Vienna, June 29
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 in a fast and furious Euro 2008 final on Sunday.

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 Mertesacker but saw his header come back off a post.

Torres, who had been somewhat overshadowed by absent four-goal partner David Villa 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, 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 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. — Reuters — Reuters 

Karachi, June 29
Spinner Ajantha Mendis took four wickets and Kumar Sangakkara carved a meticulous century as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 64 runs in their Asian Cup super league match at the National Stadium on Sunday. Mendis (4-47) foxed the home batsmen, who were facing him for the first time, with his neat variation as Pakistan were restricted to 238 for nine in reply to Sri Lanka’s 302 for seven.

The Sri Lankan total included Sangakkara’s ninth hundred and came despite left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir taking a career-best 5-48. Sangakkara, who struck ten fours and a six, shared a third-wicket stand of 88 with Chamara Kapugedera (43) and added 93 for the fourth wicket with Chamara Silva (46) to put the unbeaten Sri Lankans on the road to a commanding total.

In reply for Pakistan, Misbah-ul-Haq played a gallant knock of 76 from 70 balls, his highest one-day score to give some hope to Pakistan but Mendis, who took 5-22 in the previous game against the United Arab Emirates, was virtually unplayable. Misbah shared a 66-run stand from 64 balls for the seventh wicket with wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed (19) before being bowled by Mendis in the 47th over.

The other productive partnership came from captain Shoaib Malik (52) and Younis Khan (47) who put on 72 after opener Salman Butt was bowled first ball of the innings by Chaminda Vaas playing across the line.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka

Jayasuriya lbw b Tanvir 8

Sangakkara b Tanvir 112

J’wardene c Misbah b Tanvir 29

Kapugedera c Younis b Amjad 43

C Silva c Ahmed b Tanvir 46

Thushara c W Riaz b Tanvir 28

Dilshan b W Riaz 8

Vaas not out 4

Kulasekara not out 1

Extras: (lb-10, wd- 11, nb- 2) 23

Total: (7 wkts in 50 overs) 302

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-62, 3-150, 4-243, 5-271, 6-288, 7-298.

Bowling: Tanvir 10-1-48-5, Riaz 9-0-52-1, Anjum 8-0-60-0, Afridi 10-0-54-0, Malik 5-0-34-0, Amjad 8-1-44-1.

Pakistan

Butt b Vaas 0

Malik st Sangakkara b Mendis 52

Younis c Murali b Kulasekera 47

Yousuf lbw b Mendis 19

Misbah b Mendis 76

Afridi c sub b Jayasuriya 0

Amjad lbw b Mendis 5

Ahmed b Kulasekera 19

Tanvir not out 9

Anjum c Kulasekera b Murali 7

Riaz not out 1

Extras: (lb-1, w-2) 3

Total: ( 9 wkts, 50 overs) 238

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-72, 3-108, 4-133, 5-135, 6-153, 7-219,

8-223, 9-236.

Bowling: Vaas 10-1-44-1, Kulasekera 9-1-35-2, T. Mirando

7-0-44-0, Muralitharan 10-0-46-1, Mendis 10-0-47-4, Jayasuriya 4-0-21-1.

Player of the match: Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)— Reuters 

Karachi, June 29
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) today dismissed Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's criticism of tight schedule of the Asia Cup tournament. Dhoni had said after India's win over Bangladesh last night that he was not happy with the tournament schedule as his team ended up playing three matches in four days.

"We have spent 36 hours playing cricket out of the 84 hours we have been in Karachi. It is too tight. I am not happy with the schedule. Two teams have to play back to back matches while two have got a day off," he had said.

ACC Chief Executive Ashraful Haque said the schedule was finalised by Pakistan Cricket Board and the ACC, and all the boards of participating countries had given their approval.

"After the schedule was finalised and six weeks before the tournament we had sent the programme to all the concerned boards including India to give us their approval," he said.

"The schedule was approved by all the boards, so I don't see any reason of complaining. Tight schedules are part of international cricket now," he said. The Indian Cricket Board also snubbed Dhoni, saying any player who wanted rest could inform the Board.

