Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli today said he was unhappy to miss the services of Anil Kumble as the 'Mentor' but the players guided by the former India captain would turn the heat on Mumbai Indian tomorrow.
     "We miss the services of Kumble, but luckily we have bunch of players he had mentored who are pretty confident, and we are ready to cash on them," he told reporters here on the eve of the match against Mumbai Indians.
     Kohli further said Kumble's attitude of giving hundred percent on the field and giving confidence to players a little low in confidence strick him the most.
     "He kept pushing players to perform. When the players were down, he would pull them up all by himself. That was something very striking about his captaincy. I surely like to implement the same as he did on the field," he elaborated.
     Kohli said Zaheer is suffering from a bit of side strain and is almost 70-80 per cent fit and rearing to go in next couple of games.
     The ...

Players guided by Kumble will help us win against MI: Kohli

PTI Automatic

At least three senior players of the Karachi team, that performed badly in the national super eights T20 championship, have been issued show cause notices for misconduct during the tournament in Lahore last week.
     The secretary of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) Professor Ejaz Farooqi said notices were given to Fawad Alam, Khalid Latif and Sohail Khan who have represented Pakistan.
     "The three were given show cause notices on the report of the manager, Visal Ansri and coach, Tauseef Ahmed," Farooqi said.
     The three players have been asked to submit their replies within three days after which the KCCA will form a disciplinary committee to look into their cases.
     "Opening batsman Shahzaib Hasan and off-spinner Atif Maqbool were also reprimanded for their non cooperative attitude and let off with a warning," he said.
     "As far as these three are concerned their issues are more serious. Fawad took off his pads and stormed out of the dug out and went into the 

Notices for Karachi players for misconduct

Mumbai Indians are yet to decide on Sachin Tendulkar's opening partner for tomorrow's IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore with skipper Ricky Ponting saying that the decision would depend on conditions.
     "Anybody can open with Sachin depending upon the weather and pitch conditions. We could end up playing a shorter game as it has been raining here for the past two days, but not today, Keeping this in mind we will decide on the opening combination before the toss," he told reporters here at the pre-match press conference here.
     Ponting said in the last couple of seasons MI have tried a lot of opening combinations and they are hoping that the choice this season would bring in good results.
     Ponting said the team will surely miss Lasith Malinga tomorrow.
     "It is disappointing to miss him in the first game. Hope he will be okay after a couple of days. Malinga will join the team on April five in Mumbai," he said.
     On Malinga's replacement, Ponting said the team 

Conditions would decide who will open with Tendulkar: Ponting

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders rode on Sunil Narine's 4/13 to bundle out a depleted Delhi Daredevils for 128 in the opening match of the sixth edition of Indian Premier League, here today.
     Without any star players, skipper Mahela Jayawardene came to the Daredevils' rescue as his sensible knock of 66 off 52 balls helped Daredevils reach a total of 125 plus. Jayawardene hit eight fours and a six.
     Everything went as per plan KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir's plan after he won the toss and put Daredevils up front in front of a jam-packed Eden Gardens.
     Brett Lee gave KKR the ideal start cleaning up Unmukt Chand (0) with the very first ball of the championship while Narine and Rajat Bhatia, with his military medium knocked the stuffing out of the opponents sharing six wickets between them.
     The absence of big guns like Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen really hurt the Daredevils cause as none other than Jayawardene and David Warner (21) could post a double-digit ..

Narine restricts Daredevils to 128 in IPL opener

Younis Khan's ODI career is more or less over and the senior batsman is likely to get coaching assignment with the national team in near future, sources have claimed.
     The veteran batsman was dropped from the 30-man probables list for the Champions Trophy but the team management is in favour of him continuing in the Test format.
     "Interestingly there has been talk about appointing Younis as the assistant coach or batting coach of the team," one source disclosed.
     "The Board and selectors have no doubt that Younis has a big role to play in Test matches for a few more years but they are also thinking about making use of his expertise by giving him another role in the team that of assistant coach or batting coach," the source added.
     The source said that Intikhab Alam who is a senior person in the Board had spoken to Younis on the day the selectors finalized the probables.
     "Alam had informed Younis about the selector's decision but he wasn't upset and said he ...

