Sports

Cape Town, January 01: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni reckons that the dressing room atmosphere of this current Indian team has been “the best” during his five years in international cricket.

“It’s the best dressing room atmosphere, I have felt in the last five years that I have played international cricket.

Most of the guys have achieved a lot in their Test careers. So they are enjoying their cricket and it feels a very complete dressing room now,” Dhoni said on the eve of the crucial third Test against South Africa.

Durban, January 01: Pakistan-born spinner Imran Tahir was finally granted South African citizenship, but he won’t be considered for the final Test against India in Cape Town. The leg-spinner, however, can feature in the five-match ODI series starting Jan 12.

Tahir was granted South African citizenship by naturalisation Friday and is now eligible to play for the Proteas with immediate effect. Tahir has also fulfilled the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) regulations to represent his new country, not having represented the country of his birth at any level for more than 4 years.

Lodon, January 01: England pacer James Anderson has revealed that he learnt a few tricks of how to keep batsmen guessing which way the ball will swing from Indian strike bowler Zaheer Khan which helped him transformed into a lethal bowler in the last few years.

Anderson, who played a big role in England retaining the Ashes, said he picked up from Zaheer how to hide the ball in hand so the batsmen didn’t know which way it would swing when he visited India in England’s tour of 2008.

Karachi, January 01: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels that Shahid Afridi’s leadership in the ongoing New Zealand tour has not been up to the mark and the players were also not performing to their abilities.

Akram told a television channel that Pakistan lost the Twenty20 series in New Zealand because the players were not playing as a unit and if they continue like this it will be difficult to make an impact in World Cup starting next month.

“Because the team is not playing as one they are facing many problems and their performances are suffering,” he said.

Kuala Lumpur, January 01: Malaysia’s national football coach, K. Rajagopal, under whom the country won the AFF Suzuki Cup, should be honoured with Datukship, the traditional knighthood, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) has urged.

Under Rajagopal, the country won the recent SEA Games in Laos and on Wednesday clinched the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time by beating Indonesia, MIC president G. Palanivel told Tamil Nesan, the Tamil language daily.

Palanivel said Malaysian football has been on the rise since Rajagopal took charge of the national under-23 side.

New Delhi, January 01: Numbers alone can never define a legend called Sachin Tendulkar. Yet it`s difficult to do away with number crunchers when you talk of a legend whose only competitor over the years has been he himself.

Cricket in 2010 »

2010 will definitely be an year which will be etched in the memories of cricket crazy Indians for two of the most astonishing feats in world cricket.

New Delhi, January 01: Sachin Tendulkar, an inspiration for millions of Indians because of his feats in cricket, can now be seen in IAF fatigues along with the Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the force’s 2011 calendar.

The cricket icon, who was recently conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain, features in the calendar wearing a green flying suit with helmet tucked under his left arm.

Sydney, December 31: England batsman Kevin Pietersen Friday said his team would not have retained the Ashes had he not been in the forefront of a campaign to remove former coach Peter Moores.The star player also said that his stepping down from England captaincy that time also helped the team.

Sydney, December 31: England pacer James Anderson Friday said Ricky Ponting’s absence in the fifth Ashes cricket Test in Sydney will be a “big loss” for the struggling Australian side.Anderson said despite the Australian captain’s poor form, Ponting remains a threat to the opposition because of the wealth of experience he possesses.

“He has been out of form but he is a fine player and a real wicket that we cherish and we really want to get so I think he will be a big loss for them,” Anderson was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph Friday.

Sydney, December 31: Michael Clarke brushed off the strong public sentiment against his appointment as the captain and said he would use lessons learned from several years under Ricky Ponting’s tutelage to re-ignite the bumbling Australian team.

Reacting to a poll conducted by The Age, Clarke said: “I think it’s part and parcel of what we do now, as a professional cricketer these days you’re spending a lot of the time in the media. I’ve copped a lot of criticism throughout my whole career, it’s no different now.”

Sydney, December 31: It has been a watershed moment for Australian cricket.

The sport-crazy country’s national team has been humiliated during the Ashes series against an England side they would once routinely embarrass.

Australia’s crushing innings and 157-run defeat in Melbourne marks the end of a golden period where the team had dominated the game for the best part of a decade.

New Delhi, December 30: Indian opener Virender Sehwag has been rested from the One-day series against South Africa with a sore shoulder.Rohit Sharma will replace Sehwag for the five-match series, starting January 12.

Murali Vijay, who is in the Test squad, has been asked to stay back as a back-up opener.

“Sehwag has been advised to withdraw from the ODI series against South Africa to tend to his shoulder,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement.