"The Asia Cup schedule has been drawn up by Asian Cricket Council and since India is a member of ACC, we are participating in the tournament. The BCCI was not directly involved in drawing up the schedule," Shukla said. — PTI

Karachi, June 29
Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson got into an altercation with local media tonight after Pakistan lost their Asia Cup Super Four match against Sri Lanka by 64-runs here. Lawson’s press conference was boycotted by the local media with the Indians also following them after the Australian passed some remarks which were perceived as insulting by the reporters.

“Before we start, let us have some ground rules. Don’t make statements, ask questions and I will only answer sensible questions,” Lawson said at the outset. This led to a local journalist asking him if he would be dictating to the press what to do to which Lawson remarked “your English is not very good”, which only aggravated the situation.

Lawson was also heard telling another journalist that he was being rude and finally local media walked off from the press conference and Lawson was booed while waiting for the lift to go down to the dressing room.

The incident was apparently triggered by a growing tension between the local media on one hand and the Pakistan coach and captain Shoaib Malik on the other.

The local medal had been unsparing in asking some hard questions over the selection matters and performance of the team. Malik also had unsavoury exchanges with the media two days back. — PTI

Vienna, June 29
Germany will be sweating on the fitness of captain Michael Ballack as they prepare to face Spain in today's European Championship final in Vienna (2115 IST). Ballack, Germany's inspirational figure for much of Euro 2008, missed training on Friday and yesterday to nurse a calf injury and will have a fitness test before the game.

His absence would be a major blow to Germany's hopes of a fourth European title. The midfielder's match-winning goals against Austria in the group stage and Portugal in the quarter-finals ensured their progress in the tournament.

If Ballack fails to recover in time it would leave coach Joachim Loew contemplating a major reshuffle of his midfield.

There is no obvious replacement for a player who missed the 2002 World Cup final through suspension. Loew said Tim Borowski or Bastian Schweinsteiger might take over.

Schweinsteiger is certain to start, whatever his position.

Along with fellow attacking midfielder Lukas Podolski and striker Miroslav Klose, he would have an extra goalscoring burden on him if Ballack missed out against a buoyant Spain.

Luis Aragones's men have been the most entertaining side at the tournament, driven forward by a midfield blend of pace, flair and ball skills that have run their opponents ragged.

Having dispensed with world champions Italy on penalties, Cesc Fabregas, along with Barcelona pair Andres Iniesta and Xavi, turned Russia inside out in a 3-0 semi-final victory.

They will look to reproduce their neat short-passing game and possession football to inflict the same fatal fatigue on Germany, who would do well to remember the words of Russia coach Guus Hiddink.

''For an hour we could move and after that it was...very difficult to play them,'' lamented the Dutchman.

''They know if they keep on touching the ball, at the end the opponent is getting fatigued and then they know they can score.''

With David Villa almost certainly ruled out by injury, Fernando Torres is set to be the lone striker as Spain bid for a second European title after their 1964 success on home soil. — Reuters

Vienna, June 29
Hundreds of chanting and partying Spanish and German supporters gathered in Vienna today, transforming the historic city centre in to a big party zone ahead of the European Championship final.

Police expect around 40,000 German fans and 15,000 Spanish supporters to descend on the Austrian capital's centre as Germany take on Spain in the city's stadium only a few km away.

''It's one big street party right now - happy and loud but very peaceful,'' said Christian Stella from Vienna police.

Transforming the city's main square around St Stephen's cathedral in to a sea of red and yellow, Spanish fans had kicked off their party since the early morning hours, accompanied by their own marching band.

''The Spanish people are simply more fun, they know much better than the Germans how to party,'' said Maria de la Cruz Aparicio from Ciudad Real, who had no ticket for the match in the Austrian capital, but had flown with her family to Vienna to watch the match on one of the big screens in the fanzone.

''Spain is the winner, of course, tonight and it will be absolutely fantastic,'' she said standing beside a group of male Spanish fans clad in flamenco dresses and jumping up and down.

