S P O R T S

India-SL-b’desh
India vs Sri Lanka
India crush Lanka to storm into final

• Finally, bowlers come good

• Restrict Lanka to 213

• Kohli, Gambhir shine in chase

Mirpur, January 10
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the Sri Lankan attack as India stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series after crushing the islanders by eight wickets in a lopsided match here today. The Indian bowlers did a neat job, skittling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.
Gautam Gambhir bats against Sri Lanka on Sunday. — AFP

Kings Cup
Silver too hot for Reds
Chandigarh, January 10
The overcast skyline continued to hand bowlers the advantage with assisting conditions making it worse for the batsman to settle down and play shots on the second day.

A match for the Kings Cup in progress in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo: Vinay Malik

Nikolay Davydenko holds the winner’s trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal during the final of the Qatar ATP Open in Doha on Saturday. — AP/PTI 

	Dew still a big factor January 10, 2010
	Sri Lanka thrash Bangladesh January 9, 2010
	Dhoni, Kohli take India home January 8, 2010
	Hosts need to lift their game January 7, 2010
	samaraweera guides SL home January 6, 2010
	India firm favourites January 5, 2010
	Sukhbir: We demand answers January 4, 2010
	Fielding is India’s worry January 3, 2010
	Team missing bowling and fielding coaches: Dhoni January 2, 2010

Bolt set to skip Delhi Games, says agent
London, January 10
The Delhi Commonwealth Games doesn't feature in Usain Bolt's list of priorities and the fastest man on earth is set to skip the October event, his agent said. The Olympic and world champion in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay would be busy preparing for the 2011 World Athletics Championships and won't have the time for Commonwealth Games scheduled in October, his manager Ricky Simms told 'The Sunday Mail'.

Pargat: Revolt could have been averted
New Delhi, January 10
Hockey Punjab secretary-general and ex-India captain Pargat Singh said the revolt by the Indian players at the national camp in Pune yesterday could have been averted with some timely action. He said with the World Cup Hockey Championship in Delhi barely two months away, the national campers should not be disturbed in any manner. “The players should not get into a negative mode with the World Cup only a few weeks away”, he said.

Chennai Open
Cilic retains title
Chennai, January 10
Defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia retained the Chennai Open title with a 7-6 (2), 7-6(3) victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka here today. Second seed Cilic battled for two hours and 40 minutes to get past the Swiss in a thrilling summit clash to record his first win over the world number 21.

India-SL-b’desh
India vs Sri Lanka
India crush Lanka to storm into final

• Finally, bowlers come good

• Restrict Lanka to 213

• Kohli, Gambhir shine in chase

Mirpur, January 10
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the Sri Lankan attack as India stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series after crushing the islanders by eight wickets in a lopsided match here today. The Indian bowlers did a neat job, skittling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.

Gautam Gambhir (71 off 86 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (48 off 40 balls) gave India a flying start before Virat Kohli came up with a breezy unbeaten 71 off just 68 balls to complete the formality. Irrespective of the outcome of their final group match against Bangladesh tomorrow, India will meet Sri Lanka in Wednesday's final.

Kohli notched up his fifth half century in his 18th ODI, which he made with the help of nine fours while Gambhir, who was dropped twice – on 41 and 44 – smashed his 19th ODI fifty in his 94th match. With this win, India, who played today without key players Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra, have won two matches out of three while Sri Lanka ended their league engagements with three wins out of four.

India have collected nine points, with a bonus point for reaching the target in less overs in today's match.

Earlier, Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra shared six wickets between them as India skittled out Sri Lanka for 213. Zaheer and Mishra, who replaced Harbhajan Singh in the playing XI, took three wickets each, conceding 38 and 40 runs from their 10 and 9.1 overs respectively, as Sri Lanka were bowled out in 46.1 overs.

Part-timer Yuvraj Singh and pacers Sudeep Tyagi and S Sreesanth took a wicket apiece though the last two were a bit expensive. Earlier, his side already through to the final, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara elected to bat as he wanted his side to bowl with the wet ball in the evening dew to prepare for any such eventuality in the summit clash.

But most of the Sri Lankan top-order batsmen were unwilling to stay put at the wicket and decided to slog early on. The rash shots and poor communication between their batsmen meant Lanka were in trouble. — PTI

Kings Cup
Silver too hot for Reds
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 10
The overcast skyline continued to hand bowlers the advantage with assisting conditions making it worse for the batsman to settle down and play shots on the second day of the ongoing Kings XI Cup here today. Both the encounters failed to produce the heat T20 format is expected to, and the highest score of 107 by the Silver team in their winning essay against the Red tells how sedate an affair it was. Sharma and Upadhyay did not let the screws loosened and Reds bundled out in the last over. Skipper Kaul tried to hold fort but to no avail and perished after accumulating 26 with three splendid shots to the fence. Yesterday’s top scorer Arjit too went out cheaply and could manage 17. Silver won by 6 wickets.

In the other match at LIC Grounds, Blue led by former India all-rounder Reetinder Sodhi lost their second match on the trot after managing a thin 94 all out with more than two overs to go. Sodhi top scored with valuable 30, while Sohal made 17. Bansal scalped three wickets, while Goel took two. Green started on the cautious note but soon shifted gears and overhauled the total in the 13 th over without even loosing the openers. Man of the match Goel continued the good work and remained unbeaten on 52. Sangram had 35 against his name.

