Hyderabad, October 14
India’s spin duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rocked the England batting line-up with three wickets each as India inflicted a heavy 126-run defeat on England in the first ODI here today. Captain MS Dhoni topscored with an unbeaten knock of 87 as India had posted 300 for 7 and then Dhoni marshalled his resources well as England were dismissed for 174.

Opting to bat first, after winning the toss for the first time in six ODIs, captain Dhoni read the pitch well, though India had a stuttering start, and his 72-run fifth-wicket partnership with Raina and 65-run sixth-wicket stand with Jadeja put the hosts on the road to a big total. When Dhoni joined Raina, India were 123 for 4, in 28.5 overs, after the exit of Virat Kohli. But the skipper’s presence at the other end inspired Raina to go for the big shots and the duo put the England bowling to the sword to gather runs at a fast clip.

Raina, who was lucky to survive a run-out chance at the non-striker’s end, when on 16, made the best of the escape to crack 61 off 55 balls with five fours and two sixes. Raina and Dhoni were getting on top of the otherwise restrictive bowling and fine fielding by England when he went for repeat mighty hit off the gangling pacer Steven Finn, only to offer a tumbling catch to Bairstow at point.

Dhoni and Raina were severe on Finn in the 39th over, when the captain carted two successive fours off the first two balls, and Raina hoisted a huge six. But Finn got his revenge when Raina tried to repeat the shot only to lose his wicket during the power play.

Dhoni and Raina put pressure on England when they took 11 runs off Ravi Bopara in the 35th over, to take the hosts past the 150-run mark. Raina then took Tim Bresnan to the heavens to cart the first six of the day after he had feasted himself for a four in the preceding ball in over No. 38.

Though England did not give away too many runs in the beginning, they became wayward sometimes, to concede 23 extras, which included a staggering 18 wides. Once he tasted blood, Dhoni dug his heel in, and he was the inspiration behind the two huge sixes struck by Jadeja, and the knock put Jadeja in the league on an all-rounder.

But at one stage in the early phase of the match, it became doubtful if India could get past the 200-run mark. Ajinkya Rahane got a reprieve before he opened his account in the second over, with just three runs on the board. And Parthiv Patel became a victim of an unfortunate run-out at the non-striker’s end and his exit after making nine and the team total at 17, portended to a grave situation.

But Gautam Gambhir made some amends for his inability to perform in England, with a 33-ball 32, as his strokeplay had begun testing the England bowling, when the visitors used a pace-spin attack to put the shackles on the hosts. Rahane could not last long as he was stumped for 15, and India lost the second wicket for 52.

Scoreboard

India:
Parthiv run out 9
Rahane st Kieswetter b Swann 15
Gambhir lbw b Dernbach 32
Kohli c Pietersen b Patel 37
Raina c Bairstow b Finn 61
Dhoni not out 87
Jadeja run out 27
Ashwin run out 8
Praveen not out 1
Extras: (lb-4, w-18, nb-1) 23
Total: (7 wkts, 50 overs) 300
Bowling: Bresnan 10-0-66-0, Finn 9-0-67-1, Dernbach 10-0-58-1, Swann 10-1-35-1, Patel 8-0-49-1, Bopara 3-0-21-0.

England
Cook c Vinay b Jadeja 60
Kieswetter c Dhoni b Praveen 7
Pietersen run out 19
Trott b Jadeja 26
Bopara c & b Ashwin 8
Bairstow c & b Jadeja 3
Patel b Yadav 16
Bresnan st Dhoni b Ashwin 4
Swann b Yadav 8
Finn not out 18
Dernbach b Ashwin 2
Extras (w 3) 3
Total (all out; 36.1 overs) 174
Bowling: Praveen 8-1-38-1, Vinay 5-0-24-0, Kohli 3-0-11-0, Yadav 5-0-32-2, Ashwin 8.1-0-35-3, Jadeja 7-0-34-3. 

Patiala, October 14
In a major reprieve to all the six dope tainted athletes the National Drug Testing Laboratory (NDTL) has established the presence of two banned substances in the Ginseng supplements provided to them by their Ukrainian coach Yuri Ogrodnik. The development is crucial for the entire doping scandal that hit the nation some four months ago, with the athletes now in a position to get the benefit of doubt and stay in the race to qualify for the London Olympics if cleared by National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).

Athletes Sini Jose, Tiana, Ashwini Akkunji, Priyanka Panwar, Mandeep Kaur and Jauna Murmu were tested positive in doping and their cases are being heard by the NADA-appointed Anti-Disciplinary Panel. The athletes are facing a ban of up to two years if found guilty.

