Antigua: Leading from the front, skipper Virat Kohli smashed his 12th Test century to guide India to an impressive 302/4 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Viv Richards stadium here on Thursday.

Kohli remained unbeaten on 143 off 197 balls alongside Ravichandran Ashwin’s 22 not out off 69 balls.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, India were off to a disappointing start, losing the wicket of opener Murali Vijay (7) few minutes after start of play and Cheteshwar Pujara (16) cheaply just after lunch.

But Dhawan and Kohli put on a 105-run partnership for the third wicket to rescue the visitors.

The hosts struck just at the stroke of tea dismissing set batsman Dhawan to have India at 179/3 in 54.5 overs.

The fall of Vijay brought in No.3 Pujara, who along with southpaw Shikhar Dhawan (84) forged an unbeaten 58-run stand for the second wicket when the umpires called for lunch.

But soon after lunch, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo dismissed Pujara to end the 60-run partnership for the second wicket.

Pacer Shannon Gabriel drew first blood for the hosts with an accurate delivery on middle and off which climbed on Vijay, forcing him to nick and was well caught by Kraigg Brathwaite at second slip in his third attempt.

Vijay consumed 26 deliveries for his seven runs which included a boundary.

Dhawan, who has been long due for runs started vulnerably getting a thick edge off a short ball from Gabriel but survived only to flourish with a flurry of shots on the off-side.

The Delhi left-hander seems to have found his groove, with his knock coming off 74 deliveries and comprising four boundaries.

Pujara, meanwhile, stood rock solid taking 63 balls for his patient 14 on a pitch which had a bit of bounce for both spinners and pacers.

Earlier, keeping his five-bowler strategy intact, Kohli opted for three seamers in Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami while picking leg-spinner Amit Mishra alongside offie Ravichandran Ashwin.

The batting line-up relatively remains the same with Dhawan and Vijay at the top followed by Pujara, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Stumper Wriddhiman Saha will bat at No.6.

For the hosts, skipper Jason Holder has decided to go in with six batsmen and four bowlers, with middle-order batsman Roston Chase making his debut.

After the dismissal of Vijay and Pujara, Dhawan and Kohli played on well to complete the 100-run partnership for the third wicket.

Both the batsman completed their half-centuries and stayed on course for a big one.

But the 105-run partnership came to an end in the 55th over when Bishoo struck for the second time in the day to dismiss the left-handed batsman and take the advantage away from India, who had so far had a good session.

After tea, Kohli kept his sublime form going as he along with Ajinkya Rahane (22) helped the visitors cross the 200-run mark with ease.

But Bishoo showed his class yet again dismissing Rahane in the 68th over of the play to put breaks on India’s scoring.

Despite wickets falling at other end, the skipper played his natural game and with night-watchman Ashwin, kept the run flow going and helped India cross the 300-run mark at end of day’s play and stay on course for a big first-innings total on the second day.

India have won both their previous two Test series against the West Indies in 2006 and 2011.

(IANS)

Bengaluru: Promising golfer Amandeep Drall carded one under 71 on the final day to grab a comfortable victory in the KGA women’s Pro championship at the Karnataka Golf Association here on Friday.

Kolkata talent Neha Tripathi came second with a total score of 224 whereas Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal finished third with 225.

Amandeep had a shaky start and carded a bogey on the very first hole. The professional from Panchkula, however, regained her composure immediately and carded consecutive birdies on the second and third holes. She dropped another shot on the seventh hole in her front nine.

On her return journey, she carded two more birdies on the 11th and 15th holes, while dropping a shot on the 18th hole to finish the round with a total score of 213.

In the process, she claimed her second title of the season with a comfortable margin of eleven shots.

Neha too carded one under 71 on the day to take the second position. She started with aplomb, firing three consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, while dropping a single shot on the 8th in her front nine.

She carded two more bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes along with a double on the 10th in the latter half. However, an eagle on the 11th with a birdie on the 14th helped her to retrieve the situation, and finish the round with a total score of 224, one shot clear of Gursimar Badwal.

Gursimar had an indifferent day in the park and carded five bogeys on the seventh, ninth, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. However, two birdies on the 14th and 18th helped her to control the damage and she finished the round with a score of 3 over 75.

