Shane Watson checks in at the team hotel in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, March 7
The Australian cricket team sans skipper Michael Clarke arrived in Chandigarh for their third Test match against India, to be played at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium from March 14.

The skipper and his wife Kyle visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday and are expected to reach the city on Friday. Some of the players visited Sector 17 footwear outlet and a restaurant while the others took it easy. Though they may have lost the two Test matches, Australian players were in a cheery mood and made a quiet entry into the Team Hotel without much fanfare.

Skipper Michael Clarke with his wife Kyle at the Taj Mahal in Agra

The next two days are going to be easy for them as they are scheduled for optional practice but indications are that the team is going to take them seriously. Some of the players may tee off at Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) early on Friday morning. The visitors will have first net sessions on March 10 and that is when the serious preparation starts. The Indian team has dispersed for a while and will regroup in the city on Monday.

The Australian team, led by Michael Clarke, is trailing 0-2 in the four-match Test series having lost in Chennai by eight wickets, before the innings and 135-run humiliation in Hyderabad. Chairman of the PCA Media Committee G S Walia, who is also the PCA Joint Secretary, said the 30-member Australian contingent, including the players and service staff, arrived here by a chartered flight from Hyderabad. The team was taken to its hotel in sector 35 amid tight security arrangements made by the UT Police, which had deployed its personnel on the route from airport to hotel.

New Delhi, March 7
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels that Virender Sehwag could have been given another chance keeping in mind the batting-friendly pitch in Mohali, which will host the third Test against Australia from March 14.

“The ball comes onto the bat nicely in Mohali and Sehwag likes to bat on such surfaces. So, I think he could have been given a chance in Mohali for the third Test,” Gavsakar said on Thursday.

Gavaskar is of the opinion that the out-of-form Sehwag would stage a comeback.

“I don’t think this is the end of the road for him. He has got a 100 at the start of the season against England, scored a couple of 50’s. I think it’s just the perception, the way he goes about his cricket. “I don’t think he is totally out of form,” Gavaskar said. Further defending Sehwag, the former great said the Delhi player was not “totally” out of form and was not throwing his wicket away.

“I don’t think he is totally out of form. He is getting out to terrific deliveries. He got out to a beauty in Hyderabad while in Chennai, the extra pace got the better of him.”

New Delhi, March 7
 He could not capitalise on the opportunities to cement a place in India's Test squad but Suresh Raina reckons that he has now matured as a batsman and is just waiting for another chance to prove his worth in the middle order.

Regarded as a one-day specialist, Raina has been a regular in India's one-day team for long but his Test career could not really take off as he could manage just 768 runs for an average of 28.44 in 17 Tests.

"I have worked on my batting. If I get a chance to play Tests again, I won't let it go unaccounted for sure. My career is shaping up well. I am hitting the ball well at the moment. I am waiting for another chance and this time I am confident of performing well," Raina told PTI here.

"I have done pretty well in recent matches and I would like to stage a comeback. I don't have a grudge, I don't feel that somebody else has taken my place in the (Test) team. As long as the team is winning, I am a happy man," he said.

The national selectors' decision to ignore Raina for the ongoing four-Test series against Australia came as a surprise as the left-hander had amassed 277 runs at an average of 92.33 in the ODI series against England.

He struck form for the Rest of India squad in their Irani Trophy tie against Ranji champions Mumbai, hitting a classy hundred (134) in the first innings and then followed it up by scoring an equally impressive half century in the second essay.

Raina had lost his place in the Test team after an unimpressive show in the two-Test series against New Zealand in September and was subsequently not considered for the four-Test rubber against England.

For the ongoing Australia series, which India lead by 2-0, the selectors have preferred Ravindra Jadeja over him, especially because of the former's effectiveness as a spin bowler on the turning wickets at home. Jadeja justified his selection for the first two Tests with an impressive show with the ball, extending Raina's wait for a Test recall.

"I am happy for Ravindra Jadeja, he is playing really well. He had scored a lot of runs (in the domestic season)," he said. The prolong wait for a permanent berth in India's Test team has not eroded Raina's self-belief.

"What is important for me is playing cricket and not thinking about how my Test career is shaping up. I am not into future planning and all. I am concerned about my present and not the future," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh player said there's nothing more satisfactory than playing Test cricket and believed he could force his way back into the team if he continued to work hard.

"It feels great whichever format you are playing for Team India. I would definitely love to play more Test cricket. My aim is to play Test matches. For me, there is a different feel of Test cricket as it tests your character. You come to know about your mental toughness and most importantly, there is another level of satisfaction as a player," Raina said.

Raina said he felt disappointed at not being picked for the Australia Test series.

"You feel disappointed sometimes, it's quite obvious.

But that particular phase does not linger on for too long. It goes with time. You start feeling like what's next. My job is to perform, enjoy cricket and thank 'God' for whatever he has given me. Selection is not in my hand. My job is to perform for the country whenever you enter the ground," he said.

Raina refused to react when asked about out-of-form opener Virender Sehwag's axing from the Indian squad for the third and fourth Test against Australia.

