Ind v/s Aus: 3rd Test
India relied on an inspired display by their bowlers who skittled out Australia cheaply to put the the team in the driver’s seat with a substantial 118-run first innings lead in the third cricket Test here on Thursday.
The visitors were dismissed for 330 in the first innings but hit back brilliantly by bundling out the hosts for a paltry 212 to gain the upper hand on a bouncy WACA track.
The Indians were 52 for one in the second innings and had extended their overall lead to 170 runs at close on an action-packed second day which was dominated by the visitors.
Paceman Rudra Pratap Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 4 for 68 while Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and skipper Anil Kumble chipped in with two wickets apiece to plot a dramatic Australian collapse.
The hosts were gasping at 61 for five at one stage before Andrew Symonds (66) and Adam Gilchrist (55) salvaged the situation to some extent with a 102-run sixth wicket partnership.
The partnership, which was assuming dangerous proportions, was finally brought to an end by Kumble who in the process became the first Indian to scalp 600 Test wickets and the third in the world after Muttiah Muralitharan (723) and Shane Warne (708).
It was a remarkable exhibition by the Indian bowlers who managed to extract a lot of swing from the pacy WACA track to rip through the strong Australian batting line-up.
Brief scores: India 330 and 52 for 1 (Virender Sehwag batting 29, Irfan Pathan batting 2; Stuart Clark 1-7)
Australia: Ist innings: 212 all out.
India second innings:
Wasim Jaffer c Hussey b Clark 11 Virender Sehwag batting 29 Irfan Pathan batting 2 Extras (LB-2, NB-6, W-2) 10
Total (For one wicket in 11 overs) 52
Fall of wicket: 1-45.
Bowling: Lee 4-1-14-0, Johnson 2-0-14-0, Clark 3-1-7-1, Tait 2-0-15-0.
V. V. S. Laxman (R) raises his bat on completing his century as teammate Gautam Gambhir looks on during the second day of the third Test match between India and Australia at Feroj Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on October 30, 2008.
Gautam Gambhir plays a shot during the second day of the third Test match between India and Australia at Feroj Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on October 30, 2008.
Brett Lee(R) congratulates Gautam Gambhir(L) after his double century during the second day of the third Test match between India and Australia at Feroj Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi.
V. V. S. Laxman plays a shot on the second day of their third test cricket match against Australia in New Delhi.
India Vs Australia :: Test 3 :: Delhi :: Day-2
Honours were even on the first day till that point when the battler, Gautam Gambhir and the magician, V. V. S. Laxman started their act. Up until then, serial-spitter Ricky Ponting, embattled Brett Lee, talent-limited-and-yet-overly-talkative Shane Watson, offensively-aggressive Simon Katich, tour-passenger Cameron White and weed-killer Matthew Hayden seemed to have the measure of the Indians.
Two early wickets of the batting wizard Sehwag and the Zen-like Dravid meant that the burly and unruly Australian hunting-pack saw a door open. After the mauling that this pack had received to their collective backsides at Mohali, it was fascinating to see this hunting-pack once again circling, like vultures eyeing a dead animal. However, that door was shut initially by the mercurial and saintly Tendulkar. Once the battler Gambhir and the magician Laxman got together though, the key to that door had been lost by the confused, haggard and paralysed, yet defiant and aggressive Australian pack who continued to hunt for their prey as only hunting dogs can.
Phew! I can’t keep up this act any longer! It is hard working being a Conn, I tell you! The above paragraphs are in reference to an earlier article on this blog.
I’ll return to normal programming now!
The 2nd days’ play of the Delhi Test match is a few hours away yet. It should be a fascinating days’ play. Unlike some reports that have India way out in front, I believe that this match has many a twist left in it yet. The only disadvantage Australia has, at this stage, is that it does not have a quality spinner in its midst. Leaving out Jason Krejza and then bowling Cameron White, the preferred first-choice spinner just 4 overs was a folly, in my view.
If Australia can take a few quick wickets early on day-2 and get stuck into the Indian tail, it could be all over in a hurry. The ask would be for Australia to then bat long and hard and only once in this match! It is a hard ask. But it is certainly possible. If not, Australia would have to face quite a few overs of spin from Anil Kumble, Amit Mishra and Virender Sehwag and, on a pitch that is already offering some slow turn and variable bounce, the going will be tough for the Australians.
