India tame the Lankan Lions

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar hit his 44th one-day century to lead India to a 46-run win over Sri Lanka in the final of the limited-overs tri-series here on Monday.

Tendulkar, the world's leading Test and one-day scorer, made 138 off 133 balls as India piled up 319-5 after batting first in the day-night match at the Premadasa stadium.

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Sri Lanka made a gallant chase after the stiff target, buoyed by a blistering opening stand of 64 in 7.5 overs by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, before they were all out for 273.

Dilshan hit 42 off 29 balls when his dismissal in the eighth over, bowled by Harbhajan Singh, triggered a dramatic collapse in which five wickets fell for the addition of 67 runs.

Off-spinner Harbhajan finished with 5-56 to signal India's morale-boosting win ahead of the eight-nation Champions Trophy which opens in South Africa on September 22.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Thilina Kandamby revived Sri Lanka with a 51-run stand for the sixth wicket, when India earned a lucky break to make it 182-6.

Sangakkara, who made 33, saw his bat fly out of his hands and break the stumps as he attempted to pull a full toss from Rudra Pratap Singh.

Kandamby and Chamara Kapugedara scared the Indians by adding 70 for the seventh wicket, but both batsmen fell in the space of 12 runs, derailing the Sri Lankans.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who did his team a favour by winning the toss on a wicket that slowed down, made 56 from 62 balls during a second-wicket stand of 110 with Tendulkar.

Yuvraj Singh remained unbeaten on a quickfire 56 off 41 balls as India plundered 85 runs in the last 10 overs.

The 36-year-old Tendulkar battled oppressive heat and humidity to bat for 46 overs despite developing leg cramps in the later part of his innings, necessitating the help of a runner.

He hit 10 boundaries and a six before being leg-before to Ajantha Mendis after smashing a six and two boundaries earlier in the over.

It was Tendulkar's 86th international century -- 42 in Tests and 44 in one-dayers -- to complement his world record 12,773 Test and 16,895 one-day runs in a brilliant 20-year career.

Tendulkar put on 95 for the first wicket with fellow veteran Rahul Dravid, who contributed 39 after being asked to open the batting in place of the axed Dinesh Karthik.

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Paes-Dlouhy topple Bhupathi-Knowles

New York, Sep 14: India’s Leander Paes claimed his 10th Grand Slam title when he and Czech Republic’s Lukas Dlouhy made a remarkable comeback to beat Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahamas at the US Open men]s doubles final here.

Paes and Dlouhy won the thrilling final 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that stretched to two hours. The 36-year-old Paes, who lost in the finals of the mixed doubles while pertnering Zimbabwean Cara Black, overcame a sore shoulder to ensure that he goes home with at lease one title. “I’m a little numb at the moment because it’s just been a mammoth effort over the past two weeks,” Paes said. Paes and Dlouhy were beaten by Bryan twins Bob and Mike in the title clash here in 2008, but they avenged their defeat in the semi-finals this year. This was Paes’ sixth men’s doubles title and 10th overall in 19 final appearances. Paes also got the upper hand on Bhupathi, his longtime former partner. Facing off for a 19th time since splitting up in 2000, Paes edged ahead 10-9. The two were meting each other in a Grand Slam final for the first time.

India clinch Compaq Cup

COLOMBO, Sep 14: A majestic century from Sachin Tendulkar helped India to lift tri-series title defeating Sri Lanka by 46 runs in Colombo, on Monday. Chasing 320 run to win Sri Lanka, who made a flying start, finally bowled out for 273 in 46.4 over.

After Saturday’s debacle against the hosts, India needed a strong showing with the bat, and Tendulkar led the way with a masterly innings of 138 that saw India post a mammoth 319 for five in their 50 overs after electing to bat.

