With a fortnight to go for the BCCI's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Chennai on September 29, under pressure BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan has already started working on his bid to retain the hotseat for one more season.
     According to reliable sources in the BCCI, Srinivasan had called all the BCCI affiliated units from southern part to assemble in Chennai to pledge their support for the Tamil Nadu strongman ahead of the AGM, but the absence of Goa Cricket Association (GCA) and Andhra CA from the meeting has led to speculations about an election being on the cards.
     "Yes, the BCCI president (Srinivasan) did call the southern units for a meeting in Chennai. But I had some work over here and couldn't attend the Chennai meeting," Goa Cricket Association president Vinod Phadke told PTI over phone today when questioned about his absence from the meeting.
     Asked whether it was about Srinivasan wanting the southern units to pledge their support for him, Phadke said, "It ..

Srini calls BCCI's southern units' meet in Chennai, Goa absent

PTI Automatic

Yuvraj Singh staked his claim for national team selection as he struck a brutal 89-ball 123 to lead India 'A' to a thumping 77-run victory over West Indies 'A' in the first of the three-match One-day series, here today.
     Handed a lifeline to return to the ODI team by being named captain of India 'A', Yuvraj produced a sensational exhibition of strokeplay by hitting eight fours and seven sixes in his scintillating innings to help India raise 312 for four after being put to bat at the Chinnaswany Stadium.
     The match was reduced to 42-over-a-side affair due to two-hour delayed start on account of wet outfield.
     India 'A' then bowled out the visitors for 235 in 39.1 overs, giving the home side 1-0 lead in the series with the remaining two matches to be played at the same venue on September 17 and 19.
     Chasing the formidable target, the visiting side lost the plot early on as they were reduced to 58 for three in the 11th over and after a brief recovery with a 54-run stand ..

Yuvi's brutal 123-run knock helps India A thrash Windies A

Sanam Singh will have to wait for his second title of the season as he suffered a tame defeat against Peter Polansky in the summit clash of the ITF men's Futures tournament in Toronto, Canada.
     Second seeded Sanam lost 2-6 2-6 to his top seeded rival, a local favourite, in the final match of the USD 15,000 hard court tournament.
     The diminutive Indian had won his first title in America in March.
     Meanwhile, N Sriram Balaji and former national champion Ranjeet Virali Murugesan won the doubles title in Sharam-Al-Sheikh.
     The top seeded Indian pair defeated Egyptian fourth seeds Karim Hossam and Karim-Mohammed Maamoun 6-4 7-6 (10).
     Balaji had lost in the singles semifinals after a tough fight against Egyptian qualifier Mazen Osama.
     The second seeded Indian lost 6-7 (3) 4-6.

Sanam ends runner-up in Toronto, Balaji-Ranjeet win in Egypt

ONGC successfully defended their snooker team title and emerged overall winners of the PSPB Billiards and Snooker Championships which concluded here today.
     Top players from around the country converged to represent their employers who meet annually to earn points in their respective sports for the PSPB events.
     The cueists of ONGC did not disappoint.
     Led by the reigning world billiards champion Pankaj Advani, ONGC defeated IOC in the final 4-2 to defend their team title at the Gujarat Sports Club.
     In the billiards event, ONGC again got the better of IOC, winning the finals 2-1.
     Advani was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for snooker while veteran Devendra Joshi received the coveted honour for billiards.

Pankaj Advani helps ONGC win snooker team title

With Champions League T20 2013 Qualifiers set to begin, New Zealand's Otago Volts skipper Brendon McCullum today said it is not going to be an easy run for his side in the tournament as there are three more teams from the sub-continent who would pose a tough challenge.
     "This is a tough Qualifiers round. Look at all the teams, they are all good on the paper. We know it is going to be tough for us to get past the Qualifiers, but we also know that if we do make it to the main tournament, we will go with a good head start," McCullum told reporters here.
     The Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman said that beating tough opponents will surely give them the confidence as they go ahead in the tournament.
     The Sunrisers Hyderabad, which put up an impressive performance in IPL this season, will take on teams from New Zealand (Otago Volts), Pakistan (Faisalabad Wolves) and Sri Lanka (Kandurata Maroons) in the qualifiers starting at PCA stadium, Mohali, Tuesday.
     On the Mohali track, ...

