Monday, March 30, 2009

KKR to announce captain, squad in South Africa

KOLKATA: Apparently fearing a public outrage after Sourav Ganguly was stripped of sole captaincy role, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday said they will announce their skipper and squad for the Indian Premier League second season in South Africa and not in India.

After the six-day training camp concluded on Monday, KKR Director of Cricket Operations John Buchanan while leaving the Eden Gardens merely said a 24-member squad will fly to South Africa on Tuesday.

KKR Chief Executive Officer Joy Bhattacharjee, when contacted and asked to name the 24 players, said, "I don't want to disclose who will go to South Africa now. The final squad will be named in South Africa."
Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Davis Cup venue decision next week

BANGALORE: The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is likely to decide the fate of the May 8-10 - third round Asia-Oceania Group I - tie between India and Australia by "the weekend of the week starting April 6".

It's India's turn to host Australia in the Davis Cup but with Tennis Australia writing to the ITF, asking for the tie to be moved out of India for security reasons, an air of uncertainty hovers over the venue.

Earlier, India broke with tradition picking Chennai's hardcourts over the grasscourts of New Delhi and Kolkata. The southern metropolis had successfully hosted the ATP season opener in January.

The ITF is now looking at its security advisors for answers. A decision was expected early this week, but the process is taking longer than expected.

"Our security advisors are working with a security agency based in India," ITF's communications officer Nick Imison said.

"We're hopeful of having a decision soon. Irrespective of whether security issues are raised by rival nations, we go through the process of checking security details before every tie. We'll let the two national federations - India and Australia - know latest by the weekend of the week starting April 6."

While Australia's No.1 player Lleyton Hewitt raised concerns in the media following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this month, the fact that the Davis Cup tie would be played during general elections in India and that the IPL was moved out due to security reasons would probably weigh against the hosts.

The All India Tennis Association, however, is confident that Chennai will get the nod. "The ITF sent us a questionnaire, we filled it and sent it back. We haven't heard from them formally since," Col Chauhan, executive director of the AITA, said.

"We're hopeful of hosting the tie. Chennai is absolutely safe."

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Davis-Cup-venue-decision-next-week/articleshow/4336999.cms

Woods completes thrilling comeback victory


MIAMI: Tiger Woods came from five strokes behind to overhaul fellow American Sean O'Hair and win his 66th PGA Tour title by a shot at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on Sunday.

Playing only his third tournament since returning from reconstructive knee surgery, Woods completed a record sixth victory at Bay Hill Club by dramatically sinking a 16-foot birdie putt on the final hole in fading light.

The American world number one, who had been sidelined for eight months following his previous Tour win at the US Open in June, matched his biggest final-round comeback on the circuit.

In 2000, he overhauled a five-shot deficit after 54 holes to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Woods finally caught the pacesetting O'Hair with a birdie at the par-four 15th and claimed the outright lead for the first time when his playing partner bogeyed 16 after hitting his approach into water.

Although Woods stumbled on 17, where his tee shot ended up under the lip of a greenside bunker, he calmly rolled in the 16-footer on the 18th green for a five-under total of 275.

"It feels really good," the 33-year-old said in a greenside interview after celebrating his victory by backing away with a sweeping fist pump before embracing his caddie Steve Williams.

"It feels good to be back in contention again and to feel the rush and to have to deal with everything coming down the stretch. It's been a while but it kind of felt good."

O'Hair, who had been bidding for a third PGA Tour title, had to settle for second place after closing with a 73 with 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson (69) a further two strokes back at two under.

The start of the final round was delayed by an hour and 45 minutes due to the threat of lightning after storms rolled into the area earlier than expected.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Woods-completes-thrilling-comeback-victory/articleshow/4332525.cms

Indians to give China Open a miss


NEW DELHI: As a mark of solidarity with the Asian Tour, most Indian golfers playing on the Tour will boycott the upcoming $2.2 million Volvo China Open in Beijing, which is being co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the new OneAsia Super Series.

The OneAsia Tour has been recently formed by the China Golf Association, Korea Professional Golf Tour, Korea Golf Association and the PGA Tour of Australia but without taking the Asian Tour into confidence.

It begins its six-tournament schedule at the China event in April, which also includes the Pine Valley Beijing Open, another Asian Tour event.

For the Asian Tour, it is a sort of a ‘rebel' tour which is trying to invade its territory.

Digvijay Singh, who is in the Asian Tour Tournament Players Committee, confirmed the Tour's decision to fine and ban players who take part in the event without permission, although members who have European Tour cards will not be affected by the entry policy.

European Tour regulars Shiv Kapur and SSP Chowrasia confirmed their participation to TOI but Digvijay revealed that Jyoti Randhawa had withdrawn from the tournament.

"Jyoti is absolutely against this upstart tour so he won't be playing but the others have their compulsions. Even the Order of Merit leader, American Anthony Kang has pulled out," said Digvijay.

Tour veteran Gaurav Ghei elaborated the point, "For Shiv and SSP, who have been struggling with their games lately, it's a big event in terms of points and money while Jyoti has begun the European season on a strong note and he can afford to give it a miss."

Gaganjeet Bhullar, who is currently in Singapore to contend for a British Open slot, also swore his loyalty. "I totally agree with the decision because the way OneAsia is dealing with Asian Tour is not correct," complied the youngster, who could have furthered his ambitions in such big-money tournaments.

Digvijay stressed on the ‘unscrupulous' attitude of the new tour. "The Volvo China Open was formerly co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours so this is completely unjustified," he felt.

Ghei, who is a former Beijing Open champion, added, "The Asian Tour has been a part of our development, and occupies a special place in our hearts and we will stand by whatever the Tour decides."

Agencies reported that OneAsia was critical of the Asian Tour for "discriminating between members on the basis of European Tour membership and nationality (exempting players from China)."

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han had said in a statement that he had no option because of the manner in which OneAsia has attempted to ‘invade' the continent without consulting the Asian Tour.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians-to-give-China-Open-a-miss/articleshow/4336949.cms

Nadal, Murray, Venus advance in Miami event


MIAMI (Florida): World number one Rafael Nadal, Britain's Andy Murray and reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams all advanced at the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament on Monday.

Spanish star Nadal, the Australian Open champion, was unhappy with his performance but reached the fourth round nonetheless with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Portugal's Frederico Gil.

"No opponent is easy, especially if you're not playing your best tennis. That's what was happening," Nadal said. "I didn't play very well. I had chances to lose the first set. I didn't feel very well on court.

"I always want to win. My motivation is full in every match. But you can't play well every day and today was one of those days."

Nadal will next face either Swiss 16th seed Stanislas Wawrinka or Russian 20th seed Igor Andreev.

Fourth-ranked Murray advanced to the last 16 by defeating Chile's Nicolas Massu 6-4, 6-4. Next for the Scotsman will be 41st-ranked Serbian Viktor Troicki.

US fifth seed Venus Williams ousted Polish 10th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final eight, but like Nadal she was not happy with her performance.

"Every now and then everybody has those kinds of matches," Williams said. "I was hitting really well in the practice. Came out and things weren't going to the way I imagined they would, but that's tennis.

"I just had a lot of errors. Errors, errors. It seemed like when I had the winner it became an error. On days like that, you have to let the errors go behind you and continue to play aggressively and not pull back."

Williams could face her top-ranked sister Serena, the Australian Open women's champion, in a Miami semi-final.

Australian Samantha Stosur, ranked 42nd, continued her strong run into the quarter-finals by ousting French 20th seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-4.

Stosur, who eliminated Russian world number two Dinara Safina in the third round, will next meet 11th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who defeated Hungarian 25th seed Agnes Szavay 6-2, 6-4.

Danish 13th seed Caroline Wozniacki upset fourth seed Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4, to reach the women's quarter-finals.

She next faces another Russian, eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat compatriot Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-1.

Others who reached the men's round of 16 included Argentina's sixth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro, who beat Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-1, and Serbian Viktor Troicki, who ousted Germany's Bjorn Phau 6-4, 6-3.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Beckham targets World Cup glory

Beckham targets World Cup glory after earning 109th cap LONDON, March 29 (AFP): David Beckham set his sights on a starring role at the World Cup after earning a record-breaking 109th cap in England’s 4-0 friendly win against Slovakia. Beckham came on for the second half at Wembley yesterday to pass Bobby Moore’s record for the most caps by an England out-field player.Now only goalkeeper Peter Shilton, with 125 caps, stands ahead of Beckham in England’s all-time appearance list.

