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Yuvraj powers India to facile win
Judo champion found murdered
Philippines hold India
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Sangakkara props up Sri Lanka
Gagan Ajit to lead India
Railway wrestlers claim trophy
EOW officials fail to turn up
Football World Cup on ESPN-Star Sports
2 selected for cricket training camp
Bagan win
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Yuvraj powers India to facile win
Margao, April 3 After setting a stiff target of 295 built around Yuvraj’s breathtaking 76-ball 103, Irfan Pathan grabbed three top order batsmen in quick succession to trigger an early collapse before the visitors folded up for 245 in 48.5 overs to give India a commanding 3-0 lead in the seven-match series. Yuvraj, who had failed in the first two matches, teamed up with the new batting hero Suresh Raina (61) to put on 142 runs for the fifth wicket to bail the hosts out of a slump on a difficult track at the Nehru Stadium. Captain Rahul Dravid, who opened the innings after the struggling Gautam Gambhir was dropped from the team, scored 46 while Pathan (36) was the other notable performer for the hosts who managed to rapidly accelerate their pace of scoring in the last 10 overs. It was a far more convincing batting performance by the Indians though the repeated failures of opener Virender Sehwag (15) is becoming a matter of serious concern. The tourists never really recovered from Pathan’s triple strike which reduced them to 47 for 3 though Paul Collingwood scored a scintillating 84-ball 93 in a late fightback. India will now look to secure an unassailable 4-0 lead when the two teams travel to Kochi for the fourth match on April 6. Pathan ensured the efforts of the batsmen did not go waste, claiming three wickets in his first seven-over spell to reduce England, without the services of the in-form but indisposed Kevin Pietersen, to a tottering 47 for three by the 11th over. The Baroda left-arm pacer came back later to pick up another wicket and finish with fine figures of four for 51. Ramesh Powar, who picked a career-best 3 for 34 at Faridabad, once again impressed with a stint of one for 45 in 10. Yuvraj was declared man of the match for his splendid knock and for taking two catches during the England run-chase. India’s comprehensive victory was their first in four matches at this tourist venue. Today’s victory was also India’s seventh on the trot since the second ODI win against Pakistan at Rawalpindi on February 11. The hero for India was 24-year-old Yuvraj. Coming off a slow-down in form after his hamstring injury in Pakistan, he completely took the initiative away from England after the hosts were struggling at 131 for four in the 28th over, having opted to bat first. Yuvraj’s knock also bettered the earlier best at this venue, of 101 by V.V.S. Laxman against Australia in the last match played here five years ago. Raina, who made a match-winning 81 in the second ODI at Faridabad, followed up that innings with another splendid effort of 61 in 68 balls and with the help of five fours and a six. It needed Flintoff to come back for his second spell and send back the two batsmen in close succession towards the end of the innings but it was already too late in the day. He first had Yuvraj caught at mid off before clean bowling Raina in successive overs to finish with three for 55, the best figures for England. Sehwag’s departure in the seventh over brought together Dravid and Pathan, promoted to number three for the first time in the series, and the duo batted sensibly to take the score past the 100-mark in the 23rd over with a 78-run second wicket partnership. The stand was broken by Collingwood who induced Dravid to drive and under-edge it on to his stumps. The Indian skipper faced 59 balls and hit six fours in his 46. India then lost two wickets in close succession, those of Pathan and Mohammad Kaif (0) while adding only two runs. Kaif flopped for the third time in the series. It was his second successive duck in the rubber after having made four in the first match at Delhi. Chasing the formidable total, England sorely missed the presence of Pietersen who pulled out of the game this morning due to an upset stomach. Scoreboard India Sehwag b Anderson 15 Dravid b Collingwood 46 Pathan c Collingwood b Flintoff 36Yuvraj c Collingwood b Flintoff 103Kaif c Jones b Plunkett 0 Raina b Flintoff 61 Dhoni not out 13 Powar not out 1 Extras (lb-3, nb-2, w-14) 19 Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 294 Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-105, 3-130, 4-131, 5-273, 6-288. Bowling: Anderson 9-1-40-1, Sajid Mahmood 8-0-66-0, Flintoff 9-0-56-3, Plunkett 6-0-39-1, Blackwell 10-1-42-0, Collingwood 5-0-31-1, Solanki 3-0-17-0. England Strauss c Dhoni b Pathan 7 Prior run out 37 Blackwell b Pathan 9 Shah c Yuvraj b Pathan 7 Flintoff c Sehwag b Powar 15 Collingwood c Raina b Harbhajan 93Solanki c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 10Jones c Sehwag b Pathan 32 Plunkett b Agarkar 18 Mahmood b Agarkar 8 Anderson not out 2 Extras (lb-2, nb-2, w-3) 7 Total (all out, 48.5 overs) 245 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-27, 3-47, 4-78, 5-83, 6-100, 7-205, 8-223, 9-242. Bowling: Pathan 10-0-51-4, Munaf 8-0-47-0, Agarkar 7.5-0-34-2, Harbhajan 10-1-47-2, Powar 10-0-45-1, Yuvraj 3-0-19-0. — PTI
