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Botha admits match hung in balance
Impossible to reach Sachin’s landmark: Gilchrist
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Tendulkar joins MI camp after toe check-up
Cycling team qualify for World Championship
Ashok takes one-shot lead
Daredevils’ branded coins launched
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Botha admits match hung in balance
Johannesburg, March 31 South Africa won the by 11 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method here last night. Chasing 220 to win, openers Gautam Gambhir (49) and Robin Uthappa (18) gave India a blistering start, putting on 71 in just 7.5 overs when heavens opened up. "It was evenly poised. Gauti and Robin started well but our guys also batted well on an excellent strip and I think going the way they did and getting 220 was excellent," Botha said after the match. "They were batting well, they played a few shots and it was going their way but still there was scoring around nine runs per over and we thought if we can string a few overs at eight or seven runs, I mean it is still plenty to get in 10 overs, we were still feeling comfortable," he added. Botha praised Colin Ingram (78) and Jacques Kallis for giving South Africa a good total to defend. "The whole motive of the match was to relax and play as you see it. It showed what we can do if we just go out and watch the ball," he said. "Colin played within himself and definitely did a great job. I knew he can do it and I am glad he could it on international stage. There are few young guys who came in and put their hands up," Botha said. "It was nice for Kallis and Colin to give us a good platform. A 100-run partnership is good in any format but in Twenty20 it is better. They provided a good base for us to launch the total," he added. The fifth edition of the Indian Premier League will get underway from April 4 and Botha said he and his teammates are looking forward to perform for their respective franchises in the two-month long tournament in India. "We are looking forward to the IPL. A lot of my team mates would be my opposition, it is great to be part of the tournament and we are really looking forward to it," he said. SA to release Botha from contract
South Africa's ODI and T20 skipper Johan Botha would be released from national contract after September's World Twenty20 Championship, allowing him to take over as South Australia captain over the next couple of seasons but the off-spinner would remain committed to the Proteas in the long run.
— PTI |
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Impossible to reach Sachin’s landmark: Gilchrist
Kolkata, March 31 Giving example of Ricky Ponting, who has recently retired from the ODI format, Gilchrist said 29 centuries separate Tendulkar from his former skipper. "That speaks about Tendulkar's greatness — the gap between him and the rest. He is way ahead. I really doubt that anybody would ever break this record," Gilchirst told PTI, in an interview from Mohali. "If you look at the records, Ponting is the world's best batsmen next to Tendulkar. But his combined tally (of Test and one-day centuries) is 71 (41-30)," he said. Tendulkar's critics could argue that he has played more matches against countries like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, he said adding but even 10 centuries were added to Ponting's, he would still be 19 centuries away. "Tendulkar's record is truly unique, remarkable. He is playing with the same intensity for last 22 years... That shows how big a player Tendulkar is," he said. Gilchrist, who was part of an invincible side that dominated world cricket winning a hat-trick of World Cups from 1999-2007, said Indians need to be patient in the coming days. "Rahul Dravid has just retired... Now only VVS Laxman and Tendulkar are playing. It would be huge boots to fill when Tendulkar goes away. We faced a similar phase. But the fans need to patient," he said. Gilchrist feels that India have cricketing talent in abundance but the supporters need to be patient. "Undoubtedly, there is no dearth of talent in India. In fact, it's just the opposite. The fans just need to be patient with the youngsters like Virat Kohli," he said. With his recent exploits, Kohli proved that he was ready to step up and, the Australian said,"To me, he is one of the best players in the world cricket at the moment." Asked if Kohli could fill in the No 3 slot left void by Dravid, Gilchrist said: "He is an upcoming player. I don't know his preference. And, I also don't want to form an opinion about him. He has showed that he is very confident against the new ball. He is surely a great player in the making." The Kings XI coach-cum-captain in the upcoming IPL, Gilchrist disagreed that too much cricket and Twenty20 was the reason for India's routs in the recent overseas series in England and Australia. India were ill-prepared for the Australia tour against a very professional attack that put pressure on the batsmen, he said. — PTI
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Tendulkar joins MI camp after toe check-up
Mumbai, March 31 Tendulkar, who achieved the unprecedented landmark of scoring 100 international hundreds, during the Asia Cup, will be spearheading MI's bid to clinch the crown for the first time in the cash-rich T20 event, commencing on April 4. MI's campaign opener is scheduled against last year's winners Chennai Super Kings, to be led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The preparatory camp is set to conclude today. The MI squad and the support staff - including mentor cum bowling coach Shaun Pollock, advisor cum fielding coach Jonty Rhodes, head coach Robin Singh, assistant coach Paras Mhambrey and spin bowling coach Maninder Singh - are set to leave for Chennai tomorrow. — PTI
