Chandigarh, February 13
On this highly forgettable tour Down Under, the Indian team management has got so many decisions wrong that is almost impossible to recount all of them with any degree of accuracy.

The itinerary was poorly planned, the tactics were strangely defensive, too much of a long rope was given to senior players and all that sort of thing. The list of things that didn’t go right can go on and on.

But now, for once, the Indian team management (or the Think Tank, so to speak) got it absolutely bang on and they need to be lauded and not condemned.

Resting Sachin Tendulkar for the game against the Aussies on Sunday in Adelaide was the right decision. It was a decision which spoke about progress.

With young players coming into the side, the fielding looks electric. So much so, that India’s fielding in the game on Sunday was way better than that of the Australian side. Gambhir came into the side in place of the rested Tendulkar and grabbed the man-of-the-match award with a polished knock of 92.

Before that match most experts were saying that resting Tendulkar (as part of a rotation policy) for this crucial game against Australia will hurt India no end. That surely didn’t happen.

Even the Australian side left out the aging Michael Hussey and he said after the game that he wanted to play every match but understood the larger picture for Australian Cricket, a picture in which he does not figure in the plans for the future, a picture which has young players like Peter Forrest and Dan Christian in the forefront.

A similarly larger picture for Indian Cricket also suggests that Kohli, Jadeja, Raina, Ashwin, Rohit Sharma should figure prominently in that one. And if that means resting Tendulkar for some games as part of a rotation policy, so be it.

Some experts are also of the opinion that there is no point in feeling bad for the humiliating Test defeats that India suffered in England and Australia recently because all teams are playing badly abroad and are only doing well at home.

Now this certainly is a novel theory in which we are supposed to find solace and happiness in the defeat of other teams and are also supposed to gloss over the debacles of the Indian team.

The fact remains that the Australian team has come to India and achieved victory in a Test series on four occasions in the past. India have never won a Test series in Australia. And India have never won a Test series in South Africa.

By resting Tendulkar on Sunday (although it was just a one-day game) and then going on to win in style, the Indian team management showed that it is willing to take some hard decisions (even if this is just the beginning). And rather than being roundly criticised for taking this bold step, they should be complimented. Such decisions have to be taken for the sake of progress.

Sydney, February 13
Australia captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of Friday's triangular series match against Sri Lanka in Sydney with a right hamstring injury, Cricket Australia said on Monday.

The selectors will name the Australian squad for the next bunch of matches in the series on Tuesday where they will also have to choose a replacement captain for Friday's fixture.

"Michael Clarke sustained a low grade right hamstring strain in the ODI versus India in Adelaide on Sunday," Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a statement. "He had scans today (Monday) that confirmed the low grade nature of the injury.

"He will not recover in time to play in Australia's next... game on Friday in Sydney against Sri Lanka but I will assess him later this week and decide on his availability for the game in Brisbane on Sunday 19 February against India."

Clarke broke the news of his injury first on Twitter. "Nice to back in Sydney... Having a scan this afternoon so will keep you all informed... Feeling very positive. Thanks for the concern," Clarke tweeted earlier on Monday. After getting his scan reports, Clarke was happy that the injury was a minor one and said he hoped to be back for Australia's match against India. — Reuters

New Delhi, February 13
Sahara India, sponsors of the Indian cricket team, accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of flouting the agreement they arrived at their discussion with the Board yesterday, as instead of issuing a joint statement either today or tomorrow, after the BCCI Working Committee meeting, as had been agreed upon, the Board disclosed the gist of the meeting to the press yesterday itself.

Sahara, clarifying its position here today, said the senior management of Sahara, led by chairman Subrata Roy Sahara and the BCCI, represented by its president N. Srinivasan, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, Ajay Shirke and IPL CEO Sundar Raman, met in Mumbai on February 12 to discuss the issues that had been raised by Sahara when it announced its pull out from all forms of cricket in India on the morning of February 4. Sahara said Srinivasan tried to explain the limitations from the perspective of framework of rules with respect to the issues raised by Sahara, and asked Sundar to explain the issues with a perspective of the rules.

But Subrata Roy requested the BCCI officials not to elaborate on the rules by saying that any disagreement in sports should be taken in perfect sporting spirit and should be resolved accordingly. He further requested the BCCI president and his team that there was no point in quoting the rule book and debating it word by word as they were BCCI’s own rules and not some constitutional rules of the country.

Roy also put forward the point that Sahara had already announced and committed itself to Rs 1000 crore worth Sports & Social Development Programmes and it was not possible for Sahara to go back on its commitment.

Roy said Sahara was open to discussions so that a positive and harmonious balance could be created between the committed Sports & Social Development programmes and cricket, and deliberated on the following issues:

The issue of players’ was discussed so as to ensure a level playing field in the IPL. To ensure that, Sahara emphasized the need for an open Auction in 2013.Till then, since there is no same level Indian player left who can match up to the level of Yuvraj Singh, Sahara pleaded that it should be allowed one extra overseas player in the playing XI, it felt that even this was not enough to compensate for the loss of somebody of Yuvraj’s calibre. Subrata Roy also put across very firmly that if all teams are balanced, the tournament and all the matches will be very competitive and that viewers will enjoy the competition, else the IPL will lose its charm “and this is the precise reason why Sahara had insisted on an open auction last year after the induction of two new teams (Pune Warriors and Kochin Tuskers)”.

