Kolkata, April 24
Sachin Tendulkar was a picture of humility as he celebrated his 40th birthday with a brief cake-cutting ceremony here, thanking his legions of fans for their "unconditional love" in a cricket career spanning over two decades.

The Mumbaikar, who would be seen in action during an IPL match for his team Mumbai Indians against the Kolkata Knight Riders later tonight, made a brief statement to the media before cutting a cake here.

“Let me take this opportunity to thank all the people in India and well wishers all over the world who have supported me and showered me with unconditional love," said the veteran, whose wife Anjali was by his side during the ceremony. "It has been really special and it is because of their good wishes that I am standing here," he added. Tendulkar said he wanted to thank each one of his fan personally for supporting him for over 24 years. "Since I can't do that, it is a good opportunity to thank the every little thing that they have done for me, like fasting for me during injuries. I just wanted to say thank you," he said. Tendulkar got the first bite of his birthday cake from Anjali's hands who giggled after being called from the backstage by the batsman on the insistence of the present journalists and photographers. "Now, don't ask her to put it on my face next," joked the veteran cricketer. Earlier, the Cricket Association of Bengal celebrated Tendulkar's birthday a day in advance by cutting a 10-pound cake in the presence of 100 blind students.

The blind students from Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Blind School and Light House for the Blind cut the cake in the evening.

In a career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar has got almost all the batting record to his name other than Brian Lara's Test highest of 400 not out. Tendulkar, who has called it quits from the ODI format to prolong his Test career, has a colossal 18426 runs from 463 matches with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

In the leading run-getters list of Test matches, Tendulkar is sitting on 15837 runs with 51 hundreds and an average of 53.86, way ahead of South African veteran Jacques Kallis who with 13128 runs is the only playing batsman to be in the race at fourth place. — PTI

Kolkata, April 24
A spell of shower could have turned Sachin Tendulkar's birthday celebrations into a damp squib but the 'Weather Gods' finally relented as the legend didn't forget to mention that "age is never a factor." "Age should not be a factor. As long as I'm enjoying the game, my body and my mind are going hand in hand together, then it works." On his own admission, Tendulkar had to use the knife close to 15 times on the day starting from a private function organised by the Mumbai Indians. "It's embarrassing to keep cutting cakes... 40! I know.

May be, I think close to 15 or so," Tendulkar said laughingly after cutting a 40-lb cake specially ordered by the Cricket Association of Bengal. With his MI teammates cheering in front of their dressing room, Tendulkar sliced through the green-coloured cake, resembling a cricket ground with his signature "ST" bat place in the middle, while the cherry was also placed and the cake was fenced with stumps.

Tendulkar, who has got almost all the batting records to his name apart from Brian Lara's highest Test score, also rubbished talks about imminent retirement saying age should not be a factor. "I don't think I'm 40!," he joked. "The moment you start looking at your age you start shaping accordingly," he said.

Tendulkar made his debut way back on November 15, 1989 in a team captained by Krishnamachari Srikkanth as he now plays against his son Anirudha (CSK) in IPL. — PTI 

London, April 24
World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev says a shy and quiet Sachin Tendulkar was carrying his tenth class school books during his first tour of England in 1990, when he was all of 17.

“He (Tendulkar) was very quiet. On that first tour he was carrying his school books to study in tenth grade. He was shy, did not talk too much and he was just a normal kid. He did not involve himself in topics. He used to observe,” said Kapil.

“Two thing were very different about him at that age. His balance was so good... Unbelievable. And he did not hit the ball. He pushed the ball. He had a heavy bat. During that period I had never seen someone using that heavy bat and he held the bat low down," Kapil said. Kapil was told to look after Tendulkar on that first tour to England, rooming with him, and he watched the young cricketer's ambidextrous skills with amazement.

Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli (top); Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Mohd. Azharuddin. — Agencies

“He did with the left hand, writing, eating. But batting, bowling was with right hand. Later on I realised he must be a genius who has power in both hands. That is the future of cricket. If you can have balanced power you can control the ball and balance of your body.”

