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Smashing: Saina, Jwala-Diju shine on
Sl Tour Of India 5th ODI at Delhi
Ranji Trophy |
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‘It would be a unique experience’
KFC Twenty20 Big Bash from December 28
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Smashing: Saina, Jwala-Diju shine on
The Hyderabadi became the first Indian to win a Super series title when she clinched the Indonesian Open in June. The hard work of the past two years paid off and the shuttler was conferred the coveted Arjuna Award in August, where her mentor Pullela Gopichand received the Dronacharya Award.
If Saina broke the Chinese dominance this year, Jwala and Diju made India a force to reckon with in mixed doubles. The duo became the first Indian pair to reach the quarterfinals of the World championship in Hyderabad but it was the victory at Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold in August which was the highlight of a dream year as it catapulted them to the top-10 bracket. The year 2009 also saw Arvind Bhat break the title jinx at the National championship after four abortive finals, when he beat P Kashyap in the summit clash in Indore. Saina, the first Indian shuttler to make the Olympic quarterfinals in Beijing last year, continued her giant-killing run this year too as the Indian taught a thing or two to the Chinese in their own game. The 19-year-old made a steady start to the season and reached the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Super Series, Swiss Open and India Open in Hyderabad in March and also helped India reach Group 2 of the Sudirman Cup in May. The Singapore Open in June again saw the Indian ace reach the last eight where she lost to Wang Lin but a gritty Saina avenged her loss in Indonesia by beating the Chinese in the finals to clinch her maiden super series title. She also reached the quarters of Malaysian Open but a bout of mild chicken pox just two weeks before the World Championship threatened her chances of participating in the tournament which was being held in India for the first time. But she recovered in time to not only take part in the event but also become the first Indian woman to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to old rival Wang Lin. However, a miscommunication between the Indian officials and the Badminton World Federation regarding sending of entries saw Saina miss the China Masters, which was just after the World Championships. When she eventually returned to the circuit, the Indian made it to the quarters of back-to-back super series events in Denmark and French to reach a career-best ranking of world number six in October. With the year nearing end, Saina participated in the World Super Series Masters Final and reached the semifinals of the prestigious event, an encore of her performance last year. As Saina cemented her place in the top league in singles, the seven-time national doubles champion Jwala Gutta and her partner V Diju made quite a splash in mixed doubles. For Jwala and Diju, it was a year in which they moved from strength to strength and consolidated their position on the global map. The duo created a flutter when they made it to the finals of the Indian Open in Hyderabad in March and signed off the year on a high reaching the finals of the season-ending World Super Series Masters Finals. The men’s doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas also notched up up some impressive triumphs in the international arena when the duo clinched the New Zealand Grand Prix in July and the Bitburger Open in October. They also reached the finals of the Australian Open Grand Prix in July. Although the men disappointed, overall the year turned out to be a good one for India as it consolidated its position at the world stage and with the country hosting the Commonwealth Games next year, it would be another opportunity for the shuttlers to shine bright next year too. — PTI
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Sl Tour Of India 5th ODI at Delhi
New Delhi, December 25 Winter grass (dry grass), imported from New Zealand, has been laid to give the square in the middle a green look, which will remain for the match, if the curator is to be believed. Delhi had witnessed low-scoring matches during the Champions Challenge Twenty20 a few months ago, and the India-Autralia ODI on October 31 also did not offer much of a run feast, as the wickets had been relaid. The Delhi match has an added incentive for the spectators as they expect five of the local players to make it into the playing eleven — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kholi, Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Delhi, in fact, has now emerged as the nursery of Indian cricket, as there are at least half a dozen players waiting in the wings, for a chance to break into the Indian team, and prove their mettle, though Sehwag, Gambhir etc. are in no hurry to pave the way for the young ones from the Capital. Captain MS Dhoni will return to skipper the team, after serving a two-match suspension, replacing fellow-stumper Dinesh Karthik, though Karthik did quite well in the two matches he played, both of which India won. Virat Kholi, who came of age with a strokeful century in the fourth ODI at Kolkata, and a half century at Nagpur which India lost, is likely to retain his place in the absence of Yuvraj Singh. Expecting a batting pyrotechnique from Sehwag and Co., the tickets, put out on sale, have been sold out, particularly in view of the fact that it is a day match. Delhi opted for a day match due to the foggy wintry conditions, and the excessive due factor, which should favour the Indian team. India have always done well at the Kotla, whether it's Test or ODI matches. Yuvraj Singh's batting blitzkrieg, with a 70-plus score, had helped India tame Australia in the last ODI played here on October 31. Both the teams will turn up for practice tomorrow morning after celebrating Christmas today. My best ODI knock, says Gambhir
