Sports corner

[nithyasubramanian]

Sania crashes out of Dubai tennis

Dubai,, Feb 17: After displaying impressive tennis in the first round, India's ace women's tennis player Sania Mirza crashed out of the Dubai Tennis Championship after losing to 16th-seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi in straight sets here on Tuesday.

Sania went down 5-7, 2-6.

Sania, who was playing her third match in as many days, squandered a 4-2 lead in the opening set and never recovered after being broken in the eighth game.

Sania converted second break point in the third game to break the world number 24 and surge ahead.

The Hyderabadi was down 0-30 in the next game but won four points in a row to make it 3-1, not allowing her dangerous opponent to break back.

However, the Estonian raised her game and kept herself in the battle by holding her serve in the fifth and seventh games and then broke Sania in the eighth before holding her serve in the ninth to make it 5-4.

The match grew in intensity as both the players fought hard for each point.

Sania saved a set point in the 10th game to keep her challenge alive in the first set but could not repeat her success in the 12th game and handed the first set to Kanepi after a 43-minute battle.

It was not a good start to the second set as Sania struggled to hold her serve and was outplayed by Kanepi.

The Indian saved four breakpoints in the second game but could not stop Kanepi from converting the fifth and was broken again in the fourth game, which gave the Estonian a healthy 4-0 lead.

Sania broke Kanepi in the seventh game to recover to 2-5 from 0-5 but it was difficult to erase the game deficit and make a comeback.

Sania kept on fighting, saving three match points in the eighth game but Kanepi soon wrapped up the issue by converting the fourth chance.

Sania will get 60 WTA ranking points and a prize money of USD 10,275.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[sajiv]

Only the ICC or the PCB can ban Asif from the game

NEW DELHI: The IPL Chairman and Commissioner, Lalit Modi, stated in Mumbai on Monday that the IPL drugs tribunal had the authority to impose a ban on Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif for his anti-doping rule violation.

No one has questioned that authority. IPL indeed has the power to impose a ban on the Pakistani medium-pacer, but only from the League, not from the sport.

If the ICC is to be believed, the IPL has banned Asif from "the sport of cricket". This position of the ICC is untenable under the WADA Code, the ICC anti-doping code (2008) and the IPL anti-doping code. Yet, the ICC has stated that it expects all member Boards to "adopt the ban" and to ensure that Asif would serve the suspension.

The PCB, Asif, and his advisers, and 'experts' seem to have accepted this position without even a whimper.

The question is can the IPL ban Asif from the sport of cricket?
A look at the IPL anti-doping code clearly shows that it does not have any authority to ban Asif from the sport.

In the 'definitions' section, the IPL rules state: "1.1.18: Ineligibility/suspension means that the cricketer shall be barred from participating in any capacity in any event or activity (other than authorised anti-doping education or rehabilitation programme and any events or activities relating to the cricketer's achievements prior to his or her anti-doping code violation) authorised or organised by the IPL during the ineligibility period."

If a tennis player were to test positive at Wimbledon, the All-England Club will not have the authority to suspend him/her from the sport; it can only disqualify the player from the competition and report the matter to the International Tennis Federation for further follow-up action.

Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not ban an athlete from the sport when a doping charge is proved in the Olympics; the case is referred to the federation concerned for appropriate sanction.

Across the world of sports, tournament committees do not have the authority to ban sportspersons from the sport concerned; it is the international federation (or the national federation in case rules permit) which bans an athlete from the sport following an anti-doping rule violation.

This is what the WADA Code (2004-2008) says: "Results management and the conduct of hearings from a test by the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, or a Major Event Organization, shall be referred to the applicable International Federation as far as sanctions beyond disqualification from the event or the results of the event."

PCB could step in
The ICC, till the end of 2008, did not have an anti-doping code that could have been extended to the IPL and Asif's rule violation.

Is Asif then supposed to go scot free, except serving a one-year suspension from the League, after a steroid violation? This is where the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could step in. Its anti-doping rules are not readily available, but in case it does have rules to deal with a case like Asif's it can further proceed and impose a suspension on him from all forms of cricket. After all, it had enforced a provisional suspension on him.

Hearing procedure
To fall in line with accepted norms, the PCB will have to go through with a hearing procedure based on the findings of the IPL Drugs Tribunal.

Asif's suspension period, if a suspension is ruled, can then be started from July 15 last when the PCB had provisionally suspended the bowler. (The IPL has rejected a request from the PCB to change the suspension period.)

Provisional suspension is what matters, not the date of the 'B' sample test. Any period of provisional suspension undergone by an athlete has to be deducted from his total suspension period, according to the WADA Code and innumerable rulings by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

[sajiv]

Cricket:-ECB chairman refuses to resign

ECB chairman Giles Clarke insists he will not resign despite Sir Allen Stanford being charged with "massive fraud".
The ECB have ceased negotiations with Stanford after it emerged he had been charged over a "massive fraud based on false promises" in the United States.

There have been calls for Clarke to resign over the body's links to Stanford, with Lord Marland, who last week aborted his challenge to Clarke in the election for the new ECB chairman, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "In most other businesses some people would resign if they had been involved in such a fiasco as this."

Clarke, though, is standing his ground.

"I will not be resigning," he said in the Independent.

The chairman has already admitted getting into a business relationship with Stanford could be construed as a mistake, saying: "We had the best of intentions, so yes."

Stanford, three of his companies and two of his business associates have been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for "orchestrating a fraudulent, multi-billion dollar investment scheme centring on an 8billion dollar CD (certificate of deposit) programme".

The controversial Texan agreed a deal with the ECB last summer for five one-off encounters, to be played annually each November, with an overall prize fund of US dollars 20 million per match.

[sajiv]

Football:-Torres: Gerrard is irreplaceable

Fernando Torres paid tribute to his club captain Steven Gerrard and cannot wait to see his captain back in action.

Gerrard has been struggling with a slight hamstring tear but the inspirational midfielder could make a surprise comeback against Manchester City this weekend.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Torres said: "The news was that he would be out for three weeks, but we hope that he'll be back playing again sooner,

"But you never know how things can turn out with a hamstring injury - and I speak from experience.

"It was a good sign that he asked to be substituted as soon as he felt the twinge, because if a hamstring goes completely, you don't get to walk off the pitch.

"I hope and wish that he will be back soon."

Torres concedes Gerrard is the one player in Liverpool's ranks who is irreplaceable: "He has no natural replacement.

"Every side has a main reference, a home-grown player, someone who lives and breathes the club.

"Other players come and go, but that player remains. Here, our reference player is Gerrard. Liverpool FC is Gerrard plus ten more. He's irreplaceable."

Rafa Benitez will be hoping for Gerrard to recover in time for Liverpool's Champions League tie against Spanish giants Real Madrid next week.

[sajiv]

Motorsport:-Lewis: I'm more committed than ever

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton says he's more committed than ever to winning this year's Formula One title.

Hamilton won last year's drivers' crown at the season-ending Brazilian GP where a fifth-placed finish ensured the Brit finished one point ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

But even though he already has a world title to his name, Hamilton has warned his rivals that he's more determined then ever to seal another one this season.

"Winning the world championship in Brazil seems such a long time ago now - things move so fast in Formula One, even when you're not at the racetrack!" he told the official F1 website.

"To be honest, I don't really think of myself as World Champion yet - I think that will finally sink in when I get to Melbourne for the first race - so I don't put any extra pressure on myself to live up to that.

"Obviously, becoming the Champion does take some weight off your shoulders but I don't really look too closely at it: I'm just spending every moment focusing on 2009, improving my fitness, working with the team and testing the car.

"I'm more committed than ever."

The McLaren driver is confident that his team has handed him a car capable of winning the title in the MP4-24.

But he does concede that this year's regulations throw up a lot of unknowns for the teams, which make it difficult to predict who will come out on top.

"I think every team wants to know the strength of its rivals - but that's the same every winter," he said.

"Of course, there are lots of unknowns facing us this year - new aero rules, slick tyres, KERS - and that makes it even harder to predict the order, once the season starts.

"We are working on a normal development programme with the MP4-24 and, like every team, will be working hard to ensure that the car runs smoothly on the slick tyres, and that KERS is reliable and fully operational, ahead of the new season."

[sajiv]

Tennis:-Del Potro eases through

Juan Martin del Potro moved into the second round at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships with a win over Guillermo Canas.

The second-seeded Del Potro got off to a good start against Canas, who dropped to 0-3 lifetime against his countryman after falling victim in this one-hour, 6-3 7-6 (7-5), 41-minute match.

Argentina's Del Potro blasted 11 aces and converted the only break of serve of the match in the first set to move into the second round, where he will face Ernests Gulbis. The Latvia native defeated American Taylor Dent 6-4 3-6 6-2 in his first round match.

Florent Serra of France provided the only big upset of the day, knocking out fourth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-2. Soderling had finished runner-up in each of his previous two appearances in Memphis (2006 and 2008).

Christophe Rochus of Belgium defeated American wild card Donaldy Young and another wild card, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, advanced with a win over Kei Nishikori of Japan.

Austrian Stegan Koubek also moved into the second round with a 6-2 6-2 victory against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

[sajiv]

Hockey:-ndia suffer first defeat on Oz tour

Indian hockey team suffered their first defeat on tour when they were beaten by the Australian Development squad.

India, who trailed 1-3 at half time, scored through skipper Sandeep Singh (16th minute), V Raghunath (37th) and Tushar Khandker (64th) in the rain-marred match.

The Aussies scored through Jason Wilson (10th), Nick Budgeon (22nd min), Joel Carrol (27th), Liam de Young (52nd) and Mark Patterson (66th).

India blank New South Wales-Queensland combine

India had registered comprehensive victories against Queensland-New South Wales combine in the first two matches.

