Federer reaches semis at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS: World No. 2 Roger Federer defeated Swiss compatriot and doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells ATP tennis tournament on Friday.

Three-time former winner Federer advanced to the semifinals where he will face Serbian Novak Djokovic who defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4.

"I have had a wonderful hard court swing," Federer said. "I had a good start to the year, a good six months. I am excited, pretty healthy and really motivated."

Federer set up match point with a thundering forehand down the line then clinched the win when Wawrinka punched a backhand wide ending the 64-minute match on centre court.

The Swiss pair are also teaming up in the doubles draw. No sooner had they finished their singles match then they had to get ready to return to the main stadium court to play doubles against Spaniard's Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez as the first match on the night session.

In their only previous meeting this year, Federer crushed Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. He eventually lost to Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals and Djokovic went on to win the title.

"Wimbledon wasn't that bad," Federer said on Friday.

Federer's win not only sets his first semifinal match against third seeded Djokovic since the Australian Open but the outcome will determine the number two ranking in the world. Federer has a 13-8 career record against Djokovic.

World No. 3 Djokovic has been blitzing his opponents the last few months and is currently on an 18-match win streak dating back to last year's Davis Cup final.

Saina avenges loss to Eriko, reaches quarters in Swiss Open

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal avenged her All England quarterfinal loss to Eriko Hirose with a thrilling three-game victory over the Japanese in the second round of the Wilson Swiss Open Super Series in Switzerland.

Second seed Saina beat All England finalist Eriko 21-15 17-21 21-11 in a match which lasted close to an hour to set up a clash with sixth seed Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva in the quarterfinals.

Nedelcheva defeated qualifier Karin Schnaase of Germany 21-12 21-11 last night.

Eriko had beaten Saina in the quarterfinals of the All England Championships last week and the Japanese got off to a good start in the first game in Switzerland.

She opened up a four-point lead at 9-4 in the second round but Saina caught up with her and moved ahead to pocket the opener.

Her back against the wall, Eriko came back strongly in the second game and moved neck-and-neck with Saina before surging ahead from 17-16 to equalise.

In the decider, world number four Saina didn't give any chance to her rival and shut the match with ruthless precision moving to 13-5 first and then holding on to it as Eriko crumbled.

In men's singles, Ajay Jayaram also reached the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 15-21 23-21 21-19 victory over 16th seed Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark in the third round last night. He will take on fourth seed Sung Hwan Park of Korean in the next round.

Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas beat sixth seeds Mads Conrad-Petersen and Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark 17-21 21-15 21-15 in the men's doubles category.

The Indian duo will next take on fourth seeds Chieh Min Fang and Sheng Mu Lee of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.

In women's doubles, there was disappointment in store for Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.

The Commonwealth Games gold medallist lost 16-21 12-21 to seventh seeds Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito in the pre-quarterfinals last night.

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Tendulkar eyes ton of tons in World Cup group finale

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar can complete another landmark on Sunday by hitting his 100th international hundred as India tackle West Indies in the World Cup's final group match.

Both sides have yet to make sure of their quarterfinal places, although the qualifying picture from Group B will become a lot clearer after South Africa, who are already through, face hopefuls Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday.

As well as the qualification picture, most of the 38,000 fans at the Chidambaram Stadium will be anticipating Tendulkar's 100th international hundred.

The India star moved to 99 centuries (51 in Tests and 48 in one-day internationals) with a majestic innings of 111 in his side's previous group match against South Africa.

However, even a 'Sachin special' was not enough to prevent a three-wicket defeat by South Africa where India, on a belting batting pitch in Nagpur, contrived to lose their last nine wickets for just 29 runs as they slumped from 267 for one to 296 all out.

"When you hit those big shots, you tend to forget that you are playing for the country and not for the crowd," India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

Runs are set to be harder to come by in Chennai, where no batsman managed a fifty on a typically bowler-friendly pitch during England's nailbiting 18-run win over the West Indies on Thursday.

The good news for India is that West Indies have no equivalent of Proteas' fast bowler Dale Steyn.

But their batsmen, who will be expected to bat far more sensibly in the powerplay after collectively losing their heads against South Africa, will do well not to under-estimate a youthful Windies attack that troubled England.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo took three wickets on his one-day international debut while lively seamer Andre Russell almost produced a match-winning all-round performance with four wickets and a dashing 49.

Had the West Indies, who lost their last four wickets for just three runs on Thursday, won both they and India would now be in the quarterfinals.

