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THE HINDU DELHI WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020 SPORT 21 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Fiery Mukesh is Bengal’s hero Gujarat has a job on hand Saha in Vasavada notches up his third hundred of the season for final The medium-pacer’s six-for sends to its doom in quick time Amol Karhadkar Special pro Vasavada in confidence. While Priyank Panchal put Correspondent Rajkot Even after Sakariya sacrif­ down a sharp chance at gully Arpit Vasavada has trained iced his after a misun­ off Mankad’s edge to deprive Y.B. Sarangi Test wicketkeeper­ with and lived in the same derstanding while taking a Roosh Kalaria a wicket, Axar KOLKATA batsman Wriddhiman locality as Cheteshwar Puja­ run. Vasavada who was on dropped a regulation catch Mukesh Kumar’s stupendous Saha on Tuesday was ra. On Tuesday, the left­ 49 then didn’t loose his at square­leg off Nagwaswal­ six­wicket haul propelled named in a 16­member handed Vasavada did his composure. la to give Dharmendrasinh Bengal to a 174­run upset win Bengal squad for the more famous mate proud by Jadeja a reprieve. over Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy final to be bailing Saurashtra out of Jani’s dream run The scores: cham­ played from March 9. trouble and virtually sealing With Chirag Jani (51, 143b, Saurashtra — 1st innings: 304. pion Karnataka on the fourth Opener Koushik a berth in the Ranji Trophy 6x4, 1x6) continuing his Gujarat — 1st innings: 252. day of the Ranji Trophy sem­ Ghosh, who picked up final for the second time in dream run, Vasavada en­ Saurashtra — 2nd innings: Har­ ifinal at the an injury, and young succession. sured that the duo kept the vik Desai c Gohel b Gaja 0, Kish­ here on Tuesday. pacer Golam Mostafa Thanks to Vasavada’s scoreboard ticking to take an Parmar c Raval b Gaja 0, Avi have been left out. Mukesh’s career­best six third hundred this season the game away from Gujarat. Barot c Gandhi b Gaja 1, Vish­ does for 61, his second six­wicket (139, 230b, 16x4, 1x6) — a By the time Jani perished waraj Jadeja b Gaja 6, Chetan Sakariya run out 45, Sheldon not feature in the team. performance this season, knock he later termed as to Chintan Gaja off the se­ Jackson c Bhatt b Gaja 0, Arpit The squad: Abhimanyu fast­tracked Bengal’s pro­ “the most important” of his cond new ball, Vasavada had gress to its 14th final, and the Vasavada c Gandhi b Vasavada Easwaran (capt.), Manoj career — Saurashtra extend­ notched up his hundred and Tiwary, first after 2006­07, as a be­ 139, Chirag Jani c Gohel b Gaja ed its second innings into nearly taken Saurashtra to 51, Prerak Mankad c Raval b Ga­ (wk), , low­par Karnataka was dis­ the last hour of the fourth safety. His 434­minute vigil ja 1, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja c (wk), missed for 177. day and set Gujarat a daunt­ was finally over when he Raval b Nagwaswalla 21, Jay­ Sudip Chatterjee, Abhishek Needing 254 runs to win, ing target of 327. perished to Arzan Nagwas­ dev Unadkat () 0; Extras Raman, , Mission accomplished: The Bengal cricketers are a joyous bunch after posting a convincing win Karnataka — which resumed walla’s short­ball ploy as (lb­7, w­3); Total (in 98.4 ov­ Shahbaz Ahmed, Ishan over Karnataka in the semifinal on Tuesday. * PTI at 98 for three – surrendered Early strike Saurashtra’s innings came to ers): 274. Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Shreyan meekly for the second time Jaydev Unadkat an end. Fall of : 1­0, 2­1, 3­4, 4­ back deliveries. K.V. Sidd­ Akash then bowled a hard­ kal c Goswami b Mukesh 62, Ka­ Chakraborty, Nilkantha for a sub­200 total. It man­ then dismissed opener Pri­ 15, 5­15, 6­105, 7­214, 8­222, harth’s outside edge went to hitting run Nair lbw b Mukesh 6, Man­ Das, Agniv Pan (wk) and aged only 79 off 17.3 overs in yank Panchal for a to Butter fingers 9­263. the first slip and S. Sharath to trigger celebrations on the ish Pandey c Goswami b Mukesh Sudip Gharami. less than two hours of play. leave Gujarat at seven for Gujarat, though, had them­ Gujarat : Kalaria 26­11­ was leg­before from superb ground and in the stands. 12, K.V. Siddharth c Abhimanyu 36­0, Gaja 23­6­71­7, Nagwas­ While Bengal’s first in­ one at stumps on the penul­ selves to blame. The pacers’ length. The writing was on A joyous Bengal side b Mukesh 0, S. Sharath lbw b walla 19.4­3­75­2, Bhatt 7­0­ nings bowling hero Ishan Po­ Mukesh 0, K. Gowtham c sub b timate day at the SCA short­ball ploy came too late the wall for the visitors. thanked thousands of fans 24­0, Axar 23­3­61­0. Porel 22, Abhimanyu Mithun b stadium. and butter fingers didn’t rel kept one end tight, Mu­ Gujarat — 2nd innings: Samit A determined Devdutt Pa­ for their whole­hearted sup­ Akash 38, c Abhima­ help their cause. kesh wreaked havoc by Having staged Saurash­ Gohel () 5, Priyank Pan­ Gaurav does it dikkal, starting the day on port over four days. nyu b Mukesh 4, Prasidh Krish­ hitting the right channel and tra’s mini­recovery after tak­ spilling an chal c Dharmendrasinh b Unad­ 50, added 12 more before be­ “Beating a team like Kar­ na (not out) 2; Extras (b­2, claiming five for 28 runs in ing guard at 15 for five on the edge at slip off Sakariya on kat 0, (batting) nataka at home will boost us. lb­2): 4; Total (in 55.3 overs): for Sahgal an unbroken spell of nine coming Mukesh’s victim. third evening along with the third evening turned out 1; Extras (w­1): 1; Total (for one 177. overs. A different angle from We will carry forward this Chetan Sakariya (45, 118b, to be the costliest. Sakariya wkt. in 9 overs): 7. Fall of wickets: 1­0, 2­57, 3­76, NEW DELHI: Gaurav Sahgal round the wicket tricked the confidence to the final,” said 6x4), Vasavada knew his job and Vasavada added 90 Fall of wicket: 1­1. 4­99, 5­103, 6­103, 7­118, 8­ scored five goals as Sahgal Early strike southpaw into edging to the Bengal captain Abhimanyu was far from over. runs. 142, 9­147. Saurashtra bowling: Unadkat Stud­Sona registered a 7 ’keeper. Easwaran. Gujarat dropped two 5­3­6­1, Sakariya 3­2­1­0, Mukesh began with a bang Sakariya continued to bat goals to 2­1/2 victory over The scores: Bengal — 1st in­ Bengal bowling: Porel 19­5­ effortlessly to groom senior more catches on Tuesday. Dharmendrasinh 1­1­0­0. when an unsure Manish Pan­ After Porel removed Gow­ nings: 312. 58­2, Mukesh 21­5­61­6, Akash Artillery in a league match dey feathered to wicketkeep­ tham, Mukesh dismissed Ro­ Karnataka — 1st innings: 122. 