Ranchi, October 24
The six dropped catches by the Indians during the fourth One-dayer cost them 161 runs. After being dropped for the first time (both were dropped twice) George Bailey made 98 runs and Glenn Maxwell made 48.

Mitchell Johnson added 13 after being dropped and James Faulkner’s spilled catch cost India 2 runs – 161 runs in all, a show of princely munificence by India, considering it’s a very competitive, hard-fought series.

Six dropped catches is a damning statistic; the best teams in the world don’t commit such mistakes in such numbers in a single evening. Two of India’s best fielders, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, dropped catches; India’s one-time best fielder, Yuvraj Singh, dropped a catch; Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the team’s worst fielders, dropped a catch; wicketkeeper MS Dhoni dropped one behind the wicket; Shikhar Dhawan spilled one in the V. It made for a day of complete fielding non-performance.

Not one of those six catches could be called elementary. Four of them involved diving fielders. However, a top team should have caught five of them.

Kohli may have mistimed his dive, launching himself too early, from third slip when he spilled George Bailey (on 0) off Mohammed Shami. That catch should have been taken. Ashwin dropped Bailey (on 35) at midwicket off Vinay Kumar – that wasn’t a surprise really, for that catch was always going to be a 50-50 chance for India’s slowest fielder.

Yuvraj dropped Glenn Maxwell (44) when the batsman square-cut a short ball from Jaydev Unadkat. It was a tough chance, but Yuvraj at his best would have taken it more often than not. Dhoni’s drop, off Maxwell, was not an easy catch – the batsman had attempted a late cut off off-spinner Raina, the impact had been too late for Dhoni to react to. Such catches are notoriously difficult to take — they stick only through providence. Later, Bailey admitted that he’d been extremely lucky to get to 98.

Shami said he was unlucky to not get Bailey on duck, but added that such things happen. “There is no particular reason for that (dropped catches). It’s all the part of the game,” he said. “Our effort will always be to not commit mistakes on the field but no player drops catches or misfields deliberately. It’s wrong to blame anything for such mistakes.”

Trevor Penney, the Indian fielding coach, put the catching specialists – Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan – through an intense fielding regimen the day before the match. Penney is an obliging, kind sort of fellow. His method of instruction while training the Indians involves cheery encouragement more than admonishment.

At practice, he reacted with each dropped catch or misfield with a ‘that was a brilliant effort’ or ‘well done’; each time the fielders failed to hit the stumps, he reacted with ‘hard luck’. Maybe the dropped catches, and instances of sloppy fielding, during the match would persuade him to be a little less gentle with his wards.

Ranchi, October 24
A day before the third One-dayer, Mohammed Shami wasn’t the cynosure of all eyes. Ishant Sharma was, but for all the wrong reasons. Five years ago, Ishant Sharma bowled the fastest delivery ever bowled by an Indian, at about 153 kmph, in Australia.

Five years haven’t done much for Ishant, or any of the other Indian pacers. Speed remains a strange and embarrassing absence in the arsenal of the Indian fast bowlers. This has turned, despite fairly plausible explanations, a mystery. Our fast bowlers get slower, get injured, or fade away. We’re left with slowing fast bowlers.

Things have come to such a pass that Shami, who averaged just below 140kmph on Wednesday, has emerged as the most promising fast hope. He was by far the quickest of the three Indian quicks. Shami’s fastest ball was clocked at 144.51 kmph. He was also the most skillful, both seaming and swinging the ball in conditions, it must be said, that were significantly more helpful than in the first three ODIs.

Shami got three wickets, all with deliveries bowled at 140-plus kmph; more significant than this number was the fact that he bowled just the right length, and twice hit the bails. This means he’d gauged the pace of the wicket perfectly; for his pace, his length was just perfect.

The shape of the seam was right, too, perpendicular to the pitch, and the ball moved in a way that caused disquiet among the batsmen. George Bailey, the Australian captain, said he was surprised by Shami’s pace. “He bowled very well. He's someone we haven't seen in the series and he was a little bit quicker than what we expected,” Bailey said.

“He certainly got a bit of movement off the seam. That's something to be pretty aware of for the rest of the series. That's obviously what's going to be coming at us.” MS Dhoni agreed that Shami has the ability to surprise the batsmen.

“Shami is deceptive… He bowls quicker than you would think,” the captain said. “What was important was that he bowled full… The wickets he got, he was hitting the bails. That shows he was bowling the right length on this pitch.” Shami pitched the ball much further when he came to bowl during the slog overs — he bowled as many as three yorkers in the final over.

Dhoni appreciated that. “At the death he was getting the yorkers in pretty consistently,” the captain said. Shami said that bowling first helped the Indians. 

New Delhi, October 24
The Supreme Court-appointed committee probing the IPL spot-fixing scandal has called on people having any information on the allegations of betting against BCCI President N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and other accused to share their inputs with the panel.

The committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and comprising Additional Solicitor General L. Nageshwar Rao and senior advocate Nilay Dutta, met for the first time on October 11 here.

The committee, after "perusal" of the Supreme Court order, decided on its schedule of meetings. The panel, appointed in the first week of this month.

"The schedule of the sittings of the committee and its functioning and support personnel were finalised and communicated to the BCCI," said Vidushpat Singhania, the secretary to the committee, in a statement issued by the BCCI.

The committee has urged anybody with information on the fixing allegations against Meiyappan and other accused to mail it to them.

"The informants shall not be given hearing unless and until the committee thinks it fit to do so. The identity of the informant shall be kept confidential," the statement read. The Supreme Court has directed the committee to investigate allegations of betting, spot-fixing. — PTI

Chandigarh, October 24
The excitement to see Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar play for the first and last time is building up in and around Rohtak. The Mumbai team along with Sachin is expected to arrive in Rohtak on Friday afternoon. Mumbai play Haryana in the Ranji opener at Ch. Bansi Lal Stadium, Lahli, 18 km from Rohtak on Sunday.

Fans have already started making a beeline at the venue and the excitement is building on with every passing day. Scores of youngsters are seen in and around the stadium in the hope of a ‘free ticket’ that Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) has come up to contain the rush for the high profile match.

HCA officials have been working overtime to get the stadium ready for the big day. The venue is being upgraded with arrangements for cameras and broadcast equipment. Barbed wire fencing too is being erected around the ground keeping in mind the security aspect. The crowd capacity of the stadium has been reduced from 8,000 to 6,000 as the district administration has directed the HCA officials to cordon off the seating area above the two dressing rooms. “Haryana Cricket Association and the district administration are coordinating the arrangements. Everything will be in place before the match day,” said an HCA official.

HCA officials have been scratching their heads to make arrangements for the stay of Sachin Tendulkar. The officials are facing a tricky situation as there is no five-star hotel in and around Rohtak. The state government resorts too do not have enough rooms for the whole Mumbai team. While Mumbai’s accommodation is still not final, it has been learnt that Haryana team members will be staying in a hostel inside the stadium. The Haryana team is undergoing a training camp at the stadium under the new coach Ajay Jadeja.

State government resorts and a couple of hotels have been shortlisted for the visiting team. Meanwhile, to give a jazzy look to the stadium, the HCA has hired the services of a Delhi University student who has been busy giving a new look to the outer walls with graffiti. Mumbai have played at Lahli at couple of times but it will be for the first time that the Master Blaster will be playing at this venue. The Lahli stadium in Kalanaur tehsil of Rohtak district is nestled among the lush green fields with virtually no habitation around the place.

New Delhi, October 24
The Supreme Court agreed to hear tomorrow a petition against allowing the F1 race to be held in Greater Noida from Saturday.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said the plea would be taken up tomorrow. The petitioner, Amit Kumar, has sought to restrain the organisers from holding the event, pending payment of the entire tax amount to the Uttar Pradesh government for the first Formula-1 race held in October 2011. The Samajwadi Party government headed by Akhilesh Yadav has also come to the SC pleading for permission to withdraw the entertainment tax exemption given to the organisers, the Jaypee Group, by the Mayawati regime.

On a similar petition filed by Kumar in 2011challenging the tax exemption, the SC had directed the organisers to deposit 25 % of the ticket sale proceeds in a separate account.

New Delhi, October 24
As the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) gets set to host the third successive Indian Grand Prix Formula-I races, an air of uncertainty hangs over the future of the Indian circuit. With 2014 having already been declared as a "stop-gap" year, with the F1 slated to return in 2015, there are still some lingering doubts about India being retained as a host.

With more and more circuits coming up across the world, and the drivers getting travel weary due to their hectic schedule, the Indian GP would have to evolve much to the sustain the interest of the teams and the drivers.

Many drivers, though, have praised the BIC as one of the best in the world-or even the best---and they would want to come back here again.

Be that as it may, the BIC is sparing no effort to make the third edition memorable, expecting to crown Red Bull and their lead driver Sebastian Vettel as the world champions, which would be a rare honour for India, though there would be three more races to go. Vettel needs to finish fifth or better to emerge the world champion for the fourth successive time, as he has a 90-point lead over Fernando Alonso of Ferrai, having logged 297 points. Apart from Vettel, Alonso is the only other driver to feature on both Indian GP podiums. Alonso was third in 2011 and second last.

Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton will be fighting for the third and fourth positions, or in the reverse order, while the Indian interest would centre around Di Resta and Adrian Sutil, currently at the 11th and 12th position respectively in the Drivers' Championship race. Sutil, who is three points adrift of Di Resta, will be hoping to overtake his teammate with better races in the coming four Grand Prix events.

