Djokovic, Federer advance with ease-latest sports news in india

New York: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer advanced with ease at the US Open but 2011 winner Samantha Stosur was ousted by US teen qualifier Victoria Duval.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic who captured his fourth Australian Open crown in January, launched his quest for a fourth consecutive US Open final by beating Lithuanian 112th-ranked Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

"I managed to make a lot of breaks in the beginning of the match and take over control," Djokovic said. "That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to play every point like it's match point and I'm happy with the performance overall."

Djokovic fired 10 aces and 28 winners and needed only 82 minutes to put himself into a last-64 matchup against Germany's Benjamin Becker.

Djokovic, the 2011 US Open winner who lost to Andy Murray in last year's final and last month's Wimbledon final, improved to 12-1 in Arthur Ashe Stadium night matches, what he called "the most special night matches of any tournament anywhere in the world." Duval, a daughter of Haitian parents ranked 296th in the world, pulled the day's shocker with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Australian 11th seed Stosur in a tense struggle that lasted for two hours and 39 minutes.
"A lot of different emotions. Mostly happiness," the 17-year-old with the high-pitched voice said. "I played amazing today. The whole match was just really an incredible match and I'm happy I pulled through."

It was only the second Slam match for Duval, who lost to Kim Clijsters last year at New York, and her first meeting with a top-20 rival.
Stosur made 56 unforced errors, 21 more than Duval, on her way to a her 15th first-round Slam exit, the first since last year's Australian Open.

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Williams sisters start US Open in style- latest sports news in india

New York: A decade or so ago, Serena and Venus Williams ruled tennis together, swapping the No. 1 ranking and meeting in Grand Slam final after Grand Slam final.Serena, the younger of the pair, still holds a spot at the top of the game.Venus has not been there for quite some time. So there was a turn-back-the-clock feel to Day 1 at the 2013 U.S. Open, when both sisters were about as good as can be, dropping a combined four games in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Venus, now ranked 60th, beat 12th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-2

Monday afternoon, and then Serena reduced 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to seeking comfort from a ball boy's hug during a 6-0, 6-1 runaway under the lights at night.
Asked which meant more on this day, her own victory or her sister's, Serena replied: "They're equal. I definitely was happy to see Venus win. I really was happy for her. I know she's been working hard. I know she had a tough opponent. For her to come through was just awesome. Obviously, I want to do well, too."
For years and years, a first-round victory by Venus at a major tournament would hardly merit a mention. She has won seven Grand Slam titles and was the runner-up another seven times (six against Serena).

And yet nowadays, at age 33, two years removed from being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that saps energy, hampered much of this season by a bad lower back, Venus entered this U.S. Open having won a total of three matches over the past five major tournaments. Plus, in Flipkens, she was facing a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month who beat Venus on a hard court this month.
Looking very much like the player she used to be, Venus smacked serves at up to 120 mph, returned superbly, and covered the court well enough to hit a handful of swinging volley winners.

"If Venus is there if she's fit, if she's focused she's a top-10 player," Flipkens said. "Everybody who knows a little bit of the game of tennis can see that. Today, she was like a top-10 player."

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Arjun reminds me of myself: Yuvraj Singh

New Delhi: While aspiring cricketers the world over crave to get some batting mantra from him, iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar prefers someone else to mentor his teenage son Arjun. And the tutor is none other than star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

During a promotional event in the Capital on Friday, the 2011 World Cup player of the tournament revealed that seeing Tendulkar Jr play in the nets reminded him of his younger days in Chandigarh. “About six months ago, Sachin told me that his son (Arjun) batted the same way as I did.

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Latest Sports News in india - Rahul Dravid mocks T20, stumps everyone

New Delhi: The T20 format, which ushered Indian cricket team to the pinnacle of glory under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has been ridiculed by one of its senior players.

Rahul Dravid, one of the four stalwarts of India’s famed quartet and Indian Premier League’s Rajasthan Royals player, stumped all when he raised a question over the fate of the T20, asking, “What is the interim period between two successive T20 world cups?”

