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Gutsy Gambhir leads India's fightback in 2nd Test

2009-03-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

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

The left-handed Gambhir notched up his fifth Test ton and was batting on 102 while Sachin Tendulkar (58 not out) and Rahul Dravid (62) were the other notable contributors as the Indians batted valiantly to save the Test.

With one day left, the Indians have to keep the good work going and prevent New Zealand from levelling the three-match series 1-1.

Resuming on 47 for one, Gambhir first added 133 runs with Dravid before putting on 89 runs for the unseparated third wicket with Tendulkar.

Dravid and Gambhir displayed remarkable application in steering India out of woods with a steadfast partnership that kept the Kiwis at bay for four long hours.

In fact, the awesome threesome of Indian cricket manifested why VVS Laxman had been confident of India producing something special at the media briefing last evening. They scarcely gave the Kiwis a chance to reassert themselves in the game, mixing caution with aggression to assimilate runs, though scoring at a snail's pace of 2.28 an over.

Dravid's impregnable defence and Tendulkar's dominance are folklore in Indian cricket but today Gambhir showed why he is regarded highly by his illustrious seniors. He batted on and on, wearing the Kiwi nerves thin and running them ragged.

There was a period when he was stuck on 83 for 32 balls in 57 minutes but he hung on patiently to bring up his fifth century, getting a congratulatory hug from Tendulkar, who seemed more delighted than Gambhir himself.

Gambhir also reached a personal land mark in reaching 2000 runs in his 24th Test.

Tendulkar was his imperious self, driving with elan on the up and off the back foot through covers and clipping off his legs with precision, once even hooking Iain O'Brien over the pickets over fine-leg when the speedster dared to dig the ball short.

Having offered his wicket on a platter (49) in the first innings, the Little Master dropped anchor to prepare for what would probably be his 43 Test hundred, his second successive in the series.

Earlier, a dubious bat-pad decision by umpire Ian Gould set India back 27 minutes before tea when Dravid was adjudged caught at forward short leg by Jamie How off Vettori. Dravid had leaned forward to defend Vettori. Though the ball had eluded his bat and glove, Gould declared him caught off bat-pad at forward short leg by Jamie How, giving the Kiwis the breakthrough they had been searching for most part of the day.

More than the runs they garnered (133) for the second wicket, Gambhir and Dravid had done a great job for India in the morning by consuming four hours, effectively wearing down the enervated Kiwis.

Brawn GP take dramatic one-two victory in Melbourne

2009-03-29T02:01:00.000-07:00

Not since the French Grand Prix in 1954 has a team new to Formula One racing finished one-two on their debut. That day it was Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling for Mercedes-Benz.
This afternoon it was Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for Brawn-Mercedes after an extraordinary ‘race of two halves’ in Australia.
Button led from pole as Barrichello bogged down when his car activated its anti-stall device, and the Brazilian was then embroiled in a first-corner clash with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Force India's Adrian Sutil and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.
Button streaked away from Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull, Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber, Nico Rosberg’s Williams and the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. But the face of the race changed on Lap 19 when Kazuki Nakajima crashed his Williams heavily, bringing out the safety car until the end of the 24th lap.
By then Button had watched a 47.7s lead reduced to nothing, and began to struggle to generate heat in his tyres. But he got his head down and opened a gap to Vettel again. As the Ferraris faded, Kubica found his BMW Sauber getting better and better on the harder Bridgestone tyre and gradually began to put Vettel, on the softer option tyre, under serious pressure in the closing stages.
Going into Turn Three on the 55th lap - with three left to run under a setting sun which made driving conditions very difficult - Kubica got alongside Vettel but they touched. Both spun, but continued. But not for long.
Vettel had lost his front wing and crashed heavily just as Kubica, further down the road, did the same thing. Out came the safety car again.Incredibly, that melee had promoted Barrichello back to the second place, despite his first-lap incident and a later touch with Raikkonen which damaged his Brawn’s front wing.
It was changed during his first pit stop on the 18th lap. As the race finished under the safety car, he admitted that he had never expected a one-two after all his dramas.Jarno Trulli started from the pit lane after Toyota’s rear wing infringement yesterday, but hauled through to take the final podium finish, while a very determined drive brought a hugely valuable fourth place for Lewis Hamilton and McLaren ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock, who survived a spin while battling from his own pit lane start, when he and Fernando Alonso tangled.
The Spaniard brought his Renault home sixth, while seventh place came as a bitter disappointment to Rosberg. The German was running fourth with six laps to go and had set fastest lap, but had used up his Bridgestone option tyres and was simply in no position to defend the place. By the finish he had rookie Sebastien Buemi thirsting after him as Toro Rosso’s Swiss driver scored a point for eighth place on his debut.Neither of the Ferraris finished. Both struggled with tyre wear, and as Massa suffered a mechanical problem late in the race, Raikkonen spun and subsequently retired.
Sebastien Bourdais was ninth in the second Toro Rosso, ahead of Adrian Sutil, who survived a brush with Force India team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. They were separated by Heidfeld, who was consigned to a recovery race after the first corner fracas, while Fisichella further delayed himself by missing his pit marks in his first stop.Webber, another in recovery mode, was the final classified finisher, ahead of Vettel, Kubica, and Raikkonen.
The retirements were Massa, Nelson Piquet who spun his Renault after the first safety car restart, Nakajima and Kovalainen. Button’s great victory marked the 200th for a British driver."It's not just for me but for the whole team,” he said, “a fairy tale ending really to the first race of our career together and I hope we can continue this way.
We are going to fight every way we can to keep this car competitive and at the front. This has got to continue and this is where we want to be. Bring on Malaysia!”

Gambhir grinds to century, India inch to safety

2009-03-29T02:00:00.001-07:00

Gautam Gambhir ground his way to his fifth test century as India edged closer to saving the second test against New Zealand by the close of play on the fourth day on Sunday.
The tourists, who won the first match of the three-test series in Hamilton by 10 wickets, reached 252 for two at stumps, 62 runs behind New Zealand's 619 for nine declared after being dismissed for 305 in their first innings and forced to follow on.
Gambhir was on 102, while Sachin Tendulkar was on 58 -- his 52nd test half century -- and with a day still to play he is well placed to convert that into his 43rd test century on the benign McLean Park wicket on Monday.
Gambhir, who was on 14 when play began on Sunday, was watchful all day with few false strokes and only one nervous moment when a James Franklin outswinger squared him up while he was on 84.
Initial reactions from the New Zealand fielders were that wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum had dropped a sharp chance, though television replays showed Gambhir had been comprehensively beaten and the ball had brushed his back leg.
The 27-year-old, who had spent almost an hour stuck on 83 after tea finally brought up his milestone with an aggressive lofted shot over wide mid-on for his 14th boundary. He had taken 265 balls to achieve the mark.
Rahul Dravid (62) was the only wicket to fall on Sunday after he had shared in a four-hour, 133-run partnership with Gambhir, though his dismissal was controversial.
Dravid was given out caught in close by Jamie How off Daniel Vettori by umpire Ian Orchard, but the batsman was visibly upset with the decision and television replays showed the ball had ballooned off his front pad without touching his bat or gloves.
India lost Virender Sehwag for 22 late on Saturday when the stand-in captain attempted an outlandish slog sweep to a straight delivery from off-spinner Jeetan Patel and was trapped in front.

Durban to host 16 IPL ties

2009-03-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

The second DLF Indian Premier League will be held in eight cities in South Africa, including Cape Town and Johannesburg which are to host the opening tie and the final respectively, as per the official fixtures list released today.
The schedule of the high-profile Twenty20 League, to be held in South Africa from April 18-May 24, has been released after the organizers have fine-tuned the earlier programme sent to the franchises.
Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians would clash with last years runners-up Chennai Super Kings, led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to kick off the cash-rich tournament that traverses the length and breadth of the Rainbow Nation.
Durban, with its high population of people of South Asian origin, will host the maximum number of 16 matches, including five double headers (April 21, 29, May 5, 14 and 20) while Cape Town will have double headers on the first two days of the competition.
Matches will be held at 12.30 pm and 4.30 pm local time

Kovalainen on pole for British GP

2008-07-05T11:40:00.001-07:00

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen seized the first pole position of his Formula One career at the British Grand Prix on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Finn left his rivals trailing with a lap of one minute 21.049 seconds, more than half a second quicker than second-placed Australian Mark Webber [Images] under grey skies at Silverstone.
"Well done, you're on pole by a mile," he was told on the team radio as he crossed the line right at the end of the qualifying session to deprive Red Bull's Webber of what would have been his first pole.
Ferrari's [Images] world champion Kimi Raikkonen [Images] qualified third with Britain's Lewis Hamilton [Images], Kovalainen's team mate, unable to match his 2007 Silverstone pole in fourth place after making a big error on his first flying lap.
Brazili's championship leader Felipe Massa [Images] was only ninth for Ferrari, with his closest rival Robert Kubica 10th for BMW-Sauber.

Force India starts British GP from back of the grid

2008-07-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

Despite introducing new aero package, Force India will start Sunday's British Grand Prix from the back of the grid with Adrian Sutil at 19th, just ahead of teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.
Force India's gamble of putting in a series of laps in the opening 10 minutes and then a final flying lap in the dying minute nearly paid dividends, with Fisichella almost breaking into the top 15 on his very last lap.
Kovalainen on pole for British GP
But a spin in the last sector dashed Fisichella's chance and the Italian finished 20th and his German teammate Adrian Sutil was just ahead in 19th.
The duo, however, were just three tenths from making it to Q2 and less than half a second from the top 10 for the first time.
Although some mechanical glitches cost them dear, the duo feels overall it was quite satisfactory at the end.
Home hero Hamilton under pressure to win
"It was quite a good qualifying for us as I think we could get nearly all the performance out of the car, although we had a little problem with graining on the front tyres that cost us a little bit of time. There is a better trend at the moment; we have a new update on the car, it works well and we are not too far away from the others - only about two tenths," Sutil said.
On the other hand, Fisichella although quite happy with the performance could not help thinking about the lost opportunity.
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"Unfortunately I had a problem with the engine cover during the session and I lost some downforce as the right side of the car was in a bad position. That said, I was only three tenths away from Q2 so it's not too bad considering," Fisichella said.

Wimbledon 2008 - Day 12 womens singles final images

2008-07-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Venus downs Serena to win fifth title

2008-07-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

Venus Williams [Images] survived a fierce onslaught from Serena Williams [Images] to win her fifth Wimbledon singles title on Saturday, finally subduing her younger sister 7-5, 6-4.
Venus fought back from a break down in both sets to trump her sister in high-quality contest on a windswept Centre Court.
Images from the final
A scooped backhand wide from Serena handed Venus victory following an absorbing battle lasting one hour and 51 minutes.
In her moment of triumph, a beaming Venus quickly ran to the net to offer her sibling a consolation embrace.
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"I can't believe it's five. But when you're in the final against Serena Williams, five seems so far away. She played so awesome, it was really a test," the 28-year-old American said after successfully defending her title.
"It's so rewarding to perform here and that every time I come back here I have the ultimate chance to play well and make history."
Past women's champions
The American siblings met in a Grand Slam showpiece for the seventh time although the last time they clashed in a major final was at Wimbledon five years ago when Serena won a subdued battle against an unfit Venus.
Saturday's victory also allowed Venus to gain some sweet revenge. She had beaten Serena at the 2001 US Open but lost the five finals since and trailed their overall head-to-heads 7-8.
On Saturday, though, the sun was shining down on Venus.
Women's tennis lacks an ace
Serena, 26 and 15 months younger than her sister, began the final in ominous fashion producing a series of searing service returns to break the seventh seed in the opening game.
With gusting winds blowing through Centre Court, Venus often struggled with her ball toss and could have gone a double break down had Serena converted another break point in the fifth game.
But a low angled forehand volley winner got Venus out of trouble and she then suddenly found her range to level at 4-4.
The American sisters traded pounding groundstrokes from the baseline until Venus pounced in the 12 game to take the set when Serena slapped a backhand into the net.
HIGHLY CHARGED
Past matches between Venus and Serena have been captivating, highly charged yet often disappointing affairs.
But any notion that Saturday's final result might have been predetermined by a 'family decision' were soon dispelled.
Both sisters went for their shots from the start and at one point Serena even aimed a missile straight into Venus's body. But Venus was prepared to defend her territory and fired back with interest.
In the first game of the second set, she unleashed the fastest serve by a woman at Wimbledon, a 129 mph (208 kph) bullet. The milestone was a shade slower than Brenda Schultz-McCarthy's overall record of 209 kph..
Although she lost her serve in the third game that lasted 14 minutes and featured numerous deuces before Serena finally broke on her sixth attempt, Venus never lost belief.
She pounced on the next game to break back and continued to keep Serena on her toes throughout.
Faced with a barrage of thundering groundstrokes, the sixth seed's resistance finally crumbled as the match inched towards the two hour mark.
"She was a little better today and it didn't work out the way I planned," said Serena, who had been eyeing a third singles title at the All England [Images] Club.
"I'm so happy that at least one of us was able to win."
After wrecking her sister's dreams in the singles final, Venus said she would try to allow her sister some form of celebration by helping her to win the doubles title. The duo will take on 16th seeds Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond later on Saturday.
"My first job is big sister. I take that very seriously," said Venus. "Serena deserves a win so I'm really going to try even harder for that."

Images from day ten at the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday

2008-07-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Coach Loew hails team despite loss

2008-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Coach Joachim Loew said he is satisfied with Germany's [Images] showing at Euro 2008 [Images] after they lost the final 1-0 to Spain on Sunday.
Fernando Torres netted in the first half after taking advantage of a mistake by defender Philipp Lahm, who had scored the last-minute winner in their fortunate 3-2 win over Turkey in the semi-finals.
Spain shed under achievers tag
"I think we can be satisfied with the tournament as a whole. The team performed very well over the 45 days we've spent together. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed everything, but we were very ambitious," Loew told a news conference.
"We have to acknowledge our defeat and for us it is going to be an incentive to work hard in the next two years. For us, it is a great performance to reach the final, it has been something extraordinary and we are proud of that."
The Germany coach, who will stay in charge for the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, said Spain fully deserved their first major title in 44 years.
"I think we have to recognise the high quality of the Spanish players," he said.
Euro 2008: Best of knockout stage
"They played very well during the whole tournament and today they were technically excellent and had more chances than us. So I think they deserve victory."
Loew also hailed his captain Michael Ballack [Images], who played from the start in the final despite having a calf injury.
"It was good to have him there. He is always very important for our team," he said. "He is our captain and he did lots of special things for us during this tournament. He represents Germany and the team very well."
The coach also said that Lahm was substituted at the break because of an injury and not because of his error.

Germany vs Spain Final

2008-07-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

An aerial view of the Ernst Happel Stadion ahead of the UEFA Euro 2008 final match between Germany and Spain.
Germany captain Michael Ballack was passed fit to play in the final after recovering sufficiently from a calf muscle injury.
Spain coach Luis Aragones drafted Cesc Fabregas into the starting lineup in place of striker David Villa who missed the match because of a thigh injury sustained in the 3-0 win over Russia in the semi-final.
Spain finally ended their 44-year wait for a trophy when Fernando Torres's exquisite first-half goal gave them a deserved 1-0 victory over Germany.

Ballack (left) vies for possession with Spanish midfielder David Silva (centre) and Spanish defender Joan Capdevilla.
Germany had enjoyed the upper hand in the opening exchanges with Miroslav Klose and Ballack creating plenty of danger around the fringes of the area but they were unable to find the finishing touch to some promising attacking moves.

The upright comes in the way of Spain after German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is beaten by a header from Fernando Torres.
Torres's powerful header hit the base of the post after good work by Sergio Ramos on the right.

Torres (centre) scores the opening goal past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
The striker wrestled his way past Germany left back Philipp Lahm to meet a fine through ball from Xavi and then dinked the ball over keeper Lehmann and into the net 12 minutes before halftime.

Torres celebrates after scoring the opening goal.
The Germans survived a few more anxious moments but went into half-time down by only that one goal.

Spain defender Carles Puyol is challenged by Germany's Marcell Jansen.
Spain's precision delivery earned them several more half-chances early in the second half but none were taken and Germany, never a team to give up on a trophy without a fight, raised their game.

Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas catches the ball in front of German forward Kevin Kuranyi.
Coach Joachim Loew threw on Kuranyi but Spain then had a flurry of chances of chances as Lehmann saved well from Sergio Ramos and Iniesta, and Torsten Frings cleared Iniesta's shot off the line all in the space of two minutes.
Germany captain Michael Ballack wears a dejected look in the dying moments of the final.
Ballack, fit to play after a calf strain, had spent most of the first hour fighting fires but he went close with a low volley as his side hit back and ramped up the temperature with a few lively tackles.

Spanish midfielder Marcos Senna came close to adding the second goal, but narrowly missed.
As Germany pressed, for the equaliser the gaps opened and Torres almost broke clear twice more but was somehow thwarted by the German defence.
The Spanish players celebrate after the final whistle.
The contrast in the final was clear. The Germans played stereotypically solid soccer. The Spaniards played football of flair and fantasy.
After the match the entire Spanish squad danced a conga inside the stadium as they sang "Viva Espana".

Spain coach Luis Aragones is chaired by his players following the triumph.
In the end, Spain had 13 shots on goal to Germany's four, and seven on target to Germany's one, statistics which better reflected the margin of the Iberian triumph.
Aragones came under great pressure in the media to recall Spain's leading scorer Raul but kept faith with a group who have played themselves into great form over an unbeaten run that now stretches to 22 matches

Spain captain Iker Casillas celebrates with the Euro trophy.
"It's a dream come true," Torres said after the match. "It's our first title [together] and we hope it will be the first of many. We've still got the World Cup to come, we have to be ambitious.
"At last justice has been done because the team that played the best football won the tournament

Torres hands Spain Euro reign

2008-07-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Spain finally ended their 44-year wait for a trophy when Fernando Torres's exquisite first-half goal gave them a deserved 1-0 victory over Germany [Images] in a fast and furious Euro 2008 [Images] final on Sunday.
Images from the final
Spain, appearing in their first final since 1984 and seeking only their second trophy following their 1964 Euro success on home soil, were worthy winners as their crisp passing, wonderful technique and defensive discipline left Germany flailing.
Torres's goal after 33 minutes was also fit for a final as he showed all the speed, determination and quality of finish that summed up his team's whole campaign.
Germany, as always, never gave up but their willing running could not bridge the gulf in class and they will have to wait for another shot at a fourth European title.
Spain had gone close twice before the goal.
Jens Lehmann had to react quickly after the superb Andres Iniesta's shot was deflected but the keeper was beaten in the 23rd minute when Torres, not for the first time, outjumped Per Mertesacker but saw his header come back off a post.
DANGEROUS FINISHER
Torres, who had been somewhat overshadowed by absent four-goal partner David Villa [Images] in the tournament, showed what a dangerous finisher he is after 33 minutes.
Philipp Lahm appeared to have Xavi's through-ball covered but fractionally hesitated as he hoped Lehmann would reach it first and that was all Torres needed as he sped past him then cleverly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper.
Spain's precision delivery earned them several more half-chances early in the second half but none were taken and Germany, never a team to give up on a trophy without a fight, raised their game.
Captain Michael Ballack [Images], fit to play after his calf strain, had spent most of the first hour fighting fires but he went close with a low volley as his side hit back and ramped up the temperature with a few lively tackles.
Coach Joachim Loew threw on striker Kevin Kuranyi but Spain then had a flurry of chances of chances as Lehmann saved well from Sergio Ramos [Images] and Iniesta, and Torsten Frings cleared Iniesta's shot off the line all in the space of two minutes.
As Germany pressed, for the equaliser the gaps opened and Torres almost broke clear twice more. In the end, though, his early effort proved enough to clinch the trophy for Spain.