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Uthappa takes Gambhir’s place
Margao, April 3 Karnataka opener Robin Uthappa was drafted into the squad in place of Gambhir. The squad: Rahul Dravid (capt), Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Venugopal Rao, S Sreesanth and RP Singh.
— PTI |
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Chappell backs Sehwag, Kaif
Margao, April 2 “Both Kaif and Sehwag are very experienced. Both have the skills to succeed and would be given as many chances. But obviously it can’t be an endless one,” he said after India’s comprehensive 49-run victory over England in the third ODI. Chappell felt that Kaif’s problem had more to do with the mind. “I feel it’s more of a mental thing. I have gone through this having scored seven successive ducks. The focus is not as much there because of the anxiety to succeed. He also needs a little bit of luck,” Chappell said. “He got a 100 against England three matches ago (in the Jaipur warm-up game). His fielding is excellent and he will be given as many opportunities as possible,” he said.
— PTI |
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Bhaskaran appointed chief coach
New Delhi, April 3 Rajinder, who remained at the helm for one year, earned the dubious distinction of being the ninth coach to be shown the door by IHF supremo K P S Gill. Bhaskaran’s appointment was largely expected after India’s dismal performance in the recent Commonwealth Games where they finished a lowly sixth which intensified the clamour for Rajinder’s ouster. Not unfamiliar with the job after having coached the team twice on earlier occasions, Bhaskaran said he was ready for the challenges that lay ahead. “I know being coach of a national senior team is like being in the hot seat but I am ready for the challenges,” Baskaran told PTI. The IHF did not make any formal announcement as such but mentioned Bhaskaran’s name as the coach for the four-nation even to be held in Germany from April 15 to 17 in a press release. But it is understood that Bhaskaran, who had been the national coach at Sydney Olympics 2004, would be in charge till Doha Asian Games in December. Indian Airlines coach Harendra Singh was appointed as assistant coach while M.R. Negi was named as the goalkeeping coach in the release. ‘No place for liabilities’Chennai: Newly appointed national hockey coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran today said lifting the sagging spirits of players would be his priority but he will not allow “liabilities” in the team. “I know being coach of a national senior team is being on a hot seat but I am ready for the challenge. It is indeed quite a challenge. I have to put a lot of hard work and build up the confidence of the players,” said Bhaskaran. The Olympian, who took over the reins for second time in six years, said the team was playing well in patches and that their confidence level needed to be raised. “The boys are playing well in patches. In Champions Trophy we should have won some matches and finished at the podium,” he said. “We have to look at the accountability of each player and find new ways to bring back the confidence levels of our players all over again.” Bhaskaran also made it clear that he meant business by saying he would not like liabilities in the team. “I do not plan to make too may changes in the team. I feel that we should have the right blend of seniors and youngsters. At the same time, we should not have too many liabilities in the team.” Bhaskaran’s first assignment would be a four-nation tournament in Germany later this month. — PTI
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Judo champion found murdered
Hisar, April 3 Satyender had come to the hostel from his home last evening and was in the company of his friends till around 11 p.m. After that, he went to sleep. He was alone in the room last night. In the morning, he was found dead. The assailant(s) had bolted the doors of the adjoining rooms from outside before committing the murder. He was hit on the head with a brick and a wooden block. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination and the police has registered a case. Satyender had also won the Haryana junior judo title twice and had participated in a number of national and international events, including the recently concluded Junior Asian Judo Championship in China. He had also attended a training camp in Pakistan. His elder brother is a boxer and is serving the Indian Railways.