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Won’t select my dream team ever, says Dhoni

New Delhi: Captain Cool doesn’t approve of selecting dream teams. Some former cricketers may have selected their best-ever Indian team recently, but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni does not favour such a practice, saying “one should respect every individual who has played for the country“.

                                         

This comes from a man whom Kapil Dev named as the captain of his greatest Indian ODI team.

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Bolt wins 2nd gold, clinches 200m title-latest sports news in india,

Moscow: “The energy was great tonight,” said Usain Bolt after coasting to his third straight 200-meter world title on Saturday with the race basically wrapping up as soon as he entered the finishing straight.Jamaican team-mate Warren Weir never got close to Bolt’s world leading time of 19.66 seconds, but crossing .13 seconds later for silver still left him enough time to join Bolt in a reggae dance to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.”
Curtis Mitchell of the United States took bronze in 20.24 seconds, but was never in the hunt for gold.
Now, Bolt will go for his fourth triple gold at a major championship when he joins the Jamaican team for the 4x100 relay on Sunday.
“It should be even better,” Bolt said.

The wealth of Jamaican sprinting is such that they might well sweep their American rivals in unprecedented fashion, after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clinched a similar 100-200 double and has her final relay also late on the closing day of the championships.
Opposition could hardly touch Bolt on Saturday, and once it was clear his right foot was OK after he dropped a starting block on it early in the week, everything was as good as gold.
Even his start was strong as he quickly gained a decisive edge. And then in the finishing straight, Bolt fully let loose his giant stride, the one that has dumbfounded rivals since he won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
His seventh world title leaves him one shy of American greats Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson, who lead the overall gold medal standings in the 30-year history of the event. On
Sunday, Bolt can pull alongside them.
And with 10 medals overall, Bolt can overtake Lewis at the top with two silvers compared to a silver and bronze for the American sprinter-long jumper.

Even though he is only 26, Bolt’s maturity showed Saturday as the wild hot-dogging of the Beijing Games gave way to a sense of near-seriousness. His Lightning Bolt stance came late and besides the dance steps, everything was contained.

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Nadal to meet Isner in final- latest sports news in india

Cincinnati: Rafael Nadal continued his perfect run on the North American hardcourts taming Czech Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4) at the Western and Southern Open on Saturday to setup a final showdown with big-hitting American John Isner.Earlier, unseeded Isner had blasted his way into the final with a 6-7, (5) 7-6, (9) 6-3 marathon win over Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. Rebounding nicely from a shock first round upset at Wimbledon, Nadal has been in sizzling form picking up his 58th career title last week in Montreal while extending his hardcourt winning streak to 14-0 with a run to the final in Cincinnati.
A win on Sunday in his first Cincinnati final would give the third ranked Spaniard his ninth title of the year and leave him the red-hot favourite heading into the US

Open which begins on August 26 in Flushing Meadows.
“It’s a very nice feeling,” said Nadal. “For me, this one is a tournament that I never was able to play very well. “I said last week, in Cincinnati I never felt that I was playing well and this year the situation is different.
“I am having the right feelings on court. I’m playing aggressive.” Nadal had the only break of a tight opening set to take the first set off the Czech in Cincinnati and grab a 1-0 lead. In the second, Berdych, battling to end a run of 13 straight losses to the Spaniard, broke to go up 4-2 only to watch Nadal break right back and go onto take the tiebreak (7-4) and the match.
A contest between the towering 6-foot, 10-inch (2.06m) Isner and the 6-foot, 6-inch (1.98m) Del Potro was always going to be a brui ing baseline battle and the match more than lived up to predictions as the two giants slugged it out for 2 hours and 47 minutes.
The semi-finals had a dramatically different look from what tennis fans might have hoped with the ATP Tour’s ‘big four;’ world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, number two Andy Murray, number three Nadal and five-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer all featuring in the last eight.