Brief Scores:

Red: 106 all out in 19.3 overs (Kaul 26, Sharma 3 for 33)

Vs Silver 107 for 4 ( Bisla 25, Dhiman 1 for 7)

Blue 94 all out in 17.5 overs (Sodhi 30, Bansal 3 for 34)

Vs Green 98 in 12.5 overs (Goel 52 not out). 

Bolt set to skip Delhi Games, says agent

London, January 10
The Delhi Commonwealth Games doesn't feature in Usain Bolt's list of priorities and the fastest man on earth is set to skip the October event, his agent said. The Olympic and world champion in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay would be busy preparing for the 2011 World Athletics Championships and won't have the time for Commonwealth Games scheduled in October, his manager Ricky Simms told 'The Sunday Mail'.

"It's now looking unlikely Usain will be going to the Commonwealth Games. His priorities have to lie elsewhere. First and foremost is his four-year plan leading up to the next Olympics, which is exactly what he did prior to Beijing in 2008," Simms said of the triple world record holder.

"It's started well enough with what he achieved at last summer's Berlin World Championships, but this year is all about the Diamond League and a continuation of his preparation for 2012. He also views the World Championships in 2011 and 2013 as crucially important," he added, elaborating on Bolt's schedule this year.

Simms said Bolt would need to rest around the time Games are held and it would be too exhausting to run in Delhi.

"The timing of the Commonwealth Games is the issue here. By the start of October, Usain will have needed to have rested and then began his pre-season which, as every athlete knows, is massively important," Simms explained.

"If you don't get your pre-season right, then you won't get the following summer right. If Usain ran in Delhi, it would not only require him to stay at his best from pretty much May through to October, but then delay his pre-season until Christmas or the new year," he said. Simms insisted that there was no other reason for Bolt to miss the Games.

"That would be far too late if he wants to emulate his feats so far on a global stage in 2011. It's not as if Usain doesn't want to be at the Games, it's more the case that he most probably can't afford to be there," he said. Bolt's participation in the Games has been a subject of much speculation in the past few months. CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi first expressed confidence that the star would participate before toning down to say that he has merely invited the Jamaican. — PTI

Pargat: Revolt could have been averted
M.S. Unnikrishnan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10
Hockey Punjab secretary-general and ex-India captain Pargat Singh said the revolt by the Indian players at the national camp in Pune yesterday could have been averted with some timely action. He said with the World Cup Hockey Championship in Delhi barely two months away, the national campers should not be disturbed in any manner. “The players should not get into a negative mode with the World Cup only a few weeks away”, he said. He said the players’ demand of clearance of their dues amounting to Rs 5 or 10 lakh was nothing much, and the controversy was unnecessary. He said the players had some valid grouse that they were being denied their just dues by Hockey India.

“If they play for their organisations, like Oil India or ONGC, the players get a daily allowance of Rs 1000 per day. They thus stand to lose Rs 30,000 per month when they are not doing duty for their departmental teams”, Pargat explained. He said the players could be suitably compensated if Hockey India talked to their employers and found out a workable solution. “The matter can be sorted out without much difficulty”, Pargat asserted. Pargat, who camped in Delhi for six days, seeking affiliation of Hockey Punjab to Hockey India, has been asked to come to Delhi on Monday for further discussion.

Pargat felt that Indian hockey could regain its lost glory only if the people at the helm thought big, acted big. “We always wanted Punjab to contribute for Indian hockey”, he stated. He said if cricket in India was running smoothly and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elections were held without much of a controversy, it was due to the presence of powerful people at top. “There are at least five-six Chief Ministers who are closely associated with the BCCI, and hockey can transform itself if some top people, like the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka and Munjal of Hero Honda, are involved in the running of the game”, Pargat noted.

He said the creation of a wonderufl hockey facility at the Burlton Park in Jalandhar, which will have 26 air conditioned rooms with clean bath rooms and other facilities befitting an international stadium, was due to the “involvement of top people in the construction of the stadium.”

He said the tragedy of Indian hockey was that the “level of thinking” was very low. “If you think high, you can achieve high goals”, Pargat noted. He said anybody who wanted to promote hockey should be welcomed into the hockey fold. “There should not be any hard and fast rule in the involvement of people who have the good of Indian hockey in their hearts” Pargat opined.

“In any case, how many people you can keep out”, he wondered. Pargat said he met Hockey India officials Mattoo, Bhanot and Batra for the affiliation of Hockey Punjab into HI, but his week-long stay did not produce the desired results though he was hopeful that things would fall into place in his next visit to Delhi on January 11.

Chennai Open
Cilic retains title

Chennai, January 10
Defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia retained the Chennai Open title with a 7-6 (2), 7-6(3) victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka here today. Second seed Cilic battled for two hours and 40 minutes to get past the Swiss in a thrilling summit clash to record his first win over the world number 21.

Cilic en route to his title triumph also became the second player after former World number one Carlos Moya of Spain to win back to back titles in the tournament's 14-year history. For Cilic, the title is third of his six appearances since turning professional in 2005. Moya had won in 2004 and 2005.

Croatian earned 250 vital ATP ranking points for his win and a cash prize of USD 68,450, while Wawrinka gained 150 points and USD 35,980. There was not much of difference in first serve percentages, 48-42 in favour of Cilic, but Wawrinka served six aces to two and had only 12 winners to Cilic's 19. — PTI