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Philippines hold India
New Delhi, April 3 Vimal Pariyar, who scored both the goals in Saturday’s win over Afghanistan, put India ahead in the eighth minute off a cross from captain N. Pradeep. But Philippines restored parity through midfielder Mark Alvin Valeroso 10 minutes later, via a Jeremias Jiao corner. India, playing without the injured Xavier Vijay Kumar, displayed good attacking play and could have regained the lead in the 29th minute but Pariyar’s shot from the edge of the area went wide. Ten minutes later, midfielder Lalmalsawma Hamar hit the crossbar. Philippines went all out in the second half but failed to find the winner. India play their final Group A match against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.
— PTI |
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Aussies 44 runs away from
win
Johannesburg, April 3 Scoreboard SA (1st innings) 303 Australia (1st innings) 270 SA (2nd
innings) De Villiers b Clark 4 Gibbs c Martyn b Warne 53 Dippenaar c Hayden Kallis lbw Clark 27 Prince c Symonds Pollock c Gilchrist b Lee 44 Rudolph c Gilchrist Boucher c Gilchrist Boje c Symonds b Warne 4 Nel not out 18 Ntini b Lee 0 Extras
(b-6, lb-4, nb-5, Total (all out, FoW: 1-9, 2-55, 3-100, 4-120, 5-130, 6-140, 7-186, 8-194, 9-258. Bowling: Lee 18.3-3-57-3, Clark 18-4-64-4, Kasprowicz 2-0-12-0, Symonds 5-0-18-0, Ponting 2-1-7-0, Warne 26-5-90-3. Australia (2nd innings) Hayden c De Villiers Hussey lbw Boje 89 Ponting c Boucher b Kallis 20 Martyn not out 93 Symonds c Boucher Gilchrist c Boucher b Ntini 0 Warne c Boucher b Ntini 3 Lee not out 9 Extras (b-1, lb-3, nb-1) 5 Total (6 wkts, 78.3 overs) 248 FoW:
1-0, 2-33, 3-198, 4-228, 5-229, 6-237. Bowling: Ntini 20-4-60-3, Nel 2-1-4-0, Pollock 19-3-59-0, Kallis 17.3-5-44-2, Boje 19-5-65-1, De Villiers 1-0-12-0.
