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Sehwag out, Kohli is deputy
Sehwag, Zaheer Khan rested, not dropped: Srikkanth
Jeev boost for Louis Philippe Cup
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Chikka stays ahead, Joshi narrows gap
Morkel stars as Proteas flay Kiwis
England offers hope for Indian hockey
Pursuit of Jack weighed heavy on Tiger
Parker to lead England
NBA: Bulls hold off swarming Hornets
Hope to cement my place in the national team: Dinda
Novak Djokovic moves closer to Murray rematch
Daredevils get Ross Taylor
World Series Hockey
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Sehwag out, Kohli is deputy
Mumbai, February 29 While the selectors insisted that Sehwag and Zaheer were 'rested' on fitness grounds, along with paceman Umesh Yadav, Sachin Tendulkar will get another opportunity to score his 100th international century as he was retained in the squad which will have a new vice-captain in Virat Kohli. The national selectors, however, did not make wholesale changes in the squad that performed miserably in the ongoing triangular series and preceding Test series in Australia by retaining many of the players, like Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina, who struggled throughout the tour. Barring the inclusion of 29-year-old Baroda all-rounder Yusuf and Bengal paceman Dinda, 27, there were no major changes in the squad to be captained by MS Dhoni. The squad was announced by BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale after a meeting of the selection committee which lasted more than two hours. Yusuf, who scored a century against Saurashtra with the help of 10 sixes and six fours in a Vijay Hazare match, and Dinda, who had an impressive performance in the domestic circuit, were rewarded with a place in the squad. Sehwag, who has been going through a prolonged form slump having scored 65 runs from five innings in the tri-series for an average of just 13, was expected to be dropped, but chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth said he was "rested" because of injury. "Physiotherapists have advised that both Zaheer and Sehwag need to take rest as they have some injuries. It is an honest truth, the fact of the matter," Srikkanth told reporters after announcing the squad. "Medical reports came to the Board from the team physiotherapist. The report said they needed rest for injury problem and accordingly after consulting with the board and the management in Australia we announced this team," said Srikkanth. "This is the best team possible considering the fitness of the players and also taking into account the response of the physiotherapist and Board," he added. Srikkanth, however, did not specify what injury Sehwag was carrying. On naming Kohli as the vice-captain, Srikkanth explained, "We slightly have started to look towards the future and named Kohli as the vice-captain. The board feels Kohli can be a future captain and it is important to groom him. The selectors opted to retain Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja despite being failures in the tour of Australia. The 38-year-old Tendulkar's inclusion also came as a surprise as there had been speculation that he would be rested following a long tour of Australia. Though he was in a reasonably good form in the Test series, his performance in the tri-series dipped as he managed just 143 runs from seven matches for an average of 20.42. The team will have six specialist batsmen in Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Raina, Rohit and Manoj Tiwary while Dhoni will be the only wicketkeeper-batsman. In the absence of Zaheer, India will have a relatively inexperienced attack with Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Dinda sharing the pace bowling load. Tamil Nadu's R Ashwin and Punjab spinner Rahul Sharma were the two specialist slow bowlers. Yusuf and Jadeja will play the role of all-rounders. Indian squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virat Kohli (vice-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda. — PTI
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Sehwag, Zaheer Khan rested, not dropped: Srikkanth
Mumbai, February 29 "Physiotherapist have advised that both Zaheer and Sehwag need to take rest as they have some injuries. It is an honest truth, the fact of the matter. I can assure you nobody has been dropped," Srikkanth told reports after announcing the 15-member squad for the Asia Cup. "Medical reports came to the board from the team physiotherapist, the report said they needed rest for injury problem and accordingly after consultation with the board and the team management in Australia, we announced this team. "This is the best team possible considering the fitness of the players and also taking into account the response of the physiotherapist and board," he added. Speculations were rife that the Sehwag and Zaheer were dropped because of their dismal show in Australia. In the five ODIs that he played, Sehwag could manage just 65 runs at an average of 13, while Zaheer took five wickets in the four matches that he featured in. However, Srikkanth said he doesn't want to get into speculations. "I don't want to talk about speculations. Time to time physiotherapists keep taking these fitness tests and we have gone completely by their reports and the board," he said. "There is no point asking the same questions in different way, because my answer will remain the same," a visibly irritated Srikkanth said. — PTI
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Jeev boost for Louis Philippe Cup
Chandigarh, February 29 All other top professional players from the country had already confirmed their participation in this unique city-based golf tournament and only Jeev’s name had been missing. But now with Jeev also taking part in this championship, it brings further glamour to the event. Jeev will play for Team Noida, which has now become the tenth team to feature in this event. Besides Noida, the other city teams in the fray will be Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkota, Lucknow, Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh. The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Louis Philippe and RNGM have come together to conceive the Louis Philippe Cup. The revolutionary concept features 10 city based teams that will fight for the total prize money of Rs. 1.24 crore - the biggest purse on the Indian tour at the Karnataka Golf Association Club. The unique format will see 30 top professionals representing the 10 teams, besides an equal number of amateurs as well. The aim of the Louis Philippe Cup is to create a city based fan following and encourage more people to play the game. Speaking about their association with golf, Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe said, “Pioneering an innovative format in professional golf, we plan to position Louis Philippe Cup as the No. 1 golf tournament in the country.” Gaurav Ghei, a veteran of 20 years on the Indian and other international tours said, “As professional tour players we don’t get many opportunities to play team formats and it does add an entirely new and exciting dimension to the game.” Rishi Narain, the 1982 Delhi Asian Games team gold medallist and founder of Rishi Narain Golf Management, has been the moving force for developing the concept from the drawing board stage to the implementation of the event.
