His coach Ramesh predicts Arya will play for India one day. Perhaps Perth 2027. Arya at 5 years 3 months is, according to Ramesh, India’s youngest cricketer and on Friday, the 13th will play his first match for his club, Stumps Complete Cricket (Stumps CC) against YMCA in Bangalore in an under-13 tournament. When he earns his cap, he will beat the record set by Mumbai boy, Mushir Khan last month. Mushir was 6 years 10 months old when he made his debut.

FOR MORE READING. . .

What is it about Indian cricketers and their fingers down under? Ok, middle finger to be precise. After Virat Kohli at Sydney, Ishant Sharma showed his middle finger to the assembled cricket fans at Perth, who were reportedly heckling at the cricketers. No, he wasn’t trying to show that his oongli was longer than Virat’s oongli. Mercifully for Ishant’s wallet, it was at a go-karting venue and there was no ICC to rob him of 50 per cent of his match fee.

FOR MORE READING. . .

FOR MORE READING. . .

It is cricket that showed them the way to capture the market share by successfully piloting the Indian Premier League (IPL) and international sports administrators are looking at India as a major destination to market their sport. A reasonably bullish economy and a billion people are encouraging enough for them to think that they can sell their sport here.

Formula One grabbed the first opportunity and its inaugural Grand Prix at Buddh international Circuit (BIC) at Greater Noida was a big hit, erasing the sour memories of a tainted Commonwealth Games a year ago.

The Grand Prix in October generated huge interest in the cricket-crazy country. On the race day (Oct 30), the BIC was teeming with close to 100,000 people, creating a festive atmosphere. The screams of fans matched the vrooming and zomming of the drivers, including India’s very own Narain Karthikeyan.

Interestingly, earlier that week there were few takers for India’s ODI cricket series against England.

The race was one of the most watched sporting event in the world.

Accolades poured in for race promoters Jaypee Sports International which pulled off the show without a major controversy over that weekend.

Many doubted the readiness of the $400 million facility a couple of months before the Grand Prix, but all speculation was put to rest once the world motorsport body gave it a go ahead.

Sebastian Vettel was delighted to be the first-ever Indian Grand Prix champion. Though the German found the driving on Indian roads ‘scary,’ he fell in love with the meticulously designed track. McLaren’s Jenson Button described the track as one of the best on the F1 calendar.

Boxing, too, made a splash in a big way. For long, the world body was planning an IPL-style event in the ring and it led to the birth of the World Series Boxing (WSB). India is represented in the international city-based league by Mumbai Fighters, owned by TransStadia, a sports and entertainment company.

‘The WSB is a fascinating concept. It is a unique format and has added to the overall popularity of the sport in India and across the world,’ says P.K. Muralidharan Raja, secretary general of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF).

Boxing has drawn hordes of youngsters from the northern and northeastern parts of the country thanks to the success of Vijender Singh in the Beijing Olympics as also the medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Thinking out of the box, the Venky’s Mumbai Fighters gave the country an altogether new experience by hosting a boxing bout in a mall. Watched by an enthusiastic crowd, Mumbai Fighters team took on Los Angeles Matadors at the T-Box Mobile Arena, Inorbit Mall in Malad, Dec 9.

‘We wanted to give the audiences a real high and a pure adrenaline rush,’ says Udit Sheth, Team Principal for Venky’s Mumbai Fighters.

Adds boxer Akhil Kumar: ‘It is really an innovative step to enhance the sport and the boxers’ profiles. An event like this will also promote the opportunities on offer for aspiring boxers.’

The eastern metropolis of Kolkata also hosted the star-studded Argentine team for a friendly against Venezuela. A host of Argentina superstars like Lionel Messi, his Barca teammate Javier Mascherano, Real Madrid stars Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria enthralled a packed Salt Lake Stadium as coach Alejandro Sabella launched ‘Mission Rio’ with a 1-0 win over the fellow South Americans.

The start of the World Series Hockey (WSH) ran into controversy as it clashed with the preparation of the national team for the Olympic qualification tournament. After weeks of haggling, it is put off to February.

The promised payment to players was so attractive that even those who have retired are back on the turf.

Bollywood personalities and corporate honchos have bought stake in the eight franchises of WSH. A joint initiative of Nimbus Sport and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), the league is expected to give Indian hockey a big upward push.

Talking to reporters here Wednesday, the world No.4 said 2012 would be a big year and she was confident of performing well in upcoming tournaments, including Korea Open and Malaysia Open.

Saina, who lost to world No.1 Wang Yihan in the World Super Series final in China recently, said she needs to do consistently well in the big events.

With as many as 10 tournaments to be played till April, the badminton star feels that there would be pressure to do well to have a good ranking in the Olympics. “I have to win the big tournaments to get the confidence,” she said.

“I can’t do that because it is important to get good ranking and a good draw in the Olympics,” she said when asked if she could skip some of these tournaments to remain fit for the Olympics.

She, however, pointed out that she will have two to three months to practice and overcome weak areas before the biggest challenge.

Saina said she was satisfied with her performance this year. “I suffered ankle injury in the beginning of this year and I was disappointed with that. Overall, I am satisfied with the way I fared.”

She lost in three finals with her only win coming in the Swiss Open Grand Prix.

‘We fancy anything less than 300. I think it was a good day for India. The match is evenly balanced, any team can win it from here. We will have to really bat well to pull it off,’ Sehwag told reporters after the third day’s play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australia were 179 for eight in their second innings after restricting India to 282 from a healthy overnight score of 214/3 in their second innings. A total of 15 wickets fell during the day, making the series opener an exciting affair with Australia stretching the lead to 230 runs with two wickets in hand. The hosts hade made 333 batting first.

The wicket continues to offer assistance to the pacers and Sehwag said batting in the fourth innings won’t be easy.

‘I think ball is not coming onto the bat. There is spongy bounce on the wicet. The ball is stopping and coming, that is why you are seeing a lot of inside edges on to the stumps. But, rather than batting on flat tracks, I love to play on these kind of wickets,’ said Sehwag while referring to the dismissals of David Warner, Shaun Marsh and Australia skipper Michael Clarke on Day Three.

Sehwag, who made 67 in the first innings, acknowledged the importance of giving the team a good start in their chase.

‘It is important for us (he and Gautam Gambhir) to give the team a good start. And if we are able to do that, we have a very good chance to win the Test match,’ he said.

Indian pacers bailed the team out after the batting collapse in the morning session. Umesh Yadav continued to impress by taking four wickets, including the first three, which brought India back into the game. Zaheer Khan was on the money from ball one and was the man responsible for breaking the 115-run stand between Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.

Sehwag felt the pace trio of Zaheer, Yadav and Ishant Sharma delivered when it mattered.

‘The captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) said to the bowlers just go there and give your best. The plan was to bowl in the right areas and let the pitch do the rest. The first spell from Umesh was brilliant and Ashwin (Ravichandran) also bowled well through the day. He kept one end tight,’ he said.

Asked about the current bowling attack, Sehwag said: ‘They all bowl at good pace and I think this is the best Indian bowling line-up I have playd with.’

Evans said on his Twitter Tuesday that he was ‘busy baby sitting’.

His wife, Chiara Passerini, also confirmed that the couple had travelled to Ethiopia to adopt a child, Xinhua reports.

‘We came here to bring home our little 12-month boy after months of paperwork,’ she said. ‘We always felt the strong wish to adopt, so we decided to start our family through adoption.’

The 34-year-old Evans was the first Australian to win the Tour de France and the oldest cyclist in 88 years.

Hilfenhaus revived his Test career with five for 75 here Wednesday morning to restrict India to 282 in the first innings in the first Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

‘Over the pre-season, I spent a fair bit of time with (Tasmania bowling coach) Ali de Winter, identifying a few technical problems. I tried to fix them and feel like I’m on my way back. Most of the work over the off-season was based on technique and learning to use the crease a bit better and getting up and over my front knee basically,’ said Hilfenhaus, who was dropped from the Test squad after a disastrous Ashes series last summer.

‘So I guess today was just about banging that area. It’s got a little bit of movement there if the ball’s in the right area and it’s hard to start,’ he said.

Hilfenhaus said he never lost after being dropped and worked hard to get back into the team.

‘Obviously a fair bit of hard work went into pre-season, a fair bit of time in the gym and as I said on the technical side of things. I guess it’s quite rewarding to be back in the baggy green. Hopefully, I can continue and get better. I never thought it was the end. I just knew that hopefully one day if I keep doing the things I can control and fix the things I needed to fix that I could always put my hand up there and say that I’m a swing bowler,’ he said.

Hilfenhaus admitted that he was ‘the lucky one who came away with the rewards’.

‘We identified we needed to start well with the ball and as a bowling group we felt like we did that and I was probably the lucky one who came away with the rewards. Everyone offers something a bit different and it’s great to see the depth of Australian bowling at the moment,’ he said.

India were placed fourth, though they tied with Ukraine on 11 points behind Russia (second) and Georgia (third).

In the China-India match, three games ended in draws and Zhao Xue defeated Tania Sachdev on the third board.

‘India wanted a quick draw, but our players hoped to fight. Zhao Xue badly wanted to win and she did it,’ said China coach Yu Shaoteng.

Zhao Xue said: ‘I lost a game Monday and I really wanted to win Tuesday.’

In other matches, Russia made a quick draw with Armenia for a podium finish, Vietnam also drew with Ukraine, Greece beat South Africa and Georgia ousted Turkey.

Final standings:

1. China (16 points), 2. Russia (13), 3. Georgia (12), 4-5. India and Ukraine (11), 6-7. Armenia and Vietnam (9 points), 8. Greece (5), 9. Turkey (4); 10. South Africa (0).

The government decision to form an Interim Management Committee follows a ruling by Chief Justice Ian Chang in August in a legal challenge over the legitimacy of the GCB executive after the last annual general meeting and election of office-bearers.

‘As I learnt about the formation of the Interim Management Committee, my mind turned to what are the implications for cricket in Guyana, along with the players and the cricket loving public in Guyana,’ said noted cricket commentator Reds Perreira.

The Guyana-born veteran sports presenter and administrator said he hoped that the game did not suffer since that could hurt a number of key West Indies players.

‘Apart from the players who are preparing for the domestic tournaments, what about Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devendra Bishoo’s places in the West Indies team,’ said the St. Lucia-based Perreira.

‘What about Ramnaresh Sarwan’s comeback? He is good enough to do that once he works hard enough and even Veerasammy Permaul’s ascendancy.’

Perreira said he hoped the government had given a thought to the implications of their decision before going ahead and forming the IMC.

‘I gather the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had initially objected to the setting up of the IMC,’ he said.

‘The International Cricket Council (ICC) is opposed to government intervention in cricket the administration, and it has told both Pakistan and Sri Lanka that it is not happy with their governments appointing their cricket boards.

Perreira said he also expected the WICB to take a dim view of the government’s decision and questioned the appointment of West Indies legend and WICB non-executive director Clive Lloyd as IMC chairman. Lloyd is also the chairman of the ICC’s Cricket Committee.

‘The WICB will probably respond soon and while I must say that I have the greatest of respect for Lloyd, who has been appointed Chairman of the IMC, I would love to hear his take on the issue, especially knowing that he knows the ICC’s position,’ said Perreira.

Perreira said he was also concerned about the GCB not being a legal entity when it functioned successfully for a number of years.

‘What if the WICB takes away from Guyana the first class matches along with the Australian tour of Guyana in April. Also who will run the first class season and the Australian tour,’ asked Perreira.

–IANS/CMC

vs/sr/abr/dg

Anthony Jones, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Barbados, stood surety for the boxer on a bond of $10,000.

The prized fighter had to surrender his passport, and will also be required to report to a police station three times a week.

‘I’m innocent of this charge and I’m just happy to be going home.’

Emmanuel, a Commonwealth, Central American and Caribbean Games, and Pan-Am Games medallist, was remanded to custody earlier this month on the charge of stealing jewellery worth close to $7,500 and cash around $1,500 in July. He is scheduled to return to court Jan 17.

Announcing Corretja’s appointment, the Spanish Tennis Federation said Tuesday that the 37-year-old will be captain for the next two seasons after reaching an agreement with its chief Luis Escanuela.

The Spaniard, also a former coach of British ace Andy Murray and a winner of the 1998 ATP Tour World Championships, replaces Albert Costa, who quit December 15.

Corretja faces a major challenge with Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, who were key to Spain’s victory over Argentina in the final earlier this month, both having decided not to take part in the 2012 tournament.

‘It is a privilege to captain the best team of players in the world,’ Corretja said in the statement, describing the post as a matter of ‘pride and enormous responsibility.’

The federation boss said he was convinced the appointment of Corretja was good for Spanish tennis.

‘I hope that running in Melbourne and Sydney will again set me up for a strong season and success at the Olympic Games in London (August),’ the Kenya runner said in Eldoret.

Rudisha, 23, became the biggest star of the 2010 athletics season when he ran 1:41.01 and lowered his record of 1:41.09 he had set a week before. He has started his training after the break and hope to be in peak form starting March, Xinhua reported.

Australia is the place where Rudisha achieved his personal best in the 400 metres (45.50) in Sydney in February 2010. In March this year, he also won the 800 metres at Melbourne, clocking 1:43.15.

Rudisha’s victory in Brussels in 2011 was sandwiched between two of the greatest 800 performances ever — a world record five days before and another two days later. He was only 21 at the time.

His fame came after he broke the African record in Nairobi, in 2009, running 1 minute 42.01 seconds, he was confident that Wilson Kipketer’s 1:41.11 world record, set in 1997, was within his grasp.

‘There was no other step left than to break the world record,’ Rudisha said. ‘My aim was to run under 1:42. At Huesden, Belgium, some people were expecting the world record.’

He fell short of that time, running 1:41.51, at the time the second best 800 metres ever. The rest is history.

Rudisha has since moved on to win the world championships, world record and Africa title. But all that mean nothing to the 23-year-old who eyes the Olympics title.

‘When I was a kid, my father (Daniel Rudisha) would show me his silver medal, which he won in Mexico City Olympics. I want to win an Olympic medal, maybe that way, I will be able to get even with him,’ he said.

But already Rudisha’s collection has surpassed the senior Rudisha, who competed for Kenya in the 1968 Olympics in the 4×400 metres relay where he won the silver medal with his team mates Munyoro Nyamau, Naftali Bon and Charles Asati.