Qualifiers won't be an easy run, admits Brendon McCullum

Their historic Test win over Pakistan has propelled Zimbabwe's cricketers to best-ever ICC rankings with skipper Brendan Taylor zooming up 15 rungs to be at a career-best 25th in the latest list issued today.
     Taylor's rise came following knocks of 51 and 27 in the Harare Test, which Zimbabwe won by 24 runs yesterday.
     Also moving up on the batting list was Hamilton Masakadza, who is now at 66th (up by 40 places) after his knocks of 75 and 44.
     Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq's contribution of 33 and 79 not out may have gone in vain, but he has moved up three places to 12th on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, the ICC said in a statement.
     Player of the series Younus Khan remained his country's highest-ranked batsman in sixth position. The ICC Player Rankings for Batsmen is still headed by Hashim Amla, followed by West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul and South Africa's AB de Villiers.
     For Zimbabwe, player of the match Tendai Chatara is ...

Zimbabwe players achieve career-best rankings

Indian Grandmasters Vidit Gujarathi and Sahaj Grover maintained a clean slate, defeating Tomas Laurusas of Lithuania and Vyacheslav Lozhnikov of Kazakhstan respectively in the second round of the World Junior Chess Championship here.
     Gujarathi overpowered Laurusas with the black pieces after a positional exchange sacrifice that netted him a handful of pawns in the endgame.
     The Nasik-boy made no mistakes in the endgame that turned out to be a one-sided affair.
     Grover, on the other hand, demolished Lozhnikov in a miniature game out of a closed Sicilian. The Kazakh youngster fell prey to some deft manoeuvres by the former under-10 world champion and his position collapsed with the king stuck in the center.
     Grover won in just 20 moves in under two hours to be in joint lead with 15 others.
     At the top of the tables, Yu Yangyi of China outplayed Indian S L Narayanan out of a Scotch opening, while another Indian GM S P Sethuraman was held to a draw by Simone De ...

Gujarathi, Grover win in World Junior Chess

Yuvraj Singh today staked claim for national team selection as he struck a brutal 89-ball 123 to lead India 'A' to a formidable 312 for four from 42 overs in the first of the three-match unofficial ODI series against West Indies 'A' here.
     Yuvraj, who played his last international match in January, produced a sensational exhibition of strokeplay to tear apart the West Indies 'A' bowlers as he struck eight fours and seven sixes in his scintillating innings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
     Mandeep Singh and Yusuf Pathan played perfect second fiddle to help themselves to 67 (78 balls; 7x4, 1x6) and 70 not out (32 balls; 4x4, 6x6) after West Indies 'A' chose to field as the match was reduced to a 42-over-a-side affair after wet outfields forced its start to be delayed by one hour and 45 minutes.
     Yuvarj, who had no match practice until now, was simply superb with his drives on the up and the pull shots which all came with impeccable placement and timing. He treated the visiting .

Yuvraj's brutal 123 helps India A to 312/4 vs Windies A

They have got the green signal to compete in the Champions League Twenty20, but Faisalabad Wolves players were today forced to shift out of the city after it emerged that their visas were only valid for Mohali.
     The team, captained by Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, arrived yesterday after finally getting the visa to travel to India to play in the event starting on Tuesday.
     But they were forced to shift out of their hotels here to the clubhouse of Punjab Cricket Association stadium at Mohali due to visa issues.
     "The PCA will accommodate them in the clubhouse for today and the BCCI is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry to see that they get visa for Chandigarh also. We are hopeful that it will be done by tomorrow and they will be shifted back to the Chandigarh hotel," PCA Joint Secretary G S Walia told reporters here.
     "There are some issues and they are being sorted out," added Faisalabad coach Naveed Anjum.
     Kandurata ...

Faisalabad Wolves shifted to Mohali due to visa issues

Buoyed by wrestling's re-inclusion in the Olympic Games, a 22-strong Indian team of grapplers will fight out it against a strong international field in the World Championships starting here tomorrow.
     After bagging two medals at the London Olympics, Indian wrestlers would be hoping to script another success story at the week-long championships.
     The sport received a massive boost after it was endorsed by the International Olympic Committee to rejoin the Olympic movement as an additional sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games.
     Being held after an Olympic year, the championships will begin with men's freestyle competition (September 16-18) followed by women's freestyle (18-20) and Greco-Roman (20-22) at the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena.
     India's only gold in the World Championships has come through two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar who won in the 66kg freestyle category in 2010. India failed to bag a medal in the 2011 event.
     Sushil last played a competitive bout at ...

Wrestlers set for World Championships starting tomorrow

Pakistan Cricket Board's caretaker Chairman Najam Sethi feels a part of the blame for the country's cricket problems and the recent poor results lies with the courts, which have come in the way of cleaning the system here.
     His comments came after Pakistan were beaten by lowly ranked Zimbabwe in the second Test in Harare leading to calls for changes in the team and set-up.
     The Islamabad High Court in its judgement in July restrained Sethi from exercising full authorities of the PCB Chairman and directed him to hold fresh elections in 90-days time.
     "Why only blame the board or team. Aren't the courts also responsible for this defeat. Ask them also. I want to do things but I can't. I can't appoint a chief selector, I can't take major decisions. So what am I supposed to do. But if I get a chance I aim to set things right," he said.
     Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan cricket had hit rock bottom while former captain Rameez Raja said the defeat was ...