The third match of the tour had a delayed start due to rain and was played under constant drizzle.

Australia went up in the 10th minute when Jonathon Charlesworth intercepted a loose pass from Indian midfielder Prabodh Tirkey to set up striker Jason Wilson, who shot past goalkeeper Baljit Singh.

India levelled the score six minutes later when Ignace Tirkey stole the ball from the rival skipper Liam de Young and sent a relay pass to Tushar Khandker through armyman SV Sunil.

Khandeker's shot at goal was stopped by a backstick and the resultant penalty stroke was converted by Sandeep Singh.

Missed chances hurt India

Australia went ahead again after getting a penalty corner because of an erroneous clearance by Vikram Pillay. Budgeon flicked low to Baljit's right. India muffed two opportunities to equalise shortly after when Sunil and Shivendra Singh fumbled inside the circle and then Khandekar shot wide.

Australia consolidated their lead in the 27th minute after conceding a soft penalty corner to Brent Livermore. Defender Joel Carrol made no mistake from the set piece.

A heavy downpour at the break again delayed the second half start, but India began aggressively and reduced the margin from a penalty corner as Raghunath flicked past George Bazeley in the 37th minute.

However Australia were again back with the two goal cushion when the overlapping de Young found the mark in the 52nd minute.

Tushar Khandekar raised hopes

Tushar Khandekar raised the Indian hopes when he was on target in the 64th minute to narrow the gap.

However the hosts soon shattered this thought with Mark Patterson providing the finishing touch two minutes later to give Australia a 5-3 victory.

India will play their last match on the Australian leg against the same team, coached by Ric Charlesworth.

[sajiv]

Golf:-Williams: Tiger ready to roar

A recuperating Tiger Woods is getting ever closer to a return to the PGA Tour, according to his caddie Steve Williams.

Woods has been out of competitive action since winning the US Open in June last year after having reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee the following week.

"He is ready to go anytime in the next few weeks," Williams told Television New Zealand. "He is about 90% but he won't play unless he is 100%."

He added: "He has had to modify his swing a little bit to accommodate his knee but it is a matter of getting back into the groove."

Woods, who earlier this month celebrated the birth of his second child with wife Elin, has won 14 Major golf championships and needs five more to set a new record for the most Major wins.

And Williams believes that even if Woods is a little rusty upon his return the American will have the mental strength to remain the world's leading player.

"I've said it before, the best quote I have heard about him is that 'they haven't operated on his head and you haven't operated on his heart', which are his two best components," he added.

"Maybe his game is not as good but if he is mentally stronger - we all know that he is the mentally toughest player to play the game so that in itself is a big factor."

[sajiv]

Rugby:-McGeechan worried by player exodus

Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan has called for a halt to the exodus of England's leading players to cash-rich French clubs.

Wasps on Tuesday confirmed they had lost James Haskell and Tom Palmer to Stade Francais next season, while Riki Flutey will join Brive in the summer. The triple transfer raid is the clearest sign yet that the balance of power in northern-hemisphere rugby has shifted, with English clubs now unable to compete with their French rivals.

"As a business, we would like to get fair recompense for producing international players," said McGeechan.

"I think you need that commitment both ways. Clubs should be producing players for England - and if you do that then you get a good structure under the international programme.

"The problem is, at the moment there is a lot of money elsewhere - and you can't do anything about it. The French clubs have a lot of money, and we simply can't compete - salary cap or no salary cap. It is pretty mind-boggling, some of the numbers."

French clubs are not bound by a salary cap, while the current strength of the euro has made the Top 14 an even more attractive option. Jonny Wilkinson has been linked with a move to promotion candidates Racing Metro Paris.

The Rugby Football Union's £4.6million payments are split among all the Premiership clubs - a process known as revenue smoothing - and Wasps believe that costs them £750,000 a year.

[sajiv]

Tendulkar's words buoyed me - Ojha

NEW DELHI: In the absence of first choice spinner Harbhajan Singh in the recently-concluded One-day series against Sri Lanka, a lot was expected from Pragyan Ojha.

The Hyderabad left-arm tweaker didn't wilt under the pressure and filled up admirably, with seven scalps from four ODIs in the Emerald Isle.

"It was something... to play as the main spinner of the team. It was both pressure and responsibility. But I enjoyed every bit of it," the youngster told TOI on Friday.

"The most prized wicket for me was that of Kumar Sangakkara in the first match of the series. It came at a time when the Lankans were on the verge of building a partnership and I was able to get him out," Pragyan said.

"Another wicket which gave me a lot of satisfaction was Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene's whom I dismissed in the second match."

While he was thankful to his captain MS Dhoni and the support staff for their help, Ojha said the biggest encouragement came from Sachin Tendulkar.

"It was in the third match and he came and told me that if I can to stick to my disciplined line and length, I will get wickets. He also told me to focus on my strength and reminded me about my domestic performance. I got four wickets in that match," an ecstatic Ojha said.

How was he looking forward to the upcoming New Zealand tour? "I know conditions in New Zealand are not known to be suitable for spinners. But I will be ready to give my 100 per cent whenever the team requires my services," Ojha said.

[ganeshbala]

IPL broadcaster's CEO Kunal Dasgupta quits

A day after an industry report indicated that Sony Entertainment Television may lose the rights to host the second edition of the Indian Premier League, the broadcast company's CEO Kunal Dasgupta put in his papers on Thursday.

While the company said in a statement that Dasgupta had quit because of "personal reasons", it is widely believed that he paid the price for the fallout of the sponsorship deal between Multi Screen Media and Big TV which has resulted in a huge monetary loss and for which the BCCI is seeking a compensation to the tune of approximately Rs 137 crore.

Dasgupta was CEO of Multi Screen Media, the company that airs channels like Sony Entertainment Television, Max, Sab and Pix. Man Jit Singh, who was appointed Chairman on the Multi Screen Media board in March 2007, then known as SET India, is the interim CEO. Singh, will lead the search for a new CEO.

Industry websites, including exchange4media.com, on Thursday reported that MSM had an executive committee meeting on Wednesday, where all top nothces of the organisation, including Andy Kaplan, SPTI's President, International Networks, were present.

The meeting was held barely hours after Dasgupta told exchange4media, on the sidelines of the ongoing FICCI Frames, that the loss in case of losing the broadcast rights of the IPL was "not quantifiable".

He had also confirmed that the problem between the BCCI and MSM was only over finding the right sponsor.

"Yes, because they have lost a lot of money and at present, not too many people are coming forward for the IPL. We have tapped many but they are just not interested since they do not have the monies," Dasgupta was quoted as saying.

The report added that the genesis of the problem is the Big TV versus Airtel sponsorship issue. MSM had got Airtel as an on-air sponsor to which Big TV objected and simultaneously withdrew the on-ground deal that it was working at.

[nithyasubramanian]

Bopanna returns to Davis Cup squad

New Delhi, Feb 19: Rohan Bopanna replaced Prakash Amritraj in the Indian Davis Cup team for the Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Chinese Taipei as selectors picked a five-member squad on Thursday.

Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh, as a reserve player, are other members of the squad for the away tie, to be played from March 6.

Amritraj, who took part in the play-off tie against Romania, has been left out as he was rendered ineligible for selection after the new sports policy came into effect.

According to the new policy only Indian citizens are allowed to represent the country. Amritraj holds a US passport and hence became ineligible for selection.

Bopanna, who has been doing well in doubles in the recent past on the ATP circuit, was not part of the team for the Romania tie.

SP Misra will continue as non-playing captain, an AITA press release said.

The All India Tennis Association Selection Committee, led by chairman Anil Dhupar chose the team.

The other members of the committee are Misra (cochairman), Akhtar Ali, Balram Singh and Rohit Rajpal.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[ganeshbala]

Flintoff may be barred from playing IPL

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff could be barred from playing in second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) in April over fitness ground, warned England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

ECB chief executive David Collier Sunday said there is a chance that Flintoff could be pulled out of the IPL to improve his chances of being fit for the Ashes in the summer.

Flintoff has currently been sidelined by a hip injury that has ruled him out of Thursday's fourth cricket Test against West Indies.
'We'd be concerned if any player is carrying an injury as it may affect his participation in the Ashes series and we'll look at that as we move forward,' Collier was quoted as saying in the Guardian.

'There are also medical clauses. The IPL are very responsible in that area and we have very, very strong relationships with Chennai. Andrew's own team (Lancashire) will also be looking at the injury prognosis.

'We would need to review it, obviously this has only just happened. But there are injury provisions in both sides of the contract,.' he said.

[dwarakesh]

Rajasthan Royals to play Delhi Daredevils in IPL kick-off match

The second edition of the DLF Indian Premier League will kick off April 10 with a glittering opening ceremony in Jaipur where
defending champions Rajasthan Royals will host Delhi Daredevils.

The two semi-finals will be played in Chennai and have been scheduled May 21-22 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. The final will be hosted by Mumbai May 24.

However, the schedule announced Wednesday could be changed depending on the dates of elections to parliament.

IPL Chairman Lalit Modi promised an opening ceremony the like of which has not been witnessed in India before, with some truly world class entertainment.

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

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

Source: Economictimes

[ganeshbala]

McCullum steals last-ball thriller for Black Caps

Brendon McCullum hit a single off the last ball to lead New Zealand to a thrilling five-wicket win over India in the second Twenty20 international at Wellington on Friday to seal the series 2-0.

McCullum held his nerve in a nailbiting final over from Irfan Pathan to guide New Zealand past India's total of 149-6, finishing with an unbeaten 69. The home team finished on 150-5.

New Zealand's chances of winning looked slim when they needed nine runs off the last three balls but McCullum kept his cool, smacking two successive boundaries to level the scores before chipping the final delivery over the infield to seal the win.