However, West Indies coach Ottis Gibson was encouraged by much of the England match, saying: "We are starting to show the resilience we are going to need to beat teams like England and India on Sunday and the big boys."

For India, the debate over whether to play off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is reaching a key phase.

Dhoni has been steadfast - his critics would say stubborn - in support of struggling leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

Ashwin, praised by Dhoni for his mental toughness and stability, has yet to bowl a single over at the World Cup.

But Sunday's match is taking place on Ashwin's home ground and there will be those in the Indian camp arguing that it is better to bowl the 24-year-old this weekend than risk playing him 'cold' in a quarterfinal.

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SL vs NZ: Kiwis need 266 runs to win against Sri Lanka

MUMBAI: Kumar Sangakkara led from the front to hit a fine 111 as Sri Lanka posted 265-9 in Friday's World Cup clash against New Zealand which was marred by an unsavoury catch controversy.

The Sri Lankan skipper also put on 145 runs for the third wicket with his deputy Mahela Jayawardene (66) to pull his team out of early trouble in the day-night match at the Wankhede Stadium.

The two teams have already made it to the quarterfinals and the result of this game will determine their final Group A positions.

Sri Lanka lost opener Upul Tharanga early when he was run out in the third over after Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat in hot and humid conditions.

Tharanga backed up too far and Tim Southee (3-63) managed to get his hand to a straight drive from Tillakaratne Dilshan before the ball rolled on to hit the stumps.

Dilshan followed his partner to the pavilion soon, lobbing a simple catch to Jacob Oram off Southee while trying to go for an ambitious shot on the leg side, plunging Sri Lanka to 19-2.

Jayawardene got embroiled in a controversy early in his innings.

The former captain tried to play a defensive shot in the 24th over against off-spinner Nathan McCullum but ended up chipping the ball back to the bowler.

McCullum dived and managed to get his right hand under the ball to cap what looked like a stunning effort.

But even as McCullum broke into a celebration, TV umpire Amish Saheba was called in and he ruled it not out.

A furious McCullum and Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor angrily protested the decision with on-field umpire Asad Rauf.

Jayawardene, then on 26, hit six fours in a dour 90-ball innings before being adjudged trapped leg before off Southee, a decision he asked to be reviewed but in vain.

Sangakkara played a captain's innings, racing to his 11th century and completing 9,000 one-day international runs in the process, the fourth Sri Lankan player to the mark.

This was Sangakkara's first three-figure score in 63 innings, having gone without a ton since June 2008.

He was bowled by McCullum in the 42nd over after facing 128 balls and hitting 12 fours and two sixes.

Angelo Mathews provided the late impetus to the innings with an unbeaten 41 off 35 balls.

Eng vs WI: England beat West Indies by 18 runs to stay afloat in World Cup

CHENNAI: England kept their World Cup campaign alive by beating blow-hot-blow-cold West Indies by 18 runs on Thursday.

In a ding-dong battle, England first wasted a good batting start (79-1 in the 11th over). But after being 151-6, their last four wickets added 92 runs to take the tally to 243.

When West Indies made 58-0 in eight overs, it looked an uphill task for Strauss' men. But they stuck to it by removing the middle-order of West Indies in quick succession, especially Pollard. On a challenging track, Andre Russell and Ramnaresh Sarwan showed great resilience to take it from 150-6 to 222. But once they lost Russell, nerves played a part and the West Indies lost.

Spinners Graeme Swann and James Tredwell shared seven wickets between them on a helpful track and Ravi Bopara varied his pace to scalp two.

West Indies started the chase of 244 by throwing caution to the wind. They probably thought survival was difficult on this track. The strategy seemed to have worked when Chris Gayle hammered away, hitting pacemen Tremlett and Bresnan (1-0-18-0) out of the attack. Probably, it was a mistake in hindsight as it brought another spinner Tredwell (Swann opened from the other side) into the attack.

Tredwell had Gayle (43 off 21, 8x4s, 1x6) lbw; Prior made a brilliant stumping of the off-balanced Smith and skipper Strauss plucked Darren Bravo at first slip. All the three lefties fell to off-spinner (Dhoni please note: Peterson was leftie and Bhajji an off-spinner).

Sammy and Thomas then played on to the stumps against Bopara.

Pollard hit two typical sixes after playing out one maiden over. But classy offie Swann had him lbw to a turner. Russell was generally quiet but he also hit three sixes, the one being particularly contentious. Strauss appeared to have caught him at long-on off Swann, but unclear TV footage and the shadow of the boundary line ads seemed to have put a doubt in the TV umpire's mind. And he passed that advantage to the batsman.

