Pawar’s tribute to Pataudi

Calcutta: Sharad Pawar, the International Cricket Council president, has paid tribute to Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the former India captain, who died on Thursday.

“On behalf of the International Cricket Council (ICC), I condole the passing of ‘Tiger’ Pataudi who was one of India’s greatest, most charismatic and flamboyant captains… Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was a man of exceptional talent who turned out to be an inspiration to millions of cricketers, not only in India, but also across the globe,” Pawar said in a statement.

Ishant opinion

New Delhi: Indian paceman Ishant Sharma is confident that he would not require surgery to recover from an ankle injury, which had forced him to miss the ODI series during the recently concluded fateful England tour.

The lanky bowler has been undergoing a rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

“Thanks to my rehab program, I’m sure I won’t need surgery,” Ishant said.

Kambli quits

Mumbai: Former India batsman Vinod Kambli Friday announced his retirement from first class cricket, bringing to an end a long career that started way back in 1989.

Title for Firoz

Mumbai: Firoz Ali Mollah of Calcutta ended his four-year title drought with a memorable play-off victory over Chiragh Kumar of Delhi to lift the Aircel PGTI Players Championship at the Willingdon Sports Club golf course on Friday.

Firoz edged out Kumar on the third play-off hole after the two golfers had ended the regulation 72 holes with identical totals of 16 under 244.

Saaniya best

Calcutta: Saaniya Sharma grabbed her first title of the season by pipping Smriti Mehra here in the fourth leg of the Hero WPGT Tour at the Classic Golf Resort on Friday.

The Chandigarh golfer Saaniya, who went eight-over on the day and was carded 80 for a total of 226, managed a birdie when it mattered the most to win the title.

Aleksej leads

Mumbai: Belarussian Grand Master Aleksej Aleksandrov inched closer to the title in the fourth Mayor’s Cup International Chess Tournament here when he overcame India's M S Thejkumar in the ninth and penultimate round to widen his lead by one point.

Neutral venue

Baghdad: Iraq will have to play all their home qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup and next year’s London Olympics at a neutral venue due to fears over security, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Friday.

In a letter sent to the Iraq Football Association (IFA), Fifa raised concerns over security conditions and a breach of safety regulations in their qualifier with Jordan earlier this month, according t o an AFC statement.

Staff Reporter & Agencies