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India-Lanka-NZ Tri-Series
There was no deal for Flintoff: Srinivasan
Asif gets rid of Strauss
India to play four Tests in England next summer
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Finally, OC pays IWF fine
MAKA Trophy for Punjabi Varsity, GND Varsity
Wrestling coach confident of medals
Diju-Jwala in quarters of World C'ship
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India-Lanka-NZ Tri-Series
The Indians might have booked their place in Saturday's final against Sri Lanka after beating New Zealand by 105 runs in a must-win match yesterday, but Dhoni seemed concerned about his side's batting line-up, which yet again failed. Sehwag top-scored for India yesterday with a 93-ball 110 to and Dhoni said apart from the dashing opener, none of his batsman had got their footing right in the Rangagiri Dambulla wicket. “He (Sehwag) is the only batsman who seems to be middling the ball. But besides him, the whole team is struggling,” Dhoni said. “It was really good to bat with him (Sehwag). He has always done well in crucial situation. In the previous game, too, he scored 99 and this century was big too,” he said. Besides Sehwag, Dhoni (38) and Ravindra Jadeja (17) were the only two batsmen to reach double figures as the Indian middle order comprising Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli struggled once again, accumulating only 15 runs between them. Dhoni praised his bowlers for their continued impressive display in the series. “The bowlers did a good job for us. Praveen is a swing bowler and so we give him the new ball. He has good control over his swing. Nehra is usually good. Munaf also did a good job,” he said. Sehwag, however, did not blame the youngsters and said even he took some innings to settle down early in his career. “We can't blame the young batsman for fishing outside the off stump. Everybody is tempted to play shots. Even I took a few innings to settle down in my career,” he added. Electing to bat, India were all out for 223 and the bowlers backed them superbly as they shot out the Kiwis for 118 in 30.1 overs to take the Dhoni's men to the finals. Man-of-the-match Sehwag said he was disappointed to get out after doing all the hard work. “It was a much better wicket to bat on. I felt really disappointed when I got out because I could have taken us through to 270 or more. It is pleasing if centuries lead to victories,” he said. “I was feeling pain in my back and wanted to take the help of the physiotherapist. The umpires asked me if I can wait for an over but I got out,” he added. Sehwag said Saturday's final would be a good match and hoped India would do well. “India always does well in a do or die situation. We performed badly against Sri Lanka and it is now our turn to do well in the finals. I'm looking forward to the Sri Lanka match,” he added. His New Zealand counterpart Ross Taylor admitted that they were completely outplayed by the Indians yesterday. “The way Sehwag batted, it took the game away from us. The way they bowled, they bowled full and straight, they made us make tough decisions,” he said. “Praveen Kumar was special. The ball has been swinging all through the tournament. For us now it is back to the drawing board,” he added. There was some confusion in the middle with the batting Powerplay and when asked about the incident, Dhoni said there was a miscommunication as Kyle Mills had not informed the umpires about the Powerplay. “Mills told me he is taking Powerplay, and I arranged my field accordingly, and forgot to look at the umpire. When we asked in the fifth over, how many overs left, the umpires said the Powerplay is not even on. But Mills stood by his word, and it was sorted out,” he said. Meanwhile, batsman Virat Kohli has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent at umpire's decision after being given out. Kohli pleaded guilty to a Level 1 offence and accepted the proposed sanction from Alan Hurst of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees after the play concluded yesterday. He was found to have breached 2.1.3 of the code, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire's decision”. After being given out in the sixth over, Kohli stood his ground and looked at the umpire for a considerable time before eventually leaving the middle. This was considered to be a show of dissent, a fact accepted by the player himself. Because Kohli pleaded guilty and accepted the proposed sanction there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Asad Rauf and Asoka de Silva, third umpire Kumar Dharmasena and fourth official Gration Liyanage. — PTI
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There was no deal for Flintoff: Srinivasan
New Delhi, August 26 A TV channel yesterday claimed that Srinivasan in connivance with suspended IPL chairman Lalit Modi tried to fix the bid of former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in Chennai Super Kings favour. However, Srinivasan said he didn't do anything wrong and his franchise outbid Rajasthan Royals as only they had the full purse of $2 million. "I didn't need anybody's favour. Rajasthan Royals bid for $1.5m for Flintoff, I beat them at $1.55m. So where is the deal? How can I have any deal? How can Modi have control of Shane Warne unless he is the owner of the Rajasthan Royals," he told Times Now. “Hundred per cent I'm telling you, we did nothing wrong. We won fair and square. We were the only one who could have bought only player because I had the full purse. I didn't need anybody's favour," he added. “The Chennai Super Kings is the only team which had the 2 million in the purse. Everybody else had less, so we didn't need anybody's favour to buy Flintoff,” he added. A TV report yesterday quoted an email purportedly written by Modi to Srinivasan, which read “what a nightmare to convince them not to terminate (Sohail) Tanvir and also not to take Flintoff. Warne went off the handle. But have managed it by using stick and carrot strategy. Thus they have $1.875mn. Much love Lalit”. This is not the first time that Srinivasan has found himself in a controversy. A few days back, the BCCI secretary was accused of 'fixing' umpires for Chennai Super Kings matches during the IPL. — PTI
