Royal Challengers Bangalore pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, who is set to play in the IPL after recovering from an injury, trained at the National Cricket Academy here under the watchful eyes of coach Ray Jennings.
     Zaheer bowled at the nets, and according to his team-mate Jaydev Unadkat, looked good as he was getting the ball to swing both ways.
     Zaheer had sustained a calf injury during Mumbai's Ranji Trophy game against Gujarat last December. He was dropped from the Indian Test squad against England.
     "Zaheer looked good as he was getting the ball to swing both ways as he normally does and it was good bowling in tandem with him at the nets. I learnt a lot by just seeing him bowl from close quarters," Unadkat told reporters after the training session.
     Unadkat said he has been working on the basics of remaining fit throughout the season so as to improve his pace.
     "I am hitting 135 kmh mark at present," he said.
     Unadkat said he has been working on variations for 

Zaheer in RCB training session at NCA

PTI Automatic

Churchill Brothers' hopes of taking a comfortable lead at the top of table received a setback as they were held to a goal-less draw by Salgaocar in the 22nd round of the I-League at Duler stadium here today.
     Churchill, who drew their match for the second time in a row, took their tally to 44 points from 21 matches, three points ahead of second place East Bengal, while Salgaocar's tally stood at 24 points from 22 matches.
     Churchill made their intentions clear in the barren first half. Though they dominated the session in the middle but failed to get past the rival defence though they got a few clear chances to score.
	Sunil Chhetri, who failed to impress in previous matches as well, continued with his bad form as he failed to convert a good pass into goal by shooting off the target.
	Bineesh Balan, who gave a good account upfront, also had a chance, but failed to beat keeper Karanjit Singh under the bar.
	Salgaocar, who made their moves mostly from the flanks, saw Randeep ...

Salgaocar hold Churchill Brothers in I-League tie

Sri Lankan cricket Board today asked its cricketers not to play in Chennai in the IPL after the governing council of the high-profile Twenty20 league decided to withdraw them from the Chennai games.
     "It was decided that the No objection Certificate issued to the players be restricted to exclude their appearance at any venue in the state of Tamil Nadu and also to obtain the players' personal opinion on their willingness to participate in the event," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a release.
     The decision had been arrived at after consultation with the minister of sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
     The minister had said yesterday that no player would be allowed to proceed without the safety guarantees from the Indian government.
     Thirteeen Sri Lankan players, including two captains of their respective teams, are in the squad of different franchises for the sixth edition of the IPL.
     Bowing to intense political pressure, top Sri Lankan players were yesterday withdrawn from 

SLC says players told not to play in Chennai

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was today nominated for the 2012 Female Player of the Year Award of the Badminton World Federation on the back of an impressive performance in the season which had seen her win a bronze medal in London Olympics.
     World number two Saina is the only non-Chinese among the five contenders for the top annual award among women shuttlers instituted by the BWF.
     The four Chinese are world number one Li Xuerui of China who won eight titles in 2012, including the London Olympic gold medal, Olympic silver medallist Wang Yihan Olympic Women's Doubles gold-winning pair Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei (China). Should a pair win the award, they will share it, the BWF said in a statement.
     Saina won four major titles in 2012 -- two Super Series and two Grand Prix Gold events, besides bagging London Olympics women's singles bronze. She won Indonesian Open and Denmark Open Super Series titles besides the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold and Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold ...

Saina nominated for BWF's Female Player of the Year Award

Sporting Clube de Goa will look to keep their winning momentum intact as they face ONGC in a 22nd round match of the I-League at the Duler stadium here tomorrow.
     Sporting have raised their game, winning five matches on the trot after Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon Barreras took over the reins.
     "It's our hard work and dedication that has paid off. Wins against Salgaocar, Churchill Brothers and Dempo have raised the team morale and we are now looking to win against ONGC," said Barreras.
     "We drew against ONGC in the first leg, but that was a match we could have won after dominating the second session," said Oscar. The team was down 0-2 against ONGC, but rallied for a 2-2 draw.
     Sporting will miss the services of Joyner Lourenco and Prathesh Shirodkar (both suspended) but the coach remained confident that they have enough in reserves.
     "Honestly, I am not worried. We have some fine players who can step up and do the job for us," he said.
     ONGC have also done well ...

