I won’t want make an emotional decision: Abhinav

CHANDIGARH, Jan 16 (PTI): After creating a flutter by threatening to quit game, Abhinav Bindra today said he will not make an “emotional decision” and will decide future course of action after giving it a good thought.

“I haven’t decided. I don’t want to make an emotional decision. I would be leaving for Germany within a couple of days and will discuss the matter with my trusted professionals,” Bindra said in a select media interaction at his family’s farmhouse at Zirakpur, nearly 25 km from here.

Woods to donate USD 3 million to Haiti quake victims

STAFF WRITER 20:27 HRS IST

New York, Jan 15 (PTI) Shamed golfer Tiger Woods is reportedly considering to donate USD 3 million for the victims of the calamitous earthquake that rocked Haiti.

Woods wanted to send medical supplies to the earthquake devastated Caribbean nation, said Hip-hop mogul Russell Simons.

"Tiger Woods is working on sending a mobile hospital with 50 EMTs to go set up a triage," Simmons was quoted as saying by the New York Daily News.

The earthquake, so far, has left between 40,000 - 50,000 people dead and about 300,000 homeless.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said Woods can "absolutely" get back on track.

"I don't want to comment on his personal relationship with his wife and family, but I am a strong believer that anybody can look within themselves, find their flaws and fix them," Obama told People magazine.

Notably, Woods had disappeared from public life after a scandal which revealed a series of his extramarital affairs.

BCCI and Nimbus cement relationship till 2014

Mumbai, Jan 15 (PTI) Nimbus Communications Limited (Nimbus) today issued bank guarantees to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, securing the entire new period of its 2010-2014 agreement.

With this, Nimbus and BCCI have now cemented their relationship till March 2014 during which Nimbus will exclusively market various media rights for all international cricket tours staged by the BCCI and 78 days of BCCI Domestic cricket events every year globally.

BCCI and Nimbus had earlier entered into a new agreement valued at approximately Rs 2000 crores and for a minimum of 64 international matches and 312 days of domestic cricket, over a four-year period.

"The BCCI is pleased to extend its partnership with Nimbus by entering into this agreement till 2014.

Mumbai lift thrilling 39th Ranji title

MYSORE, Jan 15 (IANS): The experience of defending championsMumbai came through as they clinched a nail-biting six-run win overKarnataka to win the Ranji Trophy here on Thursday for the 39th time.

Karnataka got closer to the 338-run victory target through exciting prospect Manish Pandey (144) and Ganesh Satish (75). Even after their dismissal, the lower order hung on for a win before Ajit Agarkar (5-81) got the last wicket of S. Aravind (10) to bowl out the home team barely short of a win at the Gangothri Glades Cricket Ground.

Prakash Amritraj crashes out of Australian Open qualifiers

MELBOURNE: Prakash Amritraj's seven-year wait to feature in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam event continued as he crashed out of the Prakash Amritraj crashes out of Australian Open qualifiers Australian Open qualifiers after suffering a straight set defeat on Thursday.

Unseeded Amritraj went down fighting 5-7, 4-6 against French 25th seed Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round.

Amritraj last played in a Grand Slam in 2002 when he made the US Open main draw as a wild card entrant.

Yuki Bhambri has already exited following his first round defeat.

Now India's hopes to see a player competing in the singles event of the first Grand Slam of the season are resting on Somdev Devvarman who will play his second round on Friday.

He is up against Germany's Tobias Kamke.

TOI

India upstaged, Sri Lanka lift tri-nation trophy

MIRPUR (Bangladesh): Indian top guns came a cropper when it mattered most as Sri Lanka spanked them by four wickets in a low-scoring final to Sri Lanka lift the tri-series on Wednesday.

The summit clash demanded a special performance by the Indians who aspire to be the number one ODI team in the world but all they managed was 245 before folding in 48.2 overs, denying their bowling colleagues enough runs to defend.

