Scoreboard at stumps on day
two of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia in Christchurch on Sunday:
     New Zealand first innings 370
     Australia (overnight 57-1)
     D. Warner c Guptill b Boult    12
     J. Burns c Guptill b Wagner   170
     U. Khawaja c McCullum b Boult  24
     S. Smith c Guptill b Wagner   138
     A. Voges not out                2
     N. Lyon not out                 4
     Extras (b4, lb9)               13
     Total (4 wickets, 110 overs)  363
     Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Warner), 2-67 (Khawaja), 3-356 (Burns), 4-357 (Smith)
     Bowling: Southee 22-4-71-0, Boult 24-5-85-2, Henry 27-6-88-0, Anderson 12-1-32-0, Wagner 20-4-63-2, Williamson 5-0-11-0.

Christchurch, Feb 21 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on day

PTI Automatic

Century-makers Joe Burns and Steve Smith shredded the New Zealand attack to have Australia in charge of the second Test, before both fell in the dying stages of day two in Christchurch on Sunday.
     Burns hit a career best 170, his third century, and Smith made 138, his 14th, as Australia ended the day at a commanding 363-4 in reply to New Zealand's 370.
     After Brendon McCullum's 145-run blitz gave New Zealand the first day honours on a green, seaming wicket, Burns and his captain Smith ensured the momentum swung Australia's way as the pitch flattened out.
     Burns spent a lot of time successfully fighting off Neil Wagner's short-ball tactic before eventually pulling one to Martin Guptill at square leg with 28 balls left in the day.
     Five balls later, in a repeat scenario, Guptill gave Wagner his second wicket and Smith was gone.
     Adam Voges was on two with Nathan Lyon, sent in as nightwatchman, on four.
     Until Smith's dismissal, the only moment of concern in his ..

Burns, Smith fall after tons put Australia in charge

Deepika converted a penalty corner in the last quarter to lead Indian women hockey team to a 1-0 win over hosts South Africa in their tour-opener, here.
     Both the teams were cautious, trying to assess each other's playing style. The game was mostly played in the midfield but superb defensive play by both the teams ensured a goal-less first half.
     The third period saw a shift in the game plan with attacking play from both the sides but none of the teams managed to break the deadlock and the penultimate period also ended with the 0-0 score.
     India pressed hard and their efforts finally reaped rewards in the 55th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Deepika.

Deepika strikes in India's win in tour-opener in South Africa

Mumbai's bid to clinch their 41st Ranji Trophy crown, and the first after two seasons, got a significant boost with the availability of fit-again pacer Dhawal Kulkarni for the final against Saurashtra in Pune.
     Kulkarni missed the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh at Cuttack, after picking up an injury during their quarter-final victory over Jharkhand at Mysuru.
     Other than his inclusion, the Mumbai selectors have retained the squad that secured their place for their 45th title clash in Cuttack.
     Significantly, when Mumbai clinched their 40th crown, Saurashtra were their opponents in the 2012-13 season.
     The five-day final will begin on February 24.
     The Mumbai squad: Aditya Tare (Captain), Abhishek Nayar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Akhil Herwadkar, Siddhesh Lad, Sufiyan Shaikh, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Iqbal Abdullah, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Jr.), Badre Alam, Bhavin Thakkar, Vishal Dabholkar.

Mumbai gets Kulkarni boost for Ranji final against Saurashtra

Barcelona moved nine points clear at the top of La Liga thanks to first-half goals from Luis Suarez and Neymar despite an unconvincing display in a 2-1 win at Las Palmas.
     Suarez opened the scoring early on with his 41st goal of the season, but Willian Jose deservedly levelled for the hosts inside 10 minutes.
     Neymar restored the lead from close range before the break, but the European champions had to withstand a late onslaught from the Canary Islanders to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to 32 games.
     Barca's closest challengers Atletico Madrid can cut the gap when they host Villarreal, whilst third-placed Real Madrid, who are now 10 points adrift of Barca, travel to Malaga on Sunday.
     "To win titles you have to suffer and we've now had a couple of games away from home where we have struggled," Suarez told Canal Plus.
     "It is always nice to play in a different way and win games easily, but these are the games which win you the league."
     Despite .

Suarez, Neymar open up nine-point Barca lead

Scoreboard at tea on day two of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia in Christchurch on Sunday:
     New Zealand first innings 370
     Australia (overnight 57-1)
     D. Warner c Guptill b Boult    12
     J. Burns not out              126
     U. Khawaja c McCullum b Boult  24
     S. Smith not out               79
     Extras                          0
     Total (2 wickets, 77 overs)   241
     Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Warner), 2-67 (Khawaja)
     Bowling: Southee 17-3-56-0, Boult 17-5-47-2, Henry 18-3-62-0, Anderson 10-1-27-0, Wagner 13-2-45-0, Williamson 2-0-4-0.

