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lanka’s Tour of India
India, Lanka teams arrive for T20
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Super Series win will be best preparation for CWG: Jwala
New Delhi, December 10
As a successful but physically draining year draws to a close, one half of Indian badminton’s most formidable mixed doubles pair Jwala Gutta is now aiming for a Super Series title in the new season to ensure a good build-up to the Commonwealth Games here. Jwala, who along with V Diju won the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold besides making the finals of Indian Open and the season-ending World Super Series finals, reckons 2010 would be hectic. Jwala Gutta (R) with V Diju
Champions League
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lanka’s Tour of India
Nagpur, December 10 Dhoni conceded that Sri Lanka outplayed his side who came into the tie after being crowned as the world’s top Test team following their 2-0 victory in the three-match rubber against the visitors. “In this game we were outplayed. (Lanka skipper Kumar) Sangakkara played brilliantly and carried on till the end. We also dropped a few catches. We could have done better and had we restricted them to around 190 it could have been different,” he said. He said the middle order failed to get going after the brisk start given by openers Gautam Gambhir, who top scored with a fine 55, and Virender Sehwag. “The middle order failed but if you see the asking rate had climbed up and we had to go for the shots. But they went to hand. Both Yuvraj and I got out that way,” he pointed out. New faces and format helped: Sangakkara
The new format and a fresh set of faces, including veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, definitely helped Sri Lanka clinch the first Twenty20 International against India by 29 runs, said visiting team skipper Kumar Sangakkara. “It was a new format and there were fresh faces who are one-day specialists in the team who were ready to stand up and be counted,” said Sangakkara who played a stellar knock of 78 to power the tourists to 215 for 5. In reply, India were halted at 186 for nine by determined Lanka bowling and excellent fielding. Sangakkara said the wicket of Gautam Gambhir was obviously the key point in the contest when the Indian left-hander was going great guns. “The wicket of (Virender) Sehwag after they started well was a bonus. Then we got the wicket of Gambhir. At that stage they needed one boundary an over. Sanath and Mathews bowled in the right areas and that made the difference,” he said. But, the Lankan captain was not too happy with the way the team allowed matters to drift after reducing the hosts to a sorry-reading 129 for 7 in the 14th over.
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India, Lanka teams arrive for T20
Chandigarh, December 10 The teams arrived at the Chandigarh airport around 4.30 pm, and were escorted directly to the team hotel under heavy security cover. While both teams arrived almost simultaneously, Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga, who is supposed to join the team for the ODI series, and came to India early, arrived at the team hotel earlier in the day. Four Indian players also did not arrive with the team, and will be arriving by the morning flight from Delhi. These four are Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Virender Sehwag, all from Delhi. De Dana Dan time
While many players made use of the time off by resting in their hotel rooms, some Indian players decided to cheer themselves up by catching the latest hindi movie De Dana Dan at a local multiplex. The brigade that initially comprised of Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthick, Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma was later joined by captain MS Dhoni. Chandigarh boy Yuvraj Singh also went out, but without company. Keeping in mind their security violations during their last visit to the City Beautiful, the Indian players informed the police in advance for clearance. They were accompanied by PSOs (personal security officers) and two police vehicles. |
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Super Series win will be best preparation for CWG: Jwala
New Delhi, December 10 Jwala, who along with V Diju won the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold besides making the finals of Indian Open and the season-ending World Super Series finals, reckons 2010 would be hectic. “2010 is going to be really busy and hectic and we have the Commonwealth Games also in India. We are excited and proud to represent our country but having said that, we don’t want to think so much ahead as it is still a long way to go. Also to perform well in the CWG we will have to concentrate on the other tournaments next year,” Jwala said. “So the focus will be on performance and raising the game with each match we play and in the process winning at least one or two Super Series tournaments,” she added. Still recovering from a skin infection, Jwala said she had a tough time playing the World Super Series