Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Zaheer rocks as India whitewash Bangladesh
Zaheer rocks as India whitewash Bangladesh
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Federer, Serena Williams in round four
Indians are welcome in Australia: Lee
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Serena into Australian Open fourth round
The top seed will next play Australian 13th seed Samantha Stosur, who earlier beat Italian Alberta Brianti 6-4, 6-1.
It was far from plain sailing for Williams despite the scoreline, with the plucky Spaniard recovering from a disastrous start to push the top seed for much of the second set.
Williams came out with all guns blazing and raced to a 5-0 lead in only 15 minutes, Suarez Navarro winning just five points in the first five games.
She only seemed to wake up in the sixth game, which went for an amazing 23 minutes with 13 deuces, Williams clinching the first set on her eighth opportunity.
Suarez Navarro put Williams' sister Venus out in the second round last year and she took the same game plan in against Serena, blunting the American's power with precise placement and acute angles.
Williams was made to run all over the court, but she showed her superb athleticism as she chased down many of the Spaniard's best shots and returned them with interest.
Williams broke Suarez Navarro in the third game of the second set and was never in any trouble on her own serve, holding comfortably to 5-3, when she seized on a loose game by the Spaniard to break again and take the match.
Her match with Stosur should create plenty of interest, with the Australian number one beating Williams the last time they met.
Williams then added fuel to the fire by accusing Stosur of being a good "framer", implying many of her winning shots of being miss hits.
"I guess she thought I hit too many frames or shanks during that match," Stosur said.
"Maybe I hit a couple, but I hit with a bit of spin. Maybe she wasn't expecting so many balls to drop in because of the spin."
TOI
Federer eases into fourth round of Australian Open
The 15-time Grand Slam champion brushed aside the 31st-seeded Spaniard, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and had few concerns in the one hour 48 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Such was Federer's domination that Montanes did not get one break point on the Swiss star's service.
Federer is expected to face a tougher test in the round of 16 on Monday against either Australian two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt or former finalist and unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who play later Saturday.
"I've come through a difficult draw, I feel physically fine and mentally fresh, but the opponents will get tougher from here," Federer said.
The top seed was never threatened by baseliner Montanes and broke the Spaniard's service three times.
He broke Montanes in the fourth game of the opening set, in the ninth game of the second set and in the opening game of the final set.
Montanes only won 11 points in the first seven games as Federer rolled through the gears in his most consummate performance of the tournament after dropping a set against Russian Igor Andreev in his opening match.
That was the first time Federer had lost a set in a first round Grand Slam match since the 2003 US Open.
Federer hit a total of 36 winners in the three sets, but he made a total of 43 unforced errors as he attempted to take the game to the Spaniard.
The victory improved Federer's Australian Open record to 50-7, which makes him only second to Swede Stefan Edberg's 56-10 for most match wins at the Australian Open in the Open Era.
Federer leads Hewitt 16-7 and has won their last 14 encounters, while he leads 2006 finalist Baghdatis 6-0.
TOI
Pak end India's title defence at Under-19 World Cup
Lincoln (New Zealand), Jan 23 (PTI) Defending champions India crumbled under pressure in the battle of sub-continental rivals as Pakistan sent them packing with a two-wicket triumph in a thrilling rain-hit Super League quarterfinal of the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup here today.
Pakistan opted to bowl first in the match, which became a 23-overs-a-side affair due to overnight rain, and skittled out India for a paltry 114 for nine.
In reply, Pakistan huffed and puffed their way to the target in 22.3 overs thanks to some valuable late order contributions to keep their unbeaten run at the event intact.
The Pakistani top order collapsed and the team score read 16 for three in just under seven overs.
However, Ahsan Ali brought them back into the match with a 45-ball 30 before being run out by Jaydev Unadkat.
Wickets tumbled at regular intervals but Pakistan kept themselves in the hunt with some brisk scoring.
Paes-Dlouhy in pre-quarters of Australian Open
Melbourne, Jan 23 (PTI) Leander Paes remained on course for his second successive Grand Slam title after reaching the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Australian Open with partner Lukas Dlouhy here today.
The third seeded Indo-Czech pair quelled the challenge of Lucas Arnold of Argentina and Romanian Horia Tecau 7-5 6-3 in the second round at Melbourne Park.
They will now fight it out with Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey, who got the better of French Julien Benneteau and Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4 6-0 in their second round.
Paes had won the US Open in October last year along with Dlouhy after defeating compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.
Paes is the lone Indian survivor in the men's doubles as the pairs of Somdev Devvarman-Prakash Amritraj, Bhupathi-Max Mairnyi and Rohan Bopanna-Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi have already lost in the early stages.
Friday, January 22, 2010
‘Indians harshly taunted me’
| ‘Indians harshly taunted me’ |
Chittagong, Jan 21: Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim today alleged that Indian bowlers sledged him by calling him a “school boy” during his century knock on the fifth day of the first cricket Test here. “The Indian bowlers picked me for sledging when I was batting well. They called me school boy. But I was enjoying it and I had answered it with my bat,” Mushfiqur, who scored a 114-ball 101, said at the post-match press conference after his side lost to India by 113 runs to go down 0-1 in the two-Test series. Sehwag, however, refused to comment when asked about Mushfiqur’s charge.(PTI) |
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Aus Open: Bhupathi-Sania pull out of mixed doubles
Melbourne, Jan 22 (PTI) Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza will not defend their mixed doubles title at the Australian Open due to a calf injury to the former.
