I am sure we can break the jinx, says Wright

The Indians are keen to wipe off their poor record in Goa when they take on the Australians in the decider against the Australians on Friday. Indian coach John Wright, upon arrival at the venue said the losses were not in the mind of the team. Talking to reporters after being accorded a traditional welcome, the former New Zealand captain said "It is always tough to come back against the Australians who will pounce on the slightest opportunity they get to bounce back. However, the Indians are geared up and I am sure they can do well here and break the jinx."

Indian manager Chetan Chauhan said the players were confident despite the loss at Visakhapatnam and are determined to put up a good performance. "It has been a close series with fortunes fluctuating every match and we will go all out to win on Friday," he said.

Australian coach John Buchanan said his players were slightly tired after the long journey but were confident after the good show at Visakhapatnam. "We did pretty well there despite the absence of Mark Waugh and I am sure it will be an interesting game on Friday," he said.

Ganguly is cricket's version of a spoilt child: Aussie media

The Australian media have dubbed the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly as "international cricket's version of a spoilt child". Australian reporters touring with the team have found fault with Ganguly's behaviour with Australian spectators in Kolkata, his "discourteous treatment" of Steve Waugh and his perceived disregard for the game's niceties. There has been a lot written about Ganguly keeping Waugh waiting in seven matches before going out to toss and later when he was also accused of wrongly claiming to have won the toss.

Ganguly responded to this charge stating "I merely asked whether it was heads or tails because we have used a new coin in every match of the series. It just showed how this series has gone - one controversy after another. I think people should be a bit more responsible and must clarify issues with those concerned".

Ganguly went out to the pitch 15 minutes before Waugh joined him in Visakhapatnam. The Australian media on Tuesday claimed that the Indian captain had been admonished by match referee Cammie Smith for being late for the earlier tosses. They have also complained on the training shirt that Ganguly was wearing for the toss and said that the Indian captain had breached the ICC regulation which stipulates that captains must wear their match clothes at the toss.

Australian reporter Mark Ray wrote in an Australian paper "Ganguly seems to be international cricket's version of a spoilt child." But the former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, in his column advised Ganguly not to bother about the Australian media "whose temerity in suggesting that he is rude should be laughed at". What about all the verbals that the opposition bowlers have indulged in, Gavaskar asked.

Illegal betting racket busted in Delhi

The Delhi Police Crime branch busted an illegal betting racket in the capital and arrested seven bookies including the alleged kingpin Satish Bansal alias Satish Lala who took bets during the ongoing one-day cricket series between India and Australia. The accused - Anand Garg, Avnish Kumar, Devender Kumar Datta, Rajiv Verma, Chander Shekhar and Ashwini Kumar Goel besides Bansal - were nabbed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Tuesday following a raid at JP-2, Pitampura from where they were operating, police said on Wednesday.

Police said eight telephones, six mobile phones, two computers with voice recording facility, two TV sets, four calculators and Rs 16.5 lakh cash were recovered from the house. Police added that certain other incriminating material showing illegal cricket betting of crores of rupees during the year was also recovered.

The Crime Branch had received a secret information that some people were betting during the fourth ODI at Visakhapatnam. Following this a decoy customer was sent to confirm the information. It was only after the customer struck a deal that raids were conducted, they said.

Eastern clash with holders Western for title

The 15th Inter-Railway women's cricket tournament at Kolkata has boiled down to a straight contest between Eastern and holders Western. Both teams have won two matches and the last league match between these two teams on Friday will decide the winner of the championship.

On Wednesday, in the penultimate league match, Eastern defeated Northern by five wickets. Put in to bat, Northern were shot out for 98 in 42.5 overs. Rajini Bhalla top scored with 26 while Seema Bhowmick was the most successful bowler with three for 24. In reply, Eastern were struggling at 37 for five but skipper Seema Desai (36 not out, 71 and Seema Singh (25 not out) added 63 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket to steer Eastern home. While Seema Desai faced 71 balls, Seema Singh faced 55 balls. Both hit two fours each.

The other teams in the four team round robin competition, South Central and Northern are out of contention. The former lost all their three matches while Northern finished with one win and two defeats.

Badrinath, Kudua help Jolly Rovers pile up runs

Centuries by S Badrinath and Ajay Kudua helped Jolly Rovers to pile up 343 for nine in 90 overs at the end of the first day's play in the MAC-TNCA senior division semifinal against Kohinoor at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

Opting to bat on winning the toss, Jolly Rovers were rocked by some fine bowling of Satish Kumar and Sadagopan Mahesh and lost half the side for 112 runs. But Badrinath and Kudua then came together and turned the innings around with a sixth wicket partnership of 179 runs off 45.5 overs. Badrinath, who came in at No 3, was then out for 130, compiled off 237 balls. In a stay of a little over five hours, Badrinath hit 12 fours and two sixes. Kudua was out shortly afterwards for 102. In a stay of just under three hours, he faced 128 balls and hit eight fours and four sixes. Promising L Balaji maintained the momentum towards the end by hitting a breezy unbeaten 35 off 34 balls with four hits to the ropes.

Mahesh was the most successful bowler with four for 71 while Satish Kumar took three for 50. Test left arm spinner Venkatpathi Raju had two wickets for 118 runs. Each side's innings is restricted to 90 overs in this two day game.

© CricInfo