ACC Women’s Championship 2013: Thailand won ACC Women’s Championship beating China while Nepal finishes third

It was a historic day for Cricket in Thailand as their women’s team beat China by 17 runs in the final of the ACC Women’s Championship to lift a prestigious trophy and also to win the chance of taking part in a competition held in Ireland that will decide the qualifiers for the next Women’s World Twenty20.

At the start of the day this all seemed highly unlikely as an overnight storm had swept across Chiang Mai but the match was moved from Prem Oval to the new ground at Royal Chiang Mai and this proved to be a fitting stage for a triumphant day for Thailand with a large and enthusiastic crowd in attendance.

Thailand  women's Team with  Trophy

Thailand were asked to bat first and were struggling against a testing Chinese bowling attack when captain Sornnarin Tippoch was joined by Chanida Sutthiruang and a precarious position of 46 for five was converted into a more than useful total of 95 for six. Sornnarin made an unbeaten 28 and Chanida contributed 17 to a partnership of 40 in six overs.

Chanida then dismissed both openers in her first over and China were 0 for 2 and then 5 for 5. The Chinese were unbeaten so far in the tournament with six wins out of six but they were now surely heading for defeat. Huang Zhuo did her best until she was out for 30 in the last over but Thailand were able to secure victory by 17 runs as China were bowled out for 78 in 24.4 overs.
The presentations were a joyous occasion as Sornnarin Tippoch lifted the trophy and also won the player of the tournament award for 13 wickets and 186 runs as well as becoming the first player to score a century in ACC women’s cricket. Chanida Sutthiruang was named player of the match for her 17 and 3 for 6 and was also bowler of the tournament with 18 wickets, while China’s Zhang Mei was made batter of the tournament with 269 runs. Iran won the Spirit of Cricket Award for their contribution on and off the field to a memorable competition that will be long remembered in Thailand.Thaland will now participate in ICC women’s world cup Qualifier that will be held in Ireland Later this Year.
Nepal finished in third place after beating Hong Kong by eight wickets at Gymkhana Club. Nepali Women’s Team defeated Hongkong in the 3rd/4th Playoff Match at Gymkhana to secure third position in the ACC Women’s Championship 2013.

Nepal won the toss and elected to field first in a rain delayed match which later on reduced to 19 overs per side. The pitch was damp and the outfield was wet and Nepali bowlers exploited the condition very well today.

Hongkong had a terrible start losing two wicket for 8 runs in 2.1 overs. Only their opening Wicketkeeper batter Yip Sze Wan (12 runs) scored in double digits. Four batters didn’t even trouble the scoreboard. The second highest scorer was the 10 extra runs given by Nepali bowlers.

Australia announced test squad for India tour

Australia announced their cricket squad for next month's much-anticipated Test tour of India today.Cricket Australia's (CA) National Selection Panel (NSP) Thursday named two uncapped players, Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques, in the 17-man squad to tour India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beginning Feb 22 in Chennai.Commenting on the squad, national selector John Inverarity said: "This squad has the flexibility that will be required for the varying conditions expected in India and it will provide valuable experience to a number of young players.""The squad includes a spin bowling all-rounder in Maxwell and a medium-fast all-rounder in Henriques. Xavier Doherty also returns to the Test squad. We certainly feel he is much improved in the longer format of the game since he made his Test debut in 2010-11 against England." 

The Australia squad for the four-Test series in India: Michael Clarke (Captain), Shane Watson (Vice-captain), Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Xavier Doherty, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

The four-match series will start on February 22 and the games will be held in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mohali and Delhi.

The schedule of the Test matches is as follows:

First Test -- MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai -- Feb 22 to 26.

Second Test -- Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad -- March 2 to 6.
Third Test -- PCA Stadium, Mohali -- March 14 to 18.

Fourth Test -- Ferozeshah Kotla Ground, Delhi -- March 22 to 26.

ACC Women’s Championship: Thailand thrashes Nepal by 7 wickets ; enters Final

Host Thailand thrashed Nepalese Women team by 7 wickets to enter the final of ACC Women’s Championship 2013 at Prem Oval in Chiang Mai today. After an overnight thunder storm, the match was delayed for an hour. Thailand won the toss and invited Nepal for batting. Nepalese women had a good training session in the morning and were charged up for this match. But as the inning started, the wicket started tumbling from the first over. 

