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Six-pack Steyn guns down India
BCCI to go into huddle over Modi's re-entry
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Kejri effect: Not even thinking of getting proxy votes: Bedi
Malinga’s four help Sri Lanka bowl out Pakistan for 232
Dhawan flat-track bully: Cullinan
For the first time in this Ashes, England have a lot to cheer about
Getting to host U-17 World Cup highlight
of disappointing year
Sanjay grabs halfway lead at RCGC, Jyoti lies at 5th
Fitness would be the key in 2014: Nadal
ICC conducts trials to improve DRS
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Six-pack Steyn guns down India
Durban, December 27 The Proteas picked up four wickets for the addition of 90 runs in the session, India reaching tea on 271 for five, to drag themselves back into the game with the aggressive Steyn the catalyst for their success. The visitors finally bundled up for 334 in 11.3 overs. At stumps, South Africa were 82/0, with Graeme Smith (35) and Alviro Petersen (46) at the crease. After rain had washed out the morning's play, Steyn charged in and ended his barren run of 414 deliveries in between wickets in the series when he had Cheteshwar Pujara (70) caught by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers pushing forward to a pitched-up ball. It brought to an end a fine second-wicket stand of 157 between Pujara and Murali Vijay that had so frustrated South Africa on the opening day. Vijay moved to within three of his century before he succumbed to Steyn's short-pitched attack, gloving the ball down the leg-side to De Villiers. And the very next ball Rohit Sharma (zero) misjudged the bounce as he shouldered arms to a delivery that always looked destined to crash into middle stump. Virat Kohli was on course for his third half-century in as many innings in the series before he was out 10 minutes before tea for 46, another catch down the leg-side by De Villiers, this time off Morne Morkel. Ajinkya Rahane (23) and captain MS Dhoni (zero) will resume after the interval. Steyn, who lost top spot in the world rankings for test bowlers to compatriot Vernon Philander after the drawn first test at the Wanderers, has figures of three for 87 in the innings.Play is scheduled to continue until 1800 local time (1600 GMT) as the umpires try to get 75 overs into the day's play after losing 29 on Thursday to bad light. Kallis not in World Twenty20 squad
Jacques Kallis could not find a place in the 30-man South Africa squad announced Friday for the World Twenty20 starting in Bangladesh March 14. Kallis quit Tests earlier in the week to focus on the shorter formats of the game.Faf du Plessis will lead the team which also has pacer Vernon Philander. — Agencies Scoreboard India first innings Dhawan c Petersen b Morkel 29 Vijay c de Villiers b Steyn 97 Pujara de Villiers b Steyn 70 Kohli c de Villiers b Morkel 46 Sharma b Steyn 0 Rahane 51 Dhoni c Smith b Steyn 24 Jadeja c Kallis b Duminy 0 Khan c de Villiers b Steyn 0 Sharma c de Villiers b Steyn 4 Shami c Smith b Morkel 1 Extras (lb 7, w 4, nb 1) 12 Total
(all out; 111.3 ov) 334 Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-198, 3-199, Bowling Steyn 30-9-100-6 Philander 21-6-56-0 Morkel 23.3-6-50-3 Kallis 11-1-36-0 Peterson 22-2-75-0 Duminy 4-0-10-1 |
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BCCI to go into huddle over Modi's re-entry
Chennai, December 27 All the representatives of BCCI affiliated units are expected to attend the meeting where members may decide the fate of Modi and also discuss the legal implications of banning RCA. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said, “Let me tell you that BCCI will never act in a manner which is against the interest of cricket or cricketers. I can assure you that whatever decision we take, will not hurt the interest of the cricketers of Rajasthan,” Patel said. “We are also concerned about their future but the issue of Modi trying to make a comeback will certainly be discussed at length at tomorrow's meeting,” Patel said. However Patel did not specify as to what kind of actions the board is mulling against Modi. “Look, we need to discuss and hear the views of each and every member of the working committee before taking a decision. The decision to ban Modi was an unanimous one and now we need to discuss a whole lot of issues regarding him,” Patel added. The BCCI secretary, who recently won his state association's (Baroda) election against former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, also reiterated that the cricket board was ready for all legal battles which would be inevitable in case Modi is declared a winner in RCA polls and wanted to come into BCCI. “It will be hypothetical to say that Mr Modi will win the elections. Let him first win the elections. If you are speaking about the legal recourse that will be taken by Modi, I can assure you that BCCI is ready for the challenge,” he said. RCA appoints Abdi to present its case