McCullum, who also made an unbeaten half-century in New Zealand's seven-wicket win over the Twenty20 world champions in Christchurch on Tuesday, produced another great innings when his team needed it most.

The wicketkeeper-batsman faced 55 balls and struck eight boundaries and a six. The only other New Zealanders to pass 20 were opener Jesse Ryder (26) and Ross Taylor (27).

Yuvraj Singh top-scored for India with 50 off 34 deliveries, featuring three sixes and three fours, but received little support apart from captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (28 not out) and opener Virender Sehwag (24).

[dwarakesh]

BCCI, ICC worry over World Cup 2011

After Sri Lanka Cricket team was attacked by gunmen in Lahore on Tuesday, Mar 3, the big question prevails regarding the World cup 2011.

Pakistan is a co-host along with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the World cup 2011. With just two years away, question raises whether any cricketer be willing to set foot in Pakistan now.

According to BCCI chief Shashank Mohan, "On the face of this attack I don't think so that any country would like to go and play in Pakistan. So, ICC will have to reconsider their decision whether to play matches in Pakistan or not."

"The biggest challenge ahead is the 2011 World Cup which we are suppose to organise with Pakistan. This terror attack will have a bad impact on the coming World Cup because the participating countries will be a bit unwilling to play in Pakistan," adds former BCCI president Sharad Pawar.

Even ICC president David Moragan is worried about the situation in Pakistan.

[dwarakesh]

SLC to renew travel insurance of cricket players

Sri Lanka has called for bids to insure the cricket players, a day after a hairline escape by Sri Lankan cricketers from terrorist attack in Lahore.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that it is looking for for an insurance policy to cover group travel, medical and personal accident insurance during the coming year. SLC administration manager BH Perera said the team's current travel insurance worth some Rs 40 crore ($350,000) expires on 13 Mar.

Perera declined to comment when whether any compensation would be sought for the injuries suffered by the players after the Tuesday, Mar 3 attacks in Lahore.

Source: OneIndia News

[nithyasubramanian]

Lankan cricket team attack: 24 'suspects' held 

Lahore, March 04: Pakistani investigative agencies picked up around 24 suspects in connection with the brazen terror assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team here but made little headway today in zeroing in on the dozen terrorists who fled after injuring seven players and killing eight people.

The suspects were detained during raids by a special investigation team on hostels and guest houses in Lahore's Gulberg area, located near Liberty Chowk traffic roundabout where the Sri Lankan team's bus was attacked yesterday.

However, no "prime suspects" are believed to be among those taken into custody, TV channels reported quoting sources.

Some among those held are believed to be Afghan nationals aged between 20 and 30 years.

Investigators found some bloodstained clothes at a hostel in Gulberg while weapons and explosives were seized from 14 locations across Lahore, the reports said.

The government of Punjab province has offered a reward of Rs one crore for information leading to the arrest of terrorists responsible for the attack and their accomplices.

President Asif Ali Zardari told visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama that the attack was a serious setback that had undermined cricket in Pakistan.

The attack underlined the fact that terrorism is not confined to any country and is a global problem which needs to be rooted out through cooperative international efforts, he said during his meeting with Bogollagama, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Special Envoy.

As a fallout of yesterday's attack, New Zealand cancelled its cricket tour of Pakistan, scheduled in November.

"We're not going and I think that's pretty clear. I don't think any international team will be going to Pakistan in the foreseeable future," its Cricket Chief Executive Justine Vaughan told Radio New Zealand.

Punjab Governor Salman Taseer said that some clues about the attack had been found though it was too early to say who was responsible for it. He said strict action would be taken against officials responsible for any security lapse detected during the probe.

Taseer said a thorough investigation would be conducted to gather evidence instead of making accusations about "any hidden or foreign hand" being behind the terrorist strike. The attack was carried out by trained terrorists and preparations for it were not completed in a few days, he said.

The Sri Lankan team, which called off its tour of Pakistan after the attack, reached Colombo early this morning by a special chartered plane, which was dispatched by their government last evening to bring them back.

Star batsman Thilan Samaraweera, who sustained a gunshot wound in the leg, and opener Tharanga Paranavitana, who was shot in the chest, were taken to a government hospital from the Colombo airport. They are said to be in stable condition.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene, Star wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara and mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis along with Suranga Lakmal and Thilina Thushara also received minor injuries in the attack near showpiece Gaddafi Stadium, where the players were being taken for the third day's play in the second Test match against Pakistan yesterday.

Assistant coach Paul Farbrace also sustained minor injuries in the ambush.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

IPL open to minor re-adjustments: Pawar 

New Delhi, March 04: Reiterating Lalit Modi's stance that the Indian Premier League would re-adjust it's dates to ensure that they don't clash with poll-days the host city, Union Minister and ex-BCCI Chief Sharad Pawar said that the situation in India is different from one in Pakistan and that the security concerns would be well taken care off, during the IPL, here on Wednesday.

"Situation in India is different from Pakistan," he said. "Our security forces are competent to prevent any such incident."

Conceding that the Government's view would be eventually considered, he said that a 'minor re-adjustment' in IPL itinerary should alleviate any impending fears.

Home ministry is holding a threat assessment meeting on Wednesday citing security issues due to general elections and IPL tournament.

Home minister P Chidambaram had on Tuesday said the IPL should consider postponing the second edition of its Twenty20 extravaganza, as the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan cast a shadow on the show piece event due to begin on April 10.

The tournament will be staged in eight cities across the country and will conclude on May 24. The five-phased general elections are scheduled to be held between April 16 and May 13.

"It will be difficult to provide adequate para-military forces for election purposes as well as provide security" for the cricket matches," Chidambaram had said.

However, Chidambaram maintained that while there is no "inability" in providing the security but since it "coincides with elections, he wouldn't want to be stretched.

"I don't want my forces to be strained" and added that re-scheduling would be a "better proposition."

IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said that he will leave no stone unturned to provide security to the players.

"The IPL is fully cognizant of the importance of general elections in a country such as ours. We will go a step further to ensure that there will be no games 24 to 48 hours prior to the polling dates across all the nine match venues in the country."

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

IPL all set to be postponed: Sources

The lucrative Indian Premiere League is all set to be postponed after it became clear that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office was in no mood to entertain any request of paramilitary forces deployment for the league during the entire course of general elections.

"I am no body to ask them (IPL) to reschedule the dates, but there is no question of providing additional state security during elections and that has been conveyed to the home minister," said a top PMO official.

"It's Election Commission of India which decides the movement of forces and hence we are duty bound and it is absurd to make such demands," remarked an official on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal had said, "We will review the security for IPL after government holds a meeting with the BCCI."

Jaiswal's comments come after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had requested BCCI to postpone the Indian Premiere League season –II.

Tuesday's terror strike in Pakistan has also sent shock waves among off-shore cricketers due to participate in the league. Sean Morris, the chief executive of Professional Cricketers' Association also expressed his concern after the Indian Government's refusal to guarantee safety.

"I will speak to Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Paul Collingwood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Graham Napier, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen about the ground situation and only then a final decision can be taken," Morris said.

IPL's season two, scheduled during the months of April-May, is set to clash with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

On Tuesday itself, Home Minister P Chidambram had raised concerns of a possible shortage of security personnel that may occur in some centers if the two high-profile events are held simultaneously.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi had sought to assuage government's concerns by agreeing to re-adjust IPL dates so as to provide a 48 hour cushion between a match-day and a polling day.

Any postponement of the IPL would result in eventual cancellation of the show piece Twenty20 event as there is no 2-month window available on the Future Tours Program (FTP) formulated by the ICC, for rest of the year.

The likely losses if IPL is postponed are

Rs 300 cr: BCCI stands to lose from television sponsorship


Rs 100 cr: BCCI stands to lose from on-ground sponsorship


Rs 250 cr: Broadcasters stand to lose through ad revenues


Rs 15-20 cr: Franchisees stand to lose from local sponsorship

Rs 5 cr: Franchisees stand to lose per venue through losses in gate money

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[dhilipkumar]

'India should keep 2010 Commonwealth Games'

The 2010 Commonwealth Games should remain in India despite growing concerns about security in the country and neighbouring Pakistan, a top Australian sports official said on Wednesday.

Speculation about the Games, which are due to be held in New Delhi from Oct. 3-14, 2010, has intensified since last year's attacks on Mumbai and Tuesday's bloody ambush of the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan.

A number of Australian athletes have already expressed reservations about competing in India with former swimming champion Dawn Fraser even calling for the event to be moved."We don't want another Munich," Fraser said, referring to the deadly attacks on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. "With an attack like that you wouldn't be sending any team over to that region at all. You wouldn't be sending any away in this climate."

Perry Crosswhite, the president of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, said the Commonwealth Games Federation had called a teleconference to discuss the latest incident but there were no plans to relocate the Games."At this stage the Games are on at Delhi 2010 and we have no reason to believe that they won't take place," Crosswhite told reporters on Wednesday."Like everyone else I am shocked that they attacked a sporting team, and Pakistan cricket is so popular, for terrorists to do this is almost unheard of. "We are not saying the Games are going to be cancelled."

More than 4,000 athletes from over 50 countries are expected to compete in 17 sports at the New Delhi Games, making it the biggest sporting event held in India.

Among the athletes likely to compete at New Delhi are Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and British cyclist Chris Hoy, who each won three gold medals at last year's Beijing Olympics.Crosswhite said India was planning a massive security operation for the Commonwealth Games but he could understand why some athletes may still be hesitant to go.

"I don't think anyone can guarantee anybody's safety any more," he said.

"If we did feel that those security issues were beyond an acceptable level we would have no hesitation in making our views known to the athletes.

"It is up to the athletes whether they go or not. We won't force them to go."

