We can't allow cowards to run our game: KP

Most of his teammates may have developed cold feet but England captain Kevin Pietersen said he would return to India for the Test series, provided security adviser Reg Dickason okays the tour.

Back in the comfort of his family, Pietersen said he could not sleep since terror struck Mumbai but asserted terrorism should not be allowed to play spoilsport.

"We can't allow these cowards to run our game," Pietersen wrote in Sunday's 'News of the World'."It puts it all into perspective when you see blood on the streets. But if Reg gives us the OK, then I'll be back for the two Test matches and complete the tour.

"He has been around the block and I trust his judgement 100 per cent. If he says it is safe to go back to India for the First Test in 11 days, then you can count me in," added the England captain.Pietersen, however, made it clear that he would not force any teammate to join the touring party.

"It is a brutal situation and a world tragedy. So if any of the lads decide they don't want to return, then that's fine with me they have got wives and kids to think about," he said.Horrified by what he saw on television, Pietersen said it was a close shave for the English cricketers.

"We were on the team bus coming back from Cuttack when we heard news of the horrific slaughter of innocent people in Mumbai."We were 800 miles from the attack but suddenly we felt very vulnerable, especially as we had stayed at the targeted Taj Mahal Hotel just two weeks ago," he said.

"We were due to go back there for the Second Test all our whites and blazers for the Test matches are still in there somewhere.

"...I will never forget it. I was walking down those steps only days ago to have a quick drink with a mate on his boat now they are the scene of a tragedy," Pietersen said."It could have been one or all of us being carried out in a body bag.

And when you see something like that you sense danger around every corner," he added."And when you hear that the terrorists are singling out English tourists it sends a shiver down your spine. In cricket-mad India who could be more high profile than the England team?"And who could be more high profile than their captain? It makes my blood run cold," Pietersen said.

The South African-born cricketer said as England captain, he was ready to face any opposition but certainly not terrorists."You don't expect to have to deal with tragedies like this when you take on the captaincy...Field placing, bowling changes, declarations and bad light you expect not cold-blooded murder," he said.

Emotionally drained by the episode, Pietersen plans to attend Sunday's Chelsea vs Arsenal match to take his mind off the incident.

"Before we decide what we are going to do I'm going to take time out to go to Stamford Bridge to cheer on my mate Frank Lampard today."I need something to take my mind off this carnage," Pietersen said.

Talent for the game: Indians to pitch for US baseball team

New Delhi: Two Indian youngsters chasing the American baseball dream have taken an important first step when the Pittsburgh Pirates signed them up as non-draft free agents.

Left-hander Rinku Singh and Dinesh Kumar Patel pitched in front of scouts from the Pirates and other Major League organisations on November 12 before being chosen, a statement on the club website (www.pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com) said.

The players, with shoulder strength gained through their initial training to become javelin throwers, earned a US training stint in May after topping a pitching contest in India, "The Million-Dollar Arm", which offered the winner $100,000.

Singh, 20, who won that contest and Patel, 19, will now take part in the Pirates' Minor League spring training next year. Their promoters hope they can make it as professionals, saying such success would boost baseball in cricket-mad India in the same way that Yao Ming's move to the NBA created a fan base for basketball in China.

"The Pirates are committed to creatively adding talent to our organisation," Pirates senior-vice president, general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement on Monday.

"By adding these two young men, we are pleased to not only add two prospects to our system but also hope to open a pathway to an untapped market."

"We are intrigued by Patel's arm strength and Singh's frame and potential. These young men have improved a tremendous amount in their six-month exposure to baseball and we look forward to helping them continue to fulfil their potential."

The winners of the "Million Dollar Arm" contest were decided on the basis of their ability to pitch at 135 km an hour or faster for strikes.

The duo from Uttar Pradesh trained with University of Southern California pitching coach Tom House, who felt they held some promise. "I know they can pitch, but we have to teach them how to play the game," said Huntington. "It is well worth the risk.

Bindra in crosshairs as ex-manager threatens to sue

New Delhi: Shooter Abhinav Bindra has had his share of controversies since returning to India with an Olympic gold medal.

The Rifle Association president called him "ungrateful" and now his former manager has threatened to take the ace shooter to court, alleging her contract was wrongfully terminated by the Bindras.

Latika Khaneja's collage sports management has managed Abhinav Bindra for the better part of last five years. Most of that time was spent in a futile attempt to bring in sponsors.

Now that Bindra's popularity has gone up, Khaneja alleges that the family stabbed her in the back, especially as the endorsements started to flow in.

"I had initially negotiated the Samsung deal but they started behaving differently after the Gold medal," Khaneja says.When contacted the Bindra family refused to comment.

Sources tell CNN-IBN that the Bindras believe Khaneja didn’t market Abhinav well and is now trying to piggyback on his Olympic success.

Khaneja however dismisses that claim and says she is determined to drag the Bindras to court.
“I feel that a hero has to behave responsibly," Khaneja says.

Sources close to the Bindra camp say that the legal threat seems like a desperate move by Khaneja, whose contract was terminated four months ago.

Maradona may reconsider India visit after Mumbai attacks

The Mumbai terror attack has cast a shadow over Diego Maradona's two-day trip to Kolkata, even as the organisers claim the iconic Argentine football star's country visit is very much on.

Immediately after the terrorist strike at the country's commercial capital Mumbai, the 1986 World Cup hero's personal manager Sebastian De Monte got in touch with the city-based Celebrity Management Group (CMG) who are instrumental in bringing the football legend to Kolkata.

De Monte inquired about the prevailing situation in Kolkata and whether it was "safe" to travel to Kolkata at a time when terrorists were targetting foreigners, as was seen during the Mumbai attacks.

However, the CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami assured that Maradona's visit was very much on as it was planned and there's no question mark over the trip.

"It's true that Diego's manager Sebastian enquired about the situation. He wanted to know what was happening in Mumbai and how safe is Kolkata... I said there was nothing to worry about. This (terrorism) is an internal problem, which is happening on an off in the country for the past 20 years.

"There's nothing to worry about, I assured him and he said both Maradona and Claudia (his estranged wife) have started packing for the trip," Goswami said.

So, as of now, the December 5 arrival of Maradona is very much on the cards, he added.
"Afterall, the state government is in-charge of his (Maradona's) security, what is there to worry about. Kolkata is very much safe city, with no history of terror attacks.

Moreover, Maradona had been to Israel, so I don't see any reason why he should abort touring India," Goswami said.

Just for information, Maradona is scheduled to arrive in the city on December 5 night. The next day, the Argentine legend will be felicitated in a grand way at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) at Salt Lake in a function which is said to attract about 1.2 lakh spectators.

Currently the national coach of Argentina football team, Maradona is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Indian Football School (IFS) at Maheshtala, near Kolkata and attend a clinic for the aspiring footballers in a series of programmes planned for the legend's first visit here.

Apparently, Maradona has signed and confirmed the itinerary when Goswami and CPI (M) MP Samik Lahiri called on at the Argentine's residence in Buenos Aires.

According to unofficial sources, 40 per cent of teh payment for Maradona's visit has already been made long back, while the remaining is said to be despatched by Monday.

