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Laxman, Harbhajan put India in command
Pick Sourav for Pak tour: Dalmiya
Pak clinch series
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Air Sahara clinches Team India sponsorship deal
New Delhi, December 19 Air Sahara clinched the Team India sponsorship deal by quoting Rs 313.8 crore for four years, which is Rs 235.7 crore more than Sahara India’s earlier team contract of Rs 78.10 crore.
Nehru hockey kicks off today
GHP school triumph
IAF, W. Railway win
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Laxman, Harbhajan put India in command
Ahmedabad, December 19 Laxman struck 104 and joined forces with Irfan Pathan, who made 82, to lift India to a healthy first innings score of 398 at the Motera ground. It was then the turn of Harbhajan to steal the thunder, the off-spinner sending back four Lankan batsman in the space of 30 balls, two of them in successive balls, to leave the visitors tottering at 131 for five at close on an extended day’s play. Laxman played the sheet anchor’s role to perfection and batted almost till lunch after which the Indian tail wagged vigorously until being dismissed 40 minutes before tea. Sri Lanka’s first essay was wrecked by Harbhajan who dismissed captain Marvan Atapattu (40), Mahela Jaywardene (0), Thilan Samaraweera (1), who foiled the Indian bowler's hat-trick attempt, and Kumar Sangakkara (41) while giving away just nine runs in 11 overs. Lanka, comfortably placed at 74 for one at one stage, slumped to 105 for five in just over ten overs after the Punjab bowler came on to bowl in the 20th over of the innings. At stumps, Tillekaratne Dilshan was batting on 27 with Jehan Mubarak on 11. The visitors were 68 runs short of avoiding the follow-on on a wicket showing signs of sharp turn and bounce. Overall, they trail India by 267 runs with five wickets in hand. The morning belonged to Laxman, who came as one-down batsman and saw four other top order batsmen fall with only 97 on board yesterday. But the stylish Hyderabadi held fort and shepherded the hosts to a challenging score. The 31-year-old right-hander pulled it around with a concerted effort and by the time he was dismissed, India were out of trouble. Laxman’s ninth Test century, which came in 251 balls and 401 minutes, contained 14 fours. He had rallied India yesterday with an 86-run stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (49) for the sixth wicket and today put on a century stand (125) with Pathan, who supported his senior partner diligently in making 82 with 12 fours in 221 minutes. Laxman, who was unbeaten on 71 overnight in a total of 247 for six, reached the three-figure mark with a delicate glance for four off Lankan medium pacer Farveez Maharoof. His previous century had come on the tour of Zimbabwe in the first Test at Bulawayo in September and it was also the right handed batsman's maiden three-figure effort in four Tests against the Lankans. Laxman was castled by Maharoof, armed with the second new ball that was taken belatedly after 92 overs. But the visitors’ hopes of cutting short the innings after his dismissal before lunch at 308 was thwarted by the Indian tail as the innings prospered till well into the second session. On the forefront of this defiance was Pathan, overnight 39, who added 37 runs with Ajit Agarkar (26) while making his second successive half century of the series following his gritty 93 as an opener at Delhi in the second Test. Pathan was trapped leg before by the economical and accurate Maharoof. In all he faced 162 balls and struck 12 fours. Agarkar and Kumble (21) got involved in a stand of 39 runs for the ninth wicket before the Indians were bowled out. Thus, the lower order put on 301 runs after the top half had been packed off yesterday with only 97 on board. Muralitharan and Malinga bagged three wickets apiece for the visitors. Maharoof was also rewarded for his perseverance with two wickets while Bandara also picked up a brace. The tourists had a shock start with Tharanga unable to take his bat away to a sharply lifting and seaming away delivery from Pathan and edging it to Dhoni to leave Lanka at 14 for one. The post-tea period saw Atapattu negotiating new ball bowlers Agarkar and Pathan beautifully with superb strokes in front, apart from playing Kumble too without much ado. But the introduction of Harbhajan, who has not done anything extraordinary in the series so far, changed the complexion of the game totally. While Jayawardene and Samaraweera were caught in the leg trap by Mohd Kaif, captain Atapattu and Sangakkara, who both were batting well in scoring 40 and 41 respectively, were lured into playing the injudicious sweep shots and dismissed. Atapattu was caught off a top edge at square leg after staying for 106 minutes and hitting six fours while Sangakkara, with whom the former put on 60 runs for the second wicket, was bowled round his legs after batting for 131 minutes and facing 91 balls. Scoreboard