Kapil recalled the first time he watched Tendulkar bat in a domestic match. “The first time I saw him bat was at Brabourne Stadium (in Mumbai) and I was asked to bowl at him. I was told he would get encouragement from it. I said 'who is he?' and was told he had done well in school cricket and to just bowl a few balls,” recollected Kapil. “He looked like a 14 year-old. He played with decent balance and I was very nervous to bowl to him. He was too young for me to bowl to. I bowled a couple of quick ones. He flicked them off and in the net you could see he looked good at that age. His ability was there but I could not dream this young boy would be one of the finest cricketers to walk this earth.”

Another former captain, Rahul Dravid, said it will be impossible to replace Tendulkar once the senior India batsman retires from international cricket, but added the game will go on. "I don't think you should look to replace him, it will be impossible,” Dravid said.

“There is a lot of talent there and they have to become who they want to be. When Sunil Gavaskar retired people said where would the next Sunil Gavaskar come from but then we had Sachin Tendulkar come through,” he added. “For a whole generation of people it is going to be strange because they have grown up with Sachin but it is inevitable. It will happen. People move on. It is life. Cricket will go on. It is bigger than any individual. The greats have played before him and will continue to play after him,” he added. Asked to pick Tendulkar's greatest innings, former captains Sourav Ganguly and Gavaskar said it was his 114 against Australia at Perth in 1992.

New Delhi, April 24
A BCCI-appointed disciplinary committee, looking into the alleged financial irregularities by suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, is likely to complete its investigation by this month end, a move being objected to by the defence.

The three-member Committee met for two consecutive days in the national capital — April 22 and 23 — for over two hours each during which it heard versions of Modi's legal team and BCCI counsels, official sources said. The Committee has decided April 29 as the next day of hearing on which it is likely to complete its proceedings, they said.

A defence team representing Modi, who is staying in London due to security threats, has sought more time to cross-examine witnesses and give more evidence to the Committee. “We have sought more time to cross-examine witnesses and give more proofs. Moreover, there are versions of witnesses running across 12 fat volumes and other submissions of over 25,000 pages which needs to be perused by the Committee. How can the panel finalise its findings in three sittings?” asked Mehmood M Abdi, General Counsel and Constituted Attorney of Modi.

He has also accused the committee of not accepting Modi's reply to a show-cause notice issued to him in connection with the probe as it was late. "The panel did not accept Modi's response as it was 34 hours late. We tried to explain our position but to no avail. It's a sham,” Abdi claimed. Modi was asked to give reply before April 20. But Abdi said, “due to his dental sittings, Modi could not give his reply on time.”

The panel, comprising Arun Jaitley, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Chirayu Amin, started hearing the matter in July, 2010, two months after Modi was suspended due to alleged irregularities.

“We are hearing all versions. The Committee is following its procedures. It has given sufficient time to the concerned parties to give their point of view,” a panel member said. Modi is facing about 15 charges of irregularities including the accusation of having proxy stakes in IPL franchises among others. Modi has also offered himself to be available for cross examination via video link from second week of May. — PTI

Kolkata, April 24
If Mahendra Singh Dhoni became India's Test captain in 2008, he should thank two 'veterans' in the squad who proposed his name. According to Dilip Vengsarkar, who was the chief national selector then, revealed at a book launch ceremony in Mumbai on Wednesday that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid suggested Dhoni take over the leadership after Anil Kumble quit.

Speaking at a book — Sachin: Cricketer of the Century by journalist Vimal kumar —launch function, Vengsarkar said he never imagined that Tendulkar would keep playing for India till the age of 40. "He can certainly keep playing and once he retires, cricket will surely miss Tendulkar," said Vengsarkar.

The Colonel, as Vengsarkar was known for his upright batting stance, revealed that it was after Tendulkar and Dravid gave their thumbs up, Dhoni was made India's Test skipper.

Dhoni, of course, had the credentials to become India's Test skipper. He was appointed the T20 captain in the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa in September 2007. India won the Cup beating Pakistan in the final. Dhoni went on to become the ODI captain and when an injured Anil Kumble pulled out and subsequently quit, Dhoni, till then India's vice-captain, was elevated as Test skipper in the fourth and final Test against Australia in November 2008.

Apart from Vengsarkar, former Indian pacer and a star of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, Balwinder Singh Sandhu and Lalchand Rajput reminisced about Tendulkar's formative days. Sandhu felt Tendulkar could have been a better Indian captain "had he got better support staff." By his lofty standards, Tendulkar's record as a captain is rather tepid. He became Test captain in 1996 at the age of 23. In the 25 Tests he led, India won four, lost nine and drew 12. The 3-0 whitewash in Australia in 1999-2000 was a low point for Tendulkar.

