New Delhi, April 19
He may be on the cusp of his 40th birthday but Sachin Tendulkar is still very much "needed" by Indian cricket, according to BCCI president N Srinivasan, who firmly believes the senior batsman will time his exit from Test cricket to perfection.

“He is one who will not hold on to his place if he believes that he doesn't have much to offer to the country," Srinivasan said. "I have absolutely no doubt that Indian cricket needs him — and will leave the final call (on when he should quit) to him," the Cricket Board chief said. The batsman, who has not been in the best of form for a while now, turns 40 on April 24.

“If he feels he has cricket left in him, we should respect that and leave him alone. There is no doubt he is trying his level best," Srinivasan said. As far as the perfect role model in Indian cricket is concerned, like many others, Tendulkar is the man for Srinivasan."As a role model and an Indian cricketing icon, Tendulkar has no parallel.

“He gets the same standing ovation in every cricket-playing country and is one player who the crowds love to watch. I am actually glad that Sachin plays for India." India captain MS Dhoni might have been the ad world's favourite boy for the last few years, but Srinivasan has no doubt Tendulkar remains Indian cricket's biggest brand. “Without question, he is Indian cricket's biggest brand. He has been around for 24 years and has been consistent right through."Consistency, I'd say, is the hallmark of the Sachin brand. He is a very modest individual who has achieved the most impossible of feats.”

Srinivasan said passion will be the "real" legacy Tendulkar will be leaving behind once he call it quits.

“His real legacy will be the passion he brought to the game."

The BCCI chief demonstrated his point with an example. “I remember this incident from a couple of years earlier when we were playing in Sri Lanka, I think. It was a close match and Sachin was flinging himself to save a boundary. If he can do that at 38 years of age, it is a lesson for every aspiring cricketer the world over.

“I will forever remember him for the passion he brought to the game." The mere thought of Tendulkar's retirement leaving behind a void is worrying for Srinivasan. "Once he goes, there will be a huge void, which we can't even come to terms with at this point. It is a habit to see Sachin walk out at number four for India and it gives us all a sense of comfort. "His presence in the dressing room, the way he inspires youngsters — these are aspects that we must take into consideration." Srinivasan recalled the time Tendulkar started opening the innings for India's one-day side back in the mid 90s.

"I know he will not be around for too long. Yes, I can watch recordings, but the sight of Sachin walking out gives us all a high. He revolutionised one-day cricket when he started to open the batting for India.”— PTI

Lucknow, April 19
In a setback to Uttar Pradesh government's claim on law and order, 80 players have withdrawn their names from International Tennis Federation (ITF) women future tournament, citing security reasons.

“At least 80 players, who have given their entry earlier have withdrawn their names from ITF women tennis tournament commencing here from tomorrow citing security reasons," UP Tennis Association (UPTA) treasurer, J S Kaul told PTI. He said that news regarding rape, murder and loot in media was probably the reason for players to have withdrawn their names from the tournament.

ITF women future tennis tournament is to be held here from April 20 to 27.

Besides Indians, players from Australia, Sweden, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Serbia, Russia, China, Japan, Britain, Germany have also withdrawn their names. — PTI 

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Ishant Sharma celebrates after taking the wicket of Mandeep Singh in Hyderabad on Friday. — PTI

Hyderabad, April 19
Kings XI Punjab once again put up a miserable performance to lose by five wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the domestic T20 championship on Friday night. Chasing a total of 123, Hyderabad romped home with five wickets and seven balls to spare. Hanuman Vihari (46) was the top scorer. However, it was Thissara Perera's (23*;11b) big hitting that clinched the match in their favour. For Hyderabad, MS Gony bagged two wickets.

Batting first, Kings suffered their first setback as opener Mandeep Singh was out for just 10 runs. Skipper Adam Gilchrist (26), David Hussey (22), Piyush Chawla (23) chipped in to take the total above 100. After the fall of all rounder Gurkeerat Singh (17), the last five batsmen were back with just adding 12 runs to the total. For Sunrisers Hyderabad, Karan Sharma (2/19) was the most successful bowler.

Brief Scores: Kings XI Punjab: 123/9 in 20 overs (Adam Gilchrist 26, Piyush Chawla 23; Karan Sharma 2/19, Ishant Sharma 2/29, Amit Mishra 2/29); Sunrisers Hyderabad: 127 for five in 18.5 overs (Hanuma Vihari 46, Thissara Perera 23 not out; Manpreet Gony 2/24). 

New Delhi, April 19
India's hopes of winning a medal in the Greco-Roman category went up in smoke after Bhim Singh lost his bronze-medal bout at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship here today.

Bhim was thrashed by his Iranian opponent, Davoud Gilnirang, in the 96 kg category. Davoud did not allow any opening for the Indian to score points in the bouts. The Iranian registered a resounding 1-0 8-0 win over the burly Indian, much to the disappointment of the Indian fans. Bhim suffered a muscle strain during the match and was taken off from the arena on a stretcher. He had entered the bronze medal reckoning after winning the first repechage round 1-0 0-5 2-0 against Syria's N Saleh.

