Sports

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Veteran fast-bowler Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the upcoming India-Australia T20I series after testing positive for Covid-19.

The 32-year-old pacer has not reached Mohali, where the first of the three T20Is against the Aussies, is scheduled to be played on September 20. The BCCI and the team management got the information when the team reached Mohali. It has been learnt that the Australian team have also reached the city.

Umesh Yadav is likely to be nominated as a replacement for Shami and his availability is subject to him testing negative for the Covid-19, a Cricbuzz report said.

Notably, Umesh recently returned from an incomplete county stint with Middlesex, due to a quad muscle injury. The county said in a statement on September 17 that the pacer, who had travelled to India for an assessment with BCCI's medical team, had "not recovered sufficiently to handle the workload required in a four-day game" and hence will play no further part in the ongoing County Championship.

This is an unexpected setback for Shami, who had been picked for a T20I after almost a year. He last played a T20I in the Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE in November 2021 when he had finished with an underwhelming six for 140 in five games and a tournament economy rate of 8.84 in those games.

An impactful performance in the home series against Australia and South Africa would have given him with an opportunity to make it to the World Cup squad in case of an injury to the four pacers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel -- selected ahead of him.

However, now there is a question mark over Shami's availability for the subsequent three-match T20I series against South Africa, beginning on September 28. His presence for the series will depend on his recovery from Covid-19.

Meanwhile, it is a welcome break for 34-year-old Umesh Yadav into the white-ball team. The veteran pacer from Nagpur last played an ODI in October 2018 and a T20I in February 2019.

India Squad for Australia T20Is: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.

--IANS

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Lillehammer (Norway), Sep 18 (IANS) Former Junior Wimbledon winner Sumit Nagal restored some pride for India by winning a rubber as Norway won 3-1 in the Davis Cup World Group First Round match here on Saturday.

With Norway taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, Nagal defeated Lukas Hellum Lilleengen in straight games, winning in one hour and 22 minutes in the inconsequential rubber of the five-match tie. Nagal, the 25-year-old from Jaitpur, Haryana, won 6-2, 6-1.

Nagal's victory came after India had lost the World Group First Round encounter to Norway after Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni put up a strong fight but lost to US Open finalists Casper Ruud and Viktor Durasovic.

Bhambri and Myneni came back strongly after losing the first set to win the second but down in the third to lose 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 in a two-hour encounter at the Hakans Hall in Lillehammer.

Trailing 0-2 after India's top singles player Prajnesh Gunneswaran went down to Ruud, the World No. 2 in ATP Rankings, in straight sets -- 6-1, 6-4 and then Ramkumar Ramanathan too slumped to the same scoreline (6-1,6-4) against Viktor Durasovic.

India's hopes of making a fightback depended on the doubles combination of Bhambri and Myneni, which has won six titles in the last year or so.

With senior doubles player Rohan Bopanna unavailable due to an injury, India had to depend on the Bhambri and Myneni but the duo got off to a poor start as Ruud and Durasovic won the first set.

The Indian pair lost its serve in the second game, but broke back immediately and levelled the score 2-2. But the Norwegians broke back again in the sixth game (4-2) and went on to win the set 6-3. The Indian pair had a lot of chances -- they had six break points but could convert only one -- but could not capitalise on them.

They won 80% of points on the first serve and were also ahead on points won on the second serve. The Norway pair converted two of the four break points while the Indians won one out of six.

The tables turned in the second set as the Norwegian pair failed to convert even one of the 14 break points they won while the Indians converted the lone break point to win the set 6-3.

Games went with serve till 3-2 in the second set before the Indians broke Ruud and Durasovic to go up 4-2.

In the decider, the Indians lost the plot after 1-1 as they lost their serve in the fourth game as they went down 3-1. The hosts then went ahead 4-1 and went on to win the third set 6-3 to seal the tie in Norway's favour.

India will now go back to qualifiers again and play against one of the winners of World Group 2 teams.

