Hyderabad, October 5
The domineering Board President's XI punctured Australia's usual aura of invincibility in the drawn warm-up match, exposing numerous chinks in the visitors' armoury ahead of the four-match cricket Test series.

Yuvraj Singh (113) lit up the morning session with his batting pyrotechnics, while Wasim Jaffer (93) was distinctly unlucky to miss his ton as Board President's XI declared their second essay at 292 for four, some 47 minutes after lunch.

Chasing an improbable target of 434, Australia finished at 127 for two wickets in 38 overs, with a serious question mark against their perceived invulnerability.

Ricky Ponting (58 not out) and Michael Clarke (36 not out) did get some runs under the belt and Australia certainly did a better job in their second innings but they were not convincing against the spinners, something that might hurt them in the Test series.

Ponting signalled his positive intent with three successive fours off Manpreet Gony but Chawla would often tease and torment him with his bag of tricks.

Among his teammates, Simon Katich (5) came a cropper again, while Matthew Hayden (14), returning from Achilles injury, could not dust the rust.

Meanwhile, both individually and collectively, the local outfit achieved what they came for. Their spinners mauled the Aussies, sowing the seed of doubt in their mind, ensuring they go into the series with lot of pressure on their shoulder.

The Board President's XI batsmen also exposed what Australia tried to hide that they are not the same bowling force in absence of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.

The final day's play didn't see any change in the script and after Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha had exposed Australia's laden-footed top order's frailties against anything that turns, Yuvraj and Jaffer took the onus on themselves to prove that their attack lacked venom.

Barring Stuart Clark, the Australian bowlers cut a sorry figure as Yuvraj and Jaffer added 200 runs in 44.3 overs, their free-scoring rate revealing the respect - rather lack of it - they had for the bowlers.

Off-spinner Jason Krejza copped it most and Yuvraj was simply merciless against the rookie off-spinner, milking 47 runs off his 26 balls that also included some morale-shattering hits over the ropes.

Resuming on 110 for two, Yuvraj smote Krejza for a massive six to bring up his fifty and unleashed him on both the offie and Michael Clarke whose left-arm spin proved equally ineffective.

With Yuvraj on song, it rained sixes and fours as the left-hander overtook Jaffer and his century came in when he hoicked Clarke over deep mid-wicket.

Yuvraj soon fell to Clark but the damage was done by then and the left-hander had plundered 113 runs that came off 143 balls and was studded with seven boundaries and as many sixes.

Scoreboard 

Board's President XI (1st innings): 455

Australia (1st innings): 314

Board President's XI (2nd innings):

Aakash Chopra lbw b Clark 6

Wasim Jaffer lbw b Clark 93

S Badrinath c Haddin b Lee 14

Yuvraj Singh c Haddin b Clark 113

Rohit Sharma not out 29

Virat Kohli not out 16

Extras: (b-14, lb-4, nb-3): 21

Total: (4 wkts decl in 70 overs): 292

FoW: 1-7, 2-35, 3-235, 4-240

Bowling: Lee 18-2-60-1; Clark 13-5-33-3; Siddle 11-0-41-0; Johnson 11-3-25-0; Krejza 11-1-76-0; Clarke 6-1-39-0.

Australians (2nd innings):

Simon Katich c Kohli b Gony 5

Matthew Hayden lbw b Chawla 14

Ricky Ponting not out 58

Michael Clarke not out 36

Extras: (b-4, lb-5, pen 5): 14

Total: (For 2 wkts, 38 overs): 127

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-52

Bowling: Pathan 7-4-11-0; Gony 4-1-20-1; Chawla 14-1-44-1; Ojha 6-1-27-0; Yuvraj 6-2-10-0; Rohit Sharma 1-0-1-0. — PTI

Chennai, October 5
India A failed to build on a solid foundation laid by M. Vijay’s 98 and Chateswar Pujara's 80, and conceded a 39-run first innings lead to New Zealand A on the third of the four-day match here today.