[dwarakesh]

IPL submits revised schedule to home ministry

In a desperate bid to save the Indian Premier League's (IPL) second edition, its organisers have sent a revised schedule of the high-profile event to the home ministry, which will now decide whether security can be arranged for the Twenty20 tournament.

The tournament has come under a cloud of uncertainty in the wake of the deadly terror attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore and the general elections in India which coincide with the league that starts April 10.

After a series of meetings, the IPL organisers have re-drawn the schedule of the tournament taking care that no matches are held on polling days in the cities hosting the games.

The IPL officials are not meeting the home ministry officials for the time being. "We will have a meeting if they call us to seek certain clarifications or for any other matter," he added.

The organisers are not in favour of postponing the tournament as it may lead to massive financial loss for the franchise owners as well the tournament itself.

Source: Businessstandard

[dhilipkumar]

Anand meets Ivanchuk in 12th round of Linares


LINARES (Spain): World Champion Viswanathan Anand will be making his final bid to defend the title when he takes on Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in 12th round of the Magistral Ciudad De Linares Chess tournament on Friday.

Anand, who has drawn his last five games in the double round-robin tournament, will have to do exceedingly well and also needs a bit of luck to retain the crown as the Indian ace is currently joint third on 5.5 points from 11 games. The last three games will decide his fortune in the second Grand Slam event of the year after Corus tournament.

Anand's first game against Ivanchuk in the tournament was a cool affair and now the Ukrainian is a half point ahead of the Indian.

The pundits are predicting a keenly-contested match as the players will be back after the rest day, which will also give them some valuable time to make the final preparations for the encounter. Russian Alexander Grischuk with seven points remains on top of the tally and choice for the winner's cheque of 100000 Euros.

Grischuk is likely to win the title even if he draws the remaining three games, but for other participants, the 'remaining three' are against the top notch - Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Anand and Levon Aronian of Armenia. While Ivanchuk is on sole second spot with six points, Anand, Carlsen and Aronian share the next spot with 5.5 points apiece. Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and Chinese Wang Yue are next in line a half point behind as Lenier Dominguez of Cuba currently stands last with four points in his kitty.

For Anand, its going to be a tough call too as he meets Grischuk in the next game and Carlsen in the final round. The game against Ivanchuk only can determine whether the Indian will remain in with a chance of catching up with Grischuk.

Aronian and Carlsen are other two who have a theoretical chance of catching up with Grischuk. Aronian meets Wang Yue in the next round.

Pairings for Round 12: V Anand (Ind, 5.5) v/s Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 6); Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 5.5) v/s Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 7); Levon Aronian (Arm, 5.5) v/s Wang Yue (Chn, 5); Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 5) v/s Lenier Dominguez (Aze, 4.5).

[ganeshbala]

England players should not play in IPL: Fletcher

Duncan Fletcher has asked England players not to play in the Indian Premier League in the wake of terror attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore.

'If I were one of the England guys who signed up for the Indian Premier League, I would be concerned, ' Fletcher, a former England coach, wrote in his column in the Guardian.

'India is different. The traffic is often so bad in the big cities where a lot of the cricket is played that the coach can move along only slowly at times, which turns it into a sitting duck for terrorists. There's nothing stopping a tuk-tuk pulling up alongside and detonating a bomb. I would be very nervous because that kind of attack is much easier to carry out in India and these guys can attack when they like.'

Fletcher said the Mumbai terror attack in November has proved India is no longer a safe destination.

'The attacks in Mumbai called into question even the safety of the best hotels. What cricketer is going to start thinking about runs and wickets when there are these more serious matters to consider? These are vulnerable times, and extremely sad ones too, ' he said.

Source : expressbuzz

[nithyasubramanian]

Paes-Bhupathi give India 2-1 lead

Kaohsiung, March 07: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi quelled a late challenge from Tsung-Hua Yang and Chu-Huan Yi to carve out a hard fought 6-4, 7-6, 6-7(2), 6-2 win in the doubles rubber of the second round Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei to hand India a 2-1 advantage on Saturday.

Paes-Bhupathi were cruising along comfortably after winning the first two sets but the Taipei pair surprised them with their never-say-die spirit as they upset the multiple Grand slam winners in the third set.

The Indians saved six points and stretched the third set to tie-breaker but both Paes and Bhuapthi double faulted at crucial junctures to lose the set.

The Indian pair was down 1-5 as the immensely talented Taipei players broke them twice -- third and fifth games -- but the visitors raised their game a few notches, won five games on the trot to make it 6-5.

Stunned by a brilliant fightback of the home players, who are ranked as low as 498 and 700, the Indian pair then stepped on the accelerator and rode on a double break to win the fourth set and seal the issue.

Yet Chinese players, especially left-hander Yi, made a statement by pushing one of the best in the business to limits in a battle that lasted three and a half hours at Yang Ming tennis centre.

After this victory, India need to win one of the two reverse singles on Sunday to advance to the third round of the Asia/Oceania Group I competition.

Somdev Devvarman, who won the first singles for India, is up against a tough customer in Yen-Hsun Lu and considering Lu's form, it will be an uphill task for the Indian to beat the world number 59.

Rohan Bopanna, who will play the second reverse singles against Ti Chen, may have to pull it off for India in the deciding fifth rubber.

In today's doubles match, the multiple-Grand Slam winning Indian pair began in style by breaking their rivals in the very first game of the match but were soon facing breakpoints in the sixth game as Bhupathi struggled with his first serve.

A double fault and a forehand error by Bhupathi handed two breakpoints to the host players but the Indian, who in exasperation hit the ball with his foot, bettered his effort and ensured India do not lose the advantage.

India had chances to quickly wrap up the first set in the ninth game but the fighting Taipei pair saved two set points.

However, they could not stop the Indians in the next game as Bhupathi served out the set to take a 1-0 lead.

A volley error by Yi gave India a break point in the first game of the second set but the left-hander served extremely well to escape unscathed. Paes hit past Yi a forehand winner to earn three breakpoints and converted second the one when he hit a stunning return off Yang's serve in the third game.

Indians were cruising along easily at 4-2 but a drop of serve in the eighth game turned the second set into an intense battle, much to the delight of drum beating home crowd.

However, the seasoned Indian pair stretched the set to the tie-breaker and blanked the hosts 7-0 to go two set up.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

Govt sanctions Rs 80 crore for Commonwealth Games security

New Delhi, March 08: To ensure foolproof security and prevent any Lahore-like attack on sportsmen during the Commonwealth Games, the Centre has sanctioned nearly Rs 80 crore to Delhi Police to upgrade its inventory and equipment.

"A total of Rs 78.26 crore has been sanctioned to Delhi Police to procure additional security equipment like X-ray scanners, Door Frame Metal Detectors, Hand Held Metal Detectors, vehicles, communication equipment, specifically for Commonwealth Games 2010," a Home Ministry official said.

An Empowered Security Committee headed by Union Home Secretary and a Commonwealth Games Security Review Committee headed by Additional Secretary (Centre-State) have been constituted in the Home Ministry to review the security arrangements for the games.

"The two committees will hold meetings from time to time to review security arrangements at construction sites as part of security vetting of construction plans," the official said.

The steps become significant considering the attack by terrorists on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3, which killed six policemen and injured seven players and officials. In a similar incident, during the 1972 Munich Olympics, terrorists had killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and one police officer.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[dwarakesh]

Pietersen may opt out of IPL 2009

England's Kevin Pietersen, the most expensive player at last month's Indian Premier League auction, is considering withdrawing from the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, due to start next month.

The former England captain, speaking to the News of the World, has said that he will "be consulting as many people as I can but if I don't think it is right, then I will not be going".

Pietersen was signed by the Bangalore Royal Challengers for a record 1.1 million pounds and was due to be with them for three weeks, but he is now clearly having doubts about his personal safety.

"After this final Test against the West Indies, I will be speaking to Bangalore, to the ECB, to my agent and to security advisers. Then I will be a lot clearer in my thoughts than I am now. Since the terror attacks in Mumbai we are all now more mindful of our own security arrangements," Pietersen said.

"Hopefully, the security will come right for India, but if everybody pulls out of the IPL then it would be a disaster, a catastrophe and world cricket would really be on a down," he added.

Fellow England players Andrew Flintoff, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood are also contracted to take part in the competition but there must be doubts about their willingness to travel to India. (ANI)

Source: webindia123

[dwarakesh]

No S African players for IPL if security seen insufficient

South African cricketers will not be allowed to go to India for their IPL commitments if the security conditions there are deemed
insufficient, the company responsible for their safety told the Afrikaans weekly Rapport.

"We are in daily contact with the Indian authorities and even though we are not in charge of stadium safety, we do look after the protection of the players," said Robert Nicholls, director of Nicholls, Steyn and Associates, which controls player security during the IPL.

"If we feel that it does not comply with the standards, we will not allow the players to play there."

Nicholls said the attacks on the Sri Lankan side in Lahore last week had been "a wake-up call for everyone."

"Until recently, cooperation with Indian authorities was practically non-existent, but hopefully this will now change."

Nicholls said one of the "biggest headaches" was the national elections taking place at the same time as the IPL, as there may not be enough security personnel to handle both events simultaneously.

"The problem with the law enforcers on the subcontinent and especially in India is that as soon as you ask them to heighten security measures, they just make more police officers available.

"Eventually you can have 60,000 officers, but it will help very little against a suicide bomber."

South African captain Graeme Smith told Rapport that no "hasty decisions" would be taken. "We will rely heavily on the advice of Cricket South Africa and the safety consultants, but it is understandable that the guys do not want to return to the continent.

"There is an important tour to India for us next year and the IPL is just around the corner. Although there are serious objections to playing in places where you often risk your life, we must first wait to have all the information (before deciding),"Smith concluded.

