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Cricket Online Streaming

2011-12-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

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Cricket Matches Online !!!

2011-09-23T05:30:00.001-07:00

2011 World Cup Schedule !

2011-01-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hi all , Here you have the World Cup Schedule for the Biggest event starting on Feb 19 , 2011 . This year's World Cup Mascot has been named as " Appu " . Lets hope Sachin and Dhoni keep the World cup in India ...

World Cup Groups

Group A	Group B
Australia	India
Pakistan	South Africa
NewZealand	England
Srilanka	West Indies
Zimbabwe	Bangladesh
Canada	Ireland
Kenya	Netherlands

Schedule

Match Date Teams Venue

01 19Feb India vs Bangladesh Dhaka

02 20 Feb New Zealand vs Kenya Chennai

03 20 Feb Sri Lanka vs Canada Hambantota

04 21 Feb Australia vs Zimbabwe Ahmedabad

05 22 Feb England vs Netherlands Nagpur

06 23 Feb Pakistan vs Kenya Hambantota

07 24 Feb South Africa vs West Indies New Delhi

08 25 Feb Australia vs New Zealand Nagpur

09 25 Feb Bangladesh vs Ireland Dhaka

10 26 Feb Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Colombo

11 27 Feb India vs England Kolkata

12 28 Feb West Indies vs Netherlands New Delhi

13 28 Feb Zimbabwe vs Canada Nagpur

14 1 Mar Sri Lanka vs Kenya Colombo

15 2 Mar England vs Ireland Bangalore

16 3 Mar South Africa vs Netherlands Mohali

17 3 Mar Pakistan vs Canada Colombo

18 4 Mar New Zealand vs Zimbabwe Ahmedabad

19 4 Mar Bangladesh vs West Indies Dhaka

20 5 Mar Sri Lanka vs Australia Colombo

21 6 Mar India vs Ireland Bangalore

22 6 Mar England vs South Africa Chennai

23 7 Mar Kenya vs Canada New Delhi

24 8 Mar Pakistan vs New Zealand Pallekelle

25 9 Mar India vs Netherlands New Delhi

26 10 Mar Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe Pallekelle

27 11 Mar West Indies vs Ireland Mohali

28 11 Mar Bangladesh vs England Chittagong

29 12 Mar India vs South Africa Nagpur

30 13 Mar New Zealand vs Canada Mumbai

31 13 Mar Australia vs Kenya Bangalore

32 14 Mar Pakistan vs Zimbabwe Pallekelle

33 14 Mar Bangladesh vs Netherlands Chittagong

34 15 Mar South Africa vs Ireland Kolkata

35 16 Mar Australia vs Canada Bangalore

36 17 Mar England vs West Indies Chennai

37 18 Mar Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Mumbai

38 18 Mar Ireland vs Netherlands Kolkata

39 19 Mar Australia vs Pakistan Colombo

40 19 Mar Bangladesh vs South Africa Dhaka

41 20 Mar Zimbabwe vs Kenya Kolkata

42 20 Mar India vs West Indies Chennai

Knock Out Stage - Quarters

43 23 Mar First Quarterfinal Dhaka -----> Winner of Group A1 vs Group B4

44 24 Mar Second Quarterfinal Motera ----> Winner of Group A2 vs Group B3

45 25 Mar Third Quarterfinal Dhaka -----> Winner of Group A3 vs Group B2

46 26 Mar Fourth Quarterfinal Colombo ----> Winner of Group A4 vs Group B1

Semis

47 29 Mar First Semifinal Colombo ----> Winner of Match 43 vs Winner of Match 45

48 30 Mar Second Semifinal Mohali -----> Winner of Match 44 vs Winner of Match 46

49 02 Apr FINAL Mumbai ----> Wankhede Stadium ..

Play Football Online through FIFA !

2010-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

FIFA had now made it online for all the soccer lovers to play FIFA online with your favourite teams .

Initially FIFA will ask you to confirm your email address . You will have to register your email address and then set an online Username and Password for playing it online .

After the Username and password , FIFA will ask you to select your team manager , Select your favourite League team and also your World Cup .

Here is the link where you need to register yourself and after the registration is complete , FIFA will ask you to install the game .. below you will find the installation guide for installing the game . Once it is done , then enjoy playing FIFA with your username and Password . Invite your friends and make Friends online to play with them and play against them .

Link for registration ;

http://fifa-online.easports.com/web/guest/fifawelcome?p_p_id=fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_mode=view&p_p_state=normal&_fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount_userid=7362355&_fifaonlineverificationcodevalidation_WAR_fifaonlineaccount_verificationcode=128878546EF387C5689CAFEE5F1B036C4BA30634

Link for Installation Guide ;

http://fifa-online.easports.com/web/guest/guide-installation-firefox

Demo ;;;

Live Cricket

2010-10-05T00:18:00.001-07:00

Super Kings unit end their campaign in Style !

2010-09-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the Chennai Super Kings' eight-wicket win over the Eastern Cape Warriors in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament was "a real emotional moment" for a team who might have been playing their last match together.

Looking ahead to a planned auction before the next Indian Premier League season, which could mean drastic changes to the teams, Dhoni paid tribute to his players, who clinched a double following their IPL triumph earlier this year.

Spin bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan set up the win as the Warriors were restricted to 128 for seven in 20 overs.

Chennai opening batsmen Mike Hussey and Murali Vijay put on 103 for the first wicket without needing to take any risks.

The result was never in any real doubt although there were only six balls to spare when Dhoni hit the winning runs.

The win earned Chennai a 2.5-million dollar jackpot while the Warriors took home 1.3-million dollars.

Jacobs powers Warriors to Finals !

2010-09-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

Davy Jacobs led his Eastern Cape Warriors to the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament when they beat the South Australian Redbacks by 30 runs in Saturday's semi-final.

The Warriors will meet Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings in the final at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Jacobs (61) and Colin Ingram (46) staged a ferocious counter-attack after South Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait had South African Test batsman Ashwell Prince caught at first slip off the second ball of the match.

Finals live here on Sportsline ;

Barca takes centre stage !

2010-09-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Spanish sides took centre stage as the UEFA Champions League returned with a bang on Tuesday, big wins for FC Barcelona and Valencia CF perhaps eclipsed only by FC Twente's memorable introduction to the group stage as they held holders FC Internazionale Milano 2-2.

Bursaspor endured a more difficult introduction to life in Europe's elite club competition as the Turkish titleholders were overwhelmed 4-0 at home by Valencia. Tino Costa set the visitors on their way with a memorable long-range effort, though the opening goal of the group stage came on 13 minutes at SV Werder Bremen as Petri Pasanen put through his own net against Tottenham Hotspur FC.

It ended 2-2 at the Weserstadion, as did the other fixture in Group A as Dutch champions FC Twente earned a point against Inter. Lionel Messi was at his unstoppable best as Barcelona recovered from a goal down to beat Panathinaikos FC 5-1 and their next opponents, FC Rubin Kazan, were undone by a Dame N'Doye goal three minutes from time at FC København.

There was just one goal in it at the Stade de Gerland as Olympique Lyonnais edged past ten-man FC Schalke 04 while nothing could separate Manchester United FC and Rangers FC in a match overshadowed by a suspected broken ankle for Antonio Valencia. Finally, SL Benfica scored a goal in each half at home to Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC to complete a night that brought 22 goals in eight matches.

Group A

FC Twente 2-2 FC Internazionale Milano

SV Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur FC

Group B

Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 FC Schalke 04

SL Benfica 2-0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC

Group C

Manchester United FC 0-0 Rangers FC

Bursaspor 0-0 Valencia CF

Group D

FC Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos FC

FC København 1-0 FC Rubin Kazan

Champions League is back again !

2010-08-27T05:13:00.000-07:00

Champions League is back again starting on 14th September . The draw for the group stages of the Champions League has thrown up some interesting matches.

Barclays Premier League champions Chelsea have been drawn in Group F against Olympique Marseille, Spartak Moscow and Zilina of Slovakia.

Manchester United will face Valencia, Scottish champions Rangers and Bursaspor of Turkey in Group C

Arsenal are in Group H where they will take on Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade. Tottenham Hotspur's reward for beating Young Boys of Bern is a mouth-watering series of matches against holders Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and FC Twente in Group A.

They will all be bidding to win through to the last 16 and keep alive their hopes of making the final at Wembley.

GROUP A

Inter Milan

Werder Bremen

Tottenham Hotspur

FC Twente

GROUP B

Olympic Lyonnais

Benfica

Schalke

Hapoel Tel Aviv

GROUP C

Manchester United

Valencia

Rangers

Bursaspor

GROUP D

Barcelona

Panathinaikos

Copenhagen

Rubin Kazan

GROUP E

Bayern Munich

AS Roma

Basel

Cluj

GROUP F

Chelsea

Olympique Marseille

Spartak Moscow

Zilina

GROUP G

AC Milan

Real Madrid

Ajax

Auxerre

GROUP H

Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk

Braga

Partizan Belgrade

Official FIFA World Cup Song by Shakira !

2010-06-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

Official Fifa World Cup Song sung by Shakira , Please view it in fullscreen mode

Video of Wavin' Flag by K'NAAN

Watch live video

Saurabh Tiwary / Pollard knock in First Semi-Finals ! Mumbai Indians VS Royal Challengers

2010-04-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

Watch out for the superb knock of Tiwary supported by Rayadu and Pollard in the First Semis ..

Sachin Tendulkar creates History !

2010-02-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday created history by becoming the first cricketer to hit a double century in an ODI as India piled up 401 for three in 50 overs against South Africa in the second match at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior

Tendulkar was unstoppable right from the start and carried his bat through to score an unbeaten 200 off 147 balls hitting 25 fours and three sixes. En route to his double century, Tendulkar went past the previous best of Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194).

After being run out cheaply in the first ODI in Jaipur, Tendulkar looked set for the big innings right from the start. His innings was studded with a dazzling array of his trademark boundaries, the wristy shots.

He got to his 50 off only 37 balls with his ninth boundary and then hammered five more en route to his 46th ODI century, that came up in 90 deliveries.

Tendulkar broke the previous highest score of 194 in ODIs off 140 deliveries and took his time in the final over to get to 200.

Karthik and Dhoni provided able support around Tendulkar. India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a cameo of 68 off 35 balls while Dinesh Karthik made 79.

Karthik smashed four fours and three sixes for his 85-ball 79. He fell after he mistimed a pull shot to Herschelle Gibbs. Yusuf Pathan then stepped on the accelerator with 36 off 23 balls, before Dhoni's onslaught. Dhoni was remarkable in his strokeplay and displayed some power hitting with his four sixes and seven fours. Only hope for the SouthAfricans was AB De Villiers who scored an unbeaten 114

Top 5 Highest Individual Scores

200* Sachin Tendulkar, India v South Africa 2010
194* Charles Coventry, Zimbabwe v Bangladesh 2009
194 Saeed Anwar, Pakistan v India 1997
189* Viv Richards, W Indies v England 1984
189 Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka v India 2000

2010 Twenty20 Worldcup in Caribbean Islands

2010-02-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

The 2010 T20 World Cup will be held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May . Matches will be played in two beautiful Islands St. Lucia and Barbados.

West Indies will host the next T20 World Cup Tournament set for 2010. The International Cricket Council decided to hold the T20 World Cup in successive years to avoid staging two major events in the same year, with the one day 50 over World Cup taking place in South Africa in 2011.

The 2010 tournament in the West Indies will again be a festival of exciting and attractive cricket. The West Indies will be favoured on home soil but teams from the sub continent will again provide stern opposition. However, the very nature of T20 makes prediction unreliable. What can be assured is another outstanding few weeks of top class sporting entertainment.

Groups For 2010 T20 World Cup

Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia

Group B: Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe

Group C: South Africa, India, Qualifier 1

Group D: West Indies, England, Qualifier 2

Group Stage Schedule For 2010 T20 World Cup

Friday 30 April

Guyana: Opening Ceremony

Guyana: West Indies v Qualifier 2 / Sri Lanka v New Zealand

Saturday 1 May

St Lucia: India v Qualifier 1 / Pakistan v Bangladesh

Guyana: England v Qualifier 2

Sunday 2 May

St Lucia: South Africa v India / Pakistan v Australia

Guyana: New Zealand v Zimbabwe

Monday 3 May

Guyana: West Indies v England / Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe

Tuesday 4 May

Barbados: South Africa v Qualifier 1 / Bangladesh v Australia

Super Eights Schedule

Thursday 6 May

Barbados: A1 v D2 / C1 v B2

Friday 7 May

Barbados: A2 v C2 / B1 v D1

Saturday 8 May

Barbados: C1 v D2 / A1 v B2

Sunday 9 May

Barbados: C2 v D1 / B1 v A2

Monday 10 May

St Lucia: B2 v D2 / A1 v C1

Tuesday 11 May

St Lucia: B1 v C2 / D1 v A2

Knockout Stage Schedule

Thursday 13 May

St Lucia: First Semi-Final

Friday 14 May

St Lucia: Second Semi-Final

Sunday 16 May

Barbados: Final

FIFA 2010 - Final Draw

2009-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

The 32 teams participating at next year's FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

While South Africans learned that the host nation's Opening Match on 11 June would be played against Mexico at Soccer City, it was the Group D line-up which caused arguably the biggest stir. Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana will battle it out for two qualifying places for the Round of 16, meaning two nations with passionate support will depart the tournament early. There could be a high-profile casualty from Group G too, after Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal were drawn together.An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold.

