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Commonwealth Bank Series Rohit Sharma dives and drops a catch of Australian batsman David Hussey in their ODI match in Melbourne on Sunday. — AFP
India folded just like they did in Tests
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Lee out of tri-series
BCCI hopeful of sorting out issues with Sahara
Dhoni blames loose deliveries by spinners
England fighting hard
Pune FC down Dempo 1-0
‘Boxing will get bigger after London Games’
Khalsa College, FA Mahilpur in final
Duleep Trophy
Barcelona keep up with Real Madrid
Modest finish by Bhullar
Chowrasia impressive on last day
Squash: Dipika wins but India lose United hold Chelsea 3-3
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Commonwealth Bank Series
Melbourne, February 5
Australia recovered from a few early jolts to score 216 for five in their 32 overs and then bundled out the visitors for 151 in 29.4 overs at the flood-lit MCG. The Indians dropped out of form Virender Sehwag from the team but the batting woes, that has plagued the side right through the Test series, continued to haunt them in the first match of the tr-series. Some of the batsmen got good start but could not translate them into big scores. India were never in the chase as the top order collapsed in a heap to Australian pacemen. The only effort was shown by young guns Virat Kohli (31) and Rohit Sharma (21) and their 51-run third wicket stand. Clint McKay was the most destructive home bowler, taking four wickets for just 20 runs while Mitchell Starc (2/33) and spinner Xavier Doherty (2/36) claimed two wickets each. It was left-arm paceman Starc who struck early with the scalps of openers Sachin Tendulkar (2) and Gautam Gambhir (5) in his first spell. Bowling full and with the same venom as in Tests, Starc and his new ball partner Ryan Harris came hard at the Indians first up. Tendulkar was the first one to leave, driving away from his body and being caught brilliantly by a diving Ricky Ponting at point region. Gambhir departed in his now customary fashion, edging a catch behind the stumps to Matthew Wade. Kohli and Sharma were undeterred and gave glimpses of their promise against a hostile opponent. Both flashed their bats hard and were not afraid to come out of their crease. They had raised 51 runs off 47 balls when Clint McKay, on his first four balls in the match, sent them packing. Kohli cut McKay's second ball most fiercely but Ponting, coming in forward at point, held an amazing catch in front of his face. Two balls later, Sharma held his bat out limply and offered a catch to Wade. The dye was now cast and it only worsened when Suresh Raina (4) hit one up in the air off debutant Daniel Christian. — PTI Scoreboard Extras (lb 2, w 4, nb 2) 8 India Extras (lb 2, w 5) 7
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India folded just like they did in Tests
The T20 win had certainly buoyed the team and its supporters but in the face of sustained pressure by the Australians the Indian team folded just like they did in the Test series. With weather always being a factor in Melbourne the need of the moment is to be able to grasp the opportunities and then keep going. The Australians did that with some magnificent batting from Matthew Wade and David Hussey and ‘Mr. Cricket’ Mike Hussey wasn’t too far behind.
More than the big hits it was the athletic running between the wickets that threw the Indians off. The desperation that was seen in the second T20 game was conspicuous by its absence. It was almost as if once the IPL auction was over, the thoughts were there and not in Australia. There was a much more relaxed air about the Indians effort and that is what does not go down well when there is a defeat. That apart, some players look in need of a break. Ashwin is looking jaded and is being predictable with the ball and that is why he is going for runs. Praveen Kumar had an off day and Jadeja will have more expensive days than economical ones with his type of bowling, which again is ideal to go after on pitches where there is no turn. Vinay Kumar was the one who was impressive bagging big names and also showing good spirit.