At close, the Kiwis had stretched their lead to 146, scoring 107 for three in their second essay.

Earlier, resuming at 162 for three, M. Vijay (overnight 76) and Pujara (overnight 49), built the innings brick by brick consuming a lot of overs.

The duo added 139 for the fourth wicket in 332 balls, before Vijay's departure triggered the collapse, as India fell from 195 for three in 78.1 overs to 276 all out in 119.1 overs.

Vijay, who was all set for a deserving hundred, spooned a catch to short cover off off-spinner McCullum. He scored 98 from 250 balls hitting 13 fours and two sixers. 
— UNI

Scoreboard

New Zealand A (1st innings): 315

India A (1st innings):

Kukreja c Young b Boult 0

Vijay c Fulton b McCullum 98

Raina lbw b Scott 11

Ganguly run out 14

Pujara c Young b O'Brien 80

Jadeja c O'Brien b Redmond 33

Saha c Guptill b McCullum 10

Mishra c & b Redmond 2

RP Singh c Marshall b Redmond 6

Sangwan c Fulton b Redmond 2

Dinda not out 0

Extras (b 14, lb 4, w 1, nb 1): 20

Total (all out; 119.1 overs): 276

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-24, 3-96, 4-195, 5-221, 6-236, 7-248, 8-270, 9-274, 10-276

Bowling: IE O'Brien 22-9-42-1; TA Boult 18-5-43-1; BE Scott 22-9-33-1; NL McCullum 44-8-105-2; AJ Redmond 10.1-2-30-4; MJ Guptill 3-0-5-0

New Zealand A (2nd innings):

For 3 wickets in 33 overs: 107

New Delhi, October 5
It was a memorable day for the Indian badminton as Chetan Anand became the first Indian to win men's singles title in a Grand Prix event and the pair of V. Diju and Jwala Gutta claimed the honours in the mixed doubles event in the Bitburger Open in Germany, today.

Fourth seed Chetan pipped compatriot seventh seed Arvind 23-25, 24-22, 23-21 in an all-Indian battle in the final, lasting exactly one hour.

However, it was the pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta who wrote history first, as early in the day they defeated eighth seed Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna 
Pedersen of Denmark in the final.

The Indian duo piped the Denmark pair 8-21, 21-17, 22-20 in a 48-minutes.

Chetan was off to a good start but lost the plot in the end of the opening game and it slipped out of his fingers.

However, the national champion was in no mood to throw the towel and made a spectacular comeback to win the next game 24-22.

In the third game, he was again trailing 14-19 but the world number 30 got his act together and scored six consecutive points before sealing the fiercely fought 
game 23-21.

"It is the most satisfying moment for me after the Commonwealth bronze medal. It was a great win. I was ready to play long matches and kept my patience and pulled it off at the end," Chetan told PTI after the match.

Pondering over the match, the 28-year-old shuttler said that he was not completely happy with his effort.

"I don't think I played my best. In the first game, it was 20-19 but I could not get it through. In the second game also, I was down but got it right at the end but the most crucial moment for me was the third game, when it was 19-14 and I played some flick shots and pulled it off," he said.

"He was in a hurry in the third game, his smashes were off target and he came under pressure, I guess my experience helped me to sail through."

Earlier, V Diju and Jwala Gutta also became the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix event.

The Indian duo overcame a disastrous start as they lost the first game 8-21 but held their nerves and rallied to pocket the second game 21-17 and then clinched the issue by winning the third game 22-20.

"Becoming the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix is an amazing feeling. I feel it is one of the best win ever for me," Jwala Gutta said.

"We got confused in the first game as Viju is left-handed but we combined well and did not make much mistakes there after. I think this win will shut up our 
critics now," she said.