--IANS

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Kolkata, Sep 17 (IANS) Two centuries and an exciting finish lit up the Eden Gardens on Saturday night in an electrifying contest between the GMR-backed India Capitals and Adani Sportsline's Gujarat Giants in the opening game of the Legends League Cricket 2022, which is being held in India for the first time.

It was a night of unexpected heroes, with Ashley Renaldo Nurse and Kevin O'Brien stealing the spotlight in a game that also involved Jacques Kallis and Virender Sehwag. First, it was Nurse who scorched the ground with an innings of 103 not out off 43 balls to help the Capitals post 179/7 in 20 overs. And while one thought it would be almost impossible for anyone to better Nurse's effort on the night, Giants' O'Brien came up with a fitting reply, smashing 107 off 61 balls.

In the end, the Giants emerged victorious by three wickets as they chased down the target in 18.4 overs, but not before some tense moments. Capitals' spinner Praveen Tambe, 50, came up with three late wickets, including two in the 19th over, to put the Giants under pressure. That the winning run came from a wide only added to the drama of an enthralling match.

Irishman O'Brien, who scored a fifty in Friday's exhibition match between India Maharajas and World Giants, spanked 15 fours and three sixes. He almost closed out the match before falling to Liam Plunkett in the 18th over. O'Brien was adjudged the Game-Changer of the Match.

After Giants' captain, Virender Sehwag invited the Capitals to bat first, the strong crowd at the ground must have expected to witness a Kallis special. But while the Capitals captain did not have a good day with the bat, failing to open his account, it was Nurse, who provided the fireworks.

The 33-year-old Barbados-born Nurse came in to bat at No.6 and treated the fans with an extraordinary show of big-hitting. It wouldn't be wrong to say that it was Nurse's healing touch that rescued the Capitals' innings after they were reduced to 74/6 by the 12th over. Nurse was rewarded with the Legend of the Match award.

The Giants, however, dictated terms initially with left-arm orthodox spinner KP Apanna bamboozling the Capitals batters with his craft. Like Nurse, Apanna proved to be quite an unexpected hero in a bowling line-up that had names like Mitchell McClenaghan and Graeme Swann.

But the 33-year-old, who played first-class cricket for Karnataka, stunned the Capitals by dismissing Hamilton Masakadza and Kallis in the third over of the innings. The dismissal of Kallis was a classic left-armer's delivery and foxed the batter.

Apanna finished with figures of 4-0-36-2, but it could have been better had a close lbw call against Nurse gone in his favour.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Left-handed batter Shan Masood, who was called up to Pakistan's T20I squad for the first time for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, has said that playing County in England was a very big stepping stone in terms of his selection for the mega event in Australia.

The 32-year-old, who edged Fakhar Zaman to the T20 World Cup squad, could make his debut soon with Pakistan set to take on England in a seven-match T20I series starting September 20.

"I'd like to think it (playing County in England) was a very big stepping stone in terms of me making into the T20I side (for the T20 World Cup). The Pakistan Super League (PSL) was a big step up, performing at that level obviously gives you a lot of confidence," Masood was quoted as saying by ICC.

"Having played the T20 Blast over there and getting some runs there. I think that was important to just put my name out there. What was brilliant was that I got to play a lot of cricket in the County. I figured myself out as a person, as a batter.

"I owe a lot to Mickey Arthur and Derbyshire for the time they invested in me. And just being around all grounds, playing against players that are around in the England setup, is one experience I will always regard when it comes to my development as a player," he added.

Masood hailed England's white-ball team, calling it one of the best in the world and felt that the upcoming series would be ideal preparation for Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"I think England is one of the best white-ball sides in the world. Having played County cricket over there this season, having looked at the standard of cricket, we're not surprised at all with what England possesses as a team," he said.

"It's probably the ideal preparation to play one of the best sides in the world before the T20 World Cup. We're very glad we're playing a side like England," he added.

The left-hander had a phenomenal run in the T20 Blast in England, making 547 runs at an average of 45.58 and a strike rate of nearly 140. He underlined the role of coach Mickey Arthur and his conversations with him that helped his development.

