April

Sports

Gill to lead Team MRF’s charge

•  Six-time Asia Pacific Rally Championship winner Team MRF will, for the first time, have three cars competing in the series this season.

•  Leading Team MRF’s charge will be Gaurav Gill, the 2013 champion, while Swedish young gun Pontus Tidemand will make his debut for the team.

•  The pair will be joined by New Caledonian driver, Jean-Louis Leyraud, in a third Team MRF Skoda Fabia 2000 in the Pacific Cup section of the championship.

•  Team MRF has won the championship three times in a row, with Australian Chris Atkinson winning in 2012, Gill in 2013, and Czech Jan Kopecky in 2014.

McCullum receives Sir Richard Hadlee medal

•  New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has been awarded Sir Richard Hadlee medal, the country’s highest cricketing honour, for his inspirational leadership and exemplary batting at a glittering ceremony, in Auckland.

•  McCullum, 33, led the Kiwis to their first World Cup final where they did lose to Australia by seven wickets at a packed MCG on March 29 but won a million fans with their entertaining show throughout the 50-over showpiece event.

•  With 328 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 188.50, McCullum led by example to be named captain of the ICC’s team of the tournament.

•  McCullum won the top award ahead of Kane Williamson, who claimed the Redpath Cup for first-class batting, and Trent Boult, who was the winner of the Winsor Cup for bowling.

•  Williamson had a season to savour in 2014-15 and was recognised in winning the Twenty20 International Player of the Year, the ODI Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year.

•  But come April 8 and many of the Kiwi cricketers will be seen in their respective IPL colours with McCullum turning out for Chennai Super Kings.

SAI approves Ahrens as women’s coach

•  Less than a week after Hockey India submitted a revised proposal for the appointment of the chief women’s coach, the Sports Authority of India has cleared Mathias Ahrens for the job.

•  The Canadian was second on the shortlist submitted by the federation to replace Neil Hawgood. New Zealand’s Anthony Thornton was finalised as first choice but was unable to join due to medical issues.

•  HI President Narinder Batra said: “The SAI’s decision is welcome and we will now try to get Ahrens as soon as possible. (High Performance Director) Roelant Oltmans is co-ordinating the appointment, and from what I have been told, Ahrens has already confirmed his willingness to take up the job. We are open to flying him directly to New Zealand to join the team there (at the Hawkes Bay Cup tournament from April 11 to 19) if he is available immediately.”

•  Ahrens is currently technical director of junior hockey with Vancouver Hawks and is looking after the under-18 development programme there.

•  If he is unable to join the team immediately after the formalities are over, Ahrens will begin training the girls here for the World League semifinals, to be held in Belgium in June.

Kamal’s resignation will not hurt cricketing ties: BCB chief

• Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has said that he does not think Mustafa Kamal’s resignation from the International Cricket Council president position would affect cricketing ties with India.

•  Speaking to journalists, Mr. Hassan said Mr. Kamal’s resignation was ‘unfortunate’ and that it would have been better had it not happened.

•  Ruling out any possibility of weakening cricket ties with India, Mr. Hassan said: “I can’t find any reason … We are not complaining against any specific country…We have spoken about umpiring. We stressed why technology was not used when it was readily available.”

•  Echoing massive emotions of cricket fans at home, Mr. Kamal, a former BCB president and now a minister, was quite critical of ‘controversial’ umpiring decisions in the Bangladesh-India match at the Melbourne on March 19, and said he would step down as president, if needed, on protest.

•  His remarks followed a massive spat between Mr. Kamal and ICC Chairman N. Srinivasan, who finally presented the World Cup to winners Australia.

•  Normally, ICC presidents hand trophies to winners, but Mr. Srinivasan used Mr. Kamal’s outspoken stand over “poor umpiring” to sideline him from final handing over trophy to the victors.

•  This added a fuel to the fire and Mr. Kamal, on returning from Australia, announced his resignation, levelling allegations of personal nature against Mr. Srinivasan terming him a “controversial” person at home.

•  Earlier, the BCB chief told the local media that the ICC would “investigate and analyse” the quarterfinal match between Bangladesh and India which ended the Tigers’ most successful ever World Cup campaign.

Saina eclipses Sun

•  Newly-crowned world No. 1 Saina Nehwal edged out China’s Sun Yu to reach the women’s singles semifinals of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament.

Straight-set win for Murray

•  Third-seeded Andy Murray downed eighth seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to make the final of the Miami Open.

•  In the women’s section, Serena Williams clawed into her 10th Miami Open final, defeating Simona Halep.

Ban on women attending matches lifted

•  A senior Iranian sports official says the country’s authorities have partially lifted a ban on women attending men’s sports matches.

•  Deputy Sports Minister Abdolhamid Ahmadi is quoted by the official IRNA news agency Saturday as saying that Iran’s State Security Council has approved a plan by his Ministry to allow women and families to attend some sports events.

•  The announcement comes after FIFA President Sepp Blatter urged Iran earlier this year to end the ban on women watching football in stadiums.
  World TT Day

•  The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has launched a promotional video on YouTube to mark the first-ever World Table Tennis Day to be observed on Monday( 6th April).

•  The video has already registered over than 22,000 viewers. The 88-second video highlights the growth of the sport in several parts of the world. The ITTF, has also posted the video on its website ( www.ittf.com ), along with the message “table tennis for everyone and every where”.

•  The ITTF (development programme) director Leandro Olvech has mailed all national federations highlighting the event.
  Serena Williams romps to eighth Miami crown

•  World No. 1 Serena Williams joined an elite club, winning her eighth Miami WTA title with a comprehensive win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.

•  The 33-year-old US superstar, who won her 19th Grand Slam title in Australia this year, lifted the trophy in the elite premier level tournament for the third straight year.

•  She also won three straight Miami titles from 2002-04 and back-to-back titles in 2007-08.

•  Williams had already surpassed Steffi Graf for most Miami triumphs with her win last year.

•  She joined Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert as the only Open Era players to win the same event at least eight times.

•  Graf won nine titles in Berlin, Evert won eight in Hilton Head, and Navratilova achieved the feat in seven tournaments — including her nine Wimbledon titles.
  Shukla made IPL boss again

•  Rajeev Shukla was re-appointed chairman of the Indian Premier League Governing Council, a post he held in 2013 before quitting following the spot fixing scandal.

•  Mr. Shukla, a senior member of the Board, was entrusted with the task keeping in mind the new regime’s policy to take everyone along.

•  In the recent Board elections, Mr. Shukla unsuccessfully contested for treasurer.

•  Notable inclusions in the GC are former Test captains Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri, apart from Maharashtra Cricket Association president Ajay Shirke, who resigned as the Board’s treasurer in protest against former president N. Srinivasan.

•  The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association president, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has been included as a special invitee.

PCI suspends president

•  The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) suspended its president Rajesh Tomar, holding him responsible for the ‘chaos’ at the national para-athletics meet in Ghaziabad, and formed a three-member panel headed by a retired High Court judge to probe the matter.

•  Vice-president Nale Nandakishore Babu Rao will act as president until the enquiry is completed.

•  The decision was taken at a recent PCI executive committee (EC) meeting in Bengaluru.

