India slip to 3rd but Kohli on top
Dubai: The Indian cricket team dropped a rung to third but Virat Kohli continued to top the batting chart in the latest ICC one-day rankings announced on Wednesday. India lost their second position to Sri lanka, while Australia maintained their place at the top of the heap. Sri lanka's 3-2 series win over England helped them gain one ratings point to move up to 112, the same ratings points as India. However, when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, Angelo Mathews' side edged out India. In the individual rankings, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained steady at sixth followed by Shikhar Dhawan at eight spot (a loss of one position). Rohit Sharma entered the top-20 at the the 20th position. Among the bowlers, seasoned off-spinner Ravindra Jadeja slipped a position to fifth to be only Indian in the top-10.Elsewhere in the list, off-spinners James Tredwell of England and Sachitra Senanayake of Sri lanka entered the top 20 for the first time at the end of the five-match ODI series between the two sides that finished at Edgbaston on Tuesday. South Africa batsman AB de Villiers occupies the second place and Australia's George Bailey holds the third position.
Koevermans names 30-member squad
New Delhi: National coach Wim Koevermans has named his squad of 30 for the training Camp for the Incehon Asian Games. The camp kicks off in Bangalore from July 1 and will continue till July 20. All India Football Federation will also provide an exposure tour for the team after the camp in Bangalore is over. Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh and Francis Fernandes are the three senior players who have been named in the squad. The rest of the squad comprise of U-23 players. The squad: Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Ravi Kumar, Kamaljit Singh. Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Keenan Almeida, Deepak Devrani, Joyner lourenco, Shankar Sampingiraj, Sandesh Jhingan, Sanjay Balmuchu, Salam Singh, Narayan Das, Shouvik Ghosh. Midfielders: Pronoy Halder, Rowlin Borges, Clifton Dias, Alwyn George, Siam Hangal, lalrindika Ralte, Dhanpal Ganesh, Milan Singh. Forwards: Francis Fernandes (Senior Player), Romeo Fernandez, Seiminlen Doungel, Sunil Chhetri (Senior Player), Robin Singh (Senior Player), Haokip Thongkoshim, Alesh Sawant, Mandar Rao Dessai.
AFI announces qualifying marks
lucknow: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Wednesday announced the qualifying marks for selection of the Indian athletics team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3. More than 700 athletes will be competing at the 54th National Inter-State Athletics Championship, starting here at the PAC Stadium from June 5 to 8, trying to make the qualifying grades for the CWG. The qualifying marks were decided by the AFI in consultation with the National Chief coach Bahadur Singh and Chairman of the Selection Committee, G S Randhawa. The National Inter-State Championship will serve as the qualifying meet for the Glasgow Games. Meanwhile, those Indian athletes who are currently undergoing training in various centres abroad will be aiming to make the CWG qualifying grades at meets that are recognised by the IAAF. The AFI announced the qualifying marks for a total of 42 events in athletics, including 21 each in the men's and women's categories where it feels that Indian athletes have potential to win medals in the CWG. Bahadur Singh is hopeful that the athletes will go all out to make the cut in the National Inter-State Championship for the CWG.
Clarke puts hands on ICC Test mace
Dubai: Australia captain Michael Clarke on Wednesday got his hands on the Reliance ICC Test mace, a symbol of his side's status as the number-one ranked Test side. Clarke, who inspired his side to victories over England and South Africa in the past season, received the mace in Brisbane today at a training camp for the upcoming season. This is the first time since August 2009 that the mace is in the possession of Australia. After receiving the mace, a delighted Clarke said: "Having the mace back on Australian soil is something that brings us a great amount of pride. "It is a great achievement by everyone involved with the team our support staff, our families, the staff at Cricket Australia and our fans who have supported us through a couple of really tough years. "For me personally, as captain, this is an incredibly satisfying achievement and one of the proudest moments of my career."
anirban lahiri seeks Queen's Cup win
Samui (Thailand): Star golfer Anirban lahiri hopes marital bliss will spur him to victory at the Queen's Cup starting at the Santiburi Samui Country Club tomorrow and earn a ticket to the US Open. The current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, who tied the knot with sweetheart Ipsa Jamwal last week, can qualify for the year's second Major with a triumph in the USD 300,000 Asian Tour tournament. Following one victory and three other top-10s this season, the 26-year-old will start as one of the favourites as he also has an impressive track record here with four previous top-10s at a venue nicknamed the "Beast of Samui". A strong field which includes seven other players from the top-10 of the Order of Merit and leading Thais such as Thaworn Wiratchant, Prom Meesawat and Arnond Vongvanij stands in his way but lahiri is determined to enjoy the week with his wife on the holiday isle of Samui.