He holds the three fastest time in 2011 with his run of 1:41.33 in Rieti, Italy coming shy by just 32 seconds to equal his record. But it was the best ever by any standards of the season from all elite athletes.

He also run 1:42.61 in Monaco and 1:42.91 in London. The closest rival to him was Sudan’s Abubakar kaki whose season best was 1:43.13.

The world indoor champion remains Rudisha’s main rival in 2012 and stands in his way to that gold medal in 2012.

Haddin made 27 off 70 balls in Australia’s first innings total of 333 runs and in the second innings could get only six. The 34-year-old also dropped opener Virender Sehwag from a regulation edge off paceman James Pattinson.

Haddin believes that he still has a lot left in him to deliver.

‘I have a lot more cricket left in me. I think everyone at this level is trying to improve all the time and I am no different. When you stop trying to be a better cricketer it is time you give it away,’ he said.

‘I haven’t listened to too much of the criticism,’ Haddin was quoted as saying in the Australian media Wednesday.

‘I was just batting for the situation. There was some good bowling late in the day on Monday and I didn’t want to take any risks. It was important for us to get through that first hour today which I would like to have done and have a little more freedom after that but it wasn’t the case,’ he said.

Australia were 179 for eight in their second innings at stumps with Mike Hussey unbeaten on a fighting 79 with James Pattinson on three and the hosts had stretched their lead to 230 runs. Former captain Ricky Ponting (60), his second half-century in the game, was the only other Australian batsman to get to double figures.

India’s bowlers fought back well in the last two sessions after the batting collapsed in the morning session, losing seven wickets for 68 runs to be all out for 282 runs in the first innings in reply to Australia’s first innings score of 333. Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus (5/75) bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests.

Wickets continued to crash as Australia lost the first four wickets for 27 runs before old warhorses Ponting and Hussey retrieved the innings with their 115-run stand for the fifth wicket before the Indian bowlers came back strongly to claim four more wickets in the last hour.

Indian fast bowlers atoned for the disastrous performance of the batsmen in the first innings. Umesh Yadav (4/49), Zaheer Khan (2/32) and Ishant Sharma (1/41) put on an impressive display of fast bowling as Australia lost the top four quick wickets – including both openers in one over – all gone in half an hour leaving the side tottering at 27/4. Three of the Australian batsmen were played down.

David Warner (5) was the first to fall, edging a delivery from Yadav onto the stumps while Ed Cowan (8) was out three balls later as he let a ball go and was struck on the pads to be out LBW.

Shortly afterwards, Shaun Marsh (3), in his attempt to drive lustily a ball outside off, sliced it back onto his stumps with a thin edge.

Ishant then produced a great delivery to get rid of Australian captain Michael Clarke (1). Ishant angled it on a good length that drew Clarke forward to defend, but the ball moved in, enough to take the inside edge and rattled the stumps.

Ponting and Hussey then came up with career-saving half-centuries that assured them a ticket for the next Test in Sydney. The day arguably belonged to Ponting, who took his tally of runs at the MCG to 1338, second only to Don Bradman’s 1671 at the same ground.

Zaheer struck to break the partnership inducing Ponting to go for a drive — Virender Sehwag snapped up the thick edge at gully.

Hussey, who was controversially out first ball in the first innings, has also silenced his detractors with the unbeaten 79, sprinkled with seven boundaries, that kept alive Australia’s hope.

Earlier in the day, Hilfenhaus wrecked India’s middle-order with his maiden five-wicket haul (5/75) to give Australia a vital 51-run first innings lead. Peter Siddle bagged three for 63 while James Pattinson got two for 55.

Resuming at an overnight 214 for three, Indian batsmen struggled against the pace and swing generated by the Australian fast bowlers during the morning session. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin offered some resistance with his quick-fire 31 off 35 balls.

Hilfenhaus dismissed Rahul Dravid, who failed to add to his overnight score of 68, with the second ball of the day and then removed Virat Kohli (11) with the second ball of his second spell.

Hilfenhaus found some good movement with the old ball, something that had been a problem for him before he was dropped after the disastrous Ashes series. He was effective with the new ball as well as he drew India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) into a tentative prod and edging a ball to Mike Hussey in the gully.

V.V.S. Laxman (2), a thorn for Australia in the past, edged Siddle to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to give the hosts much needed relief.

Hilfenhaus achieved his first ever five-wicket haul as he claimed his fourth wicket of the morning removing stubborn nightwatchman Ishant Sharma (11).

Pattinson castled Zaheer Khan leaving India struggling at 9/259, still 74 runs behind Australia’s first innings score. But a heroic 23-run stand for the last wicket between Ashwin and Umesh Yadav (2 not out) trimmed Australia’s lead. Siddle finally removed Ashwin, caught behind just before lunch.

Ashwin was lucky to survive a leg-before appeal, while on seven, off Pattinson. Video replays suggested the ball would have likely struck middle and leg stumps but the batsman survived since the Decision Review System (DRS) is not being used in the series.

Australia 1st innings: 333 all out

India 1st innings (overnight 214/3):

Gautam Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3

Virender Sehwag b Pattinson 67

Rahul Dravid b Hilfenhaus 68

Sachin Tendulkar b Siddle 73

Ishant Sharma c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

V.V.S.Laxman c Haddin b Siddle 2

Virat Kohli c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 6

Ravichandran Ashwin c Haddin b Siddle 31

Zaheer Khan b Pattinson 4

Umesh Yadav not out 2

Extras (w 1, nb 3) 4

Total (all out in 94.1 overs) 282

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Gambhir, 7.5 overs), 2-97 (Sehwag, 28.2), 3-214 (Tendulkar, 64.3), 4-214 (Dravid, 65.2), 5-221 (Laxman, 72.4), 6-238 (Kohli, 79.2), 7-245 (Dhoni, 81.4), 8-254 (Sharma, 87.2), 9-259 (Khan, 88.6)

Bowling:

James Pattinson 23-6-55-2

Ben Hilfenhaus 26-5-75-5

Peter Siddle 21.1-2-63-3

Nathan Lyon 17-2-66-0

Mike Hussey 5-0-15-0

David Warner 2-0-8-0

Australia 2nd innings:

David Warner b Yadav 5

Ed Cowan lbw Yadav 8

Shaun Marsh b Yadav 3

Ricky Ponting c Sehwag b Khan 60

Michael Clarke b Sharma 1

Mike Hussey batting 79

Brad Haddin c Laxman b Khan 6

Peter Siddle c Dhoni b Yadav 4

Nathan Lyon lbw Ashwin 0

James Pattinson batting 3

Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 1, nb 3) 10

Total (for eight wickets in 60 overs) 179

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Warner, 7.1 overs), 2-16 (Cowan, 7.4), 3-24 (Marsh, 11.3), 4-27 (Clarke, 12.5), 5-142 (Ponting, 40.2), 6-148 (Haddin, 42.5), 7-163 (Siddle, 50.6), 8-166 (Lyon, 53.6)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 13-1-32-2

Umesh Yadav 15-3-49-4

Ishant Sharma 11-0-41-1

Ravichandran Ashwin 19-4-44-1

Virender Sehwag 2-0-7-0

Mike Hussey was batting on 79 and James Pattinson three at close of play. Earlier in the day, India were bowled out for 282 in the first innings in reply to Australia’s 333.

Ricky Ponting was unbeaten on 33 and Mike Hussey 29 at the break and the duo with their 54-run stand for the fifth wicket helped Australia recover from a disastrous 27 for four. Australia, who made 333 in the first innings, stretched their lead to 132 after bowling out India for 282 runs in the morning session.

Indian fast bowlers atoned for the disastrous performance of the batsmen. Resuming at the overnight score of 214/3, India suffered a batting collapse losing seven wickets for 68 runs before being bundled out for 282 runs in the first innings.

Yadav (3/24) and Ishant Sharma (1/21) put on an impressive display of fast bowling as Australia lost four quick wickets – including both openers in one over – all gone in half an hour. Three of the Australian batsmen were played down.

David Warner (5) was the first to fall, edging a delivery from Yadav onto the stumps while Ed Cowan (8) was out three balls later as he let a ball go and was struck on the pads to be out LBW.

Shortly afterwards Shaun Marsh (3) in his attempt to drive lustily a ball outside off sliced it back onto his stumps with a thin edge.

Ishant then produced a great delivery to get rid of Australian captain Michael Clarke (1). Ishant angled it on a good length that drew Clarke forward to defend, but the ball moved in, enough to take the inside edge and rattled the stumps.

Earlier in the day, fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus wrecked India’s middle-order with his maiden five-wicket haul (5/75) to give Australia a vital 51 run first innings lead. Peter Siddle bagged three for 63 while James Pattinson got two for 55.

Resuming at an overnight 214 for three, Indian batsmen struggled against the pace and swing generated by the Australian fast bowlers during the morning session. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin offered some resistance with his quickfire 31 off 35 balls.

Hilfenhaus dismissed Rahul Dravid, who failed to add to his overnight score of 68, with the second ball of the day and then removed Virat Kohli (11) with the second ball of his second spell.

Hilfenhaus found some good movement with the old ball, something that had been a problem for him before he was dropped after the disastrous Ashes series. He was effective with the new ball as well as he drew India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (6) into a tentative prod and edging a ball to Mike Hussey in the gully.

V.V.S. Laxman (2), a thorn for Australia in the past, edged Siddle to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to give the hosts the much needed relief.

Hilfenhaus achieved his first ever five-wicket haul as he claimed his fourth wicket of the morning removing stubborn nightwatchman Ishant Sharma (11).

Pattinson castled Zaheer Khan leaving India struggling at 9/259, still 74 runs behind Australia’s first innings score. But a heroic 23-run stand for the last wicket between Ashwin and Umesh Yadav (2 not out) trimmed Australia’s lead. Siddle finally removed Ashwin, caught behind just before lunch.

Ashwin was lucky to survive a leg-before appeal, while on seven, off Pattinson. Video replays suggested the ball would have likely struck middle and leg stumps but the batsman survived since Decision Review System (DRS) was not being used in the series.

Australia 1st innings: 333 all out

India 1st innings (overnight 214/3):

Gautam Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3

Virender Sehwag b Pattinson 67

Rahul Dravid b Hilfenhaus 68

Sachin Tendulkar b Siddle 73

Ishant Sharma c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

V.V.S.Laxman c Haddin b Siddle 2

Virat Kohli c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 6

Ravichandran Ashwin c Haddin b Siddle 31

Zaheer Khan b Pattinson 4

Umesh Yadav not out 2

Extras (w 1, nb 3) 4

Total (all out in 94.1 overs) 282

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Gambhir, 7.5 overs), 2-97 (Sehwag, 28.2), 3-214 (Tendulkar, 64.3), 4-214 (Dravid, 65.2), 5-221 (Laxman, 72.4), 6-238 (Kohli, 79.2), 7-245 (Dhoni, 81.4), 8-254 (Sharma, 87.2), 9-259 (Khan, 88.6)

Bowling:

James Pattinson 23-6-55-2

Ben Hilfenhaus 26-5-75-5

Peter Siddle 21.1-2-63-3

Nathan Lyon 17-2-66-0

Mike Hussey 5-0-15-0

David Warner 2-0-8-0

Australia 2nd innings:

David Warner b Yadav 5

Ed Cowan lbw Yadav 8

Shaun Marsh b Yadav 3

Ricky Ponting batting 33

Michael Clarke b Sharma 1

Mike Hussey batting 29

Extras (w 1, nb 1) 2

Total (for four wickets in 26 overs) 81

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Warner, 7.1 overs), 2-16 (Cowan, 7.4), 3-24 (Marsh, 11.3), 4-27 (Clarke, 12.5)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 9-1-25-0

Umesh Yadav 7-1-24-3

Ishant Sharma 6-0-21-1

Ravichandra Ashwin 4-0-11-0

Ricky Ponting was batting on 33 and Mike Hussey 29 as Australia stretched the lead to 132 runs.

Earlier in the day, India were bowled out for 282 runs in the first innings in reply to Australia’s 333.

Fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus wrecked the India’s middle-order with his maiden five-wicket haul (5/75) to give Australia a vital 51 runs first innings lead. Peter Siddle bagged three for 63 while the young James Pattinson got two for 55.

Resuming at overnight 214 for three, Indian batsmen struggled against the pace and swing generated by the Australian fast bowlers during the morning session. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin offered some resistance with his quickfire 31 off 35 balls.

Hilfenhaus dismissed Rahul Dravid, who failed to add to his overnight score of 68, with the second ball of the day and then removed Virat Kohli (11) with the second ball of his second spell.

Hilfenhaus found some good movement with the old ball, something that had been a problem for him before he was dropped after the disastrous Ashes series.

He was effective with the new ball as well as he drew India captain Mahendra SIngh Dhoni (6) into a tentative prod and edging a ball to Mike Hussey in the gully.

V.V.S. Laxman (2), a thorn for Australia in the past, edged Siddle to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to give the hosts the much needed relief.

Hilfenhaus achieved his first ever five-wicket haul as he claimed his fourth wicket of the morning removing stubborn nightwatchman Ishant Sharma (11).

Pattinson castled Zaheer Khan leaving India struggling at 9/259 still 74 runs behind Australia’s first innings score. But a heroic 23-run stand for the last wicket between Ashwin and Umesh Yadav (2 not out) trimmed Australia’s lead. Siddle finally removed Ashwin caught behind just before lunch.

Ahswin was lucky to survive a leg-before appeal, while on seven, off Pattinson. Video replays suggested the ball would have likely struck middle and leg stumps but the batsman survived since Decision Review System (DRS) was not being used in the series.

Australia 1st innings: 333 all out

India 1st innings (overnight 214/3):

Gautam Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3

Virender Sehwag b Pattinson 67

Rahul Dravid b Hilfenhaus 68

Sachin Tendulkar b Siddle 73

Ishant Sharma c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

V.V.S.Laxman c Haddin b Siddle 2

Virat Kohli c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 11

Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Hussey b Hilfenhaus 6

Ravichandran Ashwin c Haddin b Siddle 31

Zaheer Khan b Pattinson 4

Umesh Yadav not out 2

Extras (w 1, nb 3) 4

Total (all out in 94.1 overs) 282

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Gambhir, 7.5 overs), 2-97 (Sehwag, 28.2), 3-214 (Tendulkar, 64.3), 4-214 (Dravid, 65.2), 5-221 (Laxman, 72.4), 6-238 (Kohli, 79.2), 7-245 (Dhoni, 81.4), 8-254 (Sharma, 87.2), 9-259 (Khan, 88.6)

Bowling:

James Pattinson 23-6-55-2

Ben Hilfenhaus 26-5-75-5

Peter Siddle 21.1-2-63-3

Nathan Lyon 17-2-66-0

Mike Hussey 5-0-15-0

David Warner 2-0-8-0

Resuming at overnight 214/3, India added just 68 runs during the morning session and gave Australia a handy lead of 51 runs. Ben Hilfenhaus picked up five for 75.

