DT e-Paper 29 March 2017

Sports
21
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017
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Injured Kohli may
miss start of IPL
India’s firebrand skipper Virat
Kohli may miss the start of the lucrative
Indian Premier League T20
tournament as he races against
time to recover from a shoulder
injury. Kohli, the captain of the
Royal Challengers Bangalore
team, hurt his right shoulder while
diving to stop a boundary during
the drawn third Test against
Australia in Ranchi. -AFP
BFF committee
disciplines
Farashganj SC
The disciplinary committee of the
BFF yesterday ordered Farashganj
Sporting Club to pay their old
fine to the federation within a
fortnight. The Old Dhaka outfit
have to pay fine of Tk15,92,000
within April 13 this year. The
committee also suspended Jahid
Hasan, a footballer from Jessore
for playing in the U-18 National
Football Championship 2017.
Jahid apparently breached the
disciplinary code and has been
subsequently banned from
playing in any BFF-organised
tournament. The Jessore District
Football Association has been
fined Tk20,000 while the DFAs of
Bhola and Meherpur were warned
for their walk-overs in the same
tournament. – TRIBUNE REPORT
PDB face Army in
volleyball final
Bangladesh Power Development
Board and Bangladesh Army
reached the final of the Independence
Day Volleyball Championship
2017 after winning their
respective semi-finals at National
Volleyball Stadium yesterday.
Bangladesh Army outplayed
Bangladesh Navy in the first
semi-final, winning by 25-20, 25-
18, 25-14 and 23-25 points, while
BPDB defeated Titas Club 25-22,
18-25, 27-25. The grand finale and
the third-place decider will be
held today at the same venue in
the afternoon. – TRIBUNE REPORT
City fined £35,000
over Liverpool
protest
Manchester City have been fined
£35,000 ($44,000, 40,000
euros) by the Football Association
for a failure to control their
players against Liverpool earlier
this month. City pleaded guilty
to a misconduct charge last week
after several players were seen
protesting against the award of a
penalty to Liverpool in a Premier
League match at Eastlands on
March 19. - AFP
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar presents the Border–Gavaskar Trophy to regular skipper Virat Kohli and interim captain
Ajinkya Rahane after the team won the Test series against Australia in Dharamsala yesterday
AP
'Unbelievable' India maintain Test run
• AFP
India thrashed Australia by eight
wickets yesterday to seal a Test series
marked by outbursts and controversies
2-1 and underline their
status as the number one side.
Chasing 106 on the penultimate
day of the fourth Test, opener
Lokesh Rahul hit 51 not out in
Dharamsala as India seized back
the Border-Gavaskar trophy from
Australia. India's stand-in skipper
Ajinkya Rahane (38 not out) hit two
sixes in a row off Pat Cummins en
route to the comprehensive win,
SA reeling but have praise for Kane
• AFP
South Africa paid homage to a "fabulous"
Kane Williamson yesterday
after the New Zealand captain's 176
left the Proteas on the ropes with
a day to play in the deciding final
Test in Hamilton.
"We've got a mountain to climb,"
assistant coach Adrian Birrell said
after South Africa were reduced to
80 for five at stumps on day four,
95 runs short of making New Zealand
bat again.
With Colin de Grandhomme also
firing with the bat with a quickfire
4TH TEST, DAY 4
AUSTRALIA 300 & 137 lost to INDIA
332 & 106/2 in 23.5 overs (Rahul 51*,
Rahane 38*) by eight wickets
as fans waved giant India flags and
danced in the stands.
India have now won seven
Test series win in a row, a run that
kicked off with their triumph in Sri
Lanka in 2015, and includes victories
over New Zealand, England
and Bangladesh in an extended
home season.
Skipper Virat Kohli, who was
3RD TEST, DAY 4
SOUTH AFRICA 314 & 80/5 in
39 overs (Amla 19, Patel 2/22) trail
NEW ZEALAND 489 in 162.1 overs
(Williamson 176, Raval 88) by 95 runs
57, New Zealand started the day
seven runs ahead and added 168
before they were all out for 489.
De Grandhomme then ignited
the assault on the South African
top order in the sixth over when
he removed Dean Elgar for five and
later took a smart catch to dismiss
Hashim Amla for 19.
forced to sit out the final Test with
a shoulder injury, said the hardfought
win over Australia was the
most satisfying of the recent run.
Australia captain Steve Smith
apologised for letting emotion get
the better of him. On Monday, footage
indicated he called Murali Vijay
a "cheat" for wrongly claiming a
catch on Monday. It was one of several
incidents during the bad-tempered
series, including Kohli accusing
Smith of systematically abusing
the decision review system during
the second Bangalore Test.
In the maiden Test played in
Theinus de Bruyn was run out
for 12 in a bizarre mid-pitch collision
when he was ball-watching
and veered into Amla, leaving the
batsmen sprawled on the ground.
Birrell said the Proteas' batting
mayhem was part of the flow-on
effect from Williamson's marathon
innings.
Faf du Plessis and Quinton
de Kock were both 15 not out at
stumps. Birrell said they were looking
for de Kock, who set up their
eight wicket win in the second Test
to go 1-0 up in the series, to go on
the attack when play resumes. •
Aussies no
longer friends,
says Kohli
• AFP
Indian skipper Virat Kohli said he
no longer considered Australian
cricketers as friends after winning
a tense Test series marked by bad
blood in Dharamsala yesterday.
Kohli, who remarked before
the series that he was "really good
friends" with some Australian players,
said things had changed during
the bitter contest between the
world's top two sides.
"I thought that was the case but
it has changed for sure. As I said
in the heat of the battle, you want
to be competitive but yeah I have
been proven wrong," he said in a
post-match press conference.
"The thing I said before the first
Test (about being friends), I have
certainly been proven wrong, and
you won't hear me say that ever
again."
The 28-year-old skipper caused
a furore in the second Test after
accusing his counterpart Steven
Smith of repeatedly abusing the
decision review system.
Critics questioned Kohli's conduct
under pressure, and also
his form in the series, with the
right-hander scoring just 46 runs
from five innings. •
Dharamsala, India scored 332 in
their first innings in reply to Australia's
300, before the tourists collapsed
for just 137 on the third day.
On day four, India lost Vijay to
fast bowler Cummins and Cheteshwar
Pujara to a run out, but they
were the only scares for the hosts
who reached their target in less
than 24 overs. India owed their win
to Ravindra Jadeja, who top-scored
with 63 runs in the first innings
before taking three wickets during
Australia's second knock - and was
duly named man of the match and
man of the series. •
Root urges new
free-to-air TV deal
• AFP
England Test captain Joe Root believes
the new planned city-based
T20 event must be shown on freeto-air
TV if it is to achieve its aim
of attracting a new generation of
cricket fans. The ECB announced
its intention to press ahead with a
new eight-team T20 event, which
they aim to launch in 2020. ECB
chiefs believe they need something
similar to help them reach family
audiences and encourage children
to become fans of the sport. •