Adelaide, November 26
The Indian pace attack is getting much attention Down Under, with Varun Aaron being singled out for special praise by Australian cricketers, who feel the youngster’s biggest assets — pace and bounce — are things that had troubled the visitors on their previous tours in Australia.

Ahead of the first Test in the four-match series, the performance that caught the eye most was that of Aaron who worked up lively pace on Day One of the first warm-up game and the fact that along with Bhuvneswar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, he looked the part of India’s first-choice bowler for this tour.

“Aaron bowled some pretty quick bumpers,” said opener Ryan Carters, who top-scored for Cricket Australia XI with 58 runs in the warm-up game.

“He did a little bit of damage. Pace and bounce, the issues that have troubled so many Indian batsmen on past Australian tours, are Aaron’s biggest assets. On a fast wicket, he will definitely be a handful. You could definitely expect some short stuff from him,” he added of the 25-year-old.

About Kumar, Carters said, “He isn’t the quickest Indian bowlers out there but he definitely is the most accurate. He keeps pegging at one particular length and it becomes a challenge to play that when there is help for him from the pitch and the conditions.”

There is not a shred of doubt that the focus is solely on the Indian bowling attack at the moment. It is a jam-packed Australian summer of cricket for the visiting team, with the four Tests followed by an ODI series and the World Cup thereafter.

Barring one or two names, these bowlers represent India’s first choice attack in both formats of the game. And they will need to work on both their fitness as well as the mental aspect of their bowling if India are to come out on top at the end of the next four months.

These pacers, along with spinners and batsmen, practised under the watchful eyes of coach Duncan Fletcher at the Gliderol Stadium in Glenelg on Wednesday. It marked Day One of a low-key two days they will spend in the city this week as the second tour game against Cricket Australia Invitational XI only starts on Friday.

It has been a hallmark of Fletcher’s term as Indian coach that the practice days aren’t full of energy, at least not from the viewpoint outside the boundary-line. The players seem content playing the full squad in tour matches whilst using centre-wicket for net-practice to iron out their flaws. This was one such day as the visiting side returned to the venue of their first tour game and had proper nets in the middle of the ground for the entire day.

Fletcher played ‘umpire’ as the batsmen padded up in the order that is anticipated to be named for the first Test starting in Brisbane on December 4. Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha batted for most of the time, taking strike in pairs, against both pace and spin. It was noticeable that Suresh Raina did not bat at all before the players went in for lunch break.

Amongst the bowlers, Ishant Sharma led the ‘attack-duty’ along with Kumar and Shami. Aaron bowled early on, mainly to the openers but then was rested for the remaining batsmen.

Umesh Yadav wasn’t much active either. The spinners were all there though Ravichandran Ashwin and Karn Sharma bowled a lot more than Ravindra Jadeja.

None of this is a firm pointer to what the playing XI could be for the first Test or what stand-in skipper Kohli is thinking. There is a week to go before the first ball is bowled at the Gabba and the second tour game at the Adelaide Oval this weekend could have a major say in the team management’s strategy formulation ahead of this vital four-Test series.

Whenever an opposition team lands in Australia, there is keen interest in its main batting star and/or captain. This has been especially true whenever an Indian squad arrives. This time around things are a little different. There isn’t much talk about how Mahendra Singh Dhoni is conspicuous by his injury-based absence or that in his place Test-captaincy-greenhorn Kohli will be leading the side.

The small fact that Kohli failed miserably on India’s last overseas tour — to England — this past summer has also failed to get any attention. Perhaps it is also to do with the fact that the Indian batsmen — Kohli included —didn’t make heavy weather of the conditions or the inexperienced bowling in the first tour game. — PTI

Nicosia, November 26
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi set a Champions League scoring record of 74 goals when he netted a hat-trick in Tuesday’s 4-0 Group F win at APOEL Nicosia.

The Barca and Argentina captain surpassed the record of 71 he jointly held with former Real Madrid and Schalke 04 striker Raul when he put his side 2-0 ahead shortly before halftime.

The 27-year-old added two more goals in the second half to complete his 31st career treble, his fifth in Europe’s elite club competition and the first in which he has scored all three with his less-favoured right foot. “I am pleased to have achieved such a nice record in such an important competition,” Messi said.

