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Indian bowlers have a ball
Modi back at the helm? At least his faction thinks so
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PP, ONGC record easy wins
West Ham add to Tottenham’s misery
Mudgal panel questions Srini
Himachal skiers look to slide and shine at Olympics
Bhullar, Lahiri making big strides
Haryana’s Hitesh wins Hind Kesari wrestling title
Big wins for BSF, ITBP and CRPF
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Indian bowlers have a ball
Johannesburg, December 19 The Indians lost five wickets for just 25 runs to be bundled out for 280 in their first innings, but clawed back brilliantly to leave the hosts at 213 for six at close on an action-packed second day. The hosts were cruising along comfortably at 130 for one before the Indian pacers wreaked havoc to completely change the complexion of the game on a Wanderers track which gave assistance to the quick bowlers. The lanky Ishant Sharma (3/64)triggered the shocking batting collapse by dismissing Hashim Amla (36) and Jaques Kallis (0) off consecutive deliveries before Zaheer Khan got rid of captain Graeme Smith (68) -- all three wickets falling without a single run being added. Mohammed Shami then struck for his team by evicting JP Duminy (2) and AB de Villers (13) in the same over to bring the Indians back into the game. From 130 for one, the Proteas were suddenly struggling at 146 for six, losing five wickets in the span of 16 runs in the eventful last session. The Proteas, however, recovered some lost ground with Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander stitching 67 runs for the unbroken seventh-wicket stand as the Indian bowlers went wicketless for the last 21.3 overs. Philander and du Plessis were batting on 48 and 17 respectively at stumps with South Africa still trailing by 67 runs. The Indians were unlucky not to have the wicket of du Plessis as he was dropped on 17 by Rohit Sharma off Shami at the fag end of the day. Smith and Hashim Amla started proceedings after tea, at 118/1, looking to further frustrate the Indians and increase their 81-run partnership for the second wicket. They could add only 12 runs though, before the drama began and wickets started falling in a heap. In the morning session, South Africa dismissed India for 280 runs in their first innings, their last five wickets falling for just 25 runs. India had begun the day at 255 for 5. Philander finished with 4 for 61 from 27 overs, while Morkel picked up 3 for 34. Starting at their overnight score, Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane looked to build on the platform provided by Virat Kohli's hundred. The former was accounted by Morkel in the 99th over, out for 19, while Rahane fell in the very next over, exposing the tail. — PTI Scoreboard India South Africa
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Modi back at the helm? At least his faction thinks so
The high-voltage polls, which have become a thorn in the flesh of BCCI because of Modi who contested for the post of RCA president, were held under the Supreme Court appointed principal observer justice NM Kasliwal, who as per the directives of Supreme Court, sealed the ballot boxes and send it to the apex court with his full report. "The observer would send the results to the apex court with his reports and it would decide the further course of action on January 6th, when the matter comes up for next hearing," said Abhinav Sharma, the lawyer of RCA. The results are likely to be announced on January 6th when the matter comes up for hearing in the apex court. The polling went off peacefully at the RCA academy today and the Modi Faction is claiming an easy victory. There are 33 District Cricket Associations as voters and the result would be based on the 29 votes whereas four districts are amid controversies and their votes would only be counted if the need arises. Both the warring factions of these districts have been allowed to caste votes because the matter is in litigation. There are nine candidates for six posts of vice-president and seven are in fray for four Joint Secretary posts. For the four posts of organizing secretary, there are six candidates. Three executive members were elected unanimously as there were only three nominations. The RCA faces a threat of suspension if former IPL commissioner Modi reclaims the post of RCA president as he is likely to win against Ram Pal Sharma. Modi was elected as RCA president in 2005 when BJP's Vasundhara Raje was Rajasthan chief minister. Interestingly, Raje is again back in control after BJP swept the recent Rajasthan Assembly elections but the incumbent RCA president CP Joshi and BCCI are trying hard to stop Modi from returning to cricket administration. — PTI Modi’s candidature cleared by SC observer: RCA to BCCI
The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) has sent a letter to BCCI clarifying its stand regarding the contentious issue of former IPL chairman Lalit Modi who was allowed to continue as president of Nagaur Cricket Association and subsequently contest the RCA polls here today. Officiating secretary of the RCA, K K Sharma, has written a letter to Sanjay Patel, BCCI secretary, that elections to RCA were taking place as per the orders of the Supreme Court. "The decision in respect of eligibility/ineligibility of any candidate, including Lalit Modi, to contest the elections has been taken by the Observers Hon'ble Mr. Justice N M Kasliwal and Hon'ble Mr. Justice S P Pathak. The Observers have rejected all objections raised against candidature of Lalit Modi and have by a speaking order permitted Mr. Lalit Modi to contest the elections. The RCA cannot flout the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and interfere in the conduct of elections by Supreme Court appointed Observers,” the letter said. |
