Daily Excelsior.........sports

JCC enters final of Cricket tourney .........

KV Hiranagar celebrates Annual Sports Day...........

Tarun beats Pankaj in Pool category...........

Badminton team leaves for Veteran nationals.............

Dhoni attracts highest price in landmark auction

MUMBAI, Feb 20: India’s charismatic one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today emerged as the hottest property in world cricket after being sold out for a staggering USD 1.5 million dollars (approx Rs 6 crore) in a landmark auction which marked the beginning of a lucrative new era in cricket.

The 26-year-old Dhoni set the tempo for the first ever auction of world’s top cricketers when he was acquired by the Chennai franchisee for a three-year period, adding another mind-boggling chapter of monetary gains in the BCCI’s multi-million dollar Indian Premier League scheduled to begin in mid-April.

Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who recently made headlines for being at the centre of a racial row involving Harbhajan Singh, proved that the controversy had not dented his brand value as he attracted the second highest price of USD 1.35 million (appro Rs 5.4 crore) with the Hyderabad team securing his services.

Eight franchise owners, including corporate tycoons like Mukesh Ambani and liquor baron Vijay Mallya and bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Priety Zinta, bid for 77 cricketers in a pioneering process which has the potential to change the face of the game.

Flamboyant Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya, despite being aged 38, was sold out to Ambani-owned Mumbai team for a whopping Rs 3.9 crore, while Australian speedster Brett Lee (Rs 3.6 crore), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Rs 3.6 crore), Harbhajan Singh (Rs 3.4 crore), West Indian opener Chris Gayle (rs 3.2 crore) and retiring Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist (Rs 2.8 crore) were some of the other big draws.

The high-profile Twenty20 venture, to be held from April 18 to June 1, will be the first time that international cricketers will ditch their national allegiances to play for privately-owned sides, after organisers raised more than a billion dollars to fund the tournament.

The IPL’s five ‘icon’ players — Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Yuvraj Singh (Mohali), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) — were not part of the auction but have been guaranteed 15 percent more than the highest paid player at their franchise.

Symonds’ high price came as a surprise as he went over his base price of USD 250,000 by a whopping margin even though team Hyderabad knew he may not be available in the first edition of the Twenty20 league because of his commitments for the Australian national team.

Hyderabad also won retiring Australian wicket-keeping great Gilchrist to their ranks with a successful bid of USD 700,000.

Each contract was for three years with the amount bid for to be offered every year by the franchise to the player it had acquired. In other words, Dhoni will be paid Rs six crore each year during his three-year contract.

IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi later said that some bids had gone surprisingly low while others had gone surprisingly "very very high".

"The rationale for this can be explained only by the franchises. They may have been swayed by the players personality, glamour and endorsements (value)," Modi explained during the course of the day-long process at a swanky south Mumbai hotel.

"Dhoni and Symonds were bid across the board," he added.

"This is the second most important day in world cricket, according to me. The first was in 1994 when the monopoly of Doordarshan came to an end when we won the court case. This opened up the market forces," top BCCI official I S Bindra told reporters.

"Its a landmark day. I have not seen anything like this before even on a cricket field. It has been amazing and full of drama," he said.

Bindra also pointed out that for the first time market forces were determining the worth of a player instead of the selectors.

"This is for the first time that market forces are determining the price of a player and not the selectors. This is how free market economy works," he said.

Ace Sri Lankan batsman and former captain Sanath Jayasuriyas name went under the auctioners hammer for USD 975,000 (Rs 3.9 crore) to become star Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkars Mumbai franchise teammate.

India s exciting all rounder Irfan Pathan commanded USD 925,000 while champion South African all rounder Jaques Kallis was bought over by team Bangalore, for USD 900,000, the amount which team Mohali, bid successfully for buying star Australian fast bowler Brett Lee.

Two other members of the all-conquering Australian team captain Ricky Ponting and powerfully built opener Matthew Hayden could not draw big money mainly because they all are doubtful for the first year of the event.

Ponting will play under former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly for Shah Rukh Khans Kolkata franchise who bought him at a comparatively cheap price of USD 400,000, only 75,000 USD over his base price.

Lee, bought for 900,000 USD by Preity Zintas team Mohali, will play under Yuvraj Singh if hes available. He was more modestly priced at 300,000 when the bid started.

The hard-hitting hayden was sold to team Chennai, which had earlier bought Dhoni in the first round, for USD 375,000 (base price USD 225,000).

