Sachin Tendulkar at Madame Tussauds

LONDON: Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar will be the latest sporting great to be featured at the internationally-renowned Madame Tussauds in London when a new wax figure of the Mumbai-born batsman joins the A-list line-up in April.

Tendulkar follows in the famous footsteps of Bollywood greats Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan and will join other cricket legends Brain Lara and Shane Warne to become the very first Indian sports personality to be portrayed, the waxworks museum said in a statement on Friday.

The cricketing legend has already had a sitting with the Madame Tussauds studios team who last week travelled to Mumbai to capture a catalogue of reference photographs and hundreds of precise measurements.

The information they collected at the two hour session at the Taj Lands End Hotel will prove invaluable as the sculptors and hair and make up artists get to work on his figure.

"We are delighted to confirm our next Indian superstar is going to be Sachin Tendulkar; his achievements on the cricket pitch are phenomenal and he is one of the biggest names in international sport," says Liz Edwards, Madame Tussauds PR manager.

"The Bollywood stars we have included over the past ten years have proved enormously popular with Asian guests and film fans from all over the world. We know Sachin will be just as popular for sports fans from home and abroad and are looking forward to introducing the real Sachin to his wax double soon."

Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians Captain will be featured in typical celebratory "on the pitch" pose after another century marked in the scorebook.

He will be dressed in his cricket whites which he has donated. The figure will be created at Madame Tussauds studios in West London at a cost of 150,000 pounds.

The cricket star will join the ranks of sporting greats, including David Beckham, Mohammed Ali, Tiger Woods and Jesse Owens, in Madame Tussauds interactive Sports Zone.

There will also be a cricketing challenge around the introduction of the figure, where guests can test their cricketing skills against the 'masterblaster'.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Younis-replaces-Chanderpaul-as-No-1/articleshow/4194725.cms

New Zealand win series

WELLINGTON: New Zealand on Friday snatched a dramatic last-ball victory in the second Twenty20 international to clinch the series 2-0 against India, who very nearly pulled off an incredible win in the dying moments of the thriller.

Chasing a modest 150 to win, the hosts were cruising along comfortable before the Indians changed the complexion of the game with some tidy spin bowling and Irfan Pathan's double strike in the 18th over.

Needing 12 runs off Pathan's last over, the Kiwis rode on Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 69 to scrape through to record their third consecutive victory against the world champions. The home team won the thrilling match by five wickets.

The result of the ding-dong battle at Westpac stadium could have been different had substitute fielder Rohit Sharma latched on to a difficult catch off McCullum, which would have carried the game to the eliminator stage.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4201124.cms

Bopara's maiden Test ton keeps England on top

Bridgetown, Barbados: Ravi Bopara collected his maiden Test hundred to help bat England to a formidable first innings total in the fourth Test against West Indies on Friday.

Bopara followed up his blistering hundred in a two-day, warm-up match last weekend with an equally purposeful 104 which allowed England to declare their first innings on 600 for six, 45 minutes after tea on the second day at Kensington Oval.

England then enhanced their position when James Anderson claimed West Indies captain Chris Gayle for six before stumps were drawn as the home team reached 85 for one in reply.

Bopara arrived in the Caribbean last Saturday from the England Lions' tour of New Zealand to cover for the injured Andrew Flintoff, who has flown home for treatment on his injured hip, and got into his stride with 124 against a side of young, inexperienced Barbadians.

On Friday, the 23-year-old shared successive hundred-run stands with Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose. Collingwood scored 96 and Ambrose was unbeaten on 76 when England declared.

Fidel Edwards took three for 151 runs from 30 overs and was the most successful West Indies bowler. Anderson then trapped Gayle lbw for six playing back and across to a delivery that straightened on him in the fifth over of the West Indies reply.

