The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Oz too good for Kiwis Hobart, December 20 Ricky Ponting made an unbeaten 134 as Australia crushed New Zealand by 114 runs in the third and final one-day international today to regain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. Ponting’s 25th ODI century guided Australia to 282 for six, put in to bat after New Zealand won the toss. Brett Lee and Brad Hogg then shared six wickets as New Zealand were dismissed for 168 in 34 overs in reply. Australia took the three-match series 2-0, convincingly winning the first and third matches, while the second in Sydney was lost to rain. The series victory avenged the Kiwis’ 3-0 win in the series in New Zealand earlier this year. Ponting scored centuries in both completed matches and was named the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series. His hundred today, a day after his 33rd birthday, was his first in a one-day international in his home state of Tasmania and put Australia in an unassailable position. Ponting got his 134 runs from 133 balls with 10 fours and two sixes but showed his mastery of the limited-overs game by peppering his knock with 60 singles, keeping Australia’s run rate up through the middle of the innings. He received support from Andrew Symonds, who made 52 from 63 balls and shared a 114-run partnership for the fourth wicket, and later from Brad Haddin (26 from 25 balls) and James Hopes (20 from 17). Scoreboard Australia Hayden c Mills b Oram 29 Clarke c&b Gillespie 7 Ponting not out 134 Hussey c How b Oram 9 Symonds lbw Mills 52 Haddin run out 26 Hopes run out 20 Lee not out 0 Extras (w-2, lb-3) 5 Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-56, 3-87, 4-201, 5-246, 6-280. Bowling: Mills 10-0-59-1, Gillespie 8-0-68-1, Oram 10-1-34-2, Vettori 10-0-42-0, Patel 8-0-57-0, Styris 4-0-19-0. New Zealand How c Haddin b Lee 2 McCullum c Haddin b Lee 6 Sinclair lbw Hopes 14 Styris b Lee 75 Taylor lbw Tait 13 Oram c Lee b Hopes 2 Hopkins c Clarke b Hogg 9 Vettori c Haddin b Hogg 0 Mills b Tait 7 Gillespie c Symonds b Hogg 24 Patel not out 1 Extras (lb-4, w-9, nb-2) 15 Total (all out, 34 overs) 168 Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-8, 3-43, 4-60, 5-72, 6-88, 7-88, 8-118, 9-158. Bowling: Lee 9-0-47-3, Bracken 5-0-21-0, Tait 8-0-30-2, Hopes 6-0-17-2, Hogg 6-1-49-3.— AP
	Team India to receive deducted match fees New Delhi, December 20 In keeping with the new tax rule in Australia, the BCCI has decided to deduct match fees for Anil Kumble and his teammates during their tour Down Under. The BCCI had received a letter from Cricket Australia in which it was conveyed that the new tax policy required visiting players to pay tax there for the money they earn. “The issue was discussed in the recent Working Committee meeting and we decided to leave it to our tax consultant to find a way out,” BCCI joint secretary M.P. Pandove said today. “Any team visiting Australia and earning money has to pay tax. It’s not that the players would have to pay anything out from their pocket. As of now, they would receive deducted match fees and there is a double taxation treaty also between India and Australia,” Pandove told PTI over phone. The treaty means the players would not be taxed for the second time when they return home. According to a change in the tax laws since India’s last visit to Australia in 2003, entertainers and sportspersons working Down Under are taxed for the income they generate. Indian cricketers would thus be taxed for the present tour from their match-fee which could be to the tune of nearly $1.5 million (approximately Rs 6 crore). An Indian cricketer will get around $6,200 and $4,000 for a Test and a one-dayer respectively. Assistant manager of the visiting Indian team Dr M.K. Shridhar has confirmed in Australia that BCCI was asking for an amendment in the law. “The taxation issue is being handled in Mumbai. We are in touch with our tax consultants whose advice we would follow,” said Shridhar. — PTI
	PGI, BCCI to set up injury database Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 20 Sports injuries of the cricketers will be just a click away as a computerised database for the documentation of sports-related injuries is being prepared by the PGI in collaboration with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), an eminent sports injury specialist and additional professor in the department of orthopedics at the PGI, Prof Mandeep S. Dhillon, said here today. Professor Dhillon has recently been appointed as the consultant doctor to the BCCI for looking after cricket-related injuries of players in the North Zone. He said an injury surveillance programme for cricketers above 12 years of age