Super Sunday The BCCI's 84th annual general meeting (AGM) is all set to have N Srinivasan extend his term by another year, despite his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan being chargesheeted by Mumbai Police in the IPL spot-fixing scam. It will be interesting if Srinivasan requests the former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya to continue heading the board's day-to-day affairs till the Supreme Court allows Srinivasan to take charge. The meeting will begin at 11am on Sunday at ITC Park Sheraton. Other important decisions at the AGM The AGM will in all likelihood also spell out a roadmap for all the affiliated units to deal with their respective state governments about the double taxation policy adopted by the government. India's tour to South Africa is likely to be discussed, so are the venues for the two home Tests against West Indies starting November. Besides, any AGM usually allows members to raise all sorts of questions, with the permission of the chair. Likely office-bearers President - N Srinivasan, Secretary - Sanjay Patel, Treasurer - Anirudh Chaudhary, Joint Secretary: Anurag Thakur, Vice-presidents - Ravi Savant (West), Rajiv Shukla (Central), SP Bansal (North), Shivlal Yadav (South), Chitrak Mitra (East)

Chennai, September 28
Braving scathing criticism he has encountered on issues of propriety, a defiant N Srinivasan is certain to be elected unopposed as the president of the BCCI during its AGM on Sunday, although he won't be able to discharge his functions due to a SC directive.

The Tamil Nadu strongman, who is vying for his third term, can only resume his duties once the SC gives its final verdict on the case filed by Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma.

There is a possibility that Srinivasan might again have to appoint Jagmohan Dalmiya as the working head of the Board but it is unlikely that the president-in-exile will give any additional powers, including signing authorities, to the shrewd Kolkatan.

In that case, Sanjay Patel, who will now become the permanent secretary, will have to sign all the necessary documents till the apex court allows Srinivasan to resume charge.

Despite the Supreme Court making some serious observations, Srinivasan and his confidants have gone ahead with their plan of retaining the power. The norm for filing nominations for the post of president is to get a proposer and a seconder from the zone of the incumbent.

While the Goa Cricket Association and the Andhra Cricket Association were initially reluctant to support him but he and his trusted aides used their persuasive skills to perfection to get them on board. With six southern associations (TNCA, Andhra CA, KSCA, Kerala CA, Hyderabad CA and GOA CA) firmly behind him, the chances of having another candidate to fight against Srinivasan were blown away. Also the fact that none of the influential voices in the BCCI, including some of the political luminaries, took a stand, made it a tad too easy for him. Most of the state associations have no voice whatsoever and would toe the 'Srinivasan-Line'.

His ability to keep the members happy has also gone strongly in favour of Srinivasan. A two-day pleasure trip to a plush resort in Mahabalipuram and a lavish party thrown at a five-star facility in the city yesterday night were testimony to the amount of confidence he has in his members.

“Look the apex court's observation never stated that Srinivasan can't contest the elections. That's why he is contesting. There were talks of Shashank Manohar contesting the elections. He (Manohar) is an honest man but did he come out in the open and express his opinion?” a senior office bearer of a state association, said.

“We only heard from sources not from Manohar that he is willing. Why should we put our necks in line when we don't even know that whether he will go all out? You can't blame Andhra CA and Goa CA for changing their stance. It's a case of survival for every association and no one wants to lose out on the perks by standing on the wrong side of the fence,” he added. There will be a few key decisions that will be taken at the AGM including who will be the chairman of the cash-rich but controversy-ridden Indian Premier League.

Chennai, September 28
Politician and Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association chief Rajiv Shukla will be one of the three new vice-presidents of the BCCI even as South Zone expectedly nominated N. Srinivasan for the post of president ahead of the Board’s AGM.

MCA president Ravi Savant and DDCA secretary Sneh Bansal are the other two new vice-presidents after incumbents Arun Jaitley, Niranjan Shah and Sudhir Dabir refused extension for various reasons.

While Bansal replaces his state association president Jaitley as the vice-president from North Zone, Savant, who was an interim treasurer, will be a vice-president replacing veteran Saurashtra CA supremo Shah.

Former IPL chairman Shukla will replace Vidarbha CA’s Dabir as the vice-president from the central zone. A busy union minister, the vice-president’s post will help Shukla concentrate on his political commitments as the general elections approach. While BJP heavyweight Jaitley, has bigger political commitments with general elections in 2014, Dabir and Shah didn’t want extension. Cricket Association of Bengal veteran Chitrak Mitra and HCA president and former India off-spinner Shivlal Yadav were game with a year’s extension. Savant had to be accommodated in the core team with a good designation as he has helped Srinivasan, who is seeking an extended one-year term, in the crisis situation that emerged due to the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

“Savant was entrusted with a specific job of delaying the MCA elections so that Sharad Pawar doesn’t stand in Mr. Srinivasan’s way. He managed that effectively by delaying the MCA elections to the third week of October. Now although he was never Srinivasan’s first choice as treasurer, he had to be rewarded for helping the Chennai strongman,” a BCCI official informed.