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PP, ONGC record easy wins
Ludhiana, December 19 Meanwhile, ONGC XI, coming off their hard fought win over Air India yesterday, blanked Bangladesh XI 5-0 on a day which witnessed 27 goals in all. In the other matches, which also turned out to be one-sided affairs, Air India XI beat Namdhari XI 5-2 after leading 3-0 at half time and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) beat Army XI 6-2. In the first match of the day, Punjab Police went into the lead in the seventh minute when Ajit Pandit scored a fine field goal. Sarabjit Singh struck six minutes later to double the lead. Punjab Police went 4-0 up before halftime with Ranwant Singh scoring a brace. Immediately into the second half, former India captain Rajpal Singh scored to make it 5-0. Sarabjit got his second in the 67th minute to wrap up the issue. In the second match, ONGC XI faced little resistance from Bangladesh XI, with Harsahib Singh scoring a brace and Bikar Toppo, Harpal Singh and Navdeep Singh chipping in with one goal each. In the third match, Garish Pimpale got Air India the lead in the 14th minute, off a penalty corner. Vinay made it 2-0 in the very next minute, while Ayan Ubag scored just before the half time put the experienced side 3-0 up.
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West Ham add to Tottenham’s misery
London, December 19 Tottenham, who sacked boss Andre Villas-Boas on Monday, looked on course for victory when forgotten man Emmanuel Adebayor volleyed them ahead. But the north Londoners' defensive frailties were exposed again as Matt Jarvis equalised with 10 minutes left and Modibo Maiga headed the winner shortly afterwards. “We saw the shaken nerve ends of Tottenham when we scored. We then went for the jugular,” West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said. Meanwhile, Manchester United reached the last four with a 2-0 win at Stoke City. — Reuters
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Chennai, December 19 A criminal case is being heard against Meiyappan in the Bombay High Court. The committee has also questioned former India captain Kris Srikkanth and IPL chief executive Sundar Raman and will meet BCCI's anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani among others over the next few days. So far, the three-man committee has questioned a number of people, including the three Rajasthan Royals players — S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Sidhharth Trivedi, while they have also met with the officials of Delhi and Mumbai police. The probe committee's brief covers the corruption charges against Meiyappan, CSK team owners India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owners Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Ltd, as well as a larger mandate of allegations around betting and spot fixing on IPL matches and the involvement of players. Former India pacer S Sreesanth, Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, besides 26 others, were arrested in May following investigations by the Police into the scandal. Sreesanth and Chavan were handed life bans by the BCCI while Trivedi got a one-year ban. —PTI
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Himachal skiers look to slide and shine at Olympics
Chandigarh, December 19 With this, the Indian contingent for the upcoming winter Olympics has swelled to four. Armyman Nadeem Iqbal (cross country skiing) and luge pilot Shiva Kesavan, also from Manali, have already made it to the big event. One more skier, Aanchal Thakur, is also trying to qualify in the remaining two races. Manali lad Himanshu Thakur, one of the most promising skiers of India, said, "It's a great feeling to qualify for the big event. The qualifying criteria has been made a little difficult as the best results in five races (earlier it was two) have been considered for qualification. I am glad I finally managed to grab a spot here in Turkey. It has been over two years now. I have been travelling to places in Europe and New Zealand. It was becoming difficult to sustain without much financial support," he said. The 19-year-old, a student of class XII in Bharat Bharti School, Kullu, recently participated in at the World Alpine Championships in Schladming, Austria. Earlier, he had participated in the 2012 FIS Junior Alpine World Ski Championships at Roccaraso in Italy. 34-year-old old Hira Lal Thakur, from Burwa village in Manali, is in the business of adventure sports for more than a decade. He has already represented India in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He was also part of the national squad for the 2011 Winter Asian Games. Till recently he was considered the best bet from India but Himanshu has overshadowed the senior skier by displaying superb form recently. "Hira Lal and I have already spent Rs 23 lakh in just one year. There has been no financial support from the state or the centre government. What hurts the most is that we won't be carrying our flag in the opening and closing ceremony. I can't say whether I will win a medal but representing the country too is a big honour which we won't have," he said. The duo left for Turkey on December 11 and are expected to be back on December 24. The round-the-year travelling and extensive training schedule during Jan-March period has upset his academic schedule. "It's fine. Skiing is my passion. I will try to cover up once I am back."