The veteran batsman, who stroked 10 boundaries and a six in his 133-ball knock, gave India a solid start in a 95-run opening stand with Rahul Dravid (39). He made sure India consolidated on the good start with a 110-run partnership off 115 deliveries for the second wicket with Mahendra Singh Dhoni who hit 56 from 62 deliveries. Yuvraj Singh provided the finishing touches to the innings with a blazing 56 from 41 deliveries, leaving Sri Lanka to chase a record total to win the tournament. Interestingly, India sent in their two most experienced batsmen to open the innings, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar with the obvious intent of giving them more overs to settle and play big knocks.

Strauss wants England to win without KP, Fred

Embattled England captain Andrew Strauss

Embattled England captain Andrew Strauss has challenged his players to prove that they are match-winners in the absence of their two main players - Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

The side Strauss is leading now has sunk to ignominious depths, having already lost the series in the shortest time possible and being down 4-0, with three matches to play.

Both Flintoff and Pietersen are on rehabilitation courses from surgery, and while Pietersen's earliest estimated comeback is for the tour of South Africa in November, Flintoff, who will mull over whether to sign a modest incremental contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board or effectively go freelance over the coming days, would be back only by the time the Bangladesh series rolls around in February next year.

"It is always hard to be without your two best players but that's the reality we are in, it is not going to be changing for a while so other people have to stand up," said Strauss. "Hopefully when they do return we have got more potential match-winners.

"In a good, functioning one-day team you have got match-winners everywhere.

"The top six have all got to be capable of getting one-day international hundreds. And hundreds generally win you games.

"We are all capable of doing that but we haven't done it. Until someone does do it we are always going to find things a little bit difficult."

Strauss is adamant Australia are beatable but they have extended their dominance to 11 wins out of 14 meetings with their Ashes rivals during this limited-overs campaign.

© PTI

India bat against Sri Lanka in tri-series final

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the tri-series final at the Premadasa stadium here on Monday.

India brought in batsman Virat Kohli in place of opener Dinesh Karthik, while Sri Lanka retained the same team that beat the Indians by 139 runs in a league match on Saturday.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Rudra Pratap Singh.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedara, Thilina Kandamby, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Thushara.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (WIS) and Asoka de Silva (SRI)

TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

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Vijender settles for bronze

NEW DELHI, Sep 12: Vijender Singh’s quest for a gold medal ended in heartbreak as he went down to Uzbekistan’s Abbos Atoev in the semi-finals, bringing down the curtains on India’s campaign by settling for a bronze at the World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy.

The bronze with which he had to be content with after the 3-7 loss to Atoev late last night was Vijender’s third successive this year. But even in defeat, the Olympic bronze medallist scripted history by ending India’s medal drought in the elite event. “Obviously I am a bit disappointed but I am glad that I ended India’s medal jinx at this prestigious event,” the world number two, who was given the top seeding in Milan, said after the bout. The 23-year-old went into the bout as favourite, considering that he had beaten Atoev, a former light heavy weight champion, just a couple of months ago at the Asian Championships in China.

Shorten ODIs to 40 overs: Kumble

NEW DELHI, Sep 12: Former India captain Anil Kumble is the latest to join the debate on the future of One-dayers and has suggested that the 50-over version be shortened to 40 overs a side to save it from extinction.

With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, the future of ODIs is in jeopardy. The England and Wales Cricket Board recently scrapped a 50-over competition from its domestic calendar in 2010. “I don’t think ODIs are going to get extinct, but there is a little bit of threat on the development of the format. You need such innovations as Sachin (Tendulkar) suggested but my thought is to shorten ODIs from 50 to 40 overs,” Kumble said last night on the sidelines of Van Huesen India Men’s Fashion Week.

Ex-BCCI chief Dungarpur passes away

Former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur died here on Saturday following protracted illness.

Affectionately called as 'Rajbhai' in the cricket fraternity, the 73-year-old Dungarpur, who was president of the Cricket Board for three years in the late 1990s, was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

A bachelor from the Dungarpur royal family of Rajasthan, he was also a former first class cricketer, a former India team manager and ex-chairman of the senior selection panel.

A former President of the Cricket Club of India for 13 years before he took ill last year, Dungarpur died at his residence this morning.

