‘Last goodbye to 22 yards’ now on social media
New Delhi: A documentary charting the euphoria around final days of legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar in the game will be available on social media platforms, including Youtube from Saturday. The film portrays people’s emotions during Tendulkar’s last Ranji Trophy encounter in Haryana and the final Test-series against the West Indies in November last year. The documentary, prepared by sports journalist Jasvinder Sidhu, is called “Last Goodbye to 22 yards”. “This film is a tribute to the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen. This 38-minute film, subtitled in English, is like a documentary evidence of what exactly Sachin means to India,” said Sidhu. “It has been an amazing experience making this film. From a three-year-old girl to a 64-year-old retired government official, everyone eagerly wanted to be a part of Sachin’s journey,” he said. The film will also be available on Facebook and Twitter. Covering the tiny village of Lahli in Haryana, where Tendulkar played his last Ranji match, and to the metropolises of Kolkata and Mumbai, where he played the final two Tests of his cricketing life, the film captures the mood of the country during those emotional weeks. (PTI)
Karnataka put one hand on Ranji Trophy after extending lead
Hyderabad: Favourites Karnataka are well on course to win the Ranji Trophy title after extending their overall lead to 169 runs at stumps on the third day of their summit clash against Maharashtra, here on Friday. Starting the day at 230 for no loss, Karnataka were successful in their plan to bat Maharashtra out of the contest, as they finished the day at 474 for seven in reply to Maharashtra’s first innings score of 305. While No.3 batsman Ganesh Satish (117) was out on his overnight score, opener KL Rahul (131) completed a well-deserved century while veteran Robin Uthappa (72) also hit a stroke-filled half-century to consolidate Karnataka’s grip on the proceedings. While Maharashtra bowlers put up a far better show on the third day taking seven wickets with further addition of 244 runs, the four dropped catches during the second day will certainly come back to haunt the western state. Left-arm paceman Samad Fallah was pick of the bowlers taking three for 74 while medium pacer Shrikant Mundhe also got a couple of wickets for 89 runs. Off-spinner Chirag Khurana got two wickets for 110 runs in 39.1 overs. (PTI)
Ramsey out for up to six weeks, says Arsenal boss Wenger
LONDON: Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out for as long as another six weeks, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday. The 23-year-old Wales international has not played since Dec. 26 and is not expected to recover from his thigh injury until mid-March. Ramsey had a superb start to the season scoring 13 goals by the end of November but even without him Arsenal have been top of the Premier League for most of the time since then. “He will be out for four to six weeks,” Wenger told reporters at his media briefing before this weekend’s match against Crystal Palace. “It is a blow for us because we have also lost Theo Walcott for a long period and Mathieu Flamini is suspended for four matches so before we had a lot of players in those positions but not now.” Arsenal were knocked off the top of the Premier League when they drew at Southampton on Tuesday and Manchester City won at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. They face improving Palace at the Emirates on Sunday. (Reuters)
Napoli sign Brazil defender Henrique
ROME: Napoli have signed Brazilian international Henrique from Palmeiras for an undisclosed fee, the Serie A club announced. “SSC Napoli have bought outright the sporting rights of Henrique Adriano Buss from Palmeiras,” the club said in a statement. The 27-year-old centre back, who has played four times for Brazil, has signed a contract that will keep him at Napoli until June 2017. Napoli are third in Serie A, six points behind second-placed AS Roma and 12 behind league leaders Juventus. They travel to Atalanta on Sunday (1400 GMT) hoping to hold on to their place for the Champions League spots, with Fiorentina at Cagliari on Saturday (2330 hrs IST) looking to move level on points with Rafael Benitez’s side. (Reuters)
Should stick to Dhawan and Rohit as openers: Jaffer
Mumbai: Former Test batsman Wasim Jaffer on Friday expressed his disappointment at the way India openers performed in the last few overseas tours but said the team should stick to the same combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. “The kind of start Shikhar and Rohit provided before the start of South Africa series, I don’t think people would have even thought about (having different openers for different formats). But I am sure, the conditions were different,” Jaffer said when asked whether India should have different openers for different formats. (PTI)