•  According to a PCI release, the chaos happened “due to the negligence and failing of duties” by Tomar. The EC has also decided to start criminal and civil proceedings against Tomar.

•  Following reports about the lack of basic facilities at the national meet, where the para-athletes were put up in under-constructed buildings, Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal asked for a detailed report on the issue.

•  Tomar had blamed the Sports Ministry for the mess. “I had approached the Sports Ministry to provide the facilities, but the Sports Authority of India refused, saying its venues were being used by able-bodied athletes,” various media reports quoted Tomar as saying.

•  The development prompted the PCI to take up the matter urgently. The EC also discussed the “mismanagement of the financial issues by Tomar in the 2014 Asian Paralympic Games”.

Wisden honour for Kumar Sangakkara and Meg Lanning

•  Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2015 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

•  Meanwhile Australia’s Meg Lanning has been chosen as the cricket ‘Bible’s’ inaugural Leading Woman Cricketer in the World — the first time the England-based annual has bestowed such an award in 152 editions of continuous publication dating back to 1864.

•  Sangakkara joined India’s Virender Sehwag as the only two players to be named as Wisden’s Leading Cricketer in the World for a second occasion.

•  The 37-year-old left-handed batsman and wicketkeeper won the award after a stellar 2014 that saw Sangakkara score an all-time record 2,868 international runs in the calendar year, including a triple century.

•  His feats, which added to an already brilliant career, included a man-of-the-match performance in Sri Lanka’s World Twenty20 final win over India last year.

•  Sangakkara also scored his first Test hundred at Lord’s last season, a century which came during Sri Lanka’s Test series win over England.

•  He later confirmed Wisden’s judgment by scoring a record four successive hundreds at the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

•  Lanning, who at the age of 21 became the youngest person ever to captain Australia, led her side to the World Twenty20 title and finished 2014 at the top of both the women’s one-day international and Twenty20 batting rankings.

•  Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year is an award dating back to 1889 and is generally based on a player’s performances in the preceding English season.

•  By tradition, it can only be won once in a career and the 2015 list included Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, England rising stars Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance and two notable county players in Adam Lyth and Jeetan Patel.

•  Booth’s critique of the ECB was broad and scathing, the Wisden editor writing: “A few wins might have deflected attention from a charge sheet that would include the mishandling of the Kevin Pietersen affair, worrying Test attendances outside London, a head-in-the-sand attitude to the one-day team, and — not yet a decade after the 2005 Ashes had presented English cricket with a golden chance to attract a new generation to the sport — a fall in the number of recreational players.

•  “National selector James Whitaker had called (Alastair) Cook ‘our exceptional leader’; Paul Downton, the ECB’s new managing director, hailed [Peter] Moores as the ‘outstanding coach of his generation’; chairman Giles Clarke trumpeted Downton as a ‘man of great judgment’.

Shyam Kumar bags gold

•  Shyam Kumar struck gold as India signed off a creditable second with three medals in the Thailand invitation international boxing tournament in Pattaya.

•  The Indian boxers fetched one gold and two bronze medals.

•  Shyam defeated Surajit Thong Anand of Thailand 3-0 in the light flyweight (49kg) division. Rohit Tokas (60kg) and Manjit (69kg) settled for bronze medals after losing in the semifinals.

•  While Rohit lost to Darkhan Zhumsakbayev of Kazakhstan 2-1, Manjit was beaten by local favourite Apichet Saensit 2-1.

Indian boxers bag 3 medals

•  Indian boxers have bagged three medals, including a gold, in the Thailand invitational international meet in Pattaya City.

•  Shyam Kumar defeated local favourite Surajit Thing Anand 3-0 in the final to claim the 49kg gold medal. Rohit Tokas (60kg) and Manjit (69kg) settled for bronze medals.

Chennai Super Kings wins a thriller at Chepauk

•  The thriller at Chepauk twisted and turned before exploding at the finish

•  Delhi Daredevils was one hit away from victory with a wicket and a delivery remaining.

•  With a six required off the last ball, the rampaging Albie Morkel bludgeoned seamer Dwayne Bravo past covers for a heart-breaking boundary.

•  Chennai Super Kings, defending 150, was home by a run at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Daredevils needed 19 off the last over. The rampaging Morkel (73 not out) clubbed a six, smashed two fours and ran a brace and a single but came up just short.

•  This was a game where Daredevils may have also blundered tactically. Holding back its most influential batsmen, Yuvraj Singh and Jean-Paul Duminy, till the fall of the fourth wicket was a high-risk gamble in such a shortened format.

•  Yuvraj arrived after 13.1 over had been bowled; the score was 87 for four. With pressure mounting, Yuvraj (9) was done in by a deceptive short-pitched ball from Bravo. Soon, the left-handed Duminy (5) played on to seamer Ishwar Pandey.

•  The side simply did not give its best batsmen time and space to build an innings and assume control.

Australia beats NZ, enters the final

•  World champion Australia’s title defence continued in the right earnest as it defeated New Zealand 3-1 to register its fourth straight win in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey.

•  In the last match of the day Korea beat host Malaysia 3-2 to stay in the hunt.

Super Kings win a thriller at Chepauk

•  Man-of-the-match: Nehra.

•  CSK won by one run .

•  The thriller at Chepauk twisted and turned before exploding at the finish. Delhi Daredevils was one hit away from victory with a wicket and a delivery remaining. With a six required off the last ball, Albie Morkel bludgeoned seamer Dwayne Bravo past covers for a heart-breaking boundary.

•  Chennai Super Kings, defending 150, was home by a run on. Daredevils needed 19 off the last over. The rampaging Morkel (73 not out) clubbed a six, smashed two fours and ran a brace and a single but came up just short.

•  This was a game where Daredevils may have also blundered tactically. Holding back its most influential batsmen, Yuvraj Singh and Jean-Paul Duminy, till the fall of the fourth wicket was a high-risk gamble in such a shortened format.

•  Yuvraj arrived after 13.1 over had been bowled; the score was 87 for four. With pressure mounting, Yuvraj (9) was done in by a deceptive short-pitched ball from Bravo. Soon, the left-handed Duminy (5) played on to seamer Ishwar Pandey.

•  This was a night where off-spinner R. Ashwin impressed with his variety and control after old soldier Ashish Nehra struck telling blows at the start.

•  Opting to chase, Daredevils had restricted the host to a manageable score but the pursuit was going to be hazardous in CSK’s fortress.

Impressive India stuns Australia

•  Young striker Nikkin Thimmaiah scored a hat-trick as India produced its best performance of the tournament to stun world champion and title-holder Australia and secure a place in the third and fourth place play-off at the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament.

•  Already out of title race, India played without pressure and at last came up with a complete performance. India scored a goal each in all the four quarters through V.R. Raghunath (1st minute), Nikkin (23rd, 32nd, 60th), while Australia’s goals came from the sticks of Daniel Beale (14th) and Matt Gohdes (53rd).

•  By virtue of this win, India finished its league engagements with seven points from five game and will now face Korea in the play-off which drew 3-3 with New Zealand.

•  The loss snapped Australia’s unbeaten run and gave it a wake up call before final against New Zealand.

Sania creates history, is first from India to seal top world ranking

•  Sania Mirza will become the first Indian woman to claim the number one doubles ranking after winning the Charleston title with partner Martina Hingis.

