Kanpur, November 27
India clinched the ODI series against West Indies 2-1 with a comfortable five-wicket victory in the third and final match here on Wednesday, riding on Shikhar Dhawan's sparkling century.

India first restricted West Indies to 263 for five and then overhauled the target with 23 balls to spare to lift yet another ODI trophy at home. Dhawan stole the limelight with an attacking 119 that came off 95 balls, his fifth ODI hundred, while Yuvraj Singh scored a 74-ball 55 to seal the issue for the home side.

Earlier, the trio of Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo struck half-centuries to propel West Indies to a challenging total.

Powell (70) carried on his good form from the last match and registered his second fifty of the series. Together with Samuels (71), he shared a 117-run second-wicket partnership to lay the foundation for West Indies. Towards the end, Darren Bravo (51 not out) and Darren Sammy (37 not out) played aggressively to take West Indies past the 260-run mark.

Comfortably placed at 137 for one at one stage, West Indies looked set for a big score but India staged a comeback with quick wickets to restrict West Indies to the manageable score. For the hosts, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 45.

India's chase did not start on a very good note even though Dhawan made his intentions clear in the second over itself when he clobbered Jason Holder thrice to the fence. The hosts lost Rohit Sharma in the fifth over with just 20 runs on the board. Rohit gave a straightforward catch to Dwayne Bravo at the first slip.

Virat Kohli looked in great touch during his brief 19-run stay but he was undone by Rampaul's probing length outside the off-stump. While trying to leave a delivery at the last moment, the ball just brushed Kohli's bat on way to the safe hands of wicketkeeper Johnson Charles.

But from there on it was a Dhawan-Yuvraj show, as the duo shared a run-a-ball century partnership. Yuvraj was caught by Dwayne Bravo at the slip off Sunil Narine in the 31st over but not before the left-hander reached his fifty, which was laced with seven fours.

Dhawan finally departed in the 38th over, caught by Dwayne Bravo of his own bowling as the bat turned in his hand. Dhoni (23 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (2 not out) completed the formalities for India with consummate ease. — PTI

Score board

West Indies

Charles b Kumar 11

Powell c Dhawan b Ashwin 70

Samuels b Ashwin 71

DM Bravo not out 51

Simmons c Dhoni b Jadeja 13

DJ Bravo c Ashwin b Shami 4

Sammy not out 37

Extras: (lb 2, w 3, nb 1) 6

Total: (5 wickets; 50 overs) 263

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-137, 3-168, 4-187, 5-196

Bowling

Bhuvneshwar 8-0-42-1

Mohit 7-0-47-0

Shami 10-1-49-1

Ashwin 10-0-45-2

Raina 5-0-29-0

Jadeja 10-0-49-1

India

Rohit c DJ Bravo b Rampaul 4

Dhawan c&b DJ Bravo 119

Kohli c Charles b Rampaul 19

Yuvraj c DJ Bravo b Narine 55

Raina c Charles b DJ Bravo 34

Dhoni not out 23

Jadeja not out 2

Extras: (lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 10

Total: (5 wickets; 46.1 overs) 266

Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-61, 3-190, 4-218, 5-255

Bowling

Rampaul 10-1-55-2

Holder 6-0-47-0

DJ-Bravo 10-0-57-2

Narine 10-1-32-1

Sammy 3-0-22-0

Simmons 3-0-17-0

Permaul 4.1-0-31-0

Mumbai, November 27
One would be spoilt for choice if he is asked to choose his favourite pick from the following memorabilias — a signed boxing gloves by Muhammed Ali, a guitar signed by Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, a bat autographed by none other than Sir Don Bradman.

But ask Sachin Tendulkar and the answer will be the coins that he earned from his childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar after those rigorous training sessions at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana ground. During those days, Achrekar would put a Re 1 coin on top of the stump and if Sachin wouldn't get out, the coin would be his.

"I think the most important memorabilia for me is the coins that I have got from my coach Achrekar sir, those are the most important ones," Tendulkar said at the launch of India's first celebrity commerce website Collectabillia.