His achievement is the latest milestone in a stellar career and comes three days after he broke the six decades-old La Liga scoring record with a hat-trick in Barca’s 5-1 home win over Sevilla. Messi’s 74 Champions League goals came in 91 appearances, while Raul needed 142 for Real and Schalke 04 for his 71.

Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 70 Champions League goals in 107 matches.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero celebrates after scoring the winner as Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng reacts during their match in Manchester on Tuesday. Reuters

Manchester: Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero struck a hat-trick, including two late goals, in a 3-2 victory against 10-man Bayern Munich on Tuesday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout phase.

Aguero raced through to slot past Manuel Neuer in the 85th and 91st minutes to snatch a stunning win, the Argentine having given City a 21st minute lead with a penalty after Bayern’s Mehdi Benatia was shown a red card for bringing him down. Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski had struck within five minutes of each other shortly before halftime to put the visitors in front.

New Delhi, November 26
Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer Manoj Kumar lashed out at former India cricketer Kapil Dev for initially denying him the Arjuna Award.

Blaming the Kapil-led selection panel for denying him the honour, the Haryana boxer said the Arjuna Award, which was bestowed belatedly on him on Wednesday, was a “fitting reply” from him to the World Cup-winning captain. After receiving the award from Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday, Manoj did not miss the opportunity to take a potshot at Kapil Dev.

“When I called Kapil Dev, the first question he asked me was, ‘Do I know you?’ I told him ‘I am Manoj who won a gold medal in the CWG. My name has been removed from the Arjuna Award list, and you are giving the award to a bronze medallist.’ But he hung up on me. Today, I want to tell Mr. Dev that my name is Manoj Kumar, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist,” said the miffed boxer.

Manoj’s name was removed from the initial list of Arjuna awardees even as another boxer Jai Bhagwan was recommended for the prestigious honour. Later, Manoj approached the Sports Ministry, which assured him that his name would be added to the list in a review meeting.

When he did not find his name in the final list, he filed a case in the Delhi High Court. Manoj won the case, forcing the Ministry into giving him the award, though belatedly. The Ministry counsel had, in fact, admitted in the court that Manoj was initially not considered for the award by the committee as they mistakenly believed he was involved in a doping case.

“My work is to box. Going by my achievements, I deserved the honour. I don’t know who made those false allegations against me,” he said.

New Delhi, November 26
The year 1960 witnessed the end of a golden chapter in the history of Indian hockey. The aura of invincibility, which the Indian hockey team had built around itself from 1928 to 1956, suffered a huge blow at the Rome Olympics with the loss of gold to Pakistan.

Two years before the next Olympics, India were again beaten by Pakistan in the final of the 1962 Asian Games. So in Tokyo, people wanted nothing short of gold medal. The team, on its part, showed great character to reach the final and beat Pakistan 1-0 to regain the gold medal lost four years back.

The Tokyo Games turned out to be a life-changing moment for a little-known boy from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh— SM Syed Ali.

Ali was the first Muslim hockey player in 16 years to make the Olympics squad after Independence in 1947. It took four Olympics — from 1948 to 1960 — for a Muslim player to break into the national side. Ali played in two league matches and the final, playing a big role in setting up goal-scoring opportunities.

“I was the first Muslim player in 16 years to get selected for the Olympics. Just imagine the feeling, representing the nation at the biggest sporting spectacle on earth. It was a proud moment for Gorakhpur,” Syed told The Tribune.

“It was my first Olympics, I wasn’t even expecting a call-up. It was a dream come true for me. For a single position in the team, there would always be 4-5 candidates. It was very difficult to get in,” the left winger added.

Talking about the pressure to regain the gold medal, Syed said it was a “do-or-die” situation for the team. “We had only one option, come back with the gold medal. There was no other option. We needed that medal badly and thankfully, we achieved our target,” he said.

Ali was in the Capital to attend the felicitation function organised by the Sports Ministry. The winning members and next of kin of the deceased were presented a cheque for Rs 7.5 lakh each in honour of their achievement.

Gracing the occasion were five of the eight surviving members — Charanjit Singh (skipper), Dharam Singh, Harbinder Singh, Balbir Singh and Syed, while five of the deceased members were represented by their family members.

