India's SSP Chawrasia virtually threw away a shot but still managed a share of the lead with four others at the midway stage of the Queen's Cup here today.
     Chawrasia, who signed for a bogey-free 68, actually birdied the par-4 ninth hole, but signed for a four.
     Yet he was seven-under 135 and shared the lead with fellow Indian, Rashid Khan, home hero Prayad Marksaeng and Filipino Angelo Que, all of whom shot 70 each, and Juvic Pagunsan (69).
     The straight-hitting Chawrasia, winner of the second Hero Indian Open in March this year, was in great nick as he produced an eagle and one birdie at Santiburi Samui Country Club.
     A top-two finish in the USD 500,000 tournament here can push Chawrasia, a six-time Asian Tour winner, into top spot on the Merit list, which he has said is one of his goals for the year.
     Chawrasia said, "I'm playing good, it's good going. I'm happy. The last two weeks, I've played well in England and Sweden except for the last round. I'm here and ..

Chawrasia, Rashid among leaders in Koh Samui

PTI Automatic

India skipper Virat Kohli should avoid making any changes to the team for the Champions Trophy summit clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, believes former captain Rahul Dravid.
     India will be taking on bitter rivals Pakistan on Sunday in a bid to defend their title. It is the first time the two teams are clashing in the final of an ICC event since the 2007 World T20 tournament.
     "I think Virat has to stick to what's worked well for him. India loves chasing, we saw that today. They have got some really experienced players who have played in big pressure games, they know how to handle these kind of situations and I think this is a 	tactic that works for them," Dravid who is an 'ESPNcricinfo Match Day analyst right now, said.
     "People might question why are you only getting 4.8 run average in the first 10 but you know that's how they like to set up their innings with Rohit and Shikhar, knowing fully well that they have got the power at the back end of the likes of ...

Virat has to stick to what's worked: Dravid

Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah says he has been advised to miss the limited-overs tour of West Indies as part of his workload management and not fitness issues.
     Bumrah and senior batsman Rohit Sharma have been rested for the five-match ODI and single match T20 series in the Caribbean starting June 23.
     "I am totally fine, they (selectors and team management) have told me to take rest. I am fully fit and there are no niggles," Bumrah made it clear that it's pure rest and not fitness issues.
     Asked if he is disappointed to miss out given that he has been in good form, the Gujarat slinger replied: "I am not disappointed. I have been doing things that I have been told to do."
     He has been bowling terrific spells during the death overs in the ongoing Champions Trophy, something he attributed to the reverse swing on offer.
     "Well, it was a good day. The ball in the end was reverse swinging so that also helped. It always feels good when rhythm is going well. So whenever 

I am fully fit but have been advised rest: Bumrah

Ashton Agar will replace Stephen O'Keefe as Nathan Lyon's partner in Australia's spin bowling attack for its security-delayed two-test tour of Bangladesh, which pace spearhead Mitchell Starc will miss because of injury.
     Australia had been scheduled to travel to Dhaka and Chittagong for two tests in October 2015, but the trip was postponed after national cricket authorities received security warnings from the Australian government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
     The Australians haven't played a test in Bangladesh in more than a decade, but did play in a three-match limited- overs international series in Dhaka in 2011.
     O'Keefe and Starc were two of the better bowlers on Australia's last tour to the Indian subcontinent, which ended in a 2-1 win for India, but were missing from the squad announced today.
     O'Keefe took 12-70 in Pune to help Australia to a 333-run win in the series-opening test against India, but he struggled in the remaining three tests -- ...

Agar in, Strac and O'Keefe out for Bangladesh tour

Pakistan's "magnificent turnaround" has impressed him but India captain Virat Kohli says there is nothing that his side needs to be overtly concerned about ahead of the Champions Trophy final against the arch-foes on Sunday.
     India eased past Bangladesh to enter the finals while Pakistan got the better of more fancied England in their semifinal clash.
     India have already beaten Pakistan in the ongoing tournament during the preliminary stage.
     Speaking about what is expected to be a high-voltage second clash, Kohli was nonchalant.
     "What we are going to try to do is repeat the similar sort of cricket that we have played so far, knowing the strengths and weaknesses they have. Obviously, we will have to plan a bit according to that, but I don't know if there's much that we need to change as a team," he said.
     "I don't think we need to look too far away from what we are doing as a group, I think focus on our skills and our abilities and believe in ourselves on that ...

