New Delhi, December 21
The list of players released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for the lone T20 and five One-day Internationals to be played in South Africa is, pretty much a reflection of what the Indian contingent would largely look like.

Sachin Tendulkar returns to the ODI fold, since this would be his first look at 50-over cricket since that famous ODI in Gwalior in February, where he scored the historic 200 not out. However, it remains to be seen if he will play the T20 game.

S. Sreesanth has made the grade, despite his rather pathetic display against South Africa in the recently-concluded Centurion Test. Ishant Sharma, who looked better with both ball and bat, however doesn't get a look-in.

The rest of the squad has few surprises and Suresh Raina, despite his inability to negotiate the bowling off late, stays on. Rohit Sharma and Saurabh Tiwary, however, have been left out.

Apart from Chawla, regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, senior-most player Sachin Tendulkar, dashing opener Virender Sehwag and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh — all of whom opted for rest during the New Zealand ODI series made a comeback. Incidentally, the South Africa ODI series will be India's last assignment before the World Cup in sub-continent next year.

With a last chance to settle the core team before the World Cup, one can be rest assured that most of the players who will be playing against South Africa will be in the World Cup squad also. Chawla's inclusion means that selectors want to check out what's in store in the slow bowling department after their experiments with Ravindra Jadeja hasn't exactly paid rich dividends. Also surprising was Parthiv Patel's non-inclusion in the ODI squad after the player scored back-to-back half centuries against New Zealand being given chance in shorter form after six and half years.

There is no second wicket-keeper in the team. Among the ones who are with the Test squad currently, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Jadhav and Jaydev Unadkat will be boarding a flight back home.

In-form Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan also returned to the side to bolster India's batting department after sitting out of the Test matches. The Indian pace department will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan, who missed the first Test against South Africa due to an injury. S Sreesanth also managed to retain his place in the fast bowling department which will have Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel. In the spin department, Harbhajan will share the honour with R Ashwin. All-rounder Jadeja has been left out of the team, while Yusuf, who impressed during the home series against New Zealand, has been retained.

When Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, it was clear to me and a lot of my illustrious teammates that this fellow is destined for great things. The reason for this assessment is simple as even at that young age of 16 years may be, he had shown against us that he had plenty of guts and courage and was hungry to succeed at the top level.

His career over the last 21 years and his 50th Test hundred only confirms the volume of talent Sachin has and his dedication and commitment to Indian cricket. Yet, I really don't know what this fuss is about Sachin becoming the first man in cricket history to score 50 Test centuries. Watching him all these years I have no doubt left in my mind he is the best batsman in the history of the game. When Sir Donald Bradman was playing people used to say no one can match his records, when Sunil Gavaskar scored 34 centuries people said no one could break his record. But in the case of Sachin's feat of 50 Test centuries, I really don't see anyone breaking that record for a long time.

And the way he is going at 37, he seems likely to soon become the first batsman in history to also score 100 international hundreds... phew that is a record one can only dream about.

For me and Waqar Younis, our biggest regret remains that for 10-long years between 1989 and 1999 their were no bilateral Test matches between Pakistan and India and we never got a chance to bowl against him. Yes we did play couple of one-day matches on mostly flat pitches against him but the real battle between bat and ball comes in Test matches and that sadly was not available to us although at that time we were ranked as the best opening bowling pair in international cricket.

I will always regret the missed opportunities because I can recall clearly the first time we played against him. It was in 1989 and India was coming to Pakistan and their was a lot of media hype about this teenaged batsman who had set a new world school record with Vinod Kambli. There was a buzz about this new talent and myself just 22 and Waqar 23 we were excited about pitting ourselves against this new talent.

In the first Test, he didn't leave a big impact on us but it was in the match at Sialkot on a lush green wicket that we got a glimpse of what Sachin was really about. I remember the first few balls he faced I bounced him and he got a cut on his chin but he scored 50 odd runs and he batted with lot of guts and we knew "okay this guy has talent." — PTI

Manchester, December 21
Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines stole the show from Carlos Tevez as 10-man Everton clinched a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Eastlands on Monday.

David Moyes' side, who had not won in seven matches, took control within the opening 20 minutes through Cahill's early effort and a fine strike from Baines. After Everton's Victor Anichebe was sent off for a second yellow card just before the hour, City halved the deficit through Phil Jagielka's own goal. Despite constant pressure, City could not find an equaliser and missed out on the chance to move top of the table at Christmas for the first time in 81 years as their seven-match unbeaten run came to an end.

