Rajkot, January 12
The prolonged form slump finally caught up with Virender Sehwag who was today sacked from the Indian one-day team for the first two cricket one-dayers against West Indies while Sourav Ganguly expectedly staged a comeback alongwith in-form all-rounder Joginder Sharma.

Wielding the axe on non-performers, the national selectors also dropped Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia from the 15-member squad announced by BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah here.

The omission of Sehwag was on the cards given his poor form in recent times as the selectors effected as many as six changes in the one-day squad that toured South Africa recently.

Sehwag, was, however included in a provisional 30-member squad for the World Cup which also named today and included a host of youngsters like Tamil Nadu batsman S. Badrinath, Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, Delhi paceman Ishant Sharma, Mumbai's Rohit Sharma and Rajesh Sharma.

Seasoned leg spinner Anil Kumble was "rested" for the first two one-dayers to be played in Nagpur (January 21) and Cuttack (January 24) but the selectors made it clear that he would be considered for the remaining matches.

Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar said Sehwag needed to sort out his batting in the nets before turning out for an international game.

"He has been out-of-form for a while. He needs to go back and sort out his batting. He is a fine player. I am sure that he will come back but I would like to say that he should go back to the nets and sort out his batting," Vengsarkar said.

Suresh Raina, who has also been bogged down by indifferent form of late, was however, retained in the squad which will have a new vice-captain in Sachin Tendulkar.

Interestingly, the selectors also retained Dinesh Kaarthick as the second wicketkeeper and batsman, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni being the first choice keeper.

Ganguly, who last played an ODI in September 2005 against Zimbabwe, forced his way back into the one-day fold by virtue of his impressive showing in the Test series against South Africa.

It would also be a comeback for three other players - Joginder Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, who have all represented India at some time or the other and reaped the rewards for their consistent performances in domestic cricket.

Haryana skipper Joginder played in three ODIs against Bangladesh in 2004 while Uthappa had played his last match against the West Indies in May last year.

Gambhir was part of India's Test squad in South Africa but was not considered for the one-dayers, the last of which he played against England in Faridabad in March 2005.

Baroda left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan, who was asked to return home midway through the South Africa tour to rediscover his form, failed to find favour with the selectors who deliberated close to two hours before finalising the squads.

"Pathan is out of form. He needs to bowl well and pick wickets as well. He has got a chance to come back in the side," Vengsarkar said.

Asked whether Kumble was kept out because of any injury, Vengsarkar said, "he is not injured but he needs a break. he will be back for the third and fourth one-dayers."

Ganguly, who silenced his critics with his gutsy showing in his comeback Test series, earned high praise from Vengsarkar.

"His performance in ODIs has been excellent. He has done well in South Africa in Test matches and that's why we have picked him." On whether Ganguly would open the innings with Tendulkar, he said, "that will be decided by the captain and the team management." Most of the performers in domestic cricket made it to the list of World Cup probables which also includes stylish Hyderabad batsman V. V. S. Laxman, who is not regarded as a one-day specialist and was not considered for selection in the 2003 edition in South Africa.

The final 14-member World Cup squad has to be announced by February 13 as per the guidelines of the International Cricket Council.

Among the new faces, Delhi's 19-year-old paceman Ishant Sharma, viewed as a top fast bowling prospect, has emerged as one of the highest wicket-takers alongwith 24-year-old Joginder Sharma in the current Ranji season.

Cheteshwar Pujara, with 727 runs from 11 first class matches, is also seen as an exciting talent while Rajesh Pawar, 27, has been on the fringes for some time for his slow left-arm bowling.

With 3,017 runs off 46 first class matches, S Badrinath has also been rewarded for his exploits in domestic circuit.

The inclusion of 19-year-old batsman Rohit Sharma did not come as a surprise as he has not only represented India A and India U-19 teams but has been a prolific scorer for his state team Mumbai.

While discards like Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Mongia still kept themselves in contention for a World Cup berth, there was no such luck for bowlers like Ashish Nehra and Murali Kartik - the duo failing to make the cut to the list.

Vengsarkar was forthright when asked about Laxman, who had been drafted as a replacement for an injured Dravid for the last one-dayer against South Africa, raising the batsman's hopes of a recall to the one-day fold.

"Fielding is a problem with him (Laxman) and the running between the wickets also is not good. There is no question about his batting skills. He is a fine batsman but he is not a very good mover in the field and that went against him." The chairman of selectors, however, declined to comment if Laxman would be picked in the final World Cup squad.

Asked if Dinesh Kaarthick was included in the one-day side as a wicketkeeper or a batsman, Vengsarkar said, "both as a wicketkeeper and a batsman. He did really well in the last Test match and during the entire tour (against South Africa).

He has shown guts and courage and that's why he is here." When asked about the inclusion of two off-spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Mumbai's Ramesh Powar, he said, "Harbhajan has done well in the one-days and he is a fine off-spinner.

Both will bowl well against West Indies who have got a number of left-handers." Vengsarkar also said it was imperative for the team to get back to its winning ways ahead of the World Cup in March-April.

"Winning is very, very important for us. We will pick the best combination for that," he said.