India (1st innings) Gambhir c Tharanga b Malinga 19 Sehwag b Malinga 20 Laxman b Maharoof 104 Sachin c Mubarak Yuvraj c Samaraweera Kaif c Atapattu b Bandara 4 Dhoni lbw Muralitharan 49 Pathan lbw Maharoof 82 Agarkar b Malinga 26 Kumble c Jayawardene Harbhajan not out 8 Extras (b-15, lb-13, nb-9, w-5) 42 Total
(all out) 398 Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-52, 3-88, 4-88, 5-97, 6-183, 7-308, 8-345, 9-384, 10-398. Bowling: Malinga 32-4-113-3, Maharoof 27-11-52-2, Muralitharan 36-4-128-3, Bandara 24.4-3-69-2, Dilshan 3-0-8-0. Sri Lanka (1st innings) Tharanga c Dhoni b Pathan 2 Atapattu c Sehwag Sangakkara b Harbhajan 41 Jayawardene c Kaif Samaraweera c Kaif Dilshan not out 27 Mubarak not out 11 Extras (b-1, lb-2, nb-6) 9 Total ( for 5 wickets) 131 Fall of wickets:
1-14, 2-74, 3-74, 4-82, 5-105. Bowling: Pathan 10-1-36-1, Agarkar 6-2-18-0, Kumble 13-2-50-0, Harbhajan 11-3-24-4.
— PTI |
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Pick Sourav for Pak tour: Dalmiya
Ahmedabad, December 19 “The whole nation is debating on this issue. Though selection is the prerogative of the selection committee Pawar should intervene into the matter and see that Ganguly is considered for selection for the Pakistan tour,” he told reporters during the course of the second day’s play in the third Test against Sri Lanka here. Dalmiya, whose candidate Ranbir Singh Mahendra was ousted as president after the board elections at Kolkata last month-end, is here to watch the ongoing Test as an invitee of the Gujarat Cricket Association. “There have been several instances in the past when presidents have intervened in the selection process,” Dalmiya said. “For example, in the 1980s when Sunil Gavaskar was dropped from the team the then board president had intervened and saw that he was included in the team. “There was another case much earlier (in 1940s) when Mushtaq Ali was dropped and the then board president Duleep Sinhji had intervened on the player’s behalf,” he pointed out. “Also when Kapil Dev was dropped (for the Kolkata Test 1984-85 against England) the then president Bishwanath Dutt had intervened,” he added in support of his argument. “Even during the time when I was secretary of the board and Raj Singh Dungarpur was the president Ganguly was made the vice-captain of the team, but Raj had spoken to the selectors and changed it so that Anil Kumble was made the vice-captain,” he said further. Dalmiya said he has already written a letter to Pawar on the raging issue of Ganguly’s omission from the third Test team and the latter had replied to it saying he did not wish to intervene in the selection matters. “One cannot force the board president to intervene (in such matters) but if he wants anything to do over the issue he should ask the selectors to consider Ganguly for the Pak tour,” he concluded. Former BCCI Secretary and Dalmiya’s right-hand man S.K. Nair said, “I personally feel that Ganguly should have been given one more chance. It was unfortunate that he was not considered and the winning team was not retained as is the normal case.” Pawar to meet Ganguly
New Delhi: BCCI President Sharad Pawar will meet ousted Indian captain Sourav Ganguly to “find out what he has in his mind” but would not ask the selectors to pick him for India’s upcoming tour of Pakistan. He also expressed the confidence that Ganguly would bounce back since he had a “proven track record and ability”. “I will meet Sourav, find out what he has in his mind and hear what he has to say. He has been a very successful captain and he deserves a hearing,” Pawar told CNN-IBN. Asked whether he believed Ganguly would be picked for the Pakistan tour early next year, he said, “That is not for me but for the selectors to decide. I have full faith in the selection committee.” But he said he believed in Ganguly's ability to make a comeback. “Everyone in cricket and life has ups and downs, even the great Sachin Tendulkar has had a lean patch. I am confident that Sourav will bounce back, he is a man with a proven track record and ability,” Pawar was quoted as saying in a press release here today. He, however, denied that Ganguly was a victim of board politics. “Ganguly was dropped even before I took over. How can you say that he is a victim of politics? I think even he understands this.” The BCCI chief also said he was open to a review of the selection process if he felt there was anything wrong with the system.