11.3­1­44­2, Nandi 4­0­10­0 of the Royalkoas General er Shreevats Gowami in the nit More to claim his fifth Bengal — 2nd innings: 161. Man­of­the­match: Anustup Sparrow Centenary Polo third over of the morning. wicket of the day and sixth of Karnataka — 2nd innings: K.L. Majumdar. Cup at the Army Eques­ In his next over, the medi­ the innings. Rahul lbw b Porel 0, R. Samarth Bengal won by 174 runs to trian Centre, Delhi Canton­ um­pacer struck in back­to­ It was his fourth fiv­for. lbw b Akash 27, Devdutt Padik­ enter the final ment, on Tuesday. In another match, Army Service Corps (ASC) beat TV PICKS Remount and Veterinary Manpreet, Rani in race for HI awards Corps 5­3. NBA: Sony Ten 1 (SD & HD), 6 The results (league): a.m. UTHRA GANESAN have a total prize money Player of the Year (female): Ranji Trophy : Star Sports 1 NEW DELHI worth ₹ 1.30 crores and a , , Sahgal Stud­Sona 7 (Gau­ rav Sahgal 5, Mahesh Sharma (SD & HD) & Star Sports 3, Harmanpreet Singh, Man­ trophy in each section. , . 2) bt Artillery 2 1/2 (Karamat 9.15 a.m. deep Singh, captain Man­ The Major Dhyan Chand Upcoming Player of the Year vs Australia : Ali, handicap 1 1/2). preet Singh and Surender Lifetime Achievement (Under­21 male): Dilpreet 2nd ODI, Sony Six (SD & HD), Army Service Corps 5 Kumar would be vying for Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Man­ 4.30 p.m. Award carries a cash prize of deep Mor, Vivek Sagar Prasad. (Anant Rajpurohit 2, GS boasting rights as the best vs West Indies : ₹ 30 lakh while the Jugraj Upcoming Player of the Year Pandher, Naveen Singh, Ra­ 1st T20I, Sony ESPN (SD & Indian hockey player for the Singh Upcoming Player of (Under­21 female): Lalremsia­ vinder Mang) bt Remount and HD), 6.45 p.m. year 2019 and a purse of ₹ 25 the Year (Men) and Asunta mi, Salima Tete, Sharmila Devi. Veterinary Corps 3 (Vijay FA Cup: Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten lakh at the 3rd Hockey Lakra Upcoming Player of Forward of the Year: Lalit Singh, D. Santosh, Angad 2 & Sony Six (SD & HD), 1 a.m. awards to be held here on the Year (Women) would get Upadhyay, , Holding fort: Arpit Vasavda pulled Saurashtra out of trouble with a vital knock.* VIJAY SONEJI Singh Sandhu). (Thursday). Sunday. cash prizes of ₹ 10 lakh each. Navneet Kaur, Rani Rampal. The nominations for the Individual awards in each Midfielder of the Year: Man­ annual awards were an­ department — best forward, preet Singh, Monika, Neha Arjun enters nounced on Tuesday. While midfielder, defender and Goyal, Vivek Sagar Prasad. the men would be compet­ goalkeeper — carry a cash Defender of the Year: Deep ing for the Dhruv Batra prizes of ₹ 5 lakh each. Grace Ekka, Harmanpreet second round Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Player of the Year (male), The biggest of them among the women, Deep Kumar. Sports Bureau would be the Lifetime Goalkeeper of the Year: Krish­ Grace Ekka, drag­flicker Gur­ Faro (Portugal) Achievement award, to be an Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Rajani jit Kaur, captain Rani and Arjun Kadhe defeated Luis announced on the day of the Etimarpu, Savita Punia. goalkeeper Savita Punia Faira of Portugal 2­6, 6­1, event, carrying a prize purse Jhaman Lal Sharma Award for have been nominated for the 6­0 in the first round of the of ₹ 30 lakh and trophy. Invaluable Contribution: TBA. Player of the Year award. $15,000 ITF men’s Futures The nominees: Player of the President’s Award for Out­ The awards, for excel­ tennis here on Tuesday. Year (male): Harmanpreet standing Achievement: TBA. lence in 2019 and overall The results: Singh, Mandeep Singh, Man­ Lifetime Achievement Award: $15,000 ITF men, Monastir, contribution to the game, preet Singh, Surender Kumar. TBA. Tunisia: First round: Baptiste Crepatte (Fra) bt Adil Kalyan­ pur 