Delhi produced a clinical bowling display to beat Himachal Pradesh by four wickets in a low-scoring match in the North Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, here today.
     Opting to field after winning the toss, leg-spinner Varun Sood (3/22) starred with the ball as Delhi came up with a disciplined bowling effort to restrict HP to 109 for seven
     Seamer Parminder Awana struck early for Delhi as he dismissed opener Sangram Singh in the third ball of the match with HP yet to open its account.
     HP batsmen never got going as they lost wickets  at regular intervals and were struggling at 43 for four at the half way stage of their innings.
     Coming at number five, Rishi Dhawan did try to break the shackles as played a few shots in his 38-run knock off 33 balls that included two fours and a six.
     But after the fall of Dhawan's wicket, no other batsmen could provide impetus to HP's innings and could only manage a meagre 109 for seven.
     Besides Sood, Awana ...

Delhi beat HP by 4 wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy

PTI Automatic

Smriti Mehra got off to a great start in the sixth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour 2013, taking a six shot lead over Ankita Tiwana, Gursimran Badwal (A) and Vani Kapoor to lead after the first round.
     The veteran golfer, who has already won two titles this season and leads the Hero Order of Merit 2013, scored a par 72 in the first round to open up a comfortable lead over Ankita, Gursimran (A) and Vani, who are tied at second place with first round score of six over 78, here at the Panchkula Golf Club.
     Smriti had two double bogeys in the first four holes but steadied herself from thereon to sink five birdies on the fifth, sixth, 11th, 12th and 15th.
     Her double bogeys came on the first and fourth holes and the solitary bogey on the 17th.
     Ankita carded three birdies on the fifth, 12th and 14th whereas Vani has four birdies on the 10th, 11th, 13th and 16th.
     Amateur golfer Gursimran Badwal who is tied second with Ankita and Vani after the first round, carded ..

Smriti Mehra takes early lead Hero WPGT

Churchill Brothers Sports Club raced to the top of the I-League ladder with a 3-0 demolition of Air India at the Duler Stadium here today.
     Brazilian midfielder Roberto Mendes da Silva opened the scoring with a seventh minute penalty and then Gabonese striker Henri Arnaud scored once in each session to take Churchill Brothers to the top of the table with 42 points, two ahead of East Bengal. Churchill still have a match in hand.
     Churchill got off to an encouraging start when Steven Dias won a penalty in the seventh minute. Bineesh Balan's wonderful ball in the danger zone was well received by Dias, but he tumbled into the zone after coming into contact with Air India defender M Pradeep, prompting the referee to point at the stop.
     Roberto scored the penalty with ease.
     Churchill got their second in the 22nd minute when Lenny Rodrigues sent a delightful through ball that pierced the rival defence and was intercepted well by Henri who drew out the goalkeeper and scored ..

Churchill romp to top of the table

Travelling with the team for the past 15 months, Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is finally in line to earn a coveted Test cap as Shikhar Dhawan's knuckle injury might have opened a spot in the Indian batting line-up for the fourth cricket Test against Australia.
     While skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had stated that it is unlikely that Dhawan's injury will heal before Friday, the Indian cricket board has not announced any replacement for the injured Delhi lad who scored a brilliant 187 on debut in Mohali.
     While Rahane looks a straightforward replacement of Dhawan, the Mumbaikar might not open the innings with Murali Vijay as there is a chance to induct him in the middle-order.
     If sources are to be believed, Rahane has been earmarked strictly as a middle-order batsman and the team management might just want Cheteshwar Pujara to don the role of a stop-gap opener for the final Test match.
     The only other option is to name a replacement for Dhawan with Abhinav Mukund being ..

Rahane, Pujara in race to open if Dhawan is finally ruled out

Tamil Nadu lost wickets in a heap towards the end as their match against Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Cricket Tournament ended in a tie here today.
     Tamil Nadu managed 150 for seven in their 20 overs, the same Karnataka scored losing as many wickets batting first.
     Tamil Nadu started poorly losing openers Srikanth Aniruddha (7) and Baba Aparajith (17) and S Badrinath for one.
     Dinesh Karthik and Abhinav Mukund combined to steady Tamil Nadu's innings, putting together a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
     Mukund compiled a well-made 42 off 40 balls before he was dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun in the 16th over. Karthik scored 37 off 25 balls with the help of two fours and sixes each.
     Yo Mahesh provided some entertainment smashing 16 off eight balls with three boundaries, but that was not enough to see the visitors through.
     For Karnataka, Mithun took three wickets while Vinay Kumar, Stuart Binny and S L Akshay scalped one each.
     Batting first, 

