Captain William Porterfield scored 112 for Ireland to rack 269-7 against England in a one-off one-day international in Dublin today.
     England, which won the toss and chose to field, made early inroads thanks to fast bowler Boyd Rankin's 4-46 but couldn't prise out the opener Porterfield until the 46th over. By then, he'd hit 14 of the 142 balls he faced to the boundary, and one six.
     The rest of the batting lineup failed to capitalize, with the extras tally of 32 the second-highest total on the scorecard.
     Rankin, on his ODI debut, was the pick of the England bowlers, rattling the stumps of Porterfield. Spinner James Tredwell took 2-35 on a slow pitch.

Porterfield hits ton for Ireland against England

PTI Automatic

Zimbabwe set aside its pay dispute and reduced Pakistan to 156-5 by tea on the first day of the first cricket test today.
     Fast bowler Tinashe Panyangara grabbed two wickets before lunch and offspinner Prosper Utseya claimed the key wicket of captain Misbah-ul-Haq (53) before tea to keep Pakistan in check.
     Azhar Ali was unbeaten on 63 off 151 balls with nine fours after batting for well over three hours.
     Ali resurrected Pakistan's innings with a 93-run stand with Misbah before Vusi Sibanda pulled out a brilliant catch at short midwicket off a mistimed drive. Misbah hit seven boundaries and faced 94 balls before he tried a reckless stroke to make it 120-4.
     Asad Shafiq also gifted his wicket after lunch when he charged down the track off Utseya's tossed up delivery and gave a simple catch to Tino Mawoyo at backward short leg as the ball brushed off the batsman's pads off an inside edge.
     Earlier, stand-in Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza won the toss and ...

Zimbabwe keeps Pakistan in check at 156-5 at tea

Top order batsman Hiken Shah would lead Mumbai in the Bapuna cricket tournament beginning at Nagpur from September 13.
	Apart from Mumbai and the host team Vidarbha, Rajasthan and Kerala would take part in the tournament comprising four-day games, said Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Secretary Nitin Dalal.
	The Mumbai team: Hiken Shah (Captain), Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz Khan, Sagar Kerkar, Sufiyan Shaikh, Shardul Thakur, Shreyas Iyer, Akhil Herwadkar, Javed Khan, Saurabh Netrawalkar, Pratik Dabholkar, Iqbal Abdulla, Ankush Jaiswal and Vishal Dabholkar.

Hiken Shah to lead Mumbai in Nagpur tournament

Sachin Tendulkar today said that he was not thinking about reaching the 200th-Test milestone even as there was speculation that he may retire after playing that match.
     "I like to take one step at a time. I have been playing for the last 23 years and I have never thought of all this (reaching milestones). I don't like taking things for granted. When I reach there then we can talk about it," Tendulkar told a TV channel.
     Tendulkar was expected to play his 200th Test match in South Africa but BCCI has proposed to host a two-match series against West Indies so that he could play the milestone match before the home fans in India.
     It has also been speculated that Tendulkar, who has already quit ODI and T20 formats in international cricket, will bid adieu to the game with that match, which may be arranged at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium, his home ground.
     At its recent Working Committee meeting, BCCI revealed that it was planning to host West Indies before the South Africa ...

Not thinking about 200th Test: Tendulkar

The three Indian boxers, who alleged manipulation in the trials for the World Championship, were today given time until September 15 to respond to showcause notices issued to them by the Indian Boxing Federation's disciplinary committee.
     The disciplinary panel, comprising of IBF vice-Presidents I D Nanavati and Mukharjee Nirwan and chairman of the Ring Officials Commission Narottam Singh Rawat, met for the first time here today.
     "The allegations they have made are extremely serious and to go to the media when the team list was not even officially out is actually a crime in our opinion. They have been issued showcause notices which will be delivered to them either by the national coach (G S Sandhu) or their concerned departments. They have to prove their charges by September 15 or face very strict action," IBF president Abhishek Matoria told PTI.
     The trio of Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar (91kg), national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) and Praveen Kumar (+91kg) are the three .

Disgruntled boxers showcaused, IBF sets Sep 15 deadline

Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri today said that it would have been "a disaster" had his side lost to Bangladesh in their second group match in the SAFF Football Championships here.
     Chhetri saved India from embarrassment as he scored the equaliser at the fag end of the injury time to play all a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh.
     "We dominated the match but missed many chances. It was our mistake and we feel guilty about it," Chhetri said after the match.
     The goal took Chhetri past IM Viajayan and he presently has 41 international goals to his credit, one less than Bhaichung Bhutia.
     "We had eight to 10 chances and we need to convert them in our next match," he said.
     India play hosts Nepal in their last group league match on September 5.
     National coach Wim Koevermans said he was happy that Chhetri scored today.
     "Chhetri showed his value, what he is capable of. We created a lot of chances - around 10 but could not convert. On the other hand, the rival ...