They also had defender Kolo Toure dismissed in stoppage time to complete a miserable evening that ruined Tevez's return to action just hours after he decided to withdraw a transfer request. Everton's victory was just their fourth in the league this season and ended a seven-game winless run. It had been billed as Tevez's big night but Everton took the lead in the fourth minute. Anichebe failed to turn a header on target from a Baines cross.

But Seamus Coleman collected the ball and clipped over a cross that was glanced in at the near post by Australian midfielder Cahill. As the hosts looked for a response, Yaya Toure's cross-field pass picked out David Silva but the Spanish winger thumped a shot narrowly wide of goal. The pressure continued and from Aleksander Kolarov's corner, Mario Balotelli had a header saved by Tim Howard.

Pablo Zabaleta was still in the changing rooms getting treatment after a clash of heads with Cahill when Everton scored a second, once again thanks to fine work by Baines. The full back broke forward and fed Anichebe, whose cross was touched back by Cahill for Baines to sweep a curling shot into the net. — AFP

New Delhi, December 21
India's star shuttler Jwala Gutta, who won the gold medal along with Ashwini Ponnappa in women's doubles badminton at the Commonwealth Games, said she deserves to be the sportsperson of the year.

"Suggest my name for the sportsperson of the year," Gutta quipped when asked by media persons who she felt should be the sportsperson of the year.

"I am serious about it. If you see the amount of hardwork that I had to put in to play both the women's doubles and the mixed doubles and then to win a gold from there I believe I deserve the accolades," said Jwala, who had to play four matches in a day after entering the the mixed doubles and women's doubles quarterfinals at the Commonwealth Games.

India's top women shuttler Saina Nehwal, who won as many as five titles this year, and cricket veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who recently scored 50 Test centuries, would be top contenders for the award. Jwala hailed their respective performances but said this year somebody else should be bestowed with the award.

"Saina is playing well. Sachin has been performing consistently for a long time. But let this time be somebody else," she said on the sidelines of the launch of 75th Senior National Badminton Championship to be played in Rohtak from January third. Jwala, who took a break after the Asian Games, confirmed her participation in the National championship next month.

"The domestic tournaments are important as they give a lot of exposure to the upcoming players," said Jwala, who won the National Championships 13 times till now. She, however, emphasised on the need to schedule the tournaments in a proper manner so that players get enough opportunity to participate in all the events.

"Too many events around a particular month deprive players from participating in all of them," Jwala said. The 27-year-old star said one needs to focus more on international events as they have an impact on the world rankings. Jwala and V Diju, who were inside the top 10 bracket last year, slipped to 30th in world rankings after a series of unimpressive performance this year. Asked about the dip, Jwala said, "I am not worried about the rankings, what is important is the performance and I believe we have done well." — PTI

Chandigarh, December 21
While Haryana Government is all set to felicitate its 64 sportspersons, who were part of the recently-concluded Asian Games at Guangzhou, and certain coaches tomorrow with much fanfare, their counterparts in Punjab have been left disheartened with mere announcements by their respective government. The Punjab sportspersons, who have brought laurels at national and international levels, have been waiting to receive their awards since 2007.

On the other hand, Haryana, after having doled out cash awards and swanky cars to their achievers of Commonwealth Games at Delhi on November 1, is now honouring the medallists, participants and certain coaches of Asian Games too.

“This is the right way to treat the sportspersons. But here in our state, we get nothing but mere assurances and announcements from our government. They have not gone beyond lip service”, said a national level shooter from the state, preferring anonymity.

Notably, on November 9 while unveiling Punjab’s new sports policy, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister had announced to distribute all the pending awards by December this year. A substantial enhancement in the cash award money was also announced last month. Another eminent athlete of Punjab lamented that all the sportspersons were fed up with the ways of the government. “I think they (the government) is just passing time by making announcements. They should learn a lesson from their neighbouring state, which has been progressing in sports arena with every passing day,” said the athlete.

Besides, CWG and Asian Games achievers, as many as 104 other sports persons, who had won medals in National Games held at Guwahati in 2007, are still waiting for their rewards, announced by Punjab Government. The state government has also not presented its state award, Maharaja Ranjit Singh award, for the last four years.

