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Meiyappan, Kundra get clean chit; Srinivasan may return as BCCI chief

July 28, 2013

Gurunath-MeiyappanKolkata, Jul 28: BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan seems set to return to the helm of affairs after a two-judge probe panel found no evidence against his team Chennai Super Kings in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal which rocked the sixth edition of the event.

The two-member panel, comprising former judges T Jayaram Chouta, R Balasubramanian, submitted its report to the BCCI working committee which met on Sunday, which cleared the decks for the Tamil Nadu strongman to make a comeback.

The panel was mandated to enquire into the roles of Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was the team principal of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and its co-owner Raj Kundra.

"There is no evidence of any wrongdoing found by the judges against Raj Kundra, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals. The report will now be forwarded to the IPL governing council which will take a final decision when it meets on August 2 in New Delhi," BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah told reporters.

Addressing a brief press conference, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said that the inquiry report will be forwarded to the IPL governing council as per the operational rules of the Board.

"IPL governing council will meet on August 2 in New Delhi to take a decision on these issues," Dalmiya said.

Asked whether India Cements have been given a clean chit in the report, he said, "The final call will be taken in the IPL GC meeting.

Srinivasan could be reinstated as the president as early as August 2 when the working committee meets in New Delhi.

There was no clarity on Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's role in the scandal and it is learnt that the inquiry commission has not given him a clean chit.

Shah, when asked whether Meiyappan has been given a clean chit, did not give any answer.

According to a source, Meiyappan has been cleared of spot-fixing in the inquiry report but could be involved in betting though there was no clear evidence.

Dalmiya said that the order of the probe commission was received only this morning and speculation that it had come to the BCCI earlier was not correct.

"The order was received by secretary Sanjay Patel here and it was placed in the afternoon before the Working Committee," he said.

Asked who will chair the August 2 meeting, Dalmiya said, "Let Mr Srinivasan decide. Let Srinivasan take his decision."

Dalmiya also said that BCCI Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ravi Sawani's report was discussed but since one player -- Ajit Chandila -- is in police custody, the probe could not be completed.

"We will wait for some time and then proceed accordingly. Sawani is currently on leave because of his son's marriage. Let him come back," Dalmiya said.

On who will chair the IPL GC meeting since chairman Rajeev Shukla has resigned, Dalmiya said, "I have requested him to continue. I have not accepted Shukla's resignation.

Dalmiya said the BCCI was in the process of finalising the itineraries for the tours of South Africa and New Zealand.

"It is under process. There are other tours also. We will come to you in due time," he said.

Regarding the controversy over India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's alleged conflict of interest issue, Dalmiya said nothing will be swept under the carpet.

"I had said nothing will be swept under the carpet, many were asking what happened to that...," he said.

"We have changed our mode of working. We don't believe you to be after any player or anybody. Therefore, the players will have to declare their interest in sports management companies."

The IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out when India pacer S Sreesanth, along with two other Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and 11 bookies, was arrested for alleged spot-fixing in the IPL.

The contracts of the tainted players were terminated by their franchise, which also lodged a criminal complaint against them.

It snowballed into a crisis for the BCCI when Board president N Srinivasan's son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team principal Meiyappan was arrested on charges of betting on May 26.

A internal probe panel, originally comprising former judges Chouta, Balasubramanian and the then BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, was constituted on May 28 to investigate the allegations against Meiyappan, who maintained his innocence after getting bail.

Srinivasan, who owns the CSK franchise, remained defiant through the turmoil and refused to resign but had to step aside as BCCI President after a stormy emergent Board meeting on June 2 where Dalmiya took charge of an interim arrangement to run the Board's affairs pending the inquiry.

The upheaval led to the resignations of Board secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke, who asked for Srinivasan's resignation on moral grounds.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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