Knight Riders rediscover their mojo

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 01:27 PM

Kolkata, March 14 -- Given the unpredictable nature of T20 and the unknown factor surrounding the clash between a team rejuvenated and one that's still unseen this season, it's difficult to zero in on the pros and cons. What's certain is that after Friday's hard fought win of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Eden Gardens will be brimming to capacity on Sunday when they take on Bangalore Royal Challengers. The stadium can host about 44,000 after its capacity has been reduced almost to half due to renovation work, but all those seats will be full and there will be thousands in the stands sporting the team colours and swinging to Korbo Lorbo Jitbo Re (will do, fight and win). The invigorating song had lost punch over two years of heartbreak and now, Kolkata is set to go all out in rooting for its Knights.

Not much is known about last year's losing finalists Royal Challengers yet because they are here with just four foreigners - Dale Steyn, Dillon Du Preez, Roelof van der Merwe and Eoin Morgan - with Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher joining the team late on Saturday night. But they have a string of fine Indian batting talent under Rahul Dravid. Dale Steyn leads the pace pack comprising Praveen Kumar and Ranji Trophy revelations R. Vinay Kumar and A. Mithun.

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Crafted by Angelo, KKR ride high into the night

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 01:21 PM

India, March 14 -- It was not the best of starts after getting the opportunity to use the pitch first. Two wickets in the first four balls do not augur well, especially when you are teeing off against the holders. Also, it doesn't send out the right message from a team which is determined to make a mark. More than the bowling doing the damage, it was improper shot-selection that led to the initial hiccup. After the quick departure of our first four, the team desperately needed someone to drop anchor. Owais Shah fitted into the role smoothly. Not only did he keep one end up, he also rotated the strike well, mixing it with the occasional big hits. Owais got a well-deserved fifty and he and Angelo Mathews set the platform for our win. In the limited version of the game you have to play your natural game. This is not Test cricket, where you have the opportunity to settle down, take measure of the situation and then take control. Angelo tried to be normal, walked out and started batting the way he likes to. The best part was that he was not slogging. There were some pure cricketing shots which went the distance. With Angelo taking charge, Owais just had to provide his partner maximum support. I am confident we'll hear more of Angelo during this tournament. He is a good batter, a useful bowler and a decent fielder. With 160 on the board, we knew we could give the opponents a run for their money. But, for that, we needed to be spot-on with our bowling and also catch anything and everything that came our way. Like our batting, we didn't have a great start while fielding. Gilchrist was initially lucky to get away. There was a moment when we desperately needed a break and Murali Kartik got it at the right time. With Laxman's exit, the scoring rate dipped, because every time you have a new batsman, he is bound to spend some time to get used to the pitch. Our bowlers also settled down and the middle-overs were an example of disciplined bowling. The bowlers bowled to a set plan and, with every passing moment, the pressure shifted from us to our opponents. The bounce at the DY Patil Stadium is spongy. Batting second was a bit tough, as the pitch was losing pace with every passing over. Ultimately, the cookie crumbled, wickets started to tumble and it was a well-fought victory for us. We play our first home match against the Royal Challengers. They have some seasoned campaigners such as Dravid, Kumble and Kallis who will come hard at us.

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Bangladesh can be a very awkward team to come across: Collingwood

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 01:07 PM

Chittagong, Mar 14(ANI): England all-rounder Paul Collingwood insists Bangladesh is not an easy opposition despite destroying them in the ongoing first Test being played in Chittagong.

"Bangladesh are improving all the time and they can be a very awkward team to come across," The News of The World quoted Collingwood, as saying.

"We've seen over the last two days it has been a very flat wicket, so it's very easy to say they are not as good as other Test-playing teams. But we want to win to build up confidence and we won't be getting complacent. It can be tough out here," he added.

Collingwood smashed 145 against the woeful hosts as England declared on 599-6 in their first innings.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh is struggling on 154-5, and face a massive task to avoid an innings defeat.

The century is Collingwood's 10th in Test matches and first in over a year, since scoring 161 against the West Indies at Port of Spain last March.

"There have been innings which I think in my own mind have been centuries, but statistically, they have not been put down as centuries. So, it was important I got to three figures and did a job for the team," Collingwood said.

"I'm 33, but I'm developing as a player all the time and getting more confident. It's been a bit of a purple patch and I want to continue that," he added. (ANI)

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Chowrasia clinches Solaris title

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:53 PM

Mewat (Haryana), March 14 -- Like his game, SSP Chowrasia's bearing has changed course. Gone are the quiet ways and in place is a bubbly being. Soon after submitting his card that confirmed his status as the Solaris Chemtech Open champion, the lean figure bounded down the stairs of the scoring area, exclaiming, "The time's come." It was in February 2008 that Chowrasia had emerged from the shadows to win the tri-sanctioned $2.5 million Indian Masters at the Delhi Golf Club. Thereafter, drought set in but while traversing through the barren wilderness, the belief stayed that this was but a passing phase. Even after Friday's round of 73 at the Classic Golf Resort, which saw him slip from second to fourth, the faith held firm. "I told myself a bad day had passed and on Saturday was going to be different," he said.

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Hussey happy with IPL III security

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 12:47 PM

Melbourne, Mar 14 (PTI) Australia middle-order batsman Michael Hussey has given a thumbs up to the security measures put in place for the Indian Premier League III, saying the water-tight arrangements has made it easier for him to decide his participation in the Twenty20 event. Hussey, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings, would squeeze in a short IPL stint in between national commitments. Australia play New Zealand in a two-Test series that starts on Friday in Wellington and finishes on March 31. "I''ve been in pretty close consultation with Chennai Super Kings," Hussey was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press, a new agency here. "They''re bending over backwards to get everything in place. So I''m pretty confident at this stage that I''ll be more than happy to go," he said. "Fingers crossed. That is their number one priority, the safety of the players, so that has given me a lot of comfort really," he added. Australian cricketers participation in the third edition of IPL was uncertain following last month''s Pune blasts and subsequent terror threats by a militant group against foreign players visiting India.

Source: Web Search

Hero, on and off the field

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:37 PM

Mumbai, March 14 -- Merzban Patel admits he has never been a very good hockey player. But for 35 years, he has taught hundreds of boys from low-income families how to play the game. Many of them have gone on to play in the national hockey team at Olympic matches. Patel not only trains children for free, but also funds their equipment and nutrition. This week, as the Hockey World Cup was nearing its end, the 59-year-old received the CNN-IBN Real Heroes Award for his contribution to the sport. "Children from poor backgrounds are more passionate about the sport than privileged ones, because it is their bread and butter," said Patel, who got exposed to hockey at 18 at the Byculla railway quarters, where his family lived. He decided to get into coaching to give less fortunate boys a chance to get better jobs through the sport. Patel's inspiration is the late Balram Krishna Mohite, a former national-level referee and founder of the Bombay Republicans' Club where Patel has been coaching since 1975. "Mohite would pawn his wife's jewellery to pay for the children's training and I take loans," said Patel, whose job as hockey coach for two south Mumbai schools earns him Rs 6,000 a month. To 'Bawa', as Patel is fondly called at the Mumbai Hockey Association, motivating the player is a coach's primary job. "I follow up on my boys and talk to their parents a lot because in today's urban education system, there is no place for sports," Patel said. He often helps students with their homework. His biggest grouse is the lack of funds for the game. "Corporate houses put in money only where they get returns. But real players are only born when there is investment at the grassroots, focused on a child's nutrition, physiology and psychology."

Source: Web Search

Ponting confirms Clarke will play in first Australia-New Zealand Test

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:27 PM

Sydney, Mar. 14 (ANI): Vice-captain Michael Clarke will play in Australia's first Test against New Zealand in spite of breaking up with long-term fiancie Lara Bingle.

The Herald Sun quoted Captain Ricky Ponting, as saying Clarke would definitely be in the team.

Clarke is due back in New Zealand on Monday and Ponting said his squad would do all in their power to support their vice-captain ahead of the first Test, which starts from March 18.

"It has obviously been a tough time for him in the last few days at home. He was given as much time as he needed to get everything sorted at home. He'll come back being the vice-captain and an experienced player for us in the Test side and we'll give him as much support as he needs when he joins the group again and make sure he's ready to go," Ponting said.

Middle-order batsman Mike Hussey said on Sunday he wanted Clarke back in the squad as soon as possible and fully focused on cricket.

"We haven't really spoken much about it at all. It's pretty much him dealing with his issues off the field. To be honest it's probably none of our business really," Hussey said on Sunday.

"We want him back as quickly as possible because he is an integral part of our team and a very fine player. We want him back and 100 per cent focused on playing well for Australia," he added.

Australia will resume training on Tuesday for the first Test. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Tiger Woods, wife 'spend week together at Florida home'

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:07 PM

New York, March 14 (ANI): In an apparent effort to mend his personal life, Tiger Woods reportedly returned to his family home in Florida where he spent a week with his wife Elin Nordegren and their two children.

