Chennai, February 26
Australia lost the first Test this morning at precisely 10.51 AM, but it’s clear they’d lost it over the last two days on which two Indians played stellar roles, competently supported by an able cast.

First, Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a gamechanging innings, showing amazing mastery of the situation while batting with the lower order. From 372 for seven — eight runs behind Australia’s 380 — India managed add 200 runs for the last three wickets, a nearly incredible feat by a team famed for its fragile tail. Then Ravichandran Aswhin, on a track off which the ball could dart through or explode up from the same spot, grabbed five wickets as Australia crumbled to 175 for nine.

Australia had lost it right then — the hopes Moises Henriques raised were not going to be fulfilled unless a miracle was effected. It’s not known how good Moises is when it comes to parting seas, but it amply evident that he’s not yet a conjurer of wins out of thin air. He can’t be blamed for that. It’s his first Test, after all, and a more impressive debut in such conditions —149 runs on a crumbling wicket, in humid weather — can’t be imagined. Henriques’s stand of 66 for the last wicket with Nathan Lyon was an amazing feat on such a wicket; equally, they were lucky that they didn’t get a bowl that spun a foot or leapt at their eyes, as happened to Phil Hughes and Michael Clarke yesterday.

The two, thus, managed to prolong their partnership by nine overs and nine runs today. At that point, Lyon, who had played the turning ball with surprising assurance, edged on to his pad and was caught at short leg.

India were left needing 50 runs in 81 overs left in the match; the two openers, failures in the first innings, got another opportunity to acquire a sense of solidity about their batting, and both needed it. Virender Sehwag, playing with glasses for the first time ever — after reportedly playing with contact lenses for a few months — could have done with a few fours struck from the middle of his bat.

Murali Vijay, back in the Test team after July 2011, had made merely 137 runs in his last nine innings; he’d made merely 138 runs in eight innings in the Ranji Trophy this season. On the basis of this performance, he’d got into the Irani Trophy match -- he was clearly very fortunate with this selection. The selectors were seeking alternatives to Gautam Gambhir, and Vijay made his good luck count with a first-innings 116 against Mumbai, which earned him an India recall.

Both Sehwag and Vijay, though, failed again, scoring 37 runs between them for an average of 9. India’s conundrum over their opening combination continues. James Pattinson had made Vijay recoil in alarm from his first ball, pitched short and seamed in towards his nose; Pattinson it was who got Vijay, who hoped to clear mid-off with a weak prod but found a leaping Henriques there. Then Sehwag edged Lyon to slip, and Sachin Tendulkar had come out and join Cheteshwar Pujara in the pursuit of the 14 runs needed for victory.

Tendulkar was possibly irritated at having to come out in chase of a less than daunting target; possibly he wanted to impose himself on Lyon after being bowled by him in the first inning. First ball outside off, Tendulkar’s bat flashed and the ball was deposited over long off for a six; second ball same place, same result. The off-spinner having been showed his station, Tendulkar then played out a maiden from Pattinson. The match was formally won when Pujara edged from Lyon over Michael Clarke at first slip to seal the win. It’s impossible to quibble with an eight-wicket win, but several questions remain. What happens to Vijay? Is Jadeja good enough to be the team’s No. 6? Would India play two seamers — they bowled just 33 of 226 overs bowled by India in Chennai — in the second Test? And, most crucial of all, can Australia react like England did after losing the first Test in very similar manner?