But Tredwell got Russell lbw. Swann, in his last over, got Sarwan caught at short-leg and Roach caught by Tremlett, running in and diving in front at mid-off.

Earlier, at 121-2 in the 22nd over, with Jonathan Trott in sublime touch, England lost the momentum despite the lack of relentless pressure from the bowling attack.

Matt Prior was bowled through the gate by Andre Russell. But the bigger culprits were Andrew Strauss (top edged a difficult high catch to Chris Gayle, who ran back from mid-wicket) and Eion Morgan (edged a reverse sweep to the wicket-keeper).

James Tredwell couldn't have asked for better World Cup debut than this. England had their backs against the wall and a loss would have thrown them out. However, Tredwell delivered when it mattered the most. Every time Andrew Strauss threw the ball to him, he came up with a breakthrough. He was brought in when Chris Gayle was belting England's bowlers all over the park. He trapped the dangerous Gayle in front and then sent back Devon Smith and talented Darren Bravo. Later on, when the West Indies were cruising with the 7th wicket stand between Ramnaresh Sarwan and Andre Russell, he claimed Russell's wicket.

It seemed as if the game against England was going to be one dominated by Andre Russell. The pacer had picked up four wickets for 49 to bowl England out for 243 after Strauss had won the toss and chose to bat on a two-paced and dry pitch. After Pollard was dismissed for 24, England had West Indies down for the count at 150 for 6. The experienced Ramnaresh Sarwan needed someone to hang around and it was Russell who put his hand up. Tonking sixes, he scored an entertaining 49 and took West Indies to within 21 runs of a quarterfinal berth. His dismissal to Tredwell's off-spin started the collapse and the West Indies lost four wickets for three runs.

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Indian playing XI row heats up

CHENNAI: All is not well in the Indian camp.

Right from the time the World Cup squad was selected, the selectors and skipper MS Dhoni were not sharing the same thought process. With the group stage almost done and dusted, the rift has only increased.

It's understood that Dhoni's "stubbornness" regarding team selection hasn't gone down too well either with the BCCI bosses or with the selectors. And now, with just a couple of days to go for the crucial game against West Indies at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth met Dhoni & Co at the team hotel just before they were to come for practice. One understands that a few harsh words were spoken and the team management was asked to have a closer look at the playing XI. Dhoni has been extremely stubborn on the issue of playing with Piyush Chawla as the second spinner and the selection committee thinks that "it's time R Ashwin is given a chance".

A couple of days back, two selectors had a talk with Dhoni and he was clearly told that "Chawla has got enough chances" and that Ashwin should be in the playing XI. But the skipper was not ready to budge, even though there are senior members in the team who believe that the TN offie should get his chance.

Chika, despite his stature, has never interfered with the playing XI, but now that things have gone too far, there was no other alternative for the chairman but to have a talk with the team management. He clearly communicated the displeasure of the selectors but finally left it to the captain to take his call.

BCCI secretary N Srinivasan was also present and was a witness to the conversion between the chairman of selectors and the captain.

Later, Chika was present at the IIT Chemplast ground as well where he caught up with the other members of the team. The chairman had a long conversation with coach Gary Kirsten and later he was seen having a talk with the bowlers. As the media swarmed around him for a sound byte, he refused for the time being. "We will have a talk after India win the West Indies game," Chika said trying his best to deflate the tension.

Meanwhile, Suresh Raina has been given indications from the team management that he will play Sunday's game. The left-hander has mentioned to his close friends that he is making mental preparations to play the game.

Ashwin vs Piyush

What works in favour of Ashwin:

- His ability to bowl in the Powerplays. The off-spinner is known to contain the batsmen.
- Has done well in the Chennai, which is home turf for him.

What not for Chawla:

-Hasn't been able to contain batsmen or take wickets.
- Is under immense pressure to perform.

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Canon may pull out IPL ads

MUMBAI: As the crisis in Japan deepens, Canon India, a subsidiary of the Japanese imaging and optical products major, has pressed the panic button. In a major setback to its plans, Canon India is contemplating pulling out from advertising during the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting April 8.


The Japanese multinational which specializes in products like cameras and photocopiers plans to launch a new range of cameras next month and was going to put out a new campaign starring its brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. But with supplies being hit, the company is not sure of being able to fulfil the demand if it goes ahead with the media campaign.