Tendulkar back in the India one-day colours was out stretching outside the off-stump again. This happens when a batsman is short of runs and so he looks to score off deliveries that should be played with a bit more circumspection. Gambhir fell playing on the back half of his body and nicking behind. With two slips in position this shot was going to be hard anyway and the earlier he looks to rectify the habit the better for him. The young guns Kohli and Rohit Sharma played some good shots and ran brilliantly between the wickets but they also got good deliveries which consumed them. Not having played for a long time is definitely telling on Rohit Sharma and he is not finding the fluency which is his strength. India need to get a good start and then need partnerships too. These are what help create a momentum and rhythm. In the absence of the start and partnerships the opposition keeps coming back in the game and finding openings. There is hardly any pressure on the opponents and that is why India is struggling. They have matches coming up against the Sri Lankans, the third team in the tri-series and they must capitalise on that. The Lankans though have just finished a tour of South Africa where the pitches are similar to Australia and so they will be much better prepared and India can take them lightly at their own peril. — PMG
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Lee out of tri-series
Melbourne, February 5 The 35-year-old pacer will remain out of action for four to six weeks, also leaving him in doubt for the tour of West Indies starting March 16. Australia team doctor Trefor James said a bone in Lee's right foot broke when he was struck hard by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's slog in his followthrough in the second Twenty20 on Friday. "He was able to complete the over, however the foot became more painful and swollen the following day. An X-ray has confirmed a fracture of the small toe," James said. "We now expect Brett will return to cricket in four to six weeks." — PTI |
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BCCI hopeful of sorting out issues with Sahara
New Delhi, February 5 Sahara, sponsor of the Indian team for over 11 years, decided to part ways with the BCCI yesterday, complaining that the Board did not give due consideration to its genuine grievances with regards to players and number of matches in the IPL. Sahara had signed a renewed sponsorship agreement with the BCCI on July 1, 2010 till December 31, 2013 and was paying Rs 3.34 crore per Test match, one-day international and Twenty20 International under the new terms. The deal is said to be worth Rs 532 crore. Sahara entered the IPL bandwagon last year by buying Pune Warriors for Rs 1702 crore, making it the costliest franchise in the Twenty20 event. The BCCI stands to lose Rs 2234 crore if Sahara sticks to its stand. However, the Board can find another sponsor to neutralise the losses. Taken aback by the sudden pullout, the BCCI, which struggled to find long-term team sponsors in the past, is keen to hold on to the company. "We are very confident that the Pune Warriors will participate in the IPL and the matter would be resolved. They have not given anything to us in writing about the pullout," a top IPL source told PTI. Interestingly, the IPL authorities had gone ahead with the players auction without the Pune team representatives yesterday in Bangalore. In case the Pune Warriors actually decide to stay off, the IPL authorities would be left to deal with a very tricky situation. The options at hand include, reducing the event to eight teams and selling Pune Warriors to a new owner but with the IPL scheduled to start on April 4, it would be a race against time to get things in order. — PTI |
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Dhoni blames loose deliveries by spinners
Melbourne, February 5 Australia were 35 for two in 11 overs when rain stopped play but they recovered after the interruption, and Dhoni said lack of discipline among his slow bowlers led to the home side reaching 216 for five in their allotted 32 overs. "We were doing well before rain. Once they (Australia) came back after the rain break, they went after our bowling. Our loose deliveries were too loose. That was the difference," Dhoni said after the match. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went for 48 runs from his wicketless five overs, leg-spinner Rahul Sharma bled 44 runs for one wicket from his 6.2 overs while Ravindra Jadeja's 2.4 overs of slow left-arm spin cost 41 runs for no wicket. Dhoni rued the lack of partnership in their run chase but promised to bounce back in the tournament. "We did not have any substantial partnerships (in our run chase). If only we could have built the partnership of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And we did not get off to a good start in the chase. That was a crucial time after the Powerplay overs," he said. "We have the self-belief. That comes with the youngsters. They are agile and they don't catch up with the moment. It's four matches for each of three teams. We would look to reach the final and then plan for the final," he said. — PTI
"It's not about (his) injury. Quite a few other players have niggles. If you want to make Rohit play, an experienced player can come and go out of the side. But for Rohit, it may be tough later, if he doesn't get going now, you could find him playing in tougher later-half without much practice. It's a long series," said Dhoni. Words of dissension and rift within the team spread quickly once it was learnt that Sehwag has been rested for the opening game. It was difficult for everyone to come to terms with the exclusion of India's most explosive batsman, who had hit a record 219 in only the last one-day international he played against the West Indies in Indore last year. Sources, though, insisted that it was a consensual decision and even Sehwag was party to such a move. There was also a cloud on Zaheer Khan missing his third game in a row for the team and Dhoni explained Zaheer has a problem with his knee.
