Wrestling-
Ravinder Singh (Gold)
Sanjay Singh (Gold)
Anil Kumar- (Gold)
Shooting-
Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang win gold medal in Pairs 10m air rifle and created Commonwealth Games record. (Gold)
Rahi Sarnobat and Anisa Sayeed (Gold)
Deepak Sharma and Omkar Singh (1187) (Silver)
Women shooters Tejaswini Sawant and Lajja Goswami (Silver)
Badminton- Somdev moves to 2nd round of CWG men's singles
Tennis- Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati in mens doubles round 2
Jaipur: October 5, 2010 (Cricinfo, espnstar)
R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla shared nine wickets to bowl Rest of India to a crushing 361-run win against Mumbai on the final day of the Irani Cup tie in Jaipur. Ajinkya Rahane's aggressive 191 went in vain as the Ranji champions were bowled out for 420 in the penultimate over. Rest of India, who were already assured of the title after securing the first-innings lead, won the tournament for the fifth straight year.
The spinners came into the game after Wasim Jaffer's run-out for 88. Ashwin bowled a tight line throughout, getting some turn, and lots of bounce, for his eighth first-class five-wicket haul. Chawla got some sharp turn, and mixed googlies with legbreaks to pick the remaining four.
Jaffer, along with Rahane, had begun confidently in the morning. Both were positive in their approach, launching into a flurry of boundaries, as 67 runs came in 13.4 overs. Jaffer was pleasing as ever to watch, driving with minimum effort down the ground. Mumbai had raced to 146 when Shikhar Dhawan's direct hit caught Jaffer short of his ground while attempting a quick single. That was the opening Rest of India needed and thereafter the spinners barged in.
Two overs later, Ashwin almost had Rohit Sharma holing out to mid-on, but Umesh Yadav dropped the chance as it went over his head. Rohit seemed to have settled in well when he was given out leg before to Ashwin, though struck outside the line of off stump while looking to sweep.
Ashwin then got one to turn across Abhishek Nayar's defensive push and hit him plumb in front. Rahane, meanwhile, was in the zone, playing with purpose and hitting fours at will. A pull off Chawla to the midwicket boundary brought up his 14th first-class century.
Ashwin continued to strike, trapping Onkar Khanvilkar leg before with the second ball after lunch, as the batsman pushed outside the line. Ramesh Powar then buckled down to support Rahane, who continued to attack. He was dropped twice after passing 150, once at mid-on off Abhimanyu Mithun and then by Yuvraj Singh at slip off Ashwin, both tough chances. Rahane hit 30 fours and as long as he was there, the draw seemed the favoured result.
At 366 for 4 with less than thirty overs to go, Powar threw it away, dancing down the track to Chawla and getting bowled off the inside edge. Three overs later, Rahane hit Ashwin straight to midwicket to fall nine short of a double century.
In the fourth over after tea, Ashwin picked up his fifth wicket, getting one to turn and bounce sharply past Sushant Marathe, who edged it to slip. Chawla cleaned up Ajit Agarkar in the next over with a quick googly, and Mumbai were going down in quick time.
However, Dhawal Kulkarni and Iqbal Abdulla resisted as they had done in the first innings before Chawla got Abdulla to edge to slip after 12 overs of defiance. With time running out, he then got Kulkarni to guide one to gully, off the first ball of the penultimate over, to set off celebrations among the Rest of India players.
Mohali, Oct 5 (PTI)
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today heaped praise on senior batsman V V S Laxman for single-handedly guiding the country to a memorable one-wicket win over Australia in the first Test here today. "VVS was really remarkable in this match. He helped the team overcome a batting collapse. Laxman remained on crease, hit boundaries, rotated strike and kept the scoreboard moving all the time," Dhoni said after the match. "For me, it was a very special innings by Laxman," he added.
Laxman battled severe back-pain to play a gritty unbeaten 73 off 79 balls and produced an 81-run partnership with Ishant Sharma to script the win, which sent the hosts one-up in the two-match series. Dhoni also made a special mention of Ishant, who contributed 31 crucial runs. "Ishant showed good character when the batting collapse took place. It was no doubt a big task. Only two-three batsmen remained and Laxman was on the other end. But they supported Laxman well and that worked for us," he said. "Our heart rate went up. Nobody could imagine such an ending in four-and-a-half days when the match started," he added. Dhoni also praised his bowlers, saying, "Bowlers also played their roles and brought us back into the game."
Australian captain Ricky Ponting admitted that Laxman made the difference. "Laxman's unbeaten innings was outstanding. But our performance was also satisfying, boys played well. We failed to take a couple of wickets quickly," he said. "Now we will prepare for the next match. We will take rest tomorrow and then start the preparation," he added. Man-of-the-Match, paceman Zaheer Khan who scalped eight wickets in the match and also completed 250 Test wickets, was yet to recover from the hangover. "Everyone was trying to keep their calm during those close moments, trying to remain composed. Everybody in the dressing room was nervous and was behaving in their won ways," Zaheer said. Asked about his personal achievement, the left-arm pacer said, "It is the result of a lot of hardworks. Few days back I was struggling with shoulder problems. I am happy that the struggles have paid off."
New Delhi: Oct 4 (PTI)
Led by India's biggest hope in swimming -- Virdhawal Khade, the India quartet clocked 3:28.06 to make a cut for the final of the Men's 4x100m Freestyle relay, after they finished sixth in their event at SPM Aquatics Complex, here today. The other three members of the team are Aaron Dsouza, Arjun Jayaprakash and Anshul Kothari.
