Scoreboard at the end of first day's
play of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament final between Saurashtra and Mumbai, here today.
     Saurashtra 1st innings:
     Avi Barot			     c Iyer b Kulkarni	14
     Sagar Jogiyani	     c Tare b Thakur	 8
     Cheteshwar Pujara	    c Yadav b Kulkarni	 4
     Arpit Vasavada	    c Yadav b Kulkarni	77
     Sheldon Jackson	c Herwadkar b Sandhu	 0
     Jaydev Shah		     c Tare b Kulkarni	13
     Chirag Jani	          c Tare b Thakur	13
     Deepak Punia	         c Yadav b Nayar	 6
     Prerak Mankad	                 not out	55
     Extras: (LB-1, W-1)	                    2
 	Total: (for 8 wickets in 84.4 overs)	    192
     Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-22, 3-36, 4-42, 5-77, 6-95, 7-108, 8-192.
 	Bowling: Kulkarni 18.4-5-30-4, Thakur	17-4-59-2, Nayar 24-11-42-1, Sandhu	19-6-41-1, Abdulla	4-1-11-0, Herwadkar 1-0-5-0, Yadav	 1-0-3-0.

 Scoreboard at the end of first day's

PTI Automatic

Pakistan's flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi is reconsidering his decision to retire from international cricket at the end of ICC World T20 as he is facing "huge pressure" from family members and friends.
     On the threshold of his 36th birthday, Afridi is leading Pakistan in the five-nation Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh and had announced earlier that he would retire from the shortest format at the end the World T20 in India. The mega event begins on March 8 and concludes on April 3.
     Afridi had retired from one-day cricket last year, following his departure from the Test arena in 2010.
     "For a while now there is a lot of pressure from my family, a lot of pressure from my friends, including my elders, who say there is no need for me to retire from Twenty20. That is a huge pressure.
     "For now, in truth, I am focusing only on the World Cup. That is a huge challenge for me," Afridi was quoted as saying by 'ESPNcricinfo'.
     Pakistan play India in their first match on ...

Afridi reconsidering retirement plans

FIFA presidential favourites Gianni Infantino and Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa embarked on a final scramble for votes today ahead of the election to lead world football's scandal-tainted governing body.
     The poll is seen as crucial to repairing the organisation's reputation, which has been battered by a series of unprecedented corruption scandals, but just two days before the vote, protests over the secrecy of ballots have mounted.
	Front-runners Infantino -- the Swiss-Italian acting chief of European football -- and Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Asian football's president, have so far stayed clear of the controversy over balloting.
	Both were in FIFA's home city of Zurich trying to assemble the coalition of supporters needed to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter and win the most powerful job in world football.
	But rival candidate Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to suspend Friday's election.
	He has said transparent 

FIFA rivals in final push for votes

Australian captain Steve Smith defended his side today as "nice guys" after he was slapped with a dissent charge amid continuing fallout over umpire abuse during the second Test against New Zealand.
     Australia won the Test by seven wickets to move to the top of the world rankings, but celebrations were marred by Smith being hauled before the International Cricket Council match referee to explain his actions.
     He was charged with dissent in connection with the same obscenity-laden rant that cost Josh Hazlewood 15 percent of his match fee. The ICC was expected to announce Smith's penalty later Wednesday.
     But Smith talked up the Australians as "nice guys" who play the game hard and push the boundaries but don't mean to offend.
     The abuse levelled at the umpires during their seven wicket win in Christchurch to sweep the series against New Zealand was the latest in a string of incidents involving Australia.
     Two of the more notable episodes are the notorious 1981 ...

Smith backs Aussies as 'nice guys' despite dissent rap

Gursimar Badwal carded one-over 71 in the second round to grab the lead in the fifth leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here today.
     Sharmila Nicollet played the only par round of the day to take the second position with a total score of 142. The Rs 6,00,000 event will culminate tomorrow.
     Kapurthala's Gursimar started cautiously, playing an even par front nine. She dropped three shots in her back nine on the 10th, 11th and 13th holes, but two late birdies on the 16th and 18th helped her to take the total score to 141.
     Hero Motocorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet carded the best score of the day to take the second position. The Bengaluru golfer carded a birdie and a bogey apiece on the 1st and 9th holes respectively, to finish with a score of par 70 in the second round.
     Overnight leader Smriti Mehra and the Delhi duo of Ankita Tiwana and Mehar Atwal are all tied for the third position with identical totals of 144 after 36 ..