England had to refer the decision to video umpire Daryl Harper to get the decision, after on-field umpire Russell Tiffin chose to give the West Indies captain the benefit of the doubt. But England could not make another breakthrough before the close, as Ramnaresh Sarwan, not out on 40, and Devon Smith, unbeaten on 37, defied the visitors' attack in an unbroken stand of 72.

Bopara, playing his first Test since the tour of Sri Lanka at the end of 2007, overcame a black eye, the result of being accidentally hit under his grill by paceman Fidel Edwards.

"I felt pretty confident from the minute I went out there on the back of a hundred in the warm-up game," said Bopara. "I'm happy with that and hopefully I can build from there. Fidel Edwards did come back at me, getting me on the grill, but it fired me up.

"It looks a flat wicket out there and, if I have to do my overs, I have to do my overs, and hopefully I can get a few wickets as well."

England benefited from West Indies' indifference in the field, after the visitors continued from their overnight total of 301 for three. At lunch, England reached 405 for four with Collingwood and Bopara having started to drop anchor, after Kevin Pietersen was dismissed for 41 in the first half-hour.

Collingwood reached his 50 from 68 balls in the final over before lunch, when he struck Daren Powell into mid-wicket for three. But he and Bopara were both fortunate to have survived until the interval.

Bopara, on four, was dropped at long-leg by Jerome Taylor off Edwards hooking, and Collingwood was dropped by short leg fielder Ryan Hinds on 44 off spinner Suleiman Benn. Pietersen was out when Edwards trapped him lbw on the back-foot - a decision which the batsman challenged under the umpire review system and lost.

After lunch, Ambrose joined Bopara and they continued to plunder the runs, following the dismissal of Collingwood, as England reached 553 for five.Collingwood was caught inside the deep backward point boundary off Edwards trying to reach his hundred in grand style.

He added 149 at close to a run-a-minute for the fifth wicket with Bopara. Ambrose was more fortunate, when wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin dropped him third ball before he had scored off Sulieman Benn.

After tea, Bopara continued untroubled to his landmark which came when he clipped a slower ball from Taylor to fine leg for a single. But trying to accelerate, he was caught at deep fine leg hooking at short, rising ball from Edwards. He batted close to four hours, faced 143 balls, and struck nine fours and one six.

England trail in the five-Test series 1-0, following an innings and 23-run defeat in the opening Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

Soruce:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/boparas-maiden-test-ton-keeps-england-on-top/38661-13-1.html

Anand suffers second defeat at Linares

Linares, Spain, Feb 26: World champion Viswanathan Anand was handed a shocking defeat by Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the sixth round as the Indian slipped to joint fourth spot at the Magistral Ciudad de Linares chess tournament here.

The Indian ace now has three points out of a possible six and will have to pull out something special to get a hold in the remaining eight rounds of the Super Grandmasters tournament.
Anand, who has two losses in the first six rounds, shares the joint fourth spot with Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine while Alexander Grischuk of Russia with 4.5 points is in the sole lead after a win over Levon Aronian of Armenia in an another thrilling encounter. Aronian was sharing the second spot with Carlsen with 3.5 points each.

Strauss leads charge

BARBADOS, Feb 26: Andrew Strauss capitalised on winning an important toss by leading England’s charge on the first morning of the fourth Test in Barbados. By lunch, he had racked up a fluent 99-ball 71, as he and Alastair Cook added 108 unbroken runs for the first wicket. In a session reminiscent of their first morning’s work in Antigua last week, England’s openers made unhindered progress on a surface that has turned out to be every bit as quick and true as anticipated. The only genuine opportunity offered by either man came when Strauss, on 58 at the time, was badly dropped by Chris Gayle at first slip off the bowling of Fidel Edwards.
By and large, West Indies’ bowlers produced another disciplined display with the ball, finding the right line and length and making England’s openers wait for their scoring opportunities. (Agencies)

Ponting leads Aussie fightback

Johannesburg, Feb 26: Captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke shared a century partnership as Australia fought back after a poor start on the first day of the first Test against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium here today.
Australia were 254 for five when bad light stopped play.

