Scoreboard

India 1st innings

Gambhir c van Wyk b Boult 22
Sehwag c Guptill b Bracewell 47
Pujara not out 119
Tendulkar b Boult 19
Kohli c Guptill b Martin 58
Raina c van Wyk b Patel 3
Dhoni not out 29
Extras (b 6, lb 3, w 1) 10
Total (5 wkts; 87 ovrs) 307
Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-77, 3-125, 4-250, 5-260.
Bowling: Martin 18-2-60-1, Boult 16-2-63-2, Bracewell 10.4-1-3-1, Franklin 11.2-0-33-0, Patel 24-6-58-1, Williamson 7-0-31-0.

Cheteshwar Pujara relished batting at number three as he struck his maiden Test hundred today but said it will not be appropriate to suggest that he can replace a legend such as Rahul Dravid.

Dravid batted superbly at the crucial position of number three for India before retiring early this year.

"I don't think I can replace Rahul Dravid because he is such a legend. He has more than 10,000 runs in both the formats. It's impossible to replace him," Pujara who slammed an unbeaten 119 against New Zealand said.

A modest Pujara, playing his fourth Test, said he had immense experience to play at this position so scoring runs was not difficult.

"I knew I could bat at No 3. So my preparation was up to the mark. I played at No 3 for Saurashtra. At times I opened for my employers Indian Oil Corporation. So I have enough experience batting up the order. I did not have to worry about anything. At domestic level, I batted up the order at No 3 and 4 so it made a difference," he said.

"Obviously I am really happy, it was a dream to start off like this. I wanted to score a hundred in my debut game. But somehow I missed it so I am really satisfied that I got my maiden hundred now." He dedicated the achievement to his parents and was looking at converting it into a double century tomorrow. I'm very thankful to him. I would like to dedicate this to my father." 

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult was ecstatic at getting the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar but rued that they could not rein in the Indian youngsters.

"It was a obviously a huge wicket of Sachin. It is something I will always remember. After all he is one of the best players of world cricket. It was special to get Tendulkar out. It (ball) got in and I was lucky to sneak through his defence. It is a huge honour," Boult said.

Pujara got good support from Virat Kohli (58) as they duo put on a fine 125-run fifth-wicket partnership to help India go past the 300-run mark. — PTI

Townsville, August 23
India relied on spinners Baba Aparajith and Harmeet Singh to pull off a thrilling 9-run victory over New Zealand and cruise into the final of the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup here today.

Defending a modest total of 209, Indian bowlers maintained their consistency throughout as they restricted New Zealand to 200 for nine in their 50 overs to set up a title clash against Australia on Sunday.

Needing 18 off last over, medium pacer Sandeep Sharma kept his cool as he gave away only nine runs as India made it to summit clash quite comfortably in the end at the Tony Ireland stadium.

Young Tamil Nadu lad Aparajith got his second successive man-of-the-match award for his all-round show as he scored 44 before taking the important wicket of Robert O'Donell.

This is India U-19 team's fourth appearance in the final of the tournament having won the 2000 and 2008 editions while they were runners-up in 2006.

A target of 210 was never a tall-order for the Black Caps colts but all-rounder Aparajith (1/29) and the young sardar from Mumbai Harmeet (2/30) stifled the set New Zealand pair of Cam Fletcher (53) and O'Donell (29) in the middle overs to set it up for the Indians.

The duo gave away only 59 runs in the 20 overs between them and also shared three wickets. The highlight certainly were the Batting Powerplay overs where two of them gave away only 14 runs in the five overs.