Alok Bharadwaj, senior VP, Canon India, told TOI, "With the launch of a new campaign we expect demand to be created for the product but with issues on the supply side the decision on whether we will go ahead with the mass media campaign will be taken in a couple of days."


However, an official broadcaster of the IPL-SET Max said there is no clause which can allow for any advertiser to pull out from the tournament under any circumstances. "There is no question of any advertiser pulling out once the contract is signed. Such provisions are not part of the terms and conditions," said Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media (the parent company of SET Max).


Canon, along with other Japanese companies, has increased its advertising and marketing spends over the last one year to ramp up its presence in the country.


Sony, one of the biggest exporters of electronics out of Japan, has been on an overdrive and signed on the Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni before the start of the ICC World Cup to garner market share away from its Korean rivals LG and Samsung, but the Japanese electronics major said it cannot comment on any expected cuts in marketing and advertising budgets post what happened in Japan. But given the ongoing crisis, with the kind of destruction that has been brought about by the earthquake and the tsunami and now the threat of a nuclear meltdown, the Indian subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals may have to cut costs and resort to austerity measures. In fact, Canon has cancelled a foreign jaunt that it had organized for its trade partners as a mark of respect to the victims back in Japan and also to cut unwanted expenditure.

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Aus vs Can: Ponting compares Patel with Sehwag

BANGALORE: As Hiral Patel smashed the likes of Brett Lee and Shaun Tait to all corners of the Chinnaswamy Stadium during a World Cup match, Australian captain Ricky Ponting said the Canadian batsman reminded him of Indian swahsbuckler Virender Sehwag.

Patel's blazing 45-ball 54-run innings had the Australians on the backfoot before the defending champions regrouped to skittle out the Canadians for 211 and chase the total with ease.

"He plays a lot like him (Sehwag)," Ponting said after his team's seven-wicket win over the North Americans in a Group A match on Wednesday night.

Ponting felt it would be difficult for the title-holders to fight back if bigger teams get off with the kind of blistering start that Patel gave to the Canadians.

"We did well to get wickets and restrict them today. But against good teams with deeper batting line-up (it would be hard)," Ponting said.

The unknown factor probably worked to Canada's advantage and Ponting said his team would be better against Pakistan.

"We didn't know much about him and the others. We just saw some clippings of them. He needed some room and played some amazing shots.

"But Pakistan, we know their game better," he said before adding, "It's always great playing Pakistan. One never knows about Pakistan. They have been good but against New Zealand they were ordinary."

Ponting has, so far, failed to live upto his billing in the World Cup, but hoped he would click in the bigger games.

"There wasn't much left for me to do today. Hopefully, I am saving them for the big matches," he said.

Asked about his angry reaction following his collision with Steve Smith while taking a catch, Ponting said, "It wasn't a great reaction. But it wasn't designed or intentional. It just happened in the spur of the moment. If it looked bad, I apologise."

Australian opener Shane Watson, who struck a 90-ball 94, said, "It was one of those innings which took a while to get going."

Talking about his opening partner Brad Haddin, with whom he was involved in a record 183-run stand, Watson said, "I think the way he batted tonight and against New Zealand was brilliant.

"I think we are building a very good partnership at the top of the order."

Canada skipper Ashish Bagai made his disappointment obvious after his side failed to capitalise on the good start.

"It's very, very disappointing. The lack of experience showed. They have some good wicket-taking bowlers," Bagai said.

About the team's overall experience in the tournament, he said, "It's a young side and I think the bowling has been fantastic throughout the tournament. They will take a lot of positives which will help them grow and make Canada a lot stronger in the next five years," he said.

Bagai also felt that they should get to play against better oppositions on a more consistent basis.

"If we can get some decent competitions, it doesn't matter to me even if its an A level tournament, that will help the side tremendously. We need some help in the next five years," Bagai said.

"For a nation that's trying to grow, it takes more than just six games," he said.

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Team India mulls over pace partner for Zaheer

NEW DELHI: With off-spinner R Ashwin almost certain to make his World Cup debut against the West Indies on Sunday, the Indian team management is now sweating it out to decide who will share the new ball with Zaheer Khan as the second pacer in the playing XI.

According to sources, Team India is divided between Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra.

If some members of the team are banking on Munaf's recent form, the others are backing Nehra for his wealth of experience. Sources said that the final call on this is yet to be taken, but Nehra enjoys considerable backing of some of the top players in the team. Will this translate into Nehra getting the nod for the West Indies match?

