Nagpur, Jan. 6: Shivakant Shukla scored a fighting hundred and Parvinder Singh was seven short of his as Uttar Pradesh reached 253/3 in reply to Tamil Nadu’s first innings total of 445 on the third day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.

On a day when fortunes swung from one team to the other, it was an ordinary fielding effort from Tamil Nadu team that eventually helped Uttar Pradesh escape to a position of comfort.

Earlier, the very second delivery of the day was glanced towards the fine leg boundary for a four by Suresh Raina to set the tone for the day’s proceedings. L. Balaji was creamed through covers in his next over by Raina who looked in imperious touch right from the start and hit the bowler for another over extra cover and towards covers in the same over.

The elegant left-hander quickly reached 39 and appeared in a hurry. But Balaji had the last laugh, cleaning up Raina whose middle stump went for a morning walk leaving UP at 53/2. Once again, Raina was guilty of fizzling out after a flying start.

UP soon slumped to 63/3 when skipper Mohammad Kaif’s stumps were disturbed by Balaji. Kaif’s 16-minute stay at the crease failed to trouble the scorers. His fall brought Parvinder and Shukla together, and their side’s renaissance in the match.

The duo settled down to take their team to 113/3 at lunch. Just after lunch, Balaji induced an edge off Parvinder’s bat that was grassed by Dinesh Karthik when he was on 20, a miss that was to prove costly.

The pair then brought up UP’s 200 with Parvinder on 74 off 148 balls and Shivakant 78 off 258 balls. The session after tea witnessed Murali Vijay spilling Shukla’s chance when he was on 95 in the 95th over of the innings off the bowling of Palani Amarnath, to complete a day of misfortunes for the bowling side.

Shukla brought up the third century of his career to rub salt into Tamil Nadu’s wounds. With the pair’s 190-run stand looking ominous, the bowling side could feel the heat going into the final day’s play on Wednesday.

Scoreboard

Tamil Nadu (1st innings): 445

Uttar Pradesh (1st innings): Tanmay Srivastava c Badrinath b Ganapathy 1, Shivakant Shukla (batting) 103, Suresh Raina b Balaji 39, Mohammad Kaif b Balaji 0, Parvinder Singh (batting) 93. Extras (b-6, lb-9, w-2) 17. Total (for 3 wickets in 109 overs) 253.

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-53, 3-63.

Bowling: L. Balaji 29-12-53-2, C. Ganapathy 27-11-49-1, P. Amarnath 24-7-54-0, C. Suresh 11- 2-41-0, R. Ashwin 13-2-26-0, Suresh Kumar 5-0-15-0.

Kolkata, Jan. 6: If day one was about creating a good impression, Mohammad Asaduddin’s second day in Kolkata Knight Riders selection trial at the Eden Gardens turned out to be more disappointing. His father wouldn’t at all be amused to hear that he scored just one off four balls before running himself out in a practice game on Tuesday.

To add to his misfortune, the umpire during his dismissal was none but skipper Sourav Ganguly who played the ‘new role’ for about 33 overs. Azhar’s son did not display much cricketing nous as he ran almost halfway down the pitch without looking at the ball or even at the non-striker after nudging the ball to mid-on. The fielder only had to return the ball to the wicketkeeper who did the rest, while Asaduddin remained stranded halfway.

The team management however, appeared quite pleased with the batting skills of Shatrunjay Gaekwad, son of ex-India cricketer and coach Anshuman Gaekwad. The Baroda left hander’s strokeful 28 comprised excellent lofted shots particularly on the off-side.

The player though, whose efforts were widely appreciated was Haryana batsman Sunny Singh. A clean hitter, three of his strikes landed in the stands apart from four hits to the fence. "The way he batted was ideal for the T20 mode. We like to see such stuff. No doubt, he’s in contention," KKR fielding coach Wade Seccombe said.

In the first IPL edition, batting debacles more or less hampered the Knight Riders’ prospects of securing a semifinal berth. The 22-year-old’s selection could just provide some sort of thrust in lineup.

On the other hand, Mumbai batsman Vinit Indulkar was struck on his left eyebrow off a short-pitched ball from Chandigarh based Anurit Singh and had to be taken to hospital for stitches. He, however, was back at the ground after an hour. "He (Anurit) bowls really quick," Seccombe said.