Things could have been embarrassing for them but for the 106-run stand between Suresh Raina (106) and Ravindra Jadeja (38) and a characteristically brisk 27-ball 42 by Virender Sehwag upfront.

Chasing the target, Sri Lanka fumbled occasionally before eventually cruising to 249 for six in 48.3 overs. For them, Tillakaratne Dilshan (49) and Kumar Sangakkara (55) set the tone and Mahela Jayawardene (71 not out) completed the job.

Not that the Sri Lankan chase was a hiccup-free affair. Ashish Nehra had the scoreless Upul Tharanga caught in the slip by Virat Kohli off his third delivery and Sri Lanka were yet to open their account at that stage.

Sangakkara is not new to such situation and the Lankan captain, in Dilshan's company, added 92 runs to put the chase back on track at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

Dhoni pressed in service Yuvraj Singh and then collaborated with him to remove the dangerous Dilshan off the left-arm spinner's first delivery.

Harbhajan Singh removed Sangakkara and Thilina Kandamby (18) and in between, Jadeja castled Thilan Samaraweera (27).

Already one bowler short as Nehra left the field with a groin injury, Dhoni could only watch as the Lankans gradually overwhelmed the target.

Earlier, Suresh Raina's third ODI ton, product of his 115-ball stay that included 10 fours and a six, saved India blushes as the side recovered from 60 for five inside 11 overs to post 245 before losing all the wickets in the 49th over.

The left-hander shared a 106-run sixth wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (38) to revive the innings.

Virender Sehwag chipped in with a brisk 27-ball 42 before falling to a soft dismissal.

For Sri Lanka, pacers Nuwan Kulasekara (4-48) and Chanaka Welegedara (3-53) wrecked the Indian order.

The Sri Lankan bowlers used the early life on the pitch with some swing and bounce but it was more due to the Indians rushing for shots in search for quick runs which led to their downfall.

It was a disastrous start for India which began with Dhoni losing the toss and continued with Gautam Gambhir (0) and in-form Virat Kohli (2) returning to the pavilion by the second over.

Gambhir completely missed a Kulasekara delivery which disturbed his leg stump after deflecting off his thigh pads.

In the next over, Kohli went for a slash off Welegedara, only to offer an easy catch to Kumar Sangakkara.

Sehwag seemed unperturbed as he punished Kulasekara for three fours in the third over but new man in Yuvraj Singh made a quiet exit without opening his account.

Yuvraj chased a Welegedara delivery for a cut without moving his feet and Thilan Samaraweera took a smart catch in the slips as India slumped to 16 for three.

Sehwag and Dhoni tried to revive the innings with a brief 32-ball 31 runs for the fourth wicket before the Indian captain nicked Kulasekara to Sangakkara in the ninth over.

Sehwag hit Welegedara for two fours to take India score to 58 for four after 10 overs before he went for an upper cut and the edge ended safely on Sangakkara's gloves.

Back against the wall, Raina and Jadeja played the balls on merit, scoring the occasional boundaries. But just when India looked like reaching a stage from where they could launch for a defendable total, Jadeja was out LBW to a Dilshan ball which straightened after pitching on the middle stump.

Raina played some delightful shots, including a six off off-spinner Suraj Randiv and raised his hundred with a two off Thissara Perera in the 44th over with the help of nine fours.

Raina did not get much support from the lower order batsmen, including Harbhajan Singh (11) and Zaheer Khan (16), both of whom can swing the bat to good effect.

TOI

Mumbai beat Karnataka to win 39th Ranji Trophy title

MYSORE: Defending champions Mumbai pulled off a thrilling six-run win over a fighting Karnataka to clinch the coveted Ranji Trophy title for the
Mumbai Ranji team 39th time on Thursday.

Mumbai's 39th championship win looked unlikely when Manish Pandey and Ganesh Satish were at the crease as Karnataka chased a mammoth 338-run target.