Images of Day 6 at Wimbledon on Saturday.

2008-06-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Images of Day 5 of Wimbledon on Friday.

2008-06-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Super sub Fabregas ready to graduate

2008-06-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Spain's ready to win Euro Cup 2008, says Fabregas

2008-06-28T20:25:00.001-07:00

London: Spanish and Arsenal mid-fielder Cesc Fabregas has said that his team will be all together, tight as a strong fist, against Germany in Sunday’s Euro 2008 final.

Fabregas who will replace David Villa for the finals, said: "We know Germany are a very competitive team, one of those national teams that we will have to give our all to beat.”

“We are all together tight as a fist, a very strong fist. I won’t get tired of saying that. We are a team that has a great unity on and off the pitch. Of course we haven’t achieved our objective yet. We don’t draw the line here, we want to go home with the cup,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Spain confident of ending title drought despite Villa injury

2008-06-28T20:24:00.001-07:00

Vienna (Austria): Spain doesn't think the absence of injured striker David Villa will keep it from winning the nation's first title in 44 years when it takes on Germany in the European Championship final.

Midfielder Xabi Alonso said Friday that Spain has such depth of talent on the bench that losing Villa _ the tournament's top scorer with four goals _ isn't going to hurt the team's chances.

''I don't think it will be a big problem for us,'' said Xabi Alonso, a second-half substitute in Spain's 3-0 semifinal win over Russia on Thursday. ''Whoever is coming from the bench is doing a great job and that is as important as who is starting.''

Villa, who's scored the only hat trick at Euro 2008 against Russia in Spain's 4-1 win in the group stage two weeks ago, said he would likely miss the final after pulling a hamstring muscle while taking a free kick in the first half at Ernst Happel Stadium.

''I'm a little sad that I won't be there to take part, but it's better that a teammate who is fit plays instead of me, particularly as my injury has left me limping quite badly,'' Villa said.

Also read:
Spain trounce Russia; to meet Germany in final Fabregas likely to start for Spain in Euro 2008 final

Spain's team doctor Jesus Jimenez said Friday that Villa has a small rupture in his right hamstring that will take between five-to-10 days to heal.

''He's been ruled out of the final,'' Jimenez told reporters.

Midfielder Santi Cazorla said Spain had enough reserve talent to adjust to the situation.

''We have great players in every position. Whoever plays will do a good job,'' Cazorla said.

Coach Luis Aragones inserted Cesc Fabregas to replace Villa and boost Spain's midfield, leaving Fernando Torres as the sole attacker. The move worked, with Spain scoring three goals in the second half, two of them set up by Fabregas.

Aragones was confident his team could beat the Germans, saying he didn't think they played that well in their semifinal against Turkey.

''They were not that strong against the Turks, but they have great players up front,'' Aragones said Friday outside the team's hotel in Vienna.

Alonso said Spain was ''delighted'' with its performance against Russia.

''The result was brilliant,'' he said. ''Hopefully on Sunday, we will repeat another performance like that. Let's hope we can play a good match and lift the cup, which would be historic.''

Spain has only won one major title: the 1964 European Championship. It reached the final of the same tournament 20 years later, but lost to France.

Germany, on the other hand, has been crowned European champion three times and world champion another three. Furthermore, Spain has only beaten Germany once in seven competitive matches, with four victories for the Germans and two draws.

''They know how to win tournaments, they know how to play these games and we know we have be careful because they are the favorites,'' Torres said.

The Liverpool striker isn't having a great tournament. He has only scored one goal _ in the group stage against Sweden _ and was replaced by Dani Guiza in the second half Thursday after missing a string of chances.

Guiza scored Spain's second goal just four minutes after coming on, but refused to speculate on whether he would take Torres' spot in the lineup.

''It would be a dream to play the final with the national team,'' Guiza said Friday. ''But it's the coach who makes the decisions.''

Brazilian-born midfielder Marcos Senna said Spain will have to look out for Germany's counterattacks.

''They are fast and deadly in this kind of game,'' Senna said in a Euro 2008 online chat. ''I think both teams will try to do what they know. Spain will try to keep the possession of the ball and Germany will try to be a block and use the counterattacks to harm us.''

Will to win will bag Germany Euro 2008 crown: Ballack

2008-06-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

London: German captain Michael Ballack has insisted that their ruthless will to win is why they will be crowned Euro 2008 champions on Sunday.

Germany was lucky to beat Turkey 3-2 in a dramatic semi-final, with only a last-gasp goal against the run of play getting them through.

But though Chelsea star Ballack admits his team is exhausted and emotionally drained after the victory, he reckoned that the German desire is stronger than ever.

He said: “We're happy to be in the final and that’s what counts. You can see what is possible when you have the will to win and we’ll be the same in the final, I’m sure of that."

Raina, Gambhir star in Indian victory over Bangladesh

2008-06-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Karachi, June 28 (IANS) Suresh Raina raced to his second century in four days as India demolished a spirited Bangladesh to win their first Super-Four match by seven wickets at the National Stadium here Saturday.
Bangladesh, riding high on Alok Kapali's (115) maiden century, scored a challenging 283 runs - Bangladesh's highest one-day international total against India.
Though in-form opening batsman Virender Sehwag was rested, India were never in a spot of bother and accomplished the target in the 43.2 overs.
Raina scored a defiant 116 not out while Gambhir struck 90 to see the team through. Bangladesh though will repent on the dropped chances they gave to both batsmen early in the innings well before their 139-run partnership could flourish.
Raina has been in top form in the tournament and scored his maiden century against Hong Kong before blasting 81 against Pakistan Thursday.
Electing to bat, Bangladesh got off to a sloppy start, losing opener Nazimuddin in the fourth over with only 19 runs on the board. Captain Mohammad Ashraful joined Tamim Iqbal to stabilize the innings and the two added 45 runs for the second wicket. But once Ashraful fell in the 12th over, Bangladesh were left meandering.
Their middle-order batsmen threw away their wickets with Raqibul Hasan (25) and then Mushfiqur Rahim (22) failing to capitalize on a good start.
But just when the Bangladeshi innings looked heading towards a predictable end, 24-year-old Kapali took charge and played a fighting knock.
He along with Mahmudullah (26) rescued Bangladesh with a 112-run stand for the sixth wicket. Kapali then cut loose in the slog overs feasting on Indian bowlers en route his maiden century that came in 86 balls and was studded with 10 fours and five sixes.
Indians too were lousy on the field with Gambhir dropping Kapali at long on and earlier slipping an easy catch off half-century maker opener Iqbal when he was on 11. India conceded 97 runs in the last 10 overs.
Debutant left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (2-43) impressed with his tight bowling and also took a couple of good catches to dismiss Nazimuddin (6) and Ashraful (20).
India began their chase on a wrong note, losing Robin Uthappa, who was promoted up in the order in place of Sehwag, for just two runs in the fourth over. But Gambhir played fluently at the other end and along with Raina scripted India's way to victory.
Raina hit 11 boundaries and three massive sixes while Gambhir's innings contained 10 fours and one six.
Both batsmen benefited from the generosity of Bangladeshi fielders. Gambhir was dropped when he was on 56 by Farhad Reza at point boundary and two overs later Raina, on 16, was given a life by Mahmudullah at fine leg after he top-edged a pull shot.
Raina made them pay for their slips, hitting a six and a four in the same over of Mashrafe Mortaza.
Raina was in a Midas touch and along with Yuvraj Singh, who made a quick fire 36 not out, took India to a comfortable victory.

Ballack injury threatens German final hopes

2008-06-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

VIENNA (Reuters) - An injury to Germany captain Michael Ballack threatened to rob the Euro 2008 final of one its most exciting players on Saturday, just as soccer's great and good were drooling over the attacking play so far.
A calf problem meant the midfielder was doubtful for Sunday's showpiece in Vienna against Spain, who also looked poised to be without tournament top scorer David Villa through injury.
Ballack's driving runs and aerial ability were expected to test a Spanish defence which has so far been largely untroubled in their five games at the tournament.
"Our medical team will be working with him round the clock but we have to think seriously about alternatives," Germany coach Joachim Loew told a news conference.
The absences of Ballack and Villa would be a blow to fans of soccer, not just the thousands of Germans and Spanish who will descend on the Austria capital for the 1845 GMT kick off.
The three-week event has up to now produced flowing forward play rarely seen in the usually cagey international game.
Michel Platini, president of European governing body UEFA, said the tournament had thrived thanks to exciting games, good organisation and colourful fans.
"I am pleased and delighted that we've been able to convey this wonderful view of football broadcast throughout the world," he said.
"I thank Germany and Spain in particular and hope for a wonderful match with great goals, great saves and attacking football."
Former Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer, who won Euro 72, seemed pleased order had been restored following Greece's shock triumph four years ago with a series of dull 1-0 wins.
"I think everyone involved in the tournament can be very happy. The final is two classic football countries in Germany and Spain. It really is a big success," he said.
"I hope it will be an exciting final, an attractive and high scoring final. Maybe a draw, extra-time then penalties with Germany having the better nerves."
TEAMS INCREASED
Beckenbauer, speaking before the news of the injury, also said Ballack could make the difference for the three-times champions.
The only other clouds on the horizon were the ones that caused torrential rain in Vienna in recent days and the debate over the hosting of the next European Championship in 2012.
Ukraine and Poland are due to hold the next tournament but Platini said the event would be taken off them if stadiums were not completed in Warsaw and Kiev.
The 2012 finals look poised to be the last with 16 teams after a meeting of senior officials on Saturday recommended the tournament should be increased to 24 teams from 2016.
In between summits and news conferences, Platini found time to invite the Spanish goalkeeper he embarrassed in the Euro 84 final to be his guest at Sunday's game.
Platini scored the opening goal of France's 2-0 win over the Spanish with a free kick that squirmed under the body of keeper Luis Arconada in Spain's last appearance at a major final.
Goalkeeping errors of this kind are now universally known in France as an "Arconada".
"I was thinking while I was shaving this morning about how I took the trophy off the Spanish 24 years ago but could be handing it back to them tomorrow," Platini said.
"When we called Arconada up to ask if he wanted to come and watch the game, he asked if it was a joke. But I think it's nice to be able to invite a former rival."

Secured atmosphere makes me confident and successful: Gambhir

2008-06-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Karachi: Young opener Gautam Gambhir on Friday credited his success in Twenty20 and one-day cricket to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who provided a secured atmosphere in the team and increased his confidence.

"I give the captain a lot of credit he has provided me and the other players a lot of confidence and I want to keep on improving," Gambhir told reporters in Karachi on Thursday.

"When you are secure in the team you enjoy your cricket and you are more confident," he added.

Gambhir also said he did not care about what the public said. "Ultimately it is you and your teammates that matter, you have to go out there and keep on performing," he added.

The Delhi cricketer said his ultimate dream remained to "play Test cricket and make a permanent place" for himself in the longer version side.

Gambhir has played in 14 Tests but has been a sure selection for Twenty20 and one-day cricket in recent times. He has so far appeared in 52 one-dayers for India.

Asked about his frequent sledging matches with Pakistani players, Gambhir said he wanted to retaliate when things come from other side.

The left-hander said opening and batting with Virender Sehwag, also his Delhi teammate, was a great feeling and experience.

Yuvraj Singh, also present on the occasion, said passion and the will to win against Pakistan made it a different thing and it worked well for him and kept him going. The exciting batsman to a question said he didn't like to compare himself with Pakistan's Shahid Afridi.

"The passion and following for boom-boom Afridi will never end. I do the big hitting occasionally and he does it consistently," he said.

Both the left-handers talking on the Indian Premier League said it was a great event.

"IPL provides a lot of opportunity and a lot of players have come forward after playing in the competition which is a good thing," Gambhir said.

Lowly-ranked Zheng dumps Ivanovic

2008-06-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

World number one Ana Ivanovic's luck at Wimbledon ran out on Friday with the top seed, who survived two match points on Wednesday, hustled out in the third round by China's Zheng Jie.
It was business as usual for five-times champion Roger Federer [Images] who swept into the fourth round with the minimum of fuss after blitzing Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
WAGs @ Wimbledon 2008
But Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer went out 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 to 2004 semi-finalist Mario Ancic, the last player to beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2002.
One day after third seed Maria Sharapova's [Images] shock exit, the French Open champion could not lift her performance against Zheng, who missed most of the 2007 season with an ankle injury and had never previously beaten a top 10 player.
Zheng, 24, ranked a lowly 133 in singles and better known for her prowess in doubles after lifting the Wimbledon title with Yan Zi two years ago, raced through 6-1, 6-4.
No one was more surprised than Zheng herself.
"I'm so happy. I didn't believe I could win two sets," she told reporters. "I felt today I had the best serve, the better backhand than her. I felt her serve today was just so so. That gave me the chance to play more aggressively."
Ivanovic's departure has opened up the top half of the women's draw, with twice champion Serena Williams [Images] stepping up her bid for a third Rosewater Dish by winning the battle of the former champions in a 7-6, 6-1 success against Amelie Mauresmo.
Two days after a netcord came to her rescue after staring defeat in the face against Nathalie Dechy, Serbian Ivanovic struggled to keep the ball in play.
In contrast to Sharapova's gloomy post-defeat news conference, a stoical Ivanovic, 20, said her loss was part of a "learning experience".
"Trust me, it's not easy to lose. Because I think every loss is disappointing," said Ivanovic after suffering the earliest exit by a top seed since Martina Hingis [Images] was blown away in the opening round in 2001.
"But you also have to realise that the world won't end. I'm still so young and have many tournaments in front of me."
CLOUDS GATHERED
After four days of sunshine and uninterrupted play, the rain clouds briefly gathered over south-west London [Images], forcing a 90-minute delay to the start of play on the showcourts.
Federer's 62nd consecutive win on grass proved one of his easiest.
Bidding to set a modern era record of six men's titles in a row, the Swiss now has two days off before returning on Monday to face Lleyton Hewitt [Images], the 2002 champion.
"It's always a challenge playing Lleyton," said Federer. He's a great player, a guy I really enjoy watching, as well. He's a great competitor.
Hewitt arrived at Wimbledon still battling a painful hip injury but after being taken the full distance in his opening contest by Dutchman Robin Haase, the Australian has enjoyed two trouble-free contests.
Italy's [Images] Simon Bolelli became his latest victim, trounced 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 as Hewitt reached the last 16 for the fifth year running.
Hewitt will have to lift his game again to trouble Federer. Their head-to-head record stands at 13-7 in favour of the Swiss, who has won their last 11 meetings.
Russian Marat Safin [Images] followed his second-round win over third seed Novak Djokovic, outlasting Italy's Andrea Seppi 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in fading light.
Sixth seed Williams polished off Mauresmo after coming through an intense opening set full of high quality tennis, taking her record against the 2006 champion to 10-2.
"I'm not playing my best but I'm thinking positive and there's so much more I can do. In the second week I will do a lot better," said Williams.
Fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova encountered few problems in defeating Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-4 and was joined in the last 16 by fellow Russian and eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze [Images] who motored past compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-3.
Marion Bartoli's fairytale run to the final last year took the tennis world by surprise but the Frenchwoman's form deserted her on Friday, the 11th seed falling 6-4, 6-1 to Bethanie Mattek [Images]. The American's reward is a fourth-round meeting with Serena Williams.

Match-fixing claims are baseless: Sarjit Singh

2008-06-27T19:59:00.002-07:00

Malaysian national hockey coach Sarjit Singh claimed that the match-fixing accusations on his players in an Azlan Shah match against India last month were "wild allegations" aimed at tarnishing the image of Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) and his charges.
Police had begun investigations on the scandal acting on MHF's complaint following allegations that India's 2-1 win over Malaysia on May 17 was fixed with some members of Malaysian team offering online bets to lose their own team.
India - Malaysia Azlan Shah match fixed: report
Sarjit said the police probe would clear his players of any guilt and he has also lodged a police complaint on Tuesday to cooperate with the authorities to reach to the bottom of the controversy.
"First of all, I believe in my players and I'm confident that they are not involved in illegal activities. That is why I have lodged a complaint (on Tuesday) to find out who sent the damaging e-mails," Sarjit said.
"My only concern is to clear MHF's and the players' name, and bring to book those who have thrown these wild allegations to tarnish the good name of the sport," he was quoted as saying by 'New Straits Times'.
India go down fighting in Azlan Shah final
"They (players) are equally disturbed with the allegations, and eagerly awaiting for the police investigation to reveal names of those who are out to tarnish their reputation," he added.
On Thursday, MHF had refused to comment on the authenticity of the match-fixing allegations, saying they would not comment on the matter till the police investigations are complete.
"We have sent the case to police and it is looking into it. We do not know if it is true or not," Hashim Mohammad Yusof, Secretary of the MHF had told PTI.
India beat Malaysia to enter Azlan Shah final
Asked if the allegations were true, Hashim had said, "We cannot comment until the final results are out and the police gives us approval."
The local police are yet to call Sarjit or any of the players for questioning and the coach said they would cooperate with the police in finding out the truth.
"My players and I are open to investigation, and we will cooperate with the police when they need our help. There is nothing to hide, and nothing to fear," he said.
"Three-quarter of this team has been training with me since the (2004 Rotterdam) Junior World Cup. They practically grew from boys to men under me. I know all of them like the back of my hand, and that is why it saddens me when some quarters have cast aspersions on them," Sarjit added.

Bradman's baggy green fetches US $425,000 at auction

2008-06-27T19:59:00.001-07:00

A baggy green worn by the late Sir Don Bradman fetched a whopping US $425,000 at an auction in Melbourne.
The cap reportedly worn by Bradman in 1948 was the highest fund-raiser at the auction.
Another baggy green owned by legendary all-rounder Allan Border [Images] was sold at almost double its asking price, at US $29,000.
The cap, which is believed to be the first Border cap ever to be sold to public, was estimated at US $15,000 before the sale.
Auctioneer Charles Leski of Leski Auctions, which sold the cap, said it was bought by a private Australian investor.
"It was on the astonishing side of what we'd all expected," Leski told The Australian
Keith Atree, a former WACA employee who used to work as a dressing room attendant, had a large collection of the Sir Don Bradman's memorabilia and thus acquired the caps from Border by exchanging some old pictures of the cricket legend.
Atree worked at the WACA in Perth for more than 50 years as a dressing room attendant and "knew everyone" involved in Australian cricket, Leski said.
However, Atree suffered a stroke and decided to sell the cap to garner money for his family.
Cricket caps from India, England [Images] and the West Indies [Images] were also auctioned, along with other baggy greens caps, which included an unattributed baggy green.
The cap from the 1989-90 Test Series against Pakistan, was sold at US $9300, triple its pre-sale price.