Isner, who delivered the biggest shock of the quarter-finals toppling Djokovic, has traditionally saved his best for the home crowd with 13 of the his 15 career ATP Tour final appearances coming in the US and he proved once again to be a crowd pleaser pounding 23 aces past his opponent.
Since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon with a left knee injury Isner has been in sizzling hardcourt form putting together a 15-3 match record while picking up his seventh career title in Atlanta followed by a runnerup finish in Washington.
“I have been playing well, really in pretty much all facets of my game. There’s definitely some stuff I can always improve on, but I do think I’m playing well,” he said. In a tight opening set that failed to produce a break, it was Del Potro taking the initiative winning the tiebreak 7-5.

World No. 1 Serena Williams fought her way to a 7-5, 7-5 win over defending champion Li Na to reach the final of the Western and Southern Open on Saturday and close in on one of the few titles to elude her.
Meanwhile, India’s Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin were knocked out of the ATP Cincinnati Masters tennis by Spanish duo Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in the semi-finals. The
eighth-seeded Indo-French combination failed to get any
of the five break points
and went down 5-7, 2-6 to Spanish tandem on Saturday. The Spaniards are seeking their second Masters 1000 title, having won in Rome last year.
Agencies

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Proteas’ plot to outplay MSD & Co.

New Delhi: Despite the fact that India A team under Cheteshwar Pujara has gained accolades for its triumphant sojourn in South Africa, the young brigade is not happy. Rather, they have expressed displeasure on being provided wickets entirely different from what the Proteas are known to be offering them.

In a series where destructive opener Shikhar Dhawan blasted his way to a magnificent world-record 248, most of the players in the touring squad are likely to board the flight to Cape Town when the Men in Blue under Mahendra Singh Dhoni play against South Africa later this year in a three-match Test series, seven ODIs and two T20 Internationals.

However, skipper Pujara said that the surface was flat which meant that the batsmen would be able to tear the bowling attack apart. This is entirely contrary to the bouncy wickets which the grounds in Durban and Johannesburg are known for. “Dhoni & Co won’t get such flat wickets in the series scheduled to be held in December this year.

I don’t think that the conditions will be same when we come here again,” Pujara said. Another story doing the rounds is a possible plot by Graeme Smith to spoil batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s purported farewell party. After former spinner Karsan Ghavri said that the 40-year-old iconic batsman would quit the longer version of the game after his 200th Test, cricket pundits have begun predicting that the series against Proteas will be the last one for him.

Rohit is captain material: Kohli- latest sports news in india

Lucknow: He is the likely successor when Mahendra Singh Dhoni decides to relinquish national captaincy but India vice-captain Virat Kohli also named Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma as a captaincy material.

“He (Rohit) has tremendous cricketing brain. I often take his advice during matches,” Virat let out a secret when asked as to who apart from him and Dhoni has the ability to lead the India team.

For Kohli, captaincy is about taking responsibility and he is enjoys every bit of it.

“I got a chance of being a captain in recently concluded Zimbabwe series. I like to be a captain and take responsibility,” Kohli, who was here to attend a programme of TVS Motors as their brand ambassador, told reporters.

“As a batsman, we focus on oursleves, but as a captain we have to look into every aspect. The responsibility increases manyfold as the captain,” he added.             On being asked about future plans Kohli said that he has never planned anything.

“I never plan anything and believe in consistancy. I can’t tell what will happen in future,” he said.

The champion batsman said that upcoming series against South Africa was important and hoped that with new faces Indian team would give a good performmance.

He said that time of batsmen from the big cities calling the shot in old times was over and now hardworking player, whether they were from the small city were knocking the door of Indian team.

Expressing pleasure on being compared with former Australian captain Ricky Pointing Kohli said that many people have said that and it felt good being compared with such a tremendous player. 

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All eyes on Dhawan in tri-series- latest sports news in india

Pretoria: A confident India A, boosted by Shikhar Dhawan’s brilliant double century, will take on their consistent Australian counterparts in what promises to be a high-scoring tri-series final on an absolute featherbed at the LC de Villiers Stadium here tomorrow.

India have lost both their round robin league matches against the Australians by close margins but Cheteshwar Pujara and Co will hope that ‘Law of Averages’ catches up with the opposition side.