Its time to whip out that cliche again: The first session of day-2 is going to be crucial for both teams! The new ball is only 3 overs old and so the early morning seam could do the trick for the visitors. India, meanwhile, will be looking at a score of 400-420. Any 1st innings score in that range will be a good one on this pitch, I feel. This Kotla pitch looks very similar to the one Pakistan played in last year and in that match, 276 was the highest score in the match by either team!
Session-1:
Last night, I was thinking about the last time Australia played India at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. That was in 1996 in what was to be the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The inaugural edition of the BGT was a one-match series! If I remember correctly, Australia was on its way back home after a tour of Pakistan? I could be wrong here. Anyway, I thought about that match because India had a D. Johnson playing for it, just as Australia have an M. Johnson playing in the ongoing Test match at the Kotla!
The one thing that stays in my mind from that match, above all else, was the wild slash that Michael Slater had in the second innings to a wide ball from the Indian Johnson to be caught brilliantly by Mohammed Azharuddin in the slips. Yesterday, we had Dravid slashing wildly to a ball from the Australian Johnson to be brilliantly caught by Matthew Hayden in the slips. Although Slater had made an impressive 44 in the 1st innings of that Test match, that irresponsible second innings slash by Slater — when facing a huge 1st Innings deficit — was widely reported to be the start of the end for the talented Michael Slater. One hopes that a similar fate does not befall Rahul Dravid!
I just don’t know how that India team won that inaugural BGT with players like opener Vikram Rathour (with wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia for company, who, incidentally had a fabulous game with bat and gloves to be named Man of the Match), left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, pace-man (debutant) David Johnson and off-spinner Ashish Kapoor against an Australian team that boasted several modern-day greats! Again, in that game, the weak Australian spinners let them down with Brad Hogg — on his debut, for Australia I think — and Peter McIntyre — perhaps on his 2nd or 3rd match. Both Ashish Kapoor (4 Tests) and David Johnson (2 Tests) would play only one more Test for India before being discarded. Yet, India won thanks to Anil Kumble!
Indeed, I remember reading at that time that an Australian player had one look at the pitch and said, “How come India is going in with only 3 spinners?“, to which an Indian journalist walking by said, “Actually one would do!“
Peter Roebuck writes eloquently about that game.
Anyway, back to the game now…
Australia started with two slips and a gully for Brett Lee, who started by rapping Laxman on the pads and went on to complete a good maiden over! There was just a slight hint of movement here for the Australian bowlers to exploit. At the other end Lee’s bowling partner was Stuart Clark, who had impressive figures of 21-8-29-0 at the start of the days’ play!
In the second over of the day, Gautam Gambhir got his 150; a splendid effort from this young Indian battler. And soon after, India’s 300 was brought up by a Laxman tickle to the 3rd man fence and soon after, the 150 of the Gambhir-Laxman was brought up.
What was happening on day-2 was a repeat of day-1 by Gautam Gambhir and Laxman. Balls that were short of a good length and wide of off-stump were left alone — and there were plenty of those — while the straighter balls were played competently. In that sense, the new ball was being somewhat wasted by the Australians. In the 6th over of the days’ play, the fielders were already spread to all parts of the field. This wasn’t the start that the Australian doctor had ordered!
From a strategy point of view, what was more confusing was that instead of bowling it full and allowing for seam movement, the Australians moved to what they do best when under pressure — even shorter stuff. They used to call this “Chin Music” under an earlier Australian dressing-room phraseologist. This was, in my view, the wrong way to bowl at the Kotla, especially early on in the morning when the ball can seam a bit. I would not be totally surprised if the Indian bowlers use the conditions better.
The first hour had again yielded only 13 overs in which India had scored 46 runs without the loss of any wickets. Laxman was on 85 off 136 balls and Gambhir was on 161 off 322 balls. The partnership was worth 185 runs off 50.1 overs at a rate of 3.68. This was good going from the Indians. They seemed keen to grind out the new ball and that was just what was required.
India beat SriLanka Match Photos
Suresh Raina raises his bat to the crowd after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during the third ODI match between Sri Lanka and India at the R. Peremadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 24, 2008.
India clinch ODI series match photos
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2ndR) celebrates with teammates as India defeated Sri Lanka by 46 runs in the fourth ODI between the teams.
Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine’ photos
Silver medalist Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine (L), gold medallist Nataliia Dobrynska of Ukraine (C) pose with bronze medallist Hyleas Fountain of the U.S. after competing in the women’s heptathlon in the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 16, 2008.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt Photos
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt blows a kiss following the men’s 100m final at the ‘Bird’s Nest’ National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 16, 2008.
Anju Bobby George Photos
Anju Bobby George competes during the women’s long jump qualification round at the ‘Bird’s Nest’ National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 19, 2008. (AFP Photo/Adrian Dennis) 20 Aug, 2008
ICC chief Morgan condemns IPL-SLC deal
A five-member SLC delegation is travelling to India next week to finalise the deal after the Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge has given the go ahead.
Under the deal, SLC will release the Lankan players for IPL which in turn would pay USD 40 million to cash-strapped SLC as guarantee money it will forfeit due to cancellation of the Two-test series in England in May next year.
‘Daily Telegraph’ quoted Morgan as condemning the deal, which, if ratified by the BCCI, would force the abandonment of Sri Lanka’s Test series in England.
A report in the newspaper said the deal for the long-term release of Lankan players to the IPL was “quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka’s signed agreement with the ECB”.
“Morgan pointed out that only last month the ICC reaffirmed the primacy of Test cricket with the unanimous agreement of all Full Members,” the report said.
“Everyone signed up to the order of priorities, starting with ICC events like the World Cup. In second place come events under the FTP,” it added.
Sri Lanka’s tour is due from April 21 to May 30, while the second season of IPL is scheduled for April 10-May 25.
The series clashes with the latter stages of the IPL and a number of players in the Lankan squad such as captain Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara have signed lucrative contracts to play in the IPL.
Motor racing-Bourdais tells Massa to open his eyes
FUJI, Japan, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Formula One rookie Sebastien Bourdais accused Ferrari’s Felipe Massa of careless driving after colliding with the Brazilian at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The Toro Rosso driver was penalised after touching wheels with Massa, causing him to spin, and after the race was handed a 25-second penalty dropping the Frenchman from sixth to 10th.
Massa, who had himself been given a drive-through penalty during the race for shunting McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on lap two, was promoted from eighth to seventh as a result.
“I did everything I could not to run into him,” complained Bourdais. “He just squeezed and turned and behaved like I didn’t exist, like I wasn’t there. What am I supposed to do?”
Bourdais and Massa brushed each other as the Toro Rosso emerged from the pits on lap 51. The Brazilian tried to overtake on the outside only to spin after the cars made contact.
Bourdais was furious that race stewards blamed him instead of Massa, who is now just five points behind Hamilton in the world championship with two races left.
“For me it’s very clear. Yes, I exit the pits, yes I’m supposed to be careful and I was,” he said. “I stayed inside and I didn’t push him out, I didn’t overshoot the corner.
“It’s just a little bit of respect. You give each other room and then everything goes right but if you don’t, there’s going to be an incident.”
India restrict Australia in tense fourth day
BANGALORE, India (AP) — Shane Watson and Brad Haddin shared a crucial 65-run partnership on Sunday to carry Australia to 193-5 in their second innings and a lead of 263 going into the final day of the first Test against India.
Ishant Sharma, center, celebrates with India teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni after dismissing Michael Clarke.
India’s in-form bowling attack made the visitors work hard and looked as though they could have finished the fourth day with the upper hand when three wickets fell for 29 runs midway through the final session — reducing Australia to 128-5.
But Watson hit 32 not out and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin added an unbeaten 28 to ease some of the pressure after Australia had struggled initially to build a potentially match-winning total.
Australia, who took a 70-run advantage after dismissing India for 360 in the morning session, found scoring extremely tough in the face of some probing bowling on an increasingly difficult surface at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The tourists crawled through the middle session, making just 65 runs, and lost their way after the break until the Haddin-Watson recovery.
First-innings century-maker Michael Hussey looked comfortable until he was bowled for 31 after leaving a Harbhajan Singh delivery from around the wicket.
His dismissal followed Michael Clarke’s departure for six when the vice-captain drove at a wide, slower ball from Ishant Sharma and was caught at cover by Virender Sehwag.
Opener Simon Katich, who took the place of Phil Jaques for this match, assumed the anchor role for the visitors and spent 140 balls crawling to a painstaking 34 before jabbing a rising Harbhajan delivery to V.V.S Laxman at silly point.