Ponting (83) and Clarke (68) put on 113 for the fourth wicket with attacking stroke play after Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel reduced them to 38 for three.

Although Ponting and Clarke were out in fairly quick succession, new cap Marcus North (47 not out) and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (37 not out) put on an unbeaten 72 for the sixth wicket to continue the Australian recovery.

India seek redemption in T20 series

Wellington, Feb 26: World champions India would seek to restore their pride after being trounced in the first match as they go into the second and final Twenty20 game against New Zealand here tomorrow, fully aware that only an inspired show will help them to level the series.

The seven-wicket defeat at Christchurch in the first match must have taken the reputation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s young bravehearts as kings of Twenty20 a serious beating which they can only rectify by winning tomorrow.

A victory will also boost their morale ahead of the five-match ODI series starting on March 3 and put a balm after their second successive loss against New Zealand in the shortest format of the game.

Voices raised for early IHF polls

NEW DELHI: The Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) on Wednesday said it had the support of a majority of state bodies to persuade the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to hold elections to the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) at the earliest.

BHA president J B Roy said that he has been authorised by 28 state associations to meet the IOA officials and ask for an early election.

"The IHF has been suspended and the matter is pending in the court. Due to the legal tussle, the affairs of Indian hockey are moving in a sluggish way. That is the reason why BHA and other state associations have taken it upon themselves to improve the state of the game in the country," he said.

While parading all the 28 representatives of different state associations, Roy said that he and other members will meet the IOA officials and request them to start the process of election.

"We have waited for nearly a year now. IOA president Suresh Kalmadi promised to hold the election as soon as possible but nothing has been done."

Roy also refuted IOA's claim that elections cannot be held till the case filed by sacked IHF chief KPS Gill is settled in the Delhi High court.

"There is no bar in holding elections. KPS Gill has filed a case challenging his dismissal as the IHF president. What has it got to do with election," he said.

Soruce:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

RBS to end Williams F1 sponsorship in 2010

LONDON: The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will end their sponsorship of the Williams Formula One team at the end of the 2010 season, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We recognise that we are now operating in a very different economic environment and have been reviewing all of our activities since October," RBS said.

"It is imperative that we respond to the reality of the situation that we face and that we do so in an orderly way that respects the commercial agreements we have in place and the implications for our partners and the jobs they support."

RBS have sponsored Williams since 2005 and renewed their deal for a second three-year term in 2007.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Voices-raised-for-early-IHF-polls/articleshow/4191711.cms

Bhupathi-Knowles advance to Dubai quarters

DUBAI: Second seeded Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles sailed into the quarterfinals of the $2,233,500 Dubai Tennis championships after an easy 6-3, 6 -1 win over UAE's Hamoud Abbas and Mahmoud-Naden Al Baloushi.

The Indo-Bahamian pair hardly broke a sweat in their win against the wild card entrants.

They will next take on Rik De Voest of South Africa and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.

Another Indian in the fray is Prakash Amritraj, who along with Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, got a wild card entry into the prestigious event.

They will begin their campaign against Czech Martin Damm and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden.

Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy were sent packing by unseeded pair of Simone Bolelli and Ivo Karlovic.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bhupathi-Knowles-advance-to-Dubai-quarters-/articleshow/4187101.cms

HC notice to Centre on weightlifter Monika's petition

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Sports Authority of India on a petition filed by weightlifter L Monika Devi, disqualified from participating in Beijing Olympics 2008 after she was found positive in dope test, alleging that the officials violated the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

Also issuing notices to Indian Olympic Association, National Dope Testing Laboratory and Weightlifting Federation of India besides the sports ministry, Justice Ravinder Bhat sought their responses by April 2.

Monika, who won the Silver Medal in Melbourne Common Wealth Games 2006, is seeking direction to the sports authority to declare the dope test conducted by the Laboratory of Tokyo on her ahead of the Beijing Olympic as null and void as the officials failed to follow the doping rules.

