Pujara slips to seventh spot in ICC Test rankings

DUBAI: India's Cheteshwar Pujara slipped a rung to seventh in the batting list but R Ashwin remained steady at fifth in the bowling chart of the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Thursday.

Apart from Pujara, Virat Kohli, who struck a hundred on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa on Wednesday, is the only other Indian in the top-20 of the batting list. He is unchanged at 20th.

Among the bowlers, Pragyan Ojha moved up a spot to eighth. Ashwin, meanwhile, continued to hold the top position in the all-rounders' list.

Elsewhere, Australia opener David Warner has moved up three places after stellar performances against England in the Perth Test, which the home side won by 150 runs on Tuesday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.

Warner, who scored 60 and 112 to be the leading run-getter to date in the series, earned 51 ratings points to end at 741 ratings points, which has given him a lift of three places to put him just outside the top 10 in 11th position.

The other centurions from the Perth Test - Shane Watson and Steven Smith of Australia, and Ben Stokes of England - have also moved up the rankings.

Watson has jumped six places to 32nd, Smith has gained gain eight places to 37th, and Stokes has rocketed 81 places to 73rd.

South Africa's duo of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla continue to head the rankings for Test

India made 280 runs in first inning against South Africa

South Africa bundle out India for 280 runs on Day 2 in first Test

NEW DELHI: Vernon Philander snared four wickets and Morne Morkel took three, as South Africa bundled out India for 280 runs in their first innings on the second day of the first Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Scorecard

India lost their last five wickets for just 25 runs as the Proteas pacers altered their lengths, taking full advantage of an overcast morning.

Morkel dismissed Indian captain MS Dhoni before Philander got rid of Ajinkya Rahane and Zaheer Khan off consecutive deliveries.

Morkel had Indian captain MS Dhoni caught behind by AB de Villiers in the ninth over of the day.

Morkel lured Dhoni on to the front foot with a length ball just outside off, the Indian captain got only half-forward as he poked at it and ended up edging the ball through to the keeper.

In the next over, Philander too had Rahane (47) caught behind and on the next delivery trapped Zaheer plumb in front of the wicket for a first ball duck.

India then lost their ninth wicket when Philander clean bowled Ishant Sharma with an incoming delivery.

The day's play started with Rahane and Dhoni resuming the Indian first innings.

On Day 1, centurion Virat Kohli and the determination of the new-look middle-order ensured that India reached 255/5 by stumps.

There was an intent shown by every Indian batsman to honour Dhoni's bold move to bat first on a bouncy track with a tinge of green. Even the openers Shikhar Dhawan (13) and M Vijay (6) looked to leave a lot of balls, something that they had worked on over the last one week.

Dhawan, though, threw it away trying a hook off Steyn with both deep square-leg and deep fine-leg back. Morne Morkel, coming in one change, bowled a few short ones to push Vijay on the backfoot and then pitched one up to induce the nick.

Cheteshwar Pujara took the brunt of the South African pacers as Kohli looked to express himself. But the best thing about the 89-run partnership that lasted 27 overs was the level-headed approach of the two batsmen. Both left a lot of deliveries on length, forcing the South African pacemen to change the off-stump line. The Kookaburra ball was also losing its nip and it allowed both Kohli and Pujara to take control.

A horrible mix-up led to Pujara's run out but by then the initial storm had blown over. Kohli had settled down very well and was looking equally comfortable both on the front and back foot. He was not playing at anything outside the off-stump and was choosy about playing the hook shot. He played the hook only when he was in line, thus ensuring that he had the shot always under control.

Rohit Sharma (14) was also looking good, but the habit of playing far away from his body led to his downfall. He nicked a well-pitched up delivery off Vernon Philander and the AB de Villiers didn't make any mistake.

But Kohli at the other end was unstoppable and reached his fifth Test ton. 

Sachin Tendulkar the most searched sportsperson 2013

Sachin Tendulkar the most searched sportsperson 2013NEW DELHI: India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who recently retired from all forms of the game, is the most searched sportsperson and also features among the top-10 most searched Indian personalities of 2013, according to Google.

Besides Tendulkar, the other most searched sportspersons are athletic legend Milkha Singh, India cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, Sania Mirza, Rahul Dravid, Chris Gayle, Ravindra Jadeja and Saina Nehwal.
In a survey carried out by Google India, the much scandalised 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) is the second in the top trending list. This year's IPL was rocked with charges of spot-fixing and betting charges.