Spinner Harbhajan returned figures of 2-76 while the dangerous Sharma had 2-27 from 12 excellent overs.
Captain Ricky Ponting followed his 123 in the first innings with 17, falling victim to a vicious five-over spell from Sharma in the middle session. Sharma hit Ponting on the glove, troubled him with swing and variable bounce, and removed him with a straight ball that was chipped to Laxman at short mid-wicket.
Matthew Hayden was the first to fall after lunch when he was trapped lbw on 13 to a fine inswinger from Khan that left Australia at 21-1.
A worry for India was a right-shoulder injury to captain Anil Kumble, who stayed off the field for most of the middle session. Kumble, who is 38 on Friday, bowled only seven overs late in the day.
In the morning, Khan hit a dogged, unbeaten half-century when India resumed the day on 313-8. The tailenders frustrated the visitors for 85 minutes before Clarke finally bowled No. 11 Sharma for six.
Top-scorer Khan brought up his second Test half-century from 106 deliveries and was 57 not out when the innings ended.
Mitchell Johnson was the pick of Australia’s bowlers with figures of 4-70, but he was unable to gain a breakthrough on the fourth morning and missed his first five-wicket haul.
Watson, playing in his fourth Test, also impressed with 3-43 and Clarke captured 2-38.
Gill & Mawhinney join 2018 board
Manchester United boss David Gill and Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney have joined England’s 2018 World Cup board.
The Football Association confirmed the pair will be part of the team that hope to bring the 2018 World Cup to England.
“I am delighted we have established an outstanding team of board members,” said FA chairman Lord Triesman.
World governing body Fifa will announce the timetable and bidding process to host the 2018 World Cup this month.
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The recruitment for the England 2018 chief executive and chief operating officer is ongoing and those appointments will also sit on the board.
The Prime Minister’s ambassador and former Minister for Sport Richard Caborn will provide support for the new board but will not have voting rights.
Lord Triesman said: “I am confident this team will put together a bid which exceeds Fifa’s requirements and expectations by making the best possible case for a World Cup in England.”
Meanwhile Triesman has come under criticism for refusing to invite Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore onto the board.
The criticism aimed at Triesman has come from Jack Warner, a Fifa vice-president and also head of Concacaf, the North, Central American and Caribbean federation.
“A guy like Richard Scudamore, with his knowledge, would be an asset,” the 65-year-old told the Observer newspaper.
“And, if I was advising Lord Triesman, then there are also several others things I think he should have done some months ago.”
Triesman openly criticised Scudamore at the Leaders in Football Conference held at Stamford Bridge recently.
The FA chairman is unhappy with Scudamore for the ‘£3bn debt’ he claimed is currently owed by the 20 Premier League clubs.
Tigers rip through Ospreys
Leicester battered Ospreys into submission, emerging 12-6 victors in a bruising Heineken Cup encounter at Welford Road on Saturday.
Despite a much improved second half, the Welsh superstars were unable to recover from the Tigers’ onslaught in the opening 40 minutes of their Pool 3 clash.
A blistering opening five minutes saw the game switch from end to end to end, although Leicester appeared the more aggressive, putting together a series of devastating attacks.
Toby Flood looked razor sharp and went close to delivering an early shock, coming in off the angle at pace to scythe through the Osprey defence before being brought down seven yards out.
Two minutes on and it was the pack that was battering away at the visitors yards from their line and it was only some fierce defending that prevented Martin Corry from crossing.
Leicester’s relentless pressure on the paid off in the eighth minute when the visitors were caught offside almost in front of the posts
Toby Flood stepped up and slotted an easy penalty to put the first points on the board and give the hosts a 3-0 lead.
Wayne Rooney returns to ‘golden boy’ form for England
For Wayne Rooney, it was the ultimate game of two halves. For 45 minutes on Saturday, his frustration appeared to be mounting and he looked on the brink of doing something daft.
Yet in the second-half, he scored twice and was transformed back into the player that Sven-Goran Eriksson singled out as England’s “golden boy” when he departed as manager more than two years ago. So what changed? Put simply, it was the formation of Fabio Capello’s team.
Rooney began to the left of a three-pronged attack alongside Emile Heskey and Theo Walcott, but then moved into his preferred position as a central, deeper lying striker as England reverted to a 4-4-2 system.
