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Windies A
tour
Won’t disclose Sehwag’s batting position: Pujara
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For Virat, SA tour is the benchmark
Boxer Simranjit returns to a rousing welcome
Simranjit Kaur, who won bronze at the World Boxing Championship for Youth, with her parents. Tribune photo
Dhoni skips practice, Sachin slogs it out
Raina of CSK with a teammate during practice on the eve of their match against T&T. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Som, Hesh out of China Open
Champions League: Arsenal take on Napoli; Barca up against Celtic
Royals beat Volts to keep their slate clean
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Windies A
tour
Shimoga, October 1 Led by Cheteshwar Pujara, India A were beaten by a massive 162 runs in the opening match in Mysore. It will be interesting to see how Pujara handles the team filled with heavyweights such as Sehwag, Gambhir and pacer Zaheer Khan, who have been out of the national team for different reasons. Sehwag has not scored a century in 30 Test innings, while Gambhir's dry run with the bat has seen him without a century in 40 innings since January 2010. Zaheer too has not been in good form, failing to take five wickets in a Test innings since October 2010, and his fitness and endurance has been a concern too. After the 2011 World Cup, he played just seven Tests, breaking down in England. This match would be quite testing for Sehwag and Gambhir, who have had a poor run in the NKP Challenger Trophy as well. With the kind of experience, they would be eager to get big scores under their belt and make it difficult for the national selectors to ignore them for the upcoming West Indies series. In the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, while Sehwag scored 72 runs with a half century in three ODIs, Gambhir scored a mere 24 in two innings. Pujara would also look at Zaheer, who spent time in the south of France with Yuvraj Singh, to bolster the Indian attack, which was out of sorts in the first Test. They were a great disappointment as Ishwar Pandey and Mohammad Shami did not fire in both the innings. They conceded 224 runs between them and took only three wickets despite bowling 73 overs in the first innings. In the second innings, they failed to stick to a consistent line and length and went wicketless . Pujara would also look to forget his performance in the last match in which he managed only 20 runs in two innings. The Saurashtrian will hope to make a mark as he had done in the South Africa A tour with a blistering century. Among others, Sheldon Jackson, Abhishek Nayar, Paras Dogra, Uday Kaul (wk) and Mohammad Kaif, who have shown their potential, would like to display their batting talent. With his seven-wicket haul in the previous match, Parveez Rasool would also look to impress the national selectors. He was the only hope for Pujara and he made it count. With the kind of form, the visitors displayed in the first match, Pujara and his men would be wary of their opponents. West Indies A will go into the match with their tails up after handing out a huge 162-run defeat to the hosts.
— PTI
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Won’t disclose Sehwag’s batting position: Pujara
Shimoga, October 1 "You will come to know tomorrow," India A Coach Lalchand Rajput interjected. On Sehwag's injury, Pujara said he looks okay and a final call will be taken later. Asked whether Sehwag will go for a scan, the Indian captain said the team needs to speak to the physio about it. On match strategy, Pujara said there might be a few changes. Commenting on the pitch, Pujara said it looks a good and should help fast bowlers. "The outfield is very nice too," he added. Asked whether he would play three fast bowlers, Pujara said he would play them if there is dampness in the wicket due to rains. "We will take a call tomorrow morning. See how the wicket looks in the morning. There might be a bit of rain. It looks cloudy," he said.
— PTI |
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Hussey jottings can put Srinivasan in a tight spot
Chandigarh, October 1 Far gentler and much less combative than many of his mates, the Australian, ironically, may end up stirring a hornet’s nest, what with his book ‘Underneath The Southern Cross’ landing none other than the BCCI president, N Srinivasan, in a difficult situation. The Chennai Super Kings opener writes that “our owner was Indian Cements, headed by Mr Srinivasan. As he was also on the board of the BCCI, he gave control of the team to his son-in-law Mr Gurunath. He ran the team along with Kepler Wessels, who was coach." Hussey of course couldn’t have foreseen what this innocuous piece of information could mean post Gurunath’s arrest for his alleged role in IPL-fixing scandal and the Chennai Super Kings dissociating themselves from him, calling him a mere “cricket enthusiast”. Hussey is basically confirming two things – first, Gurunath Meiyappan was at the helm of CSK affairs; secondly, he was appointed in-charge by Srinivasan. On the face of it, what Hussey has written was common knowledge, despite Chennai Super Kings’ claim that he was a mere “cricket enthusiast.” The claim was so ludicrous that it made people laugh out loud and wonder why they couldn’t , too, as cricket enthusiasts, sit in the dug-out, buy players in the auction and move around with the badge of Team Principal pinned to their chest. In that light, why are these revelations, if it can be termed so at all, made by Hussey significant? Simply because it’s for the first time an insider has confirmed Meiyappan’s position and role in the team. The Hussey jottings, apart from junking the “cricket enthusiast” theory, have the potential to cause some discomfort to the battle-scarred BCCI president. |
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For Virat, SA tour is the benchmark
New Delhi, October 1 Though a consensus is still awaited on the much-awaited tour, an optimistic Kohli said the team “should be well prepared”. The 24-year-old batting star, who has already amassed over 4500 runs in ODIs and is seen as India’s future captain, said he was looking forward to a good start to the season, which will kick off with the seven-match ODIs series against Australia. “We are excited and hope to have a good start to the season. Australia have always been a strong side and we can't take them lightly,” he said. As for Yuvraj Singh’s comeback, he said, “I never had any doubt about Yuvraj coming back to the team. He has always been a great player. I am really happy for him but more than that, what I liked most was that he had gone to France for (fitness) training. I am glad that he has done that, he had no contact with others, and you will see that on the field.” Kohli said he was looking forward to be part of Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test match. “Sachin has achieved one success after another. There can be no bigger achievement than playing in the 200th Test. We all are looking forward to that.” Talking about himself, Kohli said he had proved that he was not all about “funky clothes”. “They thought that I am brash as I have tattoos and used gel. But people
didn't see my potential. I have worked hard and over a period of time, by doing some serious on-field stuffs, have proved that I am not all about funky clothes.”