TN, Karnataka match ends in tie

Nine young footballers will be representing FCBEscola India at the forthcoming International FCBEscola Tournament to be held in Barcelona from March 25 to 28.
     The tournament will be held at the Mini Estadi facilities next to Camp Nou.
     Out of the nine footballers, all born in 2001, five are from Goa, three from Delhi-NCR and one from Jaipur, and they are undergoing training at the FCBEscola India facility in Gurgaon.
     Started in 2012, The International FCBEscola tournament is an annual competition for the FCBEscola teams worldwide.
     The tournament will provide a chance for budding footballers from India to play against their peers from Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Dubai, Poland, Egypt, Kuwait and Spain.
     The FCBEscola India team is in the Under-12 stage, which has a total of four groups and 22 teams. The FCBEscola India team is in Group A, along with teams from Spain, Catalonia and Brazil.
     "It is a great moment for us at FCBEscola India. This is a fantastic ...

India to debut at the International FCBEscola tournament

The first Zaua Sailo Northeast Shooting Championship was inaugurated by Mizoram Sports Minister Zodintluanga at the Kulikawn Shooting Gallery here today.
     Assam sent 32 shooters while Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland are being reprented by 96, 37 and five shooters respectively in the championship, which will end on Saturday.
     Six International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) qualified judges, representing the National Rifle Association of India, would judge the competition.

Shooting championship inaugurated

After Sri Lanka Cricket Players' Association expressed concerns over ongoing attacks against Sri Lankan nationals in Tamil Nadu, IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla today said that there is no threat to the upcoming mega-tournament, scheduled to commence from April 3.
     "There is no threat to the IPL. Matches will take place at the scheduled venues. Till now, we haven't seen any threat," Shukla told reporters outside the Parliament.
     Asked about participation of Lankan players in the sixth season, Shukla said: "There is no team from Sri Lanka. There are individual players in few teams. We will see how to deal with it."
     Earlier today, SLCPA has written to the Federation of International Cricketers' Association to assess the safety of its players during the tournament.
      At least two Buddhist monks came under attack in two separate incidents since Sunday, causing public anger in Colombo.
     Around 11 Sri Lankan players including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and ...

No threat to IPL matches: Shukla

Describing the Australian team currently touring India as one of the weakest sides, former cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni today pointed out that the below-par showing of the tweakers has affected the visitors' performance in the ongoing Test series against India.
     "Looking at the performance, definitely it is one of the weaker Australia teams to have toured India in the recent past. The performance is reflecting as well," said the former India left-arm spinner on the sidelines of Salaam Bombay Cricket Academy's tournament here.
     "It (Australian spin attack) is inexperienced. As a batsman when you get a hundred it's a habit, likewise as a spinner you need to pick up a five-wicket haul and that makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, Australia is lacking currently in that department," he said.
     In contrast, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed two five-wicket hauls in the first Test match that India won by eight wickets at Chennai and bagged another in the second ...

Clarke and Co. Among weakest sides to tour India: Kulkarni

Sri Lanka Cricket Players' Association (SLCPA) has written to the Federation of International Cricketers' Association to assess the safety of its players during the sixth edition of the IPL, starting April 3.
     The safety concerns have been raised following the attacks against Sri Lankan nationals in Tamil Nadu.
     SLCPA Chairman Ken de Alwis said that a letter had already been dispatched to the FICA and a response was awaited.
     Some 11 Sri Lankan players including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga are part of various IPL franchises.
     Some of them represent Chennai Super Kings who are based in the state where the recent anti-Sri Lankan attacks have happened.
     At least two Buddhist monks came under attack in two separate incidents since Sunday, causing public anger here in Colombo.
     The attacks, Colombo maintains are isolated and carried out by a minority group who long for a revival of the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

Lankan players association concerned about safety during IPL

Courtesy his 153-run knock against Australia in the Mohali Test, India opener Murali Vijay has jumped 16 places to career-best rank of the 43rd but Cheteshwar Pujara dropped out of top-10 in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
     Shikhar Dhawan, who hit a breathtaking 187 on debut to set up India's six-wicket victory in Mohali, has entered the rankings in 61st position.
     Virat Kohli also achieved his career-best rank of 20th by gaining four places.
     Pujara, ranked 12th after sliding down two positions, and Kohli are the only Indian batsmen inside top-20 as Sachin Tendulkar has lost two positions to be 21st.
     Outside the top-20, the batsmen to move upwards include Australia's David Warner in 29th (up by one), Ed Cowan in 38th (up by seven) and team mate Phil Hughes in 50th (up by four).
     The batting table is still headed by South Africa's Hashim Amla with his teammate AB de Villiers sitting in second place and West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul in third ...