"Mickey Arthur is a very successful coach. We kept talking about my game. We tried to take it to the next level and I think learning that was tops," said Masood.

"I've got to some place now compared to five years ago. I mean, I'm happy with that but as a player, the game is always evolving, and you have to evolve as well. I think my next step is to meet the demands of international T20 cricket and hope I make a good career out of it," he added.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) FIFA's Head of Women's Football Development Arijana Demirovic and AIFF Secretary General, Shaji Prabhakaran, inaugurated the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup legacy initiative, Referee Education Scholarship Programme at the Cooperage Football Ground here on Saturday.

Arijana, who is on a special visit to India ahead of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022 - scheduled to be held from October 11 to October 30.

The REferee Education Scholarship Programme in Mumbai will have 32 female participants.

"It is imperative that the development of football be encompassing. The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022 is already encouraging female participation at the grassroots through its legacy initiative, the Coach Education Scholarship Programme, and the Referee Education Scholarship Programme is another key step towards equal representation," Arijana said at the event.

"As women's football is developing the world over in terms of viewership at the elite level and participation at the grassroots, it is only natural for the next step to be an increased number of female referees. We are, thus, very pleased with this initiative and believe it will leave a positive footprint in the ecosystem of Indian football," said Arijana Demirovic.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prabhakaran believes that initiatives such as the Referee Education Scholarship Programme will inspire more women to choose football as a career.

"Development of women's football and increased representation are key areas of focus for holistic growth of football in India. The Referee Education Scholarship Programme is a step in that direction. The 32 candidates of this programme are representative of the huge pool of women within the current ecosystem who are up and willing to pursue a career in football," said Dr. Prabhakaran.

"We believe that such initiatives will inspire more women to be actively involved in football. With an increase in female referees - and coaches - female participation at the grassroots is bound to increase," concluded Dr. Prabhakaran.

Souter Vaz, Honorary Secretary, Western India Football Association (WIFA) and Malojiraje Chhatrapati, Honorary President of the Kolhapur Sports Association (KSA), along with other dignitaries were also present to encourage positive social change and equal representation. The dignitaries interacted with the inaugural batch of LOC's Referee Education Scholarship Programme participants.

The Referee development programme are designed to produce qualified Indian referees at all levels for domestic and international competitions and promote refereeing as a career.

The programme's main goal entails building a key strong support structure for refereeing, with a special focus on human capital through conducting development activities in grassroots, youth development, and professional matches to share the updated Laws of the Game (LOTG) knowledge and implementation of the same across all levels.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) The standbys -- Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Chahar -- named for the Indian cricket team for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, will also travel to Australia.

The selection committee, the team management and BCCI have decided that the four standbys will fly with the team to Australia and be available to join the squad whenever it's required.

Therefore, the likes of Shami and Chahar will be readily available to the team management should there be an issue with any of the fast bowlers named in the 15-member squad, a Cricbuzz report said.

Notably, pacers Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and all-rounder Hardik Pandya -- have been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for conditioning-related work during the course of the home series against Australia and South Africa.

Mohammed Shami, who was not picked in the main T20 World Cup, is returning to play a T20I for India after a long time, during the home series against Australia and South Africa.

He last played a T20I in the Twenty20 World Cup in the UAE, almost a year ago when he had finished with an underwhelming six for 140 in five games and a tournament economy rate of 8.84 in those games.

The Indian team is scheduled to fly to Australia on October 6 after the last home T20I against South Africa on October 4 in Indore. The World Cup in Australia is from October 16 to November 13.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Indian fast bowler Navdeep Saini has been injured and is ruled out of the Duleep Trophy, currently underway in Tamil Nadu.

Saini has had hamstring issues and had to be pulled out of bowling from North Zone's game against South Zone in Salem.

In South Zone's first innings, the pacer bowled only 11.2 overs (1/58) before suffering the injury. However, he batted in the team's first innings (made four runs). In the second innings, Saina did not bowl and is likely to be reported to the NCA, a Cricbuzz report said.