With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England's David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating occasion, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed.
An early highlight of the draw was the eye-catching encounter between England and USA, scheduled for 12 June, which evokes the Americans' famous 1-0 win over their transatlantic cousins at Brazil 1950. Argentina, Nigeria and Greece will get the chance to revive their group rivalry from 1994, while the heavyweight collision between Portugal and Brazil on 25 June also has the feel of a derby.

Groups for South Africa 2010

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

A night to rememberWith such an array of stars, the event dazzled from start to finish. After a welcome sequence from Lions Head, the mountain that provides Cape Town with such a dramatic backdrop, award-winning musician Johnny Clegg performed 'Scatterlings of Africa', a song made famous by the Academy Award-winning film Rain Main.

Fittingly, the first speech of the night came from the man without whom a FIFA World Cup in South Africa would never have been possible: the country's former president Nelson Mandela. The 91-year-old, speaking in a special video message, urged his nation to make the most of their opportunity as tournament hosts. "We must strive for excellence in our hosting of the World Cup, while at the same time ensuring the event leaves a lasting benefit to all our people," he said.

Next it was time for two special presidents to take to the stage. FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and South African President Jacob Zuma showed their excitement at both the Final Draw and the 2010 FIFA World Cup itself in an entertaining dialogue lasting several minutes. Giancarlo Abete, President of the Italian Football Federation, then handed over the holders' FIFA World Cup Trophy to Mr Blatter, confirmation that sport's holy grail is in South Africa and ready to be contested next year.

Legendary Portugal striker Eusebio, born in neighbouring Mozambique, was introduced to the crowd before examples of the 'Win in Africa, With Africa' campaign were showcased before an expectant audience. Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo duly took to the stage to perform her Grammy-nominated song 'Agolo'.

The first duty of the show's guest presenter, Academy Award-winning actress, Hollywood producer and proud South African Charlize Theron, was to show off the official 2010 Match Ball, adidas's Jabulani, a name meaning 'to celebrate' in Zulu. Soweto’s Gospel Choir continued the theme of happiness with a lively rendition of Pata Pata before the arrival of Draw Master and FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, signalled the moment of truth.Some of the assembled coaches will have headed away feeling confident, others concerned by the task presented here, yet at least all now know what lies in store as they begin their planning and preparation for next year's showpiece.

Online Cricket

2009-11-22T03:37:00.000-08:00

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2009

2009-10-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

The world will experience the stunning beauty of the Arabian sunset as a backdrop to the inaugural 2009 Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the announcement a new race start time at 5pm. As a result, for the first time in Formula 1™ history, a race is scheduled to start in daylight and end during night-time.

“Yas Marina Circuit has been built from the outset to host day and night-time activities,” said Richard Cregan, CEO of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management. “Staging Formula 1’s first ever day/night race offers us the unique opportunity to demonstrate the circuit’s inbuilt flexibility and state-of-the-art facilities. It has always been our intention to showcase to the world this spectacular venue and this decision allows just that opportunity.

It is the best of both worlds, spectators and television viewers will see the stunning architecture of the world’s newest Formula 1™ circuit during the afternoon sunlight and then experience what it is like under floodlights. We hope that everyone will be impressed by what they experience and see.”

Yas Marina Circuit’s lighting system utilises the most advanced technology available. The 24-40 meter tall outfield floodlights provide horizontal lighting. The smaller 7-15 meter infield fixtures have a highly sophisticated ‘vertical controllable beam’ designed specifically to provide a consistent daylight effect as well as removing shadow and glare at driver level. The lights will be on from the start of the race to ensure a seamless transition from daylight to dark.

Race Track

Clijsters becomes the First Mother since 1980 to win a grand slam !

2009-09-14T02:32:00.001-07:00

Kim Clijsters completed an incredible return to Grand Slam tennis with a 7-5 6-3 win over Dane Caroline Wozniacki to claim her second US Open title.

The Belgian, 26, was a wildcard into her first Grand Slam tournament since 2007 after coming out of a two-and-a-half year retirement in August.

In that time she gave birth to a daughter, and so becomes the first mother since 1980 to win a Grand Slam.

She is also the first woman to win a major as a wildcard.

"This has been so exciting for me," said Clijsters. "This was not really our plan.

"I just wanted to start three tournaments just to get back into the rhythm of playing tennis and get used to the surroundings. So I have to thank the USTA for giving me the wild card to come back here."

Clijsters was playing only her 14th match and third tournament since ending her 27-month retirement.

As players need to have competed in three tournaments to gain a world ranking, the new US Open champion is without a ranking until Monday when she is expected to arrive inside the world's top 20.

And the fairytale nature of her victory was compounded when her 18-month old daughter, Jada, was brought down to the court to see her mother lift the trophy.

Not since Evonne Goolagong Cawley beat Chris Evert to win Wimbledon in 1980 has a mother won one of the sport's four major titles.

The match itself was an entertaining contest despite windy conditions that led to more errors than either player would have expected.

Clijsters' story had overshadowed her opponent, especially as the Belgian had beaten American hopes Venus and Serena Williams on her way to the final, but it was also a landmark day for Wozniacki.

The teenager, seeded ninth, was playing in her first Grand Slam final, having never previously been past the fourth round, and hoped to become Denmark's first major winner.

And after dropping her first service game it was the Dane who had the edge in the first set, twice moving a break clear as her measured retrieving game proved more effective in the wind.

Clijsters struggled to control her attacking instincts, making regular errors, and looked in trouble when she slipped 5-4 down, throwing a ball away in disgust as she did so.

But the 2005 champion, playing at Flushing Meadows this year for the first time since that triumph, managed to claw back the deficit and broke to love in game 12 to win the opening set.

That seemed to calm any nerves in a player who had lost four of her five previous Grand Slam finals, and Clijsters got the decisive break with a brilliant returning game to lead 4-2 in the second set.

The Belgian had suffered from nerves in big moments during the early part of her career but this time around she remained steady, battling back from 0-30 down in both her remaining service games before taking the win with a smash at the net.

A tearful Clijsters sank to her knees in celebration before heading into the stands moments later to celebrate with family and friends.

"I don't have words for how I'm feeling - I'm just glad I got to come back to defend my title from 2005!" she said afterwards.

"It's been so exciting for me, I just wanted to get back to playing tennis. The support I've received has been crazy.

"Even from the first round, how warmly everyone welcomed and embraced me. It helped me keep fighting and stay focused."

And she added: "We tried to plan Jada's nap time a little bit later today so she could be here. It's the greatest joy in the world.

"I can't wait to spend the next few weeks with her."

Wozniacki said: "She's such a great girl and I'm so excited that she came back.

"Unfortunately she beat me today but she played a great match and deserved this trophy."

Sutil stars in Monza practice !

2009-09-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

Will there be a another surprise in Monza , watch out tomo on STAR Sports .

Adrian Sutil was the surprise name at the top of the timesheets as Force India threatened another shock result in the Italian GP.

A fortnight after Giancarlo Fisichella claimed pole and finished second in Belgium, breaking the team's points duck in Formula One, Sutil underlined their improvement.

The German posted the fastest lap of the day in the afternoon 90-minute session around Monza, narrowly edging out Lewis Hamilton, who was quickest in the morning, by 0.012 seconds.

Sutil recorded a time of one minute 23.924 seconds for the 5.793 kilometre track, finishing 0.239secs ahead of another shock name in Renault's Romain Grosjean.

The French marque, currently embroiled in scandal over the 'crash-gate' furore, finished second and third in the afternoon session, with double world champion Fernando Alonso nearly 0.4secs adrift of Sutil.

Renault's improvement is due to the fact they have re-installed KERS on their cars for this race, the system providing a burst of power at the touch of a button.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, who had finished second to Hamilton earlier in the day, was fourth in the afternoon, followed by the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica and Toyota's Timo Glock.

Glock had finished bottom in the morning, with the German involved in the only major incident of the day, spinning prior to bouncing heavily over the newly re-moulded and far higher kerbs that now dominate the three chicanes around the track.

Nick Heidfeld was seventh for a resurgent BMW Sauber, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen eighth, followed by the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi.

Hamilton was forced to settle for 11th, almost a second slower than his morning run and evidently running a different spec.

Vitantonio Liuzzi, on his debut for Force India after replacing Fisichella, was 12th, just under a second behind team-mate Sutil.

If the top of the order was a surprise, so was the bottom five as Rubens Barrichello was 16th for Brawn GP, followed by Nico Rosberg in his Williams and Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull.

Championship leader Jenson Button was a lowly 19th in his Brawn, 1.5secs behind Sutil and 0.7secs slower than in the morning as he, too, tested out different options.

As for the rear of the field, that was brought up by Fisichella on his first drive for Ferrari, but, like Hamilton and Button, his time of 1:25.543 was appreciably slower than his best lap earlier in the day.

Is this another implementation in a book called ICC

2009-09-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Bangladesh cricket chiefs have agreed in principle to face England in the first day-night Test match next year.

Bangladesh play two Tests in England in May and June 2010, one of which the England and Wales Cricket Board has proposed as a day-night game.

Headingley has already been assigned one of the Tests with Lord's a potential venue for the second.

The day-night concept has yet to receive official approval from the International Cricket Committee (ICC).

The sport's administrators have a number of concerns, primarily over what colour ball to use.

A white ball is used during day-night one-day internationals but this is not feasible when players are wearing white as they would for a Test match, whilst pink and orange balls have been trialled but are considered unfit for purpose.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have extended the contract of their Australian cricket coach Jamie Siddons until the 2011 World Cup.

Siddons joined Bangladesh in November 2007, replacing his compatriot Dav Whatmore.

The BCB also announced pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan have been retained as captain and vice-captain of the national team for a five-match one-day series against Zimbabwe starting in October.

Lasith Malinga takes it all in Colombo …

2009-09-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Lasith Malinga takes it all in Colombo after superb knock from Thilan Samaraweera . New Zealand had given themselves a good shot at victory by the half-way mark, having restricted Sri Lanka to 216 for 7 in their 50 overs. No one expected their chase to be easy given the history under lights at this venue, yet the manner in which they capitulated was embarrassing. A superb opening spell from Nuwan Kulasekara that included two wickets in the fifth over and a devastating three-wicket over from Lasith Malinga left New Zealand in danger of being bowled out for less than their lowest total against Sri Lanka, the dismal 73 in 2007.

Jesse Ryder, after a Man-of-the-Series role in the Twenty20s, was the first to go when he was trapped lbw in the second over by Thilan Thushara, returning after missing the Twenty20s. Seventeen deliveries later, at 5 for 1, Martin Guptill was caught behind the wicket as he drove off the back foot. In the same over Ross Taylor was adjudged lbw for 2 by Asoka de Silva, though he had reason to feel aggrieved. The score was 7 for 3.

Malinga is hardly the man you want to see take the ball when your top order has been blown away, and you need 198 from 38 overs with seven wickets in hand. With his first three overs, consisting of deliveries on all sorts of lengths, Malinga kept the batsmen tied down. The fourth was something out of a shooting gallery. Brendon McCullum had run the risk of being arrested for loitering as he squeezed 14 from 51 balls, dropped on 13 by Kumar Sangakkara, before Malinga rattled his stumps. Two deliveries later Malinga held back his length and drew an edge off Jacob Oram's bat to Sangakkara who held on excruciatingly close to the ground. Oram stood his ground before replays proved he was a goner. With his next ball, Malinga hurled down a corker that went right through Nathan McCullum.

Nearly 11 years after making his one-day debut, Thilan Samaraweera chose a crucial time to score his maiden century, and did so with the temperament and class that confirmed he has turned a corner in his stop-start career. Samaraweera, whose highest ODI score coming into this match was 38 not out, teamed up with Angelo Mathews and from the depths of 69 for 5 in the 26th over, averted a meek surrender with a 127-run association from 134 balls.

The pair combined exceptional running between the wickets with some fireworks to help Sri Lanka reach a total that looked remote when they began. New Zealand will still back themselves to chase this under lights, but going into the break, the momentum had definitely swung away.

Then Samaraweera - a late inclusion in the squad - and Mathews got together for the brightest phase of the innings. They almost immediately began to build some momentum, unfazed by the nature of the track and energetically hunting for scoring possibilities. A boundaryless streak, lasting 143 deliveries, was soon snapped. Mathews played his most fluent innings in recent memory. He timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a straight drive off Vettori, and then placed the ball far more deftly than he had in the Twenty20s. Between overs 33 and 38 the pair added 35, running hard between the wickets and taking runs off Ian Butler, prompting Daniel Vettori to call back Tuffey. Samaraweera, who had reached his half-century off 78 balls, cleanly lofted and paddled boundaries to get the small crowd cheering.