Gutsy Gambhir leads India

Gutsy Gambhir leads Indian fightback in 2nd Test NAPIER, March 29 (PTI): Gautam Gambhir struck a gutsy unbeaten century to lead a remarkable Indian fightback as the visitors raised hopes of drawing the second cricket Test against New Zealand by losing just one wicket on the fourth day here today.After conceding a huge 314-run lead, the Indians raised their game when it mattered most to reach 252 for two at close on the penultimate day, still trailing the hosts by 62 runs.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Aronian tops Amber, Anand joint second

Nice (France), Mar 27 (PTI) World champion Viswanathan Anand missed chances galore in the blindfold game against Chinese Wang Yue and had to be content with an overall joint second finish in the Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament here.

Anand, however, maintained his supremacy in the rapid section as he tied with Levon Aronian of Armenia and Gata Kamsky of United.

The Indian ace finished with an impressive 7 points out of a possible 11 in rapid section while in the blindfold he finished joint fourth on 6.5 points.

Aronian drew both his games against former world champion Veslein Topalov of Bulgaria in the final round and emerged as the clear winner in the 18th edition of the prestigious event.

The Armenian finished with 14 points out of a possible 22 games and remained a half point ahead of Anand and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia who both shared the overall second spot.

Magnus Carlsen of Norway found his nemesis in the blindfold in Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan and finished clear fourth after recovering to win the rapid game. The Norwegian ended with a tally of 13 points and was two points clear of next contender Alexander Morozevich of Russia.
PTI

Thursday, March 26, 2009

India finally bat after NZ declare on 619

Napier: New Zealand declared their first innings on a mammoth 619 for nine, after Brendon McCullum posted the third century of the innings on the second day of the second Test against India.


Jesse Ryder reached 201 and Brendon McCullum was 103 not out as New Zealand went to tea at 592 for six.


Ryder batted for just over eight hours to raise the third double century and third-highest score by a New Zealander against India, then was out to the next ball — bowled by Zaheer Khan — ending an innings of exemplary stamina and concentration. His innings market the 15th Test double century by a New Zealand player.


The burly left-hander, whose only other Test century (102) in the first innings of the first Test at Hamilton, was out when New Zealand were 477-6, having transformed their innings, the match and potentially the series.


He was also out one ball after achieving his century in the Hamilton Test — won by India by 10 wickets — which gave the first clear evidence of his development from a big-hitting limited-overs batsman to a mature and disciplined Test player.


Ryder has now scored 50 or more, including two centuries, in four of his last five Test innings and has averaged 132 over a prolific period which began with his 89 in the first innings of the first Test against the West Indies in December.


At the end of his innings on Friday, he was averaging 64 with two centuries and four half-centuries in a Test career of only eight matches and 14 innings.


Ryder began his marathon vigil when New Zealand was 23-3 in the 11th over on Thursday, after winning the toss and batting.


He shared partnerships of 271 for the fourth wicket with Ross Taylor, who was out for 151 on the first day, 121 for the fifth wicket with James Franklin, run out for 52 before lunch, and finally 62 for the sixth wicket with Brendon McCullum.


McCullum went on to reach his third Test century just three balls before tea. He reached the milestone, eclipsing previous centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, in 141 minutes from 131 balls with 11 fours.


The New Zealand wicketkeeper shared an unbeaten 115-run partnership for the seventh-wicket with captain Daniel Vettori who was 43 not out at the break.


The innings became the first in which two batsmen in a New Zealand team had exceeded 150 since 2004 against South Africa at Auckland.


Ryder's partnership with Taylor was the highest for all wickets by a New Zealand pair against India and the highest for the fourth wicket for New Zealand against any nation.


India's win at Hamilton was their first Test win in New Zealand since 1976. The tourists remain in pursuit of their first Test series win here since 1968.


Mediocre bowling, poor catching and the absence of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who pulled out of the match with a back injury, contributed to New Zealand's strong position on the second day.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/india-finally-bat-after-nz-declare-on-619/39465-13.html

Yousuf may play for Pak soon

Star Pakistani middle order bulwark Mohammad Yousuf could be donning Pakistan colours again after reports have emerged that he is planning to end his association with the Indian Cricket League(ICL) and return to international cricket.

Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Sami and Naved-ul-Hasan are the players who might walk away from the ICL, the News reported. The Pakistan establishment, led by Younis Khan, the captain, is keen that Yousuf, in particular, returns to the national team as early as next month for the one-day series against Australia starting on April 22 in Abu Dhabi, the report said.

Yousuf had rejoined the ICL last year after developing serious differences with Shoaib Malik, the then Pakistan captain. But the situation appears to have changed after Younis, known to be close to Yousuf, became Pakistan captain this year. The News quoted sources as saying that "the breakthrough was achieved following a series of meetings between Yousuf and Younis".

Another reason why the Pakistan players are said to be considering such a move is that the ICL has suspended its March-April tournament and is looking at restarting their international programme only in October. The ICL took this step in February due to the deepening economic recession and the Pakistan government's refusal to let any player from that country play in India following the Mumbai terror attacks.

The players fear that the current freeze in political ties between India and Pakistan would prevent them from playing in India in the near future.

The report also claimed that if the Pakistan players part ways with the ICL, they could be immediately included in the national team for the one-day series against Australia - the squad is expected to be named early in April.



Source:Cricbuzz

IPL announces schedule

Cape Town will host the opening ceremony and the first match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on April 18 while the Wanderers Stadium will host the final on May 24.

The semi-finals are to be held on May 22 and 23 in Pretoria and Johannesburg respectively, as per the full schedule of the Twenty20 league.

In a double header on the first day, champions Rajasthan Royals will take on Bangalore Royal Challengers while the evening game will be contested between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Superkings.

Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Kimberley, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth will be the 8 hosts for the 59 games.

Durban, which has a large South Asian community has been allotted the most games - 16 while Centurion in Pretoria will play host to 12 games.

The Wanderers in Johannesburg and Newlands in Cape Town come next best with eight matches each, with the latter playing host to four of these on the first two days of the tournament.

Seven matches are to be held in St George's Park in Port Elizabeth while Buffalo Park in East London has been allotted four matches.

Two matches each have been allocated to Outsurance Oval in Bloemfontein and De Beers Oval in Kimberley. Matches will start at 4 pm IST (12.30 pm local time) and 8 pm IST (4.30pm local time). There are a total of 10 double headers (two matches back-to-back at the same venue) with Durban hosting half of these.

Schedule: All times IST (GMT + 0530)

April 18: Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 20: RCB V CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 21: RR v MI (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v KXIP (8 pm) at Durban

April 22: DD v CSK (4 pm) at Durban; RCB v DC (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 23: KKR v RR (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 24: KXIP v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

April 25: KKR v CSK (4 pm) at Cape Town; DC v MI (8 pm) at Durban

April 26: RR v KXIP (4 pm) at Cape Town; RCB v DD (8 pm) Port Elizabeth

April 27: KKR v MI (4 pm) at Cape Town; CSK v DC (8 pm) at Durban

April 28: DD v RR (4 pm) at Pretoria

April 29: MI v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

April 30: DD v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria; RR v CSK (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 1: RCB v KXIP (4 pm) at East London; MI v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) at Johannesburg; CSK v DD (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 3: MI v RCB (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v KKR (8 pm) at East London

May 4: DC v CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 5: DD v KKR (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v RR (8 pm) at Durban

May 6: MI v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 7: KXIP v CSK (4 pm) at Pretoria; RCB v RR (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 8: DD v MI (4 pm) at East London

May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) at Bloemfontein; CSK v RR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 10: KKR v DD (4 pm) at East London; RCB v MI (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 11: DC v RR (4 pm) at Bloemfontein

May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria; KXIP v MI (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 13: DC v DD (4 pm) at Durban

May 14: MI v RR (4 pm) at Durban; CSK v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

May 15: KXIP v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley

May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) at Johannesburg; DC v KKR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 17: RR v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley; KXIP v DC (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 18: CSK v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 19: DD v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

May 20: CSK v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; RR v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 21: DC v RCB (4 pm) at Pretoria; MI v DD (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 22: Semi Final 1 at Pretoria

May 23: Semi Final 2 at Johannesburg

May 24: Final at Johannesburg.

Source: Cricbuzz

Yuki to play World No. 73 at Miami

Miami, March 25: World No. 1 junior Yuki Bhambri will find himself in the big league on Thursday when he takes on Diego Junqueira of Argentina at the Soni Ericsson Open tennis.
The 16-year-old junior Australian Open was given a wildcard when he won the prestigious Orange Bowl title, considered to be the fifth Grand Slam, in December.

If Yuki manages to beat 28-year-old Junqueira, who is World NO. 73, he will have his first brush with a top-10 player in former World No. 1 and fifth-seed Andy Roddick of US, who got a bye in the first round. (Agencies)

India chasing history

Napier, March 25: History beckons India as it prepares to take on an inexperienced and demoralised New Zealand tomorrow in the second cricket Test, a victory in which would give the visitors their first series triumph here in 41 years.