Filing the petition through their counsel P Ramesh Kumar, Monika contended that she had given samples 'A' for dope test, whose result was not told to her but the information was revealed to media.

As per the WADA rule, the athlete was entitled to know the result of sample-A within 10 days from the date when the sample was given but she was not informed by the officials, the national champion's counsel said.

As per the rule, the officials should have maintained the sample 'A' result confidential but they revealed the information to media which is against the WADA rule, the Manipur based weightlifter said.

Besides this petition, Monika and L Ibomcha Singh, President of All Manipur Tae-Kwondo association, and Dr Thakur Suresh Singh have filed a PIL seeking court's intervention to address the issues related to dope test on the athletes.

In case the athlete wants to challenge the sample A test, he or she has to give sample 'B' before challenging the result, they said.

According to the petitioners, the court should direct the Centre to set up a National Sports Tribunal to address the problems of the athletes.

Soruce:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

HC notice to Centre on weightlifter Monika's petition

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Sports Authority of India on a petition filed by weightlifter L Monika Devi, disqualified from participating in Beijing Olympics 2008 after she was found positive in dope test, alleging that the officials violated the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules.

Also issuing notices to Indian Olympic Association, National Dope Testing Laboratory and Weightlifting Federation of India besides the sports ministry, Justice Ravinder Bhat sought their responses by April 2.

Monika, who won the Silver Medal in Melbourne Common Wealth Games 2006, is seeking direction to the sports authority to declare the dope test conducted by the Laboratory of Tokyo on her ahead of the Beijing Olympic as null and void as the officials failed to follow the doping rules.

Filing the petition through their counsel P Ramesh Kumar, Monika contended that she had given samples 'A' for dope test, whose result was not told to her but the information was revealed to media.

As per the WADA rule, the athlete was entitled to know the result of sample-A within 10 days from the date when the sample was given but she was not informed by the officials, the national champion's counsel said.

As per the rule, the officials should have maintained the sample 'A' result confidential but they revealed the information to media which is against the WADA rule, the Manipur based weightlifter said.

Besides this petition, Monika and L Ibomcha Singh, President of All Manipur Tae-Kwondo association, and Dr Thakur Suresh Singh have filed a PIL seeking court's intervention to address the issues related to dope test on the athletes.

In case the athlete wants to challenge the sample A test, he or she has to give sample 'B' before challenging the result, they said.

According to the petitioners, the court should direct the Centre to set up a National Sports Tribunal to address the problems of the athletes.

Soruce:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

Murray, Djokovic through to Dubai quarters

DUBAI: Britain's Andy Murray roared into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Arnaud Clement of France on Wednesday, but top seed Novak Djokovic was made to toil for his place.

Second seed Murray broke to love to lead 2-1, and then held off two break points with aces at 3-2 before breaking again to lead 5-2. An early break for 2-1 when Clement netted a backhand quickly gave him the advantage in the second set, and he broke again for the match with a forehand winner.

"I served very well in comparison to my last match," Murray said. "I was pushing out much better for my serve. I managed to dictate the match with my serve. I didn't give him many chances after my first couple of service games, and I obviously managed to get into a lot of his service games and put a bit of pressure on him, and he made some mistakes."

Murray will now face another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, who needed over three hours to overcome Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

Djokovic took more than two hours to defeat Czech Jan Hernych 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The Serbian world number three was never able to dominate an opponent who rallied well and played more consistently.

After a single break decided each of the first two sets, Hernych broke to lead 2-1 in the third. But Djokovic immediately leveled at 2-2, and broke again in the final game with a forehand volley down the line.

"I played well in the first set and had a couple of break points at the start of the second, and suddenly I started breaking up," said Djokovic.

"I was too defensive, I had a lot of ups and downs and allowed him to come back into the match. But it's important, matches where you don't play well or you don't feel well on the court, but you win. That is what matters."