Australia 1st Inngs: 380 all out

India 1st Innings: 572 all out

Australia 2nd innings (overnight 232/9)

Cowan lbw b Ashwin 32

Watson c Sehwag b Ashwin 17

Warner lbw b Harbhajan 23

Hughesc Sehwag b Jadeja 0

Clarke lbw b Ashwin 31

Wade b Harbhajan 8

Henriques not out 81

Siddle b Jadeja 2

Pattinson c Sehwag b Ashwin 11

Starc c Tendulkar b Ashwin 8

Lyon c Vijay b Jadeja 11

Extras: 17

Total: (all out in 93 ov) 241

Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-64, 3-65, 4-101, 5-121, 6-131, 7-137, 8-161, 9-175, 10-241

Bowling

Ashwin 32-6-95-5

Harbhajan 27-6-55-2

Jadeja 31-8-72-3

Ishant 3-1-2-0

India 2nd innings

Vijay c Henriques b Pattinson 6

Sehwag c Clarke b Lyon 19

Pujara not out 8

Tendulkar not out 13

Extras: 4

Total: (2 wkts in 11.3 ov) 50

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-36

Bowling

Pattinson 3-1-13-1

Lyon 5.3-0-29-1

Siddle 3-2-4-0

Chennai, February 26
The loss in the first Test has left Michael Clarke crushed — it’s a complete defeat of his strategy of going into the match with their strengths, ie with four fast bowlers.

Actually, looking at the bowling figures, it is clear that the strategy wasn’t at fault — the quick bowlers took eight of the 12 Indian wickets to fall. Their best spinner, on this spinner-friendly wicket on which all Australian wickets fell to spin, was good enough for only four wickets; Nathan Lyon gave away a whopping 244 runs in the process.

If the other Australian spinners are actually inferior to Lyon, the visitors could be in for a lot of pain over the next three Tests.

Clarke said he’d need to evaluate their strategy before the next Test match, which begins in Hyderabad on Saturday. Shane Warne is in India as commentator — today, more than an hour after the match had got over, Clarke and Warne were in an animated conversation. Earlier, talking with the media, Clarke had said in jest: “Warney’s in town, we’ll see if he’s available.”

Maybe that’s not such a bad idea; then again, perhaps it’s a very bad idea, for advancing years seem to have made Warne ineffective as a bowler and violent and incontrollable as a fielder. Australia are, thus, in a quandary that would stretch Clarke’s powers of ingenuity and leadership.

“We’ve got the same options we had before this Test,” said Clarke when asked if the team could consider playing two spinners in Hyderabad. “Australian spin took three wickets in the first innings. Fast bowling took a lot more. That doesn’t mean we got it right by playing three fast bowlers and a medium-pace allrounder.”

“We need to look at conditions again and work out what we think is the best XI,” the captain went on. “It’s not just about selection. It’s about how you perform. I don’t think we bowled well enough in our first innings, and we certainly didn’t bat well enough in our second innings.”

The situation had became almost irretrievable after MS Dhoni’s onslaught in the first innings, and Clarke agreed that his counterpart took the match away from them .“They outplayed us. MS Dhoni certainly led the charge. I thought Virat Kohli was outstanding as well with his hundred – but Dhoni changed the game,” said Clarke. “It certainly had an impact on the game,” said Clarke. “It contributed a lot to India’s success in this Test match. But like I said, Kohli made a fantastic hundred. Ashwin got seven wickets in the first, and five in the second. That’s three very good performances. We were outplayed.”

Australia had five left-handers in the XI, which prompted India to include two off-spinners in their bowling attack — to trouble them with the away-spinning ball. Clarke thought the direction of the spin wasn’t a factor, and that they must learn to handle both incoming and away-going spin.

“You’re going to face both [off-spin and left-arm spin] if you’re playing against India,” he said. “They’ve got two right-arm off-spinners… Jadeja played too, and you’ve got Ojha bowling now in the nets.” “I think you have to find a way against the ball spinning in both directions. I think it’s more of a personal preference,” he added.

“For me, I don’t think it matters too much. I got out to a ball spinning away in the first innings, and to one spinning back in the second innings,” Clarke laughed, raising laughs all around. “I’d like it to go dead straight. That would be nice. I don’t think we can blame the number of left-handers we have. We’ve just got to find a way to execute our skills better, with bat and ball.”