The RCA appointed Mehmood Abdi to present its case before the BCCI Working Committee which is likely to discuss the fallout of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s possible return as president of the RCA. Modi was allowed to fight for the post of RCA president in the December 19 elections held under the supervision of a SC-appointed observer. The results of the polls are expected to be known on Jan 6 when the matter relating to the RCA comes up for hearing before the Supreme Court. The BCCI, meanwhile, had issued a warning to the RCA stating that it would lose benefits from the Board if Modi was allowed to remain an office-bearer in the association. — PTI |
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Kejri effect: Not even thinking of getting proxy votes: Bedi
New Delhi, December 27 “If you look from the perspective of corruption, how long will we tolerate what is going on at the DDCA? Is this the kind of atmosphere that you want at a renowned Test centre of the country? At least we have been allowed to hold a press conference over here,” Bedi said in a sarcastic tone. Bedi addressed the media along with former India cricketers Madan Lal, Kirti Azad and Surinder Khanna. — PTI
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Malinga’s four help Sri Lanka bowl out Pakistan for 232
Abu Dhabi, December 27 Malinga, who had taken just two wickets in four matches, gave Sri Lanka hope of finishing the series on a consolation high, as Pakistan has an unassailable 3-1 lead. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq scored 51, his 15th half century of the year, before falling to Malinga. Misbah confirmed he'll finish 2013 as the leading run-scorer in one-day internationals. Allrounder Anwar Ali, playing his first match of the series, hit a vital unbeaten 41 off 38 balls at the end. There were modest partnerships between all the top six batsmen, but the highest of them, between Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq, was cut short at 58. At times, Pakistan were guilty of throwing it away, like when Ahmed Shehzad holed out to mid-on, trying to hit a third successive boundary off Suranga Lakmal. Suranga Lakmal, with 3-42, wrapped up the innings by claiming the last two wickets off successive deliveries as Pakistan was bowled out in 49.3 overs. — Agencies
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Dhawan flat-track bully: Cullinan
Durban, December 27 Cullinan feels that the 28-year-old Delhi batsman has not replicated the success he achieved in India recently. Dhawan's last three innings on foreign soil have produced just 57 runs in contrast to a rollicking start in Tests at home. “He is a flat-track bully. His back-foot goes nowhere. In South Africa you must have a backfoot game. Dhawan's backfoot doesn't go back and across and stays at the same place and fast bowlers across the world will find him out,” Cullinan said. The former South Africa batsman also questioned Dhawan's technique to survive in foreign countries. “Away from home, it will be the same old story for Dhawan. He is a talented guy and has something in him but he has to work on his technique if he wants to have a long career particularly outside the sub-continent,” he said. “For all of us who have seen his success last season, we have always been concerned about his liking to drive the ball, very often on the up," said former Test batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, adding: “But then in the ICC Champions Trophy in UK, we saw his ability to leave balls. We thought he would (now) be (more) selective whole choosing the balls to drive,” he added. He said, “I think he is slightly distracted from those lines outside the off-stump where his instincts come into play and he has not been able to differentiate between an Indian pitch and a South African wicket.” Shikhar Dhawan will have one chance in the final innings of the second Test to redeem his reputation as a batsman. — Agencies
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For the first time in this Ashes, England have a lot to cheer about
Melbourne, December 27 The tourists may have surrendered the Ashes after a hat-trick of defeats but the second day's play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was classic attritional cricket as the English bowlers restricted the hosts to 164 for nine, to go with an unflattering run rate of 2.23, at stumps. It was not pretty cricket to watch but it was clear that England had done their homework, made plans and, more importantly, their bowlers were sticking to them. More to their credit, the MCG's drop-in pitch played stubbornly straight for the most part on a sunny day. “There wasn't much there," James Anderson, who took 3-50, told reporters. Stuart Broad claimed 3-30 while fellow paceman Tim Bresnan took 2-24. "There was some reverse and some point in the day, but there wasn't really much seam movement or anything. So we had to work really hard, be patient and work with the guy at the other end,” said Anderson. "We were all trying to bowl maidens and bowl dots, and as boring as it sounds that's the way to go on that pitch and it worked well for us." The bowlers conceded just four extras in 73.3 overs, and only 58 runs off 29 overs in the middle session. Having batted first, this was the