Kolkata, January 1
An International Cricket Council ICC XI and an Asia XI will play a two-match one-day series to raise funds for tsunami victims in various countries.

The first match of the series, sponsored by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), will be played in Melbourne on January 10 while the second match will be held at a venue to be selected by the ACC in mid-February.

Announcing this here today, ACC President Jagmohan Dalmiya said the Asia XI team would be selected by the chairmen of selection committees of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh soon.

The proceeds from the first match would be donated to global relief and development organisation World Vision, providing food and family survival kits to countries affected by the tsunami disaster, he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement from London, ICC President Ehsan Mani said the enormous goodwill across the cricket-playing world made the matches possible at a short notice.

“Like the rest of the world, the international cricket community is shocked at the scale of devastation caused by this disaster. All of us, players, home boards, regional and international governing bodies, have been looking for a way to make a meaningful contribution to the massive effort required to help deal with the impact of this tragedy,” he said.

“These matches, along with other fund-raising initiatives in other countries, provide us with a way to make this contribution. I believe that these matches will be able to generate millions of dollars, to be used to help rebuild people’s lives,” the ICC chief said.

Hailing the initiatives taken by Cricket Australia and other cricket boards and players for extending support to the cause, Mani said they deserved enormous credit for helping make these matches a reality.

DURBAN: The United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) has pledged to donate all proceeds from the third Test against England to survivors of the tsunami calamity.

Signed shirts from both South African and English teams will be raffled over the five days of the third Test starting in Cape Town tomorrow, Gerald Majola, UCB chief executive officer said on Saturday.

All proceeds from the ticket sales would also go for the same cause, he said.

“Our deepest sympathies and condolences go to all those affected by the disaster across the entire region,” he said.

“Obviously we have close links with a number of the countries badly affected. Our team played in Galle in Sri Lanka in July and was in India in November,” he said.

“The UCB and Cricket South Africa (Pty) Ltd will also be making a donation. Joint Test match sponsors MTN in conjunction with CSA have pledged to donate all funds generated from the use of the CSA cricket hotline number to the disaster relief fund,” he said.

All income raised from the promos that ran at the first and second Tests will also be added to those generated from the third and donated to the fund, he said.

The English team had contributed £ 15,000 for disaster relief. — PTI

Mumbai, January 1
Skipper Ajay Jadeja helped Delhi weather a middle-order collapse and guided them to 394 in the first innings with a well-crafted innings of 93 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group A tie against holders Mumbai here today.

The former Indian batsman rescued the visitors after they lost three quick wickets to the second new ball this morning, having resumed at the overnight score of 166 for three.

Jadeja, with Sarandeep Singh, pulled Delhi out of a tight spot after they were reduced to 225 for 6.

The Delhi captain, who was unlucky to miss a well-deserved ton after batting for close to three-and-a-half hours and hitting 12 fours and two sixes, put on 84 runs with Sarandeep Singh (30) for the seventh wicket.

Jadeja got out when he chased a wide ball and edged medium-pacer Usman Malvi, Mumbai’s most successful bowler with four wickets in his kitty, behind. In all, he faced 141 balls.

Ashish Nehra used the long handle to good effect to strike some mighty blows in making an unbeaten 41 off 87 balls with six fours and a six to boost the Delhi total considerably after Jadeja’s departure at 333.

Delhi were all out 44 minutes after tea and in the remaining time, Mumbai made 32 for no loss in 12 overs.

The stiff breeze that swirled inside the stadium throughout helped Mumbai medium-pacers move the second new ball appreciably and strike three quick blows in the morning.

Mumbai captain Nilesh Kulkarni summoned the new ball as soon as it was due, with Delhi on 187 for three, and the visitors lost Chopra, overnight 45, when Malvi got him to edge to wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant.

Chopra faced 44 balls this morning, and his 276-minute essay contained six fours.

Delhi lost Bhatia at the same score of 192 in the very next over. The batsman was bowled by Wilkin Mota for 11. The rookie Mumbai medium-pacer then removed Vinay Kumar after the visitors added 33 runs, Samant taking the catch again.

But Sarandeep showed good defence and stood steadfast at one end to help Jadeja, who was let off by Mane off Malvi in the slips when on 10, repair the damage.

The two batsmen were comfortable against the Mumbai spinners, with Jadeja lofting Ramesh Powar for two big sixes during his innings.

Sarandeep fell to a catch at leg slip when Mota bowled round the wicket. Jadeja was baited with a wide ball when in sight of his hundred by Malvi and had a go at it, only to snick it to Samant behind the wicket.

It was then the turn of Nehra, who smote Powar for a six and also hit six fours, to boost Delhi’s total.

He did it mainly in the company of Rahul Sanghvi as the duo added 52 runs for the ninth wicket before the latter became one of the two late victims claimed by Kulkarni. — PTI

Hyderabad, January 1
Hosts Hyderabad skittled Assam out for 158 to gain a first innings lead of 182 runs and forced a follow-on on the visitors, who were struggling at nine for two at close on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ match at Gymkhana grounds here on Saturday.