The duo, who had come together when Karnataka were in dire straits at 46 for three, batted with gusto, assurance and caution to take the fight into the enemy camp, raising 209 runs for the fourth wicket.

As long as Pandey, who made a magnificent 144 (18 fours, one six) in trying circumstances, was at the square Karnataka were in the reckoning of winning their seventh Ranji title.

But once he departed, caught at slip by Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer off left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla minutes before lunch, Mumbai slowly but assuredly started taking control of the game.

While Pandey, who amassed a whopping 882 runs in the season, carted the cherry around the park with impunity, Satish batted with circumspection.

Satish, who laboured hard for 318 minutes, made 75 before being adjudged leg before wicket to Dhawal Kulkarni.

Stuart Binny (17), Sunil Joshi (16) and R Vinay Kumar (15) batted with resolve to take Karnataka closer to the target.

But quick strikes by Kulkarni and Ajit Agarkar (5 for 81) ensured that Mumbai emerged triumphant in the end.

This closely contested final would remembered for the outstanding performances of Vinayak Samant (67), Avishkar Salvi (5 for 31), Daval Kulkarni (87 and 3 for 80), Ajit Agarkar (5 for 81), Manish Pandey (144), Abhimanyu Mithun (3 for 56 and 6 for 71) and R Vinay Kumar (4 for 61 and 3 for 78).

The sporting wicket was prepared by a tennis court curator from Mysore.

Brief scores:

Mumbai: 233 (Vinayak Samant 67, Vinay Kumar 4-61) and 234 (Dhawal Kulkarni 87, Abhimanyu Mithun 6-71)

Karnataka: 130 (Aavishkar Salvi 5-31) and 331 (Manish Pandey 144, Ajit Agarkar 5-81)

TOI

Team leaves for Chittagong, Simons to join on Jan 16

STAFF WRITER 16:24 HRS IST

Dhaka, Jan 14 (PTI) The 16-member Indian cricket team today left for Chittagong for the first of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting January 17.

The players under captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the support staff, including coach Gary Kirsten, left the capital by a GMG Airlines flight around 4.15 pm.

Six players -- Sachin Tendlukar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha and Murali Vijay -- joined their team-mates, who were already here for the ODI tri-series which ended yesterday with India losing the final to Sri Lanka by four wickets.

Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Ashish Nehra and Rohit Sharma, who were in the ODI sqaud for the tri-series, also left for home today.

Kohli, Nehra, Raina and Jadeja boarded a New Delhi-bound flight, while Rohit Sharma and Ashok Dinda were on flights for Mumbai and Kolkata respectively.

BCCI not charitable organisation: rules IT deptt

STAFF WRITER 18:10 HRS IST

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Evading taxes for long by calling itself a charitable organisation, the BCCI may now have to shell out more than Rs 100 crore as the income tax department is set to penalise the Indian Cricket Board for hiding details of its commercial activities.

The IT departement has passed an order terming the BCCI a commercial organsiation and not a charitable one. Sources in the CBDT confirmed that the order has been passed by the Exemptions unit of the department in Mumbai.

Sources said the BCCI has not informed the tax department about a number of its activities like establishing coaching centres, conducting Twenty20 tournaments and other commercial ventures conducted within and outside the country.

KKR bank on Wasim Akram

Kolkata, Jan 10: Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram has donned the role as mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the cash-rich cricket tournament, Indian premier league (IPL).

Akram joined the KKR players at the nets in Kolkata on Saturday.

The KKR, owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was placed at the bottom in the second edition last year, whereas it was a last but one in the inaugural edition.

Rohan Gavaskar, the KKR batsman, said Akram’s experience of the subcontinent conditions augured well for the team. “Good point is that, he (Wasim Akram) is from the subcontinent, he is from Pakistan, he knows, he knows the subcontinent conditions, he knows, he knows how to handle subcontinent players. So, the whole package of Wasim bhai being with us, it can only help us,” said Gavaskar.