Basile took over the job from compatriot Diego Simeone, who has left to coach Atletico Madrid in Spain, Xinhua reported.

‘I want to be a champion,’ said the 68-year-old, who had two spells in charge of Argentina from 1991-1994 and 2006-2008.

Racing were runners-up behind Boca Juniors in the Argentina championship which concluded two weeks ago.

Basile, a former central defender, played for Racing from 1964-1970, winning the league title in 1966 and the Copa Libertadores in 1967.

He also coached Racing in 1978, 1986-1989 and 1996-1997.

Ferguson also said after the match that Evans will not make the New Year’s Eve encounter with Blackburn, Xinhua reported.

‘Jonny came off injured. He has a calf injury and will be out for two weeks,’ said Ferguson.

‘We have had a nightmare the last few days. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have both been ill. Rio Ferdinand pulled up yesterday with a back injury and Jonny Evans has come off at half-time. It does put you under pressure,’ he added.

Watson was expected to be fit for the second Test in Sydney, but is yet to resume batting or bowling. He is working with Australian team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and so far has restricted his training to the workout in the gym.

‘He had a gym session today with Alex Kountouris (team physio) but he is not batting or bowling yet. He is a work in progress,’ a Cricket Australia spokesman was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

Hopes of Watson making a comeback revived after he attended the three-day batting camp at the MCG ahead of the first Test.

Watson, who spoke at a CA corporate lunch at the MCG Monday, said he was extremely disappointed at missing out on the Boxing Day Test.

‘The word from Shane Watson was that he is not fit to play. He has had ongoing troubles with his calf. His situation is improving and we hope he is in contention for the second Test. It is an option for him to bat down the order,’ national selector John Inverarity had said last week.

Watson suffered the injury on the tour of South Africa last month.

Stars’ number ten batsman Clint McKay had the chance to be a hero by hitting Brett Lee for four from the final ball to win the match but could only manage a single.

The Stars needed 15 from the last over and had given themselves a golden chance after hitting two boundaries early on, to bring the target down to five off two, but experienced Lee held his nerves to give Sixers a memorable win.

West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo gave the home team a solid start after they elected to bat, scoring 52 off 39 balls. Quick-fire innings from Ben Rohrer (29) and Dominic Thornely (29) took the Sixers to a total of 166 for nine.

Stars, in their reply, failed to grasp opportunities as they shot themselves in the foot, thanks to some silly running between the wickets.

Run-outs of David Hussey (42) and Adam Voges (31) proved to be the downfall of Stars. Leg Spinner Steven Smith starred with the ball in front of a boisterous 27,590 home fans, taking two-wickets and giving away just 29-runs off four overs.

Cowan, who scored 68 to be Australia’s top-scorer in the first innings, was on and off the field and spent much of the second day with team physio Alex Kountouris.

The southpaw batted for three hours on the first day but teammate Brad Haddin revealed that wasn’t the reason for the injury. The vice captain said that Cowan had been a little over-enthusiastic in his warm-ups on the second morning.

‘Ed got a bit excited in the warm-up in his first Test, he was diving around too much. He twinged his back. Alex worked on him through the day and he came back all right on the field,’ said Haddin.

India trail Australia by 119 runs after ending Day Two at 214 for three and have a great chance of dictating terms in the match.

Ashwin said the team is looking to bat Australia out of the game by putting up a huge total in reply to their 333.

‘If the sun is going to belt down like this and the wicket eases more and more, I think we will have to look at batting out as much time as possible and trying to get as much ahead in the game as possible,’ Ashwin told reporters after Tuesday’s play.

‘That is very important. As far as this game could go, I think it is all about the first innings lead or first innings situation that both teams find themselves in.

‘I hope the pitch just flattens out and becomes a really good day for us tomorrow.’

Ashwin maintained that the wicket was good for batting, though it had a bit in it for the bowlers.

‘The wicket is hard and solid underneath, it doesn’t look it would break much. Any deviation from the wicket would certainly help. We have to put ourselves in a good position with the bat and then take it from there.’

Ashwin, who took three wickets in Australia’s innings, felt he did okay in the conditions.

‘I thought I bowled well but it didn’t go my way. You have to test a spinner in the second innings when there are really some patches that open out.

‘There was a lot of swerve in the air yesterday, the ball appeared to hang and drop on the batsmen. It was also drifting both ways, that is what I relied on mostly,’ he said.

China is traditionally strong in sports like diving, table tennis and badminton, from which the world’s most populous nation has reaped piles of international titles.

The ‘dream team’ of Chinese divers topped the FINA World Championships’ diving medal tally in Shanghai this July, sweeping all 10 golds plus four silvers, Xinhua reported.

It was the first time in history that Chinese divers swept the board at the Worlds.

China bagged seven out of eight golds on offer at the 2008 Beijing Games, and took seven out of 10 at the 2009 Rome worlds.

The retirement of ‘diving queen’ Guo Jingjing had little impact on the Chinese team, which was made up of both veterans and teenage talent.

In table tennis, Chinese clean-swept gold medals in the Rotterdam World Championships in May.

Zhang Jike, 23, and Ding Ning, 21, beat fancied teammates to win the men’s and women’s singles title, proving China is never short of new blood in the game.

In the last six editions of the Olympic Games, China swept the gold in 1996, 2000 and 2008.

Although the International Table Tennis Federation’s decision to deduct one player each from the men’s and women’s singles events next year in London increased the uncertainty for China, the stake to win all is still high with their vast reserve of talent.

The Chinese badminton team failed to complete a title sweep in 2011, but the shuttlers’ sound performance still proved their tight grip on the sport.

With the loss of the Uber Cup, the top women’s team trophy, China made up with a fourth straight Thomas Cup victory in Kuala Lumpur in May.

The Chinese team went on to win all five singles and doubles golds in the World Championships in Paris in August, repeating the feat after a 23-year gap.

However, with only seven months to go before the Olympics, Chinese sports officials also see challenges amid the encouraging achievements.

‘Generally speaking, we maintain our advantage in the sports that Chinese athletes traditionally excel in, but there is not much room for them to improve or win more gold medals in these sports,’ said Cai Jiadong, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC).

Thirty-nine out of 51 gold medals China won in the 2008 Olympics came from gymnastics, weightlifting, diving, shooting, table tennis, badminton and judo.

While China will continue to win medals in the traditional sports at London, it is unrealistic to expect the athletes in these sports to be as good as in 2008.

For example, the Chinese gymnasts, who had snatched an amazing nine golds at Beijing, slipped to four golds, five silvers and three bronzes at the 2011 World Championships in Japan.

With the retirement of the ‘Diamond Generation’ including Yang Wei, Huangxu and Li Xiaopeng, it will be a mission impossible for the Chinese gymnasts to attain the 2008 glory.

‘The competition of the London Games will be really tough. We are going to face stiff challenge,’ said head coach Huang Yubin.

Chinese weightlifters pocketed eight gold medals in Beijing, but in the World Championships in Paris last month, they only won six.

China’s judo team, who won three golds in Beijing, is also suffering from under-performance by their athletes, with the reigning Olympic champion Tong Wen taking the only gold for China in this year’s judo worlds.

India ended Day Two of the Boxing Day Test at 214 for three with Tendulkar missing out on the elusive hundred yet again. Peter Siddle castled his stumps off third ball of the final over, giving Australia something to cheer about on a day that belonged to the visitors. The master blaster made 73 while Rahul Dravid, who was lucky to be bowled by Siddle off a no-ball, remained unbeaten on 68.

Haddin (27) was the first wicket to fall after Australia resumed the day at 277 for six, going to make 333 in the first innings.

Haddin, talking about Australia’s strategy for Wednesday, said the team will look to build pressure on the Indian batsmen by bowling tight and will attack once they get the new ball which is due in 15.3 overs.

‘There is still some time left for the new ball but we can create the pressure by allowing them not to score tomorrow morning. We need to get into their middle order very quickly. India might have the edge as of now but the match will be evenly poised if we play well in the first session,’ Haddin told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

On Tendulkar’s wicket, Haddin said: ‘It was a big, big breakthrough late in the day. He was batting really well and Siddle bowled a brilliant ball to send him back. He (Siddle) showed great character to come back in that manner after the no-ball to Dravid.’

The lack of Decision Review System (DRS) in the series has become a big talking point following dismissals of Ed Cowan and Michael Hussey on the opening day. Haddin did not pay much heed to the raging issue.

‘Michael Hussey was out, we saw him walking off yesterday. Its the rule of the series. It is as simple as that. Life goes on.’

The 34-year-old added that they did well in the end to post 333, and complimented Dravid and Tendulkar for their 117-run stand.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has objected to the use of Decision Review System (DRS) since it has doubts about its accuracy and doesn’t accept its use in any series in which India plays.

Ponting said it made no sense that DRS was not used in all Tests and the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to be bold and make it non-negotiable.

‘I thought that was the way it was when it first came in, that it was compulsory in every series we played, but apparently not,’ Ponting told ABC radio.

‘It’s just this one series against India it keeps popping up we are not using this system. As players you want uniformity around the world and you want consistency in the technology … that’s all we are after,’ he said.

Both Mike Hussey and then Ed Cowan couldn’t challenge after they were incorrectly given out by umpire Marais Erasmus at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Monday.

Dimitar Berbatov, the second choice centre forward for United this season, reinforced his value with a hat-trick while Park Ji-Sung and Valencia netted one in each half to help the Reds draw level on points with the leaders Manchester City, both on 45 after 18 rounds.

Tottenham Hotspur (with two games in hand), Chelsea, Arsenal (one game in hand) and Liverpool follow Manchester’s ‘big two’ but will find it hard to join in the title race because of a 10-point gap.

As a result of London tube drivers’ strike on Boxing Day, some clubs chose to delay their fixtures for fans’ convenience. Arsenal thus will play Wolves at home on Tuesday while Spurs will visit Norwich City.

Compared to their neighbour’s easy win, Manchester City seemed to lose their shooting boots after an overwhelming 62 percent possession, frustrated by a low-profile West Bromwich Albion in an uneventful 0-0 draw. This was the first time that City failed to score in a league game this season. Despite losing a two-point advantage over Man United, City still led the table on goal difference.

Liverpool overcame Charlie Adam’s own goal in the first- half stoppage time and moved level with the bottom placed Blackburn in 1-1 after Maxi Rodriguez equalised early in the second session. Captain Steven Gerrard came off the bench to replace Adam with 20 minutes left and it was the England midfielder’s first game since his ankle injury in October.

Chelsea’s title hopes somewhat faded after the Blues suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw in a west London derby against Fulham.

At Stamford Bridge, Andre Villas-Boas’s side opened the scoring through Juan Mata two minutes into the second half. However, the visitors needed just ten minutes to level the scores when the American striker Clint Dempsey netted from close range.

Among other contenders Russia beat South Africa 4-0 but that could only catapult them to second position with no chance of catching up with China on board-points Monday, reports Xinhua.

World champions Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi drew their matches, while Zhao Xue on the third board suffered a setback.

Chinese coach Yu Shaoteng said: ‘Our players felt tired and as a result we lost the game. The important thing is we became the champions. Tuesday’s match is not significant for the team but for the players themselves.’

In other matches, Armenia defeated Vietnam and Greece defeated hosts Turkey.

Ponting, who turned 37 last week, said that like any other cricketer he took inspiration from players even older than him, such as the 38-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 73 here Tuesday.

‘I think they (Tendulkar and Dravid) should inspire everyone,’ said Ponting.

Ponting came into the match on the back of poor form but proved his critics wrong with a valuable half-century. The former Test skipper believes that age should be a criteria for calling stumps on a career.

‘I have always been a big believer that age in this game doesn’t mean much. I still have the hunger and desire and I am working as hard as I ever have,’ he said.

Ponting said he was ‘disappointed’ not to convert another half-century into a hundred.

‘It was disappointing not to go on yesterday (Monday) to get a big score. That’s three of the last five innings I passed 50 that that is the game: it happens,’ Ponting said on ABC radio Tuesday.

‘My balance was a whole lot better yesterday. The roar I received when I went in yesterday was amazing. It is nice to know there is great public support out there,’ he said.

The diminutive Trinidad and Tobago player made his debut in the fifth and final ODI in Chennai Dec 11 and struggled, scoring only two off 21 balls at No.4 as the West Indies were beaten by 34 runs for India to wrap up the five-match series 4-1.

‘It was a great experience. I didn’t get off to the best start but I was just happy to be there and have an international game under my belt,’ Mohammed told the Trinidad Express.

‘Playing at the international level with the West Indies is where I want to stay. I always wanted to get to this level and I will be working a bit harder to keep my place in the team.

‘I was very nervous. That is the biggest stage that you can get. It was my dream to play for West Indies and having played in that game, I think the next time I get an opportunity I should be a better prepared player,’ Mohammed said.

The 25-year-old Mohammed earned his call-up to the West Indies team after scoring the most runs (227) at an average of 56.75 in the rain-hit regional Super50 championship in Guyana in October. He was named Player of the Tournament.

Mohammed is now hoping for another good showing in the 2012 Caribbean Twenty20 tournament in Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados Jan 9-22.

‘I am going to work harder starting with this Caribbean T20 and hopefully I can have a good tournament and get another chance to play for the West Indies. There are a lot of things to look forward to next year. There is the ICC World T20 and the West Indies play Australia, New Zealand and England so I am looking to play a few more games and hopefully I will be in the team for all three tours.’

–IANS/CMC

vs/sr/abr/dg

Dravid was unbeaten on 68 along with nightwatchman Ishant Sharma at stumps as India still trailed by 119 runs, in response to Australia’s 333 all out in the first innings. Tendulkar was well set for his much-awaited milestone century but was bowled by an excellent delivery from Peter Siddle on 73.

Tendulkar’s wicket, just three balls short of stumps, provided the Australians the much needed relief, especially Siddle, who four overs back had rattled Dravid’s stumps, on 65, but the video review found that Siddle had bowled a no-ball.

