India colts thrash Sri lanka
Dubai: India colts salvaged some pride as they comfortably beat their Sri lankan counterparts by 76 runs in a fifth-place semi-final play-off match at the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Monday. In the absence of skipper Vijay Zol, the Sanju Samson led side piled up 291 for seven in the stipulated 50 overs at the ICC Cricket Academy ground in Dubai. In reply, Sri lanka were dismissed for 215 in 48.1 overs as Deepak Hooda starred with an all-round performance of unbeaten 76 off 57 balls with the bat and three for 31 in 10 overs with his off-breaks. Shreyash Iyer (59) and Samson (40) also made useful contributions. Brief Scores: India U-19: 291/7 in 50 overs (Deepak Hooda 76 no, Shreyash Iyer 59 no) beat Sri lanka U-19: 215 in 48.1 overs (Sadeera Samarawickrama 58, Deepak Hooda 3/31) by 76 runs.
Ind to prepare for wc in holland
Ranchi: Aiming to prepare in the best possible way for this year’s World Cup, the Indian hockey team will train at the event’s host city — The Hague, Netherlands — from April 11 to 19. India had earlier decided to skip the Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from March 13 to 23 to tour a European nation keeping in mind the preparations for the World Cup. Indian hockey’s High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans said India will play five to six matches during their nine-day tour. “It was a conscious decision to miss the Azlan Shah Cup and go for a tour to Europe to give the players an idea what to expect during the World Cup,” Oltmans said.
Nat’l Basketball C’ships in delhi
New Delhi: The 64th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women will be organised from February 26 to March 6 at the Thyagaraj Stadium here, the BFI announced on Monday. Defending men’s champions Uttarakhand will be hoping to repeat their last year’s stupendous performance, while Indian Railways, in the women’s section, would like to maintain their dominance and carry on with the unblemished record of last six years. In all 51 teams, 27 men and 24 women, will participate in the country’s top most competition.
Somdev zooms to 78, Yuki slips
New Delhi: Courtesy his Delhi Open triumph, India’s numero uno singles player Somdev Devvarman jumped 18 places to become world number 78 in the latest ATP rankings. Somdev had collected 100 ranking points after beating top seed Alerksandr Nedovyesov in the final on Tuesday. India’s number two singles player Yuki Bhambri slipped to 146, a loss of three places.
Desert Storm rally flagged off
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki’s challenging motorsport rally, the 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, was on Monday flagged off here. Around 250 motorsports enthusiasts will traverse over 2200 kms over six days. Often called Mini Dakar, the competition is fraught with perils and undulating terrains mixing shifting sand dunes, dried up lake beds and routes that can be big challenge for best navigators in the world. This year’s event will run in two different routes, one for the Xtreme and Ndure, and two for the Xplore category. There are 55 teams in Xtreme Category, 30 in Ndure, 20 teams in Xplore and 35 Bikers during the flag off. PNS/Agencies