While New Zealand lost the first four wickets for 63 runs, Carter-O'Donell duo put on 56 runs for the fifth wicket without much fuss. It looked as if New Zealand were cruising along towards victory before Harmeet-Aparajith applied brakes on scoring. Back to-back maidens in the 34th and 35th overs suddenly increased the pressure on the Kiwis. — PTI

Scoreboard

India:
Chopra c Young b Nuttall 52
Chand b Neynens 31
Aparajith c Young b Sodhi 44
Vihari c Carter b Horne 22
Zol c Horne b Duffy 0
Nath c & b Horne 11
Patel not out 15
Harmeet c Carter b Horne 6
Passi c Neynens b Quinn 0
Ravikant b Quinn 0
Sandeep not out 7
Extras (lb 6, w 15) 21
Total (9 wkts; 50 ovrs) 209
Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-132, 3-138, 4-139, 5-169, 6-183, 7-198, 8-198, 9-199.
Bowling: Duffy 8-0-37-1, Nuttall 8-1-22-1, Quinn 10-1-36-2, Neynens 8-0-37-1, Sodhi 10-0-43-1, Horne 6-0-28-3.

New Zealand:
Davidson c Ravikant b Passi 6
Carter c Nath b Ravikant 30
Horne c Nath b Harmeet 10
Young c Aparajith b Harmeet 5
O'Donnell c & b Aparajith 29
Fletcher b Sandeep 53
Neynens b Ravikant 14
Sodhi c Harmeet b Sandeep 3
Duffy not out 21
Nuttall run out 9
Quinn not out 2
Extras (b-2, lb-6, w-10) 18
Total (9 wkts; 50 ovrs) 200
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-53, 3-55, 4-63, 5-119, 6-155, 7-163, 8-173, 9-192.
Bowling: Sandeep 10-2-36-2, Passi 10-0-48-1, Ravikant 10-0-49-2, Harmeet 10-2-30-2, Aparajith 10-1-29-1

Townsville, August 23
India under-19 captain Unmukt Chand today described Baba Aparajith and Harmeet Singh as the "most important players" of his side after the duo played a crucial role in beating New Zealand to help the team reach the ICC Under-19 World Cup final, here today.

Riding on Aparajith's all-round performance and Harmeet's impressive effort with the ball, India defeated New Zealand by nine runs at the Tony Ireland Stadium here to book a title clash against Australia on Sunday.

"Spinners have been bowling consistently well for us. Harmeet was excellent and Aparajith also supported him well. They are the most important players of the team," Unmukt said at the post-match presentation ceremony. — PTI

London, August 23
Fernando Torres helped spare Chelsea from an early Premier League setback on Wednesday, scoring the decisive goal as the European champions came from behind to beat newcomer Reading 4-2.

The unmarked Torres tapped the ball into the net from Ashley Cole's cross from what appeared to be an offside position in the 81st minute to make it 3-2.

But there was no disputing the fourth in the fifth minute of stoppage time. As Reading piled forward in search of an equalizer, Eden Hazard broke free on a counterattack and set up Branislav Ivanovic to score.

Chelsea had led through Frank Lampard's 18th-minute penalty kick, but Pavel Pogrebnyak's header and Danny Guthrie's free kick put Reading into a surprise lead at half time.

But defender Gary Cahill sparked the comeback in the 69th when his long-range strike was fumbled into his own net by Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici.

Torres' goal made it two wins out of two for Roberto Di Matteo's side in their first home match since winning the Champions League for the first time. That victory over Bayern Munich _ coupled with the FA Cup final win in May _ glossed over Chelsea's sixth-place finish in the Premier League and secured the manager's job on a full-time basis for Di Matteo.

Freshening up the squad over the offseason has seen Chelsea burst into life at the start of the new campaign.

And it is Hazard at the heart of their newfound vigor, helping to set up two goals on Wednesday just as he did in the 2-0 victory at Wigan on Sunday in the opening match of the season.

In a speedy start, Juan Mata released Hazard, but the Belgium midfielder struck wide, while Raul Ramires' effort was turned wide by Federici. Torres also did well to work his way into the six-yard box but he was closed down before finding space to shoot.

Hazard won a penalty for the second successive game when he was brought down by Chris Gunter, and Lampard tucked the spot kick into the bottom left of the net.