Earlier, Bhim was comprehensively beaten by Yerulan Iskakov of Kazakhstan 0-7 0-6 in a bout that lasted a little over a minute, at the K D Jadhav Wrestling Stadium.

A delayed arrival for the bout did not help the Indian grappler in taking on a stronger Kazakh opponent. Bhim, who was relaxing after winning his first bout, came in running into the arena. He proved no match for Iskakov who rolled him thrice in the opening few seconds to win the first period by technical fall. In the second period too, Bhim meekly surrendered as the Kazakh proved too much for him, and crashed out of the semifinal race.

The Kazakh wrestler went on to beat Iran's Davoud Gilnirang in a controversial semifinal bout. The Iranian was deprived of a win in a bout that very much looked like dictated by him. He had his Kazakh opponent on the mat on three occasions but the referee did not find the falls convincing to award points. Iran claimed that their wrestlers had pinned the opponent's shoulders on the mat. On one occasion, they went on to challenge the referee's decision, but the 50-50 call went in the Kazakh's favour.

Furious with the decisions, the Iranian support staff walked off the arena shouting at the officials.

"I am very surprised with the decisions of the referee. I have never seen such bad refereeing. The Kazakh wrestler equally matched with ours. There were falls on the Kazakh wrestler on four occasions which the referee did not count," fumed Hassan Rangraz, the Iranian team manager. The win for the Kazakh wrestler meant that Bhim had another shot at the medal, through repechages.

Ealier, Rajbir Chhikara (74kg) raised hopes for the hosts as he won his opening bout against Pengfei Yan of China. But, in the quarterfinals, he was clinically beaten by Japan's Tomohiro Inoue 0-1 0-2. India's best bet in the 84kg category, Harpreet Singh, lost his opening match to Taichi Oka of Japan to bow out of the competition.

Harpreet, who was fielded for the injured Manoj Kumar, failed to score a point and lost the best of three periods 0-1 0-2, ending India's challenge in the Greco-Roman wrestling.

In the women's 48kg category, India's Priyanka Singh lost her bout to Ayano Suzuki of Japan in a close encounter.

Priyanka registered an easy 6-1 win in the first period by performing takedowns. However, the Japanese came back strongly to prevail in the next one. The third period was intensely fought by the two diminutive grapplers, but it was the Japanese who got the better off the local favourite 1-6 3-0 3-1. No Indian wrestler could bag a medal in the seven weight categories of the Greco-Roman competition in the championship. — PTI

New Delhi, April 19
The cricket fraternity in India today expressed shock at the omission of legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Don Bradman in the all-time Test eleven named by former English umpire Dickie Bird with some former cricketers calling his composition as "biased" and "ill-balanced".

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar was the only Indian included in the controversial team which has Pakistani all-rounder Imran Khan as the captain.

Besides the omission of Tendulkar and Bradman, Bird's team did not have the greats like Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting as well as the West Indian fast bowlers Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Michael Holding.

Others in the team, named by Bird in an interview with London newspaper 'The Telegraph' ahead of his 80th birthday today, are Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Greg Chappell, Graeme Pollock, Gary Sobers, Alan Knott, Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee and Lance Gibbs.

Former India captain Ajit Wadekar felt Gavaskar was the right choice in the opener's slot but said that he was surprised by the exclusion of Tendulkar, Bradman and the West Indian fast bowlers.

"It's a bit partial. He has selected only players whom he has seen from close quarters. But the combination is not balanced. Of course, Gavaskar will have to be there. But it is surprising that there is no Sachin Tendulkar, Don Bradman and the West Indian fast bowlers," he said.

"And who will be the new-ball partner of Lilee? It's also surprising there is nobody from among the famed Indian spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, B S Chandrasekhar and R Venkataraghavan. It would also been ideal if Adam Gilchrist was there in place of Allan Knott," he added.

Former India batsman Chandu Borde said leaving out Tendulkar and Bradman from his team showed Bird's lack of cricketing knowledge.

"That's his opinion. He must not have seen Bradman playing." he said with a sarcastic tone.

"By this team, one can see how good is his cricketing knowledge. Statistics will tell you about Bradman and Tendulkar. One need not refer to his eleven. From my point of view, it's the English media which has made Bird an umpiring legend. He's always bias." Former India captain Nari Contractor wondered on what basis Bird chose his team which did not accomodate the likes of Tendulkar and Bradman in it.

"These are individual opinions. But I don't know on what basis he has chosen the team. We all know about Bradman and Tendulkar. Like them, many others like the West Indian quartet (Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts) are also not included," he said.

Contractor, however, said that the team was Bird's individual choice and and would no doubt invite arguments.

"He might have not chosen Tendulkar as he would have thought that the Indian batsman had not faced the best fast bowling attack. It's his reasoning having seen the players from the middle. I don't know why are you doubting Bradman and Tendulkar. This maybe food for some and poison for others. He has chosen his countryman Alan Knott as the best wicketkeeper batsman. For the sake of it, one can keep on arguing. But that's his opinion and it's the end of matter, he said. Another former India player Shivlal Yadav could not believe Tendulkar and Bradman were not there in the all time Test XI. — PTI

Monte Carlo, April 19
Eight-times champion Rafael Nadal was taken to the brink by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov before completing a 6-2 2-6 6-4 victory on Friday to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals.

