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India win thriller, seal series
U-turn: I was never scared of Sachin, says Warne
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Shoaib will play a key role against India: Intikhab
‘Asif spreading rumours about ICL offer’
Ranji Trophy
Houghton’s contract extended till 2011
ONGC enter Nehru hockey semis
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India win thriller, seal series Bangalore, November 23 Put into bat in what was India’s 700th ODI, the hosts witnessed two lengthy rain interruptions before reaching 166 for four wickets in 22 overs, a score they owe mainly to Virender Sehwag (69), Gautam Gambhir (40) and Yuvraj Singh (25 not out). Needing 198 for a win under the Duckworth-Lewis method to stay afloat in the seven-match series, England managed 178 for eight as India took an unassailable 4-0 lead in the series. For them, Owais Shah (72) and Andrew Flintoff (41) tried their best but it was not enough in the end. With Ishant Sharma pulling off a stunner to send back in-form Ravi Bopara (1) off Munaf Patel, England hardly got the ideal start and crisis compounded when Ian Bell (12) too returned cheaply after Harbhajan Singh had upset his timberworks. Much was expected of Kevin Pietersen (5) but Ishant cut short the England captain’s stay by pegging back his stumps to reduce the visitors to 52 for three. Owais Shah got a life when Gautam Gambhir grassed a sitter off Harbhajan and the England batsman went on to add 82 runs with Flintoff in eight overs but just when the match looked like slipping through India’s fingers, Zaheer Khan removed Shah for a crucial breakthrough. Shah had hammered 72 runs off just 48 balls with nine fours and three sixes in it. And once Flintoff fell to Ishant in the next over, India had pretty much sealed the fate of the match. Earlier, England skipper Kevin Pietersen put India in and had reasons to feel vindicated when Stuart Broad marred Sachin Tendulkar’s comeback party by castling the Mumbaikar for 11. Gambhir had to drop down to number three to accommodate Tendulkar at the top but the left-hander looked equally comfortable in this slot as well. Gambhir flicked the first ball he received, from Broad, to the ropes and then hit the pacer for three boundaries in the same over to continue his rich vein of form. It was, however, his senior partner Sehwag who outshone all with his characteristic belligerence. To make it worse for the visitors, stumper Matt Prior was guilty of not going for an edge that could have sent Sehwag back in the hut when he was batting on 16. On 27, Sehwag once again enjoyed the fortune of the brave. The right-hander responded to a call from Gambhir and apparently changed end just in time but replays showed his bat off the ground
and him airborne when the throw hit the stumps. Surprisingly, no English player appealed for a run out and Sehwag went on to punish them for the lapse. Runs started coming thick and fast but with Sehwag five runs away from his 32nd fifty and India 82 for one in 14 overs, heavens suddenly opened up with the players scurrying for cover. When play resumed after two hours, a streaky shot off Broad yielded two runs as Sehwag cantered to his 50 and celebration followed immediately as he hit the next two balls for a four and a six. With Sehwag in no mood to relent and Gambhir on song, India cruised to 106 for one in 17 overs when heavy drizzle held up play again and by the time they returned to the field after three hours, the match was reduced to a 22-overs-a-side affair. Under pressure to make the most of the remaining five overs, Sehwag blasted the first ball from Samit Patel for a six before holing out to James Anderson off Graeme Swann. Sehwag’s 57-ball 69 was studded with nine hits to the fence besides three sixes. Gambhir was on song too but with just five overs to go, the left-hander had no other option but to throw his bat at everything and he too perished in the deep off Swann but not before chipping in with 40 off 37 balls. With no time to get his eyes in, Yuvraj hoicked Pietersen for two sixes in the same over and sent Swann over the ropes as well. Along with Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan also remained unbeaten, having hit the only ball he faced from Samit Patel for a six.
