Tendulkar's document hits roadblock

NEW DELHI: Call it government apathy or lackadaisical attitude on the part of officials as batting great Sachin Tendulkar's visionary document to integrate sports into the education system has hit a roadblock.

Member of Parliament Tendulkar had opened his innings in the Rajya Sabha with a letter asking the government to focus on honing fresh talent in Indian sport, especially in schools and colleges and improving sports infrastructure at the university level.

Tendulkar, who was nominated to the Upper House earlier this year, had addressed his letter to former human resource development minister Kapil Sibal and ex-sports minister Ajay Maken. Tendulkar had given a two-page summary and attached a 25-slide presentation to show the road ahead for Indian sports.

Tendulkar's proposal was largely based on the one prepared by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) last year to identify talent at the age of 13-15 years and to provide them with the best facilities and systematic training so as to enable them attain peak performance at the 2020 Olympics.

The ambitious scheme, modelled on the pattern of Chinese and Eastern European countries, talked about identifying talent at school and college level and put an ultra-modern monitoring system in place to realise the medals dreams.

However, Tendulkar's proposal has made no headway ever since it was submitted to the Sports and HRD ministries with the project still to see the light of the day. The modalities are yet to be worked out by NCERT to make sport a subject in school curriculum.

Tendulkar had drawn inspiration from India's strong showing at the London Olympics. He wants to make the country a sporting powerhouse and to realise the dream of 'sports for all', the Rajya Sabha MP had suggested that sports should be made part of the school curriculum.

He outlined four points in his proposal -- tap into grassroots and nurture young talent, promote sports at university and college levels, revamp sporting infrastructure and make physical activity part of school curriculum.

When Tendulkar had submitted the proposal to then sports minister Maken, he had prompltly asked the sports secretary Sindhushree Khullar to look into the document and involve SAI into the matter.

The minister and secretary were showed a presentation by the then DG SAI Desh Deepak Verma and Regional Director Roque Dias on 'Vision 2020' and Maken was informed that all the necessary points outlined by Tendulkar in his proposal have been incorporated.

Maken, after going through the presentation, agreed to implement the project at the earliest and his views were endorsed by the 10 National Sports Federations (NSFs).

Maken, based on the Vision 2020 document prepared by SAI and the one submitted by Tendulkar, had announced at a press conference in the capital last year that India will target 25 medals at the 2020 Olympics and efforts would be to identify and nurture young talent.

But nothing happened after that and even as countries like Bangladesh and South Africa have started their respective 'Vision 2020' programmes, India is yet to identify the talents.

SAI tried to make the Vision 2020 a reality but it suffered a major setback when the junior teams division was merged with the senior division and the project went into cold storage.

Even Adille Sumariwala, AFI president, had questioned sports minister Jitendra Singh during a recent press conference on Vision 2020 to which the minister could not respond.

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Titans off to a flier in their chase of 189

NEW DELHI: Chasing 189-run target, openers Henry Davis and Jacques Rudolph gave Titans a rollicking start as they raced to fifty in 5.1 overs against Trinidad and Tobago in their Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 on Monday.

CLT20 Points Table | Scorecard

Sent in to bat, opener Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo produced whirlwind half-centuries to power Trinidad & Tobago to 188 for 6 against Titans.

Lewis blasted seven fours and five sixes in his 35-ball 70-run innings and starred in a 109-run partnership with Darren Bravo (63) for the second wicket to set the foundation of a challenging score after being asked to take the first strike by Titans skipper Henry Davids.

T&T lost opener Lendl Simmons (0) early in the innings when he was dismissed by Marchant de Lange in the second over but that didn't affect their innings as Lewis and Bravo took the responsibility on their strong shoulders.

Lewis showed little respect for the bowlers as he plundered a four and two sixes off Morne Morkel in the third over. Bravo too followed suit and clobbered three fours off de Lange in the next over.

Rowan Richards was introduced into the attack then but Lewis treated him with equal disdain as he smacked the bowler for a six and a couple of fours as T&T reached 48 for one in five overs.

Lewis continued his blitzkrieg, picking up two fours and a six in the next two overs to reach his fifty in just 21 balls.

In the ninth over, Lewis sent Henry Davids out of the park over wide long-off and then sent the fielders on a leather hunt with a couple of fours in the 10th over by Farhaan Behardien.

In the 12th over, Bravo got into the act and hammered Richards for a six and a four to leave the bowler bleeding 26 runs in his two overs.

Lewis holed out at the square leg to Richards off van der Merwe in the 13th over.

Bravo didn't allow the wicket to slow down the innings and went on a rampage in the 15th over, hitting three sixes off van der Merwe to take T&T close to the 150 mark.

New man Nicolas Pooran (11), who had hit a six in the 14th over, was then dismissed by Davids when he was caught at deep midwicket by van der Merwe.

However, Navin Stewart sent Davids sailing over long-on in the next delivery and then picked up a four off Morkel in the next over as T&T accumulated runs thick and fast.

Bravo was finally dismissed by de Lange in the 18th over when the bowler disturbed his stumps. The left-handed batsman had five boundaries and four sixes in his 44-ball innings, while Stewart (23) got out in the last over.

Teams:

Trinidad & Tobago: Denesh Ramdin (capt/wk), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Nicolas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart.

Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Quick wickets jolt Titans run chase

NEW DELHI: Titans were at 153/6 in 17 overs, six runs behind D/L target, when rain lashed the Motera stadium to halt the tie against Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.

CLT20 Points Table | Scorecard

AB de Villiers (23* off 13) and Mangaliso Mosehle (11* off 5) were holding the fort for Titans when the match was stopped due to the rain.

Chasing 189-run target, Titans lost wickets at regular intervals after their openers gave them a rollicking start against Trinidad.

Trinidad reduced Titans to 88/4 in 10.4 overs from 65/0 in 6.3 overs with some brilliant bowling and fielding.

Openers Henry Davis (42) and Jacques Rudolph (31) helped Titans raced to fifty in 5.1 overs. But skipper Davids' wicket rattled their run chase as they lost next three wickets for 23 runs.

Davids smacked two sixes and six fours in his quick-fire 22-ball innings, whereas Rudolph hit four boundaries in his 28-ball knock.

Sent in to bat, opener Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo produced whirlwind half-centuries to power Trinidad & Tobago to 188 for 6 against Titans.

Lewis blasted seven fours and five sixes in his 35-ball 70-run innings and starred in a 109-run partnership with Darren Bravo (63) for the second wicket to set the foundation of a challenging score after being asked to take the first strike by Titans skipper Henry Davids.

T&T lost opener Lendl Simmons (0) early in the innings when he was dismissed by Marchant de Lange in the second over but that didn't affect their innings as Lewis and Bravo took the responsibility on their strong shoulders.

Lewis showed little respect for the bowlers as he plundered a four and two sixes off Morne Morkel in the third over. Bravo too followed suit and clobbered three fours off de Lange in the next over.

Rowan Richards was introduced into the attack then but Lewis treated him with equal disdain as he smacked the bowler for a six and a couple of fours as T&T reached 48 for one in five overs.

Lewis continued his blitzkrieg, picking up two fours and a six in the next two overs to reach his fifty in just 21 balls.

In the ninth over, Lewis sent Henry Davids out of the park over wide long-off and then sent the fielders on a leather hunt with a couple of fours in the 10th over by Farhaan Behardien.

In the 12th over, Bravo got into the act and hammered Richards for a six and a four to leave the bowler bleeding 26 runs in his two overs.

Lewis holed out at the square leg to Richards off van der Merwe in the 13th over.

Bravo didn't allow the wicket to slow down the innings and went on a rampage in the 15th over, hitting three sixes off van der Merwe to take T&T close to the 150 mark.

New man Nicolas Pooran (11), who had hit a six in the 14th over, was then dismissed by Davids when he was caught at deep midwicket by van der Merwe.

However, Navin Stewart sent Davids sailing over long-on in the next delivery and then picked up a four off Morkel in the next over as T&T accumulated runs thick and fast.

Bravo was finally dismissed by de Lange in the 18th over when the bowler disturbed his stumps. The left-handed batsman had five boundaries and four sixes in his 44-ball innings, while Stewart (23) got out in the last over.

Teams:

Trinidad & Tobago: Denesh Ramdin (capt/wk), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Nicolas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart.

Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Rain stops Titans-T&T tie at Motera

NEW DELHI: Rain played spoilsport as Trinidad and Tobago beat Titans by six runs after D/L method was used for the result in their Champions League Twenty20 match on Monday.

CLT20 Points Table | Scorecard

With this victory, Trinidad jumped to second place with 8 points after three games ahead of Titans, who also have 8 points from four games but with inferior run-rate.

Titans were at 153/6 in 17 overs, six runs behind D/L target, when rain lashed the Motera stadium to halt the tie against Trinidad.

AB de Villiers (23* off 13) and Mangaliso Mosehle (11* off 5) were holding the fort for Titans when the match was stopped due to the rain.

Chasing 189-run target, Titans lost wickets at regular intervals after their openers gave them a rollicking start against Trinidad.

Trinidad reduced Titans to 88/4 in 10.4 overs from 65/0 in 6.3 overs with some brilliant bowling and fielding.

Openers Henry Davis (42) and Jacques Rudolph (31) helped Titans raced to fifty in 5.1 overs. But skipper Davids' wicket rattled their run chase as they lost next three wickets for 23 runs.

Davids smacked two sixes and six fours in his quick-fire 22-ball innings, whereas Rudolph hit four boundaries in his 28-ball knock.

Sent in to bat, opener Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo produced whirlwind half-centuries to power Trinidad & Tobago to 188 for 6 against Titans.

Lewis blasted seven fours and five sixes in his 35-ball 70-run innings and starred in a 109-run partnership with Darren Bravo (63) for the second wicket to set the foundation of a challenging score after being asked to take the first strike by Titans skipper Henry Davids.

T&T lost opener Lendl Simmons (0) early in the innings when he was dismissed by Marchant de Lange in the second over but that didn't affect their innings as Lewis and Bravo took the responsibility on their strong shoulders.

Lewis showed little respect for the bowlers as he plundered a four and two sixes off Morne Morkel in the third over. Bravo too followed suit and clobbered three fours off de Lange in the next over.

Rowan Richards was introduced into the attack then but Lewis treated him with equal disdain as he smacked the bowler for a six and a couple of fours as T&T reached 48 for one in five overs.

Lewis continued his blitzkrieg, picking up two fours and a six in the next two overs to reach his fifty in just 21 balls.

In the ninth over, Lewis sent Henry Davids out of the park over wide long-off and then sent the fielders on a leather hunt with a couple of fours in the 10th over by Farhaan Behardien.