The collection includes Sachin Tendulkar 200th Test commemorative autographed bat, along with boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali.

After having a look at Ali's big gloves, Tendulkar said that it was exactly the same he had back home. "On my 40th birthday, I got a pleasant surprise from Anjana (Anjana Reddy, who is MD of Universal Sportsbiz that operates Collectabilia.com). The Muhammad Ali's glove that you are seeing here — I have one exactly like that at home signed by Muhammad Ali. That has to be a special memorabilia."

Another priceless piece of memorabilia has to be the framed picture and bat signed by Sir Don.

"Apart from Ali's signed gloves, Sir Don's autographed bat and framed picture another precious item that I possess," the cricket legend said.

A music buff and a big fan of Knopfler, it is obvious that rock star's signed personal guitar is also a treasured item for Tendulkar.

Other than cricket, I like motorsports and football but moving away from sport then it is music. Music, obviously from the western part of the world, it has got to be Dire Straits. Knopfler presented me his personal guitar. So that has to be the top of the music (collectors' item) list," he said.

The iconic Lata Mangeshkar treats Tendulkar like his son and by cricketer's own admission, he is waiting for the gift from his "Lata Didi".

"Something which I am really looking forward to is Lata Didi has promised me something, so hopefully I should have that with me. It is a surprise. That is something I am looking forward to. It will be a special one. These are the top three artistes as far as music is concerned for me.

"Among Indian musicians, Ashaji gave me her own personal record. It was signed and a song the way it is meant to be sung (notations) in her handwriting, which is really special to me. AR Rahman, who is a good friend, gave me his personal guitar, so that is dear to me." — PTI

New Delhi, November 27
Midfielder Manpreet Singh, with 85 international matches to his credit, will lead the 18-member Indian team in the Hero Junior Men’s World Cup hockey, to be held here from December 6. Defender Amit Rohidas, with only 17 international caps, will be the vice-captain.

When Hockey India announced the team today —with all the probables, presently attending the national camp here, in attendance — the cynosure of all eyes was the unassuming forward Ramandeep Singh. Ramandeep has been propelled into the limelight after he was bought for over Rs 50 lakh by Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the player auction for the second season of the Hockey India League, to be held in January next year.

Ramandeep, employed with Punjab and Sind Bank in Gurdaspur, said one important lesson he has learnt in the junior hockey camp was to give importance to plugging the loopholes in defence. He said he could move up in attack as a forward only if the team's defence was tightly-knit. Otherwise, there was the lurking danger of conceding goals in sudden counterattacks, which the European and Australian teams are adept at.

He said the strategy of the team would be to take it one match at a time, as looking too far ahead would only put pressure on the players.

Captain Manpreet Singh, 21, echoed Ramandeep's observation. He also felt that the World Cup would give a big platform for half the members of the team, who would be getting their first major opening to perform, excel and catch the spotlight. He expected the team to figure among the last four, and possibly in the medal bracket.

Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra said the junior team has been training hard in a bid to attain a podium finish. He said the players gained much confidence after winning the Sultan of Johar Cup and the subsequent exposure at the Asian Champions Trophy, and hoped to carry on the good form to the World Cup as well. Foreign coach Gregg Clarke said the team members were eagerly waiting for their opening match against Holland. "Playing a World Cup at home will be a memorable occasion for the players. We have prepared well and look forward to taking on the world's best at home," he said.

India have been placed in Pool C, along with The Netherlands, Korea and Canada. Pool A will feature Germany, Pakistan, Belgium and Egypt, while Australia, Spain, Argentina and France make up Pool B. England, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia will form Pool D. India will open their campaign against The Netherlands on December 6, followed by ties against Canada and Korea. All India matches will be played at 8 pm.

India had won the Junior World Cup in 2001, held in Australia, when they defeated Argentina in the final. India finished second in the fifth edition in England in 1997 when they lost to Australia in the final.