— PTI Scoreboard India Sehwag c Anderson b Swann 69 Tendulkar b Broad 11 Gambhir c Anderson b Swann 40 Yuvraj not out 25 Dhoni b Patel 9 Y Pathan not out 6 Extras (b 1, lb 1, w 4): 6 Total (4 wickets; 22 overs): 166 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-117, 3-142,
4-160. Bowling: J Anderson 5-0-33-0, Broad 6-1-49-1, Flintoff 5-0-20-0, Patel 3-0-24-1, Swann 2-0-21-2, Pietersen 1-0-17-0. England: Bopara c Sharma b Munaf 1 Bell b Harbhajan 12 Shah c Tendulkar b Zaheer 72 Pietersen b Ishant 5 Flintoff c Zaheer b Ishant 41 Collingwood c Tendulkar b Munaf 22 Patel c Gambhir b Zaheer 11 Swann run out 5 Prior not out 0 Broad not out 0 Extras (b 3, lb 2, w 3, nb 1) 9 Total (8 wickets; 22 overs) 178 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-44, 3-52, 4-134, 5-141, 6-161, 7-178, 8-178. Bowling: Zaheer 5-0-20-2; Munaf 4-1-22-2; Ishant 5-0-41-2; Yusuf 1-0-17-0; Harbhajan 4-0-42-1; Yuvraj 3-0-31-0. |
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U-turn: I was never scared of Sachin, says Warne
London, November 23 Warne was at the receiving end of Tendulkar's batting fury when Australia toured India in early 1998 and the retired Australian had made the widely-reported comments that he saw the Mumbaikar in his nightmares after the beating he got on the field. In his recently published book 'Shane Warne's Century', Warne had named Tendulkar the number one batsman he has played against ahead of West Indian Brian Lara. "He never frightened me. I think I might have said 'I'm going to have a few nightmares tonight' once and some journalists took it as gospel, but I was never frightened of anyone. And that's not me being big-headed, I was just confident in my ability. "Players like (Brian) Lara and Tendulkar were always a challenge, because they were the best in the business and if you want to compete at that level you've got to step up to the mark. Of course some days they're going to smash you out of the park and you congratulate them afterwards, but you're going to get them next time," he told Sunday Observer'. Warne, who was named by Observer Sports Monthly as the Sportsman of 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award, however, suggested that Tendulkar was better than Lara in terms of entertainment value, number of matches he won for his team. Ask what criteria did he use for including or excluding players in his book, Warne said, "I went on the principle that when I'm watching a sport I want to be entertained. So my number one criteria was entertainment, two was what impact did they have on me as a player, three was the impact they had on the team - could they win a match off their own bat - and then there was their skill and their spirit. “I didn't look at their statistics too much. That wasn't a guide, because stats can be accurate but misleading. A match-winner can actually have quite a modest average overall. “And some players are just better to watch. That's why I put Mark Waugh above Steve Waugh in the book, because if they were both playing in separate grounds in town on the same day, I know who I'd pay money to watch play." The maverick spinner, who led Rajasthan Royals to the Indian Premier League crown, said he now expects more salary from the franchise as it has become richer. “The first year was amazing. I'm really looking forward to going back and defending our title. No one can ever take that away from us that we won the inaugural IPL. Off the last ball! What an achievement. It was a fairytale. Especially for all the younger players. “I reckon I deserve a lot more now that we won it. The franchise has tripled, maybe quadrupled in price. They've got me cheap!" Talking about coping with Indian food during IPL, Warne, notoriously conservative with his diet, said, "The wonderful people of Jaipur now make an amazing margherita pizza. I've spoken to the chefs and they've got it down pat. So I'm a lucky man. It's making me hungry thinking about it." On any advice he would offer to just-retired Anil Kumble, Warne said, "I spoke to him the other day, actually. He's a very smart man, engineer by trade, and I'm sure, considering everything he's achieved, there'll be plenty of doors open to him in India and internationally. I sense he's weighing up his options. He's a wonderful human being."