Nagpur, Jan. 6: Watching the two teams battling it out here for a berth in the final of the Ranji Trophy is instructive. Whilst Tamil Nadu boast of a support staff that includes a computer analyst and physiotherapist in the ranks apart from the coach and trainer — considered a ‘given’ in today’s professional set up, their opponents make do with the basics. No ‘lavishness’ for Mohammad Kaif’s men.

In an era where most teams in the domestic competition have an army of support staff accompanying them, Uttar Pradesh stand out for having just three in their ranks — coach Gyanendra Pandey, manager Ashish Zaidi and Pawan Kumar who doubles up as trainer and physio.

However, the team’s performance has been commendable considering the lack of facilities available to them each year before the Ranji season begins. "We do not believe in carrying such luxuries," quips a player.

But the era of analysing each and every delivery, the lack of modern technology to help them seems to be hurting UP’s preparations. The issue here is more alarming than that meets the eye. "Our association does not even own a ground and camps are always held on hired grounds. We sometimes pool in money to purchase balls for matches," lamented the same player, not wishing to be named.

The UP players refuse to speak openly on this issue but that has not stopped them from performing well year after year. One of the main reasons for this has been the regular influx of players from smaller towns making it purely on talent, according to team members.

This year saw some sterling performances from Kaif, Tanmay Srivastava and Piyush Chawla despite some performances from Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar. Summing up his team’s showinge, coach Pandey says that the team "have performed very well as a unit. There have been standout performances from youngsters like Tanmay."

He goes on to mention the element of bonding in the team as most of the players have learnt the game together and have been inmates at the same hostels. This underlines the fact that despite sub-standard practice facilities and lack of any modern necessities, Uttar Pradesh remain an outfit fighting with remarkable team spirit and passion that make up for other conspicuous misses.

Bengaluru, Jan. 6: Fire Zone, Timeless Treasure and In The Zone excelled in the workouts when the following horses were exercised on the trial track here on Tuesday.

800m: Born To Shine (K. Raja Rao), Lucky Look (B. Shreekanth) 56, 600/43. In The Zone (S. John) 54, 600/40.5, excelled. Incredible (S. Golam), Saqqarash (S. Marshall) 55.5, 600/43, both good. Talk Of The Devil (Shabuddin) 58, 600/44. Aurelian (S. Fargeat) 58.5, 600/44.5, easy. Alchesaye (Zia. A), Paint Me Red (rb) 56.5, 600/44, former trounced. Fantastic Quest (Srinath) 1-0, 600/46, retains form. Tulasi (rb), Harini (rb) 1-0, 600/46. The Dawn (Ashok Kumar) 58, 600/44.5. Salsera (C.D. Hayes) 55.5, 600/41.5, note. Sprint Star (rb), Simply Phenomenal (Chandrashekar) 56.5, 600/43, neck and neck. Aaj Tak (C. Krishnan) 55, 600/42.5, can make amends. Guided Missile (Chandrashekar) 54, 600/41.5, moved attractively. San Francisco-Golden Collection (rb), Bonjini (K. Raja Rao) 59, 600/45.5. Spring A Surprise (G.Y. Rajesh Babu), Saratoga (Appu) 58.5, 600/43.5. Sapthaswa (L. Marshall) 54, 600/41.5, impresed. Star News (C. Krishnan) 58.5, 600/45.

1000m: Royal Legend (Samuel Hitchcott) 1-14.5, 800/58, 600/44, fit. Rugged Beauty (Appu), Superior Surprise (Shoban Babu) 1-10, 800/54, 600/41.5, both good. Flip Your Destiny (G. Sapra) 1-12, 800/56.5, 600/42.5, note. Defiance (L. Marshall), Persian Princess (Zia. A) 1-16, 800/58.5, 600/43.5, neck and neck. Queen’s Guest (Srinath) 1-9.5, 800/54, 600/41.5, excelled. Fond Approach (M.R. Singh) 1-13.5, 800/58, 600/44, pushed. Target Achiever (Srinath) 1-12.5, 800/56, 600/43, extended. Queen Rania (D. Allan) 1-9, 800/53, 600/40, in great form. Latvia (Md. Shafiq), Aksinya (S. Marshall) 1-13, 800/55, 600/43. Gloriosa (S. Marshall), High Roller (S. Fargeat) 1-14, 800/57.5, 600/44. Star of Washington (M.R. Singh), Valiant Bay (D. Patel) 1-14, 800/56.5, 600/42, pushed.

