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India win a thriller
Nimbus gets ad boost
ICC to review role of match referee
Ranji Trophy
Kolkata police chief to head CAB
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Paes-Stosur in quarters
Anand, Negi strike back
Renault target title hat-trick
Surjit Academy emerge hockey champions
Dynamos taste victory, at last
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India win a thriller Cuttack, January 24 After being bundled out for 189, the Indian bowlers stuck to the task admirably to shut out their opponents at 169 with 10 balls to spare in the day-night encounter at the Barabati Stadium. Man-of-the-match Dinesh Karthik struck his maiden half-century to help the team recover from a top-order collapse, while the stocky Ramesh Powar was the pick of the bowlers with 3-42 in a match which saw fortunes fluctuate from one team to the other till the end. Karthik scored a valuable 63 from 87 balls with seven fours, and his 62-run association with Ajit Agarkar lifted India from a lowly 90 for seven. Agarkar made a vital 40 at No. 9, stretching the score after Karthik was bowled while trying to steer Ian Bradshaw to third-man. Right-arm seamer Darren Powell exploited the slow and spongy nature of the Barabati wicket to grab his career-best figures of 4-27. The West Indies once again relied on opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul to take the fight to the Indian camp. Chanderpaul, who hit an unbeaten 149 in the first one-dayer while chasing a daunting 338-3, scored a masterly 66. Chanderpaul almost carried his bat through before being the last man out in the penultimate over. The Guyanese batsman revived the Windies innings from 89-5 with a 50-run stand with Dwayne Smith. Smith struck two sixes off Ramesh Powar in his cautiously aggressive innings of 27 before falling to the guiles of Sachin Tendulkar. Powar then struck off his last ball of the innings when Denesh Ramdin stepped out and played all over an off-break and was bowled. When Ian Bradshaw perished to Tendulkar at 163-8, the match was even — 27 needed off 27 balls. The Indians were one step away from victory when Darren Powell was run out after a mix-up. The two teams will now travel to Chennai for the third game to be played under lights on Saturday. Scoreboard
India Ganguly c Morton b Powell 13 Gambhir c Ramdin b Bradshaw 2 Dravid b Powell 22 Tendulkar c Smith b Powell 0 Karthik b Bradshaw 63 Dhoni c&b Dwayne Smith 6 Joginder b Powell 1 Harbhajan b Bravo 6 Agarkar run out 40 Powar b Bravo 5 Zaheer not out 7 Extras (lb-3, w-20, nb-1) 24 Total (all out, 48.2 overs) 189 Fall of wickets:
1-4, 2-35, 3-35, 4-46, 5-66, 6-69, 7-90, 8-152, 9-163. Bowling: Bradshaw 10-1-38-2, Taylor 10-1-38-0, Powell 10-2-27-4, Dwayne Smith 9-1-34-1, Bravo 8.2-1-36-2, Gayle 1-0-13-0. West Indies Gayle lbw Agarkar 5 Chanderpaul b Zaheer 66 Devon Smith run out 14 Samuels c Gambhir b Harbhajan 1 Bravo c Gambhir b Powar 31 Morton b Powar 0 Dwayne Smith c Powar
b Tendulkar 27 Ramdin b Powar 6 Bradshaw c Gambhir Powell run out 1 Taylor not out 2 Extras
(b-6, lb-3, w-5) 14 Total (all out, 48.2 overs) 169 Fall of wickets:
1-5, 2-41, 3-42, 4-85, 5-89, 6-139, 7-151, 8-163, 9-166. Bowling:
Zaheer 8.2-0-25-1, Agarkar 8-2-23-1, Joginder Sharma 4-0-16-0, Harbhajan 10-3-29-1, Powar 10-0-42-3, Tendulkar 8-0-25-2.
