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I kept my faith, says Fatih
Torres to lead Spanish Armada against Italy
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Champions Trophy
PCB shrugs off security concerns
Dwayne Bravo celebrates after hitting a six off Shane Watson to win the T20 cricket match at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. — AP/PTI
Lee-Hesh stunned by unseeded duo
Southee rips through England
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Turkey Comeback Kings
Vienna, June 21 Extra time had finished in heart-stopping fashion after an absorbing encounter with two goals in the last three minutes yesterday. Ivan Klasnic headed Croatia in front at the near post after a good run and cross by Luka Modric in the 119th minute. But there was still time for comeback kings Turkey, who twice rallied from behind to win in the group stages, to equalise in nerve-tingling style as Semih Senturk's left-foot shot took a deflection past keeper Stipe Pletikosa. Croatia then made a mess of the penalty shootout, with Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic missing the target before Turkey's 3-1 shootout victory was clinched when Rustu Recber saved from Mladen Petric. Turkey trio Arda Turan, Semih Senturk and Hamit Altintop were all successful with their spot kicks. ''We fought and fought and the players keep outdoing themselves,'' said Turkey manager Fatih Terim. ''Our people can celebrate now. ''This victory is very important for us. If our people are proud of us then we're proud of our people.'' Defeat was rough on Croatia, who overall had the better of the chances with Turkey weakened by a string of injuries plus suspensions to keeper Volkan Demirel and defender Mehmet Aurelio. Slaven Bilic's Croatia got into their stride early and repeatedly managed to penetrate the Turkish defence. One such occasion led to the best opportunity of the half in the 19th minute when Modric's low cross found striker Ivica Olic close in but his sliding effort rattled the bar under pressure from keeper Rustu. Niko Kranjcar then headed the rebound over to the anguish of the Croatian contingent of fans inside the noisy Ernst Happel stadium, where several flares were lit during the game. Mehmet Topal sent a 30-metre piledriver just wide towards the end of the first period in a rare effort for the Turks. Croatia went close at the start of the second half when Gokhan Zan's weak back header let in Olic, who nodded over Rustu but failed to add the finishing touch with two defenders on the line. Olic had two more chances and Darijo Srna forced Rustu into two saves from free kicks late in the 90 minutes but Turkey hung on to take the game into extra time. The only sour notes for Terim's side were the bookings for Arda, Tuncay Sanli and Emre Asik which mean they will be banned for the semi-final together with first-choice keeper Volkan, who was suspended for two matches after being sent off in the group stage. ''I want to congratulate both teams for a great game of football,'' said Bilic. ''This match shows why it's the most dramatic and most popular game in the world. ''My players put in a heroic performance and I can have no complaints about any of them. Penalties are a lottery and the players felt confident enough to take the spot kicks.''
— Reuters |
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I kept my faith, says Fatih
Vienna, June 21 ''You should never give up until the very end, until the referee blows the final whistle. That is why football is an interesting game.'' Turkey's players agreed that Terim inspired them from the touchline as the team came from behind to win for the third game running. ''Our coach looked at us and his look spurred us on,'' said midfielder Kazim Kazim. Forward Nihat Kahveci said: ''We never lost faith even when they scored. I kept believing in the team. We also showed it against the Swiss and the Czechs. We have soul.'' Defeat will haunt us: Bilic
Croatia's players and management will never get over their penalty shootout defeat by Turkey, coach
Slaven Bilic said. ''This is a match that not only we will not forget but that will haunt us for the rest of our lives,'' he said after Croatia's Euro 2008 quarter-final exit yesterday. ''Penalties of course are something special but speaking for myself I have no misgivings for my players,'' added Bilic after Turkey won 3-1 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 following extra time. ''It was a shock for us, it seemed as if it was all over, and then we concede a goal and go on to the penalty shootout, that was certainly a psychological advantage for the Turks,'' said Bilic. Croatia trio Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mladen Petric then missed their spot kicks. ''There were players who didn't want to take the penalties and I have no complaints against them either.''