The disgraced golfer was said to have spent eight nights at the posh Isleworth pad after the media frenzy following the revelation of his extra marital affairs, his public apology for infidelity and a trip to rehabilitation centre for sex addiction, according to TMZ.com.

The storm appeared to be settling down as his wife of five years seemed rejuvenated by the reunion, the New York Daily News reported.

Woods has also been at the centre of rumours speculating his return to the golf course as early as the next weekend. (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Bangladesh 239-7 v England 599-6 dec - first test, lunch

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 11:57 AM

Bangladesh were 239 for seven at lunch on the third day of the first test against England on Sunday.

Scores: England 599-6 dec (A. Cook 173, K. Pietersen 99, P. Collingwood 145, I. Bell 84) v Bangladesh 154-5 (T. Iqbal 86, Mahmudullah 51, M. Rahim 51 not out; G. Swann 3-75)

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Top seed Kuznetsova exits, Clijsters advances

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 11:33 AM

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was bundled out of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Saturday, piling up unforced errors in a 6-4 4-6 6-1 loss to Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round.

Twice champion and former world number one Kim Clijsters of Belgium had a much easier time on a sunny afternoon in the California desert, cruising into the third round with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

French Open champion Kuznetsova, runner-up here in 2007 and 2008, delivered an erratic display and was broken three times in the final set to lose a match lasting one hour, 56 minutes.

The Russian world number three angrily slammed her racket to the ground after losing the first point of the seventh game of the third set when trailing 1-5 and serving to stay in the match.

Kuznetsova, who was eliminated in the same round here last year, failed to win a point in that game and Suarez Navarro sealed victory when a backhand by the Russian sailed wide.

"I feel now very happy," the 42nd-ranked Spaniard said in a courtside interview after booking a place in the third round against Hungary's Agnes Szavay.

"For me, this is one of the most important matches of my life. I play good and I am happy to be in the next round."

Kuznetsova, who has produced patchy form this season after winning her second grand slam title at last year's French Open, lost the opening set after being broken in the first and fifth games.

REGAINED CONTROL

After trading service breaks with Suarez Navarro early in the second, the Russian appeared to regain control from the baseline with her crunching ground strokes and she levelled the match by breaking the Spaniard in the 10th game.

However, Kuznetsova struggled to maintain momentum and she ended a frustrating match with a total of 69 unforced errors compared to just 38 by Suarez Navarro.

"It's frustrating because I know I have the game," said Kuznetsova, who as the third seed reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in January before losing to compatriot Nadia Petrova.

"I do practice, play unbelievable and then I get to the match and I don't do much. I feel good and the ball doesn't go where I want it to go.

"So my thinking is I just need more matches," added the Russian who has advanced no further than the fourth round in her four WTA appearances this year.

Fourteenth seed Clijsters, who returned to competitive tennis in 2009 following a two-year retirement and won her second U.S. Open title in just her third tournament back, made short work of Zahlavova Strycova in just under an hour.

In other matches, third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus breezed past Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-1 7-5 while 12th-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, last year's champion, beat American qualifier Sloane Stephens 6-4 7-5.

Source: Web Search

Life on Tour a balancing act for mother Clijsters

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 11:27 AM

Maintaining the best possible balance between marriage, motherhood and life on the WTA Tour has become the driving force for former world number one Kim Clijsters.

The Belgian returned to the circuit in 2009 after a two-year "retirement" but she no longer feels she has anything left to prove to others as a player since the birth of her daughter.

"To me it's really important to have the time at home because otherwise I'm going to go to tournaments and I'm not going to want to be there," U.S. Open champion Clijsters told reporters on Saturday.

"Knowing that I can have time at home where I can be a housewife and take care of my husband and (daughter) Jada, that's really important to me.

"It's a life I've lived for two-and-a-half years," the Belgian said after crushing Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-1 in the second round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament.

"I didn't come back to prove to anybody that I'm a good tennis player. I'm doing this for myself. It's my choice, which is a luxury to have.

"Obviously I want to do well at the tournaments where I'm at, but I also want to make sure that when I go to the tournaments I'm hungry and I'm eager to get out there."

METICULOUS APPROACH

Clijsters, who stunned the tennis world last year by winning her second U.S. Open title in just her third tournament back, has adopted a meticulous approach to her training and travel.

Since returning to the circuit she has cut back on her tournament quota and so far she believes she has struck the right balance.

"With this schedule, that's definitely something that I have," the 26-year-old said. "A few years ago, I didn't even feel like I wanted to go out there; I didn't feel like I wanted to put the work in.

"That has always been a very important part of my game ... wanting to be out there and just having that hunger, trying to fight through tough matches but also the easier matches.

"That's something that I have back, and I want to keep that. I don't want to be playing 20, 22 tournaments a year and being away, even with Jada.

"I don't want to take her to another continent for a week and fly back and forth," added Clijsters who married American professional basketball player Brian Lynch in July 2007.

"This is not why I chose to come back to tennis. Not for my rankings or anything."

Source: Web Search

Nadal and Davydenko cruise at Indian Wells

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 10:47 AM

Twice champion and holder Rafa Nadal of Spain eased into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with a commanding 6-4 6-4 victory over Germany's Rainer Schuettler on Saturday.

Fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko also advanced, beating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-4, but eighth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia made an early exit, losing 7-6 6-0 to Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

World number three Nadal, who relishes playing at the California desert venue, broke his opponent in the seventh game of the second set before clinching victory in one hour 34 minutes on a blustery late afternoon.

The Spanish left-hander removed his red headband in celebration after a Schuettler backhand flew wide before approaching the net to shake hands with his opponent.

"Indian Wells is one of my favourite tournaments and I always feel like I'm at home here," a smiling Nadal said in a courtside interview. "I have very happy memories here."

The six-times grand slam champion had to contend with gusting winds on the stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden but he was overall pleased with his form.

"It was a good start in the conditions for me and I'm very happy," Nadal, 23, said. "It was difficult to adapt but I start the match playing well.

"Later, when I was playing in favour of the wind, it was very difficult for me with the backhand because I feel if I only touch the ball, the ball was out. It went too much.

BETTER CONDITIONS

"I feel really well with the forehand, and that's very important to my game. Maybe I can play better in better conditions with the backhand."

Nadal, champion at Indian Wells in 2007 and again last year, will next meet Croatia's Mario Ancic who came from a set down to beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 4-6 7-5 6-3.

The six-foot five-inch Ancic played only five months on last year's ATP Tour after being sidelined with a recurrence of mononucleosis and his ranking has since slipped to 694th.

"I know he had a very hard time at home," said Nadal, competing this week for the first time since shaking off the knee injury that forced him to abandon his Australian Open title defence in January.

"It will be a pleasure to play against him in the next round."

In other matches on Saturday, 10th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco eased past Paraguay's Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-1 while 11th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain hammered Austrian Daniel Koellerer 6-3 6-0.

Source: Web Search

English Premier League summaries

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 10:07 AM

REUTERS - English Premier League summaries on Saturday.

Hull City 1 Jimmy Bullard 28pen

Red card: George Boateng 45+1

Arsenal 2 Andrei Arshavin 14,

Nicklas Bendtner 90+3

Halftime: 1-1; Attendance: 25,023

- - -

Birmingham City 2 Cameron Jerome 26, Craig Gardner 52

Everton 2 Victor Anichebe 19,

Yakubu Aiyegbeni 22

Halftime: 1-2; Attendance: 24,579

- - -

Bolton Wanderers 4 Johan Elmander 10,

Kevin Davies 48pen,

Fabrice Muamba 53, Matthew Taylor 69

Wigan Athletic 0

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 20,053

- - -

Burnley 1 Steven Thompson 73

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Matt Jarvis 26, Clarke Carlisle 47og

Halftime: 0-1; Attendance: 21,217

- - -

Chelsea 4 Alex 16, Didier Drogba 56, 90,

Florent Malouda 77

West Ham United 1 Scott Parker 30

Halftime: 1-1; Attendance: 41,755

- - -

Stoke City 0

Aston Villa 0

Halftime: 0-0

- - -

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Jermain Defoe 45+1,

Roman Pavlyuchenko 55, 85

Blackburn Rovers 1 Christopher Samba 80

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 35,474

- - -

Playing on Sunday (GMT)

Manchester United v Fulham (1330)

Sunderland v Manchester City (1600)

Playing on Monday (GMT)

Liverpool v Portsmouth (2000)