Meanwhile, in the women's single, Aditi Mutatkar had a bad day in office as she was defeated 22-24, 21-8, 23-21 by Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia in 49 
minutes. — PTI

Hyderabad, October 5
Yuvraj Singh believes with no quality spinner in the ranks, Ricky Ponting has arrived here with the weakest Australian squad in recent times even though he warns India against complacence in the forthcoming Test series against them.

Under Yuvraj, the Board President's XI dominated the four-day warm-up match against Australia with the visitors barely managing to escape follow-on.

Australia's thin spin resource were also exposed in the match, which convinces Yuvraj that for a change, Australia would no longer start the series as the overwhelming favourites.

"Obviously (this is the weakest side in recent past)," Yuvraj said.

"You see, last time they had Shane Warne in the side but this time their spin attack is not good enough. In such a situation, the fast bowlers have a tough job at hand. I think they would start the series pretty even," Yuvraj said. "They have a good pace attack but you cannot say the same for their spin department. It's going to be hard work for them on the tracks here," he said.

Yuvraj himself was harsh on Australia's lone specialist spinner Jason Krejza, hitting him all over the park en route to his scintillating 113 which had seven towering sixes in it.

"They have got a good pace attack and hence I had to target some other bowlers. In such a situation, you have to see where you get the runs from and so I went after him," Yuvraj said nonchalantly.

The warm-up match also exposed Australia's clear discomfort against spin bowling with Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha making life difficult for the visitors. Yuvraj believes things would be even tougher when Australian batsmen face Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the Test series.

Australia's spin problem notwithstanding, Yuvraj has not lost respect for the opponents and he said India just could not afford to be complacent.

"India cannot afford to underestimate them. They always come up with a certain plan," he warned, The match was personally satisfying as well for the left-hander who said he was gaining his confidence back to push himself in the Test reckoning again.

"I'm happy with the knock. The thing is that I had lost my confidence but I'm now getting it back. Once I scored the first 30-35 runs, it started coming back. The morning session against Brett Lee was challenging and I wanted to hang around till lunch," said the dashing left-hander. — PTI 

Hyderabad, October 5
Australia is evidently helpless against spin bowling but skipper Ricky Ponting refuses to panic, asserting his team is up to the challenge of facing Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the upcoming Test series.

Nine Australian batsmen surrendered to either Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha or Yuvraj Singh in the first innings of the warm-up match here. In the second, only two wickets fell and that included Matthew Hayden -- perceived as one of the better players against spin bowling -- who was trapped by Chawla.

Ponting said it was not a case of surrendering before opponent's spin might.

"When spinners bowl 75 per cent of the total overs, chances are more that you would lose wickets to them," he said, as a matter of fact.

"No doubt they (Chawla and Ojha) bowled well and we disappointed in the first innings. But I think it was a good opportunity for all players to get some good practice (against spin bowling) before we reach Bangalore (for the first Test)," Ponting explained.

"Not everyone can be among runs in every game," he added.

Ponting, however, admitted that facing Kumble and Harbhajan would be the real challenge for the batsmen.

"Look both Kumble and Harbhajan are world class spinners, especially Kumble. He has been around for quite a long time and that's talking about the challenge that lies ahead. We have to play well against these guys" he said.

Australia's thin spin resource was also exposed in the four-day warm-up match with lone specialist spinner Jason Krejza taking quite a battering, especially by Yuvraj.

Ponting, however, sees it as the learning curve for the rookie offie.

"I think he started well, used angles and tried things. But Yuvraj was very aggressive this morning and was in a hurry to pile up before declaring.

"Anyway, it's all part of learning. He is young, has the skill and talent. He would have to work hard on field placement and other things. He did not have much exposure as well," Ponting said in his defence of the youngster.

With Victorian all-rounder Cameron White set to join the team in Bangalore as replacement for injured spinner Bryce McGain, the Australian skipper believes it would lend balance to the side. — PTI

London, October 5
Manchester United maintained the pressure on English Premier League leaders Chelsea and Liverpool as Arsenal avoided another embarrassing defeat.