Bhupathi suffered the injury on Monday while practicing and aggravated it during yesterday's men's doubles first round match which he lost along with his Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi.
According to Bhupathi, the doctor has advised him at least 10-day rest resulting in them pulling out of the first Grand Slam of the season.
With this pull out, Bhupathi's campaign is over at the Australian Open.
Sania Mirza is already out of singles but her challenge is still alive in the women's doubles event.
IPL ties up with Google for ‘live’ streaming of 2010 season
IPL ties up with Google for ‘live’ streaming of 2010 season
Hockey India to give Rs 50,000 each to women players
HI interim president Vidya Stokes told reporters here that apart from Rs 50,000, the ad-hoc national body has requested the government to give each player Rs one lakh for their silver medal winning performance in last year's Asia Cup in Bangkok and gold in the inaugural Champions Challenge I in Kazan, Russia.
"We have requested the Sports Ministry to give each women player Rs one lakh as reward for their silver medal in Asia Cup," Stokes said.
"But as of now, we (HI) are immediately giving Rs 50,000 each all the 19 players of the camp for their outstanding performance last year."
"I have spoken to the coach and captain and they are very happy. We will issues the cheques as early as possible, she added.
Following in the footsteps of their male counterparts, the Indian women hockey players on Thursday protested the non-payment of their dues by wearing black armbands during the training session of Commonwealth Games preparatory camp in Bhopal.
The protesting women players have not received their dues since April last year, and hence the core group decided to sport black bands in protest in contrast against the men's team's move to go on strike.
The team has also opened a savings account in Bhopal branch of the Syndicate Bank and has asked hockey loving fans all over the country to support their cause.
TOI
Roger Federer charges into Australian Open third round
Watched by Britain's Prince William in the official box, the world's number one ripped through the 47th-ranked Hanescu in just one hour 39 minutes, winning 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Federer, bidding for his 16th Grand Slam title and fourth Australian Open here over the next fortnight, will now play Spanish 31st-seed Albert Montanes in Saturday's third round.
It was a stunning set of statistics for Federer in Thursday's match.
He broke Hanescu's serve five times and didn't drop his own serve, while hitting 52 winners, 28 of them with the forehand. Federer dominated the match points 96 to 64.
Hanescu has still to take a set off Federer in their four meetings as the Swiss legend stepped up a gear after his muddling opening round performance against Russian Igor Andreev on Tuesday.
His opening set loss to Andreev was the first time he had dropped a set in a first round Grand Slam match since the 2003 US Open.
Federer made his intentions known from the outset, breaking Hanescu's opening service and again in the eighth game to take the set in 34 minutes.
The Swiss great strolled through the second set, reeling off another service break in the eighth game to take a 2-0 sets lead.
He broke Hanescu in his opening two service games of the final set to coast to victory in quick time.
Federer is on track to face either former finalists, Lleyton Hewitt or Marcos Baghdatis, in the fourth round and a potential quarter-final with Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko.
TOI
Bhupathi out of doubles, Paes and Sania advance
Melbourne, Jan 21 (PTI) Mahesh Bhupathi's reunion with Max Mirnyi began on a disappointing note as the fourth seeded duo made a stunning first round exit from the Australian Open even as Leander Paes and Sania Mirza notched up facile wins with their respective partners here today.
Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy were the first to take the court and the third seeds didn't have much trouble in sailing past Czechs Leos Friedl and David Skoch 6-3 6-1 in the first round of the men's doubles event.
Paes and Dlouhy will next take on Lucas Arnold Ker of Argentina and Romania's Horia Tecau.
But the newly-formed combination of Bhupathi and Belarusian Mirnyi disappointed with a 4-6 4-6 loss to the unseeded German-Finnish pair of Michael Kohlmann and Jarkko Nieminen.
India thump Bangladesh to lead 1-0 in the series
India clinched the first cricket Test against Bangladesh with an emphatic 113-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series here today, despite a rollicking century by wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim that delayed the inevitable.
The Indians, who needed to pick up eight wickets on the last day, took just about two sessions to wrap up the game and make amends for their disappointing batting show in the first innings.
Chasing an improbable 415-run victory target, the hosts resumed on 67 for two and rode on Rahim's gutsy 101 and Tamim Iqbal's gritty 52 before folding for 301 in 75.2 overs.
Amit Mishra (4/92), Ishant Sharma (3/48), and Zaheer Khan (2/90) struck at regular intervals to bowl out the hosts at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
The baby-faced Rahim threw his bat at everything hurled at him but that was merely a desperate attempt by a number seven batsman to delay the inevitable.
The diminutive stumper-batsman took 112 balls to hit his maiden Test ton - also the fastest by a Bangladeshi batsman - and was the last man out.
Both the teams now move to Mirpur for the last Test.