The recent terror strike, it may be noted, cut short England's ODI seven-match series with the remaining two one-dayers in Guwahati and Delhi put off, while there is question mark over the Champions League Twenty20.

I-League: Bhaichung calls for better coverage

New Delhi: Mohun Bagan skipper Bhaichung Bhutia has called for a better coverage of the games for football players in India to be followed at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Bhaichung, alongwith Steven Dias, inaugurated the second edition of Tata Tea Jaago Re Soccer Stars ’09 where in the final stage, 16 Indian youngsters would get a chance to participate in the Arsenal International Soccer Festival.

"For the Indian players to be followed, we need a much better coverage of the games. When we play, those matches must be shown," said the veteran Indian skipper.

Incidentally, football fans in the country could only see the first half of the I-League match between Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United and were bereft of the winner scored by Bhaichung.

Mohun Bagan had a disastrous start to their I-League campaign and Bhaichung acknowledged it stating, "It was the worst start by Mohun Bagan in their entire NFL (National Football League or the now I-League) history. But credit to the players, coaches and the management for the great recovery."

The Sikkimese Sniper went on to speak on life after football and spoke of his desire to have a world-class Academy in India.

"It’s my dream project. I want to have an Academy of the highest quality but for that the minimum is 40 acres of land."

Indian terror attacks could affect cricket economy

The terror attacks in India can have serious repercussions on world cricket's economy because India generates 70 percent of the game's revenues.

England cut short their seven-match ODI series in India, leaving their next month's two-Test series in doubt. The Twenty20 Champions League has also been postponed after the Mumbai mayhem.England's decision not to play the last two one-dayers may trigger a compensation issue.

"If you look at Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they quite clearly have their own political difficulties. India has always floated just below the surface," Jonathan Ticehurst, a sports insurance expert and director of Long Reach insurers, was quoted as saying by The Times.

"I think what the last 24 hours has shown us is that, all of a sudden, India is right in the frontline when it comes to terrorism. As a consequence, the insurance market will significantly increase the premium rate they require to cover the cancellation of sporting events in India.

"The revenue of the postponed Champions League was estimated at $15 million and one Indian insurance company won the bid to insure the tournament for a meagre $30,000.

"The London market quoted $60,000 for the abandonment for the entire tournament. That shows you how they regarded the Indian risk. It isn't going to be $60,000 next year," Ticehurst said.The cancellation of the league has also burnt a hole in Australian cricket's pocket.

Western Australia and Victoria will miss out on the minimum $250,000 for competing teams, while Cricket Australia (CA) - a 25 percent stakeholder in the tournament - estimates that its losses are in the millions. The winners would have bagged a whopping $3 million.

"CA is losing quite a lot. It's millions of dollars. Again, this whole issue and all of the problems in Mumbai are bigger and greater than cricket. We fully understand that these things happen. Unfortunately that's how it is.

There are a lot of people worse off than us," CA chief executive was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.Andy Sutherden, managing director of sports marketing and sponsorship for Hill & Knowlton, said sports tourism will be hit hard.

"The loss of revenue for those staying at home will be significant. I think there will be a crisis of confidence in attending sport in this part of the world and confidence is quite a difficult thing to win back at speed," Sutherden said.

Andrew Wildblood, a senior vice-president and corporate director for India at IMG and one of the architects of the Indian Premier League (IPL), hoped that things would return to normalcy.

"It's too early to say but generally when these things happen, the world returns to normality, otherwise the world would stop. But normal now is not what normal was pre 9/11. These circumstances cannot be planned for," he said.

England's decision to return home lauded

London: England cricketers' decision to abandon the One-Day series against India and return home after the terror attack in Mumbai has been backed by the nation's cricket fraternity, which termed it a 'sensible' move.

Kevin Pietersen's men, trailing 0-5 in the seven-match ODI series, decided to return home after cancelling the remaining two matches in the wake of the devastating terror strikes in the financial capital of India.

Both the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and its English counterpart are optimistic about England's return to India for the Test matches and in a bid to salvage the two-match series, the BCCI on Friday shifted the venue of the second Test from the terror-hit Mumbai to Chennai.

But if the English players are reluctant to travel back to India, they have an ally in former England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Lord MacLaurin.

"It was absolutely the right decision to come home. The England cricket team are very high-profile individuals. If these fanatics are going to target people then the England cricket side could be a very big target for them," MacLaurin was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

"My own view is that I would be very, very surprised if the security people will give them the OK to go back. I don't think they should go back. I think it's sad for cricket but the safety of our players is absolutely paramount and I am sure the ECB will take the same view," he added.

Former England cricketers also backed the team management's decision to return, saying the situation in India was not safe for the players to stay back. "I'm sure they would have taken a lot of security advice.

Two one-day internationals may have been cancelled but if you look at the bigger picture there has been a devastating attack on the commercial capital of India and a lot of people have lost their lives," Solanki said.

Wicket-keeper Paul Nixon, who represents Leicestershire in county cricket and the World XI in ICL, lauded the rebel league management for calling off the World Series which was being held at Ahmedabad and said the Mumbai attack was too scary to continue playing cricket.

"Obviously the top board members of the ICL made the decision that it was getting too scary out there really for everybody's safety," Nixon said.

"It was horrific. The bombs in London . . . It's been exactly the same in India."

Arvind, Saina bow out of Hong Kong meet

India's challenge in the Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Super Series came to an end on Friday after both Arvind Bhat and Saina Nehwal bowed out in the quarter-finals.

Bhat went down to Thiland's Boonsak Ponsana 26-28, 22-20 and 14-21 while Saina lost to Chen Wang of Hong Kong 25-27, 21-14, 15-21.

Both the Indians gave a good fight to their opponents before going down in the first game and even though they managed to get back on level terms, they lost ground in the decider and bowed out of the tournament.

Needed a change, so got a new haircut: Ishant

Without his trademark long hair, Ishant Sharma was not easy to recognise on the field as India played England in the fourth one-dayer on Sunday.

Someone jokingly remarked that long hair had generated wind resistance when the quickie bowled. Or such hair had resulted in dropping a vital catch in the Test series against Australia.The 19-year-old, his hair freshly cropped, laughed off the suggestions.

"I was actually wearing a cap when I failed to take that catch," he said.The Delhi speedster said that he decided to have a hair cut as he felt it was time for a change."I felt like I needed a change...so I decided to have a hair cut," he said.

"My teammates were also ragging me and asking me to go to the barber. If my teammates are happy, it also makes me feel the same," he added

India shine bright in rain-hit tie, win series

Bangalore: Penetrative bowling by Indian seamers backed up by some superb fielding helped the hosts win the rain-curtailed fourth One-Day International against England by 19 runs and wrap-up the seven-match series 4-0 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

After the tourists were set a target of 198 runs following the Duckworth-Lewis Method, England were bundled out for 178 for eight in 22 overs.

First to go in England chase was Ravi Bopara, who was caught brilliantly by a diving Ishant Sharma at mid-on off Munaf Patel for one with the tourists needing nine runs per over to reach the target.

In an unexpected move, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni brought in Yusuf Pathan ahead of Harbhajan Singh and England plundered the off-spinner for 17 runs with new man Owais Shah smashing two fours and one six in that over.