Even though the IPL is very lucrative for South African players such as J P Duminy, who was snapped up for $1m by Mumbai Indians recently, Rapport quoted an unnamed player as saying that they would rather stay at home.

"I know of no player who is still seriously considering participation in the IPL. It's not just Pakistan where you are constantly a target, but in many sub continental countries - just look at what happened in Mumbai (in November last year)."

Source: Economictimes

[dwarakesh]

Revised IPL schedule to be announced on Tuesday

The Indian Premier League  will announce its revised schedule for the second session of the tournament on Tuesday.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi will announce the schedule in Mumbai.

The IPL commissioner has tried to avoid a clash with polling dates.

The rescheduling follows after the intervention from the home ministry and apprehensions of the various state governments over the dates clashing with the general elections.

Modi has earlier assured the cricket fans that IPL was on and there was no question of the IPL moving to a foreign country.

Various media reports had claimed that the UAE and some Western countries are ready to host the cash-rich Twenty20 event.

Modi also thanked Home Minister P. Chidambaram for receiving assurances on security.

Earlier, the Home Ministry had urged the IPL to alter the dates as they were clashing with the election schedule. (ANI)

[ganeshbala]

New IPL venues announced, security centralised

Players' security during the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be centrally monitored by the league's governing council and will be handled in consultation with the reputed South African security agency Nicolas Steyn.

Nicolas Steyn had been incharge of security at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 2007 Cricket World Cup and will also be responsible for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Announcing the consultant Tuesday, IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi also told reporters that Ahmedabad and Visakhapatnam will be additional venues while Dharmasala and Nagpur were also being considered for hosting some matches. The two new venues are in addition to the existing eight - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Mohali.

Modi promised the best possible security arrangements for the IPL's second edition, saying that there would be no comparison with the security provided for the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore last week when they were ambushed by terrorists.

He said security was paramount and from the moment foreign players land in India till they depart, their security will be taken care of. There would be a central team overseeing security at all venues in coordination with police forces of the states where the matches are to be played.

"Security will be centrally monitored by the IPL. Last time players' security was the responsibility of the respective franchises. This time, right from the day they (the players) land in India to the time they leave, their security will be IPL's responsibility," Modi said.

Modi said the security budget for the tournament has ramped up 10 times this year as every measure has been taken to ensure safety of the players during their stay in India.

Modi said the players would get the level of security the England team got on their return to play a Test series following the Mumbai terror attacks in November. In a comprehensive exercise, thousands of police and commandos were deployed around the team hotel and the stadium with snipers on the rooftops.

"Using the Chennai security template, we were able to convince the England team to return to India and now we will apply the same security ring now," said Modi.

On reported concern expressed by players and officials in the aftermath of the Lahore attacks, Modi said that "not a single player, directly or indirectly, has contacted the IPL expressing his security apprehensions. In fact, I spoke to the two players who were quoted in the media."

Modi, a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said his board and IPL organisers had always talked to boards in other countries. "We will again discuss the event and share details with the national cricket boards," he added.

Modi said the governing body was still working on the revised schedule to avoid clash of dates with the April-May general elections and the new itinerary would be released in a couple of days.

"We have got confirmation from three states in writing but we want everyone to give it in writing before announcing the revised schedule, though 90 percent of the states have verbally given their approval. We went through every stakeholder, including the state governments, and asked them what are the dates they don't want matches in their cities," said Modi.

The home ministry said that it has received the revised schedule of the second edition of the IPL and sent this to the police chiefs of the respective states for their views on holding the matches on the revised dates.

"We will be in a position to announce if the schedule fits in with security concerns in a day or two," said a top home ministry functionary. "For us, security is of paramount concern."

The IPL organisers have also told the home ministry that they do not require any central paramilitary forces for providing security.

Rubbishing speculation about Jaipur not being a venue, Modi said the pink city will host matches of Rajasthan Royals.

[nithyasubramanian]

India promises safe 2010 Games

New Delhi : March 10: India's Olympic chief on Tuesday sought to allay security fears at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi saying the country was committed to providing a "safe and secure" environment.

Suresh Kalmadi, who heads the organising committee for the Games, emailed participating nations a week after the militant attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan.

"May I reassure you that the organising committee and government of India are committed to provide an absolutely safe and secure environment for athletes, officials and visiting dignitaries during the Commonwealth Games," Kalmadi wrote.

"All preparations are going ahead with fullest speed and a never-before experience of participation and pleasure awaits you all.

"I appeal to you to have full confidence in our preparations and stand united to defeat any attempt to destabilize global camaraderie and goodwill."

India's hosting of the event was thrown into question after a delay in building infrastructure and security concerns in the wake of the Lahore and Mumbai attacks.

Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser has warned that organisers risk "another Munich" if they proceed with the Games, while Sri Lanka cricket coach Trevor Bayliss said on Tuesday that extremists could target the Games.

"There's some big questions to be asked by the governing bodies of all the sports, not just cricket," Bayliss told reporters in Melbourne.

"I think this proves if cricket, which is the number one sport basically on the subcontinent, can get hit, then any sport can get hit and especially any big sporting tournaments or the Commonwealth Games maybe."

New Delhi, which hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982, will hold the Commonwealth Games in October next year.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

New hockey rules from May: FIH

Karachi, March 11: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has published the rules of hockey which come into effect from May 1.

The new rules will apply to all matches at international level. National associations have discretion to decide the date of implementation at national level, an FIH statement said Wednesday.

A starting date is specified but not an end date. FIH will avoid implementing changes to these rules before 2011 and perhaps beyond.

However, in exceptional circumstances, FIH retains the right to make changes which will be notified to aational associations.

One of the objectives of the FIH and therefore of the Hockey Rules Board is to decrease the number and duration of interruptions to the flow of play and to increase the length of time the ball is in active play.

With this in mind, the rule specifying how a free hit is taken has been reviewed. The player taking the free hit may use a "self-pass". This enables the player taking the free hit to play the ball again after taking the free hit.

In addition, attacking free hits taken inside the 23 metres area have been reviewed in general and in relation to the "self-pass". The board is concerned that the ball is often played hard, indiscriminately and, therefore, potentially dangerously into the circle from free hits in the attacking 23 metres area.

The 2009 rules specify that these free hits must not be played directly into the circle.

These revised rules are referred to as Mandatory Experimental Rules. They are mandatory because they must be played throughout hockey; they are experimental to show that they will be reviewed after experience before deciding if they become permanent rules.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[dhilipkumar]

Hunt for Chennai Super Kings Junior team

CHENNAI: With the IPL season round the corner, Vijay TV is set to start a hunt for the junior team of Chennai Super Kings. 'Pepsodent Chennai Super Kings Junior' show, launched recently, is telecast every Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m.

It will span more than 20 episodes, and the initial episodes will feature the first set of trials that took place in Tiruchi and Coimbatore. More than 1,000 participants exhibited their talents. One team each from Tiruchi and Coimbatore, comprising prospective batsmen and bowlers, were chosen.

The selection for the Chennai team will be held at St. Bede's Grounds, Mylapore, from 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Boys applying for the trials should be accompanied by their parents and bring along their certificates for age proof. Entry is restricted to the first 1,500 registrations. At each trail, the kids will be tested in their basic skills of the game and cricket trivia. Their cricketing skills will be judged by a group of professionals. Three teams will be chosen from Chennai, and the selected team from the three cities will battle it out in the final set of matches.

[nithyasubramanian]

Ind to take on Pak in hockey final

Johor Bahru, March 14: India will rely on the form of their drag-flickers when they take on arch rivals Pakistan in the final of the Genting four-nation under-21 hockey tournament here on Sunday.

The Indians have maintained an all-win record in the tournament so far and their 3-1 victory in the last match against Pakistan should put them in good stead for the summit showdown at the Taman Daya stadium.

Coach A K Bansal is confident of his wards putting up a good show in the final which will witness a classic battle of nerve and skill between the two bitter rivals.

"We are ready to take on Pakistan. We have played well so far and there is no reason why we can't put it across our rivals tomorrow", Bansal said.

The Indians will heavily rely on captain and star drag flicker Diwakar Ram to score the goals while Mandip Antil has also been in good touch and could be a big threat for the Pakistanis.

The Indians started their campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory against the hosts Malaysia and then spanked Singapore 12-0 in the next game. They defeated Pakistan 3-1 in the last league match to set up a title clash against their traditional rivals.

Innocent Kullu and Sunil Yadav a big role to play in the defence as the Pakistanis have a few forwards who are quite capable of piercing through the defence.

Birendra Lakra, Vikas Sharma, Belsajar Horo, Amardeep Ekka and Manjeet Kullu are the midfielders while the attackline is spearheaded by Pramod Kumar, Jay Karan, Danish Mujtaba and Mandip Antil.

The bench strength comprised Amir Khan, Lalit Upadhyay, Mohd. Asif and Mumbai newcomer Victo Singh.

The Indian colts have performed satisfactorily in their build up for the Junior World Cup to be staged simultaneously at Singapore and Johor Bahru in June.

They registered Test series victories against world champions Argentina and European powerhouse Holland in December before finishing runners-up at Sydney.

Pakistan also look a formidable squad under striker Haseeb Khan supported by Olympians Mohd Zubair upfront and penalty corner specialist Mohd Atique.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[nithyasubramanian]

'CWG 2010 may be scrapped'

Melbourne, March 15: The 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi could be cancelled if a security assessment one month from the start deemed them unsafe to proceed, said a leading Australian official.

Security around the Games, due to be held from Oct 3-14, has come under scrutiny after an attack in Mumbai in November that killed at least 171 people and a recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan.