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Bhullar, Lahiri making big strides
Chandigarh, December 19 Gaganjeet Bhullar, who started the year with a second place finish at the 2013 Avantha Masters and also won the 2013 Indonesian Open earlier this month, earned US$ 479,978 in prize money out of the 16 events that he played on the Asian Tour alone and finished fourth on the 2013 Order of Merit. “I have earned my full European Tour card and will be playing all the events on the European Tour. I will start my season from Abu Dhabi which is in the third week of January,” said Bhullar, who played 13 weeks at a stretch and is looking forward to some time off. “I will play the season ending event on the PGTI Tour in Kolkotta next week as I haven’t played any events on the tour and then take some time off,” he added. Looking back at 2013, he said, “I started the year pretty well with a second place finish at the Avantha Masters which basically gave me my European Tour card but then hit a dry patch for about three, four months. However, towards the second half of the season, I played really well in Indonesia and then in Thailand last week I played consistently. These are positives I will take from this year as I head out to the European Tour.” “The Arjun Award was biggest achievement of this year as it's a once in a lifetime achievement and I am glad to have got that,” added Gaganjeet. Meanwhile, Anirban Lahiri played 20 tournaments on the Asian Tour and earned US$ 465,696 to finish fifth on the Order of Merit. He successfully defended his title at the Sail-SBI Open Championship and though he was in leading position numerous times thereafter on the Asian Tour, victory continued to elude him resulting in three runner-up finishes to his credit. However, he lived up to his top billing as one of the future stars of the sport and was consistently in the limelight. “I think this has been my most consistent year,” said Lahiri. “I have played really solid golf and my game has become sharper. I am really happy that I played 11 out of 12 weeks and did not tire mentally. That is something that would have been the case two or three years ago but now I think I am a much stronger person mentally and not just in terms of strength but endurance,” said Lahiri.
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Haryana shuttlers win bronze
New Delhi, december 19 Meanwhile, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) maintained their dominance after comfortably clinching the double crown, beating Air India in both the men’s and women’s finals.
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Haryana’s Hitesh wins Hind Kesari wrestling title
Jhajjar, December 19 Rubaljeet Singh of Punjab beat AK Minto of Delhi-A to take the third position. Hitesh bagged the prestigious Hind Kesari title along with a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.
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Big wins for BSF, ITBP and CRPF
Patiala,
December 19 While CRPF trounced Punjab State Power Corporation 3-1, BSF crushed Northern Railways 4-0. ITBP overpowered Sports Training Centre, Patiala, 4-1 and in the fourth match, EME, Jalandhar, beat Indian Navy 3-0.
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Saina slips to world no. 8 after a poor year Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 11 runs in 1st ODI Chanderpaul, Ramdin lead WI fight back against NZ
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London, December 19
Chandigarh, December 19
Jaipur, DECEMBER 19
Hamilton: