Ahmedabad, March 27
On a roll with three successive wins, Rajasthan Royals will strive to carry on the momentum while snapping the three-match losing streak will be high on Chennai Super Kings’ agenda when the teams clash in an Indian Premier League match here tomorrow.

The Shane Warne-led side started their IPL campaign on a dismal note losing three matches on the trot, but recaptured their rhythm of late and are now sitting third in the points tally with three wins from six outings.

On the other hand, Chennai is lacking the consistency and are now placed sixth in the points tally with two wins from six matches. After losing the first match to Deccan Chargers, they got their momentum back and registered two successive victories over Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils respectively. But soon they slumped to three more defeats. With all-rounder Yusuf Pathan in stupendous form, the Rajasthan batting line-up is going all guns blazing.

Yusuf, who cracked an unbeaten 34-ball 73 during their comprehensive eight-wicket win over Deccan yesterday, is the backbone of Rajasthan batting order. Besides, Englishman Michael Lumb who struck a 32-ball 45 against the Hyderabad side, and Naman Ojha have produced some solid opening stands for the Rajasthan side and the team will expect another rollicking start against Chennai tomorrow.

Their batting order also has players like Adam Voges and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala down the order, who are able to repair Rajasthan innings in case of any initial hiccup.

Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait will lead the Rajasthan bowling charge, while skipper Warne and Sumit Narwal will be there to help him. Tait, who took three wickets in the last match, has an unmatched ability to produce timely breakthroughs, while Delhi Ranji Trophy pacer Narwal has also impressed with his bowling.

On the other hand, despite regular captain Dhoni’s return, things are not going the right way for Chennai Super Kings. Their batting line-up, which boasts of Australian Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina, impressed in the last match against Mumbai Indians.

In that match, Chennai had piled up a challenging 180 and tomorrow also they have to repeat the performance to set or chase down a stiff target. Dhoni himself is there to strengthen the middle order along with Albie Morkel and Sri Lankan Thissara Perera.

New Delhi, March 27
Cracking the whip on dope offenders, Indian Weightlifting Federation today handed life bans on three lifters, including 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist Vicky Bhatta (56 kg), for their second dope offences.

The IWF, which is trying to cleanse weightlifting from the menace of doping, handed bans on Bhatta and two Services lifters G Damodaran (105 kg) and Rajesh Kumar Singh (94kg).

“We have handed life bans on Vicky Bhatta, G Damodaran and Rajesh Kumar Singh as they had failed dope tests for the second time. The federation is very serious on taking strong action on drug offenders. We want to clean up the dope menace and we are sending a strong message that we are not going to tolerate doping,” IWF Secretary Sahadev Yadav said.

“Today, we have sent letters to the individual lifters and to their employers and state units,” he added. Bhatta returned positive for a banned drug during the 2007 National Games in Guwahati and he was among the six lifters who was caught for doping in the out-of-competition tests by WADA in Pune in September last year.

Bhatta will also have to return IWF $5,500, the money the national body had given to the international federation as fine for his dope offence and charge for undergoing ‘B’ sample test.

“We had given the International Body $5,000 as fine for Bhatta’s dope flunk and then we had to deposit another $500 as he had asked for ‘B’ sample test after his ‘A’ sample, collected by WADA in Pune last September returned positive. Now we have asked him to return to us the $5,5000,” Yadav said.

Interestingly, Bhatta was handed a four-year ban by the International Weightlifting Federation - till September 2013 - as his last September dope flunk was the first under WADA test.

Damodaran tested positive in the Inter-Services Meet in Jamnagar in November last year. He first flunked dope test in the 2006 Senior National Championships in Visakhapatnam, for which he served a two-year-ban.

Rajesh Kumar was also one of the six lifters who flunked dope tests in the WADA out-of-competition tests last September which led to IWF being handed a fine of $5 lakh by the international body. He first tested positive in the 2006 Inter-Services Meet in Jamnagar. Rajesh Kumar will also have to return the $5,000 the IWF had given to the international federation as fine for his dope flunk. He did not ask for ‘B’ sample test. — PTI 

Melbourne, March 27
Force India’s Adrian Sutil breezed into the third qualifying session (Q3) again and will start tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix 10th on the grid which will have India’s lone F1 driver Karun Chandhok in the last row. Both the Force India cars should have been in Q3 but Sutil’s teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi was caught up in traffic and the Italian, who scored the outfit’s first points in Bahrain, would be 13th on the starting grid tomorrow.