"At one month (out), if for whatever reason it's determined it is not secure, the Commonwealth Games Federation has got to determine whether the Games go on," Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) chief executive Perry Crosswhite told reporters.

"From six months before the Games there will be information on security and we will speak to the (Australian) High Commission and the Foreign Affairs department on a regular basis."

"I'd say a year out will be a crucial point in time and then six months, three months and one month," added Crosswhite.

The Indian government promised to spend an additional 782.6 million rupees (USD 15.2 million) to upgrade security at the Games after the attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Lahore earlier this month.

It also said it would instigate security methods similar to those employed at last year's Beijing Olympics.

Crosswhite said the ACGA would provide additional private security for its team of up to 550 athletes and officials if required.

"We want to make sure the security we have is acceptable. If that (private security) was what was being recommended by the powers-that-be, then we would look at it for sure," he said.

courtesy : Zeenews.com

[VelMurugan]

269 players for IPL; KKR have a jumbo squad of 57

Mumbai: A total of 269 players, including 80 cricketers from abroad, are to be seen in action in the 45-day second season of the IPL commencing on April 10.

Barring players from Pakistan, the other eight Test playing nations as well as ICC's full member Zimbabwe would be represented in the cash-rich T20 League, according to a media release here on Friday.

Apart from the centrally contracted international players from the country, a host of additional Indian first class cricketers as well as under-22 and 19 players have been drafted into the different teams as per the statutory guidelines drawn up by the IPL.

King's XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians will have only 14 and 15 Indian players, respectively, on their roster, while Kolkata Knight Riders have as many as 47 which makes theirs a jumbo squad of 57, including 10 overseas players, it said.

Royal Challengers of Bangalore have 32 Indians in their ranks (squad strength 42), while last year's champions Rajasthan Royals and runners-up Chennai Super Kings have an identical 25 Indian players in their respective rosters.

Commending the franchisees for having invested in grooming Indian talent, IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said all the eight teams "seem to have struck a fine balance".

The squads are as follows:

Royal Challengers, Bangalore

Overseas players: Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Dillon Du Preez, Cameron White, Nathan Bracken, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Jesse Ryder and Roelof van der Merwe.

Indian players: Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Robin Uthappa, Praveen Kumar, Virat Kohli, Wasim Jaffer, Manish Pandey, Srivats Goswami, R Suteesh, Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Karan Sharma, Saurav Bandekar, Tinu Yohannan, Bharat Chipli, B Akhil, Devraj Patil, J Arun Kumar, KP Appanna, Sunil Joshi, Gaurav Dhiman, Jitendra Patil, Udit Patel, A Mithun, S Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, C M Gautam, Raju Bhatkal, Rajesh Bishnoi, Ishank Jaggi and Rohit Sabharwal.

Chennai Super Kings

Overseas players: Muthiah Muralitharan, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Stephen Fleming, Thilan Thushara, Andrew Flintoff and George Bailey.

Indian players: M S Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, L Balaji, M Vijay, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Singh Goni, Sudeep Tyagi, Viraj Kadbe, Shadab Jakati, R Ashwin, Abhinav Mukund, Anirudha Srikkanth, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Palani Amarnath, K B Arun Karthik, N Einstein and Suresh Kumar.

Delhi Daredevils

Overseas players: A B de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, David Warner, Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof and T Dilshan.

Indian players: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kartik, Manoj Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, Avishkar Salvi, Ashish Nehra, V Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav, Yogesh Nagar, Tejashwi Yadav and Amit Mishra.

Deccan Chargers

Overseas players: Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa.

Indian players: VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, D Ravi Teja, T Suman, Arjun Yadav, D Kalyankrishna, P Vijay Kumar, Manvinder Bisla, Jaskarandeep Singh, Harmeet Singh, Sarvesh Kumar, Halahar Das, Syed Mohammed and Shoaib Ahmed.

Mumbai Indians

Overseas players: Lasith Malinga, Jean Paul Duminy, Graham Napier, Ryan McLaren, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, Mohd Ashraful, Kyle Mills and Luke Ronchi

Indian players: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jude Singh, Jaydev Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Yogesh Takawale, Pinal Shah, Ajinkya Rahane, Chetanya Nanda, Rohan Raje and Saurabh Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals

Overseas players: Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Morne Morkel, Robert Quiney, Tyron Henderson, Shaun Tait, Shane Harwood and Lee Carseldine.

Indian players: Mohd Kaif, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Sidharth Trivedi, Swapnil Asnodkar, Niraj Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Anup Revandkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Salunkhe, Naman Ojha, Sidharth Chitnis, Paras Dogra, Amit Singh, Ahad Malek, Raphi Vincent Gomez, Kamran Khan, Ashraf Makda, Paul Valthaty, Srideep Mangela, Mohd Arif, Gajendra Singh, Atul Sharma, Pratmesh Salunkhe and Pushkarraj Chavan.

King's XI Punjab

Overseas players: Brett Lee, James Hopes, Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Simon Katich, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Burt Cockley, Ravi Bopara and Jerome Taylor.

Indian players: Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, V R V Singh, Piyush Chawla, Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, Wilkin Mota, Ajitesh Argal, Tanmay Srivastava, Sunny Sohal, Ryan Ninan and Yash Gandhi.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Overseas players: Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Angelo Mathews, Moses Henriques, Mark Cameron, Mashrafe Mortaza and Ajantha Mendis.

Indian players: Sourav Ganguly, Debabrata Das, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashoke Dinda, Ajit Agarkar, Ishant Sharma, Murali Karthik, Iqbal Abdulla, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yashpal Singh, Anureet Singh, Rajesh Verma, Aditya Dole, S Niyaz, Ishwar Chaudhary, Monish Parmar, ME Sanauth, Sheldon Jackson, Amit Das, Sanjib Sanyal, Avik Chowdhury, Sachin Rana, Sunny Singh, Gaurav Chabbra, Nataraj Behera, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Shoaib Sheikh, Rohan Prem, Sanjay Bangar, Gnaneshwar Rao, Bhavik Thakkar, P Prashant, Kshemal Waingankar, Murtuza Hussain, Sourav Sarkar, Arindam Ghosh, Ameya Shrikhande, Chetan Suryavanshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Anushtup Mazumdar, Dhiran Salvi, Sanju Samson and Vinit Indulkar.

Source : Nirvana

[dwarakesh]

Sony drags BCCI to court over IPL broadcasting rights

A fresh row broke out over the issue of telecast rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Sony Entertainment dragging Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the Bombay High Court which restrained the Cricket board from entering into any further agreement related to the T-20 tournament.

Sony moved the High Court against BCCI's move to enter into a contract with World Sports Group (WSG) after terminating its agreement with Sony on broadcasting rights in the country.

The court yesterday granted the injunction to Sony restraining BCCI from entering into any further agreements related to the IPL.

When the petition came up for further hearing before Justice S J Kathawala, the BCCI lawyer sought time to take instructions and produce the relevant documents.

The court said till the matter is heard, BCCI shall not grant any approval to WSG under the newly entered contract.

According to the BCCI counsel, the agreement with Sony was terminated on the evening of March 14 and the new one with WSG was signed on the morning of March 15 and the court's injunction came only in the afternoon on that day.

Source: businessstandard

[ganeshbala]

Government wants more changes in IPL schedule

The Indian government has asked the IPL to revise its tournament dates once again. The government wants the IPL to rework the revised schedule after consulting the states in which the matches are to be held. BCCI sources said discussions have already been initiated at the state level in this regard.

"We told them it will not be possible to provide central paramilitary forces for the IPL because of the elections," home ministry spokesman Onkarmal Kedia said. "We want them to draw up a schedule after consulting state governments on the dates when they can provide security. The ministry will take a decision after receiving a new schedule."

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, told reporters in New Delhi after a one-and-a-half hour meeting that home ministry officials had explained their concerns about the dates in detail. "We have also expressed our difficulties and our own concerns," Srinivasan said.

Some of the IPL's options are to have a packed schedule - with up to three matches in a day - and shorten the tournament, and/or restrict the matches to states that are willing to provide security for them.

"Restricting the matches to just a few states would mean that the IPL will lose its home-and-away flavour," a top BCCI official said. "For instance, holding matches in West Bengal (Kolkata) look very difficult going by the state's response. In such a case, we can move many of Kolkata Knight Riders' matches to Cuttack (in the neighbouring Orissa state). But the thinking is that the tournament has to be held in April-May."

The IPL had submitted a revised schedule to the Indian government last week after P Chidambaram, India's home minister, said security would be provided for matches though the dates would have to be reworked to avoid a direct clash with general elections in the country. However, the revised dates were not accepted by various states where the IPL would be played in, including Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Karnataka's Bangalore police declined to provide security cover for the IPL until May 3 and advised the tournament organisers to not host games in the city until after May 4. "Bangalore city police will not be in a position to give security for IPL matches until May 3 in view of our commitments regarding Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on April 23 and April 30," police commissioner Shankar Bidari said. Bidari said security could be provided if games were played on May 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 19 and 20.

The Andhra Pradesh police, meanwhile, agreed to provide security for matches after April 26, three days after polling ends in the state. "We have studied the revised schedule submitted by the IPL organisers and accordingly informed them that there is no objection to the conduct of matches after April 26," AK Khan, the state's director general of police (law and order), told PTI. "However, matches will not be possible for four days from May 14 when the police will be busy with duties for counting of votes on May 16."

[dwarakesh]

IPL submits third schedule to Home Ministry

The Indian Premier League organisers today submitted a revised schedule to the Home Ministry in a bid to salvage the high-profile Twenty20 cricket event which has run into trouble due to security concerns.

A day after meeting between Home Ministry and IPL officials failed to break the deadlock on the schedule which coincides with the general elections, the organisers have re-worked the dates for the third time.

"We have received a new schedule from the IPL organisers today and have sent to states for their view," a Home Ministry spokesman said.