Christchurch (New Zealand), Feb 21 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on day two of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia in Christchurch on Sunday:

Century-maker Joe Burns and skipper Steve Smith carved into New Zealand's first innings target Sunday and swung momentum back in Australia's favour on day two of the second Test.
     Burns was not out 126 and Smith, who took a fearful knock to the head in the last over before tea, was on 79 at the end of the second session.
     With a flat wicket working in their favour, the pair added 174 runs to have Australia 241 for 2 at tea in reply to New Zealand's first innings 370 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
     Burns brought up his third century in his 10th Test, sending a good-length Matt Henry delivery between slip and gully to the boundary.
     Smith, who stressed before the Test he wanted the victory so Australia can move to the top of the world rankings, was closing in on his 14th century.
     New Zealand quicks Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Matt Henry had the better of the exchanges at the start of the day.
     Boult put an added spring in the step of the New Zealanders with ...

Burns, Smith chisel away at New Zealand target

A super raid by Jasvir Singh, coming out of an injury tilted the match in favour of Jaipur Pink Panthers as they beat Bengaluru Bulls 30-21 for their fourth win in nine matches in a Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league encounter, here today.
     Though Jasvir Singh came off with that magical moment in the 34th minute to settle the argument it was the untiring efforts of all-rounder Rajesh Narwal that laid the foundations of this important win.
     It keeps the hosts in the hunt for a play-off berth with a tally of 25 points. Bengaluru Bulls for whom this was the eighth defeat lie in seventh place with 13 points and their chances have totally receded.
     Bengaluru kept pace with their rivals in the first half before conceding a solitary point lead at 9-10 in the dying moments. In fact they even led for most part, 15 minutes to be precise at 9-6. It was quite interesting to see two leading raiders Jasvir Singh and Surjeet Narwal fail to score in the first twenty minutes.
     Rajesh ...

Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Bengaluru Bulls 30-21 in Pro Kabaddi

India's Mayookha Johny today won her second medal -- a silver in women's triple jump -- to add to her gold in long jump on the second day of Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here.
     Mayookha came up with an effort of 14.00m to finish second behind Olympian Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan who cleared a distance of 14.32m. Another Kazakh, Irina Ektova took the bronze with 13.48m.
     In an unfortunate incident, India's multi-event specialist Swapna Barman, who originally finished second in Pentathlon, got disqualified following a protest lodged by Iranian team last night.
     After an overnight debate, the Jury of Appeal upheld the protest of Iran citing lane infringement by the Indian athlete in 800m -- the fifth and last event of the Pentathlon.
     Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Voronina won the gold with a five-event aggregate of 4,224 points. Iran's Sepideh Hossein (3,828) and Japan's Chie Kriyama (3,637) went home with the other medals.
     Earlier yesterday, Mayookha fetched India 

Mayookha wins a gold and a silver in Asian Indoor Athletics

BCCI secretary and BJP MP Anurag Thakur today said that he has invited Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh to inaugurate the sale of the ICC World T20 tickets.
     "I have invited Mr Singh to inaugurate the sale of tickets for the ICC World T20. I bear no grudges against him and with Dharamsala getting an opportunity to host such mega event, there should be no political colour added to it," Thakur said.
     The BCCI secretary said that tickets will be up for sale within another couple of days.
     "We will start with 10 percent sales of the tickets online in a day or two especially for the foreigners, who are interested to come for the World Cup. It will give them time to plan their trip accordingly and also procure the necessary visa and all," Thakur added.
     Thakur who is also president of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) spoke at the launch of the 'Swachh Himachal' campaign today.
	The campaign aims at creating awareness and understanding among youth ...

Invited Himchal CM for inaguration of T20 ticket sales: Thakur

Aizawl FC rode on twin second half-strikes from Joel Sunday and H Lalmuankima in a space of two minutes to log home full points against Mumbai FC in the 8th round encounter of the I-League football championship, here today.
     This was Aizawl's second win in the championship.
     The home team made as many as five changes in their starting line-up. Mumbai FC also made 4 alterations in their starting XI.
     In the 66th   minute, Sunday tapped a cross from Lalmuankima and broke the deadlock. Even before Mumbai FC could settle in after the first goal, Aizawl FC found the net again as Lalmuannkima scored from a bice cross delivered by Albert.