German supporters, mingling with their Spanish counterparts between dozens of street vendors flogging tops and scarves, begged to differ.

Though Vienna has the tournament's biggest fan zone stretching along a tree-lined grand boulevard curving around its city centre, the square around St Stephen's cathedral emerged as a main gathering point for fans in the run up to the matches.

''We actually wanted to do a bit of sightseeing and go down to the Danube before watching the match in the fanzone tonight,'' said Sylvia who had flown in from Berlin. — Reuters

London, June 29
New Zealand clinched a 3-1 series win over England by cruising to a 51-run victory in the fifth and final one-dayer at Lord's today, ensuring Kevin Pietersen tasted defeat on his debut as captain.

The home team, chasing a target of 267, were bowled out for 215 in 47.5 overs. Skipper Daniel Vettori and seamer Tim Southee took three wickets apiece while Owais Shah top-scored with 69.

Earlier, Scott Styris and Jacob Oram hit half-centuries to guide New Zealand to 266 for five.

The second match in the series was abandoned as a no-result.

The one-day triumph was a major coup for the Kiwis after they were beaten 2-0 in the Test series. Pietersen, replacing the suspended Paul Collingwood as captain, won the toss and elected to field first.

The game was evenly poised with New Zealand on 124 for four but a stand of 77 by Styris and Oram turned the heat up on England.

Oram cracked 52 off 40 balls while Styris played patiently until unleashing several ferocious strokes in the closing overs to finish 87 not out. Styris, who was dropped on 13 by Ravi Bopara and survived a loud appeal for a stumping on 39, faced 91 deliveries.

The highlight of his innings came when he launched Ryan Sidebottom into the top tier of the stands for a mighty six late in the innings.

Pietersen made few mistakes in the field although he may regret using part-time spinner Shah, who went for 30 in his three overs.

England's reply started brightly thanks to Ian Bell and Alastair Cook before they suddenly lost momentum.

From 53 for nought they slumped to 138 for six, Pietersen making an untypically scratchy six in 23 balls.

Apart from Shah's fluent 75-ball effort, Pietersen's innings summed up England's batting which was cleverly stifled by spinner Vettori (3-32) and Man of the Series Southee (3-49). 

Scoreboard 

New Zealand:

How c Bopara b Broad 22

McCullum c Swann b Anderson 23

Taylor c Ambrose b Broad 4

Styris not out 87

Flynn b Swann 35

Oram c Broad b Swann 52

Elliott not out 23

Extras: (lb-13 w-7): 20

Total (for five wickets, 50 overs): 266

Fall of wickets: 1-39 2-54 3-71 4-124 5-201

Bowling: Sidebottom 10-0-52-0 (1w), Anderson 10-0-46-1 (4w), Broad 10-1-50-2 (2w), Wright 6-0-36-0, Swann 10-0-33-2, Bopara 1-0-6-0, Shah 3-0-30-0.

England:

Bell lbw b Gillespie 27

Cook c McCullum b Southee 24

Pietersen c Oram b Southee 6

Bopara b Vettori 30

Shah c sub b Southee 69

Wright b Vettori 6

Ambrose c sub b Vettori 2

Swann c McCullum b Mills 12

Broad c Flynn b Mills 5

Sidebottom not out 10

Anderson c Oram b Gillespie 2

Extras: (b-1 lb-10 w-10 nb-1): 22

Total (all out, 47.5 overs): 215

Fall of wickets: 1-53 2-60 3-86 4-101 5-130 6-138 7-164 8-186 9-209 10-215

Bowling: Mills 9-1-55-2, Gillespie 9.5-2-29-2 (1nb, 1w), Oram 6-0-22-0 (1w), Southee 9-0-49-3 (4w), Vettori 10-1-32-3 (1w), Styris 4-0-17-0 (1w).

Result: New Zealand won by 51 runs.

Player of the match: S Styris (New Zealand).

Player of the series: T Southee (New Zealand).— Reuters

London, June 29
Number two seed Rafael Nadal ran out an impressive 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner against Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer on Saturday to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round in fine style.