Senior Sports Authority of India (SAI) officials confirmed to The Tribune that an NDTL report confirmed the presence of “Methanndienone and Stenazolol” from these supplements that were given to the laboratory for testing by a panel that visited NIS, Patiala on July 4.

The panel, headed by Executive Director (TEAMS) P.C. Kashyap, assisted by Project Officer Satish Rana, had collected the same Ginseng from two athletes in Patiala after the doping controversy. The samples were then sent to NDTL and its report was received almost a week back.

The report has now been submitted to the Sports Ministry-appointed one-man panel headed by former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mukul Mudgal, probing the menace of dope in the country.

Kashyap, when contacted, confirmed that the NDTL report has found the two banned substances in the Ginseng supplements he had collected from Mandeep Kaur and Juana during his visit to NIS to probe the matter in July. “The report is already submitted,” he added.

“With this report from NDTL and its findings, now there could be benefit of doubt to these athletes that it was not a case of deliberate and systematic doping and they took all medications as per prescription,” said a senior functionary probing the scandal.

Sources confirmed that this result is a major shot in the arm as all the athletes and their sacked coach Ogrodnik had maintained that he had given Ginseng supplements to the athletes that he bought from China, after the official supplements finished inside NIS.

“While official supplements finished before April 30, it was only in May that the contract was given an extension and supplements supplied again into NIS, by which time the foreign coach Yuri Ogrodnik had given self-bought supplements to the National campers on May 10,” stated another SAI report already submitted.

Days after his sacking, Ogrodnik had told the media that he was open to a probe and whatever said, he had not given dope to any of his campers except Ginseng brought from Guangzhou. “I accept that supplements were bought by me, but there was an absolute necessity as they were not available with NIS and the Olympic-bound Indian campers needed it,” he had told TNS a few days before leaving the country.

Justice Mudgal told The Tribune that he has gone through the NDTL report and its contents are very serious as they back the claims of the athletes. “I will surely make it a part of my probe report on doping as the NDTL results gives these athletes some benefit,” he said. 

Patiala, October 14
After 20 out of 51 kabaddi players failed the dope tests conducted by NADA on October 5 at Ludhiana, the Punjab Sports Department has decided to ban these players for the upcoming Second World Kabaddi Cup.

Talking to The Tribune, Deputy Director of the Sports Department, Sohan Lal Lotey, said that the players won’t be allowed to take part in the tournament.

“We have already intimated the selection committee that the players who have been found positive should not be allowed to attend the preparatory camp,” Lotey said. “We totally favour the concept of dope-free sports and would allow only those players that do not indulge in such unhealthy practices.

“Even if 19 players have tested positive, we still are left with 32 players who are extremely talented and we are sure that they would make India proud,” he added.

About the players who were tested positive during the First Kabaddi Cup, he said that even they have not been allowed to represent India.

Meanwhile, NADA Director General Rahul Bhatnagar said that NADA would conduct dope tests for each player who will take part in the tournament.

“Even if I have to appoint 50 officers to take the samples, I would do that because we are committed towards make sports dope-free,” Bhatnagar said. “I have already asked Pargat Singh to ensure that all players were genuine and also requested that they should ask all foreign players to get certificates from their native country certifying that they did not indulge in doping and had been found negative in dope tests,” he added.

New Delhi, October 14
Duncan Fletcher has not had the best of times since taking over as India cricket coach but veteran batsman Rahul Dravid says he should not be written off just yet as the Zimbabwean needs "more time and space" to produce results.

Keeping in mind his wealth of experience and exploits with the England team, which includes the famous Ashes series win over Australia in 2005, Fletcher was appointed as Gary Kisten's successor after India's World Cup triumph.

The 63-year-old, however, had a forgettable experience in his first major outing with the Indian team in England, where the visitors, approaching the series as world's numero uno Test side, were whitewashed in all formats of the game.

But Dravid backed Fletcher to turn things around for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men, provided he is given more time.

"Look at his (Fletcher's) achievement with the England team. He comes in with a lot of experience behind him. He has vast knowledge to offer (to India)," Dravid said. "It's too premature to judge him. We need to give more time and space to him to produce results," he said. — PTI 

New Delhi, October 14
Chiragh Kumar’s first-day showing at the US$ 1.25 million Hero Indian Open was good, but also generated some typically cynical golfing remarks. “We’ll see, how he goes tomorrow,” was one such statement. Well, we did see, and if anything, the young Delhi pro ended up better off, now holding a three-stroke lead after the second day.