Asked about middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh who has been out of action since sustaining a knee injury in October last, he said, "I do not think he is fit for this series (against the West Indies), but he will be considered for the series against Sri Lanka if he is fit." — PTI

Melbourne, January 12
Ricky Ponting guided Australia to an eight-wicket win in the opening tri-series one-day match against England today, extending his side’s unbeaten stretch against the tourists in all versions of cricket this summer.

Ponting scored 82 from 96 balls as Australia reached 246 for two, surpassing England’s 242 for eight with more than four overs to spare.

He shared a 133-run partnership with Michael Clarke, who was unbeaten on 57 when Australia passed the target.

Kevin Pietersen top scored for England with 82 from 91 balls but was ruled out for the remainder of the series after being struck in the ribs advancing down the pitch at a Glenn McGrath short ball. It was a major blow for England’s series and World Cup ambitions.

The Australian chase started quickly, with Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden putting on 101 for the first wicket before Gilchrist was out for 60 from 61 balls, including five boundaries and a six.

Hayden played the anchor role and was out for 28 with the total at 118.

“We played well again tonight. I thought our bowlers did a good restricting job. We took wickets along the way, 240 on this wicket was probably 30 runs less,” Ponting said.

Australia is honing a squad to win a third a consecutive World Cup.

“We’re not far away. This group of players will form the nucleus of our World Cup squad. We’ve got some good young blokes in among some older blokes,” he said.

Pietersen clubbed three sixes and four boundaries in his 91-ball knock, holding the England innings together in the middle overs before Andrew Flintoff took over, hitting an unbeaten 47 from 38 balls at the end.

Pietersen was hit in the ribs by a rising short ball after a big swing-and-a-miss on 73 and needed treatment on the field. He was later taken to hospital for tests.

England management revealed he would be sent home after breaking a rib on his right side. A replacement has not been named.

Hyderabad, January 12
Hyderabad overcame anxious moments before securing a one wicket victory against Punjab in the last Ranji Trophy Elite Group-B match here today.

The hero of the win was wicket-keeper batsman Ibrahim Khaleel who came in at the fall of the sixth wicket at 93 took the team to its target. He kept his nerve as wickets were falling at the other end.

With Mumbai being better placed against Maharashtra it would be impossible for Hyderabad to qualify for the semifinals, even after securing four points from this game.

Hyderabad started its chase on a disastrous note losing three wickets including skipper V. V. S. Laxman for just 12 runs.

Right arm medium pacer Gagandeep Singh struck twice to remove Hyderabad openers Suman and Shashank Nag. Ablish next had Laxman caught by Harbhajan Singh.

Anirudh Singh with the help of Arjun Yadav (25 off 29 balls, 4x4) then added 60 runs for the fourth wicket in 10.1 overs. But, Hyderabad slumped to 105 for eight in the space of 32 runs off 8.3 overs, with Arjun Yadav, Absolem, Anirudh Singh, Vinay Kumar and P. K. Reddy sent back.

Anirudh Singh, after reaching 40 off 70 balls with 6 fours was caught by Mongia off V. R. V. Singh.

Earlier, Punjab resuming at the overnight score of 145 for five were all out for 245 shortly after lunch. Pankaj Dharmani was the first to go after adding just eight runs to his overnight score of 70. His 78 came off 156 balls and included ten fours. M. P. Arjun had him plumb in front. It was wicket-keeper batsman Uday Kaul largely responsible for adding 100 runs to Punjab second innings on penultimate today.

Kaul in his stay of 232 minutes facing 146 balls hit seven fours to score 61 before he was bowled by left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

With the help of Harbhajan Singh (29 off 37 balls, 2x4, 2x6) added 52 valuable runs for the sixth wicket in 14.1 overs.

Delhi post win

Rohtak: The latest India ODI discard Virender Sehwag and fellow spinner Chetanya Nanda shared the spoils as Delhi posted a thumping an innings and 18-run victory over Haryana in the Super League Ranji Group A match here today.

Forced to follow on after being skittled out for a paltry 113 in reply to Delhi's first innings total of 382, Haryana failed to withstand the spin attack of Nanda (6/112) and Sehwag (4/63) as their second essay folded for 251 with more than one and a half days left in the match.

Resuming at 105 for six on the third day, Haryana, However, made Delhi sweat longer than expected and delayed the inevitable as the visitors needed 32.2 overs today to dismiss the last four batsmen and grab five points.

Overnight not out batsmen Mahesh Rawat and captain Joginder Sharma - who made to the India ODI squad - put on 80 runs for the seventh wicket before Sehwag broke the partnership removing Joginder for 44 caught by Amit Bhandari.

Next man in Amit Mishra was out for a duck off leggie Nanda but again Rawat shared 57 and 25 run-stands for the ninth and last wickets with tailenders Tejinder Mann and Sanjay Budhwar, before he was out last for 73 off Sehwag. His 73 had 11 hits to the fence and a six and made from 110 deliveries.

HP take lead

Dharamshala: Skipper Sandeep Sharma (161) grafted an agonisingly slow hundred as Himachal Pradesh crawled to 346 for seven in reply to Railways' first innings total of 229 on the third day of the first semifinal of the Ranji Trophy Plate League here today.