Top Seeds elimate from US Open ….

2009-09-06T03:15:00.000-07:00

Top Seeds Bows out in New York
---------------------------------
It was hard day in the office for the Top seeds in US Open .

John Isner defeated Andy Roddick, 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6. It’s the biggest upset so far in the men’s draw. Roddick, the no. 5 seed and top American male, ends another Grand Slam with disappointment, albeit much earlier than most would’ve expected. Isner will advance to Round 4 of the 2009 US Open. Isner beat Roddick at his own game, tallying 38 aces and winning two tiebreaks to advance, marking the farthest he has ever lasted in a Grand Slam.

Sharapova bows out !

Another big comeback win for Melanie Oudin.Oudin, two days after rallying against fourth seed Elena Dementieva, cemented her status as the women’s darling of the tournament by eliminating three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a jubilant Arthur Ashe stadium. The 17-year-old from Georgia eventually took advantage of Sharapova’s serving woes Saturday to reach the fourth round of a major for the second straight time, no minor achievement. “Getting to play Maria was an unbelievable experience for me,” said Oudin, whose upper left leg was still heavily taped. “She’s such a great competitor, a great player. I just had a blast playing there today. I proved to myself that I can compete with these top girls. And if I believe in myself and my game, then I can beat them.”

Blake Winner to face Federer in a round of 16 !

A bad day for American men got worse Saturday night when James Blake, twice a quarterfinalist at the US Open, lost to No. 14 Tommy Robredo 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4. John Isner’s upset over No. 5 Andy Roddick – along with losses by No. 22 Sam Querrey and qualifier Jesse Witten – gave the USA a 1-4 record on the day. For Blake, the loss to Robredo ends a frustrating summer in which a broken toe limited him to just one match during the Olympus US Open Series. He hit two aces and made just 45 percent of his first serves Saturday, while Robredo countered with 10 aces and a first serve percentage of 63. While Robredo and Blake competed on Arthur Ashe Stadium . It was another Drama in Louis Armstrong Stadium

After Sharapova it was Dinara Safina , a another Russian bowed out of US Open today . She was defeated by an youngster Petra Kvitova in a three-set thriller . Women’s No. 1 seed Dinara Safina was upset on Louis Armstrong Stadium by unseeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5). Kvitova hit a backhand winner, service winner and forehand winner respectively to save three match points at 5-6 in the third set.

Fisichella switches over to Ferrari !

2009-09-04T04:14:00.000-07:00

Giancarlo Fisichella will drive for Ferrari for the rest of the 2009 Formula 1 season before taking a new role as their reserve driver in 2010.The Italian, 36, will replace Luca Badoer as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa for the final five races. "It has always been an ambition," said Fisichella, who has been released from his contract with Force India.

Force India are yet to name a replacement for Fisichella with reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi the favourite. Fisichella, who formerly raced for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Renault and Sauber, will begin his Ferrari career on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix on 13 September.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed the appointment saying: "We considered what could be his role inside the team in the near future, also taking this year's experiences into account. He will be the reserve driver in 2010. "We have chosen Fisichella because we can expect him to make a valuable contribution in this final part of the season. "He has shown, throughout his long career, that he is fast and competitive and we are therefore proud to be able to run an Italian driver in our home race."

Force India team principal Mallya had insisted on Tuesday that he would turn out his regular team for Monza. But after extensive discussions with Ferrari, Mallya has agreed to release Fisichella from his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season. "For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception," Mallya said. "No-one should stand in the way of this. "The agreement will secure Fisichella's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this. "We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari and would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one-and-a-half seasons and for our first world championship points." Fisichella's parting gift to Force India was second place at the Belgium Grand Prix, handing the team their first podium and points in their second season in F1. Even before his impressive performance at Spa-Francorchamps, the 36-year-old had been tipped to replace Badoer, who has struggled since his promotion from Ferrari reserve driver.

Badoer was drafted in to replace Massa, who suffered serious head injuries at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after legendary seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher was forced to shelve his comeback plans. While Massa is targeting a return in 2010, the Italian team ran out of patience with Badoer, who qualified last at both the European and Belgian GPs. While Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari's first win of 2009 in Spa, his team-mate trailed in last, nearly 48 seconds slower than the driver in front. "We wish to thank Luca Badoer for the team spirit he demonstrated in these circumstances," added Domenicali. "It is a shame he was unable to show his true worth in these last two races, tackled under conditions which anyone would have found difficult."

Fisichella, a veteran of more than 200 grands prix, will be expected to be much more competitive as Ferrari prepare to race in front of their enthusiastic home fans in Monza.
"I am grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity," said Fisichella, a three-time race winner. "For Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous and I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions."

Srilanka , NewZealand gearing up for the Tri-series with a T20

2009-09-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka losing their wickets at regular intervals after New Zealand gave them a target of 142 runs. Sanath Jayasuriya edged a delivery from Kyle Mills towards short fine leg and Shane Bond took an easy catch to send the Lankan packing.A good piece of fielding from Jesse Ryder then saw Mahela Jayawardene getting run out.Skipper Kumar Sangakkara lost his wicket to counterpart Daniel Vettori as McCullum took the catch.

Earlier, thanks to a half-century by Ross Taylor, New Zealand manage to put 141/8 on the board against Sri Lanka after winning the toss and electing to bat.New Zealand Brendon McCullum was the first one to depart after he was run out.Nuwan Kulasekara then accounted for Jesse Ryder, Malinga Bandara taking the catch at mid-off.Then Chamara Kapugedera took an easy catch at deep-midwicket off Bandara to send Martin Guptill back to the pavillion.
Kulasekara caught Jacob Oram off Ajantha Mendis to dismiss the fourth Kiwi wicket.Ross Taylor lost his wicket to Angelo Mathews. Kulasekara gain made no mistake in taking the catch.McGlashan was quick to follow as he got run out.Lasith Malinga claimed Kyle Mills and skipper Daniel Vettori in the same over.

The Teams:Sri Lanka: ST Jayasuriya, TM Dilshan, KC Sangakkara*†, DPMD Jayawardene, CK Kapugedera, AD Mathews, RGMJM Rupasinghe, KMDN Kulasekara, CM Bandara, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis.New Zealand: Bb McCullum, JD Ryder, MJ Guptill, LRPL Taylor, NT Broom, PD McGlashan†, JDP Oram, DL Vettori*, KD Mills, IG Butler, SE Bond.

Some facts on US Open !

2009-09-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

The US Open has developed from an exclusive entertainment event for high society to a championship for more than 600 male and female professional players who, as of 2008, compete for a total prize money of over US$19 million, with $1.5 million for each winner of the singles tournaments.

In the early years of the United States National Championship, only men competed, and only in singles competition.

The tournament was first held in August 1881 at the Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island and in that first year only clubs that were members of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association were permitted to enter.

From 1884 through 1911, the tournament used a challenge system whereby the defending champion automatically qualified for the next year's final.

In 1915, the tournament moved to the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills, New York. From 1921 through 1923, it was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and returned to Forest Hills in 1924.

Six years after the men's nationals were first held, the first official US Women's National Singles Championship was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1887, followed by the US Women's National Doubles Championship in 1889.

The first US Mixed Doubles Championship was held alongside the women's singles and doubles. The first US National Men's Doubles Championship was held in 1900.

Tournaments were held in the east and the west of the country to determine the best two teams, which competed in a play-off to see who would play the defending champions in the challenge round.

The open era began in 1968 when all five events were merged into the US Open, held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The 1968 combined tournament was open to professionals for the first time. That year, 96 men and 63 women entered the event, and prize money totaled $100,000.

In 1970, the US Open became the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to use a tiebreak at the end of a set.

The US Open was originally played on grass until Forest Hills switched to Har-Tru clay courts in 1975.

In 1978, the event moved from Forest Hills to its current home at Flushing Meadows, and the surface changed again, to the current DecoTurf. (Jimmy Connors is the only man to have won the US Open on more than one surface. He won it on all three surfaces. Female player Chris Evert won it on two surfaces.)

In 2006, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to implement instant replay reviews of calls, using the Hawk-Eye computer system. Available only on the stadium courts (Ashe and Armstrong), each player was allowed two challenges per set plus one additional challenge during a tiebreak but was not penalized with the loss of a challenge if it was upheld. The USTA announced that starting in 2008, each player will be given three challenges per set with an extra challenge if the set goes to a tiebreak.

Wenger not happy with United play !

2009-08-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has slammed Manchester United's methods of breaking up his side's play after they lost at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

Wenger has spoken out after the defeat, claiming Sir Alex Ferguson's tactics were nothing short of "anti-football" - and he believes that is worse than Eduardo's alleged "dive" against Celtic in midweek.

The Gunners' boss launched a thinly veiled attack on United midfielder Darren Fletcher, who he claims is in the team purely to make tackles and is the chief culprit.However, the match stats show that out of the seven players who committed the most fouls, five were from Arsenal. And as the Gunners had six players booked, they automatically receive a £25,000 fine from the Football Association.

"There are other points [than diving] that, for me, are more urgent - players who play only to make fouls and who are never punished; players who make repeated fouls and who get out of the game without a yellow card. That, for me, is more anti-football than a player who did what Eduardo did."

"I have seen a player who plays only on the pitch to make repeated fouls. Look at how many deliberate fouls some players make and get away with."I think that's a bigger problem [than diving] because it cuts the flow of the game. And people come and pay to see football. They do not come to see free-kicks. You should ask the referees [how they get away with it]."

Wenger also defended Eduardo over the claims of diving: "I think it is difficult with diving. Sometimes players dive to escape being hit. It's not always necessarily diving because you want to dive. Sometimes it's a way of getting out of the way."The borderline between being sensible, being shrewd or being a cheat is very slim so, in some cases, to assess which is which is very difficult.

"Uefa have made the case of Eduardo. If you watch the Super Cup on Friday then they will have to charge (Lionel) Messi for headbutting or they will lose credibility. They have opened something there that over the weekend I'll find you 50 situations where they can intervene, or if they don't Eduardo will be singled out for being a wrong victim. I do not want Messi to be punished but if they go for Eduardo then people will demand it. Pedro, also of Barcelona, dived as well [in the Super Cup] and so I don't think there's any logic to Eduardo's case. We have clear proof that from behind he was touched on his right leg.

"There is no common sense. I believe it was a more emotional decision really because if Uefa had said before the season starts, 'Listen, let's get together and no matter what happens in Uefa games, if we suspect someone of diving he will be punished' then you could say, OK, we've always been told they will do that. But suddenly, out from nowhere because it was an emotional situation in Scotland, we have this situation and have to live with that."

And Wenger was also quick to support the English stance on diving: "I think it's a quality in this country. In some countries it is a quality to dive. I'm still more proud to be part of England where they fight against that."

Real to sell Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich !!

2009-08-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid have agreed to sell former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich for a reported £22m.

Robben will have a medical on Friday and Bayern chief Uli Hoeness hopes the Dutchman will be able to play against champions VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.

The 25-year-old had been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu since the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, with Tottenham reportedly interested.

Hoeness said: "He will make our team even more attractive."

Robben earned a reputation at both Chelsea and Real as an exciting playmaker but one who was easily injured, and he only played 50 matches in two seasons in Spain. He has 43 caps for the Netherlands.

Hoeness, Bayern's general manager, added: "He's one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe. He's always been one of the players we wanted.

"Our intention is to have Robben play on the right and Franck Ribery on the left. If it all goes perfectly and without any hitches, it would be theoretically possible for him to play on Saturday."

Arsenal qualify for Champions League !

2009-08-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

Eduardo's controversial penalty helped Arsenal secure another shot at the £30m jackpot of the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 win on the night - 5-1 on aggregate - over Celtic at Emirates Stadium.

The cost of failure, both financial and in sporting terms, would have been immeasurable on the Gunners, who have consistently competed among the elite clubs of European football for more than a decade.

However, manager Arsene Wenger knows maintaining such a level will prove the biggest challenge ahead this season for his young Arsenal side, which tonight coped admirably without injured captain Cesc Fabregas and took the lead in the first half when Croatia striker Eduardo converted from the spot after he had gone down somewhat lightly under a sliding challenge by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc.

Emmanuel Eboue made sure there would be no comeback for Tony Mowbray's side with a neat finish after 53 minutes before substitute Andrey Arshavin slotted in a third to complete a 5-1 aggregate win.

Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati volleyed home a superb consolation goal in stoppage time.

For now, at least, the likes of Manchester City must sit and watch as Arsenal will take their place in the pot for Thursday`s group stage draw in the millionaire's playground of Monaco, with expectations once again set high the Gunners can go one better than the semi-final appearance last season.

Celtic, meanwhile, may be giants in Scottish football, but dropping into the Europa League will prove little consolation for the missed revenue and big-match experience.

Arsenal had the luxury of a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Glasgow, and so Wenger decided to start with Robin van Persie and Arshavin on the bench.

However, the front two of Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner still provided plenty of movement, combining to set up a chance for the Brazil-born Croat after nine minutes.

Eduardo was unable to stab the ball home at the far post after Boruc had palmed away Bendtner's close-range flick.