India A will certainly go into the match with a lot of confidence after yesterday’s ‘Dhawan Mayhem’ against the Proteas but Australia, who have been the best side in the tournament, will certainly chalk out some elaborate plans to stop the star-studded rival batting line-up.

All eyes will be on Dhawan, who has dazzled with his superb strokeplay, and one would expect him to fire when it matters the most.

As far as batting is concerned, India have ticked all the boxes in the tri-series with each and every top-order batsmen getting runs. While Dhawan, with 348 runs from three games (one game rested), leads the tally, skipper Pujara has come back to form with a half-century and a century in successive games.

While Rohit Sharma has been a picture of consistency with a hat-trick of 50s, Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina have also chipped in with useful contributions.

Meanwhile, the regularity with which Shikhar Dhawan hit boundaries off his bowlers made Justin Ontong feel as if he was watching a “highlights package” where only boundaries and sixes are shown. Dhawan hit 30 boundaries and seven sixes in his unbelievable 248 against SA A in a tri-series encounter on Monday.

“Dhawan summed up conditions quickly. Every shot he hit found the gap or went over the fielders. It was like watching a highlights package. He hit so many good shots, it’s hard to pick out one that stood out. There were a few sixes that went into the construction site,” Ontong told ESPN Cricinfo after the match.

The South African ODI specialist termed it the best ever innings he has watched. “It was probably the best one-day innings I’ve seen. But I am also really proud of the boys. We showed some character when we were batting and if someone batted through, we could have won the game. Ontong expressed his helplessness that his bowlers were unable to stop Dhawan.

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latest sports news in india - I could have scored a triple ton, says Shikhar Dhawan

Pretoria: He might have missed out on the world record for the highest list A score, but Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan is not complaining as he is glad to have become only the third Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to get a double hundred in a 50-over game.

“I was aware of the record and it felt really special to score these runs,” Dhawan said after the match after India A’s 39-run win over South Africa A which took them to the tri-series final against Australia A.
“When I got out in the 44th over it occurred to me that if I had batted till the end I had a chance to score a triple hundred. I am happy with what I scored though. It did cross my mind that I joined Sachin paaji and Viru paaji in scoring a double century in a one-day game,” he added. Dhawan toppled quite a few batting records en route to his way to a 150-ball knock of 248 runs. He overtook Virender Sehwag’s 219 in an ODI against West Indies in 2011 to register the highest List A score by an Indian. He became the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag to score a double century in a 50-over match. Dhawan’s 248 also became the second highest List A score of all time

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‘Cricket made me a better man’ | latest sports news in india

Panaji: Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid on Sunday said that cricket’s influence in his life was such that the game made him a better person.

“One and half years after my retirement I have realised that cricket has made me a better human. I learnt from successes and failures,” Dravid said, speaking at convocation ceremony of BITS-Pilani Goa campus today, in the presence of Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chancellor of the institute.

Dravid narrated several anecdotes from his career, starting from his school days, making a special mention of school principal, Father Coelho.

He also said that his father was an ardent fan of the game. “After Australia tour I felt it is time to make way for the next generation. Now I am back to the little boy listening to cricket commentary in my father’s studio,” said Dravid, who dubbed himself as a boy from a middle-class family.

There were millions of ways to be successful, he said. “You don’t have to be number one in the world, you have to be number one to yourself by achieving all the height which you always aimed,” Dravid said, receiving a huge applause from the students.

Last week, the former Indian cricket captain had claimed that his comments on restoring the credibility of the game, after the recent IPL spot-fixing scandal, have been taken out of context. “It is disappointing that my comments have been taken out of context by some sections of the media,” Dravid was quoted as saying in a tweet posted by ‘ESPNCricinfo’, the website to which he gave the interview.

“A lot of conclusions and inferences have drawn from Rahul Dravid’s quotes on credibility. Wait for the full interview,” read the website’s twitter handle.

Dravid had expressed anguish over the recent IPL spot-fixing scandal and its fallout, saying that restoring the credibility of the game is of utmost importance failing which cricketers may lose respect of their fans. “There are so many fans and so many people who care deeply about this game and it is because of these fans that we are who we are as cricketers.

