Laxman again became the nemesis: Australian media

Wed, Oct 06 10 11:56 AM

Melbourne, Oct 6 (PTI) A day after Australia suffered a narrow one-wicket loss at the hands of India, the media Down Under agreed that it was their old nemesis VVS Laxman who made all the differences on the final day of the first cricket Test at Mohali. "Very Very Special Laxman again thorn in Australia''s side," a headline in ''Sydney Morning Herald'' said. "Emotions were pitched high. Elephants danced in stomachs as every ball was bowled and a roar greeted every pinched single. Laughter broke out as VVS Laxman, hitherto an iceman, starting waving his arms and berating his partner for lax running between wickets. "One batsman was wrongly dispatched, another was amazingly reprieved and all the while the ground was agog," the report said. The first Test saw a nail-biting finish yesterday as the Hyderabadi batsman battled severe back-pain to single-handedly guide India to a narrow one-wicket victory over the visitors with a gritty unbeaten 73 on the fifth day. "Laxman was the key figure on the final day. All things seem possible whilst he remains at the crease. Australians and tension bring out the best in him. Romps in the park make him appear humdrum. "Here he produced an astonishing array of strokes, pulls played without footwork, caresses through cover, flicks off his hip and all the while he kept his head," said the daily. Laxman cracked eight fours during his 79-ball stay on the middle. Meanwhile, another daily ''The Australian'' blamed captain Ricky Ponting for giving Laxman enough rooms to play his game. "The impregnably brilliant VVS Laxman have combined to deny Australia victory," a report said. "Laxman, who was batting with a runner because of a bad back, farmed the strike as Ricky Ponting offered singles early in the over and attempted to restrict them late. Mix-ups threatened and both sides were at fever point as they knew a single mistake could cost the game. As it probably did," it added. .

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Mohali's great closing ceremony

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 11:46 AM

Laxman, Ishant pull off one of the most exciting Test wins

It just had to be V V S Laxman. Against Australia. Under pressure. On a difficult fifth day wicket. If there was one Indian batsman that Ricky Ponting & Co would have been wary of going into the final day's play, it had to be the man who has sullied their plans on a number of occasions in the past. And Laxman's sore back held up well enough on Tuesday as he led India to one of its greatest and most dramatic Test victories of all time.

Not surprisingly, his unbeaten 73 at the PCA Stadium did evoke comparisons with the epic 281 with which he dragged India out of a deep mire nine years ago at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against the same opposition. But till the final two leg-byes with which India posted their win, there was more drama and certainly many more emotions this time around in Mohali.

And the first Test had reached such a

pitch on Tuesday afternoon that even Laxman managed to lose his customary cool, lashing out at non-striker, No. 11 Pragyan Ojha, for missing out on a single. Seeing the generally laidback Hyderabadi, who batted with a runner throughout his innings, gesticulate wildly at his teammates to finish a risky two was indeed a rare sight; the umpires too seemed to be soaked in by the pressure. Englishman Ian Gould pulled off a howler by giving Ishant Sharma LBW, when the ball was clearly missing the stumps and New Zealander Billy Bowden lost count of the deliveries bowled in a particular over.

Though India had only one wicket left, Australia's final throw of the dice actually came about two deliveries before the eventual finish, when Steven Smith's shy at the stumps missed by a whisker and the ball tragically rolled towards the boundary for four overthrows. No wonder then that Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was a gutted man at the end of the day. And Ponting seemed to express the sentiments of everyone in his team, and even a couple of ex-skippers back home, when he spoke about the Laxman-phobia that his team has developed over the years.

"This loss is more disappointing than the Eden Test, more because I wasn't the skipper then. I was telling my guys last night that Laxman will make a big contribution and that's exactly what happened. I just hope that his back remains stiff till next week and he won't play in Bangalore. We have tried to analyze him in and out but he's really been a thorn in our flesh," said a visibly agitated Ponting after the match. In 25 matches now, Laxman has scored 2,279 runs at 55.58 against the Australians.

Great victories on sporting fields more often than not involve the protagonists making sacrifices and displaying extreme valour in utter adversity. And what added more fervour to the Indian win was the fact that the victory was actually built by two men, Laxman and Ishant Sharma, who had popped in a lot of painkillers in order to bat despite their respective back and knee injuries.