India could make their presence felt in two more categories, even as most of them failed to advance further. In men's 50m backstroke, Badrinath Melkote clocked 27.52 to qualify for the semifinals, while Subha Chittaranjan clocked 29.96 to enter the last four stage in women's 50m butterfly. However, India put up a disappointing show in all other categories, including women's 200m freestyle, men's 400m freestyle, women's 200m individual medley, men's 200m butterfly, women's 50m breaststroke, as none of the swimmers could qualify in these events.
Meanwhile, a formidable Australian team, followed by England and Canada have already established their dominance in the pool.
London/Melbourne,
Oct 4 (PTI)
"India has arrived" -- this summed up the international media comments on the dazzling opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi yesterday. Newspapers in two major Commonwealth countries, Australia and Great Britain, used terms like 'An ancient land opens its heart to the world', 'India opens doors to the world at opening ceremony' and 'India sweeps aside Games shame' to describe the two-hour cultural extravaganza that unfolded at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium last night. People across Britain watched the ceremony live on BBC and were all praise for it with NRI Industrialist Lord Swraj Paul summing up the public reaction by stating, "India has done itself proud. It was a great show."
'The Guardian' newspaper said it was a moment of national pride for India, which had drawn flak for the troubled build-up to the Games. "'India has arrived': spectacular ceremony opens Commonwealth Games," read the newspaper's headline. "Concerns of recent weeks forgotten as dazzling event launches games amid atmosphere of national pride and celebrations," it said. "At exactly two minutes past seven tonight, a huge inflatable blimp rose slowly and smoothly into the hot air above Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to the sound of hundreds of traditional drums, pipes and conch shells, and the cheers of 65,000 people. "This was the moment that 1.2 billion people there are few in India who were still unaware of the event had been waiting for," it added.
'The Daily Telegraph' marvelled at how smoothly the ceremony was conducted after all the organisational goof-ups that marred its run-up. "No collapsing scenery or malfunctioning sound system. No fluffed lines, botched choreography or missed cues and not a single stray dog in sight. The preparations for the XIXth Commonwealth Games may have been an unmitigated disaster but India certainly knows how to put on a show," it said. "A dazzling, colourful, high-octane opening ceremony that was part Bollywood, part cultural extravaganza, did much to dispel the nightmares of the past fortnight, thrilling a sell-out crowd in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as well as the athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth nations. "It even managed to start on time, to the very second, proving there are some deadlines that Games organisers are capable of meeting," the newspaper said taking a dig at the missed venue-completion deadlines that threatened to derail the Games at one stage.
'The Daily Mail' was also effusive in its praise of the ceremony which showcased the centuries-old Indian culture to a packed crowd. "Commonwealth Games kick off in style with stunning opening ceremony... but the real test lies ahead," the newspaper said. "The XIX Commonwealth Games crawled up off the canvas last night with a display of pageantry and technical wizardry that, finally, projected the image India craved on to two billion television sets around the world. "And not a single tier of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium fell down. The bungling organisers promised it would be all right on the night, and so it proved with this sparkling opening ceremony. "In the stadium - possibly 10,000 short of its 60,000 capacity - you sensed India wanted a pat on the back, and to cement their image as an emergent economic powerhouse despite the deservedly bad press they received over the last few weeks," it added. The newspaper also made a mention of the jeers that greeted Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who had drawn massive criticism for the floundering run-up to the Games. "...the crowds' anger at the alleged corruption and incompetence of the politicians was clear when the chairman of the Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, had part of his speech drowned out by derision," it said.
The reaction in Australia was also positive after being stinging in its criticism of the Games' preparation. "India put on its best face on Sunday night and pulled off a brilliant opening ceremony that was extraordinary in its ambition and execution. It was everything the organisers had promised and more - an energetic celebration of all India has been and all it intends to be," read 'The Daily Telegraph'. "The kick-off to Delhi 2010 was an historic event that well and truly answered the question on everyone's lips over the past two months: "Can they get it finished on time?" "Delhi's extravaganza more than favourably compared with the great opening ceremonies of recent times," it added. 'The Sydney Morning Herald' said the ceremony was well beyond what could have been expected after the shoddy build-up.
"Delhi's Commonwealth Games has managed yet another surprise, with the opening ceremony defying expectations last night to start on time before going off without a hitch to delight a crowd of 50,000 with a rich and exciting pageant befitting a country as vast and populous as India," the newspaper said. "The ceremony to celebrate India's amazing cultural diversity took place behind a thick drape of security with soldiers and police outside Jawaharlal Nehru stadium matching the crowd of around 50,000 for numbers, if not for noise," it said. 'The Australian' said it was a ceremony that made India's "troubles seem so far away." "After a lead-up plagued by terror threats, a bridge collapse, a shambolic village, the first case of dengue fever and more, India delivered a brilliant and lively opening ceremony," it said. "A vibrant celebration of 5000 years of Indian culture - with just a hint of Bollywood - was showcased in a performance involving more than 6000 artists. "There were no visible glitches. India delivered, and all 71 nations took part in the march despite threats by some countries to pull out," it added. The newspaper also lauded the sartorial sense of the 619-strong Indian contingent that walked into the stadium in traditional dresses. "India has won the first unofficial gold medal of the Games - for best team uniform," it said. "Indian Games officials should feel proud of the opening ceremony, classy and showy but somehow warmer and less contrived than the Beijing experience. No collapsed bridges. No slithering snakes. No collapsing roof and, blow me down, before a late blow-out she almost ran on time. "The Indian athletes looked like royalty in their smart traditional maroon tops with gold braided scarves. Slick and sensational," it added.