— PTI |
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Air Sahara clinches Team India sponsorship deal
New Delhi, December 19 Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treasurer N. Srinivasan said here today after the evaluation of the bids that “Air Sahara has been chosen to sponsor Team India, subject to ratification by the Marketing Committee tomorrow”. Mr Srinivasan said out of the 11 companies lined-up for team sponsorship, six qualified to bid, and five submitted their actual bids. Out of the five, three top bidders were shortlisted for the final call and Air Sahara pipped the rest with a quantum jump in its offering, which is the best sponsorship deal ever struck by the BCCI. The 11 companies, who initially evinced interest to bid for Team India, were: Reliance, Bharati Telecom, Hero Honda, Idea Telecom, Indian Oil, Sahara Parivar, Air Sahara, Nimbus Sports, IMG World Sports, Mudra and Videocon. Of the eleven, six made the cut, Airtel (Bharati Telecom), Idea, Indian Oil, Hero Honda, Air Sahara and Nimbus, but only five submitted the actual bids, and Air Sahara topped the list. BCCI vice-president Sushil Modi, a member of the Marketing Committee, said Air Sahara was selected after carefully whetting all the aspects of its bid, including the company’s financial viability and its capacity to pay. |
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Pak clinch series
Rawalpindi, December 19 England were also beaten 2-0 in the Test series and have now lost their last three one-dayers after winning the first in Lahore by 42 runs. The last match will be played on Wednesday. The England tail fought bravely to the end after being reduced to 114 for eight with Ian Blackwell (29) and Kabir Ali (39 not out) put on a fighting 50 runs for the ninth wicket. The partnership provided a glimmer of hope but Blackwell was run-out by a direct throw from substitute fielder Mohammad Asif while going for a quick single with the total on 164 in the 39th over. Ali then combined with last man James Anderson (11) to get within striking distance of their target before fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had Anderson caught brilliantly at slip by Younis Khan to end the match. Shahid Afridi was the stand-out performer for his team with 3 for 34 after pacer Rana Naved took the wickets of Matthew Prior and Andrew Strauss in successive balls in the fourth over. Shoaib followed up by bowling Vikram Solanki for six to leave England on 25 for three after which Pakistan never let up the pressure.
— Reuters |
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Dubai, December 19 Meanwhile, all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who was also reported for the first time under the revised ICC regulations in the same match against England, has been cleared for the second time this year of a suspect bowling action after ICC found that his action fell within the ICC guidelines. — UNI
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Hodge puts Aussies on top
Perth, December 19 Hodge struck an unbeaten 203 to allow Ricky Ponting to declare Australia’s second innings at 528 for eight and set the South Africans a daunting target of 491 to win on the fifth day. With no real victory prospects, the Proteas signalled their intentions to bat out a draw but lost two early wickets to slump to 85-2 when play ended early because of bad light. A.B. de Villiers was caught by Hodge at short leg off Shane Warne for 12, having survived for 76 minutes and needing 33 balls to get off the mark. Then captain Graeme Smith was trapped lbw by left arm seamer Nathan Bracken for 30, leaving Jacques Rudolph (18 not out) and Herschelle Gibbs (17 not out) to battle through to the close. Scoreboard
Australia (1st innings) 258 South Africa (1st innings) 296 Australia (2nd innings) Langer b Pollock 47 Hayden c Boucher Lee lbw Langeveldt 32 Ponting c Boucher b Ntini 53 Hodge not out 203 Hussey c Boucher b Pollock 58 Symonds c Gibbs Gilchrist c Rudolph b Nel 44 Warne lbw Kemp 5 Bracken not out 14 Extras
(b-5, lb-4, Total (for 8 wickets, Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-86, 3-129, 4-184, 5-316, 6-377, 7-444, 8-451. Bowling:
Pollock 36-6-98-2, Ntini 34-8-113-1, Langeveldt 31-3-117-3, Nel 28-2-104-1, Rudolph 6.4-1-29-0, Kemp 11-0-58-1. South Africa (2nd innings) Smith lbw Bracken 30 De Villiers c Hodge b Warne 12 Gibbs not out 17 Rudolph not out 18 Extras (b-4, lb-3, nb-1) 8 Total (2 wickets) 85 Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-55. Bowling: McGrath 8-4-11-0, Lee 9-3-26-0, Warne 12-2-27-1, Bracken 7-2-14-1.