Shah, who chanced his arm too often, was then dropped by Gautam Gambhir at short mid-wicket off Harbhajan's first over on 29 though the off-spinner managed to get rid of Bell off the very next ball when he castled him for 12 off 15 balls.

But there was better news in store as a beauty from Ishant Sharma cleaned up England skipper Kevin Pietersen for just five runs bringing back the memories Ricky Ponting's dismissal by the pacer in Mohali during the Test series.

But England were kept in the hunt with a blazing 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Shah and Andrew Flintoff. Shah completed his half-century off just 35 balls including eight fours and one six. Flintoff was in blistering mood as he hit 15 runs off Harbhajan's third over, as the fourteen and fifteen overs yielded 26 runs in total.

Flintoff matched Shah stroke for stroke before Shah was caught by Sachin Tendulkar at short covers off Zaheer Khan during the batting power play after making a solid 72 off 48 balls with nine fours and three huge sixes.

Danger man Flintoff was then caught in the covers by Zaheer off Ishant Sharma after making 41 off just 30 balls with three fours and a six.

With the run-rate climbing all the time, the lower order batsmen tried to hit out but only succeeded in playing into India's hands as Samit Patel found out when he held out to Gambhir off Zaheer for 11 runs to reduce England to 161 for six with just two overs left.

Soon after Graeme Swann was run out for six and with time and overs running out for the visitors, Paul Collingwood was caught by Tendulkar at mid-wicket off Munaf Patel for 22 with just a ball left to get 19 runs for victory which Broad played and missed.

In the Indian innings, which was interrupted twice by rain, Virender Sehwag slammed a stroke-filled 57-balls 69 to take India to 166 for four in 22 overs in the rain-curtailed game. The Duckworth-Lewis method set England the 198-run target off 22 overs.

Sehwag, who made his intentions clear by dispatching the first ball of the game to the cover fence, was in terrific form and treated the English bowlers with disdain, slamming nine fours and three sixes before being caught by James Anderson on the long-on boundary off spinner Graeme Swann.
The dashing Delhi opener added 79 runs off 62 balls for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir, who was dropped down to number three to accommodate Sachin Tendulkar to open the batting with Sehwag.

After the game was reduced to a 22-overs-a-side contest due to rain, India resumed play at 106-1 in 17 overs. Hence with the overs running out for the hosts, Sehwag and Gambhir went for runs. But soon both fell while trying to accelerate.

Gambhir held out to Anderson at long-on off Swann for 40, which came off 37 balls with seven hits to the fence.

Man-in-form Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni then resorted to some lusty hitting to try and take India to a fighting total before the later was bowled by Samit Patel for nine.

Yuvraj remained not out on 25 off 11 balls with three sixes while Yusuf Pathan hit the only ball he faced off Patel for a six to post a competitive total.

The first rain interruption stopped play for two hours with the hosts on 85 for one off 14 overs.
The staff at Chinnaswamy stadium did a remarkable job to bring the ground back to playable conditions within two hours by employing four super-soppers.

The only wicket England managed before the rain interruptions was that of Tendulkar, who was bowled by Stuart Broad for 11 after adding 38 runs off 7.5 overs. Broad pegged back the highest run-getter's (in both One-Day and Tests) off stump.

Undaunted by the early departure of Tendulkar, Sehwag smashed Anderson for a boundary to bring up India's first fifty and then followed it up with a smashing six between long-on and mid-wicket.

After reaching his half-century with a couple, Sehwag unleashed a flurry of shots all round the wicket, including a four and a six off consecutive balls off Broad.

Sehwag also became the sixth Indian to cross 6000-run mark in One-Day cricket from 195 matches when he flicked Anderson for a four to move to 36 and join five other Indians, including batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and Yuvraj Singh.

Sehwag and Gambhir, put on 68 runs off 9.1 overs before the skies opened up for the second time after the tourists had bowled just three overs forcing the umpires to suspend the match with Sehwag on 61 and Gambhir on 30.

Chess icon Viswanathan Anand gets hero's welcome

Chennai: Chess Grand master and world champion Viswanathan Anand was welcomed at Chennai International Airport after his victory in the Championship at Bonn. It was a hero's welcome in the wee hours of Friday, November 21.

It was a sportstar returning after conquering the world and for a change, it was not a cricketer that the people were going crazy over at the international airport.

Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is back home from Bonn, and he has brought home the title as the reigning World Chess Champion.

"It feels great to be back. The reception has been absolutely fantastic," said Vishy, as Viswanathan Anand, the Chess Grandmaster is popularly known.

The excitement was palpable and Anand's fans, chess enthusiasts of all ages, couldn't get enough of their star.

As for wife Aruna, it was yet another proud moment.

"The reception has been great and now we are hoping to get pampered. I'm sure all the pampering will start soon," said Aruna Anand, Viswanathan Anand's wife.

Anand could see hundreds of school kids carrying placards, a band playing non-stop music, a traditional south Indian welcome and thousands of fans screaming out his name.

It was a welcome Anand will remember for a long time to come.

Gavaskar hits back at Ponting, says Aussies rattled by India

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Sunil Gavaskar today hit back at Ricky Ponting for his "uncalled for" remarks that the former India captain was no angel in his hey-days, saying the Australian skipper's comments were an indication that his side was "rattled" to find a challenger in India.

"I think it was totally uncalled for and it is showing the world that they are rattled," Gavaskar told the CNN-IBN.

The former Indian captain said Ponting's comments also smelled of publicity gimmick.
"I think they have been a champion side and suddenly they find that they have a challenger in India. And therefore, it's not just Ponting but all the other statements that we have heard from other Australians," he said.

"...Probably (they are) trying to sell their books or whatever it is," he added.
Ponting, in his just-published 'Captain's Diary 2008', has lashed out at Gavaskar and other former players for often blaming the Australian team for on-field confrontations.

"Unfortunately, as soon as a spectator or a commentator spots one of my team chipping on opponent, they assume it is a pre-meditated attack. The most laughable aspect is when I hear former players complaining, as though they never put a toe out of line in their day.

"I still have a vivid image of Sunil Gavaskar angrily trying to take his opening partner off the MCG with him in 1981 when he was given out lbw in a Test match, but to hear him today you'd think he was positively angelic when he was the best opening batsman in the world," he wrote.

Gavaskar pointed out that Ponting would not have a clear understanding of the incident as he was just a child then.

"Ponting was just seven-year-old when MCG incident happened. He does not know the background," he said

Ganguly included on BCCI's Technical committee

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who played his last international match this November, was on Thursday nominated to the Technical Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"Sourav Ganguly has been nominated to the Technical Committee of the BCCI," a press release from BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said.

The BCCI technical Committee is chaired by former great Sunil Gavaskar.

The Committee members will frame rules and regulations for all the domestic and international tournaments in India. Ganguly joins the Committee as their sixth member.

Abhinav shoots with desi Insas Rifle

Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav Bindra on Tuesday had a different experience altogether shooting with different guns at the ITBP's shooting range here during a police sports meet.

"It was my first experience, a different one, shooting using an (indigenously built) Insas rifle and a .9 mm pistol. After firing from the rifle, there was this big bang," Bindra told reporters after opening the 52nd All India Police Duty Meet-Shooting hosted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the its Basic Training Centre in Panchkula.

