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Ravindra Jadeja's appeal against a one-year ban for violating IPL's terms and conditions was rejected by the organiser's governing council on Sunday. Jadeja received a ban last month for negotiating outside his contract with the Rajasthan Royals . Jadeja, who represented Rajasthan Royals in the last IPL, claimed in his appeal that he received the BCCI's nod before looking for contracts with other teams. Jadeja's contract with the Royals ended last December. According to Cricinfo, IPL vice-chairman Niranjan Shah raised the issue of reducing the ban on Jadeja with BCCI President Shashank Manohar on Sunday in Mumbai, but his appeal was turned down. "He (Manohar) did not want to set a wrong precedent, so he dismissed the request. So Jadeja now cannot play in the IPL (this year)," an IPL official said.
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If hockey was a 20-minute game, Canada would have frustrated the Koreans out if a game. But it isn’t, and the Asian giants annihilated Canada 9-2 in their Pool A match on Sunday. The Canadians began well, putting up a brave defence against quality Korean stick work led by Hyo Sik You. Restricting the offence to the mid-field, the Canadians seemed content in playing in their own half. Whoever said defence was the best form of attack would have been brutally wronged by this team. A defensive lapse, a penalty corner, a clean strike to the top left corner of the goal and the Koreans were up and running in the 23rd minute to what eventually became a sublime display of goal scoring mechanics. A clinical Korean penalty stroke conversion in the 35th minute and the Canadians went into the break desperately needing their forward line to change the game. However, a lack of creativity in the Canadian forward line spread to the defensive field as Korea exploited every gap it could find. Three field goals between the 38th and 41st minutes and three goals again in the last 10 minutes put paid to Canada’s chances. Canada, ranked No. 11, now play Argentina in a bid to break their World Cup jinx (one win in 10 matches). Korea have raced to seven points and will fancy their chances of making the final four.
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Nicol David and Ong Beng Hee clinched the WISPA and PSA titles at the Chennai Open squash championships here on Sunday. The Malaysian top seeds beat English second seeds Jenny Duncalf and Jonathan Kemp in surprisingly one-sided finals. World No. 1 Nicol David came into the women's final holding a 14-2 head-to-head record against World No. 3 Jenny Duncalf. The two matches won by the Englishwoman, however, were their two most recent meetings, in the U.S. Open and the Qatar Classic last year. If Duncalf had turned a corner in her career, it didn't show here. Even in her first couple of matches here, against Annie Au and Laura Massaro, her reaction speeds had appeared a little suspect in the opening games. Such was the case here too, and David took full toll, zipping low drives into the back corners past her opponent's outstretched frame. Rattled, Duncalf served up a weak serve at 4-6, at just the right height for David to chop a remorseless backhand kill. Successive errors from Duncalf at 6-9 and 6-10 gave David the first game. Powerful strokes By now, the top seed was in full flight, and conjured telling strokes even when off-balance. At 6-2 in the second game, a forceful Duncalf drive hurtled into David's body, shin high. Instantaneously, she twisted her forearm to take the point with an inside-out shot into the right corner. Far from wilting, Duncalf seemed to have upped her resolve at the start of the third, winning two early points with wristy trickle boasts. However, she couldn't fight her own increasing error-count. She hit the tin twice to take David from 4-3 to 6-3. Soon, it was 10-6 thanks to a mishit backhand crosscourt from Duncalf, who had till then controlled the rally. At the next point, an attempted drop into the left corner dipped well short of the front wall, to give David the title in 2010's first WISPA gold event. Ong Beng Hee's straight-games win over Jonathan Kemp in the men's final was a much tighter affair. Only two points separated the two in each game — the difference lay in the fact that Beng Hee played the way he always plays, while denying Kemp his preferred style and tempo. Left-handed, long hair pouring out of his headband, Kemp has something of John McEnroe about him, down to his desire to volley at every opportunity. Giving no room Here, Beng Hee's bread-and-butter backhand rails ran so tight against the left wall that Kemp seldom had any room to swing early forehands at the ball, having instead to wait till the ball made contact with the back wall. This meant that he seldom surprised Beng Hee with unpredictable changes of angle. Rarely therefore was Beng Hee forced into the sort of whirling chases that Kemp put Saurav Ghosal through in the semifinals. Beng Hee achieved vicious underspin on his right-handed forehands, and picked up numerous points thanks to the ball dropping sharply off the front wall. Despite hitting them low and quite close to the board, he committed only scattered errors. Kemp stayed close to the top seed in every game, only for Beng Hee to find inspiration at critical points — a crosscourt forehand flick at 9-all in the second, and successive backhand boasts at the left corner, struck powerfully around Kemp's body, facing the wrong way in anticipation of the drop shot, to go from 3-3 to 5-3 in the third.