first time in the series England sensed a lead of any kind to protect and their pacemen replied with a disciplined performance. With their bowlers operating predominantly outside the off-stump to offside-heavy fields, England strangled Australia's batsmen even more effectively than the hosts had stifled their own. — Reuters Australia's number five batsman Steven Smith was starved of his favoured leg-side scoring shots - 80 percent of runs in his Perth century came on the leg-side - and was eventually frustrated into a rash cut shot that was snaffled in the slips. Smith scored 19 runs off 77 deliveries at a strike rate of 24.67, compared to his 53-plus in the first innings at Perth. The Australian batsman who remains a thorn in England's side, however, is Haddin who finished the day unbeaten on 43. Australia have been in trouble in each of their first innings so far. They were 83-4 at Brisbane, 174-4 at Adelaide and 129-4 at Perth before Haddin bailed them out on all three occasions. Haddin has the second highest average with the bat in the series - his 73.60 bettered only by David Warner's 77.66 - but with Australia still 91 runs behind, even he is unlikely to prevent England taking a substantial first innings lead. England, desperate to prevent a series whitewash, will badly need it on MCG's drop-in pitch where the lowest total defended is 142, while the highest run chase is 332. "We'd have liked a few more runs this morning," Anderson said of England's 255, improbably, their highest first innings total in the series. "But then having spoken to our batters last night we knew we could make it difficult for them to score because it's quite a slow pitch. If we set the right fields and bowled in the right areas we could get some rewards - and we did that. "It's going to be difficult for us. We've seen how difficult it is to score on there. "It might be slow going for us tomorrow, but if we get stuck in, hopefully we can get a reasonable lead." Scoreboard England first innings (Overnight 226-6) Cook c Clarke b Siddle 27 Carberry b Watson 38 Root c Haddin b Harris 24 Pietersen b Johnson 71 Bell c Haddin b Harris 27 Stokes c Watson b Johnson 14 Bairstow b Johnson 10 Bresnan c Bailey b Johnson 1 Broad lbw Johnson 11 Anderson not out 11 Panesar b Lyon 2 Extras (b-10, lb-7, w-1, nb-1) 19 Total (all out; 100 ovs) 255 Fall of wickets: 1-48 2-96 3-106 4-173 5-202 6-216 7-230 8-231 9-242 Bowling Harris 24-8-47-2 Johnson 24-4-63-5 Siddle 23-7-50-1 Lyon 22.2-3-67-1 Watson 6.4-2-11-1 Australia first innings Rogers c Pietersen b Bresnan 61 Warner c Bairstow b Anderson 9 Watson c Bairstow b Stokes 10 Clarke b Anderson 10 Smith c Bell b Broad 19 Bailey c Bairstow b Anderson 0 Haddin not out 43 Johnson c Anderson b Bresnan 2 Harris c Root b Broad 6 Siddle c Bresnan b Broad 0 Extras (lb-4) 4 Total (9 wkts; 73.3 ovs) 164 Fall of wickets: 1-19 2-36 3-62 4-110 5-122 6-122 7-151 8-162 9-164 Bowling Anderson 16-4-50-3 Broad 16.3-5-30-3 Stokes 14-4-38-1 Bresnan 18-6-24-2 Panesar 9-2-18-0
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Getting to host U-17 World Cup highlight of disappointing year
New Delhi, December 27 On the field, it was one of the worst years in recent times with India failing to defend the SAFF Championships which the country has won six times out of the 10 editions held so far. India could not even qualify for the final round of the AFC Challenge Cup, a tournament competed by middle-rung Asian nations in the FIFA rankings. India also played four international friendlies during the year, losing two, winning one and drawing one. The much-anticipated IPL-style football league proposed to be held early next year was also postponed to September 2014 just days before the franchise bidding. The reasons were several, including scheduling conflicts with the I-League and non-availability of stadium in Goa due to delay in the Lusofonia Games. The All India Football Federation did not have much to show as the national team was faring poorly. Thus getting the right to host the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup at the fag end of the year was a landmark achievement in Indian football history. The FIFA had encouraged India to bid for the event in continuation of its “football geopolitics” but the country nearly lost the tournament for want of assurances from the government — a pre-requisite to host a FIFA event of this magnitude. India’s bid was rejected by the FIFA early in the year and its final bid documents were submitted at the last minute due to the delay in getting government guarantees on various subjects. By virtue of being the host country, an Indian team will play in the 24-nation tournament which will be held in six venues across the country. Another high point for Indian football was the signing of goalkeeper Subrata Paul by Danish Superliga side FC Vestsjaelland, also known as FC Vikings, after a three-week trial stint with the club. Paul will be with the Danish top-tier league side for a period of six months starting January 1. He will become the first Indian footballer to join a top tier side in Europe. The year began with India losing to Palestine 2-4 in an international friendly in Pune in February before producing a disappointing show in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying round in Myanmar. India, under Wim Koevermans, lost 0-1 to hosts Myanmar in the final group match and failed to qualify for the final round to be held in Maldives next year. The AFC Challenge Cup debacle was followed by another 0-3 drubbing by Tajikistan in an away international friendly. India played two other friendlies — drawing against Philippines 1-1 and defeating Nepal 2-0 — both in Siliguri last month. — PTI