Interestingly, on February 25 this year, Dhoni surpassed Tendulkar's record of highest individual Test score by an Indian captain en route his majestic 224 against Australia in the first cricket Test at Chennai. Dhoni, who reached his maiden double century, went past Tendulkar's 217 scored against New Zealand in 1999-00 at Ahmedabad.

With Tendulkar in no mood to quit Test cricket in a hurry, Vengsarkar, Sandhu and Rajput wished the Little Master luck. Mumbai team-mate Amol Muzumdar said: “Sachin has always kept his head on the shoulder and he has broken so many records that even playing at 41 will not be a surprise." — Agencies

Chennai, April 24
CSK coach Stephen Fleming today said that he was not unduly worried by his side's death bowling issues but would look to improve the overall bowling when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“I am not worried about death bowling. There is always pressure in 20-20 cricket. There are very good hitters in the game now. Look at Villiers and Steve Smith even if you bowl well they have got the ability to reverse sweep or stand on the leg stump and hit it on the covers. So, it is very tough skill. In fact, we want to do better with our bowling,” he said. — PTI

csk to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad Chennai Super Kings' marauding batsmen will be put through a stern test by the intimidating bowling attack of Sunrisers Hyderabad when the two in-form teams clash for the first time in the T20 league in Chennai on Thursday. Both the teams have five wins each from their respective seven matches so far but while Chennai are second on the points table, Hyderabad are third due to the difference in their net run-rate. That difference is primarily a result of Hyderabad's batting woes which could prove to be their bane given that Chennai's willow-wielders are in prime form. With Dale Steyn Hyderabad's bowling has been strength. — PTI Today: csk VS sh (8 pm) live on set max

New Delhi, April 24
Parupalli Kashyap went down fighting to former World No. 1 Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the first round of the men's singles event in what turned out to be a mixed day for the Indians at the Yonex Sunrise India Open.

Saina, meanwhile hardly broke a sweat to overcome Belaetrix Manuputi of Indonesia 21-12 21-15 in just 33 minutes. Saina cruised past her opponent in the first game, hitting smashes at will. In the second game, though the Indonesian got her act together and won seven straight points to take a slender 8-6 lead. They were leveled till 10-10 before the Hyderabad-based shuttler toyed with Manuputi to win it 21-15 at the end.

Saina will face Yui Hashimoto of Japan in the next round.

While K Srikanth posted an upset victory over World No. 6 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in another men's singles event, Arvind Bhat expectedly lost to World No. 8 Kenichi Togo. Kashyap, the fifth seeded Indian, fought hard but failed to prevail over the more experienced Taufik. Kashyap lost 21-13 21-23 18-21 in a battle that lasted exactly an hour at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Kashyap has never defeated Taufik. They had met six times before this clash. In the opening game, Kashyap gave Taufik a run for his money. Relying on his quick smashes and drop shots at the net, the Indian proved to be better than his opponent. The World No. 7 Indian surged ahead to a 16-10 lead and eventually wrapped up the game 21-13.

The second game, however, was a see-saw battle and could have gone either way. But Taufik raised his game when it mattered most. There were smashes from both sides, while Taufik proved better at net play.

Levelled at 20-20, Kashyap hit a smash to make it 21-20 and earn the match point. But an unforced error saw him concede it. Taufik took advantage of it and went on to win three straight points to seal the game 23-21.

That was probably the turning point of the match, as in the third and deciding game, Taufik got Kashyap involved in long rallies. The longest rally was won by the Indonesian.

A few minutes later, Taufik was seen arguing with the match referee over a line call, which made it 16-16. But that didn't break his rhythm.

Kashyap also kept his momentum going and it was neck and neck till 18-18, but in the end Taufik ran away with three easy points on the trot to win the match.

In what turned out to be a surprise match of the day, Srikanth beat Jan O Jorgensen 21-7 18-21 21-12 in 45 minutes. The unseeded Indian hit as many as 33 smash winners compared to 17 by the fourth seeded Jan O Jorgensen.

