Mohali, September 23
All looked well with Sunrisers Hyderabad when they took the field for a practice session on Monday, the eve of their opening contest against Trinidad and Tobago in the main draw of the Champions League. Shikhar Dhawan was busy unleashing his trademark drives in the nets; Dale Steyn was seaming the ball as much as leg-spinner Karan Sharma was spinning it; Ishant Sharma working hard to hit the desired right line and length despite his mane almost blinding him after the delivery stride; and Darren Sammy, the big West Indian, chirping around. By all accounts, it looked like any other pre-match day for the Sunrisers.

But then, as they say, looks could be deceptive, and they sure were in this case. After all, how could the team have stayed genuinely jovial and focussed on the job at hand in the wake of a bookie revealing that he, with the help of four of their players, had spot-fixed an IPL game? Regardless of its merit, the allegation is grave enough to have stirred a hornet’s nest.

According to reports, a Mumbai-based bookie, arrested by the police, has claimed to have fixed an IPL game involving Sunrisers Hyderabad for six crores. The bookie, who recorded his statement to Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which included it in its chargesheet filed on Saturday, is alleged to have implicated Thisara Perera, Hanuma Vihari, Karan Sharma and Ashish Reddy.

While the veracity of his allegations could be established only after the inquiry, the Sunrisers or the BCCI/IPL did little to clear the air. While the Sunrisers coach Tom Moody chose the easier route by saying that he “would only talk about the game on the morrow”, there was no clarification from the franchisee either. Nor did the BCCI/IPL bother to make any comment, staying true to their ostrich-like habit of burying their head in the sand at sighting trouble. In sharp contrast, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was quick to spring to the defence of their player, Thisara Perera. SLC said it had “the full confidence in all its players.”

Despite this distraction, the Sunrisers have the advantage of having played three games at the venue, and thus knowing the conditions much better than their opponents. “We can only measure it I suppose after tomorrow night, but it’s clearly an advantage given that we have had three competitive games, all on the surface we are playing on tomorrow night,” said Moody.

The trick to translate that advantage into victory would lie in their staying as singularly focused on the game as they looked today. That may be a tad difficult to pull off in a real match situation, compared to in a practice session.

Let’s keep the fingers crossed.

Chandigarh, September 23
Rain had the final say in Ahmedabad on Monday as both matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled. In the first match, the Highveld Lions and Perth Scorchers shared the spoils and earned two points each for a no result match, whilst Mumbai Indians and Otago Volts similar earned the same points for their abandoned match.

TODAY’S MATCHES Brisbane Heat v Titans  LIVE ON STAR CRICKET:  4 PM Sunrisers Hyderabad v Trinidad and tobago  LIVE ON STAR CRICKET: 8PM

Sharing points in the washed out games could cost the teams dear, especially to the Mumbai Indians. They have already lost to the Royals in the first game, and would have wanted full points from this game.

Spectators who have purchased tickets for these matches can claim a refund from the Refund Counter at the Box Office at Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad from 25th September till 2 October between 10am to 6pm. Refunds can be claimed only on producing a valid paid ticket. All tickets purchased through the internet will be refunded directly online. The refund counter will not be open on 27th and 30th September due to the matches taking place at the venue. — TNS

New Delhi, September 23
Age fudging has been the bane of the Subroto Cup, India’s premier soccer tournament for school children, over the years, and last year, the Nagaland team played with only 10 players as the others were found over-aged. The year before that, the entire Afghanistan team were disqualified for bringing in over-aged players. It’s common knowledge that many teams field over-aged players during the qualification tournaments at the States-level to ensure that certain teams make the cut, and once the qualification process is over, the qualified teams field players with the right age!

Learning from past experiences, the Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society, which conducts the Subroto Cup under the aegis of the Indian Air Force, will be keeping a strict vigil on the age of the players during the 54th edition of the Subroto Cup, to be played at the Ambedkar Stadium here, from September 27 to October 19. The tournament will be held in four age groups—boys under-14 and boys and girls under-17. The girls tournament, held for the first time last year, has become a big hit, as more and more teams vie for the qualification event at the States-level. Over 20,000 schools across the country took part in the qualification stage.

Troeshchina team of Ukraine, winners of this year’s UNICEF Cup in Spain, will be the star attraction in a field of 81 teams, including four foreign teams — nine more than last year.