Chennai, February 26
Known for speaking his mind on cricketing matters, spin legend Shane Warne today gave a pep talk to the Australian team after the visitors' comprehensive defeat to India in the first cricket Test.

Warne is not new when it comes to offering ideas and had, in a two-part manifesto last month, launched an attack on the state of Australian cricket, calling several CA officials "muppets", including high-performance chief Pat Howard and selection boss John Inverarity.

After watching the Australian team crash to an eight-wicket loss at the M A Chidambaram Stadium here, Warne, commentating on the series, entered the field to have an impromptu mid-ground chat with the players.

Eight members from the Australian team management, including skipper Michael Clarke, who regards Warne as one of his cricketing mentors, coach Mickey Arthur and his assistant Steve Rixon were seen listening attentively to the former leg-spinner.

Also in attendance, though for a brief while, were tweakers Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty. Warne, however, declined to divulge details of his meeting with the players. Clarke joked about Warne's presence. “Warnie is in town, I'll see if he's available,” Clarke said. — PTI

Chennai, February 26
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last 14 Test innings outside India got him 28, 16, 5, 0, 77, 74*, 17, 3, 6, 23, 57*, 2, 12 and 2 runs. India lost each of these seven Test matches.

Thus, if anyone had even the mildest suspicion that Dhoni is a cool run machine impervious to pressure, that thought must be immediately dismissed. Conventional wisdom insists that the captain is as good as his team. Dhoni’s team has suffered the loss of several key players in the recent years. And over the last two years, since he won the World Cup final with a most amazing innings, his stock has rapidly fallen.

Yet, Dhoni today become the most successful captain for India in terms of matches won — now he jointly holds the record of 21 wins as leader with Sourav Ganguly. The difference is that Ganguly achieved those wins in 49 Tests, Dhoni has done it in 44. But yet another significant twist here is that Ganguly won 11 out of India, Dhoni has won just five.

Dhoni doesn’t bother with these things, though his face has lost the freshness of five years ago; the stubble he sports is graying by the day. His long, long locks are gone, cut down because of hair-loss. Yet, the captain insists, he’s not one to lose sleep over minor trouble like leading India in all formats of the game, and leading the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL circus.

Asked about his knock here, a whirlwind 265-ball 224 — which had followed a 246-ball 99 in his last innings, against England in the Nagpur Test — Dhoni said he doesn’t bother about run rates, falling in the 90s or other trifles like that. “I’ve got five 90s, so it doesn’t bother me anymore. Seriously, I’ve got out in the 90s plenty of times,” he said today. “I personally believe it’s the top six batsmen —OK, I’m batting at 6 now! — but they’re the ones who really worry about the 100s.”

“I’ve never thought about 100s. I remember the 92 I scored at Oval in 2007,” he added. “Dilip Vengsarkar (the chief selector then) was there and he said whether I’d do anything different after that. I said no, I’d bat the same way and if I get a chance to hit, I’d hit the ball. Nothing much has changed.” Following his first double century, much has been written about it —that it’s a “career defining” knock that would play a part in determining his legacy to Indian cricket. Dhoni himself is quite indifferent to such opinions. He said the number of runs scored could often be less significant than the manner of scoring them, or the occasion they were scored in.

“I feel the 70 runs I scored at Lord’s in the 2007 series were very special because that innings helped us win the series,” he said. “It’s not the amount of runs, often it’s the weightage of the innings that you’ve played that matters.”

How does he see he role in the team, now that some of the greats of the team —Ganguly himself, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman — are gone? Nothing has changed, insists the captain. “Whenever I went in to bat, I’ve wanted to score runs,” he said. “Apart from that, I’ve not changed much, or my thinking process hasn’t change.”

Chandigarh, February 26
Jeev Milkha Singh who is focussed on trying to get back into the top-50 in the world, will play the European Tour's Mar Tshwane Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate Centurion in South Africa from February 28 till March 3, 2013.