The 29-year-old recently had a great time with red-ball cricket in England, representing Kent in division one of the County Championships. He was in red-hot form as he sizzled with a fifer against Warwickshire on his debut for Kent. Overall, he had picked up seven wickets (5/72 and 2/39) in Kent's 177-run win over Warwickshire.

Saini also bagged four wickets against Lancashire, however, Kent lost the match by 184 runs.

--IANS

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Oslo (Norway), Sep 17 (IANS) India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will clash with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, the next edition of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the world's leading year-round chess circuit, starting on Sunday.

Julius Baer Generation Cup is a new ground-breaking tournament this month focused on the clash of ages as it pits against each other players from age groups -- from 15 to 50-plus.

The Julius Baer Generation Cup marks a fitting return to Julius Baer events for Pragg, the 17-year-old from Chennai.

Pragg won the 2021 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and earned qualification for the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, where he hit the headlines immediately in February with a memorable win over World Chess Champion Carlsen.

The eight-day Julius Baer Generation Cup, the seventh leg of the $1.6 million Tour running from September 18 to 25, will feature 16 world-class players spanning the age spectrum.

So, besides the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa, the event also includes 19-year-old American Hans Niemann. At 15, Christopher Yoo is the youngest in the competition. Along with Pragg and Niemann, Yoo is joined by Vincent Keymer and Arjun Erigaisi in a cohort of talented teenagers.

Also in the 16-player line-up are two legends of chess in six-time World Championship candidate Boris Gelfand and Ukraine's 53-year-old former World Rapid Champion Vasyl Ivanchuk.

Tour Director Arne Horvei said: "Together with Julius Baer, we are delighted to present the seventh leg of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

"The Tour is heating up as we enter the final three events. We have the thrilling prospect of Carlsen vs Pragg and all the players will be fighting for places in the third and final Major in November."

As usual, the 16-player all-play-all prelims will comprise a mini-match of two games each played on a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move increment.

The top eight will qualify for the knockouts with the quarterfinals and semifinals comprising 4-game matches. In case of a tie, each match will be decided by a playoff of five games of three minutes each followed by an Armageddon if needed.

The final will include two 4-game matches followed by a playoff if needed.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Former cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Mathew Hayden have brushed away the argument that Virat Kohli would be opening the innings in the upcoming T20I series against Australia and Men's T20 World Cup, saying that the star batter should bat at No 3 for India in T20 cricket and there should not be any doubt that.

During the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022, Kohli scored his maiden T20I century (122 not off 61 balls) which marked his resurgence to form.

Following a break from cricket, Virat had a brilliant Asia Cup where he emerged as the tournament's second highest scorer and was in sublime touch. His form is a good sign for India ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup which is less than a month away.

The former India opener Gambhir said that he will expect the same fluency from Kohli in the T20I series against Australia, starting on September 20.

"Exactly the same fluency as what we saw in the Asia Cup. The only issue is, that when we saw him play that innings against Afghanistan it was at the top of the order. And in a T20 format, there is a huge difference in playing in the first six and after the first six. And when you go into the middle without having any scoreboard pressure, suddenly when you're one wicket down or probably will have to continue the momentum so that's a different ball game, but runs under your belt or no runs under your belt, there is no better feeling than scoring a hundred," Gambhir told Star Sports.

"And Virat goes into the series with a lot of confidence and I hope he continues his form because he is going to be very useful if India has to play well in the world cup because it's a very important position," he added.

On the other hand, former Australia opener Hayden said that Kohli is a great player of fast bowling and also shut down any discussion on the Indian batter's position in the team.

"Virat, you know, he's such a great player of fast bowling, and Australia's full of fast bowling in their cricket team and they are relying heavily on Adam Zampa through the middle stages now. Pointers to take pace off the ball, Mitch Marsh as well, he'll handle him nicely," the 50-year-old said.

"And this great debate around Virat batting up, GG (Gambhir) and I have already had this over the last couple of days, there's no way that he has to open the batting, he has to bat at number 3, simple as that. And again, it's another one of those things that you don't want to let the door open the discussion on this.