Vijay moves to career best 43rd spot in ICC rankings

Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur has conceded that he put his "neck on the line" when four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, were axed for not completing a presentation during the ongoing Test series against India.
     Vice-captain Shane Watson, pacers James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson and batsman Usman Khawaja were left out from the third Test in Mohali, which India won by six wickets.
     The four were axed for not completing a presentation on improvements needed in the team on time, a move which was called ridiculous by several former players such as Shane Warne.
     The 44-year-old Arthur, who closed his Twitter account today, said he believed the decision was correct as team discipline was important.
     "I've never been one just to sit back and let things drift," Arthur was quoted as saying by 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.
     "If I'm doing that, I'm not doing my job. I'm empowered to coach this team, to run this team and get this team back to where it ..

Put my neck on line: Arthur on 'homework-gate'

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has announced Sporty Solutionz (P) Ltd as the Marketing and Event Partner for the prestigious India Open Super Series for the next three years.
     The 2013 edition of the tournament, with a prize purse of USD 200,000, will be held at the Siri Fort Indoor Sports Complex here from April 23-28.
     BAI President Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta said the association with Sporty Solutionz is a step taken to make the India Open Super Series one of the most successful badminton tournaments in the world.
     "The partnership will take Indian badminton to greater heights. The India Open Super Series has made a spectacular impact in raising the stake of the sport in the country," Dr Gupta said.
     "We hope the tie-up with Sporty Solutionz will push the benchmark further and help badminton catch the imagination of the youth in India."
     Delighted with the association, Sporty Solutionz CEO Ashish Chadha said, "We are honoured to come on board as the ...

Sporty Solutionz named marketing partners for India Open

Retired IAS officer Prabhat C Chaturvedi has replaced the jailed Ajay Singh Chautala as the Table Tennis Federation of India President after the elections held at the TTFI's Annual General Meeting here.
     Elected for four years, Chaturvedi was the senior vice-president of the federation, and replaces Chautala, whose third term at the helm ended recently.
     He is currently lodged in jail following his conviction in a teachers recruitment scam in Haryana.
     The new president will have Dhanraj Choudhary as secretary-general and Mahinder Pal Singh as treasurer, the two other principal office-bearers of the federation.
     Choudhary, who took over from Mool Chand Chouhan after his demise three years ago, is in his second term, while Singh, a first-timer, replaces BK Bawa, as treasurer.
     TTFI, which has adopted the new sports code at a special GBM held in January this year, held elections as per the guidelines set out by the sports ministry.
     The elections were conducted ..

Chaturvedi replaces Chautala as new TTFI president

Beleaguered Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur today deleted his Twitter account after being continuously ridiculed by fans in the wake of the team's woeful Test run in India.
     "Thanks twitter,has been fun but deleting my account now!Thanks to all the genuine supporters out there," said Arthur on Twitter today, a day after Australia lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
     The Aussies are trailing 0-3 in the four-match series, beaten by six wickets in the just-concluded third Test. They would be desperate to avoid a whitewash when they take the field for the fourth Test in Delhi starting Friday.
     Arthur's Twitter page has several messages from users, lampooning him, and one of them reads, "Hey Mickey Mouse @MickeyArthur do you have enough quicks for 3rd test? Now it's going to be a seamer so I suggest you play 4 spinners...,".
     "@MickeyArthur How's the team spirit this morn? Did they all wear the correct uniform? Did Hughes and Warner scrub skippers whites for him?"
     .

Arthur deletes twitter account

The struggling Australian cricket team was dealt another blow in the ongoing Test series against India after pacer Mitchell Starc was ruled out of the fourth and final match due to an ankle injury, which would require surgery.
     "Cricket Australia today advises that Mitchell Starc will return to Australia later today to have surgery to remove the bone spurs on his right ankle," CA said in a statement.
     The bowler picked just two wickets in the couple of matches he played in the series which Australia have already lost 0-3.
     He did, however, shine with bat by scoring a personal best of 99 in the just-concluded third Test in Mohali. The fourth Test starts here on Friday.
     "Mitch has been experiencing ankle pain related to bone spurs during the India Test series and whilst manageable, this represents an appropriate time for Mitch to have the surgery with a view to having him fully fit for the Ashes in late June," Australian Team Doctor Peter Brukner said.
     "Mitch will .