Celtic boss Tony Mowbray named an unchanged XI from the side which defeated St Johnstone 5-2 last time out, and knew his men would have to take the game to Arsenal if they were to stand any chance of progress.

The Bhoys looked to make the most of the counter-attack, but too often delivery was poor following good build-up.

The much-maligned Eboue had been pressed into a more advanced midfield role tonight, and almost opened the scoring with a shot on the turn from the edge of the Celtic area.

After 29 minutes, Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Eduardo went down following what looked minimal contact at best by Boruc after he skipped into the left side of the box.

It was, though, enough to convince Spanish referee Manuel Gonzalez, which was all that mattered - and Eduardo was certainly not worried by chants of "cheat'' from the massed ranks of green behind the goal.

The Croatia striker, set to face England in next month's crucial World Cup qualifier at Wembley, stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way - and all but kill off the tie.

Celtic were clearly aggrieved, and for a spell lost composure.

It was not the Scots' lucky night, as Scott McDonald saw his far post tap-in ruled out by an offside flag with four minutes left of the first half.

In stoppage time, Boruc was at full stretch to push Eduardo's curling 20-yard effort around the post.

The Croatian - who on another night could easily have netted a hat-trick by now - was on the end of a quick break and some neat footwork found himself space on the edge of the area, only to scuff a shot wide.

After 53 minutes, Eboue showed Eduardo how it was done, drilling a low shot past Boruc following more neat build-up from a clever flick by Bendtner and Abou Diaby's centre.

Arshavin was introduced for the final 20 minutes, along with teenager Jack Wilshere, the latest off the production line at London Colney.

The Russian netted his first Champions League goal for Arsenal after a neat turn and finish after collecting Wilshere's pass after 74 minutes.

Donati salvaged some wounded pride in stoppage time with a stunning volley in off the post from Andreas Hinkel's right-wing cross.

Next up for Arsenal is the small matter of a trip to Manchester United. There Wenger's youngsters will face another stern test of character - which so far this season have all been answered.

Villa rocks sorry Liverpool !

2009-08-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

Liverpool slumped to their second Premier League defeat in nine days as they lost 3-1 to Aston Villa to put their title credentials firmly on the line.

Villa produced a defiant, organised display and deserved their first win at Anfield since 2001.

The result also ended Liverpool's 31-match unbeaten home league record stretching back to December 2007, when Manchester United were the last winners at Anfield.

But the spotlight will now be on Liverpool, who only lost twice in the league last season and still did not win the title.

The margin for error is now very fine. You rarely win the crown by losing more than five games in a season, and Liverpool's hopes could already have suffered a mortal blow.

A Lucas own goal and a Curtis Davies header saw Villa 2-0 up at the break. Fernando Torres pulled one back but an Ashley Young penalty settled the points.

Martin Skrtel returned to Liverpool's defence in place of teenager Daniel Ayala, having recovered sufficiently from a jaw injury to be risked.

This was the only change in the Liverpool side from the one that beat Stoke at home last week, with new Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos not included in the squad.

Villa included Curtis Davies, who had recovered from a shoulder injury. Brad Friedel, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Stiliyan Petrov all returned to the side after being rested in the Europa League defeat away to Rapid Vienna last week.

Liverpool produced a vibrant start, but found themselves frustrated by the quick-tackling, quick-thinking Villa midfield.

The hosts could have been ahead in the first minute when Yossi Benayoun's back-header from Torres' chip into the area, beat Friedel but dropped inches wide.

A taste of what was to follow came from Villa's first chance came when Davies met a Nicky Shorey cross with a strong header, but it went straight at Jose Reina.

Torres and Steven Gerrard both saw shots blocked in the six-yard box, before Young was booked after 12 minutes for halting a Dirk Kuyt run.

Then Gerrard struck a first-timer from 20-yards just over from Kuyt's touched pass.

But Liverpool's problems were beginning to mount in a midfield that they were unable to dominate.

Javier Mascherano and Lucas were both fortunate not to be cautioned for fouls on Petrov and Agbonlahor in quick succession.

Torres was also coming in for some rough treatment from Carlos Cuellar, two tackles from behind going unpunished by referee Martin Atkinson.

By now Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell were successfully breaking up Gerrard's flow in midfield, and Villa were soon to take the lead.

It came after 33 minutes when Lucas gave away a needless free-kick in midfield. Young swung the set-piece towards the near post, and it was the unfortunate Lucas who rose to head the ball past Reina for an own-goal.

Liverpool's play was sloppy and far too much possession was being conceded with ill-directed passes.

Further calamity came after Reina was booked in first half injury time for kicking the ball away in annoyance when referee Atkinson awarded a disputed corner, Sidwell's shot looking to have clipped a defender.

And from that disputed corner Villa found themselves two up. Shorey's corner swung into the near post and was headed home by Davies.

The hosts have staged some amazing comebacks in this stadium over the years, and they were going to need another massive performance to salvage anything from this situation.

Villa defended with organisation and desire. Roe-Coker was booked for kicking the ball away, and Friedel produced a fine save from a Kuyt header.

Kuyt then saw another header hit a post from a Gerrard corner from the left.

But Villa were still showing great resilience, and breaking quickly to cause Liverpool all sorts of problems at the back, Reo-Coker being only inches away from a third with one sliding attempt.

Liverpool sent on Andriy Voronin for Lucas after 66 minutes, with Friedel producing another fine stop from a Gerrard drive soon after.

But after 72 minutes Liverpool finally gave themselves some hope when Emiliano Insua got down the left and rolled the ball into the six-yard box for Torres to score.

Two minutes later Liverpool were back in despair and Villa celebrating. Shorey's pass into the path of Reo-Coker saw the midfielder surge into the box only to be felled by Gerrard's desperate tackle.

It was a clear penalty and Young stepped up to restore Villa's two-goal lead.

Liverpool's frustration was obvious. Torres was booked for dissent when Young went down injured and asked for treatment. He was eventually replaced by Heskey.

Ryan Babel came on for Benayoun, Liverpool still coming forward. Friedel again made a fine save from a Torres flick, before Kuyt sent a close range effort wide of the far post.

The outstanding Friedel, against his former club, saved from Torres and Glen Johnson, with Skrtel booked in the dying minutes, but Villa held on for a famous victory.

Its KPL time now for Cricket Lovers !

2009-08-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

We are back with Cricket for future youngsters !!!!!

Mangalore never had it so good in Cricket so far. The city now can bask in the glory of owning a team of its own under Mangalore United title which is emblazoned on the team colours that has been distributed to three teams that were formed out of a pool of 45 players chosen from the practice matches held so far.

It is settled now, dashing all rounder and former Ranji player Bharat Chipli will lead the Mangalore team in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), according to the owner of the Mangalore team Mr. Mohideen Bawa here today.

Addressing a press conference here today Mr. Bawa said Mr. Chipli in his cricketing career has made 847 runs in 15 first class matches he has played. He had been in the Royal Challengers team of Karnataka which played in the Indian Premier League in three different matches that the state team played.

From now on it is the final leg of selection when the final 14 will be selected under the watchful eyes of the owner of the team Mr.Mohideen Bawa and Santhosh Suvarna the co owner.

Selection Process for Mangalore United :

All the matches will be held in Surathkal NITK grounds. The first match was inaugurated by Mr. Bawa when he faced a out swinger from Cricket commentator Mr. Charu Sharma. Mr. Bawa who has a number of cricketing years on his back could loft it to a boundary, but will his team be able to do the same when they get into the KPL league?

Charu Sharma is quite confident and finds the new crop of cricketers quite promising and could turn a game to their advantage if given a chance he told Mr. Bawa.

The Matches will be held from today to 24th of August according to Mr. Santhosh Suvarna. A three day reality show and a road show are also on the cards. It is the first time in the history of Mangalore that a whole range of cricketing extravaganza has been organized in such a grand manner.

Mr. Bawa who is the owner of the Fiza Group and Mr. Suvarna is the owner of the Global associates have together put in Rs. 4.23 crores into this venture. They get six seeded players from the KSCA and 6 others from bidding, two players could be chosen from Mangalore.

It is also the first time that a cricketing reality show has been organized.

Some more news from Other owners to add up :

Karnataka Ranji cricket captain and one-day discard Robin Uthappa today fetched highest bid of Rs 3.25 lakh in the auction held for State-level players for the Karnataka Premier League(KPL) T20 launched by the Karnataka State Cricket Association(KSCA) on the lines of successful Indian Premier League (IPL).

The opening tournament would be held from September 9 to 23 in Bangalore and Mysore. Eight teams had been formed to play in a league, launched by KSCA, for which, bids had been called to buy the teams last week.

While Uthappa and C B Karthik were bidded by Bangalore Brigaders, owned by Brigade Group Real Easters, A V Raghavendra Rao was purchased by Hubli-Dharwad Diamonds. However, Ranji players Rao and Karthik ended up with the lowerst bid of Rs 20,000.

As many as 48 Karnataka players went under the hammer for bidding by the eight franchisees of the tournament. KSCA had kept an upper limit of Rs seven lakh for six chosen players by each franchisee. Stuart Binny, a rebel player, who had played in Indian Cricket League(ICL), was picked by Gulbarga team (Bijapur Bulls) for Rs 3.2 lakh and B Akhil was taken on board by Bangalore Rural for Rs three lakh. Former test player Sunil Joshi pocketed Rs 2.05 lakh, thanks to Hubli-Dharwad team (Shamanur Davangere Diamonds).

Former India cricketer David Johnson went for a mere Rs 35,000 and would now play for Belgaum team (Belagavi Panthers). KSCA received a jolt when BCCI denied permission for other State players participating in the KPL.

Eight teams would vie for the top honours in the tournament which will be held from September 9 to 23. The tournament would be played in Bangalore and Mysore. Earlier in the month, closed bids were invited by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the teams.

The bidding was held in the backdrop of Board for Control of Cricket of India (BCCI) declining permission to bid for players from other states. KSCA had proposed to offer four players from other States for bidding and inclusion in each of the eight teams.

F1 fans gear up for European Grand prix !

2009-08-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

The 11th round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship sees yet more driver changes. Of course, the original plan was to have Michael Schumacher making his return to Formula One for Ferrari amid much fanfare, but the multiple champion’s neck injury ruled him out.

Instead, Luca Badoer returns to the category for the first time in almost 10 years, intent on finishing the race and scoring the first world championship points of his F1 career. At the same time, GP2 star Romain Grosjean takes over from Nelson Piquet at Renault, who will be racing after the suspension handed down to them by the stewards in Hungary was overturned by the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris on Monday.

Both teams ran well here last year, and have high hopes now, but Red Bull and McLaren both fancy their chances and Brawn are desperate for Jenson Button to increase his points’ lead which has been seriously eroded in the past three events.

“The track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge,” Button says. “It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers means you have to maintain your concentration. There's been a lot of work going on at the factory following our shutdown and with the cars at the front being so close at the moment, it will be an interesting weekend."

It remains to be seen whether Brawn have got to the bottom of their tyre temperature issues, and the signs are that Valencia won’t be as warm as Hungary, where they struggled.

“It’s great to be getting back to business after the four-week break,” Hungarian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton says. “I’m still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I’m hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car. It’s a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It’s quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It’s also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year - but, with our KERS, Mercedes-Benz has proved that anything can happen and I’m once again hoping that it will provide the difference in the race.”

The 5.419-kilometre (3.367-mile) street course uses roads that run through the recently refurbished Juan Carlos I Marina, formerly the base for the 32nd America's Cup in 2007. It features 25 corners and a minimum width of 14 metres all the way around the lap, and incorporates sufficient run-off for the expected top speeds of more than 300 km/h (186 mph). Even though it’s a street track, drivers are on the throttle 68 percent of the time, and with relatively high levels of downforce and high brake wear teams must be canny with their set-ups.

The race will mark the 150th race win for Bridgestone’s F1 tyres. “This is an interesting track,” says Hirohide Hamashima, their director of motorsport tyre development. “It has the high-speed configuration of a permanent circuit, however the track surface gives away that this is only a temporary facility. There are numerous turns, yet there are also many high speed sections and we see speeds of around 300 km/h five times during the course of a lap. There are low-speed corners too, so some heavy braking does take place. On the slippery surface that accompanies a street course it is difficult to find grip off line.

“Last year we saw a lot of circuit surface evolution over the weekend and it was very much a learning process for everyone who attended the race. We also found last year that the infamous gap between the bridge surface and the road surface presented no difficulties for our Formula One tyres. Last year our visit to Valencia was a momentous one as it was here that we celebrated our 200th Grand Prix participation since our entry in 1997.”

As in Hungary, Bridgestone will again bring their soft and super soft compounds.

Lyon thrashes Anderlecht in Champions League show down !

2009-08-19T22:52:00.001-07:00

Lyon blitzed Anderlecht 5-1 with four first-half goals at the Stade Gerland to virtually book their spot in the Champions League group stages.

Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring for Les Gones with a sublime free-kick before summer signings Lisandro Lopez, Michel Bastos and Bafetimbi Gomis also found the target before the break.