“I am playing well and my confidence is up. I have had a week off during which I practiced hard in order to prepare for the upcoming season and I just need to keep working on my routine and let the results follow," said Jeev.

The Chandigarh professional has a busy season ahead, he will play in South Africa this week, after which he has some time off. However, the season then gets busy starting with the Avantha Masters in Delhi, followed by tournaments in Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Korea. "My aim over the next few weeks is to play well and try and break into the top-50 so I can get invited to play the Masters at Augusta National in April," he adds.

Jeev is quite comfortable with his game and recently also tried a few sets that didn't suit him so he has decided to stick to what works best for him, his Callaway RazorX Irons. "A player's equipment is very important as even a few degrees here and there can upset the feel," explains Jeev.

However, it's the thrill of the competition that gets him going and Jeev is looking forward to playing in South Africa. " I have been playing in South Africa regularly and have a lot of old friends and acquaintances there. Plus it is one of the most beautiful places that we get to visit and play golf.”

But once the tournament starts there is just one thing that he is focused on - working his way up the leader board and putting himself in contention for the tournament.

Chandigarh, February 26
The ladies took to the golf course with enthusiasm, determined to enjoy themselves as the 19th Punjab Open Ladies Golf Championship 2013 got underway at the Chandigarh Golf Course.

Tavleen Batra got the best of the field, carding a four-over-par, 76 to lead the tournament after 18 holes on Tuesday. “I am happy with my round though I will have to work hard tomorrow to finish ahead of the field as there are a lot of good scores today," said Tavleen.

Gursimar Badwal, who celebrated her 20th birthday today and did so by carding a good round, shot a seven-over-par, 79 and is just three strokes off the lead, while her 14-year-old sister Gurjot Badwal, who is a junior as well, was just one stroke behind with a eight-over-par, 80. “My round was good, I putted really well though I spoilt a couple of holes. I hit the right rough on the par-five seventh and could not get out which resulted in a triple bogey, however, I recovered with birdies on the ninth and tenth holes. I also found the trees on the 13th,” said Gursimar who incidentally is Gaganjeet Bhullar's cousin.

However, she now resides in college hostel in Chandigarh and this has been her home course for the last two years. “I started by watching Gaganjeet and he suggested that I could take up the sport for fun. My father also played golf so I got interested once I started playing with him. My sister started a little later after she watched me,” she says. Jaipreet Ghuman carded a ten-over-par, 82 tied alongside Amandeep Drall for fourth place. “I am really unhappy with my putting today," said Jaipreet. “I had five three-putts which really cost me," she added.

Youngster Kainaat Singh shot an 85 today but hoped to make a comeback tomorrow with a low round that will help her improve her position.

Dolly Mangat who plays in the silver division and leads her category for the Challenge Bowl gross also enjoyed her round today. “I was so worried about my handicap as it was calculated lower than I expected, that it helped me to play well. I did not drop any unnecessary shots and am content with my round," she said. The Challenge Bowl nett is led by local golfer Neelu Chopra who carded a 92 and plays off a handicap of 24 and she also took the lead in the Seniors Challenge nett. Poonam Chawla leads the Bronze Plate Gross field while Kum Kum Kapoor leads the Bronze Plate Nett. Tavleen also leads the juniors category, while Pauline JM Singh leads the Seniors (50+). Bunny Bath, Dalbir Sahi leads the Super Seniors.

New Delhi, February 26
Hockey India has pulled out the Indian team from the 22nd Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament, to be played in Ipoh, Malaysia from March 9 to 17.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had permitted Hockey Inida (HI) to field the senior team for the Azlan Shah Cup at “no cost to the Government”. The Government was supposed to bear the airfare of the team, but the SAI made it clear that “the Government is not covering any cost”, forcing Hockey India to pull out the team. "The Government had always covered the airfare of the team for this tournament till this date”, HI said here today.

