Guwahati Town Club (GTC) lift Shiba Bora Cricket title

From our Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, Dec 25: Guwahati Town Club (GTC) lifted the 6th Shiba Bora Memorial Invitational Prize Money Cricket Championship Trophy defeating Tinsukia Railway Divisional Sports Club (TRDSC) by 26 runs in the final held at Chowkidinghi playground, here today.

GTC won the toss and decided to bat first but were bowled out for 140 runs in 32.3 overs. Chandan Raout top scored with 37 runs followed by Ram Gupta (30) and Deep Bora (25). Chirantan Das was the most successful for TRDSC with 3 wickets for 10 runs while Sunny Ahmed and Suraj Dutta captured 2 wickets each.

In reply, TRDSC collapsed for 114 runs in 32.3 overs with Bimal Goswami scoring 22. The other contributors of the TRDSC were Salim Ahmed (21) and Dipen Mahanta (21). Gakul Sarmah was the most successful bowler for GTC with 3 for 25 runs. The Additional Superintendent of Police, Devasish Sarma gave away the Man of the Match Award to Gakul Sarmah of the GTC. Sourav Bhagawati of the Dibrugarh Cricket Coaching Centre declared as the Man of the Series and won Rs 10,000.

The sitting MP Paban Singh Ghatowar gave away the trophy and prize money of Rs 30,000 to the winner while Commandant Subrajyoti Hazarika handed over the runners-up trophy and the prize money of Rs 20,000 to TRDSC. THE SENTINEL

Akhtar devastated at reports of liposuction

Karachi, Dec 20: Controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is devastated after reading the reports that he underwent a liposuction recently to remove excess weight from his body and said he is fully fit to be considered for national duty in Pakistan’s one-day series in Australia. “I was devastated at reading reports in the media that I had had liposuction surgery in Islamabad. Everybody is talking about it but nothing has happened,” Akhtar said, adding that he had a knee-surgery in mid-October. “I don’t need liposuction. I’m not fat, I’m a fit guy. I can reduce my weight by running. These claims have shocked my world. But I am a strong man and what people say about me just motivates me more,” he said in an interview with Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald. Last month, Akhtar’s doctor Tauseef Razaq was quoted by Pakistani newspapers as saying that he had advised the paceman against liposuction. Akhtar said he has a friend who is a plastic surgeon in Islamabad but insisted he has never gone for liposuction. “I visit this man as a friend. I go to his clinic now and then, and now it’s the story of the world. The truth is I am running and bowling. I am getting fit again,” he said. He is hoping to be picked for Pakistan’s one-day series against Australia starting on January 22. “I am trying my level best to get fit for the one-dayers. I’d love to play again in Australia, it’s my favourite part of the world in terms of playing,” Akhtar said. (PTI)

Oz batting collapse gives WI a chance

Perth, Dec 18: A late collapse of the Australian line up and an incredible day’s play by West Indies has left the third Test match delicately poised at the WACA ground in Perth.

At stumps on day three, Australia were precariously placed at 137 runs for the loss of eight wickets. They have an overall lead of 345 runs, with Nathan Hauritz and debutant Clint McKay at the crease.

Earlier in the day, the match emphatically swung in Australia’s favour when the tourists lost six wickets for 27 runs in the space of nine overs after the lunch break.

Fast bowler Doug Bollinger was Australia’s chief destroyer with the ball, finishing with figures of five for 70 from 20 overs, his first five-wicket haul in only his third Test match.

With West Indies trailing by 208 runs, skipper Ricky Ponting had the choice of enforcing the follow on, but decided against it and Australia eased their way to 66 runs for one wicket before disaster struck, Fox Sports reported.

They lost their next seven wickets for an addition of just 68 runs as Shane Watson (30 runs), Michael Clarke (25 runs), Mike Hussey (17 runs), Marcus North (one run), Brad Haddin (23 runs), Mitchell Johnson (five runs) and Ponting fell at regular intervals. PTI

Assam lost

Assam lost

By our Sports Reporter

GUWAHATI, Dec 15: Assam lost to Maharastra by 101 runs in the All India Women’s T20 Cricket Tournament held in Baroda today. Maharastra, who batted first in the match, scored 140 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Anagha Deshpande scored 40 while Monika Das picked up two wickets for 32 runs. In reply, Assam managed to score 39 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. THE SENTINEL

Decisive last round begins today

Ranji Trophy

New Delhi, Dec 14: The battle for quarterfinal places in the Ranji Trophy Super League has become fierce as the teams gear up for their last group matches, beginning on Tuesday.