'Younis may get coaching role with ODI team'

Somdev Devvarman today said he may have difference of opinion with Leander Paes but there is no animosity between them.
     Somdev had led a players revolt against AITA, demanding better playing conditions, forcing Paes to lead a depleted Indian side against South Korea in February.
     Somdev said all of them stand united as they face Indonesia in the relegation play-off tie, beginning Friday.
     "There is no animosity," he said. "It is great to be back in the Davis Cup team. We are having a good time and in fact, went bowling last night. There is no animosity between me and Leander. It is not that we have met here for the first time. We have been seeing each other in tours. We have differences of opinion, but does not mean we do not respect each other. We both know the reasons for what we did. We still think highly of him and his credentials speak of themselves," he said.
     About the Davis Cup tie against Indonesia, Somdev said he was happy with his form and fitness coming ...

No animosity between me and Leander: Somdev

The stupendous success of the National Super Eights T20 Cup held in Lahore has once again raised the hopes of the Pakistan cricket authorities that their ambition of launching an international Super League could become a reality this year.
     The PCB had planned to launch the five-team Pakistan Super League T20 (PSL) from March 26th, but postponed it in February due to time constraints and other issues.
     "The PSL can be launched this year. Because one thing is clear there is a big market for T20 cricket in our country," PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf told PTI.
     Ashraf was the chief guest at the Super Eights final at the Gaddafi stadium on Sunday where around 35,000 people packed the stadium to watch Misbah-ul-Haq's Faisalabad Wolves side upset the Sialkot Stallions led by Pakistan's former captain Shoaib Malik.
     "We are pushing for the PSL because we know it is the best way to restore the confidence of the other cricket playing nations in us and our security," Ashraf said.
   

PCB planning to launch PSL T20 this year: Zaka Ashraf

Andrew Barisic struck twice to help East Bengal climb to the top of the table with a 4-2 win over a profligate Tampines Rovers in their group H AFC Cup match at the Jalan Besar Stadium here today.
     Having won their second match, East Bengal went atop the table with seven points from three matches and kept their pre-quarterfinal hopes alive.
     It was East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan's previous experience in Singapore that came handy after they got a surprise 1-0 lead with a 19th-minute own goal by Anaz Hadee.
     However, the Rovers were quick to respond equalising through their Serbian recruit Sead Hadzibulic in the 28th minute as both the teams were locked 1-1 at halftime.
     East Bengal's Aussie forward Barisic opened his account in the 62nd minute to give them a 2-1 lead while Edeh Chidi made it 3-1 two minutes later.
     Rovers found the target the next minute when Khairul Amri pulled one back for the home outfit.
     But the Rovers could not find another ...

East Bengal top table after win over Rovers in AFC Cup

Rajesh Boro and Rituraj Boro scored a hat-trick each as Assam raced to a 16-0 win over Tripura in their opening Pool B league game of the 3rd Hockey India Sub-Junior Men's National Championship (East Zone) at Nagaon today.
     In another Pool B game, Jharkhand registered a 7-0 victory over Manipur. Sudhir Munda scored a hat-trick while Mahendra Topno, Amit Bhengra, Soma Bhengra and Olevius Toppo scored a goal each for Jharkhand.
     Mizoram beat Bihar 2-1 in the Pool A game. Ramdintluanga scored twice for Mizoram while Raushan Kumar scored the only goal for Bihar.
     Betan DungDung scored a hat-trick for Jharkhand as they registered a 10-0 victory over Bihar in their opening Pool A game in the women's championship.
     In Pool B, Bengal beat Manipur 3-2.
     Results (Men):
     Pool A: Mizoram 2 (Ramdintluanga 30, 62) beat Bihar 1 (Raushan Kumar 49); Pool B: Jharkhand 7 (Mahendra Topno 6, Sudhir Munda 42, 55, 61, Soma Bhengra 51, Amit Bhengra 54 and Olevius Toppo 65) beat ...

Assam, Jharkhand register big wins

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to bowl against Delhi Daredevils in the opening match of the Indian Premier League at Eden Gardens, here today.
     The defending champions drafted in Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee and Sunil Narine as the four foreigners.
     For Delhi Daredevils, the four overseas players are skipper Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner, Johan Botha and Andre Russell.
     Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Manvinder Bisla, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Rajat Bhatia, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Laxmipathy Balaji, Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee and Sunil Narine.
     Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (c), David Warner, Unmukt Chand, Manpreet Juneja, Johan Botha, Naman Ojha (wk), Andre Russell, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Shahbaz Nadeem and Umesh Yadav.

KKR win toss, elect to field against DD

India's Olympic hero Vijender Singh, who finds himself at the centre of a drug scandal, today made himself available for an out-of-competition dope test by NADA officials, apparently under pressure from the Sports Ministry.
     After refusing to undergo tests ever since the scandal broke out about a month back, the boxer's urine and blood samples were taken this morning but it is learnt that the tests will not be specifically for heroin.
     The news that Vijender, who had virtually gone underground, took the dope tests today was disclosed by Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, who also advised the boxer to go for a rehabilitation if found guilty.
     "NADA has taken Vijender's samples in the morning. The blood and urine samples of Vijender and other boxers have been taken.
     "I will wait for the results before deciding on any action. I don't want to speculate. But even if Vijender has made a mistake, he should of course be punished or penalised, but after that his rehabilitation ...