"You don't want to have a doubt, you don't want to have K.L Rahul in the masterful form that he's been in of late and Rohit Sharma who is captain of the team thinking 'I've got to kind of watch my spot here that you know I'm an opening batsman and my job is to play with freedom' and unfortunately, when you start having these debates and you start thinking 'oh maybe he, for his game, it should be him opening', I'm sure he wouldn't want to entertain that and put pressure.

"The one thing that you want to alleviate in the World Cup is the pressure. Just let the batting order rely on its own form and Virat Kohli can handle the situation. He's a world-class player, he can bat at three and he should bat at three in my opinion," he added.

Gambhir was in full support of Hayden's argument, saying the confusion over Kohli's batting order will put more pressure on other batters of the team.

"That's a very valid point, the moment someone starts doing very well, for example, if Virat Kohli has got a hundred in the last game, we all start forgetting about what K.L Rahul and Rohit Sharma have done over such a long period of time. And suddenly when you start this debate about Virat Kohli opening the batting, imagine what happens to K.L Rahul, you don't want your top-class players to be under pressure, especially someone like K.L Rahul, who's got probably more ability than Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. And we have seen that in international cricket and the IPL as well," he said.

"Think from India's point of view and not from an individual's point of view. So that's why I think you (Hayden) made a very valid point that we as experts and broadcasters should start thinking about how India can flourish in the World Cup rather than certain individuals who particularly want to bat at a certain number," he added.

--IANS

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Jaipur, Sep 17 (IANS) Om Prakash Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh lifted his seventh title after he prevailed with a narrow one-shot margin at Jaipur Open 2022 golf tournament at the Rambagh Golf Club, here on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Chouhan (67-66-65-64), lying second and two off the lead after round three, made the most of his excellent chipping and putting form this week as he signed the best card in the last round, a six-under 64, to finish on top at 18-under 262.

Om Prakash bagged the winning cheque worth Rs 6,00,000 and thus moved up from 18th to eighth position in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh Chadha (62-69-65-67), the overnight leader by two shots, struck a flawless 67 despite the putts not rolling in for him on Saturday. He claimed the runner-up spot at 17-under 263 at the Rs 40 lakh event.

Akshay Sharma (67), another Chandigarh golfer, secured third place at 13-under 267. Faridabad's Abhinav Lohan (68) and Bangladesh's Jamal Hossain (69) finished a further shot back in tied fourth position.

Local professional Girraj Singh Khadka was tied 29th at one-under 279. Jaipur's Manoviraj Shekhawat, the only amateur to make the cut, finished 50th at 11-over 291. Shekhawat won the trophy for the best performing amateur.

Om Prakash took control early in the day when he picked up five birdies on the first eight holes to move into the sole lead. He made his sixth chip-in of the tournament on the seventh hole and set up the other birdies also as a result of good wedge play.

Chouhan was in some sort of trouble when he made consecutive three-putts for bogeys on the ninth and 10th that saw him slip back into second place behind Abhijit. However, the man from Mhow who last won on the PGTI in February 2021, got back to level terms with a birdie on the 12th.

Om Prakash's short game came to his rescue once again when he made chip-putt birdies on the 17th and 18th to seal the win.

"I was feeling the pressure at the start of the day as I was two shots behind but I got into my rhythm with those five birdies on the first eight holes. After anxious moments with the two three-putts, a good chip-putt for par on the 11th and the birdie on the 12th really helped me relax. The other good par save from a chip-putt came on the 15th which ultimately gave me the confidence to finish well," said Chouhan.

"Importantly, my game had suffered because I had stopped using the lob wedge. My brother who caddied for me in Chennai advised me to get back to using the lob wedge as it had always been my strength. So I got back to my lob wedge this week and that contributed to my excellent chipping here in Jaipur," he added.

Abhijit Singh Chadha sank three birdies and kept the errors off his card but he couldn't catch up with the leader as the putts didn't fall for him, especially in the latter stages of the round.

--IANS

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