By Our Reporter

 SHILLONG: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for construction of a new football stadium at Mawdiangdiang is being delayed owing to the magnitude of the project, it was informed on Sunday.

Commissioner and Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs DP Wahlang, while speaking to The Shillong Times, said the department is still working on the DPR and it would take some more months before the report is ready.

Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, had, last year asserted that the DPR would be completed by March this year. It is learnt that the State Government has already acquired 80 acres of land belonging to the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority, which would be handed over to the Sports department for the construction of the mega stadium.

An amount of Rs 70 crore has been fixed for the first phase of the construction and the amount would be escalated further for the second phase of the project.

Meanwhile, Wahlang has informed that the seating capacity of the stadium would be around forty thousand.

“The proposed stadium would be much bigger than JN Stadium and it would have all state-of-the-art facilities,” Wahlang added.

The State Government is also exploring the possibility of setting up a sports academy at the site, it was further informed.

The proposal for the new stadium, which would host national events like the National Games and other international sports meet, was conceived by the State Government last year.

Chennai: The semifinal door was virtually shut on defending champions Chennai Super Kings as they lost the crunch Champions League Twenty20 Group A clash by 12 runs to Trinidad and Tobago thanks toSunil Narine’s magnificent spell , here on Sunday.

Chasing a small target of 124, all Chennai could manage was just 111 for six as batting was extremely tough on the M A Chidambaram wicket.

Off-break bowler Narine emerged as star performer for T&T as be bowled exceptionally well, claiming three wickets and giving away just eight runs in his four overs.

Coming into the crucial, Chennai did well in the first half by restricting the rivals to a paltry 123 for eight but the target could have been less had they not conceded 49 runs in the last five overs.

T&T managed those 49 runs largely on the back of a heroic innings from Kevon Cooper, who hit a 10-ball 28 with the help of three sixes and a four.

Opener William Perkins (34) top scored for the T and T while Adrian Barath (23) also played a useful knock.

Australian paceman Doug Bollinger (3/30) and spinner Shadab Jakati (2/18) bowled well for Chennai in the first half as they shared five wickets between them.

The target was not too big but batting was not easy and the small score proved quite difficult to achieve for the Chennai, who now have lost two of the three matches played.

Dwayne Bravo was top scorer for Chennai with his unbeaten 32 but that only reduced the defeat margin.

Now Chennai need to win their last match against New South Wales Blues on Tuesday and hope that a mathematical miracle help them make the cut for the semifinals.

T and T registered their first win and interestingly they too stand a chance to qualify for the semifinals as they take on Cape Cobras in their last group outing on Tuesday.

Anything can happen in Group A and a clear picture will emrege only on Tuesday as all the teams including NSW, Cape Cobras, T&T along with Chennai, who have the poorest run-rate, are in the semifinal hunt at least mathematically. (PTI)

Chennai: Mumbai Indians paid the price of a listless batting display as they suffered their first defeat in the Champions League Twenty20 with a five-wicket loss to New South Wales here today.

Electing to bat, Mumbai could score a paltry 100 for seven in their last Group A league match with James Franklin top-scoring with a 51-ball 42 and only two other lower-order batsmen crossing double digit at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The bowlers, however, gave hopes of a memorable victory with a spirited fight by reducing NSW to 28 for five in the seventh over before they lost the plot and failed to break the sixth wicket partnership of Steven Smith (45 not out) and Ben Rohrer (26 not out).

The duo shared 73 runs from 10.4 overs for unbroken sixth wicket to guide NSW to their second win of the tournament by reaching 101 for five with three overs to spare.

Mumbai ended their league engagements on five points while NSW are on four with one match to play.

Defending a meagre total, Mumbai tried to make a match out of it as their fired up pacers ran through the NSW top order with Abu Nechim Ahmed (3/23) scalping three while Lasith Malinga (1/23) removed captain Simon Katich.

Ahmed removed Watson (3) with his first delivery with the ball first thudding on the pads of the batsman en route to hitting the stumps. Ahmed removed Watson (3) with his first delivery with the ball first thudding on the pads of the batsman en route to hitting the stumps. (PTI)

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes that crucial 28-run knock by Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevon Cooper hurt them badly as they face exit from the Champions League Twenty20 after losing today’s match.

T&T had scored 74 runs from 15 overs while batting first but managed to put 123 for eight on the board as Cooper batted extremely well towards the end.

