The South African pacers proved  too hot to handle for India who were left tottering at 82 for  seven in their second innings at tea on day four, chasing what  now has become an improbable 208-run target in the series  opener here.
Vernon Philander took 3-22 as Indian batsmen failed to  apply themselves against quality fast bowling on a seaming and  bouncy track.
The visitors need another 126 runs for victory with 48  overs remaining in the days play. Twenty nine overs were  bowled in the afternoon session which ended with the fall of  Wrddhiman Saha (8).
Post lunch, India began their chase in circumspect  fashion. Shikhar Dhawan (16) looked to make a quick start  while Murali Vijay (13) struggled against Philander.
Vijay survived twice via DRS reviews for caught behind  and lbw appeals. Vijay wasnt third time lucky though, caught  behind off Philander in the 8th over as the slide began for  India.
Six balls later, Dhawan was caught pulling much like the  first innings, only this time 

Chasing 208, India collapse to 82/7 at tea

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India were 82 for seven in their  second innings, trailing South Africa by 126 runs at tea on  day four of the first Test here.
Brief scores: South Africa 286 and 130 all out in 41.2  overs (De Villiers 35; Shami 3/28, Bumrah 3/39). India 209 and  82/7 in 29 overs (Kohli 28; Philander 3/22).

India 82/7 at tea, trail South Africa by 126 runs

Chennai City will take on Neroca  FC in an I-League match here tomorrow, seeking to improve on  their showing in the first leg.
Chennai City were dealt a painful 1-2 blow earlier this  season.
Ngangom Ronald's injury-time winner left Soundarajan's  boys pointless despite Jean-Micheal Joachim cancelling out  Kallon Kiatamba's first-half strike.
Chennai City will now seek to rectify their errors and  take all three points from their newly-shifted home ground.
"We have a specific strategy for the opposition team and  we have the support of playing on our home ground. In Imphal,  we lost the match as we missed many chances and a penalty  kick. Now we know our mistakes and we will go all out  tomorrow," said V Soundararajan, the head coach of Chennai  City.
Chennai City are eighth in the standings with two wins  and two draws to their name. Striker Jean-Micheal Joachim will  be the man to mark for NEROCA as the Frenchman has already  notched five goals so far in the campaign, equalling ...

Soundararajan seeks to rectify mistakes Against Neroca

Bowlers helped Saurashtra  successfully defend a small total and record an exciting  four-run victory in the West Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 league  at the SCA stadium here today.
Chasing Saurashtra's modest tally of 142 for 9,  Maharashtra started well in their quest to score their second  win on the trot in as many days before falling short, ending  up at 138 for 7.
Maharashtra, who defeated Gujarat in their opening  game yesterday, began in right earnest when openers Ruturaj  Gaekwad, top scorer with 41 in 27 balls, and Rahul Tripathi  (20) put on 60 runs in 7.4 overs.
But once Tripathi was dismissed by Bhavnagar-born  leggie Yuvraj Chudasama who also accounted for Gaekwad five  runs later, Maharashtra lost their way.
Ankit Bhawne, Naushad Shaikh and Nikhil Naik got the  starts before departing. They were 123 for 4 at the beginning  of the 19th over, lost Shrikant Mundhe to the second ball.  Then, with 12 required in the final over, lost the wickets off  the first and last balls and 

Saurashtra win against Maharashtra, Mumbai defeat Gujarat

Bengaluru Hockey Association and  Hockey Puducherry registered emphatic 15-0 and 13-1 wins  respectively on the second day of the 8th Senior Men's  National Championship here today.
Central Secretariat, Chhattisgarh Hockey also won their  matches.
In the opening match of the day, Central Secretariat  registered their second victory in as many days as they beat  Assam Hockey 3-1 in a Pool A match.
It was a closely fought first quarter of the match but  Central Secretariat struck twice in the second quarter and  then once again in the third to take a 3-0 lead.
Assam Hockey, on the other hand, tried their best to make  a comeback but were only rewarded with a consolation goal  towards the end of the third quarter as captain Harvir Singh  struck in the 44th minute.
The match ended 3-1 in Central Secretariat's favour with  Dharambir Yadav (20'), Thimmanna S. Puliyanda (27') and  Shankar Patil (43') getting on the score sheet.
In the following Pool C match, Chhattisgarh Hockey came  back ...