Leading 1-0 in the three-match series, the Indian team has been in decimating form and is high on confidence as it seeks to wrap up the three-match series with a win.

In contrast to India’s three-seamer, one-spinner combination, New Zealand have packed their attack with two spinners and three seamers for the contest at the McLean Park.

The hosts are hoping that off-spinner Jeetan Patel would give them the edge if the wicket assists spin. THE SENTINEL

India-Australia Davis Cup tie is on: AITA

New Delhi, Mar 26 (PTI) The All India Tennis Association today ruled out shifting the Davis Cup tie between India and Australia from Chennai, scheduled in May, saying proper security arrangements will be in place for holding trouble-free matches.

An AITA official though admitted that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had written to them about security concerns raised by the Australian team.

"We are confident of holding the tie in Chennai and there is no need to shift it. ITF wrote to us about Aussies concerns and we have already sent a reply to them.

"There are good security arrangements. Apart from the state police, the security agency which monitored the ATP Chennai Open in January is involved. So there is no question of shifting it (tie) from India," the AITA official told PTI.

On being asked if ITF had replied back to AITA confirming the tie, the official said, "No, they have not replied but we have assured them about the proper security arrangements.

"We were sent a questionnaire, as is the procedure, and we have replied. As of now the tie is on." The third and final round tie of the Asia/Oceania Group I between India and Australia is scheduled between May 8-10.

The winners will advance to the World Group play-offs. PTI

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Anand draws with Topalov, loses sole lead

Nice (France), Mar 25 (PTI) World champion Viswanathan Anand played out two draws with Bulgarian world number one Veselin Topalov in the ninth round to surrender his sole lead in the Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament here today.

Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Levon Aronian of Armenia caught the Indian in lead with an identical 1.5-0.5 victories over Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine and Alexander Morozevich of Russia respectively.

With just two rounds to come in the strongest ever Amber, the leaders have 11.5 points each and they have a 1.5 points lead over Russian, Vladimir Kramnik who found his nemesis in Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk.

The lead for the three leaders is a clear indication that only these three will be fighting for supremacy now.

The encounter between Topalov and Anand was closely followed by everyone as they are not only top players in the world rankings but will also face each other in the World Championship match next year.

The blindfold game was a sharp and interesting fight in the Caro Kann defense, but it was also far from flawless. In the opening Topalov mixed up moves with white pieces and ended in difficulties.
PTI

Chetan in second round, World no 1 crashes out of Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 25 (PTI) Third seed Chetan Anand staved off an early scare from Chong Chieh Lok of Malaysia to enter into second round of the Indian Open Grand Prix badminton tournament here today.

The Indian shuttler wrapped up the affair 14-21 21-9 22-20 in a grueling tie that lasted for 47 minutes.

Meanwhile, Chinese shuttler Long Chen pulled off probably the biggest upset of the tournament when he stunned world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia 21-7 16-21 18-21.

Chetan made a strong comeback after losing the first game 14-21 to the Malaysian and spanked him 21-9 in the second, before the third game saw a tooth and nail battle.

The duo went neck and neck from 14-14, 16-16, 19-19 to 20-20, before the world number 12 Chetan sealed the match 22-20 to set up a second round clash with another Chinese Wenlong Zhou later today.

In the other match, world number one Lee Chong made an aggressive start, thumping Long 21-7 in first game but world number 147, Long soon avenged by bagging the next game 21-16, making it one-all.
PTI

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

No decision on selling Liverpool stake: Gillett

LONDON: Liverpool co-owner George Gillett Jr. has not yet made a decision about whether to sell his 50 percent stake in the Premier League club or offload the Montreal Canadiens.

Gillett has hired financial companies in Canada, the United States and Europe to reassess his varied holdings.

"We have appointed advisers in different countries to assess our assets," Gillett said Tuesday. "We have engaged professionals who are doing some estate planning, it has nothing to do with any decisions to sell any assets.

"We may do some recapitalization, but any links between what we are doing and the situation at Liverpool is incorrect. We have made no decision to sell."

At Liverpool, which Gillett co-owns with Tom Hicks, a July deadline is approaching to refinance the loan that funded their takeover two years ago.

That financing package of about 250 million pounds ($368.2 million) must be renewed after a six-month extension was granted by the Royal Bank of Scotland and US investment bank Wachovia. But RBS recently announced huge losses amid the global economic downturn and may not be in a position to extend further financing.

Liverpool is in second place in the Premier League - one point behind Manchester United - and has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Selling his Liverpool stake would require the approval of Hicks, but Gillett owns 80.1 percent of the Canadiens and the Bell Centre.

Gillett bought the Canadiens and their arena in 2001 for $275 million with the help of $140 million in loans from two banks and the Quebec pension fund. He also owns the Gillett Evernham NASCAR team, event promoter Gillett Entertainment Group, ski resorts, car dealerships and agricultural companies.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

Anand beats Kramnik to take sole lead


NICE (France): World champion Viswanathan Anand crushed Vladimir Kramnik in the blindfold section and romped home with a 1.5-0.5 victory in the crucial eighth round of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid chess tournament on Monday.

Anand won the blindfold game and surged ahead in this section to share the second spot in this section.

With the rapid game ending in a draw the Indian ace is now in sole lead on 10.5 points.

Levon Aronian of Armenia defeated Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan in the blindfold game and played out a draw in the rapid to win by a similar margin like Anand and so did Magnus Carlsen of Norway in his match against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Both Carlsen and Aronain remained on Anand's heels, half point behind, and it might well be a race between these three for the title in the last three rounds.

Kramnik slipped to fourth following the loss with 9.5 points. The fifth place is held by Peter Leko of Hungary on 8.5 points while American Gata Kamsky, Topalov and Alexander Morozevich of Russia are locked on 7.5 points apiece.

Ukrainians Vassily Ivanchuk and Sergey Karjakin and Radjabov share the ninth spot on 6.5 points while Wang Yue of China is now in the cellar with 5.5.

In the blindfold section, Carlsen is in sole lead with 6.5 points followed by Anand a point behind.

In the rapid section, Anand shares the lead with Kamsky and Aronian with 5 points.

The clash of the day between leaders Anand and Kramnik started with an impressive victory for the world champion in the blindfold game.

In their first encounter since their match in Bonn a few months back, Anand played the King pawn allowing his rival to go for his favourite Petroff defence.

"After the 20th move by Kramnik I believe black's position was a bit unpleasant as there was no coordination between his pieces," said Anand, who played white.

He was pleased with his 22nd move and explained that Kramnik had missed his devastating queen manoeuvre when he erred on the 27th. Kramnik's next move was a further oversight, running into the lethal pawn push on the king side resulting in a checkmate web, but at that point black's position was already lost.

In the rapid game also Anand showed excellent opening preparation. He surprised Kramnik with the line he chose and after 15 moves he achieved what most probably he was aiming for. It was an effortless draw with the black pieces.

In other matches of the day, Kamsky drew with Karjakin in blindfold but lost the rapid game, Wang played out two draws with Leko while Ivanchuk improved his standing slightly, beating Morozevich 1.5-0.5.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Anand-beats-Kramnik-to-take-sole-lead/articleshow/4307228.cms

McCullum may lead Kolkata Knight Riders

New Delhi: After Bangalore Royal Challengers, it is the turn of the Kolkata Knight Riders to get a new skipper.


Sources say Sourav Ganguly is unwilling to carry on as captain of the team and could step down. And the man who is tipped to replace him is New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon MCCullum.


The Knight riders management has in fact spoken to McCullum about taking over from Ganguly who retired from international cricket last October.


Mccullum had started the first season of the IPL with a bang with a smashing unbeaten 158 off just 73 balls in the 1st match of the tournament against Bangalore Royal Challengers.


Also, unlike Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and Windies captain Chris Gayle, McCullum is available for the entire duration of the tournament.

Soruce:www.cricketnext.com

Richards replaces Smith for next two ODIs

Trinidad: Seamer Ravi Rampaul of Trinidad makes a comeback into the One-Day side after a year while rookie Barbados batsman Dale Richards has been included in the squad for the third and fourth One-Dayers against England.


Devon Smith, who did not play in either of the first two ODIs due to foot injury, makes way for opening batsman Richards while Rampaul replaced Daren Powell, who has vowfully out of form during the on-going series.


Powell took only six wickets in the five-Test series at nearly 70 apiece and took 1 for 27 in five overs in the first ODI. Rampaul, who had played 30 ODIs, last appeared for West Indies on the tour of South Africa in early 2008.


The five-match ODI series is interesting poised with both the teams winning a game each with the third game slated for March 27 in Barbados.