Resuming at their overnight score of 151 for three, the hosts have now taken a crucial 117-run lead with three first innings wickets intact. — UNI

Melbourne, January 12
Champion Roger Federer will begin the pursuit of his third Australian Open crown next week against Germany's Bjorn Phau. After a relatively smooth outing in the first two rounds, things could get a little more tricky for the world number one.

Today's draw for the first Grand Slam of the season placed last year's runner-up, Cypriot 11th seed Marcos Baghdatis, in-form Serbian Novak Djokovic, Frenchman Richard Gasquet and Croatian beanpole Ivo Karlovic in the Swiss maestro's quarter of the draw.

Baghdatis will open against another former finalist, Germany's Rainer Schuettler, and could meet Federer in the last eight.

Sixth seed Andy Roddick and 2005 champion Marat Safin also found themselves in Federer's half of the field, setting up a potentially explosive semi-final.

Roddick could run into Safin, who was unable to defend his crown 12 months ago through injury, in the third round.

The American will open against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while Safin will take on Germany's Benjamin Becker.

In the other half of the draw, Rafael Nadal will begin his quest to win his first Grand Slam title outside Roland Garros against American Robert Kendrick.

It could prove to be a tough test for the Spaniard as he had to come back from two sets down when the pair clashed in the second round at Wimbledon last year.

Local hope Lleyton Hewitt, seeded 19th, will be aiming for a swift workout against an as yet unknown qualifier. The Australian declared himself 80 per cent fit after picking up a calf strain.

The pick of the first-round battles is likely to be fifth-seeded American James Blake's tussle with former French Open champion Carlos Moya. Blake is scheduled to meet Hewitt in the last 16.

In the women's competition, Amelie Mauresmo, seeded second, will begin the defence of her title against American Shenay Perry.

Maria Sharapova, who was elevated to top seed due to the absence of world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne, will play France's Camille Pin in her first match. She was drawn in the same half as fourth seed Kim Clijsters and three-times former champion Martina Hingis.

Duler (Goa), January 12
Ranty Martins and Anthony Pereira scored a brace each as Durand Cup Champions Dempo registered an emphatic 5-0 win over Kolkata's Mohammedan Sporting in the 11th National Football League (NFL) match at Mapusa in North Goa.

With this win, Dempo opened their account in the tournament after losing 1-2 to defending champions Mahindra United in their opening match in Mumbai on January 8.

Pereira struck in the first and 42nd minutes while Ranty found the net in the 12th and 66th minutes. Substitute Peter Carvalho made it 5-0 in the 80th minute.

Mohammedan Sporting, who shocked JCT in the lung opener, failed to combine as a team. Nothing went right for them from the kick off and let their opponents' forward line function freely.

Dempo were outstanding today, exhibiting brilliant ball control and clinical finishing. They toyed with their rival defence right from the word go and drew first blood as early as in the first minute through Pereira who after collecting a pass from the centre by Jerry Zirsanga blasted into the net capitalising on a defensive lapse. Not a single good move came from Mohammedan in the first half and Dempo's goalkeeper Satish Kumar remained a mute spectator. — UNI

Ludhiana, January 12
Mata Sahib Kaur Hockey Academy, Jarkhar, quelled a strong challenge from Mehta Gurkul Academy, Doraha, before romping home victorious 2-1 to register their second consecutive win on the second day of the first Punjab Hockey League for boys (u-14) being organised by the Punjab Sports Department at the Prithipal Singh Astroturf Stadium on the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

Though, Jarkhar Academy boys dominated the proceedings through out, Doraha lads managed to keep them at bay. Jarkhar players opened the account in the 14th minute through a field goal scored by Amritpal Singh.

Immediately after the play started in the second half, Jarkhar boys forced a penalty stroke and Amritpal converted it successfully to increase the lead.

Down by two goals, Mehta Gurkul Academy players went all out and weaved some good moves and their efforts bore fruit as Kulbir Singh found the target to reduce the margin.

In another match, Khusropur Academy, Jalandhar, defeated Sahib Dass Academy, Sangrur, 4-1. The winners were trailing at half time.

The match played between Amloh Academy and Khaira Academy, Samrala, turned out to be a one-sided affair with the former wrapping it up 7-0.

Similarly, in the last match of the day, Grewal Academy of Kila Raipur thrashed Mithapur Academy, Jalandhar 8-0.

Kabaddi World Cup
Mumbai: Seventeen teams, including India and Pakistan, will take part in the second World Cup Kabaddi tournament to be held at New Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district from January 24-26. Also in the fray are Japan and Iran, considered to be tough competitors, it was announced at a media conference on Friday. The winners would take home Rs 2.5 lakh while the runners-up and losing semi-finalists would get Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 50,000, respectively. — PTI

Merchant Trophy
Chennai: A fine performance by wicket keeper Perry Goyal (35 batting, three catches and one stumping) helped Punjab recover to 83 for two in reply to Mumbai's 229 all out in the first innings at close on the second day of the four-day final of the under-17 cricket tournament for the Vijay Merchant Trophy here on Friday. — UNI