— PTI
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Nimbus gets ad boost
New Delhi, January 24 In return, Prasar Bharati was directed to deposit Rs 5.5 crore with Nimbus as its 25 per cent share of the projected Rs 22 crore revenue to be generated from the ads. Of the total revenue to be generated by DD, Prasar Bharati would be entitled to 75 per cent share and 25 per cent would go to Nimbus for providing it “clean” signals of the matches for which the private broadcaster’s Neo Sports has the exclusive telecast rights given by the BCCI. To protect the commercial interests of Nimbus, Justice S.K. Kaul restrained Prasar Bharati from sharing the telecast with any private direct-to-home network and said where the signals were not free to air on the DD network, these should be made available only on DD’s DTH service. Nimbus was allowed to book the ads for showing during the telecast on DD after its counsel said the revenue projected by Prasar Bharati was far too less than expected. While Prasar Bharati projected the ad revenue to be put by it in the “clean” signals provided by Nimbus only at Rs 4.6 crore, the private channel said it could generate Rs 22 crore from the telecast on the DD network. The interim order came after Prasar Bharati, not satisfied with yesterday’s interim order providing it “clean” signals at a seven-minute delay, filed a revision petition. It sought a direction to Nimbus to provide it signals simultaneously as was being telecast by Neo Sports, as DD viewers were “confused” about what exactly was happening on the ground. In view of the interim revenue-sharing arrangement devised by the court during the afternoon hearing, Prasar Bharati did not press for hearing of its revision petition.
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ICC to review role of match referee
Dubai, January 24 The members of the CEC would discuss whether the match referee should be made responsible for making decisions on the termination of a match. The Oval Test events were discussed at length by the Executive Board at its last meeting held in Mumbai on November 3-4 last year and one of the recommendations approved by the board was that management should prepare a paper for the CEC Meeting, evaluating and reviewing the role of the match referee. “The CEC will now be asked to consider whether the match referee should be responsible for making decisions on the termination of a match,” the ICC said. The members’ recommendation will be presented to the ICC Board for a final decision in
March. — PTI
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Ducks quack on bowlers’ day
Vadodara, January 24 Pathan and Patel reduced Mumbai to a catastrophic none for five before Vivek Samant’s half century bailed the visitors out. After being bundled out for a paltry 142, build around a fighting 70 by Yusuf Pathan, Baroda hit back with Pathan (3-39) and Patel (4-27) tearing Mumbai batting apart. It was a bowlers’ day out with as many as 17 wickets falling in the day. Samant’s unbeaten 51 then helped Mumbai bounce back from the early calamity and ended the day at 109 for seven, an overall lead of 200 runs. Five of Mumbai batsmen went for ducks as the scoreboard of the 36-time Ranji winners read 0 for five in 3.2 overs. Pathan removed Sahil Kukreja caught by Rajesh Pawar in the fourth ball of the first over. Patel had Wasim Jaffer caught behind in his next over. Pathan then struck twice in his following over. Hiken Shah was caught by Satyajit Parab while Rohit Sharma was trapped lbw. Patel followed it up by dismissing captain Amol Muzumdar. Abhishek Nair scored 10 before being cleaned up by Patel. It was 17 for 6 in in 7.1 overs when Samant walked in. Samant and Wilkin Mota (33) put on 66 run on board. Earlier, resuming at nine without loss, Baroda batsmen collapsed like a pack of cards. They were 6 for 63 in 24.5 overs. Yusuf Pathan, coming in to bat at the number eight played a valaint 72-ball 70, that was studded with nine fours and two sixes. Mota (3-15), Rajesh Verma (2-48), Swapnil Hazare (2-32) and Abhishek Nair (2-33) shared the spoils for Mumbai. Karnataka down but not out Kolkata: Karnataka made up for their first-innings debacle by scoring 97 for no loss in their second outing after bowling out Bengal for 238 on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group semifinal here on Wednesday. With Karnataka just 52 runs behind overall, it is still an open game with three days to go. Karnataka, who were bowled out for 89 in their first essay, showed grit and determination with both openers remaining unbeaten at stumps at the Eden Gardens. Bharat Chipli was batting on 64 off 85 balls. His score, with the half-century coming in 59 balls, was studded with 12 hits to the boundary. A poised Rowland Barrington held fort at the other end, scoring 26 runs in 96 balls with two boundaries to his credit. Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 121 for four, Bengal were dismissed for 238. Opener Arindam Das made a valiant 88 runs, while his overnight partner Laxmi Ratan Shukla made 41 runs. After they were out, the Bengal innings folded quickly with the last four wickets falling for just 10 runs. For Karnataka, S Dhananjaya and B Akhil claimed three wickets each giving away 45 and 52 runs respectively. Vinay Kumar and Sunil Joshi got two wickets each.
