New Delhi, April 27
The Indian cricket team’s African affair continues with former Zimbabwe captain Duncan Fletcher being named coach of the team for the next two years, taking over from South African Gary Kirsten.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India finalised Fletcher’s two-year contract at a Working Committee meeting in Mumbai today. Bowling coach, South African Eric Simons, will keep his post, the BCCI said in a release. The terms and conditions of Fletcher’s appointment are the same as Kirsten’s.

However, Fletcher is unlikely to join the squad before the West Indies series in June, since he has some prior commitments.

Fletcher’s claim to fame was when England, with him as coach, won the Ashes in 2005. Fletcher had joined England as their first foreign coach in 1999. But after initial successes against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, England went down to Australia in the 2001 Ashes series. But successes against South Africa in an away series and then the 2005 Ashes win made him one of the most famous coaches in the business.

However the graph took a tumble soon after, as the England team went from one disaster to the other, including the Ashes debacle in Australia and the 2007 World Cup.

Fletcher quit as England coach after the World Cup and subsequently was involved in several bits and pieces assignments, including being batting consultant for South Africa and also for the New Zealand team that visited India recently.

Fletcher’s appointment puts to end all sorts of conjectures about who would take up the role played so efficiently by Kirsten. Names thrown up included Australians Tom Moody and Dav Whatmore, while former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was also in the mix, before he put himself out of the running.

Kochi, April 27
Ishant Sharma bowled a sensational spell, picking up five wickets for just 12 runs, as Deccan Chargers defeated Kochi Tuskers Kerala by 55 runs in the Indian Premier League here tonight.

Ishant was on the money in his three overs and struck blow after blow, which ultimately saw Kochi being shot out for just 74, in pursuit of 130 for a victory.

Earlier, skipper Kumar Sangakkara scored a terrific 65-run knock after being bowled off a no ball to lead Deccan Chargers to a modest 129 for seven. Invited to bat, Deccan Chargers were in a spot of bother at 20 for three in 5.2 overs but Sangakkara in company of Cameron White (31) rescued the team from the precarious position with a defying 90-run stand for the fourth wicket. — PTI

New Delhi, April 27
Badminton world number four and top seed Saina Nehwal of India crashed out of the Indian Open Super Series on Wednesday with a shock 21-17, 21-19 first-round defeat to Japan's Ai Goto.

Saina, the raging title favourite, looked completely off-colour against her determined opponent and slumped to her knees after Goto slammed in the winning shot at the Siri Fort Complex.

The Indian superstar, 21, had beaten the Japanese in three previous encounters and was tipped to win before a home crowd at the venue where she clinched the Commonwealth Games gold last year.

Goto next takes on compatriot and fifth seed Eriko Hirose who beat Adrianti Firdasari of Indonesia 18-21, 21-8, 21-16.

The 21-year-old ace, who was seeded top in the tournament, has also been troubled by an ankle injury for the past few months.

Earlier in the day, young shuttler Sourabh Verma created another upset when he sent Athens Olympics bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro packing in straight games in the men's singles first round.

The 20-year-old qualifier beat the former world number three Indonesian 21-18, 21-19 in a hard-fought 41-minute clash. — Agencies

New Delhi, April 27
When close friends and colleagues Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, leading Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively, square off in a Season IV Indian Premier League match at the Ferozshah Kotla ground here tomorrow night, they would have to cast away sentiments and soft feelings and don the garb of true professionals to outdo each other.

Sehwag is in a desperate situation as Delhi have so far won just two out of their six matches to plummet to the bottom of the table. What is disconcerting for the hosts is that they have lost three of their four home matches and need to record a series of wins from now on to keep themselves afloat. Sehwag’s problems would be compounded when Daredevils take on KKR as Gambhir, who had been part of the Delhi team in the first three editions of the IPL and had even led them last year, knows the nature of the Kotla wicket like the lines on his palms. He can plan his strategy accordingly to outwit the tactics of Sehwag.

Gambhir, who was snapped up by KKR this season for a whopping price of Rs 11 crore, too needs to get his team back on winning ways, though he has the confidence of leading a pack of talented pros who give depth and all-round balance to the team. Sehwag, on the other hand, has been saddled with a depleted team and so far the winning chances of Daredevils depended purely on their batting, might, with Sehwag and David Warner shouldering a heavy responsibility. When they batted mercilessly to pound the Kings XI Punjab bowling on a greenish belter of a track at Kotla the other day, Delhi posted a big total which the Punjab team could not overtake despite some determined efforts by their batsmen.