So far only three teams are assured of a berth in the knockout stage. Tamil Nadu with 23 points from Group A and Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh with 23 and 18 points from Group B. That means the outcome of the last league games will throw up the remaining three teams while the other teams will be the finalists from the Plate division.

While Punjab, Mumbai and Railways will fight it out for the two places from Group A, Delhi and Baroda will be vying for the third team’s slot from Group B.

Both Mumbai and Punjab have 16 points from their six matches but the latter are placed in second place on a better run-rate.

However, 38 times champions Mumbai are better placed as they play a weaker Gujarat at home. Also, the result of Punjab-Railways match will be closely followed. Railways with 13 points are still in fray and will have the advantage of playing on home turf.

Railways need to win this home tie to be in contention for the last eight stage. Punjab just need a draw, even if they concede first-innings lead, to make the grade.

Andhra arrive, to play semi-final

GUWAHATI, Dec 13: A good match is on the card when Assam will take on Andhra in the semi-final of the Plate group Ranji Trophy tie which will get under way at the Nehru Stadium on Tuesday. Andhra team already arrived in the city to play the match and they had also done light work out in the stadium today.

The match is crucial for both the teams as a god performance in this game will ensure one team’s berth in the elite group next season. Andhra, who relegated to Plate group only next season, is very desperate to return into the elite league. On the other hand, Assam too is eying for the same.

Andhra qualified in the semi-final from group ‘B’ collecting 10 points from 5 matches. On paper, Assam is little ahead than their opponent in this match as individual performance of home team’s cricketers are much better then Andhra . However, the visitors had few cricketers too who could really became a threat for Assam. One of them is KS Sahabuddin who is the most successful player of Andhra Ranji team this season. Sahabuddin, an all rounder, had already scored 210 runs including a century in four matches that he turned for Andhra this season and also took 11 wickets. Former Team India member V Venugopal Rao, who is yet to fire with his bat, is also featured in this team. It may be mentioned here that, Venugopal played 16 ODIs for India.

The manager of Andhra team MS Prasad today said that a good match is on the card when Andhra and Assam will face each other in the semi-final from Tuesday. According to him, both the teams are equally balanced and who will be able to hold the nerve and deliver the best would earn the elite group berth. THE SENTINEL

Assam take command

GUWAHATI, Dec 11: Assam placed themselves into good position in the U-19 Cricket Championship against Vidarbha which got under way in Nagpur today. Vidarbha today bowled out for 155 runs in their first innings. Thanks to the fine spells from three Assam bowlers- Krishna Das, Arup Das and Jogneswar Bhumij. All three captured three wickets each in the first innings. In reply, Assam finished the day scoring 53 runs for the loss of two wickets in their first innings. Diptesh Saha and Kankan Das got out scoring 28 runs and 2 runs respectively while Sivsankar Roy (7) and Manashjyoti Gogoi (6) remained not out at stumps.

Arlen makes merry as Vidarbha on backfoot

GUWAHATI, Dec 10: A splendid performance by Assam bowlers helped the host to sniff a semi final berth in the plate group Ranji trophy championship. At the end of day three Vidarbha is struggling at 180 for the loss of six wickets after Assam declared its first innings at 392 for the loss of eight wickets at the Nehru Stadium here today.

The first two-day of the game was dominated by two Assam batsmen Dhiraj Jadhav and Tarjinder Singh. And now its bowler’s turn to showcase their supremacy as Arlen Konwar took charge and ripped through the Vidarbha batting line-up on day three to place Assam in driver’s seat. On the the way, the Assam spinner recorded his seventh 5-wicket haul in Ranji trophy.

Earlier, Assam declared their first innings on overnight score of 392-8 and Vidarbha started their first innings with a very cautions note. The opening pair added 37 runs before in-form pace bowler Abu Nechim Ahmed removed Ubarhande on his individual score of 16. The rest of the day was dominated by Arlen who picked up five wickets giving away 59 runs.

Among the batsmen of Vidarbha RS Paradkar is fighting a lone battle and the batsman remained not out at 58 runs when the day’s play came to an end. The other batsman who contributed some notable runs on the board is Paunikar (43).

It may be mentioned here that even if the match ends in a draw and Assam will book a semi final berth with three points. However, if Vidarbha manage to earn first innings lead, Assam will have to make way for them.