Reflecting on a first week where he consistently upped his game, four-times French Open champion Nadal said, “I am doing well, only losing one set. From now on, I know that I am going to have a tough time”.

It was level-pegging all the way in the first set against Kiefer until the tiebreak when one precious early break by Nadal was all that was needed to give him the lead. Nadal certainly did not underestimate Kiefer. “He is a difficult opponent on every surface but especially here. He is an aggressive player. I think I played a very good tie-break and I started playing very well after that,” he said.

Nadal has a nerve-racking weekend ahead, hoping that his victory will be followed by Spain beating Germany in the final of Euro 2008 on Sunday.

Let’s hope the football is different — Boris Becker refers to the Euro 08 final after Spain’s Rafael Nadal defeated Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer

Nadal and his compatriots at Wimbledon will be gathered round the television rooting for the team.

“I think we have good chances for a win. I think the Spaniards are very happy as we have the best team,” Nadal said. After watching his compatriot being overwhelmed by Nadal, Germany’s former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker quipped “Let’s hope the football is different.” — Reuters 

London, June 29
Mahesh Bhupathi's disappointing run in the Wimbledon continued as he, along with Sania Mirza, crashed out of the mixed doubles event while Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs also bowed out of the tournament here.

Seeded 11th, Bhupathi and Sania could not move beyond the first round and the unseeded Russian team of Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko did not have a great deal of problem to overpower the Indians 6-7 (4) 6-3.

Paes and Stubbs, seeded 10th in the tournament, were also shown the doors by Swede Jonas Bjorkman and his Australian partner Alicia Molik who beat them 3-6 6-3 3-6.

Another Indian in the fray, Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Belorussian partner Tatiana Poutchek failed to meet the challenge of 13th seeded Swede-American pair of Simon Aspelin and Lisa Raymond in the second round and went down 3-6 6-7 (1).

In juniors too, India had a poor start to the Wimbledon campaign as fifth seed Yuki Bhambri lost to unseeded American Ty D Trombetta 6-7 (2) 4-6. — UNI 

London, June 29
For somebody who has lost his last 11 matches against Roger Federer and has a sore hip, Australian battler Lleyton Hewitt is amazingly upbeat about their fourth round clash at Wimbledon on Monday. Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002 before Federer’s five-year domination began, has already gone further than his 20th seeding spot this year as he gallantly plays the lone ranger for Australian men’s tennis.

“This is what you play for. There’s no doubt about it,” the 27-year-old told reporters when looking ahead to his 21st professional meeting with a player he first locked horns with when they were juniors.

“Especially in my situation, you know, these are the matches I enjoy. It’s good to get out there and play on Centre Court, play against the best player in the world.”

Hewitt, the dominant force in men’s tennis when he won the 2001 U.S. Open and Wimbledon a year later, has not been to a grand slam quarterfinal for two years yet is still feared as one of the toughest competitors on the circuit.

Federer himself is a big admirer of Hewitt, the only other man in the draw to have won Wimbledon. “It’s always a challenge playing Lleyton. He’s a great player, a guy I really enjoy watching as well. He’s a great competitor,” the Swiss, who has looked serene so far as he chases a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, said. — Reuters

Kolkata, June 29
Seventeen-year-old archer Vardhineni Parineetha of Steel Plant today made the cut for Bejing Olympics, topping the selection trials at the SAI Netaji Subhas Eastern Centre here. Parineetha gave a tough challenge to veterans Dola Banerjee and Reena Kumari and went through several ups and downs in the rigorous four-day selection trial.

Dola also managed to make the cut to represent the country for the second time in Olympics. She and Praneetha will join L. Bombayla Devi in the women’s recurve team event in the quadrennial extravaganza. The Railways archer, Bombayla, has already qualified for the Olympics in the women’s recurve individual event after she finished 32nd in the Outdoor Archery World Championship held in Leipzig, Germany last year.

Bombayla’s performance was also enough for her to qualify for the women's recurve team event. Meanwhile, Mangal Singh Champia of the Mittal Champions Trust will be the sole representation from India in the men’s recurve section.

