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BCCI to honour Sachin, others
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Panel to discuss norms for selectors
JCT vs Dempo
Narain shines for A1 Team India
Virat Kohli to lead India U-19
Fisichella eyes Force India seat
Perry, Rana put Punjab on top
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Lions ground Jets, enter final
Panchkula, December 15 Batting first, Delhi Jets put up a modest 148 on the board. Resolute Cairns and Hall then combined together. They were involved in a crucial 48-run unfinished stand off 26 deliveries for the seventh wicket to steer Lions to victory. Lions will now clash with Chennai Superstars tomorrow. Superstars had booked a berth in the final, defeating Kolkata Tigers yesterday. It turned out to be a nail-biting contest which went right down to the wire in which the brilliance of Cairns and Hall proved the deciding factor. Chasing the total, the Lions kept on losing wickets at regular intervals after a 37-run opening-wicket partnership between Hamish Marshall and Imran Farhat. It was this stand which put the Lions well on course. But the fall of TP Singh, Imran Farhat and Chetan Sharma in quick succession after the exit of Marshall as the first wicket meant the contest was tantalisingly poised. But the fifth-wicket stand between Manish Sharma and Dinesh Mongia steadied the ship, taking the total past the 100-run mark before both made their departure one after the other in a jiffy. Young left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza was again at his miserly best, troubling the batsmen with his control and nagging accuracy. With the run rate mounting, Cairns freed his arms and unleashed a almighty swipe straight over Murtaza’s head as the ball travelled and travelled before disappearing into the stands. This opened the floodgates as Cairns and Hall unleashed a couple of powerful strokes ensuring win for their team and an entry to the final. Delhi Jets’ innings was earlier bolstered by a solid 40-ball 57 by Abbas Ali as the rest of the batsmen, barring opener Dale Benkenstein, who scored 28, and TP Sudhindra later in the innings, failed to come good. Stocky Ali was in imperious touch and gave respectability to the total. He was involved in a crucial 59-run stand off 35 balls, the highest of the innings, with Sudhindra for the fourth wicket. Hard-hitting Sudhindra notched up an impressive unbeaten 22-ball 33. During his knock, the highest score of the match, Ali clobbered four massive sixes and two fours. For the blistering knock, Ali was given the Man-of-the-Match award. Scoreboard Delhi Jets Benkenstein c Tuffey b Mongia 28 M Mishra c Sarabjit b Hall 1 Atapattu b Mongia 17 Abbas Ali c TP Singh b Uniyal 57 TP Sudhindra not out 33 JP Yadav not out 2 Extras
(b-2, lb-4, w-3, nb-1) 10 Total (4 wkts; 20 overs) 148 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-39, 3-84, 4-143. Bowling:
Andrew Hall 4-0-23-1, Daryl Tuffey 4-0-25-0, Amit Uniyal 4-0-33-1, Dinesh Mongia 4-0-32-2, Chris Cairns 4-0-29-0. Chandigarh Lions Hamish Marshall b Sudhindra 12 Farhat b Mahajan 19 TP Singh c&b Sudhindra 6 Chetan Sharma c Abid Nabi Manish Sharma b Murtaza 19 Mongia b Abid Nabi 23 Cairns not out 26 Hall not out 20 Extras
(b-4, lb-7, w-6, nb-3) 20 Total (6 wkts; 19.4 overs) 151 Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-48, 3-58, 4-60, 5-101, 6-103. Bowling: Srivastava 3-0-29-0, TP Sudhindra 4-0-27-3, Abid Nabi 3.4-0-31-1, Mahajan 1-0-6-1, Murtaza 4-0-22-1, JP Yadav 3-0-19- 0, Dale Benkenstein 1-0-6-0. Man of the Match: Abbas Ali
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Mumbai, December 15 Contractor will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, carrying a cheque for Rs 15 lakh, the CK Nayudu Trophy and a citation, Tendulkar will receive two awards, while Dravid and Kumble one each, a BCCI release said today. Tendulkar will get the Polly Umrigar Award for his outstanding performance in international matches in the 2006-07 season, carrying Rs 5 lakh prize and a trophy, as well as a special trophy for reaching personal milestones of 11,000 Test runs and 15,000 ODI runs. Dravid will receive a special trophy for completing 10,000 runs in ODIs, while Kumble will be felicitated and awarded a trophy for being appointed as the captain of the Indian Test team and for completing 550 wickets in Tests. Young Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa and lanky Bengal pacer Ranadeb Bose would each get Rs 1 lakh and the Madhavrao Scindia Award for scoring the highest number of runs and taking the highest number