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Somdev enters quarter-finals

Wed, Oct 06 10 11:45 AM

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) India''s top seed Somdev Devvarman breezed into the men''s singles quarterfinals with a thumping 6-0 6-1 win over unseeded Sri Lankan Amresh Jayawickreme in the second round of the tennis competition of the Commonwealth Games. It was not more than a stroll in the park for Somdev as he mowed down the unranked Jayawickreme in just 41 minutes. The Lankan hardly posed a challenge to Somdev and surrendered without any fight. He lost points even when he was in advantageous position in few of the games. He was up 40-0 in the first game but could not pocket it, committing far too many unforced errors, to hand Somdev a break. The India wrapped up the opening set in just 20 minutes. The Sri Lankan, however, managed to hold on to his serve in the first game of the second set to prevent a whitewash. Somdev will next take on the winner of the match between Scotland''s Colin Fleming and Rubin Statham of New Zealand. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are also scheduled to play their singles second round matches today.

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Indians aim for best-ever haul in athletics

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 11:16 AM

The missing star power of the likes of Usain Bolt might have undermined the blue riband status of track and field events in the Commonwealth Games but it promises to be an enthralling affair with home athletes like PT Usha-protege Tintu Luka gearing up to help the country their best ever show in the mega event.

The track and field events begin today at the showpiece Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with two medal events in women's javelin throw final, men's 5,000m race final and para sports women's shot put final.

Other events today are 100m race (men and women) heats, women's 400m race heats, men's shot put preliminary round and women's para sports 100m race heats.

India have won just nine track and field medals, including a gold won by 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh in men's quarter mile or 440 yards race in Cardiff, Wales in 1958.

But this time the country, which is fielding a 110-strong squad, including 52 women, the largest in their history, can look forward to at least six.

In 2006 Melbourne Games, India won two silver - Seema Antil in women's discus throw and women's 4X400 relay.

"This time we have the chance to have the best medal haul in our Commonwealth Games history. We are aiming for six to eight medals. It is a very tough world-class competition in athletics as competitors from Jamaica, Kenya, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa are taking part," Athletics Federation of India Lalit Bhanot said.

India are fielding nine athletes in the men's 100m led by Abdul Najib Qureshi while the women's sprint will have eight runners from the country today with S Geetha and H M Jyothi spearheading the challenge.

They will have a tough task to qualify for the semifinals not to speak of the final with the field still strong for them despite the pull out of some big names.

Historically more than 60 Commonwealth Games champions - both male and female -- have also won Olympic gold, and despite the pull-out of the likes of Bolt, Asafa Powell, Philip Idowu, the Delhi Games will still see 10 of the gold medallists at 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

Jamaican Bolt, the biggest name in athletics, cited a back problem as the reason for his absence while former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell said the the competition came too late in the year.

In the absence of Bolt and Powell in the 100m, European silver medallist Mark Lewis-Francis of England will be the favourite while Jamaica will look to Oshane Bailey.

Africans are set to dominate the 5,000m with Kenyan former world champion Eliud Kipchoge in the field alongside Mark Kiptoo, who has clocked 12:53.46 this year.

India are fielding Sunil Singh and Sandeep Batham in men's 5,000m race and it will be a tall order for them to finish in top five.

South African defending champion Sunette Viljoen is clear favourite to defend her javelin title after throwing an impressive 66.38m this year.

Australia's Kimberley Mickle and England's Laura Whittingham are also both 60m throwers this year. S Saraswathi is the lone competitor for India.

Although the Commonwealth boasts four of the top six women's 100m sprinters in the world in the Jamaican trio of Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser and Kerron Stewart, and Trinidad's Kelly-Ann Baptiste, none of them will be present in Delhi.

Their absence means 2008 Olympic long jump bronze medallist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria and England's Laura Turner are the main challengers for gold.

India is expecting two medals from women's discus throw out of the three in the team -- Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur and national record holder and Melbourne Games silver medallist Seema Antil.

Poonia, who recorded her career best of 63.69m in April in USA, is ranked second among Commonwealth athletes in the International Amateur Athletics Federation list of season's top performers behind defending champion Elizna Naude (64.49m) of South Africa.

World champion and season's leader among Commonwealth athletes, Dani Samuels (65.58m) of Australia has pulled out citing security and health concerns.

Kaur has a season's best of 60.66m which she recorded at Patiala in August while Antil has 60.56m as best this year, much lower than her national record of 64.84 set in 2004.

Naude had won gold in Melbourne with an effort of 61.55m.

Kaur has a personal best of 63.05m which she did six years ago and had done 61.08 in 2008 though in the last two months she has not been able to go past the 61m mark.

In women's 800m, Luka has improved by leaps and bounds in recent months and she broke Shiny Wilson's 15-year-old national record last month in the VTB Bank Continental Cup by running 1:59.17 to finish a creditable fifth.