"Zak has a problem with his knee. But it's not major. He would be fit for the later games," Dhoni said. — PTI |
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England fighting hard
Dubai, February 5 Needing to chase their second best achieved target in all Tests of 324, England finished the third day at 36-0, with openers Andrew Strauss (19) and Alastair Cook (15) playing out the tricky 20 overs on an eased out pitch. They still need another 288 runs with all ten wickets intact in the last two days. England's most successful chase to win a Test was the 332 they made against Australia in Melbourne in 1929. Azhar Ali hit a career-best 157 and Younis Khan 127 in Pakistan's second innings total of 365. Pakistan could have got Cook's wicket had Taufiq Umar not dropped an easy catch in the third slip off paceman Umar Gul when the England opener had made just four. It will need an extraordinary effort from the England batsmen who lost the first Test here by ten wickets and the second by 72 runs in Abu Dhabi after their batting flopped against Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman. Both Pakistan spinners will test the England batting once again after Monty Panesar claimed 5-124 to finally bowl out rivals in their second innings on a pitch that saw 16 wickets fall on the first day. Pakistan were bowled out for 99 in their first innings and can become the first team to win a Test after being bowled out for under 100 since England, dismissed for 76 in the first innings, beat South Africa by 53 runs at Leeds in 1907. Pakistan were well placed at 331-4 before losing their last seven wickets for a mere 34 runs following good bowling from England spinner Panesar and Graeme Swann, who finished with 3-101. — AFP |
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Pune FC down Dempo 1-0
Margao, February 5 Pune FC looked fresh as they played to a plan as they played a defensive game and than launched a quick counter move and found the net in the 20th minute through Izumi’s header off a cross from Baldeep Singh. Their defence then put up a solid performance as they held their fame rivals in the second half as Dempo launched flurry of moves but failed to find the equaliser. — PTI |
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‘Boxing will get bigger after London Games’
New Delhi, February 5 Vijender won a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games, the lone Olympic medal in India's boxing history, and he said the country would better that in London which will further raise the profile of the sport. "Boxing became big after Beijing Olympics and it will get bigger after London. I don't want to predict how many medals India will win from boxing in London but I think we will do better than Beijing this time. But fingers crossed, it depends on our performance," he said. The former world number one said the profile of boxing in the country has been rising with the consistently good performance of the pugilists and availability of money in the sport. "Now there is money in boxing. There is World Series Boxing and then the Fight Night series. Boxers can earn money and now they are better off than before," he said. "There is more enthusiasm among youngsters now and they are taking to boxing in more numbers than the days when I took to the sport," said Vijender. — PTI |
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Khalsa College, FA Mahilpur in final
Chandigarh, February 5 Other two goals came in the second half with Rajinder scoring in the 53rd minute and Rajvir Singh in the dying minutes of the match. GN College pushed at the death with a flurry of moves but a lack of conviction in their finishing compelled them end the game flustered. The second semifinal saw Khalsa College, Mahilpur edge past the baffled FA Rurka 1-0. The game began very tepidly, with neither side particularly testing the other and the battle for possession ensued for atleast the opening 20 minutes till a goal from Mani graced the game. Inevitably, FA Rurka had chances to threaten from set-pieces, but they were well matched by their Mahilpur counterparts. SGHRS College, Chhabewal triumphed with the girls Champions Trophy by defeating Girls College, Chela in a tough contest. Chabbewal college battled to a narrow 1-0 win over their wasteful opponents, with Amandeep Kaur lashing in the 36th minute. A frustrating afternoon continued for the defending team, since the score did not alter till the concluding time and they were left to rue their profligacy. The tournament reaches consummation tomorrow with Punjab Police lined up against Tata Academy and Khalsa College Mahilpur playing FA Mahilpur. |
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Awana puts North in command
New Delhi, February 5 Starting the day at 258 for four, a disciplined effort by Awana saw East Zone lose wickets in a heap to get all out for 315. North were 162 for three at stumps still needing 154 runs to gain the all-important first innings lead. As of now, North look firm favourites to to get the first innings lead with Mayank Sidhana (30 batting) and Paras Dogra (33 batting) looking well set. The first hour will certainly be important but with the likes of Rajat Bhatia, Punit Bisht and Amit Mishra to follow, North's chances of making it to the title round is more compared to their rival. It was Awana who bowled according to a plan and used the second new ball to good effect as East Zone lost six wickets for addition of only 57 runs. Knowing that the new kookaburra ball doesn't help the seamers after a certain point of time, Awana's lion-hearted effort was even more praiseworthy. Wriddhiman Saha (124, 196 balls, 15x4, 1x6) started in right earnest hitting a few spanking boundaries but his partner Biplab Samantray (4) was back in the hut being bowled. Central Zone ahead