“Administrators are there because of the fans and the cricketers to run this game, so credibility of a game, or a board, or even a government for that matter, is important irrespective of what you do.”

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Saina survives scare, in quarters | latest sports news in india

Guangzhou:Third seed Saina Nehwal overcame a jittery start against Thai Porntip Buranaprasertsuk to move into the women’s singles quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championships here Thursday.

The World No.3 overcame 15th seeded Porntip 18-21, 21-16, 21-14 in 52 minutes at the Tianhe Indoor Stadium to go 6-0 up in career meetings. With the win, Saina equalled her best performance at the worlds having reached the last eight stage in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The 23-year-old is now one step away from a medal.
Saina looked out of sorts in the first game and made several errors. Her Thai opponent capitalised on it and closed the gap from 4-7 to 8-all and was at Saina’s heels till 18-all. The 21-year-old Thai clinched the next three points to bag her first game against the Indian since 2008.
Porntip hit 11 smashes in the game which caught Saina off guard. Several out-of-court errors by the 23-year-old Indian cost her the game but she bounced back in the second game by taking a 15-4 advantage in no time.
Though the Thai tried coming back into the game (10-16), but Saina was in her elements and sealed the game with the help of nine smashes. Despite the game getting tight at the end, Saina held her nerves to level the match.
Unlike the first game, Saina made sure she kept the lead throughout the decider. Aided by some brilliant cross court slices from the third court, Saina increased her lead to 11-5. After the change of sides, Porntip found legs and notched up a few points with some down-the-line smashes, bringing down Saina’s lead to 14-13.
The aggressive Thai made some errors too, giving the initiative to Saina, who then extended the lead to 17-13. 

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England aim for Ashes whitewash | latest sports news in india

Chester-le-Street : England will bid to complete the second half of their Ashes mission when they face arch-rivals Australia in the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street starting Friday..

The drawn third Test at Old Trafford left England an unassailable 2-0 up in the series with two to play and meant they’d retained the Ashes.

But it left open the possibility of a shared series, something that hasn’t happened in an Ashes campaign since
1972.

It took England just 14 days to hold on to the urn this time around -- the quickest they’ve settled an Ashes series in their favour since the end of the Second World War.

However, England coach Andy Flower was far from satisfied. “I suppose it is (a great achievement). But for me it’s all about winning this series, so it is still alive with two Tests to go,” he said.

In Manchester, Australia produced a much-improved performance with England collapsing to 27 for three on
Monday’s final day before rain ensured a draw.

The result meant Australia had ended a run of six successive Test defeats -- their worst for 29 years -- and avoided equalling their all-time record losing streak of seven straight Tests set by the 19th century teams of 1885-88.

Former Australia captain Allan Border said it looked like the tourists had “drawn their own line in the sand”, in much the same way his side did during the 1986/87 series, where, having lost the Ashes, they won the final Test in Sydney before starting 16 years of unbroken series dominance against England in 1989.

Australia named a 12 on Wednesday where Jackson Bird was added to their Manchester XI amid concerns over the ability of injury-prone seamer Ryan Harris to play back-to-back Tests.

As for England regularly losing top order wickets with few runs on the board this Ashes, Flower said: “There are good new-ball bowlers on both sides.

“Of course, we’d like to be none down in that early period of play. But we’ve recovered well, and I think good sides do that.”

Meanwhile the DRS generated more controversy this series after Australia’s Channel Nine television alleged on Wednesday that England’s Kevin Pietersen was among players on both sides suspected of using silicone tape on their bats to avoid nicks being detected.

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Tips from Dhoni helped in Zimbabwe: Kohli | latest sports news in india

New Delhi: Star batsman Virat Kohli on Wednesday said the tips he picked up from skipper MS Dhoni in the West Indies proved beneficial for him while leading a young Indian team in Zimbabwe, where they inflicted a 5-0 series whitewash on the hosts.

Kohli had captained the Indian side in three One-dayers in the West Indies when Dhoni was sidelined after hurting his hamstring in the first match of the tri-nation series.