Former Team India Skipper Sourav Ganguly and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, both playing for KKR, are also attending the camp. (Agencies)

India crush Lanka to storm into final

Mirpur (Bangladesh), Jan 10: Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the Sri Lankan attack as India stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series after crushing the islanders by eight wickets in a lopsided match here today.

The Indian bowlers did a neat job, skittling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.

Gautam Gambhir (71 off 86 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (48 off 40 balls) gave India a flying start before Virat Kohli came up with a breezy unbeaten 71 off just 68 balls to complete the formality.

India outwit Lanka, storm into final

MIRPUR, Jan 10 (PTI): Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the Sri Lankan attack as India stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series after crushing the islanders by eight wickets in a lopsided match here today.

The Indian bowlers did a neat job, skittling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.

Gautam Gambhir (71 off 86 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (48 off 40 balls) gave India a flying start before Virat Kohli came up with a breezy unbeaten 71 off just 68 balls to complete the formality.

Irrespective of the outcome of their final group match against Bangladesh tomorrow, India will meet Sri Lanka in Wednesday’sfinal.

India outwit Lanka, storm into final

MIRPUR, Jan 10 (PTI): Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir toyed with the Sri Lankan attack as India stormed into the final of the cricket tri-series after crushing the islanders by eight wickets in a lopsided match here today.

The Indian bowlers did a neat job, skittling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 213 in 46.1 overs before their batting colleagues took over, guiding the team to 214 for two for a facile win that came with 17.2 overs to spare.

Gautam Gambhir (71 off 86 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (48 off 40 balls) gave India a flying start before Virat Kohli came up with a breezy unbeaten 71 off just 68 balls to complete the formality.

Jolted India take on Bangladesh

MIRPUR, Jan 6: Jolted out of their comfort zone after last night’s defeat against Sri Lanka, India will hope to be back to their winning ways when they take on Bangladesh in their second outing of the ODI tri-series on Thursday.

The Indians men came here high on confidence after their Test and ODI series win over Sri Lanka but their five-wicket loss against the islanders, who were without some key players, has not only dented their pride but also shattered their hopes of becoming the top ranked one day team for the time being.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will now have to go back to the drawing board and sort out their batting and bowling woes, besides praying that they don’t end up on the receiving end of the dew factor.

The loss meant that India do not have any chance of becoming world number one in ICC ODI rankings at least till the end of the tri-series as they needed to win all their matches here to achieve the feat.

Donald Indian coach?

NEW DELHI, Jan 6: Allan Donald could well be Indian cricket team’s next bowling coach with the BCCI showing interest in the retired South African pacer.

Donald said he had an informal discussion with a cricket board official during the Champions League in October — where the former pacer was part of the commentary team — and he was told that the process might take some time.

“Yes, I had an informal chat during Champions League Twenty20 with an Indian board official,” the former pacer said. “I would be interested to talk to the BCCI regarding the bowling coach job that is currently vacant and I’m keen (on the job),” he said.

Donald, who is waiting for the BCCI to formally approach him for the job, said he was told in October that the process might take some time. After India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that chief coach Gary Kirsten was overburdened and the team was missing a bowling coach, BCCI is expected to complete the process before South Africa arrive here next month for a series featuring three One-dayers and two Test matches. Fellow South African Shaun Pollock is also being tipped as a possible candidate, having coached the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League where the former Protea captain worked with Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. Pollock, however, refused to comment on it. India remains without a bowling coach since the BCCI sacked Venkatesh Prasad — along with fielding coach Robin Singh — in October after the team’s poor performance in the Twenty20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Since his 2003 retirement, Donald had a short stint as England’s bowling coach in 2007 before he spent a year with Warwickshire as the head coach there. (PTI)

Sachin, Ishant back to Test squad

CHENNAI, Jan 5: Struggling paceman Ishant Sharma was on Tuesday recalled to India’s 16-member Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh starting from January 17 in Chittagong.