for the recording of sports-related injuries with a view to develop a computerised database with the help of specialised computer software would be initiated on the pattern of the Australian Cricket Board and the English County boards. A former consultant to the Sri Lankan cricket team for three years, Professor Dhillon rued that sports injury management was still at its infancy in India. For the fear of their losing their places in the squads, a majority of players hid their injuries as their sport career had a short span, he said. Prof Dhillon, who was instrumental in starting a sports injury clinic in PGI earlier this year, said he had proposed the setting up of a full-fledged sports medicine department with the addition of the sub-specialities, including sports nutrition, sport psychology and anti-doping counselling. And with India being declared as the next venue for the fourth World Congress of Science and Medicine in Cricket (WCSMC) ahead of the 2011 cricket World Cup, sport injuries and their management would get a new boost in the country, Prof Dhillon, who has been appointed as the organising secretary of the Congress, informed.
	Aussies may skip break for IPL Melbourne, December 20 Australia’s top cricketers who have signed for the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League (IPL) are still unsure of whether they will be available for the high-profile Twenty20 tournament in April next year, a media report said. Cricket Australia (CA) wants its players to go for a two- week break between their tours of Pakistan and West Indies. But the IPL’s announcement that the Twenty20 tournament will begin from April 18, just eight days before Australia’s in-doubt six-week tour of Pakistan is expected to finish, has raised hopes for some of the Aussie players to earn some good booty for themselves. This gives an opportunity to the contracted Aussie players to spend a fortnight in India and play a few matches just before their West Indies tour begins in May. That would mean Australia’s key members — Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist — will forfeit the break to earn thousands of dollars. With the IPL offering huge money to the international players, the thought of not being part of the Twenty20 tournament could be quite regretting for them, a report in the Herald Sun said. This issue builds on major concerns among CA chiefs over why players are happy to play in IPL games, but then are rested from international home matches. One of CA’s board members, Allan Border, has already raised his concerns over the players’ willingness to be part of the IPL. Australian Cricketers’ Association boss Paul Marsh had also said that he doubted whether players would compete in the IPL during their break. — UNI
	England all at sea Galle, December 20 Chaminda Vaas claimed four for 28 as England were bowled out for 81 in just 30.5 overs in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka today. England finished the day in disarray after being asked to follow on, reaching close of play on 2-0 and still trailing by 416 runs with two days left in the game. England lost the wickets of Michael Vaughan (one), Ian Bell (one), Alastair Cook (13) and Kevin Pietersen (one) during a calamitous 40-minute session before lunch. Vaughan was trapped lbw as he padded up to a big in-swinger from Chaminda Vaas, and Bell was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Tillakaratne Dilshan. Vaas then found the outside edge of Cook, who felt for an outswinger, and Lasith Malinga produced a brutish short delivery to have Pietersen caught behind taking evasive action. Sri Lanka had earlier piled up 499 for eight declared with Mahela Jayawardene extending his overnight score to 213 not out. This was his fourth double hundred. He was supported by Vaas, who scored 90 from 133 balls during a stand of 183 for the seventh wicket — a Sri Lankan record against England. Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st innings) 499-8 dec England (1st innings) Cook c P. Jayawardene b Vaas 13 Vaughan lbw Vaas 1 Bell run out 1 Pietersen c P. Jayawardene b Malinga 1 Collingwood b Welegedera 29 Bopara c Welegedera b Vaas 0 Prior b Vaas 4 Sidebottom c Dilshan b Murali 11 Harmison not out 9 Hoggard c M.Jayawardene b Welegedera 0 Panesar run out 0 Extras (b-4, nb-8) 12 Total (all out, 30.5 overs) 81 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-9, 3-22, 4-22, 5-25, 6-33, 7-70, 8-72, 9-72. Bowling: Vaas 9.5-2-28-4, Malinga 9-2-26-1, Welegedera 8-1-17-2, Muralitharan 4-2-6-1. England (2nd innings) Cook not out 1 Vaughan not out 1 Total (no loss, 1 over) 2 Bowling: Muralitharan 1-0-2-0.— Reuters