The other foreign teams will be from Oman, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Punjab will be one of few States to field teams in all the three categories. In fact, there will be 20 teams in the girls section, including from Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Afghanistan, which portends well for the game.

“The Subroto Cup has been witnessing growing participation from teams, and we have been trying to come with new features in every edition to give value addition to the tournament”, said Air Marshal HB Rajaram.

He said the organizing committee would effectively tackle the age-fudging menace, and if need be, dope testing would be conducted, though so far, no doping case has been detected in the Subroto Cup. 

Mohali, September 23
Dale Steyn does not want the standoff between the BCCI and CSA to result in a curtailed series between India and South Africa later this year as the speedster says the two teams share a “great cricketing rivalry”.

“It would be quite nice if India come to South Africa. There has always been a great rivalry between the two sides,” said Steyn.

The BCCI’s decision to invite the West Indies to tour India in November effectively means the schedule for India’s tour to South Africa will have to be shortened.

A final decision in this regard will only be taken after the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting in Chennai on September 29.

Steyn said he was eagerly waiting for his duel with India’s new batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan when the country tour the Proteas for Test and ODI series.

“Shikhar (Dhawan) is in some good form right now. It will be nice to have that contest especially now that I know him well. It will be a great battle between good friends... he is batting really well at the moment,” Steyn said of his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate.

Coming back from an injury, Steyn said he was working hard to get back to top shape ahead of South Africa’s domestic season.

“I haven’t played for a while or done gym work. But otherwise, I am not really conservative in my approach. I am not afraid of getting injured again. I’ve just got to remember that probably it’s just a little bit of stiffness that has crept in,” he said.

Champions League is Steyn’s first competitive outing since he picked up a side strain and groin injury during the Champions Trophy in England towards the middle of June.

“I am just taking it easy. There is no point in going full tilt from the first ball; you have to build it up. I feel with every game I have played so far in the tournament, I have gotten better,” he said.

Steyn said Champions League has provided him with the “perfect platform” to get back in shape. “You get a couple of hours of competitive cricket and you can stand in the field for 20 overs. It’s not exactly the ideal preparation for Test match cricket but I think it’s a good start for me.” — PTI

Johor Bahru, September 23
A fighting India rode on Ramandeep Singh’s brace to eke out a come-from-behind 3-2 triumph over Argentina and register their second consecutive win in the Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament on Monday.

India trailed for a large part of the match but Ramandeep (60th, 62nd) found his scoring touch when it mattered the most and netted two field goals in final 10 minutes to turn the game in his side’s favour.

Vice-captain Affan Yousuf (23rd) was the other goal-getter for India, while Isidoro Carlos Ibarra (16th, 42nd) scored both the goals for the mighty Argentines.

With two wins from as many games, India have consolidated their position in the league standings alongside arch-rivals Pakistan on six points apiece.

India had defeated England 2-1 in their tournament-opener yesterday.

Argentina, on the other hand, slumped to their second straight defeat after having lost 2-4 to hosts Malaysia yesterday. Despite the win, it was a poor performance from the Indians who seemed lost in the midfield and lacked firepower and sting upfront. Argentina drew the first blood in the 16th minute when Ibarra converted a penalty corner with precision that beat Indian custodian Harlot Singh all ends up.

But the South American side’s joy was shortlived as India drew parity seven minutes later when Affan Yusof scored with a reverse hit after some slick stickwork in the semi-circle. Argentina restored their lead seven minutes into the second half from a penalty stroke which was awarded after Ibarra’s flick from the Pan American champion’s second penalty corner hit Indian skipper Manpreet Singh on the foot.

Ibarra stepped up to take the stroke and made no mistake from the spot to hand Argentina a 2-1 lead. Thereafter, the Indians toiled hard for goals but their fowardline continued to disappoint the side. Luck finally smiled on the Indians in the 60th minute when Ramandeep scored the equaliser from a goal-mouth melee with the ball bouncing off the Argentina keeper’s pads into the net.And two minutes later, Ramdeep was once again in the thick of things as he cleverly deflected in at the far post to score the winner for India.

After a rest day, India will play arch-rivals Pakistan in their next round-robin match on Wednesday. — PTI

Chandigarh, September 23
Till Sunday night Sandeep Tulsi Yadav was just a footnote in the obscure history of Greco-Roman wrestling in India. India had never won a medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at such a big stage.

Sandeep had not even won a medal at any international level before this. The closest he had come was a standbye for Sunil Rana (66kg) in the squad for the 2011 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship, Melbourne.