In the 12th over, Bravo got into the act and hammered Richards for a six and a four to leave the bowler bleeding 26 runs in his two overs.

Lewis holed out at the square leg to Richards off van der Merwe in the 13th over.

Bravo didn't allow the wicket to slow down the innings and went on a rampage in the 15th over, hitting three sixes off van der Merwe to take T&T close to the 150 mark.

New man Nicolas Pooran (11), who had hit a six in the 14th over, was then dismissed by Davids when he was caught at deep midwicket by van der Merwe.

However, Navin Stewart sent Davids sailing over long-on in the next delivery and then picked up a four off Morkel in the next over as T&T accumulated runs thick and fast.

Bravo was finally dismissed by de Lange in the 18th over when the bowler disturbed his stumps. The left-handed batsman had five boundaries and four sixes in his 44-ball innings, while Stewart (23) got out in the last over.

Teams:

Trinidad & Tobago: Denesh Ramdin (capt/wk), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Nicolas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart.

Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Titans off to a solid start in chase of 146

NEW DELHI: Riding on the brilliant opening stand of 112 runs between Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out), Titans kept themselves alive for semifinal slot as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets on Saturday.

CLT20 Points Table | Scorecard

Titans chased down the modest 146-run target with 21 balls to spare.

Rudolph and Heino Kuhn (15 not out) make sure that there were no hiccups in the chase after Titans lost AB de Villiers (9) and skipper Davids in quick succession in the middle overs.

Rudolph hit two maximums and three boundaries in his unbeaten 42-ball innings. Rudolph also added 24 runs for the third wicket with Kuhn, who smacked a six and a four in his 8-ball cameo.

Titans lost skipper Davids after he added 112-run for the opening wicket with Rudolph.

Davids slammed four sixes and seven fours in his 42-ball quick-fire knock to lead the Titans from the front. Titans raced to hundred without losing a wicket in just 10.4 overs.

Electing to field, Titans' pacer David Wiese starred with the ball as Sunrisers Hyderabad blowed away a good start to be restricted to 145 for seven in a crucial Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 on Saturday.

Wiese picked up three crucial wickets giving away just 17 runs to bring Titans back into the match after Parthiv Patel (26) and skipper Shikhar Dhawan (37) made a fiery start to Sunrisers's innings with a 62-run opening stand that came off just 39 balls.

Towards the end Dale Steyn came up with a 12-ball 27-run to lift the Sunrisers to the modest total.

Apart from Wiese, Rowan Richards (1-24) and Henry Davids (1-18) finished with economical figures.

Sent into bat, Dhawan and Parthiv gave away a flying start to Sunrisers's innings at the JSCA International Stadium.

The duo cut, pulled and drove Titans's pacers to all parts of the ground and did not allow them to settle down.

The duo scored majority of their runs through boundaries with the powerplay yielding 60 runs that included nine fours and three sixes.

Dhawan continued his sublime form and got off the mark with a four through the fine leg boundary while Patel slashed Morne Morkel for a six over covers early into his innings.

Dhawan smashed seven fours and a six in his 21-ball 37 before he was holed out to Morkel off Wiese.

The Sunrisers lost the plot after Dhawan's dismissal and failed to keep the momentum going as Wiese delivered two more blows in subsequent overs.

Wiese cleaned up Parthiv in his next over before sending back Hanuma Vihari.

Seeing Sunrisers stutter in the middle overs, skipper Henry Davids, who had surprisingly bowled the first over of the match, removed Biplab Samantray for a duck.

JP Duminy (17) also struggled and failed to find the fence once during his 28-ball stay at the crease.

In-form West Indian all-rounder Darren Sammy (1) too perished in pursuit of quick runs before Thisara Perera (11) following suit.

Steyn, however, gave the much-needed impetus to Sunrisers' innings with his quickfire unbeaten knock. He smashed Marchant de Lange for two fours and as many sixes in the final over of the innings to give some respectability to the Sunrisers total.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Jean-Paul Duminy, Amit Mishra, Parthiv Patel (wk), Thisara Perera , Biplab Samantray, Darren Sammy, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Dale Steyn, Hanuma Vihari.

Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Rohit warned and handed suspended fine

JAIPUR: Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma was reprimanded and handed a $1,000 suspended fine for breaching the Champions League Twenty20 Code of Conduct during the match against Highveld Lions at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Sharma, in the wee hours of Saturday, admitted to the Level 1 offence (Section 1 - A1) of conduct contrary to the spirit of the game.

Hardus Viljoen of the Lions also was reprimanded for breaching the Code of Conduct. Viljoen also admitted to the Level 1 offence (Section 1 - A1/A2) of conduct contrary to the spirit of the game.

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Titans thrash Sunrisers by 8 wickets

NEW DELHI: Riding on the brilliant opening stand of 112 runs between Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out), Titans kept themselves alive for semifinal slot as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets on Saturday.

CLT20 Points Table | Scorecard

Titans chased down the modest 146-run target with 21 balls to spare.

Rudolph and Heino Kuhn (15 not out) make sure that there were no hiccups in the chase after Titans lost AB de Villiers (9) and skipper Davids in quick succession in the middle overs.

Rudolph hit two maximums and three boundaries in his unbeaten 42-ball innings. Rudolph also added 24 runs for the third wicket with Kuhn, who smacked a six and a four in his 8-ball cameo.

Titans lost skipper Davids after he added 112-run for the opening wicket with Rudolph.

Davids slammed four sixes and seven fours in his 42-ball quick-fire knock to lead the Titans from the front. Titans raced to hundred without losing a wicket in just 10.4 overs.

Electing to field, Titans' pacer David Wiese starred with the ball as Sunrisers Hyderabad blowed away a good start to be restricted to 145 for seven in a crucial Group B match of the Champions League Twenty20 on Saturday.

Wiese picked up three crucial wickets giving away just 17 runs to bring Titans back into the match after Parthiv Patel (26) and skipper Shikhar Dhawan (37) made a fiery start to Sunrisers's innings with a 62-run opening stand that came off just 39 balls.

Towards the end Dale Steyn came up with a 12-ball 27-run to lift the Sunrisers to the modest total.

Apart from Wiese, Rowan Richards (1-24) and Henry Davids (1-18) finished with economical figures.

Sent into bat, Dhawan and Parthiv gave away a flying start to Sunrisers's innings at the JSCA International Stadium.

The duo cut, pulled and drove Titans's pacers to all parts of the ground and did not allow them to settle down.

The duo scored majority of their runs through boundaries with the powerplay yielding 60 runs that included nine fours and three sixes.

Dhawan continued his sublime form and got off the mark with a four through the fine leg boundary while Patel slashed Morne Morkel for a six over covers early into his innings.

Dhawan smashed seven fours and a six in his 21-ball 37 before he was holed out to Morkel off Wiese.

The Sunrisers lost the plot after Dhawan's dismissal and failed to keep the momentum going as Wiese delivered two more blows in subsequent overs.

Wiese cleaned up Parthiv in his next over before sending back Hanuma Vihari.

Seeing Sunrisers stutter in the middle overs, skipper Henry Davids, who had surprisingly bowled the first over of the match, removed Biplab Samantray for a duck.

JP Duminy (17) also struggled and failed to find the fence once during his 28-ball stay at the crease.

In-form West Indian all-rounder Darren Sammy (1) too perished in pursuit of quick runs before Thisara Perera (11) following suit.

Steyn, however, gave the much-needed impetus to Sunrisers' innings with his quickfire unbeaten knock. He smashed Marchant de Lange for two fours and as many sixes in the final over of the innings to give some respectability to the Sunrisers total.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Jean-Paul Duminy, Amit Mishra, Parthiv Patel (wk), Thisara Perera , Biplab Samantray, Darren Sammy, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Dale Steyn, Hanuma Vihari.

Titans: Henry Davids (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Chennai elect to bowl against Brisbane

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl against Brisbane Heat in their Champions League Twenty20 match at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi.

Chennai, IPL runners-up this year, are among the favourites to lift the Champions League for a second time after clinching the trophy in 2010.

And the sheer depth in the line-up was displayed on Thursday when Suresh Raina smashed a quickfire half-century while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced a belligerent unbeaten knock of 63 for CSK to post a stunning 202 on the board against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Brisbane, on the other hand, are all but eliminated from the competition. Handed defeats in the two matches they have played so far, Brisbane need to win on Saturday to stay alive in the event.

The depleted Australian outfit, which failed miserably with the bat in the games against Trinidad & Tobago and the Titans, will be expecting its batsmen to show more responsibility.

Teams (from):

Chennai Super Kings : MS Dhoni (Capt.), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay.

Brisbane Heat: James Hopes (Capt.), Daniel Christian, Peter Forrest, Cameron Gannon, Nathan Hauritz, Chris Lynn, Dom Michael, Chris Sabburg, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Mathew Gale, Chris Hartley, Alex Kepm, Alister Mcdermott, Kemar Roach.

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I got death threats, says Aditya Verma

NEW DELHI: Elated by the Supreme Court order restraining N Srinivasan from taking charge as BCCI president even if he is elected in the AGM, Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma on Friday alleged that he braved death threats to fight the legal battle against the Tamil Nadu strongman.

Hearing the petition filed by Verma, Supreme Court on Friday allowed the BCCI to go ahead with its Annual General Meeting in Chennai on Sunday but has told Srinivasan not to take charge even if he is elected president.

"I am 300 percent happy with the verdict of the honourable Supreme Court. This is a lonely battle that I had to fight against a powerful sports administrator like Mr Srinivasan. I had full faith in judiciary," Verma said.

Asked that whether he can claim total victory as the court has not debarred Srinivasan from contesting the BCCI elections, Verma said, "The court has said that Srinivasan can't take charge as the case is pending."

"Now it's upto the Board members to decide whether they can allow Srinivasan to contest the elections as he has no power to discharge the president's functions."

The CAB secretary also claimed that he received a threat call from a particular cell phone number on Thursday evening.

"I received a life threat at 6:16 pm yesterday. An anonymous caller told me to withdraw the case but for me it was a matter of truth," claimed Verma.

Verma provided the cell phone number from which the alleged call was made to him.

Srinivasan was forced to step aside after his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropped up in the IPL betting scandal. CSK is owned by Srinivasan's company India Cements.

Meiyappan, who is currently out on bail, was recently chargesheeted by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

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Yuvi shines as India Blue win by 11 runs

INDORE: Yuvraj Singh bludgeoned his way to a 56-ball 84 and gave the national selectors another timely reminder of his worth even as Abhishek Nayar slammed a 39-ball 75 to take India Blue to the final with a 11-run win over India Red in the NKP Salve Challenger Series on Friday.