Asked if he had given tips to the shooters present at the range, the 25-year-old ace marksman quipped, "I was actually taking tips from them myself".

Bindra has been using a Walther-make air rifle for the past 10 years.

Twenty eight teams belonging to Central Police Forces and State Police Organisations, holding aloft their respective flags, gave a sterling display of their parade and honoured the ace shooter.

ITBP's Inspector General PP Singh stressed the significance of the meet, saying "it would be a precursor to future shooters who would bring glory to the country in the days to come".

Asked that the Armed Forces were facing shortage of officers, Bindra said the youth should be encouraged more to take it up as a career.

"I have great respect for the Armed forces. My grandfather was in the Army. I think we need to encourage our youth more and motivate them to join the forces as they offer a secure career full of thrill and adventure and at the same time one can serve the nation the best," Bindra said.

Asked if he had any plans to join the Territorial Army like legendary cricketer Kapil Dev had done, he said there were no such immediate plans though he added if any offer comes his way he would think over it.

On a question pertaining to his rare feat at the Olympics, he said, "I feel happy about it and it gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

"At the same time, I also feel that it (his feat) has brought about biggest change in the mindsets of sportspersons, a big psychological change. More and more sportspersons have started to think in terms of that they can do it too and achieve the best at the highest level.

The fact that it has inspired and motivated budding sportspersons, I am happy about that," he said.

Asked that many sportspersons lack support from the system despite having abundant talent, he said, "I know challenges are there, but we are improving.

"I think we need to have more accountability in our system. We will need to set goals and work towards achieving them. Even if we don't achieve them, but what is important is take a clear path and follow that and success will surely come one day," he said, adding "we also need to have support at the grassroot level to have a strong foundation laid".

To a question, Bindra, who is endorsing a leading consumer brand, said few more offers were in the pipeline and soon one would see him endorsing more brands.

Ishant fit to play in Kanpur ODI

Indian speedster Ishant Sharma, who could not take part in the first two ODIs due to injury, was declared fit to play the third ODI against England in Kanpur, scheduled to be played on November 20.

The lanky Ishant, who bagged the man-of-the-series in India's 2-0 Test series win over Australia missed the first two games against England with an ankle injury.

An MRI scan on his ankle revealed that it was just a minor sprain and it was suggested that he take a little rest.

If Ishant returns to action in Kanpur, either Munaf Patel or R P Singh will make way.England will play seven One-dayers and two Tests during their tour of India

Female athelets will need to go for gender testing

MALLESWARI SPEAKS: She thinks that such tests will harass players.

New Delhi: Weightlifting, a sport which has been tarnished by doping allegations in India might see more troubles in coming times. The Weightlifting Federation of India seems to have opened a can of worms by going in for gender testing of female athletes. They plan to make it mandatory at national level competitions.

“It is not that they are suspect. It is only to rule off the possibility of this high level of ingredients in the body being due to external stimulus," says Baldev Raj Gulati.

CNN IBN had broken the story of Santhi Soundarajan who was stripped of a medal for failing a gender test at the Doha Asiad in 2006. Only in the rarest of cases is gender testing allowed and that too after a complaint. In fact the International Olympic committee has officially stopped gender testing in 1999.

“There is no mandatory requirement so you should avoid certain delicate things rather than jumping into problems. If the rule doesn’t want it you (player) shouldn’t go for such things,” says Dr PSM Chandran.

The sports community too is up in arms at the move including the woman who is the face of Indian weightlifting.

“Something which is banned is being included deliberately. I don't understand why they are doing this. This will harass players," says Malleswari.

The Weightlifting Federations move is baffling as no athlete can be subjected to a gender test without her approval. So is it harassment or is there a deeper flaw in the system, these are some serious questions which still need to be answered.

Sachin set to return; Rohit, Raina on edge

Bangalore: With batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar all set to come back for the remaining four One-Dayers against England, the Indian selectors are likely to face a ‘problem of plenty’ especially with border-line players Yousuf Pathan and Suresh Raina doing quite well in the first two matches so far.

Former Indian stumper and chief selector Kiran More said the problem of plenty was bound to arise to accommodate a player of Sachin's caliber and it will be a tricky situation for chief selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth and company when they sit down at Kanpur on November 20 to pick the side for the remaining four matches in the seven-match One-Day series.

"A player of Sachin's caliber has to be accommodated, what come may. But I feel sorry for players like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina or even Yousuf Pathan because one of them has to make way for the highest scorer in One-Day cricket (Tendulkar) to come in to the playing eleven. It will be a tricky situation for the selectors indeed," More told Cricketnext.com on Tuesday.

"Though this situation (problem of plenty) is a welcome sign for the team, the borderline players are the ones to be hit hard under the circumstances.

"Yousuf’s blistering unbeaten half century at Indore has only made matters worse for the selectors as the only way now to accommodate Sachin is by dropping Rohit Sharma, who has been a live wire on the field but has not done much with the bat so far while Raina played an important knock at Rajkot," More added.

"if Ishant, who is said to be nursing an injury, is also fit for the last four ties than things get really complicated even though Rudra Prathap Singh will be the first choice discard and Munaf Patel’s place will always be shaky in a One-Day match as the Indians tend to prefer just two seamers hoping that the spinners, including the part-timers, do the job for the team," More pointed out.

Another former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Chandrakant Pandit agreed with More even though he felt that the Indians can take the risk of dropping a bowler at this stage of the series.

"Personally I feel Zaheer (Khan) and Ishant Sharma (if fit) should be our pace aces as the spinners will have a bigger role to play in this series at least. With Viru (Virender Sehwag) and Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) picking up bag full of wickets, the selectors may consider playing just three specialist bowlers (Zaheer, Ishant and Harbhajan Singh)," Pandit said.

"Sachin is one player who can walk into any team in the world and it is unfortunate that one of the talented youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina or Yousuf Pathan will have to be sacrificed if the team think-tank decides to play four bowlers.

"Anyway it is a welcome sign for the skipper and the team management as they will have quality players waiting in the wings. It is always better to have more than nothing at all," he added.
"This situation will also make the opposition wary and keep them guessing most of the time as they will be well aware that the replacement (for a senior player) will be as good and that they just cannot afford to relax one bit.

"However, the selectors’ job gets that much more complicated as they will be the ones to face the public wrath if something goes wrong or the preferred player fails miserably," Pandit observed.

No immediate retirement plans: Bhutia

Monday, November 17, 2008 (Gangtok)
India football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday dismissed speculations with regard to his retirement plans in the near future and said that he intends to carry on with the game as long as his body permits.

"I've no plans to retire from the game in the near future... I intend to play as long as my health and physical fitness permits," he told reporters. "I will let you people (media) know the day I decide to retire from the game," the 33-year-old national football team captain said.

Asked whether he has set any targets before hanging his boots, Bhutia, who hails from Sikkim, replied in the negative. Bhutia, though, once again raised his voice for the development of football at the grassroots level.

"There should be a structured system in place at the grassroots level throughout the country for the promotion of football. This will bring utmost satisfaction to me in the years to come," he said.

Bhutia, who was here to promote the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup for under-15 boys, said he would also seek to give something back to the game which has brought him stardom and said he would like to set up a football academy for budding talents in the north-eastern state.

