Tri-Series: India vs B’desh 2.30 pm
No complacency, says Dhoni 

Dhaka, June 11
Going by current form, Bangladesh would need well nigh a miracle to pull the rug from under India's feet in the cricket tri-series but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his teammates sound cautious enough not to step on the banana skin tomorrow against the hosts.

Tomorrow's tie pits tournament favourite India against the lonely hosts, who are almost on their way out after Pakistan spanked them by 70 runs in the tri-series opener. In contrast, India look every inch the tournament favourite after Dhoni and his team thumped Pakistan by 140 runs to snap their 12-match winning spree last night.

Indicating that the team would not lower the guard even against the minnows, Dhoni said he wanted to keep the slate clean.

"We got to win every match. In fact, it is not about winning and losing. It is all about going out there and playing to your potential and strength," Dhoni said.

"Everybody wants to win. it was a good game of cricket against Pakistan yesterday. Hopefully, rain will not interfere tomorrow," Dhoni said, almost indicating that only divine intervention can help the hosts tomorrow.

Refusing to underestimating Bangladesh, Dhoni said the hosts were no push-overs.

"They have enough depth in both batting and bowling and they should not be rated by one innings when they lost to Pakistan," he said.

Dhoni said though he had an eye on the job at hand, he was not missing the larger picture either.

"We always look to the present. We look to win over Bangladesh and then go in to the final where we want to play to our potential," he said.

There, however, remains one worry in the Indian camp and Dhoni said it was indeed getting difficult to sight the soiled ball after 20 overs. "They have used black soil on the track. The ball gets ruffed up after 20 overs. It was really difficult to sight the ball," he said.

Bangladesh batting order has an obvious brittle look to it even though their bowlers did their best against Pakistan and managed to shoot out Shoaib Malik's team inside 40 overs.

In contrast, India look invulnerable in all three aspects of the game. The star-studded batting line-up looks rock solid and it took them half centuries from just three batsmen to post a mammoth total of 330 for eight against Pakistan.

Among the bowlers, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla ran through the Pakistani line-up and in all likelihood, Bangladesh too would prove easy meat to both.

Squads (From): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, R P Singh, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha and MS Gony.

Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (c), Mashrafe Mortaza, Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Farhad Reza, Shahriar Nafees, Nazimuddin, Raqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehrab Hossain (Jr), Dolar Mahmud.— PTI 

Dhaka, June 11
Faced with the herculean task of upstaging India, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful is deriving inspiration from history and believes his teammates are capable of pulling off an upset win tomorrow to stay afloat in the cricket tri-series.

Bangladesh have been spanked in the series opener and a defeat tomorrow would mean end of all roads for the hosts.

Though his team hardly stand any chance against India on paper, Ashraful pointed out they have beaten India before, including in last year's World Cup.

"It is quite possible. We have beaten India twice in the recent past. If we apply the same processes of those victories, we could win tomorrow," Ashraful asserted after the team's three-hour practice sessions.

And to make it happen, all players needed to do was to give their best, he said.

Asked how he planned to contain India's on-song opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, Ashraful said the hosts had done their homework.

"We have strategies for each and every player, not only their in-form openers," he said.

"It is important to bowl on the right areas. Add to this our fielding and it will also be difficult for any batsmen to go for shots in this wicket.

"We should not bowl like what we did against Pakistan and this is the key aspect for tomorrow's match. We are working on these areas and learnt our mistakes too. We are working on corrective methods and our bowlers should not bowl wide or full balls," he said.

Talking about the Indian team, Ashraful was of the view that the side did not feel the absence of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

"Players who have come in place of Ganguly or Tendulkar and others, are equally good and have been doing well.

They have won ODI series in Australia. However, one needs to look at whether they continue to do well. It does not matter whether seniors are there or not in any team," he said.  — PTI

Lugano, Switzerland, Jun 11
An experienced Sweden got off to a flying start at Euro 2008 with a 2-0 win over Greece but how far they progress may depend on how far their older players can run. Coach Lars Lagerback's preference for experience over youth paid off against the defence-minded defending champions yesterday.