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In that time England reached 39 for the loss of the England captain's wicket after Salman Butt had won the toss and asked the home side to bat. England lead 2-0 in the four-match series. Pakistan made an unpromising start when Mohammad Amir's opening delivery from the Pavilion end hurtled to the fine-leg boundary for five wides. Amir was then denied an early wicket when Umar Akmal dropped an easy chance at third slip off Alastair Cook when the batsman was on one. Umar, moving to his right, got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on to the catch to Amir's obvious disgust. It was the 18th catch that Pakistan have spilled in the series. Cook had another escape on nine when umpire Billy Bowden upheld an appeal for caught behind by Akmal's brother Kamran after a long pause. The batsman immediately appealed and third umpire Steve Davis ruled in his favour when television replays showed the ball had missed the bat. Cook, whose long lean spell ended with a second-innings century in the third test at the Oval, could make little of Asif who jagged the ball late both ways. He was beaten three times in a row in one over, pushing forward more in hope than expectation. Asif finally got the wicket he so thoroughly deserved when he bowled Strauss with a delivery which knocked back the leg-stump. Jonathan Trott got off the mark immediately, pushing Asif to the long-on boundary. The ball stopped a few centimetres inside the rope, allowing the batsmen to run four. The floodlights were turned on to little avail when umpires Bowden and Tony Hill decided conditions had deteriorated sufficiently to leave the field. The rain then returned and the covers were brought on for what looked like becoming another lengthy delay. — Reuters Brief Score: At Tea England 39 for 1 (Cook 10*, Trott 8*) vs Pakistan
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India to play four Tests in England next summer
Mumbai, August 26 A one-off T20 is scheduled to take place on August 31 and would be followed by the best-of-five ODI series between the two teams from September 3-16. Sri Lanka would visit England prior to India for a similar tour. ECB Chief Executive David Collier said that the fans in England can expect two high quality series against India and Sri Lanka. —
PTI |
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IWLF secretary-general Sahdev Yadav collected the cheque from the OC office and said they will try to pay the fine as soon as possible to ensure participation of the lifters. “Today I received the cheque worth 1.75 crore from the CWG Organising Committee. It is good news for the lifters. We would try to pay the fine at the earliest, so that our weightlifters can participate in the Commonwealth Games. We are expecting lot of medals from them,” Sahdev told PTI.
It said the Rs 1.75 crore amount be paid against the approved budget of Rs 25 crore for development of sports under the Joint Marketing Agreement as provided under clause 261 of the Host City Contract of Commonwealth Games. The letter also said that the loan of Rs 1.75 crore being given to IWF should not to be utilised by the IWLF for the payment of fine $31,000 on individual weightlifters found guilty. The IWLF was under pressure to pay the doping fine of $3,75,000 and an additional $31,000 for individual fines and ‘B’ sample testing charges, failing which, the Indian lifters would have been barred from taking part in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. For some time now, the IWF had asked IOA and the Ministry to give interest-free loan of around Rs one crore each to pay the fine. The Ministry had sent a letter a few days back to the IOA and CWG OC to negotiate with the international weightlifting body to reduce the fine or re-schedule the penalty payment. The Ministry said that it cannot accept a situation where Indian weightlifters would not take part in the Commonwealth Games which is to be held in the country as it is likely to result in loss of medals. — PTI
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MAKA Trophy for Punjabi Varsity, GND Varsity
New Delhi, August 26 In a rare instance since the inception of the MAKA Trophy in 1956-57, two universities would share the trophy in the same calendar year. While Punjabi University, Patiala, will keep the trophy for the first six months, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, will keep the trophy for the next six months. However, both the universities will get the full award money of Rs 10 lakh each. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports did a fine balancing act by picking Punjabi University and GNDU for the award as the former had threatened to go to court if the MAKA Trophy for the year 2009-10 was not awarded to the most deserving university. The government had to club the award winners for the last two years, as the revised guidelines for the selection of the best sports university would be in the current year format from the next year. The top overall performing university in the Inter-University Tournaments are awarded the MAKA Trophy, which is a rolling trophy, though this year, Punjabi University had contested some of the points awarded to GNDU. The ministry also did not disclose the names of the selection committee members. According to sources, perhaps only the scrutinising committee had met to suggest the names of the best universities, following the exit of former Olympian Gurbachan Singh Randhawa as the chairman of the selection panel when GNDU objected to his nomination. The universities will receive the trophy from President Pratibha Patil during the National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Sunday, August 29. Pbi varsity to challenge decision in court