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Karnataka are the champions
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Yuki, Saketh complete 5-0 whitewash of Taipei
Ignored Ojha not ready to throw in the towel yet
Better day for India
Concluding day
Warriors, Wizards fight hard but fail to break deadlock
Sandeep Singh in action during the match against UP Wizards in Lucknow on Sunday. — PTI
Football: PSPCL, JCT enter second round
Indians fail to impress in Dubai, Shiv finishes 48th
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Karnataka are the champions
Hyderabad, February 2 Robin Uthappa (36), KL Rahul (29) and Amit Verma (38) made useful contributions as Karnataka made amends for their disappointing six-run loss during the 2009-10 final against Mumbai. Young opener Rahul was named Man of the Match for his century in the first innings while Karnataka were richer by Rs 2
crore. Starting the final day at 272 for six, Maharashtra's tail wagged as they scored 366 with Shrikant Mundhe contributing 42 off 75 balls. The target of 157 was never going to be a tall-order for Karnataka due to the depth in their batting. Although Maharashtra seamer Samad Fallah Fallah initially posed some problems for the batsmen but Uthappa hit a flurry of boundaries to help Karnataka stay firmly on course. His 47-ball innings had six boundaries and he was especially severe on left-arm spinner Akashay Darekar, repeatedly giving him the charge as the first wicket partnership yielded 65 runs. Rahul, on the other hand, was playing second fiddle to Uthappa before he launched into one Chirag Khurana over where he lifted him for consecutive sixes over long on before cutting him past point for a
boundary. “So we wanted to win it this time and it's a superb team effort. Most of the players are around 25-26 years and they all want to play for the country, they all aim big and are doing well. We had the ability to win and the belief and took it forward match by match as a positive unit. Lifting the Ranji Trophy is a great honour and I'd like to thank my team-mates for that.” Maharashtra skipper Motwani on his part harped on the positives. “Extremely proud of my side, they have been showing a lot character from game one, there are a lot of positives. They have been working hard as a unit.”
— PTI A mixed season For the region’s four teams, the Ranji Trophy has been about hits and misses this time The Rise of Jammu and
Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir had their best season as they made the quarterfinals for the first time. Samiuallah Beigh and Parvez Rasool were the stand-out performers for the team. Having raised the bar higher, the side will be taken much more seriously from now on in the domestic circuit. Punjab fail to break semis barrier, again
Punjab made it to the semis for the second time in a row, but only to throw it away yet again. Gathered momentum towards the business-end of the tournament. Crippled by fragile middle-order. Bowling and batting lacked consistency. They haven't improved much but haven't gone down either. Himachal need a
little more push
Rode on the back of their pace battery, especially Rishi Dhawan. The all-rounder emerged as the season's highest wicket-taker with 49 scalps, besides being a hit with the bat too. Team slipping down consistently. Haryana’s sorry state
Played eight, won one, lost five and drew two. That's the long and short of Haryana. Haryana's coach-cum-skipper Ajay Jadeja failed miserably. Despite six well-established players, Haryana were miserable. BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary, also HCA's secretary, needs to set his house in order. |
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Yuki, Saketh complete 5-0 whitewash of Taipei
Indore, February 2 Myneni, who contributed in India`s doubles win yesterday, carried his good form into the singles rubber as captain decided to play him in place of Somdev Devvarman, who won a marathon singles against Ti Chen. This is the first time after 2005 that India have recorded a whitewash over an opponent. The 26-year-old Myneni, ranked 313, took just 48 minutes to dispatch higher-ranked Tsung Hua Yang 6-1 6-4 in the dead fourth rubber to put India on the cusp of a whitewash. Hsien-Yin Peng, who played in place of Ti Chen, fought his heart out to get that elusive win for his side but Yuki Bhambri was too good for him. The 22-year-old closed the tie with an impressive 7-5 6-0 scoreline in the second reverse singles, which lasted just 55 minutes. Yuki played with complete authority for his second win in the tie and was hardly troubled by Peng, who was nonetheless impressive with his ground strokes. Peng had nothing to lose so he gave everything to the contest but Yuki was too strong for him. India now lead Chinese Taipei 2-0 in head-to-head record having beaten them in an away tie in 2009. The scoreline may suggest otherwise but the way Ti Chen pushed Somdev in the second singles and the tremendous pressure put up by the Chinese doubles pair of Peng and Yang against Rohan Bopanna and Myneni yesterday, India had to work hard for a win in the first two days of the tie.
