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Bengaluru ● Friday ● 19 December 2008
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Karnataka stumble Indian football turns the corner after Gautam ton A sport that was languishing in the country got the much-needed boost when India won the AFC Challenger Cup and also made it to the final of the SAFF Cup. To cap it, Argentine Maradona’s visit was the perfect inspiration for an eventful year
BY P.L. ARAVIND BENGALURU
Dec 18: A youngster, just one match old, showed great composure and maturity which the rest of his experienced teammates failed to display and Karnataka paid the price for it. C.M. Gautam, into his second Ranji match, scored a well-grafted century, after which Karnataka lost a flurry of wickets and allowed the advantage slip through their hands. After the 22-year-old’s fine knock, Karnataka lost their last five wickets for a mere eight runs as they folded up for 252 against Maharashtra on day one of their Super League encounter on Thursday. C Raghu’s breakthrough in the last over the day provided some consolation for the hosts with Maharashtra being placed at 35/1 at stumps. Requiring just a first innings lead to book a berth in the quarters, Karnataka looked to be on course when they chose to bat. Coming in at the fall of opener K.B. Pawan, Gautam grew in confidence and he had his skipper for company. Robin Uthappa looked good during his 57-ball 36, until he stepped out to left-arm spinner Salil Agarkar and attempted to play against the spin only to be stumped. With Agarkar extracting appreciable amount of spin and the odd ball bouncing at times, Gautam took his time to adjust to the conditions. But once he got his eye in, he rarely looked like a newcomer and batted fluently. He stepped down the wicket to Bangladesh’s leftarm tweaker Enamul Haque (Jr) and lofted him for a six. Most of the time Gautam got to the pitch of the ball and when dropped short, he leaned back to cut. Gautam was involved in two crucial partnerships: First he added 66 runs for the third wicket with Raghu, who played the sweep to good effect and later stitched together 98 runs for the fifth wicket with Deepak Chougule. Gautam and Chougule threatened to run away with the match but, with the scoreboard reading 224, Chougule was found short
ranji round-up At Vadodara: Baroda I innings 201 for 1 in 90 overs ( SS Parab 108 n.o, AA Bilakhia 65 n.o) vs Andhra At Mumbai: Punjab I innings 202 allout in 66.1 overs (U Kaul 34, A Kakkar 67, C Madan 29, RP Verma 2/29, U.R Malvi 2/44, R.A Shaikh 4/50) vs Mumbai I innings: 90 for 1 in 19 overs (VR Samant 35 n.o, A.M Rahane 53 n.o) At Bhubaneswar: Orissa I innings 162 allout in 86 overs (P Patel 31, N Behera 49, SK Trivedi 2/31, 6/53) vs Gujarat I innings 5 for no loss in 5 overs. At Jaipur: Rajasthan I innings: 197 for 2 in 84 overs (V.A Saxena 71, Kuldeep Singh n.o 71) vs Delhi. At Rajkot: Saurashtra I innings: 133 allout in 52.3 overs (JN Shah 27,S.D Jogiyani 38, SM Shoaib 2/32, Ashwin Yadav 3/19, AS Shanker 3/28) vs Hyderabad 112 for 6 in 33 overs (D.B Ravi Teja 35, SA Quadri 25 n.o, BM Jadeja 6/27). At Chennai: Tamil Nadu 295 for 4 in 90 overs (A. Mukund 129 n.o, K.D Karthik 113, Parida 2/48) vs. Railways.
BY MAXIN MATHEW
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C.M Gautam celebrates his century against Maharashtra on Thursday. PHOTO: R. Samuel
of the crease in an attempt to steal a cheeky single. Not once did Gautam push at the ball and that proved to be his strength. The only moment when he lost his concentration was in his 80s when he attempted to reverse sweep. The youngster completed his maiden hundred with a single off leg-spinner Deepak Shilamkar. At 236/5 Karnataka appeared comfortable. Eight runs later, Gautam was trapped in front of the wicket by mediumpacer Samad Fallah. His exit in the 72nd over
SCOREBOARD Karnataka (1st innings): K B Pawan c R Motwani b S Fallah 7 (37m, 28b, 1x4); Robin Uthappa st R Motwani b S Agarkar 36 (73m, 57b, 5x4); C M Gautam lbw b S Fallah 108 (236m, 198m, 10x4, 1x6); C Raghu b S Agarkar 27 (61m, 47b, 4x4); Sunil Joshi c K Jadav b S Agarkar 4 (3m, 3b, 1x4); Deepak Chougule (run out) 39 (98m, 90b, 4x4); Thilak Naidu lbw b Fallah 6 (37m, 20b); B Akhil c G Gaikwad b Enamul Haque 1 (4m, 3b); R Vinay Kumar c Enamul Haque b S Fallah 6 (37m, 26b); N C Aiyappa c A Shriknade b Enamul Haque 1 (17m, 12b); K P Apanna (not out) 0; Extras: (b-3, lb-2, nb-12) 17. Total: (all out, 80 overs) 252.
