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Bhandari replaces Nehra in Indian ODI squad

         Rawalpindi: The Indian team management today called in promising Delhi speedster Amit Bhandari as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, who has been ruled out of the remaining three one- day internationals to be played in Peshawar and Lahore. The decision to request the national selection committee to send Bhandari was taken after Nehra was ruled out of action for one week after suffering a injury in his left hand during the second one-day international cricket match against Pakistan here. Nehra injured the webbing between index and middle finger in his bowling hand while fielding in Pakistan innings, according to BCCI Media Manager Amrit Mathur. Nehra had cleared a fitness test for an ankle injury before the start of Tuesday's match.

Sachin is the greatest, says Inzamam-ul-Haq (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: Sachin Tendulkar is the "greatest batsman" of the world, and over the years he has proved his cricketing mettle, Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said while praising the master-blaster for hitting a brilliant 141 off 135 balls in the Tuesday's one-day international at Rawalpindi. "There is no doubt he is the greatest batsman," the News quoted Inzamam as saying of Tendulkar, who hit his 37th ODI century that carried him past the 13,000-run mark. "In the last 13-14 years, he has worked so hard and has proved to the world that he is outstanding, and when he is playing so well you can only wait to get his wicket," Inzi said in Tendulkar's praise.

          Meanwhile, Sachin, who was named man of the match, said he would have been happier with his effort if India had won. "I have always said the century has a great value if the team wins," he said, adding, "The pitch took more turn in the evening. The ball was stopping and it was not easy to bat out there. We took some time to settle down and were more selective in our stroke play. But the Pakistanis bowled very well." It may be recalled that before the start of the series, former Pakistani captain Imran Khan had spoken quite lowly of Sachin. But, following criticism in the press, he had to take back his words.

Ten Sports telecast: SC orders DD to pay Rs. 40 cr more (Go To Top)

         New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the state public broadcaster Doordarshan to pay up an additional Rs.40 cr to the Dubai-based Ten Sports as fees for telecasting the remaining three one-day internationals being played in Pakistan between the Indian and Pakistani teams. In its third hearing of the case over the past week, the apex court also instructed Doordarshan to show the Ten Sports logo during the entire period of the match telecast and to suspend its paid-up advertisements 30 minutes before and 30-minutes after the match to prevent chances of piracy. Representatives of the free-to-air-channel and Ten Sports were also asked to present themselves before the apex court for the next hearing on April 15. Doordarshan has already paid a sum of Rs.10 crore for the telecast.

Jamali: Vajpayee not coming, it's no child's play (Go To Top)

          Hyderabad: Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee coming to Pakistan to watch a game of cricket is no child's play, and he is not coming to Lahore to watch either of the last two matches of the ongoing one-day series between the two countries, Pakistani Premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said. "Vajpayee is not coming; it is not a child's play, SAARC summit was another thing and cricket match is another," the News quoted Jamali as saying while speaking to reporters here Tuesday. On the occasion, the premier also reiterated his government's stand that Kashmir was the core issue between India and Pakistan. He said dialogue with New Delhi would continue till the resolution of all issues, including Kashmir.

Pakistan announces 15-member squad for Peshawar clash (Go To Top)

         Lahore: Pakistan announced a 15-member squad for the third One-Day International (ODI) of the series against India at Peshawar, Geo news channel reported on Wednesday. The team includes Taufiq Umar who performed well in the practice match. The team has been announced through a media release. The team members are Shahid Afridi, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younus Khan, Abdul Razaq, Shoaib Malik, Moeen Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Sami, Shabir Ahmad, Saqlain Mushataq, Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan, Taufiq Umar and Imran Farhat.

Musharraf hosts Indian cricket team (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf played host to the visiting Indian cricket team in Islamabad on Wednesday. Musharraf congratulated the Indian team for winning the first one-day international by five runs in Karachi. Pakistan beat India by 12 runs in the second one-day international in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. India were all out 317 runs in 48.4 overs after Pakistan made 329 for the loss of six wickets on batting first after winning the toss. Both the sides have won one game each of the five-match series. The team, led by skipper Saurav Ganguly, presented an autographed bat to Musharraf.