	‘Wall’ ready to face new ball Melbourne, December 20 Rahul Dravid today said he does not mind donning the role of an opener in the challenging four-Test series against Australia starting here on the Boxing Day. Dravid said he has no problem facing the new ball bowlers led by Brett Lee on the bouncy wickets. “If I am asked to open in the Test matches, I will be happy to do so,” said Dravid after opening the innings with Wasim Jaffer on the opening day of the three-day warm-up match against Victoria. “I am comfortable playing any role that is given to me by the team management. I try and do the best I can, irrespective of where I bat,” said Dravid, who had opened the innings for India on several occasions. In today’s match, Dravid was unbeaten on 33 after two-and-a-half hours of batting when the rain came pouring down. “I just batted where the team management wanted me to,” said Dravid who, to put things in perspective, has made just 369 runs from eight games at 33.55 as an opener, including two centuries against Pakistan on flat decks. As against this, he made in excess of 600 runs against Australia in four Tests, including a match-winning double century in Adelaide, when India last toured Down Under for the 2003-2004 series. Dravid said India had a solid middle order which can pile up big scores if provided with good starts. “If they feel that the best chance for us to do well here in Australia is by me opening the batting, that is fine with me. We have a very strong middle-order, a constant middle-order for sometime now. But there are a lot of good youngsters coming in, and they can’t be ignored.” — PTI
	Sachin to donate pullover for Don’s museum Melbourne, December 20 The Don Bradman museum is all set to get richer in terms of Indian collections with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly deciding to donate their memorable apparels to it. Tendulkar will give a pullover that he wore while scoring his 30th Test hundred at Headingley, overtaking Don Bradman’s record of 29 tons, to the Adelaide-based museum named after the Australian legend. Ganguly will gift his shirt he wore during the epic Test win over Australia in the second Test in Kolkata in 2001. India went on to beat the Aussies 2-1 after clinching the third Test in Chennai.— PTI
	Comprehensive win for Punjab Gopal Sharma Tribune News Service Panchkula, December 20 Punjab completed the formalities registering a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Orissa on the last day of the Ranji Trophy Super League Elite Group B match at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here today. Needing another 58 runs to win on the last day after finishing the day at 117 for the loss of two wickets yesterday, the hosts went through the motions, losing the wicket of Inder Singh. But the batsman had played his part to ensure that his side emerged victorious without any hiccups today. Inder fell to off spinner Niranjan Behera lbw after notching up a fine 74. It was a cautious and sedate knock from the batsman, who stayed at the wicket for 225 minutes and hit 10 boundaries. Wicketkeeper batsman Uday Kaul was the not out batsman on 21, while Ricky was batting on three at close. Skipper Pankaj Dharmani did not come to bat having sprained an ankle early in the morning. Ever since he made his debut this season against Andhra Pradesh in Amritsar, Inder Singh has shouldered tremendous responsibility. He scored 45 and 62 in two innings in the match against Uttar Pradesh earlier at the same venue with the latter knock proving very valuable for the side. The left-handed batsman batted with a lot of character in the second innings and the knock was no less crucial in this match. Collecting five points from today’s victory and with 13 points in the kitty after all six matches they were supposed to play, Punjab have vaulted to third position behind group leaders Baroda (18) and Uttar Pradesh (14). Despite having registered a victory, thanks largely to the devastating spell from pace bowler VRV Singh and Inder, the hosts have still not escaped the ghost of relegation to the Plate Group. Orissa and Hyderabad, both having identical 10 points but with one game still pending and both having a better quotient than Punjab, can still turn the table on Punjab. Scoreboard Orissa (1st innings) 323 Punjab (1st innings) 225 Orissa (2nd innings) 76 Punjab (2nd innings) Sohal c B Mohanty b D Mohanty 44 Goel c Sehgal b Preetamjit Das 6 Ravi Inder lbw Behera 74 Dharmani retd hurt 8 U Kaul not out 21 Ricky not out 3 Extras (lb-8, nb-11) 19 Total (3 wkts, 69.2 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-84, 3-168. Bowling: DS Mohanty 15-8-17-1, Preetamjit Das 14-1-50-1, B Mohanty 16-2-45-0, SV Sehgal 13.2-2-42-0, P Jayachandra 3-1-3-0, N Behera 8-1-10-1.