Mitchell Starc heads home for ankle surgery

Former captain Moin Khan believes that it is high time some sweeping changes should be made in the Pakistan team in the wake of the national side's disastrous tour to South African tour.
     The former wicketkeeper-batsman minced no words in stating that the senior players had let the team down in South Africa both in Tests and in the One-day series.
     "These players have served Pakistan cricket well for many years but now I think the time has come for the cricket board to take some tough decisions after the South African tour," he said.
     "I think there is a need for changes in the team and we need to now response more confidence and faith in our younger players like Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal and some others performing well in domestic cricket. I think we need to start looking forward now," Moin said.
     The former captain said that Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has led the side well in the last two years but its time to review his future in limited overs ...

Moin Khan calls for sweeping changes in Pak side

Goa's Sesa Football Academy coach Ajay Acharya expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of the final-phase match against Tata Football Academy (TFA) of the Under-20 I-league and attributed his side's defeat to poor refereeing.
     "The referee spoiled our chances as the penalty awarded to the rival team Tata Football Academy was unjustified," coach Acharya told reporters soon after the match.
     "The judgement was really disappointing as it was in poor taste as far as refereeing was concerned," he said, while denying any plans of lodging a complain with the match commissioner in this regard.
     Claiming that Sesa Goa team comprised of under-17 boys, Acharya said his team was one of the best team participating in the I-league.
     Not only TFA, the referee should know that we are here to qualify in the I-league as well, he lamented, assuring that Sesa Goa will bounce back in the tournament despite today's result.
     Earlier, exhibiting an excellent combination and accurate ...

Referee played spoilsport: Sesa Goa coach

Congratulating cricketer Shikhar Dhawan for scoring fastest-ever Test century, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Diskhit today her government is planning to institute an award for those city-based players who have achieved feat in national and international events.
	"I have spoken to his parents yesterday. He has made the city proud," Dikshit said.
	"We are planning to felicitate such players," she said, adding that the government is planning to institute an award for those Delhi-based players who have achieved feat in any form of game at national and international events.
	Dhawan made his way into the record books by smashing 100 runs in just 85 balls in 136 years of Test history, surpassing the previous record held by West Indian Dwayne Smith.
	He had scored an unbeaten 168-ball 185 in India's first innings, which paved the way for the hosts' six-wicket win over Australia and an unassailable 3-0 lead in series. India clinched the Test series against Australia with their biggest- ever ...

Dikshit congratulates Dhawan for scoring test century

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar does not believe that the present Australian team is the weakest to have toured India, but feels the Michael Clarke-led outfit is undoubtedly the most inexperienced side to have visited the Indian shores.
     India today recorded a six-wicket victory in the third cricket Test against Australia to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-match series, and many experts feel that the present side from Down Under is the weakest to have toured India.
     But former India captain Gavaskar begs to differ.
     "Weakest I wouldn't say so, but inexperienced yes. Perhaps this is the most inexperienced Australian team to have come to India. It is the inexperience which is going against them," he told NDTV.
     Gavaskar, instead, lauded India for their dominating performances against Australia in the ongoing Test series.
     "You can't pick the opposition team, you have got to play what the opposition fields and that's what the Indians have done.
     "I don't think .

'Touring Oz team is the most inexperienced not weakest'

Michael Clarke's participation in the fourth and final Test against India is shrouded in uncertainty due to his sore back, which has opened up the possibility of Shane Watson taking over the mantle in case the regular skipper misses out.
     Clarke said if he is ruled out of the match, Watson, one of four players to be suspended on disciplinary ground ahead of the third Test, will lead the side in the match starting in Delhi from March 22.
     "If I am unavailable due to my fitness, I don't know.. I haven't spoken to the selectors, but I would imagine that Watto will be the captain, that's for sure," Clarke said.
     On being suspended for failing to submit to coach Mickey Arthur a presentation on how to improve his and the team's performance in the series, a furious Watson had left the tour in haste, preferring to be with his wife at the time of the birth of their baby.
     But the equation between the all-rounder and the team management has improved over the past few days, with .

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