— PTI |
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Boxer Simranjit returns to a rousing welcome
Jagraon, October 1 On Tuesday, Simranjit Kaur was given a rousing welcome on her return. "It is like a dream come true for me. Now my aim is to represent India in Olympics and win a medal for my country. I would continue to work hard and leave no stone unturned to realise my aim", said Simranjit Kaur. "Winning a bronze medal at an international championship is a great achievement. Simranjit has the ability to become a great pugilist and win many more medals at international level", said Balwant Singh Sandhu, chief administrator of Shere Punjab Sports Academy. Simranjit Kaur was the only pugilist from Punjab in the championship where India won a silver medal and two bronze. Prior to winning the bronze at international stage, she also hogged the limelight with her spectacular performance during the 58th National School Boxing Championship held in Andhra Pradesh in May. Representing Punjab in the Under-19 age category, she won a gold medal and became the national champion. |
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Dhoni skips practice, Sachin slogs it out
New Delhi, October 1 In contrast, Sachin Tendulkar sweated it out at the nets as Mumbai Indians geared up for their crucial tie against Perth Scorchers at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Wednesday. Chennai Super Kings will take on Trinidad and Tobago. MI coach John Wright was happy with the look of the pitch and the green outfield, and felt that it would be a batting wicket. He was also happy with the Delhi weather, which he found “beautiful”, and he expected his team to “play some good cricket” tomorrow to post a win. Though MI have a strong batting line-up, Tendulkar has been struggling to score runs, which has the team management concerned. MI need to beat Perth Scorchers to overtake Otago Vots on a superior net run-rate, to take second place in the group, and ensure a place in the semis. The Champions League has failed to generate the kind of buzz the IPL matches had generated, and no wonder it was rather quiet on the eve of two big matches. But Wright expected a large turnout for the matches. He expected his team to play well to make the semis. “We have to play really well to stand a chance for the semi-final. We are going to do our best tomorrow”, he added. CSK can take on Trinidad and Tobago with a relaxed frame of mind, as they are through to the last four, and are on a song. T and T can finish behind CSK if they protect their net run rate. |
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Som, Hesh out of China Open
Somdev traded a break with Verdasco to push the opening set to a tie-breaker, in which he could not get past the formidable Spaniard. In the second set, Somdev saved two of the three break chances but that one chance was enough for Verdasco to seal the
win. Bhupati crashes out. In the doubles event, Bhupathi failed to cross the first round hurdle for the third successive time as he and his Swedish partner Robert Lindstedt suffered a straight-sets defeat against Novac Djokovic and Swiss Stanislas
Wawrinka. The second seeded Bhupathi and Lindstedt lost 3-6, 3-6 in one hour and three minutes. Before this, Bhupathi lost the first rounds of US Open and in Bangkok. India’s challenge is still alive as top seeds Leander Paes and his Canadian partner Daniel Nestor will face Americans John Isner and Sam
Querrey. — PTI |
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Clarke ruled out of India tour
Melbourne, October 1 “The National Selection Panel today advised that South Australia's Callum Ferguson will replace the injured Michael Clarke on Australia's VB Tour of India,” Cricket Australia said. “In addition, the NSP has cleared the squad for the T20 against India, with Nic Maddinson added to the squad.” Clarke's availability was in doubt for the series which starts with a T20 on October 10 followed by seven ODIs. George Bailey will captain the ODI team in Clarke's absence with Brad Haddin as his vice-captain. “Michael was very keen to captain the ODI team to India but unfortunately he hasn't progressed enough to be available for selection,” National Selector John Inverarity said. “His replacement is Callum Ferguson, whose form in 50-over cricket during the last Australian summer was impressive, scoring 271 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 70 in the RYOBI CUP.” Commenting on Clarke's injury, Australian Team Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said Clarke has a longstanding lower-back injury that requires 'ongoing management'.
— PTI |
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Champions League: Arsenal take on Napoli; Barca up against Celtic
Berlin, October 1 However, Arsenal will come into the fixture as a team in confident mood currently sitting at the top of the Premier League and playing the sort of football Arsene Wenger's young team had promised for so long. Meanwhile, Celtic host Spanish champions Barcelona, with Messi ruled out due to injury, in their first home game of the UEFA Champions League group stages. Chelsea take on Steaua Bucharest
Chelsea know the pressure is on to get a result against Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest. While Chelsea’s squad should not be troubled by Steaua on paper, when the two teams met in Bucharest in the Europa League last season they were unable to break down the Romanian’s defence and lost 1-0 – a fact that is unlikely to improve any nerves.
— Agencies |
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Royals beat Volts to keep their slate clean
Jaipur: Rajasthan Royals beat Otago Volts by four wickets to break the 15-match winning streak of their opponents and extend theirs to 12-match at home. The low-scoring match had its share of drama before Royals sneaked home. Set a target of 140 runs by the New Zealand outfit, Ajinkya Rahane and Brad Hodge did the star turn for the team with crucial half-centuries. Hodge, in particular, was brilliant as he smashed match-winning 52 off just 23 balls. Royals appeared losing steam before Hodge changed the everything. Brief scores: Volts: 139 for 7 (Neesham 32, Skukla 3/23); Royals: 142 for 6 (Rahane 52, Hodge 52).
— Agencies |
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Jagraon, October 1
New Delhi, October 1
The unpredictable weather in Delhi has been a cause for concern, though it was sunny and sultry today as the teams sweated it out. 
Beijing, October 1