Don't think we need to change anything for final: Kohli

He may have had a dry spell in Test cricket but Rohit Sharma figures big time in skipper Virat Kohli's scheme of things which is why the senior opener was rested for India's tour of West Indies.
     If top BCCI sources are to be believed, Rohit can make a comeback into the Test side against Sri Lanka next month as one middle-order slot is still up for grabs.
     Karun Nair, who replaced an injured Rohit has done precious little after his triple hundred against England and there are serious question mark on whether he can hold onto his Test place for the Sri Lankan Test series.
     On the otherhand, Rohit had scored three consecutive fifties in his last three Test appearances against New Zealand and was only out because of injury and not form.
     In fact, skipper Kohli indicated that an asset like Rohit needs to be preserved.
     "We need to protect him going further because later half of the year we have massive tours coming up, and his batting contribution will be a huge factor 

Rohit rested for WI series with an eye on Lanka Tests

When Virat Kohli is in full flow, the bat looks like a mere extension of his artistic hands which makes all the statistical nuggets associated with his achievements irrelevant.
     The straight push and the off-drive off Mustafizur Rahman can't tell the story of how intimidating Kohli's presence can be. The 'Cutter Master' wilted, Rubel Hossain looked ordinary and Shakib Al Hasan an apprentice.
     But for the Indian captain, even after a classy 96 and the personal milestone of fastest 8000 ODI runs, the numbers don't matter at this stage.
     From a more flamboyant role, Kohli at times has played second fiddle in this tournament, letting the other batsmen express themselves. Yet he has been able to up the ante when required.
     Has it been difficult? "Well, it's not been difficult at all. I am really enjoying the way I am batting. For me, the number of runs, do not matter at this stage.
     "I am really enjoying the process, and something which is, you know, giving me joy is ...

Number of runs I score don't matter at this stage: Kohli

Captain Virat Kohli today said that the game-changing decision to bring in Kedar Jadhav was jointly taken by him and former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
     Jadhav dismissed set batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim after their 121-run stand to get India back on track in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy here. India won the match by nine wickets.
     Kohli said that he wanted to restrict and wickets from Kedar were bonuses.
     "Wickets were honestly a bonus as Hardik went for a few in his first three. So we wanted to give him a bit of a break and cover up overs through Kedar and with one left-handed batsmen (Tamim),  we knew that he had the ability to get in two, three, dot balls to the left-hander every over. But it ended up changing the whole game for us," an elated Kohli said after the match.
     But Kohli didn't wish to take all the credit.
     "Yeah, when moves like this pay off, I won't take the whole credit. Obviously, I asked MS, as well, and we both ..

Decision to bring Kedar was taken by me and MS: Kohli

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza today conceded that his team needs to get "mentally tougher" in crunch games, which has been their undoing in big-ticket tournaments.
     Bangladesh suffered a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy here.
     "We have repeated these mistakes often in big matches. This was a match where we should have scored 330 but ended up scoring 264. We need to get mentally tough in these situations and when we come back next time, may be correct mistakes," Mortaza said at the post-match press conference.
     "May be quality and skill-wise we are not lacking but you need to get mentally tougher as to what needs to be done in big matches like these. We need to ask ourselves some questions as to whether we were ready to defend 264. May be that's what we need to ask ourselves," said the skipper.
     He expects that the youngsters would step up and not depend on players like Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and ...

We need to be mentally tough: Mashrafe

India rallied from one goal down to beat minnows Scotland 4-1 in their opening match of the Hockey World League Semi-Finals today and their head coach Roelant Oltmans attributed the win to the changes made after the half time.
     "At half time I told them a few things and they understood the message. I am not aggressive, from my point of view, the key is to improve and I asked them to change a few things and they did," Oltmans said after the match.
     "It took a little while to open the Scottish wall and we were not able to do that in the first 30 minutes. They were hurrying themselves," he added.
     Speaking about the only goal of Scotland scored in the sixth minute, he said, "It came out of nothing. It was a long ball and the defenders did not defend as they should have. It was a good assist and their forward (Grassick) hit it straight into the corner. But I was not worried. I have never been afraid in this game, there were still 54 minutes."
     Ramandeep Singh struck with a 

Players understood my message at half time: Oltmans

Rickie Fowler went on a birdie blitz to move clear at the top of the leaderboard at the 117th US Open today.
     After 12 holes, the American world number nine led by one shot at six under after a low-scoring start to the tournament at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
     Fowler, 28, who is chasing his first major victory, reeled off three birdies in his opening five holes after teeing off on the par-four 10th.
     He then notched a hat-trick of birdies on the 18th, first and second holes to drop to six under.
     England's Tommy Fleetwood was in hot pursuit, with five birdies to be at five under after 12 holes.
     Three players including South African veteran Ernie Els were a shot further back on four under.
     But world number one Dustin Johnson endured a torrid start to the defence of his title with a double-bogey and two bogeys on the front nine.
     Masters champion Sergio Garcia and Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy tee off later Thursday.