•  Hingis and Sania captured their third doubles title in as many tournaments, after triumphs in the Indian Wells and Miami hardcourt events.

•  The duo hadn’t dropped a set in their two prior tournaments, but they were tested on the green clay courts of Charleston, saving a match point against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova in the semi-finals.

•  They defeated Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak 6-0, 6-4 to lift the trophy.

•  Sania becomes the first Indian woman to reach number one in either singles or doubles. She has won seven WTA doubles titles over the last 12 months.

Jitu Rai bags bronze medal

•  Jitu Rai asserted his class yet again by winning the air pistol bronze in the shooting World Cup in Changwon, Korea .

•  It was the fourth medal in a World Cup for the 27-year-old, who had won the earlier three medals — a gold and two silvers — in a span of nine days last year in Maribor and Munich.

India finishes third; New Zealand triumphs

•  India produced a spirited performance to beat Korea 4-1 in the penalty shoot out, after both the teams were locked 2-2 at regulation time, to finish third at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey.

•  The victory is sure to act as a morale booster for the team, which is witnessing a transition phase under new chief coach Paul van Ass.

•  The third place finish also marks a relatively good beginning for Van Ass as it was his maiden assignment with the Indian team. Later, a gritty New Zealand

• surprised world champion Australia 3-1 in the penalty shoot-out in a keenly-contested summit clash to claim its second title.

•  For India the victory came on the back of a stunning 4-2 win over Australia .

•  India scored both its goals though field strikes from last match’s hat-trick man Nikkin Thimmaiah (10th minute) and Satbir Singh (22nd) while Korea scored from penalty corners converted by You Hyosik (20th) and Nam Hyunwoo (29th).

Allan Donald quits as South Africa bowling coach

•  Fomer fast bowler Allan Donald, stepped down as South Africa’s bowling coach after four years with the team.

•  Donald said it was the right time to move on following last month’s World Cup, where South Africa lost in the semi-finals.

•  Donald joined as bowling coach under former head coach Gary Kirsten in 2011. The 48-year-old former fast bowler played 72 tests and took 330 wickets, fourth on the list of South African wicket-takers.

•  Cricket South Africa said it had not yet appointed a replacement.

Roland Garros prize money increased

•  The prize money at the Roland Garros will rise to €28 million this year, an increase of €3 million from last year.

•  The men’s and women’s champions will receive €1.8 million each, €150,000 more than 2014, and losing finalists will receive €900,000, a raise of €75,000.

•  Tournament director Gilbert Ysern said: “This notable increase in Roland Garros prize money is part of the four-year plan that was put in place for 2013 until 2016.

•  There are also notable increases for players losing during the first week of the tournament.

•  The tournament begins on May 24.

India holds Australia

•  After two consecutive defeats, the Indian women’s hockey team put up a much-improved show to hold world No. 2 Australia to a goalless draw in their third match of the Hawke’s Bay Cup .

•  India, thus, opened its account in the points table while it was Australia’s third consecutive draw. India had earlier lost 2-1 to China and 4-2 to USA.

•  Indian custodian Savita pulled off numerous saves to leave the Australians frustrated.

•  The defenders were also excellent and kept the Australians at bay in the first quarter. Hockeyroos had two penalty corners in the opening 15 minutes but on both occasion, Savita came up with brilliant saves.

•  India next plays host New Zealand on April 16.

India handed tough draw

•  The Indian football team has been drawn in a tough group alongside top Asian nation Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Guam for the second phase of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

•  The draw took place in Kuala Lumpur. Iran is the top-ranked team in the Asian Football Confederation at 40th in FIFA charts, while Oman is ranked 97 in Group D.

•  India, courtesy a 26-place jump to 147 in the latest world rankings, was placed in Pot 3. India had made the leap after defeating Nepal 2-0 on aggregate in the first round of qualifiers for the showpiece event in Russia.

•  India will play the four teams at home and away. The Asian qualifying competition begins on June 11, 2015 and runs until March 29, 2016. The countries that finish top of the eight groups and the four best second-placed teams will progress to the third and final qualification phase for the World Cup in Russia. They will also qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE.

•  India plays its first match at home against Oman on June 11, while the second game is slated for June 16 away against Guam.

India remains No. 2 in ODI rankings

•  India has retained its second position in the One-Day International rankings list after finishing as semifinalists in the recent ICC Cricket World Cup.

•  With 116 points, India is just six points behind world champion Australia and is followed by South Africa (112), Sri Lanka (108), New Zealand (107), England (101) and Pakistan (95).

•  Pakistan, however, is in danger of losing its seventh place if it loses 3-0 to Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series, starting in Mirpur .

•  But, it has a chance to reduce England’s six-point advantage by one if it wins the series 3-0, while a 2-1 victory would see Azhar Ali’s team remain on 95 points.
  Djokovic and Dibaba take the ‘best sportsperson’ statuettes

• Sachin Tendulkar was inducted, along with four other exceptional athletes, as a Laureus World Sports Academy member at the 16th Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony.

•  The legendary batsman has become the third Indian, after fellow cricketers Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid, to join a league of extraordinary sportspersons committed to helping underprivileged children through the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

•  “It’s a huge honour standing here, being a member of the Laureus Academy. I never thought I would be sharing the stage with the heroes whom I admired while growing up,” said Tendulkar.

•  The Bharat Ratna exhorted India’s youth to get off their computers and go out and play to become healthier and fitter.

•  Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba were chosen World sportsman and sportswoman of the year at a colourful function hosted by Benedict ‘Sherlock’ Cumberbatch at the sprawling Shanghai Grand Theatre here.

•  Dibaba was recognised for her remarkable feat of running to three world records in three different events in just two weeks, and Djokovic picked up his second Laureus (after 2012) for a remarkable 2014 that brought him many titles including the Australian Open and the Wimbledon crowns.

•  However, neither awardee could be present to receive the Cartier-crafted silver statuette, and thanked the academy through video messages.

•  The German football team, which lifted the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was named ‘World Team of the Year’ and the award was accepted by Die Mannschaft manager Oliver Bierhoff.

•  Daniel Ricciardo, who came third in the 2014 Formula One season, won the ‘World Breakthrough of the Year’ honours, while South African rugby star Schalk Burger was chosen for the ‘Comeback of the Year’ award.

•  There was cheer for the local fans as Li Na, the country’s greatest-ever tennis player, and basketball superstar Yao Ming were presented with the Laureus ‘Exceptional Achievement’ and ‘Spirit of Sport’ awards for their remarkable and inspirational careers.

•  The Awardees: World Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic (Serbia). World Sportswoman of the Year: Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia). World Team of the Year: German men’s football team. World Breakthrough of the Year: Daniel Ricciardo (Australia). World Comeback of the Year: Schalk Burger (South Africa). World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Tatyana McFadden (USA). World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Alan Eustace (USA). Sport for Good Award: Oliver Percovich (Australia). Spirit of Sport Award: Yao Ming (China). Exceptional Achievement Award: Li Na (China)

•  World Sports Academy inductees: Sachin Tendulkar (India), Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) and Yao Ming, Yang Yang and Li Xiaopeng (all China).

New Zealand crushes India

•  The Indian women’s hockey team lost 4-1 to New Zealand to crash out in the quarterfinals of the Hawke’s Bay Cup here.