What is remarkable in this entire display is the consistency showed by Chiragh. He has been largely very sound, and had it not been for a dropped stroke on the par-4 13th, he would have been so much better off. Still, his five-under-par 67 today gives him a two-day total of 13-under 131, three ahead of Australia’s David Gleeson.

Gleeson had two eagles for the day’s best round of 66 to lie in second at 134, while Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat was a further two shots back in third after his error-free round of 67.

Ross Bain of Scotland, Scott Barr of Australia and Young Nam of Korea were tied in fourth place on 137.

Chiragh was a little surprised himself. “I really didn’t expect to shoot another low number but I’m glad I did,” he said. “The Indian Open is such a big tournament for us and it has grown tremendously. It is like a fifth Major to all the Indian players.”

The halfway cut was set at one-over-par 145 with a total of 70 players making the weekend rounds. Among those who missed out was the much-vaunted Shiv Kapur as well as Jyoti Randhawa, while Edoardo Molinari is still around, though he will need a miracle to get anything more than his airfare back.

Leading scores: 131 - Chiragh Kumar (Ind) 64-67; 134 - David Gleeson (Aus) 68-66; 136 - Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 69-67; 137 - Ross Bain (Sco) 65-72, Scott Barr (Aus) 67-70, Young Nam (Kor) 69-68; 138 - Daisuke Kataoka (Jpn) 72-66, Harendra Gupta (Ind) 72-66; 139 - Lu Wei-chih (Tpe) 71-68, Adilson da Silva (Bra) 68-71, Zaw Moe (Myn) 65-74, Himmat Rai (Ind) 69-70, S.S.P. Chowrasia (Ind) 69-70; 140 - Ben Fox (US) 72-68, Angelo Que (Phi) 68-72, Scott Hend (Aus) 71-69, Tjaart van der Walt (RSA) 69-71, Rick Gibson (Can) 70-70, Siddikur (Ban) 70-70, Sujjan Singh (Ind) 70-70. 

Sydney, October 14
Australian Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke has defended his players against match-fixing allegations after a sports agent said the country's top cricketers were "the biggest" culprits.

Mazhar Majeed, accused by prosecutors of taking bribes to fix matches, also said that Australian cricketers had fixed "brackets", a set period of a match on which punters bet, a London court heard on Monday.

The accusation drew a scornful response from Cricket Australia earlier this week and Clarke said on Friday he was "very confident" no Australian players were involved.

"For me personally, it's not the Australian way," Clarke told reporters in Sydney before boarding a plane for the tour of South Africa.

"Never in my time have I experienced a conversation with anybody about any such thing. There's obviously been a couple of occasions when guys have been approached and that's been reported to our team manager and the ICC ... so all the boys in the Australian team are aware that it is happening, it is going on.

"But it's never involved me and I'm very confident it's never involved any of the Australian players." Clarke's comments come as the trial involving spot-fixing allegations against former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif continues in London. — Reuters

Jalandhar, October 14
Star studded Air India Mumbai will be pitched against holders Indian Oil, Mumbai in the finals of the 28th Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey tournament to be held at Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium, Burlton Park tomorrow.

In a one-sided match, experienced Air India men routed Namdhari XI Sirsa by 2-0 while in the second match of the day, Indian Oil Mumbai defeated Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai by 6-3. This is the second consecutive entry of Air India in the finals as last year the team had ended up as the runners up of the tournament.

For Air India it was a smooth sailing and a fine show as their Lalit Upadhyay single-handedly steered the team to victory. Lalit scored a field goal from the pass of Joga Singh in the 5th minute of the game 1-0 followed by another goal by him in the 30th minute of the play 2-0.

The Namdhari XI men ended up wasting a good penalty corner in the 9th minute while poor defense virtually brought the team to a halt. At half time, Air India was leading by 2-0.

The second half of the game saw both the teams mounting pressure on each other but failed to capitalise. In the 55th minute of the play, Namdhari’s Sukhchain Singh wasted a golden chance to reduce the margin, which in a way brought curtains down for their team while Air India managed an easy entry into the finals. 

New Delhi, October 14
Rutuja Bhosale of Pune shocked seasoned campaigner Rushmi Chakravarthy to enter the final of the ladies singles event in the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here today.

Ratuja, the Asian junior champion, defeated Rushmi 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association courts to set up a clash against Isha Lakhani in the final.