1200m: Welcome Back (Shiva Kumar), Shades Of White (S. Marshall) 1-26.5, 1000/1-9.5, 800/55.5, 600/43, former trounced. Stagelight (Md. Shoaib) 1-27.5, 800/57.5, 600/44, retains form. Pearl Of Bangalore (Md. Shafiq) 1-29.5, first 600/42. Mystic Star (Ashok Kumar) 1-29.5, 800/59, 600/45.5. Chilly Wind (Ashok Kumar) 1-26.5, 800/55.5, 600/42.5, good.

1400m: Glorious Princess (S. Fargeat) 1-46, 1200/1-30, 1000/1-14, 800/55.5, 600/41.5, good. Timeless Treasure (Appu) 1-38, 1200/1-23.5, 1000/1-10, 800/54.5, 600/42.5, ignore last run. Fire Zone (rb), Van De Star (rb) 1-39, 1200/1-25.5, 800/58.5, 600/45.5, former showed out. Algiers (rb), Chelsy Dancer (rb) 1-44, first 800/56. Needofthehour (Samuel Hitchott ) 1-40.5, 800/57, 600/43.5, pleased. Poetic (M. Ravi), Oxford Vision (rb) 1-45.5, first 800/56.5. You’re Wonderful (L. Marshall) 1-45, 1200/1-31, 1000/1-16, 800/1-0, 600/46.

Inner sand:

1200m: Distinctly Ahead (S. Golam) 1-22.5, 800/55, 600/43. Supreme Splendour (rb) 1-22, first 600/35.5.

1400m: Power To Fight (rb) 1-35, 600/41.5.

Gate practice, inner sand, 1400m: Brave Act-Traffic Police (rb) 1-31, first 800/47.5, impressed. Serenity Now (R. Koch), Royal Invader (Chandrashekar), Phenomenal Strides (Tauseef) 1-40, first 800/50.5. All Rise (Gnaneshwer), You’re So Beautiful (A. Velu) 1-35.5, first 800/51.5. Lampon (Shoban Babu), The Senator (S. Ramesh), Systematic (T. Rahul), Aetius (rb) 1-36, first 800/51.5. Give Me The Money (Sameul Hitchcott), Just Great (rb), Puerto Madero-Unbiased (G. Sapra) 1-32, first 800/51, a distance separated them Money Manthra (B. L. Paswan), Leopoldo (rb) 1-43.5, first 800/54.5, former well clear. Top Kiapi (V. Patel), Regal Glory (C. D. Hayes), Messalina (D. Allan) 1-39, first 800/52.5. Topkiapi took good jump, others slowly off. Shot Of Gold (G.Y. Rajesh Babu), Life’s Laughter (Shoban Babu) 1-38.5, first 800/51.5, former showed out. Amar Prem (rb), Amiable Lady (rb) 1-48, first 800/52, eased.

Karachi, Jan. 6: Apparently uspet with the working style of PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, Federal Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jillani wants to bring the Cricket Board under the complete control of his ministry.

Jillani has criticised the PCB affairs and questioned the recent appointments of former Test players in the Board by Butt.

"The director-general, the chief selector, the national team coach are all giving out statement after statement and there appears to be no one to check them and all this is creating a lot of confusion," Jillani had said.

He said there was need to bring the Board under the Sports Ministry to control its lavish spendings and also make the paid employees more accountable, who were creating unnecessary controversies with their statements.

Ever since the resignation of Nasim Ashraf as PCB Chairman last August, the Sports Ministry is getting involved in cricket affairs although for years the PCB has functioned independently.

Sources said that Jillani’s anger at the Board perhaps had something to do with the fact that he was initially offered the post of PCB Chairman but he turned it down and might be regretting it now.

Pakistan Peoples Party, had few months back turned down the offer to head the board because he belonged to a group of PPP members who were not happy with the way President Asif Zardari was conducting party and government affairs.

"But now that many of the members of that protesting group have been accommodated in the government and given more respect, Jillani feels he should have accepted the Board position," one source close to him said.

The source said there were people who were now pushing him to put the board directly under the control of the ministry to make it more accountable.

Former Test pacer Sarfraz Nawaz was also in favour of putting the Board under the direct control of the Ministry.

"There is need to have some check and balance on the working of the Board and its affairs," Nawaz said.

Critics point out Butt has mainly accommodated his loyalists and those former players, who were critical of the Ashraf set up.

