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Moises sends CSK for Sixers
Sydney Sixers’ Moises Henriques (49*) hits through the covers on Sunday. — PTI
Knights look to bounce back against Aces
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Jaya praises ‘mature’ Unmukt
Lions beat Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets
Duleep trophy
Yuvraj Singh makes a grand comeback as he hits a century for North Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semfinals in Hyderabad on Sunday. — PTI
BCCI floats tender for new IPL franchise
Bhullar wins Macau Open
Gaganjeet Bhullar kisses the Venetian Macau Open trophy on Sunday. Photo: Asian Tour
The leap year
The Punjab Ranji squad during a conditioning camp at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Sunday. Tribune Photo: Vicky Gharu
All bases covered: Coach Sharma
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek after winning the men’s doubles final in Shanghai. — Reuters
Hulkenberg get 8 points for Force India
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Moises sends CSK for Sixers
Johannesburg, October 14
Chasing the target, Chennai were on course till the 16th over as they needed 50 runs from the last four before the Sydney side affected two stunning catches to end their innings at 171/9 at the New Wanderers Stadium. Suresh Raina, who top-scored with an impressive 33-ball 57 which included eight fours and two sixes, fell in the 17th over to a stunning catch by Steven Smith who held onto a high ball just inches before the boundary ropes. Captain MS Dhoni was out two balls later as his pull shot was held by Josh Hazlewood who dived forward to take a superb catch. Chennai had two substantial partnership — 61 for the second wicket between Faf du Plessis (43) and Michael Hussey (16) and then the 55-run stand for the fourth wicket between Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath (6). They began slowly in their run chase and they were dealt with a blow as Murali Vijay was out for just one. Brief Scores: (Sydney Sixers): 185/5 in 20 overs (MC Henriques 49 no,Shane Watson 46, S Smith 26, Brad Haddin 20, M Lumb 18, R Ashwin 2/32, R Jadeja 1/29, B Hilfenhaus 1/26); (CSK): 171/9 in 20 overs ( S Raina 57, F du Plesis 43, R Ashwin 18, M Hussey 16, M Starc 3/31, MC Henriques 3/23, S Watson 1/31, P Cummins 1/42). — PTI
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Knights look to bounce back against Aces
KKR's bowlers did a decent job to restrict Delhi to 160 for eight, but it was the failure of the batsmen which would rattle them, especially the top-order which contributed three ducks to the total. Opener Manvinder Bisla, Brendon McCullum and skipper Gautam Gambhir all came a cropper against Delhi and they would have to do a lot of soul-searching before they take the field against Auckland. The fact that Kolkata could score only 108, despite batting deep, will surely bother Gambhir and the onus would be on him to lead from the front. Auckland, on the other hand, had a dream start in the tournament.
— PTI |
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Jaya praises ‘mature’ Unmukt
Johannesburg, October 14 “Definitely it was good knock. I saw him batting in the Under-19 World Cup final as well. It was a fantastic knock. When we came here and he was in squad I always wanted to try and back him and give him the opportunity," Jayawardene said. “But I wasn't sure where he is going to fit in that batting line-up exactly. I think he is a very mature young cricketer who understands the game much better. They were tough conditions but I think he handled them very well; so great credit to him. And hopefully he can improve further,” he added. Part of a line-up comprising some of the best batsmen in the world such as Virender Sehwag, Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor, the youngster played a crucial knock to help set up the match against the Knight Riders. “It is only the first match, so you can't say much. The preparations have been good. I always like to play T20, so it is good," said the 19-year-old. “My game is a bit aggressive, so I try to keep it normal. When I try to do something extra, that is the time I lose my shape and get out or something like that happens. So, I try not to do something extra and play my natural game and that's what helps.” Chand said he has been getting tips from the likes of Sehwag and Pietersen to improve his game. “Viru Bhaiyya and KP are my favourites. I like to watch Viru Bhaiyya bat; and KP, Ross, they all are good," he said. Chand partnered Pietersen and Taylor to take the score to 145 for five, before being dismissed for a 27-ball 40. “It is really fun to play with all of them. KP and Ross especially are really supportive. They kept on telling me to stay there and hang in there and not lose my patience and just be there for some more time. "If you can stay there for some more time then probably you can score runs later in the innings and that's what really paid off in the end." Chand said he draws a lot of confidence by scoring runs outside India. “It's good that they are coming outside India as well. These pitches are probably helping me because I like to play on the up and that is really helping me and I would like more runs.”