Both Tendulkar and Dravid helped India recover from 97 for two with their valuable 117-run stand for the third wicket.

Tendulkar walked out shortly before the tea break after the dismissal of Virender Sehwag, who entertained the MCG crowd with his carefree 67 off 83 balls. Tendulkar received a standing ovation from a 50,000 MCG crowd as he walked out to play probably his last Test at the historic ground.

Tendulkar didn’t disappoint and entertained the crowd by lifting the first ball, in the post-tea session, for a six over the slips. His wide array of strokes were a delight to watch. Tendulkar got to his half-century in 55 balls shortly after batting partner Dravid did likewise in style with a four off Ben Hilfenhaus.

Dravid dropped anchor and allowed Tendulkar to score runs briskly. Tendulkar hit eight fours and a six in his 98-ball innings before being castled by a Siddle delivery that went through the gate and crashed onto his stumps.

Earlier, India lost Gautam Gambhir (3) early in the eighth over as the left-handed batsman chased a wide delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus and edged behind to the wicketkeeper. The wicket came an over after a mild altercation between James Pattinson and Sehwag when the Indian opener complained that, when running for a single, the young pacer had brushed too close to him in his follow through.

Sehwag lived dangerously and added 75 runs for the second wicket with Dravid. Sehwag struck seven fours during his stay and was dismissed when in his attempt to hit a cover drive off James Pattinson his inside edge crashed onto his stumps.

India’s pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each in the first session to bowl out Australia for 333 in the first innings shortly before the lunch break.

Australia, resuming at the overnight score of 277/6, survived just 21 overs during which they added 56 runs and achieved a par total at the MCG. Zaheer finished with figures of four for 77 while Umesh Yadav and Ashwin bagged three wickets each.

Zaheer struck in the second over of the day to remove overnight batsman Brad Haddin (27). The Australian wicket-keeper stretched out for a fading ball and edged to Sehwag at gully. He walked from the pitch but had to wait several minutes on the field as the third umpire reviewed whether the bowler had bowled a no-ball.

Peter Siddle also departed soon after he was squared up by a late shaping out-swinger from Zaheer and edged behind for 41.

Hilfenhaus (19) and James Pattinson (18 not out) added a valuable 27 runs for the ninth wicket. Hilfenhaus was eventually out caught in the deep after he attempted to hit Ashwin out of the ground and Nathan Lyon (6) misjudged a sweep and was bowled behind his leg by a straight ball by the off-spinner.

Australia 1st Innings (Overnight 277/6):

Ed Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 68

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62

Michael Clarke b Khan 31

Michael Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0

Brad Haddin c Sehwag b Khan

Peter Siddle c Dhoni b Khan 41

James Pattinson not out 18

Ben Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Ashwin 19

Nathan Lyon b Ashwin 6

Extras (lb 21, w 2, nb 1) 24

Total (all out in 110 overs) 333

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1), 3-159 (Ponting, 48.3), 4-205 (Clarke, 64.2), 5-205 (Hussey, 64.3), 6-214 (Cowan, 67.1), 7-286 (Haddin, 90.6), 8-291 (Siddle, 96.1), 9-318 (Hilfenhaus, 105.4)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 31-6-77-4

Ishant Sharma 24-7-48-0

Umesh Yadav 26-5-106-3

Ravichandran Ashwin 29-3-81-3

India 1st innings:

Gautam Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3

Virender Sehwag b Pattinson 67

Rahul Dravid batting 68

Sachin Tendulkar b Siddle 73

Ishant Sharma batting 0

Extras (w 1, nb 2) 3

Total (for three wickets in 65 overs) 214

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Gambhir, 7.5 overs), 2-97 (Sehwag, 28.2)

Bowling:

James Pattinson 15-3-35-1

Ben Hilfenhaus 14-1-50-1

Peter Siddle 15-2-53-1

Nathan Lyon 14-2-53-0

Mike Hussey 5-0-15-0

David Warner 2-0-8-0

Rahul Dravid was batting on 68 and night-watchman Ishant Sharma was yet to open his account at close of play. Sachin Tendulkar was the last wicket to fall in the day after having scored 73.

Sehwag departed shortly before the tea break after scoring 67 off 83 balls. Rahul Dravid (25) and Sachin Tendulkar (2) were at the crease.

India lost Gautam Gambhir (3) early in the eighth over as the left-handed batsman chased a wide delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus and edged behind to the wicketkeeper.

Sehwag lived dangerously and added 75 runs for the second wicket with Dravid. Sehwag struck seven fours during his stay and was dismissed in his attempt to hit a cover drive off James Pattinson but an inside edge crashed onto his stumps.

Tendulkar received a huge standing ovation from the MCG crowd as he walked out to play probably his last Test at the historic ground.

Earlier, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each in the first session to bowl out Australia for 333 in the first innings shortly before the lunch break.

Australia, resuming at the overnight score of 277/6, survived just 21 overs during which they added 56 runs and achieved a par total at the MCG. Zaheer finished with figures of four for 77 while Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged three wickets each.

Zaheer struck in the second over of the day to remove overnight batsman Brad Haddin (27). The Australian wicket-keeper stretched out for a fading ball and edged to Sehwag at gully. He walked from the pitch but had to wait several minutes on the field as the third umpire reviewed whether the bowler had bowled a no-ball.

Peter Siddle also departed soon after he was squared up by a late shaping out-swinger from Zaheer and edged behind for 41.

Hilfenhaus (19) and James Pattinson (18 not out) added a valuable 27 runs for the ninth wicket. Hilfenhaus was eventually out caught in the deep after he attempted to hit Ashwin out of the ground and Nathan Lyon (6) misjudged a sweep and was bowled behind his leg by a straight ball by the off-spinner.

Australia 1st Innings (Overnight 277/6):

Ed Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 68

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62

Michael Clarke b Khan 31

Michael Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0

Brad Haddin c Sehwag b Khan

Peter Siddle c Dhoni b Khan 41

James Pattinson not out 18

Ben Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Ashwin 19

Nathan Lyon b Ashwin 6

Extras (lb 21, w 2, nb 1) 24

Total (all out in 110 overs) 333

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1), 3-159 (Ponting, 48.3), 4-205 (Clarke, 64.2), 5-205 (Hussey, 64.3), 6-214 (Cowan, 67.1), 7-286 (Haddin, 90.6), 8-291 (Siddle, 96.1), 9-318 (Hilfenhaus, 105.4)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 31-6-77-4

Ishant Sharma 24-7-48-0

Umesh Yadav 26-5-106-3

Ravichandran Ashwin 29-3-81-3

India 1st innings:

Gautam Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 3

Virender Sehwag b Pattinson 67

Rahul Dravid batting 25

Sachin Tendulkar batting 2

Extras (w 1, nb 1) 2

Total (for two wickets in 30 overs) 99

Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Gambhir, 7.5 ov), 2-97 (Sehwag, 28.2 ov)

Bowling:

James Pattinson 10-1-25-1

Ben Hilfenhaus 9-0-27-1

Peter Siddle 5-0-24-0

Nathan Lyon 5-2-22-0

Mike Hussey 1-0-1-0

Rahul Dravid was batting on 25 and Sachin Tendulkar on two at the tea break.

Australia were bowled out for 333 in the first innings earlier in the day.

At lunch, India were six for no loss with Virender Shewag batting on four and Gautam Gambhir two.

Australia, resuming at overnight 277/6, survived just 21 overs during which they added 56 runs and achieved a par total at the MCG. Zaheer finished with figures of four for 77 while Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged three wickets each.

Zaheer struck in the second over of the day to remove overnight batsman Brad Haddin (27). The Australian wicket-keeper stretched out for a fading ball and edged to Sehwag at gully. He walked from the pitch but had to wait several minutes on the field as the third umpire reviewed whether the bowler had bowled a no-ball.

Peter Siddle also departed soon after he was squared up by a late shaping out-swinger from Zaheer and edged behind for 41.

Ben Hilfenhaus (19) and James Pattinson (18 not out) added valuable 27 runs for the ninth wicket. Hilfenhaus was eventually out caught in the deep after he attempted to hit Ashwin out of the ground and Nathan Lyon (6) misjudged a sweep and was bowled behind his leg by a straight ball by the off-spinner.

Australia 1st Innings (Overnight 277/6):

Ed Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 68

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62

Michael Clarke b Khan 31

Michael Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0

Brad Haddin c Sehwag b Khan

Peter Siddle c Dhoni b Khan 41

James Pattinson not out 18

Ben Hilfenhaus c Kohli b Ashwin 19

Nathan Lyon b Ashwin 6

Extras (lb 21, w 2, nb 1) 24

Total (all out in 110 overs) 333

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1), 3-159 (Ponting, 48.3), 4-205 (Clarke, 64.2), 5-205 (Hussey, 64.3), 6-214 (Cowan, 67.1), 7-286 (Haddin, 90.6), 8-291 (Siddle, 96.1), 9-318 (Hilfenhaus, 105.4)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 31-6-77-4

Ishant Sharma 24-7-48-0

Umesh Yadav 26-5-106-3

Ravichandran Ashwin 29-3-81-3

India 1st innings:

Gautam Gambhir batting 2

Virender Sehwag batting 4

Extras 0

Total (for no loss in three overs) 6

Bowling:

James Pattinson 2-1-2-0

Ben Hilfenhaus 1-0-4-0

Openers Virender Sehwag was batting on four and Gambhir two as India trailed Australia by 327 runs at the lunch break. Australia were bowled out for 333 shortly before the lunch break.

Resuming at overnight 277/6, Australia could add just 56 runs and lost four wickets during 21 overs of play.

Overnight batsmen Peter Siddle and Brad Haddin made 41 and 27. India’s pace spearhead Zaheer Khan finished with four for 77 while Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged three wickets each.

Sharma has more or less been a regular in the Test team since he famously dismissed then Australia captain Ricky Ponting with a snorter in the Perth Test of 2008.

Yadav, much like his senior partner, has attracted attention after foxing Ponting with a a pacy away going delivery on the opening day of the first Test here at the sprawling Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 24-year-old, arguably India’s fastest bowler alongside injured Varun Aaron, was also responsible for the dismissals of the explosive David Warner and talented Shaun Marsh.

Yadav constantly cranked up speed of 140 kmph or more, troubling the batsmen, including Ponting. The best testimony to his raw pace was when a rising ball of his got the grille of Ponting’s helmet.

He also released pressure on team’s spearhead Zaheer Khan by providing the early breakthrough, letting the left-arm pacer to take his time to come back into rhythm.

The Nagpur cricketer though would like to improve upon his economy rate, his three wickets today cost 96 runs in 20 overs.

Having enjoyed a middling to a good 2011 season that saw him reach the final at Johannesburg, Devvarman acknowledged that the path to the Olympics is all about consistency.

‘The focus is definitely on the Olympics, I will just work at improving my game further, and breaking into the (world’s) top-50 would be nice,’ said Devvarman in release.

Devvarman began the season ranked 108, moved up to a career-best of 63 before sliding to 84, but hoped that he would have a better run in the New Year.

Reviewing the season, the 26-year old said: ‘The sudden rise was due to good matches and favourable outcomes and the sudden slump due to (shoulder) injury.

‘Reaching the finals of the Tour event in Johannesburg is definitely up there. Besides that, I also got to play the likes of (Roger) Federer, Rafa (Nadal) on the big stage and also got some good wins against players like Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and (Janko) Tipsarevic.

‘I think, on a given day, when I am playing my best tennis I could beat any player. But to stay up there, win a Grand Slam, you have to play that level consistently day-in and day-out.

‘Consistency is the key. When you meet top ranked players, which you often do in Tour events, they can easily expose your weaknesses. You have to stay on top of your game at all times.’

His best run in the Chennai Open was in 2009 when he reached the final, but then lost in the second round in 2010 and first round in 2011.

‘I certainly hope to do well and go one better than 2009,’ Devvarman said.

‘I love playing in Chennai. The atmosphere is great, the crowd is supportive, it is just awesome,’ said Arjuna Awardee.

On the main draw of the 2012 event, Devvarman said: ‘It’s a very strong field. At this level it is rare to get easy wins.’

Gawli, who represented India in 82 games, informed about his decision to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in a letter.

‘It is delightful and so appropriate to have a perfect farewell to my international career after winning the 2011 SAFF Championship,’ the 31-year-old wrote.

Gawli was part of the team that won seven titles, including the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup and Nehru Cup, in 2007 and 2009.

He captained India in a one-off match against Malaysia in Guwahati last month.

Gawli has been playing for Dempo since 2005 and was member of Churchill Brothers and East Bengal.

Yadav, playing in his third Test, bowled with a lot of fire and got the ball to move, especially in the morning session.

The 24-year-old from Nagpur was rewarded for his effort with the key wickets of opener David Warner, one-drop Shaun Marsh and former Australia captain Ponting, who played well for his 62 in his team’s 277 for six at the close of play.

Warner (37) gloved a rising ball to the wicket-keeper, Marsh (0) played a loose shot to be caught at backward point, but Yadav bowled the best ball to get rid of Ponting. The veteran batsman could not help edging a delivery that bounced and cut away sharply.

Yadav said though all three wickets were special, Ponting’s was the most satisfying.

‘I would not say any one wicket was special. All three were. As I am touring Australia for the first time, I will take whatever comes my way. I am happy that I could do my bit for the team,’ Yadav told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

‘No doubt, it was exciting to bowl to Ponting, I was a bit nervous bowling to him,’ he said.

On being hit for 96 runs in 20 overs, Yadav said: ‘I took wickets, but gave away far too many runs. So I have got mixed feelings at the end of the day.’

Yadav thanked Sachin Tendulkar for guiding him during his spells.

‘He always boosts my confidence while standing at mid-off or mid-on. He does not tell me anything in particular and just asks me to bowl in my areas. Today, he told me that it is important to bowl a fuller length in Australia,’ he added.

Cowan, who struck a patient 68 in Australia’s Day One score of 277 for six, claimed his and Michael Hussey’s dismissal was doubtful and could have gone in their favour had the technology been used.

‘You saw the replay. You saw my reaction,’ Cowan told reporters while referring to his dismissal in the 68th over when he was caught behind by Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ravichandran Ashwin.

‘As someone who loves their cricket and who has watched a lot of cricket, I just don’t understand why it can’t be handed down by the ICC (International Cricket Council) to be uniform in all games,’ he said about DRS.

‘Today momentum went against us because of it (decisions). But that is the game and we will take the good with the bad.’