Source: Web Search

English Premier League results and standings

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 09:47 AM

REUTERS - English Premier League results and standings on Saturday

Birmingham City 2 Everton 2

Bolton Wanderers 4 Wigan Athletic 0

Burnley 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2

Chelsea 4 West Ham United 1

Hull City 1 Arsenal 2

Stoke City 0 Aston Villa 0

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Blackburn Rovers 1

Standings P W D L F A Pts

1 Chelsea 29 20 4 5 69 27 64

2 Arsenal 30 20 4 6 71 33 64

3 Manchester United 29 20 3 6 67 24 63

-------------------------

4 Tottenham Hotspur 29 15 7 7 53 28 52

-------------------------

5 Manchester City 27 13 10 4 52 35 49

-------------------------

6 Liverpool 29 14 6 9 45 29 48

7 Aston Villa 27 12 10 5 37 21 46

-------------------------

8 Birmingham City 29 12 8 9 30 31 44

9 Everton 29 11 9 9 46 42 42

10 Fulham 28 10 8 10 32 29 38

11 Stoke City 29 8 12 9 28 33 36

12 Blackburn Rovers 29 9 7 13 31 48 34

13 Bolton Wanderers 30 8 8 14 36 54 32

14 Sunderland 28 7 9 12 36 44 30

15 Wigan Athletic 29 7 7 15 27 57 28

16 West Ham United 29 6 9 14 37 49 27

17 Wolverhampton Wanderers 29 7 6 16 23 47 27

-------------------------

18 Burnley 30 6 6 18 31 63 24

19 Hull City 29 5 9 15 27 61 24

20 Portsmouth 28 5 4 19 24 47 19

1-3: Champions League / EC I

4: Champions League preliminary round

5: Europa League

6-7: Europa League depending on domestic cup

18-20: Relegation

Playing on Sunday (GMT):

Manchester United v Fulham (1330)

Sunderland v Manchester City (1600)

Playing on Monday (GMT)

Liverpool v Portsmouth (2000)

Source: Web Search

Chambers finds happiness, victory after long struggle

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 09:27 AM

On an indoor track far from Britain, life turned a little brighter for sprinter Dwain Chambers on Saturday.

Seven years after a two-year doping ban sent the Londoner's life into a tailspin, victory came his way in the 60 metres at the world indoor championships.

"That was probably the hardest six seconds of my life," Chambers said after claiming his first senior global title in 6.48 seconds, the year's fastest time.

"But I am just glad I stuck at it and did the best I could," the 31-year-old said. "I'm just grateful that I was able to do everyone proud."

He had abandoned the sport, turning to American football in Europe and rugby in 2007 and 2008 before deciding to give sprinting another go.

"A lot can change and it has changed for the better," said Chambers, who has renounced his drugs-tainted past. "I'm just happy man, really happy."

"Getting back to do what I do best, running, is what I enjoy," he said. "Wins like this boost my confidence again."

There will be a little more cash in his pockets, too.

Individual winners at the world championships earn $40,000 plus a gold medal.

A portion of Chambers' payday will go to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to help repay prize money he earned while competing on banned drugs.

The title is more important than the money, he said, "but obviously the prize money is going to be a great bonus".

Life is not all rosy, though.

Chambers is still banned for life from representing Britain in the Olympics and organisers of most European meetings and on the new worldwide Diamond League circuit are unlikely to invite him or others who have served major doping bans.

"We'll see what happens," Chambers said earlier this week. "They (organisers) usually want people who run fast."

Source: Web Search

Liverpool must buy several new players, says Torres

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 08:47 AM

Liverpool need to buy several players in order to challenge for honours next season, striker Fernando Torres said on Saturday.

"We need four or five top-drawer players to be able to compete," he said in an interview with the Spanish sports daily As.

"I want to fight next year to win the Premier League, to win the Champions League or the (Europa League) but new signings have to come for that to happen.

"What is really important is the club makes an effort and brings in top players who improve the quality of the squad," added the Spanish international.

Torres, who joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in 2007, said he had no immediate desire to go back to La Liga.

"I am not planning to return to the Spanish league in the short term," he said. "In the short term my future is in England."

Torres, who has a contract that could keep him at Anfield until 2014, said he was confident sixth-placed Liverpool would finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.

He added that big-spending Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was unlikely to get in touch with him about a move.

"I have never had an offer from Real Madrid. He (Perez) won't call me," said Torres.

Source: Web Search

Return of the rebel

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 08:37 AM

For a long time, the name Ambati Rayudu stood for a tragic tale in Indian cricket. From being touted as a potential superstar during his teen years, the 24-year-old Hyderabadi batsman's foray into near oblivion was as rapid as it was startling.??

So when Rayudu pumped his fist and raised his bat to the packed crowd at the CCI after reaching his half-century on Saturday, it didn't just reveal the excitement of a young cricketer making his first meaningful mark on a big stage, but it signaled the beginning of his long-awaited redemption.

With the Mumbai Indians having lost both Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in quick succession, it wasn't a very pleasant situation in which Rayudu walked into bat. But given his first serious opportunity to showcase his prodigious talent in front of a major audience, he began with a bang. When he flicked his first ball to mid-wicket for four it seemed as if he had rediscovered the touch that made him stand out on the junior circuit a few years back. This was followed by Rayudu launching himself into shots on both sides of the wicket, including an ingenious flick over mid-wicket off Yusuf Pathan for six, before finally falling for a 33-ball 55.

Rayudu's domestic career had started in dream fashion around eight years back and he then went on to lead the Indian under-19 team to the World Cup semi-finals in 2004.????

While a number of his teammates?Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina ? went onto receive higher honours not long after, the young Hyderabadi remained on the fringes. Many believed he should have been blooded in before any of the other three.?

That was the last one heard of Rayudu. The only news that surfaced about him thereafter was him repeatedly having issues with the team management or getting into a brawl with a team mate on the field. And when he became one of the first domestic cricketers to sign his allegiance with the rebel ICL in 2007, it seemed the Rayudu-saga had finally come to a desultory end.

With Mumbai Indians recording the costliest buy for Season 3 by roping in Kieron Pollard, the signing up a number of ICL returnees almost went unnoticed. Among the lot, Rayudu had been the most successful batsman during the two years of the rebel league. On Saturday, he made his presence felt after returning to the BCCI fold and also brought himself back into people's imaginations.

Source: Web Search

Play Station

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 07:07 AM

The IPL action is not just limited to the cricket field this year

With the return of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the country, this season promises to be action-packed, both on and off the field. The tournament, which began on March 12, will see not just a remarkable increase in telecast venues, but also in the number of entertainment programmes spawning around it. With parties, reality shows, awards lined up between the matches, there's lots of glamour and excitement to draw even the non-cricket buffs' attention.

While most channels stay away from introducing new content during IPL season, this time Colors has decided to use it to its advantage by joining forces with the IPL and creating content centered around the tournament. "Football matches held abroad and the Super Bowl are known to offer entertainment during the breaks. This is the first time in India that someone is doing anything along similar lines," says Ashwini Yardi, programming head of Colors, running through the new listings: IPL Rockstars , which is a reality contest where singers will perform live at the stadium right before the match, the IPL Awards that will be held after some of the matches, starry after-parties to keep the spirits high and a Khatron Ke Khiladi IPL Special, where cricketers will replace models as contestants on the new season of the reality show in October.

Television channel Set Max has roped in musical duo Vishal-Shekhar to compose a song, Laut Aaya , based on the IPL's return to India this year. "It's a melody made up of distinctly Indian notes fused seamlessly with western rock. It's a song of home-coming and of wanting to come home," says Shekhar, who has sung the song. To add some eye-candy to cricket commentary, the channel has also roped in cricket fans-turned-presenters, Gaurav Kapur, Samir Kochhar, Ayushmann Khurrana and Angad Bedi for some added zing to expert analysis.

While critics argue that all these activity off the field might steer the players' attention away from the game, many team owners beg to differ. "No one is forcing the cricketers to be part of any of these parties and shows. They are mature enough to know their priorities. All these fun additions are basically to gain more revenues from the event," says Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab.

Those, who want to concentrate on the matches without any intervals and on larger-than-life screens, can rush to nearby multiplexes, which will screen the matches live. "We want to be part of alternate entertainment and this is a great way of doing that," say city's multiplex owners like Fun Cinemas, DT Cinemas and Fame Shalimar.

The IPL will also be streamed with just a five minutes deferral on YouTube for free, worldwide. Rock Mobile Communications will ensure that the subscribers get regular sms, mms and video update on their mobile phone sets while Vodafone will make it easier to buy tickets.

The virtual platform is also abuzz with content based on the IPL. Indiagames has announced a partnership with Global Cricket Ventures (GCV), the exclusive licensee of key digital, mobile and image rights to IPL, to acquire the official gaming rights to the IPL tournament. The eight-year deal will see Indiagames creating cricket-based games, which will be licensed by the IPL, across mobile and online platforms globally.

One of the key features of the online game will be a seamless integration with Facebook, allowing users to create their own teams consisting of both Facebook friends and IPL cricketers. Games will also be created for the iPhone and the yet-to-be launched iPad.

The party's just got bigger!

Source: Web Search

Return of the rebel

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 05:47 AM

For a long time, the name Ambati Rayudu stood for a tragic tale in Indian cricket. From being touted as a potential superstar during his teen years, the 24-year-old Hyderabadi batsman's foray into near oblivion was as rapid as it was startling.??

So when Rayudu pumped his fist and raised his bat to the packed crowd at the CCI after reaching his half-century on Saturday, it didn't just reveal the excitement of a young cricketer making his first meaningful mark on a big stage, but it signaled the beginning of his long-awaited redemption.