Matias Suarez reduced Anderlecht's deficit just before the hour mark but Gomis notched his second of the evening soon after to put the French side within touching distance of qualification for the Champions League's main draw for the 10th successive year.

Anderlecht have begun their new domestic campaign superbly, winning their opening three games, but their start tonight was disastrous.

Gomis headed just wide from Aly Cissokho's whipped cross from the left early on but Lyon's fans were soon cheering when playmaker Pjanic gave the hosts the lead, curling home a ninth-minute free-kick exquisitely from 25 yards.

Anderlecht goalkeeper Silvio Proto stayed rooted to the spot as Pjanic's effort flew past him and he will have wished he had remained on his line six minutes later, when he rushed out of his goal in an attempt to stop the inrushing Lopez.

Proto was adjudged to have clipped the legs of the Argentina striker, who got up, dusted himself down and dispatched the resulting penalty with some aplomb.

Left winger Bastos made it three with a wonderful swerving strike from 25 yards, cutting in from the right and giving the beleaguered Proto no chance with a left-footed piledriver.

And worse was to come for Anderlecht when Gomis sidefooted in from 12 yards after more good work by strike partner Lopez down the left.

The Belgians were blown away in that first half but they came out fighting after the break, Jonathan Legear off target from close range before Tom De Sutter brought a smart save from Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 53rd minute.

The visitors deservedly pulled one back when Suarez beat Mathieu Bodmer to De Sutter's flick, rounded Lloris and slotted home his finish.

But Gomis restored Lyon's four-goal cushion after 62 minutes, the former St Etienne striker running onto Bastos' through-ball, skirting around Proto and firing home from the angle.

Substitute Cesar Delgado wasted four late chances to extend Les Gones' lead even further, the Argentinian hitting the bar with one of them.

Champions League showdown – Gunners beat Celtic at home !

2009-08-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

A deflection and an own goal helped Arsenal overcome Celtic in Glasgow to leave the Gunners with one foot in the Champions League group stages.

Arsenal took the lead two minutes before the break when William Gallas inadvertently diverted a Cesc Fabregas free-kick past Artur Boruc, and Gary Caldwell put through his own net in the 71st minute.

Only Barcelona and Dinamo Moscow, in the previous round, had beaten Celtic in the previous 36 European matches at Parkhead.

But Arsene Wenger's side enjoyed a comfortable second half to leave them in a commanding position ahead of next week's play-off second leg.

Barcelona have also lost at Celtic Park during that run, along with the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Manchester United, but Celtic failed to put their latest visitors under serious pressure.

Although both sides had enjoyed comfortable away wins in their opening league wins on Saturday, Celtic manager Tony Mowbray opted for radical alterations to his frontline while Arsenal were unchanged following their 6-1 win at Everton.

Mowbray dropped Scott McDonald and Marc-Antoine Fortune and played Aiden McGeady up front alongside Georgios Samaras, who scored the stoppage-time winner against Dinamo Moscow in Russia in the previous round.

Scott Brown came into right midfield while Caldwell returned after missing Saturday's 3-1 victory at Aberdeen through suspension.

Arsenal looked more comfortable in possession from the start, finding space in front of Celtic's back four.

Andrey Arshavin was causing problems when he drifted in from his position on the left of Arsenal's three-man attack, and Fabregas and Denilson were always looking to break forward from midfield.

Arsenal were playing the ball through Celtic and it needed a last-ditch block by Caldwell on Robin van Persie to stop the Gunners profiting from one such move, with the offside flag raised before Arshavin fired home the rebound.

However, Celtic had a good chance to hurt Arsenal on the counter-attack when Shaun Maloney released McGeady down the left after Van Persie's free-kick was cleared.

The Republic of Ireland international rode one challenge and lofted the ball towards Brown but Thomas Vermaelen did enough to put the midfielder off.

Celtic tightened up in central midfield, although a slip by Massimo Donati allowed Arshavin the chance to run at the Celtic back four, with Boruc getting down comfortably to save his deflected effort.

Full-back Andreas Hinkel then created Celtic's best chance of the half when he burst into the box and cut the ball back for Maloney.

The Arsenal defence closed him down but the ball fell for Brown, whose low shot was well saved by Manuel Almunia.

Celtic looked like they would comfortably survive until half-time but luck was against them after Caldwell was penalised for a foul on Fabregas 30 yards out.

The free-kick was rolled short to the Spaniard, whose 30-yard drive bounced off the back of Gallas and spun into the opposite corner to where Boruc was heading.

The game almost drifted beyond Celtic within a minute of the restart after Landry N'Guemo miscontrolled a simple take in the centre circle.

Arshavin carried the ball to the edge of the penalty box before slipping the ball outside to Van Persie but the Dutchman shot past the far post.

Denilson soon curled just wide from 20 yards following another Arshavin run while Fabregas dragged a left-foot shot just wide from a similar distance after Gallas had easily won a 50-50 challenge with Donati.

McGeady had dropped deeper after the interval and Mowbray made a double switch in the 56th minute with McDonald and Fortune replacing Donati and Samaras.

Celtic struggled to create chances but Gallas made another crucial interception when he cut out Fortune's low cross as McDonald waited at the far post.

Abou Diaby replaced Arshavin and immediately played a key role in Arsenal's second goal.

The substitute burst forward and set up Gael Clichy for a low cross that was turned home by the outstretched boot of Caldwell.

Only McGeady looked capable of creating anything for Celtic and most of the final 20 minutes was played out in the middle third.

Charles Coventry's big day was ruined by Tamim Iqbal's century but equals Saeed Anwar’s 12 year old mark

2009-08-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Charles Coventry made the joint highest individual score in an ODI but his effort was outweighed by a sparkling, cool-headed century from Tamim Iqbal, who broke the record for the most runs in an innings by a Bangladesh batsman. Coventry's blockbuster innings pushed Zimbabwe beyond 300, far more than Bangladesh have chased before, but the visitors were rarely troubled as they hunted down the target to take their third consecutive series.

Two things which stood out in Tamim's innings were the calmness he displayed, even when the required-rate started to soar, and the clean straight hitting - each of his six sixes were in the arc between long-on and long-off.

Bangladesh needed a solid opening stand after Coventry inspired Zimbabwe to 312, and Junaid Siddique and Tamim provided them that. Both openers were particularly harsh on Elton Chigumbura, who pitched the ball too short right through his opening spell. Junaid was the aggressor, hammering his way to a 27-ball 38 before, as has so often been the case, he threw away the start with a loose shot.

Junaid's dismissal, and the introduction of Zimbabwe's spinners, sucked the momentum out of the chase. Mohammad Ashraful took his time to settle, and Tamim cut out the big hits for a while, which made the asking-rate make a steady slide upwards.

Tamim was generally content to knock the ball around, but had short bursts when he hit out to keep Bangladesh in touch. One such was in the 22nd over; Malcolm Waller was blasted over long-on and long-off off consecutive deliveries, followed by a powerful cut for four. He also come down the track and cracked Price over long-on to push Bangladesh's run-rate up to six. There was a similar volley of brutal hitting in the 36th over, Hamilton Mazakadza being taken for a couple of big sixes.

Raqibul Hasan was also a calming influence, nudging the ball around for comfortable singles to keep the strike rotating. He added 119 with Tamim at nearly a run-a-ball before falling in the 37th over. Soon after, Chigumbura dropped a dolly at long-on, Tamim getting a reprieve on 118. Two new batsman and Zimbabwe could have applied more pressure. However, Bangladesh's best batsman, Shakib Al Hasan, made a 12-ball 19 and Tamim also opened out to slam the door shut on Zimbabwe. By the time Tamim was dismissed the target was only 34 away, which Bangladesh knocked off with 13 deliveries to spare.

It was the flattest of tracks, and Zimbabwe could have piled on even more than 312 had Coventry got a little more support. It was a superbly paced innings from him; Coventry provided the impetus after the early dismissal of Mark Vermeulen, then tempered his aggression when wickets tumbled around him in the middle overs, before finishing off with an awesome display of power hitting. What made it even more astonishing was that the next highest score in the innings was 37, 157 less than Coventry. It was also his first ODI century, and he had never before crossed 106 in any form of senior cricket.

He stomped on the gas soon after reaching his hundred in the 38th over, particularly targeting the swathe from long-on to midwicket, where he slammed six of his seven sixes. Still, at the end of the 42nd over he was on 129, and the world record didn't seem in his sights. By the end of the 47th he was on 180, and all the interest was around whether he would make an ODI double-century, a feat not achieved in 2872 previous one-dayers.

He only managed three singles in the 48th, but a massive six over long-on took him 191 with the final over still to come. A drive to cover on the first ball took him off strike, and he wasn't back facing the bowling till the final delivery; Tawanda Mupariwa was dismissed off the second and Prosper Utseya faced the next three. Two were needed to equal Saeed Anwar's 12-year-old mark, and a tired punch straight past the bowler gave Coventry a share of the record. His final 91 had come off 43 deliveries.

Bangladesh would have been facing a far smaller target had Syed Rasel held on to a simple catch at deep square leg when Coventry was only 13. Coventry was then dropped on 137 in the 44th over, with Mahmudullah the culprit at square leg. Coventry celebrated by plundering 16 each off the next two overs, the crowds behind midwicket kept busy by the balls hammered by Coventry.

In the end, his effort didn't prove to be enough, as Tamim, a placid pitch and shoddy Zimbabwean bowling and fielding combined to ruin Coventry's day. A month ago, the most Bangladesh had chased successfully was 250, a mark they have improved on twice since, a sign of the progress they have made.

EPL kicks off -- Alberto Aquilani waits for EPL debut !

2009-08-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has spoken of his pride at wearing the same colours as Steven Gerrard.

Aquilani was presented to the media today after arriving from Roma for a fee reported to be about £15million.

He was keen to point out he is a long-term admirer of Gerrard's qualities.

Aquilani said: "Even before coming to Liverpool, I thought Steven Gerrard was the strongest midfielder in the world.

"I will be very proud to play alongside him and hope I can learn from his game.

"I am looking forward to playing in the same team with players of that kind.

"Liverpool have had good players for a number of years and I have always liked their system of play."

Aquilani and Gerrard have something in common apart from being midfielders - they are both injured.

Gerrard remains doubtful for the match against Tottenham on Sunday with a groin injury, which forced him to miss England's 2-2 draw against Holland.

Manager Rafael Benitez is closely monitoring his talisman's progress and said: "I am not sure about Steven. I was really pleased he was pulled out of the squad as a precaution.

"You could see there were six substitutions in the game, so Fabio Capello was doing great for the players.

"As our game is on the Sunday, then maybe Steven will have a chance. If it was on Saturday it would be more difficult."

Aquilani arrived at Anfield with an ankle injury, which Benitez knew about. It means he will not make his debut for several weeks.

However the Italian believes Liverpool have already got to the root of the problem and come up with a long-term solution.

He said: "At Roma my worries were linked with injury. But when I came to Liverpool, the doctor highlighted exactly the problem I have.

"We now have a very good picture and I hope it will be solved so that I will not be absent again.

"It is a shame I cannot play straight away but it is important to get better, then play well. I am focusing on that."

Despite his setback, Aquilani is not concerned about the physical aspect of England's top flight.

He said: "I cannot wait to be involved as it is a different type of league to the one in Italy and a difficult level to play in. I am very excited about what lies ahead.

"This is a very important occasion for me as I am joining a big club with a rich history.

"While this is one of the best leagues in the world, Liverpool have to be one of the main candidates for winning the title."

Aquilani has replaced Xabi Alonso at Anfield and added: "He was very important player at this club.

"But I am not his natural substitute as I do not have the same characteristics as him.

"I have different style in that I like to move around and not stay in the same place."

Dubai Cricket Stadium - Emirates Road

2009-04-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

DUBAI: The impressive Dubai Cricket Stadium is ready to produce some exhilarating cricket from April 22 when spirited Pakistan takes on formidable Australia in a five-match One-day International series here.

For the first time, Dubai has a world class cricket stadium which may soon become the hub of world cricket due to its strategic location, presence of International Cricket Council (ICC) headquarters and its Global Cricket Academy at the Dubai Sports City.

Under the guidance of Tony Hemming, a renowned Australian curator, the organisers have transformed the desert into a splendid green oasis. Turf wickets in the middle were created after intense research and analysis at this 25,000-capacity, state-of-the-art stadium which was built using world’s best equipment to ensure it stands tall among the best cricket stadiums in the world.

‘The soil for the pitches is being brought from Nandipur in Pakistan. It is the same as used in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi cricket stadiums. The clay content is 66% for which we conducted research in Australian laboratories, comparing it with the Australian soil before making this wicket,’ discloses Hemming.

'Tifway 419’ Bermuda grass will be on top with 200 millimetres of clay. There will be seven pitches at the centre, four with slope towards the west side while three slope towards east. This slope will be conducive to little bit of movement of the ball,’ he explains. The grass for the pitch is imported from Ernie Els Golf Course in the United States.