Roy elaborated that considering the reduced number of matches that actually took place against the earlier representation of BCCI before tendering for the new franchise, “we have ended up bidding 27% extra if we go by the revenues that we would have accrued from media rights, gate receipts, sponsorship revenue etc. There has to be a reduction in the Franchise Fee as per the above”.

He also discussed the possibility of Sahara seeking strategic partners for its franchise, though this is already factored in the contract for every team.

Abu Dhabi, February 13
Skipper Alastair Cook hit a career-best hundred to lift England to 260-7 in the first day-night international against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi Stadium on Monday.

The 27-year-old left-hander made 137 for his third one-day hundred and added an invaluable 131 for the third wicket with Ravi Bopara (50) to help England recover from two successive wickets after they won the toss and batted.

Cook, whose previous best of 119 came against Sri Lanka at Lord's last year, hit 14 boundaries during a fluent 142-ball innings and shaped well against Pakistan's spin-dominated attack which routed England 3-0 in the preceding three-Test series.

Given out leg-before off Mohammad Hafeez when 30, Cook successfully reviewed Australian umpire Simon Taufel's decision and carried the batting until the 47th over when he was finally bowled by Saeed Ajmal who finished with a career-best 5-43.

England's ploy to open with Kevin Pietersen, who managed just 67 runs in the Tests, worked well as Cook and his new partner put 57 by the 13th over as Pakistan opened the bowling with paceman Umar Gul and Hafeez.

Pietersen though managed 14 before he became one of two Shahid Afridi victims, bowled through the gate off a googly by the leg-spinner. Next ball Afridi dismissed Jonathan Trott with a sharp turner. — AFP

Libreville, February 13
Zambia conjured up a shock when they toppled star-studded Ivory Coast 8-7 in a penalty shoot-out to claim their first ever African Cup of Nations title on Sunday.

With the sides goalless after extra time Zambia's Stoppila Sunzu converted the magic spot kick after Arsenal striker Gervinho missed for the Elephants.

The result meant misery for hot favourites Ivory Coast, who failed to claim the title despite not conceding a goal throughout the entire competition until Sunday's shootout.

It also revived memories for Didier Drogba, who missed a penalty in the second half of normal time, and company of their 2006 penalty shoot out final defeat to Egypt in Cairo.

Zambia, motivated by the memory of the 1993 national team wiped out in a plane crash off the Libreville coast, went into the 2012 climax as outsiders.

But they covered themselves with glory, hassling and harrowing their star-studded rivals all the way to the penalty shoot-out, and then holding their nerve to prevail in the dramatic, barely watchable denouement.

Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui fielded the same side that saw off Mali 1-0 in the semifinal. His Zambian counterpart, Herve Renard, recalled striker Emmanuel Mayuka, after his starring role in getting the decisive goal in the 1-0 last four defeat over Ghana.

He joined captain Christopher Katongo in spearheading the Chipolopolo's (Copper Bullets) attack.

Russian-based midfielder Chisamba Lungu came in for Francis Kasonde.

A minute of silence was observed before kick-off in memory of the 74 people killed in the Port Said stadium slaughter in Egypt.

The game was only seconds old when Zambia almost took a shock lead, with keeper Boubacar Barry doing well to save Nathan Sinkala's close range shot off Katongo's quick pass from a Rainford Kalaba corner.

Renard was forced into an unscripted change when defender Joseph Musonda limped off in tears on 11 minutes - Nyambe Mulenga took his place.

A shaky start by Ivory Coast gave Zambia hope of an upset and Kalaba's 30m freekick wasn't far away after taking a deflection off Cheik Tiote's leg. The Elephants put together their best passage of play approaching the half hour mark, a neat Drogba backheel setting up Yaya Toure only for the Manchester City midfielder's angled shot to go wide of the far post.

A hugely promising first half from Zambia had the Elephants' defence, marshalled by Kolo Toure, under more pressure than they would have wanted, with Katongo leading from
the front. Zahoui, resembling a New York cop with black trenchcoat and baseball cap, walked into the dressing rooms at half-time with a face like thunder.

The second half began with a deathly hush descending on the stadium - the final in desperate need of the kiss of life in the guise of a goal.

And on 72 minutes one should have come after Ivory Coast were awarded a penalty when Issac Chansa and Mulenga barged into Gervinho.

Drogba stepped up but his woeful attempt went soaring into the night sky, even though he appeared to divert blame to the pitch, glaring at the spot. — AFP 

Pebble Beach, February 13
Phil Mickelson won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for the fourth time on Sunday, denying playing partner Tiger Woods in his bid for a first official PGA Tour victory in over two years.

The 41-year-old American fired a final round eight-under par 64 for a 17-under total of 269, winning by two strokes and ending the hopes of Woods, who closed with a three-over 75.