Sent into bat, India Blue posted an imposing 345 for four before bowling out the opposition for 334 in 49.5 overs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

The match was as good as over for India Red with the Yusuf Pathan-led side needing 38 in the last two overs. However, Umesh Yadav and Shabhaz Nadeem hit a flurry of boundaries to nearly lead their side to what would have been an improbable win.

They collected 15 runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bring the equation down to 23 of six balls. R Vinay Kumar was smashed for a six and a four before Umesh Yadav lost the steam.

Earlier, both Yuvraj and opener P Akshat Reddy scored 84 runs each, but the left-handed skipper enjoyed a strike rate of over 150 as he toyed with the India Red bowlers hitting 11 boundaries, including five sixes.

Reddy's knock came off 96 balls and was studded with five fours and two shots over the fence.

Nayar then tormented the rival bowlers with his fiery unbeaten knock that came off a mere 39 balls, and had a strike rate that was close to 200.

Yuvraj and Nayar plundered 151 runs in just 13 overs in their fourth wicket partnership, which ended with the former's run out in the last over of the innings.

Yuvraj now has one century and three half-centuries in his last five matches. He was handed a lifeline by the BCCI by including him in the India A team for the series against the West Indies A.

India Red skipper Yusuf Pathan's decision to invite the Blues to bat seemed all right as they had kept the rival batsmen under a tight leash and had also scalped Naman Ojha cheaply at the start.

However, their joy was shortlived as Reddy found a good partner in Manish Pandey, who contributed 70 off 86 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes.

The duo put the side batting first in the driver's seat with a mix of determined and fearless batting. They raised a 143-run stand for the second wicket, setting the stage for Yuvraj and Nayar to rip apart the bowlers in the slog overs.

The two batsmen hammered the bowlers all around the park as India Blue scored 162 runs in the last 15 overs. Nayar hit six fours and four sixes in his knock.

None of the Red bowlers could make an impact and pacer Suraj Yadav was the most expensive as he bled 84 runs in his 10 overs.

Chasing a formidable total, India Red gave a good account of themselves but fell short after a fighting effort.

Abhinav Mukund top-scored with 83 off 86 balls, hitting nine fours and a six.

Smit Patel made 67 but retired hurt after facing 83 balls while striking six fours. Kedar Jadhav smashed 49 off 40 balls with the help of five fours and a six.

The chase only got difficult when Yusuf Pathan made a hasty exit, falling to Yuvraj for 1. Ishank Jaggi (34) led a spirited lower-order resistance but the target proved to be a little too much for them.

For India Blue, Vinay Kumar picked up four wickets, but conceded 76 runs in 10.5 overs, while Iresh Saxena and Piyush Chawla took two wickets apiece.

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West Indies A sitting pretty on Day 3

MYSORE: Opener Kieran Powell's half century along with spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Nikita Miller's magical spell, tightened the West Indies A grip over India A on the third day of the first unofficial Test at Gangothri Glades Cricket Grounds on Friday.

At stumps, the visitors were 130 for three in reply to the hosts' first innings total of 245 all out, a huge lead of 314 runs. Captain Kirk Edwards and Chadwick Walton were unbeaten on nine and zero respectively at the draw of stumps.

Riding high on extraordinary bowling performance by their spin duo, West Indies openers began their second innings with supreme confidence. Both Kraigg Brathwaite and Powell put on 112 runs partnership for the first wicket.

While Brathwaite was cautious in his approach, Powell, who has been out of form in the series so far, came out with a positive frame of mind.

Unlike in his earlier knocks, Powell adopted an aggressive approach and belted wayward Indian attack by scoring 68 in 88 balls with nine boundaries and a six, before he was caught and bowled by spinner Rajat Paliwal.

On the same score of 112, first innings hero Parvez Rasool packed off Brathwaite for 34 off 88 balls with five boundaries to his name.

Rasool celebrated his seventh wicket of the match when he disturbed Narsing Deonarine's furniture after he had made nine off 12 balls.

Earlier in the day, Indian batsmen did not have any answer to the magical spell of Miller and Permaul, who wreaked havoc despite overnight batsmen - Manpreet Juneja and Harshad Khadiwale - gave some resistence.

Permaul grabbed five wickets for 85 while Miller claimed four for 61 as they saw the later Indian batsmen fall like a pack of cards.

Juneja was the top-scorer with 84 off 151 balls. His innings was laced with eleven boundaries. However, the other batsmen could not hold on and fell like a pack of cards.

Resuming their overnight first innings score of 124 for three, India added forty more runs before Permaul trapped Juneja leg before.

Soon India lost two more wickets in the form of Paliwal (1) and Khadiwale (27), leaving India at 186 for six and a recovery from this stage looked a far cry.

Permaul, unlike the Indian bowlers, rattled the Indian tailenders - Mohammad Shami, Ishwar Pandey and Ashoke Dinda - by packing them off to the hut in quick succession.

It would be interesting to know whether Edwards would look to push for a win as he had not declared the West Indies innings at close of play.

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CLT20: Mumbai invite Lions to bat

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bowl against Highveld Lions in the Champions League T20 clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday.

Both teams remain unchanged.

Points Table

Mumbai lost to Rajasthan Royals in the opening match of the tournament and the IPL champions will be desperate to pick up their first win to stay in the hunt.

The Alviro Petersen-led Lions are aware that the players will have to play out of their skins to beat the star-studded Mumbai Indians. Neil McKenzie, Petersen, Quinton de Kock and Gulam Bodi are the main players, besides Sohail Tanvir and Lonwabo Tsotsobe - the two key bowlers.

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Broom sweeps Perth Scorchers away

JAIPUR: Riding on Neil Broom's unbeaten 117, Otago Volts thumped Perth Scorchers by 62 runs to keep the juggernaut rolling in the Champions League T20.

Scorecard | Points Table

The spectators who had braved the scorching sun to witness the Trans-Tasman clash at Sawai Mansingh Stadium were in for some good entertainment with Broom and Ryan ten Doeschate (66) indulging in some big hitting.

On a September afternoon with the mercury rising, it's not easy for an overseas team to beat the heat, but the Doeschate-Broom partnership ensured that the Volts were on course right from the start.

The Kiwi-Dutch pair built a 128-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take the Brendon McCullum led-side to 242-4, a tournament record. In reply, the Scorchers reached 180-6, with Hilton Cartwright remaining unbeaten on 73. For Volts, Ian Butler scalped 3-47.

Broom, whose 117 came off 56 balls, kept it simple right from the start. Opening the innings with Hamish Rutherford, he initially kept the scoreboard ticking, while Doeschate went for the shots.

After Behrendorff dismissed the Dutch batsman, Broom ensured Volts didn't lose power. A baby-cradle dance after reaching the century, said it all. Broom was loving it!

After the Broom storm, it was necessary for the Simon Katich-led side to get off to a flying start but the top-order fell cheaply, making the job easier for the Volts.

Chasing a target of 243, the Scorchers brought in young Ashton Agar (10) to open the innings with captain Simon Katich (0). But on a day when nothing was working for them, the move backfired.

MI-Lions match shifted to Jaipur

With weather playing havoc in Ahmedabad, Friday's Champions League T20 match between Mumbai Indians and Highveld Lions has now been moved to Jaipur.

Ahmedabad has been witnessing heavy rainfall for the past few days, resulting in the cancellation of the double-header games on Monday.

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Sehwag's fifty goes in vain as Delhi lose

INDORE: Virender Sehwag struck a fluent half-century in the first outing of his comeback bid into the national side but that was not good enough to prevent a formidable Delhi side from losing by 18 runs to India Blue in the opening game of NKP Salve Challenger Series on Thursday.

Playing without skipper Yuvraj Singh, who skipped the tie due to a stiff back, India Blue scored 270 for six in 50 overs courtesy a 73-ball-91 by Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar.

In reply, Sehwag, who came in at number four, batted in his customary style, smashing his way to 58 off only 39 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six but Delhi could manage only 252 in 47.5 overs.

Veteran Rajat Bhatia's all-round effort (3/46 in 10 overs and 65 runs) and Ashish Nehra's career best List A score of 37 not out went in vain.

Virat Kohli-led Delhi will now have to defeat India Red and also expect a favourable outcome in the match between Blue and Red scheduled for tomorrow.

With Yuvraj skipping the game, the interest for the 10,000 odd spectators was some fireworks from Sehwag and Kohli. But, Kohli (5) disappointed as he played away from his body to a Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/58) delivery which was snapped by Naman Ojha behind stumps.

Coming at two down, Sehwag started with a punchy cover drive off Kumar's bowling. In the next over bowled by R Vinay Kumar, Sehwag hit a spanking square-cut and then lofted the seamer over extra cover for a six. The moment width was provided to Sehwag, the ball raced through the cover region while anything on the pads was treated with equal disdain.

Having played his last competitive match (during IPL in early May), a leaner Sehwag did not look rusty during his short stay at the wicket.

It was Bengal left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena who got lucky when he managed to latch on to a powerful return catch offered by 'Nawab of Najafgarh' which had Delhi in trouble at 85 for four. Such was his domination that Sehwag scored 58 of those 85 runs.

Delhi's eternal 'Go-to-Man' Bhatia tried his bit with a gritty innings. In fact, along with Ashish Nehra, he added 55 runs for the ninth wicket to raise visions of an improbable win.

It was the lanky UP seamer Ankit Rajpoot (3/44) who got one to cut back into the right hander after pitching and Bhatia was clean bowled.

Nehra fought hard adding another 28 runs with Parvinder Awana (12) for the last wicket before Vinay cleaned up the latter with a fullish delivery.

Earlier, it was Nayar, who with his attacking batting laid the foundation for a healthy score for India Blue.

Nayar was equally impressive against seamer Nehra as well as against spinner Varun Sood, whom he repeatedly swept. He shared two crucial partnerships --- 52 for the fifth wicket with Ankit Bawne (13) and 71 with Piyush Chawla (40) for the sixth wicket.

The unbroken seventh wicket stand of 48 between Chawla and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (29 not out) helped Blues cross the 250-run mark.

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Rasool takes five-for but WI 'A' hold edge

MYSORE: Promising all-rounder Parvez Rasool impressed with a five-wicket haul but West Indies 'A' held the edge as they made inroads into the India 'A' batting line-up after being all out for 429 in the first unofficial Test here today.

At stumps on the second day of the match, India 'A' were in a spot of bother at 124 for three, with skipper Cheteshwar Pujara back in the pavilion.