Local golfers Sharmila Nicollet and Trisha Sunil finished fourth and fifth with scores of 227 and 228 respectively after the final round.

The Tour now moves to Prestige Golfshire for the 11th Leg to be played from Tuesday.

(IANS)

New Delhi: Indian hockey legend Mohammad Shahid, who was being treated in a private hospital in Gurgaon, passed away Wednesday due to multiple organ failure.

“Yes, he is no more. He suffered multiple organ failure this morning. Its a sad news,” a source told PTI.

The 56-year-old legend was admitted to Medanta – the Medicity – earlier this month after a bout of jaundice and dengue made his condition worse. He was airlifted from Varanasi.

Known for his dribbling skills, Shahid was considered one of Indias greatest hockey players. He was a member of the V Baskaran-led Indian team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

He was also a part of the national team that won a silver medal at the Delhi Asian Games in 1982 and bronze in the Seoul Asiad in 1986.

(Agencies)

Chandigarh: Rio-bound doubles duo of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna defeated South Korean pair of Hong Chung and Seong Chan Hong 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 as the hosts took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Asia/Oceania Group 1 Davis Cup tie here on Saturday.

Both Paes and Bopanna dominated the proceedings against the Koreans to help India qualify for World Group play-offs.

Earlier, Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan overcame tough conditions and difficult opponents to win their respective singles matches and hand India a comfortable 2-0 lead on the opening day here on Friday.

(IANS)

Mumbai: England will play a five-match Test series followed by three One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals on their tour of India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Friday.

Making the announcement here on Friday, BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke said England will start their tour with the opening Test in Rajkot which begins from November 9 and then move to Vizag and Mohali. The last two Test matches will be held in Mumbai and Chennai.

England will, after a Christmas break, resume the tour from January 15 when they play the first of the ODIs in Pune. On January 19 they play in Cuttack and the third match is set to be played at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The T20s will be staged across Kanpur, Nagpur and Bengaluru.

(IANS)

PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 10: Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal players celebrate after their 1-0 win against France in the UEFA EURO 2016 Final match between Portugal and France at Stade de France on July 10, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Stade de France: Portugal gatecrashed France’s Euro 2016 party to win the European Championship for the first time in its history — and all this without leading star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid forward was forced out of the game with a knee injury in the first half, but Portugal regrouped and thanks to some heroic goalkeeping from Rui Patricio took the game into extra time before Eder struck with 11 minutes to go.

Portugal’s 1-0 win was all the more remarkable given in their previous 10 meetings — France had won all of them.

“Simple as doves and as wise as serpents,” is how Portugal coach Fernando Santos characterized his team’s success at Euro 2016.

Mumbai: India and Bengal pace bowler Mohammed Shami has been paid a compensation of over Rs 2.2 crore last month for having missed the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) season due to a knee injury despite which he played in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

As per the BCCI’s June, 2016 payments of over Rs 25 lakh, available on bcci.tv, Shami was paid Rs 2,23,12,500 for “Loss of pay for IPL season 2015 due to injury.”

Shami had played in the entire World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and in the preceding Test series in the former country with pain.He was among the leading bowlers for the country in the mega event and played a crucial role in India reaching the semi finals of the World Cup.

The decision to play despite an injury cost him heavily as he was unable to play in the 2015 IPL season and underwent a surgery. The BCCI has now compensated the 25-year-old UP-born paceman for his dedication to the country’s cause. In the World Cup, he picked up 17 wickets in five games and was the fifth-best bowler in the competition.

Shami, who later suffered a hamstring injury when India visited Australia in January this year and missed the Asia Cup T20 championship, is now in the West Indies as a member of the Virat Kohli-led squad that is to engage the hosts in a four-Test rubber.

Among other details put up by the BCCI are amounts paid as match fees for officials for this year’s IPL and the list includes former Test fast bowler Javagal Srinath (Rs 26 lakh) and ex-Kerala Ranji Trophy leg spinner K N Ananthapadmanabhan (Rs 26 lakh).

Several cricket associations affiliated to the BCCI, including permanent Test centres Mumbai CA, Cricket Association of Bengal and Tamil Nadu CA, have been given varying amounts exceeding Rs 25 lakh as their dues.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: In an attempt to raise awareness for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship schemes –Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao missions — a charity football match between Bollywood celebrities and members of parliament will be played on July 24.