Gursimar wrests lead on day two

Former World Championships bronze-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) will become the first Indian boxer to compete in the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) competition when he takes on 
Uzbekistan's Israil Madrimov in
Tashkent on Friday.
      The 24-year-old Vikas. Who is supported by the JSW Sports Excellence Program (SEP), is targeting a quota place for the Olympics in August.
     The APB offers 20 quotas for the Olympics split over weight categories. The middleweight category has two quotas for the Rio Olympics with the top-two boxers in the category making the cut for the quadrennial event.
     Vikas, ranked sixth in the world in middleweight, recently won a gold medal at the South Asian Games.
     Vikas' opponent, Madrimov, won the silver medal in the welterweight (69 kg) category at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
     The Indian pugilist will be accompanied by his coach Jagdeep Hooda and left today for Uzbekistan's capital. Vikas was training at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) ...

Vikas Krishan all set for AIBA Pro Boxing debut

Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) today announced to launch of the India Volleyball League (iv League) to be held later this year.
     "It would usher in a revolution in Indian volleyball. It has been a dream of our players who would now get the exposure that they have been looking forward to," said VFI president Chaudhury Avadesh Kumar.
     The success of Hockey India League, Pro Kabaddi, Premier Badminton League etc. Has prompted volleyball administrators to eye television revenue. At a press meet, Kumar, a former volleyball player, informed that the federation, in association with Sportzlive, a company focused on investing and creating Sports IPR, would launch three leagues -- women's league, men's league and beach volleyball league -- this year.
     The leagues would have the approval of Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the world governing body of the game.
     It maybe recalled that the first edition of the Indian Volleyball League (IVL) was launched in ...

iv League to usher in revolution in volleyball

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum insisted the time was right to quit international cricket today despite hitting one of his best innings just days earlier.
     It was not the way the 34-year-old wanted to retire, as Australia completed a 2-0 series sweep by winning the second Test by seven wickets.
     But McCullum did mark his swansong in trademark fashion, setting records for the fastest century and most sixes in Test history (107).
     When the match ended, with an Adam Voges four getting Australia to the 201 they needed for victory, there were emotional scenes as McCullum led his side from Christchurch's tree-lined Hagley Oval.
     Australian captain Steve Smith, not out 53, ran over to shake McCullum's hand.
     When New Zealand had needed patience to occupy the crease for long periods of time to save the Test, McCullum could not hold back his natural aggression.
     He smashed a first innings 145 in 79 balls, including the first ever 54-ball century, and 25 off 27 in ..

Time's right, says departing McCullum

Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth feels Test skipper Virat Kohli will turn out to  be one of the
best leaders ever for the cricket team, given his "adaptability skills".
     "Adaptability skills which Virat has are fantastic. You see Virat Kohli's game approach, he adapts beautifully in all the three formats. As a cricketer if you want to be a complete cricketer, you need adaptability skills and that is what cricket teaches you," Srikkanth said at a programme organised by Right Management last evening.
	The former chairman of selectors also appreciated Kohli for his "never-give up attitude".
     "He does not give up and fights from the front. That is Virat's style."
	Srikkanth, a member of the 1983 World Cup -winning squad,
also looked back at the glorious days and praised Kapil Dev's leadership.
	"Kapil Dev was different, (Sunil) Gavaskar's approach as a captain, was first perfection and then go for a win, but Kapil Dev's approach was different, both (were) positive," he ...

Virat is going to be one of best skippers: Srikkanth

The Indian women's cricket team survived a mid-innings collapse to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second Twenty20 International for an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, here today.
     After restricting Sri Lanka to 107/8 in 20 overs, the Indians endured some anxious moments before coming through in 19 overs.
     The decision to bat first backfired severely on the Lankans with Ekta Bisht (3/22) and Poonam Yadav (3/17) combining to rip through the visiting line-up.
     Dilani Manodara's 27 was the best that a Lankan batter could manage, followed by skipper Shashikala Siriwardene's 26- run effort.
     In reply, India's in-form captain Mithali Raj was the star performer for the hosts, striking an unbeaten 51 which came off 52 balls and was studded with half a dozen fours.
     However, she could not find a steady partner in the chase until Anuja Patil joined her at the crease. Patil's 33-ball 34 came handy as India overhauled the target after some hiccups.
     .

Indian eves beat SL in 2nd T20, clinch series

With their star players back in the squad, a buoyant Sri Lanka would like to get into the groove when they face minnows United Arab Emirates first-up in a round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament here tomorrow.
     The Sri Lankan team bears a formidable look with the comeback of their skipper Lasith Malinga and Test captain Angelo Mathews, both of whom were missing due to injuries during the recent T20 series against India.
     The return of Malinga in the bowling department and Mathews as one of the most prolific all-rounders make Lanka runaway favourites against UAE, who have joined the 'big boys' after winning a four-team qualifying event prior to the tournament proper.
     The other big boost for Sri Lanka will be seasoned left-arm spinner Ragana Herath's return to the side. Herath's experience will mean a lot for the defending World T20 champions on a slow Sher-e-Bangla pitch.
     The batting looks good with Tillekaratne Dilshan at the top along with ...