"I will consider a proposal for setting up a football academy in any of the north-eastern states provided that a 40-acre land is made available by the willing state," he said.

2nd ODI: India beat England by 54 runs

Buoyed by first One-Day International win, India continued its fabulous form in the second ODI as well by leaving England 54 runs short of the victory and leading the series 2-0.

India part-timers had put England in trouble that included Virender Sehwag clinching last three wickets of the day in the form of tailenders Samit Patel(20), Steve Harminson(6) and Stuart Broad (22).

Earlier, Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh added on to the England's woes by removing Paul Collingwood in the 2nd ODI.On the other end, part-time bolwer Yuvraj Singh proved out to be dangerous as he clinched the crucial wickets of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff(43) and Kevin Pietersen(33).

The stylish all-rounder dismissed Owais Shah and Matt Prior in his successive overs.Chasing 293 runs to win, Owais Shah slammed 7th ODI fifty, his maiden against India, before he fell as Yuvraj's first victim.

Yuvi pitched it on the off-stump and Shah was hit on his pads in the line of middle and leg. The Punjab all-rounder tossed one on the off-stump. It turned sharply and took an inside edge of Prior's bat before hitting the stumps. Prior made 38 and added 96 runs with Shah for the second wicket.England lost Ian Bell in the first over as Suresh Raina caught him napping between the wickets.

Bell punched one from Zaheer Khan towards mid-off and ran for a single. Raina quickly collected the ball and dived to aim the stumps at the non-striker's end. Earlier, Yuvraj, the Rajkot demolisher, continued with his sublime form and slammed his consecutive ton of the series to take India's score to 292 runs at the loss of nine wickets against England in Indore.

After the his flamboyant show in Rajkot, Yuvraj was more composed and showed a lot of character as the pitch was not exactly a batting paradise. But his romance with the English attack continued as slammed 10th ODI hundred, his 3rd against the opponents with the help of fifteen 4s and two 6s. In the process, he also completed 1000 ODI runs against England.

Yuvraj joined Gambhir after Rohit Sharma's dismissal when India had just 29 runs on the board. He combined with the opener to steer India out of trouble. The two southpaws added more than 134 runs for the fourth wicket.

Gambhir slammed 13th fifty, his 3rd against England and completed 1000 ODI runs in this calendar year. England skipper Kevin Pietersen struck with his off-spin and broke the partnership between the two as he dismissed Gambhir for 70 runs.After Gambhir, MS Dhoni joined Yuvraj in the middle and added 43 runs for the fifth wicket.

Soon after Yuvi completed his century, Dhoni perished for 15 runs. Paul Collingwood dismissed Dhoni with his off-cutter as the Indian tried to cut that to the third man but the ball came in and knocked off the bails.

Yuvraj soon followed his captain as Stuart Broad got him caught behind. Broad pitched on outside the off-stump and Yuvraj played it with a horizontal bat, only to see the ball kissing his bat before landing in Matt Prior's gloves.

After Yuvraj's dismissal, Yusuf Pathan took it forward. He got his maiden ODI fifty as his birthday gift. Yusuf made a quickfire50 off 29 balls. He hammered Steve Harmison in the 50th over and scored 17 runs off it.

He hit two 4s and four 6s in his innings.Earlier, Broad's early morning spurt left India breathless. Indian skipper Dhoni won the toss but Sehwag failed to capitalize on it and was dismissed in the second over for just 1 run. Broad pitched it on the off stump. The ball didn't bounce as expected and took an inside edge of the bat before crashing into the stumps. In his next over, Broad foxed Raina with an off-cutter. He pitched it on the middle and leg.

Raina (4) chipped it towards the square leg with a closed bat and Samit Patel took it easily. Comeback man Rohit Sharma was his next victim. Broad surprised him with a short delivery. Sharma (3) tried to hook it put the ball took the top edge of his bat and Owais Shah took a simple catch at backward square leg.

BCCI wants 1st Test to be put off by a day

The Indian cricket board wants the first Test against England at Ahmedabad put off by a day to allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni play in the Champions T20 League final two days prior to it in case his team Chennai Super Kings make it to the title-contest.

"I can confirm that an approach has been made by the Indian board to put it off by a day, but no decision has been taken so far," England team's media manager Andrew Walpole said on Monday.

Walpole said that the approach was made by the BCCI apparently to help Dhoni's case in the December 3-10 USD six million dollar prize money event jointly owned by the BCCI and its Australian and South African counterparts.Walpole also indicated that the England and Wales Cricket Board was not likely to respond to BCCI request.

The Test opener is to be held from December 11 at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium a day after the Champions League final at Chennai.

The second and final Test the Platinum Jubilee encounter is to be played at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium from December 19-23 before the visiting team returns home in time for Christmas.

If the request is acceded to by the ECB and the England team, both the teams' players would get only two days' time between the two Tests.

ECB-IPL talks end in stalemate

Uncertainty remained over the participation of England players in next year's Indian Premier League with the talks between England and Wales Cricket Board and IPL here ended in a stalemate on the main issue of reciprocal release of players.

ECB president David Collier and chief executive Giles Clarke had a meeting here with IPL officials including its chairman Lalit Modi, but they failed to work out a solution that would make way for the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff play in India.

The two sides met in the hope of hammering out a reciprocal agreement with the ECB agreeing to release England players for the second season of the IPL, which is due to be staged between April 10 and May 29, in return for Indian players being made available for the 2010 English Premier League.

Though there was no official announcement from either the IPL or the ECB, but sources said the talks ended in a stalemate though the two parties have agreed to meet again to pursue the matter in the next couple of weeks."The talks were constructive but the discussions have broken up without any agreement being reached.

The two parties have agreed to meet again soon in India for further negotiations," an IPL source said.Modi had been saying that while he would welcome England players in IPL they will have to play a substantial number of matches otherwise no franchise would be willing to buy them.

Among other topics discussed at the meeting were the future of Champions Twenty 20 League and whether English teams could feature in it after Kent were barred from entry because they fielded players from unsanctioned Indian Cricket League.
Anbu.

Sania Mirza

Profile

Birth Date: 15 Nov 1986

Birth Place: Mumbai,

India Residence: Hydrabad,

India Nationality: INDIA

Height: 5'7 1/2" (1.53m) Weight: 130 lbs. (59kg)Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

Favourite Surface: Hard Coach: C.G.K. Bhupathi

Age Began Tennis: 6 Personal Interests: Swimming, Music

Other Information: Ambition in tennis: To be in the Top 20 of the World.

Favourite player: Steffi Graf

Saina will be no. 1 in 3 years: Padukone

Saina Nehwal is a 'champion material' and in another three years, India can look forward to seeing a world number one in the Hyderabadi youngster, said legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone.

Seventeen-year-old Saina has most of the qualities a champion needs -- physical, technical, mental and self-belief -- the former All England Champion said.

"If she continues to work hard and remain focused, there is no reason why she can't reach the very top", Padukone, himself a former world number one and a World Cup winner, said in an interview.

"It (Saina becoming world number one) is definitely possible. She is already at 11 (in world rankings) now. It's just a matter of time before she breaks into the top 10", he said.

"I think within a year, she is definitely capable of being in top five, and go on to even become number one may be in two-three years," he said.