When contacted on the issue, Punjab Director Sports Pargat Singh said due to Sukhbir Badal’s visit to USA, the function got delayed. “We will soon announce the dates of the function in which all the deserving sportspersons would be honoured,” said Pargat Singh.

Chandigarh, December 21
The crowd at the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association courts today had a buzz around it. There was something more in the air than the rush of the daily dose of tennis. There was a sense of pride which 22-year-old Sanam Singh, gold medal winner at the 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, had brought along. There were smiles galore as the CLTA felicitated the boy who trained here from 1997 to 2003. Those years have paid off, as Sanam conceded, sometimes choked with emotion.

“Those were extremely vital years in my career.That is the time when everyone picks up the basics, and thanks to the coaches and everyone else involved, I got the best of it all,” he says as he tries to multi-task, signing autographs, smiling back at curious kids, thanking every handshake. The day started with Sanam giving tips to the budding players and then as he played an exhibition match, which he lost, the crowd kept pouring in to get an eyeful of their first tennis champion.

Accolades aside, Sanam is in no mood to let up the intensity. “Anything that I win in doubles will always be a bonus, but my focus is to do well in singles. That is the aim and I am going to work extremely hard at it. I understand the level of expectation will rise from here on, but that is what a player’s life is about. I will try to work as hard as possible and deliver more for the country.”

Speaking about the Asiad moment, he says, “The biggest thing was that I was playing for my country. It was a huge moment for me, and initially, all I was looking at was putting up a good show, but as we kept winning, it became clear to us that we could make it to the top.”

His mother, Roopa Singh, is on cloud nine as her ‘toddler’ takes giant strides on the court. “I remember every moment of his career,” says the proud mother. “From when he picked a racquet for the first time, to his first win. He makes me proud, the feeling is just unbelievable.”

With nostalgia kicking in, she goes back to the time when, at these very courts, her son stood in a queue, waiting to speak to Vijay Amritraj. “Amritraj had come down with his son to speak about fitness and other things. He was telling all the kids how the thigh muscles needed to be stronger. He checked everyone's muscles and the moment he touched Sanam’s leg, he looked up and said, ‘This is what I am talking about’. It was a great moment, and still gives me goose bumps.”

“Today, when we look at it from the other side, I feel humbled. My son has made the entire family proud,” she says. Wonderful player, adorable person, dutiful son…. first Grand Slam winner??? The tale has just begun!

Patiala, December 21
Riding high on their forward line the Punjab National Bank New Delhi team crushed their opponents, the Jammu and Kashmir Police 3-0 on the third day of the 35th Liberals All India Hockey Tournament being played at Punjab Public School Hockey stadium, Nabha.

In the other matches of the day Western Central Railway Jabalpur won a close encounter by defeating Sports Hostel Lucknow 3-2 while Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala were drubbed by SSB New Delhi 3-2 in the last match of the day.

Starting their day on a chilly morning, Punjab National Bank New Delhi meant business and they gave no opportunity to the J&K Police, thus making the entire contest a one sided affair. With measured passes coming to the forward line from centre half Jaswinder Singh and left-half Ranjit Singh, their forwards easily penetrated the police defence repeatedly. They shot in to an early lead in 3rd minute (1-0) when left-back Satpal converted through a penalty corner.

Inside-left Navdeep Singh consolidated the lead to 2-0 in the 10th minute. In the 29th minute Damandeep Singh gave a formidable 3-0 lead to the bankers when he tricked a bunch of defenders and scored after dodging goalkeeper Inderpal Singh. However despite numerous attacks in the second half, the J&K Police managed to prevent further damage and conceded a 3-0 win.

Following a hat-trick by Mohamad Taj, West Central Railway Jabalpur steamed past hard fighting Sports Hostel Lucknow with a narrow 3-2 win. Both teams exhibited great skills and showed some class hockey which was much appreciated by the crowd that came in to enjoy the match in the bright sunshine. Inside-left Imran Khan helped Sports Hostel Lucknow to take a lead of 1-0 in the 25th minute of the game by collecting a centre from outside-right Sailesh Singh. Railmen hit back quickly and scored an equalizer in the 32nd minute with a full blooded shot by inside left by Taj. Buoyed by their success Railways, tasted blood and their forward Mohamad Taj managed to find a gap in the opponents defence and added another goal for his side in 42nd minute with a sharp hit that beat all.