But this is of great significance for Nehra, especially at a time when the Delhi pacer is been getting a lot of flak for conceding 13 runs in the last over against South Africa on last Saturday. While Munaf has taken nine wickets in the World Cup so far, Nehra has claimed four from two outings in the tournament. "It's a tough call for the team management for sure. Clearly, Munaf is bowling well but Nehra is backed by the seniors despite that last over against South Africa," another team insider told TOI.

Backing someone in a crisis is heartening, especially for a team whose bowling attack lacks consistency. But for former Indian medium-pacer Manoj Prabhakar, Nehra does not look the right option. "If one has to pick either of the two, I would bat for Munaf. Nehra is not looking confident as a bowler right now," Prabhakar, who coached the Delhi Ranji team this season for which Nehra plays, feels.

Agreed another former medium-pacer Roger Binny. "Going by the current form, Munaf has the upper hand. Ideally, Nehra would have been the first pick, but of late he has struggled with injuries and hasn't played regular competitive cricket for the last two months. So, it's showing in his bowling performance. You need at least two or three matches under your belt to get your rhythm right," Binny said.

Eng vs WI: England meet West Indies in now-or-never contest

CHENNAI: An inconsistent England are expected to rejig their line-up with the hope of beating West Indies in their final World Cup Group B match on Thursday to keep alive their quarterfinal prospects.

Out of form pace bowler James Anderson may have to pave way for Chris Tremlett, while Matt Prior is expected to drop down the batting order so that either Ravi Bopara or Ian Bell can partner captain Andrew Strauss at the top.

Having tied their match with India and gone down to Ireland and Bangladesh, a victory would keep England afloat even though Strauss and his men would move into the quarterfinals only if other Group B results also favour them.

Strauss and off-spinner Graeme Swann have recovered from a stomach bug to join the team that looked jaded in the tournament.

West Indies, on the other hand, will be banking on fit-again opener Chris Gayle and in-form all-rounder Kieron Pollard to provide the batting firepower that would take them through to the quarterfinals.

Captain Darren Sammy expects coach Ottis Gibson's experience of working with England to provide them the insider knowledge that would come handy in this contest.

STATBOX

Facts and figures relating to the Group B World Cup match at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Thursday.

Head-to-head record: West Indies lead 41-37 (NR: 4)
In the World Cups: England lead 4-1
In the sub-continent: England lead 3-1

* The teams first played each other in Sept. 1973 at Headingley, Leeds when England chased down a modest 181 in a thrilling one wicket win. The response to that match set in motion the creation of the World Cup in 1975.

* Since then England are still seeking their first 50-over World Cup while West Indies are a pale self of the indomitable bunch that dominated the first two editions.

* England camp (LWLTW) have to beat West Indies if they are to have any hope of reaching the last eight. Even then if other Group B results do not fall their way, England might find themselves as the only test-playing nation not to make the cut.

* West Indies (WWWLL), on the other hand, have had a poor year, fell behind Bangladesh in ODI rankings and then lost to South Africa in their opening Cup match. Since then they have gone from strength to strength having dismissed Netherlands, Bangladesh and Ireland easily.

* West Indies need to win one of their remaining games against England or India to confirm their place in the quarter-finals. If they win both matches, they could finish as group leaders.

* It is likely to be a clash between the English batsmen in form - Andrew Strauss (298 runs), Jonathan Trott (289 runs) and to a lesser extent, Ian Bell (193 runs) - against the West Indian in-form bowlers - Sulieman Benn (12 wickets at an economy of 4.43) and Kemar Roach (11 wickets at 4.00)

* The West Indies batsmen have not been in the best of forms, besides Devon Smith (202 runs), while the English bowlers have really struggled against most oppositions, other than South Africa, with Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan (nine wickets each) being the only consistent bowlers.

* England will have a slight advantage having played in Chennai earlier in their win against South Africa, where the pitch was not a very high scoring one and good line and length bowlers were rewarded for their toils.

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Shoaib Akhtar to retire after World Cup

COLOMBO: Pakistan's maverick paceman Shoaib Akhtar, whose colourful career has been a heady mix of on-field brilliance and off-field controversy, will quit international cricket after the World Cup.


"Yes, I will quit international cricket after the World Cup" the 35-year-old said.

"I have taken this decision after much thought. Pakistan's last match in this World Cup will also be my last. I hope that will be the final on April 2."

Akhtar made up his mind after Pakistan's 110-run defeat against New Zealand, in which he went for 70 runs in his nine overs.

He was rested for the match against Zimbabwe on Monday and was thought to be an unlikely starter for Saturday's last Group A match against Australia.