— Reuters |
Kandy, April 3 Sri Lanka had slumped to 61 for three after being put into bat on a wet pitch offering extravagant seam movement before Sangakkara led a recovery that left the game nicely poised. Fast bowler Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s best bowler in the first Test in Colombo which ended in a draw, was menacing throughout the day and was chiefly responsible for Sri Lanka’s early problems with a superb 12-over new ball spell. Asif finished with a career-best five for 41 from 21 overs. Sangakkara’s efforts were supported by middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera who scored a gritty 180-ball 65 before being bowled immediately after Pakistan took the second new ball. Sri Lanka battled through the first half hour but then lost Upul Tharanga (10). Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, playing his last Test match, was bowled for 14 by a superb delivery that nipped back off the seam enough to clip off-stump. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings) Tharanga c Younis b Asif 10 Jayasuriya b Asif 14 Sangakkara c Iqbal b Kaneria 79Jayawardene c Farhat b Asif 4 Samaraweera b Asif 65 Dilshan c Akmal b Kaneria 22Maharoof c Younis b Kaneria 7Bandara c Akmal b Asif 43 Kulasekara not out 11 Malinga not out 0 Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-1) 12 Total (8 wkts, 88 overs) 267 Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-27, 3-61, 4-142, 5-178, 6-193, 7-238, 8-256. Bowling: Asif 21-7-41-5, Gul 23-3-83-0, Anjum 11-1-54-0, Kaneria 22-6-44-3, Razzaq 11-1-36-0. — Reuters
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Gagan Ajit to lead India
New Delhi, April 3 Also making comeback to the National squad are Adam Sinclair, Hari Prasad and Shivendra Singh. Half back Ajmer Singh is the only new player in the team, which includes several old faces. Defender Harpal Singh, midfielders Ignace Tirkey and Viren Rasquinha and forwards Deepak Thakur and Didar Singh, who were in the team that went to Melbourne for Commonweralth Games, do not figure in this squad. Ace defender Dilip Tirkey has yet not fully recovered hence he was not considered. Jugraj Singh, who last played for India in the 2003 Champions Trophy at Amstelveen, was seriously injured in a car accident near Jalandhar later that year. He was among the 25 probables who went to Arizona (USA) for coaching-cum-training camp in preparation of the Athens Olympics, however, he was not picked up for the final squad. Gagan Ajit Singh was ‘rested’ after the Premier Hockey League and was not considered for the squad against Pakistan and then for the Commonwealth Games. Apart from India other three teams taking part in the tournament are Spain, Argentina and hosts Germany. Monchengladbach is the place where World Cup is slated to be held in September. The four-nation tournament will be played on the turfs to be used in the World Cup. Team: goalkeepers:
Bharat Chettri, Baljit Singh; full backs: Sandeep Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh, William Xalco, Jugraj Singh;
half backs: Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, Arjun Halappa, Sardara Singh, Ajmer Singh;
forwards: Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Tejbir Singh, Hari Prasad, Adam Sinclair, Shivendra Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh (Captain); officials:
V. Bhaskaran (chief coach), Harendra Singh (coach), M.R. Negi (goalkeeping coach), Ravi Kanakamedala (physio), G.M. Srivastava (manager).
— PTI |
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Trials for sports wings from April 8: Pargat
Jalandhar, April 3 The players selected will be given free education, medical facility, hostel, training and equipment as per international standards, diet money at the rate of Rs 60 per player per day. Pargat said the department had received grant of Rs 1.5 crore from the government for holding the trials as well as an equal grant for holding competitions. Another Rs 50 lakh were now at the disposal of the department for the upgradation of coaching. Players born on or after April 1, 1993, are eligible in the under-14 category, those born on or after April 1, 1991, in the under-16 category and those born on or after April 1, 1988, in the under-19 category, he said. The department has also appointed chairpersons for the 10 disciplines — Brig Labh Singh (retd) - athletics, Sajjan Singh Cheema - Basketball, Jaipal Singh - boxing, Sukhbir