Scorecard

Assam 1st innings: 392-8 dec

Vidarbha 1st innings : AV Kolhar c Tarjinder Singh b Konwar 21 AV Ubarhande c Saikia b Ahmed 16 AS Naidu c Aziz b Konwar 7 R Jangid c Sinha b Konwar 13 RS Paradkar not out 58 AG Paunikar lbw b Konwar 43 HV Shitoot c Goswami b Konwar 4 AMI Sheikh not out 3 Extras (b 4, lb 8, nb 3) 15 Total (6 wickets; 66 overs) 180

Fall of wickets: 1-37 , 2-51 , 3-62 , 4-71 , 5-148 , 6-158

Bowling: AN Ahmed 17-5-42-1 S Tarafdar 9-5-16-0 DS Goswami 9-4-18-0 SV Bahutule 11 -1-33-0 A Konwar 20-2-59-5. THE SENTINEL

Assam close to win

GUWAHATI, Dec 9: Assam is in the verge to win the match against Orissa in the VM Trophy match held in Goalpara today. Orissa were struggling in their second innings losing nine wickets for a paltry of 52 runs. Amlanjyoti Baruah claimed four wickets while Roshan Alam bagged another three wickets to take his match haul to 12. Earlier, Assam were bowled out for 152 runs in their first innings. Wasiqur Rahman scored 43 runs and his two teammates Sanjou Brahma and Siddhartha Sankar Barua contributed 23 runs each. THE SENTINEL

BCCI had agreed to scrap Test series against SA: Report

LONDON, Dec 8: The BCCI had agreed to drop a three-match Test series from South Africa’s tour of India in February to cut down the itinerary to just a One-day rubber on the request of Cricket South Africa, according to a report. Citing a packed the schedule of its national team next year, Cricket South Africa had asked BCCI to drop the Test series from their earlier scheduled full tour, CSA chief executive Gerald Majola said. “The schedule is very crowded, with T20 World Cup in the West Indies and Indian Premier League, so we agreed with the BCCI that next year’s tour would be One-dayers only,” Majola was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “We will play the Test matches at a later stage that is convenient for both countries,” he said. Majola, however, said that the decision to drop the Test matches and play only One-Day Internationals had been taken some time ago, and ruled out that it was in response to India ousting South Africa from the top spot in ICC rankings. He said the BCCI had wanted South Africa to reschedule their ongoing home series against England so that the Proteas’ tour of India could take place earlier. “We couldn’t agree to that. This tour has been planned for some time, and we need to have our Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests. But this is definitely not a response to India taking over the number one spot on Test rankings - all this was agreed to long before that.” (PTI)

Umpire Mark Benson walks out

ICC denies charge, says it has nothing to do with the referral system

Adelaide, Dec 7: Mark Benson, one of England’s best known umpires, is expected to confirm that he has resigned from international cricket after walking out on the second Test between Australia and the West Indies in Adelaide.

Benson, 51, is suffering from ill health, according to the International Cricket Council. But it is understood he was upset after a number of his decisions were challenged under the controversial new referral system on the first day of the Test. His place was taken by the Pakistani official Asad Rauf.

Benson twice ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul not out following appeals for catches behind the wicket. Rauf, the TV umpire at the time, upheld Benson’s first decision, to the fury of the Australia captain, Ricky Ponting. However, the second verdict was overruled even though the Hot Spot technology employed in the decision review process did not reveal any contact between bat and ball and appeared to vindicate the standing umpire. Chanderpaul was ‘crucified’, according to one Australian newspaper. According to the website Cricinfo.com Benson ‘ranted’ in the umpires room at the close of play and expressed his dissatisfaction with the review system which, he is alleged to have said, “just makes umpiring harder”.

Chris Broad, a former England opener like Benson and the match referee in Adelaide, denied that Benson had quit because of his disaffection with the review system.

“There is absolutely no truth in that at all,” Broad said. “The review system is new to everyone and you’ve got to get used to it. He was an advocate of the review system to help umpires out. We spoke on the second morning and he said that he was feeling unwell. I was in India with him as well, where he was unwell. We thought this might well be another situation like that.

“He said he didn’t feel as though he could go on the field. We decided to leave him in the hotel. I phoned Dubai (ICC headquarters) and they decided that if it was a recurrence of high blood pressure or stomach problems he had in India he needed to get it sorted out. That was the reason that I was aware he went home.”

David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, said he did not know of Benson’s retirement. “Vincent van der Bijl, our umpires manager, has been speaking to him but I know Mark has a problem with his heart,” he said. “He was anxious about it. It was worrying him.”

