Kevin Pietersen Will Not Retire, Planning For Win In Ashes 2015

Kevin Pietersen dismisses the reports that he is going to retire, and also clarifies that he will be actively preparing himself for the upcoming Ashes 2015 and will ensure that England wins it.

After the whitewash at Ashes series, the England team is said to be planning for a revamp and this has also led to the speculations that Kevin Pietersen,  England's fourth highest run scorer of all time and second in the lost series, is retiring. the news were such that the responsibility of the loss was to be borne by South African born English Batsman.

Kevin Pietersen At Ashes 2013               Image Courtesy: DNA India

The media began speculations when the current coach Andy Flower failed to confirm whether the recent series loss will result in Kevin Pietersen loosing his place in the squad.
But the speculations has been kept down now as the batsman has confirmed that he has no intentions of retirement and will work harder for the Ashes 2015 series and make sure that England wins this.

"Very disappointed to lose 5-0, and not to score more runs personally. Tough tour against a top class team," Pietersen, who scored 294 runs at an average of 29.40 during the five tests, wrote on his Twitter page.

"I want to thank all the England fans for their terrific support. And I'm determined to help regain the Ashes in 2015."   --reports DNA

England team saw few early retirements during the series, first of batsman Jonathan Trott, who was retiring due to illness and was also reported that it was stress-related. Second to leave the squad was Graeme Swann.

Critics claimed the loss due to lack of a strong player in the series. And Pietersen was under fire as he chose to not play his usual attacking style and failed to deliver to the expectations by the team.  "This was a bad loss for the England cricket team and as part of our review, we'll be looking at playing personnel and support staff and making sure we have the right people in place," Flower told reporters on Monday.

"But this will be a new start, and so it should be. It does feel like the end of some type of era." Former captain Michael Vaughan wanted England to make Pietersen more responsible by naming him vice-captain.
"I have my fingers crossed and hope England do not take the easy way out of this mess by making Kevin Pietersen the victim for the Ashes whitewash," Vaughan, who in 2005 became the first England skipper to win the Ashes since Mike Gatting in 1986-87, wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.

Source:         DNA India

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Vettel Equals The Most Wins A Year Record Of Schumacher

Vettel equals Michael Schumacher's most wins in a year record. Sebastian Vettel made 13 Grand Prix win's in a year. The super pro just finished the season-ending Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old, who clinched his fourth straight world championship title last month, also matched Alberto Ascari's 60-year record of nine consecutive wins at the Interlagos circuit Sunday, Xinhua reported.

After being overtaken by Mercedes' Nico Rosberg on the first lap, Vettel regained the lead in the second and held it until the end to secure his 39th career win.

His Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, competing for the last time in Formula 1, finished second, 10.4 seconds behind. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was third.

"At the end of the day, as I see it now, it's just a number," Vettel said.

"But hopefully one day, when I've got less hair and chubby, then it's probably something nice to look back on," he added.

Jenson Button gave McLaren their best finish of the season by finishing fourth while Rosberg finished fifth. McLaren's Sergio Perez was sixth after starting 19th on the grid.

Webber, who won here in 2010 and 2012, was given a hearty ovation by the Red Bull pit crew, who held up a sign saying: "Awesome. Thank you Mark." as he cross the line.

"It was a good finish to my career," said the 37-year-old, who finished third in the drivers' standings.

"It was a great journey. I'll enjoy watching F1 next year," Webber added.

Source: DNA India
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- Unknown Updated at: Monday, November 25, 2013

Virat Kohli Ranks No. 1 Batsman In ODI Rankings

Virat Kohli with his consistent performance has outrun the long reigning rank of Hashim Amla, and claims the number one spot in ICC ODI Rankings. Amla, who has been holding the post since 2010 was slipped down with a consistent average and high scores by the young Indian.

The other major change was in bowling department, where Saeed Ajmal reclaimed the number one spot dropping down Ravindra Jadeja and Sunil Naraine.

According to The Daily Times, the other major change in the batting top ten was the rise of Australia captain George Bailey to No. 3, up six places after a series in which he made 478 runs at an average of 95.60 in six innings.

The other big gainer in the bowling top ten is South Africa's Morne Morkel, who also climbed six spots to reach No. 7, the report said.