Chennai, Jan. 6: The start was perfect, as was the result. Somdev Devvarman, the highest ranked Indian in the fray, rifled in 10 aces on his way to the second round of the Chennai Open here at the Nungambakkam Stadium on Tuesday. Somdev, World No. 202, turned the tables on Kevin Kim of the US 6-3, 6-3 with some exhilarating tennis.

By beating an opponent ranked almost 100 places above him, the 23-year-old has made a big statement for Indian tennis. Kim’s erratic forehand flew past the baseline to signal the end of a lop-sided contest. Pumping his fist with gusto, Somdev celebrated his memorable win in the city where he had early lessons in the sport.

Somdev, who will now meet Spaniard Carlos Moya, a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) winner over Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke, started brightly, firing three aces. Despite slipping a bit midway, the Indian rallied to break Kim back in the sixth game. From that point, Somdev was unstoppable. His serve was bang on target and his forehands ferocious. Somdev charged the net whenever the need arose.

The second set was a breeze for Somdev, who unleashed a match total of 17 winners. With Kim pushing himself too hard in a bid to stretch the match to the decider, all Somdev had to do was to put the ball across the net. And he did that with aplomb. Somdev broke Kim in the third and ninth games to take the match.

Top seed Nikolay Davydenko rolled into the second round with a flawless 6-2, 6-3 win over Daniel Koellerer of Austria. Davydenko will next face the Czech Republic’s Lukas Dlouhy, who needed three sets to beat Go Soeda of Japan on Monday. Fourth seed Ivo Karlovic outplayed Rajiv Ram of US 6-4, 6-3 in a battle of six-footers.

Earlier, India’s Rohan Bopanna, who made it to the main draw after an impressive run in the qualifiers, went down to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-4, 7-6(3). When the two last met at a Davis Cup tie in New Delhi, Istomin prevailed in a five-set marathon. So Tuesday’s match was billed as a cracker of contest and the fans gathered in good number to support the Indian.

Bopanna however, failed to carry forward his qualifiers’ momentum and went down. Perhaps the qualifiers had taken a toll on him, who was frequently seen putting ice on his knees during breaks.

Chittagong (Bangladesh), Jan. 6: Tillakaratne Dilshan gave a superb all-round performance to power Sri Lanka to a record 465-run victory over Bangladesh in the second and the final Test here on Tuesday.

It was the fifth-largest win by runs in the history of the game. It was also Sri Lanka’s biggest victory in 182 Tests and Bangladesh’s worst defeat in 59 matches since gaining Test status in 2000.

Dilshan scored an impressive 143 — his second century of the match — as the visitors set an improbable 624-run target for the hosts. Bangladesh were bundled out for 158 in their second innings on the penultimate day to lose the series 2-0. Dilshan, who picked 4/10 with his part-time spin, was named both man of the match and of the series.

Middle-order batsman Shakib Al Hasan (46) and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim (43) were the main scorers in a dismal Bangladeshi batting performance lasting just 49.2 overs. "This is what Test cricket is all about, the guys are showing character," said Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene of the win.

London, Jan. 6: England international striker Jermain Defoe is leaving Portsmouth to rejoin Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, the London club said on Tuesday.

Spurs confirmed Defoe, who only left the club last January, will be paraded in front of fans at White Hart Lane before Tuesday evening’s Carling Cup semi-final first-leg clash with Championship side Burnley.

A fee has been agreed on what is thought to be a five-year contract and the 26-year-old only needs to clear a medical to clinch the deal.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie had been in talks over the weekend to negotiate a transfer fee in the region of 15million pounds (16million euros).

"Personal terms have been agreed and the striker will undergo a medical," a statement from Spurs said.

Tottenham boss Redknapp bought Defoe for Pompey in the 2008 January window and his return had been suggested since the change of manager at White Hart Lane two months ago.

He went on a run of eight goals in his first seven games for Portsmouth and has added nine goals this season so far. "I wouldn’t have sold him if I was manager at Portsmouth and Tottenham came back in," Redknapp admitted. "I’d be keeping him."

Redknapp has prioritised a striker and a left-sided midfielder in the current transfer window, with Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing also subject of a bid from Spurs.

Ghana international midfielder Stephen Appiah is on trial at White Hart Lane this week and could sign until the end of the season. Defoe controversially signed pro with West Ham aged 16 after coming through Charlton’s youth system.

With Redknapp leaving for White Hart Lane speculation mounted that Defoe would follow him.