— Reuters |
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Torres to lead Spanish Armada against Italy
If Villa has been dealing the matador’s final blow, strike partner Torres has been responsible for tormenting and weakening Spain’s opponents. The 24-year-old has come off the back of a stellar first season at Liverpool, racking up 33 goals in all competitions for the Premiership side and doing enough to be compared to Anfield greats such as Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish and Robbie Fowler. Accustomed to carrying a team on his shoulders at his previous club Atletico Madrid, Torres has been liberated since his move to England, thriving on the quick service from the midfield and making the most of the space to run at the opposition back four. For Spain, however, he has had to play a very different role. Here his job is to stretch opposition defences with his galloping runs around the area, making room for his streetwise team mate. Villa admitted as much after his coolly taken hat-trick against the Russians. “I scored two goals benefiting from his work,” he said. “He did the unseen work and I got the credit. My first two goals were thanks very much to Torres, the first he gave me the pass and the second he helped make the space for me.” Torres has occasionally been frustrated by his supporting role and was clearly upset at being substituted during the second half of the Russia game but he is not the sort of player to get downhearted for long. In the past Italy have been renowned for their ironclad defence but they have been uncharacteristically shaky in the absence of captain Fabio Cannavaro. If there is one player who can help to exploit that uncertainty it is Torres, a tougher and more versatile player since his move to England. “Fernando Torres has made an incredible improvement,” Cannavaro said in the run-up to the tournament. “Last year I saw him as a bit of a softie, someone who hid, but then he went to the Premier League, where you can’t be a softie and he exploded.” Torres also has experience of winning international competitions having helped his country to victory at the Under-17 and Under-19 European championships in 2001 and 2002. Spain would dearly love him to repeat that success with the senior side. — Reuters
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83 victory gave us pride, not money: Kapil
New Delhi, June 21 Kapil Dev, the skipper of the Indian side that made history at Lords on June 25, 1983, said the World Cup win was the most memorable moment in the lives of all the members of the team. "Pride, happiness and love of countrymen, that's what the victory gave us. Money was immaterial for us at that very moment," said Kapil on CNN-IBN. Apart from the accolades, Indian cricketers were showered with loads of money after the Twenty20 World Cup triumph in South Africa last year. Almost, all the state governments gave away 'rich' rewards to their state cricketers, who were part of that team. The BCCI also rewarded Dhoni's men with $ 2 million for the victory. In sharp contrast, each member of the 1983 side were rewarded with Rs 1 lakh by the BCCI. Felicitation today
The Silver Jubilee celebrations of the historic 1983 World Cup win will kick-off tomorrow with the re-union of the champion team members for a series of programmes, including a grand felicitation by the cricket board. 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.
— PTI |
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England players apprehensive
London/Karachi, June 21 The International Cricket Council may be satisfied with the security situation in Pakistan "as of now" but English media reports said senior England players are unwilling to go by the governing body's assertions. 'Daily Telegraph' claimed that "messages have been bouncing back and forward between English and Australian players" in West Indies, for a concerted action on the issue. "The Aussies have already come out and expressed their concerns. I'm not a big fan of going to Pakistan. I just hope it won't be us players who get left to make the decision in the end," an unnamed senior England player was quoted as saying by the newspaper. According to the newspaper, security expert Reg Dickason, whom Cricket Australia was planning to send to Pakistan to assess the security situation there, will also report his findings to the English board. Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan arrives in London next week to discuss his increasingly edgy players' concerns about touring Pakistan. Australian captain Ricky Ponting fuelled the specter of players' boycott by admitting that some of his teammates were "apprehensive" about touring Pakistan. — PTI
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PCB shrugs off security concerns
Lahore, June 21 ''We've been hearing through the media that there may be concerns among some of the players about the Champions Trophy,'' PCB Director of Cricket Operations Zakir Khan was quoted as saying by 'The News'. ''But we are not taking any of it seriously unless there is an official confirmation from the cricket boards of those countries,'' he added.
— UNI |
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Bridgetown, June 21 The match was reduced to 11 overs yesterday per side after the start was delayed. Australia, put into bat by West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo, made 97 for three.— Reuters Scoreboard Australia Marsh c Marshall b Roach 29 Ronchi c Taylor b Roach 36 Watson not out 17 Hussey c Perkins b Bravo 0 White not out 10 Extras: (lb-2, w-2, nb-1) 5 Total: (3 wickets; 11 overs) 97 Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-72, 3-72 Bowling: Taylor 2-0-23-0, Benn 2-0-19-0, Edwards 2-0-12-0, Roach 3-0-29-2, Bravo 2-0-12-1 West Indies Marshall run out 36 Perkins run out 9 Ramdin c Johnson b Watson 8 D.Bravo not out 28 Fletcher not out 7 Extras: (b-6, lb-1, w-7) 14 Total: (3 wickets; 9.1 overs) 102 Fall of wickets: 1-53, 2-59, 3-64 Bowling: Lee 2-0-26-0, Johnson 2-0-30-0, Watson 2.1-0-17-1, Hopes 2-0-14-0, White 1-0-8-0
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Raikkonen secures Ferrari’s 200th F1 pole
Magny-Cours, June 21 The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen's grand prix career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit. Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th. His demotion left Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso sharing the second row with Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen moved up to fifth. Kubica leads Hamilton and Massa by four points in the championship with Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven races. “It’s the best possible chance to win the race from the first place and the car has been good all weekend, so hopefully we will get some good points here,” said Raikkonen, who has failed to score in his two previous starts. “It’s going to be a long race. I'm pretty sure we have a good race car but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen.” Raikkonen failed to finish in Canada after the pit lane collision and drew a blank in Monaco after running into the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India while in fifth place. But he has never failed to finish in France. “It’s very nice for the whole team but I am just a small part of it,” he said of the landmark pole, 57 years since the first by Argentine Jose Froilan Gonzalez at Silverstone in 1951. “I am happy to achieve their 200th one...but nothing else really changes.” Raikkonen finished second in France for McLaren in 2005 from 13th place on the starting grid and Hamilton took comfort from that statistic.The Briton, who had led the championship before his Montreal gaffe, blamed himself, however, for errors on the exit to turn seven on both of his quick laps that he said had cost him a good chunk of time. “It’s quite a disappointing qualifying, I think, for me. I have to apologise to the team, I didn’t do a great job at all,” said the 23-year-old Briton. “I was pushing and trying to get the best out of the car and I did in most areas except that one. We just missed out but we will push very hard tomorrow.” He had no illusions about the task ahead, however. “It’s tough. We’re here to race and compete for wins. When you know that you don't have a chance of doing that then it puts you on the back foot," said Hamilton. “If we can pull off some points from this weekend it will be a major bonus.”
