Chennai, December 12
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni reckons that the upcoming four-Test series is his team's "best chance" of upstaging Australia in their own backyard but will not take them lightly despite their recent slump.

India and Australia will square off from December 26 in a highly-anticipated series in which the visitors seem to have a good chance given the struggle through transition that Michael Clarke's men are enduring.

On a day the Indian players head Down Under, Australia were upstaged in a Test at home by New Zealand for the first time in 26 years.

"Even last time we had a very good chance and we did perform well. It is not like that the opposition is not doing well (but) it will be the best chance for us," Dhoni told reporters in a pre-departure press conference.

"We have to play to the kind of talent that we have got and not worry about such things. We need to work on our strengths and weaknesses. We are more concerned about where we need to work on and not worry about what kind of opposition we are playing," the skipper stated.

India's two first-choice pacers - Praveen Kumar and Varun Aaron - were ousted even before the tour started but Dhoni insisted that led by the experienced Zaheer Khan, bowling will click Down Under.

"Our bowlers are talented. Of course, when you do not have your main bowlers you need a bit of time. Once the youngsters play more and more games, that is how they get experienced at the top level.

"I think talent wise we are there. We have a good exposure for the youngsters who are part of the side now touring Australia," he said.

Dhoni took a break from cricket by opting out of the just-concluded ODI series against the West Indies at home and he said he is back a rejuvenated man.

"I needed the break and I am happy that I got it. The team also did really well. I am looking forward to the Australian tour," he said.

"We had enough time for some preparation also before the start of the first Test match that we play. Looking good as of now. Hopefully we do not have too many injuries before the start of the Test series," he added.

Asked which aspect of the game the Indian team needs to improve on, Dhoni said, "You want to improve in all departments always. You have seen cricketers who have been part of international cricket for more than 10 years still believe in improving and they keep improving. It is a constant process and everyone is part of it."

But he did hope that Indian fielders, certainly not the best in circuit by their own admission, would latch on to catches that come their way in Australia.

"We would like to improve in all the three departments. Catching will be very crucial. Last series that we played in India we did not have so many catching fielders. We need to have a bit more catching fielders. They say catches will win matches.

"It is true so that will be one of the areas where we have to work on. On big grounds, running between wickets and trying to keep the batsman on strike are also necessary. All these small things help you put pressure on the opposition," he explained.

Despite the couple of injury setbacks before the tour, Dhoni hoped that players would remain fit through the gruelling tour, which also features a tri-nation ODI series in February-March.

"If you see the injury list, it is quite blank as of now. More often than not, the 15 or 16 who are in the team will be ready for selection to play. That takes a bit of pressure off and you need not worry about the playing eleven that much and most of players get their berths on merit.” — PTI

New Delhi: Taking a tough stand, the BCCI today scrapped the contract with its broadcast rights holder Nimbus for defaulting on payments and forfeited the bank guarantee amount of Rs 2,000 crore.

The decision to terminate Nimbus' contract, three years before its expiry, was taken at the BCCI's emergent working committee meeting where members were "unanimous" in scrapping the telecast deal for India's home series matches. "Members were unanimous that such an organisation which has been a regular defaulter in terms of payments cannot be continued with," one of the members of the working committee said on condition of anonymity.

Nimbus, which had signed a four-year deal with the BCCI in October 2009 for a whopping Rs 2000 crore, paid Rs 24 crore today ahead of the working committee meeting here but there was still an outstanding amount of Rs 88 crore.

"Not a single series has gone where they have paid the full amount on time. Also another reason is that India's international commitments at home have finished with the ODI series against the West Indies," the official said. — PTI 

New Delhi, December 12
The World Series Hockey (WSH) league has been postponed till the completion of the Olympic qualifiers, to be held in Delhi in the second week of February. The Indian Hockey Federation-Nimbus combined realised that the WSH would not be a success without the participation of the leading Indian players, hence the change in dates.