— PTI
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Kolkata police chief to head CAB
Kolkata, January 24 Mukherjee, the first bureaucrat to be elected to the top CAB post and with the only valid nomination for the post, was elected unopposed, CAB secretary Saradindu Pal told a press conference this evening on the last day of filing of nominations . The formal declaration of Mukherjee’s election would be made at the CAB’s special general meeting (SGM) on February 1, Pal said. “Since there was no other candidate, formalities like the scrutiny of documents were all done today,” he said.
— PTI
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Chilean too hot for Nadal
Melbourne, January 24 Gonzalez, the 10th seed, blazed into the semifinals with a sublime 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Spaniard, who joined third seed Nikolay Davydenko on his way out of the tournament after the Russian lost in five sets to German Tommy Haas. In stark contrast to the swaggering Gonzalez, women’s top seed Maria Sharapova and No. 4 Kim Clijsters staggered into the last four with scrappy quarterfinal victories. Clijsters dug deep to make light of 62 unforced errors and see off her good friend Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 while Sharapova dogged it out to beat fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 7-6, 7-5. Gonzalez was in inspired form from the start against Nadal, serving up 10 aces to destroy the world No. 2 and reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. The Chilean, who knocked out home favourite Lleyton Hewitt and fifth seed James Blake on his way to the last eight, produced a dazzling array of 41 winners mainly with his scintillating forehand. Gonzalez, 26, sped to victory in two hours five minutes and Nadal, who had beaten German Philipp Kohlschreiber and Briton Andy Murray in long night matches on Rod Laver Arena, simply had no answer to his opponent’s bewildering attacking repertoire. The match between Clijsters and sixth seed Hingis never lived up to expectations in terms of quality, and the Belgian needed great determination to extend her last Australian Open campaign with victory over the three-times former champion. Hingis looked on course to beat Clijsters for the first time since 2002 when she took the first set and she had the Belgian on the ropes in the second. Clijsters had not dropped a set in her march to the quarterfinals but she simply could not shake off the Swiss as a stream of unforced errors and double faults flew off her racket. But roared on by the crowd Clijsters gradually asserted herself and played a succession of deft drop shots to tire out an opponent three years her senior. The 19-year-old Sharapova, who will be world number one next week, was broken twice in each set and failed to find any rhythm against her 12th-seeded compatriot. “I thought I was up and down, a bit scratchy,” Sharapova said after dispatching her third fellow countrywoman in an unconvincing run to the last four where she meets Clijsters. Unseeded American Serena Williams, twice former champion at Melbourne Park, plays Czech 10th seed Nicole Vaidisova in the other semifinal on Thursday. Haas wore down relentless Russian Davydenko 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 in three hours 19 minutes to reach the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the third time where he will play Gonzalez. World No. 1 Roger Federer meets sixth seed Andy Roddick in the other men’s semifinal tomorrow.
— Reuters
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Paes-Stosur in quarters
Melbourne, January 24 The third-seeded Indo-Australian pair prevailed over their opponents in just under an hour to set up a clash with Canadian Daniel Nestor and Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva, who beat the Australian team of Stephen Huss and Monique Adamczak 6-1, 6-4 to seal a quarterfinal place. Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek bowed out of the men’s doubles competition at the quarterfinal stage after a loss against Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi of Belarus. The second seeded pair needed just over an hour to win 6-3, 6-2. India’s Rupesh Roy and his Australian partner Stephen Donald moved into the semifinals of the boys’ doubles upsetting the top seeded team of Roman Jebavy of Czech Republic and Slovakian Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.