Ajmal took six wickets in the first two ODIs to move past Jadeja and Narine, according to the report.

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The detailed Ranking from ICC is as follows:

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	V. Kohli	IND	857
2	H.M. Amla	SA	844
3	G.J. Bailey	AUS	835
4	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	829
5	A.B. de Villiers	SA	826
6	M.S. Dhoni	IND	780
7	I.J.L. Trott	ENG	754
8	T.M. Dilshan	SL	746
9	Misbah-ul-Haq	PAK	720
10	S.R. Watson	AUS	708
	Top 100

ICC Player Rankings
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	Saeed Ajmal	PAK	768
2	S.P. Narine	WI	733
3	R.A. Jadeja	IND	716
4	S.T. Finn	ENG	708
5	H.M.R.K.B. Herath	SL	699
6	J.M. Anderson	ENG	696
7	M. Morkel	SA	672
8	M.G. Johnson	AUS	670
9	L.L. Tsotsobe	SA	667
10	Mohammad Hafeez	PAK	666
	Top 100

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Source: ESPN Cricinfo
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- Unknown Updated at: Tuesday, November 05, 2013

India Australia Epic Win Highlights - 16th Oct 2013

India record epic win

Youtube Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (39 ratings)
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India recorded an incredible victory over Australia in the second ODI in Jaipur, chasing down 359 with 39 balls to spare.
Author: Cricket Australia Published: 17 October 2013 

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, October 17, 2013

Sania Mirza's Dream To Win Women's Grand Slam Soon!

Sania Mirza is shining bright this year, she has won five doubles titles this year and is already setting targets for the upcoming singles matches. She is currently setting target to win womens grand slam, building up on the current set of wins.

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"People win one tournament and say they had a good year. So, I am very happy. One of the main targets is to try and win a slam. I am going to try and win more slams and try and win a women's grand slam as well. That's what we really play for. May be, that's the only target I can set," she told reporters at her tennis academy on the outskirts of the city.

Sania's latest triumph came in the China Open where she teamed up with Cara Black in women's doubles.

"I always used to say when I was playing, whenever I used to give myself a target, I used to get injured. So, I stopped giving myself a target. Because, I would achieve it and I would get hurt. Sometimes, I think I push my body too much.

"If someone told me at the beginning of the year, I am going to win five tournaments by the end of year, I would have taken it with both hands.

She said, like any other sportsperson, she hopes to be world number one in the near future.

"God willing, one day, the goal is to try and to be number one in the world. That is what we are playing for. I hope I will be able to do that in the near future," she said.

"It is one of the best years I have had. I cannot say it was the best. Five tournaments in a year, very few people win.

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It was great to especially finish the last two tournaments winning, they are just below the grand slam levels. So, it was great to win those two tournaments and finish the year on a high," she said. Sania called her partner Black an amazing player and from whom she got to learn a lot.

"We are playing next year. She has been an amazing player. She took a couple of years off, to have a baby. She has come back. She is playing some of the best tennis of her life. It is great to play with her. I get to learn so much from someone who has been number one in the world before.

"She has won, I think, 10 grand slams. So, it is great to play with her. I am excited and looking forward to it," she said.

Asked about her different partners, Sania said everyone had their strengths.

"I think everyone have their own pluses. We complement each other in different ways. So, obviously, Bethanie (Mattek-Sands) is my best friend on the tour. It was a tough decision for us to split in the middle of the year because of health issues.

"Me and Clara are going to play next year. One of the main reasons is because she also focuses just on doubles. It is different when you focus on only one thing. You can practice differently. Do certain things differently.

"She is going to come here in December, to try and train for two weeks in Hyderabad, so that we are ready for the next beginning of the season," she said.

She said she is fully fit and has matured as a player compared to last year.

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"I did not have a major injury for the last couple of years. That is definitely been one of the reasons why I have been able to put in all that hard work. I think I matured as a player. You can always keep improving till the day you stop playing.

"I have improved myself. I have improved at the net. I understand the doubles game better. On the whole, I feel I am a better player than I was last year." Sania is trying to help under-privileged young players and had recently taken a young player with disability for training in the academy.