Mangal had clinched the Beijing berth by winning silver in the Continental Qualification Tournament that followed the main event, the Asian Archery Championship at Xi’an, China in September last year. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Rajeev Ramesan misses Olympic berth
LONDON: Rajeev Ramesan missed the Olympic ‘B’ qualification mark in the 800m by just 0.06s even though he won the race with his personal best timing of 1:47.06s at the Nike Grand Prix held at Solihull. Compatriot Sajeesh Joseph finished third with 1:47.48s. Also ending as winners were Surendra Singh (5,000m) and Preeja Sreedharan (10,000m) while Asian champion Sinimole Paulose (1,500m) finished runners-up in her event. — PTI

Arjun signs off tied 15th in Thailand
CHIANG RAI: Arjun Singh signed off with a level-par card to finish tied 15th, while compatriot Gaganjeet Bhullar came tied 20th courtesy his final round of two-under 70 at the $300,000 at Singha Thailand PGA Championship here on Sunday. Arjun tallied a four-day total of 282 after his rounds of 68, 69, 73 and 72 and the Indian pocketed $3,966 for his exploit. After his poor penultimate round of 74, Bhullar (283) put up an improved show today and returned 70 to finish tied 20th. — PTI

Zimbabwe questions ICC expulsion threat
LONDON: Faced with the threat of expulsion from the ICC, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) today questioned the logic behind such a possibility especially when the African nation continues to play other sports at the international level without any restriction. ZC managing director Ozias Bvute questioned both the decisions and said he had no idea why cricket authorities were reacting in such a way while governing bodies of other sports had no problem with Zimbabwe. — PTI

Anaka bags gold at Asian junior squash
NEW DELHI: Anaka Alankamony bagged India’s lone gold medal at the Asian Junior Squash Championship, while both Dipika Pallikal and Mahesh Mangaonkar settled for silver after losing their respective finals in the tournament which concluded in Busan, Korea on Sunday. Anaka, the top seeded Indian, beat Hong Kong’s Ho Ka Po 9-6, 9-6, 9-5 in the girls under-15 category final to clinch her eighth international title. — PTI

Jeev improves; Randhawa, Kapur slip at Open de France
PARIS: Shiv Kapur brought home his worst card of the tournament so far, a five-over 76, to slump to tied 43rd after the penultimate round of the Open de France ALSTOM here. Kapur has a total of one-over 214. Among the other Indians in fray, Jeev Milkha Singh (212) moved up one rung to tied 27th after returning a one-under 70, while Jyoti Randhawa (225) continued his downward curve, tumbling further down to tied 68th after carding a 10-over 81. — PTI

Galle being spruced for India-Lanka Test
GALLE: Workers are racing against time to spruce up the Tsunami-hit Galle cricket stadium for the second India-Sri Lanka Test starting July 31 here. The picturesque stadium is located amid the meandering roads that head for the Galle fort and people can even view the match atop the old European style fort. The seemingly small boundaries of the ground will tempt players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara to have a go at the bowlers. — PTI

Indian hockey eves finished last in Rotterdam
NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s hockey team, sans coach, finished last at the four-nations tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after they were thrashed 1-5 by South Africa in the third and fourth place play-off match. Hosts Netherlands won the tournament after crushing Great Britain 5-0 in the final on Saturday. South Africa, who were earlier beaten by the Indian eves 0-1 in the league stages, took sweet revenge, finding the Indian net twice in the first half (Marsh Marescia 11, Kathleen Taylor 12) and thrice after the breather (Vida Ryan 50, 69 and Jenny Wilson 68). — PTI

Chopra soars to Buick Open lead
GRAND BLANC: Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra set himself up for a second PGA Tour title this year, grabbing a two-stroke lead with a four-under 68 in the penultimate round of $5 million Buick Open here. Chopra, who was tied second overnight, closed the round with a total of 16-under 200, two strokes ahead of American trio of Dudley Hart (70), Bubba Watson (68) and Woody Austin (69). — PTI