Vijender gives samples for dope tests

Kolkata lad Viraj Madappa shot a brilliant five-under 66 to grab a four-shot lead at the end of the second round of the IGU Uttar Pradesh Juniors at the Noida Golf Course here today.
     Viraj's two-day total stood at 139.
     Feroz Singh Garewal returned a card of level par-71 to be placed second at 145.
     Yuvraj Sandhu and Jairaj Singh Sandhu shared the third place at 149, while Kartikey Vashist and Pukhraj Singh Gill were tied for fifth at 152.
     In the other category, it was Tanvir Kahlon who took a two-shot lead with a 36-hole total of 153 after he shot a round of three-over par 74.
     Udayjit Bhalotia was second at 155, while Karandeep Kochhar was third at 156. Hassan Rahman was fourth at 157 and Jaiveer Singh was fifth at 158.
     Viraj opened his account with a birdie on the opening hole and played some steady golf until he hit a road block where he lost a shot each on the sixth and seventh hole.
     However, he quickly made amends with back-to-back birdies on the .

Viraj shoots five-under to grab lead at IGU UP Juniors

Some of India's top archers, including Rahul Banerjee and Deepika Kumari, will vie for top honours at the two-day 2nd National Ranking Archery Tournament, beginning here from Friday.
     The top 16 men in recurve and compound and eight women each in both the sections were selected based on their performance at the National Archery Championship, held in Chennai last December, Jharkhand Archery Association sources said today.
     Eight junior archers in men and women in recurve and compound were picked based on their performance in the last Junior National championship, they said.
     Top rung archers Deepika Kumari (women's recurve) Rahul Banerjee (men's recurve), Ch. Jignas (men's compound) and Jyothi Surekha (women's compound) will take part in the meet, which will see participation from over 100 archers.
     Deepika, Tata Steel Manager (Sports) and Banerjee topped the women and men's recurve section in the 1st National Ranking Archery Tournament in Hyderabad in February.
     A .

Archers to vie for top honours

Clean Sports India, a movement for corrruption-free sports in the country, today accused Indian Olympic Association's acting president, V K Malhotra of deliberately delaying the process of getting India's ban from the Olympics lifted by the IOC for his "vested interest".
     "Malhotra is refusing to go to Lausanne to meet IOC officials and resolve the issue of India's suspension with the IOC. He wants the government to relax age and tenure guidelines. He is not interested to get the suspension revoked and let Indian sportsmen again carry the national flag in the forthcoming events," CSI national convener, B V P Rao said in a statement.
     The joint meeting between the representatives of the suspended IOA, the Sports Ministry and the IOC, to find a way to resolve the issue that led to India's ban from the Olympics, had been postponed because of the continuing standoff.
     The meeting scheduled to be held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on April 15 and 16, has now .

CSI accuses Malhotra of deliberately delaying the process

Four Indian tennis icons will be presented with Davis Cup Commitment awards instituted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as a part of the centenary celebrations at KSLTA on April 6.
     "Four Indian tennis icons -- Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Anand Amritraj and Mahesh Bhupathi -- will be honoured with the Davis Cup Commitment awards by former union minister and AITA lifetime president, Yashwant Sinha on April 6," Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association Secretary C S Sundar Raju told reporters here.
     The criteria for selection for the awards was -- a player should have competed in a minimum of 20 home or away Davis Cup ties, said Raju.
     The 76-year-old Ramanathan Krishnan had a 23-year-long career in Davis Cup from 1953, during which he competed in 44 ties for an overall win-loss record of 69-28, including 50-19 in singles.
     Ramesh was a stalwart of India's Davis Cup team from 1977 to 1993, compiling a 29-21 winning record (23-19 in singles and 6-2 in .

Davis Cup Commitment award for four tennis icons

Indonesian team is expecting a miracle to pull off a victory against a full-strength India in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I relegation tie to be played under lights from April 5 to 7 at KSLTA Stadium here.
     "The Indian team look strong, particularly after the return of their main players, but we still are confident because anything can happen in the court. We will do our best to give a fight to the Indian contingent," Indonesia's non-playing captain Hendri Susilo Pramono told reporters here.
     Pramono said the team has not yet decided on who would play singles and doubles, however would take a call an hour before the draw.
     Top Indonesian player Christopher Rungkat said he has been used to carry the pressure and responsibility of the team on his shoulders, especially being No. 1 player for the country in Davis Cup for last two years.
     "The team is expecting from me to perform. I cannot say. I will give my best," he said.
     Talking about the courts at the KSLTA, .