© PTI

Vijender loses in World Boxing semis, settles for bronze

Vijender Singh's

NEW DELHI: Vijender Singh's quest for a gold medal ended in heartbreak as he went down to Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in the middle weight semi-finals, bringing down the curtains on India's campaign by settling for a bronze at the World Boxing Championships in Milan, Italy.

The bronze with which he had to be content with after the 3-7 loss to Atoev late last night was Vijender's third successive this year.

But even in defeat, the Olympic bronze medallist scripted history by ending India's medal drought in the elite event.

"Obviously I am a bit disappointed but I am glad that I ended India's medal jinx at this prestigious event," the world number two, who was given the top seeding in Milan, said after the bout.

The 23-year-old went into the bout as favourite, considering that he had beaten Atoev, a former light heavy weight champion, just a couple of months ago at the Asian Championships in China.

Like his previous bouts, Vijender started off cautiously to take a slender 1-0 lead after the first three minutes but things went haywire from there on as Atoev staged an aggressive comeback.

The Uzbek, who fought without a guard, pushed Vijender to the backfoot with some hard-hitting straight jabs. The Indian couldn't land a single scoring punch and was trailing 1-5 at the end of the second round.

"It was not his day. He tried his level best but Atoev was very aggressive but Vijender also gave a good account of himself," national coach Gurbax Singh Sanshu said.

Vijender tried to claw back in the final round and reduced the points gap to 3-5 but an unrelenting Atoev ensured that the Indian could not beyond that.

The last time the Haryana boxer won more than a bronze medal was the Asian Championships in 2007, when he returned with a silver.

He has been settling for bronze medals ever since, starting with the Olympics in Beijing last year.

This year he managed bronze medals at the European Grand Prix in Czech Republic in May and the Asian Championships the next month.

"I have ended two of the biggest jinx in Indian boxing but I have been settling for bronze medals for a long time. Hopefully, I would end this jinx the next time I compete," he said.

TOI

Now, India's real test against Sri Lanka

Breaking News:



COLOMBO: The third match of the tri-series, between India and Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday, is important for MS Dhoni and his boys
for more than one reason.

A win will not only earn them a spot in the final but the match will also give them vital practice before the Champions Trophy starts in South Africa on September 22 but the real test will come against Sri Lanka.

Dhoni said during a media briefing on Thursday that the team wanted to continue the winning run in Sri Lanka, having won both the bilateral series in 2008 and 2008-09.

"We know the conditions here and have won back-to-back series here during our previous two visits so we would like that continue," the skipper said.

But the Lankans too want to break that jinx. They have won the ODI series here against Pakistan recently and also triumphed in the Tests series against Pakistan and New Zealand. They would surely want to put the record straight against India.

"India are a good side, but we have been playing good cricket of late and everybody is in form so it should be a good contest," Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara said.

Squad:

Sri Lanka: KC Sangakkara (captain), M Muralitharan, CM Bandara, TM Dilshan, ST Jayasuriya, DPMD Jayawardene, SHT Kandamby, CK Kapugedera, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, AD Mathews, BAW Mendis, KTGD Prasad, TT Samaraweera, WU Tharanga, T Thushara

India: MS Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, R Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, KD Karthik, V Kohli, P Kumar, A Mishra, AM Nayar, A Nehra, YK Pathan, SK Raina, I Sharma, RP Singh, SR Tendulkar.

TOI

Kumble's formula for revival of ODI cricket

Former India captain Anil Kumble

Former India captain Anil Kumble is the latest to join the debate on the future of one-dayers and has suggested that the 50-over version be shortened to 40 overs a side to save it from extinction.

With the advent of Twenty20 cricket, the future of ODIs is in jeopardy. The England and Wales Cricket Board recently scrapped a 50-over competition from its domestic calendar in 2010.

"I don't think ODIs are going to get extinct, but there is a little bit of threat on the development of the format," Kumble said.

"You need such innovations as Sachin suggested, but my thought is is to shorten ODIs from 50 to 40 overs," Kumble said last night on the sidelines of Van Huesen India Men's Fashion Week.

Tendulkar recently suggested that to infuse new life into ODIs, the format should be split into four innings of 25 overs a side.