Madhu Thapa went without troubling the scoreboard in the second ball of the match. Roshani Bohara (1) soon followed as Nepal lost their second wicket in third over. Sarita Magar played four balls and was bowled in the same over for a duck, leaving the middle order all sorts of trouble.    No Nepali player was able to score double digit.Nary Thapa 1, Rubina Chhetry 3, Neera Rajopadhyay 2, Trishna Singh 3, Karuna Bhandari 4, Sonu Khadka 3 & Mamta Thapa 3*. The highest score in the Nepal’s inning came from Thailand side as they gave away 11 extras. 
Chanida Sutthiruang was pick of the bowlers taking five wickets. With her magical spell of 5-3-2-5, Nepal was bundled out for just for 38 runs in 20 overs. Nattakan Chantham, Nattaya Boochatham & Rattana Sangsoma shared wicket a piece. 
   In Reply, Thailand batting got some sort of trouble in the start as Rubina Chhetry took two early wickets. But they managed the early loss and won the game in 16 overs. Opener Pundarika Prathanmitr played a watchful inning of 18 runs (46 balls) and helped her team go through the final with a thumping 7 wickets win against the strong Nepal team. 
The two teams have met four times before in ACC Women’s Championship matches and each side has won twice with Thailand winning the most recent match in Kuwait in 2011. 

Nepal will now play the 3rd/4th play-off match against Hong Kong tomorrow at Gymkhana before they return to home.

Manchester City agree Mario Balotelli sale to Milan

Manchester City have agreed the sale of Mario Balotelli to AC Milan, Football portal Goal.com Claimed.

The two clubs reached an agreement over a €20 million (£17.1m) deal that will be spread over five years to see the Italy international move to San Siro.

Mario Balotelli

Balotelli is expected to earn €4m (£3.4m) a year, a paycut from his current £110,000 per week deal at the Premier League champions, and sign a four-year contract with Massimiliano Allegri's side.

it had been revealed on Monday afternoon, negotiations between the two clubs had accelerated, leaving Balotelli poised to undergo a medical in Milan ahead of the proposed transfer.

According to goal.com the 22-year-old said goodbye to his team-mates and club staff after Monday morning's training session at Carrington, as he prepared to leave for Italy.

Indian Squad for Palestine Friendly Announced: Arata Izumi becomes first foreign national to be selected for Indian football team

Japanese Arata Izumi has become the first foreign national to be selected for the Indian football team.
The Pune FC midfielder, who had given up his Japanese citizenship and got his Indian passport in August, found a place in the 23-member India squad selected by Ducth coach Wim Koevermans for the international friendly against Palestine in Kochi slated for February 6. Arata was also registered as an Indian player in the Durand Cup last year.

Born to an Indian father and Japanese mother, Arata had an Indian birth certificate, but he became a Japanese citizen after his parents separated. 

Arata first came to India as East Bengal's foreign recruit and then moved to Mahindra United. Former Mahindra coach Derek Pereira took the Japanese along with him when he joined Pune FC. In the past he had played for Singapore club Albirex Nagata and then for Mitsubishi Migushima. Arata has taken up an Indian name of Neelkanth Khambholja and has also got married to an Indian girl, Shweta Manerikar.

Arata Izumi

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) in the past had made attempts to include Indian origin footballers like former Sunderland striker Michael Chopra in the national team but failed to do so. A government order in 2010 ruled that only Indian passport holders can represent the country.

Meanwhile, Koevermans, under whom India had won the Nehru Cup in September, maintained it is a very important match for India. 

"We need to assess ourselves. We need more such matches," he said. India captain Sunil Chhetri said, "Unless you play international friendlies you cannot gauge where you stand. We stay grateful to AIFF for arranging the match. The passion for the sport in the Kerala stays unparalleled and we expect a full house cheering for us against Palestine."

SQUAD:

GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul (Prayag United), Sandip Nandy (Churchill Brothers), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar).

DEFENDERS: Nirmal Chettri (Mohun Bagan), Gouramangi Moirangthem (Prayag United), Shouvik Ghosh (Pailan Arrows), Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohun Bagan), Gurjinder Kumar (Pune FC), Raju Gaikwad (East Bengal), Denzil Franco (Churchill Brothers).

MIDFIELDERS: Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers), Lalkamal Bhowmick (Prayag United), Arata Izumi (Pune FC), Mehtab Hussain (East Bengal), Francis Fernandes (Salgaocar), Anthony Pereira (Dempo SC), Alwyn George (Pailan Arrows), Jewel Raja (Mohun Bagan), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Vineet CK (Prayag United).

FORWARDS: Sunil Chhetri (Sporting Lisbon), Manandeep Singh (East Bengal), Sushil Kumar Singh (Shillong Lajong FC).

STANDBYS: Subhashish Roychowdhury (Dempo SC), Dhanachandra Singh (Prayag United), Sandesh Jhingan (USFC), Arnab Mondal (East Bengal), Gurwinder Singh (East Bengal), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar SC), Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal), Peter Carvalho (Dempo SC), Tomba Singh (Churchill Brothers), Asif K (Prayag United), Malswamtulunga (Prayag United), Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Robin Singh (East Bengal), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Pune FC)