of wickets, respectively, in the 2006-07 domestic season. The Mumbai Cricket Association will receive a trophy for the overall best performance in the 2006-07 domestic season, while woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami would receive a cheque for Rs 1 lakh and a trophy for becoming the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2007. Other awardees: Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra - Arjuna awardees in women’s cricket for 2006 and 2007, respectively, who will get a trophy each; Mandeep Singh (Punjab) - MA Chidambaram Trophy and Rs 50,000 as the best under-15 cricketer; K Ajay Rana (Himachal Pradesh) - Chidambaram Trophy and Rs 50,000 as the best under-17 cricketer; Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai) - Chidambaram Trophy and Rs 50,000 as the best under-19 cricketer; AS Bali (Delhi) - Chidambaram Trophy and Rs 50,000 as best under-22 cricketer; Jaya Sharma - Chidambaram Trophy and Rs 50,000 as the best woman cricketer. — PTI
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Panel to discuss norms for selectors
Mumbai, December 15 Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar is against the guidelines banning him and other selectors from writing newspaper columns. He also wants the BCCI to compensate him for discontinuing his regular columns. The tussle reached a flashpoint when Vengsarkar offered to resign due to the ban. However, BCCI president Sharad Pawar promised that proper compensation would be given to the selectors, paving the way for the former India captain to attend the selection panel meeting in Bangalore last Monday. Vengsarkar today met Pawar at the latter’s residence in the presence of president-elect Shashank Manohar. “It was a very good meeting. We discussed a lot of things about Indian cricket and all the other issues. It went very well,” Vengsarkar said. Pawar, in his bid to downplay the issue, said, “Whenever I come to Mumbai, I meet Vengsarkar” while refusing to elaborate on the issue. Today’s meeting followed the board’s announcement to increase the allowances of the selectors and all other members. The discussions Vengsarkar had with Pawar and Manohar this morning are to come up at the Working Committee meeting to elicit the view of its members and find a solution, according to BCCI sources. It remains to be seen whether the chief selector would succeed in getting the guidelines relaxed. — PTI
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Razzaq helps Heroes finish 5th
Panchkula, December 15 With the win, the Heroes pocketed Rs 1 crore, while Mumbai Champs, led by Brian Lara, got Rs 85 lakh despite finishing at the bottom. Entertaining the thin crowd, Razzaq, accompanied by New Zealander Chris Harris (49 n.o. off 39 balls), slammed seven sixes and one four to help the Heroes post 179 for 3 in the allotted overs. With his seven sixes today, Razzaq equalled the record of most sixes in an ICL match held by Chandigarh Lions’ skipper Chris Cairns. Overall, Razzaq’s tally of sixes was 13, the highest in the tournament so far. Razzaq and Harris shared a partnership of 120 off 64 balls, breaking the league record of 106 runs (off 66 balls) put on by Subhojit Paul and Shreyas Khanolkar of Mumbai Champs against Kolkata Tigers. Batting first, Hyderabad Heroes got off to a solid start provided by openers Shashank Nag (35 off 32 balls) and Nicky Boje (15 off 17 balls), putting on 50 runs for the first wicket. After Boje fell to medium pacer Ranjeet Khirid in the eighth over, stand-in skipper Ambati Rayudu (4) and Nag went back to pavilion within 14 balls. At the end of 10 overs, the scoreboard read 59 for 3. In the next 10 overs, the Heroes amassed 120 runs at an average of 12 an over as Razzaq and Harris went on the rampage. The only successful bowler was Khirid, who returned figures of three for 29. In reply, the Champs finished at 154 for 6. Lara again failed to click, stumped off Boje for just 15. Khanolkar emerged as the highest scorer for his team with 51 in 39 balls before he was run out by wicketkeeper Khaleel. Vikram Solanki, who chipped in 45 runs off 24 balls, was the other notable scorer. Azhar Mahmood claimed two wickets for 28 in four overs, while Razzaq, Boje and S Sahabuddin took one wicket each. Razzaq was declared the Man of the Match. Brief scores: Hyderabad Heroes: 179 for 3 in 20 overs (Abdul Razzaq 67 n.o., Chris Harris 49 n.o., Nag 35; Ranjeet Khirid 3 for 29). Mumbai Champs: 154 for 6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Khanolkar 51, Vikram Solanki 45, Brian Lara 15; Azhar Mahmood 2 for 28).