“It was two different roles,” said Rooney, who was candid about where he would prefer to play. “I can get on the ball a lot more in the middle and it’s better to play. But if the manager wants me to play left, then I’m prepared to do so.”
Rooney’s international form has been the subject of much conjecture but he has now scored three goals over the past month in England’s last two games. It certainly stands in stark contrast with the ratio of his three previous competitive goals which were spread over more than four years and some 20 matches.
For Manchester United, Rooney has also come into form with three goals in three games and he now admits that he is seeking greater consistency.
“When I play for United, it’s always been that I tend to score in spurts,” he said. “It’s always been they come all at once and then a little break and then they come again.”
Rooney is also acutely aware that his recent mini-spree at international level means that he is getting closer to the recognised benchmark of a goal in every other game with 17 from his 47 England appearances.
“I wouldn’t say my record is too bad at international level, it’s just outside one in two,” he said. “It’s not as though it’s one in four or one in five. I’ve always said my game is not all about goals and I’m pleased with my record and how I’ve been playing.”
Rooney’s selfless style and importance to England’s chances of progressing to the later stages of the 2010 World Cup is particularly noted by his team-mates.
“For England to be where we want them to be, we need Wayne Rooney at his best,” said Frank Lampard. “Wayne sometimes loses out because he’s unselfish. When he’s at his best, he scores and makes assists, works hard and does everything. Wayne, like that, is massive for us.”
Jermain Defoe was also able to justify his controversial selection in preference to Michael Owen by scoring England’s fifth goal during his brief appearance as a substitute.
“It’s a good feeling to get in ahead of Michael,” said Defoe. “He’s a player I have always looked up to. He’s a great goalscorer with a record that speaks for itself. I believe that if I get chances, I’ll score.”
Jwala Gutta bags double in Bulgarian GP
Jwala Gutta clinched the women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles at the Bulgarian Grand Prix badminton tournament in Sofia on Sunday.
Jwala first combined with V Diju to win a successive Grand Prix title. They defeated the fifth seeded Indonesian pair of Fran Kurniawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati to clinch the mixed doubles title.
The Indian duo overcame initial hiccups and rallied to pip the Indonesian pair 15-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a 45-minute contest.
The pair had won the Bitburger Grand Prix mixed doubles title in Saarbruecken, Germany [Images], last week, which catapulted them to World No 55 in the latest ranking.
There was more good fortune for the 25-year-old Jwala. She paired with Shruti Kurian to thump the second seeded Indonesian duo of Irawati and Meiliana Jauhari in straight-games to bring home her second title of the day.
The world No 26 pair, which also has the distinction of winning the National doubles crown seven times, spanked Irawati-Jauhari 21-11, 21-19 in just 28 minutes.
Jwala said she was very happy on the twin triumph and gave credit to her coach S M Arif.
“I am very excited, very happy and I want to thank my coach S M Arif for his constant support,” she said.
“We lost the first game. I was actually not at my best but Diju played really beautifully. We decided we won’t go into defensive mode and kept attacking, which eventually paid off,” Jwala added.
However, Jwala says it was her performance in the doubles match that was more satisfying.
“But the doubles match was very satisfying. We were coordinating well and the Indonesian pair had no clue; they just could not understand what was happening,” she said.
Asked what is her next target, Jwala said she just wants to concentrate on her game and not bother about the ranking.
“I am not bothered about ranking. I just want to focus on performance and do well. I am playing well, the defence, the attack, everything is coming well,” she said.
“However, I think I need to be more consistent and work on my mental aspect of the game. More confidence is needed and I think winning these titles have given me a lot of confidence now,” she said.
Australia lay the platform for the kill
Bangalore, October 12 Australia were made to fight for their runs as they painstakingly laid the foundation to go for the last-day kill against India in the first Cricket Test which was heading for a nail-biting finish.
After the Indian tailenders led by Zaheer Khan (57 not out) stretched the first innings to 360 and narrowed down the lead to 70 runs, the visitors battled their way to 193 for five at close on the penultimate day to gain an overall lead of 263 runs.
It turned out to be engrossing contest between the bat and ball on a deteriorating Chinnaswamy track as the Australians pushed for a substantial lead to exert pressure on the hosts on the final day.