Hong Kong, Jan. 6: Sania Mirza gets an opportunity to assess her form and recovery from a career threatening wrist injury when the Indian tennis star competes in World Team Challenge tournament, kicking off here from Wednesday.

The event will also help the Indian ace prepare for the first Grand Slam of the year — the Australian Open — as the tournament features the big wigs of women’s tennis, including world number one Jelena Jankovic and multiple-Grand Slam winner American Venus Williams. "Coming back from a career-threatening injury makes it very special to be back," Sania said.

The event pits three top players from Europe, Russia, America and Asia-Pacific against each other.

Sania will represent Asia Pacific along with team captain China’s Zheng Zie, who became the first player from her country to reach Wimbledon semifinals last year, and local player Zhang Ling.

The tournament will kick off with a match between number one players from the Asia-Pacific zone and top seeds Russia — Zheng Jie and Vera Zvonareva.

Sania as number two player of the team will play the second singles against her nemesis and world number 18 Ana Chakvetadze. Sania has never won a match against Chakvetadze, who emerged winner in all their four meetings so far, including the third round of US Open in 2007.

Sania could play only 12 tournaments last year due to a wrist injury and was forced to skip the French Open and the US Open, which resulted in a fall in her rankings to 100.

Brisbane (Australia), Jan. 6: Little-known Latvian Ernests Gulbis sent top seed and world number three Novak Djokovic crashing out of the first round of the Brisbane International here on Tuesday. Gulbis outplayed the inconsistent Djokovic to notch up a 6-4, 6-4 win in 90 minutes and open up the top half of the draw.

Djokovic’s woes were in stark contrast to the performance of second seed Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who cruised to a 6-2, 7-5 win over Agustin Calleri of Argentina. Djokovic, who defeated Tsonga in the final of last year’s Australian Open, never looked comfortable on the centre court of the new Queensland Tennis Centre.

He only arrived in Australia on Saturday and said his lack of practice along with a change of rackets had contributed to the loss. "I didn’t play at all good today and I knew that the first match was going to be a very difficult one, especially if I played against a player who doesn’t give me a lot of rhythm," Djokovic said.

"I changed a lot of things so there’s still some things I’m not used to and unfortunately I got this result."

Djokovic struggled to hold serve all match, only getting 48 percent of his first serves in, and even though he broke Gulbis early in the second set it was no surprise when the Latvian broke back immediately and went on to take the match.

"I was thinking throughout the match that I could break him any time because his first serve was a really low percentage today and I had my chances with his second serve," Gulbis said.

The 53rd-ranked Gulbis said although the result was one of his best, he had played better in the past without success. "I’ve had some beautiful losses — many of them," he said.

Tsonga raced through the first set against Calleri, barely breaking sweat, but he went off the boil in the second as the Argentinian came back into the match.

Hyderabad, Jan. 6: Mallikarjun’s blistering ton set the game for Goutam Model School as they went on to defeat St Andrews ‘B’ in the first round of their cricket match in the ICICI-Deccan Chronicle inter-schools sports meet here on Tuesday.

Batting first Goutam Model School piled 197 runs losing one wicket in 20 overs. Mallikarjun scored 113 which was studded with 10 boundaries and 6 sixes. Arun Deva gave him solid support making 62 runs.

Chasing 198 to win, Andrews fell short of just 5 runs and managed to reach 193 in 20 overs losing 6 wickets. T. Ravi Teja and Millind took Andrews close to the winning total by scoring 74 and 76, respectively.

In another match St Peter’s comfortably beat St Joseph’s Public School by nine wickets. Batting first Joseph’s were all out for 92. Shashank picked up three vital wickets for Peter’s giving away 20 runs. St Peter’s reached the target losing just one wicket. Dheeraj was the highest scorer with 43.

In another match, Cal Public School moved into the next round after defeating Bhegas by 63 runs.

Abhishek of Cal Public School top-scored with 87 to take his team to a respectable total of 169 in 20 overs.

In their reply, Bhegas were 106/9 at the end of 20 overs, thanks to a good spell by Vinay who finished with figures of 4 for 11.

Bhavan’s also booked their berth in the next round after defeating Hyderabad Public School (Begumpet) by 24 runs. Rohit Rayudu was the mainstay for Bhavan’s, hitting 73 runs. Shubham was the other batsman who came up with a solid knock of 43. Akshay of H.P.S turned in a superb bowling spell of 5 for 24 but ended up on the losing side as H.P.S were all out for 115.