Kumble is part of an ICC panel formed to resolve the ongoing deadlock between the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and Indian cricketers over the whereabouts clause.

In the ICC's International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP) working group, Kumble is working alongside BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, ICC principal advisor I S Bindra, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and Tim Kerr, the chairman of the ICC's Anti-Doping Panel.

Kumble, however, refused to comment on the players' concern on WADA's contentious 'whereabouts clause'.

"I am representing ICC in WADA so I can't really say anything," he said.

Incidentally, Kumble is also the cricketers' representative on WADA's Athlete Committee.

The talismanic former national captain , who guided Bangalore Royal Challengers to the final of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa, feels Rahul Dravid's inclusion in the Indian ODI team will add balance to the already strong batting order.

"It's good to see Rahul's comeback in the ODI team. I am sure he will do well and his experience will be of great help for the team," Kumble said.

The 38-year-old former spinner, who has 619 Test and 337 ODI wickets in his 18-year career with the Indian team, also said that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side will face a transition problem once the trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman bids adieu to the game.

"They (Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman) are still young and keen to play, so I think it's to early to predict anything, but any team will find it difficult to replace them. It is never easy to replace a Sachin Tendulkar," Kumble stated.

© PTI

Rain forces Monday men's final at US Open

NEW YORK

NEW YORK: A complete rain-out Friday at the US Open forced tournament officials to postpone the men's championship match to Monday for the second year in a row.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and Chilean 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez waited hours through a steady downpour before the completion of their suspended quarter-final from Thursday night was pushed to Saturday afternoon.

That postponed the semi-finals to Sunday and the final to Monday.

World number one Roger Federer defeated Andy Murray for his fifth US Open title in a row last year in the first Monday men's final since 1987, when Ivan Lendl defeated Mats Wilander for the crown.

Third-seeded Spaniard Nadal was aided by the delays, having aggravated an abdominal muscle strain Thursday night while seizing a 7-6 (7/4), 6-6 (3/2) advantage before play was halted.

Federer, the Swiss 15-time Slam champion, and Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic are set for one men's semi-final while Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro awaits the Nadal-Gonzalez winner in the other.

Nadal, who hopes to complete a career Grand Slam with a US Open title, was also hit by rain last year when his US Open semi-final against Britain's Murray was halted in the third set and finished on Sunday.

News was nearly as bleak on the women's side, with defending champion Serena Williams to meet Belgium's Kim Clijsters and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki to face Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer on Saturday after their semi-finals were postponed.

The men's doubles final and a women's doubles semi-final were also moved to Saturday. While breaks in the drizzle Friday allowed for some attempts to dry the courts, conditions were never near being playable.

"It's such a light mist the radar can't even pick it up, but it's still unplayable," US Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said.

A US flag flew at half-staff over Arthur Ashe Stadium in memory of those who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Federer could match Bill Tilden's 83-year-old record of six consecutive US Open titles with another crown, continuing a tradition of historic US Open Monday finals.

Don Budge completed the first calendar-year Grand Slam in 1938 after a hurricane halted play for a record six days. Rod Laver finished off the second men's Slam with a Monday win in 1962 and his second Slam in 1969 on a Monday.

TOI

ICC to trial Tendulkar's ODI-splitting idea

One-day matches into two innings of 25 overs each,

LONDON: International Cricket Council is now planning to split One-day matches into two innings of 25 overs each, an idea mooted by the Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar earlier this month.

In order to spice up the One-day format, Tendulkar had proposed that every team should play two innings of 25 overs each and ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson said the governing body might soon conduct a trial.

"I quite like that idea, I believe South Africa may trial something along those lines," Richardson said.

"This might work in day/night cricket where one team has to bat in day and the other at night. It provides something different and reduces the effects on the team who loses the toss and has to bat first on a damp wicket, for example," he said.

Even though Tendulkar aired his view earlier this month, Richardson said the idea had popped up in the past as well and came up for discussion at annual meeting of the ICC cricket committee in May.