Chelsea was in control, and looked set to coast to the win. But against the run of play, Garath McCleary whipped a cross into the penalty area for Pogrebnyak to race onto ahead of Terry and send a low header past Petr Cech in the 25th.

And Cech was beaten again four minutes later, and this time he was at fault. The goalkeeper blocked Guthrie's free kick with his chest, but allowed the ball to squirm past him into the net. It gave Reading the confidence to play with more verve and they found the space to trouble a Chelsea side that became increasingly subdued. — AP

Chandigarh, August 23
The journey from his small village to the Olympics podium was not an easy one for wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt. It was a journey full of expectations, his own and those of India's sports fans. And he fulfilled the expectations in style when he finished with a bronze medal at the London Olympics.

In Chandigarh to attend a felicitation ceremony by the Haryana Police, the ace grappler said that his London trip is the most amazing thing that has happened in his wrestling career. “Being an Olympian is a proud feeling but being a winner makes it special. It is a dream come true and the thing that made this possible is my hard work,” Dutt said. “I have had one aim through my career, and the end was amazing.”

The grappler did not forget to mention that he had a difficult draw and was under pressure at every step. “I was in the tougher pool and I was worried if luck would support my hard work or not," he said. “I had seen my hard luck in the past several years but this time everything went in my favour.” “Since my childhood, I have wanted to bag an Olympics medal, and it's not something I have achieved in one go. There was a time when I was completely disheartened but hard work always pays off,” Dutt added.

Asked about his future plans, the Olympics medal winner revealed that he wants to open a wrestling academy for juniors to provide good facilities at the grassroots level.

“I will continue to practise the game but I really want to open a wrestling academy in my area," Dutt said. "There is a need to boost wrestling among at the grassroots level, especially in rural areas. I want to provide all facilities in my academy so that the region can produce top-class wrestlers."

Asked about his injured eye during the Olympics, he added: “The wish to make my country proud wins over the injury. I was injured but overlooking it was the best thing, and I did that.” “I was very happy after winning the medal for my country and I will continue to serve the game in one way or another,” Dutt said. 

Gurgaon, August 23
Sunil Dabas, the chief coach of the Indian women’s kabaddi team since 2005, has been named for the prestigious Dronacharya Award — 2012. The team has won six gold medals in reputed international events, including Asian Games-2010 and World Cup-2012.

Sunil will be honoured with the award by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on August 29. Notably, Sunil would be the first woman coach from Haryana and the first woman kabaddi coach from the country to get this coveted award.

Talking to The Tribune here today, an elated Sunil said it was a dream come true for her. She attributed her success to Almighty and family support.

As of now, she is serving as Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Physical Education at Dronacharya Government Post-Graduate College, Gurgaon. Sunil has several research publications to her credit and has also submitted her Ph.D thesis on psycho-physical abilities of Indian female players. A gold-medallist in MA (Physical Education) herself, she has also participated in several national and international seminars on sports and physical education and presented her research papers there. 

Patiala, August 23
Peeved at being ignored for the Dronacharya Award yet again, former national weightlifting coach Harnam Singh has shot off an angry letter to the Sports Ministry and senior officials.

He alleges that his sport has been ignored for almost a decade, and argues that sports like hockey and athletics don't deserve awards because of poor performances.

Singh, India's chief coach during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and currently a trainer of the national men's team, says he's being ignored to accommodate other, less deserving coaches. In his letter, Singh says that his name has been ignored for the second time, and points out that a weightlifting coach last got the award way back in 2000. This, he says, is detrimental to the growth of the sport.

“This clearly shows that the committee constituted by the government is doing step-motherly treatment with weightlifting," the letter says. Singh also points out that under his guidance, the Indian team won two gold medals at CWG 2010 (by K. Ravi Kumar and Renu Bala Chanu), apart from two silver and four bronze medals.

“Please explain the criteria for giving awards to athletics and hockey, despite poor runs,” Singh said.