The hosts were trailing the Kirk Edwards-led side by 305 runs with seven wickets in hand.

Manpreet Juneja was unbeaten on 47 off 77 balls while Harshad Khadiwale was batting on five. Opener Lokesh Rahul made 46 off 100 balls at the Gangothri Glades Cricket Ground.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir cricketer Rasool emerged as star of the day by taking five wickets for 116 runs in 45 overs. While the rest of the bowlers struggled to get rid of the West Indies tail-enders, the 24-year-old off-spinner always seemed to be on the lookout for wickets.

Resuming at 264 for five, the last five West Indian batsmen frustrated the Indian bowlers by contributing a commendable 192 runs.

West Indies 'A' lost their overnight batsman Chadwick Walton in the fourth over of the day. Walton could only add eight runs to his overnight unbeaten 27 before being trapped leg before by pacer Ishwar Pandey.

Assad Fadudin (not out 86) and Nikita Miller (49) then thwarted the Indian bowlers, putting on a crucial 88-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Miller was unfortunately run out by the Pujara-Rohit Motwani combo. His innings came off 86 balls and was studded with five boundaries.

West Indies lost another wicket in the form of Veerasammy Permaul (11), but not before crafting a 42-run stand for the eighth wicket with Fadudin.

Rasool then quickly packed off Delorn Johnson (0) and Miguel Cummins (6), leaving Fudadin 14 short of what would have been a well-deserved century. He faced 201 balls, hit 10 fours and a six.

In reply, Indian openers - Rahul and Jiwanjot Singh Chouhan - began on a cautious note.

The pair put on 45 runs for the first wicket, before Chouhan was gleefully caught by wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton off left-arm spinner Permaul for 16.

Miguel Cummins grabbed the prize wicket of Pujara for three.

Suddenly, India 'A' were struggling at 49 for two, but a 60-run stand for the third wicket between Rahul and Juneja put the hosts back on road to recovery.

Juneja, who scored 193 in the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Visakhapatnam earlier this month, displayed his class once again.

Coming into bat at 49 for two, Juneja got his act right with an aggressive approach, hitting seven boundaries.

Rahul, too, found the fence seven times before he was caught by Leon Johnson off Miller.

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CLT20: Unchanged SRH ask CSK to bat

NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 clash at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Thursday.

Scorecard | Points Table

Brimming with confidence after a perfect start to their campaign, star-studded Chennai Super Kings will start as favourites.

Two-time IPL champions, CSK boast of a star-studded line up with the likes of India skipper Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Michael Hussey and Dwayne Bravo around whom the CSK batting will revolve.

Hussey, Raina and Bravo set up CSK's run chase the other day with some scintillating strokeplay and the trio would be eyeing a repeat performance against the Sunrisers.

Having failed in the previous match, Dhoni is due for a big knock in front of his home crowd.

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Mohit Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Parthiv Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, JP Duminy, Hanuma Vihari, Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Ashish Reddy, Karan Sharma, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma

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I will have the last call: Lalit Modi

NEW DELHI: Banned for life from India's cricket establishment, a beleaguered former IPL boss Lalit Modi is not ready to throw in the towel yet and declared that he would indeed have the "last call" in this entire issue.

"They (BCCI) will have their day and I will have the last call. I am not going anywhere. I will be right here," Modi told 'Times Now' after BCCI imposed a life ban during a special general meeting (SGM) in Chennai today.

Modi also took a veiled potshot at BCCI's controversial president N Srinivasan accusing BCCI members of protecting the Tamil Nadu strongman.

"I think fans are a little disappointed on this match-fixing issue and also the persons involved. It is really sad that they banned the person who created the league but people who are fixing matches and those who are running the Board are being protected by the BCCI members," Modi said.

"The issue is very simple to me. The brand itself is bigger than any one person. But my name is married to IPL. I am the architect of IPL. It was a difficult dream but I realized it.

"I did a few things but I wanted the league to improve. But it's now going in backward direction. Hope BCCI get their act together. I wanted to tighten the rules but at the same time make it transparent," the former IPL czar said from his London residence.

Modi feels that it's imperative that one makes all the owners "responsible for running the game" but at the same time said that "BCCI probably doesn't want to lose control".

However on the issue of financial irregularities, Modi didn't come up with a concrete answer.

"I don't what they are saying. I brought USD 8 billion for BCCI," he claimed.

"I tried to protect the interest of BCCI and they accuse me of arm-twisting a franchise! After I left two franchises had to quit the league (Deccan Chargers Hyderabad, Kochi Tuskers). BCCI lost USD 700 million. Since I didn't toe their line, I was accused of financial impropriety," Modi said.

Modi didn't stop short while terming Srinivasan as a "Master match-fixer."

His family had been supportive during crisis period but the maverick administrator declared that he is "ready to move on."

"I have moved on and I will soon be associated with a global league. There are a lot of people in sporting fraternity across the world, who want me on board."

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Perth Scorchers crumble in chase of 243

NEW DELHI: Neil Broom's scintillating 56-ball 117* followed by Ian Butler's figures of 3/47 helped Otago register a 62-run win over Perth in their Champions League Twenty20 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Scorecard

Perth Scorchers seemed to lose the plot as they kept losing regular wickets at regular intervals in the match.

Ian Butler dismissed opener Liam Davis on the first ball of their innings and then scalped Ashton Agar soon after. The Perth miseries were further deepened when skipper Simon Katich was run out without facing a ball.

Adam Voges and Hilton Cartwright then tried to revive the Scorchers when they stitched a steady 65-run partnership for the fourth wicket to compensate for the bad start.

However, the glory was short-lived when Voges (36) was dismissed by Nathan McCullum.

Aston Turner, who dropped Ryan ten Doeschate's catch earlier in the match, was next in line to be dismissed when he became Ian Butler's third scalp of the match.

Earlier, opener Neil Broom blasted a whirlwind unbeaten century, a breathtaking 117 off just 56 balls, as Otago Volts posted a massive 242 for four against Perth Scorchers.

Broom butchered the Australian bowlers with his incredible knock as he plundered nine fours and eight sixes to propel his side to the highest total in the history of the tournament.

Such was the impact of the Broom's electrifying knock, which was third highest individual score in tournament's history, that Otago collected 94 runs in the last five overs.

Only Australian batsman David Warner (135 and 123), who has two centuries two his credit in CLT20, is ahead of Broom in the Champions League. Broom's was only fifth hundred in CLT20.

Broom reached 95 with a six off young paceman Joel Paris and reached the three-figure mark with another big shot as he hit three successive sixes in that over.

Broom was dropped in the first ball of that Paris over, when he was on 87, and he made the Aussies pay quite heavily.

Paris had given away just nine runs in his first two overs as he had rocked the Otago top-order by dismissing Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum in successive balls in the third over but ended up giving away 41 runs the last two.

It was not that Broom went boom boom from the word go. His side had lost skipper McCullum and Rutherford and they were 32 for two in six overs.

Broom got good support from Derek de Boorder (45) with whom he raised a 67-runs to stabilise the innings. But what followed was incredible hitting from Broom and Ryan ten Doeschate, who smashed his way to a fiery 26-ball 66, laced with three fours and six sixes.

Broom and ten Doeschate rattled up a stunning 128-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just eight overs.

Jason Behrendorff broke the stand when he dismissed ten Doeschate in the 18th over but there was no stopping Broom.

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Otago crush Perth Scorchers by 62 runs

JAIPUR: Opener Neil Broom produced a hurricane 117-run knock off just 56 balls as Otago Volts recorded a comprehensive 62-run win over Perth Scorchers in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

Scorecard | Points Table

Riding on Broom's blistering ton, the Kiwi side posted the highest-ever total in the tournament history as they reached mammoth 242 for four after being put into bat.

Apart from Broom's breathtaking unbeaten knock, Ryan ten Doeschate tormented the Scorchers bowler with his fiery 26-ball 66.

Broom and ten Doeschate rattled up a stunning 128-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just eight overs as they plundered 24 boundaries, including 10 sixes, between them.

The Australian side put up a brave fight but all they could manage was 180 for six, built around Hilton Cartwright's unbeaten 73 and some superb batting by the lower-order.

Scorchers were in trouble right from first over when Ian Butler struck twice. Skipper Simon Katich was run out and the Australians were gasping at 11 for three in the second over.

Adam Voges (36), Ashton Turner (23) and Tom Triffitt (25) resisted for a while but that only reduced the defeat margin.

With this convincing win, Otago have extended their unbeaten streak to 14 matches, second only to Sialkot Stallions' incredible 25 wins on the trot.

Broom butchered the Australian bowlers with his incredible knock as he hit nine fours and eight sixes.

Such was the impact of the Broom's electrifying knock that Otago collected 94 runs in the last five overs.

Only Australian batsman David Warner (135 and 123), who has two centuries two his credit in CLT20, is ahead of Broom in the Champions League. Broom's was only fifth hundred in CLT20.

Broom reached 95 with a six off young paceman Joel Paris and reached the three-figure mark with another big shot as he hit three successive sixes in that over.

Broom was dropped in the first ball of that Paris over, when he was on 87, and he made the Aussies pay quite heavily.

Paris had given away just nine runs in his first two overs as he had rocked the Otago top-order by dismissing Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum in successive balls in the third over but ended up giving away 41 runs the last two.

It was not that Broom went boom boom from the word go. His side had lost skipper McCullum and Rutherford and they were 32 for two in six overs.

Broom got good support from Derek de Boorder (45) with whom he raised a 67-runs to stabilise the innings. But what followed was incredible hitting from Broom and Ryan ten Doeschate, who smashed his way to a fiery 26-ball 66, laced with three fours and six sixes.

Broom and ten Doeschate rattled up a stunning 128-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just eight overs.

Jason Behrendorff broke the stand when he dismissed ten Doeschate in the 18th over but there was no stopping Broom.

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CLT20: Lions invite Royals to bat

NEW DELHI: Highveld Lions won the toss and elected to bowl against Rajasthan Royals in the Champions League T20 clash at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Wednesday.

Points Table | Scorecard

The Lions have left out Imran Tahir and brought in Thami Tsolekile. Lions will play only one spinner - Aaron Phangiso. Royals, on the other hand, have included Pravin Tambe in place of Rahul Shukla.

It has been a great start for the Rahul Dravid-led side in the Champions League T20, and now he would be eager to tame the Lions to keep the SMS fortress intact. And, for that he will largely depend on his top-order batsmen.

With the likes of Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane raring to go, the Royals will also look forward to another steady innings from young Sanju Samson, who had a dream outing against Mumbai Indians.

