Allrounder Shane Watson, who has been named Australia's stand-in skipper today, said that leading the national team is like a dream come true and admitted he was mentally preparing for the job as soon as he landed here for the fourth and final Test.
     "It's really a dream come true to be asked to captain your country," Watson said.
     After Michael Clarke was ruled out of the ongoing Test with a back spasm, Watson became the 44th Test captain of Australia.
     "It's obviously very disappointing that Michael hasn't come up, his batting and leadership will certainly be sorely missed, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and responsibility over the next five days," Watson told ESPN cricinfo.
     "Michael and Mickey talked to me about it when I first arrived back in India (from Sydney) so I knew it was always going to be touch and go with Michael to be at good fitness and able to play," the Queenslander said.
     "I mentally started preparing from there knowing I could have ...

Really a dream come true to captain Australia: Watson

PTI Automatic

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has been named the second international franchise player to be participating in the Caribbean Premier T20 League (CPL), commencing on July 29.
     Gilchrist has joined his former Australia teammate and captain Ricky Ponting as the latest international star to sign up with the League.
     "I am very excited to be on board with CPL, and am looking forward to coming back and playing cricket in one of the most beautiful places on the planet," said Gilchrist.
     "The CPL will feature some of the world's best cricketers and I can't wait to test my skills and play in what is going to be a dynamic and exciting competition," he added.
     The stumper, who has toured the Caribbean three times as a player, has one of the fondest memories in the West Indies when he had smashed 149 off only 104 balls in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup here in 2007 against Sri Lanka to help Australia lift the trophy.
     "I always have fond memories .

Gilchrist signs up for Caribbean Premier League

The Feroze Shah Kotla pitch for the fourth and final Test between India and Australia has come under criticism from the former players, who have termed the track as a "three-day" wicket.
     The pitch, which has cracks on it, saw some balls keeping low, while others flying off after hitting the deck. There were sideways movement from the cracks when pacer Ishant Sharma was bowling from the Old Club house end.
     The wicket has typical Kotla characteristics -- slightly slow and is likely to keep low and will turn as the match progresses.
     With cracks on it, the pitch would provide ample turn to the Indian spinners as the hosts try to inflict a rare series whitewash on the Australians.
     Expected to play truant during the match, the Indian spinners is likely to enjoy themselves on a bald, dry surface.
     Former India mainstay, VVS Laxman, while commentating, described it as "looking like a third-day pitch" and batting should prove more and more difficult as the match ...

Kotla pitch under scanner

Australian batsmen had testing time on a dodgy Feroze Shah Kotla strip as they reached 94 for two at lunch, on the opening day of the fourth and final cricket Test, here today.
     Opener Ed Cowan is batting on a patient 27 having survived a torrid time. Giving him company is stand-in captain Shane Watson, who is unbeaten on 16.
     Ishant Sharma removed opener David Warner (0) and No 3 batsman Phillip Hughes (45) in two spells on a track where the odd balls took off dangerously from the good length spot while some of the balls kept low.
     Even as Ishant and his new ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled well in tandem, one can't rule out the fact that the behaviour of the 22-yard strip prepared by curator Venkat Sundaram was highlight of the first session.
     Hughes, who found some form going his way during the second inning in Mohali, took the attacking route knowing well that playing a game of survival would be difficult on this track. He hit 10 boundaries in his 59-ball ...

Australia reach 94 for two at lunch

Electing to bat, Australia were 94 for two at lunch on the opening day of the fourth and final cricket Test against India here today.
     Brief scores:
     Australia: 94 for two in 28 overs (Phil Hughes 45; Ishant Sharma 2/21).

Australia 94 for two at lunch on Day 1

The latest recurrence of Michael Clarke's back spasm has raised questions about his long-term future but the Aussie captain insisted that the chronic back troubles, which have plagued him for nearly half his life, will not force him to cut short his international career.
     Clarke, ruled out of the ongoing fourth and final Test here due to back spasm, said that he will not let the injury make him quit the game earlier than he would prefer.
     "It won't have any impact, it hasn't had any impact in regards to my Test cricket at this stage. I don't think it will play any role at all," said Clarke.
     "Right now, I've been able to manage it for - what am I now, 31? I had my first scan at 17 that said I had degeneration in my disc. I've been able to manage it this long, I don't see any reason why I can't continue to manage it for the rest of my career," he added.
     Clarke had suffered back spasm during a fielding drill in the third Test against India at Mohali, but the skipper ...