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Raina lone Indian to feature in top-10 of T20 rankings
Dubai, March 31 Raina is placed seventh in the list of top 10 batsmen with 734 points after dropping a place in the recently released charts. England's Kevin Pitersen is leading the batsmen list with 850 points, followed by Martin Guptill (791) of New Zealand and another Englishman Eoin Morgan (788). India's left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir, who was in sparkling form against South Africa yesterday before rain ended the match with India stranded on 71-0 in 7.5 overs while chasing 220, has also moved up three places to 14th spot. However, no Indian could find a place in the top 10 T20 bowlers rankings with out-of-favour off-spinner Harbhajan Singh placed at a distant 20th position. The T20 bowlers chart is being lead by England off-spinner Graeme Swann with two other spinners — Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal closely following him in the second and third spots. In the T20 player rankings for all-rounders, Australia's Shane Watson (438) has extended his advantage over number-two ranked Shahid Afridi (340) of Pakistan to 92 ratings points. There is also sad news for India in the ICC T20I team rankings as Dhoni's men are in seventh spot. — PTI
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Cycling team qualify for World Championship
New Delhi, March 31 Cycling Federation of India (CFI) president Parminder Singh Dhindsa said here today that out of the 24 teams competing in the World Championship, six will qualify for the Olympics, with Asia having two quota places. Dhindsa, who is the Finance Minister of Punjab, said the cyclists who have qualified for the World Championship are Amarjit Singh of Punjab, Amrit Singh of Railways and O. Bikram Singh of BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd). The Indian team qualified on the basis of the timings they posted in the 32nd Asian Cycling Championship held at Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) from February 8 to 18. Dhindsa said 18-year-old Amarjit Singh holds out much promise, and he had also shattered the national record in individual pursuit in the National Championship. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who was elected the CFI president last year after his father, former Union Sports Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, stepped down to abide by the Government guidelines that the president and secretary of a National Sports Federation should demit office after completing two consecutive terms in office, or after crossing the age of 70, said the federation has been bearing all the training and participation expenses of the cyclists, as the Government has not so far recognized the CFI. “This is despite the fact that the CFI has been accorded recognition by the International Cycling Federation, the Asian Cycle Confederation and the Indian Olympic Association”, noted Dhindsa, who was elected the vice-president of the Asian Cycling Confederation at the ACC Congress held in Kuala Lumpur on February 12. He said the CFI has not received any financial assistance from the Government for the past three years for coaching camps and sending teams out, and the federation bore the expenses for the Asian and World Championships. Dhindsa, who along with CFI secretary-general Onkar Singh and IOA senior vice-president Tarlochan Singh spoke to the media, said it was remarkable that the Indian team have qualified for the World Championship, which came about due to the “concerted effort and dedication of the federation, as only 24 teams out of 147 countries, have qualified on the basis of their performance in the continental championship. The World Championship is also a qualifier for the London Olympics”. He said the irony, however, was that though the team were cleared at “no cost to the Government, as this Ministry has no objection from a sporting angle!”. He said the Government has neither given any grant to the federation for holding national camps and sending the team out, nor released the cycles imported for the Commonwealth Games for the use of the national team. “Our cyclists participated in the Asian Championship with their own cycles, which are not the latest, and they would be using the same vehicles for the World Championship as well, while the 43 cycles imported for the 2010 CWG, at a total cost of Rs 1.5 crore (each cycle cost approximately Rs 2.75 lakh), is gathering dust at the cycling velodrome at the Indira Gandhi stadium complex in Delhi”, Dhindsa pointed out. He said even the world class velodrome, built at a cost of Rs 350 crores (the second best in Asia after the track in Beijing), has also not been put to use after the CWG, and the federation now fears that lack of maintenance would ruin the wooden cycling tracks, though the SAI had covered them with polythene sheets on the advise of the CFI. “We have requested the Sports Minister several times to allow us to use the facility for training of our cyclists, and for setting up an international training centre, on the patter of the one in Switzerland, to put the track to optimum use. We have also got sponsors to back the project, but we have not yet received any reply. The Minister (Ajay Maken) has not responded to our letters, requesting for a meeting with him”, Dhindsa added.