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to use DRS in the high-profile series, maintaining its earlier stand that the technology is not full-proof. The DRS could only be implemented if the cricket boards agree for it in a bilateral series.

The decision against Hussey in the 65th over seemed a bit harsh. South African umpire Marais Erasmus raised his finger at India’s caught behind appeal off Zaheer Khan, who had bowled Australian captain Michael Clarke (31) the previous ball. Replays, however, indicated the out-of-form batsman did not nick the rising delivery.

Cowan termed that moment as a ‘massive’ one in the game as the hosts lost two senior batsmen at the same score, making it 214 for six.

‘We felt we were half an hour away from really nailing them (India), grinding them into the dust.’

‘We get through that Zaheer Khan spell unscathed and it is a completely different complexion to the day’s play,’ said the 29-year-old.

Organised by North East Federation on International Trade, the international car rally, which covers 5,000 km, will run from Jan 29 to Feb 9, the Weekly Eleven News said.

The rally will have 200 participants and 55 cars, reported Xinhua.

National Champion Rutuja Sampatrao Bhosale and Isha Lakhani are the other team members for the tie to take place in Shenzhen, China. Sharmada Balu and Kyra Firdaus Shroff have been named as reserves.

Rohit Rajpal will be the non-playing captain and Enrico Pepirno the coach.

India were relegated to Group II after they lost all their round-robin matches and the play-off rubber in the last edition in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Debutant opener Ed Cowan (68) and under-pressure Ricky Ponting (68) hit half-centuries in their crucial 113-run third wicket stand while Indian pacers Umesh Yadav (3-96) and Zaheer Khan (2-49) did the damage. Test vice captain Brad Haddin was on 21 along with Peter Siddle (34) at stumps.

India had the whiphand soon after tea, when Zaheer dismissed skipper Michael Clarke (61) and Mike Hussey off successive deliveries and two overs later off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (1-71) removed Cowan to leave Australia reeling at 214 for six. But Haddin and Siddle saved the day with their unfinished 63-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Clarke made a brave decision to bat first despite heavy overnight rains, and openers Cowan and David Warner (37) weathered a difficult first hour before settling down for 46-run opening stand. They batted well in tandem but had contrasting approaches. While Cowan was watchful, Warne was forceful.

A brief rain delay broke Warner’s concentration and he was caught behind gloving a short ball from Yadav’s first delivery after the break. Marsh survived just six balls before pushing hard at a Yadav delivery outside off for an easy catch.

At 46/2, Ponting walked in and was soon greeted with a bouncer from Yadav that struck on his helmet grille trying to pull a ball which then almost dropped onto his stumps. Ponting, who came into this match struggling to retain his place in the side, settled down soon and hit back at his detractors with a crafty half-century.

Ponting’s balance and timing were superb, perhaps helped by last week’s batting camp. Ponting fell for 62, caught at second slip off a Yadav delivery that moved away from him and induced a sliced bat.

Cowan was cautious in his approach in both the sessions and allowed Ponting to take charge in the second. They ran well between the wickets and their 113-run stand came off 200 balls. At a time when the partnership grew strong, Yadav got a delivery to rear up menacingly forcing Ponting to edge it to V.V.S. Laxman in the slip.

Cowan and Clarke then added a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket as Australia went past the 200-run mark. But three wickets in four overs, including two in successive deliveries, swung the game in India’s favour as Australia slumped to 214/6 from 205/3.

Clarke was out first, chopping Zaheer’s delivery onto his stumps and in the next delivery the veteran Hussey was dismissed for a golden duck caught behind to a ball that rose sharply on him but appeared to miss his bat and gloves.

Two overs later, Cowan’s five-hours gritty knock came to an end when he was caught behind off Ashwin. Cowan’s innings was the second highest for an Australian opener on debut since Wayne Phillips’ 159 at the WACA in November 1983.

The pressure will now be on Hussey to retain his side in the team once Shane Watson returns to the side from injury. Both Ponting and Hussey were under tremendous pressure for the first time in their career. While Ponting might have assured his place in the side for some time the pressure will increase on Hussey.

Some of the Blues squad and staff had raised the prospect of donning T-shirts showing their backing for Terry, who has been charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

Liverpool was heavily criticised in some quarters for allowing its players to wear T-shirts in support of Luis Suarez during the warm-up before Wednesday night’s Barclays Premier League game at Wigan, following the striker’s eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, Xinhua reported.

Chelsea, which fully backs Terry in his fight to clear his name, did not want to risk emulating something that could be viewed as provocative ahead of Terry’s hearing at a West London magistrates court Feb 1.

A club spokesman said: ‘We were aware of the idea being discussed among some of the players and staff.

‘The club fully supports John but did not think the wearing of T-shirts was an appropriate or helpful show of that support.’

Australia 1st Innings:

Ed Cowan c Dhoni b Ashwin 68

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62

Michael Clarke b Khan 31

Michael Hussey c Dhoni b Khan 0

Brad Haddin batting 21

Peter Siddle batting 34

Extras (lb 21, w 2, nb 1): 24

Total (for six wickets in 89 overs): 277

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1), 3-159 (Ponting, 48.3), 4-205 (Clarke, 64.2), 5-205 (Hussey, 64.3), 6-214 (Cowan, 67.1)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 23-5-49-2

Ishant Sharma 20-6-40-0

Umesh Yadav 20-4-96-3

Ravichandran Ashwin 26-2-71-1

Toss: Australia, who chose to bat

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa) and Ian Gould (England)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (Australia)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

Wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin was on 31 and Peter Siddle on 34.

Umesh Yadav took three wickets for India while Zaheer Khan picked up two off consecutive balls.

Cowan was batting on 58 with Australian skipper Michael Clarke on seven at the tea break. Cowan and the veteran Ponting (62) added a valuable 113 runs for the third wicket after Australia were reduced to 46 for two.

India’s veteran pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and the Ishant Sharma went wicketless. Ishant, however, did create a bit of a scare but Yadav did most of the damge.

Clarke made a brave decision to bat first, despite heavy overnight rains, and Australian openers Cowan and David Warner (37) weathered a difficult first hour before settling down for 46-run opening stand.

Resuming at 68 for two after lunch break, Australia scored quickly to reach 170 for three.

The spotlight during the second session’s play was on Ponting, who was struggling to retain his place in the side. Ponting was immediately struck on his helmet grille trying to pull a ball that then almost dropped onto his stumps.

The former Australian captain, however, quickly settled down and hit back at his detractors with a crafty half-century. His balance and timing were superb, perhaps helped by last week’s batting camp. Ponting fell for 62, caught at second slip off a Yadav delivery that moved away from him and induced a sliced bat.

Cowan was cautious in his approach in both the sessions and allowed Ponting to take charge in the second. They ran well between the wickets and their 113-run stand came off 200 balls.

Earlier, Australia made a determined start after both Cowan and David Warner (37) batted well in tandem for their 46-run stand that came off 79 balls. Both the batsmen had contrasting approach. Cowan was watchful while Warne was forceful.

But a brief rain delay broke Warner’s concentration and the dimunitive opener was caught behind gloving a short ball from Yadav’s first delivery after the break.

Marsh survived just six balls before pushing hard at Yadav delivery outside off for an easy catch.

‘Apart from Arsenal and Barcelona, I don’t see myself playing anywhere else,’ said the 24-year-old, who played for Arsenal for eight years before joining Barcelona last summer, reports Xinhua.

‘I will definitely be going back to Arsenal whenever I have time to watch games and to see the guys, and you never know in the future, why not,’ he asked Sunday.

‘I hope I will stay here for a very long time and maybe even retire here, but why not? In life, you can never say never, and if there is one place to go back to, it is Arsenal for sure,’ Fabregas said.

Pakistan won the fourth and the final match Sunday to end the first international series played in the country in eight years. Pakistan won the first three games 3-0, 5-3 and 3-1.

All the three goals came in the first half. Pakistan first scored through vice captain Shakeel Abbasi and Fareed Ahmed while Chinese striker Dong Yang struck two minutes from the end.

At the post match ceremony, Pakistani captain Muhammad Imran said the Chinese team played a much improved game Sunday.

‘We had some advantage in the first two matches, but they came back impressively in the last two,’ Imran said.

The trophy was handed over to Pakistani captain but he gifted it to the Chinese for reviving international sports in the country.

International sporting activities in the country had come to a halt as overseas teams refused to come to Pakistan in the wake of the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.

Though many individual players from overseas toured Pakistan, no official international team visited the country since the Junior Asia Cup in 2004.

Australia 1st Innings

Ed Cowan batting 58

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting c Laxman b Yadav 62

Michael Clarke batting 7

Extras (lb 5, w 1): 6

Total (for three wickets in 53 overs): 170

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1), 3-159 (Ponting, 48.3 ov)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 14-3-30-0

Ishant Sharma 14-4-33-0

Umesh Yadav 13-3-66-3

Ravichandran Ashwin 12-1-36-0

Toss: Australia, who chose to bat

Umpires: Marias Erasmus (South Africa) and Ian Gould (England)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (Australia)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

Debutant Ed Cowan was batting on 58 and captain Michael Clarke on seven. Indian pacer Umesh Yadav picked up three wickets, including that of Ricky Ponting who made 62.

The 36-year-old Katich feels Cowan, who now plays for Tasmania, will be he worthy successor as a Test opener.

‘Ed Cowan is definitely ready for Test cricket. He’s made a lot of runs this year, he deserves his chance and he’s got a big future ahead of him,’ said Katich.

Katich said there are no hard feelings over his Test sacking despite being dropped by Cricket Australia (CA) from the list of 25 contracted players for 2011-12 while averaging more than 50 since his recall to the Test squad in 2007.

‘I’ve spoken about my international career recently, a lot has happened in the past five months, but I understand the selectors are probably going in a different direction,’ Katich said.

Katich said he would be grateful for the Test opportunities that he got.

‘I’m fortunate that in the last few years, I got back in the Test team. I’ve got to look at it positively. I’ve played 56 Tests instead of being stuck on 23 so I will always be grateful for that.

‘There are lots of people worse off than me in the world. As much as it was disappointing to know that I probably wouldn’t play Test cricket again, I’ve dealt with that, and I’ll play cricket for whoever wants me for as long as I can,’ he said

Ed Cowan batting 14

David Warner c Dhoni b Yadav 37

Shaun Marsh c Kohli b Yadav 0

Ricky Ponting batting 15

Extras (lb 2) 2

Total (for two wickets in 23.5 overs) 68

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Warner, 13.1 overs), 2-46 (Marsh, 15.1)

Bowling:

Zaheer Khan 8.5-3-21-0

Ishant Sharma 8-3-19-0

Umesh Yadav 6-2-25-2

Ravichandran Ashwin 1-0-1-0

Toss: Australia, who chose to bat

Umpires: Marias Erasmus (South Africa) and Ian Gould (England)

TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (Australia)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

Debutant opener Ed Cowan was batting on 14 and Ricky Ponting 15 when rain stopped play prompting an early lunch. India pacer Umesh Yadav picked up the two wickets of David Warner (37) and Shaun Marsh.

India’s two frontline fast bowlers, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan, have been included in the side and will form the pace attack with Umesh Yadav while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got the nod for the spot ahead of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Australia have included debutat opener Ed Cowan in the side.

Australia: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin (wicketkeeper), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Ben Hilfenhaus.

India: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, V.V.S. Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.

The 28-year-old Dutch international was substituted at half-time in Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, but a subsequent scan showed no tear and he could be in line to play at Carrow Road, Xinhua reported.

‘He looks okay,’ Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said. ‘He looks like he could be fit.

‘We thought he had a hamstring. He went for a scan and it didn’t show a tear.

‘I think he probably had cramps, a bit of tightness he felt maybe might go, so he took the precaution of not playing on with it.’

Van der Vaart, who trained Sunday and will do so again tomorrow, said, ‘I think I am going to be fine.’

Tottenham have lost just once in their last 14 Barclays Premier League matches to climb to third in the table, but Van der Vaart is not getting too carried away with title talk.

The former Hamburg and Real Madrid man said: ‘We are third and still have one game in hand. We are playing really good this season, you can see it in the big games, so it is going to be interesting.

‘But there is still a long way to go. We have to keep on winning our games and then we will see.’

Varma, ranked 72, fought hard against the 2004 Olympic champion but eventually ran out of steam.

The Madhya Pradesh player created waves en route to the final, beating three seeded players, including fourth seed Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto.

Varma shone at a time when India’s top players Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram exited in the early stages of the competition.

Star player Saina Nehwal pulled out of the women’s draw at the last minute citing fever and fatigue.

Baisoya, who started as the underdog in the final, was always ahead in the match at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Baisoya had six birdies in the first round of 18 and three more in 16 holes in the second round while Chikka had three birdies in both rounds, but more importantly Baisoya dropped fewer bogeys.

With six birdies in the first round, Baisoya had Chikka struggling. Three of the birdies came in the first five holes and in no time Baisoya was three-up. He missed a par on the seventh and lost one. They parred the ninth with birdies from both and then Chikka came closer as Baisoya bogeyed the 11th. At this stage, the Delhi boy was just one-up.

Then he birdied the 12th and 15th to go three up. Chikka did reduce the gap to two with a birdie on 16th, but Baisoya was sitting pretty with a two-hole advantage after the first round of 18 holes.

That lead swelled to four by the time the players came for the final nine. Both halved the next five holes with pars and on 12th both birdied it. Baisoya was then four up with four go, making it a must for Chikka to win stay in the match. Chikka did win the 15th with a birdie to make it 3-up for Baisoya.

It was a big win for Baisoya ahead of the All India Amateurs in January and he can now look forward to dethroning Chikka, who has been the top golfer of the year.

The series begins with the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Monday. Akram, while recollecting his playing days for Pakistan, said they found it extremely tough in the initial matches in Australia and India will also be tested.

‘Any team will struggle in Australia, especially in the first two Tests. It takes a lot of time for visiting teams to get into the groove of playing under those conditions. Be it New Zealand, Pakistan or India, you are bound to find it hard to play there. I toured Australia 10 times and we found it very tough for the first two games. So, India will also struggle and better be careful, they do not want to be 2-0 down straight away,’ Akram told ESPN.

Injuries to key players and an inexperienced Australian side has led many pundits to believe that India would start as favourites in the series.

Australian legend Ian Chappell said that this would be India’s golden chance to register their first series win Down Under.

‘It is India’s best chance to beat Australia in Australia. The Aussies have been inconsistent and there have been unbelievable number of injuries,’ Chappell said earlier.