Won't let back problem end career: Clarke

Australia won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth and final cricket Test against India here today.
     Michael Clarke, ruled out due to injury, has been replaced by Shane Watson as captain.
     Australia have brought Matthew Wade, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Glenn Maxwell in place of Brad Haddin, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Doherty and Moises Henriques, respectively.
     For India, Ajinkya Rahane is making his debut.
     Teams:
     India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay, Chesteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Bhubneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma.
     Australia: Shane Watson (capt), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon.

Australia elect to bat in fourth Test

A 109-run second-wicket stand between Ambati Rayudu (47) and Aditya Waghmode (66 not out) guided Baroda to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Saurashtra in a West Zone leg match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at the Motera 'B' ground here today.
     The win, Baroda's second in three matches, helped the defending champions pocket four points and are now level with Saurashtra at eight points. Both the teams have a game in hand.
     Chasing a modest 134 for victory, Baroda lost Kedar Devdhar off the first ball of the innings when he caught by wicket-keeper Sheldon Jackson off left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat.
     Rayudu, who hit four boundaries and a six in his 37-ball knock, along with Waghmode stabilised the innings before the former was caught by Jackson off the bowling of Unadkat.
     Irfan Pathan (12), who came in next, too departed early but Waghmode hit eight boundaries and two sixes in his unbeaten 66-run knock and along with Jyot Chhaya (1 not out) took Baroda home ...

Baroda trounce Saurashtra by seven wickets

Amid fears of possible backlash in Australia's already vulnerable team culture in the wake of the 'homework-gate', former Test selector John Benaud has advised captain Michael Clarke to quit as a selector immediately.
     Clarke took over a position in the selection panel on the recommendations of the Argus Report in 2011, but the move seems to have backfired.
     The selection responsibilities have put the skipper on collision course with his teammates, including deputy Shane Watson, who along with three others, were axed for not completing a presentation during the ongoing Test series against India.
     "Michael Clarke would be better off by not being on the panel," Benaud was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'.
     "Mickey (Arthur, coach) might like it but captains on selection panels are never easy and Michael will be finding that out right now.
     "If he's not (a selector), the captain can say, 'Well this is the team I have been given,' but currently Michael has to ..

Clarke should quit as a selector immediately: Benaud

Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt will spearhead India's challenge at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship to be held from April 18 to 22 at the KD Jadhav Wrestling Stadium here.
     Sushil, who is returning from a shoulder injury, will be one of the top contenders in the 66-kg freestyle division.
     "The Asian championships will be played in front of our home crowd and will be a good opportunity for me to return after injury. I have been training hard at the national camp keeping in the mind the expected competition and I am confident of a good performance," said Sushil.
     London Olympics bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt will also make a comeback in the 60kg freestyle division after fully recovering from a knee injury.
     Amit Kumar, the 2012 Asian Championship bronze medallist, will also be seen in action in the freestyle 55kg division while 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Narsingh Yadav will be competing in the 84kg category.
     In the ...

Sushil Kumar to compete in Senior Asian Wrestling Championship

IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore today started the online ticket sales for their home matches of the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.
     The fans can book tickets of RCB's home matches by logging into the team website.
     RCB's campaign begins with a game against the Ricky Ponting-led Mumbai Indians on April 4. Their next encounter will be against defending champions Kolkota Knigh Riders followed by Delhi Daredevils on April 16.
     RCB will then take on Rajsthan Royals on April 20 and face Pune Warriors on April 23. After that RCB will meet Punjab and Hyderabad on May 4 and may 6 respectively.
     The final match at home will be played against runners-up Chennai Super Kings on May 19.

RCB home matches' online ticket sale on

Spin legend Shane Warne today defended Australian coach Mickey Arthur despite the team's dismal show in the ongoing four-Test rubber, saying the South African should not be made "scapegoat" after the series.
     "Making Arthur a scapegoat for the poor performance of the Australian team would be unfair on him. The entire team is responsible for this debacle," Warne said when asked if Arthur should be sacked.
     The 43-year-old also supported Arthur and Aussie team management's decision to axe four key players, including vice captain Shane Watson, for not completing a presentation that was meant for improving team's performance ahead of the third Test in Mohali.
     "If you see the incident in isolation you will find the punishment a bit hard. But I am sure there must have been many more things in the lead up to the expulsion," Warne told reporters at the sidelines of a Advanced Hair Studio's BLITZ treatment.
      Warne feels the Australian team would have learnt a lot from this ...