Akhtar, who made his international debut in 1997, took 178 wickets in 46 Tests, the last of which was against India at Bangalore in 2007.

He is three wickets short of 250 in 163 one-day internationals and has taken 19 wickets in 15 Twenty20 internationals.

Pakistan squad members hugged him in the dressing room on Thursday before captain Shahid Afridi embraced him as the players entered the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo for practice.

Akhtar, known as the Rawalpindi Express during his tearaway days as one of Test cricket's most feared if unpredictable talents, once cracked the 100mph barrier at the 2003 World Cup.

At this World Cup, which was always likely to be his swansong, Akhtar looked neat and tidy with figures of 0-10 and 2-42 against Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively.

He missed the win over Canada but was then smashed all over the park at Pallekele against New Zealand, with figures of 1-70, before being dropped for the game with Zimbabwe.

His career will always be remembered for a series of fitness problems, discipline violations as well as a doping offence that put the brakes on achieving his true potential.

Most recently he was fined $2,000 for breaching discipline after the defeat to New Zealand.

Team manager Intikhab Alam confirmed the fine, which was levied after an on-field spat with wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, who missed two chances off his bowling.

Akhtar and the now banned Mohammad Asif failed drugs tests in 2006 and were suspended for two years and one year respectively, both of which were lifted on appeal.

Fitness problems forced him to miss the 2007 World Cup while he was fined heavily and banned for 13 ODIs after he hit Asif with a bat two days before the 2007 World Twenty20 in South Africa.

In 2008 he was banned for five years after publicly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board following his exclusion from the list of centrally contracted players.

The ban was reduced to 18 months by a tribunal, which levied a fine of 7.0 million Pakistani rupees ($105,000 at the time). His appeal against the ban is still pending.

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Spirited Somdev goes down fighting to Nadal

INDIAN WELLS (USA): Somdev Devvarman put up a spirited fight against Rafael Nadal but the world number one eventually managed to tame the lion-hearted Indian in straight sets in the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP BNP Paribas Open.

Somdev went down 5-7, 4-6 but not before making the Spaniard work hard for every point in a contest that lasted close to two hours -- the first set alone accounting for more than an hour.

The 26-year-old Indian, known for his fighting spirit and appetite for long-drawn matches, seemed set for another marathon when he was locked 5-5 with Nadal in the opening set itself.

The world number 84 Somdev got a crucial break point in the 11th game, his second of the set, but could not convert it handing the advantage back to the Spaniard.

That is where the difference in rankings and experience showed as Nadal managed to break the Indian in the very next game to finally seal the set in his favour after slogging it out for more than an hour.

The second set went on serve till the eighth game before Nadal managed to convert the only break opportunity to edge past the Indian.

South Africa reach Cricket World Cup quarters

South Africa became the fifth team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, comprehensively ending Ireland's hopes and ramping up the survival pressure on illness-hit England.

JP Duminy agonisingly missed a century by just one run as the Proteas recovered from a poor start to make 272 for 7 in Kolkata before Ireland were dismissed for 141 to lose by 131 runs.

"We wanted to qualify. We've got one round robin game left against Bangladesh and hopefully three good games in the knockout phase. We've done the first part of it now," said South Africa captain Graeme Smith.

South Africa were struggling at 117-5 before Duminy and World Cup debutant Colin Ingram (46), replacing the injured AB de Villiers, put on 87 for the sixth wicket at an eerily quiet 65,000-capacity Eden Gardens. The 26-year-old Duminy, who also added 65 for the seventh wicket with Johan Botha, was on 99 when he skied a mistimed drive into the safe hands of a diving Kevin O'Brien in the final over.

Ireland were dismissed in the 34th over with Gary Wilson top-scoring with 31 and Morne Morkel and Robin Peterson claiming three wickets each.

"We started off pretty well. We got couple of wickets up front. We thought it was important to get wickets to peg them back and I thought we did that pretty much throughout," said Ireland captain William Porterfield.

"We were happy enough at half-time with chasing 270. It was not out of our reach but we consistently lost wickets."

South Africa now top Group B and have joined the four qualifiers from Group A in the quarter-finals -- New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Their victory leaves India, West Indies, Bangladesh and England scrambling for the last three spots in their pool.

England's problems piled up on Tuesday when captain Andrew Strauss and off-spinner Graeme Swann missed training with stomach problems and were rated doubtful for the clash against the West Indies in Chennai on Thursday. Fast bowler Jimmy Anderson also needed treatment on a shoulder injury.

