Excelsior  Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, July 20: Defeating strong rivals in Kishan Chand Cricket Club (KCCC) in an easy contest by 4 wickets in the summit clash, New Challengers Cricket Club (NCCC) lifted the title trophy of the ongoing Chevrolet Cup T20 Cricket Tournament at KC Public School grounds, adjacent KC Sports Academy, here today.
Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, KCCC scored a modest total of 125 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Shashi Kumar top scored with 46 runs off 42 balls, studded with 5 boundaries, while Vimarsh Kaw contributed 36 off 25 balls with the help of 3 fours and one six. Pardeep Bali and Manik Gupta contributed 14 and 11 runs to the total respectively. For NCCC, Rohit Sharma and Monu bagged 2 wickets each, while Ramdayal, Sunit and Deepak Singh Manhas claimed one wicket each.
In reply, NCCC chased the target in 17.1 overs by losing 6 wickets and won the match by 4 wickets. Ramdayal top scored with 28 runs off 22 balls, studded with 2 sixes and 2 fours, while Manjeet Singh contributed 26 runs off 18 balls. Ian Dev Singh and Parveen Singh also contributed 19 and 17 runs to the total respectively. Raman Dutta, Manik Gupta and Soumay Jain shared 2 wickets each for KCCC. Ramdayal was adjudged man of the match.
The match was officiated by Sadiq Hussain Malik and Rajinder Singh as umpires, while Sohail Yusuf was the scorer.

New Delhi, July 20: Commonwealth and Asian Games medallist Ashish Kumar is hopeful that gymnastics can fetch India three medals in this edition of CWG in Glasgow starting Wednesday.

Ashish, who bagged silver and a bronze in the men’s floor exercises and vault in the 2010 CWG in Delhi, hopes to convert those into gold when he takes to the floor in Scotland.

“In the events that got me silver and a bronze respectively, I will try to convert them into two gold medals. And Dipa Karmakar is also a medal hopeful in the womens draw. So, in total, my assessment would be three medals from gymnastics. But you never know in sport,” Ashish said on the eve of his departure.

Ashish, who won India their first gymnastic medal in Delhi CWG, rues the lack of international exposure for the national team in the run-up to this edition.

“We just got International exposure in the form of Commonwealth Gymnastic Championship in Perth this year where we bagged 3 gold, 3 silver and a bronze. We got a tournament in 2013 but half the year we were idle. 2012 was a blank in terms of a tournament and no camp as well.

“So after the 2010 Asian and CWG medals we have been lying low because of lack of opportunities. Are confidence did take a hit because of all these things but still we are hopeful,” said a disappointed Ashish.

The 23-year-old from Allahabad is also upset about the lack of facilities provided to the gymnasts in the last four years or so.

“If I compare our preparations from the last Commonwealth Games in 2010 then I feel that we haven’t got the kind of facilities that we should have got. We have also lacked foreign exposure. Our camps were also conducted after about one-and-a-half years. So our training has been affected but our preparation is good.

“We are trying our best in the ongoing camps to overcome the shortcomings and eye a medal for sure. Though I would still say that had we got a little more time to prepare or our camps would have been held a year back, it would have certainly benefited us. But whatever has happened, has happened, we are just looking ahead, said Ashish. (PTI)

Excelsior  Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, July 20: With an objective of preparing world class middle distance runners, Sports Authority of India is conducting trials for elite athletes in all States of the country who have won medals at various levels in 1500, 3000, 5000 and 10000 meters.
These trials for the athletes of Jammu and Kashmir will be held in Jammu on July 30 and July 31, 2014 at MA Stadium Jammu and those meeting the norms will be selected for the second round of trials to be held at New Delhi.
All such medals winners who are below the age of 23 have been asked to get themselves registered with Amarjeet Singh, SAI Basketball coach at MA Stadium before July 25, 2014 positively alongwith their date of birth certificate and certificate of merit.
The trials will be held in three age groups, namely Under-16, Under-19 and Under-23.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sports Authority of India has set up an exclusive academy for the middle distance runners at Trivandrum Kerela, where athletes are being prepared for future Olympics, Asian Games and World Championships.

New Delhi, July 20: As in cricket, India are a formidable hockey side in their own den but if the erstwhile giants of the game want to play in their second consecutive Commonwealth Games final they will need to overcome challenges away from home, feels Australian legend Jamie Dwyer.

Dwyer would loved to see an India-Australia duel in the final of the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow from July 24 to August 3, but he said for that to happen the Sardar Singh-led side will have to “play to their potential”.

“One thing I always worry about the current India team is their ability to play away from home. Like their cricket team, the hockey players are unbelievable in India and they thrive in playing in their own country,” the 35-year-old mercurial Australian striker told PTI in an exclusive interview from Perth.

“But away from home everything looks different for them be it weather, pitch, food etc. They need to overcome those challenges and play to their potential. I think if they can do that and play to their potential, they will definitely be in the final,” Dwyer said.

“I expect them to make the semifinals that’s for sure and after that anything can happen from there. I would love to see an India-Australia final even though Australia start as clear favourites,” he added.

The 35-year-old Dwyer, a five-time world hockey player of the year, feels India are now a much-improved side from 2010 Delhi Games, where the Kookaburras thrashed the Asian side 8-0 in the summit clash at the Major Dhyan Chand stadium here.