Sydney, November 26
Australia cricketer Phil Hughes was still fighting for his life on Wednesday as family and friends kept vigil at his hospital bedside. Hughes remains in an induced coma after undergoing emergency surgery on Tuesday when he was struck on the head by a bouncer, a devastating blow that experts likened to the trauma experienced by car crash victims.

The 25-year-old underwent further scans on Wednesday morning but medical staff at Sydney’s St Vincent’s hospital did not disclose the results. “Phillip’s condition is unchanged and he remains critical,” the Australian cricket team doctor Peter Brukner told reporters.

Hughes needed CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after he collapsed at the Sydney Cricket Ground when he was struck on the back of the head by a short-pitched delivery. He was rushed by ambulance to the nearby hospital and immediately underwent an operation to relieve the pressure on his brain. Peter Larkins, one of Australia’s leading sports physicians, said people who suffer serious injuries can remain comatose for days but can still make full recoveries.

Melbourne, November 26
Phillip Hughes’ fight for survival from a severe head injury has prompted a wave of sympathy across the globe, not least from former New Zealand cricketer Ewen Chatfield, who was nearly killed by a fast delivery in the 1970s. Chatfield played 43 Tests, ending his international career in 1989, but his debut against England 14 years earlier remains memorable for all the wrong reasons.

A fast bowler and by his own admission, a typically hopeless number 11 batsman, 24-year-old Chatfield was facing England paceman Peter Lever, who fired a short-pitched ball that cannoned off his glove into his temple.

“I just went to the side of the wicket and sat down and then I don’t remember anything after that until I woke in the ambulance on the way to the hospital,” said Chatfield, now 64. After collapsing unconscious, Chatfield twitched and moaned before help arrived in the form of England physiotherapist Bernard Thomas, who had been in the stands but bolted onto the field when he heard players yelling.

Chatfield had swallowed his tongue and his heart had stopped. With no medical equipment at the ground, Thomas administered CPR to revive him and likely kept him alive before an ambulance arrived to whisk him to hospital. “If it hadn’t been for Bernard Thomas, the English team physiotherapist, I probably wouldn’t be speaking to you today,” said Chatfield, now a taxi driver in the New Zealand capital of Wellington.

“I suppose I must count myself lucky to be here but it was more traumatic for the players. Peter Lever, I understand, was very distraught about the whole thing and thought that he’d killed somebody and no bowler wants that resting over him.” For that reason, Chatfield’s heart went out to Sean Abbott, the 22-year-old Australian all-rounder whose short-pitched ball struck his former team mate Hughes on the head and left him in an induced coma in a Sydney hospital. “He may never get over it. I hope he does,” he said. — Reuters

Abu Dhabi, November 26
Opener Mohammad Hafeez struck a dominating century to lift Pakistan to 281-3 in the third and final Test against New Zealand in Sharjah on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old anchored Pakistan’s innings with an unbeaten 178 — his seventh Test hundred and second in the series — as Pakistan dominated the day after winning a crucial toss and deciding to bat on a flat, grass-less Sharjah stadium pitch. Hafeez added an invaluable 121 for the fourth wicket with skipper Misbah-ul Haq who was not out on a chancy 38 and 87 for the second wicket with Azhar Ali (39).

It was an aggressive knock during which Hafeez drove and pulled with authority, clobbering 23 boundaries and three sixes. Misbah, batting in his usual cautious style, benefitted from a dropped catch on 20 when wicket-keeper BJ Watling failed to hold an edge off leg-sppiner Ish Sodhi. New Zealand’s three-spinner attack failed to get any spin with Mark Craig getting 2-67 and recalled Daniel Vettori 1-28. Vettori, recalled in place of Jimmy Neehsam, is playing his 112th match for New Zealand, becoming his country’s most capped player beating Stephen Fleming who played 111. Hafeez reached his hundred with a couple of boundaries and a single, reaching the mark in 130 balls.

Brief scores: Pakistan 281 for 3 (Hafeez 178 batting, Misbah 38 batting, Craig 2/67). —Reuters

Margao, November 26
Substitute Miroslav Slepicka scored a brace as FC Goa thrashed Kerala Blasters 3-0 to move to the third spot in the Indian Super League here today.