We need to convert chances: Chhetri

Saurav Kothari, Kamal Chawla and two others today made the cut for the final qualifying leg of the Indian Open 2013 World Professional Ranking Snooker tournament with clinical victories over their respective rivals in the Qualifiers Leg 2, which concluded here.
     Varun Kumar and Pushpendra Singh also qualified from the Bangalore Leg which saw the participation of 116 cueists from almost every part of the country for the knock-out best-of-seven-frames qualifiers.
     These four cueists will be joined by the quartet of Lucky Vatnani, Sundeep Gulati, Manish Jain and Faisal Khan who had qualified from the first qualifiers held in Delhi last month.
     These cueists will take on the top-eight national ranked players in the final qualifier for the six wild card spots available to India as a host nation.
     Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta, two of the finest Indian cueists, have already qualified for the 3,00,000 pound Indian Open to be played in the capital from October 14 to 18, ...

Chawla, Kothari make final qualifying round of Indian Open

Cricket South Africa (CSA) could lose up to 2.5 million rand a day in revenue if the Indian tour later this year is shortened, according to a media report.
      The Afrikaans daily Beeld quoted sources as saying that CSA stands to lose about R300 million in total if the India tour is shortened, particularly from TV broadcast rights.
     Sources also said that CSA is not in a position to take the matter to court, as India is yet to sign the ICC Future Tours Programme and would therefore not have to account if it shortened proposed tours and arranged others.
     CSA had announced earlier this year that India would tour the country for three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20 matches between November 18 and January 25.
     Although there had not been any denial or confirmation of this from the BCCI since then, the Indian board officials announced yesterday that the West Indies would tour India in early November and India would go to New Zealand for two Tests and three ODIs in January.
    

CSA could lose R2.5 million a day from shortened India tour

Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was today impressed by the passion and talent of local cricketers here and expressed his interest in opening up cricketing facility at various locations of the state.
     "I am very excited to see the kind of interest the kids in the state have for the sport. The enormous talent and passion among the kids has struck a thought in my mind to provide a platform to them to enhance their skills," he said.
     "It is a pleasure to see this outstanding infrastructure that HPCA has developed for the cricket enthusiasts in the state. I have played so much at these facilities and now I feel it would be a dream come true to see a Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence run in the state."
     The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association has grown from strength to strength over the past 12 years and HPCA president Anurag Thakur said they are very happy to see the interest shown by Yuvraj.
     "We are happy to learn that a world class cricketer like Yuvraj Singh has shown .

Yuvraj Singh keen to open cricketing facility at Himachal

Twelve players including top seed Ram Aravind of Tamilnadu are leading with perfect score after third round matches of the National Under-11 Open Chess Championship, here today.
     Playing with black pieces Ram made short work of team mate Dileep Kumar while second seed Saurabh Anand from Bihar got better off Anshuman Singh of Madhya Pradesh.
     In surprising results in the open section, Akshit Kumar of Andhra Pradesh stunned seventh seed Rudraksh Parida of Orissa while third seed Iniyan P of Tamilnadu and fourth seed Samal Ansuman of Orissa satisfied with half point against lower rated Dipanjan Chowdhury of West Bengal and Aditya B Kalyani of Karnataka respectively in the third round.
     Meanwhile in the girls' category, nine players were giving company to top seed and World Under-10 girls champion Priyanka Nutakki of Andhra Pradesh at pole position with three points after as many matches.
     Priyanka defeated Adyasa Mahapatra of Orissa without much struggle while second seed 

Twelve players share lead in national U-11 chess tourney

The three Indian boxers, who alleged manipulation in the trials for the World Championship, will be called to present their case before the Indian Boxing Federation's disciplinary committee which sat for its first meeting here today.
     The disciplinary panel, comprising IBF vice-Presidents I D Nanavati and Mukharjee Nirwan and chairman of the Ring Officials Commission Narottam Singh Rawat, met for the first time here.
     The trio of Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar (91kg), national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) and Praveen Kumar (+91kg) are the three boxers who have alleged bias and manipulation in the trials for the October 11 to 27 event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
     "It was an informal meeting today in which it was decided that they would be allowed to present their case and accordingly the showcause notices would be issued to them," a committee member told PTI.
     "But they have to explain why they went to the media without asking the IBF," he added.
     The boxers, who have ...