Chennai lost the match by 12 runs after scoring 111 for six from their 20 overs.

Dhoni said he expected T&T to score 110 but Cooper’s knock made the target tough for them.

“I was looking to chase 110 odd runs. I knew even if they get a few good overs, I expected 110 runs but those extra 10 runs (that Cooper got) really helped them,” Dhoni said after the match.

Dhoni said getting the strokes was difficult as wicket was not tough.

“It became really difficult to rotate strike. They bowled in good areas. The ball was getting muddy and it was difficult to pick with their action,” he said.

The CSK skipper though was still hopeful for qualifying for the semifinals.

“We need to beat the next time, we’re playing the last game so if everything goes our way we’ll know what we need to do,” he said.

T&T skipper Daren Ganga was pleased to post a win as they had lost earlier two matches from winning positions.

“Always good to get a win. People back home will be pleased,” he said.

As his team also stand a chance to make the semifinals, Ganga was determined to win their last match on Tuesday. (PTI)

London: England pace spearhead James Anderson is disappointed to miss out on the upcoming tour of India as he wanted to prove his worth in the sub-continent wickets after his below-par performance in the World Cup earlier this year.

Anderson, who was in red-hot form in the just-concluded series between the two sides recently, was rested by the selectors for England’s tour of India for a five-match ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 match.

“Of course I was disappointed not to go to India,” Anderson was quoted as saying by ‘Daily Mail’.

“I didn’t have a great World Cup there and I wanted to go back and show I could bowl in those conditions. They said they were thinking of giving me a rest. I said I didn’t want one. And they made their decision.

“I remembered first how bad I felt physically at the end of the World Cup and how I was bowling and also what we have on our schedule for next year – Test series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and India and it all made sense,” he added.

Anderson knows that the selectors must have taken the decision keeping in mind the interest of the team but said he just wants to be in the thick of things and make up for the time which he lost because of injury.

“I have no quarrel with the selectors whatsoever because they make their decisions in the best interests of the team. But that doesn’t mean I won’t miss being involved,” he said.

“No one should need extra motivation for playing for England but from a personal perspective I’ve been through some tough times.

“Missing a whole year through injury was pretty average and there were doubts about whether I would ever be able to come back and bowl fast. Things did look bleak for a while and it took my wife Daniella to tell me to pull my head out of my backside,” Anderson said.

“I’m really enjoying playing at the minute, enjoying the team’s success and my personal success but you do recall times when you are injured or not selected and that does spur you on,” he added.

The 29-year-old right-arm pacer says he wants to be fit and keep improving to retain his position in the English team.

“I want to stay on top of my fitness to reduce the chances of injury and I want to keep improving as a bowler to keep guys knocking on the door at bay and to keep my spot on the team,” Anderson said.

“It is very hard to build up the kind of feeling we have in our dressing room and it is something you want to be part of and to protect, because it can be very easy to lose it,” he said.

“The emergence of new players keeps everyone up to their work. But that pressure is a positive thing.”

Anderson said though he missed out on the opportunity this year, he is looking forward to touring India next year for the Test series and show how good he can bowl.

“We want to create a legacy; we want to stay at No1 for as long as we can, to be the best England team for a long time, if not ever.

“Sure, I was not happy to miss out on this one-day trip to India. But I’ll still have the chance to go back there this time next year for the Test series and show them what I can do in their conditions,” he said.”And if winning there caps a year in which we beat all the others as well, maybe people will believe in our ambition as much as we do.” (PTI)

KARACHI: Pakistan speedster Umar Gul is set to kick up a storm as he has claimed that he saw English pacer James Anderson tamper with the ball last year during a Test match.

The seasoned pacer, who is tipped to make a comeback to the national side for the coming series against Sri Lanka, said ball-tampering was not new in international cricket and it was being done through legal and illegal methods by many bowlers and teams.

“I saw Anderson do it last year when we went to England. Then in the Ashes series Stuart Broad was seen roughing up the ball with his boots. All these methods are part and parcel of the game to obtain reverse swing with the old ball,” Gul said.

“Most of the bowlers tamper with the ball in international cricket,” he added.

Gul’s comments that are likely to ignite a new debate came when reporters asked him about the remarks made by Shoaib Akhtar in his controversial autobiography recently released in India.