Chennai: Central Zone put defending champions South Zone in a spot of bother by gaining a solid first- innings lead of 110 runs on the second day of their four-day cricket semifinal match for the Duleep Trophy here today. At close, Central were 127 for one in 32 overs at close, with opener Naman Ojha batting on 79 (81b, 8x4, 5x6) and Mohammad Kaif on 41 (103b, 6x4). — PTI |
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Barcelona keep up with Real Madrid
Madrid, February 5 Real had earlier deployed close to their strongest team in a 1-0 victory at city rivals Getafe, defender Sergio Ramos nodding in the only goal on a bitterly cold and blustery night at the Coliseum stadium that lifted them to 55 points from 21 matches. In the late kickoff at an equally chilly Nou Camp, more than 50,000 fans turned out to witness 20-year-old Cristian Tello finish clinically from a ninth-minute Lionel Messi assist. The World Player of the Year made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute when he hooked in a Daniel Alves cross before Sociedad forward Carlos Vela pulled one back for the visitors two minutes later as Barca stayed within seven points of their Madrid rivals. The Spanish and European champions' night was spoiled by a nasty-looking injury to Sergio Busquets. The Spain midfielder had come off the bench only a few minutes earlier before he sustained a deep gash below his right knee in a challenge with Sociedad defender Carlos Martinez. Messi's strike put him on 23 league goals for the season, one behind Real forward and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. — Reuters |
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Modest finish by Bhullar
Yangon, February 5 Bhullar carded an even par 72 and Sandhu signed for 74. Bhullar had three birdies and three bogeys, the last of which came on the 18th, while Sandhu had just one birdie and three bogeys, two of them on last three holes for a 74. Kieran Pratt of Australia birdied the second play-off hole to win his first Asian Tour title. Pratt, Adam Blyth of Australia and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand were tied on 15-under-par 273 in regulation play which forced a three-way play-off at the $300,000 Asian Tour event. — PTI |
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Chowrasia impressive on last day
Doha, February 5 But he birdied the tenth and then had birdies on 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th for a 70 and he was two-under for the week. "I felt very good through the week. It was great to score the way I did with four birdies on the back nine," said Chowrasia, who defends his Avantha Masters title in two weeks time. — PTI |
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Squash: Dipika wins but India lose Chennai, February 5 Dipika, who was the toast of the evening and was cheered by a 8,000 strong holiday crowd, stood out with her superlative performance to beat Nour El Sherbini 7-11, 11-4, 8-11, 14-12, 11-5. After Ravi had lost his encounter to highly seeded world junior champion Marwan Hossam El Shorbagy (ranked 41), Dipika started off slowly but came back strong to win the contest.
She lost the first set at 7-11 but the never say die attitude of Dipika helped her to stay put in the game. — PTI Dipika Pallikal in action at the World Squash Federation U-21 World Cup in Chennai on Sunday. — PTI
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United hold Chelsea 3-3 London, February 5 Two penalties from Wayne Rooney and a header by Javier Hernandez kept the champions in touch with leaders Manchester City after Chelsea had built a 3-0 lead after 51 minutes through an own goal by Jonny Evans, a scorching left-foot volley from Juan Mata and a David Luiz header. Chelsea, without John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, stayed in fourth place. — Reuters
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A lackluster India opened their cricket tri-series campaign on a disappointing note as they slumped to a 65-run defeat against Australia, who yet again exposed the batting chinks of the visitors in a rain-truncated encounter, here today.
Dubai, February 5
New Delhi, February 5
Although it is never good to draw conclusions form one or two games, it does appear that India will have their task cut out to defend the tri-series crown that they won on the last tour of Australia.
Melbourne: Virender Shewag's omission came as a surprise to many but India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated that it was a team decision to rest the opener for the first
one-dayer against Australia.
Ravi Dixit lost to Marwan Hossam El Shorbagy 4-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 and Ramit Tandon was beaten by Karim Samy Abdel Gawad 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8 as Dipika's hard work went in vain.