For the first time, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will be presented to two boxers — woman boxer M C Mary Kom and Beijing bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh, and wrestler Sushil Kumar.

The country’s best boxer and four-time World Champion, MC Mary Kom, gets the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna after applying for it for the past three years.

Vijender Kumar gets the highest national award a year after he won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, while wrester Sushil Kumar also gets the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award a year after winning India a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Sushil said the recognition would be a huge fillip for wrestling in India and the country can look forward to more medals in future.

True to his word, Day Two of the four-day camp was intense, with Friday morning devoted to fitness and fielding drills, which at times were neatly combined to keep away boredom, while the afternoon saw the batsmen and bowlers face off at the nets. The nets were certainly interesting, more so with extra attention being given to playing the short ball.

After the fitness assessments were done with on Day One, Kirsten, asked specifically if the short ball would figure prominently during training had said: “That might be one of it, but there might be a whole lot others. Within what we do in this team, in terms of our game plans, our training, our structures, we try and cover every base that we need to cover to make sure we give ourselves best chance of success.”

Yes, a lot of bases were covered in terms of fielding, with the short pick up and throw, slip catching, et all figuring but when it came down to the net session at the National Cricket Academy, it was clear that it was the short ball that was being given a lot of thought.

The short ball session for each batsman was seemingly split into two parts. In the beginning, the batsman had to duck and weave his way out as either the bowling machine or the tennis racquet and ball were put to use to send down fast serves that grew big on the batsmen. After that, it was about hitting the short ball, pulling or hooking whenever the line was middle and leg, while still leaving it when the line was on or outside off stump. The training was for 50-over ODIs, where the dot ball is not always frowned upon, so it did make sense to practice both the leave and the shots.

Skipper MS Dhoni was happiest when the time came to smash the ball. He had not been found wanting when he had to leave the ball, his quick reflexes, more than any real technique, coming to the fore.

Dhoni had also looked to be in good touch when just prior to coming into the short ball net he had faced up to RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh and Yusuf Pathan in the regular net. There too he wasn’t struggling to come to terms with the ball dug in, pulling and cutting the quickish RP with some ferocity (Ishant Sharma was the quickest but he didn’t bowl to Dhoni).

The most impressive batting on the day came from comeback man Rahul Dravid. He seemed to be in prime form and though it was a given that he would excel at the ‘short ball net’, the number of times the ball found the middle of his blade when he was up against the bowlers, made for pleasant watching.

The same was not the case with Sachin Tendulkar, who for some time at least, struggled. May 21, 2009 was when Tendulkar played his last game (for Mumbai Indians) and since then he’s been enjoying the rare break and it showed. Harbhajan was the bowler he struggled most against, the offie teasing him with flight and winning more battles than he lost.

Tendulkar, however, is not the sort who believes too much in batting at the nets. However, if there was reason to worry as far as the batsmen were concerned, it had to with the struggles of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan when it came to tackling bouncers. Both showed a tendency to take their eyes off the ball most times and thus found it tough to cope.

Kirsten spent a lot of time with both, patiently explaining the best way to deal with the stuff that no batsman likes but has to endure anyway as a professional hazard. Of course, it is important to remember that the nets always provide some sort of a claustrophobic feeling and is never a true or full indicator of ability.

The all-rounder said that on Tuesday, he had attended the Reliance Industries Ltd. function in Ahmedabad, where he joined Reliance Industries Ltd. for which he will be playing corporate cricket tournaments.

The event was hosted to introduce Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan to media by Reliance Industries Ltd.

At the event, amongst other things Yusuf was asked to comment on the omission of Irfan Pathan from the Champions Trophy probables. To which he replied, “It is not for me to comment on selection matters” and left the press conference.

Yusuf claimed that some journalists tried to put words into his mouth by asking the same question repeatedly. There too, Yusuf said that he had nothing to say and made an exit from the venue.

