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Sachin eager to stamp his class
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Nanavati submits report
Gill’s meeting illegal: Kalmadi
Dhoni my mentor, says Gony
Purple Cap for bowlers
Ashutosh triumphs; Amritraj bows out
YPS boys clinch basketball title
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Sachin eager to stamp his class
Mumbai, May 13
After being forced to sit out of the first seven matches of the Twenty20 league, the fit-again master batsman would be eager to stamp his authority on the proceedings immediately in what is for his team, lying sixth, a very critical match. The Mumbai outfit started the IPL on a poor note, without Tendulkar in the playing XI, and slid to four straight defeats before arresting the downward-going graph. But victories in their last three matches, including against top performers Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals, have boosted the sagging morale of the team and Tendulkar's return should only add to their confidence in what is the ace batsman's home ground. The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings started in spectacular fashion before stumbling a bit only to regain poise with a fine 18-run victory over Punjab on May 10. Both the teams seem to have settled down after an uncertain period, initially for Mumbai and after the departure of Australians Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey for Chennai, and tomorrow's clash under lights promises plenty of fire-works for the crowd. Comeback man Laxmipathy Balaji performed brilliantly with a five-wicket haul that included the IPL's first hat-trick, and his duel with two of the world's most attacking batsmen - Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya - would be worth the wait. Tendulkar has said the bowlers have taken early wickets in the matches the team had won and this was the key for the turnaround in their fortunes. Shaun Pollock would once again lead the attack but to the good tidings of the team Ashish Nehra seems to have struck form and also fetched the man of the match award in the last tie against Rajasthan Royals. Mumbai's spin bowling still looks a bit thin after the exit of Harbhajan and Chennai would look to take advantage of this factor. West Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo has done his bit in the Mumbai Indians' revival after joining the team late in place of the injured Lasith Malinga and he would be keen to leave this edition with a bang after playing for the franchise team tomorrow and on May 16 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Chennai would be pleased that S Badrinath and Balaji were impressive performers in the last tie, but need their openers S Vidyut and Stephen Fleming to fire in unison to stop Mumbai. With Albie Morkel showing his abilities with both bat and ball, and the world's leading Test wicket taker Muthiah Muralitharan in the ranks, Chennai have good wicket takers at their disposal when Punjab-born pacer Manpreet Singh Gony is added to the overall picture. — PTI Start of play: 8 pm
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Kolkata, May 13 Shoaib’s 4 for 11 from three overs reduced Daredevils to 28 for four wickets and they never recovered from there. They were finally dismissed for 110 in 17.5 overs. Laxmi Rattan Shukla wrapped up the Daredevils’ tail taking three wickets in five balls. Mishra top scored for Daredevils and Dilshan contributed 25. Excellent fielding and two runouts made the small Kolkata total appear big. With team owner Shah Rukh Khan cheering from the sidelines and the crowd egging them on, Kolkata bowlers made life difficult for Delhi batsmen. Earlier, a lacklustre performance by their batsmen allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to a modest total of 133 for six. Electing to bat, the hosts set the Delhi side an asking rate of 6.7 before a crowd of 50,000 at the Eden Gardens. Salman Butt (48) was the principal scorer for the home team with the in-form David Hussey (31 of 31 balls) getting moderate success in the slog overs. Superb bowling performances from Glenn McGrath (4-0-22-0), Yo Mahesh (2/34) and Maharoof (4-0-25-0) ensured the Delhi batsmen got an easily attainable asking rate. The Knight Riders could never get the momentum going, and only 10 fours came in their innings. Butt and Aakash Chopra (13) made a sedate start, though the Pakistani executed several delightful shots square of the wicket and past the cover region. Chopra, who was dropped by Gautam Gambhir in McGrath's second over, found it difficult to force the pace, and became the victim of a rather soft dismissal. The right hand batsman played a casual shot as he tried to loft new ball bowler Pradeep Sangwan and offered a simple catch to Ferveez Maharoof at mid off. Sourav Ganguly (7) walked in to loud cheers from the home crowd, and raised hopes of another magical knock as he hit Yo Mahesh for a six by making full use of a free hit, but the end came soon in the same over. — Agencies Scoreboard Delhi Daredevils Player of the match: Shoaib Akhtar (Kolkata Knight Riders).
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Nanavati submits report
Mumbai, May 13 BCCI President Sharad Pawar will decide tomorrow the date of the Disciplinary Committee meeting which will go through Nanavati's report and decide the quantum of punishment for the player who has already been banned from the ongoing IPL. "The report will now be given to the Disciplinary Committee. They will take a decision," BCCI's CAO Ratnakar Shetty said. "We may decide tomorrow when the committee is to meet as Mr Pawar is in town," he added. Pawar heads the committee which has president-elect Shashank Manohar and vice-president Chirayu Amin as the two other members. Shetty, however, refused to comment on the possible action that can be taken against Harbhajan by the three-member Disciplinary Committee. "It's not proper for me to comment on it. It's up to the Disciplinary Committee to decide (on the issue)," he said.