— PTI |
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Sanga hopeful about Chargers good future
Singapore, October 14 The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) last month terminated the franchise for various defaults including failure to pay players on time, but the owners refused to accept the decision and issued a legal challenge, which the BCCI threw out. Deccan Chronicle Holdings, who paid $107 million for the franchise in 2008, informed the Indian stock exchanges on Friday of their decision to sell the team to Kamla Landmarc, a Mumbai-based real estate company. The sale only fuelled speculation in local media that the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) champions will be relocated to another state in the cricket-crazy country. Deccan captain Sangakkara said the team which also boasts South African seamer Dale Steyn and Australian batsman Cameron White, were in the dark about their utures but was hopeful of a solution. “Players have been paid and that's great. The franchise has ensured that they've always kept their word to the players and honoured all the contracts they have signed,” said Sangakkara. “They are now in arbitration with BCCI, I believe, to try and come to an agreement and the BCCI has always been very good in problem solving during the IPL they've done a great job over five years. Deccan Chargers is a great franchise to play for, so we as players, we can't control those things, we just wait and see as to what will happen.” Sangakkara was in Singapore to promote the charity “the foundation of goodness” along with former international team mate Muttiah Muralitharan. The charity aims to provide greater opportunities for children in war-ravaged northern parts of Sri Lanka and tsunami hit areas of the south, with the duo arriving in Singapore with a under-19 team of players they hope can become internationals in the future. “Of course as a cricketer, for selfish reasons, try and find the best cricketers to play for the country," Sangakkara said of the aims for the charity. “We have had a tsunami orphan from the foundation play for the under-19s World Cup team a couple of months ago so these kids have a lot of talent we just need to give them the opportunity to refine those talents.” Offering coaching clinics to young fans and signing several autographs appeared to prove a nice way to forget about the Twenty20 World Cup loss to West Indies at home on Sunday. “The fourth World Cup final, it was gut wrenching,” the Sri Lankan said after losses to India last year and Australia in 2007 in the 50-over World Cup and the Twenty20 loss to England two years ago. “Disappointing, but at the end of the day you have to accept the fact that to win the World Cup, you get to the finals, and that is the day you got to be at your best. Unfortunately we haven't be at our best on for occasions.” After the frustrations of another final loss, Sangakarra and Sri Lanka turn their attentions to the home series against New Zealand which begins in October end.
— Reuters |
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Yuvraj’s
first-class in longer version too
Hyderabad, Oct 14 At stumps, North were in commanding position having scored 346 for 4, riding on Yuvraj's superb unbeaten 133 while skipper Shikhar Dhawan also made his presence felt with an innings of 121. The innings today will certainly end any doubts whatsoever about Yuvraj's fitness and his ability to withstand the rigours of longer version of the game after recovering from rare germ cell cancer. He played only 152 deliveries during his knock and hit 20 boundaries and two huge sixes off discarded India veteran Murali Kartik. Both sixes were sent soaring over deep mid-wicket and the second one saw the talented left-hander reach three-figure mark. This is Yuvraj's 19th first-class century but certainly one he would remember for a long time to come. There were no demons in the 22-yard strip at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal and Yuvraj didn't for once looked like in any sort of trouble as he kept on punishing the Central bowlers. Credit should also be given to Dhawan who scored his second Duleep Trophy century of the season. His 200-ball innings contained 14 hits to the fence and, more importantly, added 160 runs with his senior partner for the third wicket in just over 20 overs. Such was Yuvraj's dominance that he came to bat only in the 53rd over of the innings which was well after lunch but took on the bowlers from the very beginning. The trio of Praveen Kumar (2/72), Bhuvenshwar Kumar (0/63) and Rituraj Singh (0/67) were treated with equal disdain while Kartik was singled out for special treatment. 