“I didn’t make any comment on selection matter or about Irfan’s exclusion and the remarks attributed to me are totally baseless and wrong,” said Yusuf in clarification of the allegation.

“It is a dream come true for me. My journey has just begun. I am not going to stop here. Khel Ratna is the highest honour for a sportserson and it could not have come at a better time before the World Championships in September. It will motivate me to perform well there,” Vijender told.

It has been an incredible year for Vijender since bringing an Olympic medal home, for a nation starved of sporting honours.

Fame came calling after that triumph. The Bhiwani boxer attended countless award ceremonies, shared dais with Bollywood actresses and became a well-recognised face on television.

The 24-year-old said that receiving the Khel Ratna from the President would be the “most satisfying experience”.

“My life did change overnight after winning the Olympic medal. I have been in constant limelight. I know that it is boxing that has earned me all the respect and I have to keep performing. I am determined to work harder.”

Vijender said he is happy the sports ministry had made an exception this year and given the award to three sportsperson. The only other time more than one sportsperson was bestowed the award was in 2002-03 when shooter Anjali Vedpathak and athlete KM Beenamol shared it.

Wrestler Sushil Kumar, who also won an Olympic bronze at the Beijing Games, and four-time world champion women’s boxer MC Marykom are the other Khel Ratna recipients this year.

“I am happy that all three of us have been given the award. It is great that Sushil will also get the award. He is my friend and we two have shared so many memories after winning the Olympic medal.”

“It is also a big achievement for boxing in the country. Youngsters are taking to the boxing and it will be a huge boost the sport,” Vijender added.

Despite winning medals at the Beijing Games, Vijender and Sushil were overlooked for the Padma awards.

“I do not want to reflect in the past. I am thankful to the media that they raised our issue and thanks to the sports ministry for recognising our performance,” he said.

England rode on Andrew Flintoff’s five-wicket haul to defeat Australia at Lord’s after 75 years and take a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series.

“Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fines after Andrew Strauss’s side was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration,” an ICC statement said.

As per the ICC regulations, players are docked five per cent of their match fees for each over the team fails to complete in the allotted time while the captain is penalised double the amount.

Pietersen was assessed by a specialist who recommended the surgery, which rules him out of all cricket for up to six weeks, thus drawing curtains on his Ashes campaign.

“The operation involved a small incision and trimming of the blood vessels and nerves around the inflamed tendon and appears, at this early stage, to have been routine,” ECB chief medical officer Nick Peirce said.

“Kevin will look to undertake a comprehensive rehabilitation programme to ensure there is no risk of recurrence. This is expected to be approximately six weeks but will be taken at an appropriate pace following constant review,” he added.

“Since we are in the process of having the ICC disputes resolution tribunal hear out appeal against the moving of the World Cup matches from Pakistan and we have also talked about a proper legal challenge against the ICC decision, we have to see what our lawyers say,” a board official said.

The official said Chairman Ejaz Butt and Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf had been invited to attend the two events on July 14.

“We will do whatever our lawyers tell us to do because we don’t want to damage our case in the ICC,” he added.

The PCB is fighting to regain hosting rights of its share of World Cup matches which were shifted to other host countries, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, by the ICC executive board due to security concerns.

A blend of elegance and Hyderabadi warmth marked the formal engagement of tennis star Sania Mirza with Mohammad Sohrab Mirza at a five-star hotel here on Friday night.

Ms. Mirza’s family had every reason to be proud of the momentous occasion. The two families had known each other for several decades; both hail from Hyderabad but are not related despite having the same family name.

Ms. Mirza’s father, Imran Mirza, clarified that the alliance was not fixed by the two maternal grandmothers, as was being speculated.

The families also insisted that the wedding is not scheduled to be held in the near future, as Ms. Mirza is not contemplating quitting her sport now.

It was one of very few occasions in the city that evoked considerable excitement.

