimbabwe
First innings
T Mawoyo batting 82
V Sibanda st Akmal b Ajmal 45
H Masakadza b Ajmal 11
B Taylor lbw Ajmal 10
T Taibu c Akmal b Sohail 44
C Ervine batting 38
Extras: (b-2, lb-11, nb-2) 15
Total: (for 4 wkts in 90 overs) 245
Fall of wkts: 1/71, 2/91, 3/111,
4/176
Bowling: Sohail 17-7-42-1,
Cheema 15-7-48-0, Junaid 21-
12-39-0, Ajmal 29-6-75-3,
Hafeez 8-1-28-0
Luka qualifies for
800m semi-finals
Daegu (South Korea): India’s Tintu
Luka made it to the women’s 800m
semi-finals but shot putter Om
Prakash Karhana was eliminated in
the qualifying round of the World
Athletics Championships here on
Thursday. Luka clocked 2:01.89 to
finish sixth in heat number four,
which was enough for her to make it
to Friday’s semi-finals. The 21-yearold
prodigy of legendary P T Usha
has a personal best timing of 1:59.17
which she recorded last year during
the VTB Continental Cup. — PTI
Williams completed a hattrick of golds for
the USA when he won the men’s high
jump with his first attempt at 2.35 metres,
the first USA gold in the event in 20 years.
“We have a great team, with fantastic
talented athletes and they know how to do
well at the big dance,” USA coach Vin
Lananna told reporters.
In the last race on Thursday, Welsh 400
metres hurdler Dai Greene broke the
drought for a British track-and-field team
who will be relieved to have finally got off
the mark less than a year before their
nation will expect them to deliver as
Olympic hosts. “I’m just overwhelmed, I
cannot believe it happened to me,” Greene
told reporters. “I’m so happy with this victory
as now I’m No. 1 in the world.”
Pistorius, who runs on carbon prosthetics
after his lower legs were amputated as
a baby, is redefining athletic achievement
at these championships and, in the scorching
day session, led his 4x400 metres
South African teammates to the final and a
national record. “It is unbelievable to be
one of four names on a list to run a
national record,” the jubilant ‘Blade
Runner’ told reporters.
Pride, too, was written all over the face
of Ezekiel Kemboi who streaked to gold
in the 3,000 metres steeplechase before
setting off on a lap of hip-wiggling,
gyrating celebrations. Kenyans have now
won nine of the 13 world steeplechase
titles. “I am happy to have won,” Kemboi
said, though his smile made the words
redundant. “My friend Usain Bolt was
not in the final and couldn’t dance so I
had to do it for Usain.”
Compatriot Brimin Kipruto won silver
with a bitter Mahiedine Mekhissi-
Benabbad bronze, the Frenchman
believing Kipruto had unfairly denied
him second place. — Reuters
Scoreboard
India
P Patel c Broad b Dernbach 10
A Rahane c Dernbach b Broad 61
R Dravid c Morgan b Bopara 31
V Kohli c K’wetter b Broad 4
R Sharma st K’wetter b Swann 1
S Raina c Broad b Bresnan 33
M S Dhoni c Hales b Dernbach 8
R Ashwin run out 4
P Kumar b Dernbach 1
R V Kumar not out 2
M Patel c K’wetter b Dernbach 0
Extras: (lb-7, w-3) 10
Total: (in 19.4 overs) 165
Fall of wkts: 1/39, 2/104, 3/106,
4/108, 5/117, 6/158, 7/162, 8/162,
9/165
Bowling: Bresnan 4-0-33-1,
Dern bach 3.4-0-22-4, Broad 4-0-
37-2, Patel 3-0-34-0, Swann 4-0-
28-1, Bopara 1-0-4-1
England
A Hales lbw Praveen 0
C K’wetter c Raina b Vinay 18
K Pietersen st Dhoni b Kohli 33
E Morgan c Rohit b Munaf 49
R Bopara not out 31
S Patel not out 25
Extras: (lb-7, w-6) 13
Total: (for 4 wkts in 19.3 overs)166
Fall of wkts: 1/0, 2/58, 3/61,
4/134
Bowling: Praveen 4-0-27-1,
Vinay 3.3-0-35-0, Patel 4-0-25-2,
Ashwin 4-0-37-0, Kohli 3-0-22-1
Rohit 1-0-16-0
MoM: Jade Dernbach
Federer cruises, Venus quits
New York: Third seed Roger
Federer rolled into the third
round of the US Open on
Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
rout of Israel’s Dudi Sela in 1
hour 17 minutes.
Federer was not quite on
top of his game during the
marquee match on Arthur
Ashe, logging 26 unforced
errors, most of which
occurred during his return
games and were very out of
character for one of the best
player in tennis history.
Despite an off-day, the box
score proves that even when
facing a not-so-perfect
Federer, one must have a perfect
match. Federer will next
face either No. 27 Marin Cilic
of Croatia or Bernard Tomic of
Austria in the third round.