Chennai, December 21
The 6th and final round of the Volkswagen JK Tyre Polo Cup India 2010 was flagged-off today in Chennai. Sailesh Bolisetti created history by winning the first ever Polo Cup in India when he finished in 6th position. Heading into the final race Sailesh trailed Parth Ghorpade by just two points. The race was flaggedoff by Dr. John Chacko, Volkswagen Group Chief Representative India, President and Managing Director, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd, and Formula One driver, Karun Chandhok.

It was a bumper-to-bumper race right from the moment the flag waved. Vishnu Prasad fought hard to keep Championship contender Sailesh Bolisetti at bay through out entire the length of the race. Championship leader Parth Ghorpade suffered a time penalty, resulting in a ninth place finish.

Heading into the final race Sailesh trailed Parth Ghorpade by just two points. Parth had a great start and was in 4th position with Sailesh in 6th position when he made a mistake that dropped him back to 13th position. After that, all Sailesh had to do was finish ahead of Parth, which he duly did to become India’s first ever Polo Cup Champion. Munjal Savla won race 2 ahead of Kartik Shankar and Vishnu Prasad.

Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Motorsports, Volkswagen India, said, “It has been an excellent year for Volkswagen Motorsport and we are very happy with the outcome of the first year of the Volkswagen JK Tyre Polo Cup in India. It is a privilege for us to be a part of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. The drivers have acclimatized well and we will continue to nurture the young talent in the country. We will be back next year and make sure that it is even better.”

BRIEFLY

BCCI cautions IPL franchises
New Delhi: The Indian Cricket Board has categorically instructed the 10 IPL franchises to stay away from getting into any kind of contractual obligations with the uncapped domestic players for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League till further notice. It has been learnt that the BCCI is upset that most of the franchisee owners are in talks with uncapped domestic players who won't be up for auctions. "Yes, we have received a communication from BCCI that we shouldn't get in talks with the uncapped players till BCCI announces the dates," a Delhi Daredevils official said. — PTI

Kallis involved in car accident
Johannesburg: South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis had a close shave this morning when he banged his car against the gate of a house in Wynberg, a suburb in the south of Cape Town. However, the all-rounder was not hurt in the accident and will be available for selection for the Boxing Day Test starting December 26 in Durban. "He has no injuries at all and is totally fine," Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa's team manager, said. Kallis was on his way home post midnight when he drove his Audi R8 into the gate of the house damaging the front side of his car. "It was a freak, minor accident and there was nothing untoward about the manner in which it happened," Moosajee said. — PTI

Sania confident on Aus Open
New Delhi: Sania Mirza, who recently won an ITF tournament in Dubai to end the year on a high, today expressed confidence of a good show in the Australian Open early next year. The 24-year-old, who is now ranked 164th in the world, beat Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 4-6 6-3 6-0 in the USD 75,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge final on Sunday in Dubai. "It's really satisfying. It's like a dream come true considering the way I started the season with an injury. In the last six months I have been playing consistent tennis. And going into a Grand Slam with a title and beating a top 40 player gives you a lot of confidence," Sania said. — PTI

Becks reveals England ambitions
London: Former England captain David Beckham has revealed that he wants to play for a European club this winter in a bid to win back his place in the national side. Beckham has spent the last two winters on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy at AC Milan but accepts that move will not happen again - and he has ruled out all Premier League clubs apart from Manchester United. The 35-year-old, who received the BBC sports personality's lifetime achievement award on Sunday night, said: "I won't be going back to AC Milan this time because is not possible to go onto the roster for such a short length of time. "But I will be going back somewhere as I want to keep myself fit and keep myself in with a chance of getting called up for England again. To do that, I have to be somewhere so fingers crossed I can sort something out." — AFP

JCT play Mohun Bagan
CHANDIGARH: JCT FC will play their second home game against Kolkata-based McDowell Mohun Bagan in Ludhiana on Thursday. The teams will be fighting to get some momentum in their campaign as both sides have made a sluggish start to the season. While JCT have just one point from 4 games, the Kolkata outfit have two points from an equal number of games. The match will be played at the Guru Nanak Stadium and will be a 2pm start. — TNS