Desperate to get the cash-rich event on track, the IPL's top brass held a series of meetings since yesterday to fine-tune the schedule which has now taken into account the reservations and security constraints of the states hosting the matches.

The Home Ministry had told the organisers that cosmetic changes in the fixture was not acceptable and they would have to finalise the dates in consultation with the state governments.

With less than a month to go for the cash-rich Twenty20 event to get underway, the Home Ministry's rejection of the second proposed schedule submitted by the IPL organisers has put a question mark on the fate of the tournament beginning April 10.

A three-member BCCI team, led by Secretary N Srinivasan, met Special Secretary (Internal Security) Raman Srivastava in the Home Ministry where they were told not to indulge in cosmetic changes.

"The Home Ministry have expressed their concerns, they have explained it to us in details. We've also explained our difficulties and concerns and the importance of all the stakeholders," Srinivasan had told reporters.

The IPL is keen to hold the tournament between April 10 and May 24 as any postponement would mean that the event has to be shelved till this period next year in view of the crammed cricketing calendar.

A postponement would also entail heavy financial losses for the organisers as well as the eight franchisees many of whom have already gone ahead with their merchandising and ad campaigns.

Source: businessstandard

[ganeshbala]

Dhoni wary of conditions, noon start ahead of first Test

A 12 noon start and conditions alien to the sub-continent are weighing on Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's mind on the eve of the first cricket Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park here.

Despite clinching the one-day series 3-1, Dhoni believes the Tests would be a different ball game and conditions would define which way the match veers.

"Over here the weather changes in 15-20 minutes. All of a sudden from being sunny it becomes cloudy. So it will be an important element in our decision to bat or bowl first," Dhoni said on Tuesday.

"If the wicket is a bit damp, and it is a bit cloudy, that is the toss you want to win. But definitely that one and a half hour will help the seamers," the wicketkeeper-batsman said.

However, Dhoni made it clear that players would have to adapt to the conditions.

"At the end of they day you have to adapt, whether you are a youngster or a senior. Of course, the youngsters will be guided by the seniors, but ultimately they are the ones who will have to perform."

The 27-year-old Dhoni felt the wicket and conditions would help seam bowlers. "It looks like a good wicket. Definitely there will be a bit of help for the fast bowlers. More than the wicket, the conditions will favour bowlers, as the ball will move. The base looks quite hard."

That's the reason the India captain is planning to go in with a three-pronged pace attack.

With Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan picking themselves, he is yet to decide whom to play as the third seamer in the first Test.

[ganeshbala]

T20 Googly: Delhi, Jaipur to miss IPL action

The IPL has submitted to Indian government officials a re-revised schedule that incorporates several adjustments including, it is believed, a decision to drop Delhi from the list of venues. The new schedule, which follows Monday's meeting between league and government officials, is expected to sacrifice at least one more franchise base to get security clearance for the IPL's second season.

"The Delhi police have clearly stated that they cannot provide security on any of the dates mentioned in the [earlier] schedule. That means as of now Delhi does not figure on the venue list," an IPL official told Cricinfo.

No officials from the IPL or the BCCI, which owns it, were available for comment.

The Indian government's refusal to part with central security forces during the general elections, which largely overlap with the IPL season, has raised serious doubts over the IPL taking off and has forced the organisers to think of alternative options. It appears they are willing to compromise on the home-and-away concept and instead stage matches in states not part of the original franchise concept but willing and able to host the IPL. Dharamshala, in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, and Raipur, in central India, are two such towns the IPL is eyeing and a decision is expected soon on that.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that the IPL had received a clarification from Kolkata that it would not have any problem with revised schedule since the matches would not clash with election preparations in the city.
The IPL will begin on April 10 and end on May 24.

[ganeshbala]

Indian eves beat Australia to finish 3rd in WC

India finished third in the ICC Women's World Cup after Jhulan Goswami and her teammates edged out defending champions Australia by three wickets in a playoff cricket match at the Bankstown Oval here on Saturday.

The Indian bowlers ran through the Australian batting order, bundling the hosts for 142 in 44.4 overs with just three batters -- captain Karen Rolton (52), Lisa Sthalekar (30) and Alex Blackwell (19) -- managing double digit scores.

India's chase was not a smooth sailing either and they faltered and fumbled before eventually reaching 145 for seven wickets in 43.5 overs in the tie which was reduced to 46-overs-a-side following rain.

For the winners, Sulakshana Naik topscored with 28 while Rumeli Dhar (24) and Jhulan (18) steered the side to victory with an unbeaten 41-run stand.

This was India's second victory over the defending champions whom they had earlier beaten by 16 runs in the Super Six stage.

Rolton's decision to bat first on Saturday clearly backfired with Jhulan castling Leah Poulton with the fourth delivery of the day and it was a bad omen for the hosts.

Shelley Nitschke (6), the other opener, too didn't last long as Rumeli removed her in the sixth over to reduce the hosts to eight for two.

Rolton and Blackwell had just steadied the ship when India's left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana removed the latter and Australia soon lost the top half of their batting order with the score reading a mere 63.

Rolton found an able ally in the Pune-born Sthalekar and they put on 60 runs before Priyanka Roy removed the Australian captain to trigger a batting collapse and the hosts eventually folded for 142 runs inside 45 overs.

India's pursuit for a modest chase got off to a decent start with opener Anjum Chopra (18) and Anagha Deshpande (15) adding 33 runs before Erin Osborne removed both in successive overs.

Sthalekar then ran through the middle order, removing Mithali Raj (15), Sulakshana Naik (28) and Priyanka Roy (6) to leave India reeling at 104 for seven.

[dwarakesh]

IPL to be played overseas 

Mumbai: The working committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday decided to proceed with the 59-match Indian Premier League (IPL) Season II in an overseas country from April 10 to May 24.

A communication from Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan close to midnight on Saturday that the IPL Twenty20 matches (18 allotted to the State) cannot be held in the State until May 13, the last polling date for the Lok Sabha elections, is deemed to be the main reason for shifting the IPL Season II in its entirety to an overseas country.

A majority of the eight franchise owners, who spoke to the media after a meeting with BCCI and IPL officials, said they respected the general elections and the security concerns, but felt the show must go on.

BCCI president Shashank Manohar said that where exactly the tournament would be held would be announced in two or three days.

Though the Maharashtra government conveyed its inability to provide security until May 13, the BCCI and IPL officials on Saturday afternoon decided to go ahead and organise the event in an overseas country.

Officials told The Hindu that a team of the IPL and the International Management Group and a BCCI functionary would leave for London immediately to assess the venues in England. The BCCI is in touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and also Cricket South Africa (CSA). Officials are likely to visit South Africa also.

At least half-a-dozen BCCI members, who attended the working committee meeting at the Cricket Centre here on Sunday, confided that "more or less England will be the venue for the IPL matches." The IPL and the eight franchise owners did mull over the possibility of playing at least the semi-finals and final in India.

"We thought about it, but it would be exhausting from the logistical point of view. A majority of the players would have to return to England in June first week for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup," said Lalit Modi, IPL Chairman and Commissioner.

Detailing the logistical aspect of the 45-day event, Mr. Modi said the IPL would centrally deal with it.

"It's a challenge. We are looking at multiple cities in multiple countries. The grounds in the overseas country, the hotels and the movement of the teams would be handled by the IPL directly.

"Last year, the eight owners were responsible for this. We have resolved the broadcaster issue and the matches would be shown live to suit the Indian audience, that is the first match at 4 p.m. and the second one at prime time 8 p.m.," said Mr. Modi.

"It's prohibitively expensive to take the tournament out of India. We have tried over 100 itineraries and unfortunately because of the elections, we feel sorry for the fans.

"The franchise owners have the option to take any number of players. But we will try to limit the number of players they can take. The IPL has announced the squads with no Pakistan players in it. There will be no change in the squads and the Pakistan players will not be allowed."

When asked about the likely increased costs, Mr. Modi said: "The cost and revenue model is of no concern to the IPL.

"Revenue is not the issue, it's the integrity of the tournament. The issue is that a high-quality tournament is delivered to the full at the right time to the Indian and world television audience.

"The BCCI president has told the IPL not to cut corners. We have an event of world standards that can be played anywhere in the world. It will remain an IPL, but held in another country only this year. We don't want to blame anyone. There are real issues that the government was concerned with, but we want continuity of the league," Mr. Modi said.

[vichu]

Flintoff disappointed at IPL switch

News about the IPL shifting from India this year due to its clash with the country's general elections has evoked mixed reactions from the players and officials involved. Andrew Flintoff, who was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for US$1.5 million in the second auction, expressed disappointment at not being able to play the tournament in India. Flintoff said one of the big attractions of the IPL for him was the chance to play in India.

"I love playing cricket in India, particularly one-day cricket," I've never played a Twenty20 match over there but I can imagine it will be an unbelievable experience because as a player you don't get a chance very often to play in front of big crowds of 40,000 to 50,000 people. It's unfortunate but if we don't do that this year then hopefully we can do it again next year."

Flintoff said he would prefer the tournament to be hosted in England rather than South Africa since it would be logistically easier for him. "It would be good to spend some more time at home so obviously I'd prefer England, but I'm sure South Africa would do a good job of staging it if it went there as well."

But Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders, said it was a sensible decision given the situation in India with the elections though he added it would be disappointing not play in front of Indian crowds. "If you can't guarantee the safety of the players involved in the tournament it makes it pretty hard to hold the tournament regardless of where it is," McCullum was quoted as saying to NZPA.

Heath Mills, New Zealand Players' Cricket Association chief, also welcomed the move and said the players had had concerns over the level of security that would be arranged while playing in India. "That was always going to be an issue and we were having difficulty engaging the IPL and the Indian board on those security issues. So to have it moved is a good thing," Mills said.