This year has been an extraordinary one for Saina, who reached the quarterfinals in the Beijing Olympics and won the recent World Junior Badminton title.

"If she continues like this, she has got everything going right", Padukone said, terming her performance in the two events as impressive, creditable and commendable.

"One can look forward to some great performances from her in the future," he said.

Saina needs to plan her tournament schedule properly, Padukone said, advising her to be selective about tournaments and space them out in such a way that she gets enough time and rest and can work on her weaknesses in between.

traning for short stints abroad -- may be in Malaysia or Indonesia -- would be a good idea for her as such outings would help her familiarise more with the type of game that foreigners play.

"They (foreign players) play a different kind of game, compared to the Indians. So, that does not come as a surprise to you when you play them (If you have short training stints abroad)", Padukone said.

On her quarter-final defeat in Beijing Games, he said that was more due to lack of her experience. Saina was mentally very strong and had self-belief, which were the key factors.

"She believes now that she can beat the best in the world," Padukone said, but cautioned that she should also be prepared to face some defeats along the way as the other players would not give her titles on a platter.

"You have to be prepared mentally to face some reversals...may be one or two odd defeats will be there. That should not upset you", he said.

Yuvi's fitness only concern for confident India

With their confidence on a high after the landslide win in the opening ODI, in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh's back injury is India's only concern as they prepare to take on a battered England in the second one-dayer of the seven-match cricket series on Monday.

After drubbing the visitors by a massive 158 runs, the Indians are hoping that Yuvraj, who pummelled the English attack with an unbeaten 138, would be fit to take the field on Monday.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says a final call on the attacking left-hander, who required a runner for most part of his innings in the Rajkot ODI, would taken just before the match.Pace spearhead Ishant Sharma, meanwhile, is all but out of the match after Dhoni admitted that his ankle sprain needs more time to heal.

England, on the other hand, have to battle low morale after the pasting they received at the hands of the marauding Yuvraj. Skipper Kevin Pietersen says his team would bounce back and come hard at India in the second clash.

But that looks easier said than done against an in-form Indian line-up, which did not show any sign of missing a stalwart in Sachin Tendulkar, who has been rested for the first three matches.It was Tendulkar's masterly batting that enabled India to tame Australia in the latter's lair in the triangular ODI series Down Under at the beginning of the year and his absence was surprisingly not even felt at Rajkot's Madhavrao Scindia ground.

The array of stroke-players that India possess in the batting line-up, starting with the potent opening combine of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir followed by Suresh Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni, must be causing not only envy but also awe among among the visiting team.

The Indian new ball bowlers Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel in particular extracted life even in the afternoon on what was a perfect belter in Rajkot while their England counterparts --led by the redoubtable Andrew Flintoff -- looked quite innocuous and failed to take advantage of whatever juice it possessed in the morning.

Pietersen's decision to ask India to take first strike must have been prompted by the array of pace bowlers at his disposal, but to his chagrin all of them were taken to the cleaners by the Indian batsmen.It is unlikely the South Africa-born batsman, who top-scored in England's reply with a confident and attractive 63 before he was run out, will repeat the same mistake henceforth."It's definitely disappointing to lose.

But there are six games left in the series and we intend to bounce back and hit India hard on Monday. We would give them a good run for the money", the England captain said after his team's humiliating defeat in the first ODI.

However, to achieve this he said the team has to improve in all aspects of the game.India, on the other hand, could not have asked for a better start to the seven-match series that concludes on December 2 at the Ferozshah Kotla ground in Delhi.

The mandatory new ball after 34 overs and the new Power Play rule, taken by India from 34th to 38th overs, also is a big advantage for big hitters.At the end of the 34th over, India were 216 for two giving a run-rate of 6.35 and the team added 171 runs in the last 16 overs at a whopping 10.6 per over, a clear indicator of the difference these two rules made to the overall picture.

Yusuf Pathan, who lasted just two balls after the electric start provided by the openers, could give way for left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha if the think tank feels that more variety is required in the spin department which had three off-spinners to fall back on at Rajkot.

England, meanwhile, are grappling with their problems of how to forge a potent bowling attack to take advantage of the wicket and weather conditions here.Samit Patel, who was set upon by Sehwag and Gambhir as soon as he was introduced to bowl, took two wickets but conceded 78 runs. With Monty Panesar not a part of the ODI fold, visitors' spin options are limited.

They are also missing the swing bowling of Ryan Sidebottom, who could have caused some problems with his movement as the other four -- Flintoff, Steve Harmison, James Anderson and Stuart Broad -- rely on pace and bounce more than movement in the air to get wickets.

Sidebottom has not played since suffering a heel injury during the Stanford Super Series of matches in the West Indies and even if passed fit, it is difficult to see him getting in without bowling extensively at the nets after having had such a long break.

The odds, thus, seem to be in India's favour ahead of the second ODI, but the home team needs to guard against complacency more than anything else.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virendra Sehwag (Vice-captain), Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay.

England: Kevin Pieternsen (Captain), Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Andy Flintoff, Samit Patel Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison, Luke Wright and Ryan Sidebottom.

Jeev wins Barclays Singapore Open

Sunday, November 16, 2008 (Sentosa)
Jeev Milkha Singh rode his luck and pluck before laying his hands on the Singapore Open title and the cool $795,500 winner's cheque, which virtually assured him of the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.

Stealthily climbing up the leaderboard, Jeev began the day five shots off the lead but went on to blast a final round of two-under 69 and his aggregate of seven-under 277 was good enough to lift his third title of the year, following the Bank Austria Golf Open on European Tour and the Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup on Japan Tour.

Both Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington needed to birdie the final hole to force a play-off but Harrington could not sink the five foot putt while Els' 15-footer curled round the lip, much to Jeev's relief.

"Padraig and Ernie put a good effort in out there but the golfing gods were on my side," a beaming Jeev later said.

"To be honest, I haven't played that well in the last two weeks so, like I said, the golfing gods have been great to me and things worked really well," said the in-form Indian.For Jeev, morning showed the day and for the second day on the trot, the Indian got off to a perfect birdie-birdie start.

He picked up one more shot on the seventh in an impeccable front nine and was in fact going four-under following the 11th hole birdie before bogeys on the 13th and 16th threatened to provide that twist in the tale.

Two par shots to end the round, and some luck in the process, and Jeev finished with a wafer-thin one shot lead over Els and Harrington, who share six Majors between them.

Following are Jeev's title wins on International Tours outside India:
Asian Tour wins (6)2008 (1) Singapore Open2006 (1) Volvo China Open1999 (1) Lexus International1996 (1) Philip Morris Asia Cup1995 (2) Philippines Classic, Asian Matchplay ChampionshipEuropean Tour wins (3)2008 (1) Bank Austria Golf Open2006 (2) Volvo China Open, Volvo MastersJapan Golf Tour wins (3)2008 (1) Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup2006 (2) Casio World Open, Golf Nippon Series JT CupOther International wins (4)1995 (2) Thailand PGA Championship, Toyota Crown Open (Thailand)1994 (1) Shinhan Donghae Open (South Korea - not an Asian Tour event)1993 (1) Bukit Kaira Golf Championship (Malaysia)

Wadekar predicts 7-0 ‘brown-wash’ for England

Bangalore: Former Indian skipper and coach Ajit Wadekar predicted a 7-0 ‘brown-wash’ for the touring England team after their miserable 158-run defeat at the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men in the first One-Day International at Rajkot on Friday.