England must beat the West Indies to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals, but even then they will need other results to go their way.

With their last-eight place already assured, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis now wants his team to beat defending champions Australia in their final group match on Saturday.

The 1992 champions eased into the last eight with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe on Monday and now face Australia, who are on an unbeaten 33-match streak in the World Cup.

"They are such a big team, world champs, and haven?t lost for ages," said Waqar of Australia, whose last defeat in the event came at the hands of Pakistan in 1999.

Meanwhile, Canada's John Davison, who once held the record for the fastest World Cup century, will retire from international cricket after his side's final match against Australia.

Davison, born in Canada but brought up in Australia, smashed his famous hundred off just 67 balls against the West Indies at Centurion in 2003.

"I suppose it's pretty fitting it's against Australia," 40-year-old Davison said of his final international match on Wednesday.

Australia's Matthew Hayden broke Davison's record at the 2007 World Cup and it was broken again at the ongoing tournament by Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who reached three figures off just 50 balls against England.
© AFP

New Zealand call-up Tuffey for Mills cover

New Zealand called up seamer Daryl Tuffey into their World Cup squad as cover for the injured Kyle Mills.

Tuffey is expected to join the team in Mumbai on Friday when the Black Caps, who have already made sure of their quarter-final place, face Sri Lanka in their last Group A match.

"With Kyle Mills suffering from a quad strain we felt it was important to cover our bases," said New Zealand selector Mark Greatbatch.

"The medical team are working hard to get Kyle fit and we are hopeful he will still play a big part in the World Cup so bringing in Daryl is a precaution.

"Getting Daryl over to India early gives him the best chance of adjusting to the different time zone and conditions should he become part of the official squad."

The 32-year-old Tuffey has played 94 one-day internationals, taking 110 wickets.
© AFP

SA vs Ire: Duminy anchors South Africa into last eight

KOLKATA: Jean Paul Duminy put his hand up when the chips were down to help South Africa march into the World Cup quarterfinals from Group B on Tuesday.

Resurrecting a crumbling innings with a tailor-made 99 (103 balls, 6x4, 1x6), Duminy gave his bowlers a big enough total to see off Ireland by 131 runs under lights at the Eden Gardens.

Almost miraculously, the ominous dark clouds which filled up the March sky didn't open up, letting Duminy haul the Proteas up from a precarious 117 for 5 to 272 for 7. Morne Morkel (3-33) then ensured there was to be no second miracle by gobbling up openers William Porterfield and Paul Stirling in his first two overs to finish the match as a contest then and there.

Jacques Kallis (2-20) made up for his failure with the bat by getting the hard-hitting Niall O'Brien --- the third Ireland batsman to perish to a catch behind the stumps on a pitch which offered true bounce and some encouragement for the bowlers all through. The SA spinners --- who have had huge success in the tournament --- joined the party to hasten the end and douse Ireland's flickering hopes of squeezing out a knockout berth, with Robin Peterson pocketing three scalps.

Graeme Smith's men became the first team to book a last-eight slot from the topsy-turvy Group B with 8 points, and will surely top the group if they get the better of Bangladesh in Dhaka later this week.

As for Ireland, who can at best finish with four points if they beat the Dutch at Eden on Friday, it was an agonizing end to a day which began so promisingly for them. Two dropped catches apart, they fielded like champions --- cutting off runs by the dozen, running out Smith and Kallis, and pulling off a couple of stunning catches including the one Kevin O'Brien took running back from mid-on to deny Duminy his hundred. Their bowling, for two-thirds of the SA innings, was impressive as well, with spinners George Dockrell and Paul Stirling doing a sterling job.

Boyd Rankin and Trent Johnston, the pair of six-foot-seven new ball operators, bowled well in the first 10 overs before being taken to the cleaners in the final 10.

Yusuf Pathan & the disorder within

The debate over the 'needless' promotion of Yusuf Pathan in India's World Cup game against South Africa at Nagpur over the weekend just doesn't seem to end.

Sent in to bat at No. 4, with India cruising at 267 for 2 in 40 overs, and 26 balls of batting Powerplay still left, Yusuf drove Dale Steyn straight in the hands of Graeme Smith at cover to start what has now become India's most infamous collapse.

What could have prompted the team management and Indian captain MS Dhoni to promote Pathan at No. 4 especially when he had more established and proven batsmen like Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and himself waiting in the shed? It surely couldn't have been the dasher's record when he bats higher.