West Indian opener Chris Gayle, who can bowl off spin, was bought by team Kolkata for 800,000 in the fourth round.

Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan, injured and out of action for almost two months, went under the hammer for USD 450,000 and will play for Bangalore with his India mates icon player Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. S Sreesanth, another India pacer, would play for team Mohali and was bought for USD 625,000.

Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik, middle order mainstay Younis Khan, flashy all rounder Shanid Afridi, fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd Asif were all sold for different franchises who, however, exercised caution when their teammate Mohd Yousuf was offered at the auction.

Expectedly none chose to buy Yousuf, another of Pakistan’s middle order mainstays, as he’s fighting a court battle with the rebel Indian Cricket League of Essel group over alleged breach of contract.

New Zealand cricketers captain Daniel Vettori, wicket keeper batsman Brendon McCullum and all rounder Jacob Oram were bought by Delhi (GMR Group), Kolkata and Chennai respectively for USD 625,000, 700,000 and 675,000.

After six rounds, four cricketers Glenn McGrath, Micheal Hussey (both Australia ), Yousuf and Tatendu Taibu (Zimbabwe) were left unsold and joined the central pool to go under the auctioners hammer later.

Ganguly and Dravid were eager participants in the bidding process which also saw former Test captain Mansur Ali Pataudi and former pacer T A Sekhar present as member of the IPL governing council and as vice present of Delhi fanchise owners GMR sports respectively. (PTI)

England recover for historic draw with NZ

NAPIER (New Zealand), Feb 20: England snatched an unlikely draw against New Zealand after earlier staring down the barrel of defeat in a thrilling — and historic — fourth one-day cricket international here today.

After being sent into bat England made 340 for six, and when it looked as if New Zealand had paced themselves to pull off a high-scoring victory, bolstered by a century by Jamie How, they were denied victory with the final delivery.

The hero for the tourists was Luke Wright, called on to bowl his first over of the game and the last of the match when all other options were gone and New Zealand requiring just seven to win.

With New Zealand needing two to win off the last ball, Wright pitched up to Daniel Vettori and restricted him to a single.

On a day Tailor-made for batters, the 340 by each side was the highest-scoring ‘tie’ in the history of one-day cricket internationals and was also the highest ODI score overseas by an England side.

In the process they ensured the series stays alive going into the fifth and final match in Christchurch on Saturday.

England captain Paul Collingwood said he never felt overly confident with 340.

"We knew it was a good total but at the same time we knew how good the pitch was and pretty much up until six overs to go we were dead and buried.

He said he decided to use Wright at the end when he saw New Zealand start to falter six overs from the end.

"I wanted to get it down to the last over and back Wrighty because I knew how good he was with yorkers and hopefully nail them and be the man for us on the day — and what a great over it was," Collingwood said.

Disappointed New Zealand captain Vettori meanwhile admitted his team "blew it."

"It was a perfect chase heading into the last six overs and we just blew it. We should have won that game extremely comfortably," he said.

It was a match which started with an audacious gamble by Vettori, who won the toss and spurned the chance to bat on a generous wicket on the grounds that New Zealand play better when they are chasing a target.

When they set out after their enormous target of 341, the signs were there that Vettori’s hunch was right, as Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum raced to 70 off the first 10 overs.

How joined McCullum and they put on 91 for the second wicket before McCullum went for 58. (AGENCIES)

Bhupathi-Knowles advance to second round

NEW DELHI, Feb 20: Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles got off to a smooth start in the USD 436,000 Sap Open as they easily advanced to the second round of the hard court event in San Jose, United States.

The second seeded Indo-Bahamas pair beat Czech duo of Jaroslav Levinsky and Radek Stepanek 6-2 6-3 in the first round encounter last night.

They next face American pair of Scott Lipsky and David Martin who beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia and Jim Thomas of the U.S 4-6 6-3 12-10 in their opening match.

Another Indian in the fray Rohan Bopanna has combined with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq-Qureshi and the pair will open their campaign against Belarusian Max Mirnyi and Great Britain’s Jamie Murray.

Meanwhile, India’s second best woman player Sunitha Rao surrendered meekly to seventh seed Edina Gallovits to bow out of USD 185,000 Copa Colsanitas WTA tour event in Bogota, Colombia.