Sri Lanka aim to make short work of UAE

Australia captain Steve Smith pleaded guilty today to a dissent charge following an angry outburst during the second cricket Test against New Zealand.
     Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who unleashed a profanity-laden barrage at the umpires after an lbw appeal was turned down, pleaded guilty to a similar charge yesterday and was fined 15 percent of his match fee.
     The International Cricket Council was expected to announced Smith's penalty later today.
     "I need to be better as a leader. That was not acceptable behaviour," Smith said.
     He added that he believed his charge related to questioning the umpires about the technology used when checking the lbw appeal against New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson.
     Australia won the Test by seven wickets to sweep the series 2-0 and go to the top of the world rankings.

Australia skipper Smith charged with dissent

Final scoreboard on day five
of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia in Christchurch today.
     New Zealand first innings 370 (B McCullum 145, C Anderson 72, B Watling 58; N Lyon 3-61)
     Australia 1st innings 505 (Burns 170, S Smith 138, A Voges 60; Wagner 6-106, Boult 2-108)
     New Zealand 2nd innings 335 (K Williamson 97, M Henry 66; Bird 5-59, Pattinson 4-77)
     Australia 2nd innings (overnight 70-1)
     J Burns b Boult                 65
     D Warner c Watling b Wagner     22
     U Khawaja c McCullum b Southee  45
     S Smith not out                 53
     A Voges not out                 10
     Extras (lb4, nb2)                6
     Total (3 wickets; 54 overs)     201
     Fall of wicket: 1-49, 2-113, 3-179
     Bowling: Boult 17-1-60-1, Southee 7-2-30-1, Henry 9-1-33-0, Wagner 18-4-60-1, Anderson 3-0-14-0.

Christchurch, Feb 24 (AFP) Final scoreboard on day five

Australia sealed a 2-0 series victory over New Zealand to reach the top Test ranking today but captain Steve Smith was forced to defend their aggressive style as he was charged with dissent.
     With Smith smacking 53 off 46 balls, Australia polished off the 131 runs they needed on the last day to reach their 201 target just after lunch in what was New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's final Test.
     The match had no sooner finished than Smith was charged over Tuesday's profanity-laced confrontation with the umpires that earlier saw fast bowler Josh Hazlewood fined 15 percent of his match fee.
     Adam Voges was not out 10, while the only wickets to fall on day five were those of Joe Burns for 65 and Usman Khawaja for 45 as Australia finished on 201 for three to win by seven wickets.
     The victory confirmed Australia's superiority after they won the first Test by an innings and 52 runs, and allowed them to overtake India as the world's top Test side.
     "It's always special .

Australia's return to the top hit by controversy

Super-sub Stefano Sturaro came off the bench to hit a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich as outclassed Juventus rescued their Champions League last-16 tie.
     Bayern dominated throughout a one-sided encounter at a packed Juventus Stadium and took a 43rd-minute lead through Thomas Mueller.
     Arjen Robben doubled the Germans' advantage on 55 minutes but the 2013 champions paid for a series of earlier misses when Paulo Dybala netted on the hour and Sturaro hit a dramatic leveller 14 minutes from time.
     It leaves the tie still very much alive, although on this performance Pep Guardiola's men will be favourites to secure their last-eight place after the second leg in three weeks' time.
     Guardiola, however, is taking nothing for granted.
     "Juventus made it to last year's final, not us. We're not dealing with a team from the provinces," said the Spaniard, who admitted he was highly impressed with Bayern's display.
     Guardiola, who will take over at Manchester 

Sturaro rescues Juve in dramatic Bayern draw

Lionel Messi left Arsenal spellbound as the Barcelona striker's clinical double sealed a 2-0 last 16, first leg victory that put the Champions League holders firmly on course for the quarter-finals.
     Barca coach Luis Enrique joked this week that all he needed to do was shout 'Abracadabra' for Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to deliver the kind of magic display that would bewilder the Gunners.
     On this occasion, it was Messi who answered his coach's call with a second-half brace as the Spanish champions survived a stern examination from Arsene Wenger's side to escape the Emirates Stadium with a result likely to condemn the hosts to a sixth successive last-16 exit.
     The leaders of La Liga, chasing a sixth European Cup triumph, are now unbeaten in 33 games in all competitions -- a blistering streak that includes 14 wins from their last 15 games.
     After being dazzled by Messi's magic wand, it will take an act of astonishing escapology for Arsenal to go through in the return .