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Calcutta: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Team India’s position as the second-ranked team behind Australia, in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship, at the annual cut-off date of April 1 was confirmed on Sunday when New Zealand narrowly lost the second ODI against Australia by 12 runs on Saturday. The loss means that even if New Zealand win the remaining three ODIs, it will not be able to leapfrog India which sits on 122 ratings points. However, if the Black Caps win all the forthcoming ODIs against Australia, it will finish on 120 ratings points — three ahead of South Africa. The second place in the ODI Championship at the annual cut-off means India win $75,000 in addition to $175,000 which they will get for finishing as the No. 1 Test side. Australia will receive a cheque of $175,000 for their No. 1 position on the ODI Championship table while South Africa will collect a cheque of $75,000 for their second place finish in the Test table. Meanwhile, India batsman Suresh Raina (659 points) rose a rung to 15th in the rankings for one-dayer batsmen, headed by his captain Dhoni with 819 points. Sachin Tendulkar (762) was static in the fourth place while Virender Sehwag (694) and Yuvraj Singh (682) remained 11th and 13th, respectively. Seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who remained to be the only Indian face in the top 10 bowlers, slipped one place to seventh with 645 points. Yuvraj (343), who is the only Indian among the top five all-rounders, lost one place to be at the fourth spot.
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NEW DELHI: They may have come a cropper in the World Cup but Indian hockey players are the most skillful in the world and all they need to become a force to reckon with internationally is planning and organisation, feels legendary Argentine drag-flicker Jorge Lombi.
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NEW DELHI: Indian Youth Boxers ruled the Ring at Tehran, Iran and nine of them entered into the medal round (semi finals). Devendro Singh (48 kgs), Srinivas Surbetti (51 kgs), and Vikas Kishan (60 kgs) who won their quarterfinal bouts on Sunday, have got into the semifinals.
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Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to open with Australian batsman Brad Hodge in the third season of the Indian Premier League in the absence of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, who will miss the early stages of the tournament due to international commitments. "We are looking at him [Hodge] as one of the possible opening options," Kolkata coach Dav Whatmore said. "Hodgey is a fine addition to our squad. He looked good at the practice session on Sunday. Along with David Hussey, he has been one of the key players for Victoria in their Twenty20 Big Bash triumph. Also, his performance in this edition of Sheffield Shield has been really good." Hodge scored 276 runs in four innings at an average of 69 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the Twenty20 Big Bash with 181 in seven innings at 25.85. Though Hodge announced his retirement from first-class cricket, Whatmore said he remained a force. There are several candidates for the role of Hodge's opening partner: Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary, Saurashtra's Chirag Pathak are possiblities along with Sourav Ganguly. Whatmore said Hodge's success would determine whether he continued as opener once Gayle and McCullum joined the team. "If Hodgey does well at the top of the order, he will certainly continue playing at that position," Whatmore said. "I firmly believe that the person who is in form should be persisted with in a particular position." Whatmore also said fast bowler Ishant Sharma's sessions with Wasim Akram would be of great help. "If Ishant benefits from Akram's advice, it will not only be of help for the KKR but also for the national team." When asked if fielding was an area of concern for Kolkata, Whatmore said the team was gradually improving. "We have identified the areas we need to work upon and those areas are being addressed. It is a continuous process. Not that if we are taking catches means that we stop working hard on our fielding. We have to work hard on each and every aspect of the game." Kolkata, having finished sixth and last in the two previous seasons, kick off their campaign against defending champions Deccan Chargers in the tournament opener on March 12 in Mumbai. | |
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The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will make special arrangements at the under-construction Metro station at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium to cope with the rush during the Commonwealth Games. Additional fare collection gates will be set up at the station and more volunteers to assist passengers will be stationed from October 3 to 14, the duration of the Games. Apart from five entry gates for easy access, extra, wider staircases are being constructed at the station. “The staircase width, normally 2.4 metre at other stations, will be 4.25 metre at the JLN Stadium Metro station to accommodate the extra rush,” DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said. Dayal said the JLN Stadium Metro station will be equipped to cater to 4,000 passengers per minute at peak time. The station has been designed to accommodate a total passenger flow of 80,000 per hour, with a platform area of 1,800 sq metres. The station will also have four escalators connecting the concourse with the platform. There will be 20 automatic fare collection (AFC) gates instead of the eight set up at most stations. The Operations department of the DMRC is preparing a special plan for commuters who will travel on the Metro to attend the Games opening and closing ceremonies. Frequency of trains is also sought to be increased to ensure a faster clearance of passengers from the station. A special control room will be set up at the station for public announcements and LED signages will be displayed for passenger guidance. Railings and extra lighting will be installed inside the station. The DMRC will also have special coordination with the Delhi Metro Police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to ensure adequate security for the public. |
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