Sporting look to keep momentum going against ONGC

India's top woman squash player Dipika Pallikal started her campaign in the KL Open tournament on a winning note, beating Lisa Aitken of Scotland in straight sets here today.
     The world number 15 got the better of her 40th-ranked opponent 11-7 11-7 11-7 after a 34 minute contest at the National Squash Centre.
     Joshana Chinappa, another Indian in the fray, lost to New Zealand's world number seven Joelle King 5-11 4-11 5-11.
     Pallikal's next match is against eighth-ranked Jenny Duncalf, whom she has not beaten in three meetings.
     Prior to entering the tournament, Pallikal, the first Indian to break into the top-10 of world rankings, trained for two weeks in Australia with five-time World Open winner Sarah Fitz-Gerald.

Winning start for Pallikal in KL Open squash

The Indian Premier League today re-jigged the fixtures of the high-profile tournament, making changes in the dates and timings of some of the matches, including the ones to be held in Bangalore on May 4 and 6, which were rescheduled owing to the Assembly elections in Karnataka.
     The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, earlier scheduled to be held in Bangalore on May 4, will now be played on May 14, while RCB's home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which was slated for May 6, has been advanced to April 9.
     Kings XI Punjab's match against Delhi Daredevils, earlier scheduled for April 23 in Mohali, has been shifted to Dharamsala on May 16, while KXIP's May 16 fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Dharamsala will now be held in Mohali on May 6.
     Delhi Daredevils' home match against KXIP, earlier scheduled for May 13 here, has been rescheduled for April 23. The following changes have been made to the IPL schedule:
     KXIP vs DD - shifted ..

IPL rejigs fixture, RCB matches during polls rescheduled

Relegation-wary Mohun Bagan would look to extend their winning run when they face Shillong Lajong FC in round 22 of I-League fixture at the Kalyani Stadium tomorrow.
     The match may not have any significant bearing on the title race but the two opponents showed a lot of keenness ahead of their upcoming meeting and utilised the full practice session on a day when the country celebrated Holi.
     Mohun Bagan will bank on the freshly gained confidence they ought to have gained from the win against Pailan Arrows in the previous match.
     Mohun Bagan will be without their ace striker Odafa Okolie, who is down with fever.
     "Doctors have suggested a period of rest for his full recovery and we will make an assessment of his condition on the day of the match," Bencherifa said.
     "Tolgay (Ozbey) is scoring goals and that is a positive thing for the side," Bencherifa said about his Australian striker, who found form with two goals in their 3-2 win over Pailan Arrows in the last ...

Bagan keen to maintain winning run

Batsmen in the mould of, or, as talented as Michael Clarke or the retired Ricky Ponting, may never be seen in Australia again if the "holes in the production line" are not addressed by the country's cricket administrators, says former great Ian Chappell.
     "We are not addressing the fact that there are holes in the production line," Chappell said.
     "If you think about it, Ponting, (Michael) Hussey and Clarke, you would have to say are the last of that sort of generation who learnt how to survive those tough periods."
     Chappell questioned Australia's methods of producing talented batsmen.
     "For instance, I have seen the next lot of batsmen at the Under-19 level World Cup and I have not seen any change in what's happening.
     "So I've got to ask the question, if our methods of producing batsmen don't seem to be working, and in my opinion they are not, why aren't we trying to do some other things?" Chappell was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
     He said that the ...

We are not addressing holes in production line: Chappell

Kerala government today expressed readiness to host IPL games in case of shift in venue from Chennai in the wake of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa opposing participation of Sri Lankan players and support staff in matches in her state.
   "We welcome the matches.Government would offer full support to Kerala Cricket Association if the need arose to conduct matches at Kochi," Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters after a cabinet meeting here.
   Government would provide necessary security and extend other facilities to host the matches, Chandy said when asked about the government's response to the request of the KCA seeking government support to host the matches in the event of any shift in venues.
    A delegation led by KCA Secretary T C Mathew had met Chandy last night and sought government support to host the matches for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that begins in April 3.
    KCA office bearers, led by its secretary T.C. Mathew, had ...