Ishant, the gangling Delhi speedster who has been struggling to find his rhythm of late, gets another opportunity to prove his worth with the national selectors reposing faith in him.

Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman S Badrinath, who featured in India’s squad which played the last Test against Sri Lanka at home, has been dropped from the team announced by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a brief meeting of the selection committee.

The selectors barely took 15 minutes to finalise the squad, to be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which expectedly had no major surprises.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was rested from the ongoing ODI tri-series, will return to action for the two Tests to be held in Chittagong (January 17 to 21) and Mirpur (January 24 to 28).

Uttar Pradesh paceman Sudeep Tyagi also made his way into the team which has four specialist pacers with Zaheer Khan being the spearhead.

As expected, veterans like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, regarded as Test specialists, found a place in the side.

Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay has also been included as a reserve opener with Virender Sehwag and Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir being the regulars.

The middle-order has the ever-reliable Dravid, Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and skipper Dhoni, making it a solid line-up.

Harbhajan Singh, the gutsy off-spinner, will shoulder the spin bowling responsibility along with leg-spinner Amit Mishra and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Dinesh Karthik has been included as the second wicketkeeper.

The Squad: MS Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Sudeep Tyagi. (PTI)

Leander Paes has shown a ravenous appetite for excellence

Mumbai: The name Leander Paes conjures up images of the dusky man stretching his every sinew on the tennis court -- flinging to get to the ball, scampering to retrieve tricky returns, ever ready to test his vocal chords in triumphant moments. The amazing part is how he does not let that perception change. He can still be seen fighting it out on the circuit -- be it on the testing professional doubles circuit or the prestigious Davis Cup.

Nadal’s Wimbledon victory voted sporting moment of the decade

LONDON, Jan 1 (Agencies): Spaniard Rafael’s Nadal’s epic victory over Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon’s men’s final has been voted by readers of The Telegraph as the sporting moment of the decade.

Nadal’s power and poise finally got the better of Federer in a seven-hour epic

The readers’ poll was a close-run thing.

Taking 17 per cent of the votes, Nadal/Federer edged Liverpool’s ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ (15 per cent) into second place, with Arsenal’s ‘Invincible’ season of 2003-04 coming third with 13 per cent.

We’ve come through a transition: Anderson

CAPE TOWN, Jan 1: Fast bowler James Anderson has described the Test win against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban as one of the best Test wins he has been involved with, and believes that the current England squad reflects the present generation.

In an article for The Mirror , Anderson said: “I can't remember being a part of such a clinical performance. We’ve had great wins like that at home, but the fact we’ve done it in South Africa’s backyard really makes it special because Test wins on tour do not come easy.”

“It really feels now that this is the team of our generation, like we’ve come through a transition and have a group of players that can move onwards and upwards together. We were talking about it the other day that when Cookie played his first Test in Nagpur nearly all the guys here were in single figures for caps or low teens. But now, if you look down the list, everyone has played 40-odd, 50-odd Tests. We've got a fair bit of experience, but we’re still quite young and should be around for a long while yet to keep improving,” he adds.

We need bowling and fielding coaches: Dhoni

MUMBAI, Jan 1: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said the team is missing bowling and fielding coaches, resulting in an increased workload for chief coach Gary Kirsten.

Talking to reporters on the eve of the team's departure for the tri-series in Bangladesh, Dhoni said Kirsten had his plate full and the team was indeed missing bowling and fielding coaches.

“To some extent, it does (affect the team). You need specialist coach to get the best out of the players. Gary looks after so many things. He has all those team meetings, talking to batsmen, bowlers and then working out strategies. He has a lot on his plate,” Dhoni said.

“It does help to have specialist bowling and fielding coaches for the bowlers and fielders. But that’s the way it and it’s now an administrative issue,” he said.