	Manu’s ton helps HP salvage draw Dharamsala, December 20 A well-deserved century by Ajay Manu (103) helped Himachal score 430 in their second innings as their four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match against Mumbai ended in a draw here today. With this draw, defending champions Mumbai gained three points, while hosts Himachal picked up a single point. Mumbai are now third on the points table behind Saurashtra and Delhi with 18 points from their six matches. Himachal, with five points, are languishing at the second place from the bottom. Brief scores: Mumbai (1st innings): 370 HP (1st innings): 214 HP (2nd innings): 430 (Ajay Manu 103, Abhishek Nayar 3-79) Mumbai (2nd innings): 65 for 1 (Vinit Indulkar 39 n.o.). — UNI
	Dynamos make winning start Akash Ghai Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 20 Local favourite Chandigarh Dynamos started their Premier Hockey League fourth edition campaign on winning note. At the floodlit Sector 42 Hockey Stadium, Dynamos fashioned an 1-0 win over Hyderabad Sultans in the inaugural match of the league. Sandeep Singh converted a penalty stroke in the 24th minute. A large number of spectators enjoyed the match, which saw both teams put up an attacking game by foraying into the defence lines of the other every now and then. But the inability of finishing the moves by the forwards virtually left the spectators disappointed. In the whole match, there were one penalty corner and a penalty stroke, which was earned by the Dynamos. Sultans could not earn even a single penalty corner during the encounter. Through a clinical attack in the 24th minute, the forward line of Dynamos forced a stroke. The move was created as Prabhjot Singh gained possession and moved into the circle and was about to shoot at the goal when Hyderabad defender Nitin Kumar blocked him in the danger zone. Sandeep, who took the hit, did not make any mistake this time to sound the board. In the dying minutes, Pramod Kumar of Sultans had to dodge only defender Sandeep to score a goal but that too went waste. “Undoubtedly, the team put up a good show but missing so many chances are a matter of concern”, said Dynamos skipper Rajpal Singh. Sardar Singh was of the view that his team played very well against the strong rivals. “The boys played exceptionally well. No matter if we have lost but I am satisfied with today’s performance”, said Sardar. Sandeep was declared the Man of the Match.