Photos & Inputs: Hindustan Times

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Mumbai Indians Crowned With CLT20 2013 Cup

The Mumbai Indians had the match in their hand as soon as the first innings had completed. Thanks to the efforts from Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell, the team had a faster go at the 203 target for the Rajasthan Royals. The team looked strong when it came to batting and it was the slow but steady partner ship between Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar that started off the proceedings. In response to the score, only the second order of Rajasthan Royals showed resistance.

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The proceedings on Mumbai Indians started with a slower Dwayne Smith 44(39 balls, 5 4's, 1 six) and a quick 15(13 balls, 3 4's) by Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin was the first to depart, and was clean bowled out by S. Watson. Followed by Ambatti Rayadu 29(24 balls, 4 4's). He was joined by Rohit Sharma, when D. Smith was bowled out Pravin Tambe. Rohit made 33 in 14 balls which included 3 4's and 2 6's. The Mumbai innings was also boosted by a short lived 10 by Pollard (1 six 1 four) and Glenn Maxwell's 39 from 14 balls which included 4 fours and 2 sixes.

In counter attack the first wicket of Rajasthan Royals went in vain as Kushal Parera made out for a run which wasn't there. The second wicket partnership of RR was the one that made Mumbai sweat a bit as young Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane managed to get a partnership worth 109 runs in 67 balls. Sanju was the highlight as he was aggressive on Harbhajan Singh and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Sanju made 60 of 33 balls which included 4 fours and 4 sixes. He was dropped earlier in the innings for which Harbhajan and Smith went on to get confused to whether who will pick the catch.

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Anjinkya Rahane scored a 65 from 47 balls which included 2 sixes and 5 fours. The innings of Rahane was classic but he was missing a strong partner in the opposite end to help him carry out further. The short lived 8 of Shane Watson with a six included was positive but was soon sent out by Harbhajan. Harbhajan was also the lead of the wicket takers for Mumbai getting in 4/32 Runs.

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Rahul Dravid was also on the unfortunate side of fate as he was sent out first ball bowled by Coulter-Nile.

Finally letting down the side with a score of 169/10 in 18.5 overs, helping MI to take away the Champions League Twenty20.

It was a historic match as the icons of Indian Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid had met for their final encounter, since Tendulkar has already declared to retire from Twenty20 matches. Also it watched the young talent Sanju Samson take on bowlers in style.

Final ScoreCard

Photos N Input From Yahoo! Cricket

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- Unknown Updated at: Monday, October 07, 2013

Yuvraj Singh In, Sehwag Gambhir Out Of T20 Team Against Australia

Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian cricket team as the selectors picked him on Monday in the 15-member squad for the lone T20 International and the first three ODIs against Australia starting October 10.

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India will play one Twenty20 and seven ODIs against Australia. But selectors decided to pick the squad only for the Twenty20 and first three ODIs.

The Twenty20 will be played in Rajkot, October 10. The first three ODIs will be hosted in Pune (October 13), Jaipur (October 16), and Mohali (October 190).

India squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jaydev Unadkat.

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- Unknown Updated at: Monday, September 30, 2013

Rajasthan Royals Makes It Way to Semi Finals : CLT20

Rajasthan Royals will have to thank the young talent Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane to the wonderful win that they managed to attain after a clear loss by the prime order batsmen. Rahul Dravid was humble to thank the youngsters and their professionalism which, as per his words was a clinical finish to the proceedings.

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With this win, Rajasthan Royals manage to reach the semi finals of Champions League Twenty20. "It's nice to win and play well. It was a really good and clinical performance today. We can always improve and we can keep getting better, we also take a lot of satisfaction from the match today," said Dravid after the match.

"Our bowlers pulled it back brilliantly today, like Jimmy, Coops and a lot of professionalism from Samson and Rahane who batted very well," Dravid said.

"Our next game is a big one and Otago is playing very good cricket, they are the team in form."

Ajinkya Rahane, who was the top-scorer for Rajasthan, said: "It was a really nice pitch, good for bowlers and batsmen. This wicket was not fast compared to what we played against Mumbai Indians but the ball was doing a bit and holding its line.