6­0, 7­5. Doubles (pre­ quarterfinals): Theo Ambage Gritty Gokulam shares honours with EB & Maxence Broville (Fra) bt Aditya Vardhan Duddupudi & Down to 10 in the second half, the hosts rise to the occasion Nitin Gunduboina 6­0, 6­1. $15,000 ITF men, Faro, Por­ tugal: First round: Arjun I-LEAGUE Kadhe bt Luis Faria (Por) 2­6, P.K. Ajith Kumar 6­1, 6­0. KOZHIKODE $15,000 ITF women, Cairo: Doubles (pre­quarterfinals): They were reduced to 10 for Izabela Gabriela Novac (Rou) nearly half the match, but & Saumya Vig bt Hala Fouad & the Gokulam Kerala men Nada Fouad (Egy) 7­6(3), 3­6, were still able to salvage a [12­10]. point from East Bengal on a warm Tuesday night at the Corporation Stadium. The Indian seniors’ exciting I­League encounter ended in a 1­1 draw. tennis team Gokulam wasted no time in launching relentless at­ announced tacks in the rival half. With Marcus Joseph and Henry Ki­ SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT sekka tirelessly sprinting into NEW DELHI the East Bengal area, a goal didn’t seem too far away. And The All India Tennis Asso­ it came in the eighth minute. ciation (AITA) has selected K.P. Rahul, the under­22 the Indian teams in the ov­ player who started for the er­50 to 60 age groups for first time, deserved a lot of the World team champion­ credit for the goal. He made a ship to be staged in Boca splendid run down the left Raton, Florida, US, from and duped the East Bengal April 26 to May 2. defence before passing the The players have been ball to his captain. Joseph, selected on the basis of from the edge of the box, de­ their international ranking, cided against cutting in and Aerial duel: The East Bengal and Gokulam Kerala players mostly in singles, with the drove the ball firmly into the battle it out in their I­League match. * K. RAGESH odd exception. far post, beating goalkeeper The proficient Nagaraj K. Mirshad. drom Nocha Singh, against The number disadvantage Revanasiddaih, who fi­ Juan Mera Gonzalez, was — 10 against 11 — didn’t stop gures among the top four Fine save deemed bad enough for a pe­ the hosts from going for a se­ nalty. From the spot, Victor cond goal. It never came, in the country in the ov­ Two minutes later, Mirshad Perez Alonso made no mis­ though the team and its pas­ er­55 age group, was a not­ came up with a fine save to take, making it 1­1. sionate fans thought it did. able omission. stop from Joseph scoring The injury­time strike from The team: again. Kisekka could not take There was more action on Lalormawia was ruled Over­50: Gurdarshan Singh advantage of the deflection either side of the ground, but Ramana, Tikam Singh Panwar, off­side. either, much to the relief of there was no change in the Tuleswor Singh Thongbam, The results: the East Bengal camp. scoreline at half­time. K.V. Narayana Murthy At Kozhikode: Gokulam Kerala 1 Gokulam had a setback Over­55: Pawan Jain, Chandra (Marcus Joseph 8) drew with Bhushan, Puneet Kumar Gup­ Striking back shortly after resumption. In East Bengal 1 (Victor Perez ta, Arun Aggarwal. Before long, the Kolkata giant the 49th minute, Nocha was Alonso 23­pen). Over­60: Mayur Vasant Ma­ started to retaliate. In the sent off. In an action replay, At Mumbai: 1 (M. nek, Ajeet Bhardwaj, Rakesh 23rd minute, a tackle inside he was penalised for a tackle Givson Singh 93­pen) drew with Kohli, Bhag Nand Singh Negi. the box by Gokulam’s Hui­ on Gonzalez. Punjab FC 1 (Sanju Pradhan 6). CM A ND-NDE YK