Mills said news of the move had surprised him for despite the clash with the elections he had expected the IPL to insist on staging the tournament in India. "Whether they get the same size crowds as they did in India remains to be seen. I'd question whether they would, given the significant population there and their obsession with cricket. But who knows, we'll just have to wait and see. From our point of view, we certainly hope it's as successful as last year."

Reports suggest a powerful lobby in the Indian board has backed England as a venue but the final decision is subject to the ECB overcoming considerable obstacles related to costs and logistics and the approval of its stakeholders.

[dwarakesh]

IPL likely in South Africa

The uncertainty over overseas venue for IPL Season 2 still prevails, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the govt have showed quick reactions and taken steps to host the host the Twenty20 championship.

According to IPL sources CSA showed more interest in hosting the event. Even IPL Chairman Lalit Modi flew to South Africa on Monday, Mar 22 night to assess venues and the logistics, cancelling his planned trip to London
.
The possibility of a rainy spring has become a major obstacle in hosting the event in England. Modi admitted that the big worry in England was the threat of rain disrupting matches.

CSA has got in touch with the South African govt and intimated them of the urgent requirements to host the event. They are very keen on hosting IPL, the source added.

CSA has already told various provincial unions around South Africa to keep their venues in prime condition to host one of the eight teams.

source: OneIndia

[ganeshbala]

Ganguly supports IPL shift to South Africa

Terming elections as the biggest event in India, former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly Wednesday supported the Indian Premier League's (IPL) move to shift the second edition of the Twenty20 competition to South Africa.

"In India, vote is bigger than all issues," Ganguly told reporters here.

"Security is a concern. Since they have no other options, the franchisees chose South Africa," he said.

Ganguly felt the conditions in South Africa would suit stroke play. "The pitch is such that the ball comes to the bat."

Drawing comparisons between pitches of the past with those now, he said: "Tracks everywhere e are undergoing changes. Twenty20 is a batsman's game. I think thtracks will be full of runs."

[dwarakesh]

Wanderers to host IPL 2 grand finale 

The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa will host the final of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on May 24, 2009.

TIMES NOW also learnt that, in addition to that high profile encouter, the Wanderers, which is South Africa's largest venue, will also host a semi-final the day before, as well as six other IPL matches.

The 59-game competition is due to take palce over five weeks starting from April 18, with the opening match scheduled to take place at Newlands in Cape Town.

Earlier, on Tuesday (March 24), ending three weeks of suspense and uncertainty, the IPL chose South Africa for hosting the second edition of the highly popular Twenty20 cricket tournament.

The decision to host the tournament in South Africa in preference to England was taken primarily on account favourable weather conditions, IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi told a joint press conference with Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola after hectic discussions that clinched the issue.

"The major and overwhelming reason for hosting the tournament in South Africa is primarily the favourable weather conditions in April-May in South Africa than they would have been in England," Modi had said.

source: timesnow

[ganeshbala]

The schedule (All times IST; according to PTI):

April 18  : Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (4 pm) at Cape Town;     
                    Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (8 pm) at Cape Town


April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (4 pm) at Cape Town;
              Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 20: RCB V CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 21: RR v MI (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v KXIP (8 pm) at Durban

April 22: DD v CSK (4 pm) at Durban; RCB v DC (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 23: KKR v RR (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 24: KXIP v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

April 25: KKR v CSK (4 pm) at Cape Town; DC v MI (8 pm) at Durban

April 26: RR v KXIP (4 pm) at Cape Town; RCB v DD (8 pm) Port Elizabeth

April 27: KKR v MI (4 pm) at Cape Town; CSK v DC (8 pm) at Durban

April 28: DD v RR (4 pm) at Pretoria

April 29: MI v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

April 30: DD v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria; RR v CSK (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 1: RCB v KXIP (4 pm) at East London; MI v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) at Johannesburg; CSK v DD (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 3: MI v RCB (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v KKR (8 pm) at East London

May 4: DC v CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 5: DD v KKR (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v RR (8 pm) at Durban

May 6: MI v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 7: KXIP v CSK (4 pm) at Pretoria; RCB v RR (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 8: DD v MI (4 pm) at East London

May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) at Bloemfontein; CSK v RR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 10: KKR v DD (4 pm) at East London; RCB v MI (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 11: DC v RR (4 pm) at Bloemfontein

May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria; KXIP v MI (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 13: DC v DD (4 pm) at Durban

May 14: MI v RR (4 pm) at Durban; CSK v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

May 15: KXIP v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley

May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) at Johannesburg; DC v KKR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 17: RR v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley; KXIP v DC (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 18: CSK v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 19: DD v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

May 20: CSK v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; RR v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 21: DC v RCB (4 pm) at Pretoria; MI v DD (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 22: Semi Final 1 at Pretoria

May 23: Semi Final 2 at Johannesburg

May 24: Final at Johannesburg

[sajiv]

India force draw in Napier Test

Gautam Gambhir's dogged 137 and an unbeaten 124 to VVS Laxman ensured the second Test between India and New Zealand petered out to a draw on the final day in Napier.

Resuming on 102, Gambhir painstakingly added 35 runs to his overnight score in a session and a bit at McLean Park before finally being trapped lbw by Jeetan Patel half-an-hour before tea.

The 27-year-old's innings spanned over 10 and a half hours, the longest innings by an Indian in New Zealand, and he faced 436 balls in almost two days at the crease.

Images from day five

His century, and that of Laxman, plus half-centuries from Rahul Dravid (62), Sachin Tendulkar (64) and Yuvraj Singh (54 not out) took any chance New Zealand had of winning the match which leaves the series nicely poised as the teams head to Wellington for the final Test which begins on Friday.

India hold a 1-0 lead courtesy of their 10-wicket win in Hamilton.

Laxman took 187 balls to bring up his 14th Test ton, his 101 including 20 fours, five of which came in the first few overs after tea as he raced from 77 at the interval.

It's all about numbers

It was another hard day's work in hot conditions for New Zealand's bowlers who got absolutely no assistance from the pitch and now have just three days to recover before the match in Wellington.

When the final day's play began India were still trailing New Zealand's first innings score of 619 for nine declared by 62 runs after being forced to follow on following a first-up effort of 305.

They eventually declared their second innings on 476 for four to bring the match to a close just under an hour after the tea break.

New Zealand struck an early blow when they got the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in the fourth over of the day, but opportunities were few and far between after that.

The little master had added just six runs to his overnight score of 58 when he edged a Chris Martin delivery and Brendon McCullum made a smart diving catch behind the stumps.

Top Performer: VVS Laxman

Gambhir, who scored just 17 runs in the morning session, and Laxman steered India to 306 for three at the break, still eight runs adrift.

Gambhir had a couple of let-offs in the afternoon before finally falling to Patel.

Iain O'Brien dropped an absolute sitter at mid-on when the left-hander was on 125 then the opener went close to being run-out trying to help Laxman get a quick single to bring up his half-century.

Laxman brought up his 38th Test fifty two overs later with his ninth boundary, his 53 taking 136 balls.

Images from day four : Images from day three

Patel then ended Gambhir's mammoth innings to leave India 364 for four - a lead of 42 runs.

By tea that advantage had been extended to 83 but it was all academic.

Because the match was safe, the most entertaining cricket came after the tea interval when Laxman and Yuvraj played far more expansively.

Laxman hit Jesse Ryder for three fours in the first over of the final session and took two more off O'Brien to bring up his hundred.

Yuvraj also got in on the act hitting nine boundaries on his way to an almost a run-a-ball fifty.

Images from dat two : Images from day one

Once again Vettori, Patel, O'Brien and Martin undertook the bulk of the workload but needed a bit of luck to reap the few rewards on offer.

Patel finished with figures of two for 120 off 45 overs, which included 10 maidens, while Vettori took one for 76 off 38 (13 maidens) and Martin one for 86 off 30 (eight maidens).

[sajiv]

Football

Terry: Sheva has point to prove

John Terry wants England not to underestimate Andriy Shevchenko as the Ukraine striker wants to prove people wrong.

Shevchenko endured a miserable two years at Chelsea before returning to AC Milan but he will be back in London for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

Terry knows Shevchenko from their time together at Stamford Bridge and is wary of the 32-year-old undermining England's perfect start in qualifiers on the road to South Africa next year.

"Things didn't go too well for him at Chelsea but he is a quality player, a great finisher and, when you forget about him, he pops up with a goal," Terry said.

"He has a first-class touch and a great finish. We need to be very aware of him. He is a big player over there so, when he plays there, he says the pressure is on him and he always want to do well.

"He'll be coming here for two reasons: to prove Chelsea (wrong) and to prove himself."

England warmed up for the Ukraine clash with a 4-0 friendly win against Slovakia on Saturday, although Terry feels they are still getting to grips with playing at the refurbished Wembley.

"We still have a long way to go," he said. "With the tempo and style at club level, we come here and the pitch is an awful lot bigger.

"We like to be in the faces of teams and like to play the way we do with our clubs. It's a very good pitch out there and, if we keep improving, hopefully we'll get there."

David Beckham broke the caps record for outfield players with his 45 minutes against Slovakia, while Terry notched up his 50th cap - now his target is to get to triple figures.

"That would be nice," he said. "I've been a bit overshadowed but I'll take that, it was a great achievement for Becks.

"It was a great achievement for myself and that is the target when you first come into the squad. You set yourself a target and mine was 50. Now I'm there, I want to reach 100. If I stay fit, I have a chance."

Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Peter Crouch picked up injuries against Slovakia but the good news is Rio Ferdinand should be back to face Ukraine after sitting out the friendly win with a minor back complaint.

"He just had a tweak in training so I think it was a precaution," Terry said.