Bigs wins for Bengaluru, Puducherry in Hockey Nationals

Ganganagar's Sandeep Singh and  seasoned Delhi-based professional Gulfam today shot rounds of  four-under-68 to take the lead in round one of the PGTI's Pre  Qualifying I for the 2018 season.
At the Kensville Golf and Country Club, Sandeep fired a  bogey-free round with all his birdies coming on the back-nine  while Gulfam traded six birdies for two bogeys.
Venkkat Gautham was third at three-under-69.
Sagar Raghuvanshi, Mahesh Yadav and Sachin Chouhan  occupied joint fourth place at one-under-71.
The top 24 players (+ ties) will qualify from Pre  Qualifying I, a 36-hole event, for the Final Qualifying Stage.  There are three Pre Qualifying events in total.

Sandeep Singh and Gulfam lead on day one of Pre Qualifying I

Sports stadiums in Saudi Arabia will  open their doors to women to attend football matches for the  first time ever on Friday, the government has announced.
"The first match that women will be allowed to watch will  be Al-Ahli versus Al-Batin on Friday January 12," the ministry  of information said in a statement today.
It said women would also be able to attend a second match  on the following day and a third one on January 18.
Women from across the vast Gulf kingdom may be able to  take advantage of this new freedom as the first match will be  held in the capital Riyadh, the second in Jeddah on the Red  Sea and the third in the eastern city of Dammam.
The kingdom, which has some of the world's tightest  restrictions on women, has long barred women from sports  arenas by strict rules on segregation of the sexes in public.
Under Saudi Arabia's existing guardianship system, a male  family member -- normally the father, husband or brother --  must grant permission for a woman's study, ..

Saudi stadiums to open doors to women on Friday

Having returned to the Indian  hockey team, veteran goalkeeper P R Sreejesh today said the  team is exploring newer ways to score goals.
"I am happy to see my name in the (Indian team) list, and  definitely, I have been through a tough time for almost six  months for recovery through rehabilitation programmes. It is a  proud moment for me," he told reporters here.
"We are focusing on scoring goals. Also, working hard to  achieve that in a new way," he added.
Sreejesh said he is seeking to regain the confidence of  his teammates.
He said 2018 will be a big year for the team with three  major events coming up, starting with the Commonwealth Games.
"We would also play the Asian Games and the World Cup,"  he added.
Coach Sjoerd Marijne said Sreejesh's comeback is good for  the team as he is an experienced player.
"Of course, it is good for us that he (Sreejesh) is  coming back. He is really an experienced player, but at the  time when Sreejesh was not there, the other two goalies Suraj  ..

India exploring newer ways to score goals: Sreejesh

Grand Master Abhijeet Gupta will  spearhead the Indian challenge when the 16th edition of the  Delhi International Open, India's richest chess tournament,  begins here tomorrow.
Defending champion Farrukh Amonatov of Tajikistan and top  seed Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan will be among the players  from 29 countries participating in the event, breaking the  previous record of 28 countries set during the last edition.
Over 2000 passionate chess players from across the  country will compete in the tournament to be held at the  Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
Organized by Delhi Chess Association under the aegis of  All India Chess Federation, the event consists of three  categories: A, B & C.
The 'A' category of the tournament has managed to better  itself in terms of cash prize and strength as for the first  time in history, a 2700 plus elo rated player will be playing  in a Classical GM Open.
Naiditsch, rated 2701, is among the strongest players in  the world and has beaten the ...

Cash-rich Delhi International Open Chess begins tomorrow

Australia's innings-and-123 run win  over England on final day of the fifth and final Ashes Test  have pushed them to third spot in the latest ICC team  rankings.
Australia have moved into third place while England have  dropped to fifth position following the conclusion of the  Ashes in Sydney today.
Australia had entered the series in fifth position on 97  points, while England were in third place on 105 points.
However, following a 4-0 series win, Australia have  climbed to third place on 104 points, while England have  slipped to fifth on 99 points.
Australia are now trailing number-one ranked India (124  points) by 20 points, while they are seven points behind  second-ranked South Africa (111 points).
The top two ranked sides are presently involved in their  three-Test series, which concludes in Johannesburg on 28  January, following which the Test team rankings table will be  updated.
Australia will now travel to South Africa where they play  a four-Test series from March 1 to ..

Australia swap places with England after Ashes triumph

Tamil Nadu opened its campaign  in the South Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament  2017-'18, with an easy seven-wicket win over Andhra Pradesh at  Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here today.
The experienced Dinesh Karthik guided Tamil Nadu home  with a quickfire 57 off just 28 balls (nine fours and two  sixers) with 32 balls to spare after the bowlers had  restricted the opposition to 119 for 7 in 20 overs.
Opting to bat first, Andhra was in trouble in the very  first over, losing opener Ashwin Hebbar for a duck, castled by  K Vignesh. Captain G Hanuma Vihari (5) fell to Athisayaraj  Davidson soon after to leave the home side at 6 for 2.
Ricky Bhui (25) and D B Ravi Teja (19) rebuilt with a  44-run stand but once they were separated within the space of  six runs, the other Andhra batsmen struggled to get going.
A 20-ball knock of 20 by Shoaib Mohammed Khan helped the  team reach 119.
Chasing 120 for victory, Tamil Nadu saw experienced  opener Abhinav Mukund ...