Haryana Cricket Association chief Anirudh Chaudhary has been nominated for treasurer. — PTI

Mysore, September 28
Manpreet Juneja's resolute knock went in vain as India A succumbed to a humiliating 162-run defeat against the West Indies A in the first unofficial Test, giving away a 1-0 lead to the visitors in the three-match series Saturday.

Needing 314 runs to win the match after West Indies declared at their overnight second innings score of 130 for three, India were bundled out for 152 by first innings chief wreckers Nikita Miller and Veerasammy Permaul here.

The hosts were earlier dismissed for 245 in the first innings, giving West Indies a lead of 184 runs. The Indian top-order failed miserably with Manpreet Juneja being an exception with his 193-ball 70 after a first-innings effort of 84. In the second innings, India lost half the side with a mere 90 runs on the board. Captain Cheteshwar Pujara (17) failed for the second time in the match, which proved quite crucial.

Openers Lokesh Rahul (9), Jiwanjyot Singh Chouhan (24) and Pujara (17) were dismissed cheaply but Juneja was the last man out after scoring a brilliant 70 off 193 balls with four boundaries and a six.

The lower-order batsmen could not hang on with Juneja and lost their wickets after finding no answer to the mesmerising bowling by West Indies spinners. Riding high on such a huge total, West Indies bowlers, especially spinners, exploited the conditions effectively, hardly giving a chance to the Indian batsmen to settle down in both the innings. Left-arm orthodox spinner Nikita Miller was the pick of the West Indies bowler with figures of five for 40 for a match haul of nine wickets for 101 runs. Permaul, on the other hand, snapped up three wickets for a match haul of eight in a fine exhibition of spin bowling.

Right-arm off-break bowler Narsingh Denaraine was also handy with two crucial wickets of Rohit Motwani and Harshad Khadiwale.

The two teams will now travel to Shimoga for the second unofficial Test which begins from October 2. After this defeat, India will look to turn the tables on West Indies with Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan joining the team.

Brief scores: West Indies A 429 and 130 for 3 (Powell 68) bt India A 245 &152 (Juneja 70, Permaul 5-85, Miller 5-40). — PTI

Ranchi, September 28
Titans skipper Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out) put on a century stand to lead their side to a crushing eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Champions League Twenty20 Group B match.

The South African side, Titans romped over Sunrisers' total of 145 in just 16.3 overs with two wickets down to give a major boost to their run rate.

The pair took the Sunrisers bowlers to task with a scintillating batting display and transformed the run chase into a cakewalk adding 112 in 12.1 overs at the JSCA International Stadium.

Davids continued his good form and reached his second half century of the tournament as he smashed seven boundaries and clobbered four sixes in his 42-ball 64 knock. Rudolph missed a deserved half century as he remained unbeaten on 49 with three fours and two sixes, while Heino Kuhn (15 off 8) too was unconquered, steering the side home.

Davids' dismissal off Dale Steyn came too late for the Sunrisers as the openers had put the Titans in a winning position.

Tokyo, September 28
Sania Mirza continued her impressive run as she captured her fourth title of the season and 18th overall with Cara Black of Zimbabwe, recording a come-from-behind win over Liezel Huber and Hao Ching Chan to lift the Pan Pacific Open trophy, on Saturday.

The unseeded slayers of the top seeds in the semifinals, pipped the American-Taipei combination 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 in one hour and 25 minutes. After losing the opening set, Sania and Cara made a stunning recovery with three breaks to push the match to super tiebreaker, where the Indian-Zimbabwean combo rallied again to edge past the rivals 11-9 win. Ecstatic after the win, Sania tweeted, “#champions #yesss #wedidit #comeonnnnnn.” Today’s title was her fourth with third different partner. — PTI



Sania Mirza and Cara Black of Zimbabwe registered the win (4-6, 6-0, 11-9) in one hour and 25 minutes. — Reuters

Johor Bahru, September 28
India wasted a two-goal advantage to draw 3-3 against hosts Malaysia in their last, inconsequential, round-robin match of the Sultan of Johor Cup under-21 hockey tournament on Saturday.

With this match, India finished on top of the standings but the result of the tie was merely of academic interest as both India and Malaysia had already qualified for the final ahead of today’s game. Both India and Malaysia finished with 13 points and were unbeaten in the round robin stage but the Indians managed to top the table on account of a better goal difference.

Both the teams lacked urgency and played reserved hockey, knowing they had already made it to the final.

The Indians dominated the early exchanges and took the lead in the 10th minute when Satbir Singh slammed in from a rebound after Amit Rohidass’ attempt from a penalty corner was blocked by Malaysian goalkeeper Mohd Hazrul Ahmad Sobri.