Clarke guides Australia to victory

2008-06-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

Australia steamrolled a listless West Indies [Images] team by 63 runs on Friday to claim a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five limited overs series.
Chasing Australia's 213 for five, the hosts managed a reply of 140 for eight from 41 rain-reduced overs under the Duckworth-Lewis scoring method, in what was by far their most disappointing outing of the tour thus far.
The West Indies must win the next one-day international at Grenada's National Stadium on Sunday to keep the series alive, or risk a whitewash at the hands of Ricky Ponting's [Images] side.
Australian paceman Brett Lee [Images] set the tone for the afternoon by removing Xavier Marshall with the first ball of the West Indian innings.
The dismissal provided debutant wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, a replacement for the injured Brad Haddin, with the rare distinction of claiming a catch from his first delivery in one-day international cricket.
Wickets fell at a steady rate thereafter, eroding any hope of an upset home victory.
Michael Clarke [Images], following on from his resolute innings of 56 earlier in the day, finished with figures of 3-26, while Shane Watson (2-22), Lee (1-26), Mitchell Johnson (1-14) and James Hopes (1-19) rounded out the Australian wicket-takers' list.
Australia might well have closed out the West Indian innings sooner, if not for a rain delay and several decisions that fell the way of the hosts.
Replays suggested Johnson and Clarke were unfortunate not to have removed Chris Gayle and Patrick Browne although both bowlers returned to claim the batsmen's wickets later in the innings.
As was the case in the Test series, the task fell upon Shivnarine Chanderpaul [Images] to hold the West Indian innings together.
The determined left-hander led his side with an unbeaten 45 from 77 deliveries, but with wickets tumbling around him, his efforts were insufficient to save the match for the hosts.
RAIN DELAY
The West Indies had been set the revised total of 204 from 41 overs due to the mid-innings rain delay after fine opening spells from the pace duo of Jerome Taylor [Images] (2-47) and Daren Powell [Images] (1-29) had denied Australia a brisk start.
Taylor trapped Shane Watson for a duck lbw with the last ball of the first over and Australia were further reduced when Powell had Shaun Marsh [Images] caught behind for 12.
Taylor returned to remove Ponting, playing his 300th one-day international, for 13 to leave the tourists reeling at 53 for three before 10 overs had been completed.
But a steady 100-run partnership between Clarke and Michael Hussey steadied the ship.
Clarke eventually fell lbw to Sulieman Benn for 56 and Hussey was caught at long-on by Xavier Marshall off Dwayne Bravo [Images] for 62 but by then Australia were well on their way to building their winning total.

Sehwag sizzles as India trounce Pakistan

2008-06-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

Karachi: Familiar Pakistan nemesis Virender Sehwag (119) slammed a brilliant century while Suresh Raina (84) too matched his aggression as India cantered to a facile six-wicket win with 7.5 overs to spare against the arch-rivals in the Asia Cup cricket tournament here on Wednesday night.

It was sweet revenge for the Indians who just two weeks ago were outclassed by Pakistan in the Kitply tri-series final in Dhaka.

With Sehwag and Raina on fire, India cruised to 301 for four in only 42.1 overs after Pakistan appeared to have set a competitive target by making 299 for four.

The hosts' innings revolved around 125 from captain Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan's 59 on a good batting track. Malik didn't field after retiring with cramps while pacer Umar Gul also went off with a rib cage injury after sending down just 1.2 overs.But under lights, Sehwag showed just how good the track was when he savaged the attack scoring his ninth hundred. He and Raina put on a record 198 runs for the second wicket from 149 balls before the stand was broken in the 28th over.

The stand was remarkable as it came after Pakistan's stand in captain Misbah-ul-Haq had brought off a spectacular one-handed catch at wide slip to get rid of Gautam Ghambir (9) in the third over and the players were on a high.

But it was Sehwag's day as he played some breathtaking shots to give India their fourth successive win over Pakistan at the venue. It was his first one-day hundred for India since he got one against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup.

The second-wicket stand was also a new record for the Asia Cup, breaking the previous best of 154 between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly against Bangladesh in 2004.

India, by virtue of their victory, topped group B of the six-nation tournament and will play Bangladesh in the first match of the super four stage on June 28.

Yuvraj Singh (48 from 47 balls) and MS Dhoni (26 not out) shared a fourth-wicket stand o f63 from 66 balls to seal the victory after the fall of Raina and Sehwag.

Raina, who hit 10 boundaries and three sixes, faced only 69 balls and fell in the 28th over after he played a loose shot to Iftikhar Anjum and was caught at cover by Fawad Alam.

Sehwag was caught at long on by Younis off Afridi after a 95-ball innings.

Sehwag's 119-ball blitzkrieg was studded with 12 fours and five sixes. Raina was no less aggressive either as the left-hander smote 10 fours and three sixes for his 69-ball 84.

Yuvraj, too, joined the run-feast though he fell two runs shy of his half century, Dhoni scored the winning run in style, hitting Younis Khan for a six.

Ganguly bags Asian Cricketer and Asian Batsman award

2008-06-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Karachi: Former captain Sourav Ganguly was adjudged the Asian Cricketer and Asian Batsman of the year for his fighting comeback into the Indian team at the Castrol Asian Cricket Awards here on Friday.

Sachin Tendulkar was named the Best ODI batsman while Gautam Gambhir grabbed the honour in Twenty20. Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara took away the best Test Batsman of the year award while compatriot Farveez Maharoof was chosen as the Best ODI Bowler. Pakistan's Umar Gul was named the Best Twenty20 Bowler.

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, not surprisingly, took away the Best Bowler award.

The surprise element was Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, who has been dropped from the Asia Cup squad because of his poor form, as he was conferred with the Best Fielder award.

But former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram, who along with Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and former India skipper Rahul Dravid picked the winners, said that Akmal was selected for his overall performances throughout the last two years.

Though Ganguly was not present at the ceremony, his wife Dona took the awards on his behalf. "I am proud and happy to be his wife. I don't think he needed to work so hard to prove himself. But he had a point to prove and when he wants to achieve something he does it. So these awards make me really proud of him as my husband," Dona told reporters after receiving the awards. She, however, refused to term the awards as redemption for her husband after his removal as captain and being dropped from the team in 2006.

"I don't see it that way. I just knew that he would achieve what he wanted. He is a introvert sort of person but my job was to be there to encourage and support him. As a family we were there for him always," she said.

The Bengal left-hander also expressed his happiness on receiving the awards in a video taped message.

Akram said that Asian cricket had produced some great performers from Hanif Mohammad to Tendulkar and it was good to see them being recognised for their achievements in a systematic manner.

Pakistan greats like Hanif Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal and Wasim Bari graced the ceremony that was hosted by Akram and Rameez Raja with all the teams, including associate member Hong Kong, in attendance.

Hanif got a lifetime achievement award and said it was time for other companies and people to also come forward and recognise and reward the players.

Match-fixing claims are baseless: Sarjit Singh

2008-06-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Spain trounce Russia to enter Euro 2008 final

2008-06-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

Spain reached the European Championship final for the first time in 24 years on Thursday after a convincing 3-0 victory over Russia [Images] to set up a meeting with Germany [Images] in Sunday's Euro 2008 [Images] decider.
Images: Spain-Russia semi-final
Xavi scored with a superbly taken opportunist volley at a rainswept Ernst Happel Stadium to give Spain a deserved 1-0 lead after 50 minutes and substitute Daniel Guiza made no mistake when he beat the off-side trap to make it 2-0 after 73 minutes.
Cesc Fabregas set up David Silva to make it 3-0 eight minutes from time.
The breakthrough in an absorbing match came five minutes into the second half when Andres Iniesta cut in from the left and found Xavi who had lost his markers.
He took his chance brilliantly to put Spain ahead and on the way to their first final since they lost to France [Images] in 1984.
Guiza replaced Fernando Torres up front after 69 minutes and took only four minutes to strike after being set up by midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who had a huge influence after replacing the injured David Villa [Images] after 35 minutes.
Spain, who stretched their unbeaten run to 21 matches, will be attempting to be crowned European champions for the first time since their only success in 1964.
Germany, who reached the final on Wednesday by beating Turkey 3-2, will be aiming for their fourth continental triumph.
Spain beat Russia 4-1 in the group stage two weeks ago and were the better side again on Thursday, totally deserving their triumph because their midfield dominated and created plenty of chances for the front men.
Russia, who improved enormously after that opening loss to Spain, never found the rhythm and verve that had seen off Netherlands in the quarter-final and Andrei Arshavin, the inspiration behind their revival, had a largely anonymous game.
Both teams made a lively start in the pouring rain with Spain creating the first two chances. Torres turned and shot straight at Igor Akinfeyev after six minutes and Villa forced the keeper into a good save five minutes later.
Russia's first serious chance came after 16 minutes when Roman Pavlyuchenko blasted a free kick just over Iker Casillas's bar. He also went close with a long-range shot after 31 minutes. However, the second half belonged to triumphant Spain.

Podolski spark is lighting up Germany again

2008-06-27T10:17:00.001-07:00

Lukas Podolski has put two frustrating years behind him to lead Germany [Images] to the semi-finals of Euro 2008 [Images] and prove his best young player award at the last World Cup was a promise of more to come.
Podolski, a centre forward by trade, lost his place in the team to Mario Gomez before the tournament but has reinvented himself as a midfielder to great effect, scoring three times and playing a key role in the quarter-final win over Portugal.
Russia's sleeping giant awakes
"The last two years have not been easy," Podolski said in the build-up to Wednesday's semi-final against Turkey in Basel.
"I didn't get too many games at Bayern Munich but I resolved to train as hard as possible, to claw my way back into the national team. Now I want to reach the final."
Dropping him would now be unthinkable for coach Joachim Loew, but for a long time it looked as though the 23-year-old would have to scrap it out for a place on the bench.
After his explosion on to the international scene at the 2006 World Cup, when he scored three goals and formed a deadly partnership with fellow Polish-born striker Miroslav Klose [Images], he found life back in the Bundesliga an altogether tougher affair.
After moving to Bayern he managed just nine league goals in two seasons and while he continued finding the net for Germany -- he bagged eight in the qualifiers -- his place came under pressure from the rapidly improving Gomez.
It was clear heading into Euro 2008 that Gomez would be Klose's strike partner but there was a gap in midfield and Podolski took his chance.
German players leave footprints at Euro
Apart from the goals, and a superb assist for Bastian Schweinsteiger's opener against Portugal, Podolski has tracked back diligently and formed a great partnership with Bayern team mate Philipp Lahm on Germany's left side.
His club future has been the subject of intense speculation in Germany but the player himself is happy to concentrate on helping the team make up for the disappointment of their World Cup semi-final defeat by Italy [Images] in 2006.
"I haven't had any contact with anyone at Bayern," Podolski said. "My only goal is to win Euro 2008 with Germany. Everything else comes later."

Relentless Germans turn tables on Turkey

2008-06-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Germany [Images] made all the mistakes they had promised to avoid in Wednesday's Euro 2008 [Images] semi-final against Turkey but they squeezed through 3-2 after learning a lesson from their devastated opponents.
For most of an error-strewn match at St Jakob Park in Basel, Germany were too casual on the ball, too predictable in their movements and lacked the sort of patience you need to find the space and time to hurt a side defending with such concentration.
They underestimated Turkey's ability in attack and made careless mistakes in defence, while creaking goalkeeper Jens Lehmann looked every one of his 38 years.
Turkey so near but Germany triumph Images
They got away with it because the one quality they did show was perseverance.
After an exchange of goals in the first half they took the lead with 11 minutes to go when Miroslav Klose [Images] headed in Philipp Lahm's cross, with goalkeeper Rustu Recber badly at fault.
Turkey had produced three increasingly unlikely comebacks to reach the semi-finals and, inevitably it seemed, they equalised when Semih Senturk nipped in ahead of the defence to convert a low cross at the near post.
Instead of bemoaning their luck and preparing for extra time, Germany showed that they too are capable of giving a game an unexpected late twist.
With the clock ticking down, Lahm took the ball forward down the left but instead of crossing immediately he played a one-two with Thomas Hitzlsperger and ran forward before calmly curling the ball past Rustu.
ECSTATIC GERMANS
For once it was Turkey who were left exhausted after an exhilarating finish, while ecstatic Germany can look forward to Sunday's final against Russia [Images] or Spain in Vienna.
"There were a lot of things wrong with the way we played," said Klose. "We didn't do at all what we set out to do. We were always standing too far away from them.
Podolski spark lighting up Germany
"[But] we showed that we can always come back, and also that we can score a lot of goals even when we have few chances."
For Turkey, it is impossible not to feel sympathy.
Despite all the injuries and suspensions, coach Fatih Terim had stressed before the game that they would not be simply looking for a miracle, and his players responded with a fearless performance.
"If we had made it to extra time we could have won," said Terim. "We should never forget that we gave the Turkish people a lot. We would have loved to have given our people a final."
German players leave footprints at Euro
Germany have done just that for their fans, who were so disappointed when a team then coached by Juergen Klinsmann went out in the semi-finals of their home World Cup in 2006.
Going a stage further is a great achievement for his replacement Joachim Loew. But if Germany are to land a fourth European Championship and their first major title since 1996 he will have to cut out this worrying tendency towards complacency.

Euro 2008: Germany vs Turkey

2008-06-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Turkish forward Semih Senturk (left) reacts after missing a goal opportunity next to to German defender Per Mertesacker during the semi-final at St Jakob-Park stadium in Basel on Wednesday.
The SK Fenerbahce striker, who emerged the highest scorer in the Turkish League this season with 17 goals, had also found the net on two occasions in Euro 2008.
The 25-year-old was at his attacking best against Germany but received a yellow card in the second half.

Turkish midfielder Hamit Altintop (centre) fights for the ball with German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (left) and defender Philipp Lahm.
The Gelsenkirchen-born Bayern Munich player had a brillaint shot at the goal and it took an equally brilliant effort from Lehmann to save it.
The German squad in Euro 2008 has as many as five members from Bayern and Hamit's presence in the Munich club was considered as an advantage by the Turkish players.

Turkish midfielder Kazim Kazim (front) vies for the ball with German defender Philipp Lahm.
The English-born footballer, who plays for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super League, was in his elements against Germany.
His run-ins down the flanks caused a great deal of trouble for the German defenders.

Ugur Boral of Turkey celebrates the opening goal with coach Fatih Terim.
For the 26-year-old Fenerbahce player, who made his first start of the tournament, it was also his first international goal.

Bastian Schweinsteiger celebrates scoring Germany's equaliser.
Schweinsteiger, who also scored in the quarter-final win over Portugal, seems to have put his woeful form in the league phase behind him.
Germany have never lost a match in which the Bayern Munich player has scored.

Medical staff surround German midfielder Simon Rolfes after he collided with Turkish midfielder Ayhan Akman (bottom).
Germany were on the backfoot for most of the opening half but came back to win 3-2 and book a place in the title decider.

German forward Miroslav Klose jubilates after scoring his side's second goal.
It was also the second goal of the tournament for the Bayern Munich forward after his strike against Portugal in the quarter-final.

Turkish forward Semih Senturk (left), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (right, down) and defender Gokhan Zan celebrate after Senturk scores the second goal to level scores.
The goal brought Turkey level at 2-2 and was Senturk's third of the tournament.

German defender Philipp Lahm (left) celebrates with midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger after he scores the winner.
Lahm's 90th minute strike ensured Germany won 3-2 and qualified for the final.

Euro 2008: Spain vs Russia Images

2008-06-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

The teams line up for the national anthems ahead of the semi-final clash between Russia and Spain in Vienna on Thursday.
Spain reached the European Championship final for the first time in 24 years on Thursday after a convincing 3-0 victory over Russia to set up a meeting with Germany in Sunday's Euro 2008 decider.

Spanish forward Fernando Torres traps the ball.
Spain beat Russia 4-1 in the group stage two weeks ago and were the better side again on Thursday, totally deserving their triumph because their midfield dominated and created plenty of chances for the front men

Russia's Roman Pavlyuchenko looks at the ball after missing an opportunity.
Russia's first serious chance came after 16 minutes when Pavlyuchenko blasted a free kick just over Iker Casillas's bar. He also went close with a long-range shot after 31 minutes

Xavi scored with a superbly taken opportunist volley at a rainswept Ernst Happel Stadium to give Spain a deserved 1-0 lead after 50 minutes.
The breakthrough in an absorbing match came five minutes into the second half when Andres Iniesta cut in from the left and found Xavi who had lost his markers.

Substitute Daniel Guiza made no mistake when he beat the off-side trap to make it 2-0 after 73 minutes.
Guiza replaced Fernando Torres up front after 69 minutes and took only four minutes to strike after being set up by midfielder Cesc Fabregas

The flares go up as Spanish supporters sense victory.
Spain, who stretched their unbeaten run to 21 matches, will be attempting to be crowned European champions for the first time since their only success in 1964

David Silva celebrates with Cesc Fabregas, who was a great influence in the mid-field, after scoring the third goal.
Silva scored eight minutes from time to shut the door on Russia

Russian players look dejected after the match.
Russia, who improved enormously after that opening loss to Spain, never found the rhythm and verve that had seen off Netherlands in the quarter-final and Andrei Arshavin, the inspiration behind their revival, had a largely anonymous game.

Spain's captain Iker Casillas, who had a relatively uneventful day, celebrates as the final whistle goes off.
Casillas was instrumental in getting Spain to the final four as he saved two penalties in the shoot-out against Italy in the quarter-finals.