One-day cricket is already facing tough challenge from Twenty20 and the England and Wales Cricket Board scrapped Friends Provident trophy, the only 50-over domestic tournament, in favour of a Twenty20 event.

Richardson, however, is concerned that splitting it into two innings would mean less centuries as batsmen would have less overs to bat.

"I don't necessarily like the idea of playing two matches of 25 overs each with the openers batting again. The charm of One-day cricket is seeing someone batting at four and scoring a good hundred," Richardson said.

"If you bat in the middle order of a Twenty20 or a new 25-over innings, you're not to get much of an opportunity to hit three figures, one downside of the Twenty20 game," he said.

He, however, made it clear that such an experiment should be conducted at the domestic level before pushing it into international cricket.

"If it has been trialled successfully at domestic level, it may give the trial to give it the go-ahead at international level," he said.

"The ICC has been proactive with ideas and innovations, like the powerplays. The idea of the 'super-sub' wasn't as successful and got rid of quite quickly. One of the criticisms was that we trialled things at international as opposed to domestic level.

"Our tactics going forward are member countries trial changes first domestically and if they are successful, then we can take them on board at the international level," Richardson said.

The ICC cricket committee will discuss the result of the experiment when it meets next year.

Source:TOI

Michelle Obama to pitch for Chicago Olympics

Washington,

Washington, Sep 12 (PTI) US First Lady Michelle Obama would travel to Denmark's capital Copenhagen next month in support of Chicago's historic bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

On October 2, Michelle Obama will attend the 121st International Olympic Committee Session at the Bella Centre ? Copenhagen Congress Centre, where the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics will be selected from the remaining four candidate cities: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

"President Obama informed IOC President Count Jacques Rogge today that the fight to pass health insurance reform keeps him from committing at this time to travel to Copenhagen on October 2, but he will continue to work to support Chicago's bid along with the First Lady and Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the President, who will accompany the First Lady to Copenhagen," the White House said today.

India beat New Zealand to reach tri-series final

Brief score:

Colombo, Sep 11 (PTI) India beat New Zealand by six wickets to reach the final of the Compaq Cup tri-series here tonight.

Brief score:

New Zealand: 155 all out in 46.3 overs.

India : 156 for 4 in 40.3 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 46, Suresh Raina 45 not, MS Dhoni 35; Daniel Vettori 2/33).

Collingwood and Anderson rested

Paul Collingwood

England stars Paul Collingwood and James Anderson will be rested for the next three and two matches respectively in the current one-day international series against Australia.

Durham batsman Collingwood and Lancashire pace bowler Anderson have not missed an England fixture since early February and will finally get a chance to rest their weary limbs after being told they can leave the squad preparing for Saturday's match at Lord's.

Although England are 3-0 down in the seven-match series and need a victory on Saturday to have any chance of winning the series, it was decided that the strain of such a heavy schedule in the aftermath of the Ashes triumph has taken its toll on the duo.

Former England one-day captain Collingwood will return for the final match of the campaign at Chester-le-Street next weekend.

Anderson, meanwhile, will join up with the squad again for the second of back-to-back day-nighters at Trent Bridge.

England jet out to South Africa for the Champions Trophy on September 21, which means the only chance to combat player fatigue is to rest them against world champions Australia despite the threat of a series thrashing.

Despite this short break, Collingwood, 33, faces the prospect of virtually 12 months without a decent break.

He has been engaged in international action since January 20 and is contractually obliged to make himself available for Delhi Daredevils in next month's Champions League.

That club tournament takes place during a three-and-a-half-week lull for England's players, who leave for the tour of South Africa on November 1.

That tour comprises four Tests and five one-day internationals and finishes on January 18.

Nehra, Ishant should be the strike bowlers

pace spearhead Javagal Srinath

Former pace spearhead Javagal Srinath today said young pacer Ishant Sharma should be the strike bowler for India with Ashish Nehra in the absence of injured frontline speedster Zaheer Khan.