‘The grass is very adaptable. We had enough time to establish a root system that is able to hold the clay together. We had cracking patterns appear in the pitch, the way we wanted it to.’ 'Though we have created a wicket suitable for the ODIs, it can be transformed into a durable Test wicket in the future. Ex-Pakistan Test star Mudassar Nazar who had look at pitch feels it has look of a Test wicket than a ODI,’ says Hemming.

Since Pakistan-Australia ODI series is a day-night affair, to avoid too much of dew Hemming said the outfield will be sprayed with a chemical-specific product a week before the games.

Shanghai Grand Prix here on sportsline !

2009-04-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

Malaysian Grand Prix on Sportsline ! Brawn GP stun Formula 1 world

2009-04-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

Button takes pole in Malaysia

Jenson Button set a searing pace once again for Brawn GP as he secured pole position for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The British driver clocked a time of one minute 35.181 seconds to secure the fifth pole position of his career and his second in as many weeks.

Jarno Trulli will line up alongside Button on the front row of the grid after finishing second with a lap of 1min 35.273sec in the closing seconds.

Live race ( Check local Timings )

Formula 1 Live on Sportsline !!

2009-03-28T22:06:00.001-07:00

New Zealand Series Live on Sportsline !!

2009-01-29T00:48:00.001-08:00

Live India Vs New Zealand check local listings .

Steyn puts South Africans in Command in the Boxing Day test !!

2008-12-29T06:26:00.000-08:00

South Africa spearhead Dale Steyn has backed his team to create its own slice of history at the MCG on Tuesday as it pushes for a remarkable series victory against Australia.

Chasing 183 to win, South Africa were 30 for no loss with skipper Graeme Smith on 25 and Neil McKenzie three at the close of play after Steyn's fiver bowled out Australia for 247 in the second innings , despite a valiant skipper's knock of 99 by Ricky Ponting.

Australia, trailing 0-1 in the series, made 394 in the first innings and South Africa replied with 459 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Australia have not lost a series in their backyard since West Indies toppled them in 1992-93, and it seems that South Africa are now well set to dethrone the world champions.

Resuming their second innings at the overnight four for no loss, Australia lost their out-of-form opener Matthew Hayden (23) who failed yet again, making him a highly doubtful starter for the third Test in Sydney.

Hayden started in an attacking mode, scoring 23 off 28 balls. But just when he looked to be feeling comfortable, he drove Steyn to be caught by Jean Paul Duminy at short cover.

And it was Ponting's lone hand, apart from Mitchell Johnson's unbeaten 43, that extended the lead to 182.

While Steyn led the demolition charge, it was Ponting who tried to hold things together. He spent 40 minutes in the 90s before chipping a catch to Smith at cover off Morne Morkel.

After allowing South Africa to make a sensational comeback on the third day, Australia were off to a shocking start as the first three batsmen were back in the pavilion before erasing the 65-run deficit.

Steyn removed Hayden and Simon Katich (15) in two overs and then returned to dismiss Michael Clarke (29) and Andrew Symonds in six balls to thwart Australia's recovery. Smith used Steyn in short spells and every time the fast bowler returned he troubled the batsmen with his raw pace and swing.

While Ponting played a flawless innings, his team-mates paid the price for playing rash shots on a firm pitch. Ponting was unfortunate to miss becoming the only batsman to score centuries in each innings of a Test four times. He holds the record with India's former opener Sunil Gavaskar.

He played slowly in the first session and cracked seven fours in the second to carry his fine form from his 101 on the opening day. In the post-tea session, the Australian captain was more subdued and turned to occupy the crease to slowly increase the lead.

South Africa carefully negotiated the six overs before stumps comfortably to reduce the target by 30 and the Proteas now need 153 runs to end Australia's dominance at home.

ODI series Live here on Sporstline !

2008-11-17T01:14:00.000-08:00

Live India Vs England check local listings .

Live EPL Soccer & Other Soccer Action

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Live Cricket Action on Sportsline !!

2008-10-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Live Streaming T20 Indian Cricket League ICL 2008.

ICL Matches

Live India Vs Australia check local listings .

Live EPL Soccer & Other Soccer Action

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Live Streaming of ICL matches !!

2008-10-17T01:05:00.003-07:00

Live Streaming T20 Indian Cricket League ICL 2008.

ICL Matches

Live India Vs Australia check local listings .

Live Streaming !

2008-10-12T03:01:00.000-07:00

Live Streaming T20 Indian Cricket League ICL 2008.

ICL Matches

Live India Vs Australia check local listings .

Ponting dismissed Cheaply in the second innings ..

2008-10-12T01:43:00.000-07:00

Ishant Sharma and VVS Laxman combined to take the prize wicket of Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, leaving the visitors at 2 for 49 on day four of the first Test in Bangalore.

Ponting managed just 17 runs, a stark contrast to his form-finding 123 in the first innings, before being caught by Laxman at short mid wicket off a fuller delivery from Sharma (1 for 11).

Michael Hussey, who punished the home side's bowling attack in the first innings with a commanding 146, joined Simon Katich (9) at the crease as Australia fought to increase its lead.

For up-to-date scores, check out the Live Scoreboard here.

Matthew Hayden, who failed to score in the first innings, attempted to work a Zaheer Khan delivery that swung late across his pads and was trapped in front with Australia at 1 for 21 and holding a 91-run lead.

Harbhajan Singh, brought into the attack in the fourth over before lunch, beat the bat on several occasions and repeatedly rapped Hayden on the pads but was constantly denied.

The Bangalore pitch was showing serious signs of wear before the start of play, making for some unpredictable bounce and movement off the deck.

Indian innings

Bowlers Shane Watson and Michael Clarke made short work of the Indian tail-enders before lunch.

Khan picked up where he left off at stumps on day three, working his way towards his second Test half-century, but lost batting partner Anil Kumble (5) lbw to Watson an hour into the session.

Ishant Sharma joined Khan (57 not out) at the crease, but the pair could only narrow Australia's lead to 70 before Clarke (2 for 38) dislodged Sharma's bails when the lanky bowler was on 6.

The Bangalore pitch was showing serious signs of wear before the start of play, making for some unpredictable bounce and movement off the deck.

Khan and Kumble resumed the Indian innings at 8 for 313, building on a momentum-changing 80-run partnership between the paceman and Harbhajan late on day three.

Harbhajan was dismissed for 54 not long before the umpires called stumps due to bad light, and Zaheer returned to the sheds unbeaten on 35.

Paceman Mitchell Johnson was the best of the Australian bowling attack on day three.

Yuvraj hits 172 as India win warm up !!

2008-08-16T03:14:00.000-07:00

Colombo: Yuvraj Singh hit an explosive 172 as India warmed up for the five match ODI series, thrashing Sri Lanka Invitation XI by 92 runs at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium here on Friday.

India scored a mammoth 342 for five in 50 overs before restricting the hosts to 250 for six in 50 overs.

Yuvraj smashed the ball all over the park in his 121-ball innings and reached his hundred with a glance to fine leg for four. He then unleashed an array of big shots and the Sri Lanka Invitation attack had no answers. Eight boundaries and 13 sixes flowed from Yuvraj's blade. Suresh Raina contributed 45 runs.

Yuvraj's 100 came in 95 balls, but his next 50 runs came in only 16 balls and 13 minutes. He took off-spinner Jehan Mubarak to the cleaners, hitting four successive sixes in the 44th over and then smashed three successive sixes off left-armer Chanaka Welagedara.

Yuvraj rode on his luck twice, courtesy Dilhara Fernando. He first put him down at long-off to let the ball sail pass the ropes when he was on 129. He then put down a skier off his own bowling.

Fernando, coming back from injury, had a disastrous day as he went wicketless and conceded 75 runs in his ten overs which included ten wides and four no balls.

Yuvraj was involved in a 99-run stand for the fifth wicket with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (20 not out). India were 235 for four in 43rd over, but what followed then was absolutely mayhem as the duo smacked 99 in 40 balls in just 32 minutes.

The Sri Lankans had included seven of their regular players for the warm up game, but all they could do was stand and watch towards the latter part of the Indian innings.

Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga struck fifty while Mubarak top-scored with 60 runs.

Irfan Pathan picked up two wickets giving away 42 runs.

Liverpool boss sets sights on Crouch replacement

2008-07-09T02:41:00.000-07:00

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has hinted he may target Valencia striker David Villa as a replacement for Portsmouth-bound Peter Crouch.

Crouch is poised to complete his summer transfer to Fratton Park after Pompey agreed a fee with Liverpool on Monday.

Spain's Villa has reportedly attracted strong interest from several leading European clubs after he finished top scorer at Euro 2008.

The 26-year-old has since insisted he is happy at the Mestalla; however Benitez could be set to test the forward's resolve.

Benitez, who brought fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres to Anfield from Atletico Madrid last summer, said: "We have Torres, Andrei Voronin, Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard, who can play as a second striker.

"But we will try to bring in another option. Villa is a player we know all about and he is on our list. But maybe it will be difficult."

On Crouch's expected departure, Benitez praised the England international's professionalism and character after he endured a difficult beginning to his career on Merseyside.

"He is a good professional and a nice person, and we would have wanted him to stay. We offered him a new contract," said Benitez.

"But sometimes you have to understand the player. He wanted to play a lot more, and with Fernando Torres now first choice, that was always going to be difficult.

"I can understand Peter's situation. But he did very well for this club and we always supported him when people doubted the decision to bring him to Anfield."

Nadal breaks Federer winning streak in Grass

2008-07-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

Rafael Nadal described his first Wimbledon title as a "dream" after beating Roger Federer in an epic final.

The 22-year-old won 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (8-10) 9-7 to become the first Spaniard since Manuel Santana in 1966 to win a Wimbledon singles title.

French Open champion Nadal had lost to Federer in the last two finals.

"It's impossible to describe. I'm just very happy. It's unbelievable for me to have the title here at Wimbledon," said the Majorcan.

"It's a dream. Always as a kid I dreamed of playing here.

"For any Spanish player to win here is unbelievable - for any player - but especially Spanish because we don't have a lot of titles here."

Nadal is the the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back, and now has five Grand Slam titles.

The match was the longest Wimbledon men's singles final ever at four hours, 48 minutes, and the winning shot was struck with Centre Court in near darkness at 2115 BST.

"For me, it was the most emotional match I ever played in, probably the best," said Nadal.

He added: "In the last game, I didn't see anything. It was unbelievable and I thought we had to stop if I lost the last game, that's for sure.

"At the same time when I was preparing to serve at 8-7, I said 'I can't believe it, I can't see anything.'"

The title had looked like it might slip away when Federer saved two match points in the fourth set, the second with a superb backhand, but Nadal said he had not been worried.

"I didn't miss," he said. "He had a very good serve, (then) I put the ball to the backhand because he made some mistakes before but this time he made an amazing passing shot." He added: "When I lost the fourth set I sat down and said 'I'm playing well.' I had a very positive attitude, l felt confident with myself.

"It's the final of Wimbledon so I have to continue fighting all the time.

"I'm playing well so why do I have to go down? I lost two tie-breaks. I played a terrible two points with serve at 5-2 and later he did very well."

And as the drama unfolded in the fifth set, Nadal remained calm.

"I was just focused on every point," he said. "It's impossible to think too much. Just point by point. I didn't want to think about the title."

Nadal has completely dominated at Roland Garros for the last four years and is unbeaten there, but he admitted a first Wimbledon crown was something different.

"When I won the French for the first time it was unbelievable too," he said.

"I don't want to compare Grand Slams but Wimbledon is special, the tradition. For me, it's more surprising to win here than the French."

Final Onslaught in Karachi today ..

2008-07-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

After a frenetic 11-day period that saw 12 matches, Sri Lanka and India have survived the crammed schedule, the heat, and a few wobbles to make their way to yet another Asia Cup final. Historically, these two sides have been the strongest in the tournament, winning seven of the eight editions so far; Sunday's game will be their sixth meeting in Asia Cup finals.

The excellent batting pitches have been a constant throughout the tournament, and the teams to survive have utilised these conditions better than others - India and Sri Lanka have easily been the best batting teams of the competition. Both have settled line-ups, with most of their top order in superb form, which points towards another run-fest on Sunday.

With both teams in such exceptional batting touch, the difference in the final could be a bowling spell or some inspiration in the field. Nine matches have already been played on the same square at the National Stadium, suggesting that spinners might have something to look forward to. Sri Lanka have the clear advantage in that department, with Muttiah Muralitharan and the exciting Ajantha Mendis leading the way.

Sri Lanka also have the edge in the field. India's exceptional batting has masked their generally sloppy fielding throughout the tournament. Catches have been missed, the ground fielding has been erratic and, in a crunch game, these factors could well be critical.

Form guide

(Last five completed ODIs; most recent first)
India WLWWW
Sri Lanka LWWWW

Watch out for ...

Sanath Jayasuriya, who loves the big occasion, and he loves batting against India. If he survives the early overs, the Indian bowlers could be in for more tough times.

Gautam Gambhir. He has been consistency personified in ODIs this year, and his excellence against spin makes him a key batsman for India against an attack featuring Muralitharan and Mendis.