Some of the top Indian players who had been contracted by the WSH had pulled out, saying that their first preference would be to play for the country in the qualifiers. The WSH, which was slated to be held from December 17 to January 22 across nine venues in the country, will now be held from February 29 to April 1. The Indian players did not want to forego the WSH altogether, as the league would have given them handsome pay packets, which they would not have otherwise got from anywhere.

WSH and IHF announced here today that “the decision to adjust the dates of hockey’s biggest annual event was taken after a request made by the Indian Hockey Federation to the organisers of the event. “The IHF has been in discussion with the players, participating coaches and match officials, all of whom have reiterated their commitment to play in the World Series Hockey,” they added.

Hockey India, which has been recognised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as the sole body for running the game in the country, had objected to the clashing of the WSH with the National camp for the qualifiers from December 11.

WSH had also booked the National Stadium to host the Delhi leg of the league matches, as well as the opening ceremony, but HI was against this “clash of events”, though Sports Minister Ajay Maken had stated that he had no objection to the WSH being staged at the Sports Authority of India-controlled stadium, so long as WSH was willing to pay stadium rents on commercial rates, to which the league had agreed.

But the IHF has not taken kindly to the stand adopted by HI. “We are extremely saddened by the intimidation tactics employed by Hockey India to try and deprive Indian hockey players of an opportunity to earn a living from the sport of hockey,” said IHF president R.K. Shetty. He said the original WSH schedule was chalked out on the basis that the National camp for the qualifiers was to start on January 24.

“This date was communicated by the HI officials in writing to the players, as far back as March this year. Unfortunately, HI chose to reschedule the camp to the 11th of December, with the obvious intention of disturbing the players and their preparations for WSH. This re-scheduling was done after the announcement of WSH dates,” alleged Shetty.

He continued that this was done “with the express intent of protecting our National players from further harassment from HI, IHF has requested WSH to take the high ground and adjust the dates…. The event will now commence in February after the completion of India’s Olympic qualifiers on February 26,” Shetty added.

Two leading players, Arjun Halappa and Tushar Khandker, welcomed the rescheduling of the dates. “World Series Hockey is the best thing to have happened to Indian hockey. I am committed to participate in the inaugural event and extremely grateful to the organisers for shifting the date after the Olympic qualifiers,” stated Halappa. Khandker said the postponement of WSH was “fantastic news for the players.

“We were always committed to participate in WSH and the change in date ensures that there is no clash with our National duty. It is going to be a very good opportunity for the Indian players to shine on a global platform,” he added.

Hobart, December 12
Doug Bracewell bowled New Zealand to a sensational seven-run victory over Australia in the second Test in Hobart on Monday for the Kiwis' first win in Australia for 26 years.

This is New Zealand's first Test win against Australia since 1993 and the first on Australian soil since 1985 and evened up the two-Test series at 1-1 after the hosts won the opening Test in Brisbane by nine wickets. The Black Caps claimed eight wickets for 74 runs to claim a dramatic victory midway through the fourth day of an extraordinary Test match at Bellerive Oval.

Bracewell finished with 6/40 off 16.4 overs in a match-winning performance to stun the Australians, who appeared on track for victory at 159/2 chasing 241 runs to win.

But the Australians folded spectacularly and David Warner's unbeaten maiden Test century went in vain as wickets tumbled around him. — AFP

New Delhi, December 12
Will the Sports Authority of India-All India Football Federation tie-up, under the Sports Ministry’s legacy plan to put the infrastructure created for the 2010 Commonwealth Games for constructive use, sustain?

Under the plan, being executed at the behest of Sports Minister Ajay Maken, the AIFF will be allowed to use the Nehru Stadium for 40 days every year to hold tournaments and coaching camps. The SAFF Championship was the first tournament to be held at the Nehru Stadium under this agreement, the first after the CWG.