Aizawl FC beat Mumbai FC 2-0 in I-League encounter

Jaypee Punjab Warriors made it to the third final with a 3-1 win over Delhi Waveriders while it will be a maiden summit clash for Kalinga Lancers who ousted defending champions Ranchi Rays 4-2 in the Hockey India League, here today.
     In the first match between Punjab and Delhi, the first quarter of the game started with both the teams playing cautiously, observing the game plan of each other.
     Both teams looked for counter attacking opportunities and the first major chance came Delhi's way in the 6th minute through a penalty corner, which was converted effectively by Rupinder Pal Singh to give the team an early lead.
     This was Rupinder's 12th goal of the tournament.
     Delhi maintained their 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the second quarter expectedly saw Punjab Warriors pressing hard to establish equilibrium.
     Punjab efforts paid dividends in the 19th minute when young striker Armaan Qureshi netted the ball through a reverse flick shot that beat Devon 

Punjab Warriors to meet Kalinga Lancers in HIL final

India men's dream run in the ongoing Badminton Asia Team Championships came to an end after a 1-3 semi-final loss to Indonesia, here today.
     Japan trounced South Korea 3-0 in the other semi-final to set up title date with Indonesia.
     The Indian team had a dream start in the semi-finals today with captain Kidambi Srikanth achieving a superb 21-14 23-25 21-9 victory over Tommy Sugiarto in the opening singles encounter.
     But the hosts soon suffered a setback with its doubles pair of Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy losing to Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 11-21 10-21 in the first doubles match.
     The team's chances to play in the final of the tournament were dented further with world No 25 Ajay Jayaram going down fighting against a lower-ranked Ginting Anthony losing 15-21 20-22.
     In the second doubles match, Pranaav Jerry Chopra-Akshay Dewalkar put up a strong fight but that was not enough to tame their Indonesian rivals Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi.
     The Indian ...

Indian men lose to Indonesia in Badminton Asia semi-final

Former world champion L Sarita Devi today lamented on the long-dragging administrative mess in Indian boxing but said it is up to the country's boxers to rise above this crisis with their performance at the Rio Olympics.
     India does not have a national federation after the International Boxing Association (AIBA) terminated Boxing India last year. The sport is being administered by an ad-hoc committee.
     "At this moment, boxing can go either way, we can't say which way. It's at crossroads but the destiny is in our hands. If we do well and put India on top at Olympics, the future will definitely be shining again," the Glasgow Commonwealth Games bronze medallist told PTI here today.
     "No doubt it's frustrating for the young boxers that they don't have any tournaments. They're training hard but clueless about their competitions. Hopefully things will be fine soon," she added.
     Having served a one-year ban for her infamous emotional outburst after a controversial semifinal ..

We can change Indian boxing's destiny: Sarita Devi

Mahesh Bhupathi, who is making a comeback to competitive tennis after an injury lay-off, won his first title in three years as he combined with Yuki Bhambri to clinch the Delhi Open while Saketh Myneni reached the singles final, here today.
     Playing high quality tennis, Bhupathi and Bhambri won 6-3 4-6 10-5 against defending champions Saketh Myneni and Sanam Singh in the final that was a cut above the usual Challenger level matches.
     Myneni could not win the doubles title but earlier in the day he was all class, winning his singles semifinal 6-3 6-2 against second seed Belgian Kimmer Coppejans.
     He now has a chance to win his second Challenger level singles title, having won the first in October 2014 in Indore.
     Bhupathi, who has hardly played in the last two years and got busy in conducting IPTL apart from nursing a knee injury, last won a title in March 2013, when he pocketed the Dubai ATP event with Michael Llodra.
     Myneni had served superbly in his morning ...

Bhupathi wins first title in 3 years, Myneni in singles final

Bharat Singh trained Shourisha
brilliantly guided by A Ashhad Asbar won the Bangalore Turf Club Cup, the main event of the races here today.
     The winner is owned by Anasuya Gupta and Joydeep Datta Gupta.
     Trainer Bharat Singh scored a grand treble. Jockey Imran Chisty scored a double.
     Punters had a bad day. Two favourites won in a card of seven events.