The battle of the openers: Gambhir and Sehwag have added 319 runs for the first wicket in four innings at an average partnership of 79.75 and a rate of 8.14 runs per over; Jayasuriya and Sangakkara have averaged 88.75 per partnership at seven runs per over. The new-ball bowlers from both teams clearly have their work cut out.

Murali v Yuvraj: Yuvraj has often struggled against slow bowlers at the start of his innings, and if he bats at No. 5, there's a good chance that he'll be confronted by Murali as soon as he comes in.

Team news

Sri Lanka had rested Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis for their last round-robin match, against India, but both are certain to return for the final. Two out of Kaushalya Weeraratne, Thilan Thusahara and Dilhara Fernando will sit out. None of them has had tournaments to remember so far, but Fernando's experience might help him retain his place.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Dilhara Fernando.

India's batting has been spectacular throughout the tournament, but the bowling is a worry. The biggest concern has been Irfan Pathan, who, after missing the first three games due to a side strain, has leaked 148 runs in 20 overs for just a solitary wicket. His place could be taken by Yusuf Pathan. Pragyan Ojha will keep his place after two tidy performances, which means Piyush Chawla misses out.

India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Pragyan Ojhan, 10 RP Singh, 11 Ishant Sharma.

Umpires Simon Taufel & Tony Hill. Third umpire Zameer Haider

Stats and trivia

· Sri Lanka haven't lost to India in the last six finals between the two teams - they've won four while two were rained out. The last time India won a final against them was ten years ago, in the Singer-Akai Nidahas Trophy.

· Sanath Jayasuriya averages 51.54 at a strike rate of 100.17 in finals against India. In 11 innings he has scored one hundred and four fifties, including a 99.

· Muttiah Muralitharan has an excellent economy rate of 4.03 in finals against India. In seven innings, he has taken nine wickets at 28.22.

· India's top five (Gambhir, Sehwag, Raina, Dhoni and Yuvraj) all average more than fifty in the tournament, with Dhoni the only one with a strike rate - 97.88 - less than 100.

Quotes

"Mendis is a big-game player and he has the ability to play well in big matches and we will be counting on him in the final."

Mahela Jayawardene names his trump card for the final

"Our openers have given us good starts and if they continue to do so it would keep pressure off the middle order and set the foundation."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni looks forward to another strong start by Sehwag and Gambhir

Spain Lifts EURO after 44 years …

2008-06-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Spain woke up with a UEFA EURO 2008™-sized hangover on Monday after wild celebrations accompanied the national team's first trophy success in 44 years.

Relief and joy
Fernando Torres's strike at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion on Sunday night proved the only goal of the final against Germany, and handed Spain their first tournament victory since they beat the Soviet Union to win the 1964 UEFA European Championship. Having lost to France in the 1984 final and then been branded underachievers ever since, relief and joy spilled out on to the streets. Elated fans draped in red and yellow Spanish flags thronged the streets in the hot summer evening in Madrid, cheering and shouting "Viva España" as the fiesta began.

'I'm crying'
"I couldn't watch. I can't believe it. They really deserve it," said 38-year-old teacher Eva Lumbreras, coming out of her house in a Madrid suburb to join other revellers outside as fireworks lit up the sky. Cars and motorcycles gridlocked roads, blasting their horns. Thousands of spectators with their faces painted yellow and red cried and hugged each other at the Plaza de Colón, the central Madrid square where the match had been aired on a giant screen. "I'm crying," said 28-year-old telephone engineer Héctor López in a city-centre bar. "We've been waiting 44 years for this. We had to prove what we could do and we did it. It's going to give the country a lift."

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Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was in no mood to dampen national expectations after watching Luis Aragonés's side claim glory in the Austrian capital alongside King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain. "This is just the beginning, the best is yet to come," he said in a television interview. "Now we're going for the [FIFA] World Cup."

Guus Hiddink’s men beats Oranje to make it to the semis …

2008-06-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

Dmitri Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin struck in the last eight minutes of extra time to take Russia into the UEFA EURO 2008™ semi-finals at the expense of the Netherlands as Guus Hiddink eliminated the nation of his birth.

From the off, Russia never allowed Marco van Basten's previously imperious side space and they attacked with vigour. Roman Pavlyuchenko's 56th-minute volley seemed to have won the game but with four minutes remaining Ruud van Nistelrooy headed an equaliser. However, Russia dominated the additional half-hour and the tireless Arshavin set up substitute Torbinski to restore the advantage from close range in the 112th minute. The No10 added another himself to book a semi-final against Spain or Italy in Vienna on Thursday, although Torbinski and Denis Kolodin will miss that match through suspension.

Having rested most of his first-choice lineup in Tuesday's win against Romania, Van Basten returned to the selection that started the impressive defeats of Italy and France, Arjen Robben's hopes scuppered by continuing groin problems. It was Russia, beginning as positively as Hiddink had promised, who had the first chance when Yuri Zhirkov's free-kick forced Edwin van der Sar into a diving save and Igor Semshov then crossed from the right for Pavlyuchenko to head over. Russia's outnumbered fans made most of the early noise as the Netherlands took time to get to grips with their opponents' pressing game, although Van Nistelrooy did nearly get a decisive touch on Rafael van der Vaart's free-kick.

Suddenly the Netherlands started to produce the flowing football that lit up their group games in Berne, and their supporters responded accordingly. But if many Dutch players were fresh after sitting out the Romania match, Arshavin was also relatively rested having been suspended for the first two games and from a solo run he forced Van der Sar to save. The goalkeeper then tipped over Kolodin's ferocious shot before the Netherlands attacked again at the other end as Khalid Boulahrouz, whose late baby daughter was remembered by his team-mates' black armbands, sent Van Nistelrooy through for an effort that Igor Akinfeev blocked.

Russia looked sharper as the second half got under way, Arshavin nearly scoring with a swerving free-kick, and a minute later Sergei Semak sent in a cross from the left that Pavlyuchenko gleefully turned in. Russia were allowing the Netherlands little of the ball and attacking at pace, Van der Sar using instinct and one hand to keep out an Aleksandr Anyukov strike. The goalkeeper also saved when Pavlyuchenko was put through while Torbinski was unfortunate not to turn the ball in soon after. It seemed the Oranje's campaign was over but with four minutes left Wesley Sneijder curled in a free-kick for Van Nistelrooy to head in and force an extra half-hour.

However Russia were unbowed, Semshov forcing a diving stop from Van der Sar while Arshavin blazed over and Pavlyuchenko's dipping shot was only kept out by the crossbar. Arshavin then burst through and crossed for Torbinski, only for Van der Sar to block again. The second extra period continued in the same vein, Pavlyuchenko just failing to turn in Arshavin's cross but finally the breakthrough came when the FC Zenit St. Petersburg playmaker delivered another looping centre for Torbinski to volley in. Four minutes later Arshavin sealed a semi-final place with the goal his play deserved as his shot deflected in off John Heitinga, confirming that the Netherlands would follow fellow group winners Portugal and Croatia home.

Turks cruise through on penalties …

2008-06-21T01:03:00.000-07:00

Turkey made it through to their first UEFA European Championship semi-final at Croatia's expense after a thrilling match in Vienna was decided on penalties after the two sides had swapped goals in the final moments of extra time.

When Ivan Klasnić headed in Luka Modrić's cross with a minute of the overtime period to play, Croatia looked to have booked their place in Wednesday's semi-final against Germany. However, for the third game running, Turkey sensationally hit back at the death to force the first shoot-out of these finals when Semih Şentürk drove in, with the aid of a deflection, from just inside the area. They went on to win 3-1 on penalties after Rüştü Reçber saved Mladen Petrić's kick following earlier misses from Modrić and Ivan Rakitić. Turkey coach Fatih Terim, though, will struggle to get a team together to play Germany with Emre Aşık, Tuncay Şanlı and Arda Turan all suspended along with Volkan Demirel after being booked here.

Terim, without the banned Volkan Demirel and Mehmet Aurélio and with injuries also taking their toll, made four changes from the side that defeated the Czech Republic dramatically to reach the quarter-finals. The 35-year-old Rüştü, who had played against Croatia coach Slaven Bilić at EURO '96™, started in goal, while Bilić reverted to the team that had beaten Germany en route to topping Group B. With so much at stake, both sets of players made nervy starts. On five minutes Turkey right-back Sabri Sarıoğlu's misplaced pass allowed Rakitić to dart to the byline and he pulled the ball back for Darijo Srna whose shot was blocked by Hakan Balta. It was a portent of things to come as Croatia probed with success down both flanks with Terim's reshuffled back line struggling to cope with their slick passing.

For Turkey, Hamit Altıntop flashed an early effort wide and Robert Kovač bravely blocked his free-kick, but Bilić's men were soon in the ascendancy and should have gone ahead on 18 minutes. Croatia fans had descended on Vienna en masse during a baking hot day and they roared as one when Modrić raced clear on the right. His low centre singled out Ivica Olić who crashed a shot off the crossbar before Niko Kranjčar headed the rebound over. Just as against Austria, however, Croatia lost their way when it looked like they were ready to take a stranglehold on proceedings. Turkey began to enjoy more of the possession and though chances were few, Mehmet Topal drew a gasp from the crowd with a 30-metre drive that whistled just wide.

The traffic was soon flowing back towards Rüştü, with Croatia almost given a goal four minutes after the restart. Gökhan Zan's weak header let Olić in and the veteran goalkeeper had to race off his line to get a finger to the striker's headed attempt. Rüştü saved from Kranjčar moments later and then, on 70 minutes, Rakitić fired over after a neat one-two with Olić had given him a clear sight of goal inside the box. Knowing their side's propensity for late goals Turkey supporters grew in confidence as extra time loomed. But as the clocked ticked down Croatia again came close, Rüştü brilliantly tipping away Srna's curling free-kick on 83 minutes, then blocking from Olić.

Having taken the match to added time, Turkey started to show more adventure. Stipe Pletikosa did well to parry after Emre Aşık had skipped through the Croatia defence and the goalkeeper was then grateful to see Tuncay's drive flash wide on 102 minutes. In an incredible climax, Klasnić would head Croatia in front in the final minute – Modrić capitalising on an error by Rüştü to provide the assist – only for Semih to hit back with the last kick of the game. His deflected strike flew past Pletikosa, leaving it to a shoot-out to finally tilt the balance in Turkey's favour.

Germans outplayed the Portuguese in Basel ..

2008-06-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

Germany progressed to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championship for the first time since 1996 as goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack secured a 3-2 victory over Portugal in Basel.

The Mannschaft ended up lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy that year and the way they raised their game to meet the challenge of a Portugal side that refused to lie down – halving a two-goal deficit twice through first Nuno Gomes and then, in the dying minutes, Hélder Postiga – augurs well for Joachim Löw's team. By contrast, it was a night when the worst fears of Portugal's Chelsea FC-bound coach Luiz Felipe Scolari were realised, his pre-match nightmares about Germany's aerial superiority materialising in the form of headed goals by Klose and Ballack. Portugal were semi-finalists in 2000 and runners-up in 2004 and Scolari had hoped to take that final step at UEFA EURO 2008™ but his farewell party fell flat at St. Jakob-Park, where Portugal were overpowered by opponents who shrugged aside impressively their occasional first-stage torpor.

With Simão probing down the right, Scolari's men appeared to be finding their stride as they offered the first threat on goal when Bosingwa crossed and João Moutinho, free of his marker but seemingly caught in two minds, steered the ball over at the near post with his knee. Yet in the 22nd minute they fell behind. It was a wonderfully worked goal too, swift passing between Philipp Lahm, Ballack and Lukas Podolski advancing the ball down the left, with Podolski bursting clear to drive in a low cross which Schweinsteiger converted with a sliding finish. Schweinsteiger's coach Löw had told the midfielder he had a "debt" to his team-mates after his red card against Croatia and here, in his first start of the finals, he resembled a man on a mission.

Scorer of two goals against Portugal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Schweinsteiger was the architect of their second here too, drifting a free-kick into the Portugal box which Klose, ghosting clear of the red shirts, headed past Ricardo. Raul Meireles replaced the injured Moutinho and Portugal went in search of a lifeline. It came via captain Nuno Gomes five minutes before the break. Simão's crossfield ball sent Ronaldo racing clear of Per Mertesacker down the inside-left channel and though Jens Lehmann blocked his shot, Gomes was first to the rebound, striking first time into the net via the foot of Christoph Metzelder, defending desperately on the line. It was Gomes's sixth goal on the European stage over three tournaments – a scoring span only achieved by Jürgen Klinsmann, Thierry Henry and Vladimír Šmicer before him.