French third seed Gilles Simon took just 53 minutes to crush Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer also progressed smoothly with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Fifth seed Croatian Marin Cilic lined up a clash with Djokovic by edging Julien Benneteau of France 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and sixth seed Igor Andreev defeated Dmitry Tursunov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Russian clash.

Soruce:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Murray-Djokovic-through-to-Dubai-quarters/articleshow/4192634.cms

Tiger Woods says its business as usual

WASHINGTON: Golf champion Tiger Woods, who spent eight months recovering from knee surgery, has declared it is business as usual.


Woods, up against Australia's Brendan Jones, was playing for the first time since last June when he won the US Open before needing reconstructive knee surgery.

And despite a front-nine wobble that included bogeys at the third, fifth and seventh holes, world No 1 Woods roared to a 3 and 2 victory -- thanks in part to an eagle at the par-five 13th.

Woods, 33, said: "I got off to a great start but there were some loose shots that followed in the middle of the round before I got it back on the 13th.

"Overall, I'm very pleased. On the first tee I said to my caddie, Stevie Williams, that it felt like business as usual.

"I thought I'd be more nervous than I was. My knee held up well. I thought it would be stiffer but it felt good.

Soruce:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

Match schedule for Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League

Tuesday 24, February 2009
The DLF Indian Premier League today announced the match schedule for Season II of the DLF Indian Premier League, which is due to commence on April 10th 2009.

The Opening Ceremony and inaugural match of the Season will be hosted by last year’s winners namely the Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, where they will clash against Sehwag’s Delhi Daredevils in the opening fixture.

Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, Indian Premier League said “I am happy to announce the schedule for the season II of the DLF Indian Premier League with the opening ceremony & the inaugural match in the pink city, home of the defending Champions the Rajasthan Royals. Jaipur has always been close to my heart and I promise the people of Jaipur – an opening ceremony the likes of which has not been witnessed in India ever before with some truly world class entertainment.”

The two Semi-Finals will be played out in Chennai and have been scheduled on Thursday, May - 21st and Friday – May 22nd respectively at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk.

The Grand Final will once again be hosted by Mumbai on Sunday – May 24th 2009.

The Hyderabad Deccan Chargers have further confirmed that they will host their home games at two separate venues namely Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi Stadium and the ACA and VDCA Stadium at Visakhapatnam.

All day matches are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the night matches are from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Attached below is the tentative Match Schedule for Season II of the Indian Premier League 2009…….

Friday, 10-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, Jaipur

Saturday, 11-Apr-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, Kolkata
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers, Chennai

Sunday, 12-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, Delhi
Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai

Monday, 13-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings, Hyderabad

Tuesday, 14-Apr-09
Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore

Wednesday, 15-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, Mohali

Thursday, 16-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, Hyderabad
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Chennai

Friday, 17-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers, Mumbai

Saturday, 18-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, Mohali
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Darevils, Kolkata

Sunday, 19-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai
Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals, Bangalore

Monday, 20-Apr-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata

Tuesday, 21-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, Delhi

Wednesday, 22-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers, Jaipur

Thursday, 23-Apr-09
Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab, Bangalore

Friday, 24-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai

Saturday, 25-Apr-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers, Delhi
Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab, Chennai

Sunday, 26-Apr-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Jaipur
Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, Vizag

Monday, 27-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers, Mohali

Tuesday, 28-Apr-09
Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai

Wednesday, 29-Apr-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, Mohali
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai

Thursday, 30-Apr-09
Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers, Vizag

Friday, 1-May-09
Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, Chennai

Saturday, 2-May-09
Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, Mumbai
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata

Sunday, 3-May-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, Mohali
Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils, Bangalore

Monday, 4-May-09
Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, Hyderabad

Tuesday, 5-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings, Delhi

Wednesday, 6-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab, Jaipur
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, Kolkata

Thursday, 7-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers, Bangalore

Friday, 8-May-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata

Saturday, 9-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, Jaipur
Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, Mohali