But with eight of his starting line-up aged 30 or older, question marks remain over their ability to contend with a rampant Spain or a youthful Russia in their next two games.

Timing is everything in soccer and Sweden's two goals - a piece of pure class from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a messy effort from defender Petter Hansson -- came at a perfect time.

Having stepped up a gear in the second half, the Swedes got their just rewards against a Greek side lacking imagination. But after Hansson's goal, the Scandinavians looked worn out.

With over 15 minutes left of the 90, they resembled a team which had just gone through extra time in a cup final. Yesterday's evidence, had they not found the net in time, Sweden may have settled for a scoreless draw in the last quarter hour, a dangerous tactic against a vibrant Spain and Russia.

Lagerback's lack of youthful vigour was compounded when 28-year-old winger Christian Wilhelmsson pulled up with a hamstring injury which looks likely to rule him out of the Spain game.Defender Niclas Alexandersson had to be replaced with cramp, while Ibrahimovic's knee problem means he is not guaranteed to last the whole 90 minutes.

His 36-year-old strike partner Henrik Larsson also complained he was very tired after the Greece game and central defenders Olof Mellberg and Hansson also looked shattered. On the positive side, Ibrahimovic ended his goal drought with his first international goal since October 2005. He will hope his renewed partnership with Larsson -- who looked sharp and worked tirelessly -- could open the floodgates for him.

If Lagerback chooses or is forced to change his tactics, he does have options, albeit limited. ''If it had been 0-0, we have options on how to be more attacking,'' he said after the Greece game.

The lively dead ball specialist Sebastian Larsson is likely to replace Wilhelmsson, killing two birds with one stone since Sweden's set pieces in and around the box lacked telling delivery against Greece.

The more attacking Fredrik Stoor is capable of filling Alexandersson's boots at fullback and attacker Johan Elmander may not have the Ibrahimovic style but can be just as dangerous in his own right. But the there is no turbo injection for the engine room with Lagerback admitting Tobias Linderoth -- his only realistic alternative in central midfield -- is not match fit. — Reuters

Geneva, June 11
Cristiano Ronaldo, tipped by many to become Euro 2008’s player of the tournament, scored one goal and made another to give Portugal a 3-1 win over Czech Republic in Group A on Wednesday. The victory at the Stade de Geneve put Portugal firmly on top of the group with six points and within touching distance of a quarterfinal berth.

With the game level at 1-1, Ronaldo struck in the 63rd minute with a firm shot from a pass by Deco and then set up Ricardo Quaresma to add the third in stoppage time. Portugal began better and after midfield probing by both teams, they went ahead in their first foray into Petr Cech’s area in the eigth minute.

Ronaldo sped through the defence and tried to round Cech. The goalkeeper blocked with his foot but the ball ran free to Deco on the left who put it in the net at the second attempt. The goal stung the Czechs into action. Libor Sionko equalised nine minutes later after the winger had won a corner with a penetrating attacking run down the right. Sionko then powered a header past Ricardo from Jaroslav Plasil’s corner.

Czech Republic were far more enterprising and sharp than against the Swiss on Saturday with a Marek Matejovsky at the helm and striker Milan Baros trying to unsettle Portugal’s centre backs Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho. The Czechs were strong on the wings, forcing Ronaldo to try attacking down the middle where he brought a diving save from Cech.

A Ronaldo free kick just before halftime was one of the five Portuguese shots on target in the first half to just one for Czech Republic. The Czechs could have gone ahead minutes after the interval when Matejovsky set up Sionko for a low cross that went across the face of goal untouched. — Reuters

Klagenfurt (Austria), June 11
Croatia's "little genius" Luka Modric will be in the limelight tomorrow as he and his countrymen go up against three-time champions Germany in a B match whose outcome will have a huge bearing on the outcome of Group B.

"I know I am going to be under close observation," said the youngster, who next season will star in the English Premiership with Tottenham.