The retired fast bowler, in his book, has admitted to ball-tampering and claims it is common in Pakistan’s domestic cricket. Shoaib has called on the ICC to legalise ball-tampering. Gul said if Shoaib was saying he tampered with the ball he must have done it.

“I can’t say much on that but yes many bowlers do it. When you use finger nails to scratch the ball it is illegal but when the fielders keep on throwing the ball on rough and dry pitches or the ball hits the advertising boards and sponsors signs, it is not illegal,” he said.

Gul said whether the ball was roughed up legally or illegally it remained an art to obtain reverse swing with it.

But Gul didn’t agree with Shoaib’s suggestion to legalise ball tampering insisting this would spoil the beauty of the game.

“It should not be legalised because laws can’t be changed on this and it should remain an art.”

Gul, who has taken 125 Test, 134 ODI and 47 wickets in T20 cricket, said Pakistani bowlers had always been accused of ball-tampering and it was nothing new.

“This talk about ball tampering is not new to us. But reverse swing is something that comes naturally to us and it is an art passed down from generation to generation,” he explained. (PTI)

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar’s sensational upset win over a European champion left him just one step away from Olympic qualification but it was curtains for Suranjoy Singh as he was ousted following a second-round loss in the World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.

Manoj advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the light welterweight division (64kg) with a thumping 19-7 win over European champion and fourth seed Raymond Moylette of Ireland.

Joining him in the next round from the Indian camp was Asian Games silver-medallist Dinesh Kumar in the light heavyweight (81kg) category.

The 12th-seeded Dinesh was declared winner at the fag end of his bout’s final round as his rival Bosko Draskovic of Montenegro was disqualified for bending too much.

Both the Indian boxers now just have to win their next bouts to qualify for the London Games next year from the first Olympic qualifying event.

Top 10 boxers (from 49kg to 81kg division) will make the cut for the Games.

While Manoj will next face China’s Qing Hu, Dinesh would be up against Australia’s CWG gold-medallist Damien Hooper.

“Manoj fought very intelligently. He targetted this guy’s body and invited him before coming up with his uppercuts and hooks. Dinesh was also very dominant throughout and even though Montenegro was not happy with the disqualification, the truth is that the guy was bending too much,” national coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu told PTI. But it was curtains for CWG gold-medallist Suranjoy in the fly weight (52kg) division as he lost 14-17 to Mongolian ninth seed Nyambayar Tugstsogt in the second round.

Suranjoy, who lost to Tugstsogt by just one point on countback in the opening round of the previous World Championships, was leading by a point in the second round before the Mongolian came back to notch up the win in the rollercoaster bout.

Suranjoy, an Asian Games bronze-medallist, opened the proceedings for India and finished a point behind at 4-5 in the first round.

He roared back in the second round to clinch nine points against his rival’s seven to make it 13-12. But Tugstsogt turned the tables in the final round to seal the issue.

“It is a very disappointing result. Even though Suranjoy fought back in the second round but in the final round, he got hit by a very nasty uppercut. That upset his rhythm and the Mongolian benefitted from that,” said Sandhu.

Dinesh was next up and he established a 14-6 lead by the end of the second round before his rival was disqualified. (PTI)

MOTEGI: Honda’s Dani Pedrosa kept his cool during an incident-packed Japanese MotoGP on Sunday, easing to victory over reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by more than seven seconds.

Spain’s Pedrosa sealed his third win of the season at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in 42min 47.481sec, while championship leader Casey Stoner, who started on pole, finished third despite ending up in the gravel during the fifth lap.

Pedrosa kept his calm throughout the action-packed race which saw five riders crashing out and three others handed ride-through penalties.

But despite his victory, Stoner, who finished more than 18 seconds behind Pedrosa, still leads Lorenzo (Yamaha) in the championship standings by a commanding 40 points with just three races remaining — in Australia, Malaysia and Valencia.

Stoner was in command early in the race before running off the track and into the gravel on lap five, which saw him drop to seventh.

He said his brakes had failed to respond after his bike began shaking but he managed to stay on his Honda and return to the track.

His Italian teammate Andrea Dovizioso led the race briefly before he had to perform a ride-through penalty for jumping the start.

Ducati’s Valentino Rossi crashed out on the first lap, dragging along Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who rejoined the race, and also almost taking down Lorenzo.

Pedrosa, who finished second in the previous three races, seized his opportunity and powered to the front, steadily increasing the gap with Lorenzo and earned a home victory for his team. (Agencies)