United defender Wes Brown scored a disputed header in the first half at Blackburn Rovers and striker Wayne Rooney scored after the break for a 2-0 win yesterday that keeps the champions breathing down the leaders' necks.

Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas rescued Arsenal from the spectre of a second straight league defeat with an injury-time header in a 1-1 draw at Sunderland just minutes after the hosts took the lead and seemed set for a shock victory.

Meanwhile Middlesbrough won 1-0 at Wigan and West Bromwich beat visitors Fulham by the same scoreline.

Brown's 31st-minute goal at Ewood Park came from a Rooney cross from the left, though Nemanja Vidic may have fouled Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown.

Cristiano Ronaldo set up Rooney's goal in the 64th minute, the England striker finishing with a first time shot.

The result leaves United three points behind the leaders and Alex Ferguson's Champions League winners will have a game in hand following this weekend's round of matches.

At the Stadium of Light, Grant Leadbitter scored an 86th-minute goal for Sunderland, two minutes after replacing veteran Dwight Yorke. The 22-year-old midfielder crashed a shot which hit the Gunners' crossbar before bouncing down over the line.

Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Hull last weekend and seemed set for a second defeat to lesser opposition.

But Fabregas salvaged a draw with an impressive header that left the Gunners on 13 points, one behind the leaders ahead of Sunday's matches.

Arsenal thought they should have taken the lead earlier when Theo Walcott cut the ball back for Robin van Persie to score, but the match officials ruled the ball had gone out of play.

At the JJB Stadium, former Gunners striker Jeremie Aliadiere scored a last-ditch goal of his own, his 89th-minute effort the only goal of the game as visitors Middlesbrough beat Wigan.

The goal ended Middlesbrough's run of four straight defeats and was their first non-defeat on the road this season.

Aliadiere got on the end of a Stuart Downing header and beat goalkeeper Ross Turnbull with a left-footed finish from the centre of the penalty area.

Meanwhile Roman Bednar's 61st-minute goal at the Hawthorns was enough for West Brom to see off visitors Fulham.

It was the Czech international striker's third goal of the season, but the first from open play - the other two having come from the penalty spot. — AFP

London, October 5
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar tops the list of world's best 100 Test cricketers named by legendary spinner Shane Warne in his book 'Shane Warne's century', which also features as many as 10 other Indians.

Warne's list from among cricketers whom he had played with or against also includes Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri.

The list in Warne's book released on October 2 is almost identical with the one the 'The Times' newspaper published last year.

The legendary spinner describes Tendulkar as a "genius" and "best in the business", one who has an amazing discipline, and puts the Indian ahead of West Indian legend Brian Lara.

"Tendulkar has a touch of genius about him. He is the best in the business. Being quick and decisive means that he either goes all the way forward or back on the crease, but doesn't get caught in two minds. — PTI

Karachi, October 5
The Pakistan and Indian Hockey Federations have reached an agreement to revive the bilateral Test series of their junior and senior teams in November and December.

Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Asif Bajwa said the Indian junior team will visit Pakistan next month to play five tests while their senior team will come in December for six matches.

"The final dates and venues would be confirmed by the end of this month. Then our teams will pay return visits to India," he said.

"The idea behind reviving the bilateral series is to allow both countries to groom new players and also work on their weaknesses and strengths," he added. — PTI

Ahmedabad, October 5
India 'B' today lifted the Womens' Challenger Trophy defeating India 'A' by six wickets in the final at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera here.

After India 'A' won the toss and elected to bat first, India 'B' bowlers put up some creditable effort to restrict them to 122 in 48.1 overs.

Chasing a relatively easy target, India 'B' reached 123 in just 32.5 overs with six wickets to spare, thanks to brilliant unbeaten 58 by opener Jaya Sharma and Rajeshwari Goyal's unbeaten 40.