THE SQUAD

* Goalkeepers: Sushant Tirkey and Harjot Singh;

* Defenders: Gurjinder Singh, Amit Rohidas (vice-captain), Surender Kumar, Sukhmanjit Singh, Pardeep Mor and Kothajit Singh

* midfielders: Manpreet Singh (captain), Satbir Singh, Harjit Singh, Imran Khan and Prabhdeep Singh

* Forwards: Malak Singh, Mandeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh.

Chandigarh, November 27
The announcement of the team for the junior hockey World Cup has made obvious what has been the topic of discussion in the hockey community for the last couple years — the resurgence of the sport in Punjab.

Out of the 18-member squad, 12 players are from Punjab. Out of the six stand-bys, three are from Punjab, making it 15 out of the 24 named.

Harjot Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Sukhmanjit Singh, Harjeet Singh, Satbir Singh, Prabhdeep Singh, Manpreet Singh (captain), Mandeep Singh, Malak Singh, Talwinder Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh.

Though this is big news, the people responsible for this achievement are not surprised. “It is a huge achievement for Punjab. But it is not a surprise to us. It has taken seven years of hard work to reach this point,” said Avtar Singh, one of the coaches at the Surjit Academy, Jalandhar. Eight of the 12 players are either current or former trainees of the academy.

“A comprehensive plan was put together by Sukhvir Singh Grewal, who was in charge of development of hockey in the state, and Pargat Singh, the then Director of sports in 2006.”

Avtar added that one of the main reasons behind this accomplishment is transparency in the selection process. “Since the beginning, great emphasis was given to the selection process, which takes three to five days every year. Doctors were in charge of identifying the correct age of all children and merit was the only criteria.”

But selection can't be the only factor behind the resurgence, and Gurdeep Singh Grewal, coach of the department-run hockey academy in Mohali, elaborated on the coaching aspect. He said the coaches themselves underwent intensive training over the last few years, so they could better coach the young players. “We ourselves trained in everything, even the correct walking posture for a player,” he said. “Over the last five years we have been given access to literature and videos of training methods used by the leading hockey nations, such as Australia and Holland.”

Sukhvir Singh Grewal, who has been in charge of the scheme, said, “Before 2006 around 300 children used to show up at the trials. Over the years this number has increased to over 1500. There were only five or six academies active then and now there are five resident academies and over 30 day-boarder academies, which train 7000 to 8000 children.”

But Grewal said that though this long-term process has started to show results, there is still a lot of hard work to be done to sustain this revival.

Chandigarh, November 27
Indian women wrestlers are facing a harrowing time in their preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, to be held in Johannesburg on December 5-7. The national camp has been shifted from Patiala to Sonepat and now to Lucknow within a month’s time. On Wednesday, the women wrestlers rushed to Lucknow for the final leg, for less than a week before taking a flight to Johannesburg on December 3.

At Sonepat, the grapplers have been complaining of space constraints, unavailability of mats and other inconveniences. “Apart from senior national camp, the juniors too were shifted to Sonepat recently. As a result it was getting difficult to accommodate so many athletes. With girls around it becomes even more difficult,” explained Raj Singh, secretary general, Wrestling Federation of India.

Sources say the women were uneasy training alongside men. “It is always better to segregate men and women's camps. The preparation and performance tend to come down whenever both are at the same venue. Moreover, the girls will get better facilities in Lucknow. That is why we have shifted them there,” Singh said. Sadly, the decision has come a little late in the day. It is also learnt that there were complaints of food supplements not being provided on time at Sonepat. The turmoil is not just restricted to preparation. Coaching too has taken a hit.

The second in-charge, Kuldip Malik, has taken over as chief national coach from OP Yadav at the last moment. Yadav has apparently relinquished the post citing personal reasons. As if this was not enough, SAI is peeved with one of the team coaches, Kripa Shankar Bishnoi, for getting into an altercation with Class IV employees at NIS Patiala. SAI, it is learnt, is not in favour of Bishnoi continuing with the campers. “We have submitted the report and Bishnoi will go as coach to South Africa," Singh said, overruling the objections of SAI.