Srikanth faced no trouble in overcoming his more fancied opponent in the first game. In the second game also the India had opened up a 15-10 lead at one stage but the shuttler from Denmark came from behind to make it 18-18. He then clinched three straight points to take the match to the decider. In the third game, it was levelled 6-6, before Srikanth surged ahead to make it 11-6. He never looked back thereafter and went on to wrap up the game and match comfortably. However, Arvind Bhat turned out to be no match for Japan's Togo as he went down in straight games.

The Indian, who had to clear the qualifiers to enter the main draw, tried his best but lost 21-9 21-9 in 32 minutes.

In women's singles first round match, Sayali Gokhale could hardly pose any threat to World No. 8 Ratchanok Intanon of Thiland, taming losing here match 8-21 12-21 in 26 minutes. India lost both its men's doubles opening round matches in the morning with the Thai combo of Maneepong Jongjit and Nipitphon Puangpuapech beating Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu 21-17 21-11 in 23 minutes. In the mixed doubles category, the fancied pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta got the better of Chris Langridge and Heather Olver of England 19-21 21-15 21-16 in 53 minutes. — PTI

Paris, April 24
World champion Viswanathan Anand`s hunt for an elusive victory continued as he played out a draw with Levon Aronian of Armenia in the third round of Alekhien Memorial Tournament.

With his second draw in three games besides the painful loss against Michael Adams of England in the opener, Anand took his tally to one point out of a possible three and his tournament situation did not change much as the Indian remained in joint eighth spot in the 10-player super tournament. Boris Gelfand of Israel put an end to the exploits of Adams by scoring a methodical victory in the lone decisive game of the day. Gelfand emerged as one of the co-leaders thanks to his superb effort and he now shares the lead with Adams and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France.

In the third round, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia was held to a draw by Vachier-Lagrave, another local star Laurent Fressinet got the same result against Ding Liren (China) while Peter Svidler and Nikita Vituigov ended through perpetual checks. — PTI

Munich, April 24
Barcelona, who have changed the face of the game in recent years, were handed a footballing lesson when they were crushed 4-0 by Bayern Munich in an extraordinary Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday.

The Catalans had no answer to Bayern's power, speed, pressing and resolute defence as they slumped to their heaviest defeat for almost six years and matched their worst result in European competition.

Thomas Mueller was the architect, scoring the first and last goals and setting up the second for Mario Gomez as the Bavarians, already crowned Bundesliga champions, continued an astonishing season that could yet yield a treble. Messi made little impact up front for Barca while midfield duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta lacked their usual cutting edge.

Some of the gloss was taken off Bayern's win however by doubts over the second and third goals. Gomez looked marginally offside when he turned in the second after 49 minutes and Barcelona protested that midfielder Mueller blocked Jordi Alba as the defender tried to tackle Arjen Robben before the Dutchman clipped the ball into the corner 24 minutes later. Two of the goals followed corners, exposing weaknesses in the Barca defence in the absence of the injured Carles Puyol.

10-match ban for Suarez

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been suspended for 10 matches for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in last weekend's EPL match at Anfield, the Football Association said on Wednesday. — Reuters

Patiala, April 24
M R Poovamma won gold in women's 400m race in a new personal best time of 52.75 seconds on the second day of the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships but missed the World Championships qualifying mark by a whisker here today.

She defended her title, won last year at the same venue, but failed to book a berth for the World Championships, to be held in Moscow in August, by just 4/100th of a second.

Kerala girl Anu Mariam Jose settled with a silver while her state-mate Anju Thoams bagged the bronze.

Poovamma's previous best was 52.94 seconds which she clocked during the Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok last year. Mayookha Johny won gold in women's long jump with a modest leap of 6.16m.

Another athlete who successfully defended her title was national record holder Kushbir Kaur in 20 km walk in a time of 1:38:03.

The day witnessed three men failing to retain their gold from 2012, both on tracks. Kunhu Muhammed (400m) and Sajeesh Joseph (800m) finished second in their respective events after giving tough fight to the eventual winners Arokia Rajiv and Manjit Singh.

High jumper Jithin C Thomas of Kerala also lost the title to Tamil Nadu's Nikhil Chittarasu. Nikhil sailed over 2.19m to take gold. As expected, Pune-based Army Sports Institute's Dileep Kumar, representing Maharashtra, won the decathlon event after garnering 6546 points. — PTI

Sydney, April 24
Veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was recalled to the Australia squad Wednesday as vice-captain for the upcoming Ashes tour to England as selectors opted for experience against their fiercest rivals.