Kolkata: Elated after guiding India to a facile, series-clinching win, star batsman Gautam Gambhir said he would rate tonight's unbeaten 150 against Sri Lanka as the best innings of his career. Gambhir said it was very satisfying to stay till the end and guide the team to victory. “This is the first time I finished a game remaining unbeaten. It feels great,” Gambhir said in the post-match conference. “It was important for me to get going and convert it into a big one. It feels great that I finished the game,” Gambhir, who was adjudged Man of the Match, said. Explaining his early caution, Gambhir said, "While chasing it's always important to have wickets in hand. When you have wickets in hand, it's always easy to chase down about 130 in the last 15 overs.” Ganguly praises cool headed Gambhir
Adding to the list of admirers of Gautam Gambhir, India's most consistent batsman in recent times, is former captain Sourav Ganguly, who is impressed by the temperament by the Delhi dasher. Gambhir completed his 3000 runs in One-day cricket yesterday en route to his unbeaten 150 in the fourth match, which helped India seal the five-match series. “Gambhir has been improving a lot. Gambhir is a cool headed guy. He has been scoring runs and he is getting them consistently," Ganguly said Asked whether he missed the on-field action, Ganguly said, "Not at all. I am enjoying my life." —
PTI Tendulkar rested for Bangladesh series, Ishant dropped
Squad for the fifth ODI against Sri Lanka: M S Dhoni (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Sudeep Tyagi, Dinesh Karthik, S Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha. Sqaud for bangladesh series: M S Dhoni (Captain), Sehwag (VC), Gambhir, Kohli, Raina, Rohit, Jadeja, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Nehra, Yuvraj, Sudeep Tyagi, Karthik, Sreesanth, Ashok Dinda, Amit Mishra. — PTI |
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Ranji Trophy
Mysore, December 25 Resuming at 292 for nine, Punjab earlier could add only eight runs before the visitor's first essay came to an end with Harmeet Singh felling prey to left-arm pacer Sreesanth Aravind in 93rd over. For Karnataka, Vinay Kumar scalped three wickets for 100 runs, while Abhimanyu Mithun (2/53) also bowled well. The hosts then suffered an early blow with pacer Harmeet removing Karnataka opener KB Pawan (1) cheaply. Mumbai tighten noose
around Haryana
Rohtak: Defending champions Mumbai tightened the noose around Haryana as they first notched up 400 in their first innings and then reduced the hosts to 34 for two on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here today. Resuming at 238 for five, Mumbai added 162 from the 69.4 overs they faced today with Romesh Powar (53) and Iqbal Abdullah (45) being the main contributors. Overnight centurion Ajinkya Rahane added 27 runs today to his opening day score of 116. He faced 343 for his 143 and hit 16 fours. In reply, Haryana were 34 for two with Rahul Dewan and Manav Sharma on 20 and six respectively. In the morning, Ajinkya Rahane and Romesh Powar (53) started the proceedings on a cautious note and took the score to 286 before pacer Joginder Sharma broke the partnership with the new ball, dismissing Rahane for 143. —
PTI |
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‘It would be a unique experience’
London, December 25 Schumacher further said that he took the decision after discussing all the matters with his wife and two kids. "I had to sort out my personal situation first. Corinna has always wanted to see me happy and when seeing my eyes, and the sparkle there, she didn't argue. She said go and have fun," he said. The 41-year-old also insisted that he has completely recovered from the neck problem, which had kept him away from a comeback (as replacement for injured Felipe Massa) with Ferrari last summer. "I was tired of F1 in 2006 and didn't have the motivation. I was out of energy and needed this time off. But I've never left the race track and after three years I regained the energy I'm feeling now," Schumacher said. "After playing around for a while on motorbikes, I'm ready for the serious stuff now. But, before giving the final okay, I had to make sure my neck was fine. I had to understand that myself and I can say 100 per cent that the neck is no longer an issue," he added. — ANI
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KFC Twenty20 Big Bash from December 28
Chandigarh , December 25 STAR Cricket, the 24 hours dedicated Cricket channel, from ESPN STAR Sports will telecast all the 17 matches live for the benefit of Indian audiences. The list of international stars competing in this year’s KFC Twenty20 Big Bash includes West Indian stars - Chris Gayle (Retravision Warriors), Dwayne Bravo (DEC Victorian Bushrangers) and Kieron Pollard (West End Redbacks). Shahid Afridi( West End Redbacks) will also be seen in action. The other contracted international players include Kiwi Captain Daniel Vittori (XXXX GOLD Queensland Bulls), England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas (PKF Tasmanian Tigers) and Australia’s star all-rounder Andrew Symonds (XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls).
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Saina Nehwal broke the Chinese stranglehold, while the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju cracked the top-10 chart as Indian badminton rose in stature in a reasonably successful
2009.
Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has said that he will be looking forward to grab his eight championship title next season. Schumacher ended weeks of speculation by agreeing to a seven million pound deal to make a sensational comeback with Mercedes GP four years after he retired from the sport. "I don't recall there being many drivers over 40 in F1. It makes me unique. It would be a unique experience and unique achievement if I was to win the World Championship again. But, that is what I'll be fighting for," The Sun quoted Schumacher, as saying.
The KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, the Australian Domestic T20 tournament, starts from December 28. The growing popularity of KFC Twenty20 Big Bash is evident from the fact that the forthcoming season has drawn some of the world’s best players to compete alongside homegrown Australian talent. Each team, chasing the title of becoming Australia’s domestic KFC Twenty20 Big Bash champion, also stands a chance to share the spoils at the Airtel Champions League Twenty20.
New Delhi, December 25
