Southern Spice – Sports Entertainment

VADODARA: Gautam Gambhir (51 not out) offers a glint of hope but a wobbly start to an uphill chase had Delhi precariously poised and they would require a string of extraordinary performances on Saturday to stop Rest of India from lifting the Irani Cup.The Anil Kumble-led Rest of India set Delhi a stiff target of 378 on a fast-wearing track and then Zaheer Khan strike early double blow including the prized scalp of Virender Sehwag (8) to take the sting out of Delhi’s riposte, reducing them to 113 for three.Gambhir found a gritty ally in Rajat Bhatia (31) and the duo cobbled together 76 runs to steady the ship before the right-hander fell to Harbhajan Singh in the last delivery of the day.source:indiatimes.com

Gambhir’s unbeaten 51 included eight hits to the fence and Delhi’s hopes to score another 268 runs for a memorable win would centre around the attacking left-hander.

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India’s most prolific batsman Sachin Tendulkar was declared fit on Friday for the four Test home series against Australia starting in Bangalore on October 9. Tendulkar, 35, pulled out of a domestic match this week to recover from an elbow injury sustained during the third Test in Sri Lanka last month which forced him out of the subsequent ODI series. A board statement said the physiotherapist who assessed Tendulkar’s fitness at the National Cricket Academy had declared him fit. It said Tendulkar would join a training camp in Bangalore next week.Tendulkar, who has become increasingly injury prone, is 76 runs short of retired West Indian Brian Lara’s world record of 11,953 Test runs.

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The senior selection panel of the Indian Cricket Board is poised to undergo a complete overhaul at Saturday’s AGM with former Test captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth likely to replace incumbent Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar.
Chennai-born Srikkanth (South Zone) could have as co-selectors his former Indian team-mate Yashpal Sharma (North), former Test leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani (Central), Surendra Bhave (West) and Raja Venkat (East), BCCI sources said.

This is a complete change from the current selection panel comprising Vengsarkar (West), Venkatapathy Raju (South), Ranjib Biswal (East), Sanjay Jagdale (Central) and Bhupinder Singh Sr (North).

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Lalit Modi, the high-profile BCCI VP is facing the heat as the Board sits for its AGM on Saturday in Mumbai. With The board is expected to ask president Sharad Pawar to continue as chairman of the powerful marketing committee, a post he held in his capacity as the board president. Modi was tipped to fill in after Pawar’s successor as BCCI chief, Shashank Manohar, made clear his disinclination to hold the marketing chairman’s post.

According to BCCI sources, the core members of BCCI, who met on Friday, decided to retain Pawar as the marketing committee chairman. Modi will continue to be vice-president of the world’s richest cricket board and also chairman of the Indian Premier League.

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