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India aim for clean sweep
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Australia win thriller against SA
Afridi powers Pak to victory
Time for reality check
Rafael Nadal wins title
MDU, CCSU dominate
IHF-WSH announces slew of cash incentives
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West Indies in India: Third Test Preview
Mumbai, November 21 What will bring in the crowds and grab eyeballs, if at all, will be when the little man from Mumbai walks in for one of the biggest and fast becoming agonising, milestones of his career. All eyes will be on Sachin Tendulkar at his home ground, trying to get that elusive 100th ton, which as per too many people, should have come in the last match he played at this very venue; the World Cup final in April. But moving to the Test series, the big surprise would be if India decide not to let some of the youngsters have a go at the West Indies. There is nothing left in this series, already wrapped up 2-0, and there should ideally not be much in the third Test as well. The pitch looks like a typical Mumbai track. There should be bounce and ample room for shot-making as well. Although some might want to say that the Mumbai winter is kicking in, clearly this is not the type of winter that causes collapses in the morning session. The Indian team will be looking at various options. Change is inevitable with Yuvraj Singh being dropped. There will be an interesting toss-up between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Also, on the bowling front, Varun Aaron might be itching to get a game. The quickie has seen Umesh Yadav rise through the ranks and capture the imagination of a pace-deprived team’s followers. No reason why he can’t do the same. Dhoni had missed the practice session but there are good chances that he will not be sitting out. Rohit, another local boy, has made it to the squad at the back of some impressive domestic performances. He will be eyeing his Test cap, something that had eluded him, courtesy an injury in 2009. He has, time and again, shown glimpses of the batsman he can be but then, at vital moments, his batting fell through and at other times the selectors’ confidence in him. This might not be a bad time to cover for all the lost opportunities. For the West Indies, this is not the ideal situation, but an expected one. Their batting has been so amateurish at times, so much that it often doesn’t look like an international side. The shot-making, except in the fourth innings at Kolkata, has been shoddy. Darren Bravo showed glimpses of his Laraesque style during his ton at Eden and even Marlon Samuels and Kirk Edwards got half-centuries. But the problem is that even then, they never for once looked threatening. Their bowling will get a shot in the arm with Ravi Rampaul returning to the action, but it will take a brave man to predict any respite for the West Indies. A series lost convincingly, bowling gone awry, strategies falling flat and a certain Sachin Tendulkar longing to make some more history… the signs are ominous and the result should be certainly predictable. |
Australia win thriller against SA
Johannesburg, November 21 Earlier, opening bowler Vernon Philander made two crucial strikes as South Africa and Australia engaged in a tense battle on the fifth and final day of the Test. Australia, needing 310 to win and share the series, were 222 for six at tea, still 88 short of victory. After a three-hour rain delay, Philander bowled Australian Michael Clarke in the fourth over of the day after only three runs had been added to the overnight 142 for three. Australia suffered a major blow 20 runs later when Ricky Ponting was caught at second slip off Morne Morkel for 62, having added only eight runs off 34 balls as the bowlers took advantage of helpful overcast conditions. But Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin put together a watchful sixth wicket partnership of 50 and with the sun starting to beat down on the ground the odds seemed to be swinging slightly in favour of Australia. There was yet another twist in a match of fluctuating fortunes when Philander was brought back shortly before tea and trapped Hussey leg before wicket for 39 with a ball which swung into the left-hander. Hussey sought a television review but there was no reprieve as umpire Billy Bowden's decision was shown to be correct. Hussey batted for 124 minutes and faced 77 balls. Philander had figures of four for 50 at tea. It left Haddin and the hard-hitting Mitchell Johnson as Australia's not out batsmen. Haddin was on 24 but seldom looked secure as he played and missed several times and was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Dale Steyn. South Africa, who won the first Test in Cape Town by eight wickets, have not won a home series against Australia since 1969/70. SA had won the first Test that was played in Cape Town. — AFP |
Sharjah, November 21 Afridi struck a defiant 75 to help Pakistan reach a modest 200 on a sluggish track at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium before they folded in 49.3 overs. The all-rounder then returned to claim five for 35 as Pakistan shot out Sri Lanka for 174 in 45.2 overs to go 3-1 up in the five-match series. Sri Lanka wobbled early in their chase, losing both the openers Upul Tharanga (16) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (11) to Aizaz Cheema inside eight overs. Dinesh Chandimal's (11) exit had them reeling at 53 for three in the 13th over before Kumar Sangakkara (58) and Mahela Jayawardene (55), with more than 650 ODIs between them, put their chase back on track with a 102-run stand. Just when they appeared to be cruising to victory, Afridi removed both the batsmen to turn the match on its head and went on to register his sixth ODI five-wicket haul to walk away with the man of the match award. Earlier, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq decided to bat first only to see his team slump to 71 for five in the 24th over. Afridi was in form with the bat as well scoring 75 runs. — Reuters |