Coach Slaven Bilic expects nothing less of his star man that for him to step up to the plate and "be the best player of the tournament.

"That's not to put a burden on his shoulders but because it's what I think."

Midfield partner Nico Kranjcar describes his teammate simply as "the new superstar of Croatian football," following the win at "Wembley over England last November, which dumped the English out, Arsenal striker Eduardo, missing from Euro 2008 through injury, said that "he's our grand master."

Arsene Wenger, who as Arsenal coach will get a close-up view of Modric across London next season, has identified him as the man who will possible be the revelation of the tournament.

At 22, he is the complete player. He is two-footed, has an innate sense of passing and has great speed of thought while his play is very precise and he can operate just behind the strikers or on the left.

A supporter of Barcelona, who is happy to play on his slight resemblance to former Barca idol Johan Crujff (he also wears the number 14 shirt which he will also do at Tottenham) Modric has to prove notably that he can cut it at the top level given a slender frame rare in today's game.

After a good start which saw him confidently slot home a penalty to beat Austria in the opening game he drifted rather out of the game but Bilic is sure he will flourish.

"He is going to get better with every day , in this tournament and in his career." A tough childhood appears to lie at the heart of his determination to succeed.

Following the news of his transfer to Tottenham, Croatia teammate Vedran Corluka recounted how when Modric was a boy he grew up with his family as refugees following attacks by Serbian forces on his Dalmatian village of Zaton.

New Delhi, June 11
The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports today gave Punjab the go-ahead to host the National Youth Festival from January 12 to 16. The Ministry will sanction Rs 2 crore to Punjab for conducting the festival.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal today called on Sports Minister Dr M.S.Gill and requested him that Punjab be allowed to host the National Youth Festival which the state had never hosted and Dr Gill gave the Ministry's approval.

In their meeting lasting over an hour at Dr Gill's office, Badal also evinced interest in the new sports scheme, "Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan", recently launched by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Under this scheme, to be implemented during the 11th Plan period, the Union Sports Ministry will have at its disposal about Rs 1500 to be given to various states for setting up sports infrastructure at panchayat and block levels.

Dr Gill explained to the Punjab Chief Minister that the Ministry aimed to cover 10 per cent of the village panchayats in each state during the current financial year, and to finalise the modalities for the proper implementation of the scheme, a meeting of the states sports ministers would be held in New Delhi on July 9. Badal said a complete proposal for implementing the scheme in the villages of Punjab would be submitted to the Sports Ministry within one month.

Badal also requested Dr Gill to sanction more astroturfs in Punjab since the state was the nursery of hockey. In response, Dr Gill said he had already announced that the number of astroturfs in the country would be doubled from the present 15 to 30 by 2009, and in this scheme, the major beneficiaries would be Punjab, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and the north-eastern states. Dr Gill also noted that reputed institutions and universities would be given preference for setting up of new astroturfs in the country in order to ensure proper maintenance of the turfs.

Dr Gill further informed Badal that Nehru Yuva Kendras would be established in six districts of Punjab, namely Nawanshahar, Moga, Muktsar, SAS Nagar, Barnala and Taran Taran. And with this, all districts of Punjab would be covered by the Nehru Yuva Kendras. 

Male, June 11
Gourmangi Singh’s last gasp goal in the second half of the extra time helped India scrape past a spirited Bhutan 2-1 and set up a title clash with Maldives in the SAFF Championship here today.

After the the regulation time ended in a 1-1 stalemate, a penalty shootout looked the only way out of the impasse when Gourmangi's curling shot cleared India's passage to the final in Colombo.

In the other semifinal, Maldives beat Sri Lanka 1-0. Bhutan took the lead in the 18th minute through the talismanic Kinley Dorji before India equalised in the 30th minute via Sunil Chetri.

In the previous match too, Gourmangi had scored the all-important goal when India beat Maldives. India's profligate forwards either lost plot once they reached the rival box or squandered opportunities that came their way. — PTI