With the Mumbai Indians having lost both Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in quick succession, it wasn't a very pleasant situation in which Rayudu walked into bat. But given his first serious opportunity to showcase his prodigious talent in front of a major audience, he began with a bang. When he flicked his first ball to mid-wicket for four it seemed as if he had rediscovered the touch that made him stand out on the junior circuit a few years back. This was followed by Rayudu launching himself into shots on both sides of the wicket, including an ingenious flick over mid-wicket off Yusuf Pathan for six, before finally falling for a 33-ball 55.

Rayudu's domestic career had started in dream fashion around eight years back and he then went on to lead the Indian under-19 team to the World Cup semi-finals in 2004.????

While a number of his teammates?Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina ? went onto receive higher honours not long after, the young Hyderabadi remained on the fringes. Many believed he should have been blooded in before any of the other three.?

That was the last one heard of Rayudu. The only news that surfaced about him thereafter was him repeatedly having issues with the team management or getting into a brawl with a team mate on the field. And when he became one of the first domestic cricketers to sign his allegiance with the rebel ICL in 2007, it seemed the Rayudu-saga had finally come to a desultory end.

With Mumbai Indians recording the costliest buy for Season 3 by roping in Kieron Pollard, the signing up a number of ICL returnees almost went unnoticed. Among the lot, Rayudu had been the most successful batsman during the two years of the rebel league. On Saturday, he made his presence felt after returning to the BCCI fold and also brought himself back into people's imaginations.

Source: Web Search

Gambhir guides Daredevils to a win over Kings XI

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:37 AM

Mohali, March 13 (IANS) Riding on a captain's knock of 72 from Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Saturday.

Gambhir's flamboyant 72 came off 54 balls as Daredevils made 146 for five wickets with one ball to spare in reply to Kings XI's 142 for nine in 20 overs.

Gambhir played a composed knock and repaired the innings after Daredevils slumped to 79 for four by the 13th over. Gambhir hit nine fours and a six and by the time he departed in the last over, Daredevils were alredy on the threshold of a win.

Dinesh Karthik (20) and Mithun Manhas (31 not out) also came up with useful contributions. Manhas slammed Irfan Pathan for four in the penultimate delivery of the innings for the winning runs.

Earlier, Ravi Bopara scored 48-ball 56 that helped Kings XI Punjab post a competitive 142 for nine.

Bopara struck seven fours and a six and with Pathan (21), bailed out Kings XI from a precarious 44 for four after 6.1 overs.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara (17) and Sreesanth (15) were the other two batsmen who could get to double digits.

For Dardevils, pacer Dirk Nannes and Farveez Maharoof picked up two wickets each.

Source: Web Search

Drogba double puts Chelsea back on top

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:27 AM

Didier Drogba scored twice to lift Chelsea to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on Saturday and back to top spot in the Premier League.

A fortnight after a shocking 4-2 defeat by Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea rediscovered their form and with Florent Malouda enjoying one of his best games for the club ended up handsome winners.

Drogba's double and one for Malouda killed off relegation-threatened West Ham who had drawn level at halftime when former Chelsea player Scott Parker cancelled out Alex's early header.

Chelsea moved to 64 points from 29 games and champions Manchester United, who host Fulham on Sunday, have 63. Arsenal can also reach 64 points with victory at Hull City later on Saturday.

"We played well and had a lot of chances and maintained control," Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sports. "We have to maintain this in every match."

Two goals by Roman Pavlyuchenko helped fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur boost their push for Champions League qualification with a 3-1 home defeat of Blackburn Rovers.

Aston Villa, one of Tottenham's rivals for fourth spot, lost ground with a 0-0 draw at Stoke City. Fifth-placed Manchester City are in action at Sunderland on Sunday.

Burnley look increasingly likely to make a quick return to the Championship (second division) after a morale-sapping 2-1 home defeat against fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Bolton Wanderers thrashed Wigan Athletic 4-0 and Birmingham City recovered from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Everton.

COMMANDING PERFORMANCE

Chelsea needed a commanding performance as they look forward to welcoming former manager Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday when they look to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Carlo Ancelotti's side produced just that to outclass a West Ham side, managed by another former Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola, who hung on gamely for a while after Parker rifled in a superb equaliser.

Frenchman Malouda, finally beginning to repay the large fee Chelsea paid to Lyon in 2007, provided the cross for Alex to score the opener and set up Drogba to head Chelsea back in front before his cool finish made it 3-1.

Drogba bagged his second in the final minute but for Ancelotti it was Malouda's spark which pleased him most.

"He was the best player on the pitch today and scored a fantastic goal," Ancelotti told Sky Sports.

"He set up the first two goals and he is in a very good moment and I want to use him on Tuesday."

While the title race looks set to go to the wire this season, the scrap for fourth place is equally intriguing with Tottenham in pole position on 52 points, three more than Manchester City who have two games in hand.

Jermain Defoe grabbed his 23rd goal of the season for Tottenham but Russian Pavlyuchenko is the man of the moment with eight goals in six appearances.

"Pavlyuchenko is in a tremendous run of form and if he can keep doing that until the end of the season we can get where we want to get, he's been great for us," manager Harry Redknapp told the BBC.

Source: Web Search

Angry Hertha fans invade pitch after loss to Nuremberg

Published Sun, Mar 14 10 12:09 AM

Dozens of Hertha Berlin fans, some armed with steel bars, stormed the Olympic stadium pitch on Saturday after a 2-1 loss to Nuremberg left the rock-bottom capital side contemplating relegation.

Minutes after Nuremberg striker Angelos Haristeas struck an injury-time winner to give the visitors a crucial win that lifted them out of the relegation zone on 24 points, angry Hertha fans invaded the pitch.

Players and coaching staff from both teams fled into the changing rooms for cover as fans vented their frustration on team benches and advertising panels and also threatened stewards.

Police chased the fans back into the stands.

Hertha have been anchored in last place in the Bundesliga since mid-September. They have 15 points from 26 matches.

Source: Web Search

Doerner, Taekema top goal scorers in Hockey World Cup

Published>Sun, Mar 14 10 12:05 AM

New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Australia's Luke Doerner and Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands were the joint top goal scorers with eight goals apiece in the Hockey World Cup that concluded at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here Saturday.

List:

Eight goals: Luke Doerner AUS; Taeke Taekema NED;

Seven: Ashley Jackson ENG;

Six: Glenn Turner AUS;

Five: Jamie Dwyer AUS,

Four: Desmond Abbott AUS, Florian Fuchs GER, Nam Hyun-Woo KOR, Lee Nam-Yong KOR, Pau Quemada ESP; Andy Hayward NZL, Sandeep Singh IND, Lucas Vila ARG;

Three: Pablo Amat ESP, Ronald Brouwer NED, Rehan Butt PAK, Marvin Harper RSA, Rogier Hofman NED, Martin Haner GER, Jang Jong-Hyun KOR, Jan-Marco Montag GER, Lloyd Norris-Jones RSA, Shivendra Singh, James Tindall ENG, Philip Wright CAN, Facundo Callioni ARG;

Two: Sohail Abbas PAK, David Alegre ESP, Tomas Argento ARG, Jonty Clarke ENG, Teun De Nooijer NED, Moritz Furste GER, Ian Haley RSA, Abdul Haseem Khan PAK, You Hyo-Sik KOR, Oliver Korn GER, Richard Mantell ENG, Barry Middleton ENG, Roc Oliva ESP, Matias Paredes ARG, Taine Paton RSA, Mark Pearson CAN, Vikram Pillay IND, Justin Reid-Ross RSA, Gurwinder Singh Chandi IND, Rajpal Singh IND, Scott Tupper CAN, Benjamin Wess GER, Matthias Witthaus GER, Martin Zwicker GER;

One: Shakeel Abbasi PAK, Waseem Ahmed PAK, Akhtar Ali PAK, Mario Almada ARG, ESP, Ryan Archibald NZL, Priyesh Bhana NZL, Alastair Brogdon ENG, Phillip Burrows NZL, Linus Butt GER, Matthew Butturini AUS, Gareth Carr RSA, Nick Catlin ENG, Dean Couzins NZL, Liam De Young AUS, Rodrigo Garza ESP, Connor Grimes CAN, Nick Haig NZL, Tommy Hammond RSA, Jeroen Hertzberger NED, Hyun Hye-Sung KOR, Julian Hykes RSA, Pedro Ibarra ARG, Muhammad Imran PAK, Hugo Inglis NZL, David Jameson CAN, Wouter Jolie NED, Seo Jong-Ho KOR, Fergus Kavanagh AUS, Iain Mackay ENG, Shea McAleese NZL, Thornton McDade RSA, Christoph Menke GER, Robert Moore ENG, Maximilian Muller GER, Eddie Ockenden AUS, Rob Reckers NED, Albert Sala ESP, Prabhjot Singh IND, Sarwanjit Singh IND, Austin Smith RSA, Richard Smith ENG, Yoon Sung-Hoon KOR, Eduard Tubau ESP, Klass Vermeulen GER, Nick Wilson NZL, Philip Witte GER.