Spain players rejoice after making their first final in a major competition after a long time.
The take on Germany in the final.
Germany, who reached beat Turkey 3-2 on Wednesday, will be aiming for their fourth continental triumph

'83 heroes relive World Cup win at Lord's

2008-06-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

It was a journey down the memory lane as India's 1983 World Cup heroes relived the historic occasion by walking down the pitch and then victorious captain Kapil Dev [Images] opening a champagne bottle from the hallowed balcony of the Lord's pavilion on Wednesday, as he did exactly 25 years ago.
"It [the 1983 victory] was one of the greatest moments in history," both Kapil and BCCI president Sharad Pawar [Images] said.
Celebrating India's 1983 World Cup win
Later at a dinner hosted in honour of the 15 men who had created history, Pawar, along with liquor baron Vijay Mallya [Images], presented a replica of the Prudential Cup to each one of them.
Mallya, whose UB Group sponsored the event, unveiled a cricket bat adorned with 25-carat diamonds and a specially designed ball, encrusted with diamonds, which would be auctioned by Sotheby's with the proceeds to be presented to the 15 heroes equally.
Noting that the 1983 World Cup victory had given "self-belief" to all the Indians, Pawar told the packed gathering that both Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the victorious World Twenty20 Cup team, and Virat Kohli, who led India to Under-19 World Cup title in Malaysia, were inspired by 'Kapil's Devils'.
'Dev'astating gem turns silver
Pawar said though an Indian team first visited England [Images] in 1932, "history was created by Kapil and his team mates by winning the World Cup in 1983".
Kapil, who has fallen out with the BCCI after joining the Indian Cricket League, thanked Pawar for honouring the cricketers.
"We are honoured and we would like to honour you with the same respect for looking after cricketers," he said, while also thanking Sunil Gavaskar [Images] for conceptualising the silver jubilee celebration of India's victory in London [Images].
Pawar, on his part, praised Kapil for leading from the front to win the World Cup.
"Kapil really changed everything," pointed out Pawar, who said he had watched India's matches against Zimbabwe and the final against West Indies [Images].
When the Cup came home
Noting that cricket is a religion in India, Pawar said, "Today the major news in my country is the silver Jubilee celebration of India's World Cup victory, though there is a political crisis in the country."
Gavaskar, who booked the venue of the celebrations at the Lord's after learning a year back that no cricket match was being played on June 25, was all praise for Kapil Dev's leadership.
"He showed how to play a captain's innings and rescue the team."
As in the celebrations in India, Kapil was the star attraction at the Lord's function also.
Asked when the team started believing that they could win the World Cup in 1983, Kapil said, "When we beat West Indies, the twice champions in Manchester in the league stage. It was then that we started believing in ourselves."
"The credit for the victory should go to everybody including the media," he said, adding that nobody gave India any outside chance to win the World Cup in 1983.
Perhaps that day was for me only: Kapil Dev
Asked about the prospects of India winning the next World Cup in 2011, the legendary all-rounder said, "Why not. Now we start believing that we have that capacity."
"India's victory also inspired Sri Lanka [Images] and Pakistan," he said, adding, "Today, we are much more closer to winning the Cup again."
Gavaskar concurred with Kapil saying, "Yes, We have plenty of options now. In 2011 India will be able to break the jinx of host countries not lifting the trophy."
Asked what he thought when he went to bat with India five down for 17 in their match against Zimbabwe, Kapil said, "I went in with the thought 'let me stay here'."
"Once we started getting runs, we consolidated our position and in the last 5-6 overs scored about 70 to 80 runs. India won the match by 31 runs."
Kapil revealed that he was reluctant to take up the captaincy at that time as there were other senior and worthy players. "Besides, because of lack of proficiency in English I was reluctant to face the media."
He said he is sorry if he had "disturbed anybody's peace of mind" as captain of the Indian team. "I remained cricket captain on the field. If I said anything which has disturbed anybody's peace of mind, I am sorry."
Asked whether there is any room to end rivalry between the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and Indian Premier League [Images] (IPL), Kapil Dev, who is chairman of the 'rebel' ICL group, quipped, "Let's see. Our job is to promote the game."
Kapil regaled the audience with a series of anecdotes about each of his team mates.
Introducing Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Kapil praised him for knocking down the wicket of much feared Gordon Greenidge early in the final match against the West Indies.
Greenidge's wicket made that delivery special: Sandhu
"Later when Malcolm Marshall bowled a bouncer at Sandhu, the normally quiet umpire Dickie Bird shouted at Marshal 'You can't bowl like that to a 11th batsman'," Kapil remembered.
He said Dilip Vengsarkar had scored three centuries in his three matches at the Lord's but he was not in the final because of an injury. "Otherwise, our score would have been 283."
"Kirti Azad and Mohinder Amarnath bowled 24 overs giving away 53 runs. How can England win if they could not face India's part-time bowlers," Kapil said of the heroics of Azad and Amarnath.
"Mohinder Amarnath was truly a champion all-rounder, totally underestimated by a lot of batsmen."
Kapil described Roger Binny as a "lovable character" who would do anything for the captain while introducing Sandeep Patil as a great cricketer and entertainer.
Everybody played to potential: Sandeep Patil
The legendary all-rounder wondered how Yashpal Sharma proved himself a strong cricketer despite being a vegetarian.
As for wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, Kapil said, "He [Kirmani] was always late but was never late to take catches. He is one of the best wicketkeepers India has ever produced."
He described Madan Lal as hardest and toughest cricketer and Krishnamachari Srikkanth a great character.
"With a little more talent, Ravi Shastri, cricketer of the cricketers, would have been one of the best cricketers in the world," was how Kapil described the Shastri.
But, the best accolade was reserved for Gavaskar, whom Kapil said he was not qualified to describe.
"He played for India when there were hardly any pace bowlers at home. But he went to the West Indies and pulverised their pacers, scoring hundreds after hundreds without wearing a helmet. He taught us how not to lose a match. We love and respect each other. He is the most straightforward cricketer I have known," Kapil said of the legendary opener.
"We may have differences of opinion. That does not mean I don't respect him. I respect him more than anybody else."
Kapil did not forget the manager Peter Man Singh whom he thanked for "all good and bad things" he had done and described him as one of the finest men.
"He looked after every needs of every team member."
As for Mallya, who financed the event, Kapil said, "We sportspersons are proud of you and what you have done to sportsmen in the country."

Russia's sleeping giant awakes

2008-06-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has woken from a footballing slumber to score three times and become one of the Euro 2008 semi-finalists' best assets.

Described as a "sleeping giant" by coach Guus Hiddink, who told him to wake up and get fit or risk missing the finals, the promising but sometimes frustrating 26-year-old has clearly been aroused by that alarm bell.
Having convinced Hiddink to include him in the squad, he lost weight and sharpened his game during an intense pre-tournament training programme. When striker Pavel Pogrebnyak pulled out injured days before the start, he was ready to take over in the starting line-up.

Even his team mates seem surprised at the impact their number 19 has had.

"I think Roman is the biggest revelation so far. He has always played well in the Russian league and was top scorer for the last two seasons, but I think nobody expected him to play like he is at the European Championship," Russia captain Sergei Semak told uefa.com.
"Pavlyuchenko, it seems, has become one of the leaders of this side."
His ability to score has always been evident, the double against England in a 2-1 qualifying win last October in Moscow is a case in point, and he has found the net a respectable nine times in 19 appearances.

It is the striker's attitude that has appeared to frustrate Hiddink, who admits he gets annoyed with players who do not perform to their full potential.
Pavlyuchenko's laid-back manner is both his friend and enemy, allowing him to drift unnoticed despite his height (1.88 metres) into dangerous spaces but it can also try the patience of his coaches.
"When I saw him move in previous games and in the league I sometimes got annoyed," Hiddink told reporters on Monday.
"If you are a well paid professional, you need to work like hell. You have to take this responsibility.
"We talked about this and he worked perfectly ... he got into physical shape, and if you get into physical shape your mental shape will get there as well."

Pavlyuchenko's performance against England made him an overnight hero at home and the media attention the usually shy player received seemed to send him on a downward spiral.
He featured on television talk shows, which led him to occasionally miss training. The goals started to dry up and he was dropped to the reserves by Spartak Moscow after being red-carded for dissent in a defeat by city rivals Dinamo in April.
Those days are now forgotten and Pavlyuchenko has a new swagger before Thursday's semi-final with Spain in Vienna.

Having the hugely talented playmaker Andrei Arshavin lurking just behind him has clearly helped and he has also been fed some excellent passes from midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov that have given him a clear shot at goal.
if Pavlyuchenko works out how to convert more of those chances as effectively as he has sorted out his other problems, Spain could have trouble on their hands.

Podolski spark is lighting up Germany again

2008-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Nalbandian, Karlovic shown the door

2008-06-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Former finalist David Nalbandian became the highest men's seed to perish at Wimbledon on Monday, beaten 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 by Canada's [Images] Frank Dancevic [Images].
Federer opens with an easy win
The seventh-seeded Argentine, runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt [Images] in 2002, looked completely out of sorts, bamboozled time and again by winners flying off Dancevic's racket.
The 95th-ranked Dancevic put Nalbandian out of misery with a booming ace, his 16th of the match.
The defeat condemned the Argentine to his earliest exit from the All England [Images] Club.
Dancevic will next face American Bobby Reynolds as he bids to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time.
Safin to face Djokovic
Twice grand slam winner Marat Safin [Images] saw off a third-set fightback by Fabio Fognini to win 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 and set up a meeting with third-seeded Novak Djokovic, a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 winner over German journeyman Michael Berrer, in the second round.
Despite his oft-repeated dislike of grass courts, the big Russian, a quarter-finalist in 2001, produced an array of powerful shots in the first two sets to out-gun his 21-year-old Italian opponent.
Safin's concentration slipped in the third set and with it his accuracy. Fognini, making his first appearance in the men's singles, fought back to force a tiebreak but Safin's power and experience saw him through.
Karlovic makes an early exit
Earlier, Ivo Karlovic became the first seed to perish in the men's singles when he was surprisingly beaten 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 by German qualifier Simon Stadler.
Giant-serving Croat Karlovic, who many tipped to reach the later rounds here after he won the Nottingham warm-up event last week, went out in the first round for the fourth year in succession.
Karlovic banged down his customary barrage of aces, 23 in total, but after winning the first set comfortably enough his game went off the boil.
The 18th seed lost the second-set on a tiebreaker and world number 172 Stadler took full advantage to earn the biggest scalp of his career with single breaks of serve in the third and fourth sets.

Euro 2008: Italy vs Spain Images

2008-06-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

F-1 Spanish GP Gallery

2008-06-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Massa wins French GP; Ferrari finish 1-2

2008-06-23T10:29:00.003-07:00

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa drove past team mate Kimi Raikkonen to bag his third victory in the 2008 season at the French Grand Prix Felipe Massa stole victory from unlucky Kimi who developed a mysterious breakage at the rear end of the car, burning a hole near the exhaust, but managed to hold his second position to the podium. The hero of the day however, was the third place finish of the Toyota driver Jarno Trulli who utilised all the Formula One experience to keep McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen at bay en route to the podium.

The Ferraris were the clear winners in a circuit which required the cars to be absolutely perfect. The first half of the race was dominated by Kimi Raikkonen who developed a mysterious dent in the rear end of his car. A part exhaust pipe of his Ferrari was seen dangling in the car and the heat from the engine made a huge hole in the rear. This caused heavy damage to the aero dynamics of the car and gave Felipe Massa the opportunity to pass him. Kimi, who had a 25 second lead over third place Jarno Trulli, maintained his second position up to the podium with ease.

The man of the French GP was Toyota driver Jarno Trulli who made the first move and captured the third place from Fernando Alonso. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton too began in a classic fashion jumping three positions within the first few seconds of the race and was holding on to the 9 th position for a long time. Lewis had probably the most unlucky of days as on one hand he was battling Nelson Piquet Jr. for the eighth place and on the other was awarded a drive through penalty by the stewards who thought the Britain had gained an unfair advantage in the first lap when he went wide of the curbs on turn seven. The drive through penalty meant that he would be out on track back in 13 th position before having to pit again. Despite all the luck, Hamilton finished in a very commendable tenth place, but missing out on some crucial points.
His team-mate however had a mixed outing. Starting in sixth place Heikki drove himself to fourth barely missing the podium because of some brilliant driving be Toyota’s Jarno Trulli who bagged his first podium after the Australian podium in 2006.

Honda had early problems has Jenson Button managed to clip his front wing in the very first lap and had to pit early. But the damage to the car was far worse than what it looked as he had to retire soon after. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello had a forgetful day in the office as he finished last.

The BMWs clearly had their worst race of the season as the team who was consistently managing at least one podium finished, showed clear signs of struggle. Winner of the last race, Robert Kubica failed to prove a threat to anyone on track and quietly finished in fifth place. Nick Heidfeld’s race was just as disastrous as his qualifying on Saturday, finished thirteenth.

Team Renault, who has been relying for too long on their star performer and former world champion Fernando Alonso, had a surprise winner in the name of teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. who raced past the Renault No.1 driver after a crucial braking mistake at the hairpin turn. Fernando who was struggling from the beginning of the race his seventh position to Nelson Piquet who drove a very aggressive race despite the criticism he’s been facing from the beginning of the season regarding his temperament.

Force India had managed to complete the entire race as both drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil drove the complete race at the back of the grid, finishing eighteenth and nineteenth respectively.

Over all the French Grand Prix proved to be as exciting as the previous two races, despite being incident free. The cars were truly tested in French circuit that had some high speed straights and tight hairpins, requiring the cars to be high on down force as well as extremely throughout.

Kapil's 175 an epic knock, insist his '83 Devils

2008-06-23T10:29:00.001-07:00

New Delhi: Kapil Dev's heroic 175 at Tunbridge Wells will always remain a mystery to all those not fortunate enough to be there at the picturesque Nevill Ground on that historic summer day 25 years ago -- to be precise June 18. But his '83 batchmates swear that it is an all-time great knock, one that instilled self-belief in a bunch of no-hopers who had gone on to turn that World Cup on its head.

When Kapil walked out to bat at the smallest ground on the county circuit in Kent, India were nine for four and soon 17 for five against Zimbabwe. India were all but out of the World Cup. A win alone could have kept them afloat and Kapil single-handedly kept them alive, hammering a 138-ball unbeaten 175 with 16 fours and six sixes at a rate of 127 runs per 100 balls. India won that match by 31 runs and the rest, as they say, is history.

Little did the 23-year-old Indian captain know that his innings would change the destiny of world cricket.

“The man who showed us the way was our captain with that gutsy innings,” recalled senior pro of that side Sunil Gavaskar.

“Can you imagine that India, no-hopers before the tournament began, went on to show the world that they are world champions. It could not have been possible but for him (Kapil),” Gavaskar said at the felicitation gathering of the big boys of the Summer of '83 here Sunday.

“That Tunbridge Wells innings of Kapil was the best innings I have seen. I do not think people understand what a remarkable innings it was.”

“The top order was not able to put bat to the ball and here was a man who comes in and start hitting them to the distant corners of the ground.”

Gavaskar recalls how the whole team disappeared when Kapil returned to pavilion at lunch.

“There was nobody in the dressing room when Kapil came. We were all hiding our faces because our captain has showed us how to bat. It was from there that India took-off and we started believing in ourselves. That knock was an inspiration to the entire team.”

But Kapil's knock, then the ODI record, will forever remain part of cricketing folklore for a handful of spectators and the two teams present at Neville ground, which till that game was a venue for only week-end festival matches.

Alas, there is no video footage of that great innings as British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) staff was on strike that day.

“There is no footage of that innings. Had it been on tape, it would have been the hottest property today.” said Ravi Shastri.

Yashpal Sharma, who played a crucial knock in the semifinal against England, said that every time they went in to bat in a crisis situation after that Kapil's innings, they thought if the captain could do it, so could the entire team.

Action from the fourth quarterfinal match at the Euro 2008

2008-06-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Federer, Serena advance at Wimbledon

2008-06-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Wimbledon: Roger Federer has opened his bid for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty. And two-time champion Serena Williams has opened her Wimbledon campaign with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Estonia's Kaia Kanepi in the opening match on Court 1.

Federer won the first eight points on Monday to set the tone in the opening match on Centre Court against his former doubles partner and dominated throughout the 1-hour, 19-minute match.

Federer extended his winning streak on grass to 60 matches. He has not dropped a service game on grass this season, including his title run at Halle, Germany.

Williams, whose Wimbledon wins in 2002 and '03 are among her seven major titles, fended off five break point chances in the first set Monday and converted on her only opportunity on set point when French Open quarterfinalist Kanepi double faulted.

Williams, seeded sixth, broke Kanepi's serve once in the second set and served out at love

Sania should be back on Indian courts this year

2008-06-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Sania Mirza has made light of her much-publicised remark not to play in India by publicly stating for the first time that she is likely to be seen on an Indian tennis court this year. She will probably play in the Sunfeast Open in Mumbai in October.

Sania said she had never missed any tournament at home in her tennis-playing career except the Bangalore Open in March. She had skipped the tier-two Women's Tennis Association (WTA) event saying that she was tired of the controversies that chased her every time she stepped on to a court in India.

"It seems likely that I will play again in India this year," Sania, India’s number one and most written and talked about Indian woman tennis player, told IANS in an exclusive interview.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Before talking about Wimbledon, tennis fans will be anxious to know when will you be seen on a tennis court in India again? A: I have played in every tournament conducted in India for the last 10 years in which I was expected to play, right from the junior days, except for the WTA event in Bangalore in March. It seems likely that I will play again in India this year.

Q. Coming to Wimbledon, are you happy with the draw as you are likely to play a top-ten player only in the third round? A. It is a reasonable draw as I have done well last year to be seeded and that makes sure that I don't run into a top-32 player in the early rounds at a Grand Slam tournament. But as a tennis player, it would be premature to talk about the third round at this stage.

Q. How do you assess your fitness and form since you are entering Wimbledon after only a couple of weeks of returning to the circuit following a wrist surgery?A. Form and fitness are obviously not at the highest level but, under the circumstances, I am as well prepared as I could possibly be.

Q. How is the wrist after surgery, have you completely recovered from the injury as you had to play in Birmingham and Netherlands taking pain-killers?A. I still feel pain in some movements of the wrist but that is likely to remain for a few more weeks until the 'new wrist' gets adjusted to handling the impact of the ball and the complex movements of tennis strokes. I still need painkillers at times, but the good news is that the damage to the wrist has been repaired by the surgery and in due course of time, the pain should disappear.

Q. You had a reasonably good Wimbledon last year, having entered the third round. What are the expectations this time around?A. I prefer to take one match at a time and my first goal will be to try and win the first round (against Colombian Catalina Castano)

Q. You have been setting targets to achieve greater heights, but the injuries have come in the way. What is your realistic target for this year? A. I have to first see how my wrist behaves during the next few weeks before setting any targets. It is always difficult to comeback after an injury and straightaway get into the groove.

Q. Do you have a travelling coach with you?A. Sven Groenveld works with me during the Grand Slams and other major tournaments. My father (Imran Mirza) works in tandem with him and takes care of me for the rest of the time.

Q. What's your physio Renuka Pinto's role now that you have injury problems?A. I think she has done a great job in getting me back to competitive tennis in two months after surgery.

Many faces of Ana

2008-06-22T03:30:00.000-07:00

Wimbledon Babes

2008-06-22T03:24:00.000-07:00

Turkey's Nihat ruled out of Euro semifinals

2008-06-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

Vienna: Turkish coach Fatih Terim, who had only 17 players from his squad of 23 available for Friday's dramatic 3-1 penalty shoot-out quarter-final victory against Croatia, received more bad news on Saturday as inspirational striker Nihat Kahveci was ruled out for their semi-final clash against Germany.

Nihat, who plays for Villarreal in Spain, was taken off with an injury during the victory against Croatia and Turkish media reported Saturday that he will miss the clash against Germany.