The ceremony itself, however, was an extremely private affair attended by close family friends and relatives. Mr. Imran Mirza had already made it clear that he did not want the ceremony to be publicised by the media.

“This is purely a family affair. Please try to understand our feelings and give us some privacy. Sania herself has requested that there should not be a wide publicity for the event,” he told media persons thronging their residence in Banjara Hills from the morning. Later in the evening, invitees struggled to enter the venue as hordes of journalists waited to catch a glimpse of the VVIPs arriving to attend the 8 p.m. function.

The big names who have lined up for the simple but impressive function where Sania and Sohrab exchanged rings and shared a piece of cake, chocolate and bread included Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, well-known television artiste Rakshananda Khan, Telugu film star Manchu Vishnu, Congress MLA Daggubati Venkateshwara Rao and former Test cricketer Arshad Ayub.

“I believe we have a very good side,” Dhoni said after India won the series 2-1. “It is a pleasure to win the series outside the country. Bowlers took the initiative, we have a very good bowling attack and the young people who came and had the opportunity proved he same. ”

Dhoni pace spearhead in the absence of Zaheer Khan, the young Ishant Sharma, struggled during the series – he took a pasting by Chris Gayle in the third ODI – but rebounded to get Gayle for a second ball duck in the final game. Dhoni credited a disciplined approach key to a rejuvenated Ishant’s spell in the washing-out case.

“He [Ishant] focuses on what to do, rather than watching the drummer. Today, he has been bowling in the right places and there was a little help up to the fast bowlers, “said Dhoni. “In the first game, it was a change of bowling, but today he looked a totally different pitcher with the new ball. Throughout the series if you see that we hit first, because there were something to offer for the fast bowlers. ”

Dhoni for the second series-182 operates at the top was his deputy, Yuvraj Singh, with 168, including the only century of the series truncated. Yuvraj, Dhoni said was the backbone of Indian batting order. “Coming in No. 4, he always takes responsibility and establishes the platform for the batsmen to contribute. When it starts up, you can ensure that it remains a major customer.”

Rued Gayle West Indies that has no chance to square the series. “You can not really do anything in such weather,” he said. “We look forward to Bangladesh now. We need to return to the drawing board to come in this series. [Runako] Morton, the return to form and Darren Bravo for setting international cricket were the positive points that came out of the series. “

Needing 11 runs in the last over after the target was revised to 159 from 22 overs, Dhoni (46 not 34 balls) Jerome Taylor sent the second delivery for six mid-office that the India won with a ball replacement.

The one-Dayer was almost reduced to a Twenty20 fixture as witnesses only four stops because of rain in the West Indies sleeves – including the two hours and five minutes late to start the game. The forced interruption of overs reduced to 27 on each side.

The West Indies, put into bat after Dhoni won the lottery, horse Ramnaresh Sarwan on 62 of the post 185 for a seven and India were set a revised target of 195 following the D / L method.

Visitors need a good start and Dinesh Karthik (47 from 43 balls) and Gautam Gambhir (44 of 38) did just that.

The duo put on 84 runs before launching an Karthik Ravi Rampaul finished sleeves.

Gambhir and Dhoni took the score to 95 off 13.3 overs when rain intervened for the fifth time, after 22 minutes, the target was revised to 159 in 22 overs.

Need another 64 runs from 51 deliveries, India lost Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh (2) in quick succession.

With 11 runs needed off the last seven deliveries, Rohit Sharma Dhoni too departed, leaving the team to see through. The skipper of the 34-ball unbeaten knock included a couple outside the borders of six in the last over.

If Dhoni sparkled, the opening partnership also does the job.

Karthik and Gambhir not only complement each other, but also gave visitors the perfect springboard to go to the victory after Sarwan’s 58-ball 62 guided the West Indies to 185 for seven.

Sarwan has been involved in two crucial partnerships, 51 runs with Runako Morton (22) and another 48 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15) before being exhausted in the course for a second non-existent.

Gambhir strong throw Sarwan found short of the mark.