Patiala, August 26 Dr Singh said the AIU had held a meeting on August 3 last to measure points for awarding the MAKA trophy for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 and all universities were asked to present their cases for this. Punjabi University, he said, had pointed out many cases of bogus presentation by GNDU, Amritsar. Either the IOA or the Sports Ministry did not approve the allegations raised by Punjabi University, including declaring the Tug of War team of GNDU as ineligible as these. Dr Manjit Singh further said according to rules the AIU was supposed to minus 20 per cent points for wrong representation by GNDU, Amritsar, which it did not do. On the other hand, GNDU leveled some wrong allegations against Punjabi University and as a rule it was mandatory to debit 10 marks from their tally of points. Instead of doing all this, the AIU has not made any mention total number of points. Even the committee constituted to award the trophy was unconstitutional, Dr Singh said. Punjabi University is planning to take the issue to court. |
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NIS bans media entry
Blaming the media for doing a lot of negative reporting, the authorities have barred it from covering any event inside the campus despite the fact that the final boxing trials for the Games started here today. The situation was such that many mediapersons had a verbal debate with the authorities and gatekeepers. Even yesterday, a woman reporter from a national daily was asked to leave the campus. Just a few days back, another reporter and a photographer had to wait outside in the scorching sun for almost two hours before they finally met the authorities. But even after that they were denied the entry. However, the gatekeepers said entry could only be allowed on NIS executive director LS Ranawat’s permission. Sources informed that Ranawat had not only banned the media entry, but also issued strict instructions to the authorities and coaches from sharing any information with mediapersons. However, this attitude has not gone down well with the media and also coaches and players as players feel that the step has debarred them of the attention they deserved before such a major event. “The decision has not only denied us our right, but also is stopping us from sharing our problems, which are often highlighted through the media. Earlier also, the media support has helped us win against various atrocities of the Sports Ministry and authorities and breaking our connection with them is unjust,” rued a NIS camper. Even mediapersons have come out in open in the regard and have warned that if this kind of behaviour persisted, they would stop covering all events of the NIS.
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Wrestling coach confident of medals
Patiala, August 26 Coach PR Sondhi, who is confidence personified after his protégé Sushil Kumar defied all odds to pick up a bronze at the Beijing Olympics, says he has identified three weight categories where Indians are sure to end up winning the medal. Sondhi’s only worry is the absence of ace grappler Geetika Jhakhar, who with her recent performances, had become the face of women wrestling in India. Jhakhar, a red-hot medal prospect in the 67 kg weight class, has been ruled out following a lingering knee injury. Her place in the weight category has been taken by Anita, who incidentally had beaten Jhakhar, when she was crowned national champion last year. Sondhi says medals will be coming in the 51 kg, 55 kg and 59 kg categories. Babita Kumari has enough experience and expertise in the 51 kg to have her rivals on the mat. She has won the Commonwealth championships held in New Delhi last year and that is the reason why Sondhi is pinning high hopes on the Bhawani grappler. Babita has also taken part in two senior world championships and with enough experience behind her she may well romp home with a gold dangling around her neck. Sondhi also aims high in the 55 kg class where Geeta hopes to win a gold. “Geeta has already tested the waters by winning the Commonwealth championships. She has tonnes of experience and possesses the correct style to pin down her rivals,” says Sondhi. The spotlight in the 59 kg weight class will be on grappler Alka Tomar.
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Diju-Jwala in quarters of World C'ship
Paris, August 26 The Indians will now face 12th seeds South Korea's Sung Hyun Ko and Jung Eun Ha for a place in the semifinals. The Korean pair had shocked fifth seeds Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen of Denmark. “I don't think we were at the top of our game,” said Diju. “We made too many mistakes and it's only later that we managed to piece our game together.”
— PTI |
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New Delhi, August 26
Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Asif won just reward for a mesmerising spell of late swing bowling on Thursday when he bowled Andrew Strauss for 13 after the fourth test at Lord's finally got underway.
New Delhi, August 26
Notwithstanding wrestler and TV star Sonika Kaliraman’s attempt to throw a spanner in the works by levelling allegations of bias against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) selection committee, all seven women grapplers attending the ongoing national camp are expecting to win at least three gold medals in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games where women’s wrestling is being introduced for the first time.
Dambulla, August 26
London, August 26
New Delhi, August 26
“Besides, we will pay the $31,000 fine of the individual guilty lifters from our own resources,” he added. In a letter to the CWG OC, the Ministry on Tuesday had expressed unhappiness that the IOA has not taken steps to “intercede” with International Weightlifting Federation to reduce the fine or reschedule the penalty payment so that Indian weightlifters can take part in Commonwealth Games.
Patiala, August 26
New Delhi
IPL created harmony: Mahela