After a barren first half, FC Goa scored through Slepicka (63th, 79th) and man of the match Andre Santos (69th).

Goa could have won by a bigger margin had it not been for rival keeper David James, who made a couple of good saves.

Goa have collected 15 points from 11 matches, same as Kerala Blasters, but they move to third spot on better goal difference.

The hosts fielded the same side that beat FC Pune City.

They played an aggressive game especially in the second half. After a sluggish start, Goa quickly settled down and went into an attacking mode, forcing James to make brilliant saves twice early in the match.

A swift move on the left saw Mandar Rao Dessai put a pass to Tolgay Ozbey who sprinted into the box and took a crack at the goal, only to see the ball hit the post. Off the rebound, the former England keeper brilliantly tipped the ball over the bar for a corner.

The resultant corner taken by Santos saw Haroon Fakhruddin header collected by James. — PTI

Vijayawada, November 26
Haryana’s middle-distance runner Beant Singh and Kerala high jumper Gayathry Sivakumar dominated the proceedings, breaking national records in their respective events, on the opening day of the 30th junior Athletics Nationals.

Beant eclipsed the national mark in the 1,000m event in the U-16 category with a timing of 2:27.87secs and also earned a meet record bonus of Rs 25,000. Uttarakhand’s Pawan Kumar (2:32.80s) and another Haryana lad Sunil (2:33.86s) won silver and bronze respectively.

Gayathry successfully defended her title in the U-14 high jump event with an effort of 1.61m that improved upon her previous national mark (1.59m) and meet record (1.55m).

Jharkhand’s Pratibha Kumari jumped 1.47m to win the silver medal, while Kevinaa Ashwine got the bronze with a leap of 1.44m.

In the youth boys’ (U-18) 1500m, Delhi runner Rahul improved the nine-year-old meet mark with a timing of 3:55.28s. The earlier record holder was Ajay Kumar Saroj of Assam with timing of 3:59.93s. The Assam boy was a bronze medalist in last year’s Asian Youth Games. — PTI

New Delhi, November 26
Marcos Baghdatis subdued world No. 16 Kevin Anderson in the crucial men’s singles match to lead Pune Marathas to a 27-23 win over Delhi Dreams in the final of the inaugural Champions Tennis League here tonight.

Anderson served big but Baghdatis used all his experience win 6-3 in the final match. The 2006 Australian Open finalist hit a forehand winner on the first match point to seal the title.

Delhi lost four matches of the five with only Juan Carlos Ferrero winning the legends’ match against Pat Cash but the hosts fought tooth and nail in all their defeats and had the rivals under pressure all the time.

With three wins in a row, Pune went into the final match leading 21-20.

Baghdatis handed the South African two break points. He saved the first but his forehand went long on the second. However, Delhi’s joy was short-lived as Anderson dropped his serve in the next game. It was 2-2. Baghdatis again broke the South African in the eighth and served out the match.

Earlier, Cash was at his entertaining best in a 6-3 defeat to Ferrero. The 49-year-old threw his bandana into the stands and later went and sat in the rival camp during the game break.

The winners received a cash prize of Rs 1 crore, while Delhi got Rs 50 lakh. — PTI

Nashik, November 26
Haryana’s boys thumped Tamil Nadu 111-82 to set the tournament scoring record in the 41st sub-junior Basketball Nationals here today.

Tamil Nadu’s V Adisiva, with 43 points, was the top-scorer. But his effort was overshadowed by the collective effort from the Haryana boys. Hardeep Bohra top-scored for Haryana with 33 points. Interestingly, the international score sheet used for sub-junior games accommodates for only 108 points.

In the girls’ section, Punjab lost to Karnataka 52-38. Punjab’s Mahak Preet (17 points) was the top scorer. — TNS

Sydney, November 26
Adam Scott still feels the hurt of losing the Australian Open title to Rory McIlroy on the final green last year but believes the world number one has also inspired him to become a better golfer.

Scott was set to win a rare "Triple Crown" of Australian titles when he went into the final round at Royal Sydney last year but bogeyed the final hole to allow McIlroy to win his only title of 2013 with a birdie.