Cape Town, December 30: In a major jolt to the Indian team preparing for the ODI series against South Africa after the last Test is over, star opener Virender Sehwag was virtually ruled out of the 50-over series owing to injury problems.

Sehwag has been advised to pull out of the ODI series starting in January and would be replaced by Rohit Sharma. Murali Vijay has also been asked to stay back after his duties with the Test squad are over.

London, December 30: Some 350 best cricketers of the world will go under the hammer Jan 8-9 in Bangalore during the auction for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Indian cricket board said Wednesday that top Indian players like Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh will be up for grabs for the 10 franchises. But the participation of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in the auction is subject to court orders.

Durban, December 30: V.V.S. Laxman says his crucial 70-run stand in the second innings with Zaheer Khan was crucial in setting up India’s 87-run win over South Africa in the second cricket Test in Durban on Wednesday.

“I just wanted to build a partnership with the lower order. The stand with Zaheer was key,” said Laxman, who was adjudged Man of the Match.

Durban, December 29: Relieved after notching up a series-equalising win against South Africa in the second Test, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Wednesday’s triumph and performance of the past couple of years has shown that the team can do well anywhere in the world.

“More often than not you are one-down in a series. I said in the first press conference that we don’t start well. We’re more used to batting under pressure,” he said after the 87-run win in the second Test.

New Delhi, December 29: Former national champion and coach Vimal Kumar will contest for the post of Badminton Association of India (BAI) president if a re-election is held as per the sports ministry’s instructions.

The ministry has taken up cudgels against BAI president V.K.Verma, who was re-elected for a fourth term in June, which was in ‘violation’ of the government’s guidelines of a maximum tenure of three years for office bearers.

The ministry has already asked BAI to amend its constitution and hold fresh elections to avoid getting de-recognised.

New Delhi, December 29: Jamia Millia Islamia and Delhi University (DU) won their knock-out matches in the North Zone Inter-University men’s hockey tournament here Wednesday.

Jamia thrashed Bundelkhand University 10-0 while DU defeated Lucknow University 5-1 in two of the seven knock-out matches played at the Jamia campus grounds. Devi Prasad of Jamia scored a hat-trick in the game.

Bangalore, December 29: Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India’s (FMSCI) newly- elected president Vicky Chandhok Wednesday said he would try to improve the infrastructure for motorsport in the country.

Mumbai, December 29: Some 350 best cricketers of the world will go under the hammer Jan 8-9 in Bangalore during the auction for the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Indian cricket board said Wednesday that top Indian players like Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh will be up for grabs for the 10 franchises. But the participation of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in the auction is subject to court orders.

Bangalore, December 29: Playing on his home turf, Chikkarangappa took advantage of Rigel Fernandes faltering in the third round to take the overall lead in the All India Junior and sub junior golf here Wednesday.

Chikka, who was three-under for the front nine with three birdies in a row from fifth to seventh holes, had an up-and-down back nine with six bogeys and one birdie for a day’s work of 74.

Durban, December 29: India on Wednesday won the second test match against South Africa on Wednesday at Durban.

The final wicket of Morne Morkel was taken by Ishant sharma.

Chasing a target of 303 runs, South Africa resumed at 111 for three, but lost four wickets in the morning session itself.

Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth picked up three wickets, Harbhajan Singh took two wickets.

Melbourne, December 29: England captain Andrew Strauss Wednesday said retaining the Ashes on the Australian soil was like winning a “holy grail” and credited months of meticulous planning behind the team’s success.

England won the fourth Test here Wednesday by an innings and 157 runs to retain the urn on the Australian soil after 24 years.

Strauss said winning away has always been tough and he is “immensely satisfied” with the team’s performance.

“Winning the Ashes in Australia has always been a bit of a holy grail for English sides,” Strauss was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

London, December 29: Australian spin legend Shane Warne hailed the England team for retaining the Ashes Wednesday and said they deserved to win the series.

Warne said his countrymen were outplayed by England, who won the fourth Test by an innings and 157 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“I have been impressed with England. They have played the better cricket and deserve to win the series. They have probably only had three bad days of cricket and, in a series, the best side always wins,” Warne was quoted as saying by The Sun.

Warne was pained to see Australia lose.

Melbourne, December 29: Ricky Ponting will be reviewing his future with Australian cricket after the team lost the fourth Ashes Test by an innings and 157 runs here Wednesday, with England retaining the urn.After Australia lost another chance to win back the Ashes, Ponting was gracious and forthcoming after the defeat that saw England taking a 2-1 lead in the series with one more match to go.