"It's up to the selectors to decide. He is a good player, he has performed well for the country. For me, what is good for the team, that's important. Ultimately, winning is the most important thing." Raina also said that he is looking forward to performing well for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 6. — PTI

New Delhi, March 7
In a significant move towards resolving the issues that led to India's ban from the Olympic family, the IOC has asked the Indian Olympic Association to fix a date, in consultation with the Sports Minister, for a meeting before the end of this month in its headquarters in Lausanne.

Three months after the IOA was banned on the ground of government interference, the IOC has written back to the Indian body for a meeting to discuss a roadmap towards resolving the issues by way of holding elections under a revised constitution.

The letter was written to V K Malhotra, the acting chief of the IOA before it was banned on December 4 last, and IOC member in India Randhir Singh, who was also the Secretary General before the suspension. "We are writing to you to follow up on our letter of 14 January 2013 and to renew our invitation to you to come to Lausanne together with the Sports Minister of India for a joint meeting with the IOC and OCA," the letter said.

“To that effect, we hereby request that you agree with the Sports Minister on a suitable date to come to Lausanne, which should be no later than 31 March 2013, and that you submit a concrete proposal to us by the end of next week," it said. "As soon as we agree on a date, we will of course extend an official invitation to the Sports Minister," said the letter written jointly by Pere Miro, NOC Relations Director of the IOC, and Husain Al-Musallam, Director General and Technical Director, Olympic Council of Asia. — PTI

New Delhi, March 7
Top Indian male shuttler Parupalli Kashyap booked his place in the pre-quarterfinals of singles event after notching up a straight-game win over Jen Hao Hsu of Chinese Taipei in the All England Badminton Championship.

World number nine Kashyap won his first round match 21-17 21-18 in 43 minutes at the National Indoor Arena. He now runs into seventh seed Kenichi Tago of Japan.

Sourabh Verma, who made it to the main draw after playing in the qualifying round, was the other Indian who made it to the round of 16 in the men’s singles event.

Verma beat Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 10-21 21-14 24-22 in a hard-fought 59-minute duel. He now faces eighth seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam in the pre-quarters.

It was, however, curtains for Ajay Jayaram who lost 21-15 18-21 10-21 to Zhengming Wang of China in the opening round. In the women’s singles, star player Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu advanced to the round of 16 last night.

Saina had to sweat it out to beat Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand 21-8 18-21 21-16, while Sindhu registered a relatively easy 21-13 21-18 win over Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand. In the mixed doubles event, V Diju and Jwala Gutta made it to the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-9 21-17 win over Peter Kaesbauer and Isabel Herttrich of Germany, but the other two Indian pairs — Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya Gadre, and Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa — fell by the wayside.

Dewalkar and Gadre lost to Jian Guo Ong and Yin Loo Lim 8-21 13-21, while Kona and Ponnappa were beaten 18-21 10-21 by Fran Kurniawan and Shendy P Irawati.— PTI

Ropar, March 7
Routing Punjab and Sind Bank Academy by 5-2, the Sikh Regimental Centre (SRC) entered the quarterfinals of the Dashmesh Hawks All India Hockey Festival being played at Hawks Stadium, Ropar.

PSPCL edged past Rock Rovers Chandigarh by a margin of 3-2 and SAI Bhopal outclassed Sports Hostel, Lucknow beating them by 6-5 5 via tie breaker to enter the quarterfinals.

The first match between Sikh Regimental Centre, Ramgarh (SRC) and Punjab and Sind Bank Academy started on a brisk note with SRC team making early inroads in the rival territory. Goalkeeper Sourav Sharma stood his ground making brilliant saves, but SRC shot into the lead soon through Baljit Singh Junior who scored a field goal. collecting a pass from Gagandeep Singh. SRC earned a short corner, but Sourav in the goal stood his ground. SRC scored the second goal in the 35th minute through Harjit Singh.

In the second half SRC scored their third goal through Bikramjit Singh to put SRC 3-0 up in the 41st minute. Punjab and Sind Bank reduced the margin in the 46th minute. — TNS

London, March 7
Tennis will introduce biological passports for players and increase the number of blood tests done each year, the sport's anti-doping agency said on Thursday.

A number of players, including 17-times grand slam winner Roger Federer, had called for the sport to up its anti-doping measures in the wake of high-profile cases in other sports.

A biological passport is an electronic document containing test results collated over time that can be used to detect changes that might indicate doping.

"The implementation of the athlete biological passport is an important step in the evolution of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program as it provides us with a great tool in the fight against doping in our sport," said International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti in a statement.

According to figures on the ITF website (www.itftennis.com), the governing body carried out only 21 out-of-competition blood tests in the professional game in 2011.

Chandigarh, March 7
The Central Excise Department today initiated property attachment proceedings against cricketer Uday Kaul for non-payment of service tax to the tune of Rs 10 lakh.

"We have started executing property attachment orders against Kaul for not paying service tax of (about) Rs 10 lakh,” said a senior central excise officer.

It is learnt that the attachment orders had been slapped on Kaul a month back over demands for payment of service tax on money received by the cricketer for product endorsements during the first and the second Indian Premier League seasons.

Kaul, who had represented IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab in the tournament, was also a member of the Punjab squad for the recent Ranji Trophy matches. In an effort to quicken tax recovery, the Central Excise department last month issued property attachment orders in 40 cases, including against Punjab cricketer Kaul, with a view to recover service tax arrears of over Rs 50 crore. — PTI