Like the great Australian wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist, who hardly ever performed in Tests when the team was say 450-5 and almost always delivered when they were in a 150-5 scenario, Yusuf too revels in a crisis. If you look at all his important knocks, they have come whenever India have badly needed them.

South Africa breathing down India's neck in ICC ODI ranking

CHENNAI: Riding on their moral-boosting three-wicket victory over India, South Africa have jumped two rating points to join the 1983 world champion on 118 points in the latest ICC team ranking.

South Africa, chasing a formidable total of 296 runs ran home after Robin Peterson smashed Ashish Nehra for 14 runs of the last over to bring their World Cup campaign back on track after losing their last encounter against England.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men, however, are still placed at number two behind Australia, who lead the table with 131 points. South Africa leapfrogged Sri Lanka to claim the number three spot, missing the second rank by a fraction of a point in the chart which was released on Monday.

The batting chart remained more or less the same with South Africa's Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers continuing their good show at the top at the first and second spot.

Virat Kohli, the lone Indian in the top three, slipped a place to the fourth, swapping the position with Australia's crisis-man Michael Hussey.

Virender Sehwag (eighth), Sachin Tendulkar (ninth) and Dhoni (sixth) retained their position in the top ten.

South African speedster Dale Steyn, whose fiery spell of 5-50 saw India lose nine wickets for just 29 runs after going strong at 267 for one, made a jump of five places to achieve the career-best ranking of three.

Zaheer Khan is ranked 16, while off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is placed at 19th spot. Munaf Patel made a jump of ten places to finish at 32.

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori enjoys the top position with another South African fast bowler, Morne Morkel following him at number two.

There is no change in the top four rankings in the ODI all-rounders list with Shakib Al Hasan still leading the field.

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World Cup: Ireland win toss, elect to field against SAfrica

STAFF WRITER 14:6 HRS IST

Kolkata, Mar 15 (PTI) Ireland captain William Porterfield won the toss and elected to field in their Group B match of the cricket World Cup here today.

Both the sides made only one change each from their last match eleven.

South Africa brought in Colin Ingram for injured A B de Villiers while Andre Botha made way for Trent Johnston in the Ireland playing eleven.

The Teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Morne van Wyk (wk), Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Robin Peterson, Johan Botha, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn.

Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O'Brien (wk), Gary Wilson, Kevin O'Brien, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston, John Mooney, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin.

Kings XI Punjab announces final squad for IPL IV

STAFF WRITER 15:20 HRS IST

Chandigarh, Mar 15 (PTI) Kings XI Punjab today announced a 23-member final squad for the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, scheduled to be held from April 8 to May 28.

Kings XI Punjab will be led by Australia's ace cricketer Adam Gilchrist, who led Deccan Chargers to win the IPL two title in South Africa.

At the helm is Michael Bevan, the Team Coach, who brings with him valuable years of experience and expertise and will be responsible for training and guiding the players throughout the season.

"All our players have their distinctive qualities yet complement each other to form a team. This team will bring in a new perspective and vigor to the game and we promise our fans an exhilarating and action?packed season of cricket in IPL 4," COO of Kings XI Punjab, Col Arvinder Singh said in a release.

Somdev knocks out Malisse, to meet Nadal in last 16

INDIAN WELLS ( California): India's Somdev Devvarman won the last five points in the third-set tie-break to knock out Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) to set up a pre-quarterfinal encounter with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Somdev, who is playing his third main draw here, was down 2-5 in the tie-break when he reeled off five points to win the hard-fought match on Monday at the BNP Paribas Open in two hours.

The 26-year-old India No. 1, ranked 84, who had never won a Masters 1000 match before coming here, beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino and then upset 19th seed and World No 22 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the first two rounds.

Nadal outplayed Ameican qualifier Ryan Sweeting, 6-3, 6-1 in 68 minutes. This is the second time the Spaniard defeated the 22-year-old American this season, having beaten him at the Australian Open in January.

Somdev, who played the Chennai Open final in 2009 and the South African Open final last month, won the first set against the 2007 Chennai winner comfortably, but the Belgian came back strongly in the second to force the issue to a third set.

The Indian, the Commonwealth and the Asian Games gold medallist, was at the exit door when Malisse jumped to 5-2 in the tie-break. Somdev hung in to take five points in a row to clinch the set and match.

Somdev, a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) singles champion playing for the University of Virginia, defeated top-ranked American John Isner in the 2007 final and retained the title the next year. He came here after beating World No. 45 Janko Tipsarevic in straight sets in the Davis Cup tie in Novi Sad earlier this month.

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