Brief Scores: Goutam Model School 197/1 in 20 overs (Mallikarjun 113, Arun Deva 62) bt St Andrews ‘B’ 193/6 in 20 overs (T. Ravi Teja 74, Millind 76, Tarun 2/33).

St Joseph’s HS 92 in 18.2 overs (Parikshith 39, Shashank 3/20) lost to St Peter’s 93/1 in 9.2 overs (Dheeraj 43).

Bhavan’s 139/9 in 20 overs (Rohit Rayudu 73, Shubham 43, Akshay 5/24) beat HPS ‘B’ 115 (Sharat 36, Sai Kiran 2/20).

Cal Public School ‘A’ 169/8 in 20 overs (Abhishek 87, Ikmundar 2/27) beat Bhegas 106/9 in 20 overs (Ravi 45, Vinay 4/11).

Sydney, Jan. 6: Ricky Ponting’s bold declaration on Tuesday injected drama into the third and final Test which seems headed for a nail-biting finish with South Africa needing 314 runs on a tricky fifth day track to complete a rare 3-0 whitewash.

Set a daunting target of 376 runs, South Africa lost makeshift opener Morne Morkel for a second ball duck before reaching 62/1 at stumps on day four of the match.

Acting skipper Neil McKenzie (25) and in-form Hashim Amla (30) were in the middle with South Africa still needing another 314 runs for a memorable win that would also make them the number one Test side in the world.

With just one day left, South Africa may go for the target despite their captain Graeme Smith not being in a position to bat.

On the other hand, Australia will also fancy their chances of picking up the remaining wickets to prevent what could be their first whitewash at home.

Earlier, resuming on 33/0, Australia declared their second essay at 257/4 with Simon Katich (61), Ponting (53), Mike Hussey (45 not out) and Michael Clarke (41) scoring bulk of the runs. Matthew Hayden, under tremendous pressure to justify his selection in the playing XI, squandered a good start and fell for 39.

Scores: Australia 445 & 257/4 decl. (Katich 61, Ponting 53, Hussey 45 n.o.; Morkel 2/38) vs South Africa 327 & 62/1 (McKenzie batting 25, Amla batting 30).

Hyderabad,, Jan. 6: M. Rohit sank Anshul Jain 8-0 in the under-10 boys tennis pre-quarterfinals of the ICICI-Deccan Chronicle inter-schools sports meet held here at the Indus World School on Tuesday.

In another match, A.K. Rohit comfortably defeated S. Nikhileshwar with a broad margin of 8-1.

K. Siva Deep and T. Sahith too performed brilliantly and won with a similar scoreline. While Siva Deep beat D. Nyruth Reddy 8-2, Sahith downed C. Vaarshik Reddy.

In the same category match, C. Abhinav Reddy overpowered L. Amogh Reddy 8-2.

While Kirthiman Manakonda stretched Raghav Chayarulu 8-6, V.V.S. Rahul scripted an 8-3 verdict against M. Teertha Shashank 8-3.

G. Sruta Kirti entered the quarterfinals after defeating K. Rithika Mansi 8-0. Voosa Sreni too put her foot forward to triumph over Gulraz Begum 8-1.

Srivani Rao and S. Mansi Reddy were the other top performers. Srivani sent back Rachna Reddy 8-3 while Manasi vanquished Y. Chikita Reddy 8-2.

C. Shravya Reddy won a tough fight with Shaik Humera to emerge victorious in the tie-breaker 8-7 (7-4).

Other Results

Girls U-10 (first round): Rachna Reddy bt K. Navya 8-1, C. Shravya Shivani bt Juliana Peter 8-1.

Girls U-10 (first round): G. Meha Kothari bt B. Rashmi 8-1, Kiranmayee bt B.S. Sakshi Yadav 8-2.

Girls U-12 (first round): G. Meha Kothari bt B. Rashmi 8-1, Kiranmayee bt B.S. Sakshi Yadav 8-2, J. Sai Lakshmi bt S.P. Lasya 8-0, Joshwin bt M. Nitya Reddy 8-6.

Hyderabad, Jan. 6: A triple strike from Syed Zameer ensured Boys Town scored an emphatic 5-0 win over St Patrick’s High School in their first round football match in the ICICI-Deccan Chronicle inter-schools sports meet here on Tuesday.

Abdul Rehman opened the score for Boys Town in the 8th minute. He was in action once again when he scored the second goal of the match in the 16th minute.