"It was slightly tough initially but was easier later to bat on. I enjoy batting with Sanju, we were just talking about positive cricket while batting. We just need to concentrate on the next game and stay positive."

Kevon Cooper, who laid the foundation for the win with a four-wicket haul to help his team bundle out the Scorchers for 120, said: "I'm happy to come out here and bowl well and give my team a chance of winning.

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"The yorker is something I practiced a lot, it's very important in this format. It's great to play with players like Dravid, Watson and we sit and plan every game with the support staff. We wanted to play good cricket here and happy to do that," he added.

After suffering their third loss in as many matches, Perth skipper Simon Katich said they were around 60 runs short and their bowlers too failed to contain the run.

"We are learning the hard way, we didn't get many partnerships going and were about 50-60 short there. Our bowlers tried their best but nothing worked. We presented four caps the other day and that in itself is tough.

"Hopefully we'll get a fair bit of this before the Big Bash. We've seen how big the standard is here form the Big Bash and it's a different ball game. We're gonna have to try harder in the next few days," he added.

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- Unknown Updated at: Monday, September 30, 2013

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Storm In Ranchi, crushes Sunrisers

RANCHI: Finally, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's home crowd got to see first-hand what the world has known all along - that Mahi hitting the best of bowlers around the park can be an awe-inspiring sight.

Coming in typically with only five-and-a-half overs left against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, the Chennai Super Kings captain hit only one boundary.

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Instead, he decided to deal in sixes, hitting eight of them - five in one over off Thisara Perera - and finished with 63 off 19 balls, taking the team's total to 202 for four in the Champions League T20 match.

In reply, the inform Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel got the Sunrisers off to a flyer, putting up a 87 in 9.2 before Patel was run out on 36.

Dhawan, given a let-off on 35 by Jason Holder at midwicket, slammed R Ashwin over long-off for a six and clubbed the seamers with help of some innovative strokeplay.

Dhoni gave a preview to the show that followed when he hit Jean-Paul Duminy straight to the president's box off only the second ball he played.

Duminy would thank his stars that it was his last over because he avoided the worst. Poor Thisara Perera wasn't so lucky.

The over started ominously when the Sri Lankan bowled a wide down the leg side. Then Dhoni hit him over long-on when he pitched within the stumps.

That extracted another wide, and Ishant Sharma's misfielding kept Dhoni on strike. The next four balls went out of the park - over square leg, point, wide mid-on and third man respectively.

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Only Dale Steyn could keep the CSK captain under some control, conceding a lone boundary.

Darren Sammy bowled the last over and decided to go wide off the stumps so that Dhoni did not get it in his favourite area.

But that didn't pay off. MSD made good enough connection to hit him out of the ground twice over cover, completing his half-century off 16 balls.

The Dhoni show took the spotlight away from another Suresh Raina classic. The man seems to be on a mission to turn Ranchi into his home venue.

After hitting a match-winning 47 against Titans the other day, he delivered another clinical performance (84 off 57 balls) against a disciplined Hyderabad attack.

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- Unknown Updated at: Friday, September 27, 2013

Thisara Parera Storm Takes Sunrises Home

Thisara Perera was unstoppable. His unbeaten 32-ball 57 against the charged up Trinidad and Tobago showed his mettle. It looked a tough task for Sunrisers Hyderabad to chase down 161, especially after they lost captain Shikhar Dhawan early. But the Sri Lankan all-rounder guided his team to a four-wicket win with three balls to spare. T-T off-spinner Sunil Narine bagged four wickets, but his efforts went in vain for T&T in their Group B match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

Dhawan was going to be the key player for Hyderabad when they set about their chase; getting him out early was vital for T&T, considering the late evening dew that had the potential to derail the bowling side. After Dhawan and Parthiv Patel had put on 35 in four overs, Narine came on. He struck immediately, Parthiv falling for 17 as he sliced one straight to short third man. Ten runs later, Dhawan was out too, popping a return catch to Navin Stewart off a slower delivery.

At the 10-over mark, Hyderabad had reached 70. Their required rate had climbed to 9.1 runs per over. First ball of the 11th over, a run out accounted for JP Duminy. It was here that Perera walked in. He immediately revealed his intentions, smacking Stewart over long on for six off the second ball he faced. Two overs later, he swung Rayad Emrit twice over midwicket, once for four and once for six.