Malaysia earned a penalty corner in the 25th minute but wasted the opportunity as they failed to stop the push. India doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Ramandeep Singh, who scored from an acute angle from the right to notch up his sixth goal in the tournament.

India, however, did not look impressive at the change of ends as they seemed contended with the two goal lead.

Malaysia were the better side on display in the second half as they created more scoring opportunities but goals eluded them till the last 10 minutes of the game. — PTI

London, September 28
West Bromwich Albion inflicted further misery on Manchester United, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday to condemn the champions to their worst start to a Premier League season and leave them in the bottom half of the table after six games.

Morgan Amalfitano and Saido Berahino scored for the visitors either side of a Wayne Rooney leveller to leave United in 12th place in the table a week after they suffered a crushing defeat to local rivals Manchester City.

City also suffered a surprise defeat at Aston Villa, who scored three second-half goals to win 3-2 at Villa Park, leaving Tottenham Hotspur top of the table after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea earlier on Saturday.

John Terry headed a second-half equaliser for Chelsea as the managerial battle between Jose Mourinho and his former apprentice Andre Villas-Boas ended in stalemate. — Reuters

London, September 28
John Terry headed a second-half equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw for Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as the managerial battle between Jose Mourinho and his former apprentice Andre Villas-Boas ended in stalemate.

The hosts dominated the first half and took the lead when Gylfi Sigurdsson finished a flowing move, but the halftime introduction of Juan Mata turned the game in Chelsea's favour.

Mata's curling free kick was headed in by Terry 20 minutes after the interval and Chelsea piled on the pressure until referee Mike Dean controversially sent off striker Fernando Torres with 10 minutes left.

Torres, who was booked earlier in the game for a needless trip on Jan Vertonghen, was given a second yellow card after an innocuous aerial challenge with the same player.

Spurs remained two points clear of Chelsea. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

Jhajjar
Haryana badminton team announced
The Haryana Badminton Association has announced Haryana teams (men and women) for North Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship-2013 scheduled to be held at Jammu from October 1 to 3. Neeraj, Harinder Malik and Rajat (Sonepat), Akshit Mahajan, Saurav Kapoor and Ketan (Panchkula) and Ravinder and Siddharth (Bhiwani) have been included in the men’s team. Sanjay Sapra and Pradeep Paliwal had been appointed as team manager and coach respectively. Ekta Kalia and Jyoti Rawat (Faridabad), Jagriti (Panchkula), Komal and Lalita (Sonepat) have been selected for women team. The U-19 (boys and girls) teams would also participate in the North Zone Championship. — TNS

Bangkok
Berdych to face Raonic in Thailand Open final
Top-seeded Tomas Berdych needed nearly three hours to outlast Gilles Simon of France 6-7 (5) 6-2 7-5 on Saturday and reach the final of the Thailand Open. Simon saved four set points in the 10th game of the first set and was down 5-3 in the tiebreaker before winning the next four points, clinching it when Berdych sent a forehand into the net. But Berdych took a 3-0 in the second and broke his opponent in the 11th game of the decider. The hard-serving Raonic hit 23 aces in the second semifinal but struggled with unforced errors in the first set. In the second, he broke Gasquet in the 12th game to level the match and earned another break in the last game of the decider. — Agencies

kuwait city
India thrash Bhutan 8-1 in AFC U-16 Championship
Prosenjit Chakraborty scored a hat-trick as India thrashed Bhutan 8-1 in a group match of the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers here and keep themselves in contention for a final round berth. Besides Prosenjit, who struck in the 13th, 31st and 48th minutes, the other scorers are Jayananda Singh (4th), Jerry Lalrinzuala (20th), Bedashwor Singh (33rd and 47th), Edmund Lalrindika (74th) and Nuruddin (75th). For Bhutan, Yoesel Dorji scored the lone goal with four minutes of the first-half left to play at the Ali Sabah Al Salem Stadium last night. India are on second spot in Group A with seven points behind table toppers Kuwait (nine points) against whom they play on Sunday. India need at least a draw against Kuwait in their last Group A match on Sunday as Tajikistan -- who are on four points -- are expected to beat Lebanon.

mumbai
World jr bronze winner Vidit aims for 2600 ELO rating
Former Under-14 world champion Vidit Gujrathi, who won the bronze medal in the World Junior Chess Championship in Turkey on Thursday, is aiming to attain the 2600 ELO rating by the end of this year. "My present rating is 2582 and my goal for the year is to reach a rating of 2600. The ultimate aim is to cross 2700" the Nashik-based GMr said. The Gujrathi will now be participating two rating tournaments in Chennai and Hyderabad in November, and the National Premier to be held in Maharashtra from December 16-30. The 18-year old said he had taken a break from his studies last year to prepare for the World Junior Championship which was held at the Turkish city of Kocaeli. “I was preparing for this event since one year and I wanted this medal for a long time and finally it happened. I am happy.” — PTI