Akram though disagreed with Chappell’s views and said that India should not even be thinking of a series win right now and rather concentrate on coming out unscathed in the first two Tests.

‘India really have to work hard to do well and compete in the series, forget winning it for now. As I said earlier, the first two Tests they need to be very careful. It is extremely difficult to say which way the series will pan out but as of now it hardly looks like India will win,’ Akram said.

The Pakistani pacer also differed with Chappell’s take on the combination of the Indian team for the first Test.

Former Australian captain had earlier said that it would be a mistake if India picked Virat Kohli over Rohit Sharma in the starting eleven.

‘I think Rohit should be preferred. I have seen him taking on the Australians, playing the horizontal shots. But playing Kohli will be a mistake,’ said Chappell.

Akram, on the other hand, felt that Virat Kohli should be India’s No.6 after scoring a hundred in the second practice game against Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Canberra.

‘My theory is whoever has hit a hundred under those conditions must be picked. Kohli is a good fielder and so is Rohit, but the former has peaked at the right time under Australian conditions. Kohli’s timely ton in the practice game means his form is right up there and has the confidence that he can score on these bouncy tracks in Australia,’ said Akram.

The seven-time World Champion recorded 116 passes in the 19 races, two more than the Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi.

Schumacher’s tally can be attributed to his ability to gain places initially in the race every time he qualified low on the grid and a Mercedes car that only proved slower to the top three teams in Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari; Autosport reported Saturday.

Schumacher finished the year at eighth position in the drivers’ standings, behind younger teammate Nico Rosberg for the second year in a row.

The team’s data reveals that there were a total of 1,486 overtaking moves during the season.

In individual races, the Turkish Grand Prix saw the maximum number of overtakes at 85, ahead of Canada (79) and China (67). The rounds in Monaco (16), Australia (17), India and Brazil (18) witnessed the least number of overtaking manoeuvres.

The top 10 overtakers of 2011, according to Mercedes GP’s data:

Pos Driver Passes

1. Michael Schumacher 116

2. Sebastien Buemi 114

3. Kamui Kobayashi 99

4. Jaime Alguersuari 94

5. Pastor Maldonado 91

6. Paul di Resta 90

7. Sergio Perez 87

8. Rubens Barrichello 86

9. Jenson Button 85

10. Felipe Massa 82

Adriene Pinto, aged 20, was wounded in her left hand and would require surgery, the Daily Mail reported.

The incident took place Saturday after Adriano, four women and his bodyguard left a nightclub in the Barra da Tijuca district to the west of Rio de Janeiro.

The police said that no one else was hurt.

If Dhoni has scrupulously maintained that he is concerned about his team’s strengths and weaknesses than worry about the opponents, Clarke is a little more forthcoming in saying that he has the ammunition to take 20 wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to win the first Test.

The two have not tried to undermine the other side and have shown the Yuletide spirit before the first ball in the series is bowled. Both captains have vowed to be competitive and fight hard on the field without marring the spirit of the game.

Clarke has said that his side would be aggressive without crossing the limits while Dhoni reciprocated saying his side would play tough cricket but avoid the bad blood between the two teams that almost wrecked the tour midway four years ago.

Thus there is some understanding on the ground rules, now on to cricketing merits and demerits. By all accounts, man-to-man India look far superior on paper. Everyone seems to agree that this India team is perhaps the strongest and in the same breath wonders if ever the Australians fielded such a weaker eleven.

No Test team in contemporary cricket can boast of four exceptionally skilled and celebrated men like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, not to talk of Dhoni, easily the most unflappable captain. That accounts for half the side.

Take the openers, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir between them they have 11,571 runs in 136 Tests, the former having two triple centuries in his 22 and the latter one double in his nine. On the other hand, the Australian openers David Warner and Ed Cowan have two Tests.

Warner has come a long way from an explosive twenty20 batsman to a feared Test player, having carried the bat through in only his second Test. More important, Sehwag can win a match on his own and the Australians are hoping his Delhi Daredevils teammate Warner would do it for them.

The stats of Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman can unnerve any attack and all three have phenomenal record in Australia, never mind they may not have done all that well at the MCG. The three are on their last visit and they know there is nothing like winning the series for the first time Down Under. The three have stated loud and clear that they should be judged how good they still are, not how old they are.

The Australians are tired of waiting for Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey to bat like the Indian trio and win matches. The two stalwarts with over 17,000 cumulative runs are on borrowed time. One more failure and their time is up.

The Australians have already started rebuilding the team, bringing in left-handed Cowan at 29 for his Test debut. A protege of the late Peter Roebuck, the New South Wales-born went to Sydney’s Cranbrook School, where he came under the wings of the former Somerset captain, who taught English and was a cricket coach there. He moved to Tasmania three years ago and started scoring heavily this season, a coincidence, from the day Roebuck passed away. He hit four hundreds in four matches, including one against the Indians at Canberra, and forced his way into the Test eleven.

If the batting is a problem for Australia, India’s concern is bowling. The Australians are heavily depending on the raw pace of James Pattinson and the swing of Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus. They feel a bit of green on the pitch can encourage the pace men to extract bounce and movement, forgetting fit Zaheer and Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav can exploit the conditions as well as the Australians. The tall, lanky Ravichandran Ashwin, too, can use the bounce with his high action.

The Indians are playing on the same four pitches they played in 2007-08 and they know what is on offer at MCG, Sydney Cricket Ground, WACA at Perth and the Adelaide Oval.

Don’t forget, India won at Perth and if the umpiring had been error-free they would have won the series 2-1 instead of the other way round. Come to think of it, in 2003-04, the leading five batsmen Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman scored big hundreds and if they had been a little bolder they could have won that series, too. They can do it again, this time in a more aggressive manner.

Ticking the boxes, the Indians can feel good on many counts, but, that will count only if they click as a team.

(25.12.2011 – Veturi Srivatsa can be contacted at v.srivatsa@ians.in)

The home team, Calcutta Polo Club (CPC) led by Col. Tarun Sirohi, won the World Masters Challenge defeating the Rest of the World 5-3 with CPC enjoying a half goal handicap.

For CPC, Sirohi, Maj. Ravi Rathore and Carlos Gracida scored each while Maj. Vishal Chauhan scored twice. For the visitors, Gofferedo Rendina scored thrice.

Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh threw in the ball to signal the start of the game. Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi handed over the winning trophy to Sirohi.

The closing ceremony started with ‘Beat Busters’ by a dance group from the city while soldiers from the 61st Cavalry regiment performed daredevil stunts during the match break.

The army’s pipes and drums band played lively tunes before and after the game.

‘Sagol Kangje’, the traditional form of the sport played in Manipur from which the modern game evolved was performed by players from the northeastern state, giving the audience a glimpse of history.

British officers Major General Joe Shearer and Captain Robert Stewart founded the Calcutta Polo Club In 1861 and the first match was held around Christmas.

A host of celebrities and members of erstwhile royal families from across the country were present to witness the event.

The 30-year-old sustained a career-threatening injury while playing for Barcelona in the semifinal against Al-Sadd in the FIFA Club World Cup and is set to be sidelined for four to five months.

‘David Villa was cleared to leave hospital, five days after his operation, and the Azulgrana number seven will now be able to spend Christmas with his family,’ the Catalan club announced on its website.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Australian counterpart Michael Clarke have already promised some tough cricket over the next two months though they categorically stated they would like to get over the bitter memories of the last tour here in 2008 and play in the spirit of the game.

‘I can guarantee you that nobody in the Australian team will cross the line and if they do, there will be punishments from the ICC but also from Cricket Australia. We will be doing everything in our power to play some really competitive, tough cricket. But we understand and acknowledge that we won’t cross that line,’ Clarke said in the pre-match media conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Saturday, while reflecting on the Monkeygate that marred the 2008 series which the hosts won 2-1.

The Indians realise that they can put it across a side that has struggled to stay afloat against South Africa and New Zealand.

The famed batting trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman, will most likely be playing their last series in this country and have made it clear what it means winning a series here to them.

Unlike Australia, India are yet to announce their playing XI for the match. The batting looks solid as ever with the presence of the ‘Big Three’ and a lot will also depend on how Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir fare at the top of the order. Virat Kohli is likely to be picked over Rohit Sharma in the middle order.

The bowling, considered to be India’s weak link on the tour, looks unsettled with doubts over fitness of premier fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Dhoni, however, assured Saturday that everyone in the team is ‘fit’ for the series opener. Ravichandran Ashwin picked-up a four-wicket haul in the second warm-up match at Canberra and is likely to get the nod ahead of Pragyan Ojha.

The Australian XI for the match have a debutant in Ed Cowan, who made the cut after scoring 100 in the practice game. He replaces out of form Phillip Hughes and will open with the explosive David Warner. Left-hand batsman Shaun Marsh, returning to action after recovering from a back injury, will be keen to prove his worth to the selectors, who picked him ahead of Usman Khawaja.

The most pressure to perform will be on veterans Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. Hussey struggled for runs against South Africa and New Zealand while many former players are calling for the retirement of Ponting. The former captain scored his last Test hundred in January 2010.

The pace battery comprise Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Ben Hilfenhaus, who earned a national call-up after a strong performances for Tasmania in the domestic circuit. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon will be the fourth bowler with skipper Clarke and Ponting being the part-time options.

Talking about the venue, Australia enjoy a great record against India at the MCG. The home team have won seven out 10 Tests since the first series in 1947-48. India have emerged winners on two occasions with the last one coming in 1981.

Squad:

Australia (playing eleven): Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Ben Hilfenhaus.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, VVS. Laxman, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhimanyu Mithun, R. Vinay Kumar, Pragyan Ojha.

‘I think we are in a very good space. We have had a week to prepare. We couldn’t be more prepared and more looking forward to the game,’ said Haddin ahead of the Boxing Day Test.

‘Boxing Day is a great occasion to walk out on the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As a sportsman, it is a highlight to play in front of 60-70 thousand people. We have had a very good couple of days at our batting camp and we are ready for the contest.’

Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey have been in woeful form this summer and are under huge pressure to perform in the Boxing Day Test. Ed Cowan replaced out-of-form opener Philip Hughes in the squad for the first Test announced Saturday and a lot would be expected from David Warner who has been in sublime touch.

Swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus has won a recall after recovering from knee tendinitis while Shaun Marsh returns to bat at No.3 after overcoming a back injury which kept him out of the series against New Zealand.

Speaking about the injury cloud hanging over India’s two premier fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, Haddin said: ‘I think they rely on the two big boys quite a lot.

‘With the injury cloud I don’t think too much about that with the Indian team. Once they take the field they seem to roll out all right. We know where their strengths are, but we also know there are areas that we can get the game moving forward and develop the game as quick as we like.’

Dubbed the Big Swing, it was scheduled to be held at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, but according to a release from Chief Operations Manager of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), Suruj Ragoonath, persistent rain over the past few weeks had led to unfavourable conditions.

Slated to take part were the Trinidad & Tobago team, who are preparing for their defence of the Caribbean T20 championship next month, Trinidad & Tobago ‘A’, Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 Academy and special invitee Barbados.

Ragoonath said the TTCB was now planning to have the national side visit Barbados for a couple warm-up matches on January 4 and 5 as both teams step up preparations for the Caribbean T20 tournament to be played in Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados from January 9 to 22.

Trinidad & Tobago are the Caribbean T20 title holders.

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/inclement-weather-forces-cancellation-of-caribbean-t20-big-swing/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/kirk-edwrds-defends-sammy-calls-him-a-fighting-cricketer/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/kirk-edwrds-defends-sammy-calls-him-a-fighting-cricketer/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 10:03:32 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/kirk-edwrds-defends-sammy-calls-him-a-fighting-cricketer/ Bridgetown (Barbados), Dec 25 (IANS/CMC) New Barbados captain Kirk Edwards has described his beleaguered West Indies skipper Darren Sammy as a ‘fighting cricketer who gives his all’.

Edwards, one of the West Indies batting successes on the recent Test tours to Bangladesh and India where the side had mixed fortunes, said Sammy needed as much support as possible.

‘Sammy is a fighter. He is a cricketer that everybody has a lot of negatives to say. He is always under pressure but I kind of admire the guy for the fact that he still goes out there and gives his all,’ Edwards told reporter here at the annual Barbados Cricket Association Christmas luncheon Thursday.

‘What else can you ask for from a fellow other than giving a hundred percent effort and fighting for his team each and every time? You can’t ask for more than that. It is tough for Sammy and I try to lend my support,’ Edwards said.

West Indies won the two-Test series against Bangladesh 1-0 but were beaten 2-0 in the three-Test rubber against India, who also captured the subsequent five-match One-day series 4-1.

Sammy, a 28-year-old St. Lucian, has been criticised by many former cricketers and the media for his handling of the side as well as personal performance in recent months. He took over the captaincy from the now out-of-favour, veteran opening batsman Chris Gayle for the tour to Sri Lanka late last year.

The 27-year-old Edwards, who was the unofficial vice-captain of the Test team in India, said critics should be mindful of the fact that there are several young players in the current West Indies side and they needed time to develop.

‘There are a lot of positives. As you could see, we are a fighting team and we are developing a relatively young team. To play the type of cricket we played,I was proud about that. It is all a learning curve. You don’t just wake up and be the ultimate Test cricketer,’ he asserted.

Edwards was recently appointed captain of the Barbados team for the 2012 Caribbean Twenty20 championship to be played in Antigua & Barbuda and Barbados from January 9 to 22.

He is to also lead the national side in the regional four-day championship, which begins February 3.

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/kirk-edwrds-defends-sammy-calls-him-a-fighting-cricketer/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/pakistani-hockey-team-leads-china-3-0-in-international-series/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/pakistani-hockey-team-leads-china-3-0-in-international-series/#comments Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:56:02 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/pakistani-hockey-team-leads-china-3-0-in-international-series/ Islamabad, Dec 25 (IANS) Pakistan registered its third straight victory to lead China 3-0 in the four-match series, the first international hockey competition held in this country since 2004.

Pakistan won the third match of the series Saturday afternoon in Faisalabad 3-1. The hosts had already won the first two matches 3-0 and 5-3 in the southern port city of Karachi, Xinhua reported.

Pakistani striker Ali Shan opened the scoring in the second minute. Veteran Shakeel Abbasi doubled the lead in the 21st minute.

Pakistan led 2-0 at the interval, but China pulled one goal back to make it 2-1 thanks to a penalty scored by skipper Liu Yixian in the 61st minute.