“Both should have been in Q3. Liuzzi had traffic problems and Sutil too could have qualified seventh or eighth but for a slight mistake in the first sector of his final timed lap,” Force India chairman Vijay Mallya said. Hispania driver Chandhok, meanwhile, completed 10 laps in the first qualifying session and was happy to at least start from the grid tomorrow, unlike in Bahrain where he had to start from the pit lane.

“I wanted to make it through Q1 and I did. I am very pleased with this result for our second Grand Prix. We are not too far from the top runners. I haven’t made any significant errors. It’s a great way to start my F1 career,” Karun said. Meanwhile, Sutil was not really overjoyed despite making Q3 for the second successive time. — PTI

London, March 27
Football icon David Beckham flew into London late week after undergoing treatment for his calf injury at a Finish sports medicine clinic in Helsinki but his countrymen were still in state of shock and disbelief over his unceremonious exit from the South Africa world cup. Talks in London pubs, tube stations and betting shops veers around to just two issues which have taken the country by storm- the decision to abolish the House of Lords and the way nature has shown the door to Beckam from the world stage due to an calf injury-also called the Achilles tendon injury.

The England superstar, who commands a massive following in his home country, was operated upon in a Helsinki clinic after sustaining an injury while playing for his Italian club-AC Milan last Sunday. The Achilles connects the powerful calf muscles to the heel bone. In Greek mythology, Achilles was held by the heel as his mother dipped him into a river as a baby to make him immortal. The heel did not get wet- and that was where later an arrow pierced him and killed him.

British newspapers have sent an appeal to their readers to pray for Beckham’s tendon injury to heel quickly. Former British Premier Tony Blair spoke on BBC a few days ago reminding listeners “David was essential to England’s game plan in the FIFA world cup. I really do not know how England will fare with him on the sidelines.”

Former England great Peter Shilton, with 125 matches behind him, told TNS at Arsenal football club, “ It is a great disappointment for England. Beck’s had a lot to offer. However, having said that, his injury might as well prove to be a great opportunity for some other young player to make an impact in the world cup. There are many up and coming players like Theo Walcott, Shawn Wright Phillips, and Ashley Young pushing for winger places.”

“I admit David was amazing with his trademark swirling free kicks and set plays but there are quite a few young players knocking the doors of international football now. Had David played, it would have been just in a cameo role. I wonder if all the years of stress David has put on that foot to get that amazing movement of the ball has taken its toll. We all sympathise for Bekham but, out of adversity, this could even turn out to be a big advantage for England,” opined Shilton. 

Lahore, March 27
Pakistan Cricket Board today made it clear that they are considering written communications from Shahid Afridi and Younus Khan as "letters" and not appeals against the penalties imposed on them.

The legal advisor of the Board Tafazzul Rizvi said that until yesterday no player, including Afridi and Younus, had filed a proper appeal with the Board and the duo had only outlined their grievances.

"What Younus and Afridi have sent are letters in which they have outlined their grievances over the penalties imposed on them and asked for the reasons behind the punishments," Rizvi said. He said as per the constitution of the Board, if a player files a proper appeal against his ban or fine, it would be routed to the appellate tribunal formed by the Board to hear the grievances.

"The PCB will at best act like a post office and the appellate tribunal will decide on the merit of the appeals." — PTI 

Karachi, March 27
Hurt by the indefinite ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board, former captain Mohammad Yousuf today decided to retire from international cricket and said he would make an announcement on Monday.

“Yes, I have decided to retire from international cricket but I will make an official announcement on Monday,” he said. The senior batsman, who led the national team in the disastrous Australian and New Zealand tours in February-March, said he felt insulted by the way the board had imposed the ban and accusations made against him.

“I have got a lot from Pakistan and I have also always given 100 percent for Pakistan cricket. I feel disheartened and disappointed at the way the ban was imposed and with recent happenings,” Yousuf said. If Yousuf quits international cricket on Monday it would not be the first time he would have done this as he had also announced his retirement in 2007 when he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League. But he returned after a few months to play for Pakistan on the insistence of the former PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf who also paid Yousuf a loyalty bonus of around $100,000 for ending his ICL contract.

Ludhiana, March 27
As the doping scare is looming large over the inaugural edition of Kabaddi World Cup, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs MS Gill has also joined the bandwagon against the alleged rampant use of drugs in the sport.

Speaking to The Tribune on the phone, a resolute Gill said, “I am determined to eliminate the abuse of drugs in kabaddi and I will not sit quietly till the time I achieve my aim.”