Maken himself was witness to the ravage caused to the stadium by keeping it under lock and key. There were plus and flip sides for the SAI in throwing open the gates of the stadium for the tournament.

The plus point was that AIFF had reportedly spent over Rs 5 lakh for sprucing up the grass turf and cleaning up synthetic tracks, grandstands and public conveniences, which were in a terrible state.

SAI understood the need to use the stadium regularly, at least for its proper upkeep, and the best way to do it, is to hold important events at the stadium. But the flip side was that, after the high-octane second semi-final match between Nepal and Afghanistan, which the latter won, there was a clash between the supporters of both teams on the East Stand. At the end of the clash, over 100 chairs were ripped apart or damaged.

This incident was akin to the one at the Ferozshah Kotla two years ago, when the packed East Stand erupted in violence when the India-Sri Lanka Test match was abandoned due to the unplayable condition of the under-prepared pitch.

At the end of the fans’ fury, the bucket seats of the lower and upper tiers of the stand were ripped apart, and flung around. The Delhi and District Cricket Association had to spend a few lakhs to replace those seats.

Similarly, the SAI will incur some expense in replacing the damaged seats at the Nehru Stadium, but the AIFF has a grouse too, as it lost money by holding the championship there. Only a few thousand spectators had turned up there, barring the semi-finals and final, due to the distance of complex from the hub of Delhi football -- Old Delhi.

Had the SAFF Championship been held at the Ambedkar Stadium, the ‘home’ of Delhi football, the turnout would have been large, filling the AIFF coffers. Since the Asian Football Confederation had funded the SAFF Championship, it did not pinch AIFF. But the federation would be shy of holding major national events at the Nehru Stadium, when it comes to forking out money from its own coffers.

The Nehru Stadium keeps the fans away, due to its distance, high-priced tickets and the many detours the fans have to make to gain entry, through gates spread too far apart. Deploying security at the stadium is also a heavy strain on AIFF money.

So, whether the SAI-AIFF partnership will hold will become clear if AIFF opts to host other events at the venue. 

Patiala, December 12
The abject failure of India’s sporting system, which leaves the second string of Indian track and field athletes nowhere near international standards of Olympics qualification, has forced the Government’s hand, paving the way for the dope-tainted athletes to make a comeback. However, on the face of things, the Government and officials deny extending any favours to the athletes facing probes.

The much-hyped dope scandal that rocked the country’s sporting fraternity early this year is headed for a quiet burial. After a proposed clean chit by the one-man panel of retired Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal to the eight tainted athletes, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is eagerly awaiting the verdict by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) Disciplinary Panel.

Highly-placed sources confirmed that if the NADA panel rules in their favour, or if they escape with a one-year ban instead of two years, the athletes would have time till July 12, 2012, to qualify for the London Olympics.

With arguments already completed and the order reserved in the cases involving six top women quarter-milers during the hearing before a NADA panel things could well be back to square one, since the Mudgal Panel has already recommended a clean chit for all.

“My entire report was based on data collected from athletes, staffers of Sports Authority of India (SAI), test results by National Drug Testing Laboratory (NDTL) of supplements collected from accused athletes and an independent probe,” Justice Mudgal told The Tribune.

“My report is a fact-finding report and has been kept under wraps till the panel announces its verdict,” he added, accepting that he knows that his report is not binding on NADA as they are a statutory body.

Interestingly SAI has no authority to intervene in the ongoing hearing process being brought forward by NADA. Yet it managed to gather supplements given by the athletes and got them tested from NDTL. SAI even got an internal inquiry done on doping, even when NADA had officially taken over the case.

Meanwhile AFI sources confirmed that the Government was trying to get the minimum sanction possible for the six women 400m runners and lobbying for that has already started to ensure that these athletes return to competition in time to stake their claims for the London Games.