Total goals scored in tournament: 199

Source: Web Search

Chandhok finally makes his F1 debut

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:57 PM

A message from his mother summed up Karun Chandhok's Formula One fortunes on Saturday after the Indian qualified in last place for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

"My mum just sent me a text saying 'Oh, I finally saw your car run'," grinned the ever-patient Hispania (HRT) driver when he caught up with reporters in the Sakhir paddock.

She was not the only one to feel relieved. Indians everywhere had been waiting in vain for a glimpse of the newest arrival in the sport actually in a car.

Chandhok, who will be only the second Indian to race in Formula One after Narain Karthikeyan in 2005, will make his debut on Sunday with less experience behind the wheel of his car than any driver in recent memory.

Until Saturday's first knockout qualifying session, he had not even driven it out of a garage, let alone around a corner or down a straight.

The car was flown to Bahrain untested and straight from the Italian Dallara factory after the Spanish-based team won a last-gasp battle for survival.

For three practice sessions, Chandhok was forced to wait and watch as mechanics worked to fix hydraulic problems that left it unable to engage gear.

After a while he stopped asking them any questions to prevent distractions.

"What can I say, a bit chaotic really," said the Chennai-born 26-year-old. "At the last minute we threw everything together and we got out. The session had already started when the floor was being bolted on.

"It was just a shakedown...it was literally just to do some laps and make sure we were okay for the race tomorrow, we went up and down all the gears and made sure everything worked and my seat was okay.

"The seat belts and everything had to be readjusted. It was just a bit of a relief to drive and actually see what the new bit of the circuit is like."

Chandhok only obtained his mandatory super licence on Thursday, granted a special dispensation having not done the requisite distance in testing, on the basis of his past performances in the GP2 support series.

"I can't remember anyone in F1 who has gone straight into qualifying on their F1 debut and in an unknown team or otherwise," he said.

"I didn't want to get in anyone's way and in fact I picked up a lot of dirt on the tyres just by getting out of people's way. We're not here to upset anyone, just here to be respectable and do the best job we can."

Source: Web Search

We lost to a superior side: German coach Weise

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:47 PM

New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) German hockey coach Markus Weise doffed his hat to the Australians after the defeat in the World Cup final Saturday, saying the Kookaburras had 'everything to win' the tournament.

'We lost to a superior side. They had everything to win the World Cup,' Weise said after the defending champions lost 1-2 to Australia in the final at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

With the loss, in front of a near-capacity stadium, Germany's dream of a hat-trick of titles was shattered.

However, the coach also regretted that his boys could not keep up their mastery over penalty corners in the finals. After converting a dozen short corners, Germany could slot home only one out of the four that came their way against Australia.

'We were not good at penalty corner conversions today. Once we missed the penalty corners when we should have taken the lead, and then when it was time to equalise. But otherwise it was a close match and we lost to a better side,' he said.

German captain Maximillian Muller said the Australians played well in the first 20 minutes

'May be, the players were a bit scared in the first 20 minutes because we have an inexperienced team. But later on we settled down and defended well,' Muller said.

Source: Web Search

Doerner, Taekema top goal scorers in Hockey World Cup

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:37 PM

New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Australia's Luke Doerner and Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands were the joint top goal scorers with eight goals apiece in the Hockey World Cup that concluded at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here Saturday.

List:

Eight goals: Luke Doerner AUS; Taeke Taekema NED;

Seven: Ashley Jackson ENG;

Six: Glenn Turner AUS;

Five: Jamie Dwyer AUS,

Four: Desmond Abbott AUS, Florian Fuchs GER, Nam Hyun-Woo KOR, Lee Nam-Yong KOR, Pau Quemada ESP; Andy Hayward NZL, Sandeep Singh IND, Lucas Vila ARG;

Three: Pablo Amat ESP, Ronald Brouwer NED, Rehan Butt PAK, Marvin Harper RSA, Rogier Hofman NED, Martin Haner GER, Jang Jong-Hyun KOR, Jan-Marco Montag GER, Lloyd Norris-Jones RSA, Shivendra Singh, James Tindall ENG, Philip Wright CAN, Facundo Callioni ARG;

Two: Sohail Abbas PAK, David Alegre ESP, Tomas Argento ARG, Jonty Clarke ENG, Teun De Nooijer NED, Moritz Furste GER, Ian Haley RSA, Abdul Haseem Khan PAK, You Hyo-Sik KOR, Oliver Korn GER, Richard Mantell ENG, Barry Middleton ENG, Roc Oliva ESP, Matias Paredes ARG, Taine Paton RSA, Mark Pearson CAN, Vikram Pillay IND, Justin Reid-Ross RSA, Gurwinder Singh Chandi IND, Rajpal Singh IND, Scott Tupper CAN, Benjamin Wess GER, Matthias Witthaus GER, Martin Zwicker GER;

One: Shakeel Abbasi PAK, Waseem Ahmed PAK, Akhtar Ali PAK, Mario Almada ARG, ESP, Ryan Archibald NZL, Priyesh Bhana NZL, Alastair Brogdon ENG, Phillip Burrows NZL, Linus Butt GER, Matthew Butturini AUS, Gareth Carr RSA, Nick Catlin ENG, Dean Couzins NZL, Liam De Young AUS, Rodrigo Garza ESP, Connor Grimes CAN, Nick Haig NZL, Tommy Hammond RSA, Jeroen Hertzberger NED, Hyun Hye-Sung KOR, Julian Hykes RSA, Pedro Ibarra ARG, Muhammad Imran PAK, Hugo Inglis NZL, David Jameson CAN, Wouter Jolie NED, Seo Jong-Ho KOR, Fergus Kavanagh AUS, Iain Mackay ENG, Shea McAleese NZL, Thornton McDade RSA, Christoph Menke GER, Robert Moore ENG, Maximilian Muller GER, Eddie Ockenden AUS, Rob Reckers NED, Albert Sala ESP, Prabhjot Singh IND, Sarwanjit Singh IND, Austin Smith RSA, Richard Smith ENG, Yoon Sung-Hoon KOR, Eduard Tubau ESP, Klass Vermeulen GER, Nick Wilson NZL, Philip Witte GER.

Total goals scored in tournament: 199

Source: Web Search

We lost to a superior side: German coach Weise

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:17 PM

New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) German hockey coach Markus Weise doffed his hat to the Australians after the defeat in the World Cup final Saturday, saying the Kookaburras had 'everything to win' the tournament.

'We lost to a superior side. They had everything to win the World Cup,' Weise said after the defending champions lost 1-2 to Australia in the final at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

With the loss, in front of a near-capacity stadium, Germany's dream of a hat-trick of titles was shattered.

However, the coach also regretted that his boys could not keep up their mastery over penalty corners in the finals. After converting a dozen short corners, Germany could slot home only one out of the four that came their way against Australia.

'We were not good at penalty corner conversions today. Once we missed the penalty corners when we should have taken the lead, and then when it was time to equalise. But otherwise it was a close match and we lost to a better side,' he said.

German captain Maximillian Muller said the Australians played well in the first 20 minutes

'May be, the players were a bit scared in the first 20 minutes because we have an inexperienced team. But later on we settled down and defended well,' Muller said.

Source: Web Search

Drogba double puts Chelsea back on top

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:07 PM

Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea grabbed back top spot in the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 home win over London rivals West Ham United.

The Ivory Coast striker took his league tally for the season to 21 with two goals after the break to finish off struggling West Ham who had drawn level when former Chelsea player Scott Parker cancelled out Alex's early header.

Chelsea, for whom Florent Malouda was also on target, moved to 64 points from 29 games while champions Manchester United, who host Fulham on Sunday, have 63. Arsenal can also reach 64 points with victory at Hull City later on Saturday.

Two goals by Roman Pavlyuchenko helped fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur maintain their push for Champions League qualification with a 3-1 home defeat of Blackburn Rovers.

Aston Villa, one of Tottenham's rivals for fourth spot, lost ground with a 0-0 draw at Stoke City. Fifth-placed Manchester City play at Sunderland on Sunday.

Burnley look increasingly likely to make a quick return to the Championship (second division) after a morale-sapping 2-1 home defeat by fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Bolton Wanderers thrashed Wigan Athletic 4-0 and Birmingham City recovered from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Everton.

Source: Web Search

German hockey players win hearts despite World Cup loss

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 11:01 PM

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Australia won the Hockey World Cup, but it was the young German team which won the hearts of the Indian fans by taking a lap around the packed stadium with a huge banner thanking the crowd for their support.

'Thank you for the support. We appreciate your efforts,' read the banner which was greeted with thunderous roars from the nearly-packed Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

The German act came moments after the Australian team completed the victory lap to celebrate their second Cup title that came after a 24-year gap.

The crowd, which included some Germans, had stood firmly behind the runners-up cheering their every move.

In fact, even the German players were surprised by the overwhelming support as it even surpassed the backing they get at home.