Sleeves, five to four and six.

It was the impetus given by Captain Chris Gayle (27), which gave host to a joyous start after the match began two hours and five minutes late following a rain delay of the first reduced the match to 41 overs a side.

Gayle hit Ishant Sharma for a couple in the limits of each of his first two overs.

Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (3 / 21) received similar treatment in his second over, another couple of boundaries before the rain intervened with the West Indies at 27 for no loss in 3.3 overs.

Play resumed after 15 minutes late, but the distraction was enough to trouble the West Indies captain, who left behind a widish delivery Nehra.

Gayle slashed the first ball after the resumption and did the rest Dhoni behind stumps. His 14-ball stay at the crease was beaten six times on the fence.

Morton (22 from 34 balls), who was a silent spectator until then was joined by Sarwan and the duo took the score to 56 with an 9.1 overs before rain intervened for a third time.

After another 15-minutes, the overs were reduced to 36 on each side.

However, rain forced play to be suspended again in two deliveries to restart with the hosts of 57 to one.

This time, play was suspended for one hour and 20 minutes before the resumption of the reduction to 27 overs a side.

Morton RP Singh received four, but fell shortly after.

Sarwan but did not let the stops on his pace as he took 16 s’écoule un Yuvraj to help guests pass the 100-word mark in 16 overs.

With highly experienced Chanderpaul, the duo has put forward the 48 tracks left out trying to raise half Yusuf Pathan and Nehra do the rest.

Arm-left leader Nehra was the pick of Indian bowlers, taking three for 21 counters tracks off his five overs.

This time, play was suspended for one hour and 20 minutes before the resumption of the reduced to 27 overs-a-side.

Morton RP Singh received four, but fell shortly after, failing to read Harbhajan Singh doosra and was stumped by Dhoni for reading 78 for two.

Sarwan but did not let the stops on his pace as he took 16 runs to more Yuvraj Singh to help guests pass the 100-word mark in 16 overs.

With highly experienced Chanderpaul, the duo has put forward the 48 tracks left out trying to raise half Yusuf Pathan and Nehra do the rest.

Arm-left leader Nehra was the pick of Indian bowlers, taking three for 21 counters tracks off his five overs.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field.

India made two changes, bringing in Ishant Sharma for Praveen Kumar, while Ravindra Jadeja made way for Abhishek Nayar.

West Indies fielded the same team that won the second one-dayer at Sabina Park, Kingston.

The series is level 1-1.

After dismissing the visitors for a modest 188 in 48.2 overs, the Caribbean team rode on openers Chris Gayle(64) and Runako Morton (85) to overhaul the target in 34.1 overs and level the four match series 1-1.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Dhoni waged a lonely battle as India succumbed to a batting collapse against a ferocious pace attack lead by West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul.

Rampaul produced a career best four-wicket haul and combined with Jerome Taylor (3/35) to rip through the top-order before joining hands with Dwayne Bravo (3/26) to polish the lower order.

Chasing 189 to win, West Indies got off to a rollicking start with Gayle taking the Indian attack by the scruff of its neck and Morton playing initially the second fiddle.

Gayle looked dangerous as he punished the bowlers at will. Ashish Nehra faced his wrath in the 8th over when he clobbered the left-handed pacer out of the park and followed it up with a couple of boundaries to amass 16 runs.

Gayle also slog-sweeped Harbhajan Singh for a six in the 15th over to bring up the hundred before his blitzkrieg innings was brought to an end by a stunning catch by Gautam Ghambir at long off in the next over.

Ramnaresh Sarwan then added 15 runs before being deceived by Rohit Sharma as Dhoni completed an easy stumping.

However, Morton chugged along nicely and with Shivnarine Chanderpaul(18) made sure there were no more hiccups as West Indies cruised to 192 for two.