Kabaddi World Cup
Ludhiana, November 21 The plight of their male counterparts was no different as they too had to make their own arrangement for returning home. “The men kabaddi players are rich and have their own SUV’s whereas we do not have a penny since everything was burnt in the bus accident that took place near Bathinda a few days ago. Someone offered us help and gave us money to hire an auto rickshaw,’ said Jaskaran Kaur. Women team players holding a gold cup caught the attention of commuters at Bhai Bala Chowk. “Till yesterday both Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbit Singh Badal were posing for a photograph with us and barely a night after the event everyone seems to have forgotten us. No one is attending our phone calls. It seems the babus and organizers were just following the orders of their political masters and soon after the event we were disowned,’ said one player of the Indian kabaddi team. Earlier during the day, confusion prevailed as players were caught arguing with hotel authorities about inflated bills. The Indian women’s team was in for a shock when the hotel they were staying at did not allow them to check-out and told them to pay around pay Rs 22000, which included bills for hard drinks. Kulwinder and Jaskaran Kaur both members of kabaddi team were seen frantically calling the authorities. But they got no response. “We do not have a single penny as everything was burnt in the accident. But since morning no one is picking up our phone. We have been totally ignored following the finals,” said Kulwinder. |
London, November 21 World number two Nadal, who has won 10 Grand Slams in his career, would love to add the ATP's end of season finale to his trophy cabinet but he will need to improve on this hard-fought win in his opening Group B fixture. Although Nadal, beaten by Roger Federer in last year's final here at the O2 Arena, has reached three Grand Slam finals this year, winning the French Open for the sixth time, he will still look back on the last 12 months as an unfulfilling time. The sole reason for that is Novak Djokovic, the remarkable Serb who defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon and US Open finals, as well as four Masters finals, and replaced him as world number one. The 25-year-old can erase some of that frustration by taking the title here and his gritty victory means he joins Federer on top of Group B after the opening round of matches. — AFP |
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MDU, CCSU dominate
Sirsa, November 21 In the 48-kilogram category, Priyanka of CCSU bagged gold by defeating Ritu of MDU, who had to content with silver. Gharal M.G. from Shivaji University (SU), Kolhapur and Ruby Chaudhary from Rajasthan University (RU), Jaipur, got the third position and received bronze medals. Babita from MDU grappled to gold in the 55-kg category by defeating Apoorva Tyagi of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad. Neetu Rana of CCSU and Sonu of Kurukshetra University bagged bronze medals. In the 63-kg weight category, Sakshi Malik of MDU bagged gold, Shilpi Sheoran of Kurukshetra University (KU) got silver, while Rajni of CCSU and Usha Chaudhary of RU had to content with bronze. Anshu Tomar of CCSU won gold in the 72-kg category by defeating Ekta of KU. Rakhi (MDU) and Mandeep Kaur (Punjab University Chandigarh) got bronze in this category. Earlier, Arjuna Award winner, Olympian Bhim Singh, inaugurated the championship. Over 250 women from 43 universities of the country are participating in this two-day event, which will be followed by the men’s championship that starts from Wednesday. |
IHF-WSH announces slew of cash incentives
New Delhi, November 21 The IHF-WSH combine has announced that the mega-incentive plan was to motivate the players to “strive for gold” at the London Olympics and felt that the current hockey ecosystem needed to be “reinvigorated to ensure players are looked after and their remuneration is substantially corrected and brought at par with other sports like cricket”. Accordingly, those Indian players contracted to play in the WSH (to be held from December 17 to January 22), but also slated to don the National colours, would be paid rupees five lakh each if they figure in the team at the Olympic qualifiers to be held in Delhi in February. If the team qualifies for the London Olympics, an additional five lakh would be given to every WSH player in the team. If the Indian team, who will include WSH players, manages to win gold, silver or bronze in London, they would be richer by Rs 2 crore, Rs 1 crore or Rs 50 lakh. But only the WSH players will get a share of the prize-money and not others. This is such bait that no WSH-contracted Indian player is likely to back off, fearing a reprisal from Hockey India, as the cash on offer is too tempting to let go. IHF president R.K. Shetty said success at the 2012 Olympics “will be a matter of immense National pride”, as the legacy of Indian hockey at the Olympics was unmatched with India winning 11 medals, including eight gold. “The IHF is committed towards creating multiple opportunities for the players to excel. WSH provides a highly competitive domestic league for the players, to be prepared to compete at international levels. The incentive plan is to further motivate the players to perform at the global level,” Shetty added. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had warned the Sports Ministry and Hockey India against associating with the WSH in any manner as it did not have FIH the sanction. Sports Minister Ajay Maken had stated that the Government would not put a spoke in the WSH plan as it was like other professional leagues on the pattern of the IPL T20 Championship in cricket and the World Series Boxing league. But the Sports Authority of India had recently announced that it would not release those players who would be attending the National camp in preparation for the Olympic qualifiers. |
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