Dhoni-led india to leave on 14th
Mumbai: The under-fire Indian squad, which flopped in the just concluded Asia Cup in Bangladesh, is set to depart from here on Friday for the ICC World T20 Championship, scheduled in the same country from March 16. India open their campaign, to regain the title that they won in its inaugural year in 2007, against arch-foes Pakistan on March 21 at Mirpur in a Super 10 game. Prior to the lung opener the team, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni - who had skipped the Asia Cup because of a side strain - would play in a couple of warm-up games against Sri lanka (March 17) and England (March 19). According to Cricket Board sources, Dhoni and under-fire coach Duncan Fletcher are not scheduled to address the media here prior to leaving for Dhaka.
Samuels leads WI to 27-run win
Bridgetown: West Indies returned to winning ways in the shortest variety, defeating England by 27 runs in the first T20 International of a three-match series at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Marlon Samuels, the star when the Caribbean side defeated Sri lanka in the final of the last World T20 in Colombo 17 months ago, led the home team’s effort with an unbeaten 69 as the West Indies totalled a competitive 170 for three on Sunday. Samuels finished off a good afternoon’s work in front of a celebratory full house with two wickets to seal the man of the match award. Wrist-spinner Samuel Badree put the tourists on the back foot early on with three wickets and although all-rounders Tim Bresnan (47 not out) and Ravi Bopara (42) made useful contributions, England were always struggling to keep up with the required rate and were restricted to 143 for nine.
Amit to lead challenge in WC
New Delhi: World Championship silver winner Amit Kumar Dahiya will spearhead the Indian challenge in their maiden Freestyle World Cup in los Angeles from March 15-16 in the absence of Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt. The Indian contingent, comprising of Dahiya (57kg), Bajrang (61kg), Rajnesh (65kg), Amit Dhankar (70kg), Praveen Rana (74kg), Pawan Kumar (86kg), Satyavrat (97kg), Krishan Kumar (125), along with three coaches Anil Mann, Anil Kumar and Vinod Kumar, left for the American city last night to attend a preparatory camp, which will conclude on March 13. Two-time Olympic champion Sushil and london Games bronze medallist Yogeshwar have been given rest by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) from national duties.
Namdhari in hockey national semis
lucknow: Namdhari XI continued its winning streak and defeated Rajasthan 3-1 in their last Pool A league match to book their place in the semi-finals of the fourth Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, here on Monday. With their fourth consecutive win, Namdhari topped the points table in the Pool A. In the second match of the day, Mumbai Hockey Association ltd were held to a 1-1 draw by Jammu and Kashmir. After a barren first half, Jammu and Kashmir went ahead in the 53rd minute through Amrinder Singh’s goal before the Mumbai outfit equalised in the 63rd minute through Kuldeep’s strike. The draw enabled Mumbai Hockey Association ltd to stay on the top of the points table, while Jammu and Kashmir with one win and one draw are placed fourth in Pool B. The third game of the day between Bihar and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) also ended in a draw. Meanwhile, in the last match of the day Himachal Pradesh eked out a fighting 2-1 win over Uttarakhand in Pool B. HP took the lead in the 28th minute through captain Gaurav Kumar. But Uttarakhand leveled the scores in the 56th minute from a penalty corner which was converted by Vikram Singh before HP scored the winner in the 65th minute when skipper Gaurav scored his second goal of the day to ensure the win for his side. In the Wednesday’s semifinals, Namdhari XI will take on Hockey Gangpur-Odisha while Mumbai Hockey Association ltd will face Hockey Maharashtra in the second. PNS/Agencies