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3 golds for Punjabi Varsity
Patiala, December 27 Parveen Kumar (men’s pole vault), Deep Chand (men’s 3000m Steeplechase) and Sonu (women’s pole vault) were the three gold medal winners for Punjabi Univ. Navjeet Kaur of GNDU Amritsar won the women’s shot putt gold. Results (Day 5) n Women: Shot Putt: Navjeet Kaur (GNDU Amritsar) 13.69m, Manpreet Kaur (Punjabi Univ) 12.86, Renu (MD Univ.) 12.37m. Triple Jump: Sheena NV (MG Univ. Kottayam) 13.09m, Shilpa Chacko (MG Univ. Kottayam) 12.74m, Bhumika Thakur (Punjabi Univ.) 12.31m. 3,000m Steeplechase: Parul Chaudhary (CCS Univ Meerut) 11:03.43 Sec, Adesh (MD Univ) 11:25.89, Padmavathi S. (Bharathiar Univ.). High Jump: Sonu (Punjabi Univ) 1.71m, Jini Marrya Manuel (MG Univ. Kottayam) 1.68m, Anitha Methew (Kannur Univ.) 1.65m. n Men: Discus Throw: Arjun (Univ. of Delhi) 52.59m, Praveen Kumar (JRN Univ. Udaipur 49.31m) Prashant Malik (Panjab Univ.) 49.15m. 10,000m: Ankit Malik (MD Univ) 30m, 05.76s, Sunil Prasad (Punjabi Univ) 30:27.98, Virendra Kumar Pal (VBS Purvanchal). Pole Vault: Parveen Kumar (Punjabi Univ.) 4.70m, Deep Chand (Punjabi Univ.) 4.60m, M. Thanga (Univ of Madras) 4.40m. 3,000m Steeplechase: Deep Chand (Punjabi Univ.) 9:36.20, Amar Singh (Kumaun Univ.) Sandeep (MD Univ) 9:58.42
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Sanjay grabs halfway lead at RCGC, Jyoti lies at 5th
Kolkata, December 27 Jyoti Randhawa failed to card a sub-par round and was tied fifth at five-under, alongside Gaurav Pratap Singh after he shot a 72 today. Chiragh Kumar, Vikrant Chopra and Khalin Joshi were tied seventh at a four-under, while local professional Angad Cheema was tenth alongside Chikkarangappa, Shankar Das, Rashid Khan and Amardip Sinh Malik. Cheema shot a 72 today, taking his total for the tournament to 141. Gaganjeet Bhullar was tied 15th with his 36-hole total of two-under-par after two rounds of 71. Chandigarh professional Abhijit Singh Chadha was tied 20th at 143 after he carded a 72 today. Ajeetesh Sandhu and Sujjan Singh dropped to 33rd place at 145. Ranjit Singh and Gurbazz Mann were 45th at 147. Harendra Gupta was amongst the few to card a low round. His 69 improved his position on the leaderboard. — TNS, PTI
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Fitness would be the key in 2014: Nadal
Madrid, December 27 As he gears up for the start of the 2014 tour, the 27-year-old said: “What I want is to be able to start the year well and in shape to compete in the big tournaments.” “Thinking about 2014, I am not going to talk at the moment about winning the ninth Roland Garros or winning Wimbledon again,” he said. “No, look... What is important to me is to maintain my fitness in a way that will allow me to play the whole year, and competing at a good level.” — Reuters
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ICC conducts trials to improve DRS Abu Dhabi, December 27 To improve umpiring decision in international matches, the ICC introduced the DRS in 2008 on a trial basis. The system allows both teams to challenge decisions made by on-field umpires, and have them referred to the TV official. Initially each team was allowed three unsuccessful challenges per innings in a Test which was later reduced to two. One appeal is allowed in one-day internationals. The ICC earlier this year approved that after 80 overs in a Test innings, the reviews will be reset to two per team. Friday's independent trial, conducted during the fifth and final one-day between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, takes various camera inputs from the broadcaster which are viewed by a non-match umpire on a system that is completely independent of the TV coverage, and independent of the game. The system was first trialled earlier this year in the Ashes. England's Richard Kettleborough used direct pictures of the match which allowed him to use various angles and judge in a better way as compared to the existing system. — Agencies Officiating review system The system allows both teams to challenge decisions made by on-field umpires, and have them referred to the TV official
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Fired-up South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn took three wickets in 10 balls to rip through the Indian top order on day two of the second Test at Kingsmead on Friday.
England finally wrestled back some momentum on day two of the fourth Ashes test on Friday but are yet to find an answer to Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's defiance with the bat.