36-year-old Railways left-arm spinner Kartik, who is not known to perform well on good batting tracks, was hammered for 92 runs in 19 overs as Yuvraj sent him on a leatherhunt. The two towering sixes he hit off Kartik were majestic as the veteran bowler looked clueless during Yuvraj-Dhawan partnership. Yuvraj's innings can give Sandeep Patil and Co another option in the Indian Test team's middle-order. With his handy left-arm spin to complement his elegant batting, the day might not be far when Yuvraj might be seen playing Test matches where he badly wants to make a mark. At least today's innings was an indicator of what can be expected from this enormously gifted cricketer. Brief Score: North Zone 346/4 (Yuvraj Singh batting 133, Shikhar Dhawan 121, Praveen Kumar 2/72) vs Central Zone. East Zone claw
back
Jharkhand batsman Saurabh Tiwary and Orissa all-rounder Basant Mohanty scripted an impressive recovery with an undefeated century-plus stand as East Zone reached 187 for six at stumps on Day I, of their Duleep Trophy semifinal against South Zone in
Visakhapatnam. While Tiwary remained undefeated on 84, Mohanty did well on his part to remain unbeaten on 51 as they put 121 runs in 32.2 overs for the seventh wicket after East were tottering at 66 for six by the 38th over. Due to overnight rain and wet outfield conditions, only 70 overs of play was possible. South skipper R Vinay Kumar opted to field. Skipper Vinay led from the front as he dismissed opener Dheeraj Jadhav for 1 while Abhimanyu Mithun removed Manish
Vardhan. — PTI |
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Lions beat Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets
Johannesburg, October 14 The catalysts for Lions' victory were Neil McKenzie (68 not out off 41 balls) and 19-year-old Quinton de Kock (51 not out off 33) as the duo helped the side chase the target of 158 with seven balls to spare at the New Wanderers Stadium. Mumbai posted 157/6 after being invited to bat and then failed to find an answer for McKenzie and de Kock's joint assault that left them bruised and battered. For the record, Mumbai had lost to Lions in the second edition of the event two years ago. It could have been anybody's game till Dhawal Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh were taken to the cleaners in the 16th and 17th over. While Kulkarni conceded 17, Harbhajan was smashed for 16 runs as Lions inched towards the target. Lions lost Ambati Rayudu when he pulled off a blinder at cover, holding on to Alviro Petersen's full-blooded shot off Lasith Malinga. Bringing himself on in the seventh over, Harbhajan was on the money straightaway as he got Ghulam Bodi to edge one to first slip where Rohit Sharma completed the catch. With 37/2, the prospect looked gloomy for Lions however, an unbeaten 121-run partnership for the third wicket between de Kock and McKenzie sealed the match in Lions' favour. — PTI Scoreboard Mumbai Indians Smith lbw b Morris 26 Extras: (b 5, lb 10, w 9) 24 Total: (6 wkts; 20 ovrs) 157 Fall of wickets: 1-45, 2-64, 3-99, 4-122, 5-151, 6-157 Bowling: Tanvir 4-0-31-2, Nannes 4-0-15-1, Morris 4-0-44-1, Phangiso 4-0-17-1, Z de Bruyn 4-0-35-0
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BCCI floats tender for new IPL franchise
New Delhi, October 14 “Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to own and operate a new team, which will compete in the IPL in each year from and including 2013 onwards, and will have the opportunity (if applicable and subject to qualification) to compete in each and any CLT20 which is staged from 2013 onwards." the BCCI said in an advertisement published in leading newspapers. The bids have been invited in respect of 12 cities-Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Indore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Vizag. The tender notice said that all bidding parties will need to fulfil the eligibility criteria and other requirements specified in the Invitation. “Bids must be submitted at 12 noon IST on Thursday, October 25. The winning bids will be announced in the manner set out in the Invitation to Tender,” the BCCI advertisement said. Earlier, after a month-long legal battle, Deccan Chargers lost their status as an IPL team after the Bombay High Court stayed the order of arbitrator for maintaining status quo on the matter till further hearing.