The US Open witnessed a
major shock without a ball
being struck in anger on
Wednesday when Venus
Williams quit the tournament
after revealing she was suffering
from an illness that could
threaten her tennis future. The
two-time champion told officials
of her withdrawal from
the tournament less than an
hour before she was due to
face Germany’s Sabine Lisicki
� Roger Federer during his US Open match
at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday. — AFP
in the second round. Then she
dropped the bombshell,
revealing for the first time
exactly what had kept her
recent playing time down to a
bare minimum.
Meanwhile, a dark cloud
appeared over Jelena
Jankovic’s chances to win her
first Grand Slam title when the
world No. 11 injured her back
during a second-round victory
over Jelena Dokic at the US
Open on Thursday. The 2008
US Open finalist received
medical attention several
times during the match but
still managed to advance with
a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at the
National Tennis Center. “I hurt
it in the first set,” said Jankovic.
“I felt a little restricted when I
was hitting my serves and
especially when I had to bend
down when I was waiting to
return her serves.”
Andy Murray, Britain’s
perennial major hope, made a
bright start to his campaign
while Argentina’s Juan Martin
Del Potro enjoyed a successful
return to Flushing
Meadows two years after his
stunning title success.
However, three seeded
women made early exits at
the hands of lower-ranked
players. Marion Bartoli,
Dominika Cibulkova and
Yanina Wickmayer all
departed while the only
male seed to lose was
Nicolas Almagro of Spain,
although sixth seed Robin
Soderling pulled out because
of injury. — Agencies
� South Africa’s
Oscar Pistorius starts
the men’s 4x400 metres
relay heats in Daegu
on Wednesday. — AFP
ball towards the slips where
Clarke dived to his left to take a
low catch. Lyon, who served
on the Adelaide Oval ground
staff until a year ago, then ran
through the tail to justify his
much-criticised selection for
the tour after just four firstclass
matches. He is the 14th
bowler to take a wicket with
his first ball in Tests. — AFP
Scoreboard
Australia
First innings 273
Sri Lanka
First innings
T P’vitana lbw Watson 29
T Dilshan c Ponting b Copeland 4
K S’kara c Clarke b Lyon 10
M J’dene run out 11
T S’weera lbw Watson 26
P J’dene lbw Watson 0
A Mathews b Lyon 5
S Randiv c Ponting b Lyon 9
R Herath c Johnson b Lyon 0
S Lakmal not out 2
C W’gedara c & b Lyon 1
Extras: (lb-4, w-1, nb-3) 8
Total: (in 50 overs) 105
Fall of wkts: 1/4, 2/24, 3/44,
4/87, 5/87, 6/88, 7/100, 8/100,
9/103
Bowling: Harris 8-5-6-0, Cope -
land 12-3-24-1, Johnson 9-1-26-
0, Lyon 15-3-34-5, Watson 6-1-
11-3
Australia
Second innings
S Watson c S’weera b W’gedara0
P Hughes lbw Dilshan 28
R Ponting c Herath b Lakmal 4
M Clarke c Prasanna b Herath 60
M Hussey c Tharanga b Herath15
U Khawaja batting 2
B Haddin c Mahela b Herath 0
M Johnson batting 3
Extras: (lb-2, nb-1) 3
Total: (for 6 wkts in 33.5 overs)115
Fall of wkts: 1/0, 2/5, 3/61,
4/110, 5/110, 6/112
Bowling: W’gedara 3-3-0-1,
Lakmal 5-2-18-1, Herath 12.5-0-
51-3, Randiv 8-2-22-0, Dilshan
5-0-22-1
Indian GP
circuit gets
Whiting’s
thumbs up
Our Correspondent
New Delhi: The Buddh
International Circuit, which
will be hosting India’s
maiden Formula One race,
got the thumbs up from
Formula One race director
Charlie Whiting on Saturday,
for hosting the inaugural
Indian Grand Prix in October.
Whiting spent six hours
on the 5.14km circuit in
Greater Noida, on the outskirts
of the capital, with
officials of the Federation of
Motor Sports Clubs of India
(FMSCI), the apex body of
motorsports in the country,
and race promoters Jaypee
Sports International.
Whiting’s visit was part of
the homologation of the circuit.
He inspected the track
and other technical areas
and appeared happy with
the progress of the work. The
final certification by FIA
(International Automobile
Federation), a common practice
for new circuits, will
happen a week prior to the
race.
FMSCI president Vicky
Chandhok, was at the track
alongside Whiting, said the
Englishman was pleased
with the progress made
since his last visit.
“We spent around six
hours at the track and he
was satisfied. Though this
was a routine inspection, the
track has been cleared for
the race. The progress of
work exceeded his expectations.
There won’t be any
further changes on the track
and the tarmac has also
been laid,” Chandhok said of
the track, which has been
designed to promote overtaking.
JPSI officials were also
happy after the inspection.
“Whiting checked the state
of track services, kerbs, runoff
area, fencing area and
martial’s post besides
inspecting the medical facilities,
the team and the pit
building.
“The work in and around
the track will continue in full
swing and we should complete
everything by the end
of this month,” the promoters
said in a statement.