Aren't Pak courts also responsible for defeats: Sethi

Former Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Khalid Mehmood has advised the present PCB set-up against accepting any BCCI invitation to play a proposed tri-series with Sri Lanka in India later this year.
     "I would advise the PCB officials to not run after the Indians and not try to reschedule the coming "home" series against Sri Lanka for the sake of this tri-series which is apparently the brainchild of the BCCI," Mehmood said.
     The top officials of Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka Boards reportedly discussed the possibility of such a tri-series sometime in December in India on the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council meeting in Chennai yesterday.
     Media reports said a final decision had been deferred until the BCCI officials meet their South African counterparts next week to iron out a dispute over the itinerary of India's tour to South Africa this season.
     Mehmood said PCB should not make compromises on its home series for the sake of accommodating the Indian board.
     ...

PCB shouldn't agree to India request for tri-series: Mehmood

Eoin Morgan believes the momentum and belief is now firmly with his England team as they prepare for their winner-takes-all clash with Australia at Southampton tomorrow.
    The stand-in skipper is confident the dramatic three-wicket victory over Michael Clarke's men at Cardiff on Saturday can be the turning point for even greater achievements.
    England squared the series thanks to a dramatic and explosive 65 not out by wicket-keeper Jos Buttler to ensure the series goes down to the wire.
    "We can go into that match with real confidence and the feeling that we have a chance to win the series, and we must grab it with both hands," said Morgan.
    "If we win the fifth game then it will have been a very successful summer not just for the Ashes team but also the limited overs side. So it is a big match for us.
    "We have so much potential and ability in this ODI squad. It's a very young squad which just needs time to develop and really show its skills.
    "Winning a game like we 

England have winning momentum, says captain Morgan

England today levelled the one-day series with Australia thanks to a stunning late show from big hitters Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the fourth match in Cardiff.
	The dynamic young pair came together with their side appearing to be heading for another defeat and losing the series as well.
	England needed 84 runs from just over 11 overs when Ravi Bopara was out.
	But Buttler (65 not out) and Stokes (25) managed to turn the game on its head.
	Durham all-rounder Stokes was out near the end but Buttler remained and hit the winning runs with a boundary off Mitchell Johnson with three balls remaining for a three wicket win.
	It sets up a thrilling end to the series at Southampton on Monday.
	Chasing 228 to win, fast bowler Clint McKay's stunning hat-trick at the start of the England innings had put Australia well on top.
	The big Aussie fast bowler was called into their side as a late replacement -- and then left Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Joe Root embarrassed as they limped ...

England level series after big-hitting late show

Not new to blackouts during floodlit matches, football fans today got a taste of it again when a local premier division league match between Mohun Bagan and George Telegraph was halted due to an outage for about 16 minutes.
	Trailing 0-1 from a Taurus Mane first-half goal, the frenzied Mohun Bagan camp was lit up after Katsumi Yusa brought on the equaliser in the 72nd minute at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat.
	However, the celebrations were cut short after two of the four floodlights went off at the stadium, plunging it into near darkness.
	Stadium officials blamed it on a "line fault" as there was no disruption of electricity. It took about 16 minutes to restore power to the two floodlights.
	"It's not at all good advertisement for Kolkata football," Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa said after the team failed to earn full points following the 1-1 draw.
	Power outages are not new, especially to the crowd at Yuba Bharati Krirangan at Salt Lake, where a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal I-League 

Blackout halts Bagan-George Telegraph tie

BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya today said the Board would discuss Warren Brennan's observation on HotSpot technology at the ICC's chief executive's meeting on September 16 and 17.
	"(Board secretary) Sanjay Patel would discuss Brennan's observation that protecting coatings on bats prevent edges being detected. The Board will discuss whether the observation is right or not," Dalmiya said.
	Inventor of HotSpot, Bernan had raised concerns about the batsmen's using of silicone tape to prevent edges and fool the technology during the Ashes series.
	The Board is learnt to have no problem with the HotSpot technology but have maintained that the decision review system is not fool proof especially the ball tracking technology with regard to trajectory, bounce of the wicket and the point of impact.
	The ICC meeting assumes more significance as the Board secretary will meet CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat on the sidelines to sort out the South Africa tour tangle.