At the start of their innings, India 'B' lost two quick wickets of opener Karuunaa Jaain (12) and Latika Kumari (0) in the tenth over, but Jaya Sharma anchored the innings taking 98 balls to score 58 hitting nine boundaries. Goyal also hit six boundaries.

Earlier in the day, India 'A' innings got off to a disastrous start with two early wickets - both by Snehal Pradhan - which reduced them to nine for two after 5.3 overs.

India 'A' continued to lose batsmen at regular intervals and managed to gather 122 runs in 48.1 overs. Only four players reached double figures. Hemlata Kala top scored with 32 off 54 deliveries.

The Women's Challenger Trophy, involving three teams - India Seniors, India 'A' and India 'B' - began on October 2.

The Indian women's team will be touring Australia later this month, where they will play a series of five one-dayers.

Brief scores: India A: 122 all out in 48.1 overs.

India B: 123 for 4 in 32.5 overs. — PTI

Shimla, October 5
Suresh Rana on the car and Bhaskar Rumani on bike were leading a convoy of about 19 cars and 21 bikes during leg IV on day five of Raid de Himalaya and heading towards Petsio Army Camp today.

In the X-treme car category, Suresh Rana is at first position, Sanket Shanbag - second, Harpreet Singh Balu - third, Gurdeep Garival (Army) - fourth and Captain Amirnder Singh (Army) - fifth position as they headed towards Kanzum pass to stay at Petsio Army Camp for the night in Lahaul-Spiti.

The leg-IV result of the X-treme bike category is Bhaskar Rumani-first, Ashish Moudigl - second followed by Sandeep Singh Mathur -third, Prasant Kumar - fourth and Ganpati on fifth.

Out of the three women contestants, who were taking part in the bike event, two have dropped out of the fray during leg IV.

On the sixth day, the rally would be heading through Baralacha, Nokila, Lachangla and Takling-La Pass, its hardest phase.

The Takling-La Pass is world's second highest pass, having a height of 18,021 feet. The race would also enter the Kargil.

There were no reports of any untoward incident as rally headed for the lofty hard track.

Out of 132 teams in this event, only 87 were now in the fray including 21 bikes in X-treme, 19 Cars in X-treme and 47 vehicles in the adventure category. — UNI

Kaithal, October 5
Andhra Pradesh reached the quarterfinals of the 28th National Sub-junior Ball Badminton Championship being held here in the boys section along with Orissa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Maharashtra state, Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu.

In the girls section, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra state, Kerala and Hyderabad reached the quarterfinals.

The league matches for the championship concluded today. The following are the results of the matches held today:

Boys: Andhra beat Haryana 29-1, 29-14; Kerala beat Rajasthan 29-15, 29-6; Orissa beat Chandigarh 29-25, 29-17; Hyderabad beat Pondicherry 29-12, 29-14; Maharashtra state beat Chhattisgarh 29-16, 15-29, 29-25; Chhattisgarh beat HP 29-23, 29-7; Karnataka beat Maharashtra 29-5, 29-12; Andhra beat Chandigarh 28-10, 29-12; Kerala beat Maharashtra 29-21, 29-12; Karnataka beat Chhattisgarh 29-15, 29-10 and TN beat Hyderabad 28-29, 29-22, 29-22.

Girls: Maharashtra state beat Pondicherry 29-6, 29-1; TN beat Orissa 29-5, 29-4; AP beat Maharashtra 29-6, 29-21; Chhattisgarh beat Orissa 29-5, 29-12; Karnataka beat Haryana 29-2, 29-0; Chhattisgarh beat HP 29-23, 29-7; Kerala beat Hyderabad 29-26, 29-19; Maharashtra beat Chandigarh 29-8, 29-19; Maharashtra state beat Haryana 29-6, 29-8; TN beat Chhattisgarh 29-12, 29-6; Karnataka beat Maharashtra 29-10, 29-3; AP beat Chhattisgarh 20-4, 29-6. — OC