West Indies squad: Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin (wicketkeeper), Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Nikita Miller, Keiron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Dale Richards, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lendl Simmons.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/richards-replaces-smith-for-next-two-odis/39363-13.html

South Africa ready to host second edition of IPL

New Delhi: IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi's search for a country to host the second edition of the Indian Premier League seems to be zeroing in on South Africa with every passing minute. South Africa have given the green signal to host the second season of the mega event, sources told CNN-IBN on Tuesday.


Modi met Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola at an undisclosed venue to discuss the possibility of hosting the second edition of the Twenty20 event here. And after the meeting, sources told CNN-IBN that the deal has been virtually sealed to host the league in South Africa.


It is reported that six venues have been identified during the meeting to hold the IPL matches. Durban, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth are the proposed venues for the games to be held.


South Africa says there will be no trouble starting the event from April 10 as per the original schedule and have assured full security, it is learnt. Cricket South Africa, it is reported, has also offered full support to the IPL.


Modi is expected to fly out from Johannesburg for London on Tuesday evening where he will hold talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board, exploring the possibility of hosting the league there. But that meeting may now be irrelevant as the rainbow nation is likely to get the all important nod from Modi and Co.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/

Shuttlers aim to exploit home conditions at Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) Saina Nehwal was on guard for lower-ranked rivals, while Chetan Anand was not looking beyond the first round but Anup Sridhar was targetting the semis as Indian shuttlers geared up for the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open Grand Prix that rolls out here tomorrow.

With a relatively easy draw and home conditions, second seed Saina is undoubtedly a hot favourite at the event but the Indian, who opens her campaign against unseeded Chew Yen Daphane Ng of Malaysia, is not taking her opponents lightly as their game is unknown to her.

"I have never played against her (Chew). I don't know her game, I don't know her weakness or strength, so I am not setting any targets as such. It is an important tournament for me and I know it would be tough," Saina told PTI.

"There are some good players like Julia (Pei Xian Wong), Maria (Kristin Yulianti) and others. Each of them are good. The first two rounds are OK and I know people expect me to win and take it easy. One may say that I have a 60 per cent chance of winning because they are lower ranked than me but I won't take any player lightly," she said.

Meanwhile, Chetan will be up against a lesser known Chong Chieh Lok of Malaysia in the first round but the world number 12 Indian doesn't want to put pressure on himself and has avoided a look at the draw.
PTI

Saina's Olympic nemesis comes calling at Indian Open

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) She crushed Saina Nehwal's Olympic dreams in Beijing and world number 18 Maria Kristin Yulianti is hoping for an encore if the two face off in the Indian Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament starting here tomorrow.

"Saina is a world class player. What happened in Beijing is past. This is a new tournament and a new challenge. I have always enjoyed playing against Saina. She is really fast and cover the court really well. I hope I can defeat her this time too," 23-year-old Yulianti said.

Yulianti had beaten Saina in the Olympic quarterfinals where she came back from 12-19 down to get the better of the Indian.

Saina is not the only one Yulianti is wary of and said she is not taking her other opponents lightly either.

"The field is tough and if one has to win this one, she has to be really at her best," she said.

Playing such a big tournament after a long knee injury lay-off after the Olympics, Yulianti said she is here to acclimatise herself for the world championship to be held here in August.
PTI

Harendra eyes top-six finish for Indian hockey this year

Harendra eBhopal, Mar 24 (PTI) India's men's hockey coach in-charge Harendra Singh is eyeing a top-six finish in world ranking this year and confident about winning the Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Malaysia next month.

"India ranks ninth among the hockey playing countries and we are aiming to finish among the top-six nations in the sport by the end of the year," Harendra said today.

Talking to PTI at the central regional centre of Sports Authority of India (SAI), where the team for upcoming Azlan Shah hockey starting on April 5 will be picked up, Harendra said his boys will adopt an attacking strategy this time to clinch the title.

"We are going to lift the Azlan Shah Hockey Cup.

"The team will play an attacking game for which India is known world over. I don't believe in playing a defensive game as it does not lead to victory," Harendra said.

India finished runner-up in the tournament last year.

"The players' morale is high after the team's stunning performance in New Zealand, where India won the Test series 2-0," he added.

Five teams - New Zealand, Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, besides India will participate in the tournament.
PTI

Sunday, March 22, 2009

England lose to WI despite Strauss' ton

Providence, Guyana: Andrew Strauss hit his third one-day international hundred, but England still went down to a 21-run defeat at the hands of the West Indies at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday.


The captain made 105 from 129 balls as England, chasing 265 for victory, were dismissed for 243 in 48.2 overs to allow West Indies to draw level at 1-1 in the five-match series.


The third and fourth matches will be contested at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Friday and Sunday, with the final game set for St. Lucia on April 6.


England had won the opener here on Friday when West Indies coach John Dyson embarrassingly miscalculated the Duckworth-Lewis method and handed his opponents a one-run win.


"We lost too many wickets too early and we were always behind the eight ball," admitted Strauss.


"We needed things to go our way in the last powerplay but with the medium pacers bowling, it wasn't easy to get the ball away. It was getting lower and slower, so we had to take risks to get runs.


"It would have been nice to have gone 2-0 in the series, but we have a good chance of winning in Barbados where the wicket might suit us better."


West Indies skipper Chris Gayle said his team had a point to prove.


"We were really down after what happened on Friday," said Gayle. "We wanted to give the crowd something to cheer about and I want to commend the guys for the way they played."


Man-of-the-match Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored his 10th one-day hundred of 112 not out from 134 balls to lead West Indies to 264 for eight from their 50 overs.


Strauss reached his hundred from 126 balls with a drive through cover for two off Kieron Pollard, but England lost wickets steadily.


Their best stands were 50 between Strauss and Owais Shah for the third wicket, and 59 between the England captain and Dmitri Mascarenhas for the sixth.


Mascarenhas made 29 and Shah made 22 and were the only other batsmen that passed 20.


Dwayne Bravo and Pollard both collected two wickets for West Indies.


Earlier, England, particularly Paul Collingwood and Mascarenhas, bowling their modest medium-pace, restricted West Indies to 57 runs in the last 10 overs and collected four cheap wickets to scupper the home team's hunt for quick late runs.


The tourists had been under pressure from Chanderpaul and compatriot Ramnaresh Sarwan when they put on 133 from 177 balls for the third wicket, after West Indies elected to bat and lost Lendl Simmons for a duck and fellow opener Gayle, for 20, inside the first six overs.


Urged on by the largest crowd for an international match in Guyana, Chanderpaul and Sarwan hit 74 from 89 balls. But James Anderson had Sarwan caught at deep mid-off in the 35th over, and Collingwood and Mascarenhas prevailed in the closing overs to limit the damage of the West Indies batsmen.


Anderson captured three for 37 from nine overs, Collingwood took three for 49 from 10 overs, and Dimitri Mascarenhas bagged two for 53 from 10 overs.


Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/england-lose-to-wi-despite-strauss-ton/39318-13.html

Harris takes six as SA win by an innings


Cape Town: Mitchell Johnson hit an 86-ball century for Australia before South Africa completed an innings and 20-run win on the fourth day of the third Test at Newlands on Sunday.


Johnson and Andrew McDonald (68) shared an Australian record seventh wicket stand of 163 to delay South Africa's consolation victory. Australia won the series 2-1.


Left-arm spinner Paul Harris took six for 127 and fast bowler Dale Steyn three for 96.


South Africa were on course for a crushing victory when Australia lost their sixth wicket at 218, still 224 short of avoiding an innings defeat.


But McDonald and Johnson, voted man of the series, went for their shots and thrashed a tiring bowling attack.


They put on 163 in 122 minutes off 161 balls to break the Australian seventh wicket record against South Africa of 160 by Richie Benaud and Graham McKenzie in 1963-64.


The stand was ended when McDonald was caught at silly mid-off off Harris.Johnson was on 95 while Peter Siddle was out first ball, also caught at silly mid-off.


Johnson, who was stranded on 96 not out in the first Test in Johannesburg, faced Steyn, who placed eight fielders on the boundary in an invitation to Johnson to take a single and expose new batsman Bryce McGain.


But Johnson pulled the second ball for six to raise a maiden Test century. In the same over Johnson called for a suicidal second run and McGain was run out at the bowler's end. Johnson finished on 123 not out off 103 balls with 11 fours and five sixes

Only 40 runs were scored during the morning for the loss of Simon Katich's wicket but three wickets fell between lunch and tea before McDonald and Johnson came together.


South Africa had to wait 98 minutes before Harris had Katich caught at mid-off after Katich and Mike Hussey dug in with cautious batting, adding just 36 runs from the start of play.


Katich was out for 54, adding 10 runs in 60 balls before playing a loose drive. He could have been out without adding to his overnight 44 when Harris put down a straightforward chance at gully off Steyn in the ninth over of the morning.