— PTI |
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World beat Bangladesh in opener
Start of the play saw Habib Ul Bashar won the toss and elected to field wanting to take first advantage of the freshly-laid pitch. The World side opened with Harvey and Goodwin who got off to a quick start racing off to 21 in the second over, till Harvey played a cut shot straight in the hands of Kapali, at point off Baisya. Aided by a sensational batting display by Klusener, who got about his 5th fifty in the 19th over, coming off only 43 balls studded with 4 fours & 1 six, the World innings finally folded at a healthy 167/6 in their allotted 20 overs. The Bangladesh chase got off to a brisk start with the dangerous Nazimuddin hitting two sixes off the third over from Gillespie to race of to 20 runs but they could not sustain the momentum. A late onslaught by Rafique, Baisya and especially Mosharraf Hossain was too little too late and saw Bangladesh fall short of the target by 12runs. Scoreboard ICL World XI Harvey c Kapali b T Baisya 5 Goodwin b M Rafique 27 Martyn b M Rafique 1 Boje st D Ghosh b M Hossain 34 Klusener not out 63 Nixon c D Ghosh b M Hossain 14 Harris c M Sharif b M Rafique 12 Adams not out 4 Extras (lb 3, w 3, nb 1) 7 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 167 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-22, 3-39, 4-94, 5-122, 6-162. Bowling: M Sharif 4-0-39-0, T Baisya 4-0-40-1, M Rafique 4-0-20-3, A Kapali 4-0-35-0, M Hossain 4-0-30-2. ICL Bangladesh S Nafees b Harris 32 Nazimuddin c Harvey b Adams 20 Aftab Ahmed c Nixon b Boje 29 A Kapali c Harvey b Klusener 1 H Bashar c Harvey b Klusener 3 M Karim c Hall b Klusener 0 D Ghosh c Gillespie b Harris 0 M Rafique b Gillespie 20 M Hossain not out 28 T Baisya c & b Boje 13 M Sharif not out 2 Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7 Total (9 wickets; 20 overs) 155 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-75, 3-76, 4-87, 5-87, 6-89, 7-90, 8-115, 9-142 Bowling: Gillespie 4-0-34-1, Adams 2-0-19-1, Hayward 2-0-18-0, Boje 3-0-23-2, Klusener 4-0-18-3, Harris 3-0-17- 2, Hall 2-0-24-0.
— Agencies
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Shoaib will play a key role against India: Intikhab
"He can play a very important role against India and we will be relying on him to deliver the goods with experience and pace. I don't think he is finished. If nursed properly and he takes care of himself, Shoaib can do more for Pakistan than he has done in recent times," Intikhab, who guided the team to a clean sweep in ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi recently, said today. "Shoaib is certainly not finished as an international player as yet and he still has a few years to give to Pakistan cricket," he added. The former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia recently advised the PCB to tell the fast bowler to go home and retire as he was finished as an international cricketer. Intikhab, a former international cricketer, said that Shoaib had been told to follow a rigorous rehabilitation and training programme under the supervision of the team's Australian trainer David Dwyer. Shoaib regained his berth in the national team recently and went to Abu Dhabi with the squad but didn't play in the series due to a calf strain. "He is working very hard and doing what he has been asked to do to lose weight, become fitter and sharper and get the match fitness. He was fit for the final match (in Abu Dhabi) but we decided to not risk him on the advice of the trainer," he said. Speaking on the coming home-series against India, the coach insisted, "The series is very much on and we have to start serious preparations for it. All the players have already been given individual programs to keep themselves fit for the series as it is big for us." Intikhab also lauded Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men for their stupendous performance in the recent series against Australia and the ongoing England series. "India has done really well in recent months and against Australia they were the better side but I think one of the reasons for their success is also the cricket balls they use in domestic cricket and against touring sides. "The Indian players are well versed with the SG cricket balls and know how to use them well. Compared to the Kookaburra, the SG has a more prominent seam that does not die down after a few overs and is a big help for the spinners and pacers alike. It allows them to take a strong grip and use it effectively," he said.