Brushing aside concerns that the gangling Delhi pacer was not in his elements, Srinath said, "Ishant is still a strike bowler. Ashish (Nehra) and Ishant should lead as strike bowlers in the absence of Zaheer. Ishant has good attitude and fitness."

Sharma, who has taken 52 wickets in 18 Tests and 42 wickets in 30 ODIs, has grabbed only five wickts while conceding 210 runs in the last five ODIs that he played in New Zealand and West Indies.

In three Tests this year in New Zealand the 21-year-old bowler claimed eight wickets while giving away 334 runs.

Srinath, who was here to conduct a two-day seminar for domestic match referees ahead of the season, also said the other Delhi pacer, 30-year-old Nehra, was a good substitute for Zaheer who is unavailable till the end of the year.

"Nehra is a good replacement for Zaheer," said the Bangalore stalwart who is on the seven-man ICC match referees panel.

Srinath said the absence of regular openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir would lead to changes in the top order.

"Gautam and Viru are pivotal. Their absence will bring in lot of changes at the top and somebody should step and face the challenge," he said.

Sehwag is out of action since May following a shoulder injury that needed surgery and is set to make his comeback in the Champions T20 League next month for Delhi Daredevils.

In-form Gambhir, set to partner Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order in Sri Lanka, had to return yesterday from the island nation after he was found to be unfit because of a groin injury. He has been advised rest for ten days.

Another Delhi player, flamboyant rookie Virat Kohli, has been sent as Gambhir's replacement.

© PTI

Vijender storms into World Boxing semis, ensures bronze medal

NEW DELHI: Indian

NEW DELHI: Indian boxing's jinx-breaker Vijender Singh achieved yet another historic feat as he ensured the country's first medal in the World Championships by advancing to the middle-weight semi-finals in Milan, Italy.

The world number two and top seed Vijender out-punched Ukrainian Sergiy Derevyanchenko 12-4 to become the first Indian to make the last-four stage of the prestigious event.

"I am on cloud nine...it's a feeling that cannot be described in words. I have broken another jinx for India and I am very happy," the 23-year-old who won India's maiden Olympic medal, a bronze in Beijing last year, said from Milan.

Vijender is now up against former light heavy weight world champion Abbos Atoev, who returned to middle weight this year, but the Indian can draw confidence from the fact that he beat the Uzbek as recently as the Asian Championships in China.

"I always believe that one should never get intimidated by the opponent, it hampers the performance. So, I am not even thinking about his past record. After all, what matters is how I perform in those 11 minutes when we are competing," Vijender said.

Talking about his bout, the Khel Ratna awardee said he measured his opponent in the opening round which ended 1-1 before going for all-out attack in the next two rounds.

Vijender,a strapping six footer, also had the height advantage against his much shorter rival. The Indian began to take control of the proceedings with his trademark left straights and uppercuts to end the second round 5-3.

He went on the offensive in the final round and didn't let his opponent breach his defence even once to round off the last three minutes 6-0.

"I had never even seen this guy before. I was just told that he is a good boxer so I observed him in the first round. Once I got a hang of his technique, I just fought from long range and made good use of my height advantage," Vijender said.

National coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu lavished praise on the Haryana boxer.

"The composure with which he competes is remarkable. He hardly ever loses his cool and even in moments that can make one nervous, he seems in control," he said.

QnA: Was the Beijing Olympics the beginning of a successful future for Indian boxing?

TOI

Paes, Bhupathi to clash in US Open doubles final

Indian tennis

NEW YORK: Indian tennis ace Leander Paes kept himself in line of two Grand Slam titles after entering the final of the men's doubles event of the US Open following an upset win over top seeds and local favourites Mike and Bob Bryan on Wednesday.

Third seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Bahamian Mark Knowles also coasted to an easy straight set win over fifth-seed Belarussian-Israeli duo of Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram to enter the finals of US Open men’s doubles.

The Indo-Bahamian pair got the better of Belarussian-Israeli duo 6-4, 6-2 to set up title clash with fourth-seed India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy.

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will now fight it out for the US Open men's doubles title. Paes and his partner Cara Black have already reached the final of the mixed doubles event.

Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded fourth, overwhelmed the Bryan brothers 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in one hour and 51 minutes in the semi-final at the Flushing Meadows.

The match had a sensational climax as Paes and Dlouhy had plenty of match points in the tie-breaker of the third and final set but Bryan brothers made a spirited comeback and saved five match points.

However, Paes and Dlouhy held their nerves and finally converted their sixth match point to clinch the issue.

It was Bryan brothers who got the first chance of a break but Paes and Dlouhy not only saved them but also converted the opportunities that came their way in the opening set.

The first set was tied 2-2 when on Paes' serve, the Americans earned two break points but the Indo-Czech combination played well to ward off the threat and held their serve.

In the next game, Paes and Dlouhy converted their second break point chance as Mike made a forehand error. Dlouhy served out the next game at love to take a 5-3 lead.

The next two games went with serve and the fourth seeds comfortably took the set to go one up.

The second set started on an ominous note for Paes and Dlouhy but they could not convert the early chance.

Dlouhy misfired an overhead volley to hand their rivals a break in the fourth game and it was enough for the Bryan brothers to claw their way back into the match.

Mike held his serve in the next game to consolidate the lead, making it 4-1. The next four games went with serve and the Americans stretched the match to the decisive third set.

The final set began with a marathon 16-point game but Dlouhy managed to hold serve after five deuces and in the process saved two break points.

The next chance of service break came in the seventh game when Paes and Dlouhy were down 0-40 on the serve of the Indian. The fourth seeds held their nerves and saved four break points in that game, making it a brilliant contest.

Bob served the 10th game to save the match and Paes hit a stunning backhand winner to earn their first match point. Bob served extremely well and made it 5-5.

No pair was willing to concede even an inch and it all boiled down to the tie-breaker.

It was a dream tie-breaker for Paes and Dlouhy as they created a 5-0 lead but Bryan brothers played exceptional tennis and saved four match points to make it 6-6.

The partisan crowd cheered for the American duo but Paes hit a backhand volley between the brothers to seal a final berth.

TOI

Gambhir out of Sri Lanka tri-series with injury

TOI

COLOMBO: India's quest to become the world's number one ODI team suffered a big jolt with opener Gautam Gambhir being ruled out of the tri-series on the eve of their opening match against New Zealand.

With the destructive Virender Sehwag and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan not in the team because of injuries, India has been further depleted with the in-form Gambhir joining the casualty list.

Gambhir will return home after straining his groin muscle during practice and has been advised rest for ten days. Young Dehi middle order batsman Virat Kohli has been named as his replacement.

The setback to Gambhir could not come at a more inopportune time and it will no doubt disturb the combination at the top of the order.

With the regular pair of Sehwag and Gambhir sidelined, the experienced Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik, who has opened the innings in recent times, could take up the responsibility.

The brief series assumes importance for India as they are fully aware that a clean sweep in the tournament would make them the number one ODI team in the world.

The tag of the number of team will be the main goal for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men who need to win both their league matches and the final to achieve the feat.

The BCCI Corporate trophy provided the Indian players a chance to shrug off the rust following a six-week break even though the fitness of the players were assessed during the off-season.

Despite the last-minute setback, the Indians are raring to get back onto the field and coach Gary Kirsten has already drawn up a road map for the team.

"We have set our targets as to what we have to achieve in the next eight months. Certainly, one of them is to become the best team in the world. We are heading that way and we are very excited on the way that we have gone about our business to get to that position," Kirsten said.

"We know that if we continue with as hard as we do in terms of our training and how we set our sights for games, we have the best chances of reaching there", he said.

If India win the two league matches and then the final, they will earn two rating points which is enough to topple South Africa who are currently on top of the table.

While the Indians appear to be quite confident, it will be a do-or-die battle for the Kiwis who were thrashed by the hosts in the opening match. A defeat against India will dash their hopes of a berth in the final.

But the Black Caps, who have been strengthened by the return of some of their ICL players like Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, are a dangerous One-day team and are quite capable of turning the table on any fancied team on their day.

TOI