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Brisbane Heat bundle out Titans for 123

NEW DELHI: Chasing a 124-run target, Brisbane Heat got off to a bad start as they lost wickets cheaply in their Champions League Twenty20 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday.

Scorecard | Points Table

Brisbane Heat first lost opener Joe Burns (0) when he was dismissed by Rowan Richards, who forced the Heat batsman to get a wicked top-edge on the bowler's first ball.

Soon after, after hitting two quick boundaries, Peter Forrest (8) too returned back to the dressing room as he was caught comfortably by Farhaan Behardien at square leg.

Marchant de Lange then picked up his second wicket in quick succession by dismissing Ben Cutting (0).

Skipper James Hopes and Daniel Christian then tried to revive the run chase by stitching a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket before Richards got the better of Christian's (21) stumps.

Hopes (37) was the next batsman in line to be dismissed when the Brisbane skipper failed to withstand the elevating pressure and was caught by AB de Villiers off the bowling of Roelof van der Merwe.

Earlier, fast-medium bowler Matthew Gale led an impressive bowling effort with a four-wicket haul as Brisbane Heat bundled out Titans for 123 on a ground that was made match-ready after a lot of hardwork by the groundsmen.

The match was delayed by 45 minutes due to rain, which stopped around 15 minutes before the toss was held, but the efforts put in by the groundsmen meant the overs were not going to be reduced.

Titans were bundled out with as many as seven deliveries to go, with the 29-year-old Gale returning impressive figures of four for 10 in his four-over spell.

Daniel Christian picked up two wickets, while there was one each for Ben Cutting and Nathan Hauritz.

Brisbane Heat captain James Hopes decided to bowl after winning the toss, and was off to a bad start as they lost Jacques Rudolph as early as in the second over, the successful bowler being Gale.

But skipper Henry Davids, who top-scored with a 31-ball 39, added 69 runs for the second wicket Heino Kuhn (31) to stabilise the Heat's innings.

The Australian outfit's innings soon suffered a double blow, losing Kuhn and Davids in quick succession, that pegged them back after a handy partnership.

Kuhn faced 27 balls and hit six boundaries while his skipper found the fence five times at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

The experienced A B de Villiers, in his typical style, smashed his way to 28 off just 19 deliveries before being run out by the Ben Cutting-Nathan Hauritz combination.

Needless to say that De Villiers' wicket was important from Heat's point of view as the flashy right-hander was looking dangerous during his stay in the middle, hitting four boundaries as well as rotating the strike with ease.

However, what followed was a middle and lower order collapse as none of the players could reach the double digit in the first innings of the Group B clash.

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Decks cleared for life ban on Lalit Modi

NEW DELHI: With the Delhi high court allowing the BCCI to conduct its special general meeting (SGM) in Chennai tomorrow, the decks are cleared for the board to impose a possible life ban on former IPL chairman Lalit Modi for alleged financial irregularities while being at the helm of cash-rich league from 2008-2010.

The SGM, which is likely to be chaired by president in-exile N Srinivasan, has been convened to discuss the report of the Diciplinary Committee on Modi and decide the quantum of disciplinary punishment. Two-third of the majority will need to vote in favour of Modi's life ban.

It effectively means that a minimum of 21 votes are required out of the total 31 units to make the former IPL czar a persona non-grata in the world's richest cricket board.

"Save Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), expect no other BCCI units to support Modi tomorrow. Even PCA's case will depend on who attends the SGM -- persident I S Bindra who is a Modi backer or secretary M P Pandove who is not known to possess a hardline stance," a BCCI official said.

While Modi got a stay order from Patiala House Court on Saturday, the Delhi high court today gave a favourable verdict to the BCCI which literally ends any chances Modi harboured of escaping the life ban.

Modi was the IPL chairman-cum-commissioner during the first three editions but was suspended immediately after the closing ceremony in 2010, on charges of financial irregularities in running of the league as well as improper practices during auction of two new teams before the third edition.

During the suspension, a three-member disciplinary committee comprising political heavyweights Arun Jaitely and Jyotiraditya Scindia along with president Srinivasan was formed. But Srinivasan recused himself and the erstwhile IPL chairman Chirayu Amin was made a member. But subsequently Amin also recused himself and it became a two-member committee.

However by the time, Jaitley, who looked after the legal part and Scindia, who looked on the charges of impropriety, submitted an exhaustive 400-page report, Srinivasan had stepped aside from discharging his functions.

A lot of BCCI officials have already started descending in Chennai for the meeting.

It is learnt that all the BCCI members have been invited to be part of three-day pleasure trip to Mahabalipuram by the current BCCI president before they are back in Chennai for the all-important Annual General Meeting of the Board on September 29.

Srinivasan is expected to get an year's extension as the president but there is a Supreme Court hearing on Friday on an Interim Application (IA) filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma with an appeal to bar the Tamil Nadu strongman from contesting the elections in the AGM.

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Brisbane Heat falter in chase of 124

NEW DELHI: Chasing a 124-run target, Brisbane Heat got off to a bad start as they lost wickets cheaply in their Champions League Twenty20 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday.

Scorecard | Points Table

Brisbane Heat first lost opener Joe Burns (0) when he was dismissed by Rowan Richards, who forced the Heat batsman to get a wicked top-edge on the bowler's first ball.

Soon after, after hitting two quick boundaries, Peter Forrest (8) too returned back to the dressing room as he was caught comfortably by Farhaan Behardien at square leg.

Marchant de Lange then picked up his second wicket in quick succession by dismissing Ben Cutting (0).

Skipper James Hopes and Daniel Christian then tried to revive the run chase by stitching a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket before Richards got the better of Christian's (21) stumps.

Hopes (37) was the next batsman in line to be dismissed when the Brisbane skipper failed to withstand the elevating pressure and was caught by AB de Villiers off the bowling of Roelof van der Merwe.

Earlier, fast-medium bowler Matthew Gale led an impressive bowling effort with a four-wicket haul as Brisbane Heat bundled out Titans for 123 on a ground that was made match-ready after a lot of hardwork by the groundsmen.

The match was delayed by 45 minutes due to rain, which stopped around 15 minutes before the toss was held, but the efforts put in by the groundsmen meant the overs were not going to be reduced.

Titans were bundled out with as many as seven deliveries to go, with the 29-year-old Gale returning impressive figures of four for 10 in his four-over spell.

Daniel Christian picked up two wickets, while there was one each for Ben Cutting and Nathan Hauritz.

Brisbane Heat captain James Hopes decided to bowl after winning the toss, and was off to a bad start as they lost Jacques Rudolph as early as in the second over, the successful bowler being Gale.

But skipper Henry Davids, who top-scored with a 31-ball 39, added 69 runs for the second wicket Heino Kuhn (31) to stabilise the Heat's innings.

The Australian outfit's innings soon suffered a double blow, losing Kuhn and Davids in quick succession, that pegged them back after a handy partnership.

Kuhn faced 27 balls and hit six boundaries while his skipper found the fence five times at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

The experienced A B de Villiers, in his typical style, smashed his way to 28 off just 19 deliveries before being run out by the Ben Cutting-Nathan Hauritz combination.

Needless to say that De Villiers' wicket was important from Heat's point of view as the flashy right-hander was looking dangerous during his stay in the middle, hitting four boundaries as well as rotating the strike with ease.

However, what followed was a middle and lower order collapse as none of the players could reach the double digit in the first innings of the Group B clash.

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Titans beat Brisbane by 4 runs in CLT20

NEW DELHI: Matthew Gale's 4/10 went in vain as Titans bowlers dominated the Brisbane Heat batsmen to register a 4-run victory in their Champions League Twenty20 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday.

Scorecard | Points Table

Chasing a 124-run target, Brisbane Heat got off to a bad start as they lost wickets cheaply.

Brisbane Heat first lost opener Joe Burns (0) when he was dismissed by Rowan Richards, who forced the Heat batsman to get a wicked top-edge on the bowler's first ball.

Soon after, after hitting two quick boundaries, Peter Forrest (8) too returned back to the dressing room as he was caught comfortably by Farhaan Behardien at square leg.

Marchant de Lange then picked up his second wicket in quick succession by dismissing Ben Cutting (0).

Skipper James Hopes and Daniel Christian then tried to revive the run chase by stitching a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket before Richards got the better of Christian's (21) stumps.

Hopes (37) was the next batsman in line to be dismissed when the Brisbane skipper failed to withstand the elevating pressure and was caught by AB de Villiers off the bowling of Roelof van der Merwe.

Earlier, fast-medium bowler Matthew Gale led an impressive bowling effort with a four-wicket haul as Brisbane Heat bundled out Titans for 123 on a ground that was made match-ready after a lot of hardwork by the groundsmen.

The match was delayed by 45 minutes due to rain, which stopped around 15 minutes before the toss was held, but the efforts put in by the groundsmen meant the overs were not going to be reduced.

Titans were bundled out with as many as seven deliveries to go, with the 29-year-old Gale returning impressive figures of four for 10 in his four-over spell.

Daniel Christian picked up two wickets, while there was one each for Ben Cutting and Nathan Hauritz.

Brisbane Heat captain James Hopes decided to bowl after winning the toss, and was off to a bad start as they lost Jacques Rudolph as early as in the second over, the successful bowler being Gale.

But skipper Henry Davids, who top-scored with a 31-ball 39, added 69 runs for the second wicket Heino Kuhn (31) to stabilise the Heat's innings.

The Australian outfit's innings soon suffered a double blow, losing Kuhn and Davids in quick succession, that pegged them back after a handy partnership.

Kuhn faced 27 balls and hit six boundaries while his skipper found the fence five times at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

The experienced A B de Villiers, in his typical style, smashed his way to 28 off just 19 deliveries before being run out by the Ben Cutting-Nathan Hauritz combination.

Needless to say that De Villiers' wicket was important from Heat's point of view as the flashy right-hander was looking dangerous during his stay in the middle, hitting four boundaries as well as rotating the strike with ease.

However, what followed was a middle and lower order collapse as none of the players could reach the double digit in the first innings of the Group B clash.

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Lions-Perth tie abandoned due to rain

AHMEDABAD: Rain had the final say as the Champions League Twenty20 match between Perth Scorchers and Highveld Lions was called off after huge puddles on the outfield turned the Sardar Patel Stadium into almost a lake on Monday.

Scorecard | Points Table

The abandonment meant the two teams from Australia and South Africa split two points each.

It had been raining heavily since the toss and, as the heavens opened up after the flip of coin, there was a mad scramble among the groundsmen to get the covers on.

Unfortunately, hopes of getting the ground match-ready were dashed as the rain refused to relent, prompting to officials to call off the game, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

Thick clouds had enveloped the venue much before the two captains walked out into the middle for toss, which Highveld Lions skipper Alviro Petersen went on to win.