Kerala CM offers support to KCA to host IPL

Four-time Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa will revert to the short putter at the inaugural USD 750,000 Chiangmai Golf Classic starting here tomorrow as he seeks his first title of the current season.
     "I'll be using the short putter. But even if I won here this week, I will use the belly putter at the Masters simply because the greens are so quick over there. But after the Masters, I'll try to use the short putter more regularly," said Els, who switched to the long putter at the end of 2011.
     The reigning British Open champion headlines the full-field Asian Tour event alongside Asia's first Major winner Y E Yang of Korea, New Zealand's Michael Campbell and the region's top players including last week's winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Thongchai Jaidee, Arnond Vongvanij, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri at the immaculate Alpine Golf Resort-Chiangmai presented by PTT.
     Els, nicknamed the Big Easy for his languid swing and easy-going nature, has been frustrated by his .

Els to use short putter at Chiangmai Golf Classic

Former captain Arjun Ranatunga today slammed IPL Governing Council's decision to withdraw Sri Lankan cricketers from Chennai matches of the tournament and asked the players to opt out of the entire high-profile event beginning April 3.
     "....As far as cricketers are concerned I think if they can't play in South India (Chennai) they should play in other part either. I personally feel if players are not welcomed in one part of India they should not be part of any IPL," Ranatunga said.
     "The excuse that the South Indian politician gave was war crimes. And I Am sure the players should take that into consideration and think of the country and pull out from the entire Indian Premier League," he told 'Times Now'.
     Ranatunga termed the decision a political gimmick and said that the IPL Governing Council should have taken all the matches away from Chennai.
     "I think what IPL should have done was pulled out all the matches from South India if they are so keen on Sri Lankan ...

Ranatunga wants Lankan players to pull out of IPL

Wriddhiman Saha slammed an unbeaten 35-ball 64 as Bengal defeated Uttar Pradesh by 14 runs for their second successive win in the Super League (Group B) match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament here today.
     After scoring 176 for two in their stipulated 20 overs, Bengal restricted Uttar Pradesh to 162 for nine to emerge winner by 14 runs.
     Praveen Kumar's valiant 31-ball 49-run effort went in vain as Bengal kept their cool to add four more points to their tally.
     Praveen smashed four boundaries and two sixes, but it was Saha, who had the last laugh.
     Saha hit seven fours and two sixes during his blazing knock, before Sayan Mondal, Sanjib Sanyal and Arnab Nandi bagged two wickets each to complete the task for Bengal.
     Bengal had beaten Baroda yesterday on day one of the super league phase.
     Saha was ably supported by the top-order batsmen in setting a competitive target.
     Brief Scores: Bengal 172 for two in 20 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 64, Subhomoy Das 38) ..

Saha leads Bengal to win over UP

Out-of-favour India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan today tied the knot with fiancee Afreen, at a family function here.
     The 30-year-old big-hitting batsman had got engaged in a private ceremony at his farmhouse in Nadiad, 60 kms from Vadodara, last year.
     Afreen was born and brought up in Mumbai but practises physiotherapy in Vadodara.
     It is an arranged marriage and the match was decided after both families gave their consent.
     Pathan, who has been out of the Indian team for some time now, has scored 1365 runs in 57 ODIs and 438 runs in 22 T20s.

Yusuf Pathan ties the knot

Riding on young Unmukt Chand's second consecutive hundred, Delhi today thrashed Gujarat by 112 runs in a Super League (Group A) match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament here.
     The 19-year-old opener smashed his way to 63-ball 125, laced with 10 sixes and as many fours, to take Delhi to a mammoth 198 for four.
     Chasing a stiff target, Gujarat batsmen crumbled under pressure and were dismissed for 86 in 17.3 overs.
     Gujarat kept on losing wickets at regular intervals as none of their batsmen showed enough patience to stay at the crease and grind it out.
      Pacer Sumit Narwal was the pick of the bowlers with three for 15 while left-arm spinner Manan Sharma also chipped in with two wickets for 16 runs.
     Such was the poor state of Gujarat's batting performance that seven of their batsmen failed to even reach the double digit mark.
     Jesal Karia (24) was the top-scorer for Gujarat followed by spinner Rakesh Dhruv (15).
     Earlier, put in to bat, Delhi openers - ..