The Indian lost 1-6 2-6 to her Romanian opponent. (PTI)

J&K, ITBP ice hockey match ended in draw GULMARG, Feb 20: Jammu and Kashmir and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) ice hockey match ended in draw after both teams scored one goal each. Ice-hockey is a part of 5th National Winter Games-2008 being held here since yesterday. Hosts J&K and ITBP launched attacks on rival goals from the word go despite minus ten degree temperature. However, no team could score in the first half. J&K forged ahead when Abdul Hakeem draw the first blood for them who scored after beating all rival players. However, their joy short lived after Punchuk Namgiyal levelled the score few minutes before the long whistle. (UNI)

J&K Police trounces Jehlum Industries *Excelsior Sports Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: J&K Police notched up a nine run win against Jehlum Industries in a pulsating contest today in the ongoing 2nd Anandrathi Corporate Twenty20 Cricket Tournament being played at Jammu University Ground today. Jehlum Industries won the toss and put J&K Police to bat. J&K Police accumulated 144 runs in the stipulated overs with Shashi top scored with 48 runs. Dany also played a useful knock of 48 runs followed by Rajesh Gill and Riaz who chipped in with 16 and 22 runs respectively. For Jehlum Industries, Romy Jamwal and Ankut Khajuria took one wicket each. In reply, Jehlum Industries could 135 runs in their allotted quota of overs to suffer a narrow defeat. Ankit’s gutsy unbeaten knock of 59 went in vain as he waged a lone battle against disciplined bowling attack of J&K Police. Besides him, no other batsman provided him the support he needed at the other end. For J&K Police, Rajesh Gill was the most successful bowler with four scalps while Shamsher Singh Samir Sharma and Naresh Kumar chipped in with a wicket each. Rajesh was declared man of the match. Divisional level Science exhibition concludes *Excelsior Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: The 30th Divisonal Level Science Exhibition organized by State Institute of Education at Government Higher Secondary School Shastri Nagar concluded here today. The exhibition was organized with an objective to inculcate scientific temper in teachers as well as students. The exhibition was inagurated on Februry 18 by Minister of State for Education, Forest and Tourism, GM Saroori accompanied by Secretary School Education, KM Wani. As many as 38 Higher Secondary schools, 34 High schools and 27 Elementary schools put on display models and exhibits, selected at the district level, in this divisional level competition. On the concluding day of the exhibition, Director School Education, AK Raina was the chief guets on the occassion. In his key note address, Mr Raina stressed upon teachers to raise the standard of teaching. He also appreciated the work of students and distributed prizes among them. In this competition, at the higher secondary level Hari Singh Higher Secondary School won the first prize whereas Higher Secondary School Canal Road Jammu bagged second prize. However, Higher Secondary School Billawar, Higher Secondary School Kishtawar and Higher Secondary School Shastri Nagar were jointly awarded third prize. At the secondary school level, Girls High School Sohanjana was declared first whereas Girls High School Gandhi Nagar and High School Barnara, Sunder Bani got second and third position respectively. Similarly, at elementary level, Government Middle School Kirmoo garnered first prize whereas Government Middle School Bhata Zone Inderwal, Kishtwar won second prize and Government Middle School Khasoli remained at third position. Besides first three prizes at each level, consolation prizes were also awarded in each category. Prominent among others who were present on the occasion included MLA, Raman Bhalla, Director SSA, Ashok Gupta, Joint Dirctor SSA, Ashok Gupta, Joint Director School Education, Rajinder Kumar Sharma, Principal State Institute of Education,GR Sarwal, Field Advisor, State Institute Education, Thakur Dass and Ram Krishan. Haji reviews functioning of DYSS *Excelsior Correspondent* Srinagar, Feb 20 :Minister for Youth Services and Sport Haji Nissar Ali today reviewed functioning of the Youth Services and Sports department here today. The meeting was attended by Director, Youth Services and Sports Ravinder Gupta who is also the Secretary, Sports Council. The meeting was told that the National Santosh Football tournament would be organized at Srinagar in the month of May 2008 and arrangements in this regard are underway. It further told that during current fiscal 278 players took part in