— PTI |
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Ignored Ojha not ready to throw in the towel yet
New Delhi, February 2 Ojha, who has got 100 wickets from 22 Tests and is currently on 113 wickets from 24 Tests, is waiting for his turn to play for India outside the sub-continent. “I just keep my cool and focus on my game rather than thinking about selection. Selection matters are not in my hands but what is in my hand is my own performance. My job is to perform for the country and keep myself focussed on job at hand,” said Ojha. “These types of thoughts fill your mind with negativity and hamper your performance. It's important to remain positive and leave selection matters in the hands of our selectors,” the left-arm spinner added. Ojha doesn't want to put too much pressure on himself on his non-selection. “If I start thinking about all this (did not get a game in South Africa and was not part of the New Zealand tour), seriously, I would be putting a lot of pressure on myself. I don't want these factors to affect my game. I will wait for my chances and I am confident that one day I will get it. I don't want to get into the negative side of my thoughts”. In the last Test match that Ojha played, he finished with a match-haul of 10 wickets in Sachin Tendulkar's farewell Test in Mumbai in November against the West Indies. Ojha could consider himself unlucky for not being able to board the flight to New Zealand despite Ashwin's poor show in the first Test against South Africa. — PTI |
Whangarei, February 2 In reply, the Indians were placed India at 41/0 in 14 overs after New Zealand XI declared in 78 overs in the only practice game ahead of the two-match Test series starting February 6 in Auckland. After a dismal ODI series that was surrendered 0-4 to New Zealand, the Indian team enjoyed a good outing at the Cobham Oval, albeit in a non-competitive match. For India, Dhoni and Virat Kohli were missing as they stayed back in Auckland, enjoying some rest after a hectic ODI series. Ravindra Jadeja was the third player missing from action, although he did travel with the team to Whangarei. India's Test specialists who flew in this past week — Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav and Wriddhiman Saha — were all included in the playing eleven. R Ashwin (2-45) provided the breakthrough and then Zaheer (1-42) removed skipper Devcich cheaply, before another little partnership worth 57 runs came up between O'Donnell and Jono Hickey. Their partnership was broken post-lunch by Ishant Sharma (2-58), who dismissed O'Donnell for 80 runs (124 balls, 13 fours). It opened the floodgates as wickets started falling at regular intervals after that. Ishwar Pandey came on to bowl after the first hour of play and was the pick of the Indian bowlers thereafter, scalping 3-42 in 14 overs. It was his first proper outing on this tour so far, and he didn't look rusty at all. He bowled a consistent line and length, earning a just reward for his effort. —PTI Brief scores: New Zealand XI: 262/9 in 78 overs (Robbie O'Donnell 80, Ishwar Pandey 3-42, R Ashwin 2-45); India: 41/0 in 14 overs.