“He (Dhoni) is a guy who doesn’t say much. But I keep talking to him about different situations and what I could do and how should I keep myself calm in pressure situations while captaining the side. It helped me chatting to him in the West Indies when he wasn’t playing and I was captaining the side.

All the tips he gave me really helped me,” Kohli said when asked about Dhoni’s influence on him as a leader.

India recorded their first-ever One Day International (ODI) series whitewash on the foreign soil when they trounced Zimbabwe 5-0.

Kohli said he has not been able to speak to Dhoni after Zimbabwe win since Dhoni is presently enjoying a break.

“When he goes away for a holiday it is very hard to contact him. I tried to message him on the phone but I couldn’t reach. I guess I’ll be seeing him soon and speak to him about it (Zimbabwe win),” Kohli told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event here.

Kohli also lauded left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who recently topped the ODI bowlers’ chart in the ICC rankings, saying the consistency is paying off for the Saurahstra-lad.

“I am very very happy that he got the number one ODI bowling ranking. He has worked hard over the past few years. It is really good to see him come up the ranks as I have played U-19 cricket with him.

“I was the captain when he played with me in the U-19 World Cup. It’s really good to see him grow in international cricket with all of us. I hope he keeps up the good in the future,” Kohli said.

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‘Make spot-fixing criminal offence’ | latest sports news in india

New Delhi: Former India captain Rahul Dravid wants match-fixing and spot-fixing to be made criminal offences so that it would act as a deterrent to potential fixers.

“I don’t think only education can work, policing it and having the right laws and ensuring that people when they indulge in this kind of activities are actually punished. People must see that there are consequences to your actions. That will create fear for people,” said Dravid.

Dravid, who is prosecution witness in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal, also stressed the need for educating young cricketers.

The comments by Dravid, who led Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, came in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal involving his three team mates S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.

“My personal belief is that education and counselling at a junior level is really important. I think we’ve got to start early, we’ve got to start young but … that part of it is already being done. I know that India has its own ACSU and even for Ranji Trophy teams this education is given,” Dravid was quoted as saying byESPNCricinfo.com.

On the police case against his three team mates, Dravid said: “The case is still on and I don’t want to make any judgement on whether people are guilty or not and I think everyone has a right to be innocent until he’s proven guilty and I’m glad the police is going ahead and doing what needs to be done and taking it to its logical conclusion.”

Dravid referred to the doping scandal in cycling and said awareness programmes alone were not sufficient.

“Everyone knows it’s wrong, and it’s frightening, having read a little bit about it and the number of cyclists who were doing it. Surely all know it’s wrong. So the only people those cyclists were scared of was not the testers, not the authority, they were scared of the police. You read all the articles, the only guys they were scared of was the police and going to jail. So the only way that people are going to get that fear is if they know the consequences to these actions and the law that will come into play. It’s got to be a criminal offence,” the ace cricketer said.    

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ICC table: Pujara retains 6th slot | latest sports news in india

Dubai: Cheteshwar Pujara continues to be the only Indian batsman in the top-20 list as he has managed to maintain his sixth spot, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest-ranked bowler at number eight, in the latest ICC Test rankings issued here today.

With 777 points to his credit, right-handed batsman Pujara is the lone Indian to be figuring in the table, which is headed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla (903 points).

Australia skipper Michael Clarke has jumped three spots at number two after scoring a splendid 187 in the first innings of the third Ashes Test against England that ended in a draw.

If Clarke manages to produce another strong performance in the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street, then he could not only move ahead of Amla, but may also improve his career-high rating of 900 points.

England’s Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen are the other batsmen inside the top 20 to make upward movements.
Batsmen outside the top 20 and improving their rankings are Steven Smith in 48th (up by 14 places) and Brad Haddin in 49th (up by two).

In the Test bowlers’ rankings, Ashwin and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha have remained at eight and 10th positions, respectively, while out-of-favour pacer Zaheer Khan could also retain his 17th spot in list.

Dale Steyn continues to rule the roost with teammat Vernon Philander in second place and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath in third position.

England off-spinner Graeme Swann’s match figures of six for 233 in the third Ashes Test has put him ahead of teammate James Anderson in sixth position. But Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris has turned out to the biggest mover in the latest rankings as he has jumped four places to achieve a career-best ranking of 11th.