 Bharat Singh trained Shourisha

Jaypee Punjab Warriors entered the final of the Hockey India League for the third consecutive year after posting a 3-1 victory over Delhi Waveriders in the first semi-final here today.
     The Warriors will face the winner of the second semi-final between defending Champions Ranchi Rays and Kalinga Lancers in the summit clash tomorrow.
     The first quarter of the game started with both the teams playing cautiously, observing the game plan of each other.
     Both teams looked for counter attacking opportunities and the first major chance came Delhi's way in the 6th minute through a penalty corner, which was converted effectively by Rupinder Pal Singh to give the team an early lead.
     This was Rupinder's 12th goal of the tournament.
     Delhi maintained their 1-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the second quarter expectedly saw Punjab Warriors pressing hard to establish equilibrium.
     Punjab efforts paid dividends in the 19th minute when young striker Armaan Qureshi 

Punjab Warriors secure third consecutive finals berth

Defending champions Mohun Bagan pipped Sporting Clube de Goa 1-0 courtesy Katsumi Yusa's late strike, tightening their grip on the pole position of the I-League football tournament, here today.
     At the halfway stage after eight rounds, Mohun Bagan are the only team to maintain an unbeaten record with 18 points from eight games with five wins and three drawn games. They are three points clear of second placed Benglauru FC, who are on 15 points with equal number of wins.
     Katsumi's 73rd minute strike from a Sony Norde centre proved to be the difference in a match where Goan side gave Mariners a tough time but it was their young goalkeeper Debjit Majumder who thwarted each of their attempt with an impressive performance under the bar.
     The goal bound move was initiated by Bagan skipper Katsumi, who sent a cross-field ball for Norde on the wide side. The Haitian winger kept a measured cross for Jeje Lapheklhua, who failed to connect it but Katsumi charged in to find the back ..

Katsumi strike keeps Bagan 3 points clear at top

Senior BCCI vice-president and top DDCA official CK Khanna has been kept out of the two primary committees that will look into the organisation of the ICC World T20 matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.
     It has been learnt that 12-member core committee of the DDCA (Delhi and District Cricket Association) has been approved by the BCCI in consultation with Justice (Retd) Mukul Mudgal with Khanna's ouster being a unanimous decision.
     This 12-member committee comprising DDCA officials will be monitored by a five-man committee consisting of Justice Mudgal, Amrit Mathur (Board Representative), MV Sridhar (Tournament Director), Sunil Valson (former cricketer and GMR representative) and Suresh Chopra (veteran DDCA official).
     A long standing DDCA official and face of the controversial 'Proxy Votes' in the faction-ridden association, the current BCCI Vice-President Khanna has earned the wrath of all and sundry for various reasons with the latest being trying to justify that ...

BCCI VP Khanna kept out of all DDCA Committees for World T20

Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe yet again underscored his value in T20 cricket as he led DY Patil (B) to an impressive win over Central Railway here today in the 12th IDBI Federal Life Insurance DY Patil T20 Cup.
	In the other matches, Future Group defeated State Bank of Travancore by four wickets, while Air India registered a narrow three wicket over ONGC and Canara Bank won against Jain Irrigation by six wickets.
	There are no matches scheduled for Sunday.
	Brief Scores:
	ONGC 128 in 19.5 overs (Nitish Rana 42, Ankush Bains 23, Samarth Singh 20; Raunaq Sharma 3-24, Moondeep Mangela 3-24) lost to Air India 129-7 in 18.5 overs (Prashant Naik 31, Vaibhav Mali 28, Raunaq Sharma 23 no) by 3 wickets.
	State Bank of Travancore 182-6 in 20 overs (Vinoop Manohar 55, Raiphi Gomez 33, Jaffer Jamal 24; Shashikant Kadam 2-21, Vaibhav Singh 2-34, Krunal Nar 2-39) lost to Future Group 183-6 in 19.5 overs (Krunal Nar 50, Salman Ahmad 38, Akhtar Shaikh 28; P Prashant 2-22)- by 4 wickets.
	DY Patil (B) ...

Tambe shines in D Y Patil B's win

Naman Ojha may not be India's number one Test wicketkeeper but he has hopes of making the national team for its next assignment in the longest format.
     "You need to keep performing, you need to follow certain standards and I think last two-three years, I have achieved that..Scoring runs in Australia..Scoring runs in Duleep trpohy..Double hundreds, hundreds, so I think that is the best thing.. When you are (at) the top of your game and thats the best thing and then play for India," the Madhya Pradesh player told PTI today.
	"Play for India.. That monogram," he answered when quizzed about what keeps him going.
	Ojha has not played for India after making his Test debut against Sri Lanka last year. His only ODI appearance was way back in 2010.
	On his Test debut in Sri Lanka, he said: "Yes, of course, I think it was the best moment of my life...I think everybody dreams to play for India and I think playing a Test match you need a skill.. You need good skills, you need hard-work.. ...

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