AFI Director M.L. Dogra told The Tribune that their federation cannot intervene in this episode and would accept whatever NADA gives to them in writing. “It is their (NADA’s) panel and report. We would accept and forward it to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as it is for approval,” he stated, adding that athletes have time till July 12 to qualify for the Olympics and IAAF events are scheduled till then.

The Dinesh Dayal-headed hearing panel has reserved its order in the doping cases of Mandeep Kaur, Ashwini Akkunji, Sini Jose, Jauna Murmu, Tiana Mary Thomas and Priyanka Panwar.

However while the doping report has already been submitted, the Mudgal Committee is yet to submit its second report on doping prevalent in the country. The second report raises concern on issues of lack of awareness among upcoming athletes and points towards the role of officials, including those of SAI, in trying to educate the players against dope.

NADA chief Rahul Bhatnagar denied that there is any pressure from the Government and the panel’s decision would be out soon. “No Government probe report has anything to do with the NADA panel as we are working completely independently,” he added.

Time crisis

As per prescribed rules “complete pardon” in the entire case looks a distant dream and reduction, if any, from the two-year ban, depends on various factors and in that case the ban could be one year.

Earlier this year, Mandeep and Murmu were tested in the last week of May and the others during mid-June and end-June, which means for the majority the one year ban ends in the last week of June.

As the qualification period ends on July 12, the team should have run enough international races to improve their average timings for ensuring qualification. Without the six returning to the track, there is no chance for the second string being prepared to clock this time.

New Delhi, December 12
Former India hockey captain Zafar Iqbal was today appointed convener of the reconstituted 26-member Arjuna Awardees Association here today.

“We decided to step down to pave way for the new faces,” said outgoing president Bishen Singh Bedi was quoted as saying in a release. He exhorted the members to contribute “their time and energy towards the effective working of the association.”

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra hailed the Arjuna Awardees’ contribution, “who have brought laurels to the country”, and urged them to keep themselves actively engaged in promoting the disciplines which they had represented with distinction.

He informed sportspersons that the IOA has constituted an Arbitration and Ethics Commission s comprising of former Supreme Court and high court judges. “We have also adopted a policy of Zero Tolerance towards incidents of doping.”

IOA Secretary-General Randhir Singh, while welcoming the sportspersons, hoped that “the new committee will provide useful input to the IOA and NSF so that sports gets further boost in the country. “A new chapter has opened up in Indian sports and we hope you all will contribute in it,” he added.

R.K. Anand will be the legal advisor of the association. The committee will decide the date and manner in which election of office-bearers is to be conducted, the release added.

The reconstituted committee comprises of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Anwar Sultan, Morad Ali Khan, Ashok Pandit (shooting), Ashwini Nachappa ,Bhim Singh (athletics), Jagbir Singh (hockey) Chetan Chauhan (cricket), Khazan Singh, Arti Pradhan (swimming), Kunjarani Devi, Jyotsna Mukherjee Dutta (weightlifting), Bhuvaneshwari Kumari (squash), Damyanti Tambe (badminton), Rajkumar Sangwan (boxing), Khushi Ram, Dalel Singh (basketball), Rajender Singh (powerlifting), Subash Verma (wrestling), Ramesh Singh, Ram Mehar Singh, Ashan Kumar (kabaddi), Amit Luthra (golf), Manjit Dua (Table Tennis) and Sanjeeva Kumar Singh (archery).

BRIEFLY

Zaheer to make a comeback
Chennai: Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan is on track to make his comeback from injury in the upcoming four-Test series against Australia, coach Duncan Fletcher said today. Zaheer had an ankle surgery after being ruled out of the recent tour of England and returned to competitive cricket only two weeks ago. — PTI

ODI rankings: Sehwag rises
Dubai: Indian opener Virender Sehwag has jumped eight places in the ICC ODI Player Rankings after his record-breaking double century against the West Indies in the fourth ODI. The 33-year-old Sehwag's breathtaking 219 that came off 149 balls and included 25 fours and seven sixes catapulted him to the 12th position. Virat Kohli is India's highest-ranked batsman in third position after rising two places following his series contribution of 243 runs. Rohit Sharma, who top scored in the series with 305 runs, has jumped 20 places to claim 36th position. — PTI

