Shillingford routs Zimbabwe
Roseau (Dominica): Spinner Shane Shillingford claimed his second 10-wicket haul at Windsor Park in less than a year as the West Indies cruised to a crushing innings and 65-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second Test. Shillingford claimed five for 34 to finish with match figures of 10 for 93 as the home side wrapped up the game on the afternoon of the third day. Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 175 and 141 (Sibanda 35, Shillingford 5/34) lost to West Indies 381/8dec by an innings and 65 runs.
Finn’s 6-for keeps Eng in hunt
Auckland: Fast bowler Steven Finn equalled his career best Test figures of six for 125 as England fought their way back into the deciding third Test against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday. At stumps on the second day, England were 50 for two, 393 runs in arrears after dismissing New Zealand for 443 soon after tea. Finn, who in the morning session claimed the prized New Zealand scalp of Peter Fulton for 136, ripped out the tail taking the final four wickets in the space of 21 balls. Brief Scores: New Zealand 443 (Fulton 136, Williamson 91; Finn 6/125) lead England 50/2 (Boult 2-26) by 393 runs.
Somdev to play Djokovic
Miami: Somdev Devvarman set up his biggest match of the season, a pre-quarterfinal clash with world number one Novak Djokovic in the ATP Miami Masters, after scripting yet another come-from-behind win, here. The unseeded Indian overcame world number 80 Edouard Roger-Vasselin from France 4-6 6-4 7-5 in the second round. Somdev saved seven of the nine break chances he faced in the match and that proved crucial in his win. With this victory, Somdev levelled the head-to-head record 1-1 with Edouard. The last they played was in 2009 when the Frenchman had emerged winner on Rhodes, Greece.
Bhupathi-Nestor in 2nd round
Miami: India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Daniel Nestor of Bahamas advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles event of the Sony Open ATP tour tennis tournament after a hard-fought victory over Richard Gasquet and Edouard Roger-Vasselin here. Bhupathi and Nestor notched up a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over their French opponents in a 79-minute opening round match in the $4,330,625 prize money hard court tournament. The third-seeded Indo-Bahamian pair came from behind to force a tie-break in the first-set but they were in control of the second set. Bhupathi and Nestor won 82 per cent of their service points and saved both break points they faced. They next play Spaniard Nicolas Almagro and his Austrian partner Oliver Marach.
Oly boxing drops head guards
los Angeles: Olympic boxers will fight without head guards in a pro-style scoring system starting this year after several significant rule changes by the sport’s international governing body. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) unveiled several rule amendments this week, but the two biggest changes will move the amateur sport much closer to the professional version. The rejection of headgear and the introduction of 10-point scoring could make the sport once known as amateur boxing more appealing to young boxers seeking professional careers. Male boxers at the world championships in October and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 won’t wear the protective head guards adopted before the 1984 los Angeles Games. Although the move might seem counterintuitive in preventing brain injuries, the chairman of AIBA’s medical commission, Charles Butler, cites numerous medical studies that suggest fighting without head guards will decrease concussions.
BCCI long way from accepting DRS
New Delhi: ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson has suggested that India’s bad experience of the Decision Review System when it was first trialled might have played a part in BCCI’s refusal to accept the controversial technology. Richardson said it could take a long time for the BCCI to accept DRS and former players like Anil Kumble, who is now ICC Cricket Committee chairman, can play a role in influencing the Indian Board. “They are a long way from saying ‘it’s a good idea’. I don’t think it’s necessarily only the administrators, say people like Anil Kumble for example. He’s going to take some persuading,” Richardson said. “He (Kumble) was captain of the India team when they first trialled it and the technology wasn’t very good. The players weren’t used to it so every time the Indians asked for a review it went against them,” he told ‘Test Match Special’ radio programme of the BBC. “I think it was Sehwag or one of their star batsmen who was given out by mistake by ball-tracking. It’s going to take a lot of influencing.”
Jeev gives himself a shot at title
Kuala lumpur: Jeev Milkha Singh gave himself an outside chance to make a bid for the Maybank Malaysian Open with a fine run of five-under through 11 holes in the third round of the tournament that has now been reduced to 54 holes. Six-time winner on Asian tour and Four-time winner on European Tour, Jeev charged from three-under through two rounds to eight under after just 11 holes in the third round. He was lying tied 10th but only three shots behind the leader, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who was 11-under through two holes in the third round. Shiv Kapur, the only other Indian to make the cut when the second round was completed on Saturday, shot 71 in second round to make the cut and was then even par through seven holes in the third to get to one-under for 43 holes and tied 42nd.
Mushtaq Ali T20 shifted to Indore
New Delhi: The final stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, the domestic Twenty20 competition, have been shifted from Ranchi to Indore. The first phase of the tournament ended on Friday, and the ten teams which qualified will now head to Indore for the next round which starts on March 26. The BCCI said the change in venue was because of “the non-availability of tickets to Ranchi for most of the teams that have qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament”. The top two teams from each of the five zones qualified for the second stage of the tournament, which has the sides playing another league after being divided in two groups of five each. The final is scheduled for March 31, at Indore. PNS/Agencies
WIJfuIJ IJ8for of the series as he finished with figures of five for 57. This was his ninth five-wicket haul in 16 Test matches. Siddle’s scalp also made him joint highest wicket-taker in a series against Australia, 27, with Anil Kumble who had achieved the feat in 2004. Ashwin can go ahead in Australia’s second innings.
Another milestone was achieved by the Indian spinners when Pragyan Ojha got his first wicket of the innings, James Pattinson, caught by Kohli, to complete his 100th wicket.
Brief scores
Australia: 262 (Peter Siddle 51; R Ashwin 5/57) trail India: 266/8 in 68.1 overs (M Vijay 57, C Pujara 52; N lyon 5/94) by 4 runs at stumps on Day 2.