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Chikka stays ahead, Joshi narrows gap
Chandigarh, February 29 A two-time All India Amateur winner Chikka now leads the field with a total of 141 and Joshi is at 142. Also moving up the leaderboard and getting into contention in the season’s first event was Delhi lad Honey Baisoya, who shot 70 and is now third at 143. Ashbeer Saini (74), Arshad Ali (72) and Manpreet Mann (71) were tied for fourth at 147. Also making amends for his first round 78 was Gagan Verma, all India finalist this year, with a round of 70 that brought him to 148 and tied seventh and Manav Das, Bangladesh Open winner, was tied 10th at 149 with Trishul Chinappa (74) and Jasjeet Singh (78). Jasjeet was lying second after first round. Chikka looked like extending his lead as he opened with a birdie on first, but bogeys on third, fourth and seventh meant he was two-over at the turn. He had one birdie and one bogey on the back nine for a 73. Joshi had a double bogey on par-3 third and a birdie on seventh as he went out in one-over. But he was in great form on back nine where he had three birdies between 13th and 16th to finish at 70.
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Morkel stars as Proteas flay Kiwis
Napier, February 29 The victory at McLean Park in Napier hands the tourists an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODIs, and after taking the earlier Twenty20 series 2-1 they hold a commanding psychological advantage over New Zealand ahead of the looming Tests. New Zealand were sent into bat and at 131 for one were heading for a competitive 300-plus total before a spectacular collapse saw them all out for 230 in the 48th over. Morkel, who had none for 33 off his first seven overs, produced a devastating late spell, taking five wickets for five runs in 15 balls to wrap up the innings with a man-of-the-match performance. He twice found himself on the verge of claiming a hat-trick as New Zealand squandered a strong start on a wicket tailer-made for batting. South Africa's batsmen made the best of the favourable conditions, quickly scoring at better than six an over as they cruised to 231 for four in the 39th over. Captain AB de Villiers warned New Zealand there would be no let up in the final ODI in Auckland on Saturday as he looked for a clean sweep. "We wouldn't like to lose one. We did in the previous series against Sri Lanka going up 3-0 and winning the series 3-2 so it's a big anti climax to do it like that," he said. "We would like to do 3-0 (against New Zealand). It would be great so lots to gain in the last game." His New Zealand counterpart Brendon McCullum, cut a dejected figure after his side's failure to again to cash in on a strong start. — AFP
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England offers hope for Indian hockey
Chandigarh, February 29
British, credited for introducing hockey in India in the late 19th century, had skipped the 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1936 (Berlin) Olympic games for they did not want to compete against their then colony, unpartitioned India. And the 1948 London edition not only brought the two teams face to face but also saw an independent India romping home with a 4-0 win for its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal. The first three gold medal triumps were by teams of unparitioned India. Intriguingly in 2008, Great Britain, the masters of hockey, demolished India in the Olympic Qualifier in Chile to keep it out of Beijing games. Hockey has always remained a binding force between India and Great Britain as not only a number of clubs but also the Great Britain and England teams have had a fairly good representation of players of Indian origin. Sutinder Kehar, for example, had the rare honour of leading England in his farewell World Cup game. Otherwise, looking back nostalgically, England has generally been a happy hunting ground for Indian hockey teams, both men and women. The only bitter exception had been the 1986 World Cup in Willesden where India ended with a wooden spoon losing 2-3 (after extra time) to Pakistan in the game to decide 11th and 12th positions. By winning the Delhi tournament, India has become the 10th of 12 teams that will play in the summer Olympic Games later this year. Winners of the remaining two qualifier tournaments in Dublin(Ireland) and Kakamigahana (Japan) will join the hosts Great Britain, Pakistan, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and India in the men’s event. Interestingly, before the Kakamigahana qualifier ends, India would have played Great Britain, Germany and Australia in a four-nation tournament at Riverbank Arean, the official venue, to test the facilities there. For the first time, hockey will be played on blue surface. Though pools and match schedule would be announced only after completion of qualification process, Indo-British community appears to be greatly enthused by India featuring in the four-nation pre-Olympic tournament. Statistically, India would be competing against much higer ranked teams in the pre-Olympic event. Going by the cuirrent rankings, India is at number 10 while Australia, the defending World Cup champions head the list followed by other two super powers of hockey - Germany (defending champions) and the Netherlands. England (not Great Britain) is ranked fourth followed by Spain, Korea (yet to qualify for London Olympic Games), New Zraland, Pakistan and Argentina.