Barcelona's Lionel Messi in a practice session on Monday for their upcoming Club World Cup soccer match against Qatar's Al Sadd in Yokohama. — Reuters

Anand draws with Carlsen
London: World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out another draw, signing peace with Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the eighth and penultimate round of London Chess Classic here. On his 42nd birthday, the draw came easy for Anand as he remained on joint fifth spot, taking his tally to eight points in the soccer-like scoring system. Anand and Levon Aronian of Armenia came on eight points. — PTI

Jeev looks to end title drought
Bangkok: Former Asian Tour number one Simon Dyson of England, Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh of India and Kim Kyung-tae of Korea will join the chase for the title at the inaugural Thailand Golf Championship golf starting Thursday. The trio will be among the strong line-up at the Amata Spring Country Club consisting of Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa and Major winners Darren Clarke and Charl Schwartzel in the $1 million Asian Tour season-ending event. World number three Lee Westwood will also feature in the event. — IANS

‘Vettel had the best car’
London: Paul di Resta has told Formula One rival and two-time champion Sebastian Vettel that he had won this year’s title as he had the best car. According to The Sun , Di Resta, who hails from Scotland, is expected to be confirmed this week by his Force India team for next season after a fine rookie campaign. He dreams of getting a car as quick as Vettel's Red Bull. Di Resta, 25, said, "I don't want to diminish Vettel's achievement, but he won because he had the best car. I hope one day to have the same opportunity." — ANI

‘SL not looking for next Murali’
Benoni: Any effort by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to find another Muttiah Muralitharan would prove futile as cricket will never see a bowler like the legendary off-spinner, wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara has said. “You get one Murali and that’s about it really. We’re not looking for the next Murali, we’re looking for the next best spinner to come and win games for us,” Sport24 quoted Sangakkara, as saying. Averaging over six wickets per Test, Muralitharan was one of the most successful bowlers in the game. He is the highest wicket-taker in both Test cricket and in ODIs. — ANI

Warne burns hand in cooking
Melbourne: Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne is nursing burns to his right hand, placing doubt on his availability for the start of the Twenty20 Big Bash League. Warne, who will come out of retirement to play for the Melbourne Stars, is believed to have burnt his hand in a cooking incident, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. “Not ideal preparation for practice match today-burning the bowling hand Get better quickly please, any suggestions-HELP,” Warne wrote on Twitter. Warne also posted a photo on Twitter of his hand, showing large blisters on three of his fingers with his little finger the worst affected. — ANI

Edu football league
Rurka Kalan: Youth Football Club Rurka Kalan organized Edu football league matches at Bundala for three age groups (12, U-14, U-16). Results: U-12: Baba Bhagat Singh FC Bilga defeated Baba Bhai Sadhu ji FC Rurka by one goal, FA Rurka beat FA Shanakar with the margin of 6 goals, Guru Nanak Sports Club Bilga beat YFC Rurka 3-2, Fa Pamar Aluna Tola draw with FC Bundala and SAS A Sarali draw with YFC Jandiala. U-14: Baba Chainta FC Rurka beat YFC Shankar 2-1, SAS Sarali defeated Shahid Bhagat Singh FC 1-0, FA Bilga beat Parmar FA Aluna Tola 2-1, Kartar Singh Sharabha Rurka beat FA Jandiala 1-0, YFC Bilga defeated FA Bundala 2-1. U-16: Baba Kaudi Sahib FC beat FC Bilga 2-1, YFC Shankar defeated Dashmesh FC Jandiala 2-0, Santokh Singh Bassi Bundala beat Baba Bachint Singh FC Rurka 2-0. — TNS