Karthik stars in TN's seven-wicket win over Andhra

Expectations have sky-rocketed since  her Rio Olympics silver medal and P V Sindhu says the only way  to handle the huge responsibility is to practice till she  achieves perfection in all her strokes.
"Since the Rio Olympics, the expectations are always high  and the responsibilities are also high. I am used to it now.  You have to keep going and keep working hard," the 22-year-old  shuttler told PTI.
"I have been working on all the areas because I feel  everything is really important. You have to keep on learning  all the time unless and until you become perfect in all the  strokes," she added.
Sindhu, who narrowly missed out on winning the titles at  the World Championship in Glasgow and Dubai World Superseries  Finals, said there were a lot of positive things to learn from  the year's performances.
"The year 2017 has been really good for me. Definitely, a  lot of positive things to learn from," said Sindhu, who won  the India Super Series and Korea Super Series, besides  reaching ..

Sindhu's success mantra: Practice till you achieve perfection

He hasn't played a single match  this season but controversial Bihar politician Pappu Yadav's  son Sarthak Ranjan has walked into Delhi's T20 side, which has  surprisingly kept under-23 top-scorer Hiten Dalal in the  reserves.
Pappu Yadav, whose official name is Rajesh Ranjan, is a  former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and MP from Madhepura. He  has now floated his own party Jan Adhikar Party while his wife  Ranjeet Ranjan is a Congress MP from Supaul.
The three-member selection committee, comprising Atul  Wassan, Hari Gidwani and Robin Singh Junior, has drawn flak  from all corners for ignoring some of the performers and  selecting an influential person's son, who at the start of the  season, had almost given up on the game.
Sarthak was also a controversial pick for Delhi during  the last Mushtaq Ali campaign during which he scored 5, 3 and  2 aggregating 10 runs in three games.
At the start of the season, Sarthak withdrew himself  after being named in the Ranji Trophy probables ...

Bihar MP's son selected for Delhi T20s without playing a match

Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah  made full use of seaming conditions to put India on the cusp  of a famous Test win in South Africa at lunch on day four of  the series opener here.
Shami and Bumrah shared three wickets each in the morning  session on day four, effecting a South African collapse in  which they lost 8 wickets for only 65 to be bowled out for 130
in the second innings.
With home team extending the lead to 207 runs, India will  have to chase down 208 for their third ever Test win on South  African soil.
Starting from day two overnight 65/2, the slide began in  the second over of the morning.
Shami had Hashim Amla (4) caught at gully with Rohit  Sharma taking a low catch. The decision went up to the TV  umpire but he didnt find conclusive evidence to overturn the  soft signal.
Four overs later, Shami sent back nightwatchman Kagiso  Rabada (5), caught at second slip. In the 29th over then, when  Bumrah had Faf du Plessis (0) caught behind off a snorter,  South Africa were 

Pacers put India on cusp of famous win

Controversy broke out at the  Hyderabad Cricket Association after it barred Mohammad  Azharuddin from attending its Special General Meeting, leaving  the former India captain fuming.
Azharuddin was initially not allowed to attend  yesterday's SGM because of his alleged "association with an  unofficial cricket body", HCA president G Vivek said here.
"He was a proxy voter. That too, his card was signed by  the suspended secretary," Vivek said.
The SGM was convened to pass the Lodha Committee  recommendations.
Vivek alleged that Azharuddin, who was made to wait for  an hour, was campaigning against the HCA by being associated  as a brand ambassador of a cricket body not recognised by the  BCCI.
Only after the intervention of the Congress leader V.  Hanumantha Rao, he was allowed to enter the venue.
The HCA president said the Lodha panel recommendations  were adopted at the meeting.
He dismissed reports that not many members endorsed the  move to bar Azharuddin at the meeting.
"Until you .

Azhar barred from attending HC SGM, ex-captain slams move

South Africa were all out for 130  in their second innings at stroke of lunch on day four of the  first Test against India.
Brief scores: South Africa 286 and 130 all out in 41.2  overs (De Villiers 35; Shami 3/28, Bumrah 3/39).