The Lions from South Africa are looking to go one up from their runners-up finish during the last edition of league.

Lions, this time, are banking on Petersen, veteran Neil McKenzie, leggie Imran Tahir and left-arm seam duo of Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Pakistani speedster Sohail Tanvir to take them through to the semis.

If the match had taken place, this would have been the first meeting between Scorchers and Lions in the short history of the Champions League T20.

The Lions, in last year's campaign, had beaten Mumbai Indians, CSK and Delhi Daredevils en route to the final while in the 2010-11 tournament, they had beaten Mumbai Indians and Guyana but failed to progress ahead.

Perth Scorchers had a forgettable inaugural season last year, registering just one victory, apart from being besieged by off-field problems.

They will be banking on captain and veteran Simon Katich and limited overs specialist Adam Voges in the batting department.

Apart from Katich, Voges and Test discard Marcus North, there are no other big names in their batting line-up. The bowling department is spin-heavy and is led by 42-year-old Brad Hogg.

Teams:

Lions: Alviro Petersen (Capt.), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Hardus Viljoen, Temba Bavuma, Jean Symes, Dwaine Pretorius, Sohail Tanvir, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Perth Scorchers: Simon Katich (Capt.), Liam Davis, Ashton Agar, Adam Voges, Ashton Turner, Hilton Cartwright, Tom Triffitt, Joel Paris, Jason Behrendorff, Brad Hogg, Michael Beer.

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CLT20: Rain delays toss of MI-OV clash

NEW DELHI: The Mumbai Indians-Otago Volts clash of the Champions League was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad on Monday.

Both teams shared two pints each. Earlier during the day, the Liosn-Perth tie was also washed out due to heavy rain.

Otago Volts were high on confidence after three consecutive wins in the qualifiers. Their strong wins against Sunrisers Hyderabad (by 5 wkts), Kanurata Maroons (by 6 wkts) and Faisalabad Wolves (by 8 wkts) have given them the momentum.

MI, on the other hand, have some catching up to do after their seven-wicket loss to the Royals.

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'I have worked hard in right direction'

NEW DELHI: He flattered to deceive for India A with only one knock of some substance in the recently concluded limited overs series against West Indies A but Yusuf Pathan feels that he has "worked hard in the right direction" in his pursuit of regaining his place in the senior team.

Yusuf started the one day series with a belligerent 70 off 32 balls but fizzled out there after as he could manage 18 and 0 in the next two one dayers and also failed to trouble the scorers in the only Twenty20 match.

"I am out of the team for long time but I am satisfied that I have worked hard in right direction. My focus was on fitness and former India and current KKR trainer Adrian Le Roux helped me a lot in my endeavour. I have worked on smaller muscles and am feeling fitter now," said hard-hitting Baroda batsman.

Although he failed in the subsequent matches, Pathan claimed that the 32-ball-70 in the first match boosted his confidence.

"It was the first match of the season and a knock like this was much needed. It has boosted my confidence and I am hopeful of doing well in the upcoming domestic season," Pathan said.

Pathan's knock of 70 was overshadowed by India A captain Yuvraj Singh's breathtaking century and he was all praise for the stylish Punjab left-hander.

"Yuvraj has also worked hard on his fitness and it was visible when I played alongside him during WI A series. It's a good sign for Indian cricket that there is a lot of competition for each slot. I am confident that Viru ( Virender Sehwag) and Gauti ( Gautam Gambhir) will perform well. Our job is to focus on our performance and good performances from other teammates should inspire us," he added.

For the time being, Pathan wants to concentrate on notching up some good scores in domestic tourneys including Challenger series where he would be leading one of the teams.

"I will be concentrating on domestic cricket rather than thinking about upcoming international series involving India. I would like to do well in Challenger Series followed by Duleep Trophy and then Ranji Trophy."

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Steyn bats for India-South Africa series

MOHALI: Dale Steyn does not want the standoff between the BCCI and CSA to result in a curtailed series between India and South Africa later this year as the speedster says the two teams share a "great cricketing rivalry".

"It would be quite nice if India come to South Africa. There has always been a great rivalry between the two sides," said Steyn.

The BCCI's decision to invite the West Indies to tour India in November effectively means the schedule for India's tour to South Africa will have to be shortened.

A final decision in this regard will only be taken after the BCCI's Annual General Meeting in Chennai on September 29. The BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel and Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat had a meeting on the sidelines of the ICC's Chief Executives conclave in Dubai but the discussions failed to break the deadlock.

The dispute is reported to be fuelled by BCCI's dissatisfaction that CSA appointed Lorgat to the chief executive position despite objections from BCCI. Lorgat had been at loggerheads with the BCCI while he was the chief executive of the ICC before taking up his current position.

Steyn said he is eagerly waiting for his duel with India's new batting sensation Shikhar Dhawan when the country tour the Proteas for Test and ODI series.

"Shikhar (Dhawan) is in some good form right now. It will be nice to have that contest especially now that I know him well. It will be a great battle between good friends as well as strength and strength because he is batting really well at the moment," Steyn said of his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate.

Coming back from an injury, Steyn said he is working hard to get back to top shape ahead of South Africa's domestic season.

"I haven't played for a while or done gym work. But otherwise, I am not really conservative in my approach. I am not afraid of getting injured again. I've just got to remember that probably it's just a little bit of stiffness that has crept in," he said ahead of his team's match against Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday.

Champions League is Steyn's first competitive outing since he picked up a side strain and groin injury during the Champions Trophy in England towards the middle of June.

"I am just taking it easy. There is no point in going full tilt from the first ball; you have to build it up. I feel like every game that I have played so far on the tournament, I have gotten better," he said.

Steyn said Champions League has provided him with the "perfect platform" to get back in shape.

"You get a couple of hours of competitive cricket and you can stand in the field for 20 overs. It's not exactly the ideal preparation for Test match cricket but I think it's a good start for me.

"I don't think you want to jump straight into the shark tank with the longer version, it's quite difficult, so this is about getting perfect," he said.

Steyn said they are a happy bunch of youngsters and everyone shares a "great camaraderie".

"It's like that last season too, during this year's IPL. We have been together for a while now and there is a great camaraderie among the players, the family members and everyone who is here. We have gotten to know each other very well".

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Brisbane Heat steady in chase of 136

NEW DELHI: Joe Burns guided Brisbane Heat past 50-mark after loss of two early wickets in their chase of 136 in the Champions League clash in Ranchi.

Scorecard

Heat crossed fifty in the 11th over.

Earlier, Brisbane Heat got off to a poor start after restricting T&T to a modest total. Ravi Rampaul bowled out James Hopes in the third over with just 10 runs on board.

Rampaul's short of length delivery took Hopes's inside edge before sailing into the stumps.

Samuel Badree gave Brisbane second blow at the score of 31 by getting Peter Forrest caught by Sherwin Ganga.

Earlier, Pacer Alister McDermott grabbed four wickets as Brisbane Heat restricted Trinidad and Tobago for a modest 135 for nine.

McDermott (4/37) removed both openers Lendl Simmons (14) and Evin Lewis (19) and then returned to scalp the last two wickets after Brisbane were put into bat at the JSCA Stadium.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz also bowled a tidy spell of two for 22 from his four overs while Kemar Roach, Daniel Christian and Ben Cutting got a wicket apiece as Trinidad and Tobago batsmen, except for captain Denesh Ramdin (48), came a cropper.

Jason Mohammed (10) and Samuel Badree (15 not out) were the other Trinidad and Tobago batsmen who reached double digit figures.

Hauritz dealt crucial blows immediately after McDermott claimed two wickets in as many overs as half of Brisbane batting line-up returned to the pavilion at 71 for five in the 11th over.

Put in to bat, T&T started off aggressively with Simmons (14, 3x4) smashing McDermott to the long on ropes and then pulling the bowler for another powerful hit to the boundary before being bowled while going for another big hit.

New batsman Darren Bravo (0) lasted only two balls before being caught behind by Chris Hartley off Kemar Roach.

The other opener, Evin Lewis (19, 4x4), departed soon after as McDermott had him caught by Ben Cutting, leaving T&T at 38 for three in the fifth over.

Ramdin was left guarding one end and hardly got any support from his team-mates with Sherwin Ganga (0), N Pooran (8), Sunil Narine (8), Rayad Emrit (1) all getting out trying to force shots with the Brisbane side coming up with a couple of spectacular catches and splendid saves on the boundary line.

Ramdin's impressive knock, which was studded with four fours and two sixes, ended when Chris Lynn took a brilliant catch off Ben Cutting.

Badree, who hit two successive sixes off McDermott, remained not out along with Ravi Rampaul (4).

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Burns fall, Brisbane Heat in trouble

NEW DELHI: Trinidad & Tobago fought back as Brisbane Heat lost Daniel Christian, Chris Lynn, Chris Hartley and Joe Burns in quick succession in their chase of 136.

Scorecard

Rayad Emrit got rid of Christian (13), after a 45-run stand for the third wicket, while Sunil Narine scalped Lynn (4) and Hartley (3) to reduce Heat to 85/5 in 15 overs.

At the score of 91, Rampaul bowled out a well settled Burns (45), leaving opponents in deep trouble.

Earlier, Brisbane Heat got off to a poor start after restricting T&T to a modest total. Ravi Rampaul bowled out James Hopes in the third over with just 10 runs on board.

Rampaul's short of length delivery took Hopes's inside edge before sailing into the stumps.

Samuel Badree gave Brisbane second blow at the score of 31 by getting Peter Forrest caught by Sherwin Ganga.

Joe Burns then guided Brisbane Heat past 50-mark. Heat crossed fifty in the 11th over.

Earlier, Pacer Alister McDermott grabbed four wickets as Brisbane Heat restricted Trinidad and Tobago for a modest 135 for nine.

McDermott (4/37) removed both openers Lendl Simmons (14) and Evin Lewis (19) and then returned to scalp the last two wickets after Brisbane were put into bat at the JSCA Stadium.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz also bowled a tidy spell of two for 22 from his four overs while Kemar Roach, Daniel Christian and Ben Cutting got a wicket apiece as Trinidad and Tobago batsmen, except for captain Denesh Ramdin (48), came a cropper.

Jason Mohammed (10) and Samuel Badree (15 not out) were the other Trinidad and Tobago batsmen who reached double digit figures.

Hauritz dealt crucial blows immediately after McDermott claimed two wickets in as many overs as half of Brisbane batting line-up returned to the pavilion at 71 for five in the 11th over.

Put in to bat, T&T started off aggressively with Simmons (14, 3x4) smashing McDermott to the long on ropes and then pulling the bowler for another powerful hit to the boundary before being bowled while going for another big hit.

New batsman Darren Bravo (0) lasted only two balls before being caught behind by Chris Hartley off Kemar Roach.

The other opener, Evin Lewis (19, 4x4), departed soon after as McDermott had him caught by Ben Cutting, leaving T&T at 38 for three in the fifth over.

Ramdin was left guarding one end and hardly got any support from his team-mates with Sherwin Ganga (0), N Pooran (8), Sunil Narine (8), Rayad Emrit (1) all getting out trying to force shots with the Brisbane side coming up with a couple of spectacular catches and splendid saves on the boundary line.

Ramdin's impressive knock, which was studded with four fours and two sixes, ended when Chris Lynn took a brilliant catch off Ben Cutting.

Badree, who hit two successive sixes off McDermott, remained not out along with Ravi Rampaul (4).

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CLT20: T&T beat Brisbane by 25 runs

NEW DELHI: Trinidad & Tobago thrashed Brisbane Heat by 25 runs in the Champions League clash at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi, on Sunday.

Scorecard

Chasing a modest 136, Brisbane Heat were bundled out for just 110. Ravi Rampaul took four wickets while Rayad Emrit and Sunil Narine dismissed two batsmen each.

For Brisbane Joe Burns scored maximum 45 runs off 43 balls.

Earlier, Pacer Alister McDermott grabbed four wickets as Brisbane Heat restricted Trinidad and Tobago for a modest 135 for nine.

McDermott (4/37) removed both openers Lendl Simmons (14) and Evin Lewis (19) and then returned to scalp the last two wickets after Brisbane were put into bat at the JSCA Stadium.

Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz also bowled a tidy spell of two for 22 from his four overs while Kemar Roach, Daniel Christian and Ben Cutting got a wicket apiece as Trinidad and Tobago batsmen, except for captain Denesh Ramdin (48), came a cropper.

Jason Mohammed (10) and Samuel Badree (15 not out) were the other Trinidad and Tobago batsmen who reached double digit figures.

Hauritz dealt crucial blows immediately after McDermott claimed two wickets in as many overs as half of Brisbane batting line-up returned to the pavilion at 71 for five in the 11th over.

Put in to bat, T&T started off aggressively with Simmons (14, 3x4) smashing McDermott to the long on ropes and then pulling the bowler for another powerful hit to the boundary before being bowled while going for another big hit.

New batsman Darren Bravo (0) lasted only two balls before being caught behind by Chris Hartley off Kemar Roach.

The other opener, Evin Lewis (19, 4x4), departed soon after as McDermott had him caught by Ben Cutting, leaving T&T at 38 for three in the fifth over.

Ramdin was left guarding one end and hardly got any support from his team-mates with Sherwin Ganga (0), N Pooran (8), Sunil Narine (8), Rayad Emrit (1) all getting out trying to force shots with the Brisbane side coming up with a couple of spectacular catches and splendid saves on the boundary line.

Ramdin's impressive knock, which was studded with four fours and two sixes, ended when Chris Lynn took a brilliant catch off Ben Cutting.

Badree, who hit two successive sixes off McDermott, remained not out along with Ravi Rampaul (4).

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Super Kings elect to bowl against Titans

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl against Titans in their Champions League Twenty20 match in Ranchi on Sunday.

Playing for the second time in front of his home crowd, Dhoni would know the importance of starting well in this competitive tournament after they failed to make the semifinals of the last edition in South Africa due to defeats in their first two encounters.

Two-time IPL champions, the Super Kings, boast of a star-studded line up with the likes of India skipper Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Faf du Plessis and Michael Hussey around whom the CSK batting will revolve.

On the other hand, the Titans, who are up against their teammates Albie Morkel and Plessis, would be well aware of their task in hands while playing one of the most successful franchise in T20 cricket.

The South African side will be buoyed by the presence of pacer Morne Morkel and AB De Villiers, and would bank on their valuable experience of the sub-continental condition to go the distance in this cash-rich league.

Squads :

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Capt.), R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay.

Titans: Henry Davids (Capt.), Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Cornelius de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Eden Links, Ethy Mbhalati, Morne Morkel, Mangaliso Mosehle, Rowan Richards, Jacques Rudolph, Graeme van Buuren, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese.

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Gurunath named in fixing chargesheet

MUMBAI: Gurunath Meiyappan, former owner of Chennai Super Kings, was on Saturday chargesheeted along with actor Vindoo Dara Singh and 20 others by Mumbai police in the IPL betting case for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy, four months after the scandal rocked the cricketing world.
Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf and 15 alleged bookies from that country have been named as wanted accused in the 11,500-page charge sheet filed by the crime branch in the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Uday Padwad.

Meiyappan, son in law of N Srinivasan, who was forced to step aside as BCCI president after the spot-fixing and betting scandal broke out in May this year, has been charged under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, sections 4 and 5 of the Gambling Act.

He has also been charged under sections 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of record of court or of public register), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 490 (breach of contract), 420 (cheating), 212 (harbouring the offender), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

According to sources, Meiyappan and Vindoo, son of actor Dara Singh, and others have been charged only for betting and not spot-fixing.

The scam came to light when police arrested bookies Ramesh Vyas, Ashok Vyas and Pandurang Kadam from the city in May and recovered 92 mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, a laptop among other equipment. Thirty of these phones were used to facilitate contacts with bookies in India, Pakistan and Dubai through conference calls made by Vyas.

As the probe progressed, Vindoo's name surfaced and he was found to be in touch with the bookies. It was through Vindoo that Meiyappan was alleged to have placed bets on IPL matches.

Meiyappan was alleged to have given critical information including those related to the team strategy and composition to Vindoo, who passed those on to the bookies.

35-year-old Meiyappan was arrested on May 25 after a three-hour grilling by the Crime Branch.

The former honcho of CSK, twice IPL champions, was in the eye of a huge storm after actor and TV reality show winner Vindoo admitted to having placed bets on his behalf.

Vindoo, winner of reality show Bigg Boss season 3, was allegedly in "frequent touch" with Meiyappan during the IPL matches and was claimed to have told the Crime Branch that the CSK owner had lost Rs 1 crore through betting.

The Crime Branch has annexed call data records of conversations between Vindoo and Meiyappan in the charge sheet.

Meiyappan and Vindoo were granted bail on June 3. According to the Crime Branch, key bookie brothers Sanjay and Pawan Jaipur, had sent gifts to Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who officiated in IPL season 6.

The anticipatory bail pleas of Sanjay and Pawan were recently rejected by the Bombay high court, which has granted them time to approach the Supreme Court.

"Rauf was supposed to collect costly shoes and dress materials from Delhi, but he didn't take them after being apparently tipped off. The gifts were sent by Jaipur brothers during the IPL," according to the Crime Branch, which claimed that Rauf, who left India in a hurry after his name cropped up in the betting racket, was hand-in-glove with the bookies.

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'Payments during IPL 2 were legitimate'

NEW DELHI: The BCCI on Saturday refuted allegations that it violated India's foreign exchange regulations while conducting the 2009 IPL in South Africa, insisting that all the payments were "bona fide and legitimate".

Reacting to a media report which stated that the BCCI had issued notice by the Enforcement Directorate for contravening FEMA by remitting Rs 283 crore to Cricket South Africa and paying IMG Rs 88.48 crore for services in the conduct of the IPL, the Board stated the "violation of Rs 1600 crores mentioned in the report is misleading".

"The BCCI wishes to clarify that these show cause notices were issued in July 2011 and October 2011 and that the BCCI has given detailed replies refuting the charges," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

"The BCCI also wishes to clarify that the reported violation of Rs 1600 crores mentioned in the report is misleading. The total foreign exchange payments made to CSA and IMG covered by these notices were only Rs 283 crores but adding up charges of contraventions of multiple provisions of FEMA has resulted in this figure," he added.

"The BCCI reiterates that these payments were bona fide and legitimate."

The financial transactions during that edition of the IPL had kicked up in storm in South Africa as well and led to the stepping down of Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola for sanctioning millions in bonus for himself and some other CSA officials.

Justifying the payments made to IMG, Patel said the company had been hired to provide "expert assistance" in conducting the IPL as per the international standards.

"IPL 2 was shifted to South Africa in 2009, since the Government of India was unable to make the necessary security arrangements since its forces were deployed for election duty," he recalled.
"Rather than cancel IPL 2, which would have led to loss of prestige for India as a cricketing nation and led to loss of foreign exchange income by way of telecast rights, the BCCI shifted the tournament to South Africa," Patel explained.

Patel said the agreement with Cricket South Africa was made "in accordance with a well-established ICC practice by which the host country association organises international matches on a cost plus basis".

"CSA had organised such matches for ICC in the past. The BCCI has organised matches for ICC in India on the same basis," he asserted.

Patel said the BCCI, in its reply to ED, has pointed out that these transactions led to increased foreign exchange for India and that the BCCI had been professionally advised that these remittances were "current account transactions" that did not require prior approval of RBI.

"Further these remittances were made through an Authorised Dealer viz. a Nationalised Bank that is licensed by the RBI to conduct foreign exchange transactions after furnishing all the required documents and information called for, none of which is alleged to be false," he said.

"The BCCI has pointed out that there is no allegation that these remittances benefited any individual, or that there was loss of foreign exchange for India.

"The BCCI reiterates that it is committed to the highest standards of compliance with all Indian laws and regulations and is confident that its stand would be upheld," Patel added.

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Srini says no one can push him out

CHENNAI: Under-fire BCCI president N Srinivasan continued to remain defiant by stating that no one could stop him from seeking a year's extension in the upcoming AGM despite the chargesheet against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for betting during IPL.

"Why should I step aside? I am not disqualified and neither can you push me out," a combative Srinivasan told mediapersons when asked whether he would step aside following the chargesheet against Meiyappan.

Gurunath was charged under sections 415, 420 and 417 of the IPC, which deal with cheating and fraud, and section 130 of Bombay Police Act, which concerns cheating at games.

The Tamil Nadu strongman sought to distance himself from his controversial son-in-law, who was earlier arrested during IPL 6 for placing bets on CSK matches.

"I have always maintained that if Gurunath is wrong then the law will take its own course. You people must realise that I am not disqualified at all. The press is trying to take a position and I beg to differ. I don't agree with you," Srinivasan said.

Srinivasan was evasive when asked about the two-member probe commission, comprising of retired judges of Madras high court, formed by BCCI.

"For your information, the matter is before the Honourable Supreme Court and I am not going to comment on the matter as it is still sub-judice."

Asked about the chargesheet filed against Meiyappan, which has charged the former CSK team principal for session betting which is done by someone privy to team's inside information, Srinivasan offered a straight bat.

"I have not seen the chargesheet yet. I will be asking the secretary of the BCCI to take legal advice if he finds it necessary," he said.

Srinivasan, whose company India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings, was forced to step aside as Board president on moral grounds after Meiyappan was arrested for allegedly indulging in betting during the IPL this year.

"This is a matter for Mr Gurunath Meiyappan to deal with. The law will take its own course. He has been suspended so he has got nothing to do with the game," Srinivasan said.

"It is upto him to defend his position, it has got nothing to do with me," he added.

Srinivasan, who has remained defiant despite stepping aside, reiterated that he would contest the BCCI presidential election during the September 29 Annual General Meeting in Chennai.

"I will chair the meeting as president and inspite of what you (the media) feel, I may get elected," he said.

The IPL spot-fixing controversy broke out in May with the arrest of Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan by the Delhi Police for conceding a specified number of runs per over in return for money from illegal bookmakers.

Sreesanth and Chavan were recently slapped with life bans by the BCCI.

The BCCI also handed out a five-year ban to Royals' Amit Singh, while another Rajasthan cricketer Siddharth Trivedi got a one-year suspension.

There was no decision on Chandila, who recently got out on bail. His role is still being probed, and a decision will be taken soon.

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Kumble & Hirwani's tips helped: Rahul

BANGALORE: Leg-spinner Rahul Sharma on Saturday attributed his five-wicket haul against the West Indies 'A' in the one-off Twenty20 match to the tips he had received from former captain Anil Kumble and Narendra Hirwani.

"I had useful discussions with Hirwani who gave me some important tips on leg-spin. I also talk a lot to Kumble and the interactions paid off and I got five wickets in this match," Rahul said at the post-match press conference.

While Hirwani bagged 66 wickets in 17 Tests, Kumble grabbed 619 wickets in 132 Tests.

India 'A', which lost the three-match unofficial ODI series 1-2 against West Indies 'A', today posted a crushing 93-run win in the one-off T20 against the same opponents.

"T20 is a high-intensity contest and nobody brood over last performances. We went there to win this match and we did it," said Rahul.

On his return to form, Rahul said he went through a difficult phase as he had a lacklustre last IPL season, but insisted that now he was doing his best to come out of it by putting up a good show.

"I believe if I perform well enough I can also do well for my country," he said.

Meanwhile, WI 'A' captain Kieran Powell said his team lost far too many wickets in an effort to increase the pace.

"Chasing 215 is always a tough ask in T20. We went for the chase but failed," he said.

Powell admitted that complacency on the field proved fatal for his team as it gave opportunity to the Indian batsmen to get over the bowling.

"Catching has been a problem since the last one-dayer. This is an area, which we ought to brush up before we go into the four-day series. We cannot afford to do it and see where we ended up today," he added.

On the overall limited-over series, Powell expressed happiness over defeating a strong Indian team at their own backyard, especially with bowlers performing well.

"I wished they could have fired in this match too, but unfortunately it didn't happen," he said.

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Chance for India 'A' to regain lost ground

BANGALORE: Having suffered a surprise defeat in the unofficial ODI series, it will be an opportunity for the Yuvraj Singh-led India 'A' to regain some of the lost ground when they lock horns with the West Indies 'A' in the one-off Twenty20 match on Saturday.

The 1-2 series loss was a rare failure for India A, who had whitewashed their counterparts from New Zealand 3-0 prior to the just-concluded ODI rubber against the Caribbeans.

The key for the hosts once again will be Yuvraj, who has had a remarkable success with the willow in the 50-over format, slamming an 89-ball century and following that up with knocks of 40 and 61 in the last two matches.

In his quest to earn a recall to the Indian team, the stylish left-hander will look to continue in the same vein in the remainder of the series, which also includes three unofficial Tests.

With the kind of form and fighting abilities the visitors displayed in the ODI series, Yuvraj and his men would be wary of their opponents.

As a whole, India have performed reasonably with the bat. While Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan managed to get some runs under their belt, the hosts have been hugely let down by opener Robin Uthappa's form as the India discard could manage only 23, 10 and 27 in the three ODIs.

The batting unit revolves around openers Unmukt Chand and Uthappa and from India's point of view, it is imperative that they give the team a good start.

The Indian outfit would also hope that the likes of Baba Aparajith and Kedar Jadhav, who have shown their potential in patches in the ODI series, lend some solidity to the middle-order.

India's bowling department, with the exception of pacers Vinay Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat, has completely looked off-colour and if the hosts harbour any chance of clinching the one-off T20 series, the bowlers will have to fire in unison.

The West Indies 'A', on the other hand, would need to guard against complacency if they hope to maintain their winning momentum going into Saturday's match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The visitors have looked good in the ODI series and with the presence of centurions Kirk Edwards and Jonathan Carter, besides Kieran Powell and Andre Russell in their ranks, the side possess a strong batting line-up.

Their main strength, however, remains the bowling, which saw them restricting India. Miguel Cummins, Veerasammy Permaul, Nikita Miller all have been among wickets and if all-rounders Carter and Russell also come good with the ball, the team has the arsenal to tame India.

India 'A': Yuvraj Singh (Capt.), Robin Uthappa, Naman Ojha, Baba Aparajith, Kedar Jadhav, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul, Jaydev Unadkat, Unmukt Chand, Rahul Sharma, Sumit Narwal.

West Indies 'A': Kieran Powell (Capt.), Andre Fletcher, Kirk Edwards, Leon Johnson, Jonathan Carter, Andre Russell, Devon Thomas(k), Ashley Nurse, Nikita Miller, Veerasammy Permaul, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Sheldon Cotterrell, Nkruma Bonner, Ronsford Beaton.

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Want a bilateral series with India: Sethi

KARACHI: The BCCI might be keen on organising a tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India later this year, but Pakistan Cricket Board's caretaker chairman Najam Sethi said he would be more interested in the reviving the bilateral cricketing ties with the neighbours.

"We are more focused on having a bilateral series with India," said Sethi.

"We spoke about this when our chief operating officer went to India recently. I also plan to visit India next month to convince the BCCI about this," he told a news channel.

The PCB chief said the participation of the Pakistani Twenty20 champions, Faisalabad Wolves in the ongoing Champions League in India was a welcome development.

"It is a positive development for the restoration of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries," he said.

Meanwhile, Sethi confirmed that former captain Moin Khan will be asked to continue as manager of the national team for the forthcoming series against South Africa in UAE, starting in October.

"Yes Moin will be given another chance and all those people in the board and team management who are doing a good job will be encouraged and allowed to continue their work," he said.

He also said that Pakistan foreign coach Dav Whatmore had three months remaining in his contract with the PCB.

Disclosing that the PCB had hired the services of a British barrister to help it in the Mohammad Aamer case, Sethi said, "I had discussed the Aamer case and the DRS system in detail when I went to England for the ICC meeting this year. Our position is clear, we are seeking to get the ICC to review Aamer's ban."

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Royals face uphill task against Mumbai

JAIPUR: Desperate to exorcise the ghosts of the spot-fixing scandal once and for all, Rajasthan Royals will look to start afresh as they face the daunting prospect of running into IPL 6 winners Mumbai Indians in the inaugural group stage match of the Champions League T20 on Saturday.

The fact that the tournament will be the last one for veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who will be pitted against another great and contemporary Rahul Dravid at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, makes the contest even more special.

The spot-fixing scandal, which broke out during the IPL 6 earlier this year, saw the BCCI imposing life bans on Test pacer S Sreesanth and spinner Ankeet Chavan, and one-year suspension on Sidharth Trivedi, while another player Ajit Chandila's fate is yet to be decided.

The unsavoury episode has cast a dark shadow over the Indian Premier League, and has dented the Royals' image badly. It would now be a Herculean task for both skipper Dravid and coach Paddy Upton to keep the morale of the team high.

The hosts, however, can take confidence from the fact that they would be starting their campaign in their own den, where they had won all their eight matches during the sixth edition of the IPL.

Rajasthan were one of the only two teams this year in IPL to remain unbeaten at home and despite the lack of big names in their ranks, apart from Shane Watson and Dravid, players such as Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper and Ajinkya Rahane enabled the team finish third.

One of the most successful batsmen at the domestic level in recent years, Rahane, with his orthodox slogging, is the backbone of the Royals batting, while Australian all-rounder Watson and Dravid give them the solidity.

Watson top scored for the team with 543 runs at a strike rate of 142.89, besides picking up 13 wickets in IPL 6. He is always a threat and his recent century against England in the Ashes will be a big boost to the team.

Hodge and Binny have been successful in providing the required thrust to the innings.

Local lad Ashok Menaria, too, had struck form just at the right time. Fine performances with both bat and ball during the recent Emerging Trophy and India 'A' series against New Zealand should give him confidence and the team could certainly rely on him.

Rajasthan's bowling, though, has taken a beating with Sreesanth, Chavan, Chandila and Trivedi out.

In their absence, Watson would assume a bigger role with Faulkner and Shaun Tait spearheading the attack. Vikramjeet Singh Malik and Rahul Shukla could be the other options.

Pravin Tambe is the lone specialist spinner in the team. Binny, Menaria and Cooper can come in handy as well.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians have a formidable team with the right balance and options in all departments.

Sachin Tendulkar would be eager to bow out with flying colours while the likes of Kieron Pollard, skipper Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Dinesh Kartik and Ambati Rayudu provide an invincible look to their batting.

Mumbai, however, will miss the services of match-winning bowler Lasith Malinga and in his absence, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will lead the slow brigade, which also has left-arm orthodox bowler Pragyan Ojha.

Pacer Mitchell Johnson will be expected to fill Malinga's role but other than that they don't have too many seam options. Nathan Coulter-Nile does not have much international experience, while Abu Nechim and Rishi Dhawan are the only Indian seamers.

The pitch could be a bit sluggish after a lengthy rainy spell during monsoons.

"It was an above average monsoon with prolonged rainy spells. We have all the necessary equipment but nature is supreme. There might still some moisture underneath and the wicket might be a little sluggish. It would take some time to settle down," said curator Taposh Chatterjee.

Teams (from):

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (Capt.), Stuart Binny, Kevon Cooper, James Faulkner, Brad Hodge, Vikramjeet Malik, Ashok Menaria, Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Rahul Shukla, Shaun Tait, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Dishant Yagnik.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Abu Nechim, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Dinesh Karthik, Glenn Maxwell, Pragyan Ojha, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Smith, Aditya Tare.

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