— PTI |
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‘Asif spreading rumours about ICL offer’
“The rebel league has no intentions of signing up the dope-tainted Pakistan pacer, who is locked in an expensive legal battle to avoid a possible two-year ban after testing positive for a banned drug while playing in the official Indian Premier League (IPL) this May,” a source close to Moin Khan, a former Pakistan captain who is the sole ICL recruiting agent in the country, told The News yesterday. “If ICL had made any offer to Asif, it would have come through Moin,” the source stressed. “Moin doesn’t have any information whether ICL was interested in signing up Asif and it is quite apparent that the player is spreading rumours to pressurise the PCB,” he added. However, reports suggested that the 25-year-old Asif was offered a lucrative contract by the ICL, which currently has been able to enroll 18 Pakistan cricketers on its payrolls. Asif, while confirming these said he has no option but to defect from ICL since the PCB has suspended him from all forms of cricket in the country over a positive dope test; this has been the fast bowler’s second in two years. “I am frustrated,” Asif said in an interview. “When no one is coming to my support, I have no other option left to join the ICL for which other Pakistani players are also playing. My career has come to a halt and no one is bothering,” the paceman lamented. However, another source said the ICL, which is making efforts to get recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC) will not want to associate itself with a cricketer, who has a poor past record when it comes to doping. In June, Asif was detained at the Dubai Airport for 19 days for carrying a small amount of opium. This was not the first time, earlier the fast bowler tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid nandrolone during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India and failed a dope test for the same drug again this summer.
— UNI |
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Ranji Trophy
Chandigarh, November 23 Bowling an amazing spell, the rookie seamer claimed seven wickets, conceding just 27. Debashish Mohanty supported him well. He claimed two wickets to hasten Punjab collapse. The domination of the seamer was complete as none of the Punjab batsmen, barring skipper Pankaj Dharmani, could reach double figures. A hapless Dharmani was witness to batsman after batsman making a beeline to the pavilion as the visitors crashed to an embarrassing total. For Punjab, seamer Gagandeep Singh tried to undo the damage somewhat and kept the hosts in check, claiming four wickets. But one down batsman Niranjan Behera stood firm. He defied the formidable rival bowling attack before becoming Gagandep’s fourth victim at 74. Subit Biswal also did well and notch up a half century before being castled by young seamer Siddharth Kaul as the hosts reached 148 for 5. Punjab (1st innings): S Sohal b B Mohanty 1, Goel lbw b DS Mohanty 8, R Inder Singh c H Das b B Mohanty 4, Dharmani not out 23, U Kaul lbw b DS Mohanty 2, T Kohli lbw b B Mohanty 0, A Kakkar c Behera b B Mohanty 0, Gony b B Mohanty 8, Gagandeep b Khatua 5, S Kaul b B Mohanty 7, Ladda lbw b B Mohanty 0, Extras (nb 2): 2, Total (all out; 25.2 overs): 60, Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-13, 3-15, 4-17, 5-24, 6-26, 7-36, 8-45, 9-60, 10-60, Bowling: DS Mohanty 10-1-18-2, B Mohanty 9.2-1-27- 7, P Jayachandra 3-2-6-0, S Khatua 3-1-9-1, Orissa (1st innings): BS Pati c Kohli b Gagandeep 0, SS Das c Goel b Gagandeep 9, N Behera lbw b Gagandeep 74, S Biswal b S Kaul 54, DS Mohanty c sub b Gagandeep 1, P Mullick not out 1, P Jayachandra not out 0, Extras (b 4, lb 3, nb 2) 9 Total (5 wickets; 60 overs): 148, Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-19, 3-146, 4-146, 5-147, Bowling: Gagandeep Singh 16-9-18-4, MS Gony 16-4-37-0, S Kaul 10-2-22-1, S Ladda 14-1-43-0, A Kakkar 2-0-12-0, T Kohli 2-0-9-0. Gujarat 310 for 7 against Delhi
Ahmedabad: Bhavik Thakar (121) struck a fighting unbeaten hundred to steer hosts Gujarat to a respectable 310 for seven against Delhi on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A Super League match here today. Thakkar's ton helped Gujarat recover from an uncomfortable 28 for three after winning the toss and deciding to bat. The hosts found themselves in trouble after openers - Priyank Panchal and Nilesh Modi - perished without bothering the scorer much. Gujarat Skipper Parthiv Patel also played a vital knock of 55 and combined well with Bhavik to lift the team from the pits at Sardar Patel Stadium in Valsad. They stitched together 83 runs for the fourth wicket. At stumps, Ashraf Makada (18) was giving company to Bhavik. Gujarat (1st innings): Priyank Panchal lbw b P Awana 13,Nilesh Modi c P Bist b S Narwal 1, Niraj Patel c P Bist b S Narwal 4, Parthiv Patel c S Dhawan b P Sangwan 55, Bhavik Thakar batting 121, Sunny Patel c M Manhas b Y Nagar 28, Timil Patel lbw b C Nanda 15, Mohnish Parmar c P Bist b P Sangwan 29, Ashraf Makada batting 18, Extras: (b-10, lb-5, nb-11) 26, Total (for 7 wickets in 90 overs): 310, Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-14, 3-28, 4-122, 5-183, 6-219, 7-280. Bowling: Pradeep Sangwan 18-0-68-2, Sunit Narwal 19-5-47-2, Parvinder Awana 14-3-45-1, Yogesh Nagar 11-0-51-1, Chetanya Nanda 25-2-78-1, Mithun Mihas 3-0-6-0.
— PTI |
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Man City thump Arsenal
London, November 23 Troubled Arsenal's season went from bad to worse as they slid to fifth. With captain William Gallas dropped for questioning the fighting spirit of his team mates, injury-hit Arsenal capitulated with Stephen Ireland, Robinho and Daniel Sturridge on target for City. Arsenal are 10 points behind Chelsea and Liverpool who are locked together on 33 points from 14 matches although Chelsea have a superior goal difference. United are eight points behind with a game in hand while Villa rose to fourth. Hull City twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers won 3-1 at Middlesbrough while bottom club West Bromwich Albion lost 1-0 at Stoke City. Chelsea were frustrated by a gritty Newcastle performance. The leaders have now drawn three times at Stamford Bridge this season and also lost at home to Liverpool. “Who won today? Newcastle because they came here to draw. The players tried but it is not the day for us,” Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari told the BBC. Shay Given was Newcastle’s hero, making a superb save to deny Frank Lampard while Joe Cole had a goal disallowed. The dropped points could have proved costly for Scolari’s team but Liverpool were also off colour at Anfield. Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina had to make good saves in the first half from Jimmy Bullard and Andrew Johnson. The home side dominated the second half but could find no way past Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer. Arsenal’s season appears to be unravelling fast. With goalkeeper Manuel Almunia wearing the captain’s armband in place of Gallas, who was left behind in London by manager Arsene Wenger for his controversial comments, Arsenal were a shadow of the side that recently beat Manchester United. City went ahead in first-half stoppage time when a mistake by Gael Clichy gifted Ireland a goal after the City midfielder had burst into the area. Robinho made it 2-0 early in the second half after a splendid pass from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Sturridge won and converted a late penalty to condemn Arsenal to a second consecutive defeat without scoring a goal. Wenger refused to discuss Gallas's absence. “I will not speak about William Gallas in a post-match interview. He is a player who did not play today so what can he do? Nothing,” he said. Though there were no goals at Villa Park there was plenty of attractive football as Martin O'Neill's home team showed why they are challenging the so-called big four. Villa may have had a penalty in the second half when new England cap Gabriel Agbonlahor tumbled under a challenge from Nemanja Vidic while Ashley Young also went close. United could have taken the points though when Wayne Rooney blasted wastefully over the crossbar with only Villa keeper Brad Friedel to beat.