Three minutes later Pakistan’s Waqas Sharif extended the hosts advantage again to seal the victory.

International sports events had been stopped in Pakistan due to the refusal of international teams after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009 in Lahore.

The 28-member Chinese hockey team is the first international team to tour Pakistan in the last seven years.

Though many individual international players toured Pakistan during the last few years, China is the first international hockey team visiting Pakistan after 2004 Junior Asia Cup held in Pakistan.

Perhaps, the weight of expectations told on Tamil Nadu who just could not come up with anything extra to trouble the sturdy Punjab players.

Right through, the teams went neck and neck but Punjab stretched the difference with strong performances in the first (24-15) and third (19-13) quarters while Tamil Nadu could not really dictate terms in the two quarters that they won, the second (17-13) and fourth (14-17) as the deficit proved too much to make up.

Leading the Punjab’s charge were Amritpal Singh (21) Talwinder Singh (17) and Jagdeep Singh (17) while Rikin Pethani (24) played the lone hand for the Tamil Nadu.

The women’s final turned out to be rather one-sided with Railways, led by Geethu Anna Jose (31) were just too good for Chhattisgarh who did well to keep pace with their more experienced rivals, going into the break level on 36.

However, in the second-half, it was Railways all the way with their superior fitness with Smruthi Radhakrishnan came up with some stunning three-pointers to complete the rout.

The results (finals):

Men – Punjab 70 (Amritpal Singh 21, Talwinder Singh 17, Jagdeep Singh 17) bt Tamil Nadu 62 (Rikin Pethani 24, Saravana Rajan 5) Ht: 37-32.

Women – Indian Railways 94 (Geethu Anna Jose 31, Anitha Paul Durai 19, Anju Lakra 14, Smruthi Radhakrishn 11) bt Chhattishgarh 70 ( L.Deepa 20, Seema Singh 17, Kavita 17) Ht: 45-41.

For 3-4 places: Men – Indian Railways 89 (Gagandeep Singh 37, Jasjot Singh 14, Prakash Mishra 14) bt Services 81 (Narender Grewal 37, Gopal Ram 14, Joginder Singh 12) Ht-39-40.

Women – Tamil Nadu 68 (N. Shyamala Suguna 20, Apoorva Murlinath 15, Nenna Hareendran 13, Sunitha Suren 10) bt Delhi 68 (Sonika Ohlyan 14, Asha Hegde 11) Ht: 35-23.

The final standings (top 10):

Men: Punjab 1; Tamil Nadu 2; Indian Railways 3; Services 4; Kerala 5; Haryana 6; Uttarkhand 7; Delhi 8; Karnataka 9; Andhra Pradesh 10.

Women: Indian Railways 1; Chhattishgarh 2; Tamil Nadu 3; Delhi 4; Kerala 5; Karnataka 6; Maharashtra 7; Uttar Pradesh 8; Punjab 9; Andhra Pradesh 10.

Mumbai defeated Punjab by nine wickets at the Wankhede Stadium to top Group A.

Trailing by 204 runs on the first innings, Punjab scored 330 in the second knock to leave Mumbai to get 127 for an outright win. Mumbai hit off the runs in 23.3 overs with Praful Waghela and tournament’s leading scorer Wasim Jaffer scoring 50s.

Punjab finished sixth among eight teams in the Group.

Haryana advanced to the last eight beating Gujarat by 140 runs at Surat.

After conceding a 21-run first innings lead, Haryana fought back to declare their second innings at 321 for five, setting 301-run target, and then shot out Gujarat for 160. Haryana off-spinner Jayant Yadav and leggie Amit Mishra took three wickets each for the second time in the match. Haryana ended at third place in Group B while Gujarat finished seventh and last.

It was heartbreak for Bengal at Baroda as they failed to qualify for the quarterfinals despite an emphatic win.

Bengal needed to win by a ten-wicket margin to qualify, but Arindam Das’s dismissal in the 10th over meant they could earn five points and not the bonus point to finish with 13 points alongside Baroda, who also crashed out after finishing fourth.

Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan made it to the last eight from Group A, while Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are through from Group B.

The six Elite Group teams were joined by the two Plate Division finalists Hyderabad and Maharashtra who won their semifinal matches Saturday.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu picked up three points for first innings lead against Madhya Pradesh and topped Group B, taking along their opponents with them to the knockout round.

After gaining a first-innings lead of 197, Tamil Nadu batted out the last day to score 208 at the start of the mandatory overs and the match was called off.

Though they conceded a 105-run first-innings lead to Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka scored 561 for five in their second knock. Stuart Binny scored his third hundred of the season, making 189. Two of his teammates, skipper Ganesh Satish (190) and Amit Verma (102) also socred hundreds.

Hyderabad and Maharashtra are now back in the Elite Division, and the two bottom-placed teams from the top division Orissa and Gujarat go down to the Plate next season.

Brief scores

Elite Division:

GROUP A:

At Shimoga: Karnataka 314 in 95 overs and 561/5 in 135.5 overs (Ganesh Satish 190, Stuart Binny 189; Rudra Pratap Singh 2/82, Imtiyaz Ahmed 2/145) drew with Uttar Pradesh 419 all out in 116.4 overs.

At Mumbai: Punjab 226 in 77.2 overs and 330 in 113 overs (Uday Kaul 89, Mayank Sidhana 57; Kshemal Waingankar 2/81, Ankeet Chavan 4/64) lost to Mumbai 430 all out in 124.3 overs and 132/1 in 23.3 overs (Praful Waghela not out 57, Wasim Jaffer not out 50).

GROUP B:

At Baroda: Baroda 284 in 88 overs and 139 in 44 overs (Rakesh Solanki 59, Irfan Pathan 29; Ashok Dinda 5/66, Sourav Sarkar 4/32) lost to Bengal 390 in 138.5 overs and 36/1 in 12.4 overs.

At Surat: Haryana 207 in 74.2 overs and 321/5 decl in 98 overs beat Gujarat 228 in 78.3 overs and 160 in 64 overs (Bhargav Merai 47, Parthiv Patel 26; Jayant Yadav 3/37, Amit Mishra 3/25)

At Chennai: Tamil Nadu 486 in 153.1 overs and 208 all out in 89.1 overs (Yo Mahesh 58, Malolan Rangarajan 48; Amarjeet Singh 4-46, Ishwar Pandey 3-36) beat Madhya Pradesh 289 in 101.2 overs.

Plate Division (semi-finals):

At Nagpur: Vidarbha 531 in 191.1 overs drew with Hyderabad 486/8 in 166 overs (Arjun Yadav 128, Syed Quadri 99; Amol Jungade 2/91, Akshay Wakhare 2/126).

At Pune: Maharashtra 415 in 161.3 overs and 283/5 in 88 overs (Harshad Khadiwale 139, Chirag Khurana 79; Gurvinder Singh 4-111) drew with Himachal Pradesh 236 all out in 91.3 overs

Fangzhou joined the Chinese club from Mika in the Armenian Premier League.

‘I am back home,’ Dong said. ‘But my return to China doesn’t mean that I am incapable of playing abroad.’

The 26-year-old Dong, who joined Mika in March, scored six goals for the club, including one each in the semi-final and final when they won the title of the Armenian FA Cup.

‘Mika wanted to extend the contract with me, but I refused,’ he said.

Dong signed for Manchester United from Dalian Shide in January 2004, for an initial fee of 500,000 pounds which could have risen to 3.5 million, depending upon appearances.

But he failed to impress Alex Ferguson in the following four years. For most of the time, he played on loan for Royal Antwerp in Belgium, where he scored 37 goals in three seasons.

He went back to Manchester United in 2007 but played only three times in the Premier League. His contract was terminated in 2008.

Dong then joined home team Dalian Shide in the Chinese Super League but struggled to score goals and was relegated to the reserves as a result.

His poor performances in the league also prevented him from being called up for the national team.

‘This time I am sure I will play well in China,’ Dong said.

Warner spoke of the vast disparity in the way the Indians play at home and away.

‘We think they automatically know they’re going to win series in India because the wickets turn and it is all in their favour. And it is probably similar when they come out here, we think on the bouncy wickets they might not be able to adapt,’ Warner told ESPN.

‘You look at their line-up and you can think ‘oh how are we going to get these guys out.’ But we know when they’re in Australia, the wickets are different, and we think their mental approach is a bit different to what it is when they’re in India.’

Warner said India have a strong batting line-up whereas Australia’s was a cause for concern during the recent series in South Africa and at home against New Zealand. But he was confident their batsmen would fire in the series.

‘They’re one of the best line-ups in the world, and capable of scoring big runs on the wickets we’re producing here. We’ve got to be spot on with our line and length with our quicks, and when we’re batting we need to put on as many runs as we can… I reckon we’re in for a good series.’

Vera, 40, Olympic champion in Athens 2004, and silver medallist in Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008, was operated because of injuries in his left hip, arm and humerus.

Vera retired last September, though he recognised ‘that he could have played few years more’.

He never revealed the reasons for which he left the sport. He was the winner at the historical game between the Baltimore Oriols and the Cuban team 12 years ago.

His career counts with 23 victories in international events, only two defeats.

In national series, he won 176 games with 68 defeats at an average of 721. He was considered the best second Cuban pitcher in the history of the tournament, only surpassed by the former pitcher of the New York Yankees, Orlando ‘the Duke’ Hernandez, with an average of 728.

‘In every country of the world, the coach is responsible for the defeat of the national team,’ Nguyen Lan Trung, VFF vice-president told Xinhua, adding that the executive committee voted unanimously for his departure.

The VFF General Secretary Tran Quoc Tuan submitted his resignation last week, but it was rejected.

Goetz, a 49-year-old former Bayer Leverkusen player who was fired Friday, became the eighth foreign coach of Vietnam since 1995 after the departure of Portuguese Henrique Calisto.

The fitness of India’s premier fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma has been under doubt after their showing in the warm-up games in Canberra. Zaheer is returning to big time cricket after recovering from a hamstring injury while Sharma decided to have an ankle surgery at the end of the Australia tour.

Dhoni said the team management has taken all possible precautions to keep the pace duo injury free and hoped that they don’t break down in the middle of the tour.

‘We have missed Zaheer quite a few times in the past. We gave them (Ishant and Zaheer) some time off. They bowled in the practice game as well as in the net sessions. They are shaping up well. There are two more days and we know a lot can happen in that time frame. Hopefully, they would all be available for selection,’ Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Saturday.

‘We have tried to take as much precaution as we could to make sure they stay injury-free. They both have also played their part, they worked outside the field also, in the gym and the rehab sessions they needed to do. They have put in a lot of effort in practice.’

Dhoni said the whole squad is fit and the two practice games have helped them prepare well for the crunch series. He went on to say that they must start well in the first Test.

‘How we start in the first Test is important. We want to be in the moment, break the match into sessions, try to win more sessions than the opposition. If we win enough sessions, then we will win the match. We want to do the small things right and not think where we want to be at the end of the fourth Test.’

‘There is no point in taking that extra pressure. It will not help us. We need to keep it simple,’ said Dhoni.

The last series in Australia saw controversies with Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds getting into a verbal spat during the Sydney Test, making the atmosphere on the field tense throughout the four Tests.

Dhoni, before leaving for Down Under, had made it clear that he would like to see a controversy free tour. He reiterated the same thing here.

‘Individuals do make mistakes. But as a professional cricketer, you don’t want it. There is a lot at stake in the series, people look up to you, so you want it controversy-free. Having said that, it is important you make it interesting,’ said Dhoni while referring to the 2008 ‘Monkeygate’ involving Symonds and Harbhajan.

Dhoni played down the huge hype surrounding Tendulkar’s 100th hundred, saying everyone including the master blaster will be relieved if he reaches the milestone in the series.

‘Sachin keeps it simple. He would get it, sometime in this or the next Test, this or the next series. It is on the way. But if he gets it soon, everyone would feel relieved.’

‘Getting 100 hundreds is something really big. He has played more international cricket than we have even practiced. He also shares a lot with youngsters who are new to the side. Everyone in the world would cherish the moment when he gets the hundred,’ Dhoni said.

On the venue of the first Test, Dhoni said: ‘It is massive, a really big ground. We have seen batsmen have run four – even five is possible – if the fielder is slow. You run a lot of singles here which puts pressure on the fielders.’

‘Therefore, fielding becomes very important. We have got quite a few good fielders in the outfield and we want to ensure good catching in the slips.’

Baisoya beat Joshi 2 and 1 and will take on the National champion Seenappa Chikkrangappa in the final. Chikka beat Angad Cheema 3 and 1 in the other semi-final.

Both semi-finals lasted 17 holes each.

The final will be a 36-hole affair with Chikka and Baisoya clashing for the first segment of the final in the morning at 7.30 am and will then continue the battle in the second half with 18 more holes.

Semi Final Results: S Chikkrangappa def Angad Cheema – 3&1; Honey Baisoya def Khalin Joshi – 2&1

Final: S. Chikkarangappa v Honey Baisoya – First round at 7.30 am and second round at 11.30 am.

The following are some of the highs in Indian sports:

* Led-by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India lifted the World Cup at home after a gap of 28 years at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, April 2. For batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar it was a dream come true as he realised his childhood dream of laying his hand on the most coveted trophy in international cricket.

* Formula One, rated as the pinnacle of motorsports, zoomed into India at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Some 95,000 crowd turned up at the spectacular circuit on a bright Sunday, October 30, to cheer for home team Force India and India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan, who was racing for Hispania Racing Team.

* Virender Shewag proved again his menacing power in cricket and smashed a breathtaking record 219 off 149 balls while leading the side against the West Indies at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, December 8, for the highest individual score in ODIs. Sehwag also broke his mentor Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 record that was set in Gwalior, some 500 kms from Indore, in 2010.

* India’s badminton star Saina Nehwal had a mixed year but she ended it on a high by becoming the first Indian player to reach the singles final of the BWF World Superseries Finals. The Hyderabadi shuttler finished runners-up to World Champion Wang Yihan at the tournament in Liuzhou, China after beating the likes of Denmark’s Tine Baun and and former World No.1 One Wang Xin in earlier rounds.

* Indian tennis player Rohana Bopanna might have made his mind to team up with veteran Mahesh Bhupathi for 2012 but he alongwith with long time Pakistani doubles partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi did enough to add another feather in their caps. The erstwhile Indo-Pak Express won their maiden ATP Masters by winning the Paris event in November. They split soon after after winning three titles in the year.