South Africa all out for 130, India set 208-run target

Bangladesh will set up special courts  at its cricket stadiums to try and convict any punters caught  gambling during an upcoming international series, an official  said today.
Gamblers caught during the tri-nation series against Sri  Lanka and Zimbabwe -- starting January 15 -- would be hauled  from the stands and tried on the spot by judges in temporary  courtrooms, a cricket board official said.
"Betting will be treated as a public nuisance. Anyone  found involved will be convicted and punished instantly in the  stadium," Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin  Chowdhury told AFP.
The special courts will continue to target gamblers  during Sri Lanka's tour of Bangladesh, which starts at the end  of January after the tri-nation series.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will play two Test matches and  two Twenty20 internationals.
Gambling is illegal but rampant during cricket matches in  Bangladesh, where punters exploit a brief delay between live  play and the official broadcast 

Bangladesh to try cricket gamblers in special courts

Bowlers helped Saurashtra  successfully defend a small total and record an exciting  four-run victory in the West Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 league  at the SCA stadium here today.
Chasing Saurashtra's modest tally of 142 for 9,  Maharashtra started well in their quest to score their second  win on the trot in as many days before falling short, ending  up at 138 for 7.
Maharashtra, who defeated Gujarat in their opening  game yesterday, began in right earnest when openers Ruturaj  Gaekwad, top scorer with 41 in 27 balls, and Rahul Tripathi  (20) put on 60 runs in 7.4 overs.
But once Tripathi was dismissed by young  Bhavnagar-born leggie Yuvraj Chudasama who also accounted for  Gaekwad five runs later, Maharashtra lost their way.
Ankit Bhawne,  Naushad Shaikh and Nikhil Naik got the  starts before departing. They were 123 for 4 at the beginning  of the 19th over, lost Shrikant Mundhe to the second ball.  Then, with 12 required in the final over, lost the wickets off  the first and last ...

Saurashtra score narrow win over Maharashtra

He has realised the downside of  having a fiery temper and steadily-rising tennis player Sumit  Nagal is focussing on anger management to succeed, even though  his mentor Mahesh Bhupathi feels a "feisty personality" is no  crime if results are coming.
Nagal achieved the biggest success of his career by  winning the USD 100,000 ATP Challenger in Bengaluru, courtesy  which he leapfrogged to the then career-best rank of 223.
The hard-working 20-year-old from Haryana then qualified  for the Tata Open Maharashtra, his maiden ATP World Tour event  and in the latest rankings he is placed at a career-best 216.
Nagal said his recent good performances have had a lot to  do with hard yards put in for improvement in both physical and  mental aspects of the game.
"I have got stronger, compared to last year. Mentally, I  am much much better. Last year, I lost many matches where I  gave up or got mad for few minutes where I did not realise  that I have already lost 4-5 games.
"This year, it has got .

I have got better at controlling my emotions: Nagal

Seeking to raise awareness for a  pollution-free India, a Manipuri cyclist today embarked on a  tour from the national capital to his home state.
Philem Rohan Singh, from Moirang in Manipur, will be  cycling about 2,500km starting from India Gate in the capital  to Imphal in what he called "a journey taken with extra mile".
"I was planning to do something like this since I was a  child. I wanted to do something special and uniquely different  from others," Rohan told PTI.
With Delhi's air quality index oscillating between poor  and very poor, Rohan decided to club his love for adventure  sports with a cause.
"I have been living in Delhi for the past 6-7 months. I  constantly read reports of Delhi pollution being high. I was  already planning to take this journey. The day after Diwali,  because of the pollution, someone suggested I should club the  two things," Rohan said.
Rohan, who aspires to pursue Masters in English from  Jawaharlal Nehru University, will be cycling 100 km a ...

Manipuri cyclist takes off on tour with anti-pollution message

Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh may feature  in his first competitive event in eight months after being  named in India's 20-member squad for a four-nation tournament  in New Zealand.
India will compete with Belgium, Japan and hosts New  Zealand at Tauranga and Hamilton in the tournament, beginning  January 17.
The team will be led by 25-year-old midfielder Manpreet  Singh while Chinglensana Singh Kangujam will be his deputy.
Sreejesh, who missed some key tournaments in 2017 due to  a knee injury, will be joined by young goalkeeper Krishan  Bahadur Pathak, a member of the 2016 Junior World Cup winning  team. Pathak was also part of the India A team which  participated at the Australian Hockey League in September.
New inclusions in the team are forward Dilpreet Singh and  midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad. The duo was rewarded for their  promising performance at the Sultan of Johor Cup last year  where the team returned home with the bronze medal.
While Vivek had played an instrumental role in the  

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