The winners and runners-up at the recently-concluded nationals at Kolkata will be flying to South Africa for the competition. Ironically, the expenses of only the winners will be borne by the government while the runners-up will have to foot their own bill. 

Patiala, November 27
In their best performance ever in the national-level tournaments, Punjab have won 10 medals in the 36th Junior National Archery Championship that concluded at Kokrajhar, Assam, today.

The team won five gold, one silver and four bronze medals and finished overall second behind the Services Sports Control Board. Accompanied by coach Surinder Singh, who is working as an archery instructor with Punjabi University, Punjab pushed archery powerhouse Jharkhand to the third spot.

This is a significant achievement as Jharkhand has been a dominant force in Indian archery for a very long time.

Coach Jiwanjot Singh informed that the gold medals performances include Recurve mixed gold by Lovejot Singh and Madhu; Indian round men's team gold for Mohit Kumar, L Ricky Singh and Kuldeep Singh; two gold medals by Madhu in individual Recurve women's category; and a gold medal by Mohit Kumar in the 30m Individual Indian round.

Prabhjot Kaur won a silver in the 30m Recurve category. The bronze medals came in the form of the Indian mixed team bronze for Mohit Kumar and Navneet Kaur; compound men's team bronze for Amanjeet Singh, Robin Vinayak, Sahil and Prabhjot Singh; and two individual bronze medals by Indian round archer Mohit Kumar in the Olympic round and 40m distance.

Delighted with this performance, Kulbir Singh Kang, president of the Punjab Archery Association, said he's hopeful that after such a big medal haul, the Punjab government will take cognisance of archery and help these sportspersons find employment.

Director Sports of Punjabi University, Dr Rajkumar Sharma, was delighted with the fact that out of the 20-member contingent that competed in the tournament, 17 belonged to the university.

London, November 27
Chelsea reached the Champions League knockout stage on Tuesday despite a 1-0 defeat by Basel in Group E after a late Mohamed Salah goal shocked the 2012 title winners with Jose Mourinho saying they deserved to lose.

Barcelona, without Lionel Messi but already into the last 16, went two goals down in Amsterdam but looked a different side in the second half after Ajax's Joel Veltman was sent off.

Xavi pulled a goal back but Ajax held on to inflict Barca's first defeat this season under new coach Gerardo Martino and the Dutch side now visit AC Milan next month with all to play for.

Milan thrashed Celtic 3-0 away and have eight points to Ajax's seven in Group H after ending the Glasgow side's hopes. Three sides in Group F — Arsenal, Napoli and Borussia Dortmund — all still harbour hopes of reaching the last 16.

Arsenal have 12 points after beating visitors Olympique Marseille 2-0 thanks to a double from England midfielder Jack Wilshere, while Dortmund, last season's losing finalists, join Napoli on nine points after beating the Italians 3-1.

Arsenal travel to Napoli on December 11 while Dortmund play at Marseille, who have yet to earn a point and have now lost eight successive Champions League matches over two seasons.

In Group G, Zenit St Petersburg and Porto still have a chance of joining section winners Atletico Madrid in the last 16. Zenit drew 1-1 at home to the Spaniards to reach six points while Porto have five after a 1-1 draw with Austria Vienna.

Mourinho's Chelsea side failed to manage a shot on goal in the first half against Basel who themselves could not find a way past Petr Cech to make their dominance count. — Reuters

Mumbai, November 27
Rookie Angad Cheema of Panchkula equalled the course record with a seven-under-63 to grab the lead in the opening round of the Crompton Greaves Open 2013 here at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club.

Chikkarangappa S of Bangalore was placed tied second at six-under-64 along with Delhi's Rashid Khan.