'It was a surprise to us that we got such huge support here in India. We don't see such support even back home. In the 2006 finals when we played Australia at Mongchengladbach, there were 12,000 people in the stands. There was a good support for the home team. But we usually don't see such crowd back home,' young striker Florian Fuchs told IANS.

German captain Maximilian Muller said they wanted to show their heartfelt appreciation to crowd for their support through the tournament.

'We talked about it two days ago. The handful of German supporters and the Indian fans cheered for us throughout the tournament. So we came up with this idea to show our appreciation with a banner.'

'In fact, the fans here were right behind us in this match and helped us to draw level. They constantly egged us for every move and it was a motivating factor,' said Muller.

'It has been a wonderful stay for the entire team in India. We loved the place, the fans and their love for hockey.'

Source: Web Search

Barrister Farooq lodges a claim of Rs 55m against PCB

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 10:51 PM

Lahore, Mar 13 (PTI) A well known Barrister in Lahore, Farooq Hasan has lodged a claim for Rs 55 million as damages against the Pakistan Cricket Board for not paying his fees. The claim has been lodged in the court of senior civil judge Lahore today and Farooq has told the court that the PCB had acquired his services at the rate of USD 500 per hour but it had as yet not paid any fees to him. No details were available as to on which case, the Barrister had represented the board. Barrister Farooq requested the court to get him an amount of USD 92,000 from the board on account of his outstanding fees and damages. The senior civil judge has issued notices to Chairman PCB Ejaz Butt and CEO Wasim Bari for appearing before the court on March 31.

Source: Web Search

German hockey players win hearts despite World Cup loss

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 10:37 PM

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Australia won the Hockey World Cup, but it was the young German team which won the hearts of the Indian fans by taking a lap around the packed stadium with a huge banner thanking the crowd for their support.

'Thank you for the support. We appreciate your efforts,' read the banner which was greeted with thunderous roars from the nearly-packed Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

The German act came moments after the Australian team completed the victory lap to celebrate their second Cup title that came after a 24-year gap.

The crowd, which included some Germans, had stood firmly behind the runners-up cheering their every move.

In fact, even the German players were surprised by the overwhelming support as it even surpassed the backing they get at home.

'It was a surprise to us that we got such huge support here in India. We don't see such support even back home. In the 2006 finals when we played Australia at Mongchengladbach, there were 12,000 people in the stands. There was a good support for the home team. But we usually don't see such crowd back home,' young striker Florian Fuchs told IANS.

German captain Maximilian Muller said they wanted to show their heartfelt appreciation to crowd for their support through the tournament.

'We talked about it two days ago. The handful of German supporters and the Indian fans cheered for us throughout the tournament. So we came up with this idea to show our appreciation with a banner.'

'In fact, the fans here were right behind us in this match and helped us to draw level. They constantly egged us for every move and it was a motivating factor,' said Muller.

'It has been a wonderful stay for the entire team in India. We loved the place, the fans and their love for hockey.'

Source: Web Search

Pakistan hockey team returns home

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 10:27 PM

Lahore, Mar 13 (PTI) A demoralized Pakistan hockey team, which finished at the bottom in the World Cup returned home to a lukewarm reception today with sacked coach Shahid Ali Khan setting off a new round of politicking with some strong comments. Shahid, a former Olympian, accused some former Olympians and captains who have called for the removal of the Pakistan hockey Federation President and Secretary of trying to enforce their own agenda. "Their agenda is to once again rule Pakistan hockey. People like Islahuddin, Khalid Mehmood, Khawaja Zakauddin, Shahbaz Ahmed are all tried and tested people and they are just trying to exploit the team''s poor performance in the World Cup for their own agenda," he said. The team which finished at the bottom of the table in the World Cup returned home to a lukewarm reception at the Lahore airport with the handful of people around hardly bothering to even greet them. "I know the agenda of these former players, the fact is that if the team performed poorly in the World Cup, myself and the players take full responsibility for it. But it is also a fact that the PHF President and Secretary have done everything possible to facilitate the team," Shahid said. He said that players like Shahbaz had done nothing for Pakistan hockey after retirement and were involved in politics. "Shahbaz will be happy if the federation appoints Tahir Zaman as coach that is all," Shahid said. .

Source: Web Search

Rajasthan Royals win hearts with Pathan's blitzkrieg despite losing to Mumbai Indians

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 10:21 PM

Mumbai, March 13 (ANI: Mumbai Indians survived a brutal assault by Yusuf Pathan, as he struck a belligerent 37-ball 100, and still managed to register a four-run win over Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Yusuf slammed nine sixes and eight fours for his century to bring the Rajasthan Royals on the brink of victory by coming close to Mumbai Indians' 212 for six.

However, Yusuf was run out brilliantly by R Satish whom he had treated with utter disdain during his superb 107-run partnership with Paras Dogra (41 off 29 balls) for the fifth wicket to raise hopes of a miracle win.

The Royals commenced their chase to overhaul the record Mumbai Indians score on the wrong foot, as they lost opener Swapnil Asnodkar in the second ball without facing a ball due to a misunderstanding with Graeme Smith.

The last ball of the over was disdainfully dispatched to the backward square leg fence.

Earlier, good half centuries from Ambati Rayudu (55) and Saurabh Tiwary (53) following a sound start piloted Mumbai Indians to their highest-ever IPL total.

Guntur-born Rayudu, an ICL returnee, cracked 55 in 33 balls studded with 6 fours and 2 sixes while Jamshedpur-born Saurabh Tiwary slammed a breezy 53 in the same number of balls, embellished with 4 fours and two sixes.

The fourth wicket duo put on 110 runs in only 63 balls to lift Mumbai Indians from 70 for three to 180 for four.

The luck finally favoured the Mumbai Indians with the final Score: Rajasthan Royals: 208/7(20.0 overs) Mumbai Indians : 212/6 . (ANI)

Source: Web Search

Saina crashes out of All England Super Series

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 10:17 PM

London, Mar 13 (PTI) Ace Indian Saina Nehwal suffered a straight-game defeat against Tine Rasmussen of Denmark in the semifinals of the women''s singles to bow out of the All England Super Series badminton championship here today. Saina became the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the prestigious tournament but her journey was cut short by Rasmussen of Denmark, who beat her 21-19 21-17 in a 37-minute battle. Down 1-5 in the first game, Saina picked up four straight points to make it 5-5 and then moved neck and neck till 19-19 but Rusmessen had the last laugh as she sealed the game with two straight points. In the second game, the world number seven Indian had raced to narrow lead of 3-1 but the Dane soon surged ahead at 9-4 and held the fort as Saina''s game crumbled. Earlier, the Hyderabadi had beaten German Juliane 21-8, 21-14 in just 27 minutes to reach the semi-final at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. Saina had also beaten Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands and Korean Seung Hee Bae in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Source: Web Search

Maha routs MP by six wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 10:07 PM

Indore, Mar 13 (PTI) It was a pathetic show by host Madhya Pradesh in All India T20 cricket tournament for Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy quarter final match against Maharashtra played here at Usha Raje Cricket Grounds today. Maharashtra routed Madhya Pradesh by six wickets to steer into last four. In the morning visiting Captain Rohit Motwani won the toss and opted to field first. His decision proved good as host batsmen were struggling to stay at the middle of the wicket and were losing the wicket at regular intervals. Experienced Abbas Ali showed his class to stay at the middle of the wicket and scored 31, while other batsmen just returned back to dressing room at short spell. Kiran Adhav bowled well to capture three wickets for 29 runs while medium pacer Samad Fallah took two wickets for 23 to help their team to bundle out host cheaply. In reply Maharashtra batsmen had no difficulty in surpassing the required runs in just 16 overs to win the match by six wickets to steer in to last four. Ameya Shrikhande batted well to score 35 in 21 balls with six hits to the fence and one over the fence, while skipper Rohit Motwani and Ganesh Gaikwad scored 19 runs each to help their team''s easy victory.

Source: Web Search

Pavlyuchenko fires Tottenham to victory over Blackburn

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 09:31 PM

Roman Pavlyuchenko's goal spree continued as Tottenham Hotspur maintained their pursuit of Champions League qualification with a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The Russian, largely ignored by manager Harry Redknapp until last month, struck twice after the break to take his tally to eight goals in his last six appearances.

Victory kept Tottenham in pole position for fourth spot in the Premier League, three points above Manchester City who have two games in hand including their visit to Sunderland on Sunday.

Pavlyuchenko was never far from the action at White Hart Lane, squandering two good chances before Jermain Defoe nudged Tottenham ahead in first-half stoppage time with his 23rd goal of the season in all competitions.

Blackburn had to change goalkeepers midway through the first half when former Spurs stopper Paul Robinson limped off to be replaced by Jason Brown.

Brown was at fault for Tottenahm's second goal in the 55th minute when Pavlyuchenko's well-struck shot went under his body.

Tottenham had a strong penalty claim turned down when Gareth Bale was tripped by Michel Salgado and that decision looked as though it could prove costly when Chris Samba headed Rovers back into the game.