Terim will also be without Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan, Volkan Demirel and Emre Asik who are suspended, while Emre Gungor will not be available because of an injury.

Several other players were also ruled out against Croatia through injury and there must be some doubts about the availability of Servet Cetin, Emre Belozoglu, Tumer Metin and Ayhan Akman for the semi-final clash.

Terim has however spurned the opportunity of calling up an extra player. "I believe in my squad," he has said.

He is now hoping that Monday's appeal by goalkeeper Volkan against a two-match suspension is upheld to allow him to return to the poles against Germany.

Italy, the opponent Spain didn't want in Euro

2008-06-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

Salzburg (Austria): The news of the Spain's quarterfinal line-up with Italy in the Euro 2008 football tournament's is not sitting well with the Spanish team, which would have much preferred to face Romania, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Thursday.

"There's no easy rival. At this level all are complicated. We have no preference," Spanish players and coach Luis Aragones have been saying over the past few days after beating Sweden and earning their ticket to the quarterfinals.

But the reality of the situation is something else. Aragones also said that Italy is the "best team in the world" in competitiveness and that Spain must try to play like the "Azzurri" (Blues) if it wants to advance to the final.

The Italians' enormous experience is highly valued by the Spanish coach, who - however - had been saying that Romania was the team to beat in the Euro, although he seemed to be saying it somewhat insincerely.

The players have the same viewpoint as Aragones. One revealing detail were the great shouts of joy - at first - and then of disappointment in the press room at the Neu Tivoli stadium in Innsbruck Friday.

That was when Aragones's players first celebrated the penalty shot secured by Romania against the Italians which could have knocked them out of the running, only to see Adrian Mutu miss it.

The same thing happened in the streets of Salzburg, where Spain is waiting for Wednesday's game against Greece.

The Spanish team did not take the news of a new duel with Italy well. Everyone was hoping for Romania and is suspicious of Italy, despite the fact that the Blues will not have Andrea Pirlo or Gennaro Gattuso for the important match.

They are also not consoled by Spain's victory in March's friendly with Italy in Elche. Therefore, at present, Italy appears to have won the mental battle.

Another element in the mix will be what happens in the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna.

There, Aragones's squad must dispel the ghosts that beset it and bring all their talents to bear, knowing that if they want to have a chance to become the Euro champs, they first have to get past Italy.

1983 World Cup celebrations kick-off Sunday

2008-06-22T03:18:00.001-07:00

The Silver Jubilee celebrations of the historic 1983 World Cup win will kick-off on Sunday with the re-union of the champion team members for a series of programmes, including a grand felicitation by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The celebrations will unfold in the afternoon with Vijay Mallya-owned United Beverage and Gitanjali Jewellers organising an event where the team members will unveil a bejewelled bat to mark Indian cricket's most memorable achievement.
Coverage: Summer of '83
The former cricketers will also play a round of golf in the afternoon at the Jaypee Golf course in Greater Noida.
The BCCI will felicitate the heroes of the nation, who had grounded the mighty West Indies [Images] to clinch the coveted Cup at Lord's on June 25 in 1983, later in the evening at a star-studded ceremony in a swanky city hotel.
The players will be felicitated with Rs 25 lakh each in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including Sports Minister M S Gill.
Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar [Images] had also been invited to grace the felicitation function but the legendary playback singer would not be able to make it owing to health reasons.
'Perhaps that day was for me only'
Lata had helped the BCCI raise funds to honour 'Kapil's Devils' through a special concert following the Indian team's triumph in the quadrennial extravaganza for the first and only time. Her concert in the national capital had mobilised Rs 20 lakh for the then cash-strapped BCCI and the team members were paid Rs one lakh each from the proceeds.
Other invitees include all former Test captains, all Test cricketers based in Delhi, women international cricketers in Delhi, women's former and current India captains and past office bearers of the BCCI.
Besides, the presidents and secretaries of all state associations and ambassadors of cricketing nations would also be present on the occasion.
In the same morning, the BCCI's all-powerful working committee, headed by its President Sharad Pawar [Images], will meet for what has been described as a "routine" meeting.
Everybody played to potential: Sandeep Patil
The agenda includes tabling of reports of various sub-committees like the Tours Programmes and Fixtures Committee, the Umpires committee, the pitch and grounds committee and the National Cricket Academy for ratification.
On Monday morning, the team will leave for London [Images] to attend the private celebrations arranged by Sunil Gavaskar [Images] at the prestigious Long Room of the Lord's where they created history 25 years ago.
BCCI president Sharad Pawar is expected to attend the gala dinner on Wednesday.

'Everybody played to their potential. That was the key'

2008-06-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

Underdogs India shocked the cricketing fraternity when they emerged triumphant at the 1983 World Cup. Many believe that India were plain lucky in the final, as the West Indies faltered badly while chasing a lowly target of 183 in 60 overs.
However, batting ace Sandeep Patil insists it was a case of self-belief and committment to the cause rather than anything else that India achieved the momentous feat.
Patil, himself, was a revelation with the bat and helped stitch important partnerships in the middle order whenever needed for a tally of 216 runs in eight matches. His most memorable knock was the cracking half-century (51 off 32 balls) in the semi-final against England [Images] that helped India enter the title clash in a positive frame of mind.
Rediff.com caught up with the 51-year-old to learn more on how 'Kapil's Devils' pulled it off.
India beat the West Indies [Images] for the first time at Berbice [in an ODI series] just before the World Cup. Do you think that win gave the team the required momentum?
Well, unfortunately, I missed out on that tour because I was nursing an injury. But, definitely, beating the West Indies anywhere is great, because they ruled world cricket in that era.
I think beating the West Indies in the West Indies is where the confidence came and India carried on that confidence to the World Cup.
India also won its first match in the 1983 World Cup, beating two-time champions West Indies. How big a boost was it?
Of course, beating the West Indies, particularly at the World Cup, was great, especially because India's record was so poor prior to the 1983 World Cup.
So, definitely, winning the first match and getting a head start was a boost.
Do you think that win gave India the confidence that also helped you guys in the final, despite posting a modest 183?
It is very easy to say that now because we won the World Cup. But we kept on trying. It was a sincere effort; we had self-belief and everybody played to their potential. I think that was the key.
Also, we never panicked, right from the first match to the final. Our captain, Kapil Dev [Images], who led the team so well, never put pressure on anybody, be it a batsman, bowler or fielder.
And everybody contributed.
Please continue�
In the fielding department, I think, Kris Srikkanth, Yashpal Sharma and Syed Kirmani were outstanding. Sunil (Gavaskar) was excellent in the slips. In the bowling [department], Kapil led the attack and was well-supported by Roger Binny [who was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament], Jimmy (Amarnath), Ballu (B S Sandhu) and Kirti (Azad) and Ravi (Shastri) at times.
In batting, we all played around Jimmy Amarnath. He was the sheet anchor, the pillar of strength, but we all played our parts. It was a consistent performance throughout the tournament by all 14 members.
How would you rate Kapil Dev as a captain?
The way he batted, the way he bowled� it was a total positive approach that certainly helped. That's why he was the captain.
Coming to your own batting, that knock of 51 (off just 32 balls), against England in the semi-finals, must be one of your memorable innings?
I remember that because I have very few memorable innings. It is really easy to remember that particular innings because that put India in the final. But how can you forget the partnership between Jimmy and Yashpal? They laid the foundation.
So, whether it was me, Kirti or Kapil, who followed, we knew we only had to finish. Of course, we finished in style!
The asking rate was definitely not easy, because in those days [it had climbed over six] five-plus was considered impossible; but we managed it. Being in good form helped. I also had a good knock earlier that year at Old Trafford, 129 against Bob Willis. So, same bowlers, same team and same wicket, that helped me.
Would you consider the World Cup win as India's biggest triumph?
I would say it was 1971. Ajit Wadekar's team put India on the world map. Winning the World Cup was definitely special. We also won the World Championships in 1985, the Asia Cup and in Sharjah. But people still give more importance to that World Cup win.

Force India disappoint in qualifying

2008-06-22T03:12:00.000-07:00

Force India drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil will start Sunday's French Grand Prix at the back of the grid after being eliminated in the first qualifying session in Magny-Cours.
Due to the 10-pace grid penalty on Williams' Nico Rosberg from the Canadian Grand Prix [Images], Fisichella and Sutil avoided a 19-20 start by finishing 18th and 19th respectively in the tight qualifying session.
With the entire field covered by just two seconds, Fisichella and Sutil were only one second from the top 10 in the first 20-minute segment. But their quickest laps could only see them finish 19th and 20th fastest of the session.
Raikkonen takes French GP pole
Sutil hoped that the team would fight its way up in the race with an aggressive strategy.
"The general balance of the car was OK and it was quite nice to drive particularly after the problems we had yesterday, but it's so close. We need to improve so that's why we're at the back of the grid for now," Sutil said.
"We know though that our race pace is good compared to others and we can stay with them so now we need to concentrate on getting to the end of the race and having a good finish, that's what is important," he added.
Fisichella blamed the poor qualifying on "understeer issues".
"It was a difficult qualifying session for us as the whole field is very close. We did three single lap runs, one on harder tyre and two on soft, to try and get the most out of the tyres, the car felt better balanced than this morning.
"We still have some understeer issues, particularly when it gets hotter as it did this afternoon. We will have to see for the race now as we know that we are more competitive under race conditions," he said.
Download Force India wallpapers
Team's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne, however, felt the qualifying session is not all disappointing as it was difficult to negotiate.
"I think we have to face facts that Formula One is incredibly competitive this year and to get through to Q2 here in Magny-Cours you had to be within a second of the quickest time," he said.
"We are pretty much where we expected to be this afternoon and both drivers got the most out of the car and the session. As we know, our race pace is usually very good compared to the group in front and we need to have a good reliable race and get two cars to the finish to see what places we can pick up," he added.
Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen [Images] took Ferrari's [Images] 200th pole position as he and team mate Felipe Massa [Images] dominated the qualifying. Raikkonen put in a lap of 1m 16.449s compared to Massa's time of 1m 16.490s to make it a one-two start for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton [Images] was third but the 10-place grid penalty from Montreal means the Englishman will start 13th. Renault's Fernando Alonso [Images] (1m 16.840s) benefited from Hamilton's misfortune as he took the third spot with Toyota's Jarno Trulli (1m 16.920s) at fourth.

'Perhaps that day was for me only'

2008-06-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

Kapil Dev, who led India to the memorable triumph in the 1983 World Cup, gets nostalgic in conversation with Times Now's Arnab Goswami. Excerpts:

Kapilji, first of all, it's wonderful to see you once again and we are not going talk about ICL, IPL, controversies or any of that in the course of this chat.
Well, you are the boss and once you are invited and want to take an interview it's entirely up to you whatever you want to ask.

Okay, then we will talk about the few days that led to the most historic days in Indian cricket on 25th of June 1983. Take us through that time because so many people watched that in television... so many youngsters haven't seen what happened on that day.
Very difficult to remember everything; 25 years is not like yesterday� 25 years is 25; your brain starts fading out, a lot of memories start going off, but you do remember incidents because they remain in your memory through out your life. You cant remember what you have eaten, what you did at that day, but, as we can say, we got out very cheaply. 183 is not a total to play against West Indies [Images], who were champions twice in the World Cup before. And, yes, you remember the Balwinder Singh Sandhu thing...the coming up...up the hill bowled a gem of a ball...you remember that. You remember Srikkanth hitting a square cut to Marshall I mean, few things you can't forget, so I can't really say I will remember everything.
Like in the dressing room...we come back...and we were a very happy lot basically...not ...not...anybody not expected us we can reach to the finals so we had started celebrating before it happened because coming into final was a victory for us. Let's put it that way... And we were very disappointed to see the wicket... it was total green and we played Lord's few times but that wicket I still remember and we were all trying to say what is this...you know...even though we understand our strength but we were worried about the opponents strength also...bowler like Garner, Marshall, N D Robert, Michael Holding...those 4 fast bowlers. One can say...you can play for the century in any team they were so good.
Summer of '83
Two most glorious moments in my view -- one captured on television and one not captured as BBC crew was on strike was your 175 not out before the semi-finals... I'll talk about that a little later but one moment I remember is your running backwards...it was Vivian Richards at 28 and you took a brilliant catch...that really for me and many other people was the highest point of a 23-and-a-half-year-old captain...leading a young side...and that's killer instinct when you run backwards and take a catch of Vivian Richards...that was probably the biggest turning points.
No, I think the over before Viv hit me a couple of boundaries and hit Amarnath a couple of fours, cover drives, square drive and I asked Madan; I said Madi Pa take a break, you know take an over or two. He was very, one can, say adamant...Madan. and he said no give me this over...
He said that?
Yes...I would say as if he grabbed the ball and I was trying to say doesn't matter every bowler...Vivian Richard bowling any bowler can get hit but I said to him...I calmed him down and said Madi Pa just take a break. He said no just give me the over I'll...what word he said...give me one over I'll get him out. I have got him out much time before...he said in Punjabi and I said ok fine. When a bowler believes so much...one should always be ready to go with the flow and captain should follow bowler's instinct also and I think that's what happened perhaps and I would say Viv at that time was so arrogant in his approach.
He was the king
No doubt one of the finest batsmen...
Absolutely
Ever played this game and his over confidence was our victory because had he played a little calmed down and played with more time he could have walked through with the cup but again.
And you remember that particular catch?
Yes, I think.
You ran backwards...did you realize running backwards?
Yes, I think what happened is...
Were you afraid of falling down?
No. A lot of people said about...what happen when these things happen is your reflexes take over. I don't remember...I saw the ball...the ball was in the air for quite long time...I started running. After taking the catch we realized what happened...not that period of 4 sec, 5 sec or 10 sec
That's why Sunny Gavaskar always says, still says...'Kapil Dev [Images] is the greatest natural player of the have that we have got'. This World Cup was very important in also the sense that everybody says about the young players and young captains...you were 23-years-and-a-half; you had taken over in difficult times. Here the tremendous personality of Bishen Singh Bedi in 1978 when you had taken over and then you took over the captaincy from Sunny Gavaskar and Indian cricket was dominated over by the Mumbai lobby and everyone said Sunny Gavaskar and Kapil Dev don't get along and here you were spearheading the side in a pretty mature way but in a bit of dare devilish way ...one must say...
I think anybody who has ruled cricket for so long it is difficult to give up that thing. We should respect Bombay...they were one sort of cricketers where we learn a lot from them without any doubt and I think and their power that they had for 40 years was coming out in a different manner. And perhaps I was very young; all of these guys were my heroes too.
Were you talking to Sunny through out the tournament?
On and off...I mean most of the time me and Sunny start working more is...when you are 23 you are very immature...
How old was Sunny at that time?
Must be 8 years senior to me or 10 years seniors to me and I think Sunny...
It's like Dhoni [Images]...but like Dhoni and Dravid...Dhoni and Sachin...
Sachin yes...I think we were school kids and in colleges when Sunny and Jimmy and Madan and Kiri were all playing for the country. So I can only say that when Sunny and me come into that is much later after 83, 84 it start happening. Then we were discussing...I start standing in the slip where I could discuss with him much more. All of them used to treat me like a kid off the field and on the field also
The game against Zimbabwe...you probably knew as a captain...if you got this match wrong the chances of getting through were impossible.
When we were 17/5 and then you get 100 and odd runs it sounds to be a very important and enjoyable innings but as a captain...every captain would like to give a performance like that to the team when you are down. But it wasn't important, we weren't thinking about Zimbabwe we can lose because we were winning our matches and playing so well and where it comes to be that Zimbabwe match is very important is that we should win the match with 311 runs. I still remember in the dressing room if we win that and lose the next match against Australia we will be through for the semis.
In this particular 175 runs partnership when did Kiri come in...what was the score then?
Round about 100 and something when Kiri comes in...
100 and something for 7?
Ya round about and that is the time...before that little bit Madan scored, little bit Roger Binny and everybody gave me a little bit of breathing space
I just want to understand because I don't think in the history of Indian cricket there has been a 9th wicket partnership of a 126 runs between you and Kirmani...and in which Kirmani scored 24 of 56 balls eventually�
I think Kiri and me were just saying that Kiri you just have to say there. I was running out of the partners and I kept telling Kiri once I get 160-170 on the board...after that I said Kiri now I'll open up you stay there. And before that I was telling everybody I am going to stay there you do whatever you want to. And here I turn my role, I remember saying to Kiri...Kiri you stay there...you have to play 60 overs. And I think all this happened in the last seven overs, if I am not wrong...
Absolutely...
Last seven overs I think... in every cricketer's life... sometimes the time comes that that day is made for him only.
Absolutely...when it's magic...when it's written in destiny
It happens to every cricketer who played. like Sunil Gavaskar [Images], Vivian Richards, or you can say Allan Border [Images] or you can say Zaheer Abbas or you can say Sachin Tendulkar [Images], Rahul Dravid [Images], Sourav Ganguly [Images]... everybody had few days is written perhaps that day was for me only.
How did you feel that day...when you made 175 out of 138 balls...magnificent...
I wasn't tired...
Were you...were you tired?
I wasn't tired... I think the happiness takes over the tiredness, whatever you get. You are so happy that you performed so well.. you got 100 and odd runs when the team is down. Not that you also got 100 runs when the team is also at 500 runs.
Not when the team is down but when the team is almost out because it was this performance that took you on three days later into a stunning victory against Australia where you thrashed them by about 120 runs...when you had been thrashed by 150 runs in the previous game because that was the impetuous...that impetuous...you played a T20 performance...do you realize?.
I think that moment what happened is once you win a match like this against Zimbabwe...then what happens is you go for everything with over-confidence or you can start believing, yes we can do. That victory gave the team that much extra strength. We can beat anybody now. And in the next match again Roger Binny was a champion bowler, one of the best bowling performances he did during the World Cup.
And Yashpal Sharma scored 40�
Ya, everybody...the great thing about 83 World Cup was there is not even one person who can say I played well through out the tournament... every match a different player came out and won the match.
Well, it's strange that history repeats itself and it repeats itself in cricket because the whole T20 impetuous, the T20 World Cup... If one was to look back and turn back the clock 25 years back you played the T20 performance 18th of June against Zimbabwe and victory against Australia was so reminiscent of the kind of victories we saw in 2008 Jan in Australia...we thrashed them because we believed that we could thrash them and that's what you are talking about. It's more the self believe that you could thrash Australia in the World Cup.
Ya I think... After Zimbabwe it's just that the belief in the dressing room was far, far ahead of our time in that moment. And we didn't have computer, we dint have coaches, we had nobody it's just the team themselves.
Paji, tell me what happened in the team... I want to just know... tell me the little inside story... what happened in the dressing room? How did a 23-and-a-half-year-old captain, angry, aggressive player� how did he motivate his team...tell me what happened in the dressing room...
I don't know... other guys can say... I wasn't shy ever in my life to give my point of view to anybody they like it or not...
What did you say?
I don't remember, but I think at that time we were so happy to save our face against Zimbabwe and going in on the only thing was to come to the semi-finals; that was the aim, the actual aim of the team was half way through the tournament. We said we could reach to the semi-final if we start now. Somewhere along the time you don't need a manager, you don't need anybody. The spirit of players gels so well. And somebody in the team always come out as a champion. Maybe, Kirmani, maybe Sunil, maybe Kirti Azad, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, Yashwanth Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Ravi Shastri... I mean any cricketer you take like Srikkanth came about...he was the most interesting player...
Tell me a story...
I think Srikkanth was one who lightened up the dressing room the most...I mean he does so many funny things...we always used to find he was one who was the one most...unreliable in the dressing room, in a sense if all the cup, plates, tea-coffee happen if anybody is going to break it will be him to break something in the dressing room.
Why?
He was like that... his moment of hand, the way he used to bat and he was I thought a very nice character; every team have to have a character that release the tension. Everybody is not like Sunil Gavaskar; he never liked to talk to anybody when he's batting, so it was funny story Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar going in to bat, because Srikkanth used to go west and Sunil used to go South... because Sunny was totally indifferent.
Is that why Srikkanth started talking to himself?
Maybe, maybe... he was...so many times he lightened up in every sense is he come out and do such funny things... I would say he was young boy... he was our age and laugh at seniors and make a Mickey out of seniors cricketers� and I thought this kind of cricketers is required in all teams, everybody become very serious; becomes very difficult in the dressing room...so I thought I would love to have a man... this type of character in the team because you do require to lighten up things in the team.
That picture that we see again and again... Kapil Dev when somebody looks back at the 10 most historic moments in a century for India... they are going to take the moment of June 25th your holing of Prudential Cup. You are the person in the frame... you are the personality in the frame for one of the 10 most historic moments for India.
God was kind... God was kind
God was kind... I just want to know... want to know what went through your moment when you held the Cup... what went through your heart?
I was too immature... I don't think so its easy to say now but I think a boy of... a man of 23 years old can't really with this cricket ability can you talk... but I don't think so if I put it correctly I was mature enough no.
Such a big day...
It was a fantastic day...one of the best...we were like...like a one-year old whom you have given a ball and a bat and he's playing
What did you tell your mates? Before you were going to go and take the Prudential Cup in your hands and after that...
I always believe it was team work and when they gave me the Cup I handed it to everybody. And I think those types of feeling is very difficult to describe in words... you can't describe. Every cricketer plays for that... every cricketer... and I felt something like we have got a toy which has given us new life. Even though we were trying to be very arrogant and very smart... no this is what we did... but heart and heart everybody was like a small kid.
The best thing happened... everybody carried the champagne and I carry the champagne in my hand bag despite of we win or loose doesn't matter. I said I am going to open the bottle. Because coming in the final; but when we won and when we went to... you know those days you go to the opponent's team dressing room and shake hand and try to cheer them. Rather than these days what we see both the teams coming out on the ground shaking hands... This is what such a lovely thing... we went to their dressing room and we were trying to see and they were totally down... they couldn't imagine ever this could happen, they couldn't imagine ever in there life this could have hit them. And they had a bottle of champagne in unbelievable numbers and I think we got lot of them from there dressing room. And that's how it happened that we were smiling and we were saying and everybody picked up and they said boys don't worry it happens.
I remember I went to Clive and Marshall -- two people -- and I said... Viv, I always treated as � is like my hero, and that's the time I said doesn't matter it happens to best of best people and players also. I went to Clive and Clive got up and start shaking hands with every people and that picture remain in my head so clear.
Well, Kapil Dev I am going to wrap this up by saying on behalf of everybody watching the show today thank you for giving us that moment and I hope you had a great time reliving the 83 World Cup.
I would only say that it was the greatest team effort and nobody can win a team game individually. It's a group of people who believe in themselves
You have given India its greatest Cricketing moment, absolutely delighted that you shared the moment with us. Greatest sporting hero. Thank you so much for talking to me.
Thank you.