* Shiva Keshavan brought a little known sport into limelight by winning the gold at the Asia Cup luge event in Nagano, Japan last week. The 30-year-old from Manali clocked 134.3 kmph at the Japan meet to set an Asian record and get India its first gold in an international winter

sports event.

* India entered the big league of boxing with Transtadia taking up a franchise in World Series of Boxing. Thirteen Indians including Akhil Kumar are part of Mumbai outfit, that is named Mumbai Fighters. The team also has four overseas recruit in Patrick Gallagher, Marko Calic, Paul Gene Koon and Trent Rawlings.

* Haryana boxer Vikas Krishan secured India’s second medal in the World Championships when he won a bronze in the 69 kg category at the 2011 edition in Baku, Azerbaijan. Vijender Singh is the first Indian to win a medal at the world meet. He won a bronze in 2009.

* The continuous rise in the performance of archers have given Indians hope of an Olympic medal in London. One of the biggest achievement for Indian archery came came this year when the recurve trio of Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuro and Laishram Bombayala Devi finished runners-up in the World Championships in Turin, Italy. Kumari went on to win her second individual gold in World Youth Archery.

(Bharat Sharma can be contacted at bharat.s@ians.in)

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/momentous-moments-of-indian-sports-in-2011-yearender/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/warner-accuses-caribbean-officials-of-caving-in-to-fifa/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/warner-accuses-caribbean-officials-of-caving-in-to-fifa/#comments Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:58:19 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/warner-accuses-caribbean-officials-of-caving-in-to-fifa/ Port of Spain, Dec 24 (IANS/CMC) Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has accused Caribbean officials of undoing more than three decades of their struggle for respect by caving in to certain demands handed down to them at their Extraordinary Congress staged in Zurich earlier this week.

Warner, a former Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president, came out swinging at his former colleagues Friday in a media statement, following the announcement that a nine-member committee had been appointed to restore the functions of the CFU to normalcy over the next five months.

A media release from the CFU Thursday said a normalisation committee had been formed and would execute 10 tasks that would help to return the CFU to stability, following the fall-out from the cash-for-votes scandal that tore apart the regional governing body earlier this year.

Warner, one of the principal figures in the scandal, said Caribbean officials should be ashamed to ‘accept the crumbs of the FIFA President’ when in the very recent past they used to ‘dine at his table as equals’.

‘The arrogance with which FIFA continues to ride roughshod over duly appointed officials of both the CFU and CONCACAF is not just unethical, but plain outright immoral,’ said Warner.

‘It demonstrates the crass disrespect to the independence and sanctity of the constitutions of both organisations because FIFA imposes on these two organisations its will which is neither recognised by FIFA’s constitution nor the constitutions of the CFU and the CONCACAF.’

Warner said: ‘This clearly is the colonising of the CFU and the CONCACAF at best, and at worst, it represents a hostile takeover of organisations in which it has no locus standi or even a hierarchical relationship.’

Warner said the regional officials should have challenged the hierarchy of the sport’s world governing body about a number of outstanding matters which have affected the administration of the game in the last few months.

‘What was not discussed and that should have been brought to the table,’ he said, ‘were:

the status of the FIFA Development Office in the Caribbean and the termination by the FIFA, without reason, of the contracts of all officers of this office;

‘The termination, by FIFA, of the contracts of the Trinidadian FIFA Referee Development Officers Ramesh Ramdhan and Merere Gonzales; again without explanation, without reason;

‘The suspension of the Caribbean’s only female President (from the British Virgin Islands) for 18 months, despite the FIFA President’s claim that the ‘Future of Football is Feminine’;

‘FIFA’s unethical and high-handed behaviour to Barbadian Lisle Austin, the legally-recognised Acting President of CONCACAF;

‘And the arbitrary postponement of the legal and constitutional meeting of the CFU Extraordinary Congress called for by 13 members.’

Warner said such interference would have evoked the ire of the World if FIFA had tried a similar thing with UEFA and vowed to continue fighting against behaviour by FIFA which he termed ‘unethical’.

‘The response would have been so vociferous [if it was UEFA] that even attempts by the FIFA to apologise would have been drowned out,’ he said.

He added: ‘FIFA must never be allowed to continue without a voice of dissent being raised… The time has come to break the silence. One must no longer accept silence as affirming the wrong being perpetuated by the FIFA.’

Warner walked away from all of his positions in disgrace, after FIFA launched an ethics investigation against him last May.

This followed a meeting in his native Trinidad and Tobago, where Warner was captured on video apparently urging fellow CFU officials to accept cash gifts of $40,000 to vote for Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar rather than incumbent Sepp Blatter in the FIFA presidential elections staged last June.

Bin Hammam, too, faced an ethics investigation and was banned for life.

Sakai, 20, will join countryman Shinji Okazaki at Stuttgart. The full-back, son of a Japanese father and a German mother, is known for his attacking ability, reports Xinhua.

During the 2010 World Cup, Sakai travelled to South Africa for the purpose of gaining experience by training with the senior national team.

He scored one goal in 25 matches in the J-League first division this past season.

The 38-year-old Giggs starred for United as they trounced Fulham 5-0 in midweek and scored his first league goal of the season, continuing his record of scoring in every campaign since the inception of the League in 1992.

Buoyed by his solid form and strong performances, Giggs may have a big chance to extend his deal for another year in Old Trafford, where the Welshman has spent all his career.

‘It is almost that time when I will sit down with the manager and see what his plans are for the future and I will see how I am feeling,’ Giggs was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

‘At the moment I feel really good and I am enjoying things more than ever, so we’ll just have to wait and see,’ he added.

Barcelona will play Osasuna while Real Madrid take on Malaga in their opening rounds. Should the top two premier La Liga sides progress as expected, they would clash in the quarter-final, reports Xinhua

Last season saw Real Madrid defeat Barcelona in the final of the Copa thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo goal. But Barcelona took revenge winning the league and knocking Real Madrid out of the Champions League semis.

This season also saw Barcelona defeat Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup. A fortnight ago they worsted Real 3-1 at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before jetting off to Japan, where they were proclaimed Club World Club Champions after defeating Brazilian side Santos.

The full draw is: Cordoba vs. Espanyol, Mirandes vs. Racing Santander, Albacete vs. Athletic Club Bilbao, Real Sociedad vs. Mallorca, Valencia vs. Sevilla, Alcorcon vs. Levante, Real Madrid vs. Malaga, Barcelona vs. Osasuna.

Clarke said he wanted to avoid any bad blood between the two teams.

‘Both teams understand where we are at, the relationship between the Australia team and the India team could not be stronger. We all understand there is a line you can go to but there is a line you can’t cross,’ Clarke told reporters in the pre-match press conference here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

‘I can guarantee you that nobody in the Australian team will cross that and if they do, there will be punishments from the ICC but also from Cricket Australia,’ he sternly added.

‘We will be doing everything in our power to play some really competitive, tough cricket. But we understand and acknowledge that we won’t cross that line.’

India’s previous tour Down Under four years ago was marred by controversies with the ‘monkeygate’ fiasco between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds taking the centre stage.

Symonds and Singh have since happily played alongside each other in the Indian Premier League. Symonds has retired from international cricket and Singh wasn’t selected for the current series.

‘The relationship between the Australian players and the Indian players is very good and will continue to be that way,’ Clarke said.

‘Both teams have a lot to play for. It has always been very competitive on the field but off the field both teams get on very well.’

Talking about the great Sachin Tendulkar, Clarke hoped that the master blaster scores his much-awaited 100th hundred in his next series.

‘Tendulkar scoring his 100th international ton is certainly a prospect. I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope he scores it in his next series,’ said Clarke.

‘He has been an unbelievable player for such a long period of time. I really enjoy watching him bat. If he does score the 100th century, he deserves every bit of credit and applause,’ he added.

A poll of 128 journalists from 55 media organisations got him 224 points.

Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov took the second place, 24 points behind Mihaylov. The 2010-11 English Premier League Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov came third with 196 points.

Mihaylov, 23, is a descendant of two famous Bulgarian goalkeepers, both players of the national team.

His grandfather Bisser Mihaylov was at the pinnacle of his fame in the 1960s while his father, Borislav Mihaylov, in 1986 was the last goalkeeper to win the best Bulgarian football player award.

Last year, Manchester United striker Berbatov won the award for the seventh time, beating his own record.

Then, Berbatov called on journalists: ‘My time is running out and you should switch to the younger players, so please do not include me in the ranking because I do not feel myself comfortable.’

The encounter between Ajax and AZ in Amsterdam was abandoned Wednesday after an Ajax fan attacked AZ goalkeeper Esteban in the back and the goalkeeper was sent off for kicking the supporter, reports Xinhua quoting Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

The incident occurred 37 minutes into the game, when Ajax led 1-0. Referee Bas Nijhuis gave the AZ goalkeeper a red card, according to the rules. After the incident, AZ decided not to continue and the match was suspended.

The attacker was not supposed to be in the Amsterdam Arena, because he already had a stadium ban. Ajax had imposed this punishment because he had acted violently against a stadium steward after a quarrel with a liquor salesman. However, Wednesday he had borrowed a club card from someone else.

The nineteen-year-old attacker, who was arrested after the assault, still lives at home with his parents in Almere.

‘Due to his action, we now have 35,000 people chasing us,’ his worried mother was quoted saying by De Telegraaf.

Reports on internet showed some hardcore fans wanted the offender to pay for his action.

His lawyer stated in the Dutch TV show Nieuwsuur that his client called his act ‘stupid’ and that he wanted to apologise to Esteban.

AZ Goalkeeper Esteban reacted to the incident in Costa Rican newspaper Al Dia. ‘If I see that guy and he apologises, I will accept it. It would be nice if he asked for forgiveness,’ he said.

The goalkeeper lodged a complaint with the police after the game. ‘It was horrible.’ Esteban added. ‘I apologise for the young people who follow me and see me as a hero, because this was not a good example. But I had to defend myself.’

Ajax also filed a complaint against the attacker, for ‘trespassing’. The club also called for stricter compliance with the so-called ‘football law’.

The Dutch football association KNVB Thursday announced to cancel the red card of Esteban. After having received declarations from both clubs and referees, the KNVB will decide on what to do with the match.

There are three options, according to the KNVB. The match will be replayed entirely, the game will restart in 37th minute, or the 1-0 score in the 37th will be counted as an end result.

Simeone replaces Gregorio Manzano, who was sacked Thursday following his side’s defeat to Albacete in the Spanish Copa del Rey and a poor start to the season that has left the club just four points above the relegation zone.

Simeone becomes the 49th coach at Atletico since Miguel Angel’s father, Jesus Gil, took control of the club in 1987.

The 41-year-old was a hero of the Atletico Madrid side that won a league and cup double in the 1995-96 season before leaving to play in Italy, where he played for Inter Milan and Lazio.

He returned for another year at Atletico late in his career in 2003, but again left the club to end his playing career.

Moving into coaching after hanging up his boots, Simeone worked with Racing Club de Santander, before working with River Plate, Estudiantes, San Lorenzo and with Italian side Catania, and then finally returning to Racing, who he abandoned at the end of last week.

Swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus returns to the side after being dumped in the wake of Australia’s disastrous Ashes series last summer. He replaces Starc whose four wickets in the two Tests against New Zealand were not good enough to stay in the side.

Tasmanian Hilfenhaus, who has played 17 Tests, has been in impressive form this season after a knee tendinitis forced him to remodel his bowling action. He has taken 22 wickets at an average of 30 in domestic cricket this season.

Skipper Michael Clarke, who is also a selector now, said Saturday after the announcement of the playing 11 that Hilfenhaus was good new ball bowler who could bowl long spells. More importantly, he had success against India in the past.

Shaun Marsh is back after proving his fitness playing for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL) Thursday and he will bat one drop.

Clarke said he had the ammunition to claim 20 wickets in the Boxing Day Test, though he only had four mainline bowlers.

Clarke recognised the fact that it was dicey to leave out Christian on a flat Melbourne pitch. Christian was to come in for all-rounder Shane Watson who is still to recover from hamstring and calf strains.

Clarke felt he had the right team to win the first Test, saying that Michael Hussey, Ricky Ponting and he himself could turn their arm over for a few overs and that opening batsman David Warner could bowl his legspin.

The team: Michael Clarke (captain), Brad Haddin, Ed Cowan, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Hussey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle, David Warner, Mitchell Starc (12th man).

Long-time Monaco resident Rybolovlev, who made his fortune in potash, has acquired a 66.6 percent stake in the club through his Monaco Sport Invest holding, the club said in a statement Friday.

The remaining 33 percent of shares will continue to be held by the principality of Monaco, it said.

Rybolovlev, 45, was elected chairman of a newly formed board, the statement said.

‘I do not consider this transaction simply as an acquisition, but as the beginning of a new effective partnership in the interests of the development of the Monaco Football Club,’ the statement quoted Rybolovlev as saying.

Prince Albert II of Monaco called the deal ‘a new page in the history of the football team so dear to the principality’.

‘The requirements of modern football create financial difficulties for many clubs, even those at the top level. It was thus inevitable that AS Monaco had to find a partner of prime standing in order to ensure its development,’ Albert was quoted as saying.

Rybolovlev has been referred to as Russia’s ‘potash king’ and recently appeared as No. 79 of the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people.

]]> http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/russian-billionaire-buys-monaco-football-club/feed/ 0 http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/sachin-will-complete-century-of-hundreds-at-melbourne-harbhajan/ http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/sachin-will-complete-century-of-hundreds-at-melbourne-harbhajan/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:06:04 +0000 India Current Affairs http://indiacurrentaffairs.org/sachin-will-complete-century-of-hundreds-at-melbourne-harbhajan/ Kolkata, Dec 23 (IANS) Discarded Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh Friday exuded confidence that master batsman Sachin Tendulkar will complete a century of international hundreds in the Boxing Day cricket Test match at Australia?s Melbourne.

?I am confident he will get his century of international hundreds in the first Test match of (India?s) tour to Australia. That will be a proud moment for all of us,? Harbhajan said on the sidelines of a function here.

Harbhajan’s slump in form has paved the way for two young spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha to be picked for the four-Test series against Australia.

Harbhajan said the whole country is now praying for Tendulkar.

?My best wishes are with him. The whole country is praying for him,? he added.

Tendulkar is now one ton away from becoming the first batsman in the history of cricket to achieve the landmark.