The wicket of Hanuma Vihari in the 13th over, bowled by Narine, brought Darren Sammy to the crease. Narine came back in the 18th, to bowl his last over, and dismissed Sammy and Ashish Reddy off successive balls. But Perera was still there, already on 48, having hit three fours and four sixes. With Narine's quota completed, the task of scoring 19 from 12 balls wasn't going to be too difficult; in the end, Hyderabad reached their target with three balls to go. Earlier, it was the turn of another southpaw in Darren Bravo to stamp his class all over the ground. With quick and decisive thinking and nimble footwork, Bravo played with swagger, taking on Ishant sharma and Amit Mishra in particular in scoring 66 off 44 balls. The 24-year-old was in his element and hit four sixes and five fours

With Bravo in such fantastic form, the others played second fiddle to him, content on giving him the strike. Evin Lewis and Denesh Ramdin scored 20s, but Bravo dominated proceedings as his side finished at 160 for 8.

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Mumbai Indians Will Announce Hashtag Dedicated To Sachin Tendulkar

Mumbai: Defending champions Mumbai Indians on Saturday announced its official Twitter hashtag dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar for the Champions League T20 tournament.

The Mumbai based franchise, having the largest fan base of over 3.4 million across the globe, had asked its fans to suggest and vote for the best MI hashtag leading to the CLT20 championship.

An Ahmedabad based fan with Twitter handle @ravikhedar suggested #ThisTimeFor10dulkar and gained maximum votes on the Mumbai Indians twitter handle 'MIpaltan'

For the next one month of Champions League T20, all tweets from MIpaltan and its fans would have #ThisTimeFor10dulkar as its official hashtag, a release from the Mumbai Indians said.

Tendulkar, an iconic player for Mumbai Indians, will be last seen in coloured clothing during the Champions League T20 tournament, starting today with the opening match between Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals.

Tendulkar had announced his retirement from the limited over game immediately after Mumbai Indians lifted the IPL trophy on May 26.

The Mumbai Indians paltan (army) had previously ran successful campaign to #RetireTheJerseyNo10 in honour of Tendulkar after his retirement from ODI in December 2012.

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- Unknown Updated at: Saturday, September 21, 2013

Yuvraj Has 200% Chance To Make A Return - Ganguly

Kolkata: Delighted to see Yuvraj Singh get his silken touch back, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said the stylish left-handed batsman deserves a comeback into the national team.

"It's really great to see him bat in full flow once again. I'm not surprised that he's back again. He has 200 per cent chance to make a return," Ganguly said.

The national selectors are slated to meet on September 30 to pick India's squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia at home.

"The middle-order must have Yuvraj Singh. With due respect to Dinesh Karthik, I think Yuvraj is a more deserving No 4 batsman," Ganguly added.

Under Yuvraj's leadership, India A might have lost the three-match unofficial ODI series against West Indies A 2-1 on Thursday, but Yuvraj made a big statement by scoring a blistering 89-ball 123 in the opening match and then followed it up with 40 and 61 in the remaining games.

Meanwhile, Ganguly also refused to believe reports that chief selector Sandeep Patil spoke to Sachin Tendulkar about the later's retirement plans after playing the 200th Test.

"These speculations had happened in the past with players like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman or myself. But I don't think the Board or Patil has spoken to Tendulkar about his last Test," Ganguly said in an interview to a regional news channel.

Asked whether Tendulkar has a realistic chance to prolong his career beyond 200 Tests, Ganguly said: "If a great player like Tendulkar has the belief to play, I won't be surprised to see him travel to South Africa."

Drawing parallel with Indian tennis ace Leander Paes, Ganguly said: "We have seen how Paes won his 14th Grand Slam at 40.

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- Unknown Updated at: Friday, September 20, 2013

10 to 15 Year Ban For Sreesanth And Co-Players Suggests BCCI Committee

The two-member disciplinary committee of the BCCI will meet in New Delhi on Friday to decide the fate of the Rajasthan Royals cricketers implicated in the IPL spot-fixing scandal.