— PTI
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Anand, Negi strike back
Wijk Aan Zee, January 24 After two losses in three days, Anand found his
magical touch on his favourite hunting ground where the Indian ace has
won an unparalleled five titles. The victory also helped Anand narrow
the gap between him and tournament leader Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria as
the latter was held to a draw by Levon Aronian of Armenia. The
Indian’s superlative effort did not do any great help to his present
standing in the event, but raised visions of an improved finish after
disaster struck him mid-way in the Category19 super tournament. Topalov,
with 6.5 points from nine games, retained his sole lead as nearest
contender Azeri Teimour Radjabov also settled for a draw with Norwegian
Magnus Carlsen. While Radjabov edged himself up to six points, world
champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia signed peace with compatriot Peter
Svidler and both inched to 5.5 points along with Aronian. Anand now
stands joint sixth along with Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine on five points
with four rounds still to come. In Group C, being played
simultaneously, more good news for the Indians followed as world’s
youngest Grand Master Parimarjan Negi scored a thumping victory over
Dutch GM Harmen Jonkman. Negi took his tally to five points in the
event that is dominated by Russian International Master Ian
Nepomniachtchi, leading on eight points after nine rounds. Parimarjan is
joint fifth. — PTI
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Renault target title hat-trick
Amsterdam, January 24 “At this stage of the year, all you can do is create the wrong kind of pressure by announcing big targets,” declared team boss Flavio Briatore in a statement heralding the start of a new era. “At Renault, we know we are a top team and that we have the ingredients we need to fight at the front in Formula One. “Every year people write us off because we have to adapt to big changes. And in the last two years, we defied their expectations. We are aiming to do the same again in 2007.” Alonso, the youngest double champion in Formula One history, has left for McLaren-leaving Renault a lineup of veteran Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen. Fisichella has been eclipsed by Alonso for the past two seasons while Kovalainen will be making his debut in Australia on March 18 at an unfamiliar track. Briatore recognised Alonso’s departure was a big change for the team, as was the arrival of new Dutch title sponsor ING, but the core of the team was settled. “We have been working with both our drivers for two years now and they know the team inside out,” he said. “We have long-term commitment from Renault, long-term investment from ING and a stable team and technical management.
— Reuters
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Surjit Academy emerge hockey champions
Ludhiana, January 24 The two teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time. PAU lads drew first blood in the fourth minute through Akashdeep. Surjit Academy’s Amanpreet levelled the score in the 20th minute. PAU Academy again went into the lead in the 37th minute through Ravi Kumar, while Manpreet Singh of Surjit Academy restored parity five minutes later. Manpreet again struck in the 49th minute, but Pavittar Singh of PAU Academy scored the equaliser seconds before the long whistle. In the tie-breaker, Surjit Academy boys held their nerve and prevailed upon the PAU lads 4-1 to win the match 7-4. Earlier, in the match for the third place, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Academy, Amritsar, pipped Khalsa School, Amritsar, 1-0. The all-important goal came off Prabhjinder’s stick. Mr RPS Pawar, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Services, Punjab, gave away prizes to the winners. Mr Pawar, along with Mr Pargat Singh, Director, Sports, Punjab, distributed sports kits among the players who competed in the league. Sukhvir Grewal, former international hockey player, and Teja Singh Dhaliwal, secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, were among others who attended the prize distribution function.
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Dynamos taste victory, at last Chennai, January 24 The Lions, who pushed their tally to nine points, getting one more from the match, had only themselves to blame as they failed to convert the chances that came their way. For Chandigarh Dynamos, international Jugraj Singh found the target in the fourth minute of the second extra time. The Dynamos who managed to register their first win, have four points now. — UNI
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Shoaib fined for misbehaviour Colts win ‘Test’ Irina leads Gibbs’ appeal
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