Haddin, 35, who has played only one Test since January 2012, replaces Shane Watson as Michael Clarke's deputy in a 16-man squad for the five-Test series starting in July at Trent Bridge.

Australia, who dominated England for so long in the Ashes but have lost three out of the past four contests, are ranked fourth in the world after a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of India last month.

Cricket chiefs have targeted a return to the number one ranking but the retirements of modern-day great Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, until lately a stalwart of the batting line-up, have left the team struggling in key areas.

Chris Rogers, 35, has also been recalled, with chief selector John Inverarity admitting experience was an important factor in the absence of Ponting and Hussey. Watson is in the squad but stood down from his role as vice-captain over the weekend to concentrate on his batting and bowling following his controversial axing in India for disciplinary reasons. Inverarity said Haddin was now his first-choice wicketkeeper, with former gloveman Matthew Wade likely to carry the drinks. Clarke said Haddin's experience would be crucial after the humbling in India. Haddin will captain the Australia A squad, which will play matches against Scotland, Ireland and Gloucestershire before the Ashes series.

Rogers has also been selected, five years after he earned his one and only Test cap against India. He has played extensively in England and been in prolific form.

The selectors opted for six pacemen spearheaded by Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc, with allrounder James Faulkner, Ryan Harris and Jackson Bird giving Australia plenty of options. But they are only taking one spinner in Nathan Lyon, with the highly rated Ashton Agar missing out, along with paceman Mitchell Johnson, who failed to make an impression against India.

Australia squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin (vice-capt), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Chris Rogers, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird, Nathan Lyon — Agencies

KP RULED out of CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy as he continues to recover from a knee injury. Pietersen missed the third Test against New Zealand in March because of bruising on the bone and was already set to sit out the return Test series. However, a scan on Wednesday confirmed he will miss the one-day internationals and Champions Trophy that follow. He could be back by mid-June, with first Ashes Test beginning on 10 July. — Agencies

Kolkata, April 24
Pune FC climbed past East Bengal to occupy the second position in the table after posting a comfortable 3-1 victory over Mohun Bagan in their return-leg I-League fixture at the Kalyani Stadium here today.

It was Mohun Bagan's second straight loss as the side looked disjointed while ace forward Odafa Okolie struggled to find the target.

The visitors took the lead in the 27th minute through a stunner by Douhou Pierre. Mohun Bagan tried their best to come back but the dogged Pune FC backline led by Chika Wali thwarted all their efforts, while James Moga doubled the lead in the 68th minute. Karma Tsewang scored the third in the 77th minute.

The win took Pune (46 points) to five points behind Churchill Brothers who require one point from two matches to clinch the title for the second time. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Indian players shun tournament in Pakistan
New Delhi: Top Indian squash players, including Dipilka Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal, have decided not to take part in the Asian Championships beginning on May 1, in Islamabad, citing the current security situation in Pakistan. Ghosal and Dipilka told PTI that the players have collectively taken the decision to give the continental tournament a miss and they have already informed the Squash Rackets Federation of India about this. World number one woman player Nicol David of Malaysia has also decided not to take part in the tournament.

Churchill Brothers crash out of AFC CUP
Pune: Churchill Brothers today suffered a 0-4 thrashing at the hands of Kitchee club of Hong Kong to crash out of the AFC Cup football tournament here today. Pablo Counago scored twice (14th and 17th) while Jordi Tarres (57th) and Cheng Siu Wai (80th) struck once each for Kitchee in their penultimate Group E match at Balewadi Sports Complex which is being used by Churchill as their home venue. After today's defeat, Churchill are now on four points from five matches and they are out of reckoning for a last 16 knockout berth.

TN enter quar terfinals of junior women nationals
New Delhi: Tamil Nadu decimated Gujarat 12-0 in a pool match to enter the quarterfinals of the 3rd Hockey India Junior Women National Championship at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranch. Brindha Esther and Parameshwari scored three goals each for Tamil Nadu, while Swetha scored a brace. In a pool D league match, Priyanka Wankhede scored five goals as Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) defeated Andhra Pradesh 17-0.