If Vettel emerges the world champion at BIC, he would become the fourth driver in FI history to win four titles, and only the third to win four in a row-the previous winners being Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. Vettel has an enviable record at BIC, as he had not only taken pole position and victory in the previous two Indian GPs, he had also led every lap of each race. And Red Bull Racing had locked-out the front row at both the Indian GPs, with Mark Webber second on the grid in 20011 and 2012.

For Red Bull, the man and machine have been in perfect sync, to become the envy of others, though other teams and drivers draw some consolation from the fact that the drastic rule changes to be effected from next year, will give them a level-playing field, to end the domination of any one team with the best machines and drivers, and deep pockets to lavishly funds on their teams. With Vettel recording his fifth consecutive podium finish at Suzuka in Japan, the results have almost become predictable.

BRIEFLY

Double centurion Smith leads SA run feast
Dubai: Captain Graeme Smith hit an unbeaten double century as South Africa went on a merciless scoring spree to establish a 361-run lead over Pakistan on the second day of the second test in Dubai on Thursday. Smith was 227 not out and a cramping AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 157 as the pair set a new South African fifth wicket partnership record of 326 to put the top-ranked team firmly in command. Smith, recently recovered from ankle surgery and looking considerably leaner after a tough pre-tour fitness regime, batted for more than 10 hours, passed 9000 test runs and notched his fifth double century in a dominant innings. It is also the highest test score this year. Brief scores: South Africa 460-4 (Smith 227*, de Villiers 157*) vs Pakistan 99 (Tahir 5-32, Steyn 3-38)

Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers put up a record fifth wicket partnership 326 for South Africa on Thursday. — Reuters

Saina, Sindhu lose in French Super Series 
Paris: Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu both lost in the second round of the French Super Series in Paris on Thursday. While Saina lost 20-22 21-15 22-20 to Yeon Ju Bae of Korea, Sindhu went down fighting to Kirsty Gilmour Scotland 10-21 21-19 21-16. In the mens category, Ajay Jayaram lost 21-18 21-18 to world no. 1 Chong Wei Lee of Malaysia and K Srikanth lost 15-21 21-18 21-15 to Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana.

Richie Benaud recovering after crash
Sydney: Richie Benaud recovering in hospital after car crash in Sydney. Legendary commentator Richie Benaud is recovering in hospital after the car he was driving hit a brick wall in Sydney. The 83-year-old former Australia captain sustained chest and shoulder injuries driving alone to his home in Coogee after playing golf."No-one was injured. I was more worried about the car than myself," Benaud said of his vintage 1963 Sunbeam Alpine. Benaud has commentated since ending his playing days in 1964 and is due to work on the Ashes, starting on 21 November.

Digvijay reaches semis of national tennis
New Delhi: Digvijay Pratap Singh of Chandigarh continued his impressive form as he reached the boys' under-14 semifinal of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship at the DLTA complex. Digvijay beat Arghya Das 6-4 6-2 to join Danish Ahmad, who beat top seed Sumit Pal Singh 4-6 6-2 6-2. In the under-16 category, Udayan Bhakar stunned second seed Alex Solani with a 6-1 6-3 win to make it to semifinals. Top seed B.R. Nikshep survived a tough battle against Venkata Gnan Paramatmuni before winning the contest 6-4 7-6(2). The others to make the cut for the semifinals included fourth seed Aryan Goveas, who defeated Sanil Jagtiani 6-3 6-2, and while third seed Paramveer Singh Bajwa, who overwhelmed Parikshit Somani 6-1 6-0.

HIL appoints Bjorn Isberg as Tournament Director
New Delhi: Hockey India League (HIL) has appointed Bjorn Isberg as Tournament Director for the second season of the six-team franchise-based event to be held from January 23 to February 23. HI secretary general and HIL chairman Narinder Batra said the appointment of Isberg is a key step towards ensuring that the 2014 season is technically well conducted. Isberg has also worked as an Assistant Tournament Director at the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing and two FIH World Cups including Germany in 2006 and India in 2010.

Bangladesh battle back against Black Caps
Dhaka: Mominul Haque struck an unbeaten century as Bangladesh battled back bravely against New Zealand to leave the second test and series up for grabs after an entertaining fourth day in Mirpur on Thursday. The 22-year-old left hander was 126 not out alongside Shakib Al Hasan (32) at the close as the hosts reached 269-3 in their second innings for a 114 run lead. New Zealand could only add 18 to their overnight score with Ish Sodhi (58) run out by Mominul and Abdur Razzak trapping Trent Boult (4) leg before wicket as the tourists were all out for 437, a first innings lead of 155.

Kenny Dalglish to coach in Indian Super League
Mumbai: Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, popularly called 'King Kenny' by Reds' fans, will soon be seen coaching one of the eight franchise teams in the much-awaited Indian Super League scheduled to start next January. A Hall of Famer in England and Scotland, Kenny is the recent signing by tournament organiser IMG-Reliance as 'marque' manager. — Agencies