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-55, 3121, 4-125, 5-223; 6-244; 7-245; 8-245, 9-246. Bowling: Samad Fallah 14-1-474; Mundeep Mangela 9-2-19-0; Salil Agarkar 25-5-87-3; Enamul Haque 23-7-40-2; Ganesh Gaikwad 5-0-32-0; Deepak Shilamkar 4-0-22-0. Maharashtra (1st innings): Harshad Khadiwale (batting) 23 (41m, 45b, 4x4); Rohan Bhosale b C Raghu 8 (41m, 30b); Extras: (b4) 4. Total: (for one wicket, 12.3 overs) 35 Fall of wickets: 1-35. Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 2-0-8-0; N C Aiyappa 1-0-7-0; Sunil Joshi 5-2-5-0; K P Apanna 4-1-10-0; C Raghu 0.3-0-1-1.
saw colossal crowds in their thousands thronging the stadiums at Kolkata. The advent of Bob Houghton, who succeeded Syed Nayeemuddin as national coach in June 2006, sparked a rebirth. With a rigid and meticulous training regime, Houghton’s boys set out on a mission to regain lost glory for the nation and for the sport in the country. If 2007 was memorable for India’s stupendous Nehru Cup victory, 2008 was even better. In August this year, a valiant India trounced Tajikistan 4-1 to
FOOTBALL clinch the AFC Challenger Cup. After a long span of 24 years, the Indians have rocketed into the continent’s biggest tournament — the AFC Asian Cup — to be held in Qatar in 2011. India also put up an
impressive performance in the South Asian Football Federation Cup in Maldives, though the end result was heart-breaking as they lost to the home team by a solitary goal in the final. The year 2008 also saw football legend Argentine Diego Maradona make his way to the country’s shores. It was a momentous occasion for the Kolkatans and the football-crazy city erupted in joy. The reception and the welcome moved Maradona so much that he insisted he would come back for another visit. Coming from someone
Houghton is a terrific inspiration for us The year that was... SUNIL CHHETRI International footballer
I
f there has ever been a dream run for Indian football, it has been this year. I have always believed that if one puts in the requisite hard work and dedication, success never fails you. And true to that, football has seen a tremendous upsurge this year. I had been playing for the JCT football club till 2007 and scored eight goals for them in the I-
league, finishing a commendable third. This season, I have signed up with East Bengal, a good side with a big fan-following. There was no problem with JCT and it’s just that I had been with them for three years and was dying for a change. Riding on our scintillating maiden Nehru Cup victory last year, we took part in the South Asian Football Federation Cup in Maldives. We won all our group stage matches and kept the momentum going till the final, where we unfortunately failed to click. What was more saddening was the criticism we got when we came back home. Heavy lambasting by media and officials hurt our morale and this was where Bob’s expertise saved us from depression.