Pavlyuchenko wrapped up the points late on, however, when he turned in a pinpoint low cross from the impressive Bale.

Later on Saturday Chelsea can return to the top of the table with a victory at home to West Ham United and title rivals Arsenal are at Hull City.

Source: Web Search

Pathan's century in vain as Royals lose to Mumbai Indians

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 09:27 PM

Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Yusuf Pathan scored a hurricane 37-ball century but could not save Rajasthan Royals from suffering a heart-wrenching four-run defeat against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Brabourne Stadium here Saturday.

Chasing a tough target of 213, Rajasthan Royals made 208 for seven in 20 overs after Pathan smashed the quickest century in IPL and the second fastest in Twenty20. Pathan was also adjudged the Man of the Match.

Pathan and Paras Dogra (41), with their 107-run stand, took the Royals close to a win after they had slumped to 69 for four in the 10th over. At the time Pathan and Dogra were batting, it seemed the match was slowly slipping out of the hands of Mumbai Indians, who made 212 for six in 20 overs.

Pathan reached his fifty in just 21 balls and hit nine fours and eight sixes during his stay. Both Dogra and Pathan were run out and the Royals' chase ran out of steam.

Earlier, riding on half-centuries from Ambati Rayudu (55) and Sourabh Tiwary (53), Mumbai Indians put up an impressive score.

Rayudu, who had joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), struck a 30-ball fifty while Tiwary got to his fifty in 30 balls.

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Australia beat Germany 2-1 to win World Cup

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 09:07 PM

Australia won the men's hockey World Cup for the first time since 1986 by defeating holders Germany 2-1 in an absorbing final on Saturday.

Luke Doerner scored the winner in the 59th minute through a penalty corner for Australia, who were beaten by top-ranked Germany in the previous two World Cups finals in 2002 and 2006.

Eddie Ockenden put Australia ahead in the sixth minute with an opportunist strike in a goalmouth scramble.

World number two Australia started as tournament favourites after winning a record 10th Champions Trophy in December when they beat Olympic champions Germany 5-3 in the final.

Moritz Furste scored the equaliser through a penalty corner in the 48th minute as the young German side clawed back before man-of-the-match Doerner sealed the match with his eighth goal of the tournament.

Earlier, the Netherlands rallied to beat European champions England 4-3 to win the bronze.

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Pathan's century in vain as Royals lose to Mumbai Indians

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 08:57 PM

Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Yusuf Pathan scored a hurricane 37-ball century but could not save Rajasthan Royals from suffering a heart-wrenching four-run defeat against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Brabourne Stadium here Saturday.

Chasing a tough target of 213, Rajasthan Royals made 208 for seven in 20 overs after Pathan smashed the quickest century in IPL and the second fastest in Twenty20. Pathan was also adjudged the Man of the Match.

Pathan and Paras Dogra (41), with their 107-run stand, took the Royals close to a win after they had slumped to 69 for four in the 10th over. At the time Pathan and Dogra were batting, it seemed the match was slowly slipping out of the hands of Mumbai Indians, who made 212 for six in 20 overs.

Pathan reached his fifty in just 21 balls and hit nine fours and eight sixes during his stay. Both Dogra and Pathan were run out and the Royals' chase ran out of steam.

Earlier, riding on half-centuries from Ambati Rayudu (55) and Sourabh Tiwary (53), Mumbai Indians put up an impressive score.

Rayudu, who had joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), struck a 30-ball fifty while Tiwary got to his fifty in 30 balls.

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Pune FC to face Air India

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 08:51 PM

Mumbai, Mar 13 (PTI) Visitors Pune FC will for retribution and three crucial points when they face struggling hosts Air India in the 16th round I-League match at the Cooperage ground here tomorrow. The visitors, who have impressed one and all in their debut season, had lost their home match against the Mumbai rivals 0-1. However, since then the team have gone from strength to strength, remaining unbeaten in their previous seven matches, winning five of them including one against Kolkata giants East Bengal. The team has so far accumulated 23 points from 15 matches. A victory against the hosts will help Pune FC get a place amongst the top five - something that the coach had aimed for before the campaign, but will look to better given the team''s magnificent form. "Before the campaign began we were aiming for a top five finish. A win here and a good performance in the next three-four games and who knows nothing is impossible," Pune FC Coach Derrick Pereira told PTI ahead of the match. Pereira is however, cautious against a team against whom his team has lost (in the I League) and drawn a game (in the Fed Cup) each."They are a good side. We have played two matches against them and lost one in the I League and drew a match which we should have won in the Fed Cup." .

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The Netherlands beat England to finish with bronze

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 08:47 PM

New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) A second-half blitz saw the Netherlands edge past England 4-3 in a thriller and finish with the bronze at the Hockey World up here Saturday.

Down 1-3, the Netherlands made a spirited comeback in the second half to slot home three goals in 19 minutes.

The Dutch opened the scoring through their dependable playmaker Teun de Nooijer in the 22nd minute, giving the finishing touch to a pass from Robert van der Horst.

England, who largely dominated the first half, fought back with strikes from Alastair Brogdon (23rd minute) and two penalty-corner conversions from Ashley Jackson (30th, 34th).

The Netherlands hit back in the 48th minute with a penalty-corner conversion from Taeke Taekama, his eighth goal in the tournament. For the next few minutes, the Dutch gave a harrowing time to the England defence as they skilfully stepped up the attack.

Klaas Vermeulen (55th) equalised with an opportunistic goal from a goalmouth melee. And with three minutes to go, Roger Hofman sneaked one past goalkeeper James Fair for the winning goal to send the crowd into raptures.

The entire team then embraced goalkeeper Guus Vogels, who finished his career on a high with a bronze. As a mark of honour, Vogels was asked to lead the side in the last match of his career.

Vogels, who had been in an outstanding form throughout the tournament, lived up to his reputation with some brilliant saves. It was also the last World Cup appearance for veteran Netherlands midfielder and captain Nooijer.

Three times winners the Netherlands' last World Cup bronze came in 2002 while they finished seventh in the previous edition.

It was the second best performance for the European Champions England after their runners-up finish to Australia in 1986.

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Dempo looking to maintain their top position

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 08:37 PM

Margao, Mar 13 (PTI) Dempo is looking to collect full points against Salgaocar to maintain their top position when they meet tomorrow in the 16th round of the I-League at Nehru stadium, Margao. Dempo''s shock defeat in their last match against Viva Kerala has helped Title contenders Mahindra United to close the gap by one point. Both the teams have a good record at home and will be looking to collect full points. Under new coach Karim Bencherifa, Salgaocar have proved to be a difficult team to play against but they only managed to draw their last two games. Both those results came against teams from the bottom half so this game against leaders Dempo will be Salgaocars biggest test since the appointment of the Moroccan. Dempos title challenge suffered a huge blow in the last round as they went down 0-1 against Viva in Kerala. Armando Colacos side failed to score outside Goa for the first time this term and their lead at the top was reduced to one point. All three of Salgaocars wins have come in Goa and they have picked four points from three local derbies. Dempo have got the same number of points from Goan derby matches so they will be determined to improve that record by beating Salgaocar. .

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Delhi Daredevils win toss, elect to field

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 08:17 PM

Mohali, Mar 13 (PTI) Delhi Daredevils skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field against Kings XI Punjab in the third Indian Premier League here today. Team: Delhi Daredevils: Gautam Gambhir (C), Virender Sehwag, Thillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Karthik, A B de villiers, Mithun Manhas, Pradeep Sangwan, Amit Mishra, Pervez Maharoof, Dirk Nannes, Yo Mahesh. Kings XI Punjab: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Yuvraj Singh, Ravi Bopara, Pijush Chawla, Mehela Jayawardene, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Manvinder Bisla, S Sreesanth, Yusuf Abdulla.

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Sutil to start 10th in Bahrain GP tomorrow

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 08:07 PM

Agnes Carlier Manama (Bahrain), Mar 13 (PTI) India''s Karun Chandhok will make his F1 debut in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in the last row, while Force India driver Adrian Sutil will be 10th on the grid here tomorrow. Hispania Racing driver Chandhok''s 2:04.904 timing was not good enough to qualify for the second qualification and the Indian driver finished at the bottom at the 24th position. However, it was a brilliant day for Vijay Mallya-owned Force India as Sutil made it to the third and final qualifying session and his best lap of 1:56.309 put him at the fifth row. His teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi will start 12th tomorrow having made it to Q2 but failing to qualify for Q3. "I''m very happy. I think it was a great achievement to go into Q3 at the first race: our best start to the season for a long time. The team should be very proud of it, I am very proud of this, so let''s see how it goes tomorrow," Sutil said. "Our goal is now to finish in the points. At the moment I''m in tenth and hopefully we can make one or two positions up as I''m the only car on the hard tyre so it may be an advantage." .