The panel, comprising boa-rd vice-presidents Niranjan Shah and Arun Jaitley, have asked S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan as well as prosecution witnesses Harmeet Singh and Siddharth Trivedi to be present at the ITC Maurya at 11 am.

Ajit Chandila, who is out on bail, will be interrogated at a later date.

Even though reports suggest that Sreesanth and Chavan are likely to be handed life bans for their role in the scandal, a senior BCCI functionary told dna that the panel may “buy time before announcing its decision”.

“It’s an open and shut case, but what if these players are proved innocent in a court of law? The BCCI will be a fix then. So there is no hurry. Let’s wait for the police to file its chargesheet,” the official said.

And in any case, the disciplinary panel will first deliberate on the report submitted by Ravi Sawani, who heads the BCCI’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). After examining the report, Shah and Jaitley will present their findings at the BCCI Annual General Meeting to be held on September 29.

Another top BCCI official confirmed that ‘president-in-exile’ N Srinivasan will not be present at the hearing. “He is very much part of the disciplinary committee, but he won’t be here on Friday,” the official said.

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- Unknown Updated at: Friday, September 13, 2013

Will The New IOC Cheif Shed Hope to IOA?

Thomas Bach's election as president of the International Olympic Committee is good news for India as the German is keen that the suspended IOA returns to the Olympic fold soon.

The last week has been one of agony for the Indian sports lover as the Indian Olympic Association, despite being told to amends its constitution on the ethics clause, is inert.

P.K. Deb, secretary sports, told Mail Today on Wednesday that Bach and suspended Indian Olympic Association secretary Randhir Singh, also an IOC member, are "very good friends." As the first Olympic gold medallist to rise to the position of IOC president, Bach carries with him a rich mix of experience.

He was a champion in fencing at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, is also a lawyer in Germany and now heads a very important position in the world.

"Randhir and Bach know each other well and we can look forward to the impasse in the IOA ending soon," said the sports secretary.

In the past, sports minister Jitendra Singh had also written to outgoing IOC president Jacques Rogge that the ethics code be followed so that the IOA mess is sorted out.

Deb is hopeful the present situation is not one which can be termed as a crisis.

In his view, things will fall in place soon but at no cost will the IOC deal with the tainted Lalit Bhanot.

"There is no way the IOC will accept Bhanot as they do not want to deal with him," he said.

Bhanot and former IOA president Suresh Kalmadi have been charge-sheeted in the 2010 Commonwealth Games scandal pertaining to the procurement of the TSR equipment.

If one is to go by what Deb is saying, in a fortnight's time the IOA will convene its special general body meeting and amend the clause pertaining to ethics wherein charge- sheeted and convicted officials cannot be a part of the body.

The IOC has prescribed October 31 as the deadline for the Indian body amending the constitution to be followed up by the elections before December 15.

Deb also said that Bach is going to take personal interest in India's case and will be part of the committee which will monitor the developments.

As regards the cases being referred to the ethics committee, Deb said the sports ministry will independently look at it.

With a number of people now coming under the scanner on ethics issue, the committee will look at cases individually.

The IOC has said that anyone charge-framed or convicted will be ineligible to contest the IOA elections. Yet, given the tricky scenario in India where even for drunken driving and being arrested for violation of Section 144 a person can be put behind bars, the ethics committee will take a look at the seriousness of the case and then decide if he or she is eligible.

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, September 12, 2013

India Receives Surpise Defeat From Afghanistan - South Asian Federation Championship

Afghanistan was already one goal up before half-time, with Sanjar Ahmadi doubling the lead in the second half.

The fiercely competitive match was watched by an estimated 5,000 fans at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

Afghanistan has only recently re-emerged on the world football scene after decades of war and insurgency.

There were scenes of celebration and joy on the streets of Kabul, where people crammed into restaurants and cafes to watch the final.

The Afghan team suffered a humiliating 4-0 loss to India when the two sides met in the 2011 final in Delhi.

India, ranked 145th in the world compared to Afghanistan's 139th, has won the event six times.

The defending champions missed several good opportunities, says BBC Nepali's Surendra Phuyal in Kathmandu.