Earlier, Dhoni struck six boundaries and a couple of sixes in his innings and stitched together a record 101-run partnership for the ninth wicket with RP Singh to lead India’s recovery after they were reduced to 82 for eight in 22 overs.

Dhoni’s decision to bat first backfired as India lost half their side inside 15 overs with three batsmen going for a duck.

The visitors had a pathetic start losing Dinesh Karthik (4), Gautam Gambhir [ Images ] (0) and Rohit Sharma (0) — to be left tottering at eight for three in 1.4 overs.

Playing his first match in the tournament, pacer Rampaul struck twice in his first over but it was his partner Jerome Taylor who drew first blood removing Karthik in the fifth ball of the innings.

Karthik’s outside edge found Ramdin, while a lame poke at an outside delivery brought Gambhir’s demise. Rohit also followed suit when his edge flew to Ramdin, who popped it to Runako Morton at second slip.

Yuvraj Singh (35) and Dhoni then steadied the ship and indulged in singles and twos to take India across the fifty in 11 overs.

Yuvraj played some scintillating shot, which included five boundaries and a flat six off Rampaul in the 10th over, before falling prey to Taylor, two overs later.

With India on the backfoot, skipper Chris Gayle decided to take the fielding powerplay after 10 overs and it paid off straight away as West Indies scalped two wickets giving away just 11 runs to reduce India to 57-5 in 14.2 overs.

After Yuvraj was sent packing, new-man Yousuf Pathan (0) also didn’t last long and was done in by a short-pitch delivery off Dwayne Bravo.

Ravinder Jadeja (7) also gave a catching practice to Denesh Ramdin off Rampaul, while Harbhajan Singh (7) edged one from Bravo. Praveen Kumar (1) also was back in the hut after some time as India reeled at 82 for eight in 22 overs.

Running short of partners, Dhoni took most of the strike and shielded his partner RP Singh for most of the earlier part of their partnership. The duo crossed the hundred-run mark in 27 overs en route to their record partnership.

Singh (23) departed in the 48th over to put an end to the partnership, while Dhoni too fell five runs short of a well-deserving century when his furniture was rocked by a slower delivery from Taylor in the 49th over.

Leaving behind their pathetic showing in the Twenty20 World Cup, Indian batsmen fired on all cylinders as they trampled the West Indies attack to reach an intimidating 339 for six after opting to bat at Sabina Park.

However, defending even such a massive total proved quite a task for the Indians as they just about managed to bowl the hosts out for 319 in 48.1 overs.

It was a spirited chase by the hosts, for whom Shivnarine Chanderpaul top-scored with 63 and Denesh Ramdin played a sparkling 29-run knock down the order.

Earlier, Yuvraj treated the host bowlers with utter disdain and clobbered them for seven huge sixes and 10 boundaries, apart from sharing a crucial 135-run stand with Dinesh Karthik [Images] (67), to shape the Indian innings.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41), Yusuf Pathan (40 not out) and Harbhajan Singh (21 not out) also chipped in with useful contributions.

With the wicket of Chanderpaul in the 36th over it looked all over for the hosts, but their lower order batted with steely resolve and made it an edge-of-the-seat contest.

The West Indies required 21 off the last two overs with one wicket in hand, but Ashish Nehra dismissed Ramdin with the first ball of the 49th over to bring huge relief for his side.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (45) and Runako Morton (42) did well and gave the West Indies a good start but could not convert their scores into big knocks.

Jerome Taylor (21) and David Bernard (19), batting at number seven and nine respectively, did their best but their efforts went in vain in the end.

For India, Nehra (3/49) and Yusuf Pathan (3/56) took three wickets apiece.

It rained sixes as 23 were hit in the match. Only thrice has a one-dayer witnessed more sixes.

The West Indies chase began in right earnest, with Chris Gayle (37) and Morton quickly putting up 65 for the first wicket before comeback-man Asish Nehra got rid of the skipper.

Gayle miscued a pull off the left-arm paceman and Harbhajan took a smart running catch at mid-on.