The reaction from the Sports Minister came following The Tribune report published in these columns on March 27. He said, “Being a Punjabi I have a special place for kabaddi, but unchecked use of drugs has put a blot on this game. I am making all out efforts to erase this scar as this game was once hailed as symbol of Punjab’s prowess.”

Quoting a story of kabaddi icon Makhan Singh, Gill said, “I used to watch kabaddi and was a big fan of him. He never used performance-enhancing substances. The players should take example from his grit and determination.”

In an appeal to players participating in the World Cup, the minister categorically said, “A team of National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) from Delhi would conduct random tests on players during the course of the tournament. The players from overseas would also have to watch out as the NADA team would take the samples for doping test to ensure free and fair World Cup Kabaddi.”

He said NADA was equipped with state-of-the-art technologies for conducting doping tests. Even the sports federations of European countries were sending samples here.

Karachi, March 27
Pakistan Cricket Board, in its central contracts has introduced clauses for tough sanctions for the players showing indiscipline and found involved in activities like match-fixing, betting or ball tampering. According to the details, the players have been given time till April 5 to sign their new contracts. Well informed sources said that the Board has included the tough clauses in the contracts that were recently offered to the players 18 players, plus stipends to 19 other players.

“Under the clauses if a player is found involved in match-fixing, betting or ball tampering he will be fined between Rs 0.5 million to 2 million and face ban of maximum five matches.” — PTI 

Kolkata, March 27
Last year's runners-up Mohun Bagan's title hopes today went up in smoke after succumbing to a humiliating 1-4 defeat at the hands of debutant Shillong Lajong FC in a round 18 match of the I-League here. Having stunned by last-placed Sporting Clube de Goa in their last round fixture, Mohun Bagan were dealt another big blow at Yuba Bharati Krirangan today when the club from North-East scored two goals in each half to at confortably beat the local favourites.

Lajong drew first blood through Seikhohao Tuboi in the ninth minute and then Kelechi Okoya doubled the scoreline in the 20th minute. Bagan, however, reduced the margin through Surkumar Singh in the 37th minute.

But injury time goals from Niwan-O-Gatphoh (90+2') and Anil Gurung (90+3') sealed Bagan's fate. With this win , Lajong climbed up from the relegation zone to be on third last spot with 20 points.

The drop of points for Mohun Bagan (25) meant their title aspirations are over as they are 10 points below leaders Dempo (30), who scored a 2-1 win over JCT in another round 18 match today.

Irate Bagan fans hurled abuses against the club officials, especially the management's decision to replace experienced Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa with rookie Satyajit Chatterjee.

BRIEFLY

IPL upholds Jadeja’s ban, reprimands MI
NEW DELHI: Ravindra Jadeja’s hopes of playing in Indian Premier League III were dealt a severe blow after the ban imposed on him for contractual violations was upheld by IPL governing council-appointed one-man committee. IPL’s CEO Sundar Raman said the committee chairman Arun Jaitley rejected Jadeja’s appeal and also reprimanded Mumbai Indians for showing interest in signing the all-rounder midway through his contract with Rajasthan Royals. — PTI

Wheelchair tennis champion Harish Bist serves during the AITA Ranking Wheelchair Tennis tournament in Mumbai on Saturday. — PTI

Nadal wins, Djokovic out
MIAMI: Rafael Nadal made an efficient start at the WTA and ATP Miami Masters as he subdued Taylor Dent 6-4, 6-3 in opening match. But there was high drama on court as Olivier Rochus pounded out a 6-2, 6-7 (7/9), 6-4 upset over Djokovic to knock the second-seeded Serb out. — AFP

Kapur, Chowrasia miss cut
SPAIN: Both Shiv Kapur and SSP Chowrasia had their campaign cut short in the Andalucia Open after the duo failed to make the halfway cut here. Shiv followed his opening round of 71 with a level-par 70 and his 36-hole total of 141 was just outside the cut line set at 140. — PTI

Sports employees defer strike
Jammu: The sports council employees today returned to their work and deferred their strike till April 5, after getting an assurance from the secretary, Sports Council, about the implementation of recommendations given by the Sixth Pay Commission. General secretary J&K State Sports Council Employees Association Iqbal Singh said, “If the benefits of the 6th Pay Commission are not given, we will go on strike again.” — TNS

Vettel hopes for boring race
MELBOURNE: Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel is hoping for an uneventful Australian GP tomorrow, but he’s not counting on it. “I hope for a boring race and we finish as we start. We didn’t really get the job done in Bahrain, so we’ll try for it here.” the Red Bull driver said. — AP