Sunday, 10-May-09
Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Hyderabad

Monday, 11-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals, Delhi

Tuesday, 12-May-09
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, Chennai

Wednesday, 13-May-09
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers, Kolkata

Thursday, 14-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, Jaipur
Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, Delhi

Friday, 15-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians, Bangalore

Saturday, 16-May-09
Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi
Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, Hyderabad

Sunday, 17-May-09
Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers, Jaipur
Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, Chennai

Monday, 18-May-09
Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohali

Tuesday, 19-May-09
Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings, Bangalore

Thursday, 21-May-09
Semi Final 1, Chennai

Friday, 22-May-09
Semi Final 2, Chennai

Sunday, 24-May-09
FINALS, Mumbai

Note: Please note this is a tentative schedule and subject to change

Source:http://www.iplt20.com/match-schedule-for-season-ii-of-the-dlf-indian-premier-league.html

No batsmen took the responsibility: Dhoni

CHRISTCHURCH: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni flayed the irresponsible batting by his teammates and felt the temptation of hitting sixes in a small ground did them in against New Zealand in the first Twenty20 Internationals on Wednesday.

In a match where 24 sixes -- new record for a Twenty20 International -- were hit, none of the Indian batsmen, barring the possible exception of Suresh Raina (61), showed any application, which annoyed Dhoni.

The Indian captain said the team was in unnecessary hurry and there was a lack of responsibility among the batsmen.

"We failed to realise that it's a 20-over game. At times people think there is not enough overs but it's a decently long game," Dhoni said.

"We failed as a team today. Nobody took the responsibility to stay in the middle, especially when we lost 2-3 quick wickets. Somebody should have stayed there, knocking the ball here and there.

"It's important to have wickets in hand so that you can capitalise on the last five overs. It was a learning experience for us," he added.

Warning teammates against taking things lightly, Dhoni said, "You just cannot go through the motions. A batsman hitting the ball nicely doesn't mean I too would go out and try the same."

Criticising the tendency to go ultra-aggressive, Dhoni said, "We have big-hitters in our side, that's a huge advantage. But at times we tend to go with the flow, we have to be careful about that.

"At times, you have short ground and you want to hit more sixes than fours and most of our batsmen was looking to hit sixes, not concentrating on singles or fours," he said.

In contrast, Dhoni was happy with the way his bowlers tried to defend a none-too-impressive total.

"It was a tough wicket, good for batting and I'm happy with the way they bowled. It was good to see Harbhajan Singh bowling well. He returned after a long time and it was nice to see him in rhythm," Dhoni said.

His opposite number Daniel Vettori singled out Brendon McCullum, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his sedate unbeaten 56, for special praise and also hailed the bowlers for taming India's star-studded batting line-up.

"The way Brendon handled the chase, it was really great. (Martin) Guptill also played his natural game and we proved we are a decent Twenty20 side.

"Our bowlers also did a fantastic job by restricting India to 160-odd. We knew they have some exceptional players and they would put pressure on us," Vettori said.

McCullum, on his part, said he learnt the importance of singles in a Twenty tie after the recent series against Australia and it stood him in good stead today.

"Against Australia, we didn't get enough singles and went for big hits only. We learnt from there.

"Initially, we thought we would have to chase 300. After all they are the Twenty20 world champions," he said.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Dhoni-rues-six-hitting-temptation/articleshow/4190007.cms

Indian rebel league mulls legal action over recognition

MUMBAI: India's rebel Twenty20 league is considering legal action after failing in the latest bid for recognition because of staunch opposition by the Indian board, former India skipper Kapil Dev said on Wednesday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was unsuccessful in its bid to end a dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) after a meeting held in Johannesburg on Monday proved fruitless.

"As a sportsman, I don't like matters of sport being decided in court, but with the talks failing (again), we may have no choice but to take recourse to law," Kapil Dev, chairman of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said.