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Sutil to start 10th in Bahrain GP tomorrow

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 08:07 PM

Agnes Carlier Manama (Bahrain), Mar 13 (PTI) India''s Karun Chandhok will make his F1 debut in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in the last row, while Force India driver Adrian Sutil will be 10th on the grid here tomorrow. Hispania Racing driver Chandhok''s 2:04.904 timing was not good enough to qualify for the second qualification and the Indian driver finished at the bottom at the 24th position. However, it was a brilliant day for Vijay Mallya-owned Force India as Sutil made it to the third and final qualifying session and his best lap of 1:56.309 put him at the fifth row. His teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi will start 12th tomorrow having made it to Q2 but failing to qualify for Q3. "I''m very happy. I think it was a great achievement to go into Q3 at the first race: our best start to the season for a long time. The team should be very proud of it, I am very proud of this, so let''s see how it goes tomorrow," Sutil said. "Our goal is now to finish in the points. At the moment I''m in tenth and hopefully we can make one or two positions up as I''m the only car on the hard tyre so it may be an advantage." .

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Chowrasia fires classic 65 to end 25-month title drought

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 07:37 PM

Mewat (Haryana), March 13 (IANS) Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia fired a blistering seven under 65 at the Classic Golf Resort to win the Solaris Chemtech Open Golf Championship 2010 with a 13-under 275 and end his two-year title drought here Saturday.

The Kolkata golfer, who finished one-stroke ahead of round three leader R. Murthy, saved the best for the last as he delivered a near-perfect performance in round four to clinch his 12th professional title and second win on the Aircel-PGTI. The 31-year-old won his last title at the Indian Masters in February 2008.

Chowrasia, who was fourth at the end of round three, made an early charge on day four with birdies on the second, fourth, fifth and ninth to be four under at the turn. He chipped-in from the edge on the second and sank putts from 20 feet and 15 feet on the fourth and fifth respectively.

Chowrasia became the joint leader along with R Murthy at 11 under when he birdied the 10th. Murthy then went up by a stroke with a birdie on the 12th. The equation changed on the 14th as Chowrasia converted a difficult eagle putt from 30 feet while Murthy bogeyed as a result of some poor hitting.

Chowrasia dropped his first bogey of the day on the 17th but nonetheless managed to seal the title courtesy of a birdie on the 18th, where his third shot from 70 yards landed five feet from the hole.

'This has been an outstanding week for me. I only had one ordinary round. I'm delighted to finally post a win after such a long gap. I will now carry this confidence to the international circuit. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Gautam Thapar who has sponsored me over the last two years. His support has always encouraged me to scale greater heights,' said Chowrasia, who is now third on the 2010 Rolex Rankings (Order of Merit).

He added: 'I went into the sole lead on the 14th hole and that for me was the turning point of the day. The game turned on its head when I sank a 30-footer for eagle on the par five 14th while Murthy dropped a bogey on the same hole. My putter was hot today and I sank some really long putts besides making a fantastic chip-in on the second.'

Murthy (71, 68, 67, 70) of Bangalore signed-off with a gallant two under 70 on the final day to finish as the runner-up at 12 under 276. Murthy, the only professional to shoot sub-par scores on all four days of the tournament, birdied the fourth, 12th, 18th and bogeyed the 14th on Saturday.

Murthy, who has now climbed from 45th position to fifth place on the Rolex Rankings, said: 'Even though I finished second, I'm glad to have registered my best result on the Aircel-PGTI. The important thing was that I did not lose focus after falling back on the 14th hole and kept trying for birdies till the very end. It was this positive approach that helped me finish just one stroke behind in second.'

He went on to add: 'I did not putt well today and missed some sitters from close range. Chowrasia, on the other hand, was in great putting form and that made all the difference.'

Vijay Kumar, the leader for the first two rounds, ended third at 11 under 277 while Sanjay Kumar was a further three strokes back in fourth position. Gaurav Ghei and Om Prakash Chouhan shared fifth place at six under 282.

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Chowrasia fires classic 65 to end 25-month title drought

Published>Sat, Mar 13 10 07:37 PM

Mewat (Haryana), March 13 (IANS) Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia fired a blistering seven under 65 at the Classic Golf Resort to win the Solaris Chemtech Open Golf Championship 2010 with a 13-under 275 and end his two-year title drought here Saturday.

The Kolkata golfer, who finished one-stroke ahead of round three leader R. Murthy, saved the best for the last as he delivered a near-perfect performance in round four to clinch his 12th professional title and second win on the Aircel-PGTI. The 31-year-old won his last title at the Indian Masters in February 2008.

Chowrasia, who was fourth at the end of round three, made an early charge on day four with birdies on the second, fourth, fifth and ninth to be four under at the turn. He chipped-in from the edge on the second and sank putts from 20 feet and 15 feet on the fourth and fifth respectively.

Chowrasia became the joint leader along with R Murthy at 11 under when he birdied the 10th. Murthy then went up by a stroke with a birdie on the 12th. The equation changed on the 14th as Chowrasia converted a difficult eagle putt from 30 feet while Murthy bogeyed as a result of some poor hitting.

Chowrasia dropped his first bogey of the day on the 17th but nonetheless managed to seal the title courtesy of a birdie on the 18th, where his third shot from 70 yards landed five feet from the hole.

'This has been an outstanding week for me. I only had one ordinary round. I'm delighted to finally post a win after such a long gap. I will now carry this confidence to the international circuit. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Gautam Thapar who has sponsored me over the last two years. His support has always encouraged me to scale greater heights,' said Chowrasia, who is now third on the 2010 Rolex Rankings (Order of Merit).

He added: 'I went into the sole lead on the 14th hole and that for me was the turning point of the day. The game turned on its head when I sank a 30-footer for eagle on the par five 14th while Murthy dropped a bogey on the same hole. My putter was hot today and I sank some really long putts besides making a fantastic chip-in on the second.'

Murthy (71, 68, 67, 70) of Bangalore signed-off with a gallant two under 70 on the final day to finish as the runner-up at 12 under 276. Murthy, the only professional to shoot sub-par scores on all four days of the tournament, birdied the fourth, 12th, 18th and bogeyed the 14th on Saturday.

Murthy, who has now climbed from 45th position to fifth place on the Rolex Rankings, said: 'Even though I finished second, I'm glad to have registered my best result on the Aircel-PGTI. The important thing was that I did not lose focus after falling back on the 14th hole and kept trying for birdies till the very end. It was this positive approach that helped me finish just one stroke behind in second.'

He went on to add: 'I did not putt well today and missed some sitters from close range. Chowrasia, on the other hand, was in great putting form and that made all the difference.'

Vijay Kumar, the leader for the first two rounds, ended third at 11 under 277 while Sanjay Kumar was a further three strokes back in fourth position. Gaurav Ghei and Om Prakash Chouhan shared fifth place at six under 282.

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We did it for retiring goalkeeper Vogels: Dutch captain

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 07:27 PM

New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) The Netherlands captain Teun de Nooijer said his side''s World Cup bronze medal finish after defeating England 4-3 here was a tribute to their veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels who retires from international hockey today. 34-year-old Vogels, acknowledged as one of the great goalkeepers in history, retired today after playing 264 international and 23 World Cup matches, and de Nooijer said his side had wanted to win the bronze for him after failing to reach the final. "We were disappointed not to have reached the final but we are happy that we won today for Guss (Vogels). All of us wanted to win the bronze for him. He is retiring after having a long and great career," Nooijer said after the match. "We are the world number three side and it is good that we won the bronze. We did not have a good World Cup in 2006 (by finishing seventh) and we won bronze here. We are happy," said 33-year-old Nooijer, who also played his last World Cup match today. Thrice FIH Player of the Year and with more than 400 international caps under his belt, Nooijer today equalled Pakistani Akhtar Rasool''s most medals in a World Cup by winning his fourth medal(one gold, one silver and two bronze). On his part, Vogels said he was happy to have been a part of the Dutch team for 14 years since making his debut in January 1996. (More) PTI PDS SHN

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We did it for retiring goalkeeper Vogels: Dutch captain

Published Sat, Mar 13 10 07:27 PM

New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI) The Netherlands captain Teun de Nooijer said his side''s World Cup bronze medal finish after defeating England 4-3 here was a tribute to their veteran goalkeeper Guus Vogels who retires from international hockey today. 34-year-old Vogels, acknowledged as one of the great goalkeepers in history, retired today after playing 264 international and 23 World Cup matches, and de Nooijer said his side had wanted to win the bronze for him after failing to reach the final. "We were disappointed not to have reached the final but we are happy that we won today for Guss (Vogels). All of us wanted to win the bronze for him. He is retiring after having a long and great career," Nooijer said after the match. "We are the world number three side and it is good that we won the bronze. We did not have a good World Cup in 2006 (by finishing seventh) and we won bronze here. We are happy," said 33-year-old Nooijer, who also played his last World Cup match today. Thrice FIH Player of the Year and with more than 400 international caps under his belt, Nooijer today equalled Pakistani Akhtar Rasool''s most medals in a World Cup by winning his fourth medal(one gold, one silver and two bronze). On his part, Vogels said he was happy to have been a part of the Dutch team for 14 years since making his debut in January 1996. (More) PTI PDS SHN

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