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Gabrus beaten at their own game
Migrant labourers outnumber, outclass rural youth in show of strength Puneet Pal Singh Gill Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 2 The frail, famished looking migrant labourers not only outnumbered the stocky rural folks with rippling muscles but also outclassed them in an ingenious contest of loading and unloading trolleys. Almost 90% of the contestants in this event (nine teams) were the youths from UP and Bihar. It was anybody’s guess who would win competition hands down. Palledar Union Sangrur and Village Manavi bagged the first and second position. “I am in Punjab to earn bread and butter but what's the harm in giving it a try. After all this is what we do day in and day out,” said Ram, who represented the Kila Raipur team. Another competitor, Baldev Raj, who works as a labourer in Sangrur said, “Our employer (team captain) asked us whether we want to take part in it or not. We readily agreed as this is what we do every day.” Sukhpal Singh Grewal, a resident of Kila Raipur, said, “The competition of trolley loading and unloading is one of the main attractions here. Once the Grewal Sports Association had even awarded the winners with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh,” he said. Explaining the low turnout of Punjabi youth, a spectator said, “A large number of Punjabi youth is addicted to drugs. They are no longer interested in physical activity in fields. That is why the migrant labours have taken their place.” Meanwhile, Punjab’s youth exhibited a sparkling show of dexterity, both in traditional and conventional sports, as the Kila Raipur Rural Sports Festival concluded on a vibrant note at Grewal Sports Stadium.
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Warriors, Wizards fight hard but fail to break deadlock
Lucknow, February 2 The goalkeepers of both Wizards (George Bazeley) and Warriors (Jaap Sotckmann) had a busy day in office as the two teams played attacking hockey right through. The Warriors raced ahead in the sixth minute through Jake Whetton's field goal. The Wizards, however, drew level six minutes later with David Alegre sounding the board. Tied 1-1 at the half-time, the Warriors got the first opportunity to break the deadlock in the second half but drag-flicker Sandeep Singh went off the mark. The Punjab side surged ahead in the 50th minute, with Satbir Singh finding the net. The Wizards, however, didn't give up and keep pressing hard for the equalizer. And they got in the 54th minute through S K Uthappa, who slapped the ball home from Alegre's pass. Waveriders win
Delhi Waveriders prevailed over Kalinga Lancers 4-3 in a tense encounter with Simon Child scoring two goals in a Hero Hockey India League match. Monday is the rest day. The tournament will resume from February 4. — PTI |
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Football: PSPCL, JCT enter second round
Mahilpur, February 2 Sant Hari Singh Sporting Club lost to PSPCL 4-5 in a penalty shootout. Dalvir Academy defeated BSF 1-0. The BSF fought hard for an equaliser but Dalvir Academy held on to the slender lead. The third match was played between JCT Academy (A) and the Jarnail Singh Sporting Club Garhshamkar. Both teams had a tough fight but JCT Academy won by a solitary goal. Several attempts by the Jarnail Singh Sporting Club forwards bore no fruit and in the end JCT men emerged victorious. All matches were played at the Principal Harbhajan Singh Memorial Stadium Mahilpur and Madhuri A Singh Sports Stadium, Khalsa College, Mahilpur. Dalvir Academy will take on RCF Kapurthala, PSPCL will face Punjab Police Jalandhar and JCT Academy (A) will lock horns with United Football Club Mahilpur on Monday. |
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Indians fail to impress in Dubai, Shiv finishes 48th
Chandigarh, February 2 Meanwhile, a final round 72 helped Stephen Gallagher become the first player to successfully defend the Dubai Desert Classic title. His tournament total of 16-under-par, 272 gave him a one stroke victory and the winners cheque of 303,268 euros.
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Lucknow, February 2
Maharashtra earned a purse of Rs 1 crore but what would be more disappointing is the fact that they couldn't break their more than seven decade long jinx of not being able to win the national title. But one needs to laud Maharashtra for trying to make a match of it despite being down and out by the second day
itself.
Manish Pandey (28 not out) and find-of-the-season Karun Nair (20 not out) finished with a flourish as he hit Khurana for a boundary and lofted him straight for a six to finish the match. “Ranji Trophy is bigger than individual achievements. We all worked very hard for this with the support staff and it's an amazing moment. We've been doing well for many years but we couldn't win in 2009-10 and then made the quarter-finals but couldn't go further,” said Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar. 
Paris: