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SL Tour of India
Ranji Trophy
Bolt Jolt
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Surinder hopes CM doesn’t ‘cop out’
Akhil back in bantam weight category
Sree back;
Zaheer, Harbhajan rested
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3rd Test: Day 1 Sri Lanka fight back
Mumbai, December 2 The Indians had themselves to blame for allowing the Lankans off the hook as the bowling lacked consistency to put pressure on the batsmen who managed to score at a brisk pace right through the day on a testing Brabourne track. The Lankans got off to a good start but slipped to 188 for four from a comfortable 128 for one with captain Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera returning to the pavilion in quick succession. Angelo Mathews and Muthiah Muralitharan were at the crease at stumps on an eventful day which saw the Indians bowling well only in patches. The 33-year-old Dilshan again tormented the Indians with his second century in the series and his sixth this year while Tharanga Paranavitana and Prasanna Jayawardene were the other notable contributors. Harbhajan unhappy with team’s low energy level
Not entirely happy with the team's energy level in the field, star off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said the hosts could have saved 35-40 runs by showing a little more intensity on the first day of their third and deciding Test against Sri Lanka here today. "We could have bowled a little better than what we did today. We tried a little too much," Harbhajan said. Aiming for 400: Dilshan
Sri Lanka are looking to cross the 400-run mark tomorrow which should be good enough on a track that has decent pace and bounce in it, star opener and century-maker Tillakaratne Dilshan said here today. Dilshan's fluent 109 was the highlight of day one of the third and final India-Sri Lanka Test and the visitors rode on his century and Angelo Mathews's unbeaten 86 to reach 366 for eight at stumps. — PTI
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Himachal stare defeat
Amit Khanna Tribune News Service
Mohali, December 2
Punjab now just need 94 runs, with two full days and 10 wickets to spare, to assure themselves their second win on the trot this season. Incidentally, Himachal have lost twice this season after securing the first innings lead. The visitors slumped to their lowest total ever against Punjab and could only manage a meager 82 in the second innings before taking a first innings lead of 11 runs in the morning. Last innings’ chief tormentor Manpreet Gony again unleashed a devastating swing display and took another five-wicket haul to take his tally to 10 for the match. Hyderabad’s earlier lowest total against Punjab was 89 at Jalandhar in 1985-86. Punjab started the day at 37 for the loss of 2 wickets and folded up for 186 just before tea. Birthday boy Udey Kaul displayed immense patience for his 50 valuable runs and held up one end to take his team closer to the opposition’s score. Wickets kept on tumbling but Kaul stood tall among the ruins in his more than four hours stay at the crease in difficult batting conditions. Sohal and Love played cameos towards the end to take Punjab to 186. For the visitors, Vikramjit Malik completed his second five-wicket haul of the season and was the only bowler who seemed to be enjoying the helpful Mohali conditions. Though his effort was overshadowed after a pathetic display of batsmanship by his team in the last session of the day, he bolwed his heart out to defy Punjab the first innings lead. He has now taken 28 wickets from the five matches this season, while Gony has taken 30. Himachal had another 38 overs to negotiate after Punjab were bowled out just before tea. They started on a disastorous note and lost Thakkar on the fourth ball of the innings. Love struck again in his fourth over to remove Sangram with team’s score reading 24. Dharmani brought Gony on in the 13th over and by the end of it Gony was eyeing a hat-trick, claiming Mukesh and Mannu on consecutive deliveries. Brief Score: Himachal (Ist Innings) 197 Punjab (Ist Innings) 186 (Kaul 50, Malik 5 for 68) Himachal (2nd Innings) 82 (Indulkar 16, Gony 5 for 21) Andhra make 138
S Budhwar jolted Andhra four times to restrict them to a paltry 138 in their first innings and secured valuable 32 runs lead on the basis of first innings score of 170. For Andhra, India discard Venugopal rao was the top scorer with 24 runs. Joginder Sharma, Rana and Dhruv took two wickets a piece. Brief Score: Haryana (Ist Innings) 170 Andhra Pradesh (Ist Innings) 138 (Venugopal Rao 24, Budhwar 4 for 60) MP take huge lead
Guided by Bundela and Mishra’s tons, hosts Madhya Pradesh raised a mountain of runs to end the day at 440 for the loss of seven wickets in their first innings against Jammu and Kashmir to take their lead to a hefty 269. Visitors had only managed 171 after being asked to bat first on Monday. Abid Nabi took four wickets and Beigh claimed two. Brief Score: J&K (Ist Innings) 171 MP (Ist Innings) 440 for 7 (Bundela 141 not out, Nabi 4 for 124) |
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Bolt Jolt
London, December 2 “I’ve spoken to Glen Mills (Bolt’s coach) who confirmed that no decision will be made about Usain’s participation in the Commonwealth Games until May-June 2010 when he starts racing in the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Diamond League,” Simms told ‘Insidethegames.com’, a sports website here. Kalmadi, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain, claimed that Bolt, the world record holder for the 100 and 200 metres event, would definitely compete in the Delhi Games scheduled from October 3 to 14 next year. The star sprinter, however, maintains that it is too early to commit to the event, the build-up to which has been far from ideal with mounting concerns about the pace of infrastructure development. Considered the fastest man on the planet, Bolt had missed the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne due to a hamstring injury. Asked about his chances of participating in the Delhi Games a few weeks ago, Bolt had said he has left the matter to his coach. “I don’t know (if I will be attending), you will have to direct that question to my coach, he determines what I do. For me it’s cool, as long as it’s a championship I always go out there and do my best ...It’s always good to have under your belt a title, but as I said, it’s all about the coach.” —
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Surinder hopes CM doesn’t ‘cop out’
Chandigarh, December 2 She is one of the proud trainees of Dronacharya award winner Baldev Singh who brought Shahbad Markanda on the international hockey map. “I am perhaps the only player from Haryana, who has represented the State for more than 10 years, leading its team to gold medal win in four of the five National Games. While many other sportsmen and women, who never represented Haryana, have been honoured and given jobs by the Haryana government, I sometime wonder why my claims are being ignored. I am sure it is neither any gender bias nor any game bias,” says 27-year-old Surinder Kaur who comes from a lower middle class family. She says that she has full faith in the Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who had promised to make her a Deputy Superintendent of Police after she is chosen to lead India. “I am now captain of Indian team. I am happy that the country won gold or silver medals in four of the seven tournaments played under my captaincy. Though I am working as a class III head clerk in Railways, I have always made myself available to the State for representation in National championships. Honoured with Arjuna award early this year, Surinder received the Bhim award in 2000. In 20 national level championships she represented Haryana, the team won 12 gold medals and three silver medals. It was under her captaincy that India won the Asia Under-18 gold in 2000. She was also a member of gold medal team of the inaugural Afro-Asian games as well as fifth Senior Asia Cup Championship. In the 2006 Commonwealth Games, she was a member of the silver medal winner Indian team. Her most cherished performance was when she led India to victory podium in Russia in the inaugural Champions Challenge early this year. “I am happy that some other hockey players, both men and women, have been given employment as Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Haryana government. My achievements in the field of sports are certainly more than any of my contemporaries as I additionally continued to represent my state throughout my career,” adds Surinder Kaur hoping that the Haryana government would live up to its promise given to her a couple of years ago. |
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Akhil back in bantam weight category
New Delhi, December 2 The 28-year-old, who jumped a division to feather weight (57kg) at the beginning of the year, will have to drop back to bantam weight, which was revised from 54kg to 56kg a couple of months ago by the International Boxing Association (AIBA). The World governing body of the sport had abolished the feather weight category in its reshuffling of divisions. Akhil, who has had a tough year battling one injury setback after another, returned from South Africa following a month-long rehabilitation to recover from a wrist problem. “It’s been tough but hopefully the new year would mark a new beginning. I will have to come back to bantam weight now, which would be the toughest category from now on because a lot of boxers will either lose or gain weight to fight in this division,” Akhil said. The injury had cut short his bid for a World Championship medal as he lost in the very first round of the event in September. But after the rehabilitation which was sponsored by the Mittal Champions Trust under renowned physiotherapist Heath Matthews, the Haryana boxer is back to being fit. “He is improving all the time. Just two more months needed and he would be fit to take the ring,” Matthews said. But even in prime fitness, the competition has just got tougher for Akhil as younger boxers like his own protege Jitender (22) and Chhote Lal Yadav (23), who have made their mark internationally in the past one year, would be up against him. “That’s the tricky part. He (Jitender) is like a brother but I will now have to compete against him. Chhote too is very close to me,” the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist said. Age catching up and a body that has taken several injury blows don’t bother Akhil much and he says, “It’s all in the mind. I don’t think I am any less than these younger guys. I, in fact, know their strengths and weaknesses.” —
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Sree back;
Zaheer, Harbhajan rested
Mumbai, December 2 Delhi paceman Ashish Nehra also found a place in both the squads, announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the selection meeting here. Sudeep Tyagi, the Uttar Pradesh speedster, who was in India’s one-day squad during the recent series against Australia has been retained in the squad for the two T20 matches and and the first two one-dayers. Struggling Ishant Sharma was included in the T20 squad but was omitted from the ODI team, which will have Zaheer, Praveen Kumar, Nehra, Sreesanth and Tyagi as specialist pace bowlers. Opener Gautam Gambhir, who has skipped the ongoing third and final Test against Sri Lanka to attend his sister’s wedding, has been named in both the squads. The national senior selection committee, headed by former captain K Srikkanth, have opted to give a chance to a few youngsters who have done well in the domestic circuit. The 25-year-old paceman Dinda shot into limelight in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and has been a consistent performer in the Ranji Trophy matches for Bengal. Ashwin is a promising off-spin bowler and also a useful batsman down the order. His all round abilities will provide variety to the team in the shortest format of the game. The teams to be captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni have a blend of youth and experience with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan and Zaheer being the senior players. T20 Squad: M S Dhoni (C), V Sehwag, G Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj, Dinesh Kartick, Yusuf Pathan, R Ashwin, Ishant, Nehra, S Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma. ODIs: M S Dhoni (C), S Tendulkar, V Sehwag, G Gambhir, Yuvraj, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Sudeep Tyagi and Virat Kohli. — PTI |
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Mumbai, December 2
London, December 2
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