"I think the Indians’ morale was very high, coming into this match, after their 2-0 victory against world champions Aussies in the Test series. They look like a team on a mission under Dhoni and I won’t be surprised if they sweep the seven-match One-Day series 7-0 as they have the ammunition to beat any team in the world right now," Wadekar told Cricketnext.com on Saturday.

"Personally, this team seems to be more talented than the one I lead during our twin tours of 1971 to the West Indies and England. Of course we beat both the West Indies and England at their own dens in a Test series, but the confidence shown by Dhoni, as captain, and the team, as a united force, tempts me to compare them with the 1971 victorious team," Wadekar added.
Stressing that the Indian team was well on their way to becoming the number one team in the world in all forms of the game, Wadekar said, all other teams will now want to beat India thereby making the task of Dhoni that much more harder to keep-up the winning streak.

"Even when I was the coach of the Indian team, I never saw this kind of total commitment and the hunger to demolish the opponents. The Indians totally demolished the Englishmen with clinical precision by outplaying them in all departments of the game. Dhoni and company will now have to be doubly careful as all other teams would want to beat India to prove a point or two," Wadekar observed.

"I think Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag seem to compliment each other perfectly and the middle order looks as solid as a rock with Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni himself looking in fine touch.

"However, one weak link that seems to be quite evident is Yousuf Pathan, who seems to be a misfit in this team. Dhoni must have had lot of faith in him to be promoted ahead of him in the batting order and bringing him on as a specialist spinner ahead of Harbhajan Singh unfortunately did not click," he added.

"However, it is impossible to get everything right and when a team wins by such a huge margin the team selection does not become prominent. But I am sure in the next match, Dhoni will surely replace Pathan with another specialist spinner as the batting looks well settled," Wadekar pointed out.

"I was also impressed with Zaheer Khan’s lion hearted bowling. This lad has become an important part of our pace attack. Even without Ishant Sharma, I think, the Indian pacers – Zaheer, Munaf Patel and Rudra Pratap Singh -- did well and Sehwag seems to be improving as a bowler with every match.

"So there are lots of plus points for the hosts to suggest that the Englishmen are in real trouble to save the One-Day series at the moment," he added.

Anbu.

Ponting not a complete batsman, says Bhajji

Ricky Ponting might be regarded as one of the best modern-day batsman, but his nemesis Harbhajan Singh feels otherwise.

The off-spinner, who has always enjoyed an upper-hand against Ponting, said he did not consider the Australian captain a "complete batsman" because of his failure to play spin bowling.

"Ponting had a lot to say about our players and about the way we play our cricket. In fact, it is Ponting who first needs to go and learn to bat against spin bowling.

"He got a hundred in the first Test match in Bangalore but I don't think that is enough, he needs to comeback and score some more before he can claim to be a complete batsman," said Harbhajan, who picked up 15 wickets in the series which India won 2-0."I can get Ponting out any time, I think I can get him even after I come post a six-month lay off," Harbhajan told a sports channel.

Harbhajan said India drew inspiration from the Sydney controversy to beat the world champions in the recent series.Harbhajan was involved in the Monkeygate scandal during the Sydney Test earlier this year when the Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds accused the off-spinner of hurling racist abuse at him.Australia also had to cope with a lot of criticism for being unsporting even as India threatened to call-off the tour.

"I think the events in the Sydney Test match really hurt all of us. The things that they accused me of and their overall approach irked us as a team. The events at the Sydney Test match inspired this win."During the series, the Australians continued to play mind games. Adam Gilchrist and Symonds did it in their books while Ponting did in his captain's diary.

Harbhajan lashed out at them for employing cheap tactics to shore up the sale of their books."The whole team was infuriated by the claims made by Adam Gilchrist about Sachin Tendulkar. He is a legend and insulting him was a big mistake and Gilchrist accused him of things that he never did."

BCCI to challenge ruling in Supreme Court

New Delhi: The BCCI on Friday decided to move the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court's directive to initiate criminal proceedings against six top officials for filing false affidavits in the Jagmohan Dalmiya expulsion case.

After consulting top lawyers since Wednesday's sensational development, the BCCI has gone through the papers and will move the Supreme Court soon.

"It was an ex parte order and the BCCI officials were not given an opportunity to put across their case. We have decided to move the Supreme Court in this matter," a top BCCI official told PTI.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed initiation of criminal proceedings against BCCI President Sashank Manohar, former Board President Sharad Pawar and four top officials for filing false affidavits in the Dalmiya expulsion case.

Justice Nadira Pathariya passed the order eight months after Dalmiya, a former BCCI president, moved a case of perjury against Pawar and Board officials and prayed for criminal proceedings against them for allegedly producing false documents in court.

The court passed the ex parte order and directed the Registrar (Original side) to initiate criminal proceedings under section 195 of CR P C (prosecution for contempt of lawful authority of public servants for offences against public justice and for offences relating to documents given in evidence), at an appropriate court.

Soon after the order came out, BCCI officials had a meeting with their team of laywers who have been asked to prepare the case.

The six BCCI officials, against whom criminal proceedings are to be initiated, have been asked not to speak on the issue since the matter was subjudice.

"Since our lawyers are handling the issue, it is better to allow them to do their work and not complicate matters by making public statements", a BCCI official said.

The BCCI is, however, confident that it would come out clean. "What we are confident is that we will be able to bring the proper facts before the honourable court," Pawar had said on Wednesday.

Apart from Pawar and Manohar, the other Board officials were former secretary Niranjan Shah, Ratnakar Shetty (Chief Administrative Officer), N Srinivasan (Secretary) and Chirayu Amin, junior Cricket Committee Chairman.

Anbu.

Yuvraj shines in India's 158- run win over England

Despite some fighting knocks from skipper Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara, England fell short by 158 runs as India won the first One-Day International of the seven-match series in Rajkot.
After posting a mammoth total of 387 runs with the help Yuvraj Singh's unbeaten 138 runs and Virender Sehwag's flamboyant 85 runs, India bundled England for 229 runs at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium.

Put in to bat first, Indian batsmen made merry after seeing through the first few overs. England's nemesis Yuvraj toyed with the bowlers to raise ninth ODI hundred, his second against the visitors.

Yuvraj, who was suffering from a back spasm, dealt the bowlers in boundaries, and hit sixteen 4s and six 6s in his 78-ball long outing. Everything that he hit found itself outside the boundaries. He was instrumental in two key partnerships. He added 89 runs with Suresh Raina for the third wicket and 105 runs with skipper MS Dhoni for the fifth wicket. He walked away with the 'Man of the match' award.

Indian openers- Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir - gave a good start to before spinner Samit Patel broke their 127-run partnership. Gambhir came dancing down the track to loft one from Patel. It lacked the distance as he was caught at long-off by Shah for 51 runs.

Sehwag, who bombarded England with boundaries, fell as Patel's second victim. He steered one from Patel but a vigilant Bell at mid-wicket threw himself to his right and took a beauty to see the tormentor back in the hut.