Cheema made birdies on the first, second and fourth holes, but bogeyed the third and fifth. The 23-year-old then birdied the seventh, 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th holes before an eagle on the 18th. “I couldn't have asked for a better start to the week,” Cheema said later. — PTI

Adelaide, November 27
Jonathan Trott's abrupt Ashes exit has left the England team heartbroken, said paceman Stuart Broad who offered the top-order batsman full support in overcoming his stress-related issue. Trott said he was taking a break from cricket for the "foreseeable future" on Monday after England were thrashed by 381 runs in the first Test.

"It's heartbreaking for us to lose Trotty. He's been part of the side for four or five years — he's a fantastic guy. He gave us a lot of solidity in the number three spot," Broad said on Wednesday. "I don't suppose as a squad we were overly aware of the troubles he had. But it all turns to making sure he gets right now.” — Reuters 

BRIEFLY

Bhullar to lead Indian challenge at Jakarta
Jakarta: Gaganjeet Bhullar is all set to lead a strong Indian challenge at the $750,000 Indonesia Open, which commences here on Thursday. Bhullar, who has been in the top-five of the Order of Merit for most part of the year, and Anirban Lahiri are coming off two events in Australia. A 12-week stretch resulted in two Asian Tour victories for Bhullar last year and he hopes to repeat the feat when he plays in his 10th straight event after representing his country at the World Cup of Golf last week. The other Indians in the field are Jyoti Randhawa, Rahil Gangjee, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Himmat Rai, Sujjan Singh, Chiragh Kumar and Abhinav Lohan.

Indians bag nine more medals, take tally to 48
New Delhi: Indians clinched nine more medals, including six gold, to take the medal tally to 48 on the third day of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships at Penang, Malaysia today. K Shireesha and Joti Mal swept all three gold on offer in the junior women (58kg) and youth girl (58kg) categories, respectively. Sireestha lifted 73kg in snatch and 95kg in clean and jerk for a total of 168kg while Joti Mal had a total of 160kg (70kg in snatch and 90kg in clean and jerk). Minati Sethi fetched three bronze in senior women 58kg as she lifted 80kg in snatch, 110kg in clean and jerk for a total of 180kg. Yesterday, the Indians won 36 medals, including 19 gold. On the first day, India had won one gold and two silver medals through Deepak Lather in youth boys 50kg.

Unwell Jeevan exits from Raipur ITF Futures event
Raipur: An upset stomach forced top seed Jeevan Nedunchezhian to concede his second round match of the ITF Futures tournament but N Sriram Balaji kept himself in contention for a second successive title by reaching the quarter-finals, here on Wednesday. Left-handed Nedunchezhian won the first set 7-6 (5) but after losing the second 4-6, decided not to continue, feeling low on energy. "It was a bad day.. Nothing much. I was not feeling well. even on day one and after having lunch yesterday it became worse. I fly home tonight, take some days off and then go to Germany for pre-season training," Jeevan said. — Agencies

Nepal qualify for the World T20 Championship 
Abu Dhabi: Nepal made history on Wednesday when they qualified for their maiden major ICC event by progressing to next year's World Twenty20 Championship after their five-wicket victory over Hong Kong in the qualifiers. Chasing 144 runs for victory, Nepal survived a last-over scare to score the required 13 runs, with 10 runs coming from the first two deliveries and a last-ball misfield producing the winning runs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here.

Pak win a thriller, clinch series against South Africa
Port Elizabeth: Pakistan beat South Africa by one run in a rain-hit second one-day international in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday to win the three-match series by taking a 2-0 lead. Brief scores: Pakistan 262 off 45 overs (Shehzad 102; Steyn 6-39) South Africa 261-6 off 45 overs (Amla 98, AB de Villiers 74; Junaid Khan 3-42).

Ravi Sawant appointed MCA interim chief 
Mumbai: A day after a city civil court restrained Union minister Sharad Pawar from functioning as the Mumbai Cricket Association president, the MCA managing committee on Wednesday appointed vice-president Ravi Savant as its interim chief. “The managing committee took into consideration the day-to-day business of the association and there needs to be somebody to take the decisions of the president,” said Savant.