Morton’s entertaining knock, in which he hit four fours and a six, ended when Yusuf had him caught by the wicketkeeper.

The hosts maintained a good run-rate to keep their hopes alive but continued losing their settled batsmen.

The big-hitting Dwayne Bravo (8) was extremely unlucky as he got out to a high full toss from Ishant Sharma which the umpires failed to call a no-ball.

Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo, making his debut, added 36 quick runs. But just when the partnership started looking threatening Yusuf separated the pair by dismissing the former, ending all hopes for the hosts.

Chanderpaul hit Yusuf for a massive six but failed to do an encore, hitting straight to Ravinder Jadeja at deep mid-wicket, but not before hitting three fours and three sixes in his 59-ball knock.

Earlier, Yuvraj hit a blazing century and Karthik smashed a brilliant 67 to resurrect India’s innings, which was rocked by short-pitched bowling, led by Jerome Taylor.

Early dismissals of Gautam Gambhir (13) and Rohit Sharma (4) had left India reeling at 32 for two but Yuvraj and Karthik batted with patience to not only avoid further jolts but also lay a solid platform for a good finish.

Gambhir’s lean patch continued; he fell to a short-pitched delivery from Taylor. Surprised by the bounce, the left-hander mistimed an attempted pull shot only to find Bravo.

Rohit Sharma (4) became the second victim of the short-pitched stuff as he tried to pull one off Baker but top-edged to Dwayne in the square-leg region.

Yuvraj and Karthik relied more on ones and twos initially and steadied the rocking ship but once they got their eye in, and spinners were launched into the attack, runs started flowing from their blades.

Yuvraj first hit rival skipper Gayle for a huge six over mid-wicket then meted out the same treatment to spinner Suleiman Benn to bring up the 100-run partnership.

Karthik hit six boundaries in his 77-ball effort before being done in by a paddle scoop.

After guiding his side to a safe position, Yuvraj opened his arms to good effect and punished the host bowlers all over the park en route to his 12th ODI century.

He hit both Taylor and Chris Gayle for two sixes each and also added 86 runs for the fourth wicket with Dhoni.

Yuvraj batted fearlessly as he hit Lionel Baker for two fours and a six to reach 98 and then stole a single off Taylor to complete a magnificent century.

The Punjab southpaw was looking unstoppable but Dwayne then dealt the visitors twin blows by dismissing Yuvraj and Jadeja (0) off successive balls in the 39th over.

Yuvraj’s brilliant innings ended while trying to work one on the leg side he got a faint edge and stumper Ramdin took a splendid diving catch on his right.

Yusuf (40 off 38) hit the first ball of the last over for a six and Harbhajan (21 off 13) smashed the last one into the crowd to provide a perfect finish to India’s innings.

The Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies: Chris Gayle (C), Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Jerome Taylor, David Bernard, Suleiman Benn, Lionel Baker.

Dhoni & Co. will try to put the bad memory of their failure in the World Twenty20 behind them, when they face West Indies in the first One-day International of the four match series here on June 26.

A hectic schedule of Twenty20 era has been over and Young Guns of Team India have to prepare for 50 overs-a-side match.

Following a heavy diet of Twenty20 cricket in the form of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa, and the World Twenty20 in England, Team India have to change the gear smoothly against West Indies in the day-long format of game.

West Indies are always believed to be a dangerous team in its home turf. Dhoni and his young players have to face difficult task to take the revenge of Twenty20 defeat in World Cup.

Tiredness and injuries are some of the factors for India to worry but they have had close to two weeks to relax and recharge the batteries after Twenty20 defeat.

On the other hand, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has asked his players to come forward and be truthful about their fitness ahead of the series.

Currently, India ranked as the third-best ODI side in the World, India will definitely looking for whitewash to topple the Australians from number two.

India have lost only three of their last 18 matches, and have emerged as one of strongest ODI sides over the last year.