Arshavin is Russia's new soccer star at Euro 2008

2008-06-22T02:58:00.000-07:00

Basle (Switzerland): Andrei Arshavin was unable to collect his man-of-the-match award after being selected for the post-match doping control, but that was about the only thing that stopped him in Basle on Saturday night.

The Dutch defence or midfield certainly could not handle him. Not only was Arshavin the inspiration for Russia in a memorable 3-1 extra-time defeat of the Netherlands, he demonstrated once again at Euro 2008 that a new star has arrived on the world football stage.

Arshavin earned the man-of-the-match award for the second straight game after missing Russia's opening two matches through suspension, before showing what the tournament had missed in the 2-0 win over Sweden just three days ago.

Arshavin made an erstwhile strong Dutch defence look a sorry state at times as he set up one goal and scored the last himself as Russia swept in the semi-finals.

By the end of the 120 minutes, the little playmaker looked unstoppable, and centre-back Andre Ooijer must have been pleased to hear the final whistle.

Russia's Dutch coach Guus Hiddink had only words of praise.

"We already saw in the Sweden game that although he did not have the same fitness because of his suspension he has tremendous skill."

"He is one of the boys who knows how to dribble and run into the zone of the defence where the defenders can run with him but not attack him."

"He is so nice to work with, this guy, because he is a natural winner."

The 27-year-old, who likes to drift in from midfield to support the attack, had already been a stand-out figure for Zenit St. Petersburg this season on their run to the UEFA Cup title.

He began the quarter-final relatively quietly in a tentative opening spell from both sides, but his influence on the game became increasingly apparent the longer it wore on.

Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar was forced to stretch in the 32nd minute when Arshavin took on Ooijer and jinked into a shooting position.

An audacious free-kick then flashed across goal and moments later he begun the move that led to Sergei Semak crossing for Roman Payluchenko to open the scoring in the 56th minute.

After Ruud van Nistelrooy had headed an 86th-minute equalizer, the Russians - and Arshavin in particular - took over and a series of chances were wasted before he set up substitute Dmitiri Torbinsky for a second goal in the 112th minute.

With the Dutch a spent force, he rounded off a memorable performance four minutes later by leaving Ooijer standing to smash in the third.

Euro 2008: Russia vs Netherlands

2008-06-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

David Beckham on Al-Qaida’s hitlist?

2008-06-22T02:50:00.000-07:00

London: Soccer ace David Beckham and other England football stars are apparently the targets of a terror attack by Al-Qaida.

Reports gathered by MI6 suggests an attack on the holiday destination of Dubai, where Beckham and other stars have homes, could be imminent, reports the Daily Star.

The Foreign office has raised the level of threat faced by the United Arab Emirates from ‘general’ to ‘high’.

The British Embassy in Dubai warned travellers: “There is a high threat from terrorism.”

“We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the United Arab Emirates. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests."

“You should maintain a high level of security awareness, particularly in public place,” the British Embassy added.

Beckham and other footballers Gary Neville, Michael Owen, David James, Joe Cole, Andy Cole and Kieron Dyer all own properties on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, known as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’.

The millionaires’ playground has been mentioned several times as a potential target on al-Qaida websites monitored by the security services.

Netherlands miss another chance at Euro 2008

2008-06-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Basel (Switzerland): The Netherlands added another chapter to the list of tournaments it might have won after its high-powered attack was tamed by Russia on Saturday in the European Championship quarterfinals.

The Dutch, whose only major title was the 1988 European Championship, saw another golden chance of glory pass by at St. Jakob Park, where it rarely looked like scoring and was completely outclassed by an upstart Russian team.

"They were really a good squad today," Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. "Better than we were."

Playmaker Andrei Arshavin set up one goal and scored another in extra time to give Russia a deserved 3-1 victory and a semifinal date on Thursday in Vienna, Austria. It will play either Spain or Italy.

Arshavin set up the winning goal when he skipped past defender Andre Ooijer in the 112th minute and lobbed a cross over goalkeeper Edwin van der Saar toward the far post. Substitute Dimitry Torbinski was there to tap home.

Four minutes later, the star of the Zenit St. Petersburg team that won the UEFA Cup last month did all the work himself by getting behind the defense and scoring from a tight angle through the legs of Van der Sar.

"We had a lot of problems with the attackers (Roman) Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin," said Van Basten, who scored a memorable goal when the Dutch won the European Championship 20 years ago. "That's the reason we couldn't come into the game."

Arshavin said Russia expected the Netherlands to come out aggressively.

"But they ran out of gas," he said.

Earlier, Pavlyuchenko scored in the 56th to give Russia a 1-0 lead after Sergei Semak crossed from the left. Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy equalized in the 86th minute with a diving header off Wesley Sneijder's free kick to force extra time.

The Netherlands' loss was a surprise considering the way it dominated world champion Italy, World Cup runner-up France and Romania in its first-round matches. The Dutch had scored nine goals and conceded only once, while wowing fans and pundits with their attacking football.

"We were marvellous in the first round, but that does not count anymore," attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart said.

Led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, Russia sought to snuff out the Netherlands' attack with Semak playing deep to frustrate Van Nistelrooy up front, and Sneijder and Van der Vaart tucked just behind.

Dirk Kuyt gave a timid performance positioned on the flanks, and was replaced at halftime by Robin van Persie. He fared little better, and with star Arjen Robben out with a groin injury, the Dutch lost their usual strength down the wings. Most of its attacks, as a result, were directed down a packed middle of the pitch, where it could not break a defense led by Denis Kolodin and Sergei Ignashevich.

"I don't want to use big words but it is almost a miracle," said Hiddink, who coached the Netherlands from 1995 to '98. "It is unbelievable what the boys performed. They tactically and physically outplayed the Dutch."

For the Dutch, the reasons may be different this time but the end result is an all too familiar one. The Netherlands goes home with a positive goal difference of six — the best in the tournament — and having arguably made the best overall impression.

In the crowd, the greatest Dutch player of all watched on and must have seen this coming. Johan Cruyff led the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final with a brand of "total football" that mesmerized opponents. It lost 2-1 to West Germany.

The Dutch returned to the final four years later, only to lose to host Argentina in extra time. There were also penalty shootout eliminations in the 1998 World Cup to Brazil and in the Euro 2000 semifinal match to Italy, when it failed to score against an Italian team that was reduced to nine men.

In that match, it missed two penalties in regular time and another three in the shootout to crash out at home.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Commiserations

Russia's Dutch head coach Guus Hiddink (right) hugs Netherlands' head coach Marco van Basten after the quarterfinal match between the two countries in Basel, Switzerland at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:44:00.000-07:00

Unbridled joy

Russia's Roman Pavlyuchenko celebrates at the end of the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland. Russia won 3-1.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:43:00.000-07:00

Reaching out

Russia's Dutch head coach Guus Hiddink (centre) hugs (from left) Netherlands' Mario Melchiot, Andre Ooijer and Dirk Kuyt after the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, June 21, 2008, at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:42:00.001-07:00

We did it

Russia's Dutch head coach Guus Hiddink (left) celebrates with Dmitri Torbinski after the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland. Russia defeated Netherlands 3-1.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

Disappointed bunch

Dutch players react at the end of the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland, onJune 21, 2008, at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

Small is big!

A small group of Russian soccer fans react among a large group of Netherlands fans, in the fan zone in Basel, Switzerland, after the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championship quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia. Russia defeated the Netherlands 3-1.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:38:00.001-07:00

Celebration time

Russia's Andrei Arshavin (hidden) is celebrated by his teammates after scoring the side's third goal during the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships. Russia defeated Netherlands 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:37:00.001-07:00

Outta here!

Referee Lubos Michel from Slovakia awards a red card to Russia's Denis Kolodin during the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland, on June 21, 2008, at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

One for my team

Netherlands' Ruud van Nistelrooy reacts after scoring during the quarterfinal match between his country and Russia in Basel, Switzerland, at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

Spectacular save

Dutch goal-keeper Edwin van der Sar deflects a ball to the bar during the third quarterfinal match at the Euro 2008 Soccer Championships between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel, Switzerland.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

Fair challenge

Netherlands' Johnny Heitinga (front right) and Joris Mathijsen (rear) challenge Russia's Sergei Ignashevich during the quarterfinal match between their two countries at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Basel, Switzerland.

Euro 2008: Images from the Netherlands vs Russia quarterfinals match

2008-06-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Sea of orange

Dutch fans cheer with a flare as they gather in downtown Basel, Switzerland, prior to the quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Russia in Basel on June 21, 2008, at the Euro 2008 European Soccer Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Euro - Jubilant Russia celebrates win over Dutch

2008-06-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia celebrated well into the night after its team unexpectedly reached the Euro 2008 semi-finals on Saturday with a thoroughly deserved 3-1 extra-time win over Netherlands.
Thousands of Muscovites poured onto the streets within minutes of the final whistle in Basel where Russia, coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink, stunned their much fancied opponents with a great display of attacking football.
"We finally did it. Congratulations to everyone," yelled a young fan, wrapped in the Russian flag as he walked along the Manezh Square.
Others praised Dutch-born Russian coach Hiddink. "Guus, Guus, Guus", the fans shouted into the warm night air.
According to Moscow police, nearly 500,000 fans joined the celebrations.
"In the city centre alone we had more than 200,000 people celebrating the Russian victory," a police spokesman was quoted as saying by Russian media.
Russia President Dmitry Medvedev also congratulated the team on their superb win.
"It was a great game and a great victory," the Kremlin press office quoted him as saying.
The city centre came to a complete standstill as thousands of jubilant fans, waving national flags and yelling "Rossiya, Rossiya", blocked traffic along the main roads.
Motorists honked their horns while some climbed on top of their cars and others set off fireworks.
It is 20 years since Russia, who next play Spain or Italy, last reached the semi-finals of a major tournament.
In 1988, as part of the Soviet Union, they made the European Championship final in Germany but lost 2-0 to the Dutch, whose current coach Marco van Basten was on the scoresheet.
Thousands of riot police were on guard throughout Moscow on Saturday to keep the celebrations under control but there were no major disturbances or serious injuries reported.

Images from Friday's match (June 20) between Turkey and Croatia

2008-06-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

1983 World Cup triumph: A story of grit and determination

2008-06-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

There have been many memorable moments in India's cricketing history over the last 25 years, but as great as some of these occasions may have been they haven't managed to displace Kapil Dev's Devils feat of winning the 1983 World Cup from being the country's greatest-ever cricketing feat.

Kapil's team were hardly considered to be a good one-day team going into the third Cricket World Cup, and it would have taken a strong soul to back this team of all-rounders to pull out the rug from under the world's strongest teams. Remember, this was a team in which the established batting stars were Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Mohinder Amarnath and Kapil, while the bowling attack was led by the captain with able support from a battery of medium-pacers including Roger Binny, Amarnath, Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu.

But, this didn't deter Kapil and his band of merry men one bit as they caused a huge upset in the their first match of the tournament as they defeated two-time defending champions West Indies by 34 runs at Old Trafford to get their campaign off to a rousing start. The Indians eased to an expected win over Zimbabwe in their second match, but lost their next two matches to Australia and West Indies respectively to find themselves in a must-win match against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells on June 18, 1983.

Related stories:
An Ode to the King of Tunbridge Wells Summer of 1983: Binny's Day Out

And, this was the match in which Kapil led from the front with an unbeaten 175 to help India score 266 for 8 in 60 overs after his team had been reduced to 17 for 5 early in the match with all the top-order batsmen back in the pavilion. Enough and more has been written about Kapil's magnificent innings and words really can't do full justice to what was a great knock played by one of the game's best-ever all-rounders. Kapil's innings not only helped India come back into the tournament as they beat Zimbabwe by 31 runs, but more importantly instilled the self-confidence and determination in the squad's members to do more than their best in the remainder of the tournament. India then went on to thrash Australia by 118 runs in its last league match to finish the round-robin stage with four wins in six matches to book a semi-finals date with England.

The Indians eased to a six-wickets victory over England to set up a title clash against West Indies on June 25, 1983, who would have been favoured to win their third consecutive World Cup after having bowled India out for 183 runs. Only three Indian batsmen -- Kris Srikkanth (38), Amarnath and Patil crossed the 20-runs mark as the rest of the batting collapsed against some hostile Windies bowling.

But, the Windies team and supporters didn't expect a spirited fightback by the Indians with their skipper Kapil again leading the way. Kapil ensured that his team members stayed focussed on the touch and excelled on the field, and if his efforts throughout the tournament weren't enough, he took a fantastic backward running catch to dismiss Viv Richards off Madan Lal's bowling to instill new life into his team as Amarnath and the other bowlers then ran through the West Indian batting line-up for 140 runs to give India its only 50-overs World Cup triumph till date.

Through the group stages itself, it could be felt that the selectors' decision to pack the 1983 World Cup squad with all-rounders was a good move as these were the players who more often than not helped India out of troubled waters, especially taking into account that the openers -- Gavaskar and Srikkanth didn't have the best of tournaments. Gavaskar's contribution was only 59 runs in six matches, while Srikkanth with the top-score of 38 runs in the finals boosted his runs tally to 156 from eight matches. India, though was lucky to have the batsmen like Amarnath and Patil in the top-order who were able to re-build the innings on more than one occasion with Yashpal Sharma too chipping in with valuable runs.

Yashpal with 241 runs was the second-highest scorer for India behind Kapil (304 runs) and these two were well-supported by Amarnath who scored 205 runs and took eight wickets and Patil, who made 216 runs in the tournament. It was the same story with the ball as well as Binny took 18 wickets to finish as the top-wicket taker in the 1983 World Cup, and he received good support from Madan Lal (17 wickets) and Kapil, who took 12 wickets to cap off a wonderful tournament on the individual as well as team front for him. Balwinder Singh Sandhu had only eight wickets to show for his effort, but bowled economically with the new ball to stifle the runs for the opposition.

In one of his interviews after the famous win, Kapil said of the final: "I think that belief was the only thing that was different between the Indian and the West Indies team; and that, somehow, somewhere, we start believing. How it comes into the team, I don't know... I mean, I can't really put a finger." And, this in essence was the key to the success for the 1983 World Cup -- self-confidence, team spirit, belief and the ability to take on challenges heads on and come out triumphant. Kapil's Devils -- thank you for these wonderful memories and here's hoping the team going to the 2011 World Cup can replicate your success to add another memorable chapter in the history of Indian cricket.

Ronaldo is not for sale

2008-06-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

London: Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale, his English club Manchester United insisted Friday amid growing speculation that the Portugal winger aims to leave for Real Madrid.

"Ronaldo has continually been linked with a move to Spanish side Real Madrid this summer. But the club reaffirmed that the 23-year-old United star is 'not for sale'," said United in a statement on its website.

"United are not listening to offers," it said.

Real have set their sights on the star player for weeks but the English champions and European Champions League winners United are determined to keep him.

Coach Sir Alex Ferguson has even suggested that he would rather bench Ronaldo than sell him.

United were responding to statements from Ronaldo after Portugal's elimination from Euro 2008 Thursday night in which he suggested a move to the Spanish champions.

"The possibilities of me going to Madrid are great but as you've all seen it doesn't depend on me. In the next few days, we will see if we can arrive at an agreement. I have many desires and in the next days, they will become clear," he was quoted as saying.