Sigh Grewal - hockey, Inder Singh - football, weightlifting - Tara Singh, Sukhpal Singh - volleyball, Sukhchain Singh - wrestling, Kulwinder Singh Thiara - gymnastics and Malkit Singh - judo. For athletics, the trials will be held in the following schools for the reopening of the wings: Boys (under-14 and under-16): Government school Patti (Amritsar), Public High School, Pani Graiann (Gurdaspur), Sant Baba Bagh Singh Education Complex Padhiana (Jalandhar), Khalsa Senior School Garhdiwala (Hoshiarpur), Government High School Kheranwali (Kapurthala), Dashmesh Senior Secondary School, Talwandi Sabo, (Bathinda), A S Senior Secondary School Khanna (Ludhiana), Shaheed Udham Singh Stadium Sunam, and Open Sports Stadium Faridkot. The trials will be held at Sports School, Jalandhar, and HMV Collegiate School for boys (under-16 and under-19), and at Mata Sahib Kaur Girls Senior Secondary School, Talwandi Sabo, in the under-16 and under-19 girls categories. For basketball, the schools selected for setting up wings are: Senior Secondary School Sardulgarh, Government Senior Secondary School Khiranwali (Kapurthala), Government Senior Secondary School Gidarhbaha (Muktsar) for boys under-14 and under-16, and at Government Girls Senior Secondary School Kairon (Amritsar) for girls (under-14 and under-16). For boxing, the wings will be established at DAV School Hoshiarpur, Khalsa Senior Secondary School Amritsar, Government Senior Secondary School Sunam Sangrur, A S Senior Secondary School Khanna for under-14 and under-16 and at Sports School Jalandhar for under-16 and under-19. In weightlifting, the wings for the under-16 and under-19 categories are being set up at Government Senior Secondary School Bhartgarh, Ropar, Government Senior Secondary School,Samrai Jandiala (Kapurthala), Kalswala Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Gurdaspur, and for girls (under-16 and under-19) at Ramgharia Millar Ganj (Ludhiana). For football (under-14 boys), the wings will be set up at Government Co-education Senior Secondary School, Rurka Kalan, Jalandhar, for under-16 boys at Cantonment Board Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar Cantt, and Anglo Sanskrit School Khanna, Ludhiana, and at Football Academy Hoshiarpur for boys under-14, under-16 and under-19. For hockey, the wings will be set up at Spring Dale School Amritsar, Malwa Khalsa Senior Secondary School Ludhiana, Government Senior Secondary School PAU Ludhiana, Mehta Gurukul Punjab School Doraha, Ludhiana, Government Senior Secondary School, Kila Raipur, Ludhiana, for under-14 and under-16 and at Khalsa Senior Secondary School Amritsar for boys (under-14) and at Olympian Surjit Hockey Academy for boys under-14, under-16 and under-19. For under-16 girls, the wing will be at HMV College and for under-19 girls at Government Senior Secondary School, Mohali. For volleyball, the boys (under-16 and under-19) wings will be set up at Government Senior Secondary School, Malout, Baba Budha Collegiate Bir Sahib School, Amritsar, Senior Secondary School, Nurmahal, and Sports School, Jalandhar, while for the girls the lone wing will be set up at KMV Collegiate School, Jalandhar. For gymnastics, the wing for girls (under-12 and under-14) will be set up at the Gymnasium Hall, Gurdaspur, while for boys (under-16 and under-19) at Polo Ground Patiala, Sports School Jalandhar. For wrestling, Sur Singh Wala, Amritsar, Kesar Akara, Patiala, and Baba Farid Akara, Faridkot, will be the wings for boys under-14, under-16 and under-19. For judo, Sports School, Jalandhar, will be the wing for boys under-16 and under-19, and Khalsa Collegiate School, Amritsar, and Senior Secondary School, Gurdaspur, will be the wings for under-14, under-16 and under-19 categories.
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Railway wrestlers claim trophy
Jind, April 3 The Railways grapplers emerged winners in freestyle as well as Greco-Roman categories. Uttar Pradesh and Services Sports Control Board finished runners-up and third, respectively, in freestyle competitions. Hosts Haryana and Services Sports Control Board were second and third, respectively, in Greco-Roman competitions. Chief guest Tarlochan Singh, MP, distributed the prizes. He also announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh from his MPLAD funds to the Ch Bharat Singh Memorial Educational Society for the construction of the Bhai Surender Singh Malik Memorial swimming pool.