The runs were difficult to come by as the Australians kept losing wickets at regular interval but still had the upper hand in the game considering that the pitch would deteriorate further on the final day.
Tough fight ahead for Chelsea
Injuries to Drogba, Deco, Essien and the transfer of Shevchenko and Wright-Phillips means Chelsea will have a tough fight when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday
LONDON: Luiz Felipe Scolari might have been tempted to Chelsea by the promise of untold riches, but the Brazilian is beginning to realise that even Stamford Bridge’s vast resources can be stretched.
The west Londoners enter Sunday’s encounter with Aston Villa shorn of four first team regulars.
Didier Drogba, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Essien are all definitely ruled out of the meeting with Martin O’Neill’s fast improving team and a host of others, including defensive totem John Terry, are carrying knocks.
With his options having been further reduced by the summer departures of Andriy Shevchenko, Claudio Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim and Shaun Wright-Phillips, Scolari’s squad now looks worryingly thin, despite their fabulous wealth.
It is a scenario which promises to test the manager’s ingenuity, as much as his tactical nous, as he seeks to make light of the absence of players who have been integral to making Chelsea one of the continent’s most feared and respected sides in the last four years.
Not that the man himself is complaining about his depleted numbers.
“To have 23 or 24 players is very good for one squad,” he said. “How can a coach work with 34 players? It is incredible. When I arrived here there were 34 players and I have never wanted to work with that many – 23, 24 or 25 maximum.
Money doesn’t bring success
On the eve of their match, Liverpool coach Benitez says Man City’s buying spree won’t bring them glory
MANCHESTER: Rafael Benitez has warned Manchester City that their new billing as the world’s richest football club will not guarantee success for manager Mark Hughes.
Liverpool manager Benitez takes his team to City on Sunday for a Premier League encounter against the club tipped by many to break-up the established ‘Big Four’ of
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool on the back of last month’s 210-million-pound takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). By splashing out 32.5 million pounds to break the British transfer record for Brazilian forward Robinho on transfer deadline day, City delivered a stunning statement of their intention to challenge the established powers for a place in the Champions League.
And with Liverpool’s financial future shrouded in uncertainty due to the problems between American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, combined with the inability to fund the construction of a new stadium, the emerging force of City have been singled out as the biggest threat to Liverpool’s membership of the top four club.
Hughes is expected to spend big again in the January transfer window in an effort to inject more quality into his squad, but Benitez insists that money alone will not smooth City’s path to glory — especially when up against clubs with the history and tradition of Liverpool, United and Arsenal.
A ‘mere’ commentator or an ‘actor’: HC to decide
Mumbai: Fans of cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle may not be too happy to hear that “anybody who is proficient in English and has some knowledge of cricket” can do his job. But it was exactly what the income-tax (I-T) tribunal had stated, dismissing his tax exemption plea on May 27,2002.
Bhogle had contended that he was an “actor or an artist”, who fell within the ambit of section 80RR – introduced in the Finance Act, 1969,in 1970 – and was entitled to the deduction of a specific amount in computing the total amount of taxable income.
Bhogle appealed against the findings of the I-T tribunal in Bombay high court in November 2002. Anuradha Mane , special counsel for the I-T department, said that the case came up for final hearing last week, but was adjourned for another week.
In his appeal to the HC, Bhogle, citing the dictionary meanings of the words “actor” and “artist”, stated that the I-T tribunal erred in holding that he was not an actor or a public performer.
The tribunal held that Bhogle “is not doing any creative work, exhibiting any human skill, imagining anything in his mind and consequently is not an artist.” He is “merely” commenting on the performance of every player in a cricket match, which was nothing “exceptional”. Bhogle in his defence contended that TV presenters the world over were treated on a par with actors.
Section 80RR refers to Indian authors, playwrights, artists, musicians, sportsmen and actors who earn from foreign governments for their work. Under the section, 75% of the total earnings from foreign governments is exempted from tax.
While filing his returns a decade ago, for the financial year 1997-98,Bhogle who functions under the title Bhogle Infoturf had declared Rs7,47,026 has his annual income. However, he was engaged by international agencies, like BBC, Star TV, Transworld International (UK), as radio and TV commentator and presenter. On his income of Rs26,42,511 from these foreign agencies, Bhogle had sought an exemption of tax on Rs19,91,588 (75% of Rs 26,42,511).
