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/ 7 April 2008

Steyn joins Murali at top of bowling rankings

South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has risen to joint number one in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test bowlers, alongside Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Steyn (24) joined Muralitharan after claiming eight to bowl the tourists to an innings victory in the second Test against India on Saturday for a 1-0 series lead, the ICC said on Monday.

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/ 4 April 2008

SA’s Lorgat named new ICC chief

South Africa’s Haroon Lorgat has been appointed the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body announced on Friday. The 47-year-old Lorgat will take over from Malcolm Speed after the governing body’s annual conference starting on June 29, the ICC said in a statement.

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/ 2 April 2008

Dalai Lama appeals for end to Tibet crackdown

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Wednesday appealed for international pressure on Beijing to halt what he alleged was a mounting Chinese military crackdown in his homeland. The Dalai Lama asked ”world leaders, parliamentarians, NGOs and [the] public” to call ”for an immediate end to the current crackdown”.

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/ 5 March 2008

India hail ‘triumph against all Oz’

Indian media on Wednesday rewarded the cricket team’s conquest of world champions Australia with front page banner headlines, celebrating a victorious end to an acrimonious tour. ”Triumph against all Oz” screamed the mass-selling Hindustan Times a day after the young Indian team completed a 2-0 whitewash of Australia.

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/ 27 February 2008

India’s aggression pleases Kirsten

India’s new cricket coach Gary Kirsten said on Wednesday he was impressed with the team’s aggressive attitude despite controversies on their ongoing tour of Australia. ”What I like about Indian cricket as a whole now, and especially about the young players, is that they are ready to accept the battle,” said the former South African batsman, who officially takes over as coach next month.

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/ 11 February 2008

Els buoyed ahead of run to Masters

Two tournaments and two top-10 finishes to start the season have buoyed Ernie Els as he switches his focus to the United States in preparation for the Masters at Augusta in April. The world number four recovered from a horror nine at the 18th in his first round at the inaugural Indian Masters to end tied sixth.

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/ 10 February 2008

Chowrasia holds off McGrane to win Indian Masters

SSP Chowrasia claimed the biggest prize of his career by winning the Indian Masters on Sunday, holding off Ireland’s Damien McGrane for a two-stroke victory. Nicknamed ”Chipputtsia” due to his superb short game, Chowrasia was running hot in perfect conditions at the Delhi Golf Club, sinking four birdies in his opening seven holes.

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/ 10 February 2008

‘Lucky’ coin keeps Els at the top

World golfing number four Ernie Els has been there and done that, and a "lucky" R5 coin has accompanied him throughout his golfing exploits on the world stage. The big South African revealed a superstitious side to his game during a clinic at the driving range on the sidelines of the Indian Masters.

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/ 9 February 2008

Jacquelin takes charge as Els lurks in India

Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin grabbed a one-shot lead at a blustery Indian Masters on Saturday, with Ernie Els lurking dangerously four behind after posting the best score of the day. Jacquelin, who last tasted a European Tour victory at the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai last April, mixed an eagle and a birdie with three bogeys for an even par 72 on a day that saw the lead see-saw.

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/ 8 February 2008

McGrane takes charge in India as Els makes amends

Northern Ireland’s Damien McGrane stroked a majestic 69 to take a two-shot lead at the Indian Masters on Friday as Ernie Els made amends for his disastrous opening round to scrape through the cut. Another Irishman, Graeme McDowell, who finished fifth behind Tiger Woods in Dubai on Sunday, shares second place with South Africa’s Hendrik Buhrmann.

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/ 7 February 2008

Horror day for Els as Randhawa sets pace in India

Ernie Els shot a horror quadruple bogey to lag 10 behind leader Jyoti Randhawa at the inaugural Indian Masters on Thursday, with the local star eagling the last for a two-shot lead. Irishman Damien McGrane played two rounds with Tiger Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic last week and the world number one’s magic clearly rubbed off as he fired a 67 to lie second.

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/ 6 February 2008

Asian elite plan more misery for Els

The Asian Tour’s elite have Ernie Els in their sights at the Indian Masters this week, looking to pile more misery on the South African after his defeat to Tiger Woods in Dubai. The world number four leads the cast at the ,5-million tournament that marks the European Tour’s debut in a country where the sport is booming.

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/ 5 February 2008

Els looks ahead after loss to Tiger

Ernie Els says his agonising loss to Tiger Woods in Dubai on Sunday is history and he is fully focused on etching his name on the inaugural Indian Masters trophy this week. The world number four started the final day at the Dubai Desert Classic four ahead of Woods but his approach to the green on the 18th went in the water and it cost him the tournament.