"In two or three days' time I will announce my future because the tournament is over for me," he said.

Kimi scores French pole

2008-06-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen will start first on the grid on Race Day as he bagged the pole position in the French Grand Prix Qualifying. The Finnish driver proved quicker than his team-mate Felipe Massa who will start second . The Ferrari cars looked solid and extremely well - balanced throughout all three sessions and stand a strong chance of maintaining this form in the race too. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will have to serve a 10-place grid penalty on Race Day as a result of the Canadian GP pit lane mishap, finished third behind the two Ferraris and will start the race in thirteenth position.

A surprising performance by the Toyotas in all three sessions was the highlight of the Q ualifying. Jarno Trulli was constantly posing a threat to the top drivers by clocking well within the top five and so was Timo Glock, who was also pretty consistent (with the exception of a Q3 spin off the track) and will start on P10. Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren was struggling for form as he finished sixth, one place behind Trulli. Fourth place went to the always-eager Fernando Alonso who looked pretty confident in his Renault. However his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr struggled as usual, finishing eleventh. Hamilton ’s penalty means both Renaults will start inside the top ten, with Alonso getting P3 and Piquet scraping in at P10.

A disappointing feature of the Qualifying was seeing the BMWs struggling on track, especially after a magical 1-2 finish in the Canadian GP . Both drivers could just not carry forward the momentum. Nick Heidfeld was nowhere near quick enough and did not even make it to Q3. Robert Kubica , too, struggled with the car and finished at a shaky seventh.

No luck for Force India either as once again the team did not manage to get either of their cars past Q1.

It will be interesting to see if the Ferraris will return to their winning ways in the French GP, especially after the last two races did not yield them the best results. Also worth watching will be Felipe Massa’s performance as against team-mate Kimi. Massa has outshone the Finnish World Champion in the team’s last two outings and his increased confidence is apparent in his driving form. He is now also a serious contender for the Drivers’ Championship of 2008, more so than Kimi.
Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren will have to race his heart out if he wants to bag a podium place and stay in the running for individual points. And if not podium places, Team McLaren will at least be looking to score maximum points in the top eight at the French GP if they want to catch up on the Team Constructor standings

Germany now a force at Euro 2008: Coach

2008-06-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tenero (Switzerland): Germany demonstrated they are "a force to reckoned with" in eliminating Portugal from Euro 2008, coach Joachim Loew said Friday.

Germany bounced back from two indifferent performances to defeat Portugal 3-2 in Basle Thursday evening to set up a semi-final encounter with either Croatia or Turkey.

Loew said Germany found their winning tournament mentality in downing Portugal - but revealed the victory had cost him a bottle of red wine in a bet with assistant coach Hansi Flick.

Flick, in charge of coaching duties on the touchline while the banned Loew was watching from the stands, had bet that Germany would score from a free-kick.

He was then delighted to see Germany score twice from the set-pieces through Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack.

That was an area of defensive weakness the Germans had planned to exploit in the Portugal side, Loew said at the team's Swiss camp in Tenero.

"We showed in this game that we are a factor in this tournament and that the strong Portuguese weren't able to withstand the pressure of a quarter-final," he said.

After the 2-1 defeat to Croatia and hard-fought 1-0 win over Austria, Loew said the decision was taken to change tactics to play with a five-man midfield in a 4-2-3-1 system.

"We realised we had to make small corrections for the Portugal game," he said.

Loew was pleased with the performances of Bayer Leverkusen's Simon Rolfes and Stuttgart's Thomas Hitzlsperger who both started for the first time and helped snuff out Portugal's midfield threat.

"Rolfes has a way of playing which fits our philosophy," Loew said.

Loew may have Torsten Frings back in action for the semi-final in Basle Wednesday as he recovers from a cracked rib. The Werder Bremen player was due to train Friday with his chest taped but would be kept out of any tackling.

Loew also praised man-of-the-match Bastian Schweinsteiger who scored one goal and provided the free-kicks for the two others to make amends for a red card against Croatia and a one-match suspension.

"He knew after the Croatia game that he owed something to us all. He did very well," he said.

"The joy and atmosphere and relief to have reached the semi-final was big. The players were tired from the fight but very relieved as well," he said.

Euro 2008: Russia beats Netherlands to reach semis

2008-06-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Basel (Switzerland): Russia scored two goals in extra time on Saturday to produce the biggest upset so far at the European Championship with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands.

Dimitry Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin scored within five minutes of each other in the second half of extra time. Roman Pavlyuchenko also scored for Russia, while Ruud van Nistelrooy scored for the Dutch in the 86th.

Russia, coached by former Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink, will face either Spain or Italy in the semifinals on Thursday in Vienna, Austria.

''I don't want to use big words but it is almost a miracle,'' Hiddink said after hobbling out of his dugout to dance with his players. ''It is unbelievable how the boys performed. ... They outplayed tactically and physically the Dutch.''

Coming off a draining do-or-die game on Wednesday against Sweden, the Russians were stronger than the Dutch stars who had sat out the last group game. It showed in the second half of extra time.

''We didn't play football, and never got into the game,'' Netherlands coach Marco van Basten said. ''Normally we should have been in better shape than the Russians. We didn't see that.''

Torbinski surged toward the far post in the 112th minute and hit a deep cross from Arshavin into the goal with the outside of his left foot. Arshavin scored the final goal in the 116th when his shot deflected off John Heitinga and went through the legs of goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Van Nistelrooy had temporarily saved the Dutch late in the match, proving no one is more lethal from close range. From a free kick by Rafael van der Vaart, he wrestled himself away from Sergei Ignashevich and scored with a diving header at the far post.

In extra time, the inexperienced Russians hung in and scored their third straight upset victory. And after Germany had beaten the sparkling Portugal and Turkey edged surging Croatia, another stunner was in the making.

There were only a few thousand Russians within a sea of orange among the 38,374 fans, but they kept chanting ''Rus-sia'' long after the tens of thousands of oranje fans had fallen silent.

Pavlyuchenko scored his third goal of the tournament in the 56th when Sergei Semak found space in the center to send a low cross into the heart of the penalty area, where the Spartak Moscow striker beat Mathijsen and scored into the near corner.

Van der Sar, who had kept the Dutch in the game up to that point and was by far the team's best player, had no answer. And again there was no answer when Pavlyuchenko broke free on the right in the 96th, cut inside and shot past Van der Sar. This time the ball crashed onto the bar.

With the loss, the 37-year-old Van der Sar also ended his international career for the Netherlands.

Clash of the titans in Group C

2008-06-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

BADEN (Austria), June 9: Italy want to show their World Cup victory was no fluke, and perennial underachiever the Netherlands want to show they are still capable of winning a major tournament. Both teams will have something to prove at the European championship in Monday’s group C opener in Berne, Switzerland.
"We’re the reigning World Cup champions and we’re expected to win this European championship,’’ Italy forward Alessandro del Piero said.
"But they’re two different types of competitions. Two years ago, everything went perfectly and that’s going to be tough to repeat. But we’re here to try.’’ It has been 20 years since the Netherlands won the European championship for their only international trophy. Current coach Marco van Basten was the star of that tournament with five goals, yet he doesn’t see any significance in his involvement again after two decades. "It is just a coincidence. It just happens,’’ van Basten said.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is the current Netherlands striker of importance, and he is joined in attack by Real Madrid teammates Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, with Hamburg’s Rafael van der Vaart in support. Winger Arjen Robben will miss the Italy game after picking up a groin injury in training Saturday.
Italy counters with high-scoring Luca Toni, the 1.93-metre striker who had 39 goals with Bayern Munich last season.
How afraid is Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar of Toni? "Very,’’ the Manchester United player said with a big laugh.
"He is the main striker and you have to think about him, but it is not only Luca Toni. They have got a lot more good players. It is a well-balanced team.
’’ Toni should be flanked by Antonio di Natale and Mauro Camoranesi in Italy coach Roberto Donadoni’s preferred 4-3-3 lineup, with Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo joined by either Daniele de Rossi or Massimo Ambrosini in midfield.
Di Natale scored twice in Italy’s 3-1 win over Belgium in a friendly last week. The problems for both Italy and the Netherlands lie in defence. Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the tournament after injuring his ankle in Italy’s opening training session, and right back Christian Panucci is also hurting.
"Rather than being excuses, the injuries are going to motivate,’’ del Piero said. The Netherlands don’t have anyone tall enough to defend Toni, with the job likely falling to unsung John Heitinga or Andre Ooijer. "Holland’s attack is very strong and their defence less so, but it will still be a very difficult game,’’ Panucci said.
Panucci will probably be relegated to the bench due to a right knee problem, with Gianluca Zambrotta moving over to right back and Fabio Grosso starting at left back. Marco Materazzi and Andrea Barzagli likely to play in central defence.
"Italy and France are the main teams and they are expected to go through,’’ van der Sar said. "It is one of the first times that Holland are not considered one of the favourites.’’ The match also pits former AC Milan teammates van Basten and Donadoni, who took over as Italy’s coach when Marcello Lippi resigned after the World Cup.
"I have a special feeling for van Basten,’’ Donadoni said. "I shared a good part of my playing career with him, and we both have a lot of respect for each other. We’re still friendly. But those are personal things that you have to put aside when the game comes.’’ Panucci, the oldest member of Italy’s squad at 35, was also briefly a teammate of van Basten’s at Milan.
"We played nine months together and I could see then how professional he was,’’ Panucci said. Panucci and Del Piero are the two senior members of italy’s team, none of whom have ever won a European championship. The Azzurri came close at Euro 2000 after beating the Netherlands on penalties in the semifinals. Italy led in the final before Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the 90th minute for France. David Trezeguet then scored a golden goal in extra time. "That provides extra motivation,’’ del Piero said. "Not that this team needs any extra motivation.’’

Holland rout France 4-1

2008-06-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Netherlands' Dirk Kuyt Andre Ooijer and Wesley Sneijder celebrate winning 4-1 during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

French goalkeeper Gregory Coupet misses the shot of Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

Netherlands' Arjen Robben scores his side's third goal during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

German referee Herbert Fandel shows the yellow card to France's Claude Makelele during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt makes a shot on goal as French defender Patrice Evra and French goalkeeper Gregory Coupet try to stop him during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

Dutch defender Joris Mathijsen vies with French midfielder Franck Ribery during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt scores a goal against French goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and French defenders during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

The ball comes in from a corner kick before Netherlands' Dirk Kuyt heads to score a goal during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

French midfielder Franck Ribery tries to score in front of Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar during Group C match of the Euro 2008 Championships

Spain beat Sweden

2008-06-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Spanish forward David Villa celebrates after scoring the second goal during the group D Euro 2008 match against Sweden at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's David Villa scores past Swedish goalie Andreas Isaksson during the group D Euro 2008 match against Sweden at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates with team-mate Henrisk Larsson and Anders Svensson after scoring during the group D Euro 2008 match against Spain at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores during the group D Euro 2008 match against Spain at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Spain's Marcos Senna vie for the ball during their group D Euro 2008 match at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's Sergio Ramos jumps for the ball with Sweden's Fredrik Ljungberg during their group D Euro 2008 match at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's Fernando Torres reacts after scoring the opening goal, as team-mate David Villa grabs him during their group D Euro 2008 match against Sweden at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's Fernando Torres, scores the opening goal during their group D Euro 2008 match against Sweden at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's David Silva and Sweden's Johan Elmander go for a header during their group D Euro 2008 match at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Sweden's Henrik Larsson, and Spain's Sergio Ramos vie for the ball during the group D Euro 2008 match at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Spain's team pose together on the pitch before their group D Euro 2008 match against Sweden at the Tivoli Neu Stadium in Innsbruck

Euro 2008: Fans Photo Gallery

2008-06-15T11:52:00.001-07:00

Euro 2008: Fans Photo Gallery

2008-06-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

Russia celebrate

2008-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Russia's Roman Pavlyuchenko celebrates with Russia's Vasili Berezutski and Russia's Igor Akinfeev at the end of the group D match between Greece and Russia in Salzburg on

Russia's Denis Kolodin takes a free kick during group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14.

Greek midfielder Angelos Basinas vies with Russian midfielder Dmitry Torbinsky during group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14

Greece's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis dives to reach for the ball during group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14

Greece's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis challenges Russia's Sergei Semak as he kicks the ball back for team mate Konstantin Zyryanov to score during group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14.

Russia's Konstantin Zyryanov celebrates his goal during their group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14.

Greek goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis reaches for the ball next to Greek midfielder Angelos Basinas and defenderr Sotirios Kyrgiakis during the group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14

Greek midfielder Georgios Karagounis vies with Russian midfielder Dmitry Torbinsky and Russian midfielder Yuri Zhirkov during group D match of the Euro 2008 Championships in Salzburg on June 14.

Abramovich’s millions tempted Scoalri to join Chelsea

2008-06-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

London: Luiz Felipe Scolari has admitted that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s millions tempted him to join the club.

Scolari said he is undertaking a huge responsibility by agreeing to manage Chelsea. The Brazilian tried to negotiate a new contract as Portugal coach ahead of Euro 2008.

But Scolari admitted talks ended with the Portuguese football federation when they failed to agree on the figures, The Sun reported.

“Every decision was taken with the parties involved knowing what happened, namely the president of the Portuguese Football Federation who looked for assistance with some sponsors,” he said.

“He tried to get their help but they didn’t give their assistance. We wanted to get a similar proposal but after having done that they told me I was free to negotiate with whomever I wished to negotiate. I negotiated,” Scolari added.

“We all knew one day we would start and one day we would end. The president did his utmost but my assignment will end at the end of the Euros,” he said.“We should stop touching upon this topic because it is not going to change. We tried, we did our utmost on each side,” Scolari said.

Scolari begins work at Stamford Bridge on July 1. And he insists he will have no problem motivating his Blues stars.

Dhoni admits promoting Raina was a mistake

2008-06-15T11:12:00.001-07:00

Dhaka: Struggling to digest the fact that India finished second best despite dominating the tri-series, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday admitted promoting Suresh Raina ahead of him in the all-important final was a mistake.

Chasing 316, India fumbled and faltered, losing wickets at regular intervals. Dhoni sent Raina (24) at number six and though the left-hander got the start, he could not carry on.

Finally when Dhoni came to bat, he was soon running out of partners and with the run rate skyrocketing, the India captain had no option but to take risks and he was the last man out as India fell 25-run shy of Pakistan's total.

"In hindsight, promoting Raina was a mistake because I came late and was running out of partners," Dhoni rued after the match.

"That decision was a mistake but it happens in cricket and you learn from mistakes," he said.

According to Dhoni, a decent start and some lengthy partnership could have made the difference.

"We did not start well and then did not have enough partnerships either. Losing too many wickets was the killer. We got runs at a decent rate but losing wickets at regular intervals cost us the game," Dhoni rued.

Survey makes Ronaldo sexiest footballer of Europe

2008-06-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Wellington: Ace Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo can now add another accolade to his list of achievements after scoring a goal with European women, who voted him the sexiest player of the current Euro 2008 tournament.

His biggest fans were apparently Italian, German and Swedish women.

German website Spiegel Online reported that the 23-year-old Manchester United star topped the poll of 12,000 women, which was conducted on behalf of electronics company LG.

“Unfortunately for his legions of female fans Ronaldo is no longer available,” the Spiegel Online article continued.“He is dating Spanish model Nereida Gallardo.” French forward Thierry Henry came in second, ahead of injured Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro and Freddie Ljungberg of Sweden who drew for third place.

Champions: India grouped with Australia, Pakistan

2008-06-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

India have been grouped with world champion Australia and arch-rival Pakistan in Group A, also featuring the West Indies [Images], for the 2008 Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan in September.
Group B consists of South Africa, New Zealand [Images], Sri Lanka [Images] and England [Images] in the eight-nation tournament, an International Cricket Council release said.
Three Pakistani cities -- Lahore [Images], Rawalpindi and Karachi -- will host the elite one-day event.
Two top sides from each group will compete in the semi-final stage, which will be held in Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The final will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The official launch ceremony of the tournament will take place in Lahore on June 18.

Pakistan beat India in tri-series final

2008-06-14T11:14:00.001-07:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] and his teammates failed to climb the run-mountain, as Pakistan shoved a 25-run defeat down India's throat to win the tri-series in Dhaka on Saturday night.
Despite dominating the tournament with characteristic ruthlessness, the Indians failed when it mattered most and choked in the final, allowing an under-pressure Pakistan to avenge their league match defeat and run away with the silverware.
After twin tons by Salman Butt [Images] (129 retired hurt) and Younis Khan (108) propelled Pakistan to 315 for three, India faltered early in their chase and eventually folded for 290 in 48.2 overs.
Dhoni (64 off 59 balls) and Yuvraj Singh [Images] (59 off 56 balls) tried their best but their batting colleagues failed to convert the starts into useful innings.
A strong start was pre-requisite for such a mammoth chase and with Virender Sehwag [Images] and Gautam Gambhir [Images] (40 off 33 balls) in red hot form, India expected another solid foundation from the openers.
But the law of averages finally caught up with Sehwag, who scratched around for his two runs before giving Shoaib Malik [Images] a simple catch off Sohail Tanvir [Images] at mid-off in the second over.
Rohit Sharma (24) joined Gambhir in the middle and kept India in the hunt with some fluent stroke-play. The duo seemed to have steadied the ship till Umar Gul came up with a two-wicket burst, dismissing both in successive overs.
Rohit's fluffed pull found Nasir Jamshed at deep backward square leg, while Gambhir cut it to backward point to the same substitute fielder to leave India reeling at 79 for three inside 13 overs.
Yusuf Pathan too could not deliver and threw away his wicket after a run-a-ball 25, as did Suresh Raina (24) after the left-hander had put on 73 runs with Yuvraj.
As long as Yuvraj was in the middle, India seemed right on course but Shahid Afridi [Images] had other ideas and he snared the left-hander in the 32nd over to jolt India. Yuvraj's 59-ball 56 included five boundaries, besides a six.
Dhoni and Irfan Pathan [Images] (28) kept India afloat for some more time but, at the end of the day, it was simply not enough.
Earlier, Pakistan rode on a 205-run second wicket stand between Butt and Younis Khan to amass 315 for three.
With Pakistan Cricket Board chief Nasim Ashraf in attendance, Malik and his under-pressure teammates had extra reason to put up a better show and they decided to take a slow but steady approach which clearly paid off.
The sedate start proved the lull before the storm and after Butt and Younis laid the perfect foundation for a big score, Misbah-ul Haq threw his bat to good effect and chipped in with a 33-run cameo off just 21 balls as the side went past the 300-mark.
Dhoni used as many as eight bowlers, including Suresh Raina, but with little success.
After Shoaib Malik won the toss and decided to take first strike of the Sher-e-Bangla track, Pakistan decided to shun extravagance and keep enough wickets in hand to provide that late burst.
Butt curbed his natural aggression while Kamran Akmal (15) was straitjacketed. But with the first nine overs yielding just 29 runs, Akmal decided to break free and hit Irfan Pathan for a four but the pacer had his revenge in the next delivery as he sucked the batsman into tickling one behind the stumps where Mahendra Singh Dhoni took the catch.
Butt had that fortune of the brave too as Rohit Sharma grassed one after the Pakistani had cut hard at a Praveen Kumar delivery while batting on 19.
Having found his feet, Younis stepped out to hit Virender Sehwag out of the park and he then slog-swept Piyush Chawla [Images] for similar treatment to bring up the team's 150.
Though subdued compared to his elder partner, Butt helped himself to occasional boundaries as he cantered to his seventh ODI century, celebrating the feat by hitting Chawla over the ropes.
Younis too soon notched up his fourth ODI century, which came off 92 balls, but could add only eight more runs before offering a skier to Sehwag off Ishant Sharma to fall after a 99-ball knock which was studded with eight hits to the fence, besides three sixes.
Butt and Misbah then threw caution to the winds and went after the Indian bowlers, who, for the first time in the series, looked clueless. Butt eventually retired hurt in the 46th over but that was hardly a consolation for Dhoni's team as runs came thick and fast.