Nadal, who made an unusual number of errors and looked uncomfortable throughout against his 21-year-old opponent, slowly ground him down and fired an ace to clinch his 45th successive victory at the first big claycourt event of the season.

The Spaniard now has a 47-1 win-loss record at the glamorous venue and will next face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

The straight-laced crowd, for once reluctant to support Nadal with Dimitrov threatening to pull off a shock win, stood up to cheer the 34th-ranked Bulgarian as he left the court after a thrilling performance.

Nadal had his share of applause after setting up a semi-final against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who opened the a chilly grey day by the Mediterranean with a powerful 2-6 6-3 6-4 win over Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

World number one Novak Djokovic, still recovering from a sprained ankle, was scheduled to meet Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen and seventh seed Richard Gasquet of France faces Italian Fabio Fognini in the other quarter-finals.

On a chilly morning on the picturesque Centre Court, with the sun hidden by clouds and a cool breeze refreshing the sparse crowd, the heat quickly went up as Tsonga and Wawrinka started fast. A solid Wawrinka clinched the first set by pushing Tsonga beyond his baseline and was looking on course to repeat the superb third-round performance which knocked out world number two Andy Murray.

However, Tsonga’s aggression paid off with the Swiss-based Frenchman making the most of his rare break chances to overcome his occasional training partner. — Reuters

Taipei, April 19
India’s campaign at the Badminton Asia Championships came to an end after 
P.V. Sindhu lost her women’s singles quarterfinal match against Eriko Hirose of Japan in a hard-fought contest in Taipei on Friday.

P.V. Sindhu lost in the quarterfinals. — File photo

The unseeded Indian gave a tough challenge to her seventh seeded Japanese opponent before going down 19-21 21-16 11-21 in a battle that lasted exactly an hour.

Sindhu, who had beaten former World No.1 Shixian Wang in a third round match on Thursday, seemed to be in top form in the first two games before going down tamely in the third game.

The 17-year-old Hyderabadi gave the world No. 12 a run for her money in the opening game. It was a neck-and-neck battle till 10-10 with neither player letting the other win more than a point at a stretch.

But Eriko managed to surge ahead with four consecutive points to make it 14-10. Leading 17-16, Eriko got the momentum and won three points on the trot to reach game point.

In the second game, the Japanese girl opened up with a 8-4 lead and continued to move ahead before world No. 16 Indian levelled at 14-14. Thereafter, it was no looking back for Sindhu as she claimed five consecutive points to take a 19-14 lead and eventually bag the game comfortably.

In the third game, Sindhu started off well and looked set for another tough fight with the game evenly poised at 5-5. But the Indian girl simply ran out of steam. While Eriko kept on increasing the lead, Sindhu fell far behind. — PTI

Manama, April 19
Formula One ‘Iceman’ Kimi Raikkonen lapped fastest for Lotus in the Bahrain desert heat on Friday after Ferrari had set the early practice pace. The Finn, 2007 world champion for Ferrari and chasing his 21st successive race in the points, sped to a best time of one minute 34.154 seconds in the afternoon session when track temperatures hovered around 42 degrees celsius.

Brazilian Felipe Massa kept Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso off the top in the morning with a lap of 1:34.487. The Spaniard, winner of the third race of the season in China last weekend, was 0.077 slower. The Ferrari pair focused on long runs in the afternoon, one on the medium tyres and the other on hards. Massa then switched to the hards after complaining about wear on the rears Germany’s Nico Rosberg was third fastest in the morning for Mercedes, who had Lewis Hamilton only 13th, with Red Bull’s triple champion and overall leader Sebastian Vettel taking that place after lunch. — Reuters

London, April 19
Britain is increasing police numbers by 40 percent for Sunday’s London marathon as part of an effort to reassure competitors and spectators after bombs devastated the Boston race on Monday.

British authorities have to reviewed security arrangements ahead of the Sunday event. Metropolitan Police’s London marathon operation, Julia Pendry, said on Friday there would be several hundred more officers on the streets than had originally been planned. “We’ve got more search dogs out, we’ve got more officers on high-visibility patrols,” she told reporters at the police headquarters at New Scotland Yard. — Reuters

Harare, April 19
Zimbabwe were 187 for seven wickets in their second innings at the close of play on the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Harare Sports Club on Friday. Zimbabwe, enjoying an overall lead of 442, are favourites to win the match from here on.

Brendan Taylor, who had anchored the Zimbabwe first innings with 171, was batting on 81. Earlier, Bangladesh were bowled out for 134 in their first innings.

Scores: Zimbabwe 389 and 187/7 (Taylor 81 not out; Robiul 6/55); Bangladesh 134 (Jahurul 43; Masakadza 4/32) — Agencies