BCCI to discuss HotSpot at ICC meet in Dubai

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly today felt "sorry" for pace bowler S Sreesanth, who was handed a life ban on charges of spot-fixing in IPL.
	"If he has done it, I feel it's the right decision. I feel sorry for him, it's a sheer waste of talent," Ganguly said on the sidelines Bengal's cricket coaching committee meeting.
	Ganguly, who is the chairman of the committee, further expressed concern about Bengal's inept batting ahead of the upcoming 2013-14 domestic season.
	"Batting is a massive concern for Bengal," Ganguly said as the state would not get the services of regular skipper Manoj Tiwary, who is recovering from a knee surgery.
	"I've spoken to the coach (Ashok Malhotra) regarding this. Players have to understand the situation and take up responsibility. It's no rocket science," Ganguly said.
	Bengal coaches in the senior and age-group levels will meet on September 18 and Ganguly will submit a report at the CAB.
	This was the first meeting of the five-member committee formed ..

Feel sorry for Sree, sheer waste of talent: Ganguly

A new-look Mohammedan Sporting have begun their season in style as they beat another Kolkata outfit Kalighat Milaan Sangha 3-1 to reach the semi-final of the 126th Durand Cup Football tournament here today.
     Mohammedan Sporting will meet Mumbai Tigers in the semi-final. Tigers thrashed Bhaichung Bhutia-owned Sikkim United 6-2 in another match.
     Having won their first group league by 4-2 margin against the Army Green, the black-and-white brigade overcame a spirited challenge from a 10-man Kalighat MS with striker Ajay Singh (16th, 62nd minute) scoring twice and Penn Orji rounding off the tally with a 77th minute strike in a group III encounter.
     For Kalighat MS, Nigerian Charles had pulled one back in the 30th minute.
     Sporting opened the account in the 16th minute when left wing back Colin Abranches overlapped down wide left and sent a cross which was tapped home beating an onrushing Kalighat goalie Suvam Sen.
     Within 14 minutes, Kalighat MS levelled the ...

Md Sporting beat Kalighat MS 3-1 to reach Durand Cup semis

Reigning I-League champions Churchill Brothers today lashed out at the All India Football Federation for failing to pay them the full winners' prize money besides clearing other dues, a day after the AIFF directed the club to pay salaries to two of its players.
     "The failure of the AIFF to govern Indian football comes to the fore when Churchill Brothers have not been paid the full complement of the 2012-13 Winners Prize Money of Rs 70 lakhs, with only 30 lakhs been delivered to the club till date even after at least 60 reminders to the CEO of the I League," club CEO, Valanka Alemao, said in a statement.
     The AIFF's Players' Status Committee yesterday asked Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers to clear the dues of all the players whose salaries the two clubs are yet to pay by December 31.
     Valanka further stated: "The AIFF also owe us Rs 20 lakh as promised for fielding an Under-20 side from the 2008-09 season and also another 10 lakhs from the 2010-11 season subsidies. The ..

Churchill Brothers lashes out at AIFF over payment issue

Batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year's Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament to begin on Tuesday.
     The left-handed opener has been entrusted with the responsibility after Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara decided to play for his home side Kandurata Maroons in upcoming tournament.
     "Meet the new #SRH Captain for #CLT20! Utho, Chalo, Let's #RiseUp!" read a post on Sunrisers Hyderabad team's Twitter handle today with Dhawan's picture below it.
     Dhawan will lead the Hyderabad outfit which boasts of players like former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, J P Duminy, Dale Steyn, Cameron White etc.
     Dhawan has been in phenomenal form ever since scoring a blistering 187 on his Test debut against Australia in Mohali.
     Dhawan, who missed the first seven matches of th is year's Indian Premier League due to a hand injury sustained in the Mohali Test, was the leading run-getter for Sunrisers, scoring 311 runs in 10 matches at ...

Dhawan to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in CLT20

Uttar Pradesh all-rounder Piyush Chawla continued his decent showing in the upper division of English County Championship as his side Somerset beat Surrey by seven wickets to log home five points.
     Chawla's performance in the match is four wickets (two in each innings) and a useful knock of 32 coming in at No 10 which helped Somerset take an invaluable  first innings lead of 65 runs which turned out to be important in the context of the match.
     Having joined the county side late, Chawla has played four first-class matches so far scoring 231 runs in six innings at an average of 38.5 which includes a century against Middlesex at the Lord's. The leggie has also taken 17 wickets including a match-haul of 10-for against Derbyshire.
     Even though Somerset have won the match, they haven't been able to get out of the relegation zone as they are second from the bottom of the nine-team table with 120 points from 15 games with only Surrey on 103 points in last position.

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