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Bridgetown, March 31 Opener David Warner top-scored with a 43-ball 58 with five fours and three sixes. Seamer Fidel Edwards, who had dismissed Shane Watson for nought in the first over, returned to turn the screw by getting rid of Daniel Christian and Brett Lee with successive deliveries in the 19th over to finish with three for 23. That left Australia seven wickets down and needing 19 off the final over, bowled by Dwayne Bravo. Kieron Pollard took a fine catch in the deep to dismiss David Hussey (19) off the fourth ball with 17 still needed and the game was up as Australia finished on 146 for nine. Bravo had also played a key role in the dismissal of dangerman Warner, running out the opener with a direct hit in the 13th over with the score on 98 for three. — AFP Scoreboard Australia:
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Sreesanth’s band to perform at Royals’ opener
Chandigarh, March 31 Sreesanth, a passionate musician, will perform for the team’s fans with his experimental music band S36, which he formed with his brother-in-law and close friends in 2010. As part of the pre-game concert, the band will play an all-new version of Halla Bol, the Rajasthan Royals official team anthem, and other numbers from 6:20 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. before the team’s opening match against Kings XI Punjab. Commenting on the upcoming performance, Sreesanth said, “Music is something that is very close to my heart. Besides cricket, it gives a lot of energy and strength. The performance on the 6th is a tribute to our fans and marks the beginning of IPL 2012 for us as a team. I am eagerly looking forward to the season ahead.” The band’s name is a combination of the first letter of Sreesanth’s name and the player’s lucky jersey number.
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Ashok takes one-shot lead
New Delhi, March 31 Ashok was atop a leaderboard that had a very Indian look to it, with two-time Asian Tour winner, Gaganjeet Bhullar, (70) one shot behind in second place at 209, and Shankar Das, (71) another one seeking his maiden Asian Tour win, third at 210. There were five Indians inside top seven places. In the bunch at tied fourth, there were two more Indians, Digvijay Singh (68) and Manav Jaini (72), alongside overnight leader Bangladeshi Mohammad Siddikur Rahman (73) and Australian Wade Ormsby (71), who celebrated his 32nd birthday today. Kunal Bhasin (68), an Australian of Indian origin, held the eighth place at 212, while American Ben Fox (69) and Irishman Niall Turner (71) completed the top ten. More than a decade ago, the 28-year-old Ashok, first came to the Delhi Golf Club as a caddie and in the time since has won more than 20 times on the domestic Tour and even topped the Order of Merit more than once.
— PTI |
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Daredevils’ branded coins launched
New Delhi, March 31 The Muthoot Group, which has been sponsoring Daredevils for the last three years, launched the collection of gold coins to honour the of fans of the Delhi IPL franchise.
— PTI
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Mumbai, March 31
New Delhi, March 31