— UNI |
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EOW officials fail to turn up
Kolkata, April 3 “I had some verbal information that they will not be coming. But still I came in compliance with the court order,” Dalmiya said after a one-and-half-hour wait at the Eden Gardens, the Cricket Association of Bengal headquarters. Dalmiya had attended four sessions of interrogation by Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the western metropolis and was to face two more sessions here from today. Asked whether he would come tomorrow again, Dalmiya said, “I’ll talk to my lawyer, and if he says so, I’ll come.”
— PTI |
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Football World Cup on ESPN-Star Sports
New Delhi, April 3 The mega event in Germany will hit the Indian screens for a month from June 9 and the network has planned several programmes in the lead-up to create a football craze in the country. Steve McMahon, who represented England at the 1990 World Cup in Italy would be on the network’s panel of experts, along with ex-Irish international Gerry Armstrong. Popular Indian broadcaster Harsha Bhogle would be part of the crew along with homegrown expert Novy Kapadia. Indian stars like P.K. Banerjee and Bhaichung Bhutia will be the studio guests. For the Indian fans, the World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games, will be a lot more sweeter this time as there will be Hindi commentary as well to cater to the vast Hindi-speaking hinterland. ESPN Stars Sports managing director R.C. Venkateish said the network has secured the exclusive rights for the sporting extravaganza. He said the mega soccer show in Germany will hit the Indian screens for a month from June 9 and the network has planned several programmes in the lead-up to create football frenzy in the country. ”We will telecast several programmes related to the World Cup starting tomorrow so that the viewership of the tournament reaches an all-time high,” Venkateish said at a media conference here today. He said the Indian viewership was expected to touch the 100 million mark this time from the 75-million figure in the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. Venkateish said as the matches would be played at a time convenient for the Indian viewers (evenings and nights), “we are hopeful of grabbing a sizable chunk of eyeballs, though the Indian cricket team would be touring the West Indies then”. Meanwhile, McMohan, who considers his most memorable moment as a player the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Everton, said England would be favourites to win the cup for the second time as they boast of a balanced team with three of the best players in the world manning their attack, defence and mid-field.
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Avneet eyes Olympic berth
Bathinda, April 3 Talking to The Tribune, Avneet said her performance in Melbourne had given her a lot of confidence, adding that it would help her do well in forthcoming events where Olympic berths would be at stake. On her performance in the recent World Cup in China, she said though she didn’t shoot up to the mark at times but overall it was okay. She is all set to participate in three more World Cups and the World Championship in the coming days. “My performance in these events would decide whether I would get a quota place in the Olympics,” she said. Right now she just wants to relax after three months of hectic training and participation in two major international events. She said: “It feels great to return home with a couple of medals. I would like to spend some quality time with my parents and siblings.” Avneet would be among the sportspersons who would meet the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to hear some words of encouragement from the PM,” she said.
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2 selected for cricket training camp
Patiala, April 3 Kunwar Raina, a student of Punjab Senior Secondary School, Chotti Baradari, has performed well in the tournament conducted by the Punjab Cricket Association and the Board of Control of Cricket in India. An opening batsman, Raina has been picked up for the training for his performances in this year’s Vijay Merchant trophy. In the knock-out stage of the tournament, Raina scored 178 against Rajasthan and 117 against Baroda. Earlier in the league stage, the 17-year-old Raina scored 153 against Haryana at the Dhruv Pandove
stadium here. Wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Perry Goel, a student of Yadvindra Public School, too has performed well in this year’s tournaments. He gave a good performance in the Vijay Merchant trophy when he scalped 23 victims while playing for Punjab. |
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Bagan win
Kolkata, April 3 Mumbai: Mahindra United staged a late recovery to salvage a 2-2 draw against Salgaocar, Goa, in an NFL match today. Yusif Yakubu and Mahesh Gawli scored for Mahindras, while Samson Singh and Jyothi Kumar struck for Salgaocar.
— UNI |
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