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CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

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THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
S P O R T S

lanka’s Tour Of India 2nd ODI at Nagpur
Dilshan shines, SL level series
Tillekeratne Dilshan looks to the heavens after completing his century during the second ODI in Nagpur on Friday. — AFP* Lankan opener scores 123
* Fielding haunts India again
* Dhoni scores gritty 107
* Raina chips in with 68

Nagpur, December 18

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni cracked his sixth hundred and strung together a breezy century stand with Suresh Raina to lift his side to an imposing 310 for seven in the second One-day International against Sri Lanka here today.
Tillekeratne Dilshan looks to the heavens after completing his century during the second ODI in Nagpur on Friday. — AFP

C’wealth Wrestling
Indian wrestlers dominate
India’s Krishan Hari (Blue) during his match against Minnaar Louis of South Africa at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Jalandhar on Friday. Tribune photo: Malkiat SinghJalandhar, December 18
Indian wrestlers dominated the Greco Roman wrestling championship in the 55 Kg categories on the inaugural day of the Commonwealth Wrestling championship.
NO Getting away!
India’s Krishan Hari (Blue) during his match against Minnaar Louis of South Africa at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Jalandhar on Friday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

EARLIER STORIES

India look to take charge
December 18, 2009
‘I am nowhere near Sachin’
December 17, 2009
Sri Lanka run out of luck
December 16, 2009
India keen to make winning start
December 15, 2009
My best birthday till now: Yuvraj
December 14, 2009
Yuvi’s return gift
December 13, 2009
India look for revenge
December 12, 2009
Sanga was the difference: Dhoni
December 11, 2009

‘Delhi can deliver the best-ever CWG’
Melbourne, December 18
The early dilly-dallying notwithstanding, Delhi has made remarkable progress of late and has the potential to deliver the best ever Commonwealth Games next year, according to key CGF Coordination Committee (CoCom) member Perry Crosswhite. Crosswhite was part of the Commonwealth Games Federation's CoCom which recently took stock of Delhi's progress and the CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association sounded thoroughly impressed.

Old Trafford awaits Milan, Beckham
Nyon, December 18
David Beckham can look forward to a return to Old Trafford after AC Milan were drawn against his former club Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League on Friday. Friday's draw also pitted Jose Mourinho, now coach of Inter Milan, with his old club Chelsea.


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lanka’s Tour Of India 2nd ODI at Nagpur
Dilshan shines, SL level series
* Lankan opener scores 123
* Fielding haunts India again
* Dhoni scores gritty 107
* Raina chips in with 68

Nagpur, December 18

Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a blistering 123 as Sri Lanka held their nerves in the tense dying moments to snatch a three-wicket victory in a high scoring second cricket one-day international against India to level the five-match series 1-1 here tonight.
MS Dhoni bats against Sri Lanka during the second ODI in Nagpur on Friday. — AFP
MS Dhoni bats against Sri Lanka during the second ODI in Nagpur on Friday. — AFP

Chasing India's 301 for 7 built around a captain's knock of 107 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the visitors made up for their narrow defeat at Rajkot by overhauling the target with five balls to spare in a pulsating floodlit contest. The explosive Dilshan notched up his second consecutive and fourth one-day hundred to lay the platform for the run chase for Sri Lanka.

India did well to recover from a rather sluggish start to post 301 mainly relying on Dhoni's fireworks in the end but a few fielding lapses in the very fag end in the Sri Lankan innings tilted the scale in the visitors' favour in a match which went down the wire.

The capacity crowd at VCA Statium in Jamtha were treated to another run feast with both teams scoring over 300 runs but unlike the Rajkot feast the bowlers did get some assistance from the track.

The Indians, whose fielding has left a lot to be desired in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, were patchy in their bowling and the early dismissals of Virender Sehwag (4) and Gautam Gambhir (2) when they batted did have a bearing in the final outcome.

Earlier, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni cracked his sixth hundred and strung together a breezy century stand with Suresh Raina to lift his side to an imposing 310 for seven. Dhoni had the proverbial cat's luck as he was let off on four occasions by the butter-fingered Lanka fielders, thrice by his counterpart Kumar Sangakkara alone before he had reached 50, and the India captain punished them with his second successive hundred in ODIs at this venue, following his match-winning 124 against Australia on October 28.

The India captain, who fell to impressive debutant Suraj Randiv for 107 in 111 balls that included eight fours and two sixes, and Raina (68) stitched a stand of 126 in only 119 balls for the fifth wicket to lift India to the 300-plus score after the hosts were struggling just past the halfway stage.

Coming together when their side were 132 for four in the 27th over, they helped their side with a run-a-ball partnership on a wicket that offered a lot of turn to the slow bowlers and not a bowler's graveyard as was the case in the first ODI at Rajkot.