Italy, France hang on by a thread

2008-06-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

World Cup winners Italy [Images] and runners-up France [Images] were in danger of tumbling out of Euro 2008 [Images] at the group stage after the Italians were held 1-1 by Romania and a superb Netherlands humbled the French 4-1 on Friday.
- Can Germany prove these 'oracles' wrong?
Following their 3-0 thrashing of Italy in their opening Group C match, the Dutch produced another marvellous display, with fit-again winger Arjen Robben setting up one goal and hammering another from a near-impossible angle.
The Dutch goals capped another thrilling day of action on the seventh day of a tournament which has been generally characterised by attacking play, cleanly contested.
There were also no reports of any serious fan trouble.
Specials: Euro FanFare Soccer Studs
Earlier, Italy had keeper Gianluigi Buffon to thank for maintaining a slim chance of making the quarter-finals in the June 7-29 tournament in Switzerland [Images] and Austria with a late penalty save at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich.
The Juventus goalkeeper pulled off a stunning stop to keep out former team mate Adrian Mutu's penalty, leaping to his left and palming the ball on to his foot and away from goal.
Mutu had earlier given the Romanians a surprise lead when he pounced on a misjudged header from Gianluca Zambrotta but defender Christian Panucci [Images] equalised shortly after, prodding the ball in from Giorgio Chiellini's downward header.
In Berne, Dirk Kuyt put the Netherlands ahead after nine minutes, outmuscling Florent Malouda to head home from a corner.
Substitute Robin van Persie volleyed home Robben's cross in the 59th minute before Thierry Henry [Images] briefly got France back in the game with a deft close-range touch past Edwin van der Sar.
POWERFUL DRIVE
French hopes were dashed a minute later, however, when Robben fired a fierce shot into the roof of the net and Wesley Sneijder [Images] provided the icing on the cake in injury time with a powerful drive that went in off the underside of the bar.
It was France's biggest major tournament defeat for 50 years since Brazil [Images] beat them 5-2 in the 1958 World Cup.
Italy and France play each other in their final group match next Tuesday knowing that even a victory may not be enough if the Romanians beat the Dutch who may rest some players now.
The thrilling action on the pitch was a welcome distraction from the anger that erupted in Poland over Thursday's penalty decision that gave Austria an injury-time equaliser (1-1) in their Group B match in Vienna.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he felt like he wanted to kill English referee Howard Webb, who pointed to the spot after ruling that Mariusz Lewandowski pulled Sebastian Proedl's shirt and brought him down.
"As the prime minister I have to be balanced and collected," keen soccer fan Donald Tusk told reporters.
"But last night I was speaking very differently about the whole thing, I wanted to kill."
European governing body UEFA [Images] defended the verdict as absolutely correct, however, on Friday and a similar decision was taken by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo in awarding Friday's penalty against Italy which Buffon saved.
Anger was also in evidence among stall-holders trying to sell their wares at special fan areas set up in Austria and Switzerland, hit by poor weather and a lack of customers.
Klagenfurt, the smallest of the eight Euro 2008 host cities in Austria and Switzerland, has been forced to halve rental rates for disappointed stallholders who fear huge losses.
Traders at the fan village camping facility in Geneva, who had to pay a fee of 35,000 swiss francs (17,200 pounds) for the right to set up a stall, threatened to strike because of the lack of customers and said they felt cheated by organisers.

Gilchrist bowled over by IPL

2008-06-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

Melbourne: Adam Gilchrist is amazed by the ever-increasing love for cricket in India and compared the Indian Premier League (IPL) next to Sydney Olympics.

"It was quite overwhelming to see an event capture the attention and mindset and imagination of a country quite like it," Gilchrist was quoted as saying in The Australian Friday.

"The only thing I can think of that was comparable was maybe the Olympics when they were in Sydney. But the Olympics was about two weeks, this was 45 days every night," said the former Australia vice-captain.

Gilchrist, who retired from all cricket in Australia at the end of last season, could not believe the passion and interest of Indians in cricket could go to another level with IPL.

"It felt like that at 8pm the whole country would tune in no matter what the game was or who was playing. It was front page of the papers every day. The whole concept will be looked back on as a landmark in the history of cricket."

"The great discussion at the moment is whether we carve out a window (in international cricket) for the IPL. I envisage that potentially, within 10 years, it could be more a case of trying to carve out a window for international cricket as this format becomes more of a staple diet," Gilchrist said.

Euro 2008: Italy vs Romania IMAGES

2008-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Ronaldo delivers to match the hype

2008-06-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo lived up to expectations he could be the player to dominate Euro 2008 with his match-winning performance in Portugal's 3-1 victory over Czech Republic on Wednesday.
He scored the all-important second goal, a superbly crisp, low strike that sped under keeper Petr Cech just past the hour, having been involved in the move that led to Deco's opening goal in the first half.

It was Ronaldo's 21st goal for his country and 46th this season for club and country.

He rounded off an impressive performance, in which he brought several saves from Cech including a full length dive to a tremendous drive from outside the area, with a breakaway in injury time before feeding Ricardo Quaresma for the third.

"I'm really happy but we have to take it game by game and just think about our next game with Switzerland," Ronaldo told reporters.

Portugal play the Swiss in Basel on Sunday with first place already assured in the group after Turkey beat Switzerland in a later game on Wednesday 2-1.

Ronaldo would not let himself be drawn into discussing his club future which was a major issue before the tournament started with Real Madrid keen to sign the winger from Manchester United.

He said there is strong unity in the Portuguese camp and outside issues had not upset their preparations.

"We're here to go a long way," the 23-year-old said.

Ronaldo has now beaten the great Czech goalkeeper twice in less than a month having headed past him during the Champions League final in Moscow.
"Yes, that's the second time I've beaten him. He's a great goalkeeper, one of the best," Ronaldo said.

Ronaldo also had a penalty saved by Cech in the shootout won by United but said he is number two in the penalty taking order for Portugal, behind Simao but ahead of Deco.

Saina goes down fighting in semis

2008-06-14T10:33:00.001-07:00

Indian challenge at the Singapore Open came to a crushing halt after Saina Nehwal [Images] went down fighting in the semi-finals on Saturday.
National Champion Saina put up a spirited challenge against fifth seed Mi Zhou of China before going down 17-21 21-19 21-11 in a match that lasted 55 minutes.
Saina was off to a brilliant start pocketing the first game but Zhou got the better of the Indian shuttler in the next two games to advance to the finals of the super series tournament.
Zhou will face second seed Tine Rasmussen of Denmark, who thumped fourth seed Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia in straight games in the other semi-final.

India done in by late goal in SAFF final

2008-06-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Mukhtar Naseer's last gasp goal upset the Indian applecart as Maldives beat the defending champions 1-0 to win their first SAFF Championship title at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
Inspired by the presence of their President Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom and first lady Nasrina Ibarhim, the Maldives players defended well before delivering a late blow to beat the Bhaichung Bhutia-led side by the solitary goal.
This was the first SAFF Championship title for Maldives, who had twice finished runners-up in the past.
In the floodlit final which never rose to any great height, India's goal-shy forwards once again let down the side and the defence too crumbled towards the end to allow Mukhtar score the winner.
The Indian defence had just cleared Ismail Mohammad's header off a Mukhtar pass before Mukhtar raided their citadel again when the match was into its 87th minute. Mukhtar stormed into the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful shot that beat Indian custodian Subrata Paul all ends up.
This was a sweet revenge for the winners who were beaten 1-0 by the Indians in a league match earlier.
India started their title defence on a positive note and could have gone up in the opening minute when Mohamed Jameel fouled Bhutia just outside the penalty area but the Indian skipper's free kick sailed over the bar.
Maldives soon responded in the eight minute but Subrata Paul came to India's rescue as he thwarted away Ismail's powerful right-footer.
There was nothing much to differentiate between the two sides in terms of ball possession in the opening half. To add to that, apart from a few on and off chances, action was more or less restricted to the midfield and both the teams lacked finishing.
The game did not rise to a great hight in the second half either. India got a couple of chances but once Sunil Chetri's header flew over the bar and on another occasion, his shot was blocked by a Maldives defender.
Maldives got two corner kicks towards the end but the Indian defenders thwarted their efforts before Mukhtar finally brought down their citadel.

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Sania Mirza

2008-06-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

How can we forget our own Sania Mirza, who continues to win hearts, even if she isn’t winning too many matches? Rumours linking her with Shahid Kapur fail to dampen her admirer’s ardour. “Sania is the only Indian playing on the international tennis horizon who has brought honours for the game in our country,” says Sushant. She has done the nation proud and I would be even more proud if I could take her on a candlelight dinner. All my friends who are also her fans would die of envy!” Of course, those who saw Mirza applauding cricketers, especially her favourite Sachin Tendulkar, during the recent IPL may have doubts about her preference for a date!

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Gabriela Sabatini

2008-06-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

When this Argentine beauty stepped on court in the 1980s and early 1990s, the men seldom watched the tennis ball. Fashion rags called her the woman with the face of a queen and the walk of John Wayne, not to speak of her grunt while serving which was close in decibels to a jet engine! Sabatini was the classic beauty who like her contemporary Steffi Graf lives on in the hearts and minds of tennis aficionados. It is said that though she’s won only one Grand Slam Title, she was far more popular than the talented Graf and Monica Seles. She has a fiery orange-red rose named after her and the Great American Doll Company created a doll in her likeness. Says Gunjan Gaur, “Sabatini’s name will be right up there with the best when it comes to looks and glamour quotient. She’s one hot babe!”

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Anna Kournikova

2008-06-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Though semi-retired, Kournikova’s name finds mention on most male’s fantasy list. Hers was one of the most common search strings on Google. Says ardent fan Yash Bhatia,”There can be no one as talented and as hot as Kournikova, peep into any of my friend’s rooms in my hostel and you will find her there, on the wall of course! She rocks! Will she read this and give me a date?” More importantly will her beau Enrique Iglesias oblige?

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Camille Pin

2008-06-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

This French woman made headlines for coming within two points of upsetting eventual champion Maria Sharapova at last year’s Australian Open. Though Camille may not have set the stadiums alight with her tennis, her petite and lissome figure sure got the men drooling away. While her most famous win came against Asia Mohammed (of US) earlier this March which got France the Hilton Cup, Ms. Pin made news by dating French player Arnaud Clement for a short while. Reader Vipul Mehta votes for Camilel Pin, “She’s the perfect example of the best things of life coming in small packages. One date with her is all I ask for!”

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Maria Sharapova

2008-06-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

This winner of three Grand Slam titles is currently No.2 in the world rankings, but has emerged as No 1 on the Lust List of Lesbians in UK. Her close rival was Anna Kournikova. But hey the men fancy this tall lady who is the highest paid lady athlete in the world today. Sharapova is known to design her own tennis outfits including the one she wore at the US Open in 2006 that was supposedly inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” look. She outdid this with an evening gown a year later that had 600 plus Swarovski crystals sequinned along. Says Girish Swaminathan, “Sharapova is the sexiest tennis player of all times. Both off court and on court there’s no one quite like her. She has style, substance and her big bucks makes her all the more attractive!”

Hottest tennis stars men would love to date:Anna Ivanovic

2008-06-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

She’s not called the ‘hottest’ on the tennis circuit for nothing. Ivanovic may have won her maiden Grand Slam only last week, but she’s been around since 2005. She picked up the racquet aged five after watching Monica Seles play at Roland Garros and 16 years later joined her idol as French Queen. She is also the Number 1 choice of the guys. We have chosen Gary Dennis’ comment – “Ana’s a rock star! She’s fresh-faced, lithe and what’s more she’s a cool combo of looks, brains and power. And have you seen her posture? It’s mind blowing! She’s my dream gal, no doubt there!” Yeah Gary, hope you are good at Sudoku also, as it’s supposed to be one of this Serbian beauty’s fav pastime.

Celtics storm back, beat Lakers 97-91 in Game 4

2008-06-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—This was how the Boston Celtics of yesteryear—Cous and Russell and Bird and Hondo and the Chief—would do it. Digging deep, they fought for every loose ball, scrapping with grit and guts, champions clad in green.
These Celtics are no different.
And they are just one win from another NBA title.
“Yeah,” Kevin Garnett said. “I can taste it.”
In their comeback season, Boston saved its biggest one of all for the finals.
The Celtics rallied from a 24-point deficit and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 on Thursday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this history-rich series and move within one victory of a 17th championship that seemed impossible a year ago.
“I don’t want to get overjoyed,” Paul Pierce said. “I want to go out there to try and win Game 5 on Father’s Day and then I’ll be able to breathe. Right now, I’m waiting to exhale.”

He’s not alone.
A rivalry between the league’s two most storied franchises—with some of the game’s biggest names and biggest moments—now has a rally for the ages.
No team had ever overcome more than a 15-point deficit after the first quarter, and Elias Sports Bureau said it was the largest comeback in the finals since 1971. One thing’s for sure, it will forever be remembered in the annals of Celtics-Lakers lore.
When the final horn sounded, Pierce, an L.A. kid playing in front of family and friends, doubled over in exhaustion and exuberance. The Celtics, the team he stuck with through 10 years, including a 24-win season in 2006-07, had done the impossible.
“It’s definitely a great win, one that you’re going to put up there in the library and break back out one day for your kids to watch,” Pierce said. “But I want nothing more than that ring right now.”
Pierce scored 20 points, Garnett had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen had 19 points, two coming on a marvelous reverse layup in the fourth as Boston’s Big Three, thrown together last summer by general manager Danny Ainge to revive a franchise accustomed to hanging banners from the rafters, put the Lakers on the brink of a summer vacation.
It took an epic comeback to do it, and now the Celtics can reclaim their place atop pro basketball with a win in Game 5 on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
No team has ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting but the league’s MVP couldn’t rescue the Lakers when they needed him most. Lamar Odom had 19 points— 15 in the first half—and Pau Gasol, whose addition in a midseason trade was supposed to give the Lakers their final piece to complement Bryant, had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Trailing by 18 points at halftime and seemingly done when they fell behind by 20 with 6:04 left in the third quarter, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 31-15 in the third quarter to pull within 73-71 going into the fourth.
The remarkable rally was reminiscent of what Los Angeles did in Game 2, when the Lakers trimmed a 24-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter before the Celtics regrouped to open a 2-0 lead. But Boston had another 12 minutes to finish off theirs, and the green-and-white did.
“Some turnaround in that game. The air went out of the building,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was asked what he told his club afterward. “Well, it’s not over. This is not over. The series is not over.”
Boston’s comeback included a 21-3 run over the final five minutes, fueled by two 3-pointers from Eddie House, who was getting more playing time because of Rajon Rondo’s tender left ankle. The Celtics were still down by double digits with 2 minutes left in the third but closed the quarter with a 10-1 run, capped by P.J. Brown’s dunk—a slam that could be felt all the way back to Boston’s North End.
The Celtics finally caught the Lakers at 73-all on Leon Powe’s jumper in the lane with 9:05 remaining, tying the score for the first time since it was 2-2 in the first minute.
At that point, the Lakers looked lost, confused, you name it. And when House hit an 18-foot jumper with 4:07 remaining, the Celtics had their first lead, 84-83. Boston’s bench erupted, Lakers fans gasped and it was just a matter of time before they were heading out of Staples Center wondering what went wrong.
Allen, one of the game’s purest shooters, then drove to the basket and made a reverse layup as dramatic as the Celtics’ comeback.
“It was huge,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “It was really supposed to be a middle pick-and-roll with Kevin and Ray, and Ray waved Kevin off because he liked the matchup that he had already, so he didn’t want to bring another defender in to help. It was a great call by Ray. The layup was just tremendous.”
Bryant, who except for a 36-point performance in Game 3 has been an ordinary superstar in his try for a fourth championship ring, didn’t score in the first half. He tried to rally the Lakers and got them within 89-87 with one of his patented twisting layups. But James Posey drilled a 3-pointer for Boston to make it 92-87 with 1:13 left. Derek Fisher’s long jumper got the Lakers within three.
But Pierce was fouled and made two free throws, forcing Jackson to call a timeout with 47 seconds to go. As the Lakers headed toward their bench, Pierce pumped his fists, flexed his muscles and let out a yell.
At the other end of the court, Bryant hung his head.

Los Angeles Lakers' forward Ko… AP - Jun 13, 12:43 am EDT
“They were determined not to let me beat them tonight,” he said. “I saw three, four bodies every time I touched the ball.”
Surrounded by Hollywood stars on their own back lot sound stage, the Lakers were seeking their 10th straight win at home in the postseason and were about to drop the “if necessary” tag from Game 6. Now, they have to hope they can force the series back to Boston.
For the third time in this series, commissioner David Stern met with the media before the game. It was an unusual step for the league’s long-tenured leader, who went on the offensive to defend the integrity of NBA officials under fire in the Tim Donaghy scandal.
Maybe the next investigation should focus on what happened to the Celtics in the first quarter.
L.A’s crowd, notorious for arriving late, leaving early and spending more time text messaging and talking on cell phones than clapping, was much more involved than in Game 3. They roared when Lakers Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented the game ball to officials and were on their feet when Los Angeles blasted to a 16-6 lead.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe … AP - Jun 13, 12:35 am EDT
By then, Odom had scored eight points, doubling his total from Game 3 and the enigmatic forward finished the first quarter having made all six field goal attempts and scoring 13 points. Moments later, Garnett went out with his second personal, and with the NBA’s best defender on the bench, the Lakers ran wild.
Odom made consecutive jumpers from the top of the key to put Los Angeles ahead 26-7. The Lakers eventually pushed their lead to 45-21 when Sasha Vujacic, whose 20 points sparked his team in Game 3, nailed a 3-pointer and it was the Boston Massacre, West Coast style.
But the Celtics wouldn’t quit.
“Once we got the lead, obviously, we were thrilled to death,” Rivers said. “As far as we were down, nothing was going right for us, and we just hung in there.”

EURO 2008 Images

2008-06-13T10:43:00.000-07:00