Organised by Adhunik art gallery, the match will be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.

The parliamentarian’s squad will be lead by junior Uraban Development Minister Babul Supriyo, while the all-stars side has the likes of Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Dino Morea, among others. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is the brand ambassador of the event.

Speaking about the event, Adhunik art gallery managing director Bhasker Prakash said: “We are very much delighted to host all the Bollywood stars and members of parliament who will be playing on July 24 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the great cause.”

“We are also expecting a number of senior politicians, top bureaucrats, industrialists, Bollywood celebrities, Hollywood celebrities, diplomats of foreign countries in India and senior government officials from foreign countries to be a part of this event. No doubt Delhities will enjoy football on July 24,” he added.

(IANS)

Kolkata: The raging feud between two former Indian captains today turned uglier after Sourav Ganguly lashed out at Ravi Shastri saying the Mumbaikar was “living in a fool’s world” if he held him responsible for not getting the coveted India coach’s job.

Being pipped by Anil Kumble for chief coach’s post, Shastri created a controversy when he said that, Ganguly, part of the three-member high-powered Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) was not present during his interview which he found to be “disrespectful”.

Not one to pull back punches, a furious Ganguly today gave it back to Shastri questioning the former India all-rounder’s “seriousness” while giving an interview while “holidaying in Bangkok”.

“I just feel his (Shastri) comments are very personal. If Ravi Shastri feels that Sourav Ganguly was responsible for him not being the India coach, he is living in a fool’s world,” an angry Ganguly told TV channels, here today.

One of India’s most celebrated captains was even more terse while rebutting Shastri’s suggestion that next time, he should be “present” when an interview is being conducted.

“It angers me that he gave a suggestion that I should be available for such meetings. I have been a part of BCCI meetings for some time and I have always been available. My advice to Ravi is that when the coach of India is selected and one of the most important jobs, he should be in front of the committee and not sit in Bangkok and give a presentation while being on a holiday,” Ganguly said.

Taking a a dig at Shastri’s casual approach, Ganguly said that the former Team Director could have been present in person “especially when one of India’s greatest cricketers of all time spoke for two hours. I am hurt because of personal attacks.

“I read in a couple of newspapers and chose to ignore it. I am extremely saddened that he went on air to express his view. Specially someone who has been in every BCCI committee for the last 20 years. He has been in my position for selecting the coach 10 years back. He is aware of everything. I informed BCCI on June 19th and I have got official mails. I will circulate those mails once I get a clearance from BCCI,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly then went onto add,”I don’t know whether he is serious or not serious but I hope he was if he wanted one of the most important jobs in the game. But if he is talking about respect then he should have been here as well.”

“When you have a three-member committee and important people are involved in the decision making then it is not just about Sourav Ganguly, so these personal remarks have been very saddening.”

On Shastri making comments on public domain against him, Ganguly said:”He should have shown a bit more maturity, especially for someone who has been in such committees for more than 10 years.

On Anil Kumble starting his stint as Indian coach, Ganguly said: “I wish him all the luck. As I said he is the best in the world. He is one of the champions of Indian cricket and he will take this team forward.”

Ganguly did not give a direct answer to the queries about it his animosity with Shastri being an open secret in Indian cricket.

“From my side, I have never gone on to make any comments to the media.”
Ganguly then also gave his account of the itinerary of that day.

“I had informed BCCI that there was a CAB Working Committee meeting that day.

Being a president of CAB, I had to chair the meeting. Also the notification for a Working Committee is always given 14 days in advance whereas this meeting was fixed two days in advance. Ravi’s meeting was scheduled at 4:15 pm and I guess Ravi has got that received as well. BCCI had sent him the time.

“Now while interviewing other candidates, it went past 5 pm and I came out of the meeting. Then Mr (Ajay) Shirke (BCCI secretary) called me and said that others (Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and co-ordinator Sanjay Jagdale) are requesting if they can continue (with the interviews). I said “fine, let’s do that as it happens everywhere in the world. That’s exactly what happened and I feel comments are very personal in nature.”

(PTI)