After that it was Syed Zameer all the way. Zameer extended the lead for Boys Town scoring the third goal in the 17th minute and then scored his second goal in the very next minute to consolidate the lead to 4-0.

Another goal in the 25th minute brought about Zameer’s hat-trick and that completed Boys Town tally and St Patrick’s misery.

In another match, Meridian scored a convincing 3-0 win over Cal Public School. Amogh scored the first goal for Meridian in the fifth minute of the game. Nineteen minutes later, Rehan increased the lead. The third goal for Meridian came in the 40th minute, Shabad the scorer.

All Saints also made their way into the next round beating St Francis 3-2 via a penalty shootout after a tense battle.

Good Faith was the other team to book their berth in the next round following their 1-0 victory over Cal Public School. The solitary goal of the match was scored by Shabaz in the 10th minute.

Hyderabad, Jan. 6: St Pious School were too good for St Ann’s (Secunderabad) defeating them 37-12 in the second round of the ICICI-Deccan Chronicle inter-schools sports meet basketball match at the Indus World School grounds here on Tuesday.

Alekhya was the star for St Pious as she scored 20 points. She was ably supported by Shweta, who contributed 10 points.

In another match St Andrews beat St Anthony’s 22-10.

In a boys’ second round match, Cal Public School defeated Indus World School 34-12. Rahul was the architect of Cal’s win, scoring 12 points.

In another match St Paul’s High School downed St Joseph’s (Habsiguda) 20-11.

Other Results

Girls: St Andrews bt Indus World School 19-8, St Ann’s (Secunderabad) bt Johnson Grammar School 14-5, H.P.S (Begumpet) bt St Joseph’s Public School 10-6.

Boys: S.F.S bt Secunderabad Public School 11-6, St Andrews bt Obul Reddy High School 14-6, Meridian bt Jafast 14-8.

Karachi, Jan. 6: Getting tough with its contracted players and officials, Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to restrain the people on its payroll from making unnecessary and controversial statements or appearing on television.

The PCB will issue a circular in next 24 hours to gag the players and officials and appoint a spokesperson in the wake of a spate of statements has created chaos and confusion in the cricket circles.

"We have taken note of this growing trend of players and officials giving statements on a daily basis on every issue and causing more confusion. In the circular, we will make it clear they cant interact with the media without our clearance," Saleem Altaf, chief operating officer of the Board, said.

There has been plenty of confusion caused in the cricket circles with everyone who is anyone in the Board or Pakistan team giving statements on every issue and this has led to fears of a growing internal rift between the former players employed by the board in recent months.

It was noticed that PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt, director general Javed Miandad, Chief Selector Abdul Qadir, Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam and captain Shoaib Malik have been differing statements on policy matters. Altaf said after the circular was issued there would be one nominated official spokesman of the Board who would interact with the media.

The first victim of this new strict policy is PCB lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi, who has been asked to explain a statement on the issue of the Board delaying in submitting documents and DVDs with the Lahore High Court relating to the Shoaib Akhtar case.

Altaf said the decision to seek an explanation from Rizvi was taken as he had apparently violated the confidentiality agreement between lawyer and client.

"Even if the client is wrong somewhere the lawyer is not supposed to go public with statements on this. He has to adhere to this confidentiality clause. Apparently Rizvi didn’t do this while commenting on the Shoaib Akhtar case," he said.

Rizvi had said he was as surprised as everyone as to the delay in the Board submitting required documents and DVDs asked by the Lahore High court outlining the disciplinary record of Shoaib Akhtar.

Akhtar has submitted a writ petition with the LHC against the 18 months ban and seven million rupees fine imposed on him by an appellate tribunal of the board.

The court asked the Board to submit the relevant documents and DVDs to confirm Shoaibs past disciplinary record.

Doha, Jan. 6: Andy Roddick began his 2009 season with a comfortable win and an ambition to recapture the form which took him to victory over all three Grand Slam champions early last year.

The former world number one from the United States also spoke passionately about his desire to maintain full fitness after winning 6-1, 6-3 against Ivan Navarro, the world number 73 from Spain.

"Last year I was just going from the training table straight on to the court," Roddick said after reaching the second round of the $1,100,000 Qatar Open.

"I was going to do everything to play Wimbledon and I shouldn’t have and I was advised not to; I was hurt in Cincinnati and tried to play LA.

"When you do that you don't have all the options," he concluded by way of explanation of how his results fell away after beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Dubai in February and Roger Federer in Miami in March.

