Barlett, Rawlins help England U-19 secure a draw

NAGPUR
A 115-run partnership between George Bartlett and Delray Rawlins for the third wicket helped England U-19 escape with a draw against India U-19 on the final day of the second Youth Test match at the Jamtha stadium. England U-19 ended the day with a score of 255/9 in their second innings. For India U-19, spinner Harsh Tyagi was the pick of the bowlers, returning the figures of 4/67. Brief Scores: England: 375 all out and 255/9; India: 388 all out

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JOHANNESBURG
Morkel back in squad for Test series vs New Zealand 

Morne Morkel has been included in South Africa’s squad for three Test matches in New Zealand starting on March 8. Morkel, 32, last played in an international match in June and since then has struggled with a persistent back injury which threatened to end his career. He was part of South Africa’s Test tour of Australia in October and November last year but his injury flared up again after he played in two warm-up matches. The tall fast bowler has undergone extensive rehabilitation and returned to action in a domestic One-dayer last week.

KOLKATA
Dhoni all set for Vijay Hazare Trophy match vs Karnataka 

In the twilight of his career, a relaxed MS Dhoni will take fresh guard when he leads his team Jharkhand against Karnataka in their Group D fixture of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Eden Gardens tomorrow. On the match-eve, there was a reunion of sorts between the two ‘friends’ as he and Karnataka wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa exchanged a warm and affectionate hug. The duo had a long chat before Dhoni, who was all padded up, went in full flow at the nets, facing pace and spin bowlers. — Agencies

TEHRAN
Harika loses, faces ouster

Grandmaster D Harika lost momentum and went down to Tan Zhongyi of China in the first semifinal game of the World Women’s Chess Championship. Harika will now have to win at all costs to stay in the match. A win in the return game of the two-games mini-match will bring the Indian back in contention, while a draw or a loss would mean the end of the road for her in the championship.

MOSCOW
Cleared Russians to miss European championships

Defending pole vault champion Anzhelika Sidorova and sprinter Kristina Sivkova will miss next week’s European indoor athletics championships despite being cleared to compete by the IAAF, Russian news agency TASS reported on Friday. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Thursday that Sidorova, Sivkova and hammer thrower Aleksei Sokirskii all met the “exceptional eligibility criteria” after showing they had undergone dope testing in an environment considered acceptable by the doping review board. However, Sivkova’ coach Viktor Vasyatkin told TASS that she had a cold that would rule her out of the March 2-4 event in Belgrade while the other two athletes have ended their winter seasons. This means that Russia could send long jumper Darya Klishina to the event. — Agencies