Daredevils’ Achilles heel has been their none-too-penetrative bowling, which was quite evident against Royal Challengers Bangalore last night when the visitors cantered away with a three-wicket victory, chasing Delhi’s moderate score of 160. Though Delhi’s bowling revolves around South African quickie Morne Morkel, whose three for 25 spell almost took Daredevils to a win, the hosts eventually tumbled as the other bowlers could not apply the knockout punch to let off the visitors, who had lost three key wickets for 11 runs, in the middle overs.

Once more, Sehwag and Warner would have to bat big if they hope to tame KKR on home turf, though it would be a trying task, as Gambhir has in his team players like Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin, Eoin Morgan, Shakib al-Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwari, Laxmipathy Balaji and Pradeep Sangwan, who are capable of changing the course of the match in a matter of a few overs.

Though KKR had finished sixth in the first and third editions, and last in the second edition of the IPL, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise are determined to pull their weight around this season, as they had not cut corners while making player purchases.

New Delhi, April 27
Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Manoj Tiwary feels that Gautam Gambhir's willingness to give each and every member of team a "lot of space" makes him stand out of the pack.

"Gautam is an innovative captain. He comes up with lot of ideas and makes it a point to discuss it with the players. He tries to understand each and every player's game and gives them a lot of space," Manoj told PTI today.

When asked that how he had benefitted from his interactions with Gambhir, the Bengal captain said, "Everyone knows how good a player of spin bowling Gambhir is. He gave some useful advice about how my footwork should be against the spinners." About team's principal owner Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj said that the locket he presented to each and every player after coming back from Ajmer Sharif will be a "treasured possession" for him.

"He presented us with a locket after coming back from Ajmer Sharif. It was a gesture that touched our hearts. For me, it will be a treasured possession as it is gifted by someone of his stature." He is trying to make a comeback to the Indian team, but Manoj doesn't want to pressurise himself by thinking about it. — PTI

New Delhi, April 27
Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who was named ‘Acting President’ of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) here yesterday, will formally assume charge at the IOA Bhawan at the Qutab Institutional Area tomorrow, after the arrival of secretary-general Randhir Singh.

Malhotra is scheduled to meet Randhir Singh, who was away from the Capital, tomorrow before assuming charge as the acting IOA president. Malhotra was elevated to the post following the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi on corruption charges, in the conduct of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year. Senior IOA members felt that the top post should not be left vacant in view of the many international events coming up in the next few months, including the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

According to a top source, Malhotra, who is also the president of the Archery Association of India, has received “overwhelming” support from the IOA big guns, including former president B. Sivanthi Adityan (whom Kalmadi had defeated to become IOA president for the first time in 1996), senior IOA vice-president and former Member of Parliament Tarlochan Singh, Randhir Singh, former Wrestling Federation of India president G.S. Mander and many others.

According to the source, Malhotra has already extended an olive branch to Sports Minister Ajay Maken as he was keen to work in close coordination with the Government, instead of taking a confrontational line. Maken had directed the IOA to elect a new president, when Kalmadi was arrested, as the Government felt that it would affect the country’s image and the Olympic movement if a tainted person was allowed to head the IOA.

Malhotra has given a 15-day notice for a meeting of the IOA Executive Board, to formalise his nomination as acting president, though he does not need any ratification from the executive to continue in the top job. He has also called a meeting of all sports federations on May 1 to chart out the future plans.

Many senior members were shocked at Kalmadi’s arrest as such a thing had not happened in the IOA’s long history, since it was formed in 1929. They felt that the president’s post should not be left vacant as the chances of Kalmadi’s return were bleak in the prevailing circumstances. The source said the only possible way to fill the position was Malhotra’s elevation, as Kalmadi’s removal was a cumbersome procedure. He can be removed only when 50 per cent of the members seek a no-confidence motion, which requires a month’s notice, and at least three-fourths of the members should be present to fill the quorum to cast their votes. Only after that, Kalmadi could be removed with a two-third majority favouring the motion.

Malhotra will enjoy full powers as acting president, to keep the IOA wheel running.

New Delhi, April 27
Rajasthan Cricket Association, Jaipur, defeated Kanwal Club, Jammu & Kashmir, by 46 runs to enter the semi-finals of the 21st All India Om Nath Cricket Tournament played at the RSKP ground here today.

Scores:

RCA: 269 for 3 (Pranay Sharma 107, Ankit Lamba 88, Asif Rasool 2 for 49). Kanwal Club: 223 (Niraj Chauhan 45, Arshad Bhat 36, Manav Sharma 29, Parvez Rasool 28, Ravi Kant 28, Ritu Raj 3 for 35, Puneet Yadav 2 for 35, Aristh Singhvi 2 for 43, Vivek Yadav 2 for 58).