— PTI |
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Bhullar wins Macau Open
Macau, October 14 Bhullar finished in style with a birdie to sign off with a four-day total of 16-under 268, two shots clear of American Jonathan Moore, who had five birdies in his last five holes. Making it sweeter for India was Shiv Kapur, who carded a four-under 67 to total 10-under and finish sole fifth. Himmat Rai (70) was 38th at one-under 283 and Ajeetesh Sandhu (73) was one-over 285 in 47th place. Moore (65) finished second, while Thitiphun Chuayprakong (70) of Thailand and Siddikur (66) of Bangladesh were tied third and Kapur (67) was fifth. This is Bhullar's fourth Asian Tour title following wins in 2009 Indonesia President Invitational, the 2010 Asian Tour International, Thailand and the 2012 Yeangder Tournament Players' Championship, Chinese Taipei. He has also won once on European Challenge Tour, the 2011 Gujarat Kensville Challenge. Bhullar opened the week with a stunning 63 and proceeded to dominate the field with subsequent rounds of 68, 69 and 68 on the next three days. In four days, he had just seven bogeys against 26 birdies. The 24-year-old, Bhullar, who won the Yeangder TPC Championships last month, has been having an outstanding year with two wins, two second places, one third place and three other top-10 finishes in a total of 15 starts. It will also put him in the race for the Asian Tour Order of Merit title with some big-ticket events to come in the next two months. Bhullar had four birdies in his first seven holes and seemed to be cruising to another superb win, when he found bogeys in the 10th and 13th. But he pulled himself back from that with steady par, a missed birdie putt and finally a solid birdie on 18th to close with a 68. Bhullar was in a zone as he birdied second, third, fifth and seventh to race through the front nine in a stunning 31, which suggested he was running away with the title. The two bogeys early on back nine halted his cruise, but the young Indian talent gathered himself admirably again and closed the deal. Thai Thitiphun Chuayprakong (70) gave Bhullar a hard chase for first seven holes, but then a double bogey on eighth spoilt it all. Though he birdied ninth, he found no more on the back nine and instead dropped two shots.
— PTI |
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The leap year
Chandigarh, October 14
All pushing hard individually. There is a fair indication that once the grind begins, the bunch will collectively try to get into a success orbit. After a long time they have the wherewithal to make for a successful outfit. This year the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has the privilege of fielding a very balanced team, a side which blends youth with experience. There are specialist openers, a fairly successful middle-order, good all-rounders and a tail that is known to wag at the end. The pace attack has the guile of experienced pacer Manpreet Gony and the fire of rookie Sandeep Sharma. Siddharth Kaul too makes an entry after a gap of four years. In batting, much will depend on the middle-order, where vice-captain Mandeep Singh has been among the runs. Add to it the star power of Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, and this will be a team to beat in the Ranji Trophy. Whether their on-and-off presence will break the momentum or see the team through a crunch time, it remains to be seen. Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who has a whiff of a chance to be picked up for the India team, would be raring to go. A clutch of all-rounders in Bipul Sharma, Gurkirat Mann and Gony can swell the target in no time. While chasing, they may make a long journey short with their hard hitting. The fringe players on the bench will be waiting anxiously for their turn and cannot be taken lightly. Coach Arun Sharma has put the squad on intensive drills and has worked on their individual weaknesses in the conditioning camp in Mohali. Punjab begin their campaign at home against Hyderabad in the first week of December. Let the grind begin. Punjab’s Schedule Nov 2-5: vs Hyderabad, Mohali Nov 9-12: vs West Bengal, Mohali Nov 17-20: vs Railways Nov 17-20: vs Saurashtra, Mohali Dec 1-4: vs Rajasthan, Mohali Dec 8-12: vs Mumbai, Mohali Dec 15-18: vs MP, Indore Dec 22-25: vs Gujarat, Ahmedabad Mandy’s star on rise
Sandeep fired up
The Patiala opener is all set to make his debut in the senior side this season. If all goes well, the 21-year-old could well prove to be the answer for Punjab’s opening woes.
Gony is in the typical fast bowler mould: brash, aggressive and a livewire. The team’s strike bowler is also their rallying point. Nobody in the Punjab side lights up the proceedings like he does. Once the ball comes into his hand, the team smells wickets.