•  India drew first blood, Ritu Rani converting its first penalty-corner in the sixth minute.

•  But New Zealand equalised in the next minute when Petrea Webster converted a penalty-corner. The hosts had another penalty-corner soon but failed to utilise the opportunity.

•  India played went on the in the second quarter and managed to rattle the Kiwis, but failed to score.

•  Two minutes into the second quarter, India got another penalty corner but wasted the chance.

•  In the 28th minute, New Zealand managed to break the Indian defence and take a 2-1 lead.

•  The third quarter was a story of near misses for India.

•  New Zealand extended its lead to 3-1 in the closing stages of the third quarter.

•  In the 55th minute, New Zealand made it 4-1 when Ella Gunson scored a fine field goal.

•  India will next face the loser of the match between USA and Korea in the 5-8 place classification match.

Award for Indian team

•  The Indian men’s team, which won the gold medal in the Incheon Asian Games in 2014, will get the Asian Squash Federation’s ‘Outstanding Team of the Year’ award.

•  The coach of the team, Cyrus Poncha, the national coach, will receive the ASF ‘Coach of the year award.’

•  Another Indian to figure in the awards list is Kush Kumar, the first Indian junior male player to reach the semifinal of a World junior championship. He achieved it in Namibia, 2014 and returned with a bronze medal.

•  Other awardees: Dato Alex Lee Award – Outstanding Performance of the Year (Senior): Men: Abdullah Kh. Al-Mezayen (Kuwait); Women: Nicol David(Malaysia).

•  Hassan Musa Award: Outstanding Performance of the Year (junior): Girls:Vanessa Raj Gnanasigamani (Malaysia).

•  Outstanding Team of the Year: Women's team Malaysia .

•  ASF Development Award: The Most Improved Team of the Year: Pakistan junior team .

•  ASF coaches awards: Coach of the year (individual): Nasser Sayed Zahran(Kuwait). Junior Coach of the Year: Leung Kan Fai Dick (Hong Kong, China); Development Coach of the Year: Kang Ho Suck (Korea).

• Coaches Certificate of Recognition: Ifrahim Gul (Malaysia) and Shamsul Bahary Salleh (Malaysia).

Neeraj Kumar set to be ACSU chief

•  The BCCI is contemplating appointment of former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar as chief of the Board’s Anti Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) in place of Ravi Sawani.

•  It is learnt that the proposal to appoint Neeraj Kumar would be mooted at a BCCI working committee meeting next week.

•  Incidentally, it was under Neeraj Kumar that the Delhi Police arrested former Test bowler S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila on spot-fixing charges while playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL-6.

•  “He was a top cop and was also actively involved with the investigations into the IPL spot-fixing scandal,” a highly-placed BCCI official said.
  Saina No. 1 again

•  Saina Nehwal regained the No. 1 position in international rankings after China’s Li Xuerui dropped a couple of rungs to third in the latest list.

•  Saina had dropped to the second place following her semifinal finish in the Malaysia Open Super Series.

•  She skipped last week’s Singapore Open Super Series but gained in the rankings after Xuerui also pulled out from the tournament, leading to loss of two positions in the women’s singles chart.

•  P.V. Sindhu dropped out of the top-10 and placed 12th this week after slipping three spots.

•  In the men’s rankings, K. Srikanth retained the fourth spot, while P. Kashyap rose a rung to 14th due to his semifinal finish in the Singapore Open.

•  H. S. Prannoy, who ended a quarterfinalist in Singapore, slid one spot to 15th.

Priyadarshi to probe role of IPL CEO

•  The Supreme Court agreed with the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee’s recommendation to appoint senior CBI officer Vivek Priyadarshi to head an investigation team probing the role and activities of IPL CEO Sundar Raman in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scam.

•  Mr. Priyadarshi, who has handled investigations into high-profile cases like the 2G Spectrum scam, replaces 1983-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IPS officer B.B. Mishra, who retired on March 31, this year.

•  Besides examining the role of Mr. Raman and imposing a suitable punishment on him if found guilty, the three-judge committee led by former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha will also decide the quantum of punishment for former BCCI president N. Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, and Rajasthan Royals IPL team part-owner, Raj Kundra. The apex court held that both had indulged in betting during the IPL. It has also taken up the job of administrative overhaul of the BCCI.

•  On February 22, the Lodha Committee decided that further investigation is necessary against Mr. Raman in the light of evidence collected by Mishra’s probe team.

•  But on being informed by Mr. Mishra that he would be retiring in March, the Committee had approached the Supreme Court. The apex court had then asked the Committee to consider another officer, following which Mr. Priyadarshi was zeroed in on. “We see no reason to decline the plea and accordingly Mr. Vivek Priyadarshi will head the investigating team in place of Mr. B.B. Mishra who has been superannuated from the service,” a Bench led by Justice T.S. Thakur ordered.

•  The apex court said government would take steps to ensure that his service is made available to the Justice Lodha Committee in this task, in addition to his job in the CBI.

Paralympic Committee of India suspended

•  The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) received a double blow with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) handing it a suspension for an internal squabble and the Union Sports Ministry issuing a show cause notice over the alleged ‘poor conduct’ of the 15th National para athletics championship in Ghaziabad last month.

•  In a letter dated April 15, the IPC said, “the situation in the PCI has been chaotic for several years now, which is mostly due to individual conflicts at the national level between different groups and persons.”

• The IPC said it had tried to help the PCI in the past. “Unfortunately, to this day, it seems that a lot of unresolved conflicts are still undermining the development of the Paralympic movement in India, and this situation does not bring any positive outcome for the athletes.

•  “We therefore have taken the decision to suspend your organisation until we have enough guarantee that an understanding between various parties has been found at the national level, and that a sustainable solution has been worked out for the long-term benefit and development of the athletes,” IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez said.

•  The sports ministry said there were various complaints regarding the poor conduct of the Ghaziabad meet, and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) found in its enquiry that besides the lack of other provisions, “the venue did not have facilities for the conduct of a national championship and also lacked allied facilities required for differently-abled athletes such as ramps, disabled-friendly toilets and lodging.”

•  The ministry said a grant of Rs. 401.84 lakh had been provided to PCI for the year 2014-15 towards coaching camps, participation in international sports events, including Para-Asian Games, and conduct of the national championship.

•  It asked why the Government should not withdraw its recognition from the National federation.

•  Following allegations of poor conduct of the meet, the PCI executive committee had suspended its president Rajesh Tomar and promised to start criminal and civil proceedings against him.

IPL 2015: Clinical RR beat CSK by 8 wickets

•  A rampaging Rajasthan Royals thrashed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets as openers Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane hit strokeful fifties to help the team register its fifth straight win in this season of the IPL, in Ahmedabad .

•  Chasing 157 for a win at their adopted home ground at Motera, RR rode on a 144-run record opening stand between skipper Watson (73 off 47 balls) and Rahane (76 not out) to canter home in 18.2 overs and hand CSK their first loss in this edition.

•  The previous best opening partnership for RR was the 135-run stand between Graeme Smith and Naman Ojha in Durban, South Africa in 2009.

•  After taking stock of the slow-paced wicket in the first 6 overs, Watson cut loose before the strategic time-out to punish the CSK bowlers at will.