After a spate of withdrawals, including Beijing Olympics gold medallist and season's leading timer Nancy Jebet Lagat (1:57.75) of Kenya and world champion Caster Semenya of South Africa, Luka is now second among Commonwealth top performers participating in the Games behind Melbourne silver medallist Jamaican Kenia Sinclair (1:58.16).

Other top athletes who have pulled out of 800m include Melbourne gold medallist Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei (1:57.84), Britons Jemma Simpson (1:58.74) and Jennifer Meadows (1:58.88).

Fast improving women jumper Mayookha Johny is another medal hope in both long jump and triple jump. She broke Anju Bobby George's 2002 triple jump national record of 13.67m by clearing 13.68m at the National Inter-State Meet in August.

In long jump, Mayookha's 6.64m is seventh among the season's best Commonwealth performers while she is sixth in triple jump.

Another event in which India can expect a medal is in women's 4X400m relay. The Indian quartet of Rajwinder Kaur, Manjith Kaur, Soman Chitra and Pinki Parmanik had won a silver in Melbourne with an effort of 3:29.57.

Among men, India's medal hopes are mainly on shot putters Om Prakash and Saurabh Vij who was included in the last minute after his provisional suspension for flunking a NADA dope test was lifted.

Vij recently recorded a staggering 20.65m in the Delhi Athletics Championships though his effort was not counted as national record as it came in a state event which did not follow standard rules including dope tests.

The IAAF website though took note of Vij's effort which is below the Commonwealth best of Canadian Dylan Armstrong's 21.58m. Dorian Scott of Jamaica, who won silver in Melbourne four years ago with an effort of 19.75m, is second with season's best of 20.55.

Om Prakash and Great Britain's Carl Myerscough have same 19.99m to be in fifth place in season's best efforts.

Om Prakash, who have a personal best of 20.02m recorded last year in Chennai said he wood look to clear 20.50m for a medal.

"I am looking to clear at least 20.50m which I think should be enough for a medal. Winning gold depends on the performance of other competitors. Armstrong could only have 19.70 in the VTB Bank Continental Cup on Saturday so you never know," he said.

Another athlete who can win a medal is Vikas Gowda in discus throw as he is third in season's top list with his 63.22 in United States in May. The best among Commonwealth athletes this season is 65.83 by Benn Harradine of Australia while Brett Morse of Great Britain had 63.35.

Renjith Maheswari is another medal prospect in men's triple jump which will, however, lose some sheen after the

withdrawal of world and defending champion Philip Idowu of England.

Renjith is now the fifth among the Commonwealth best performers with 17.00m and if he can improve his performance a bit notches up he can be on podium.

Meanwhile Australia, who won 16 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals in track and field in Melbourne in 2006, has a 57-strong team, spearheaded by Commonwealth, Olympic and world pole vault champion Steve Hooker.

They would look to dominate the discipline which is offering 46 gold medals (23 men and 23 women). Despite a depleted squad, Kenya would also look to dominate the middle distance.

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Spain's Aduriz ready to step up against Lithuania

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 10:56 AM

Injury-hit Spain may have to rely on some unfamiliar names including uncapped Aritz Aduriz in their Euro 2012 qualifier against Lithuania on Friday.

Coach Vicente del Bosque called the Valencia striker into his squad on Monday after injuries to forwards Fernando Torres, Pedro and Jesus Navas. The world and European champions are also missing playmakers Xavi and Cesc Fabregas.

Arriving at Spain's training camp outside Madrid on Tuesday, Aduriz, a tall, powerful forward who has been compared to former Wales striker Mark Hughes, said he had been surprised to get the call.

"If they had told me two months ago I would never have believed it," the 29-year-old said on the Spanish soccer federation's website (www.rfef.es).

"I am thinking only about this match, in making a contribution and working as hard as I can," he added ahead of the Group I match in Del Bosque's home town of Salamanca.

Spain began their title defence with a 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein and, even with a number of key players sidelined, should still have more than enough quality to see off Lithuania.

Striker David Villa, joint top scorer at the World Cup with five goals, will be chomping at the bit after missing Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Real Mallorca on Sunday through suspension.

Midfielder Andres Iniesta, who netted the dramatic winner against the Netherlands in the final in South Africa, appears to have shaken off the niggling injuries that plagued him last season and has been in sparkling form for Barca.

HARD WORK

Aduriz's Valencia team mate Pablo Hernandez, who has two appearances and one goal to his name and was also a late addition to the squad, is keen to take the chance thrown up by injuries to other players.

