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Harare: A power-packed performance with the willow was backed up by a dominant show with the white leather as India won the final One-Day International against Zimbabwe by 83 runs to whitewash the hosts 3-0.
In reply to India’s 276/5, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 193 in 42.4 overs.
Chamu Chibhabha top scored for Zimbabwe with 82. Stuart Binny was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with figures of 3/55. Harbhajan Singh, Mohit Sharma and Axar Patel bagged two scalps each.
(IANS)
New Delhi: The Governing Council of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) on Wednesday confirmed that the competition will be discontinued with immediate effect.
The council, comprising representatives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia (CA) made the decision unanimously. As such, the 2015 edition scheduled for September and October will not go ahead as planned.
The competition was launched in 2009 by the three boards. The council determined that the discontinuation of the league was the most appropriate decision due to the tournament’s limited public following.
“This has been a difficult decision as the CLT20 provided added context to a number of domestic T20 competitions around the world such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India, Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia and South Africa’s Ram Slam T20,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said.
“It was a fantastic platform for players from around the world to showcase their talent and the participating teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience over the last six seasons. Unfortunately, off the field, CLT20 wasn’t sustaining the interest of the fans as we had hoped. This decision was made, after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved.”
Thakur added: “The Governing Council would like to thank everyone involved with the CLT20 and all those who participated in the tournament. Further details associated with winding down the league including settling with the three nations that had invested time and effort in the competition, will be completed very soon.”
(Agencies)
New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings, the most consistent team in the IPL, and Rajasthan Royals were today suspended from the cash-rich cricket league for two years for betting activities of their key officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra during the 2013 season.
The punishment was handed down by a Supreme Court- appointed three-member committee headed by former CJI R M Lodha which held that the betting activities of the two officials, Meiyappan, considered the face of CSK owners, and Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals, have brought the game of cricket, BCCI and IPL into disrepute.
The Committee also imposed sanctions including life suspensions for Meiyappan and Kundra from being involved in any cricket matches conducted by BCCI.
The Comnmitte was constituted by the Supreme Court in January this year with oits terms of reference being to announve the quantum of punioshment against Meiyappan, Kundra and the two franchisees — India Cements Ltd, owner of CSK and Jaipur IPL, owner of Rajasthan Royals.
Addressing the media after pronouncing their verdict, the three-member committee was asked whether they have contemplated action IPL COO Sundar Raman, who was also accused of wrongdoing.
Justice Lodha said it will be some time before his fate is decided.
“About Sundar Raman, we examined the material about him and we believe it requires further investigation. Vivek Priyadarshi has been appointed by the Supreme Court to look into it and he is examining the matter, we are awaiting his report. After that we will decide what will be the action,” he said.
The committee said its observations with respect to the much-talked about conflict of interest in the BCCI would be given after completing interactions with various stakeholders of the game.
“Conflict of interest questions have been raised, once we complete the process of interacting with all the stakeholders, we will take a view on that. That exercise is not complete. This order is confined to determining the quantum of punishment to the two individuals and the franchises,” he said.
“We have interacted with 40-45 people, we are yet to meet a few others. Once that is done we will decide what guidelines are to be given.
Our idea is to get inputs from all stakeholders. It is not confined to cricket administrators and politicians,” he added.
He also refused to comment on the criminal cases pending against the suspended officials, saying, “No aspect touching criminal liability has been decided by us.”
On whether the two franchisees would be allowed to participate in case their is a change in ownership, Justice Lodha that aspect is for the BCCI to decide.
“This question was brought to us. But the BCCI has to take a call and whatever the legal course is there, it is available. You must appreciate that we cannot address every aspect of the matter,” he said.
Asked whether the committee took a considered view of the impact this ruling will have on the players attached with the two suspended franchises, Justice Lodha said the game is bigger than the individuals.
“Players will not be attached to a franchisee which has been suspended. We thought that if cricket is bigger than individuals then financial loss to players and franchises is not of significance,” he said.
(Agencies)
London: Sania Mirza combined with former world number one Martina Hingis late Saturday to win a thrilling women’s doubles final in the 2015 edition of the Wimbledon championships.
They beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-5, BBC reported.
The win marked a first Wimbledon title for Mirza, who is the number one-ranked female doubles player. Hingis is ranked second.
Hingis was Wimbledon singles champion in 1997 and last appeared in a final at the All England Club in 1998, when she won the women’s doubles.
On Saturday, Mirza was making her first appearance alongside Hingis at a major doubles final and the pair combined to play their part in a match that thrilled the Centre Court crowd.
After losing the first set, Hingis and Mirza edged a closely-fought second set in the tie-break and then came back from 5-2 down in the third, winning five successive games to secure the title.