•  Making his first IPL appearance this season, Watson, who took over the reins from stand-in-skipper Steven Smith, hit 6 fours and 4 sixes to provide perfect entertainment.

•  Rahane, who smashed his second fifty of the season, matched Watson stroke by stroke to accumulate 231 runs in five appearances and get the Orange Cap, for being the leading run-scorer, on his head.

• Watson was finally done in by a yorker from Ravindra Jadeja as the left-arm spinner got a consolation wicket in the 17th over.

•  CSK delayed the inevitable by getting another wicket as Smith (6) gave a simple caught and bowled chance to Dwayne Bravo in the 19th over.

• Karun Nair (1 not out) walked in to hit the winning runs as Rahane savoured the victory at the non-strikers end with his 55-ball stay laced with 6 fours and 2 sixes.

•  Earlier electing to bat in hot and testing conditions, CSK lost early wickets, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (31 not out) and Bravo, in his 36-ball knock, stitched an unbeaten 91-run fifth wicket partnership to lift the team to 156 for four in 20 overs.

•  Bravo, who brought up first fifty of the season in just 29 balls, smashed 8 fours and a six while Dhoni played the sheet anchors role but was a tad slow in his 37-ball stay.

•  Dwayne Smith also struck a 29-ball 40 to give the much-needed boost after CSK were in trouble at 39 for three.

•  Looking to make full use of the powerplays in the first six overs, CSK opener Brendon McCullum (12) fell to leg-spinner Pravin Tambe (1-36) after he mistimed a pull to James Faulkner at mid-on.

•  Suresh Raina (4) was the next to go as Chris Morris (1-19) got the left-hander caught behind in the sixth over.

•  Young left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma (1-26), who opened the bowling for the Shane Watson-led side, then got Faf du Plessis back in the dug out to reduce CSK to 39 for three.

•  But just when it looked that Smith, whose innings was laced with 3 fours and 2 sixes, will bail the visitors out of trouble with his big and powerful hitting, RR medium-pacer Faulkner (1-26) got the burly West Indian clean bowled just after the strategic time out post the ninth over.

•  But Faulkner and company bowled a decent line and length during the course of the 20 overs and South African medium-pacer Morris summed up the team’s bowling in the final 6 deliveries, allowing the opposition batsmen only 7 runs.

Bangladesh clinches series

•  Opener Tamim Iqbal struck his second consecutive century as Bangladesh clinched the series with a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second One-Day International.

•  Bangladesh leads the three-match series 2-0.

•  Tamim followed up his 132 with an unbeaten 116 to steer Bangladesh to 240 for three off 38.1 overs in reply to Pakistan’s 239 for six.

•  Mushfiqur Rahim (65) added 118 runs for the third wicket with Tamim.

•  Earlier Saad Nasim and Wahab Riaz both struck half centuries to lift Pakistan to what it hoped was a fighting total from a precarious 77 for five.
  India beats Indonesia

•  Shashank Theertha and Sacchitt Sharma won their singles matches in contrasting style as eighth-seeded India beat Indonesia 2-1 in a Group B league match of the Asia-Oceania world junior under-14 tennis tournament in Bangkok .

•  Shashank Theertha, who had finished runner-up to Sacchitt Sharma in the Road to Wimbledon Masters recently, fought for two hours and 20 minutes to tame Rafli Feby Tri Prasetyo .

•  In the second singles, Sacchitt lost just four games to beat Athallah Firdianto. In the mandatory doubles, Himanshu Mor and Sacchitt Sharma lost in the tie-break of the third set.

•  In the other match in the group, second-seeded Korea overwhelmed Hong Kong 3-0.

Archana wins doubles title

•  India’s Archana Kamath won the cadet girls’ doubles title at the French junior and cadet open in Metz .

•  Archana, the reigning sub-junior national table tennis champion, partnered Anezka Ilcikova of the Czech Republic to defeat the French pair of Lucie Gauthier and Leili Mostafavi in the final.

•  Archana and Ilcikova had lost the first two games but recovered to win and clinch the gold medal.

•  The Bengaluru player also claimed a bronze medal in the team event after a loss in the semifinals.

Afghan Cricket Board chief seeks India’s help

•  Basheer Stanekzai, manager of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, has said that the country holds Indian players in high esteem and is looking for help from the Indian side.

•  Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, during his visit to India next week, is most likely to seek a home ground for his national team in India.

•  “It will really help our players if India were to reserve a home ground for us. Our players are good; they need exposure and facilities like camps.

•  If the younger ones get to play in India, they can get noticed and picked for IPL [Indian Premier League] teams. Besides, we are also hopeful that the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] will help us with technical assistance and its facilities which are of international standards,” Mr. Stanekzai told .

•  Rajeev Shukla, IPL chairman, said India was keen that cricket should develop in Afghanistan and was ready to help. “In the past also, whenever Afghanistan has approached the BCCI for help, it has been forthcoming,” Mr. Shukla said.

•  Indian officials, however, are tight-lipped about Afghanistan’s demand for inclusion in the IPL. “India has offered to help with the construction of a stadium in Kandahar, but as far as IPL is concerned, it is for the owners of the teams to be convinced about, and be interested in, picking the players — after all, it is big money,” an official said.

Sharmadaa-Lee duo wins title

•  Sharmadaa Balu, partnering Pei-Chi Lee of Chinese Taipei, won the doubles title in the $10,000 ITF women’s Pro-Circuit tennis tournament, held at Heraklion (Greece).

•  The Karnataka player and Lee defeated Tamara Curovic (Serbia) and Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) in the final.

India holds Ukraine to a draw

•  India held holder Ukraine to a 2-2 draw in the third round of the women’s World team chess championship at Chengdu.

•  Padmini Rout was the star for India, as she held former World champion Anna Ushenina to a draw on the third board.

•  On the first board, Koneru Humpy drew with Anna Muzychuk, while on the second, Dronavalli Harika signed the peace treaty with Anna’s younger sister and reigning World champion Mariya Muzychuk.

•  On the fourth board, Soumya Swaminathan went down to Natalia Zhukova.

KXIP edge RR in ‘Super Over’ thriller

•  In a pulsating ‘Super Over’ contest, Kings XI Punjab handed Rajasthan Royals its first defeat in this season of the IPL.

•  After both teams made 191, KXIP made 15 in the ‘Super Over’, with Shaun Marsh belting Chris Morris for three consecutive boundaries. When RR batted, Mitchell Johnson yorked Shane Watson first up, and Wriddhiman Saha ran James Faulkner out as KXIP wrapped it up to break its three-match losing streak.

•  Needing five runs off the final delivery of the 20th over for outright victory, Axar Patel sliced Faulkner to the backward point boundary to force a ‘Super Over’. Kings XI had started the last over needing 14. Johnson and Patel ran twos off four of the five earlier deliveries.

•  It was Miller who brought Kings XI within striking distance with a scintillating 54 off 30 balls with five sixes, after Marsh’s 40-ball 65 had set the platform.
  Knights notch up another convincing win

•  The frailty of Delhi Daredevils’ batting came to the fore again. As a result, the Kolkata Knight Riders attack appeared better than it ever did this season.