Unmukt's century helps Delhi beat Gujarat in Mushtaq Ali

The CM charged Karunanidhi with creating a feeling of supporting the Lankan Tamils on one side and on the other maintaining relations with the Congress-led government at the Centre

Jaya accuses Karuna of doublespeak on Tamils issue

Press Trust of India

India's middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have achieved their career-best rankings in batting and bowling, respectively in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings released here today.
     They have reaped the rewards for their impressive performances during India's historic 4-0 series sweep over Australia.
     Pujara's unbeaten 82 helped India script a six-wicket win in the fourth Test against Australia in Delhi, which led to the Saurashtra batsman moving into the top 10 of the Player Rankings for the first-time in his career.
     Pujara, who amassed 419 runs at an average of 83.80 in the series, has jumped five places to a best-ever seventh position with 777 ratings points while Ashwin, who was named man-of-the-series for his 29-wicket series haul, is now at a best-ever sixth spot, having jumped two places.
     However, Sachin Tendulkar has lost five positions to be at 26th place while Viart Kohli has slipped to 24th position, losing four ...

Pujara, Ashwin achieve career-best Test rankings

Rahul Dravid says Cheteshwar Pujara, who succeeded the former India captain at the crucial number position in the Test side, has it in him to be a successful player in ODIs as well.
     Seen by many as one who could go on to be an able successor to the former great, Pujara has an average of 65 after 13 Tests, having scored four hundreds and three half-centuries, and Dravid believed the Saurashtra batsman "approaches" Test cricket the way he did.
     "He's had a great start to his international career, in fact a much better start than I did. I think he has been brought up in the old school of batsmanship. He is developing more shots and he approaches Test cricket in the same way as I did," Dravid said.
     The 40-year-old was speaking at 'A Day with Dravid', an ESPNcricinfo event in which nine cricket fans from across the world got the chance to interact with him.
     Pujara hasn't made his ODI debut yet, but in 61 domestic one-day matches Pujara averages 56.97, with eight hundreds 

Pujara will find answers to ODI cricket, says Dravid

Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan is disappointed at the IPL governing council's move to disallow players from his country to play matches in Chennai, a decision taken in view of the prevailing anti-Sinhalese sentiments in the state.
     Bowing to intense political pressure, top Sri Lankan players were yesterday withdrawn from the Chennai matches of the high-profile IPL after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa refused to host them due to the growing political tensions in the state resulting from the treatment of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.
     "It's a sad (day) for cricket as we are not allowed to play in a certain part of India. It is a government decision, if they cannot provide security for us, we have to be cautious," Muralitharan, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, told 'NDTV'.
     "I have spoken to Royal Challengers, they do not have any problems. I can play the non-Chennai games," he added.
     Himself a Sri Lankan Tamil, Muralitharan said he had .

Murali disappointed with IPL GC ruling

The PCB has again formally requested the Cricket South Africa (CSA) to send its team to Pakistan for the Test and one-day series in October-November this year.
     Sources in the Board said PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf had, during his recent visit to Johannesburg, approached the South African cricket officials and invited them to play in Pakistan.
     "Although, it's a foregone conclusion that South Africa will not tour Pakistan in October-November because of existing security concerns but Zaka has still tried to convince them that security conditions are such that an international team can play in Pakistan," a source said.
     He said Ashraf reminded the South African officials that Pakistan had always been in the forefront of helping other countries and now it was the turn of other countries to support and help out the strife-torn nation.
     "Ashraf pointed out that Pakistan just needed one high-profile team to break the ice and visit Pakistan. But the South Africa officials ...

Ashraf requests CSA to send team to Pakistan

Pakistan's national selection committee will meet here on Friday to name the probables for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England in June.
     "The chief selector, Iqbal Qasim, has been told by the Pakistan Cricket Board to hold a meeting of its selection committee to name the probables for the Champions Trophy. The participating nations will have to submit a preliminary list of 30 players by April 4 and then the final squad of 15 by May 4," a source told PTI.
     The selectors will also examine the reasons behind Pakistan's disappointing tour of South Africa, where they lost both the Test and ODI series.
     "The meeting which is to be held on Friday could also see serious discussions on the future of some senior players," the source added.
     "The selectors are ready to make wholesome changes for the Champions Trophy but some players Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul are likely to be retained for the tournament," he added.

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