"I certainly have a thorn in my side after not winning last year. I did everything but win, I felt like when it came down to it," he told reporters at The Australian Golf Club on Wednesday.

"Even late in the piece I had my chances to kind of close the door, but I left it open and you can't do that with the best players in the world. They'll walk right through and Rory did."

Since then, McIlroy has added the British Open and US PGA Championship major titles to his impressive career haul, while Scott has had just the one victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

McIlroy, who has returned to defend his title this week, said on Wednesday the Australian was "too nice a guy" for a really fierce rivalry to develop.

Scott replied by saying that he found the Northern Irishman inspirational.

"I think I've found that we've somewhat pushed each other along over the last couple of years, Rory has taken his game up a notch and that's inspired me to work harder," he added.

"If my competition's really motivated and that good, I'm going to have to work really hard as well.

"I certainly welcome the challenge because these are the best years of my career and I'm going to have to get the best out of myself to beat a guy like that."

McIlroy took golf's number one ranking off Scott in August and Henrik Stenson's victory at the DP World Tour Championship last weekend saw the Australian drop down to number three in the world. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

new delhi
After Walsh, women’s coach calls it quits too: After the men's hockey team, the Indian women hockey team too has lost their coach. Neil Hagwood, the head coach of the women’s hockey team, has reportedly sent his resignation to the SAI and the Sports Ministry. While the reasons for his putting in his papers are not known yet, it could be safely assumed that the resignation of fellow Australian Terry Walsh, the men's head coach, could have played some part. Ahead of the Asian Games, where the team finished third, Hawgood wasn't happy with the facilities provided to the team at Patiala.

Tendulkar meets Sonowal, urges him to back Sarita: Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday discussed the way forward in Sarita Devi’s case with Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and urged the entire country to support the boxer, who is facing a possible life ban from the AIBA. “Being a sportsperson I know what she must have gone through. It must have been a difficult moment for her. Everyone responds differently to situations. The AIBA should consider her case. She has apologised to the world body. Our discussion was how to move forward and what to say to the AIBA,” said Tendulkar. “We want the entire country to be behind her so that her career doesn’t suffer. Boxing India, Sports Ministry have shown a lot of support. We just want to move forward in the right direction.”

macau
Sindhu, Prannoy, Praneeth win in Macau: Defending champion PV Sindhu reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Macau Grand Prix while HS Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth too tasted victories as Indian shuttlers had a good day in office, in Macau on Wednesday. World No. 10 Sindhu took a little less than half-an-hour to dispose of Chinese Taipei’s Hung Shih Han 21-19 21-15. Prannoy and Praneeth also entered the last-16 with contrasting victories at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion. Third seed Prannoy thrashed Indonesia’s Andre Marteen 21-18 21-16, while eighth seed Praneeth got the better off Singapore’s Ronald Susilo 21-15 21-18 in a 30-minute match.

colombo
England fall short despite Mooen’s fantastic ton: A magnificent century by Moeen Ali proved in vain as England suffered a 25-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the first of seven ODIs on Wednesday. The left-handed opener struck 119 as England replied to Sri Lanka's 317 for six but the chase petered out once he was dismissed . Brief scores: Sri Lanka 317 for 6 (Dilshan 88, Perera 59 ); England 292 (Moeen 119, Bopara 65, T Perera 3/44).

hyderabad
Post China win, Srikanth confident of doing well: Having beaten two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan to clinch the China Open title, India’s latest badminton sensation K Srikanth today said he is now confident of doing well in the future. Stating that his victory over Lin Dan has raised expectations of his fans, Srikanth said, “I don’t want to take pressure. I want to take them as my well-wishers (those having expectations from him). I am fully confident (of doing well for the future).” The 21-year-old shuttler admitted it was not easy to beat Lin Dan, a five-time World Champion. “It was little tough (defeating Lin Dan). We had a few strategies. My coaches (accompanying him) supported me a lot. I am very thankful to them,” he said.

karnal
Police athletics meet: A five-day All India Police Athletics Championship began in Karnal on Wednesday. Around 1000 police officers representing various states, UT and central police organisations are participating in this Championship. — TNS/Agencies