Messi magic leaves Arsenal spellbound

Defending champions U Mumba gave thrashed Bengal Warriors 30-17 in what was virtually a no contest 
to inch closer towards a last four berth in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League, here today.
     U Mumba established a 17-6 lead at half-time which appeared huge because till then Bengal Warriors had just managed to score two points each in defence and attack.
     The other two were courtesy U Mumba as Rakesh Kumar and Rishank Devadiga stepped out of court.
     Bengal Warriors suffered as Jang Kun Lee, their main hit man who had literally tormented Jaipur Pink Panthers yesterday, was absolutely clueless today in the absence of raiders Nitin Tomar and the off-colour Mahesh Goud.
     U Mumba was strong both in defence and attack and the cutting edge this time came from their attack which initially destroyed the rival defence. And when their defence came up with unbelievable tackles, especially from the left-corner Fazel Atrachali, who had a cent per cent success record of six out of six ...

U Mumba register big win, inch closer to top four

D Y Patil 'B' held their nerves to beat Reliance One via the super over in a thrilling quarter-final match of the 12th IDBI Federal Life Insurance DY Patil T20 Cup cricket tournament today.
	 The match ended in a tie, with Reliance One tying with their rivals' total of 168-7, leading to the Super Over tie-break that DY Patil 'B' won by chasing down 13 runs needed for victory to make the last four.
	In the other quarter-finals, Central Railways halted Mumbai Customs' run, winning by 75 runs, CAG beat D Y Patil 'A' by eight runs and BPCL got the better of State Bank of Hyderabad by eight wickets.
	In the semi-finals, to be played on February 25, D Y Patil 'B' would take on CAG, while BPCL would lock horns with Central Railway.
	The final will be held on the same day.
	Brief scores:
	D Y Patil 'B' 168-7 in 20 overs (Shivam Dubey 51, Shashank Singh 48; Babasaf Khan Pathan 2-18, Krunal Pandya 2-28) tied with Reliance One 168-7 in 20 overs (Nikhil Naik 52, Axar Patel 39; Prateek Dabholkar ..

D Y Patil 'B' beat Reliance One in Super Over; enter semis

Their captain and star striker Sunil Chhetri left out due to an injury, Bengaluru FC begin their campaign in the AFC Cup football against Lao Toyota FC here tomorrow.
     Chhetri, the national team captain, has not made the trip owing to a strained groin while livewire midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh will also be missed tomorrow as he continues his recuperation from a fracture.
     However, young striker Daniel Lalhlimpuia will be in the reckoning after recovering from a knee injury that had kept him on the sidelines for over a month.
     Despite the absence of the likes of Chhetri and Lyngdoh, head coach Ashley Westwood said his team's tryst with continental football last season could hold them in good stead in the Group H opener at the National Stadium here.
     The Blues arrived here on Sunday before putting in two training sessions yesterday and today and the gaffer said preparations for the game were on track.
     "We've been here two days which was good because the players ...

Sans Chhetri, Bengaluru begin AFC Cup campaign tomorrow

Yuki Bhambri was well on course of an upset win over world number 51 Lukas Rosol but squandered three match points and made a first round exit from the Dubai Duty Free Tenis Championships, here today.
     The Indian wild card had three match points in the 12th game of the second set but could convert none and went on to lose seven games on the trot to bow out of the ATP 500 event.
     He lost 6-2 6-7(2) 0-6 in one-hour and 51 minute contest.
     Yuki, ranked 107, had made a resounding start by taking the first from the Czech inside 20 minutes and was leading 2-0 in the second but allowed his rival to comeback.
     After losing those match points, Yuki could never recover. He trailed 0-5 in the tie break before losing the set and was outplayed in the decider.
     Yuki had lost to Rosol in India's Davis Cup tie against Czech Republic and had a good chance to not only avenge his defeat but also gain some valuable points to better his rankings.

Yuki squanders 3 match points, bows out of Duabi event

Black protesters in South Africa stormed a university rugby game, sparking a mass brawl with furious white spectators in the latest outbreak of race-related student unrest.
	Video footage showed black protesters walking in a line across the pitch at the University of the Free State during the game yesterday evening, before hundreds of white spectators ran on to try to force them off.
	Workers at the university campus in Bloemfontein city, most of them black, have been protesting to demand an end to outsourcing -- when non-teaching services such as cleaning are taken on by private companies.
	The university confirmed in a statement that the match against Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University was disrupted in the 17th minute.
	The players and match officials immediately left the pitch, but "the protesters were chased off the field and beaten by the spectators", the statement said.
	The university, which has been closed temporarily, said it "condemns in the strongest terms possible the .

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