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, also denied that Benson’s return home was because of the review system. Benson, who has a history of health problems, is a former Kent captain who played one Test for England in 1986. He became a first-class umpire in 2000, joined the international panel in 2004 and the Elite panel two years later. A high quality bridge player and a keen golfer, he has been able to escape from the pressures of modern umpiring. (Agencies)

Sangakkara stands in India’s way

Sangakkara stands in India’s way

3rd Test • India 4 wickets away to head the Test ranking as Sri Lanka post 274 on day four • Lankan captain notched up 21st hundred

MUMBAI, Dec 5: India were on the threshold of becoming the number one team in Test rankings as they closed in on an emphatic victory in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka despite captain Kumar Sangakkara’s gritty unbeaten century on Saturday.

After conceding a mammoth 333-run first innings lead, the visitors were struggling at 274 for six at close on the penultimate day which was marked by Sangakkara’s resilient unbeaten 133 under immense pressure.

The Lankans are still trailing by 59 runs at the end of the day and will have to bat out of their skins to achieve the near-impossible task of saving the game on a last-day Brabourne track which was expected to assist the bowlers.

The Indians, on the other hand, will look to wrap up the remaining four wickets quickly on Sunday and clinch the three-match Test series with a 2-0 margin.

Sangakkara and Nuwan Kulasekara (9) were at the crease at stumps on an absorbing fourth day’s play which saw a keen contest between the bat and the ball.

The Sri Lankan captain Sangakkara notched up his 21st Test century, his maiden one in India, to anchor the innings brilliantly but none of the other top order batsmen could stitch a substantial partnership with him to save the visitors.

Sri Lanka’s hopes of staving off defeat entirely rest on Sangakkara who has to bat out the entire day alongwith the tailenders or take a big enough lead which will take the game out of India’s grasp. THE SENTINEL

Assam all out for 165

GUWAHATI, Dec 4: Assam were bowled out for 165 runs in their first innings against Railways in U-19 Cricket Match held at Nurul Amin Stadium in Nagaon today. Sashank Negi (35), was the top scorer while Arminder Singh contributed 28 runs on the board. In reply, Railways were 21 for no loss in their first innings when the stumps were drawn for the day. THE SENTINEL

Attack is the best policy against Muralitharan: Sehwag

Mumbai, Dec 3: Virender Sehwag while racing to his sixth double century at a furious pace came down hard at Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and later said his plan was to dominate the world’s highest wicket taker and not allow him to dictate terms.

Muralitharan, who is just 12 wickets short of a staggering 800 Test victims, has been a pale shadow of his past in the ongoing series. Indian batsmen have dominated Muralitharan to an extent that he has contemplated quitting before the 2011 World Cup.

Mumbai’s historic Brabourne stadium had bounce and turn on the first day, but brought no luck for Muralitharan.

Assam, Orissa win in Women’s Cricket

GUWAHATI, Dec 2: Assam and Orissa won their respective matches in the East Zone T20 Women’s Cricket Tournament held at the NFRSA ground, Maligaon today. In the first match, Orissa defeated Tripura by 18 runs while in the second game, Assam beat Jharkhand by seven wickets.

Brief score: Orissa vs Tripura: Orissa 93 (20 overs), Ankita Das 24, Madhusmita Behra 23, Rima Chakraborty 2-19, Sweety Sinha 2-12; Tripura 75 (18.5 overs), Annapurna Das 14, Susmita Sahoo 2-15, Gangotri Behra 2-9.

Assam vs Jharkhand: Jharkhand 65-9 (20 overs), Ritu Dhruv 2-10, Jyoti Sharma 2-5; Assam 66-3 (17.1 overs), Devika Sathe 28 NO THE SENTINEL

Focus on winning series: Dhoni

MUMBAI, Dec 1: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Tuesday, said that his team was not giving much thought to the prospect of becoming world’s number one Test side as it would only add to the pressure when they take on Sri Lanka in the third and final match starting on Wednesday.

Leading 1-0 in the series, a win in the match starting, on Wednesday, would catapult India to the top of the ICC list but Dhoni said thinking about the rankings would not let the side focus on the task at hand.

“Winning the series is important but at the end of the day, if we do that, it will reflect in the ratings. We are not thinking about the ratings because we don’t really want to play under pressure,” Dhoni said on the eve of the third and final Test at the Brabourne Stadium.

“You want to play your natural game, the whole team wants to play according to the game-plan. We don’t really think about the ratings because we know that if we keep winning the games, if we keep playing well, the ratings will take care of themselves,” Dhoni said.

Even a drawn encounter would clinch the series for the hosts after their comprehensive victory by an innings in the second match at Kanpur. The high-scoring first Test at Ahmedabad was drawn.