Wrestler Bajrang, who won a medal in (66 kg) freestyle in the championship, admitted that he did not know much about him earlier. “I came to know about his success today morning. It is a good sign. To be true, I didn’t know much about him before.”

The 25-year-old changed all that in one fell swoop after a take down on Aleksandar Maksimovic from Serbia in the broze-medal bout.

Sandeep not only just removed the ‘tag-along’ stigma generally associated with the wrestlers of this discipline but created history. He has opened the doors of a new era for the fledgling wrestlers in the discipline.

Born and bred in true Benaras tradition of akhada style wrestling, once it was clear the boy had something in him, Sandeep was advised to shift Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Kandivli centre where he became a protege of coach Jagmal Singh. Here too, Sandeep was not the chosen one. It was Narsingh Yadav who was the one marked out for future.

After minor finetuning, Sandeep secured a place in the core group of wrestlers and since then in in national camp since the prepration for 2010 Commonwealth begin.

Coach Ramphal said, “Sandeep is a hardworking wrestler. He has good fitness level. His strength lies in ‘throws’ and he has a tight grip. Honestly speaking, We were not expecting a medal from him. All hopes were on Ravinder Singh (60kg). But I must say Sandeep had prepared well for the championship.”

New Delhi, September 23
Former IPL chairperson Lalit Modi was his usual outspoken self when he said it will be a “doomsday” for the Indian cricket if N Srinivasan gets re-elected as BCCI president at the board’s AGM on September 29.

“Across the globe, the fans, advertisers and administrators will be disappointed at this if Srinivasan gets re-elected. A wrong message would be sent. It will be a doomsday for Indian cricket,” said Modi.

Srinivasan is bidding to get re-elected as BCCI president for the third year running under the Board’s two plus one year tenure rule, having completed two years at the helm. Srinivasan has been under a lot of pressure since the spot-fixing scandal broke out and his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team official Gurunath Meiyappan’s name cropped up in investigations into betting during the IPL’s sixth season held in April-May.

He had stepped aside in June as the BCCI chief and let former president Jagmohan Dalmiya take over the day-to-day work. However, he chaired the meeting of the disciplinary committee held in Delhi earlier this month that imposed life bans on cricketers S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan for indulging in spot-fixing in IPL6. — PTI

New Delhi, September 23
India’s top singles player Somdev Devvarman returned to top-100 after a gap of one year and nine months as he jumped three places to 98 in the latest ATP singles rankings, issued on Monday. Somdev had achieved a career-best rank of 62 in 2011 but struggled after that as a shoulder injury halted his progress.

Chandigarh, September 23
The old order gives way to the new and for the first time, young professional golfers are consistently dominating the leaderboard at the PGTI Championships. The infusion of young blood into golf is refreshing and encouraging.

Till earlier this year, veteran professionals like Mukesh Kumar were dominant. Mukesh ran away with the title when the last PGTI Players Championship was held here earlier this year. But things have been different these last two weeks since the tour has been in the city and surrounding golf courses.

While Chiragh Kumar, Rahil Gangjee, Akshay Sharma, Abhijit Singh Chadha and Ajeetesh Sandhu fought it out on the course, veterans like Gaurav Ghei, Vijay Kumar, Ali Sher and Indrajit Bhalotia missed the cut, and Mukesh quietly played over the weekend and made his exit, too far back to make a comeback. “Things have changed in the last two or three years and it has been quite a drastic shift of power from the older professionals to the younger generation,” said Sujjan, who finished tied second last week. “One of the reasons behind this is that almost all leading amateurs like Rashid Khan and Khalin H Joshi, who are experienced and have won many amateur events, have turned professional. They have the confidence and are making their presence felt on the professional tour.” The level of the game too has improved. Sujjan points out: “The cut has dropped by two or three strokes, making competition more intense and improving the level of the game.”

“It is good to see younger professionals competing with more seasoned professionals… This is what the game needs to grow further,” added Uttam Singh Mundy, Director PGTI. “There are so many new faces,” said last week’s PGTI Players Championship winner Rahil Gangjee, “but it is good to see so many youngsters playing the game.”

As the tour moves to the Players Championship at the Panchkula Golf Course this week, youngsters like Sujjan, Ajeetesh and Abhijit will head the challenge. Others like Chiragh Kumar, Harendra Gupta and Angad Cheema cannot be overlooked.