Hussey was caught at gully off Steyn four overs after lunch for 39 and Brad Haddin became Harris' third victim when he holed out to mid-on.


Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke made a fighting 47 before he was bowled off an inside edge by Steyn, armed with the second new ball, shortly before tea.


Clarke earlier was given out by umpire Steve Bucknor after he appeared to be caught behind off Jacques Kallis when he had made two. But Clarke immediately asked for a referral and survived when replays showed his bat hit his pad.


It was the fourth successive time a decision by Bucknor, standing in his last Test match before retirement, was overturned on referral.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/harris-takes-six-as-sa-win-by-an-innings/39312-13-1.html

BCCI pulls the plug, takes IPL out of India


Mumbai: It's official. Season two of the Indian Premier League will be played outside India. The final schedule and venue will be announced on Monday.


The high-profile Twenty20 tournament might be held in some other country, possibly England, after a BCCI working committee meeting decided to shift the tournament out of India.


The tournament will have all the 59 matches that were originally scheduled for the IPL. South Africa also appears to be in the reckoning to host the tournament.


"My apologies to the people of India, who have loved this game and who have given us huge support, that we are not able to hold this event in India," BCCI President Shashank Manohar said after a high-level meeting between officials.


The extraordinary circumstances finally brought out an extraordinary solution - the BCCI brought the suspense over the second edition of the IPL to an end as they declared it will now be taken outside India.


"We are sorry that we have to move the IPL out of India," IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said. "We would have loved to, we have tried over a hundred iterations to convince them. But unfortunately, because of the clash with election dates we could not do it. But at the same time, people will be able to watch it on television in their homes."


With the Government playing hardball on the security issue with less than three weeks for the tournament to start, this was perhaps the only feasible option for the BCCI to go ahead with its billion dollar league.

"Because of the attitude of the government, that they are not in a position to provide security, particularly by the state of Maharashtra and the state of Andhra Pradesh, we were forced to take a decision to move the event out of India," Manohar said.


And now that the wheels have been set in motion, the IPL isn't wasting anymore time on taking a final call on its new destination.


"Our teams (IPL officials) are moving to various countries from tomorrow night to explore (our options) and we will have a final schedule as to which country we are going to be in by tomorrow evening," Modi said.


Sources say England and South Africa are the front-runners to play hosts. England is said to be the preferred venue, although the South Africans are keen as well.


"If the BCCI needs help on matters, we normally talk to each other, and we'd be delighted to help if we can," England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke said.


An official statement from Cricket South Africa, on the other hand, said: "We received an official approach this morning to be one of several options they are considering to host the IPL outside India. At this stage we are looking forward to holding discussions with IPL officials to discuss the proposal in detail."


Last year the IPL shattered the myth that the Indian fans only supported their national team. Now, the IPL bosses are hoping the cynical view that the tournament simply cannot succeed unless its played in India will be proved wrong.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/bcci-pulls-the-plug-takes-ipl-out-of-india/39304-13-1.html

Maharashtra Police divided on IPL dates

New Delhi/ Mumbai, March 20: The Maharashtra Police today appeared to be divided on holding Indian Premier League matches in the state even as the organisers of the cash-rich cricket tournament claimed to have worked out multiple schedules to deal with various security apprehensions.While Maharashtra Director General of Police and election security in-charge Suprakash Chakravarty, expressing his personal opinion, called for a postponement of the Twenty20 event, Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Gafoor said the city was ready to host the matches.On a day of frantic developments, the statements of two of Maharashtra’s top police officials only added to the confusion surrounding the fate of the league, scheduled from April 10 to May 24.Asserting that conducting free and fair Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra was his top priority, Chakravarty said he cannot spare his men for the Twenty20 matches.

Sachin’s 42nd ton puts India on top

Hamilton, March 20: Sachin Tendulkar gave ample display of his class with a masterly 160 as India tightened the noose around New Zealand by taking a huge 241-run lead and snapping up three early Kiwi wickets in the first cricket Test here today.Tendulkar not only notched up his 42nd Test century but also anchored the innings brilliantly to steer India to a commanding first innings total of 520.Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (47) and Zaheer Khan (51 not out) chipped in with useful contributions as the visitors took advantage of a good batting track of Seddon Park to put the host team on the back-foot.The Kiwis were struggling at 75 for three at close on the third day, still trailing by 166 runs.With two full days left, the Black Caps will have to bat out of their skin to prevent India from taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Indians took the wicket of night watchman Kyle Mills in the very last ball to cap a day, completely dominated by them with Tendulkar standing out with his heroic knock.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

India out of ICC Women's WC despite win over West Indies

SYDNEY: India defeated West Indies comprehensively by eight-wickets on Thursday but the result was not good enough to ensure them a place in Sunday's summit-clash of the ICC Women's World Cup.

The Indians, who has a slim chance of making it to the final show down, were dealt a severe blow with Australia tilting their fate by posting a eight-wicket win over England in another Super Six match on Thursday.

For progressing to the final, India needed to beat the West Indies and hoped that New Zealand go down to Pakistan and England beat Australia in the respective Super Six matches.

India, however, got a chance to make amends for the disappointment as the win over West Indies has ensured them a place in the third-place playoff match against Australia on Saturday with both the teams automatically qualifying for the next World Cup.

Chasing a timid target of 84 at the Bankstown Oval here, the Indians romped home with 193 balls to spare with opener Sulakshana Naik (39 0ff 48) and in-form Mithali Raj (34 off 41) doing the bulk of the scoring.

Earlier, West Indian skipper Merissa Aguilleira's decision to bat first backfired as right-arm spinner Priyanka Roy (4/14) recorded her career-best figures to run through the West Indian batting order after Amita Sharma (2/14) and Rumeli Dhar (1/16) did the early damage.

The weak West Indian batting line up cut a sorry figure once again as five of their batters made ducks including captain Aguilleira.

Opener Stafanie Taylor (29) and one-down Pamela Lavine tried hard to resurrect the innings with a 45-run first-wicket partnership, but after the dismissal of Lavine in the 15th over, the West Indians batting order crumbled like a pack of card, losing their last seven wickets for just 12 runs.

In reply, the Indians started their timid run chase on a cautious note with opening duo of Anjum Chopra (3) and Naik adding 25 runs in six overs.

With a modest target to chase, Indian skipper Jhulan decided to give debutant Poonam Raut a chance ahead of experienced Mithali but the 19-year-old squandered the opportunity and registered her name in the record books by scoring a duck in her first match.

From there on, there was no looking back for the Indians as Naik and Mithali played sensibly to avoid further hiccups an take their side to victory in 17.5 overs.

For the Windies, pacer D Lewis scalped both the Indian wickets.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-fail-to-enter-Womens-WC-final-despite-win/articleshow/4286258.cms

South Africa reduce Australia to 66/2 at lunch

CAPE TOWN: South Africa recovered from dropping both opening batsmen to reduce Australia to 66/2 at lunch on the first day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Thursday.

South Africa, having already lost the series, gave a debut to Imraan Khan but he made a sorry start to Test cricket when he missed an easy catch in the gully when Simon Katich, on nine, edged a square-drive off Makhaya Ntini.

The left-handed Katich had moved on to 26 not out by lunch. Fellow opener Phillip Hughes, who led the attack in a first-wicket stand of 58, also escaped on 33 when JP Duminy made a hash of a catch off spinner Paul Harris at extra cover.

The mistake did not prove costly, however, because Hughes missed a sweep at left-armer Harris just two balls later and was adjudged leg-before-wicket when still on 33.

If the batsman had called for a review he may have got the decision overturned because television replays suggested he was struck outside the line of off stump.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting, having won the toss for the sixth successive time against South Africa, who are already 2-0 down in the series, and chosen to bat first on a flat pitch under clear skies, then came to the crease.

But the most-feared Australian batsman was out in the next over for a duck when he edged a delivery that swung away late from Albie Morkel, playing in his first Test, into the gloves of wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Michael Hussey was up next and went into lunch on five not out.

Ntini conceded just six runs, four of them off his first delivery, in seven overs, while Morkel had one for 17 in six overs and Harris one for three in three.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/South-Africa-reduce-Australia-to-662-at-lunch/articleshow/4287581.cms

Marseille and Werder Bremen reach UEFA Cup quarter-finals

LONDON: An extra time goal from on-loan English-born defender Tyrone Mears sent Olympique Marseille into the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Me ars headed in from close range in the 110th minute to secure the Ligue 1 side a 2-2 draw at Ajax Amsterdam, putting them through 4-3 on aggregate.

Werder Bremen, who ousted favourites AC Milan in the previous round, also knocked out St Etienne. The Germans, 1-0 up from the first leg, advanced with a 2-2 draw in France.

Mears was making a rare start for Marseille after his controversial move from English Championship (second division) side Derby County in September. The defender was heavily fined by Derby who said he had left without permission.

