London, August 7
Even as the Indians looks forward to record its first series win in England in 16-years, they will have to deal with a bouncy pitch at the Oval, the venue of the third and final Test starting Thursday.

India are sitting pretty on a 1-0 lead, following their victory in the second Test at Trent Bridge, while England are facing the pressure of having to win the final Test to save its fine unbeaten record at home since 2001.

"This wicket should have good pace and bounce," observed Bill Gordon, the 62-year old groundsman at the Oval.

"This will be a good batting wicket with consistent bounce. You can't play your strokes on a slow pitch."

When the Indians last played in London, in the first Test of the series at Lord's, they had problems dealing with the extra swing that Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson could get.

However, with the late summer finally making people sweat in London, Gordon reckons that pace, not swing, will be the buzzword at the Oval.

"It doesn't swing here normally. And there would be no lateral movement either. I would be very surprised if Sidebottom or Anderson make the ball swing."

On a more positive note, the groundsman reckoned that the pitch might encourage spinners on the last two days.

"Yeah, the spinners will come into play on the last two days. There will be some turn and consistent bounce for the slow bowlers. It should be a sporting pitch with something for everyone."

Finally, asked what would be the par score on the Oval wicket, Gordon said, "Anything around 400 is very much on cards on this pitch."

England won the last Test they played here after Pakistan forfeited the match on the fourth day.

London, August 7
Mahendra Singh Dhoni today termed his elevation to Twenty-20 captaincy three years after his debut in Indian team as a “fairy tale” and said he would strive hard to meet the challenges and expectations.

“To be honest, I never dreamt of playing for India. I just played the game for the love of it. So just to play for India was like a good fairy tale. And it still continues,” Dhoni told PTI here.

“It’s more special because I’m just three years old in international cricket. Now, it’s important to go out and lead from the front.” “It’s a great honour and a privilege to be leading the country and I’ll strive hard to measure up to the expectations of the people back home.”

The 26-year-old Ranchi-born player, who has caught the imagination of the country with his big hitting and long locks, owed his success to the best wishes of the people of his native state.

Dhoni also spoke about the challenges he would face as a captain.

“The challenge is to take right decision at the right time. It’s not just about the captain, it’s about the team, it’s about collective responsibility,” he said.

“If the players do well, the team wins. Only once in 25 games, a captain has to make a major decision, otherwise most of the decisions are taken after consulting the players.” Asked whether he was surprised or was he expecting the honour, Dhoni said he had some idea about it.

“A lot of it has been appearing in the media, so it’s no big surprise.” About his relative lack of experience, Dhoni quipped, “it doesn’t matter! I didn’t have any experience of playing international cricket but I still played. There’s always a first time.” He then dwelt on the key aspect for his team in South Africa. — PTI

New Delhi, August 7
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla continued with his fine form to capture four wickets as India A crushed Kenya by an innings and 98 runs in a three-day cricket match at Mombasa Sports Club in Nairobi today.

Needing 309 to avoid an innings defeat, Kenya were bowled out for 211 in their second innings to concede the match. Chawla (4/32) and medium pacer Pankaj Singh (3/19) were th main wicket-takers for the visitors.

Brief scores:aKenya 97 and 211 (Collins Obuya 51, Maurice Ouma 35; Piyush
Chawla 4/32, Pankaj Singh 3/19) lost to India A 406 for 8 decl (S Badrinath 133 not out, Parthiv Patel 124, Pankaj Singh 40; Peter Ongondo 2/74, Hiren Varaiya 2/119). — PTI

Manchester, August 7
Maradona good, Pele better; George Best.

Slight exaggeration in the popular saying notwithstanding, it's not only Northern Ireland which emptied its heart and showered unbridled love for its prodigal son George Best, the pop star in boots.

Two years since Best succumbed to alcoholism in a London hospital, every blade of the grass at Old Trafford's immaculately manicured turf is still seeped in memory of one of the greatest footballers who trod on them.