•  That left KKR to chase down a sub-150 target and it did so with six wickets to spare for a third victory in this season of the Indian Premier League.

•  The Delhi bowlers did impress on occasion without really looking like stifling the rival batsmen chasing 147 for victory.

India falls to Israel

•  India lost to Israel in the third round of the World team chess championship.

• India thus lost its lead position and is placed sixth. With six rounds left, Israel is leading the table with eight points.

India loses to Russia

•  India went down to Russia in the fourth round of the women’s World team chess championship.

•  It was Koneru Humpy’s loss to a lesser-rated Valentina Gunina on the top board that set the Indians back.

•  On the second board, Dronavalli Harika defeated former World champion Alexanadra Kosteniuk, but Soumya Swaminathan lost to Girya Olga on the fourth board.

•  On the third, Padmini Rout held Aleksandra Goryachikna to a draw. Five rounds remain.

Sports Ministry de-recognises PCI

•  The Union Sports Ministry has de-recognised the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) with immediate effect.

• In a communication sent to the PCI, the Ministry has said that the decision has been taken in the wake of numerous serious complaints about poor management/conduct of the 15th National Para Athletics Championships at Ghaziabad from March 20 to 22.

•  The Ministry has urged the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to form an ad-hoc committee to work in place of PCI till a federation is granted recognition by IPC for para-sports in India.

Bangladesh sweeps Pakistan 3-0

•  Bangladesh whitewashed Pakistan in a One-Day International series for the first time after winning the third match by an emphatic eight wickets.

•  Bangladesh went into the match having already achieved a first ODI series win against Pakistan, and made more history.

•  Opener Soumya Sarkar struck his maiden century as Bangladesh raced to 251 for two in the 40th over, after bowling out Pakistan for 250 in 49 overs.

•  Soumya was not out on 127 off 110 balls, smashing 13 fours and six sixes.

Kings XI Punjab edges past Rajasthan Royals in ‘Super Over’ thriller

•  In a pulsating ‘Super Over’ contest, Kings XI Punjab handed Rajasthan Royals its first defeat in this season of the IPL.
  ICC guidelines to deal with illegal bowling

•  In a 14-page document titled ‘Identification of suspect/illegal bowling actions’ circulated to the umpires this month, the International Cricket Council has suggested ways to determine if a bowler has an illegal or suspect action, how to use the field technique, what to look for with certain types of bowlers and types of deliveries among orthodox spin bowlers, pace bowlers, wrist spin bowlers and doosra , how to best use video resources and evidence (through television) and assessment in a non-TV situation.

•  At the outset the ICC guidelines say that “dealing with suspect/illegal bowling actions is a major challenge for the umpires; not only is this a difficult skill, but the issue is also a sensitive and emotive one for the players and their team. Care is advised and one has to have a high degree of confidence when arriving at a specific conclusion in this matter. The availability of video evidence makes the job easier, but the challenge lies where umpires have to make judgments on the field with a naked eye. The umpires require strong teamwork and communication with each other, careful observation of the available and visible facts and the courage when committing to a course of action.”

•  The guidelines say bowling actions are divided into three clear categories under law: 24. 2 (Fair Delivery — the arm and ICC Suspect Bowling Action Policy). They are:

•  1. Correct / Legal Bowling actions: The actions of these bowlers are clean, have no visible straightening of the elbow joint to the naked eye, after the elbow has reached the shoulder level in the delivery swing, until the ball leaves the hand.

•  2. Illegal bowling actions: There is a clear and conspicuously visible straightening of the elbow joint after the bowling arm has reached the shoulder level before the ball leaves the bowler’s hand. When the umpires come across such bowlers with blatantly illegal actions, they should call and signal “No ball” after every such ball is bowled. The law takes it course with the warning and suspension procedure. However, to initiate this action of calling the bowler on field, the umpire needs to be satisfied that the bowler’s action is illegal

•  3. Suspect actions: The umpires suspect a possible straightening of the elbow joint as described above. The action cannot be branded as blatantly illegal, but there is enough visible evidence to create a doubt about the bowling action. In such a case the umpires will report the bowler for a “Suspect” bowling action, which will be later examined and tested for legality by the relevant authority in a laboratory environment

•  The report further says that “when the umpires see a bowler with a potentially illegal action, the naked eye will pick up a visible discrepancy with the action. That is the first clue. What can first catch the umpires eye is a jerky arm action or a visibly bent arm during the bowling action. While just a bent bowling arm is not sufficient to conclude that the action is illegal/suspect, it is enough to let the umpires know that the bowler’s action requires closer scrutiny; if required, the umpire may choose to stand on the off side to get a clearer picture of the bowling action.”

•  The umpires fraternity has been informed that though the spin and pace bowlers will have different mechanics and actions the two simple indicators in most illegal actions are (1) bowling arm flexed greater than 15 degrees at upper arm horizontal or just after and (2) front shoulder pulling away early.

•  What may surprise the followers of the game is the observation that “although the doosra is most commonly the delivery questioned, the normal action used by many orthodox spinners (mostly right-armers) is often compromised when bowling the orthodox delivery to make it easier to bowl a doosra if needed.”

•  The report has used illustrations of illegal and legal bowling actions. With regard to wrist spin bowlers the observation is: “It’s rare to find illegal actions amongst wrist spinners as the normal delivery action produces forces that tend to keep the bowling arm extended. However, some wrist spinners who tend to “push” the ball out of the front of the hand might still bowl with extension at the elbow.”

Super Kings register another facile win

•  There was an overwhelming feeling that if Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was to notch up a win, it had to be done by Virat Kohli and A.B. de Villiers.

•  Their fourth-wicket partnership had only begun to blossom, when an outstanding piece of wicketkeeping by M.S. Dhoni snuffed out all signs of life.

•  After de Villiers was sent back, RCB could not recover, and slipped to its third successive defeat.

•  The duo got together with 121 runs needed off 70 balls, in pursuit of 182. A couple of sixes from de Villiers kept the chase on track, before Dhoni stamped his presence.

•  Kohli and his partner hesitated on the second run, allowing Dwayne Smith to fire in a throw from deep cover. Though out of position, Dhoni gathered cleanly and deflected the ball onto the stumps to catch de Villiers short.

•  The next six wickets, including that of a perseverant Kohli (51 off 42 balls), could only manage 69 runs, giving Chennai Super Kings (CSK) its fourth win in five outings.

Daredevils break the Kotla jinx in style

•  Finally, Delhi Daredevils won at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

• Since that day a little over two years ago, nine defeats had followed. The last side to succumb to the host here was Mumbai Indians; Rohit Sharma’s team was a willing opponent too as Daredevils walked away with a 37-run win.

•  The victory was achieved thanks to a 154-run association between Shreyas Iyer and skipper Jean-Paul Duminy for the second wicket; last season, the latter largely fought alone in the face of adversity. However, in form of Shreyas, he now has a fearless companion at the top of the order.

•  At 65 for one in 10 overs, after being asked to bat, Daredevils was comfortable but apprehension hung in the air. Despite the loss of one wicket, familiar doubts existed — the host’s batting line-up had been noted for its lack of power. Shreyas and Duminy, though, were only readying themselves for a savage assault.

•  In the first half of the innings, there were only 27 dot balls. Only 13 arrived in the next 10. The major propulsion was seen from overs 11th to 14th; the score was doubled to 130.