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Pursuit of Jack weighed heavy on Tiger
los angeles, February 29 Writing in "The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods", Haney says Woods' pursuit of Nicklaus was taking its toll and that the former world number one also toyed with the idea of leaving it all behind and joining the US military. Woods, who tees it up this week at the PGA Tour's Honda Classic starting Thursday, now has 14 majors while Nicklaus has 18. "There was more urgency and less fun. He never mentioned Nicklaus' record, but it started to weigh more heavily at every major," Haney wrote. "And Tiger's actions indicated he believed he had less time to do it than everyone thought." Excerpts of the book, which is written with writer Jaime Diaz, were released on Tuesday by Golf Digest magazine. Haney also wrote that Woods lacked confidence in certain aspects of his game. "One of the adjectives most often used to describe Tiger Woods was fearless. But the more I observed him close up, the more it became clear he wasn't," the excerpt said. "Sometimes, to make it less of a big deal, he'd remind me that he had never considered himself a particularly good driver, at least in comparison with the rest of his game. 'That's why my name is Woods,' he'd joke. 'Maybe it would have been different if I'd been named Fairway.'" Haney also wrote Woods wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and join the American military and was especially attracted to the Navy SEALs.. — AFP
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London, February 29 Interim England coach Stuart Pearce was due to tell his players at 1000 GMT who would lead the team, although he didn't want the official announcement to be publicised until an hour before kick-off. But Sky Sports News and the BBC reported that Parker had been chosen ahead of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who was thought to be in line.The FA have so far refused to confirm the reports, but if confirmed it will continue a remarkable transformation for Parker. When he was cut from then manager Fabio Capello's provisional 2010 World Cup squad without playing in either of the two warm-up matches, his international career appeared to be over. However, when Parker was handed an unexpected chance in Denmark last February, it began a series of performances that led to him being crowned England's 2011 player of the year. —AFP
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NBA: Bulls hold off swarming Hornets
Chicago, February 29 Chicago also welcomed Richard Hamilton back to the lineup and had their season-opening starting five on court for the first time since January 4. We have to knock some of the rust off," said Rose, who had appeared closer to top form in his two games back from injury before Sunday's All Star game. Rose showed no signs of rust in his best performance in nearly a month, allowing Chicago (28-8) to tie idle Miami at the top of the Eastern Conference. The win did not come easily, however, as New Orleans (8-26) erased a nine-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter and blitzed Chicago with a 13-0 run to grab a 95-91 lead with 1:25 to go before Rose took over. The reigning league MVP cut the lead with two free throws, and later added a go-ahead jump shot with 19 seconds remaining before making another pair of free throws to cap the scoring. Joakim Noah aided the home effort with 15 points, 16 rebounds and five assists. "You have to find different ways to win," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. Chris Kaman recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds while Trevor Ariza added 16 points for the Hornets who are last in the Western Conference but are playing better as of late. New Orleans are 4-3 over their last seven games following a horrendous start to the season. —Reuters
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Hope to cement my place in the national team: Dinda
Kolkata, February 29 Having being in and out of the Indian team with five one-dayers and three T20 Internationals under his belt, Dinda said though it was great to be back, he has a long way to go. "It feels great to be back... but it does not end here. I hope to get an opportunity (in the playing XI) and cement a place with a good show," said Dinda on the sidelines of Bengal-Assam match of the East Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Eden Gardens. After being ignored for the Australia tour, Dinda worked hard to bag 59 first-class wickets, including a career best 8 for 123 in East Zone's triumphant Duleep Trophy campaign. The 27-year-old emerged as the season's highest wicket-taker for Bengal. "Yes, it's my best season... but there was no short cut to success. A lot of hard work was involved. For a long time, I would bowl alone, aiming at a single stump to hone my line and length. It has worked," said Dinda. "The credit goes to everybody. My friends, well-wishers, present and past Bengal coaches with whom I've shared the Bengal dressing room," he added. Dinda had last played for India in