And, rather intriguingly, David Beckham, plying his trade these days in a country hooked on to basketball and baseball, doesn't enjoy similar status.

Rather, contemporary sport world's most photographed prima donna remains conspicuous by his absence at Old Trafford, which seems to have simply disowned him.

In contrast, the Best aura simply does not fade. In fact, it grows as Manchester finds it a way to atone for the iconic winger's unceremonious farewell some three decades back.

It was Man U scout Bob Bishop, who discovered the slight 15-year-old, who had been rejected by his local club.

"I think I've found you a genius," read the telegram to their legendary manager Matt Busby. The rest, as people say, is history.

One hundred seventy eight goals in 466 appearances, including six in one match, and life came a full cycle for Best, every inch a showman dubbed the fifth Beatle for his long hair, handsome looks and celebrity lifestyle. Alcoholism and indiscipline joined hands to ruin his career and the same club that doted on him showed him the door in 1974.

Stints at Fulham, in America, Scotland, and Australia followed but Best was clearly not the player he was at Old Trafford. The magic was on the wane and eventually gambling, womanising and alcoholism dropped early curtains on a glorious career.

Post-retirement, Best appeared as a soccer pundit with a channel but discovered old habits die hard. His alcoholism got many a manifestation -- public drunkenness on television, convictions for drunk driving, assault on a policeman or domestic violence. The monster had gone out of control and a liver transplant further complicated things.

The same hedonist who once bragged "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered," resembled a tragic hero from the Theatre of Dreams as he pleaded "Don't die like me" and departed the scene on November 25, 2005.

Despite his vices, the enigma, lives on. Manchester relives the old time as an omnipresent Best peeps out from posters, souvenir pins, mufflers, scarves, coffee mugs, murals, thermos, water bottle and every knick-knack.

Josh, who sells souvenirs outside Old Trafford, has an explanation on what makes Best an enduring legend while Beckham is United's forgotten past.

"Best was a winger but his goal-scoring ability was just awesome. He was every inch a Man U man. He was as much substance, as much show. And his self-destruction streak only added to the aura. Manchester still regrets sacking him, which was anyway the right thing to do. By then, they had seen the best of Best.

"In contrast, Beckham looked more show. I mean he did well but somehow, he is not the quintessential Man U guy.

Despite his skills and everything, he was too clever to drop anchor and stay put in Man U," he explained.

Even at the Man U mega store at Old Trafford, Beckham is as visible as a cigarette in a health club. It seems almost a conscious effort by the club to erase every mark of Beckham left. — PTI

Chandigarh, August 7
It was an agonising moment for Ambala’s Manav Das when his putt on the 16th hole saw the ball curve and stop barely a whisker’s breath away from the cup, thus missing by one stroke the leaderboard par-72 score of Angad Cheema and Amanjyot Singh on the opening day of the Northern India Amateur Golf Championship at the Par-72 Golden Greens Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon today.

The event, managed by Tiger Sports Marketing, forms the sixth leg of the LG Indian Amateur Golf Tour.

Manav Das tied with Gagan Verma and Karan Vasudeva for third place at 73 apiece, while the duo of Abhishek Jha and Akshay Maliwal were tied for sixth at 74 each. Mithun Perera, Jasjeet Singh, Rashid Khan and Moin Malak were a further stroke behind in tied eighth place at 75, while Vikram Rana, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Saurabh Bahuguna were tied 12th at 76.

Jaipur’s Amanjyot double-bogeyed on the first. But he managed to keep his cool and came back with a flurry of birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh to make the turn at two under. On the back nine, he bogeyed the 10th and 18th to end the day at 72.

“My short game was really fantastic today,” said the Rambagh Golf Club golfer.