Dhoni was lucky to escape getting out three times before he crossed 50 with Sangakkara being the culprit on all three occasions. Dhoni rode on these reprieves and surged his way with lofted hits and upper cuts while Raina slammed 68. — PTI

Scoreboard

India:

Sehwag c Sangakkara b Welegedara 4 (4)

Tendulkar st Sangakkara b Mendis 43 (52)

Gambhir run out 2 (6)

Kohli lbw b Randiv 54 (65)

Dhoni c Dilshan b Randiv 107 (111)

Raina c Randiv b Mathews 68 (55)

Jadeja not out 12 (6)

Harbhajan st Sangakkara b Randiv 0 (1)

Extras (lb 7, w 4) 11

Total (7 wickets; 50 overs) 301

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-19, 3-81, 4-132, 5-258, 6-300, 7-301.

Bowling: Welegedara 9-0-53-1, Mathews 10-1-60-1, Lakmal 8-0-57-0, Mendis 10-0-57-1, Randiv 10-0-51-3, Dilshan 3-0-16-0.

Sri Lanka:

Tharanga c Sehwag b Harbhajan 37 (42)

Dilshan b Nehra 123 (113)

Sangakkara run out 21 (22)

M Jayawardene c Dhoni b Zaheer 39 (47)

Kandamby c Kohli b Zaheer 27 (32)

Mathews not out 37 (25)

Kapugedera b Zaheer 2 (2)

Randiv run out 5 (8)

Mendis not out 2 (4)

Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 3) 9

Total (7 wickets; 49.1 overs) 302

Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-147, 3-213, 4-232, 5-264, 6-267, 7-285.

Bowling: Praveen 8-0-48-0, Zaheer 10-0-63-3, Nehra 10-0-74-1, Harbhajan 10-0-58-1, Jadeja 9.1-0-42-0, Raina 2-0-11-0.




































































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C’wealth Wrestling
Indian wrestlers dominate
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 18
Indian wrestlers dominated the Greco Roman wrestling championship in the 55 Kg categories on the inaugural day of the Commonwealth Wrestling championship being held at the PAP Indoor Stadium at Jalandhar Cantt today.

Kumar Rajender defeated Carlo Van Wyk from South Africa, Krishan Hari beat Minnaar Louis of South Africa in the 55 Kg Greeco Roman while Anil Kumar defeated Farzad Taraash of Australia in the 60 Kg Greeco Roman, and Gurbinder Singh defeated Van Wyk of South Africa.

The championship is being held under the aegis of FILA and CAWA. As many as 12 countries are participating in the wrestling championship. The championship would witness wrestling skills of 100 male wrestlers and 37 female wrestlers from Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Scotland, North Ireland, Nigeria, England, Singapore, Pakistan, Cameroon and India. Earlier Punjab minister for revenue, Ajeet Singh Kohar inaugurated the championship.

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‘Delhi can deliver the best-ever CWG’

Melbourne, December 18
The early dilly-dallying notwithstanding, Delhi has made remarkable progress of late and has the potential to deliver the best ever Commonwealth Games next year, according to key CGF Coordination Committee (CoCom) member Perry Crosswhite. Crosswhite was part of the Commonwealth Games Federation's CoCom which recently took stock of Delhi's progress and the CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association sounded thoroughly impressed.

"The jury is still out but given the rapid progress that the organisers are making, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi have the potential to be the best Games ever," he said. Crosswhite said Delhi was slow to react but once they realised that time was of essence, significant progress was made in very little time.

"We have had concerns on occasions this year in regards to the organising committee's ability to meet deadlines and requirements. However as 2009 draws to a close I am buoyed by the progress shown in the last couple of months.

"After meeting with the CGF in October, organisers have appointed a number of international experts including village operations expert John Lade, event manager Peter Stewart and technology specialist Brian Norse. They all have significant experience in major games such as the Sydney Olympics and Melbourne Commonwealth Games," Crosswhite was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'. The Organising Committee were lax in their approach to the Games' preparation which drew flak from CGF top brass but once the Government of India took charge, progress has been fast-tracked. Crosswhite said the government's involvement augured well for the Games. — PTI

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Old Trafford awaits Milan, Beckham

Nyon, December 18
David Beckham can look forward to a return to Old Trafford after AC Milan were drawn against his former club Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League on Friday. Friday's draw also pitted Jose Mourinho, now coach of Inter Milan, with his old club Chelsea.
Messi will spearhead Barcelona’s challenge as they play Stuttgart
Messi will spearhead Barcelona’s challenge as they play Stuttgart

Holders Barcelona were given a relatively straightforward task against Bundesliga strugglers VfB Stuttgart, while nine-times winners Real Madrid will face Olympique Lyon. Beckham, who is rejoining Milan on a short-term loan from LA Galaxy, had said earlier this week that he wanted to play against the English side he left in 2003.

“Seven years have gone by and I want it to happen,” Beckham, who helped United win the Champions League in 1999, told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Me against United, great, no?”

Manchester United director of communications Phil Townsend welcomed the prospect of Beckham's return. "He'll get a fantastic reception as players coming back usually do at United," Townsend told Sky Sports News. "Obviously he was a very popular player with the fans when he was there, a terrific servant for the club and we all hope he is playing for them.”

Milan's organisational director Umberto Gandini told Sky television they were happy to have avoided a meeting with Chelsea, coached by their former boss Carlo Ancelotti. “But we’ll be playing against a great team in United, last year’s finalist, a team that plays great football and has this type of clash in their chromosomes,” he said.