Resuming at the overnight score of 337 for 8, the hosts folded up their innings in nine minutes at 340 in the morning session.

Assam ran into trouble with Hyderabad speedster Vishnuvardhan and spinner Indrasekhar Reddy wrecking the guest batting line-up at the meagre score.

In their second innings, Reddy claimed the wickets of opener S.Z. Hussain (4) and Mrigen Talukdar (0).

In reply to Hyderabad’s first innings 340, Assam openers treaded a cautious path, with Hyderabad fast bowlers showing no effective display.

Part-time spinner Daniel Manohar accounted for opener Hussain (14) and the new spinner Reddy struck immediately to send the second opener J.J. Lamare (14) back to the pavilion, beginning the slide of Assam.

Reddy and Vishnuvardhan struck with quick frequency and reduced the guests to 36 for 4 before middle-order batsmen Gokul Sharma and Sukhvinder Singh made valiant efforts to stem the rot.

Sharma scored a patient 44 off 144 balls with five hits to the fence while Singh made 28 off 47 balls with five fours.

The Assam resistance ended when the tail quickly folded up, giving the hosts a thumping 182-run first innings lead.

With skipper V.V.S. Laxman forcing a follow-on, the visitors have a 173-run deficit with eight wickets on hand and two days play left.

Sydney, January 1
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has been forced out of the final Test against Australia starting tomorrow after failing a last-minute fitness test.

Inzamam missed the second Test in Melbourne with a back complaint, but was hoping to return in Sydney as the injury showed signs of improvement.

However, Inzamam’s hopes were dashed after he was put through a rigorous practice session at the nets today, leaving the tourists in further disarray.

“We cannot even name a team yet,” stand-in skipper Yousuf Youhana told reporters today.

“We have to replace four players. There will be a lot of changes,” he said.

Abdul Razzaq was also ruled out after being taken to hospital during the Melbourne Test with a mystery illness. He was later discharged with a clean bill of health, but the management left him out after he complained of feeling dizzy.

The tourists were already resigned to losing paceman Mohammad Sami and all-rounder Shoaib Mailk. Sami had been ordered to rest because of a foot injury while Malik split the webbing on his fingers taking a catch in Melbourne.

Yousuf admitted that the odds were heavily stacked against his team winning.

“Australia do not take it lightly and we do not either,” he said. — Reuters

Chandigarh, January 1
Rich tributes were paid to Olympian and former national hockey coach Balkrishan Singh, who died in Patiala yesterday.

Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, President, Punjab Olympic Association, said Indian sports in general and hockey in particular had lost a giant. Balkrishan Singh was not only a perfect gentleman sportsman but his contribution to Indian sports was immense. His death has caused irreparable loss, he said.

Mr R.S. Gill, President, Basketball Federation of India, and Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, Secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, in a joint statement, paid rich tributes to Balkrishan Singh saying that his contribution towards promotion of hockey in the country was matchless. In his death, an era has come to an end, they said.

Mr Balbir Singh Senior, under whom Balkrishan had played in the 1956 Olympic Games, said the news of his death came as a shock as Balkrishan was not only keeping good health but was also a regular golfer. “He was a true sportsman who worked dedicatedly without ever bothering for honours and awards. For him sports was not only a commitment but also a way of life,” he said.

PATIALA: A number of visitors came to Balkrishan Singh’s residence on Saturday to express their sympathy with the family members of the hockey icon.

Prominent among those who met Balkrishan’s wife Baljinder Kaur were coaches and chief coaches of NIS, the Media Adviser to the CM, Mr B.I.S. Chahal, former chief coach of the women’s national squad, Gurdial Singh Bhangu, former Director (Sports), Mr G.S. Bains and SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann.

Condolence messages were sent by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur.

A family member said the cremation would take place at the Badungar cremation ground on Monday at 1.30 p.m. while the bhog ceremony would be held at Gurdwara Moti Bagh on January 8 between 12 and 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Patiala Cricket Association has expressed shock at the demise of Balkrishan Singh. At a specially convened meeting of the association, Mr M.P. Pandove, also the secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association, said the country had lost a great coach.

A two-minute silence was also observed before the commencement of the North Zone Inter-State (u-22) match played at the Dhruv Pandove stadium between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

LUDHIANA: The sports fraternity here on Friday expressed shock over the death of Balkrishan Singh.

Office-bearers of different sports associations, sportspersons, sports organisers and promoters expressed sorrow over the demise of Balkrishan Singh.

Mr Rajdeep Singh Gill and Mr Harish Sharma, president and secretary general, respectively, of the BFI, joined the sports fraternity in condoling the death of the hockey legend.