— Reuters |
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Punjab forced to follow on
Lucknow, December 19 Resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 70 for three, Pankaj Dharmani (68) and R.S. Sodhi (61) batted sensibly. Praveen Kumar broke their 106-run partnership with a sharp delivery, which remained low and caught Sodhi plumb in front of the wickets. Dharmani followed shortly after mistiming Piyush’s delivery and giving him a return catch. Thereafter, none of the batsmen could resist the hostile bowling of Zaidi, who claimed five wickets in first innings. UP skipper Jyoti Yadav, gaining a lead of 195 runs over Punjab, asked them to follow-on. In their second innings, Yadav introduced spinner Piyush Chawla at the start of the innings. The move paid rich dividends when Ravneet Ricky was out lbw off Chawla, and on the other end Praveen claimed the prized wicket of Munish Sharma. At stumps, Punjab were 34 for two and still needing 161 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
— UNI |
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Nehru hockey kicks off today
New Delhi, December 19 Leading teams like Punjab Police, Border Security Force, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Punjab and Sind Bank and Indian Airlines will be among the 20 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament, which is held from November 14, the birthday of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru every year, got postponed this year due to the Champions Trophy. The Indian Hockey Federation had refused to give permission to hold the tournament before the Championship Trophy so as to prevent injuries to key players. Tournament secretary Shiv Kumar Verma said a photo exhibition, “Nehru hockey through ages”, will also be held from December 20. Rare photographs of the tournament since its inception in 1964, depicting the
performances of several Olympians and other famous internationals, will be put on exhibition. |
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GHP school triumph
Chandigarh, December 19 In another encounter, GHP School, Delhi, overpowered Dadial School, Patiala, 5-1 after leading by 3-0 at half time. The nail-biting contest between Malaysia XI and Town High School,
Sundergarh, was evenly poised although the Sundergarh boys took the lead off a field goal by Banmali Xess in the tenth minute. The Malaysians hit back with the equaliser through Mohammed Afiq Naquiddir who converted a penalty corner three minutes later to restore parity. A minute later, Sundergarh school again forged ahead through a field goal scored by Banmali but the Malaysians were back on even terms in the 18th minute when Mohammed Asyraf Zakaria converted a short corner. Two minutes later, Malaysia XI took the lead through Asrul Azrin Oman's field goal but the joy was shortlived as the Sundergarh boys restored parity through skipper Noel Tirkey whose field goal in the 29th minute caught the defence off guard. It was six minutes from close that the Sundergarh school clinched the issue through Banmali Xess who turned out to be the hero with three goals. GHP School, Delhi, who beat Dadial School, Patiala, 5-1, scored at regular intervals through Lovepreet Singh (two), Jagwant Singh, Raminder Singh, and Devendra Chand. |
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IAF, W. Railway win
Chandigarh, December 19 In another match, Western Railway swept away EME, Jalandhar, 2-0. In the third match, PNB team beat Central Railway, Mumbai, 4-1. In the last match of the day, Canara Bank, Bangalore, beat RCF, Kapurthala, 9-7 through penalty strokes. Both teams were at 5-5 during the regular period of the match. Somana proved to be tough for the RCF team who scored off a hat-trick. Vikram scored in the 21st minute whereas Ronald Kiran converted penalty corner in the 51st minute for Canara Bank team. On the other side, Roop Singh scored two goals in the 11th and 58th minutes. The others who contributed for the RCF were Jagmohan and Amolak. Jagmohan scored in the 23rd minute whereas Amolak scored: In the 59th minute and 62nd minutes. |
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HC notice to
government
New Delhi, December 19 |
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Indian Masters from today
New Delhi, December 19 The organisers are also expecting a player each from Fiji and Germany. — PTI |
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Indian challenge ends
New Delhi, December 19 Only Indian left in the fray after compatriot Soumyadeep Roy’s semifinal hopes were dashed yesterday.
— UNI |
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Kurukshetra win
Hisar, December 19 |
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