The 34-year-old Hingis also plays in the mixed doubles final on Sunday.
(IANS)
London: A vintage Leander Paes clinched his 16th Grand Slam trophy, winning the mixed doubles event of the Wimbledon Championship with legendary Martina Hingis after a dominating win over Alexander Peya and Timea Babos, here on Sunday.
Seventh seed Indo-Swiss pair drubbed the fifth seed Austrian-Hungarian team 6-1 6-1 in the lop-sided summit clash which was over in just 40 minutes.
It was Paes’ eighth mixed doubles title and second with Hingis. They had won the Australian Open early this year.
42-year-old Paes has eight men’s doubles crowns in his Grand Slam collection.
Paes’ win capped an incredibly successful Wimbledon for India as the country took three titles this year. Sania Mirza won the women’s doubles and Saumit Nagal won the junior boys doubles trophy.
For Hingis, it was second title in as many days, having won the women’s doubles with Sania. Overall it was 18th Major title for the Swiss and third in mixed doubles.
Hingis was back on court less than 24 hours after that win with Sania but showed no sign of fatigue. She served well and was terrific at the net, complementing the Indian Pro.
Paes and Hingis literally toyed with Peya and Babos, who surprisingly failed to put any resistance.
In no time Paes and Hingis pocketed the first set as all they needed was 19 minutes to nose ahead. Two broke Babos in the fourth game and Peya in the sixth for a 5-1 cushion. Hingis served out the set when Paes smashed a volley winner.
Paes and Hingis kept the pressure on the Austrian- American combination right from the first game of the second set. Peya failed to negotiate a Paes return at deuce to hand the seventh seeds grabbed the opportunity to break them.
Babos’ could not handle a Hingis return and the Indo- Swiss pair got an early break. There was no stopping them from there as they raced to victory in less than one hour.
Babos failed to hold her serve even once and it was on her return that Paes hit a deft backhand volley winner to close the contest.
(PTI)
Harare: India earned a narrow four-run victory over Zimbabwe in the first of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series at the Harare Sports Club here on Friday.
Put in to bat, India scored 255/6 in their allotted 50 overs with Ambati Rayudu scoring an unbeaten 124. He was well supported by all-rounder Stuart Binny (77) as the duo put up a 160-run partnership.
Donald Tiripano and Chamu Chibhaba were the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers, both clinching two wickets apiece.
In reply, the hosts batted well but fell short by four runs despite an unbeaten 104 from skipper Elton Chigumbura. Binny and spinner Axar Patel took a brace each for India.
(IANS)
Harare: Ambati Rayudu registered his second One-Day International (ODI) century and shared a 160-run partnership with Stuart Binny (77) to take India to 255/6 against Zimbabwe in their first of the three-match series at the Harare Sports Club here on Friday.
Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura won the toss and asked India to bat and his bowlers proved him right as India reeled at 87/5 in the 25th over. This was when Binny, who scored his maiden half-century, joined hands with Rayudu and the duo absorbed the pressure and scored at a very good pace to give India a competitive total.
Rayudu, who made his ODI debut here on July 24, 2013 against the same opposition, played a flawless innings more with the straight bat, while Binny used his long handle to good effect as India recovered well after the early wobble.
India got off to a poor start as opening batsman Murali Vijay offered a catch to Vusi Sibanda off left-arm pacer Brian Vetori bowling in the fourth over. The Test regular scored one run in 14 deliveries as Zimbabwe bowlers Tinashe Panyangara and Vetori operated with tight line and lengths.
After Vijay’s fall, Rayudu joined his captain Ajinkya Rahane in the middle and they forged a 59-run partnership for the second wicket to ease the visitors’ pressure.
Rahane looked solid for a 34 before the Mumbai right-hander offered a catch to Hamilton Masakadza off Donald Tiripano in the 18th over. After the skipper’s wicket, the Indian innings wobbled as Manoj Tiwary (2), Robin Uthappa (0) and Kedar Jadhav (5) fell cheaply.
While right-arm medium pacer Chamu Chibhabha accounted for Tiwary and Jadhav, Karnataka batsman Uthappa ran himself out.
With the tourists struggling at 87/5, all-rounder Binny and Rayudu combined well and shouldered the responsibility of pulling the team out of trouble. While Binny was the aggressor, Rayudu’s was a calculated effort.
Baroda batsman Rayudu took 72 deliveries to get his fifty while his next 50 runs came in 45 balls as India added 90 runs in the final 10 overs.
For Zimbabwe, Chibhabha was the best bowler as he picked up two wickets for 25 runs in 10 overs. Tiripano also bagged two wickets for 48 runs and Vetori got one wicket.