IBF disciplinary committee meets, to call boxers next

An injury-time goal by captain Sunil Chhetri saved India from embarrassment as they played out a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their second group match of the SAFF Football Championships here today.
     Defending champions India, who had scraped past Pakistan 1-0 in their campaign opener thanks to an own goal by their rival skipper, dished out another disappointing show at the Halchowk Stadium today.
     Wim Koevermans' men were on the verge of an embarrassing defeat after Atiqur Rahman Meshu had put Bangladesh ahead in the 82nd minute before Chhetri equalised in the 94th minute with the last kick of the match.
     Chhetri, who was off colour all through the match, scored from a free-kick to give India one point and four from two outings. They play hosts Nepal on Thursday.
     Kovermans tried all his tricks but without success. He made three changes in the second half, bringing in Dawson Fernandes, Arata Izumi and Robin Singh in place of Jeje Lalpekhlua, Lenny Rodrigues and ...

Chhetri injury-time goal gives India 1-1 draw against Bangla

Olympian athlete late Subedar Makhan Singh's son Bhupinder Singh was today appointed as a helper in the office of District Welfare Officer Hoshiarpur with immediate effect by the Punjab government.
     In recognition of the performance of Makhan Singh, who had the honour of beating legendary athlete Milkha Singh twice in the National Games at Kolkata in 1962, the Punjab government took this decision.
     Makhan Singh's family has been living in a state of penury and the Punjab government decision to offer a job to Bhupinder was aimed at rehabilitating the family of former althlete of national repute, who belonged to Chhabewal, Hoshiarpur here.
     Punjab's Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Defense Welfare) Virsa Singh Valtoha expressed his deep anguish at the present state of Makhan Singh's family, including his wife Salinder Kaur.
     Valtoha appreciated the efforts of Manjit Singh, Director Defense Services Welfare, Punjab, who took keen initiative to ensure respectable ...

Punjab govt offers job to Olympian athlete Makhan Singh's son

The Sports Ministry is expected to take a decision tomorrow on the issue of whether triple jumper Renjith Maheswary would get the coveted Arjuna Award after the Athletics Federation of India had told the government that he was never punished for a dope offence.
     Sports Minister Jitendra Singh today had a meeting with his officials after the AFI submitted a report last night on the controversy surrounding Maheswary's Arjuna Award issue.
     "We did not take any decision on the issue today. A decision may come tomorrow," Sports Secretary P K Deb told PTI.
     Hours before he was to be presented the prestigious Arjuna Award on August 31, Maheswary was told under dramatic circumstances that he will have to wait for the coveted honour till the completion of an inquiry on whether he had failed a dope test in 2008.
     He was, however, assured that he would get the Award if he comes clean after an inquiry by Deb. National record holder Maheswary has all along maintained that he has ...

Ministry to decide on Maheswary Arjuna issue tomorrow

Senior India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will be feted by the Sports Journalists' Association of Mumbai on Sunday for his remarkable feat of notching up 100 international centuries at the association's annual awards function at the Cricket Club of India.
     Tendulkar, who became the first player to score 100 tons in international cricket after notching up a ton, his 49th in One-day Internationals, against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in March, 2012, would be given a special award to salute the feat, said a press release from SJAM.
     The 40-year-old's Ranji team-mate Abhishek Nayar will receive the cricketer of the season award for his brilliant all round performance that made him the second highest run scorer aggregating 966 runs in the championship and also paved the way for Mumbai's 40th title triumph.
     The Ranji Trophy winning squad would also be honoured on the occasion.
     Arman Jaffer, who cracked 473 in the Harris Shield inter-schools finals, has been named the junior ..

Tendulkar to receive SJAM's special award

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar will mark his return to the Omega European Masters with all the hallmarks of a champion when the 2.1 million euro showpiece event gets underway here on Thursday.
     The four-time Asian Tour winner received a timely confidence boost ahead of his Swiss campaign when he was conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting honour only last week.
     The 25-year-old is now determined to repay the faith bestowed on him by putting up a worthy performance befitting of his status as one of India's finest golfers.
     "I've been feeling good as I played well at the Avantha Masters and I just got felicitated with the Arjuna award by the President of India which is a big achievement for me. It was like a dream come true as it's the second highest award for an Indian sportsperson," said Bhullar.
     "It has been a year since I last played here and the past year has definitely changed my career. I won two big tournaments on the Asian Tour last ..