Earlier this month, the HI selectors and the Government observer had announced the team for the tournament, led by Danish Mujtaba with custodian PR Sreejesh as the vice- captain. The team have been undergoing a training camp in Delhi in preparation for this tournament with the prior sanction of the SAI, which will now be called off.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an A-Grade tournament sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). India have never missed participation in this prestigious tournament and have won the title on five occasions. In the last edition, India finished third, and in 2010, they were joint winners with Korea. Indian were the champions in 2009 and the national team would have got the much-needed exposure playing high ranked teams like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Korea, had they played in the Azlan Shah Cup. — TNS

Kollam, February 26
Maharashtra entered the semifinals of the 67th Santosh Trophy national football tournament, beating Tamil Nadu 2-1 in a group B quarterfinal league match.

They qualified for the semis by securing nine points after winning all the three matches in the quarterfinal league. Maharashtra had beaten Jharkhand 4-1 and Goa 3-0 in their earlier matches.

Both the goals were scored by M P Pradeep, a player from Kerala. After the first half went goalless, Pradeep scored for the winners in the 75th minute. Tamil Nadu replied in the 85th minute through A Raegan. Just three minutes later Pradeep scored again, which sealed the match in their favour.

Tamil Nadu's Nirmal Kumar was shown a red card for rough play in the 20th minute of the game after which the team played with only ten players.

In the second quarterfinal, which was an inconsequential one, as both teams had been knocked out of the tournament, Jharkhand and Goa played out a 2-2 draw. Goa's Agnel Colaco scored first in the 68th minute, and Jharkhand's reply came just three minutes later, through Ramesh Kujur. Joe Rodrigues scored for Goa in the 81st minute.

Jharkhand's equaliser came in the injury time, in the 91st minute to be precise, through Bosen Murmu. A red card was shown in this game too, with Goa's Nirmal Kumar being sent out in the 60th minute. Punjab overcame a spirited challenge from West Bengal to carve out a 4-3 win in Group D to progress to the semifinals on Monday.

Sajandeep Singh scored the first goal for the winners in the 15th minute, followed by Prem Kumar (25th) and Afftab Vir Singh (46th). West Bengal made a stupendous come back as they reduced the margin when Jagannath Sana (66th), Dibendu Biswas (76th) scored quickly in the second half.

For Punjab, the fourth goal came again from the boots of Prem Kumar in the 79th minute. — PTI

Dubai, February 26
Somdev Devvarman entered the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship beating Russia's Igor Kunitsyn in straight sets.

Devvarman needed just over an hour to dispose off the Russian's challenge with a 6-1 6-4 scoreline. The 28-year-old will meet the winner of the first round tie between Cypriot Marcus Baghdatis and del Potro. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Coaching course will improve Indian coaches: Gopichand
Hyderabad: Chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Intermediate Level Coach Education Programme, which will be held from March 23-30 at the Gopichand academy here, will improve the quality of Indian coaches and lead to a greater talent pool across the country.A maximum of 30 Indian badminton coaches will participate in the seven-day course, organised by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), in partnership with GoSports Foundation. “The unexpected boom in the last few years, a lot of badminton courts that have come up, and consequently there is an increased requirement for quality coaches," Gopichand said.

Ranji captains, coaches' conclave next week
Mumbai: The annual one-day conclave of Ranji captains and coaches, along with the technical committee chairman Anil Kumble, is scheduled to be held here on March 5.The one-day meet will discuss the 2012-13 season and invite suggestions from the captains and coaches for improvements, if needed, for the next season, Cricket Board sources said.

Pistorius plans memorial service for girlfriend
Johannesburg: Oscar Pistorius planned a personal memorial service on Tuesday for his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The evening service would be at the Pretoria home of his uncle Arnold, where the Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail awaiting trial on a premeditated murder charge.Pistorius' reputation management firm said Pistorius had specifically requested the service “as he remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva,”' he said. “Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own,'' Vuma Reputation Management said. It was unclear exactly what Pistorius' service would consist of or how many people would attend. — Agencies