"It feels amazing," said Mickelson, who rallied from a six-shot deficit in the final round. “Hopefully this is one of a few I will win this year because I am starting to feel pretty good."

Third round leader Charlie Wi of South Korea was second after shooting a even-par 72 to finish on 271.

Mickelson outfought Woods by getting off to a quick start with a superb opening stretch of one eagle and three birdies in his first six holes and then saving par twice by sinking two long putts on the back nine.

Mickelson, who got off to a rocky start this season, picked up $1.15 million in first-place prize money in posting his 40th career PGA triumph and first victory since the Houston Open 10 months ago.

"This gives me a lot of confidence and erases the doubt," Mickelson said. It was the 30th time the two US golfing giants have gone head-to-head, with Mickelson 5-0 against Woods in their last five meetings in a final round. Overall they are an even 13-13-4 in head-to-head contests.

"Before I won five I got spanked pretty good," Mickelson said. Mickelson entered the day six shots off the lead, but because of his blazing start he was able to make that up quickly in the first six holes. He began his round with a birdie on the par-5 second and then parred the third hole.

"It is frustrating," Woods said. "I had a chance. All I needed was to get off to a good start today and I didn't do that." — AFP 

New Delhi, February 13
Led by ace shuttler P Kashyap, the Indian men's team made a winning start to its campaign as it defeated Singapore 3-2 in the first match of the Thomas Cup Asia Zone preliminaries at Macau today.

World number 29 Kashyap started the proceedings for India as he sent packing Zi Liang Derek Wong 21-16 21-19 in a match that lasted for 40 minutes. Experienced doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas then crushed Zhao Jiang Terry Yeo and Liu Yi 21-8 21-15 in a 29-minute match to give India a 2-0 lead.

Rising shuttler and national champion Sourabh Varma then took the court but the Indian could not get past Yong Zhao Ashton Chen as his gallant fight, lasting 48 minutes, ended with a 20-22 16-21 defeat. However, Akshay Dewalkar and Pranav Chopra ensured that there was no more hiccup and joined hands to beat Chayut Triyachart and H C Jeffrey Wong 21-19 21-16 in just 26 minutes to take India to 3-1. — PTI

New Delhi, February 13
Mahindra Racing successfully completed the first official test of its new 2012 Moto3 race bike, the Mahindra MGP30, at Valencia last week. The 250cc four-stroke machine will contest MotoGP’s new Moto3 World Championship, commencing in Qatar on 8 April.

The three-day test, at Spain’s Ricardo Tormo circuit just outside Valencia, gave riders Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter a chance to evaluate the performance of the brand new Mahindra against its rivals in the exciting new class.

No official times were available from a chilly Valencia where more than 30 Moto3 riders representing six different manufacturers took to the track along with a similar number of Moto2 entries.

However, Mahindra Racing timed Webb with a best lap of 1’43.2 from a total of 98 completed over the three days, placing him well up the unofficial order. The 20-year-old British rider was in buoyant mood at the test’s conclusion. 

Patiala, February 13
Final selection trials of boxers for the last Olympic qualifiers are no less than ‘Olympics’ for the boxers who are yet to qualify for the mega event. Whether they will be able to make it to the Olympics during the qualifiers is as of now secondary because with all players in their peak form, making it to the Indian squad who will take part in these qualifiers is a bigger challenge for them.

Interestingly, none of the five pugilists- Jitender, Akhil, AL Lakra, Vijender Singh and Dinesh Kumar who represented India in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, have yet qualified for the London Games and all four players who have made it to the Olympics - L. Devendro Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishan are comparatively fresh in the international arena. Therefore, these trials will be very crucial and surely witness some power- packed performances.

It will be a fight between experience of senior players and conviction of the youngsters. While the Olympians will compete to live upto their reputation and keep their chances of competing in London Olympics alive, it will be a do or die situation for the younger brigade to establish themselves at international arena.

Talking to The Tribune in this regard, Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh said his main focus right now was the selection trials. "Despite the fact that we are aware of the fighting style of our fellow players, we cannot take anything for granted because every player is constantly learning new techniques to surprise other players. Apart from taking the help of coaches, we are also reading text about latest techniques and searching internet which will help us in developing a unique move that will help us in emerging victorious," added Vijender.

“None of the boxers at this stage can be rated less. If we have experience at our side, youngsters are laced with energy that they would be banking upon. Our main focus as of now is not only polishing our skills but chalking out a counter strategy that will help us outclass out teammates during the trails,” added Akhil and Jitender.

With all boxers in their best form, coaches too feel that it will be very tough call as to who will be a part of the Indian squad and hence get a chance to fulfill his 'London Dreams'. Talking to The Tribune in this regard, chief coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu said it will be a do or die situation for every boxer. "They will have to put everything on stake to be a part of Indian squad. We can expect a surprise in any weight category but all I can assure is that the trials will be a delight for boxing lovers.

Though the competition in all weight categories is very tough, the following weight categories will be very crucial. Commonwealth Games gold medalist Suronjoy Singh, international player Sunil Kumar and current national champion Madan Lal will rub shoulders in 52 kg; Olympian Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, Shiv Thapa and Chhote Lal will compete in 56 kg.