Seventeen-year-old Angad Cheema sank a birdie on the first, when he nailed his 7 iron to within 7 ft from the pin. He again struck a birdie on the sixth when he holed a 20ft putt. A bogey on the seventh saw him make the turn at one-under. On the back nine he dropped shots on the 10th, 11th and 13th, but birdied the 12th and 17th to end at level-par.

Oil India’s Manav Das started well with a birdie on the fifth but dropped a shot on the seventh, where he missed a 10-foot par putt to make the turn at level par. On his return leg, he birdied the 11th, but dropped shots on the 15th and 16th to end at 73. On the 16th, he hit his five-iron within 5ft from the pin, but his putt stopped agonisingly short of the cup preventing him from carding what would have been a par.

Scores (after 18 holes): 72 Amanjyot Singh, Angad Cheema; 73 Gagan Verma, Manav Das, Karan Vasudeva; 74 Abhishek Jha, Akshay Maliwal; 75 Jasjeet Singh, Mithun Perera, Rashid Khan, Moin Malak; 76 Vikram Rana, Saurabh Bahuguna, Ajeetesh Sandhu; 77 Simarjeet Singh, Navtez Singh, Rahul Bajaj.

New Delhi, August 7
JCT Football Club of Punjab have taken a giant step in revamping their football set-up by having a tie-up with famed England club Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, better known as Wolves.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of England’s well-known clubs, and though they play in the English Second Division, they are very strong and popular.

Samir Thapar of JCT, who is also the president of the Punjab Football Association, said the tie-up was intended to “sharing of knowledge” aimed at promoting wide interaction between the teams. “Wolves” have the highest number of Asian (mainly Indian) supporters, who not only attend matches, but also contribute in a number of other positive ways to the city. Thapar said the club had also a large Indian fan following, who had organised themselves as, “Punjabi Wolves”.

Thapar said the tie-up with Wolves would enable JCT to widen the scope and reach of not only the senior club, but also the JCT Academy for under-19 at Phagwara and for the under-14 and under-16 academy at Rurka Kalan in Jalandhar district.

He said the association between the two clubs would also cover areas like sharing of coaching skills, visits by experts, learn from each other’s experience and playing friendly matches.

Thapar said it was also planned to develop co-merchandise, promoting Wolves and JCT among fans across Punjab and UK-based Indian community.

Chandigarh, August 7
Rail Coach Factory (RCF) of Kapurthala emerged worthy champions after formidable Punjab Police were held to a goalless draw by Jagatjit Cotton Textile Academy in their last league match of the 21st Punjab State Super Football League at the SGGS Khalsa College Ground in Phagwara.

RCF annexed the title with 13 points in the seven-team Round Robin competition. From the drawn match Punjab Police garnered one point bringing their tally to 11 and were tied with Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) of Hoshiarpur, who have also secured the same number of points.

However, PSEB finished runner-up on the basis of their goal difference of plus seven (11 for and four against).

Punjab Police had to satisfy themselves with the third position. They have secured eight goals and conceded three for a goal difference of plus five. Jagatjit Cotton Textile Academy obtained fourth position, with eight points.

Only one match is left in the competition. Jagatjit Cotton Textile of Phagwara will meet Border Security Force on August 10. A victory for JCT will push JCT Academy to the fifth position with 10 points.aBorder Security Force (two points) and Mahilpur Football Club (one point) were lying at the sixth and seventh positions, respectively and face relegation. — UNI

Chandigarh, August 7
He gives himself three to four years before he makes it to the National Basketball Association (NBA) League, world’s premier professional men’s basketball league in the US.

An ardent fan of Phoenix Suns and admirer of Steve Nash, he is Inderbir Gill, a Punjab boy, who has been, on the basis of his proficiency in the sport, offered a scholarship this year by the University of Fraser Valley in Canada.

“Besides playing in the NBA, I also wish to represent India in international tournaments,” says Inderbir Gill, currently on a visit to his village Kharar Acharwal, near Mahilpur, in Hoshiarpur.