Ronaldo was a whisker away from an equaliser moments before half-time, flashing the ball past Lehmann yet just wide of the far post. Deco did find the net shortly after the interval but was in an offside position and the little midfielder then flicked on a Simão corner to set up Pepe, only for the defender to nod over. Ballack showed him how it should be done in the 61st minute when – to the displeasure of his future manager – he shrugged off Chelsea FC team-mate Paulo Ferreira and beat Ricardo to another Schweinsteiger free-kick to head home. Scolari sent on Nani and Postiga as Portugal chased the game and the pair combined to ensure a nervy finale when Postiga headed in from Nani's left-wing delivery but the glimmer of hope was soon extinguished

Russians oust Swedish in Innsbruck

2008-06-19T00:02:00.001-07:00

Guus Hiddink's gamble of taking the previously suspended Andrei Arshavin to UEFA EURO 2008™ paid off in spectacular fashion with the forward putting in a fine performance as Russia downed Sweden 2-0 to set up a Basel quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday.

The FC Zenit St. Petersburg player was a constant menace to a Sweden side requiring only a draw to stay above their opponents on goal difference, scoring Russia's second goal and striking the post in the second half. If Arshavin showed what Russia had been missing in their first two games, his team-mates displayed class of their own when a fine move resulted in Roman Pavlyuchenko's breakthrough strike after 24 minutes in Innsbruck.

With much of the talk in the build-up to the Group D decider centring around Arshavin and Zlatan Ibrahimović, the news that both were starting came as something of a surprise. Hiddink had hinted that Arshavin was not match-fit while the condition of Ibrahimović's knee meant the target man was a doubt until the last minute. The Russia coach was at least true to his promise that his side would chase victory from the off. Arshavin's pass into the middle of the Sweden area saw Igor Semshov and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov collide with the goal at their mercy, although Lars Lagerbäck's men threatened in return soon after. Anders Svensson's cross found Ibrahimović, only for the No10's downward header to be collected by Igor Akinfeev with Henrik Larsson lurking.

Arshavin and Bilyaletdinov missed chances as the quarter-hour approached before the former sent in a cross-shot that goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson tipped over. From Konstantin Zyryanov's corner, Yuri Zhirkov's thunderous shot zipped just wide. Then Russia's moment arrived. Arshavin released Zyryanov down the right and the midfielder in turn found Aleksandr Anyukov's run inside the box. The right-back rolled a pass to Pavlyuchenko and the tall striker calmly finished for his second goal of the finals. Sweden almost levelled moments later but Larsson's clever header from a Mikael Nilsson cross bounced back off the bar. At the other end, Pavlyuchenko's next effort struck an upright after another slick interchange involving Arshavin and Bilyaletdinov.

Five minutes after the break and Russia had their second goal. Makeshift left-back Zhirkov found himself racing away from the Sweden defence before he crossed for the returning hero – on the run, Arshavin had no problem directing the ball past Isaksson's right hand. Sweden were visibly rocked and although their players began to react in the final third of the pitch, the best they could manage was an Olof Mellberg header that flew harmlessly over Akinfeev's crossbar. It was turning into the Andrei Arshavin show and after the little maestro was booked for upending substitute Kim Källström, he was almost through on goal again but was finally outmuscled by Fredrik Stoor.

With the contest entering its closing stages, Russia should have enhanced their advantage as their enterprising attacking play produced several late chances. Zyryanov went close when his deflected attempt came back off the post before Pavlyuchenko spurned two great opportunities – first heading straight into the grateful hands of Isaksson, then mis-hitting a shot with only the goalkeeper to beat. No matter: the 2-0 scoreline was enough for them to overhaul Sweden by three points and finish second behind Spain.

Azurri’s ready to take on Spain in quarters …

2008-06-18T00:27:00.000-07:00

World champions Italy qualified for the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals in impressive fashion on Tuesday as they defeated France 2-0 at the Letzigrund Stadion and Romania lost by the same scoreline to the Netherlands.

Romania had begun the evening second in Group C and would have progressed regardless of events in Zurich had they beaten the already-qualified Dutch. But their reverse opened the door to the Azzurri who clinically grabbed the opportunity, inflicting another painful defeat on France and condemning the FIFA World Cup finalists to last place in the section. The game's turning point arrived in the 24th minute when, after fouling Luca Toni, Eric Abidal was sent off and Andrea Pirlo converted the resulting penalty. Daniele De Rossi's second-half strike added gloss to a wonderful evening for Italy, dampened only by the yellow cards for Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso which mean they will miss the quarter-final against Spain on 22 June in Vienna.

France almost handed Italy an ideal start when Toni pounced on Abidal's slip, only to shoot narrowly wide. Having started slowly in each of their first two matches, Les Bleus were keen to seize an early grip and Franck Ribéry twice fired efforts wide before, to the dismay of the France fans, the winger injured his left leg in the tenth minute and was carried off. Samir Nasri was sent on, yet France's focus appeared to waver and Claude Makelele immediately needed to clear a Christian Panucci header off the line.

Italy looked menacing every time they broke and after Simone Perrotta had narrowly failed to collect Pirlo's pass, France finally cracked. Abidal fouled Toni as he bore down on goal, prompting the referee to point to the spot and brandish a red card. Pirlo made no mistake, expertly dispatching the ball into the top left-hand corner. The double blow left France reeling and despite defender Jean-Alain Boumsong replacing the unfortunate Nasri, the two-time champions were in disarray. Toni might have scored three in as many minutes before the half-hour, but after skilfully back-heeling Antonio Cassano's cross fractionally past the post, the FC Bayern München forward twice missed the target with only Grégory Coupet to beat.

Thierry Henry had a chance to raise French spirits in the 34th minute but after racing on to Jérémy Toulalan's slick pass, the FC Barcelona forward directed a cross-shot past the post. With the strikers struggling to find their range, Fabio Grosso looked to show them the way just before half-time, curling a brilliant free-kick towards the bottom corner only for his Olympique Lyonnais team-mate Coupet to push it on to the post.

Despite playing with ten men, France began the second period in the ascendancy, with Karim Benzema volleying over before Henry had two shots comfortably saved by Gianluigi Buffon. News that the Netherlands had opened the scoring against Romania prompted an almighty roar from the Azzurri faithful and the celebrating continued when De Rossi scored on 62 minutes. The AS Roma midfielder's 30-metre free-kick took a cruel deflection off Henry, wrong-footing Coupet and effectively ending the French challenge. Although Benzema subsequently saw his swerving shot brilliantly tipped wide by Buffon in the 74th minute, there was no way back for France, who finished with just one point after losing back-to-back matches for the first time in 15 years.

Can Ballack be the difference against Portugal ??

2008-06-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

Germany captain Michael Ballack said Portugal are favourites in their quarter-final in Basel after he confirmed his country's progress with a second-half free-kick against Austria in Vienna.

The resulting 1-0 victory in the third round of matches left Germany second in Group B behind Croatia, but above the co-hosts who needed to beat their neighbours to qualify. Carlsberg Man of the Match Ballack was relieved to have made the knockout stage but thinks his side are underdogs in their last-eight tie. "I think Portugal are now the favourites and we've slipped into a different role but who knows – maybe that will favour our game," the midfielder said. "I know several Portugal players, not only from [Chelsea FC] but also from other occasions when we've met. They are very good individually – they play well offensively and don't focus too much on defence. They're a great team, not least because of Ronaldo who's had a great season in England."

The 31-year-old admitted his team have not been at their best in the last two matches but he is now looking forward to the next challenge. "Obviously we're happy to have made it to the quarter-finals, particularly after the difficult match against Croatia," the Chelsea man added. "We had everything to lose when we were certainly favourites to win. You could tell that the team were not as agile because they had tensed up. I'm looking forward to playing Portugal again – we met them in the third-place play-off at the [2006 FIFA] World Cup and I'm looking forward to squaring off against them again. We didn't play as well as we wanted but I'm convinced this victory will give us the push to play even better against Portugal."

Ballack was selected as Carlsberg Man of the Match by the UEFA Technical Team – after they considered the euro2008.com vote – consisting of Andy Roxburgh and Jozef Vengloš. "The game was even, the Austrian team were working hard and pushing, but the winning touch was in the boot of Ballack – his excellent free-kick was the difference," former Czechoslovakia coach Vengloš said. The Germany skipper, who has now scored 37 goals in 84 internationals, praised the team effort, however: "We couldn't expect things to be easy. There was a great atmosphere and it was important that we really fought today. Of course, at the start we should have taken our chances and the game would have been calmer, but we had to fight right until the end."

Turkey stuns Czechs with the late goal ..

2008-06-15T22:52:00.000-07:00

Scoring two goals in the last three minutes to turn a group-stage exit into a quarter-final berth is not usually part of an international captain's duties. But it was no ordinary night for Nihat Kahveci in Geneva.

Facing the Czech Republic for second place in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A, Turkey trailed 2-0 and looked down and out. Arda Turan then pulled one back before Nihat – who had criticised his own lack of goals before the game – then had an inspired three minutes, poking in when Petr Čech dropped the ball before racing clear to slot in the winner. Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel was subsequently sent off and, like Mehmet Aurélio, will be suspended against Croatia in Vienna on Friday, but the mere fact that Turkey will play that game is a tribute to Nihat, given the Carlsberg Man of the Match award by the UEFA Technical Team.

Captaining Turkey due to Emre Belözoğlu's injury absence, the Villarreal CF striker said: "Of course I am very happy. Up to the point we went 2-0 down we were not really performing very well but we didn't give up. The first goal we scored was the key, the turning point, as that created concern for the Czechs. Then we took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake and then scored the third. You don't get this sort of game in this tournament very often so the feelings were tremendous. To score that goal and know it would take us to the quarter-finals is an amazing experience. But we always believed we could make it."

Just as at UEFA EURO 2000™ and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Turkey have recovered from defeat in their first game – this time against Portugal – to go through thanks to last-gasp wins against Switzerland and the Czechs. "Now we're in the quarter-finals. After the Portugal match only a few people really believed that we could make it, but we continue to make football history," Nihat said. "We know that we have to do some things better. But if we can win a match even if we play badly, then we can beat any team if we play well. This victory is a gift to our nation. These were the most important goals I have ever scored. We played a little bit slowly in the first half but then recovered from that situation after the interval. Now it is time to have fun. We are not afraid of anyone, we can beat Croatia in the quarter-finals."

A member of the UEFA Technical Study Team, former Poland coach Jerzy Engel, paid tribute to Nihat's display. "At the crucial moments he was always there, trying very hard for 90 minutes," Engel said. "And at the end he gave a fantastic win to his team. This says everything about football. One team goes from heaven to hell; the other, from hell to heaven. This is the beauty of this game. Now the Czechs are crying, but on 75 minutes Turkey were crying. Those who were here in this stadium cannot believe what has happened. And this man, Nihat, changed the game completely."

Oranje continues their splendid performance …

2008-06-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

The Netherlands secured their place in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals with a game to spare after producing another devastating display against France in Berne, with Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder all scoring in a memorable win.

Twenty years after his goals led the Netherlands to the European title, Marco van Basten's 2008 crop underlined their case as serious contenders by building on their defeat of Italy to tie up first place in Group C. There may have been less of the flamboyance they had shown in beating the Azzurri – the Dutch riding their luck at times after Kuyt's early breakthrough – but the speed of their counterattacking play was again in rich evidence, never more so than in the second goal scored by Van Persie after a lightning surge by Robben. Even when Thierry Henry halved the deficit, Robben immediately restored the two-goal cushion to leave France, punished further by Sneijder, bottom of the section with a solitary point – and with everything to do against Italy on Tuesday, when the Netherlands play second-placed Romania.

France, under pressure to perform following their opening stalemate against Romania, came out with Henry installed as leader of the line in place of Nicolas Anelka and Sidney Govou drafted in on the right, allowing Franck Ribéry to play as second striker. "Time to step up a gear" declared the front page of the morning's L'Equipe newspaper yet within nine minutes they were behind, Kuyt striking from the game's first corner. Rafael van der Vaart swung the ball in and the Liverpool FC forward got in front of Florent Malouda to nod past Grégory Coupet.

Kuyt then nearly profited from Lilian Thuram's misdirected header but, at full stretch, steered over. Les Bleus gradually found their stride, however, with Govou stepping past Joris Mathijsen and sending in a low drive that Edwin van der Sar saved with his legs. The volume of the France supporters began to rise as Florent Malouda, Govou and then the busy Ribéry all tested Van der Sar and Domenech's team picked up where they had left off on the restart as Henry pounced on a deflected centre by Patrice Evra – starting instead of Eric Abidal – and shot goalwards only to be denied by André Ooijer's block.

The FC Barcelona striker had an even better chance soon after but put too much weight on his lob after Malouda's acrobatic chip had sent him clear. How he was left to rue that miss when the Netherlands' two substitutes combined for the second goal after 59 minutes. Ruud van Nistelrooy sent Robben speeding down the left and his cross was volleyed in by Van Persie off the hand of Coupet.

The excellent Van der Sar palmed away Ribéry's shot as France sought a lifeline and it came when Willy Sagnol provided the low ball for Henry to reduce the shortfall with a neat flick after 71 minutes. Yet hopes of a comeback lasted less than a minute. The tannoy music had barely stopped playing when Robben concluded a three-man move by blasting the ball between Coupet and his near post. Things only got worse for France, for whom this defeat was the worst in UEFA European Championship finals history, as Sneijder rounded off a stunning win in suitably spectacular fashion – driving in a fourth off the underside of the bar in added time.