•  After displaying a preference to keep the ball on the ground, Shreyas hit Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh for sixes. Duminy displayed an inclination to clear the boundary too, especially on the on-side. Kieron Pollard and Bumrah were flogged for consecutive sixes.

•  Angelo Mathews enhanced Daredevils’ prospects through a short but sublime effort and the host finished on 190.

•  In its reply, MI failed to place itself on equal terms. An ominous opening stand was broken when Lendl Simmons failed to time the ball as well as he wanted. The West Indian was caught by Duminy who ran backward from mid-on. Daredevils’ catching was particularly special on the night; Imran Tahir’s effort to remove Parthiv Patel was made special by his forward lunge to hold onto the ball.

•  Yet, Rohit Sharma’s presence meant Daredevils couldn’t rest easy. Unmukt Chand and Pollard didn’t threaten for long enough but Ambati Rayudu was more patient. 49 were added with Rohit in 33 before the MI skipper perished.

•  Duminy failed to claim an even tougher chance than the one he had held but on the next delivery, Rohit was caught by Shahbaz Nadeem who ran forward from deep midwicket.

•  This signalled curtains for the visitor as it lost four wicket in five deliveries. Imran Tahir was the wrecker-in-chief, claiming three of those batsmen. Thereafter, MI just delayed the inevitable.

•  This defeat leaves Rohit Sharma’s side with only one win from six matches. However, Daredevils have won three out of the same number of games.
  Bangladesh downs Pakistan

•  Shakib Al Hasan’s fine all-round showing powered Bangladesh to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan, its first Twenty20 international win over Pakistan.

•  Bangladesh lost three quick wickets but chased down a 142-run target with 22 balls to spare, fired by an unbeaten 105-run stand between Shakib (57) and Sabbir Rahman (51).

•  Left-arm spinner Shakib was also miserly with the ball and gave away just 17 runs in his four overs as Pakistan posted 141for five after Shahid Afridi chose to bat. Debutant left-arm paceman Mustafizur Rahman, 19, was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers, picking up 2-20 in his four overs.

India loses to Ukraine

•  India went down to Ukraine 2.5-1.5in the fifth round of the world team chess championship at Tsaghkadzor, Armenia .

•  With four rounds left, India is placed fifth, on five points.

•  Ukraine and China are on top of the table, with eight points each.

Bangalore wins the battle of the Royals

•  A.B. de Villiers offered value for money to the Twenty20 fan with astonishing hand-eye co-ordination in 47 not out off 34 balls, laced with six fours.

•  Virat Kohli led the charge with a compact, confident 62 not out off 46 balls as Royal Challengers Bangalore coasted to an effortless nine-wicket victory in an IPL-8 league match.

•  Rajasthan Royals’ target of 130 was too low to induce anxiety in the visitors dugout.

•  RCB replied with 134 for one in 16.1 overs, the batsmen partly making up for the stumble in defeats earlier in the competition and complementing another standout effort by the bowling unit, where Mitchell Starc lent his might with a three-wicket burst.
  Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly to find new India coach

•  Former stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will be part of the Committee which will find Indian cricket team’s new coach and the support staff.

•  The trio, according to sources, will provide input to BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya and Secretary General Anurag Thakur, who were on Sunday entrusted with the job of finding the new coach at the Working Committee meeting of the Board.

•  “The process to identify the coach and support staff for the Senior National team will be undertaken by the Hon. President and the Hon. Secretary,” a BCCI release said.

•  Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher’s contract ended at the end of the World Cup while former India cricketer Ravi Shastri was the with team in the capacity of Team Director. It is expected that assistant coaches Sanjay Bangar, Bharath Arun and R. Sridhar will be retained.

•  A Working Committee member made it clear that Ganguly will not be in the running for the coveted job even as speculation is rife that the former Indian cricketer is the top contender for the job along with Shastri.

•  “Since Sourav will be in the Committee, he at least technically does not qualify for the job,” the member said.

•  The Working Committee also authorised President Dalmiya to constitute a cricket advisory committee comprising of prominent cricketers who will share their recommendations on the overall conduct and development of the game.

•  The Working Committee has decided to recommend batsman Rohit Sharma for the Arjuna award for the year 2015.

•  The Working Committee also paid homage to the departed young cricketers from Bengal, Ankit Keshri, Gaurav Kumar of

•  Jharkhand and the unfortunate victims of the earthquake which devastated Nepal and India.

•  Kehshri passed away after sustaining a head injury during a CAB senior one-day knock-out match against Bhowanipore SC on April 17. He was in hospital for three days and was showing signs of recovery but died on April 20 after a massive cardiac arrest.

Super Kings embarrass Kings XI

•  After failing three times against Kings XI Punjab in the last season, including the eliminator that scuttled its chances of a fourth straight final, it was payback time for Chennai Super Kings as it thrashed last year’s runner-up by 97 runs to record its fifth win this season.

•  With this, the two-time champion climbs to the top of the table alongside Rajasthan Royals with 10 points from six matches, though the latter has played one game more. It was a listless performance from Kings XI, especially in the field.

Two golds for India

•  India won a gold and a bronze in the recently-held Asian Indoor rowing championship in Pattaya (Thailand).

•  Dushyant Singh and Succha Singh Tomar bagged the gold in the 2000m men’s light weight pairs category.

•  In the 2000m men’s open-pair event, Om Prakash and Rajesh Verma settled for a bronze with a timing of 6:22.50. This is the first time the Indians were competing in an indoor event.

Anand jumps to second place in world rankings

• Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand found his way back to the 2800 rating club and jumped to second spot in world rankings after beating local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the eighth and penultimate round of Vugar Gashimov memorial.

•  With his second victory on the trot in the strongest tournament of the year, Anand made sure of at least a second place finish as the Indian ace took his tally to 5.5 points out of a possible eight.

•  World champion Magnus Carlsen of remained in front after settling for a draw with erstwhile leader Wesley So of United States. The Norwegian took his tally to six points out of a possible eight and remains a half point ahead of Anand with just one round remaining.

England cruises to nine-wicket victory to go 1-0 up

•  England ended a wait of two-and-a-half years and 10 matches for Test success away from home with a nine-wicket win over the West Indies in the second Test.

•  Set a modest target of 143 after the home side folded for 307 in the second innings just after lunch, Gary Ballance (81 not out) and skipper Alastair Cook (59 not out) eased to the target with an unbroken 142-run second-wicket partnership after Jonathan Trott fell without scoring to Shannon Gabriel.

•  This first away win since a series-clinching seven-wicket triumph over India in Kolkata in December, 2012 means that England has retained the Wisden Trophy — the symbol of supremacy in Test series between the two nations since 1963 — going into the final Test in Barbados .

India crowned champion

•  Rakesh Kumar (69kg) and Harpal Singh (75kg) struck gold as India was crowned champion for the first time in the 22nd President’s Cup boxing tournament in Palembang, Indonesia.

•  The Indian team logged 33 points to finish ahead of second-placed Mongolia after Rakesh and Harpal’s gold medals took the country’s total tally to four gold and a bronze at the end of the event.

•  Their golden effort came after Shamjetsabam Sarjubala (48kg) and Pinki Jangra (51kg) clinched the yellow metal in the women’s competition of the tournament.