Bhullar ready for success at Omega European Masters

Vasudevan Jagadeesh (40) and Manprit Juneja (43) stitched an unbeaten 78-run stand to help India A reach 94 for two at stumps on the day two of the second and final unofficial 'Test' against New Zealand A at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium here today.
     India A still have an uphill task at hands as the hosts are trailing by 343 runs with eight wickets remaining in their first innings.
     Earlier today, New Zealand after resuming their first innings at 300 for eight, added another 137 runs before getting dismissed for 437 in 121.1 overs.
     Overnight batsmen Doug Bracewell (96) and Ish Sodhi (57) put on 162 runs for the eight wicket to take New Zealand A to a commanding position in the final four-day match.
     The Indian bowlers failed to make inroads even as Bracewell and Sodhi went about their business with ease.
     After 31.3 overs, Abhishek Nayar finally brought the breakthrough when he cleaned up Bracewell with the batsmen just four runs short of a century. Bracewell ...

India A reach 94-2 in reply to NZ A's 437

Young golfer Trishul Chinnappa carded a three-under 69 to take a one-shot lead on the opening day of the Tata Steel Southern Indian Amateur, here today.
     The Bangalorean, who turns 20 next month, made full use fo his local knowledge even as he was closely followed by Vashista Pawar (70) at the Karnataka Golf Association course.
     Another local lad Udayan Mane shot a one-under 71 to be tied for the third place along with Nikhil Sekhawat and Aman Raj.
     As many as six players - Ainesh Ahluwalia, Arjun Singh, Vikram Rana, Advait Luthra, Samarth Dwivedi and Ankur Chadha shared the sixth place at 72.
     Trishul who regularly plays at KGA began in the right earnest making a birdie on the opening hole. With consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth, he was on a roll.
     However, a double on the tough par-4 seventh, owing to a mistimed shot from the greenside bunker, pulled him back a bit. However, he regained two shots, making back to back birdies on the eighth and the ninth .

Local lad Trishul grabs 1st round lead

Former India coach Gary Kirsten always had the belief that the immensely talented Virat Kohli will grow into a "great cricketer" and the South African considers himself fortunate to have been a part of that process.
     "I always had a different kind of feeling when I started working with Virat Kohli. From the beginning, I was very sure that he was a rare talent and would become a great player. He grew massively in these past few years and has matured a lot. I was fortunate to be part of that process of seeing him grow and that give me immense pleasure," Kirsten told PTI in an interview.
     Kirsten was today appointed chief coach of the Delhi Daredevils for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League.
     Asked whether Kohli be able to step into Sachin Tendulkar's shoes once the legend calls time on his illustrious career spanning close to two and a half decades, Kirsten was very cautious about his choice of words.
     "I have always been very careful about appointing someone 

I always knew Virat will turn into a great player: Kirsten

The I-League this season will have 13 teams instead of 14 after Mumbai Tigers today pulled out of the country's premier football tournament in a surprise move.
     Mumbai Tigers, owned by Dubai-based Dodsal Group, was roped in by the All India Football Federation with much fanfare as one of the two new teams in the league.
     The sudden move came less then 20 days before the start of the league.
     "Citing unavoidable circumstances, Mumbai Tigers have decided not to take part in the 2013-14 Season of I-League, requesting further for their involvement in the 2nd Division League for this season," the AIFF said in a statement.
     "The Mumbai based Club informed the AIFF that they are not ready at the moment to participate in the First Division and need more time to prepare for participation in the I-League," it said.
     I-League Chief Executive told PTI that the league will now have just 13 teams.
     "We did not have any idea that this could be coming. Suddenly they (Mumbai ...

Mumbai Tigers pull out of I-League

Divij Sharan is content that he could make an impression at the US Open by making the pre-quarterfinals with new partner Yen-Hsun Lu and says that the "great" experience of competing in a Grand Slam has boosted his confidence.
     The left-handed Delhi boy and Taipei's Lu joined hands at the last moment and tasted success against some good combinations.
     They beat experienced Israeli pair of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich before going down to fifth seeds Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer following a tremendous fight in the third round, last night.
     "Lu was pretty solid from the baseline and returned well. I took charge at the net. So we complemented each other well," Divij told PTI from New York.
     "It's been a great experience. Till a few days before the entry deadline I wasn't sure I was going to make the cut. Lu wasn't making the cut with the guy he was signing with so both of us decided to sign together," he said.
     Divij, who made his Slam debut with ...

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