— Reuters |
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Houghton’s contract extended till 2011
New Delhi, November 23 Since Houghton took charge of the Indian team, the senior national team achieved two major triumphs--the Nehru Cup (2007) victory and the qualification for the Asian Cup finals after a gap of over 24 years. The AIFF Executive Committee, which met under the chairmanship of vice-president Praful Patel, also decided to give Houghton a substantial pay hike. He will now receive a monthly salary of $20,000, which will be $6000 more than his present salary. The Executive Committee also decided to shift the Federation Cup from Delhi to Kolkata. The 30th edition of the championship will be held at three venues in Kolkata--the Yuba Bharti Krirangan, the Salt Lake Stadium and the Barasat Stadium--from 4 to 21 December. An AIFF official said the Federation Cup was shifted out of Delhi as "the Delhi Soccer Association did not respond to our letter". With AIFF president and Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi in a critical condition for the last few weeks, the Executive Committee also decided to hold the Annual General Body meeting on 23 December in which the office-bearers will be elected. The Executive will again meet a day before the
AGM. |
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Odafa earns win for Churchill
Kolkata, November 23 Mohammedan Sporting, who had
their chances and impressed only in patches, remained in the relegation
zone with nine points. It was the home side who started proceedings on a
bright note but with striking duo of Mike Okoro and a knee-strapped
Theodore Wrobeh looking out of sorts, it was misses galore for
Mohammedan Sporting. Churchill Brothers picked the tempo after the
change of ends and as the misses from the home team continued, the Goan
side settled the issue in the 69th minute. The winner came four
minutes after Wrobeh failed to direct his effort on target. Churchill
Brothers’ right-sided midfielder Bineesh Balan’s shot came off the
woodwork and Odafa was quick to latch on to the rebound and notch up his
11th goal in 10 matches. In the dying minutes, Vimal Pariyar, who
replaced Wrobeh in the 79th minute, came close to finding the equaliser
but Mohammedan Sporting players seemed to have left their scoring boots
behind. Sporting beat AI
Margao: Sporting Clube De Goa rallied from a
goal down to quell a spirited challenge from Air India and register a
2-1 victory to maintain the top spot in the ONGC I-League at Nehru
stadium here today. Subhas Singh gave Air India an early lead in the 2nd
minute which was cancelled by Joseph Pereira in the 21st
minute. Nathaniel Amos then scored the winner in the 41st minute to
help Sporting Cube De Goa remain at the top of the table with 22 points
from 10 matches, and extend their lead over Air India by six points who
remained second with 16 points from as many matches. Hardly had the
team settled down, Air India took an early lead when Michael Tayo beat
an off side trap following a cross from the right by Soccor Velho and
took a crack at the goal which keeper Gerard Dmello managed to block but
the deflection went to Subhas, who made no mistake in tapping the ball
into the net. Unperturbed by the early goal, Sporting launched a series
of raids into the rival goal and after coming close to scoring twice
found the equaliser in the 21st minute. Amos who combined well with
junior upfront and initiated the move as he set up Joseph Pereira on the
top of the box who controlled the ball and essayed a left footer that
found the far post. Sporting held more of the exchanges with their
midfield and linked well as they probed into the rival half more often. —
PTI |
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ONGC enter Nehru hockey semis
Gurgaon, November 23 India Colts will take on ONGC XI while Bharat Petroleum will lock horns with Punjab and Sind Bank in the semi-finals tomorrow. In the inconsequential first Pool 'B' match of the day, the Railwaymen were undoubtedly the better team on display, beating Bharat Petroleum 3-1, while K H Jayanta Singh's field goal in the seventh minute ensured ONGC the last four berth, pipping the Bangladeshi side 1-0 in the last match of the group. In the customary match between SCR and Bharat Petrolem, Mohammad Ali opened the scoring as early as in the eighth minute, sounding the board through a field goal to hand the Railwaymen 1-0 lead. However, Har Prasad equalised for Bharat Petroleum in the 33rd minute of the match. Ashish Minz regained the lead for SCR in the 58th minute from a field goal and then five minutes later Mayank James hit the last nail in Bharat Petroleum's coffin, making the scoreline 3-1. However, the victory was not enough for the Railwayside to progress to the semi-finals as Bharat Petroleum had already booked their berth. — PTI |
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