In the all-rounders’ list, Ashwin has held on to his third position.

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Will buy Kolkata franchise of new football league: SRK | latest sports news in india

ENI Bureau
New Delhi: The Bollywood Badshah’s tryst with the City of Joy continues. After becoming the owner of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan is planning to bid for the Kolkata franchise of the new league promoted by All India Football Federation (AIFF) and IMG-Reliance. 

He said he was interested in buying stakes in the successful Goan I-League club Dempo earlier, but now with a new franchise-based league coming up, he has changed his mind.
“Earlier, I was planning to buy stakes in Dempo and now with the new franchise-based league coming up, I will have a look at it. I would love to own a franchise,” Shah Rukh was quoted as saying by a TV channel.
Asked which city he would buy, SRK said, “I would love to have the Kolkata football club.”
Eight clubs, 176 players, 72 overseas stars and 10 weeks of packed action — that is how the AIFF’s commercial partner IMG-Reliance plans to glamourise Indian football early next year.
The new tournament, scheduled between January 18 and March 30, is on the lines of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), also managed by IMG. IMG-R have a contract with the AIFF to run the event for 12 years.
Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa and Guwahati have been shortlisted for the auction. Each team will have nine foreign, eight Indians and four Under-21 players, who will be up for grabs in September. Some of the world’s top footballers — David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Michael Owen and Raul Gonzalez — could be seen in action in the tournament. There will also be eight icon players and four names will be made public in September before the franchise auction.

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India drub Zimbabwe, make it 4-0 | latest sports news in india

Bulawayo: A merciless India maintained their stranglehold over minnows Zimbabwe as they cruised to a resounding nine-wicket win in the fourth cricket one-dayer to extend their lead to 4-0 in the five-match series on Thursday.

Opting to field after winning the toss, India bowled out Zimbabwe for a paltry 144, and then chased down the target with 115 balls remaining at Queens Sports Club.

For India, leg-spinner Amit Mishra scalped three wickets for 25 runs, while debutant Mohit Sharma (2/26) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/28) picked up two apiece. Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat also accounted for one wicket each.

Rohit Sharma (64 not out) and Suresh Raina (65 not out) were the two main contributors with the bat as the visitors extended Zimbabwe’s winless run.

Raina struck six fours during his 71-ball knock while Rohit found the fence five times and cleared it once during his 90-ball innings.

Chasing a small total, India suffered an early blow as they lost debutant Cheteshwar Pujara with the scoreboard reading 23 for one in the 10th over. The Saurashtra player was bowled by Tendai Chatara while trying to go for a drive to an incoming delivery only to see his leg-stump getting uprooted. Glimpses of the batsman’s talent was evident as he creamed Michael Chinouya for two boundaries through the off-side before being dismissed. Pujara’s wicket was the lone success Zimbabwe tasted as Raina along with Rohit shared a second-wicket partnership of 122 runs to take India home. Playing sensible cricket, the duo of Raina and Rohit brought up the fifty partnership in 61 balls. AGENCIES

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‘Beating Pak was best moment of ‘92 WC’ | latest sports news in india

Melbourne: Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev on Wednesday said that victory over eventual champions Pakistan in the league stages of the 1992 World Cup in Australia was his most cherished moment in the quadrennial event.

“India didn’t play particularly well but if you ask me I would say my best memory is we beat eventual winner Pakistan in a league match. It’s not a positive memory for me, but to say we beat the team which held the trophy makes me feel better,” said Kapil, who was part of the Indian side that beat Pakistan by 43 runs.

India finished a lowly seventh out of nine sides in the 1992 edition which was jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

The World Cup returns to the Australian continent in 2015 with the two nations once again joining hands to stage the biggest cricketing event to be held in February-March.

Kapil was speaking at the ICC event where captains in that World Cup walked down memory lane and spoke candidly about their highs, lows and regrets.

“The uniforms are my other memory. In the beginning, they looked odd. In the cricket world, we were used to playing in whites.” IANS

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