We soon went to Portugal for training and to play a few friendlies. Bob Houghton was a terrific inspiration for us in keeping the team together, in both spirit and game. This crucial break helped us clinch the AFC Challenger Cup, our biggest victory in recent times. I scored a hat-trick in the final, which will always remain the most cherished moment in my career. I had been approached by some foreign clubs this year, including Leeds United, but since India’s FIFA ranking is outside the top 70, chances of my making it were tough. In 2009, we have some friendlies against Hong Kong and UAE among others, and hopefully it should be a good year for us. As told to Maxin Mathew
England can hit back BY RAVI SHASTRI
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ricket is a funny game so I am not one of those who would rule England completely out of the second Test. They had pushed India hard at Chennai and actually declared and set the hosts a target — a sign that they had actually called the shots till fourth evening. A couple of freak dismissals and who knows how Chennai would have looked to us. Chennai though did underscore that Dhoni’s men are now masters of great escapes. It happened in Ben-
galuru against Australia when Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh had bailed India out; and in Mohali when Sachin and Sourav
hauled the boat from turbulent waters to high seas; and in Nagpur when India had appeared in a mess on the fourth evening. Chennai in many ways was no different. All this is enough to kindle interest in Mohali. England can actually do what they did on their 2006 tour: Trail by a Test and then square it up like they did in Mumbai. They have the batsmen to build on the success of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood. Kevin Pietersen isn’t the kind to lie low for long. Unfortunately, this contest could take a hit from weather. —TCM
Jeev off to a poor start Bangkok, Dec. 18: After the high of winning the Nippon Series JT Cup, Jeev Milkha Singh hit a low this week at the Volvo Masters as the Chandigarh golfer returned a card of four-over 76 in the opening round to lie tied 65, even as compatriot Gaurav Ghei emerged the best Indian in the season-ending Asian Tour event here on Thursday. Birdies eluded an out-of-practice
Regd. No. SDHO/8/2006-08 Published by Raja Vishnu Mohan on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited from 22, Campbell Road, Austin Town, Bangalore-560 047 and Printed by him at Deccan Chronicle Press at 177/178/179, Jigani Link Road, Bommasandra Industrial Area, Anekal Taluk, Bangalore-560 099. Editor: A.T. Jayanti RNI Registration No.KARENG/2008/24762
with the score reading 244, opened the floodgates as the lower order batsmen lasted just 8.4 overs, adding just eight runs. In the morning Karnataka brought in K.P. Appanna for Sunil Raju. The left-arm spinner appeared to get enough turn when Maharashtra batted. He was unlucky not to have scalped Roshan Bhosale as Vinay Kumar failed to hold on to a tough chance at mid-on. On a track like this, Sunil Joshi and Appanna hold the key to Karnataka’s quarterfinal hopes.
ootball has always enjoyed a spectacular audience, with world governing body FIFA estimating close to a 280-million viewership across the globe. But in a country of one billion with a bunch of clubs and leagues in tow, Indian football has hardly seen resurgence. That is, until now. If one goes by history, India has had a glorious past in the sport. For over a decade, India was a phenomenal force in Asia from 1951-64, winning the Asian Games gold twice in 1951 (Delhi) and 1962 (Jakarta). The 1956 Melbourne Olympics saw India become the first Asian nation to reach an Olympic semifinal. However after the 1960’s, the golden era of football saw a steady decline. India never qualified for the Olympics and the World Cup has remained a distant dream. Dormancy slowly eroded the spirit of football in the country. In an attempt at revival, the All India Football Federation launched the National Football League in 1997. However, poor marketing and unprofessional attitude became the primary reasons for the league failing to catch the public’s interest. The only solace came from the intense rivalry between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, whose matches
who is arguably the best, it was indeed fulsome praise. The Kolkatans basked in the praise. Maradona was on a two-day visit to inaugurate the Indian Football School in Kolkata. Prior to that German Oliver Kahn had also visited Kolkata along with the Bayern Munich team. Kahn’s Bayern played an exhibition match against Mohun Bagan, the German’s last game in international football. Though many, including Houghton, argued that Indian footballers benefited from the money splurged on these superstars, organisers believed that their visit would inspire many to take up the sport and help its growth. At the grassroot level, renowned clubs such as Manchester United and Arsenal have begun their hunt for unnoticed, talented youngsters who can be groomed and given international exposure. Bengaluru had its share of joy when three lads were chosen to represent India at the Arsenal International Soccer Festival, and they came back triumphant with the prestigious Plate Cup. Recent achievements have thoroughly awakened Indian football from its slumber and hopefully in the coming years, Team India’s joga bonito or beautiful football may turn the attention of a cricket-crazy country to the most popular sport in the world.
Gaurav Ghei
Jeev as he stumbled thrice at the third, fourth and sixth hole in his front nine and took the turn at three-over. In contrast, Ghei had a rollercoaster ride as he dropped as many as five birdies against three bogeys to card a two-under 70 to be tied eighth. Ghei started off well, sinking a birdie in the second but stumbled in the next before following it up with a birdie brace to take the turn at two-under. On resumption, his two birdies in his 13th and 17th hole were negated by bogeys on the 11th and 18th hole. Compatriots SSP Chowrasia and Shiv Kapur carded an identical one-under 71 to lie tied 14th while senior pro Jyoti Randhawa was tied 41st with a card of oneover 73. Among other Indians in the fray, amateur golfer Rashid Khan (72), carded an evenpar 72 to share the 22nd spot with Gaganjeet Bhullar (72). Further three strokes down is Digvijay Singh (75) at tied 56 while last-minute inclusion Rahul Bakshi (76) shared tied 65th spot with Jeev. At the top, Australian Neven Basic blasted a six-under 66 to grab the lead while Lin Wen-tang (68) of Chinese Taipei and Adam Blyth of Australia were two strokes behind. — PTI
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