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All bases covered: Coach Sharma
Chandigarh, October 14 “The boys need to play well and perform. We are in an elite group and no one is weak,” he assesses the situation. Despite being a well-rounded team, he desists from tagging the team as a bowling unit or a batting powerhouse. “I would say we are a balanced team with an experienced batting lineup and good pace attack. We have quality tweakers, who have played for India. Off-spinners, leg-spinners and left-arm bowlers — we have got everything,” he explains. Regarding the changed format, he said, “The teams have been divided into three groups and every team needs to play two matches extra, which makes it a longer season and players need to be top form throughout.” As the BCCI will be keeping a close watch on the wickets, there won’t be any undue advantage to the hosts from the tracks, though home advantage will be with them, he adds. Apart from the squad, the side has a couple of youngsters who enhance the team’s bench strength considerably. “The bench strength fosters the competition among the team members and that is a good sign for us,” said Sharma.
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It was personal: Paes after sweet win over Hesh-Bops
Shangahi, October 14 It was a kind of a grudge match for Paes as both Bhupathi and Bopanna had refused to play with him at the London Olympics. They rebelled and forced AITA to pair them together at the marquee event. “Today was a bit more of a personal match for us three Indians. Radek came in and he made it fun for me,” Paes later said. “He relaxed, laughed, joked. He said ‘stay smooth, relaxed and have a hungry intensity’. I come up and make it fun for him and try and take over whenever I can.” Paes and Stepanek had joined forces at the start of the season and straight away won the Australian Open. They also won the Miami Masters. Last month they were finalists at the US Open and they came into Shanghai on the back of a runners-up finish at the Japan Open in Tokyo. “We’ve had a great year. It started off with a big bang. To do well early in a partnership is something that can happen. But to continue playing well right through the whole year shows the quality of tennis that we play,” said Paes. Paes and Stepanek, who have already qualified for the season-ending World Tour Finals in London, shared a $207,320 purse.
— PTI |
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Hulkenberg get 8 points for Force India
Yeongam (S Korea), October 14 The result helped Force India reduce the gap with close rival and sixth-placed Sauber to 27 points as none of the Swiss team’s driver finished inside top-10. Sergio Perez was 11th while Kamuyi Kobayasahi retired after an accident. With four races to go and home Grand Prix next in India, Force India would look to continue the good show at home. “That race was a lot of fun and it’s great to get such a mega result. It wasn’t easy though, and for most of the race I had the Lotus of Romain [Grosjean] pushing me and some great battles,” Hulkenberg said. “I think the best moment of the race was the fight with Lewis (Hamilton) and Romain in the final stint when I got ahead of both of them in turn four. They both went to the inside so I just saw the opportunity to use the outside line and made the move work. That certainly put a big smile on my face. So a very positive day, an amazing job by the whole team and lots of positives to take as we head to India for our home race,” he said. Paul di Resta, who finished outside the points brackets for the second consecutive race, said the tyre strategy did not work for him. “We expected the supersoft to be a better race tyre and so we saved it for the second stint. As it happened, the soft tyres did not last long enough at the start of the race and when I switched to the supersofts they started graining straight away. So we were not on the ideal strategy.” — PTI
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Johannesburg, October 14
Macau, October 14
Chandigarh, October 14
Henriques smashed five fours and three sixes towards the close of Sydney Sixers' innings for his 23-ball unbeaten 49 to take his side to 185 for five after being sent into bat in the Group B match. He later took three wickets for 23 in his three overs to play the leading role in his side's victory.
Cape Town, October 14
The 21-year-old Mandeep Singh is one player who has encashed IPL the way it ought to be. The Rising Star of IPL 2012 has backed his performance with a good showing for India A, especially a doggest 197 in the second ‘Test’ against New Zealand A. This will be only his third season for the senior side in the domestic circuit. With skipper Harbhajan Singh firmly in reckoning for national duty, this could well be Mandeep’s golden chance to lead the side. Considering that his mentor Vikram Rathour is BCCI’s zonal selector, it might be imprudent to term his chances as as wishful thinking.
This will be the Patiala pacer’s second season for the senior team but what gives the confidence to this strapping youngster this time is the outstanding performance in the U-19 World Cup winning team’s campaign. He emerged as the joint highest wickettaker in the tournament. Back home, he has been keeping the momentum going on flat pitches and returning with rich hauls time and again. His agility and control over swing lend a lethal punch to his bowling. Pacer Sandeep is a hell of fielder too, a rarity in domestic cricket. His junior team partner Kamal
Passi has every reason to feel unlucky after failing to make the cut in the side.
Jeevanjot hopeful
Old warhorse Gony