Then-manager Paul Jewell said Mears would never play for the club again while he was in charge and although the right back returned to Derby, the clubs came to an agreement and the player headed back to Marseille on a year-long loan.

Mears scored for Marseille when he pounced to head in a rebound after Boudewijn Zenden's free kick was blocked. Ajax, 2-1 down from the first leg, had forced extra time when Serbia striker Miralem Sulejmani fired them into a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes left of the return leg.

Earlier, Cameroonian midfielder Eyong Enoh sprung the offside trap to latch on to a Luis Suarez through ball and shoot Ajax ahead after 33 minutes. Marseille hit back two minutes later when Bakari Kone crossed low for an unmarked Mamadou Niang to equalise.

Ajax finished with 10 men after defender Bruno Silva was sent off in the closing seconds for elbowing Hatem Ben Arfa. Werder took control against St Etienne after first-half goals from Sebastian Proedl and Claudio Pizarro left the Ligue 1 side needing to score four times to progress.

The hosts did not give up though and responded with second-half goals from Yohan Benalouane and Sebastien Grax. The six remaining last-16 second-leg ties take place on Thursday, with holders Zenit St Petersburg needing to overturn a 2-0 defeat at Udinese to remain in the competition.

The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be held in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Azarenka stuns Safina to reach Indian Wells semi-finals


INDIAN WELLS: Victoria Azarenka stunned top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday to book a semi-final berth at the Indian Wells hardcourt tennis tournament.

The 19-year-old from Belarus, seeded eighth, denied Safina's latest bid to seize the world number one ranking from Serena Williams, who is idle this week.

Safina could have supplanted the American, who beat her in the Australian Open final, by reaching the final here.

But in Azarenka, she ran into a player brimming with confidence after capturing her first two career WTA titles this year - in Brisbane and Memphis.

Safina appeared to have the match in her grasp when she took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but she couldn't hold on to the lead.

"I just went away from my game every time I was up," Safina said. "From the second set I just gave all into her hands. She's a very aggressive player, so she was just better than me."

Azarenka notched her first victory over Safina in four career meetings.

"I have no words to say," she beamed. "It was a tough match. I was almost losing it and I pulled it off."

In the semi-finals, Azarenka will face her doubles partner, fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.

Currently at No.6 in the standings, Zvonareva has one title to her credit already this year, at Pattaya City.

A break in the third game was all Zvonareva needed to win the first set. She broke her 18-year-old opponent three times in the second to secure the victory.

Zvonareva won the last five games of the second set, but had to fight off break points in both the fourth and sixth games.

"It wasn't easy out there," she said. "I had my ups and downs... I'm pretty happy to get through this one."

Quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw are scheduled for Thursday, when defending champion Ana Ivanovic, the fifth seed, takes on Sybille Bammer of Austria and seventh-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska plays 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The second-round exits of second-seeded Jelena Jankovic and third-seeded Elena Dementieva left Zvonareva is the top seed remaining in the field.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Azarenka-stuns-Safina-to-reach-semi-finals/articleshow/4286059.cms

Nadal reaches Indian Wells quarter-finals


INDIAN WELLS: Rafael Nadal saved five match points en route to a 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 victory over David Nalbandian on Wednesday to reach the quarter- finals of the Indian Wells hard court tennis tournament.

Nalbandian's crushing forehand had the world number one on the ropes, but the Spaniard withstood the onslaught. He saved five match points, producing winners on four of them, to take the second set to the tie-breaker.

Nadal quickly gained the upper hand in the tie-break, as Nalbandian netted a volley, double-faulted and then netted another volley.

Once Nadal had pocketed the set, Nalbandian faded rapidly and Nadal wrapped up the victory in two hours and 48 minutes - almost on the stroke of 2am.

Nadal next faces another Argentinian, sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) winner over American John Isner.

Nadal's escape, against an opponent who had beaten him in two previous encounters back in 2007, meant that the "big four" of the men's tennis circuit - Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - all made it into the quarter-finals of the first Masters series event of the year.

World No.2 Federer, playing his first tournament since falling in five sets to Nadal in the Australian Open final, got past Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

He'll face fourth-seeded Murray, who had an unexpectedly easy time as Tommy Robredo retired with an injured right wrist with Murray leading 6-2, 3-0.

Djokovic, the defending champion and third seed, survived some shaky moments to pull off a 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.

He booked a quarter-final clash with seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick, who beat tenacious Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3.

Djokovic and Roddick will be renewing a rivalry that saw them meet in the quarter-finals of the last two Grand Slams.

Former world number one Federer, who has spent the time since the Australian Open recovering from a lingering back ailment and getting in some quality practice, said he enjoyed his tussle with Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open runner-up.

"I enjoy playing Fernando because it's so tactical, but then at the same time it's so brutal, so aggressive. You think you have a slight chance to win the point, and then you realize no, there's actually none."

Nevertheless, Federer stretched his record over Gonzalez to 12-1, and lined up a quarter-final clash that promised another test of his ground game against Spain's Fernando Verdasco.

Verdasco, who powered to the semi-finals of the Australian Open where he was felled by Nadal, defeated unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Like Federer, Scotland's Murray arrived in California after some time off, having withdrawn after reaching the quarter-finals in Dubai two weeks ago and then skipping the Davis Cup because of a virus.

Murray had lost to Robredo in their last two encounters and got off to a slow start, dropping his serve to trail 1-2.

"Because I haven't played that much, I'm sort of trying to work my way into the match by making a lot of balls early on," Murray said. "Tommy was able to dictate a lot of points. That wasn't through my errors. He had a couple of big returns and got ahead of me. After that I started to play a little bit more aggressive."

Murray said he knew Robredo was battling a wrist injury, but said it was hard to gauge how much his opponent was bothered by it.

"Mentally a wrist problem can be tough. It's not so much hitting the ball that's worrying, it's just the pain that's there and feeling like something might happen," he said.

Murray next faces Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who saved five match points to beat Russian Igor Andreev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in a match lasting more than three hours.

In women's matches, Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus shocked top-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

Azarenka denied Safina's bid to topple American Serena Williams from the world number one rankings, which the Russian would have done had she reached the final here.

In the semi-finals Azarenka will face her doubles partner, fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who beat ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nadal-reaches-Indian-Wells-quarter-finals/articleshow/4286589.cms

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Dharamshala to be ready for IPL by April 15


New Delhi: High on spirits after getting the nod to host this season's Indian Premier League matches, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) on Wednesday said the stadium in Dharamshala would be ready for the Twenty20 tournament by April 15.


HPCA President Anurag Thakur, who played a key role in bringing the IPL to the hill state, said the the upgradation of the stadium will be done as per international guidelines and the installation of floodlights would be completed within next 15 days.


"The venue of Twenty20 IPL matches at Dharamshala Cricket Stadium will be completed according to international standards by April 15," Thakur said in a statement.


"The work on installation of flood lights is on war footing and will be completed in next 15 days," he added.


In place of Delhi, Jaipur and Vishakapatnam, the IPL officials have included Dharamshala and Ahmedabad as the new venues in their revised third schedule submitted to the Home Ministry after the concerned state governments expressed their unwillingness to host the matches due to security reasons during the general elections that coincides with the event.


The HPCA President said the stadium in Dharamshala boasts of all the necessary world-class facilities required to host international matches.


"The stadium has been constructed with initial cost of Rs 35 crore and it has seating capacity of 18,500 visitors. It has separate boxes for corporates and media. It's also got sauna and gymnasium club house for the players," Thakur said.

The stadium in Dharamshala, which is situated 4000 feet above the sea level and has the beautiful Dhauldahar mountains in the back drop, has already hosted an international match between India 'A' and South Africa 'A' team, besides holding various domestic games.


Thakur also viewed Dharamshala will be an added attraction for the cricket lovers and tourists after the IPL matches.


"The valley attracts maximum foreign tourists during this period and it will further add to the promotion of tourism in the state," he said.


The HPCA President also said the Chief Minister of the state has already informed the Home Ministry that they are in a position to hold the IPL matches by themselves without central forces.


"Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has already told the Union Government that the state will provide fool-proof security to the event at its own level and there is no need for any paramilitary forces," Thakur said.


"The Chief Minister has directed the police and home department to make elaborate security arrangements for the players and the visitors," he added.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/dharamshala-to-be-ready-for-ipl-by-april-15/39193-13-1.html

Security concerns for taking out Delhi, Jaipur: Modi

Mumbai: Delhi and Jaipur have been taken off the IPL's revamped schedule given to the Home Ministry by the Twenty20 League organisers because of security concerns in these two centres, according to IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.


"There are security issues in these two states and that's the reason Delhi and Jaipur have been taken out of the IPL schedule," Modi told reporters here on Wednesday.