“In the last Commonwealth Games they played well and I think we were just lucky to get that scoreline in the final. But I think they are starting to get much better, much more consistent. They have got more depth in their squad now,” he viewed.

“We played Ok against India (in the World Cup). It’s hard for me to judge India because we won the final 6-1 but beat India 4-0. They are a good team but they will have to improve a fair beat if they want to be among the best teams in the world.” (PTI)

London, July 20: The furore over the “poor” pitch in in Trent Bridge is yet to settle down but that has not stopped a new controversy from brewing in the India-England second Test after MCC was forced to tender an apology for the manner in which one of its groundstaff swept the pitch here.

“MCC were forced to apologise and defend the conduct of a member of their groundstaff after Kevin Pietersen drew attention to his method of sweeping the pitch at lunch,” reported ‘The Independent’ after third day’s play yesterday.

“Shane Doherty’s work attracted the attention of Sky Sports’ commentators and Pietersen was moved to post a video on social media, captioned with the remark “Unbelievable” – followed, in customary KP fashion, by seven exclamation marks,” the newspaper stated.

Doherty was then approached by fourth umpire David Millns but MCC, the keepers of the Lord’s Cricket Ground, asserted that it was “a genuine, honest mistake, and there was no intent to damage the pitch”.

However, Pietersen said there was something more to it.

“He knew what he was doing,” he wrote on Twitter.

The newspaper claimed that the visiting Indians will not make any issue of the incident.

“Indian cricket sources indicated that there would be no complaint from the team, although the final decision would rest with the captain, MS Dhoni, and his players. Whatever the explanation – and there is no reason to believe Doherty was anything other than careless – it was another talking point in a series that has already had plenty of them.”

During the opening Test in Nottingham, the groundstaff drew considerable flak for preparing a placid pitch which resulted in a tame draw. The track was labelled poor by the match referee yesterday and an ICC investigation is underway on the matter. (PTI)

London, July 20: The second cricket Test was headed for nail-biting finish with England needing 214 runs with six wickets intact on a tricky fifth day track as India rode on Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliant counter-attack to set a competitive target of 319 here today.

It was a day when fortunes swung like a pendulum as England finished the fourth day’s play at 105 for four on deteriorating track.

If India manage to pull of a win, it will be their first at the ‘Mecca of Cricket’ in 28 years having last time won here in 1986.

England lost three wickets in a space of 14 deliveries with an addition of two runs. From a comfortable 70 for one, they slumped to 72 for four.

Ishant Sharma (2/13 in 10 overs) removed seasoned Ian Bell (1) with an incutter while skipper Alastair Cook (22) did all the hardwork before fishing oustide the off-stump to give Mahendra Singh Dhoni a simple catch.

Mohammed Shami (1/20) also fared much better than the first innings removing centurion Gary Ballance (27) with an away going delivery.

While India have their nose slightly ahead, a lot of credit should go to Ravindra Jadeja for his belliegerent 57-ball-68 (9×4) that enabled India to reach 342 thereby extending their lead to a healthy 318.

Murali Vijay (95) missed century by a whisker while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (52, 71 balls) continued his stupendous all-round show. It was the 99-run eighth wicket stand between Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar that could well turn out to be decisive in the final context of the game.

At stumps on fourth day, youngsters Joe Root and Moeen Ali were at the crease batting on 14 and 15 respectively.

A rough has been created on one end with left-arm spinner Jadeja (1/32) looking dangerous for the first time with but turn and bounce off the pitch while the odd ball also kept low forcing Dhoni to stand atleast 10 feet behind to a slow bowler.

It will be an uphill task for England if they manage to successfully chase down the total which will be their second highest having chased down 332 in an Ashes Test at the MCG way back in 1928-29.

A successfull chase from the home team will be the second highest chase at this ground with West Indies having chased 344 against England in 1984 courtesy a crushing double hundred by Gordon Greenidge.

The pace with which Jadeja and Kumar scored was what hurt England the most. They added 66 runs in the first ten overs after lunch, with Jadeja reaching his first half-century in Test cricket in the 92nd over.

He got there off only 42 balls, hitting 7 fours, also bringing up their 50-run partnership in doing so. In the next over, the 300-run mark came up for India.

The duo scored at near six runs an over for much of their partnership and England had no reply as they altered their plans every over.

It didn’t help then that Jadeja was dropped on 66 not out by Ian Bell at midwicket off Stokes (3-51) in the 98th over.

But he had already made them pay and was out for 68 runs off 57 balls, with 9 fours, two overs later caught off the same bowler with Cook running back from first slip and completing a catch similar to the one Shikhar Dhawan took in the first innings.

The last two batsman, Mohammad Shami (0) and Ishant Sharma (0 not out), couldn’t stay long enough at the crease, but they gave enough support to Kumar to complete his third fifty in this series.

He got there off 65 balls, with 8 fours, in the 102nd over, and was the last man out. Plunkett (3-65), Ali (2-28), James Anderson (1-77) and Stuart Broad (1-93) were the other wicket-takers in this innings.

In the morning, under overcast skies with floodlights on, India started the day 145 runs ahead, needing Murali Vijay and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (19 runs, 86 balls, 2 fours) to bat long enough to see out the second new ball that was due after 17 overs. (PTI)