Masters Final in Malaysia due to the ailment and wants to take some time off from the court to regain her fitness for the next season. “I had a really tough time playing in the World Super Series Masters Finals as I was not well. I was advised complete bed rest for 3-4 weeks but I still went to Malaysia. So, I was very weak,” said Jwala, who was forced to pull out midway in the first round of the China Super Series because of the ailment. Asked if she and Diju have set any ranking targets for next season, Jwala said the aim would be to perform well and not bother about the rankings. “I think me and Diju, Saina (Nehwal) and Chetan (Anand) have reached a stage where we should just focus on performance and not think about the ranking. But if you ask me where we want to see ourself, it has to be within the top 5 by the next year end. But it is going to be tough,” Jwala said. — PTI
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Punjab face daunting task
Amit Khanna Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 10 Early in the morning, hosts added another 33 runs before folding out for 177 in their first dig. Yesterday’s wrecker-in-chief B Mohanty did not take long and shaved off Punjab’s tail in a hurry. He finished with an impressive 6 for 65. With a hefty 106 runs lead on the basis of first innings under their belt, Orissa started cautiously and added another fifty for the loss of two wickets till the Lunch interval. Love, who ended the day with a five-wicket haul struck early trapping Pati in front in the 5th over. Just before the interval, Gagandeep managed to see the back of last innings top scorer Behera with one that moved away from him. Though visitors lost another five wickets before Tea, but by then they had already accumulated another 135 runs to their first innings lead. Love kept questioning everyone he bowled to and was amply rewarded for his efforts. Gony took two wickets to take his tally to an impressive 30. Orissa ended the day at 196 with two wickets to go. With one full day still to negotiate and their patchy batting form this season, Punjab would do well to save the game as that would ensure them one crucial point, which might come in handy when the second round slots are finalised. Expect Orissa to show no mercy and they will go for the full six points. Brief Scores: Orissa (1st Innings) 283 Punjab (1st Innings) 177 Orissa (2nd Innings) 196 for 8 (Sahoo 62, Love 5 for 54) Andhra beat J&K Andhra (1st Innings) 318 J&K 147 & 192 Andhra (2nd Innings) 22 for no loss. Haryana win Kerala (1st Innings) 93 Haryana (1st Innings) 383 Kerala (2nd Innings) 205 Gujarat lose Gujarat (1st Innings) 234 Himachal 182 & 83 Gujarat (2nd Innings) 140 for 4.
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Barcelona, Inter make it to last 16
Paris, December 10 In the end they won 2-1 with goals coming from Xavi and European Footballer of the year Lionel Messi to top Group F. “It was a match of unique importance for us and I’m happy that all my players showed true understanding of that fact,” Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola said. Inter faced a must-win game at home to Russia’s Rubin Kazan, and duly completed the mission with former Barcelona star Samuel Eto’o producing the opener in their 2-0 win. That sealed Inter the runners-up spot and potentially shored up Jose Mourinho’s position as manager with rumours before kick-off that he could be out at the end of the season if Inter didn’t go througth. Elsewhere Arsenal, already confirmed as Group H winners which theoretically means a more favourable second round draw, lost 1-0 at Olympiakos with the Greeks grabbing the runners-up spot. All that was left to decide in Group E was which of Fiorentina and Lyon would emerge as table toppers. The French ended their first round campaign on a high, routing Debrecen 4-0 but lost out on the number one place after Fiorentina grabbed a late goal to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield. Yossi Benayoun’s first half header had given the hosts a 43rd-minute lead against the run of play before Martin Jorgensen levelled for the Italians after half time. — AFP
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After being comprehensively beaten by Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team gave away too many runs after starting well in the match.
The high of becoming the No.1 Test team called for a definite celebration in the Indian camp, but the party was cut short by the defeat in the first T20 game at Nagpur. Now, the scene shifts to Mohali, with the teams arriving in the city for the second T20 to be played on December 12.
Holders Barcelona and Inter Milan secured their places in the Champions League knock out stages at the last throw of the dice. Joining this pair on the final batch of group games yesterday were Stuttgart and Olympiakos to complete the 16-team cast-list for the second round starting in February. Barca had the luxury of travelling to Dynamo Kiev knowing that even a defeat would not necessarily spell a premature end to their pursuit of a fourth European crown.