(IANS)
Mumbai: India national football team captain Sunil Chhetri was bagged by Mumbai City FC for a massive Rs.1.20 crore at the 2015 Indian Super League (ISL) players auction here on Friday.
Four-time All India Football Federation (AIFF) player of the year, Chhetri had the highest base price in the auction at Rs.80 lakh. The second edition of the ISL is scheduled to start on October 3.
The prolific forward has made 87 international appearances and scored 50 goals for India.
Chhetri plays for Bengaluru FC in the I-League and helped the club to the title in 2014, becoming the joint top scorer in the league that year. Chhetri didn’t play in the the first edition of ISL after his club refused to release him for the tournament.
Speaking after being selected in ISL, Chhetri said: “I am really excited to be a part of ISL this season.”
The auction of 10 footballers, which is ongoing here on Friday, has been divided into two phases, Pool A and Pool B, with five players in each group. Chhetri was the star action of Pool A of the auction.
Chhetri, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Anas Edathodika, Thoi Singh and Jackichand Singh comprise Pool A.
Midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who had a base price of Rs.27.5 lakh, was bought by FC Pune City for a whooping Rs.1.05 crore. In 62 I-League appearances, he has scored eight goals. The 28-year-old played also played for Bengaluru FC in the I-League last season.
Defender Anas Edathodika, 28, was bought by Delhi Dynamos for Rs.41 lakh. He featured for Pune FC in I-League last year. He has made 53 appearances for his club so far and has a base price of Rs.40 lakh.
Bengaluru FC’s midfielder Thoi Singh, with a base price of Rs.39 lakh, was bought by Chennaiyin FC for Rs.86 lakh. The 24-year-old has scored eight goals in 37 I-League appearances.
I-League club Royal Wahingdoh’s medio Jackichand Singh was lapped up by FC Pune City for Rs.45 lakh. The 23-year-old had a base price of Rs.20 lakh. The midfielder has five goals to his name in 18 I-league appearances.
(IANS)
Photo: Wimbledon
Wimbledon: Indo-Swiss tennis pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis came out with a clinical performance to enter the women’s doubles semi-finals of Wimbledon here.
The top seeds needed only an hour and 19 minutes to win 7-5, 6-3 in a quarter-final tie against ninth seeds Australia’s Casey Dellacqua and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova on Court 3 of the All-England Club on Wednesday.
Sania and Martina started off their campaign on an aggressive note, winning 20 of 27 first serve points. But Dellacqua-Shvedova came back strongly by winning a break point. However, that didn’t help their cause as the top seeds were too strong to break their opponents twice that led them to take the first set 7-5.
The second set saw the top seeds play more aggressively for their quest of the semis berth. The pair broke their opponents once and a double fault by Dellacqua-Shvedova made it easy for the Indo-Swiss combine to win the set 6-3 and advance to the last four.
Sania and Martina next face United States duo of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears for a spot in the final.
(IANS)
Misbah-ul-Haq with the series trophy. — AFP
by Dawn
Pallekele: Younis Khan steered his team towards a historic victory over Sri Lanka as Pakistan chased down a mammoth 377 on the final day to clinch the third Test and the three-match series on Wednesday.
Pakistan sealed their highest run chase and the second highest in the sub-continent with the win. It was also sixth highest successful chase in history.
Shan Masood fell for 125 but Younis Khan continued from where he left off on the fourth day as Pakistan achieved the target for the loss of just three wickets at the Pallekle International Stadium.
Younis was unbeaten on 171 with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (59) at the other end as the visitors registered a remarkable win.
Off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal drew Masood out of his crease with flight and beat him with turn to have him stumped but not before the opener had added 242 runs with Younis to turn the match on its head.
Even after Masood departed after scoring 125, Younis played with characteristic fluency, hitting 18 boundaries in his unbeaten 271-ball knock.
Pakistan entered the final day’s play needing a further 147 runs with eight wickets in hand on a wearing, but easy-paced Pallekele pitch.
It was the first time a visiting team scored more than 300 runs in the fourth innings to win a Test on Sri Lankan soil.
Pakistan’s previous highest successful chase was 314, made against Australia in Karachi in 1994.
Younis has scored 20% of all the 4th-inngs runs scored by Pakistan in the matches he has played – 1333 out of 6554 bat runs (excl extras)
— S Rajesh (@rajeshstats) July 7, 2015
Pakistan won the first Test in Galle by 10 wickets and Sri Lanka took the second in Colombo by seven wickets.
The tourists finally ended a long streak of not winning in Sri Lanka where they lost the last three series in 2009, 2012 and 2014.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 278 and 313; Pakistan 215 and 382/3