Rahim, who came in just before lunch when his side were 135 for five, took the Indian attack by the scruff of its neck, hitting 17 fours and a six.
With this win, India maintained their unbeaten record in Bangladesh. They have now won five out of six matches in Bangladesh, including a drawn Test in 2007.
The Test, which began with a war of words between the two sides after India's stand-in captain Virender Sehwag had described the hosts as an ordinary side, was also a memorable one for opening batsman Gautam Gambhir who became the only fourth batsman to have scored five successive Test tons.
Sachin Tendulkar also reached the milestone of becoming the only player to score 13,000 Test runs by notching up his 44th hundred, which also earned him the Man of the Match award.
An Indian batting collapse on the opening day of the weather-hit match provided some excitement but the Test ultimately ended on expected lines with the visitors scripting a comfortable win.
Chasing a stiff 415, Bangladesh needed 348 from the final day and once they were 136 for five at lunch any hopes of an improbable win had evaporated.
Wickets fell at regular intervals with the Indian bowlers applying pressure all day with some impressive show till came the tail.
Using the early movement of the ball due to foggy conditions, Ishant struck twice in the first hour conceding just 11 runs from his seven-over uninterrupted spell to give his side the stranglehold in the Test.
Ishant first removed key batsman Mohammad Ashraful (27) in the fourth over of the day with Rahul Dravid taking a fine catch at the second slip.
Bangladesh were 94 for four soon with Ishant striking again in his sixth over, trapping Raqibul Hossain LBW.
Sehwag introduced himself in place of S Sreesanth and immediately removed Tamim Iqbal to reduce Bangladesh to 135 for five.
Overnight batsman Tamim went for an unnecessary slash off a Sehwag delivery which shaped away after pitching on the off and the thick edge went straight to Dravid's safe hands at slip. Tamim, who who resumed the day on 23, faced 122 balls and hit six boundaries in his 52.
Bangladesh, who resumed the post-lunch session on 136 for five, showed no intention of digging their heel and trying to save the match.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan perished in the third over after lunch, foxed by an Amit Mishra googly which took the shoulder of his blade for Sehwag to take a head-high catch at silly point.
Mahmadullah (20) hit two fours in the same over of Zaheer Khan but the veteran Indian bowler had the last laugh as he removed the batsman in his next over with wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik collecting the faint edge.
Mishra struck twice in quick time to remove Shahadat Hossain (24) and Shafiul Islam (8) before he went on to end Rahim's heroics.
Source: PTI
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Djokovic makes winning start at Australian Open
India nose ahead in first Test
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Pollard, Bond costliest players at IPL auction
Mumbai: The explosive Caribbean all-rounder Kieron Pollard and New Zealand paceman Shane Bond emerged as the most expensive players, being sold for a whopping $750,000 (approx. Rs3.42 crore) at the auction for the third edition of the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
It was a four-way tie among Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders to grab Pollard and eventually Mumbai won the player through a silent tie-breaker bid in the high profile auction which saw no Pakistani player being sold out.
The price of the silent bid was not disclosed by the organisers with IPL chairman Lalit Modi saying that the information will be confined to the bidders and them.
Like Pollard, a keen tussle was witnessed to grab Kiwi paceman Bond with Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers making the highest bid.
After a tie-breaker, the Kolkata grabbed the paceman.
West Indies paceman Kemar Roach was the second costliest player sold to Deccan Chargers for $720,000.
Delhi Daredevils bought South African all rounder Wayne Parnell for $610,000 against a base price of $200,000.
Rajasthan Royals bought retired Australian Damien Martyn for $100,000 apart from securing the services of Adam Voges for $50,000.
Chennai Super Kings recalled South African Justin Kemp by paying $100,000 and also bought emerging Sri Lankan batsman Thisara Perera for $50,000.
Mohammed Kaif, the only Indian player featuring in the auction, went unsold in the first round but was later bought by Kings XI Punjab for $250,000. They also recalled South African Yusuf Abdullah.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bid for just one player and got England’s Eoin Morgan for $220,000.
In all, 56 players remained unsold out of 67 that went under the hammer.
Three Under-19 Indian players at a fixed price of Rs8 lakh were also in the auction list.
Royal Challengers Bangalore chose U-19 skipper Ashok Maneria, Deccan Chargers preferred Harmeet Singh and Mumbai Indians opted for Harshal Patel.
The third edition of the extremely popular Twenty20 tournament will begin from 12 March.
Source:http://www.livemint.com/
Dhoni, Bhajji set to play 2nd Test against Bangladesh
Chittagong, Jan 19 (PTI) Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are recovering fast and they are set to play the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka from January 24, team manager Arshad Ayub said here today.
"(M S) Dhoni is fast improving from his injury (back spasm). He batted and bowled at the nets (after third day's play). For Harbhajan Singh, he has recovered 80-85 per cent and in a couple of days he would be fully all right," Ayub said at the press conference after third day's play of the first Test here.
Dhoni was a ruled out a day ahead of the first Test at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium due to back spasm and vice-captain Virender Sehwag is leading the visiting side in his absence.