They did their best to dominate and equalise, but the Afghan defence and its goalkeeper proved too smart for the Indian forwards, our correspondent says.

After the match ended, the Afghan players danced on the pitch in celebration with the Afghan flag draped on their shoulders.

"You can't imagine how big this moment is for our country, our fans, our team and me," Afghan coach Yousef Kargar said.

"We have proved that we belong in the world of football. Our team has improved a lot over the last few years and I am sure we will get better in the years to come."

Celebratory gunfire rang out around the Afghan capital.

Although not banned, football was severely restricted in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban from 1996 to 2001.

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- Unknown Updated at: Thursday, September 12, 2013

Hashim Amla Receives Second SA 'Cricketer Of The Year' Award

Hashim Amla has become third South African player to be named country`s 'Cricketer of the Year' on two occasions, when he received the award for 2012-13 season at a gala Cricket South Africa (CSA) banquet.

Amla had previously won the award in 2010 and joined two other dual winners in Makhaya Ntini (2005 and 2006) and Jacques Kallis (2004 and 2011),

while other previous winners include Shaun Pollock (2007), Dale Steyn (2008), Graeme Smith (2009) and Vernon Philander (2012).

The right-handed batsman won four awards in total, including the Test Cricketer of the Year, Fans' Cricketer of the Year and 'So Good' award. The only award which he did not win despite being nominated was for the ODI Player of the Year, which went to ODI skipper AB de Villiers.

Meanwhile, the report said that De Villiers picked up a second award as the Players`` Player of the Year, adding that Dale Steyn was named T20 International Player of the Year and Kallis won the Delivery of the Year award.

Marizanne Kapp was named South African women's Cricketer of the Year while Kyle Abbott rounded out the international awards by being named Newcomer of the Year.

Hailing the awarded players, CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat specially commended Amla, saying that he displayed the true spirit of cricket with his attitude and humility in the game.

Lorgat also said that those qualities transcend his international statistics for which the country is lucky to have him as a role model for the future generations.

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Rafael Nadal Claims the 12th Grand Slam, Beats Djokovic

Rafael Nadal mounted a serious threat for year-end world number one status after the Spaniard lifted his tenth title of the season with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Novak Djokovic to win a second US Open title on Monday.

The 2010 champion in New York, who only began his 2013 season in February after seven months of knee injury absence, claimed the 13th title of his career at a grand slam, moving to within four of all-time leader Roger Federer.

Spain’s emotional Nadal dropped to his knees and rolled on the cement of the Ashe stadium like it was his favourite clay after securing victory in just under three-and-a-half hours against his world number one Serbian rival.

“This is a very very emotional day for me,” said the teary-eyed winner. “My team knows how much this means for me today.

“Playing Novak always brings a very special feeling; no one brings my game to the limit like he does.

“He’s an amazing player and is having an amazing career. I’m sure he will finish as one of the best in the history of tennis.” Nadal has now won 10 titles this season, going unbeaten in 22 consecutive hard-court matches in 2013. The 26-year-old stands a solid 60-3 as the season of his life moved into the autumn phase.

Nadal won the opening set, dropped the second but came back to win the last two — the fourth lasted only 40 minutes against a fading Djokovic — to add the trophy to on her lifted at the event in 2010.

The Spaniard finished with 27 winners and just 20 unforced errors while Djokovic committed 53 mistakes, converting on just three of 11 break chances. Nadal broke seven times from his dozen opportunities, including twice in the fourth set.

Djokovic sent a forehand wide with most of the court available to him to yield two Nadal match points, with the Spaniard claiming the victory on his first from the Serb’s forehand into the net.

Djokovic, who won the January Australian Open, played finals in three of the four grand slams this season, He fell to 22—15 against Nadal, who has won six of their last seven matches dating to January, 2012.

“It’s disappointing to lose a match like this,” said Djokovic.“But it’s a huge privilege to be fighting for this trophy, one of the most valuable in our sport.

“Congratulations to Rafa, he was too good and deserved to win this match and this trophy.” Nadal was playing a final for the 12th time in his last 13 tournaments in 2013. He came to the title match having been broken only been broken once and lifted the trophy with the loss of just two sets over the fortnight. He now owns 60 career titles.

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