Modi explained that if these states desire to conduct IPL matches they need to talk directly to the MHA and get the clearance.


The IPL is battling hard to keep the money-spinning League's second season going in the wake of the recent terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan and its clash of dates with the general elections leading to security concerns in states where the matches are scheduled.


"We are working hard to finalise the IPL schedule," Modi said.


The IPL schedule, which has come under rough weather because of security issues raised by the states as it coincides with the polls, has been changed twice and is awaiting approval from the Home Ministry.


The IPL has fixed April 10-May 24 as the period for holding the second edition of the T20 League.


Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/cricket_news/

Runs dry up for India despite gritty fifties


Hamilton: Rahul Dravid scored a patient half century and shared a 106-run second wicket partnership with Gautam Gambhir as India reached 197 for three by tea on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand.


Sachin Tendulkar was unbeaten on 25 and V.V.S. Laxman was on six as India reached the interval 82 runs behind New Zealand's first innings total of 279.


Gambhir was the first batsman out between lunch and tea, caught by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum off Chris Martin for 72 and Dravid was bowled by Ian O'Brien for 66 to end an innings which lasted three hours.


Dravid and Gambhir lifted India from 36 for one, when Virender Sehwag was run out for 24 in the third over of the day, to 142 for two at the fall of Gambhir's wicket.


Gambhir reached his 10th half century in 117 minutes from 97 balls and Dravid, who batted with unshakeable concentration and rigid defense, notched his 54th from 110 balls with 10 fours.


While Gambhir walked into the medium pacers and scored from a variety of shots, heavily on the leg side, Dravid played from a firm base at the crease, cut strongly and took advantage of a gap in the slip field to take runs through third man.


Martin made the first breakthrough of the session when he generated reverse swing to the left-handed Gambhir who, driving lavishly, edged the ball at shoulder height to McCullum.


New Zealand's celebration of the wicket was short-lived because it brought to the wicket Tendulkar, in his 157th test, who shares with Dravid the third-most profitable partnership in test history.

Tendulkar has surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the second most-capped player in test history behind another Australian, Steve Waugh.


Dravid and Tendulkar have generated more than 5,000 test runs for India, the pair behind only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes of the West Indies and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer of Australia in test cricket partnerships.


Their partnerships produce more than 50 runs per innings on average but they had added only 35 on Thursday when O'Brien ripped a ball through Dravid's defense, knocking down his off stump.


Dravid batted with typical application for 183 minutes, hitting 12 fours while Gambhir occupied the crease for 174 minutes and hit 11 boundaries.


Gambhir's only previous blemish was to run out Sehwag for 24 early in the day, the start of which was delayed 15 minutes by the effects of rain. Gambhir turned a delivery to midwicket, took an easy single and called for the second as the ball was fielded by left-hander James Franklin.


Franklin's throw knocked down the stumps at the non-striker's end with Sehwag still more than a meter out of his ground.


Tendulkar offered a chance before tea, skying an attempted pull shot off Vettori when he was 11 but Daniel Flynn was unable to hold the catch running back on the leg side.

Source:http://cricketnext.in.com/news/runs-dry-up-for-india-despite-gritty-fifties/39203-13-1.html

Monday, March 16, 2009

Hard to pick winner for ICC World Twenty20: Lara

TRINIDAD (West Indies): Former West Indies captain Brian Lara lifted the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Trinidad on Sunday and then admitted it was tough to pick a side that might do the same on June 21 at Lord's.

But if he had to choose a likely winner the batting legend said the finalists in the inaugural event in 2007, India and Pakistan, might be the ones to look out for because of their batting strength and an ability to innovate.

Lara displayed the trophy to a packed house at the Queen's Park Oval during the interval of the T20 International between the West Indies and England, part of the promotion of June's event that will take place in England.

And afterwards he said: "It was a great feeling to pick up the trophy before the winning captain and nice to be part of the build-up but, as for picking a winner, it's very hard to predict as in Twenty20 cricket you never know what will happen.

"In 2007 I supported the West Indies (to win) due to the fact that, as a team, we may have been short in Test cricket but very good over a shorter game and Twenty20 was a version of the game, with players like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo, I thought we would love.

"But then Bangladesh came and beat us and we didn't win a match so that shows how difficult it is to predict. A team like India or Pakistan, accustomed to good batting tracks, flat tracks and capable of being very innovative could be the ones to walk away with the trophy," said Lara.

Two years into his retirement from top-line cricket, Lara remains the holder of the highest score in international history thanks to his 400 not out in a Test against England in Antigua in 2004.

And although he said he still loved Test cricket above all the other formats of the game, he also agreed there was an obvious place for the Twenty20 version.

"I'm still a connoisseur of Test cricket as the true test of any sportsman," he said. "But I think Twenty20 cricket is a great invention, especially for the spectator. It's a great addition to the game and I look forward to seeing the ICC World Twenty20."

Lara also reflected on what it was like to lift silverware at an ICC event, having done that in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy when the West Indies produced a remarkable come-from-behind success in the final against England at The Oval.

"It was a great feeling and this from a captain not accustomed to winning anything," he said.

"We'd just lost four Tests against England and then came back from deep trouble in the final when we were seven or eight wickets down late on.

"Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw were able to pull it off for us and that was an excellent feeling.

"I've never done it (lifted the trophy) in a World Cup but to play against all the other international countries in one tournament and win was a great feeling and definitely one of the greatest moments of my career," he added.

The ICC World Twenty20 trophy is designed and manufactured by Links of London. It is made of silver and rhodium and weighs approximately 7.5kgs. It measures 51 cms in height with a width of 19cms at the top and 14cms at the base

The ICC World Twenty20 2009 sees 12 of the top men's teams and the top eight women's teams competing in a best-of-the-best event at four venues - Lord's, The Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton (women's matches only).

Each of the men's and women's semi-finals and the finals will be played as double-headers at the same venues offering great value to spectators and great exposure to the women's game.

India won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa when it beat Pakistan by five runs in the final in Johannesburg.

Soruce:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hard-to-pick-winner-for-ICC-World-Twenty20-Lara/articleshow/4270154.cms

Sachin, Sehwag move up in ICC ODI Rankings

DUBAI: Virender Sehwag broke into top 10 and Sachin Tendulkar returned to top 20 in batsmen's chart while Yuvraj Singh rose to a career-best third place in the all-rounder's table following India's 3-1 series win against New Zealand.

Sehwag and Tendulkar were the biggest movers in the ICC ODI Player Rankings after their splendid performance in the recent series against New Zealand.

Sehwag, who scored 299 runs against the Black Caps, jumped nine places to sixth position in the latest rankings for ODI batsmen, headed by his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

It is the first time in nearly six years that Sehwag has occupied a place in the top 10.

Tendulkar has also made a movement in the right direction as his series scores of 20, 61 and 163 not out have helped him vault eight places to 13th spot.

Yuvraj and Gautam Gambhir, however, dropped one and four places respectively in the batsmen's chart. Yuvraj now sits in fourth place while Gambhir shares 16th spot with South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs.

However in the all-rounders' table, Yuvraj entered the top five for the first time in his career. He has leapfrogged West Indies captain Chris Gayle and Jacob Oram of New Zealand to share third place with Pakistan's Shoaib Malik.

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan leads the field with Andrew Flintoff in second place.

Meanwhile in the rankings for ODI bowlers, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has fallen off the top spot and now sits in fifth place after managing just two wickets in the series which was dominated by the Indian batsmen.

Vettori's drop has benefitted Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara who, for the first time in his career, has surged to the top. Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken is in second place while Kyle Mills of New Zealand is third.

In the ICC ODI Championship, India has gained two ratings points for its 3-1 series win. It has lifted it to 122 rating points and puts it just two ratings points behind second-placed Australia and three behind leader South Africa.

In contrast, New Zealand has conceded two ratings points for the series loss and is now only one rating point ahead of Pakistan.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sehwag-rockets-into-top-10-in-ICC-ODI-Rankings/articleshow/4270560.cms

Bouncy track awaits India in Test opener

HAMILTON: A bouncy track with a good sprinkling of grass awaits India in the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand starting on Wednesday, casting the die for a veritable war of attrition between bat and ball.

One look at the wicket would convince anyone that the Kiwis, who had the Indians in a spot of bother on a lively Eden Park deck in the last ODI at Auckland, would use swing and seam to arrest the Indian batsmen who have been on a rampage on this tour.

Though curator Karl Jackson said he would eventually shear the pitch of its "excess" grass, there should be appreciable assistance for seamers, who could be lethal if the conditions are overcast.

The conditions would demand great discipline from the Indian batsmen to collar a seam attack, spearheaded by Franklyn James, an ace at swinging the ball.

