Biswal to submit sealed report
St Lucia: Indian team’s manager for the World T20, Ranjib Biswal, will not be e-mailing his report to the BCCI, as has been the norm. Instead, sources say he will type his report and submit it in person to Board secretary N Srinivasan in a sealed envelope, likely on Monday.
Modi to reply today
New Delhi: Suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi’s lawyer Mehmood Abdi has expressed hope that the reply to the first show cause by the BCCI, which will be submitted on Saturday, would satisfy the Board and his client would be re-instated to his post. Asked if there was any time frame for the Board to make a final decision, Abdi said, “The Board president (Shashank Manohar) is an eminent lawyer, so it should not take him a long time, we hope, to make a decision.”
Shane Bond retires
Wellington: Star New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has announced retirement from all forms cricket, saying it was time for him to draw curtains on his international career. “I know the time is right for me to step down. I have given it everything when playing for the Blackcaps,” the 34-year-old pacer said in a statement. “I will miss the camaraderie because it has been a privilege to play alongside such a great bunch of guys who are so committed to do their best for New Zealand,” he said.
SA drop Gibbs, call in Miller
Johannesburg: South African selectors have dropped four players including Herschelle Gibbs and included unheralded David Miller for the upcoming tour of West Indies. Apart from Gibbs, all-rounder Albie Morkel, Rusty Theron and Rory Kleinveldt have been dropped.
Nadal reaches Madrid semis
Rafael Nadal was close to his clay-court best in beating Gael Monfils 6-1 6-3 for a place in the Madrid Masters semi-finals. Nadal has not lost a service game in his three matches in Madrid. Nadal will play fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who beat Jurgen Melzer 6-3 6-1, next. Women’s 4th-seed Venus Williams also made the semis, beating Samantha Stosur 6-3 6-3. She will play Shahar Peer next.
Clijsters, Davydenko pull out
The French Tennis Federation says Kim Clijsters has pulled out of the French Open because of her foot injury, and Nikolay Davydenko has been ruled out by a wrist injury. Clijsters, the US Open champion and world No. 10, will be replaced by Stephanie Dubois. Davydenko, ranked sixth, deals another blow to the men’s field, which already lost Tommy Haas, Juan Martin del Potro, Igor Andreev and James Blake.
Rastogi to play de Voest in final
Karan Rastogi defeated Chinese Yu Chang 6-3 6-4 to make the final of the ITF Futures in New Delhi. In the final on Saturday, Rastogi will take on top seed Rik de Voest of South Africa, who thrashed Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan 6-1 6-0 in the other semi-final. It will be Rastogi’s second successive ITF final appearance after the 23-year-old lost to Murad Inoyatov of Uzbekistan in Kolkata last week.
Lahiri romps to record win
Anirban Lahiri took the PGTI Players Championship title at the Aamby Valley Golf Course with a five-under 67 in the last round. Lahiri’s aggregate of 24-under 264 broke the PGTI record of 22-under for four rounds set by Jyoti Randhawa in 2007. Shamim Khan (67) finished second at 18-under 270, six back. In third place was Abhishek Jha at 276.
Parimarjan takes lead
Second seed Parimarjan Negi took the sole lead, on 6.5 points, after beating Sriram Jha in the seventh round of the Parsvnath Commonwealth Chess Championship in New Delhi. Meanwhile, overnight joint leader Russian GM Maletin Pavel signed a draw with top seed GM Alexey Dreev. A pack of five players, including former world junior champion GM Abhijeet Gupta and GM R R Laxman, trail the leader by half a point.
Semenya solution by June-end
A solution in the gender case of South African runner Caster Semenya will be reached by the end of June, IAAF president Lamine Diack said. The 19-year-old Semenya has not run competitively since winning the women’s 800-meter title at last year’s world championships in Berlin.