Sehwag made 85 runs in 73 balls with the help of ten 4s and three 6s. Sehwag slammed two consecutive sixes off Paul Collingwood and raised 30th ODI fifty, his third against the tourists. Gambhir, on the other hand, got his eighth half-century in 59 balls with the eight fours. Not that his innings was any less aggressive but it was definitely more subdued as compared to his partner.

Raina missed out on his fifty as Paul Collingwood take a sensational catch off Andrew Flintoff at backward point. Yusuf Pathan, who replaced him in the middle, could not contribute to the scoreboard. He was caught at midwicket by Ian Bell off Steve Harmison for a naught. Harmison later picked Dhoni as his second wicket. He cleaned up his middle stump with a full delivery straight in line for 39 runs.

Backed by a huge score, pacers struck straightaway. Munaf gave the first breakthrough when he dismissed opener Matt Prior for 4 runs. Prior edged one from Munaf and Sehwag took a sharp catch at first slip.

New man Shah was Sehwag's next catch. He edged a fuller delivery from Zaheer and Sehwag dived to his left to take it successfully. Ian Bell was Zaheer's next victim. Zaheer teased him with a short and wide delivery and Bell edged it, only to taken by wicketkeeper MS Dhoni for 25 runs. Few balls later, 'Freddie' Flintoff was caught plumb in front and Zaheer picked his third wicket.

After warming the bench for long, medium-pacer RP Singh struck to remove Paul Collingwood for 19 runs. RP pitched a delivery outside the stump that angled in. Collingwood edged it behind and Dhoni dived to his left to take a low catch. With Collingwood, half the English side was back in hut.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also contributed as he removed Samit Patel (28) with his 'doosra'. The ball pitched outside the off-stump and straightened. Keeper Dhoni made no mistake and stumped Patel for 28 runs.

Kevin Pietersen, who slammed a fifty, was caught short of the crease for 63 runs. A throw from Rohit Sharma was collected by Dhoni and bails were dislodged long before KP could make it. After his dismissal, it was just a matter of time. Though, Ravi Bopara (54*) showed some character down the order and slammed his 3rd ODI fifty, his partners could provide him enough support.

Last two batsmen Steve Harmison and James Anderson fell without any contribution.
India and England play their second ODI at Indore on Monday, i.e. November 17.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Munaf Patel.

England: Kevin Pietersen (Captain), Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Andrew Flintoff, Samit Patel, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Harmison.
Umpires: Russel Tiffin and Suresh Shastri.

Anbu.

India up four places to 144th in FIFA rankings

India continued its upward movement in the FIFA charts besides managing to break into the top 20 among Asian countries in the latest rankings.

India gained four places from their October ratings and are now ranked 144 having tallied 174 points. They are also ranked 20th in Asia despite the national team not having played a single match in this past month.

European champions Spain continue to lead the FIFA charts while Germany moved up one spot to second eclipsing Italy, who slipped to third.

Five-time world champions Brazil, too, lost a place and are down to fifth behind the Netherlands.
Argentina follow Brazil while Croatia, Russia and Czech republic fill the slots from seventh to ninth.

Portugal remain static at 10th position and share it with England, who gained four places.

Anbu.

Tough to beat formidable India: Collingwood

Bangalore: Former England skipper Paul Collingwood said it would be very difficult for England to beat the formidable India in the on-going seven match One-Day series as they are an energetic and aggressive outfit.

"This India side is different from the one that we played against at home last year, where we won 4-3 last year by beating Rahul Dravid’s men in the last game. Now they are a formidable side and England will find it tough to beat them as they a very energetic and aggressive side under a young captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Collingwood wrote in his column in The Times of India.

"In fact the story is not too different from our side as well as we too have a new skipper in Kevin Pietersen and he has also brought with him freshness in thought and approach. It is important to remember that the Australian team against which the Indians triumphed was without the players who formed their backbone for close to a decade," he adds.

"personally, I have no goals as such for this series, other than ensuring that we win once again, this time in India," he wrote

Anbu.

Bucknor returns to umpire Oz-NZ series

Melbourne: Controversial umpire Steve Bucknor, who was kept out of international matches after a string of poor decisions in the infamous Steve Bucknor, returns to officiate in the upcoming Australia-New Zealand Test series starting November 20.

The West Indian, who was removed from the India-Australia series earlier this year after his controversial decisions were slammed by the Indians, will stand in the two-Test series alongside compatriot Billy Doctrove.

"Australia plays two home Tests against New Zealand beginning in Brisbane. The series will be refereed by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel while both matches will be umpired by Steve Bucknor and Billy Doctrove, who are also from the Emirates Elite Panel," the ICC said in a statement.

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Vengsarkar says Yuvraj lacks focus

New Delhi: Former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar on Thursday said lack of focus has been the main reason for Yuvraj Singh not being able to live up to his potential despite being given several opportunities to excel at the international level.

"Yuvraj has been given too many opportunities but he has failed to translate his talent into performance on consistent basis in international cricket," Vengsarkar said.

"Yuvi is extremely talented but he lacks focus required to excel in international cricket," he told News 24 channel.

Vengsarkar felt the series against England can be a make or break series for Yuvraj.
"Selectors have given Yuvraj three matches to restore his form. In case Yuvraj fails to capitalise on this opportunity, it will be hard for the selectors to pick him for the remaining ODIs," said the former India captain.

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Paes-Dlouhy lose again at Tennis Masters Cup

Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy's chance of reaching the semi-finals of Tennis Masters Cup went up in smoke after they succumbed to their second successive defeat in the season-ending $4,45,000 ATP event.

The sixth-seeded Indo-Czech pair lost their Gold group league match 6-7 (2), 3-6 to Polish duo Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.

Only the top two teams of Red and Gold groups will make the semi-final stage.

Paes and Dlouhy had plenty of chances in the first set but squandered all three breakpoints and eventually handed the lead to their opponents after losing the tie-break.

In the second, they dropped serve thrice and that was enough for the players from Poland to win the match.

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India beat Pakistan in kabaddi match

Kabaddi team of India's Punjab on Sunday defeated Pakistan's Punjab in the third of the five-match series at village Gopal Pura.

Altogether five matches were to be played between the two teams. The first match was held at Mukerian while the third match would be played at Ludhiana tomorrow, fourth at Muktsar on November 12 and the last at Bathinda on November 15.

Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Majithia was the chief guest of the second match on Sunday.

McLaren not to impose drivers on Force India

McLaren management said they might suggest preferred drivers for their new partner Force India but made it clear that they would never try to impose their will on the Vijay Mallya-owned Formula One outfit.

Force India yesterday announced its new 'ground-breaking partnership' which would see the Silverstone-based outfit running on Mercedes engines and using gearbox and hydraulic systems provided by McLaren.

Subsequently, speculation was rife that McLaren might push for the appointment of Paul di Resta and Pedro de la Rosa in place of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil for the next season.
Speaking to autosport.Com, McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, however, made it clear that everything would be discussed with Force India but it was Mallya who would eventually be calling the shots.

"There's nothing off bounds in this partnership," Whitmarsh said, when asked if McLaren would suggest new drivers.

"Vijay has shown a lot of confidence in his commitment and investment in this partnership and us. We'll sit down and talk about every aspect of the programme, and that extends beyond the process development and the powertrain. We've got to work together on all those things," he said.

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