Arthur shouldn't be made scapegoat for the debacle: Warne

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels it's time that Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane get his maiden Test cap in the fourth and final Test against Australia beginning in the capital tomorrow.
     "Rahane has sat out for long. It's not healthy for a player's development. I think he should play and open the innings and (Cheteshwar) Pujara should stick to No 3," Ganguly said about Rahane who has been part of the India's Test squads for about 16 months.
     Ganguly felt that Shikhar Dhawan's injury might just give Rahane the much-waited opening into the team.
     Recalling about Suresh Raina's celebrated debut against Sri Lanka in July 2010, Ganguly said: "Yuvraj Singh was unfit then as Raina got his maiden Test cap and scored 120 -- the last century on debut before Dhawan's (in Mohali) knock."
     Dhawan, who hit a record-breaking 187 on his debut at Mohali Test, was ruled out for six weeks with a fracture to his left-hand as the selectors drafted in Raina in the only change to the .

Rahane should play tomorrow: Ganguly

Kolkata golfer Neha Tripathi played a superb final round to edge past overnight leader Vani Kapoor to seal another victory in the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour 2013 here today.
     The victory in the sixth leg is the third of the season for Neha and with this, she overtakes Smriti Mehra in the Hero Order of Merit 2013.
     Neha, who had made a strong comeback yesterday, was brilliant in the final round today and once again established her dominance in the domestic tour this season.
     Vani, the overnight leader, got off to a great start and she had a clear lead of four strokes on the front nine but Neha was brilliant in the back nine and clinched the title by a single shot. Both the players were tied at the 17th and it was Vani's bogey on the 18th that gave Neha the title.
     Neha carded four birdies on the third, 14th, 15th and 16th to return with a final day score of one under 71 and a total score of 228. She had a double bogey on the fourth and a bogey on the 11th hole.
     ...

Tripathi edges past Vani to win 6th leg of Hero WPGT

Jeev Milkha Singh was lying 15th after dropping a bogey on the ninth hole for a three-under, when play was suspended due to rain in the first round of the Maybank Malaysian Open here today.
     Only three of the nine Indians had finished their first round with Shiv Kapur and Digvijay Singh returning even par 72 each and Anirban Lahiri carding a disappointing 74 including three bogeys on the back nine.
     Gaganjeet Bhullar and Jyoti Randhawa were one-under through nine and eight holes respectively, while Himmat Rai was one-over after seven. C Muniyappa, playing on a medical exemption, was six-over after nine, and SSP Chowrasia was seven-over after 11.
     Meanwhile, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat continued his fine form to claim the clubhouse lead before thunderstorms forced the suspension. The big-hitting 23-year-old fired eight birdies and a bogey to sign for a seven-under par 65 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
     The 2011 Masters Tournament winner, Charl Schwartzel 

Jeev three-under after nine on rain-hit first day

Punjab eked out a narrow three-wicket win over Services in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 match, which went down to the last over here today.
     In the North Zone encounter, Punjab chased down the target of 115 with five balls to spare at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium.
     Opting to field on winning the toss, Punjab restricted Services to 114 for nine, with leg-spinner Rahul Sharma returning best figures of three for 20 in four overs.
     There were two wickets apiece for pacer Manpreet Singh and Rajwinder Singh.
     For Services, opener Sumit Singh top-scored with 25, while his partner Anshul Gupta made 22.
     Defending a small total, Services fought hard with their bowlers striking at regular intervals, but useful contributions from skipper Mandeep Singh (27), Taruwar Kohli (22) and Mayank Sidhana (20) ensured Punjab's victory.
     After his three-wicket effort, Sharma remained not out on 10, helping his team complete a successful chase.
     Shadab Nazar and Ritesh .