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JCT vs Dempo
New Delhi, December 15 The Ambedkar Stadium is a familiar ground for both JCT and Dempo as they have recorded many memorable victories here, though the wornout turf is a poor shadow of the ground they had played in the Durand Cup here in October. This match is crucial for both teams, as neither team boast of home advantage, with Delhi being a “neutral” venue. Dempo are rather happy playing in Delhi rather than in Ludhiana, JCT’s home venue, though they are concerned about the chilly weather. They hope that tomorrow will be bright and sunny for them to put up their best show. JCT coach Sukhwinder Singh is not bothered about the weather aspect at all and is looking forward to earning full points, though the absence of striker Sunil Chetri and Gurwinder Singh will no doubt strain the Punjab team’s bench strength. Chetri and Gurwinder got their second yellow card each in the goalless draw against Air India in Mumbai on December 12 to receive an automatic suspension for this match, while Dempo will sorely miss the absence of their dependable striker Chidi Edeh. Chidi received his second yellow card in Dempo’s fifth-round match against Mogun Bagan at Margao. Dempo won the tie 2-0 to lead the table with 13 points, while JCT have logged 11 points from five matches with three wins and two draws. If defending champions Dempo record a victory over NFL runners-up JCT tomorrow, they will be in a virtually unassailable position, while a win for JCT will enable them to bridge the points gap with the Goa team. Sukhwinder said he was looking at the positive aspect of the game tomorrow, which is expected to be a “close encounter”, though he was a tad disappointed to see the grey, uneven state of the Ambedkar Stadium turf. He said the most important feature of the I-League so far had been that both JCT and Dempo have remained unbeaten, and he was also not making much of the absence of Chetri and Gurwinder Singh from the lineup tomorrow. “These things happen in a long tournament like the I -League, but we have the bench strength to fill the gaps,” Sukhwinder added. He said he was not perturbed that the goal scorers in most of the I-League matches for all teams, including JCT, had been their foreign recruits. “The matches are controlled by the Indian players and they create the moves for the foreign recruits to convert them into goals. I see nothing wrong in foreign players accounting for most of the goals,” he noted. Dempo began impressively defeating another Goan club, Salgaocar, 3-0 on their home ground (Nehru Stadium, Fatorda), then edged past Sporting Clube-de Goa 1-0, beat Churchill Brothers 2-0, held East Bengal 2-2 and beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 to top the table. JCT opened with a 2-1 win over Bagan in Kolkata, stunned East Bengal 3-1 with Brazilian Eduardo Escobar Da striking the first hat-trick of the I-League, drew with Mahindra United 0-0 in their first home match at Ludhiana, then routed Churchill Brothers 3-0 at the same venue before drawing with Air India 0-0.
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Punjab Police, BSF in final
Jalandhar, December 15 Punjab Police and BSF won their semifinals comfortably today. Punjab Police crushed Maharashtra 4-0, while BSF routed Jammu & Kashmir 7-0. In the first semifinal, Punjab Police converted two of the four penalty corners they earned. They also scored two field goals. On the other hand, Maharashtra could not any of the their four penalty corners. The hosts took the lead in the 18th minute when Gagan Ajit Singh converted a penalty corner. Daljit Singh scored a field goal in the 37th minute to increase the lead. Subsequently, Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 63rd minute, followed by a field goal by Kuljeet Singh in the 70th. In the second semifinal, BSF converted four penalty corners and scored three field goals. John Jo Jo converted the first penalty corner in the 10th minute. In the 15th minute, BSF captain Habil Topno scored a field goal, followed by two strikes by Marinus Lakra and Sharanjit Singh in 33rd and 34th minutes, respectively. Varinderjit Singh converted a penalty corner in the 47th minute. Subsequently, Parkash Kerketta converted two penalty corners in the 62nd and 66th minutes.
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Narain shines for A1 Team India
New Delhi, December 15 Karthikeyan, who is without a Formula One team after Williams replaced him with Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg as its new test driver, raced like a man possessed and put in a sensational lap in Q4 to secure third position on the grid. His blistering pace would make Karthikeyan the man to watch tomorrow. With a lap time of 1 minute, 23.767 seconds, Karthikeyan took A1 Team India to its best-ever qualifying standing in the Feature race at third place with only 0.302 seconds separating him from race winner Neel Jani of A1 Team Switzerland. For the Sprint race, A1 Team India qualified ninth with a lap time of 1:23.972, 0.769 seconds behind A1 Team Germany’s Michael Ammermuller who will take the pole position tomorrow.
— PTI
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Virat Kohli to lead India U-19
Mumbai, December 15 Saurashtra’s Ravinder Jadeja would be the vice-captain of the team which was chosen here after a meeting of the BCCI’s junior selection committee headed by Sanjeev Sharma. The team would play a tri-series also featuring hosts South Africa and Bangladesh in addition to two three-day ties and will leave on December 30. The junior selection panel meeting convened by BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove also picked 30 probables for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in February. Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Ravinder Jadeja (vice-capt), Abhinav Mukund, Tanmey Srivastava, Saurabh Tiwari, Manish Pandey, Taruwar Kohli, Sreevats Goswami, Siva Kumar Duvarapu, Amanpreet Singh, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohd Arif, Iqbal Abdulla, GVS Prasad, Harshad Khadiwale and Appanna Prabhu Kotrangada.
— PTI
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Fisichella eyes Force India seat
New Delhi, December 15 Both drivers — along with Ralf Schumacher, Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Franck Montagny and Giedo van der Garde — tested for the Formula One team part-owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya. Fisichella, winner of three Formula One races, did not hide his disappointment at Renault’s snub but asserted that driving for Force India would not be settling for a lesser honour. “I think I still deserve a place in Formula 1,” the 34-year-old driver told Italian magazine Autosprint. “My goal is to race with Force India. I do not see Force India as a fallback, but a new phase of my career,” he said. Rodriguez, too, is fancying his chances with Force India and has applied for an F1 superlicence.
— PTI
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Perry, Rana put Punjab on top
Lucknow, December 15 Resuming their innings at 81 for no loss after restricting Hyderabad to 192, both Punjab openers started from where they left off. Goel hit 30 boundaries and one six, while Rana struck 17 fours and one six as their team reached 455 for five. At draw of stumps, Himanshu Chawla and Gurkeerat were the crease with 46 and 21 runs, respectively.
— UNI
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