Indonesia expects miracle to beat India in Davis Cup

Salgaocar will look to capitalise on their goalless draw against title aspirant Churchill Brothers, when they lock horns with Prayag United FC in their 23rd I-League match at the Tilak Stadium here tomorrow.
     With the I-League matches being shifted from Duler Stadium to Tilak Stadium due to renovation work, Salgaocar will be happy to play in their home town and will be looking to script a win against the Kolkota side.
     Salgaocar, which are placed 10th with 24 points from 22 matches, haven't looked impressive in their couple of matches but the goalless draw against Churchill Brothers have raised their morale.
     Prayag United came from behind to hold East Bengal to a 2-2 draw in their last match. The Kolkata side, which has 35 points from 22 matches, are placed fifth.
     Salgaocar's coach David Booth will have a full-strength team at his service except for Gabriel Obatola, who is out due to double booking. With strikers Josimar Da Silva and Milagres Gonsalves back in the ...

Salgaocar meet Prayag United tomorrow

Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been entrusted with the responsibility of running the Rajasthan Rifle Association (RRA), with the state government dissolving the previous body on the charges of manipulations in forming the association.
     This marks the beginning of Rathore's foray into shooting administration.
     "The state government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of Rathore after complaints were received from Akhilesh Pratap Singh (once a mayor of Bikaner) against RRA president Susheel Chaudhury regarding the formation of the association," an NRAI official, aware of the developments in Jaipur, told PTI on condition of anonymity.
     As per the complaint lodged with the Jawahar Nagar police station in Jaipur, RRA was formed by giving "false declarations, informations and affidavits" by Susheel.
    The complaint letter further stated that there were insufficient number of district rifle associations present in the last RRA elections as per 

Rathore to run Rajasthan's interim shooting body

The Panasonic Open India golf tournament will witness a historical first where an apartment would be bagged by the first player who aces the par-three 17th hole on the final day at the Delhi Golf Club.
     Sponsored by Homestead, property developers, the luxury apartment is a club Monaco unit at the Michael Schumacher World Tower which is located in the heart of Gurgaon.
     Manoj Shrivastava, COO Homestead Infrastructure Development Pvt Ltd said, "As all golf connoisseurs would know, in the entire history of professional golf, the prize amount for the 'hole in one' has never been greater than the prize money of the entire tournament."
     The third edition of the full-field Asian Tour event tees off tomorrow and promises to showcase the region's best golfers in action as they vie for top honours.
     The local charge will be spearheaded by Jeev Milkha Singh, Asia's number one in 2006 and 2008 as well as Anirban Lahiri and Digvijay Singh, winners of the Panasonic Open India in ...

'Home-in-one' awaits at Panasonic Open India

The continuing stand-off between the government and sports administrators over a controversial sports code today resulted in the postponement of a crucial joint meeting with the IOC, delaying India's re-entry into the Olympic movement.
     The meeting, scheduled to be held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on April 15 and 16, had to be postponed after the IOC-recognised representatives of the Indian Olympic Association, V K Malhotra and Randhir Singh, and the Sports Ministry failed to come to a consensus on the Sports Code.
     In a letter to the Sports Minister Jitendra Singh today, acting president of IOA, Malhotra said the meeting with the IOC officials will have no significance until and unless the government clarifies its stand on the Sports Code, which amounted to the violation of the Olympic Charter.
     "The IOC has invited me along with other senior members of the IOA to their headquarters for the discussion to resolve the ongoing crisis arising out of the ..

IOA-IOC meet postponed as differences persist

The first Indian golfer to play in the prestigious Augusta Masters, Jeev Milkha Singh believes the country will have its maiden Major winner in the next five years.
     With Indian golfers making rapid strides on the Asian, European and the PGA Tour, Jeev, the first from the country to break into the world top-50, feels the day is not far when an Indian triumphs at one of the four Majors.
     "The first thing is to break into the top-50 because that's what you need to play in a Major. We have got a lot of talent in the country and I am sure one of the guys will do that. The first two-three Majors will give you the experience and after that you can aim for a win," he said at the pre-tournament press conference of the Panasonic Open India starting here tomorrow.
     "May be in the next five years, we are going to have an Indian winner at the Majors. Our players have the game," the veteran golfer said.
     Jeev, who teed up at the Masters in 2007 and was at the top of the leaderboard 

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