Google India in a statement said that the sixth edition of the IPL broke records for the amount of online searches for latest scores and results.

"From a search trends perspective, 2013 was clearly the year of entertainment. Shah Rukh's Lungi Dance from Chennai Express, the Bollywood romantic drama Aashiqui 2, national heart-throbs Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, Telugu actor Kajal and her counterpart, the young rebel star Prabhas and singer Honey Singh ruled 2013 and drove millions of Indians to the web," said Rajan Anandan, VP and managing director, sales and operations, Google India.

Dravid, who led Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and India's Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal also featured among the top-10 most searched news.

Dravid was in the news after his three Rajasthan Royals teammates Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were arrested by Delhi Police for their involvement in spot-fixing in the IPL. Dravid has agreed to be a prosecution witness in the case.

David Moyes hopeful over Rooney injury

Man Utd hope Wayne Rooney will not miss Christmas fixtures

Manchester United hope striker Wayne Rooney will recover from a groin injury in time for Saturday's Premier League match at home to West Ham.

Rooney was ruled out of Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarter-final victory against Stoke with a groin strain.
When asked whether Rooney would feature against West Ham, manager David Moyes replied: "He has got a chance, yes."
United are already without Robin van Persie and play four league games between 21 December and 1 January.
Rooney, 28, has been one of United's most impressive performers, scoring 12 goals in 26 appearances during an inconsistent season for the club,
The absence of England striker Rooney would leave Moyes short of options in attack as the Scot will be without Van Persie - last season's leading scorer - until January.
The Dutchman, sidelined for a month with a thigh strain, could return for the league match against Chelsea on 19 January.

Michael Rogers fails drugs test

Former Team Sky rider Rogers fails drugs test

Michael Rogers, a former Team Sky rider and three-time world time trial champion, has failed a drugs test.

The 33-year-old Australian tested positive for clenbuterol at the Japan Cup in October.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) says Rogers is provisionally suspended while his national federation investigates the case.
Team Sky's Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is also being investigated after an anti-doping violation.
Rogers' team released a statement which stated that the Australian feared the positive result was due to a contaminated food source.
The Tinkoff-Saxo statement read: "Michael Rogers immediately informed Saxo-Tinkoff's management about the notification from the UCI.
"The Australian explained to the team management that he never ingested the substance knowingly nor deliberately and fears that the adverse analytical finding origins from a contaminated food source.
"Michael Rogers participated in Tour of Beijing the week before the Japan Cup and travelled directly from China to Japan."
Clenbuterol, which helps build muscle and burn fat, is the substance two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador tested positive for at the 2010 Tour. 
Rogers joined Contador at Team Saxo-Tinkoff last season from Team Sky, where he rode in support of Britain's 2012 Tour winner Bradley Wiggins.
Rogers left Sky after being named in evidence in the Lance Armstrong case  as working with the American's favoured doctor Michele Ferrari.
Rogers was upgraded to bronze in the time trial at the 2004 Olympics when Tyler Hamilton was disqualified for failing a drugs tes

Andy Murray wins Sports Personality award 2013

Andy Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013

Andy Murray has been voted the 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The 26-year-old Scot became the first Briton in 77 years to win the Wimbledon men's singles title with victory over Novak Djokovic in the summer.
Wales and British & Irish Lions rugby union player Leigh Halfpenny was runner-up, with jockey AP McCoy third.
"I'd like to thank all the public who voted, for giving me so much support over the last couple of years," said Murray. "It's made a huge difference."

The ceremony was held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, although Murray was presented with the award in Miami where he is training ahead of the new season.

Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, handed the trophy over.
Murray, who was third behind cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins and heptathlete Jessica Ennis in 2012, said: "Thanks to Martina for giving this to me. She's possibly the greatest tennis player of all time.
"I've got a few people to thank - my family first. A lot are there in the crowd. They've supported me since I was a kid, making a lot of sacrifices for me. I couldn't have done it without you.
"My team are also all standing behind the camera here. They've been with me for a long time and I also couldn't have done it without them. Thank you to all of them."
Of the public, he added: "I know sometimes I'm not the easiest person to support but I've had a lot of pressure on me for a long time. I'm glad I managed to do it.
"No matter how excited I try to sound, my voice always sounds boring - that's just my voice. I'm sorry. I'm very excited right now. Thank you very much everyone."
Murray is the fourth tennis player to win the award in its 60-year history, after Ann Jones in 1969, Virginia Wade in 1977 and Greg Rusedski in 1997.
Meanwhile, the British and Irish Lions were crowned Team of the Year after ending a 16-year wait for a series win with a 2-1 victory over Australia, with Warren Gatland making it a double celebration as he was named Coach of the Year.
The other winners were:

• Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: Sebastian Vettel, who won a fourth consecutive Formula One title in October.
• Young Sports Personality of the Year: Amber Hill, who at 15 became the youngest winner of a senior World Cup in skeet shooting and finished the season ranked number one senior in Great Britain and number five in the world.
• Sports Personality of the Year Diamond Award: Sir Alex Ferguson, who retired in May after more than 26 years as Manchester United manager during which he won 38 trophies.
• Helen Rollason Award: Anne Williams, the Hillsborough justice campaigner, who died in April.
• Sports Unsung Hero: Joe and Maggie Forber for their work promoting basketball in Manchester.

Murray's success marked a triumphant end to an up-and-down year which began with a fifth Grand Slam final defeat, when he lost to Djokovic at the Australian Open in January.

Leigh Halfpenny, Sir Alex Ferguson and AP McCoy were all honoured

His lingering back problem forced him to miss the French Open in May, but he recovered to win the Wimbledon title, a year after breaking down in tears following defeat by Roger Federer in the final.
In September, his defence of the US Open title ended in the quarter-finals, but he went on to help Great Britain secure their place in the Davis Cup World Group before having back surgery, which caused him to miss the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Murray intends to make his comeback in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi on 26 December before playing in the Qatar Open in Doha ahead of the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on 13 January.
Runner-up Halfpenny, 24, followed up being named player of the tournament as Wales won the Six Nations with the man-of-the-series award as the Lions won in Australia.
"I can't believe it to be honest," he said. "This is a really prestigious award. Just to be nominated is brilliant and I feel really privileged.

Thanks for sticking by me: Murray talks to BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent

"Andy Murray was a very deserving winner. It was an amazing achievement by him."
McCoy, 39 and the winner in 2010, became the first jump jockey to ride 4,000 winners in November having won an unprecedented 18th consecutive champion jump jockey title.
"It's a phenomenal achievement," McCoy said of Murray's win at the All England Club in July.
"To be the first tennis player in that length of time to win Wimbledon, with the pressure that was on him, and playing in an era where there are three of the greatest tennis players to have played the game in Djokovic, [Rafael] Nadal and Federer.
"No disrespect to any of the other contenders, but I think it would have been totally unjust for anyone else to win this year."
Murray won Sports Personality with 56% of the vote. Full breakdown as follows:

• Murray: 401,470
• Halfpenny: 65,913
• McCoy: 57,854
• Mo Farah: 51,945
• Ben Ainslie: 48,140
• Chris Froome: 37,343
• Hannah Cockroft: 26,151
• Christine Ohuruogu: 13,179
• Justin Rose: 9,833
• Ian Bell: 5,626
• Total votes: 717,454

India vs South Africa first day Virat Kohli struck century 119

South Africa v India: Virat Kohli century helps tourists recover

Virat Kohli struck 119 to help India to reach 255-5 on the opening day of the first Test with South Africa.

Batting in the number four position vacated by the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar last month, Kohli hit 18 boundaries in his fifth Test century.
He had come to the crease in the 16th over after the India openers were dismissed cheaply in Johannesburg.
Kohli departed in the 76th over but Ajinkya Rahane, in only his second Test, recorded an unbeaten 43.
The 25-year-old, who made only seven and one on his debut against Australia in March, shared an unbroken partnership of 36 with skipper Mahendra Dhoni who had earlier chosen to bat on a wicket offering some assistance to the bowlers at the start of the two-match series.
Paceman Dale Steyn dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, who top-edged a rapid short-pitched delivery to Imran Tehir at fine-leg, before Murali Vijay edged a full-length ball from Morne Morkel to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.
Kohli seized on anything short but having shared 89 with Cheteshwar Pujara he called for a quick single only to send his partner back when he had almost joined him at the striker's end, with Pujara easily run out for 25.
Having reached his first Test hundred against South Africa and become only the third India batsman to make a century in Johannesburg, Kohli fell when he scooped a wide ball from Jacques Kallis to cover, the 289th Test wicket for the veteran all-rounder.