"It's an honour to be with the national team and these players, all the more so after winning the World Cup," Hernandez said on the RFEF website. "Now it's time for the hard work."

Lithuania drew their opening match against Scotland before upsetting Czech Republic 1-0 in Prague and coach Raimondas Zutautas made three changes when he named his squad for the Spain clash at the end of last month.

Goalkeeper Vytautas Cerniauskas replaced Giedrius Arlauskis, Arturas Rimkevicius was picked instead of striker Andrius Velicka and defender Mantas Fridrikas was also given a chance.

"Spain's titles speak for themselves but every general must believe in his troops and I believe we can go there, give a respectable performance and possibly achieve a result," Zutautas said on UEFA's website (www.uefa.com).

Probable teams:

Spain: 1-Iker Casillas; 15-Sergio Ramos, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Carles Puyol, 11-Joan Capdevila; 21-David Silva, 14-Xabi Alonso, 16-Sergio Busquets, 6-Andres Iniesta; 7-David Villa, 19-Fernando Llorente.

Lithuania: 1-Zydrunas Karcemarskas, 2-Deividas Semberas, 3-Ramunas Radavicius, 4-Tadas Kijanskas, 5-Andrius Skerla, 7-Mindaugas Panka, 8-Edgaras Cesnauskis, 9-Tomas Danilevicius, 10-Darvydas Sernas, 13-Saulius Mikoliunas, 23-Marius Stankevicius.

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Athletics track will be ready in time, says venue manager

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 10:36 AM

Staff have worked through the night to make sure the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium is ready for the start of the Commonwealth Games athletics events later on Wednesday, the venue manager said.

"The work will be done by 1400 (local time) this afternoon," Mateen Ahmed told Reuters by telephone. "They (staff) worked through the night, it is all fine."

The eight-day athletics competition begins at 1730 local time on Wednesday.

Ahmed said organisers had expected the work to take this long after a number of alterations were required on the track following Sunday's opening ceremony in Delhi.

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LeBron makes winning debut as Heat cruise past Pistons

Published>Wed, Oct 06 10 10:16 AM

LeBron James and the new-look Miami Heat made their highly anticipated pre-season debut on Tuesday amid plenty of fanfare for a game that has no bearing on the NBA's regular season.

When James went through his pre-game ritual of throwing a handful of powder overhead to create a dusty white cloud, the roar from the anxious home crowd confirmed that business was about to begin.

From the outset it was clear that James was eager to lay down his marker with his new team, even if it came during a meaningless pre-season exhibition game.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter, with the final two coming from a powerful dunk after a fierce spin which he celebrated with a huge wave of his arms as Miami cruised to a 105-89 win over the Detroit Pistons.

The off-season was dominated by James's free agency, his deliberations, his decision and the fallout from the manner in which he handled his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James never looked comfortable off the court, from his much criticised and televised announcement that he was "taking my talents to South Beach", to recent comments that race may have been a factor in the backlash against him, and so the forward has won few friends with his off-season words and actions.

But he still received a warm welcome in Miami where fans are hoping James can lead the team to their first NBA title since 2006.

"You can tell it's an exciting time for this city," James told reporters before the game, and certainly the buzz outside the venue was anything but typical for a pre-season game anywhere, let alone South Florida.

Predictably the car parking prices were up, double in some cases, and it was clear from the crowds waiting for the venue to open that Heat merchandise has been selling well.

It was somewhat surprising that the arena was mostly empty when, 12 minutes before the tip-off, the leading trio of James and fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh ran on to the court with their team mates.

But Miami folk do not count punctuality among their main qualities and the venue soon filled with a crowd that surpassed the number achieved for many regular season games in recent years.

While Heat fans showed their appreciation for James, it was clear that they were made up mostly of longer-term supporters since the biggest cheer of the night was for established Heat player and local boy Udonis Haslem.

The celebratory mood was dampened somewhat when Wade left the game after three minutes with a hamstring injury. He was treated briefly courtside before leaving for further treatment on his right hamstring and he did not return.

The cut short the time Miami's "Big Three" spent together on the court, but LeBron looked like a man who had missed the game during the off-season.

He was aggressive, driving, dunking and scoring 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting, with four assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes before leaving late in the third quarter.

Bosh had a game high 20 points along with six rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes while Wade had two points.

It was a welcome appetizer from James and the new Heat but they know the real business starts Oct. 26 against the Celtics in Boston in what is one of the most highly anticipated NBA season openers in years.

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