— Reuters |
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Lee-Hesh stunned by unseeded duo
New Delhi, June 21 The second seeded Indians, who were aiming for their first ATP title together in four years, went down 6-7 (5) 3-6 in little over an hour's time. A win today would have given the former World number ones their 24th title together and a 23-9 lifetime record in ATP finals. Off the blocks aggressively, Bhupathi and Paes broke Ancic and Merzel in the second game before racing to a 4-1 lead less than 15 minutes into the match. The Indians earned a couple of break points in the sixth game as well but frittered away both, which perhaps marked the turning point of the match. The second seeds paid for the lapse with Ancic and Merzel breaking them in the very next game to make it 4-4 before eventually taking the set into a tiebreaker. And Ancic and Melzer held their nerves, leading 5-2 before sealing the tie-breaker 7-5. The Indians were on the back-foot in the second set as well losing their serve in the fourth game. Ancic and Merzel were simply unstoppable thereafter and took a little more than 20 minutes to wrap up the set in their favour and clinch the title. This was the first of the two ATP events that Bhupathi and Paes will play together as build-up to the Olympics. The estranged duo last title win together was in the 2004 Rogers Masters in Toronto.
— PTI |
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Southee rips through England
Bristol, England, June 21 New Zealand had appeared to be heading for a comprehensive defeat earlier after they slumped to 49 for five but after taking 50 runs from their last five overs to reach 182 all out, Southee ripped through England's middle-order. He returned career best one-day figures of four for 38 as the home team were bowled out for 160 with 22 balls left.
— Reuters Scoreboard New Zealand How b Broad 10 McCullum c Pietersen b Anderson 17 Taylor b Broad 8 Styris c Ambrose b Tremlett 4 Flynn c Tremlett b Anderson 2 Elliott c Wright b Anderson 56 Hopkins c sub b Collingwood 7 Vettori c Shah b Swann 18 Mills c Collingwood b Wright 47 Southee c Pietersen b Wright 0 Gillespie not out 0 Extras: (lb-6 w-7) 13 Total: (all out, 50 overs) 182 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-37, 3-42, 4-42, 5-49, 6-75, 7-110, 8-164, 9-168, 10-182 Bowling: Anderson 10-0-61-3, Broad 10-4-14-2, Tremlett 10-1-24-1, Wright 6-0-34-2, Collingwood 10-0-33-1, Swann 4-0-10-1 England Bell c McCullum b Elliott 20 Wright c Styris b Mills 2 Pietersen c Elliott b Mills 4 Bopara c How b Southee 27 Collingwood lbw b Southee 34 Shah c Styris b Southee 0 Ambrose c Taylor b Southee 0 Swann c Taylor b Styris 29 Broad c Hopkins b Vettori 17 Tremlett c Vettori b Elliott 3 Anderson not out 0 Extras: (lb-8 w-15 nb-1) 24 Total: (all out, 46.2 overs) 160 Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-19, 3-62, 4-64, 5-64, 6-64, 7-129, 8-152, 9-160, 10-160 Bowling: Mills 10-0-42-2, Gillespie 8-3-15-0, Southee 10-2-38-4, Elliott 5.2-2-9-2, Vettori 9-1-32-1, Styris 4-0-16-1 Player of the match: Mills (NZ)
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Turkey coach Fatih Terim said he did not give up even when Croatia went 1-0 ahead with one minute of extra time left in their pulsating Euro 2008 quarter-final.
Innsbruck, June 21
