Family turns down offer of state funeral for Benaud

Melbourne: The family of cricket icon Richie Benaud has declined the offer of a state funeral, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. Abbott said the offer was a mark of respect for a man who meant so much to millions of people in Australia and around the world. But he said the former Test captain and renowned commentator, who died aged 84 on Friday after fighting skin cancer, wanted a quiet and private funeral. "My understanding is that Richie's own wishes was for something very, very quiet and very, very private," Abbott told reporters. Benaud's widow, Daphne, phoned the Prime Minister's office on Saturday to kindly decline the offer of a state funeral, he said.

Dubai 

Indian team snares Nadal for IPTL-2  

Spanish legend Rafael Nadal will play for the Indian side in the second edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), where Japan Warriors will be the new franchise, scheduled to begin on December 2. Roger Federer had played for the Indian team in the inaugural edition but this time the Swiss star has gone to the UAE Royals as the players draft was held here today. Federer came to the Indian side in the inaugural edition after Nadal's pull out and this time British star Andy Murray will not be part of any side. India's men's doubles star Leander Paes was picked by new team Japan Warriors and he has Russian diva Maria Sharapova, home star and world number four Kei Nishikori, Marat Safin, Vasek Pospisil, Daniela Hantuchova and Lucas Pouille as his teammates. 

North Sound (Antigua, Barbuda)

Jadeja incident affected me during World Cup: Anderson

England pace spearhead James Anderson says the altercation with Ravindra Jadeja during the Trent Bridge Test last year "affected" his performance in the World Cup where he claimed just five wickets in six matches. The 32-year-old English pacer was charged with a Level 3 breach of the ICC's Code of Conduct after India alleged that Anderson pushed Jadeja inside the pavilion as the players left the field for the lunch break on the second day of the first Test. “I've definitely been different since that incident. And it probably affected me during the World Cup,” Anderson said.

Dubai

Rathnakaran beats Kovchan to jump to joint ninth

International Master K Rathnakaran continued with his fine form as he defeated Grandmaster Alexander Kovchan of Ukraine to jump to joint ninth spot after the end of the sixth round of Dubai International Open chess tournament. After winning the important game today with black pieces, Rathnakaran emerged as the best performing Indian in the fray thus far and moved to 4.5 points out of a possible six games. 

Kingston

Bolt wins in 200m return

World 100 and 200-metre record-holder Usain Bolt (in pic) competed in his first 200-metre race in 20 months, posting an easy victory with a time of 20.20 seconds on home soil in Jamaica. Bolt raced unchallenged off the curve at the UTech Classic event in Kingston and cruised down the homestretch for the win over Olympic teammate Nesta Carter, who finished second in 20.60 yesterday. Bolt was disappointed he failed to run under 20 seconds — his world record is 19.19 seconds — and said he would have to look at the video to see how he can gain more speed.  "It wasn't the perfect race so I will have to go back and look to see what to improve on," said Bolt of his first 200m since winning the final at the 2013 Moscow World Championships. "It didn't feel as smooth as I am used to, but I just need to run more races to get race sharp." Bolt's next race is a 100m in Rio on April 19, as he gears up for the World Championships.

Mohali

PCA stadium named after its former president Bindra

The Punjab Cricket Association has rechristened its Mohali stadium as 'Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium' in the name of its former president. The decision to re-name the stadium was taken in the General Body Meeting of the association. PCA secretary MP Pandove informed the house of the contribution of Bindra to the Punjab cricket and in building a stadium that was country's best for a long time. “The house appreciated the contribution of Bindra and unanimously approved the suggestion of the secretary to rename the stadium after him,” said PCA spokesperson Sushil Kapoor. The House also decided to increase the monthly allowance the former players were drawing from the PCA by 50 per cent.

Barcelona

Real close gap after Barca fritter 2-0 lead

Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut to two points on Saturday as they squandered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at Sevilla while Real Madrid powered their way to a 3-0 home win over Eibar. Neymar set up Messi for Barca's first goal and the Brazilian then converted an inch-perfect free kick after 31 minutes but a determined Sevilla never gave up. Ever Banega struck a 30-metre drive into the corner that Claudio Bravo failed to keep out in the 38th minute and, after chances at both ends, substitute Kevin Gameiro grabbed the equaliser six minutes from time. — Agencies