“Before I immigrated to the US in 1998, I had never played basketball. I started playing the game in the summer of 1998 with Indian friends. Then in 2000, we moved to Spokane in Washington State, where I was selected to play for my high school team and was one of their main players in our league. In grade 12, I averaged 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds a game.” “Subsequently, I was recruited by Everett Community College and have been playing for them for the last two years. This year I averaged 16 points, 7.6 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 4 steals. I led our league in assists and steals,” reveals two-meter plus Inderbir Gill, who finds himself dwarfed on playfield by his fellow team men and rivals.

“Average height of an American college basketball player is 6’5”, he adds. Besides playing basketball for Fraser Valley University, Inderbir also wants to graduate in Business and Finance.

Inderbir comes from a family of sportspersons. His father, Parminder Singh, led Punjabi University football team in early 70s, while his mother, Sital Kaur, played basketball for Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar.

Inderbir feels that it is the training which makes the difference. “I am considered one of the quickest and agile player. This is why I am considered one of the best in assists and steals in my team.”

Inderbir has been travelling and playing competitive basketball not only in the Washington State Championship but also in Invitation Tournaments, including those organised by the Indian diaspora, both in Canada and the US.

“I had an opportunity to play against the only player of Indian origin who has represented Canada in international basketball events,” he claims.

For a sportsperson, he says, attending classes is a must.

London, August 7
Fernando Alonso, who is at daggers drawn with his McLaren co-driver Lewis Hamilton, has been told by boss Ron Dennis that he can leave McLaren at the end of the season, a report claimed here today.

The double world champion's future is up in the air as his relationship with Hamilton broke down at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend when he was penalised for his part in trying to prevent the Briton from starting in pole. The Times quoted what the paper described as a 'well-placed' source as confirming Alonso may quit the team two years ahead of schedule. — AFP

Beijing August 7 
China’s towering NBA star Yao Ming tied a knot with his long-term girlfriend at a low-key ceremony in Shanghai.

The private wedding banquet for the couple, Yao (27) and Ye Li (25), also a basketball player, was held in a well-known hotel in the couple’s hometown Shanghai on Monday.

Only some 70 family members and relatives were present, according to Zhang Chi, press representative of Team Yao.

The evening was shrouded in secrecy as dozens of foreign and domestic media camped outside the glitzy hotel for a glance of the well-known couple. — PTI

Sania moves into second round
Carson: Sania Mirza eased past Alesandra Wozniak of Canada into the second round of the $600,000 East West Bank Classic WTA tournament here.

The 30th ranked Sania did not have much problem in taming the 109th ranked Wozniak as she notched up a 6-3, 6-2 victory over the qualifier at the Tier II hardcourt event on Monday.

However, an uphill task lies ahead of the Hyderabadi, who will meet seventh seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the next round.

In the doubles, Sania and her new partner Bethanie Mattek of the US will take on Janette Husarova of Slovakia and Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands. — PTI

Harikrishna draws with Korchnoi
Paks (Hungary): Top seed P. Harikrishna played out a draw against Swiss Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi to remain at the bottom of the table after the second round of fifth Marx Gyorgy Memorial International Chess tournament here.

Having lost the first round game against Hungarian Grandmaster Peter Acs, Harikrishna had little to do with black pieces as immensely experienced Korchnoi, a former world championship finalist, could not make much impact with his white pieces.

The Indian will get his first white in the event against Berkes in the next round.
— PTI

Aussie Academy team to play
Chennai: An Australian Cricket Academy team would be providing an international touch to the annual all-India Buchibabu prize money invitation cricket tournament, to be held here from August 16.

The other 15 of the 16 teams in fray would include sides fielded by various cricket associations. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) would be fielding only two teams this year, TNCA XI and the Combined District XI.

The tournament, to be played on league-cum-knock out basis, would have the teams divided into four groups in the first phase, with the top four finishers in each pool qualifying for the knock out semifinals. — UNI