"I can't understand who has given the BCCI the right to be the sole authority for promoting cricket in India. The ICL too is doing just that, so why should our boys be punished? That, to me, is not justice."

The ICL's application to be recognised as unofficial cricket would now be discussed at the ICC Board meeting in April.

The ICL, bankrolled by one of India's largest media firms, launched the league following India's triumph in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007.

It signed overseas players, particularly from Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh.

However the BCCI, concerned the league would undermine its position, refused to recognise it and persuaded other national boards to ban players who signed up.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian-rebel-league-mulls-legal-action-over-recognition/articleshow/4189032.cms

India start Kiwi tour with a loss

CHRISTCHURCH: Suresh Raina's fighting unbeaten 61 went in vain as world champions India began their New Zealand tour on a dismal note with the hosts thrashing them by seven wickets in the first Twenty20 match on Wednesday. Put into bat, India recovered from a mid-innings slump to post a competitive 162 for eight but that proved insufficient as the Kiwis overhauled the target with seven balls to spare.

Brendon McCullum (56 not out), Martin Guptill (41), Ross Taylor (31) and Jacob Oram (29 not out) were the notable performers for the hosts who have taken a 1-0 lead in the two match T20 series.India started off with a flourish but failed to sustain the tempo to find themselves in trouble at 61 for five by the eighth over. Some lusty hitting by Raina and Harbhajan Singh (21) at the end provided some respectability to the total.

Raina and Harbhajan Singh stitched 61 runs for the eighth wicket, the highest partnership in the innings. Teen sensation Ishant Sharma struck in the first ball of his first over, trapping left-handed Jesse Ryder (1) to give India the kind of start they needed.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4189732.cms

Commonwealth boxing postponed

NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth boxing championships, slated to be held in the November-December this year has been postponed. It will now be held in 2010, either in the last week of February or the first week of March.

The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IBF) has been forced to take this step as it's not sure that the venue — Talkatora stadium — will be ready in time.

"We will decide on the fresh dates of the event once it is clear that it is not clashing with the World Youth Games to be held in Iran. If it is, then we will shift it accordingly," IBF secretary Col PK Muralidharan Raja told TOI.

Commonwealth Games organisers are under pressure because of delays in several projects for the Games to be held next year in October. Construction delays also forced this year's World badminton championships to be moved to Hyderabad.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Commonwealth-boxing-postponed/articleshow/4185494.cms

Police mull reckless driving rap for Pistorius

JOHANNESBURG: South African police are considering charges of reckless driving against triple Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who suffered injur ies to his face in a boating accident, a report said on Tuesday.

Vanderbijlpark police are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving against Pistorius, The Beeld newspaper said, quoting police spokesman Kinnie Steyn.

"The police are investigating the possibility that Pistorius did not hit a floating object like a tree trunk, but collided with a pier," Steyn said in the Afrikaans newspaper report.

He said police divers found the boat Pistorius was driving at the bottom of the river, near a pier which had been ripped from its posts.

Pistorius's manager, Peet van Zyl, said that doctors were confident that the star athlete will make full recovery.

"Doctors are quite confident that he will make full recovery... Doctors have not given a specific recovery time," he said on public radio Monday.

Pistorius suffered minor injuries to his face Saturday after a boat accident on the Vaal river, south of Johannesburg.

The 22-year-old, known as the "Blade Runner" after the carbon fibre blades that have replaced his lower legs, underwent an operation and has been placed on a ventilator in an intensive care unit of the hospital.

Pistorius was unable to compete in the Beijing Olympics but made up for that by winning the 400 metres, 100m and 200m at the Paralympics.

Pistorius, known as the fastest man on 'no legs', fought a court battle with athletics ruling body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over his right to compete at the Beijing Olympics which he won.

However, he failed to qualify, and is set on competing at the 2012 Games in London.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Police-mull-reckless-driving-rap-for-Pistorius/articleshow/4182725.cms