— PTI |
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Gill’s meeting illegal: Kalmadi
New Delhi, May 13 A bemused IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi wanted to know on what basis KPS Gill can call such a meeting, ''IHF is dissolved and a new five-member ad hoc body has taken over.'' Gill who ruled the IHF with iron hand for 14 years lost control of the body when IOA dissolved it on April 28 and replaced it with an ad hoc committee. Kalmadi who heads the five member ad hoc committee said, ''There is no recognition from the Indian Olympic Association, the International Hockey Federation and the government as well to KPS Gill and the body he headed once.'' IOA chief asserted that the ad hoc committee is functioning smoothly with full cooperation from the IOA and the government. ''These gimmicks (by Gill) will have no effect on the ad hoc body,'' Kalmadi said. Meanwhile, the ad hoc selection committee chairman Aslam Sher Khan, dismissed KPS Gill's move saying it does not deserve any comment, it is just ''laughable''. ''It is high time that Mr Gill realises that he no longer heads the IHF, he should accept the fact that he has been sacked,'' Khan said. ''By indulging in such cheap antics Gill is doing no good to himself or to his reputation. His (Gill's) attitude proves the reason behind the dismal state of affairs of Indian hockey,'' he said. He said, ''the IOA and the government have taken the decision to sack him as there was no other way out after the sting operation. Khan, however, added that ''if this meeting, convened by Gill, takes place at all, will let us know who are still with him.'' Couple of senior members of the dissolved IHF stated that they have invited by Gill to attend the meeting which he has called here on Friday. — UNI
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Dhoni my mentor, says Gony
Chandigarh, May 13 “He is a fierce fighter but remains unperturbed even in most tense moments in the game,” said Sukhwinder Singh Tinku, former India fast bowler, who has trained Gony to be a pace bowler. “He was just 12 when he came to my coaching centre,” said Tinku. Strapping six feet and four inches, Gony, who was a little-known face in international cricket a few weeks ago, has a harmonious and faultless arm action. He originally belongs to Gurdaspur district. However, he was only two years old when his family moved to Mohali. Tinku, who played in the Junior World Cup in 1987, said Gony is an accomplished batsman too. And he proved this point while playing in the death overs against the Delhi Daredevils. Gony’s performance with the bat in the last over led to the fall of Delhi Daredevils. Gony, who was a student of Paragon Senior Secondary School, had to leave his studies after matriculation to focus on the game. He is overjoyed over his performance in the league. “It is a great feeling to be playing with and against the best in the world,” said Gony. “Every player in the team is helping me.” “Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become my mentor,” said Gony while talking to The Tribune on the phone. “I think I am fortunate that I am playing under the command of Dhoni, who is a great player and motivator,” said Gony. Showing great confidence in Gony, Dhoni had given him the opportunity to open the bowling in a crucial match. Besides Dhoni and other teammates, foreign players like Matthew Hayden, Fleming, Oram, Hussey and Morkel have appreciated Gony’s performance.
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Purple Cap for bowlers
The Purple Cap has been introduced after the IPL introduced Orange Cap for the batsman with maximum runs against his name. At the end of the season, the holder of the Purple Cap will win the honour of being called the Winner of the Purple Cap 2008 and will receive recognition on the final day. In the event of a tie at any given time, the holder will be determined by superior economy rate. Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League said, "We have seen over the course of the inaugural season of the League so far that bowlers have just as important a role to play in winning T20 matches as batsmen do.”
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Ashutosh triumphs; Amritraj bows out
New Delhi, May 13 On a day when the more-fancied Amritraj cut a sorry figure, going down 3-6, 3-6 to seventh-seed American Brendon Evans, Ashutosh turned out to be an unlikely Indian star beating his ill-tempered rival 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(6). However, another wildcard Mankad could not emulate Ashutosh's success as he bowed out with a 6-7(5), 4-6 loss to Frenchman Thomas Oger. However, Amritraj surrendered rather timidly to Evans. The US-based Davis Cupper double-faulted to hand Evans a break in the sixth game of the opening set and the eighth seed made full use of the opportunity to go 1-0 up. Amritraj's net approach left a lot to be desired and he committed too many volley errors that ultimately cost him the match. The Indian was broken twice in the second set before Evans closed it with a brilliant double-handed backhand winner. Another Indian in fray, qualifier Mustafa Ghouse went down to top seed Yen-Hsun Lu. Ghouse lost 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-6 to the world number 90 Korean. In the other singles' matches, strong contender Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi sailed into the second round beating American of Indian origin Rajeev Ram 6-3, 7-6(1). Qureshi will now be up against Kuwaiti wildcard Mohd Ghareeb. In doubles, the wildcard pair of Rohan Gajjar and Purav Raja rallied to beat another wildcard pairing of Navdeep Singh and Tushar Liberhan 3-6, 6-1, 10-5. The Indo-American duo of Sunil Kumar Sipaeya and Travis Rettenmaier, meanwhile, lost 6-0, 7-6(4) to Ricardo Mello of Brazil and Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. — PTI
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YPS boys clinch basketball title
Chandigarh, May 13 The YPS lads defeated Lawrence School, Sanawar, in a closely fought match, which went into extra time, to clinch the trophy 28-25. Sehwaz and Sunderjit were the main scorers for YPS while Himmat and Fateh played well for Sanawar. In the girls’ pool, Welham Girls School, Dehra Dun, and the hosts Pinegrove School team were in the final. Welham Girls defeated Pinegrove 23-9. Sunaina scored 13 points and Subhi scored eight points for Welham girls. Sunaina Das of Welham Girls School was adjudged the Best Player among girls. The highest scorer award among girls went to Aishwarya Nandini of Welham Girls School, Dehra Dun, and in the boys’ pool Akinjeet of Lawrence School, Sanawar, was the highest scorer.
— TNS |
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Mohali, May 13
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