“They are a team that have many resources. Naturally, they are not the armoured car (of the past), but they won their group easily, and up front and at the back they are very strong.

“But we also have our weapons to use. We'll have Beckham on our side — lots of ingredients for a great match.”

Former Inter Milan and Portugal Luis Figo, who has taken an ambassadorial role for the club, said Mourinho would relish the return.

“It’s always good to go back to a place where you have been successful and I think it will be a difficult match for both teams,” he told reporters. “He brought them titles. I think the people love him and it will be an emotional return for him.”

Barcelona's technical director Txiki Beguiristain was cautious about the draw against Stuttgart but he did allow himself a peek beyond the last 16.

“We mustn't be too confident about this," he told reporters. “We must take it seriously. They will have time to prepare for the games against us and we must be ready.”

“There are two clashes between Italian and English teams which will put two of the biggest sides in Europe out," he added to Gol television. "That makes a potential quarter-final even more attractive."

Real Madrid's tie against Lyon will see Karim Benzema, part of Real's massive off-season rebuilding programme, play against his former club. "It's a privilege to play against Real Madrid," Olympique Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas told Eurosport. — Reuters

Kncockout stages

VfB Stuttgart v Barcelona

Olympiakos v Bordeaux

Inter Milan v Chelsea

B Munich v Fiorentina

CSKA Moscow v Sevilla

Lyon v Real Madrid

Porto v Arsenal

AC Milan v Man United

The first-leg ties will be played on Feb. 16/17 and 23/24

with the second legs scheduled for March 9/10 and 16/17.






















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 BRIEFLY

Punjab reach Ranji quarterfinals
New Delhi:
Punjab breezed into the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy while Railways fell by the wayside after the Super League match between the Group A teams petered out to a tame draw here on Friday. Railways needed nothing short of an outright win to reach the quarterfinals while Punjab needed just one point and in the end, the visitors got three points from the outing — thanks to their 125-run first innings lead — to move into last eight while the hosts crashed out of the race. — PTI
Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming attends a WildAid public awareness campaign in Shanghai on Friday. Injured Yao wants to be part of China’s world championship campaign next year if he gets approval from his doctor. — Reuters
Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming attends a WildAid public awareness campaign in Shanghai on Friday. Injured Yao wants to be part of China’s world championship campaign next year if he gets approval from his doctor. — Reuters

Ntini strikes after Mandela letter
Centurion:
Inspired by a personal note from former president Nelson Mandela, fast bowler Makhaya Ntini struck an early blow for South Africa on the third day of the first Test against England at SuperSport Park on Friday. On a pitch of variable bounce, England struggled to 143 for three at lunch, still 275 behind South Africa's first innings total of 418. — AFP

Two ODI ban for Benn, Haddin
Perth:
West Indies spinner Sulieman Benn was on Friday handed a two-ODI ban while Australia's Brad Haddin and Mitchel Johnson were let off with fines after being found guilty of conduct contrary to the Spirit of Cricket. The players were involved in an ugly altercation during the third cricket Test between the two teams, on Thursday. — PTI

Aussies lose steam against WI
Perth:
Doug Bollinger was responsible for a sudden swing from flooding runs to raining wickets before West Indies surged back to remain in contention in the deciding third Test. Australia managed an enviable position and will enter the fourth day with a 345-run lead following the scare. Brief Scores: Australia 7 for 520 dec & 8 for 137 lead West Indies 312 (Gayle 102, Dowlin 55, Bollinger 5-70) by 345 runs. — Agencies

We can beat Aussies: Yousuf
Karachi:
A good bowling line-up has raised Mohammed Yousuf's hopes of beating Australia in a Test series down under, a feat which Pakistan has never achieved. As the hosts are re-building their team following retirements of stars like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist, Yousuf is fancying glory on the Australian soil. — PTI

‘Missing IPL will hurt Pak players’
Lahore:
Pace legend Wasim Akram feels if Pakistani players are not able to appear in the next edition of the Indian Premier League, it will compromise their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. "If our players do not play in the IPL for whatever reason it is not only a great loss to them in financial terms but also in cricketing terms," Akram said. — PTI

CRPF, Punjab Police win
Jalandhar:
CRPF men beat Punjab and Sind Bank Academy 1-2 in a closely contested match while in another one-sided match of the day Punjab Police defeated EME men 5-0 during the 1st Memorial Hockey tournament, which started at the local Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium on Friday. As many as twelve teams are taking part in the tournament. — TNS

Saina, Chetan in semifinals
Lucknow:
Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand advanced to the semifinals while Gurudsaidutt shocked Indonesian Andre Kurniawan Tedjono to reach the final four in the Syed Modi International Grand Prix badminton tournament here on Friday. Saina survived a scare to pip Fransiska Ratnasari of Indonesia 11-21, 21-4, 21-19 and set up a semifinal clash with sixth seed Jeanine Cicognini of Switzerland, while Chetan beat Anup Sridhar 21-18 21-10. — PTI

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