national games while as 2311 players in State level tournaments, which include players below 19 years of age. Addressing the meeting, Haji Nissar said that 1720 Physical Teachers would be recruited like Rehbar-e-Taleem pattern. He said two sports academies are being set up at Jammu and Srinagar respectively. Shiksha Niketan celebrates Foundation Day *Excelsior Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: Shiksha Niketan Higher Secondary School, Jeevan Nagar celebrated its Foundation Day in the school premises today. G M Saroori, Minister for Education was the chief guest on the occasion while S P Verma was the guest of honour. A K Raina, Director, School Education presided over the function. A colourful cultural programme was also presented by the students followed by sports events which included blind race, sack race, frog race, balloon race, slow cycle race and Tug-of War. Later, the chief guest gave away prizes to the meritorious students. He also awarded a cheque of Rs 15,000 each to 2nd and 3rd position holders in higher secondary examination. The incharge madam presented the vote of thanks on behalf of the school management. The function concluded with the National Anthem. JCC enters final of Cricket tourney *Excelsior Correspondent* REASI, Feb 20: JCC registered a resounding nine wicket win over MCC to enter into the final of the ongoing Mashkoor Memorial Cricket Tournament. MCC’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired as they skittled out for paltry 68 runs in 21 overs in the second semifinal at Sports Stadium. Sunny was the top scorer with 32 runs containing six hits to the fence. For MCC, Manjeet Singh and Vivek Singh were the chief destroyers who bowled a lethal spells to share four wickets each. Vijay Dogra, Rohit Bhat and Deepak chipped in with a wicket each. JCC overhauled the target in the 9th over with Ian Dev played a sizzling knock of 37 runs off 30 balls. Manjeet was adjudged man of the match. The final between JCC and NMCC will be played tomorrow. KV Hiranagar celebrates Annual Sports Day *Excelsior Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: Kendriya Vidyalaya Hiranagar today celebrated its 4th Annual Sports Day today. Sunil Kumar, Tehsildar (Settlement), Hiranagar and Chairman Nominee, Kendriya Vidyalaya Hiranagar was the chief guest on the occasion. C S Jasrotia and Kewal Krishan were the guests of honour. A Guard of Honour was presented by the Scouts and Guides to the guest. Vijay Kumar, Principal, KV Hiranagar gave detailed information regarding games and sports activities in the Vidyalaya. Later, the chief guest declared open the sports meet in which various track and field events were held. Shivaji House won the overall championship trophy with a total of 193 points. Colourful cultural programmes also presented by the students on the occasion. The programme was organised under the supervision of S K Sharma, PET, KV Hiranagar. Dr Dinesh Sharma presented the vote of thanks. Results: 100mts (U/14 Boys): Kashiv (1st), Sunil (2nd) and Sahil (3rd). 100mts (U/17): Gourav (1st), Varun (2nd) and Pallav (3rd). 100mts (U/17 Girls): Bhanumati (1st), Neha (2nd) and Sarita (3rd). Sack Race: Sunil (1st), Pradeep (2nd) and Shantmanu (3rd). Bannana Race (Girls): Srijna (1st), Palak (2nd) and Nanita (3rd). Bannana Race (Boys): Lalit (1st), Rohit (2nd), Ragav and Akhil (3rd). Tarun beats Pankaj in Pool category *Excelsior Sports Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: Tarun Tandon trounced Pankaj Mishra by 3-2 in a close contest while Vishal Bogal prevailed over Kuldeep Khajuria by 3-1 in Pool category in the ongoing Triangular Snooker/Billiards Tournament being played at Rehari Colony today. In 9 ball game, Gourav Bali Vineet Dutta emerged winners in 9 ball game. In the first match, Gourav beat Tarun by 3-2 whereas Vineet got the better of Vikram Sharma. In Snooker category, Vikrant Sehgal beat Ashwani Khosla by 2-0 frames 56-25 and 61-35. Kuldeep Khajuria defeated Arun Singh by identical margin 54-9 and 46-29. In other matches, Vikrant edged out Abhishek Goswami by 2-0 frames (55-23 and 70-35) while Anshul Gupta beat Munish Sawhney by 80-15 and 60-25.
Badminton team leaves for Veteran nationals *Excelsior Sports Correspondent* JAMMU, Feb 20: An eight member J&K veteran team left today to participate in the Veteran National Badminton Championship slated to be held at Filmnagar Club, Juglee Hill, Hyderabad from February 24 to 28. According to Dr O D Sharma, Secretary, J&K Badminton Association, the team comprise Som Raj Gupta, Balbir Jamwal, Balbir Syal, Dr P D Gupta, Ramesh Sharma, Narinder Khajuria, Anil Gorkha and Ravinder Verma.