Roddick believes his injury problems may have been related to not taking a full close season’s rest and training programme at the end of 2007.

Now, however, he feels he has taken a better break and done more of the necessary work, and also has high hopes of his relationship with his new coach, Larry Stefanki, formerly with two other world number ones, John McEnroe and Marcelo Rios.

"I’ve had more time to prepare and it makes a huge difference," Roddick said. "I feel last season was stalled by injury and now I feel better. I thought I made a pretty solid start."

Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray also begin their campaigns on the ATP World Tour.

Federer, the winner of 13 Grand Slam titles, faces Potito Starace, the world number 70 from Italy, while Nadal, the top-seeded Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion, meets Fabrice Santoro, the 36-year-old former titleholder from France.

Murray, the 21-year-old Briton who beat both Nadal and Federer in the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, begins against Albert Montanes, a top 50 Spaniard, and is seeded to reach a semi-final with Federer on Friday.

Hyderabad, Jan. 6: Emerald Bay, Vendetta, Vijay Teja, Sprint Champ, Glorious Bay pleased when the horses were exercised here on Tuesday morning.

Sand Track:

800m: Man Of The Women (S. Nayak) Anemometer (rb) 1-2 600/44 they moved freely. Maximise (rb) 57 600/42 in fine nick. Turning Point (rb) 1400/600/1-3 eased up. Top Shape (rb) Realitty Show (R.B. Shinde) 59 600/44 latter in fine shape note. Classic Art (Nitin ) 58 retains form. Ocean Pearls (rb) Mi Jhinkle (rb) 58 600/43 former finished two lengths in front. Iaepetus (rb) 1-4 600/49 easy. Barkha Rani (rb) The Beatles Angel (rb) 1-2 600/47 they finished level. Fire Binder (rb) 1-0 600/46 moved on the bit. Caligatae (T.S. Jodha) Beyond The Best (trainer) 58 600/43 latter started two lengths, finished level. Uendetta (Chary) Vijay Teja (T.S. Jodha) 1-1, 600/46. They finished level. Cannon Scot (rb) Alukkhas (Christopher) 58, 600/43. They finished level. Dark Stranger (rb)1-1, 600/47 moved fluently. Cannon Hunt (rb) Indradhanush (Nitin S) 1-1, 600/46. They finished level. Crocodile Hunter (rb), 1-4, 600/48, moved fluently. Note: Sprint Champ (rb) 1200/400/1-0, koved on the bit. Note: Al Jadeed (rb) 1-2, 600/47. Easy.

1000m: Glorious Bay (rb) 1-17, 800/1-1, 600/48, 400/30, in fine shape. Royal Embassy (rb) 1-18, 800/1-1, 600/47, maintains form. Chamatkar (rb) 1-18, 600/48, moved freely.

1200m: Prohibition (rb) 1-32, 1200/600/45, moved freely.

1400m: Danzing (rb) 1-45 1200/1-30 1000/1-44 800/58 600/43 in fine nick. Black Mischief (rb) 600/46 moved freely.

Mock race noted on January 5: Winter race track:

1200m: Debonaire (Laxman) Greatballof china (Umesh) 1-20 1000/1-15 800/58 600/41. Debonaire finished one length in front.

Chennai, Jan. 6: For 352 long minutes Sitanshu Kotak (89, 211b, 11x4) remained an immovable force. Until his flick off Dhawal Kulkarni was pouched by Rohit Sharma minutes before the close, he gave his team reason to hope for a possible backdoor entry to the Ranji Trophy final. Mumbai trooped off breathing easy as Saurashtra, chasing a mammoth 637, finished the day at 247/5 after Mumbai declared their first innings at their overnight score.

Mumbai saw more of Kotak than they would have wanted. He has given them enough nightmares in the past and Tuesday was no different. Patient and pugnacious as ever Kotak battled hard and found an able ally in skipper Jaydev Shah. The two added 94 runs in 211 balls for the fifth wicket. Mumbai’s lapses on the field also helped Saurashtra.

Abhishek Nayar dropped Kotak off his own bowling when the southpaw was on 76 while Shah had luck running for him all day. Shah survived a stumping and a run-out chance apart from being dismissed off a no-ball from Kulkarni.

Scores: Mumbai 637/7 decl. vs Saurashtra 245/5 (Kotak 89, Pujara 39, Shah batting 45; Zaheer 2/40, Agarkar 1/43).