Meanwhile, players, officials, coaches, office-bearers of the Ludhiana and Punjab Basketball Association, and the spectators who were watching the match between Services and Tamil Nadu during the 55th Dhanoa Senior National Basketball Championship here observed a two-minute silence in memory of Balkrishan Singh.

Ludhiana, January 1
The final in the women’s section of the 55th Dhanoa Senior National Basketball Championship, slated to be held tomorrow, will be a repeat of the last year’s edition as current champions Indian Railways and runners-up Delhi won their semifinal matches today. On the penultimate day of the ongoing championship here at Guru Nanak Stadium, Indian Railways crushed Tamil Nadu 113-31 while Delhi after some initial hiccups managed to breeze past Chhattisgarh 84-68.

In the semifinal between Chhattisgarh and Delhi, players of both teams exhibited good ball control and some accurate attempts. Delhi established five-point lead at the end of the first quarter (19-14).

Delhi eves again had the upper hand during the second quarter, collecting 25 points against 18 scored by Chhattisgarh cagers, thus leading 44-32 at half time. Delhi continued to pick up the points in the third quarter, making it 60-44.

Chhatisgarh players went all out in the deciding quarter and netted baskets regularly. They outwitted their opponents squarely and collected six more points than Delhi. However, it was too late to catch up with Delhi who wrapped up the match 84-68.

For Delhi, the main scorers were Divya Singh (35), Shiba Maggan (21) and Savitha (14) while Kawaljit and Bharti Netam excelled for Chhattisgarh scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively, and M Pushpa netting 10 points.

The semifinal between Indian Railways and Tamil Nadu turned out to be a one-sided affair with the former recording a facile victory. Indian Railways were leading 44-15 at half time.

For Indian Railways, the main contributors were Seema Singh (21), Ranjaini Peter (16), Anju Lakra (10) and Sophie Sam (17).

In the men’s section, Uttaranchal prevailed over Indian Railways 74-69 to enter the final. Uttaranchal will take on the winners in the semifinal slated to be held between hosts Punjab and reigning champions Tamil Nadu.

Uttaranchal led 39-31 at the breather. Pawan with 24 points was the top scorer for the winners. Ashwani and Shyam accounted for 21 and 13 points, respectively. For Indian Railways, Pardeep (27) played well.

Meanwhile, Punjab eves gave a fine performance beating Kerala 65-54 to finish at the fifth spot. In the last edition held at Cuttack, they had secured the ninth position. Services beat Jharkhand 77-66 to secure the third place.

Chandigarh, January 1
Hosts Chandigarh gained the second position among men and the third spot in the women’s section in the 26th Senior National Softball Championship which concluded here today at the Punjab Engineering College Complex, Sector 12.

City men, who had dethroned holders Rajasthan in an earlier round, were considered hot favourites in the men’s category. However, in the final, Madhya Pradesh downed 3-2 to win the trophy.

Chandigarh women finished third by beating Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra women had earlier bagged the women’s title as they routed Punjab in the final last evening.

The following were declared the best players:

Men: Best pitcher: Gagandeep Singh (MP). Best beater: Vinayak Rao (AL). Best catcher: Gurjit Singh (Punjab). Best fielder: Sunder Lall (Chandigarh).

Women: Best pitcher: Anu (Punjab). Best beater: Madhu (Maharashtra). Best fielder: Kanchan (MP). Best all-rounder: Nidhi (Chandigarh).

Mrs Meenakshi Anand Chaudhary, Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, presented trophies and mementoes to players and officials.

Ludhiana, January 1
The 70th edition of the Kila Raipur Rural Sports Festival, popularly known as the Rural Olympics will be held at Grewal Sports Stadium, Kila Raipur, about 20 km from here, from February 10 to 13.

Giving this information here today, Mr Sukhvir Singh Grewal, former hockey international and chief organiser of the festival, said the major attraction of the festival would be the traditional rural sporting events, including bullock cart races, camel race, dog race, sack lifting and team events like kabaddi, besides some regular events, like the Bhagwant Memorial Gold Cup Hockey Tournament (both for men and juniors), air pistol shooting, cycling, equestrian, track and field events, tent pegging and tug of war.

Apart from Chhattisgarh, states like Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Haryana and Rajasthan have evinced keen interest in participation in the country’s biggest rural sports festival,” Mr Grewal said. The details of their participation are being worked out, he said.

“From this year, the organisers have planned to go hi-tech with online cameras and huge screens,” he said.

Mr Grewal said participation by “baazigars” had been confirmed.

Some veteran sportspersons from the region would perform also be felicitated by the Grewal Sports Association. The organising committee will meet soon to finalise names of those to be honoured this time.

In hockey for juniors, some of the top hockey academies will participate. In the seniors section, top teams like Punjab Police, Punjab and Sind Bank, Rail Coach Factory and others would fight it out for the prestigious Bhagwant Gold Cup.

This year, the festival is dedicated to the memory of Ramesh Chander Singh Saini, Chief Engineer (retd).