Punjab beat Services by 3 wickets

Rookie left-arm pacer Suryakant Pradhan claimed three wickets to help Odisha beat Bengal by 34 runs and top the table in the East Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament here today.
     Three teams Odisha, Bengal and Assam finished the East Zone leg with 12 points each. But the first two teams edged out the north-eastern state by the virtue of better run rate and made it to the all-India league cum knockout round, which will be held in Ranchi.
     It was certainly a heartbreak for Assam today as despite registering a six-wicket victory over Jharkhand, they could topple Bengal from the second spot and failed to advance.
     Defending a small total of 129, the 19-year-old Pradhan, who had hogged the limelight with figures of seven for 39 against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day, became Bengal's nemesis today.
     He claimed three for eight that enabled Odisha restrict Bengal to 95 for 7 at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium.
     Odisha pace spearhead 

Odisha, Bengal qualify for knockout stage from East Zone

Right-hand batsman Paras Dogra's stroke-filled half-century helped Himachal Pradesh defeat Jammu & Kashmir by five wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here today.
     Himachal restricted J & K to 133 for the loss of five wickets and then chased down the target with 11 balls to spare.
     Opting to bat, J & K's young all-rounder Parveez Rasool top-scored with an unbeaten knock of 44. It was Rasool's unbeaten partnership of 36 runs for the sixth wicket with Nadeem Dar that helped the team reach a respectable total after struggling at 97 for five at one stage.
     Off-spinner Gurvinder Singh was the best bowler for Himachal, returning impressive figures of 3 for 18.
     Himachal were off to a poor start in their chase with captain Aakash Chopra being castled by medium pacer Ram Dayal for zero in the first over.
     Dogra, alongwith Vikramjit Malik (30), stabilised the innings with a 33-run partnership for the second wicket before Malik was trapped in front by Rahil ...

Himachal defeat Jammu and Kashmir by five wickets

Delhi recorded a thrilling two-run victory over Haryana in the North Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 here today.
     After being bowled out for a below-par 110 in their alloted 20 overs, Delhi pulled out victory from the jaws of defeat as they restricted Haryana to 108 for eight in 20 overs.
     This was after Haryana were cruising along at 74 for one in 13 overs before pacers Parvinder Awana (3/11) applied brakes on the hosts' scoring.
     Delhi coach Sanjeev Sharma, who got his first assignment with the senior team was ecstatic.
     "I am happy that boys put up a brilliant performance even when it looked as if we are going to surrender meekly. This win will give us a lot of confidence as we go into the knock-out rounds."
     Opting to bat, Delhi, sans an ailing Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, found the going tough from the word 'go' and lost wickets at regular intervals, which put paid to their hopes of posting a decent total on the board.
     Barring Varun Sood (28), 

Delhi beat Haryana by 2 runs in a thrilling encounter

The AIFF has invited top European clubs like Manchester United, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich to attend its ambitious meeting with probable investors -- in Dubai on March 31 -- and provide technical expertise to the two future corporate-owned sides in I-League.
     The All India Football Federation is eyeing investors based in the the Middle East to establish football teams, which will get direct entry into the I-League in return for their investment in infrastructure and youth development.
     "We have written to them, including the usual big names, inviting them to attend the meeting," a top AIFF official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
     "There are two ways -- they can either tie up with a top club who can provide them technical assistance or enter as a standalone entity," the official added.
     Sources close to the national football body claimed that some of the clubs might turn up for the meeting, which will be attended by AIFF president Praful Patel, general ...

AIFF invites top European clubs ahead of Dubai meet

Recovering from back spasm, Australian captain Michael Clarke trained with the team ahead of the fourth Test against India but remained a doubtful starter for the match, beginning tomorrow.
     "I still have 24 hours, just need to make sure my treatment goes off well. I'll take the call in the morning," said Clarke at the pre-match conference.
     "It's the same bulging disc issue I've battled on and off since I was 17. I have to make sure that I'll remain injury-free for the next assignment. I'll have to first assess my injury and then take a call in the morning. I haven't missed a Test through injury since my debut in 2004 and I'll do everything to keep it that way ahead of the fourth Test."
     Clarke suffered back spasm during a fielding drill in the Mohali Test. He had supported Watson's candidature for captaincy in case he fails to recover in time.
     Asked to comment on Watson leading the side, Clarke said, "Shane is an important part of our team, there's no doubt about ...

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