•  While Harpal defeated Korea’s Jee Deok-Seong, Rakesh got the better of Japan’s Hiroaki Kinjo in the men’s summit clashes.

•  Manish Kumar (60kg) settled for a bronze medal after losing to Mongolia’s Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai in the semifinals.

AIFF suspends three players

•  The All India Football Federation (AIFF) suspended three players for misconduct.

•  The AIFF disciplinary committee suspended Dempo SC’s Sheikh Jewel Raja and Prabir Das and Mohun Bagan striker Balwant Singh for two I-League matches after a meeting here. Raja was also fined Rs 50,000.

•  “Sheikh Jewel Raja is charged under Article 49(d) of AIFF disciplinary code for aggressive and unwarranted behaviour against the goalkeeper of Pune FC and hereby suspended for two matches and fined Rs. 50,000,” an AIFF release said.

•  “Prabir Das is charged under Article 58 for using abusive language towards the referee and hereby suspended for two matches. Balwant Singh is charged under Article 58 for using abusive language towards the referee and hereby suspended for two matches,” the release added.
  Gavaskar seeks Rs. 1.9 crore from BCCI for IPL duty

•  Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has asked for an amount of Rs. 1.9 crore as remuneration for services rendered as ‘President, BCCI-IPL’ during the seventh edition last year, which was held in UAE and India.

•  The Supreme Court appointed Gavaskar President, BCCI-IPL and directed BCCI to pay him adequate compensation as he had to put his various media commitments (commentary and writing columns) on hold during that period.

•  According to a source in the working committee, Gavaskar had written to the Board about the compensation. “Gavaskar has written a letter to the BCCI. In the letter, he has sought an amount of Rs. 1.9 crore,” a senior BCCI official, who attended the working committee meeting told .
  Historic MoU to ensure more IOC funding for athletes

•  The visit of International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has ushered in good tidings for Indian sports with the historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed ensuring more IOC funding for Indian athletes.

•  Besides, the IOC chief’s firm assurance to the members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that the National Olympic Committee’s (NOC’s) reworked constitution would not be changed any more has reduced the fear of further Government interference in the working of National sports bodies.

•  According to a highly-placed official in the IOA, the MoU, primarily signed between IOC and IOA ‘in the presence of the Government,’ would facilitate more inflow of funds to prepare athletes for the 2016 Olympics.

•  “Under the Olympic Solidarity Programme the IOA gets grants and funds for athletes. Now the IOC will ensure that they will go beyond that to help Indian sports develop.

•  “They suggested that the MoU be signed so that increased funding comes for the National Sports Federations (NSFs) which are under the Olympic programme. They will not only help athletes but also sports administrators and coaches. The actual funding will go through the IOA,” said the official.

•  “This (MoU) is for 2016 and after that it will be reviewed. At the moment they are focusing on 2016 and they may take it further till 2020.”

•  In his meetings with Government functionaries as well as IOA members, Bach also stressed that autonomy and good governance should go together.

•  “What he [Bach] is saying is we do not mind funding NOCs, but the funding must be in a responsible manner for a positive gain for the NSFs and the NOC.

•  “It (MoU) is a first-of-its-kind effort and they have never had such a tripartite agreement involving the Government and the NOC anywhere else,” the official added.

•  Bach’s words have comforted several sports bodies, who have been expecting more encroaching guidelines from the Government.

•  “In his address to the members, the IOC president stated that there is no re-look or change in the IOA constitution.”

•  As per the IOA’s new constitution — approved by the Government, IOC and IOA — the tenure and age stipulation is applicable to the office-bearers, who have been defined as the president, secretary general and treasurer.

•  But the IOA and NSFs are irked because of the fact that there is an attempt to use the National Sports Code to apply the age and tenure provisions to all officials of a sports body.

•  “You have to be reasonable and expect the NSFs to perform,” added the official.

Railways is the champion

•  Railways won the fifth senior National hockey championship when it defeated Uttar Pradesh 5-3 in a well-contested final. For third place, Air India outplayed Gangpur 5-3.

•  Railways took the lead nine minutes into the game through a penalty stroke converted neatly by Amit Rohidas. Talwinder Singh increased the lead eight minutes later before Rohidas scored a field goal in the 21st minute.

•  Uttar Pradesh, earning a penalty corner, found a goal through a Sunil Yadav but Railways added two more goals when Affan Yusuf and Rohidas found the target.

•  Uttar Pradesh knocked in two goals in succession through Yadav and Amir Khan but Railways sat on the lead to emerge a comfortable winner.

Vijay Shankar sportsman of the year, lifetime achievement award for Baskaran

•  V. Baskaran, India’s Olympic hockey gold medal winning captain (Moscow 1980), was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the GVSPL-TNSJA (Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists’ Association) awards function.

•  “I thank TNSJA for the honour. It is one of the best awards in the country in recognising excellence. I have been here before. But this year, I am on a different platform. I congratulate all the other award winners.” said Baskaran in his acceptance speech.

•  While Tamil Nadu cricketer Vijay Shankar was named the sportsman of the year, the sailing duo of Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan was bestowed with the sportswomen of the year honour.

•  The lifetime achievement award for a journalist went posthumously to Rayan Amal Raj, former sports in-charge, Indian Express. S. Dakshinamoorthy, who guided the Tamil Nadu volleyball team to the National Games gold recently was named coach of the year. The Tamil Nadu cricket team which finished runner-up in the Ranji Trophy was chosen as the team of the year

•  Karthikeyan Murali and G.K. Monnisha (both chess) were named young achievers. The newly-instituted jury awards went to Vr. Aravindh Chithambaram (chess), Abhinav Mukund (cricket), Suket Srenivas (yoga), A. Amalraj and A. Sharath Kamal (table tennis) and S. Prabagaran (volleyball).

•  Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan and Tamil Nadu sports minister S. Sundararaj graced the occasion.

•  T.N. Raghu, president, TNSJA, delivered the welcome address and K. Keerthivasan, secretary, proposed the vote of thanks. Television host Sumanth C. Raman anchored the function.

•  List of other GVSPL-TNSJA awards: Scholarships winners (Rs. 30,000 each): S. Nandhini (athletics), G. Chandramouleeshwar (badminton), C. Lakshmi (chess), S.B. Keerthana (cricket), G.V. Hariharan (football), B. Mithlesh (shooting), P.M. Abishiktha (swimming), N. Vidya (table tennis), S. Prasanth and R. Angamuthu (volleyball).

Humpy, Harika win individual medals

•  India may have missed the podium narrowly at the World Women’s team chess championship, which concluded at Chengdu, China, but Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika ensured that the team did not return empty-handed, as they won individual board medals.

•  Harika took the silver medal on the second board, with 5.5 points from eight rounds, behind Lilit Mkrtchian of Armenia.

•  Humpy won the bronze on the top board, with 5.5 points from nine rounds, behind Georgia’s Bela Khotenashvili and Russian Valentina Gunina.

•  The medals won by Humpy and Harika could assuage India’s disappointment at missing out on the bronze; the team finished fourth, behind Georgia, Russia and China.

•  The Indian line-up was completed by Padmini Rout, Soumya Swaminathan and Mary Ann Gomes.
  
   

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