Sports News

Sachin Tendulkar began his 21st year in international cricket with a cracking cover drive. The 36-year-old dispatched the relatively wide delivery and the Sardar Patel erupted in applause in anticipation. But two balls later Chanaka Welegedara brought one in from just outside the off stump to gate crash the party and stun the crowd into silence.

Riding on individual performances and still struggling to work together as a team, hosts Punjab are set to face a tough Tamil Nadu in the important Ranji Trophy encounter that kicks off here on Tuesday.

There wasn?t any hand-wringing, lip-biting angst in the Mumbai camp when the defending champions went through the paces at the MCA?s Bandra Kurla Complex on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh take on Baroda in their Super League Group ?B? Ranji Trophy encounter at the Mohan Meakins Ground in Ghaziabad from Monday.

The Ranji Trophy match that starts here on Tuesday features the top two teams of Elite Division Group B, but there is possibly a bigger gap between Karnataka and Bengal than the measly two points that separate them now.

When anyone bats with Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the other end, he more often than not plays the second fiddle in the partnership given the aggressive nature of the Indian captain. But on Monday the hard-hitting batsman was out scored by the more fluid Rahul Dravid during their 224 run sixth-wicket stand.

Scarred by the terror attack in Lahore this year that killed six policemen and injured seven players and officials, the Sri Lankan cricket team now fears for its safety in India.

Folklore has it that this tiny village, about 35km from Meerut, was the place where the Kauravas had tried to set ablaze the Lakshagrah (house of lac), where the Pandavas were staying during the Mahabharata days.

Abhinav Bindra?s absence in the National Rifle Association of India?s (NRAI) graded contracted system is just the most apparent lapse, it?s hardly the only one.

Sitting in front of a backdrop advertising a brand associated with Mohun Bagan, Jose Barreto praised his teammate of three seasons who has since fallen out with the club.

The Sri Lankan team management on Sunday sought to play down apprehensions over security expressed by team manager Brendon Kuruppu to security expert Lawrence Fernando back home in Sri Lanka.

The Indian team held a private party at the team hotel on Sunday to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's 20 years in international cricket. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni now wants the 36-year-old go out and cap the celebrations with his 43rd Test ton on Monday.

Sixteen one-day internationals, five Twenty20s and an Indian Premier League season have been played since the Indian team last featured in a Test match. The scheduling even prompted Sachin Tendulkar to comment on the need to play more matches in the longer version of the game.

India suffered a huge setback ahead of the Champions Challenge-I championship in Argentina with former skipper and drag flicker Sandeep Singh unlikely to take part because of a back injury.

With ace Indian paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal eying a top-50 spot in the world singles ranking, the spotlight would be on the tall player when the 19th Asian Table Tennis Championship kicks off at the UP Badminton Academy Hall here on Monday.

If the darting fuzzy yellow balls are too much to control, the International Tennis Federation now has a solution. And it?s colour coded.

There was a time when the people who welcomed an international break were players at Newcastle who hadn?t been called up.

Hockey India will now hold elections in the first week of February 2010, just a couple of weeks before the men?s World Cup commences in New Delhi, from February 28.

Ian Stelle, a former CEO of Scottish first division club Motherwell FC, gave it a miss, but the three Indian candidates ? Anil Kamat, Harish Rao and Sunando Dhar ? were present when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) conducted the interviews for the post of I-League CEO on Thursday.

East Bengal's revival continues, albeit a few questionable decisions. And it was again the forward duo of Abel Hammond and Yusif Yakubu who came up with the goods against a spirited Lajong FC. East Bengal now have 12 points. Lajong FC stay on eight.