Fowler on charge at US Open

Rohit Sharma stamped his class with an authoritative hundred in the company of magnificent Virat Kohli as India annihilated Bangladesh by nine wickets to set up a bumper summit showdown with arch-rivals Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, here today.
     The lazy elegance of Rohit (123 no off 129 balls) coupled with the unmatched swagger of skipper Kohli (96 no off 78 balls) ensured India treat Bangladesh's attack with utter disdain, knocking off a modest target of 265 in 40.1 overs.
     This was after some inspired bowling changes from Kohli, including the introduction of part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav, which changed the complexion of the game with Bangladesh managing only 264 for seven in 50 overs.
     A miracle was needed for the over-rated mediocre pace attack to stop the Indian line-up. That didn't happen as Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan (46) added 87 for the opening wicket.
     And then came skipper Kohli, who treated the opposition attack as a bunch of net bowlers, adding 178 .

Dominant India set up Pakistan date after thrashing Bangladesh

India cruised into the final of ICC Champions Trophy with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh here today.
     The defending champions will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the title clash on Sunday.
     Needing 265 for victory, India chased down the target with 59 balls to spare at the Edgbaston.
     Earlier, sent into bat by India skipper Virat Kohli, Bangladesh scored 264 for seven in the allotted 50 overs.
     Brief scores:
     Bangladesh: 264/7 in 50 overs (Tamim 70, Mushfiqur 61; Bumrah 2/40).
     India: 266/1 in 40.1 overs (Rohit Sharma 123 not out, Virat Kohli 96 not out).

India beat Bangladesh, set up title clash with Pakistan

India conceded a surprise early goal but made a fine comeback by pumping in four quick goals to beat minnows Scotland 4-1 in their opening match of Hockey World League Semi-Finals here today.
     Scotland captain Chris Grassick struck as early as the sixth minute to stun the Indians who trailed 0-1 till the end of the first two quarters.
     India, however, recovered and scored four times in the third quarter to run away with full points in the Pool B match. Ramandeep Singh (31st, 34th), Akashdeep Singh (40th), Harmanpreet Singh (42nd) were the goal scorers for India.
     The first quarter belonged to the underdogs Scotland who displayed good attacking skills to put India on the backfoot. They held on to the ball possession for a greater part of the first quarter keeping the Indians in the hunt.
     While the Scottish goalkeeper Thomas Alexander was impressive with his saves, it was skipper Chris Grassick who got an early lead for his team with a splendid deflection that beat ...

India rally to beat Scotland 4-1 in HWL Semi-Finals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India's sporting landscape has started to change for the better as people are taking up sports as full- time career with remarkable improvement in on-field performance.
     Inaugurating the new world class synthetic track at the Usha (PT Usha) School of Athletics here via video conference, PM Modi said that the expansion of the sports industry will also help in the growth of the country's economy.
     "During earlier decades there was an environment in which sports was not pursued as a career. Now this thinking has started to change. Soon the results will be evident on the playground," he said.
     "India has huge potential in sports. India is a sports loving country. The passion with which my young friends watch the ongoing Champions Trophy is the same with which they see the EPL football or NBA basketball fixtures and the F1 Races.
     "We have no shortage of talent. But we need to provide right kind of opportunity and create an eco-system 

Sports now a serious career option: PM

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with overnight joint leader Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the seventh round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament here.
     After a scintillating victory over Fabiano Caruana of United States in the previous round, Anand yet again showed great intent against Nakamura, but the American was quite up to the task in a keenly contested game.
     Levon Aronian of Armenia scored his third victory in the tournament at the expense of Sergey Karjakin of Russia to shot into sole lead for the first time in the event.
     Anish Giri of Holland too found Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France on the wrong foot and scored a fine victory.
     However, it was not Aronian's win or Giri's dismantling that hogged the limelight in the seventh round, the biggest news of the day was Magnus Carlsen's losing to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.
     The loss proved costly as Kramnik came tantalisingly close to Carlsen on the live rating list.
     In ...

Anand draws with Nakamura

Ace shooter Heena Sidhu today hit out at India's chief pistol coach Pavel Smirnov, saying he is not competent and does not have any technical know-how of the game.
     "I know that the coach (Smirnov) has never been able to answer my questions. He doesn't have the technical know-how. It's not just me, even Jitu (Rai) said that to me," Heena told PTI in an interaction here.
     "It was not just me and Jitu, most of the shooters find him technically weak. I don't want to train under somebody like him. I did work with him for few a days because my Federation asked me, saying 'just give him a chance and see if it works for you'. But it was sort of miserable, I don't want to work with him. I don't find him competent enough," the 27- year-old shooter added.
	Heena works with her coach and husband Raunak Pandit.
     Heena and Jitu had clinched the gold medal for India in the mixed team 10m Air Pistol (demo) event at the Shooting World Cup in Gabala.
     The mixed team air pistol event is 

Heena slams chief pistol coach

Scoreboard of the second
semifinal between India and Bangladesh here today.
     Bangladesh:
     Tamim Iqbal b Jadhav              70
     Soumya Sarkar b Kumar              0
     Sabbir Rahman c Jadeja b Kumar    19
     Mushfiqur Rahim c Kohli b Jadhav  61
     Shakib Al Hasan c Dhoni b Jadeja  15
     Mahmudullah b Bumrah              21
     Mosaddek Hossain c & b Bumrah     15
     Mashrafe Mortaza not out          30
     Taskin Ahmed not out              10
     Extras: (LB-9, W-7, NB-2, Pen-5)  23
     Total: (For 7 wkts; 50 overs)    264
     Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-36, 3-159, 4-182, 5-184, 6-218, 7-229.
     Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 10-1-53-2, Jasprit Bumrah 10- 1-39-2, R Ashwin 10-0-54-0, Hardik Pandya 4-0-34-0, Ravindra Jadeja 10-0-48-1, Kedar Jadhav 6-0-22-2.

 Scoreboard of the second

Part time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav's 'golden arm' provided decisive twin blows, helping defending champions India restrict Bangladesh to 264 for seven in the second semifinal of the Champions Trophy here today.
      Jadhav's 2/22 in six overs brought India back in the game as he took the crucial wickets of Tamim Iqbal (70) and Mushfiqur Rahim (61) with his fastish off-breaks.
      The two wickets proved to be the difference between Bangladesh only managing 264 instead of a projected 310 after Tamim and Rahim had added 123 runs for the second wicket in only 21.1 overs.
      Once Kedar was done with his job, Jasprit Bumrah (2/40 in 10 overs) played his regular part to perfection stifling the opposition with as many as 40 dot balls.
     The third Powerplay (41-50) saw Bangladesh scoring only 62 runs primarily due to a cameo from skipper Mashrafe Mortaza (30 no off 25 balls).
     Bumrah's senior partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/53) complemented him well with couple of dismissals first ...

Indian bowlers bounce back to limit Bangladesh to 264/7

Twelve young Indian hoopsters have been selected to undergo a three-day NBA-conducted training camp for basketball players in the Asia-Pacific region to be held in China later this month.
	The camp for elite young basketball talent of the region will be held from June 18-21 at Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational Technical Institute in China, said a media release today.
	The 12 youngsters are part of a 73-strong group of boys and girls, belonging to India, Australia, New Zealand, Korea and China.
	Current NBA players Malik Beasley (Denver Nuggets), Andrew Nicholson (Brooklyn Nets) and Garrett Temple (Sacramento Kings) will join former WNBA player Zheng Haixia (the first Chinese WNBA player) as well as NBA assistant coaches Ryan Bowen (Denver Nuggets), Charles Klask (Detroit Pistons), Bob Thornton (Sacramento Kings) and FIBA coach Ronald Cass to train the 17 and 18-year old campers, who were selected by their respective basketball federations.
	"We are grateful for the continued ...

Dozen Indian boys for NBA camp in China

Bangladesh posted 264 for seven against India in the second semifinal of the Champions Trophy here today.
     Brief scores: Bangladesh 264/7 in 50 overs (Tamim 70, Mushfiqur 61; Bumrah 2/40).

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