Indian news round-up

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) AC Muthiah on Thursday termed the just concluded India-Australia Test as `historic' and said that India's was a `superlative performance'.

Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI) in Chennai, Muthiah said "To turn around a match from a hopeless situation and go on to win it convincingly, especially against the invincible Australians, who have had a dream run, is no mean achievement." He added "I am happy the Indian team turned out a superlative performance by their sheer determination and excellent team work."

Speaking at leangth on the Indian performance, Muthiah said "The individual heroics of youngsters like VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh, under the dynamic captaincy of Saurav Ganguly, fully deserve our praise." Muthiah said "This is a historic event not only in the annals of Indian cricket, but also in international cricket. We have proved we have the talent and ability to fight back."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday congratulated India and in particular the Individual feats of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid who helped stage an amazing comeback to win the second Test against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

Speaking to the Seven Television network on Friday, Howard said "I watched the game last night. They are and remain a magnificent team and I wish them luck for the final Test. I congratulate the Indians, particularly VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid for a wonderful partnership. It was a great game of cricket."

Howard said that he was sorry to see Australia lose but the Indians deserved full credit for a really "gutsy" performance. Howard added that he was confident Australia could still win the series. "Steve Waugh is a tremendously resilient captain and the blokes will be more determined than ever, and good luck to them," he said.

The Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Uma Bharti said in New delhi on Wednesday that India's participation in the forthcoming Sharjah Tri-angular Series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka is still under consideration and a decision on the issue would be taken soon.

Speaking to reporters during a function to felicitate All England badminton champion Pullela Gopichand, Bharti said "The issue is under consideration and a collective decision on it is expected in a couple of days."

Bharti said "It is no more an issue concerning only the Sports Ministry. The External Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry and even the Prime Minister's Office are also involved. As such I cannot make an independent announcement as of now."

The BCCI executive secretary, Sharad Diwadkar said in Mumbai on Friday that Madhya Pradesh's Narendra Menon and Sudhir Asnani will be the two umpires for the Baroda-Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy quarterfinal while Sumit Dutta of Assam is the BCCI match referee. The match will be played at Baroda from March 22 to 26.

In the other quarter-finals, reigning champions Mumbai will play Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium from March 20 to 24, Railways will play Karnataka at Delhi from March 22 to 26 and Orissa will take on Madhya Pradesh at Gwalior from March 22 to 26.

The following is the quarter-final line up and the umpires:

March 20-24: Mumbai vs Punjab at Mumbai. Umpires: V K Ramaswamy of Hyderabad and GA Pratap Kumar of Tamil Nadu. Match referee: Harish Joshi of TN. March 22-26: Railways vs Karnataka at Delhi. Umpires: BSP Rao of Delhi and Umesh Kumar of Punjab. Match referee: B Thakur of Gujarat. March 22-26: Baroda vs Tamil Nadu at Baroda. Umpires: Narendra Menon and Sudhir Asnani (both from MP). Match referee: Sumit Dutta of Assam. March 22-26: Orissa vs Madhya Pradesh at Gwalior. Umpires: MR Singh and Samir Bhandhekar (both from Mumbai). Match referee: DGCA Verma of Andhra Pradesh).