Isha prevailed over Soujana Bavishetti 6-4 6-2 in another last four match.

"I am happy I am in the final, I was not expecting to be here," said a 
jubilant Rutuja after her stunning win.

In the other semi-final, Isha, who has been popping in painkillers the whole week, was in no mood to end her campaign and she comfortably brushed aside Soujana's challenge.

"I have found it tough because I have been in pain. I was out of match practice and was pulling it away one at a time," said Isha.

Meanwhile, in the men's singles event, second seed Yuki Bhambri has set up a summit clash with Vishnu Vardhan. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

ED issues notice to JP Group
New Delhi:The Enforcement Directorate today issued an estimated Rs 200 crore notice for alleged violation of foreign exchange rules to the JP Group, which is organising the Formula One Indian Grand Prix. ED sources said notices under the provisions of FEMA have been sent twice to the firm JP Infra in the last few months. — PTI

Poor start by Atwal
St SIMONS ISLAND: Arjun Atwal got off to a disappointing start as he shot one-over 71 to be placed tied 91 after being two-under at one stage here at the McGladrey Classic on the PGA Tour. Atwal, who is now on 92nd position in the Money List and needs to stay inside top-125 to keep his card for 2012, had two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine followed by two more birdies on 10th and 11th, which put him in a good position. — PTI

Chopra in joint lead
MIAMI: Indian-origin Swede golfer Daniel Chopra grabbed a share of the lead after firing a sparkling eight-under 63 in the opening round of the Nationwide Tour's Miccosukee Championship here. Chopra shared the lead with Jason Kokrak, another player who has a win in Nationwide this year. Rahil Gangjee also shot a good round of four-under 67 and was lying 17th with six others. Gangjee began with a bogey on the first but found birdies on the third, fifth and seventh, but a bogey on the eighth meant he turned in one-under. — PTI

Bayern to play in Delhi
NEW DELHI: The famed German football club Bayern Munich is scheduled to play here in January next month for a friendly match against Indian national team, the All India Football Federation said today. India are also playing two more international friendlies -- against Zambia on November 19 and against South Africa in Johannesburg on January 7 - besides the two matches already announced against Malaysia on November 13 and 16. Because of these matches, the I-League schedule will have to be rejigged, it was decided in the I-League Committee meeting here today. — PTI

Jaffer to lead Mumbai
MUMBAI: Wasim Jaffer will lead Mumbai in the West Zone T20 League tournament scheduled at Rajkot from October 20-24. Mumbai take on Baroda in their opening match on October 20 and then would clash with Gujarat and Saurashtra over the next two days before ending the league with a match against Maharashtra on October 24. The squad: Wasim Jaffer (Capt), Bravish Shetty, Sushant Marathe, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddharth Chitnis, Shoaib Shaikh, Sujit Nayak, Iqbal Abdullah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Avishkar Salvi, Kshemal Waingankar, Prashant Naik, Parag Khanapurkar, Murtuza Hussain and Ankit Chavan. Coach: Sulakshan Kulkarni. — PTI

‘Wright right for Aus’
SYDNEY: Former New Zealand captain John Wright is the most suitable candidate for coaching the Australian team, noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck has said. “John Wright is the coach best placed to lift the Australian team. Although other worthy candidates have put their hats in the ring, the Kiwi is the right man for the job. He has an impressive track record, an affable manner that conceals toughness and a fund of cricketing sense, Roebuck wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. — ANI

Victor partners with RBA
CHANDIGARH: Victor, the no.1 badminton brand in Europe has signed a sponsorship deal with the Ratti Badminton Academy (RBA) Jalandhar. The 3-year-deal involves the supply of shuttles and other badminton gear, sponsorships of players and support on other fronts for RBA. The academy is aimed at encouraging the badminton enthusiasts to a new level. Victor is distributed in India by Stag International, one of India’s leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter of sports goods and equipments. Stag is the market leader in table tennis goods and sponsors 23 states and 40+ international table tennis teams. — TNS

IAF emerge champions
NEW DELHI: The 60th Inter-Services Cricket Championship 2011-12 was won by Indian Air Force, who beat Army Red in the final. IAF won the toss, elected to field and bundled up Army Red for 211. The IAF batsmen chased the runs comfortably and piled up a total of 366 runs in the first innings. In the second innings Army Red were bowled out for 163, leaving IAF to score just 10 runs to win. Air Vice Marshal Suneel Soman was the chief guest for the occasion and handed over the winners’ trophy to the captain of IAF team, Imran Khan. — TNS