Himachal take 118-run lead over Assam
Dharamsala: Seam bowler Rishi Dhawan returned with a five-wicket haul to lead a disciplined bowling attack as Himachal Pradesh dismissed Assam for a meagre 81 in their first innings before themselves reaching 199 for four on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Thursday. Skipper Dhawan led from the front with figures of 13-5-29-5, while his pace partner VS Malik (3/24) took three wickets and Akshay Chauhan (2/23) accounted for two here. For Assam, only three batsmen – Niraj Patel (17), J Syed Mohammad (17) and Dheeraj Jadhav (13) – reached double digits after they were put in to bat. The visitors innings folded in just 32.5 overs. In reply to Assam’s first innings score, Himachal’s batsmen batted with responsibility and almost everyone in the top and middle order contributed to the team’s cause. All of them wasted their good starts, however, as they lost wickets after reaching 30s and 40s. At stumps, Nikhil Gangta was unbeaten on 43 and giving him company at the other end was Rishi Dhawan on 36. Brief scores: Assam 1st innings: 81 all out in 32.5 overs (Niraj Patel 17, J Syed Mohammad 17; Rishi Dhawan 5/29, VS Malik 3/24). Himachal Pradesh: 199 for four in 56 overs (Nikhil Gangta batting 43, Sangram Singh 40, Prashant Chopra 39, Paras Dogra 38). (PTI)
Zol to captain India U-19 in ACC Asia Cup
New Delhi: Maharashtra batsman Vijay Zol has been named as captain of the India Under-19 squad for the ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, which will begin on December 28. Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Vishwanadh, who was part of the Under-19 team for the Asia Cup in 2012, has been appointed Zol’s deputy. “The All-India Junior Selection Committee met in Delhi on 27th November to pick the Indian team for the ACC U-19 Asia Cup to be played in the UAE in December 2013–January 2014,” said a statement from Anurag Thakur, Joint Secreatry, BCCI. Zol shot into the limelight when he scored an unbeaten 451 during a domestic U-19 match in 2011. During the U-19 World Cup last year, he scored 151 runs in six matches at an average of 25.16. The tournament will also feature teams from India, Pakistan, UAE, Nepal (Group A) and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Malaysia (Group B). India will open their campaign against the hosts UAE on December 28 while the much awaited contest against the arch-rivals Pakistan will take place on December 31. Squad: Vijay Zol (captain), Sanju Vishwanadh (v-c), Akhil Herwadkar, Ankush Bains, Ricky Bhui, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Amir Gani, Karan Kaila, C V Milind, Avesh Khan, Rishi Arothe and Monu Kumar Singh. (PTI)
Ind lifters bag 87 medals at C’wealth c’ship
New Delhi: Youth Asian Games champion Ragala Venkat Rahul (77kg) stole the show with half a dozen gold medals as India signed off with a whopping 87 medals at the Commonwealth Youth and Junior Championships which concluded in Penang, Malaysia, on Thursday. In the senior men’s division, Sivalingam Sathish Kumar (77kg) won three gold medals. India signed off with a overall tally of 47 gold, 28 silver and 12 bronze medals at the event. The boys were the stars of the show with a combined tally for 13 gold medals. In fact, they were the biggest contributors to the tally with 21 medals in all. The girls contributed 18 medals. (PTI)
NSFs must amend constitution by Dec 31
New Delhi: The Sports Ministry has issued a fresh deadline to eight National Sports Federations (NSFs) that have not yet amended their constitution in accordance with the sports code, asking them to submit the required documents by December 31, failing which their government recognition could be “impacted”. The Ministry, in a letter, issued to eight NSFs – Deaf, Fencing, Handball, Jump Rope, Karate-Do, Wrestling, Wushu and Yachting – said failure to submit the required documents incorporating the guidelines of age and tenure in their constitution will lead to non-renewal of recognition for 2014 and stoppage of grants to the concerned Federations. (PTI)