Napier (New Zealand), Mar. 26 : New Zealand''s middle order batsmen Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder put India''s much vaunted pace and spin attack to the sword here on Thursday, the first day of the second Test between the two sides after initial hiccups.

At the draw of stumps, New Zealand were sitting pretty on 351 for four, with Ryder unbeaten on 137 with 17 boundaries and a six and James Franklin on 26 with five boundaries. Taylor had earlier scored a violent 151 with 26 boundaries and a six.

Sydney, Mar 26 : The Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, are in the early running to be nominated for a gong at a Laureus World Sports Awards, which is certain to be dominated by Olympic and soccer teams.

Awards organisers mentioned them on Wednesday in a long list of contenders for nomination in the world team of the year category, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Denver, Colorado  - The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday urged world football governing body FIFA to agree to the World Anti-Doping Agency's "whereabouts" code for doping tests.

Under the rule, which took effect on January 1, athletes must make their whereabouts known for one hour on every day of the year.

FIFA has so far refused to implement the code, citing the invasion of player privacy during periods away from teams, such as holidays.

Austin, Texas - Lance Armstrong remains upbeat about his chances of being to race in May's Giro d'Italia despite suffering a broken collarbone in a racing accident on Monday.

The seven-time Tour de France winner crashed on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and will undergo surgery in the United States to insert a metal plate to strengthen the bone.

Kolkata, March 25 : Sourav Ganguly today said that he was not consulted on the captaincy issue and that he came to know about it from the press, hours after being dropped as the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"I was not consulted on the captaincy issue before the final decision was made. I learnt about it from the press," Sourav told a news channel.

Ganguly also added that a team could be expected to do well only if it has a set squad and that cricket was all about giving players confidence and security.

Dubai, Mar 25 : The presentation of ICC Test Championship mace and the ODI Championship shield plus prize money was made to the captains of the Australia and South Africa teams in Johannesburg today.

Captain Ricky Ponting accepted the mace and 175,000 dollars on behalf of Cricket Australia for leading the team that will finish top of the Test Championship table on the annual cut-off date of 1 April. He also picked up a cheque for 75,000 dollars for coming second in the ODI Championship on the same date.