	Narain to focus on A1 Grand Prix M.S. Unnikrishnan Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 20 Though Narain Karthikeyan continues to nurse his desire to race in Formula One again, he plans to focus on the A1 Grand Prix next year, after becoming the first Indian to win an A1GP race at Zhuhai (China) last week. “I am on a high as the win has come at the right time. It’s important that motor sport in India is growing,” said the champion racer here today. The win was a personal vindication for Narain as he had been written off as a “has been” after his none-too-impressive F1 debut. “I wanted to prove that I could still win at this level,” he said. Reliving his experience in China, Narain said it was a tough win as starting third on the grid, he took the lead from Team New Zealand during the second pit stop window on lap 29 and went on to speed past the chequered flag to post a memorable win. He said he clocked his fastest lap time of 1:25.183 on lap 28 with a top speed of 262.8 kmph, which was very encouraging. “The victory means a lot to me and A1 Team India. It is early in the season, and we have already secured points and I look forward to bringing A1 Team India more victories. I am 110 per cent committed to the A1 team, he said. Narain said though F1 was in a league of its own, it was nevertheless an individualistic sport, while A1 was a “completely different challenge where you compete for the country.” This was his first podium finish after the World Series by Nissan win in 2004. Narain subsequently test-drove for Williams in Formula One in 2006-07, but now that he’s totally out of the F1 orbit, for the present, the Indian ace wants to devote all his attention and skills to A1GP. He said the money in A1GP was “pretty lucrative”, and he had no regrets that he was no more with Williams as an F1 test driver, nor about his exclusion from the scheme of things in Force India, tycoon Vijay Mallya’s F1 team. “Force India are good for motor sports. They have other plans (for not considering him for their team),” he said. India’s first F1 driver said it was the decision of his team management not to be “just another driver” with Williams, and consequently, he has “nothing concrete on the F1 front.” On Karan Chandhok, his closest Indian challenger, Narain said he had a good opportunity to do well in the GP2 series, though he shied away from making any comparison with him. “We can’t compare two drivers. Moreover, we drove together just once two years ago,” Narain noted. Though age is not on his side as he is pushing 31, Narain’s eventual goal is to get back into the F1 fold. “Age is jut a number. You can go on till 40,” he asserted. Launched in 2004, the A1GP World Cup of Motor Sports pits driver against driver and country against country as it brings together 22 nations in 11 races in 10 countries to compete as equals without financial or technological advantage. The A1GP management is in talks with the Rajasthan and Haryana governments to bring the event to India in the near future.
	India plans hockey tourney before Olympic qualifier Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 20 The Indian Hockey Confederation is planning to hold a three-nation tournament in Chennai next month to give the Indian men’s team much-needed match practice before the Olympic qualifier to be held in Santiago (Chile) from March 1 to 9. India have been in touch with the Pakistan Hockey Federation and the Belgium Hockey Association (Association Royale Belge de Hockey) to seek participation of their teams in the proposed tournament to be played from January 22 to 30. Both Pakistan and Belgium have already qualified for the Beijing Olympic hockey competition for men, while India have to go through the qualifier. Pakistan were lucky to qualify through extra quota for being the bronze medallist at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. India had for the first time in the history of the Asian Games failed to qualify for the semifinals and were relegated to the fifth position. Belgium have also been lucky to get direct entry to the Beijing Olympics as bronze medallists in the Euro Hockey Nations Championship. K. Jothikumaran, secretary of the IHC, told The Tribune that both Pakistan and Belgium had agreed in principle to play in the Chennai tournament where each team would play against the others twice in the preliminary round. The top two teams will clash in the final. Only the winners of the six-nation tournament in Santiago will qualify for the Olympics. The other participating teams are Great Britain, currently ranked eighth in the world (a slot below India), Mexico (reserve), hosts Chile, Austria and Bangladesh.
	Anand-Kramnik clash in Oct Bangalore: After long-drawn-out discussions over the past two months, the World Championship encounter between Viswanathan Anand and Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik has been scheduled for October 11-28 next year in Bonn, Germany. Ever since Anand won the title in Mexico City in one of the strongest fields ever assembled in a tournament, there has been talk about a match against Kramnik. The terms and conditions as also the prize fund have finally been decided. The 12-game clash will have a prize fund of about $2.1 million and it will be split equally between the two players. — IANS
	Dempo down Air India Mumbai, December 20 Defending champions Dempo Sports Club rode roughshod over local challengers Air India to notch a 4-1 verdict after dominating the second half of their I-League football tie here today. League leaders Dempo's Nigerian striking duo of Chidi Edeh and captain Ranty Martins pumped in two goals apiece to power the Goan outfit to three away points and boost their overall tally to 17 from seven ties. Air India scored their lone goal through their Cameroon import Njoh Jean. — PTI