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/ 5 February 2008

India: The new frontier of golf

Golf is among the fastest growing sports in India and the movers and shakers of the Asian and European Tours see huge potential to cash in. This week, the country becomes the 37th destination visited by the European Tour, which has spread its wings to co-sanction the Indian Masters with the Asian Tour.

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/ 29 January 2008

Harbhajan cleared of racial abuse

India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been cleared of racial-abuse charges at a hearing in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday. ”He has been cleared — the racial charge has been dropped against him,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

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/ 29 January 2008

India renew pull-out threat over racism row

India will abandon the tour of Australia if spinner Harbhajan Singh is not cleared of racial abuse charges, a top Indian official said on Tuesday. Harbhajan was handed a three-Test ban by match referee Mike Procter after being found guilty of racially abusing Australia’s Andrew Symonds during the acrimonious Sydney Test earlier this month.

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/ 9 January 2008

Filmmakers break out of Bollywood mould

By Bollywood standards, an unusual movie was released in India at the start of January. It is not star-studded and has a paltry budget with 150 producers pitching in the money. Tickets have been sold by going door to door, and profits are to be shared equally. It is a first-of-its-kind cooperative film in Indian cinema.

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/ 8 January 2008

Australia tour to continue, say India

India’s cricket tour of Australia will go ahead as scheduled despite racism and umpiring rows, the Indian cricket board announced on Tuesday. ”The working committee of the Indian board took note of all relevant circumstances and developments and decided that Indian team’s tour to Australia should continue for the present,” the board said.

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/ 23 December 2007

Hindu nationalists ‘win’ Gujarat poll

Controversial Hindu nationalist party leader Narendra Modi swept back to power in India’s religiously divided Gujarat state on Sunday in what was called a national victory over the rival Congress party. The Congress loss in the Hindu nationalist bastion, though widely expected, was its fourth setback in regional polls this year.

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/ 14 December 2007

It’s news! Man bites rabid dog in southern India

Upset that a stray rabid dog was fleeing with a duck from his compound, a man in southern India caught the animal, wrestled with it and bit it hard in the throat before it was beaten to death, a newspaper said. A report in the Hindustan Times on Friday said that the dog had become a menace to villagers in Pakakkadavu, in the Kollam district of Kerala state.

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/ 11 December 2007

Boje denies links to match-fixing scam

South Africa bowler Nicky Boje on Tuesday denied charges of match-fixing under questioning by Indian police probing the scandal that hit cricket seven years ago, officials said. The 34-year-old, who was escorted to a New Delhi interrogation centre by South African diplomats, was grilled for nearly two hours by Crime Branch detectives.

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/ 11 December 2007

Indian police grill Boje over match-fixing

Indian police on Tuesday began questioning South African cricketer Nicky Boje about a major match-fixing scandal in 2000, police Crime Branch officers said. The 34-year-old was escorted in a private vehicle by South African diplomats to a New Delhi interrogation centre where detectives began the questioning, they said.

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/ 10 December 2007

India closes down fake government office

A fake government office has been discovered in northern India that collected taxes, provided civic services and even handed out birth and death certificates, a report said on Monday. An office was set up outside Jhansi town in Uttar Pradesh state and 20 people employed to carry out jobs such as street sweeping.

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/ 6 December 2007

Cops want to see Boje before he leaves India

South African bowler Nicky Boje will not be able to leave India without assisting police inquiries into a major match-fixing scandal in 2000, officials said on Thursday. ”We want Boje to join the investigations and although a date has not been set for him to come, he will be asked to assist us before he leaves India,” police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

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/ 5 December 2007

Boje back in Indian police’s sights

Indian police have summoned former South Africa all-rounder Nicky Boje for questioning over a 2000 match-fixing case, they said on Wednesday. Boje and teammate Herschelle Gibbs were named in a Delhi police investigation into cricket corruption during South Africa’s tour seven years ago, which led to a life ban for then-captain, the late Hansie Cronje.

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/ 5 December 2007

India unsure over choice of Kirsten

Former India players and cricket lovers have expressed reservations over the appointment of former South Africa batting stalwart Gary Kirsten as new coach of the national team. The 40-year-old former opener, a prolific scorer who played 101 Tests until his retirement in 2004, is to take over as the new coach for a two-year term.

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/ 30 November 2007

India eyes role as ‘wind superpower’

India might be painted as a pollution-spewing, global-warming economy of one billion people but it is also one of the world’s biggest wind power users, part of a focus on renewable energy mostly unnoticed in the West. Years of tax incentives have helped make India one of the fastest-growing markets for wind power, a major component of renewable energy.