Kyle Mills, who on his day can trouble established batsmen, Iain O'Brien and either Chris Martin or new-find Brent Arnel could form the seam quartet.

The wily Daniel Vettori (286 wickets in 89 Tests) could provide fizz and turn in case the quicks fail.

However, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag have the skill and experience to quell the Kiwi attack, though they had had a deplorable tour in 2002-03, when India had mustered a series-high score of 219.

Any extravagance could hurt the Kiwis as well, as they have an inexperienced batting line-up, which has yet-to-be-christened Martin Guptill.

Interestingly, Ross Taylor (14), Jesse Ryder (6), Daniel Flynn (9), Tim McIntosh (2) and Brendon McCullum (41) have played barely 72 Tests between them, half the number of matches that Tendulkar (156) has played in.

The young Kiwis would have to contend with the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who had rocked Australia and England even on docile wickets back home. If the duo, assisted by Lakshmipathy Balaji, could seam and cut the Kookaburra ball, the hosts could be vulnerable under pressure, as they were in the ODIs.

Keeping this in mind, Kiwi coach Andy Moles said, "We don't want to play on a green seamer. We want to have a good game of cricket and I am sure that is what we will get."

If the Blackcaps had complained about being tormented by Sehwag, they will now have to deal with the batting might of Sachin Tendulkar (12,429 runs), Rahul Dravid (10509) and VVS Laxman (6446), who have a staggering gross aggregate of 29,384 Test runs among them.

The celebrated trio apart, India could also bank on Gautam Gambhir, who has arguably been India's best batting find in recent times, Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to put the runs on the board.

Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Balaji too can be handy with the willow.

Given the wealth of experience and talent, self-belief and an enviable track record over the last 18 months, India begin the three-Test rubber as the favorites.

Nevertheless, they would have to perform at their best to score a Test series victory in the antipodes, their first since the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi-inspired 3-1 triumph in 1967-68.

Source:http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bouncy-track-awaits-India-in-Test-series-opener/articleshow/4271353.cms

Govt, IPL hold meet; no decision on dates yet

NEW DELHI: The fate of the Indian Premier League season two still hangs in balance with the meeting between the home ministry and the IPL authorities ending inconclusively in New Delhi on Monday.

A three-member team led by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan met special secretary (internal security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Raman Srivastava, on Monday to discuss the IPL matches’ dates.

The special secretary conveyed the ministry’s concerns and limitations and requested the working of a new schedule for IPL-II in consultation with states where the IPL matches are to be played.

The home ministry also told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it would not be able to spare central forces for the Twenty20 tournament, PTI reported.

Asking the organisers of the high-profile tournament to hold serious consultations with concerned state governments, ministry expressed its "concerns and limitations" in sparing para-military forces for the cricket extravaganza because of the Lok Sabha elections.

Also read:
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"We have had discussions. Home ministry explained its concerns and we have also explained our difficulties and our own concerns and the importance of all the stake holders," N Srinivasan, BCCI secretary told reporters in New Delhi.

"Once the new schedule is received, the ministry will look at it in consultation with the state governments," a home ministry spokesperson said.

A tentative schedule was earlier expected to be released after the meeting today. The IPL 2 tournament is scheduled to begin from April 20.

Before submitting the revised schedule, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had said at a media briefing that before chalking out the new fixtures, all states concerned had been taken into confidence.

However, the ministry was taken in for a surprise when the states denied that they had been consulted by the IPL organisers.

The ministry had on March 13 rejected the revised schedule of the IPL organisers and said it "may not be feasible to play matches as per the submitted schedule".

"It is not possible to exempt any state from its promise to release state police personnel for election duties because these have been taken into account in arriving at the overall availability of security personnel," the ministry had said while rejecting the revised schedule.


Source:http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/No_decision_on_IPL_2_dates_yet_BCCI_/articleshow/4268623.cms

I want to be World champion: Lewis Hamilton


PARIS, AFP: Lewis Hamilton has come a long way in his 24 years, from a humble English housing estate to a Swiss mansion, a popstar girlfriend and an MBE from the Queen.He is the youngest champion in Formula One history, its first black winner and a multi-millionaire who splits opinion both inside and outside the paddock.Now Hamilton is braced for what could be his most bruising battle as he defends the title he won by just a point in 2008's rain-drenched, knife-edge Brazilian finale."You can't live in the past. I don't say 'I am world champion', I say 'I want to be world champion'," said Hamilton.His F1 debut in 2007 in Australia saw him finish third, quickly followed by runner-up positions in Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain and Monaco

Source:http://racing.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4270400.cms

Imperious Nadal romps through in Indian Wells



INDIAN WELLS: World number one Rafal Nadal romped into the third round of the ATP event in Indian Wells on Sunday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over German Michael Berrer.

The Spaniard made mince meat out of world number 112 Berrer, marching through in just 67 minutes.

Champion Novak Djokovic had a harder time of it before beating Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, while sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro also advanced.

Nadal broke Berrer's serve in the first game and never looked back, dominating the German from the baseline and outclassing him in every department.

The top seed will play 26th seed Dmitry Tursunov in the third round.

Serbian third seed Djokovic was never at his fluent best but eased past Vassallo Arguello to book a meeting with German Tommy Haas.

After trading early breaks, Djokovic broke the Argentine's serve for the second time in the 11th game, and served out for the set.

The vital break in the second set came in the seventh game and Djokovic held the advantage to clinch victory.

Djokovic has been struggling to repeat the form he showed in the first few months of 2008, when he won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open and then triumphed in Indian Wells.

A switch in rackets in the off-season left him low on confidence but after winning the title in Dubai last month, the world number three believes he is getting back on track.

"The quality is there. The game is there. The fitness is getting much better. It's just a mental ability to play the best tennis," he said.

"I know that I cannot perform always my best tennis, but, again, my confidence has been raised in the last month and a half.

"I'm aware that still there needs to be some improvement, but I'm taking it step by step."

Last year's beaten finalist Mardy Fish lost 7-6, 7-6 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while Del Potro beat American wildcard Ryan Sweeting 6-7, 6-3, 6-1.

Nicolas Kiefer and Stanislas Wawrinka also advanced to the third round.
Rafa Nadal romped into the third round of the ATP event in Indian Wells on Sunday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over German Michael Berrer.

INDIAN WELLS: World number one Rafa Nadal romped into the third round of the ATP event in Indian Wells on Sunday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over German Michael Berrer.

The Spaniard made mince meat out of world number 112 Berrer, marching through in just 67 minutes.

Champion Novak Djokovic had a harder time of it before beating Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina 7-5, 6-4, while sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro also advanced.

Nadal broke Berrer's serve in the first game and never looked back, dominating the German from the baseline and outclassing him in every department.

The top seed will play 26th seed Dmitry Tursunov in the third round.

Serbian third seed Djokovic was never at his fluent best but eased past Vassallo Arguello to book a meeting with German Tommy Haas.

After trading early breaks, Djokovic broke the Argentine's serve for the second time in the 11th game, and served out for the set.

The vital break in the second set came in the seventh game and Djokovic held the advantage to clinch victory.

Djokovic has been struggling to repeat the form he showed in the first few months of 2008, when he won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open and then triumphed in Indian Wells.

A switch in rackets in the off-season left him low on confidence but after winning the title in Dubai last month, the world number three believes he is getting back on track.

"The quality is there. The game is there. The fitness is getting much better. It's just a mental ability to play the best tennis," he said.

"I know that I cannot perform always my best tennis, but, again, my confidence has been raised in the last month and a half.

"I'm aware that still there needs to be some improvement, but I'm taking it step by step."

Last year's beaten finalist Mardy Fish lost 7-6, 7-6 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while Del Potro beat American wildcard Ryan Sweeting 6-7, 6-3, 6-1.

Nicolas Kiefer and Stanislas Wawrinka also advanced to the third round.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top

Jeev Milkha Singh soars to career-best 29th in rankings


NEW DELHI: Jeev Milkha Singh continues to soar high, reaching a career-best 29th following his fourth-place finish in the WGC-CA Championship with compatriot Jyoti Randhawa giving him company in the top 100 list of Official World Golf Rankings issued on Monday.

Jeev had a fairytale campaign in the WGC-CA Championship where a sensational opening round of seven-under 65 put him in the four-way lead.

The seasoned Indian eventually finished fourth at the Blue Monster in Doral to collect a cheque of $360,000 and jump seven places from last week's 36th position.

Randhawa, who broke into the top 100 following his triumph in the Thailand Open, is placed 96th in the chart.

US-based Arjun Atwal is way down at 237th, while last year's Indian Masters winner SSP Chowrasia is placed 331st.

Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson's second title of the year at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship helped him move up one place to world number two and to within 0.52 average points of number one Tiger Woods.

Source:http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/?frm_TOIHome_top