the last edition of the Asia Cup. The tournament was held in Sri Lanka two years back. Dinda, who has been signed up by Pune Warriors India for the upcoming IPL 5, said the condition in Bangladesh was a lot similar to that of Kolkata so adjusting there would not be an issue. "Weather-wise, it's very much similar to here. Besides, I had been there for a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The pitch and ground conditions are known to me," revealed Dinda, an admirer of New Zealand's Shane Bond and Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan. The fast bowler, who came to Kolkata with his uncle in 1998 as his first coach Atal Dey Burman spotted talent in him, said he would be prepared mentally to face the challenges in Asia Cup, starting on March 11. "One has to prepare mentally. You have to be mentally strong for the challenges at this level," Dinda insisted. — PTI
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Novak Djokovic moves closer to Murray rematch
Dubai, February 29 Djokovic beat Sergei Stakhovsky, the dangerously hard-hitting world number 74 from Ukraine, by 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, but was break point down in the eighth game of the first set and a break of serve down early in the second set. Another win could give Djokovic another semi-final with Murray, whom he overcame in a five-hour classic at the same stage of last month's Australian Open inn Melbourne. The hot, fast conditions suited Stakhovsky perfectly and Djokovic was sometimes forced to cover large areas of court and to show great resilience in containment and defence. He also served well, serving his way out of trouble in the first set, and closing out the second set without hint of inhibition, finishing with an ace. "There are not many serve-volley players in the game now and Stakhovsky can attack from the baseline and the net. It was very close," Djokovic said. "I was fortunate I got breaks when I needed them. As I get more matches I will get more rhythm." He next plays his friend Janko Tipsarevic, a fellow Serbian Davis Cup player, who overcame Flavio Cipolla of Italy, 6-7 (7/2), 6-1, 6-1. "It's great to have us both in the quarterfinals," Djokovic said.—AFP
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New Delhi: New Zealand captain Ross Taylor will move from Rajasthan Royals to Delhi Daredevils for the fifth edition of Indian Premier League. Taylor represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first three seasons of the IPL, before being acquired by Rajasthan Royals in the 2011 Player Auction. Delhi Daredevils Team Mentor TA Sekar said he was delighted with the latest acquisition. — PTI
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World Series Hockey
Chandigarh, February 29 And it was the Bhopal Badshahs who wrapped up the first win by beating Chandigarh Comets 4-3 in a see-saw of a contest. The match started with the Badshahs striking in the 4th minute itself as Laxman Baskaran scored off a penalty corner (1-0). The first quarter then witnessed a rather cagey affair, with neither team being dominant. But the Comets hit back in the 3rd minute of the second quarter as Gurjinder drilled in a low shot from a penalty corner, which despite brushing off the keeper, went in to restore parity. From there on, the action picked up, and went on till the last minute. Chandigarh then took the lead in the 10th minute of the second quarter, when Jasjit struck off another penalty corner, and made it 2-1 to the home team. But both teams were not done and after playing out rather timid second quarter, they picked up their game subsequently. The last quarter saw a lot of activity, with end results as well as the goals flew in thick and fast. Gayle struck in the 4th minute to make it 2-2, only for Gurjinder to get back the lead for Comets a minute later. It was looking like the teams were heading for a draw, but first Yousuf Affan in the 5th minute and then Laxman Bhaskaran in the 8th, scored the equaliser and the winner, to wrap up all three points for the Badshahs.
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Stalwarts Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan were on Wednesday 'rested' while Yusuf Pathan and Ashok Dinda staged a comeback.
Napier, February 29
Tiger Woods began to lose some of his swagger back in 2007 as he chased Jack
Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 majors, former swing coach Hank Haney wrote in his new book.
Writing in "The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods", Haney says Woods' pursuit of Nicklaus was taking its toll and that the former world number one also toyed with the idea of leaving it all behind and joining the US military.
Return of India to Olympic fold after missing the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has not only warmed cockles of hearts of the overseas Indian community globally in general and of the Great Britain in particular but also revived fond memories of the the gold medal match that the two nations played against each other in their first ever Olympic encounter. 