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LORDS AT LORD’S
Saina nets history
Saina Nehwal holds her gold medal after defeating Lin Wang in Jakarta on Sunday. — AFP
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England eves lift World Cup
Vettel wins British GP
FIH confirms India as World Cup host
More Bravo awaits India in ODIs
RCF enter final
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Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets to win final
Ashis Ray writes from London
Twenty20 may not be the be-all or end-all of cricket. But by clinching the world title in this category, Pakistani cricket - which has faced so many trials and tribulations of late — magnificently rose from the dead at the capital of the game. Defying odds, they cakewalked to victory over Sri Lanka by eight wickets with eight balls to spare in the final. Lighting doesn’t strike twice; but Shahid Afridi did, echoing his performance in the semifinal with a decisive undefeated 54 from 40 balls in addition to a tidy return of one for 20 in fours overs with the ball. Reserving their best cricket in the competition for the final, Pakistan outplayed Sri Lanka by restricting them to 138 for six before unhurriedly chasing down their target. It was a lonesome battle for Kumar Sangakkara, who, entering the fray at number five, lost the services of his big guns, yet navigated the Sri Lankan innings to some respectability with an unbeaten 64 off 52 balls. Pakistan didn’t get carried away by the potential intoxication of an unprecedented number of their national flag at Lord’s and the unbridled cheers of their supporters. They launched their chase cautiously until Kamran Akmal pulled Ajantha Mendis - once more less mystifying to the Pakistanis - and Angelo Mathews for six apiece in the 6th and 7th overs. Akmal, though, was stumped in the next over off Sanath Jayasuriya. Younus again gambled with Afridi at first down. But Shahzaib Hasan, the other opener, departed at the other end, top-edging a slog sweep to short fine leg. This in the 10th over and the three thereafter did not give rise to a single boundary - indicating Muttiah Muralitharan’s early accuracy and Afridi’s most untypical restraint, not to mention Lasith Malinga’s mixture of skimming bouncers and temptations outside the off stump.
26 runs were required from the last three overs. 19 surfaced from the 18th to virtually demolished the Sri Lankans. The home of cricket was more packed that it’s been for this entire World Twenty20; even the otherwise conservative Marylebone Cricket Club members, concerned abut the purity of shorter formats, were persuaded to make an appearance!
Tilakaratne Dilshan, the batsman of the championship, perished in the very first over, spooning a catch to short fine leg in an attempt to hastily pull Mohammed Amir. And he was followed within five balls by Jehan Mubarak, promoted to number three, who got a leading edge off Abdul Razzaq. Jayasuriya pugnaciously pulled Razzaq to midwicket for a six; but in the same over - the 4th - played on trying a similar stroke. Sri Lanka now looked askance at their two most skilful batsmen to extricate them out of the crisis. But Mahela Jayawardene disappointed by chopping Razzaq to slip in the 6th over. It was a notable comeback for a bowler who had until recently been ostracised for playing in the Indian Cricket League, but now finished with three for 20 in three overs. 32 for four, with only Sangakkara remaining among the seasoned campaigners, reflected a grim state of affairs. The Sri Lankan skipper and Chamara Silva realised 35 runs for the 5th wicket, which represented a marginal recovery. Scoreboard
Sri Lanka Dilshan c Shahzaib b Aamer 0 (5) Jayasuriya b Razzaq 17(10) Mubarak c Shahzaib b Razzaq 0 (2) Sangakkara not out 64 (52) Jayawardene c Misbah b Razzaq 1 (4) Silva c Ajmal b Gul 14 (19) Udana b Shahid Afridi 1 (5) Mathews not out 35 (24) Extras (lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 6 Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 138 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-2, 3-26, 4-32, 5-67, 6-70 Bowling: Aamer 4-1-30-1, Razzaq 3-0-20-3, Afridi 4-0-20-1, Ajmal 4-0-28-0, Malik 1-0-8-0, Gul 4-0-29-1. Pakistan: Akmal st Sangakkara b Jayasuriya 37 (28) Hasan c Jayasuriya b Muralitharan 19 (23) Afridi not out 54 (40) Malik not out 24 (22) Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 1) 5 Total (2 wickets; 18.4 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-48, 2-63 Bowling: Mathews 2-0-17-0, Udana 4-0-44-0, Malinga 3.4-0-14, Muralitharan 3-0-20-1, Mendis 4-0-34-0, Jayasuriya 2-0-8-1.
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Saina nets history
New Delhi, June 21 Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted 49 minutes. Her triumph today is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand. In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her last week’s Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same rival. Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play to pocket the first game as Saina was left to do the catchup act. But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18. In the decider, Saina was in her attacking best besides displaying better nerves in crucial moments. After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina went berserk by engaging her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen the gap at 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal her place in history. Hailing Saina’s victory as an important milestone in Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh as a recognition of her feat. “It is a big moment in Indian badminton. We are proud of her achievement. We are announcing a cash reward of Rs two lakhs as an acknowledgment of Saina’s hard work and achievement,” BAI president VK Verma said. — PTI
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England eves lift World Cup
London, June 21 England, who had won the ODI World Cup in Australia in March, produced a clinical bowling and batting performance against the Kiwis at the historic Lord’s here to hold world titles of the two shorter formats of the game.
The home team first skittled New Zealand out for a paltry 85, thanks mainly to right-arm fast bowler Katherine Hunt’s three for six from four overs, and then chased down the target in 17 overs, reaching 86 for four. England’s in-form batter Claire Taylor top-scored with a 32-ball unbeaten 39 while wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor chipped in with 23. For New Zealand, Sophie Devine, Sian Ruck, Kate Pulford and Nicola Browne took a wicket apiece. England, who were always in control of the match, made a decent start before opener and captain Charlotte Edwards fell for nine in the fourth over at team score of 19. Eadwards was looking in great touch hitting two fours off Sian Ruck though the New Zealand left-arm seamer had the last laugh uprooting the England captain’s stumps with an inswinger. The other opener Sarah Taylor was not bothered by her captain’s dismissal and hit a couple of fours off Kate Pulford in the seventh over to steady the England innings. Taylor though fell to Pulford nicking to Rachel Priest two overs later for a 33-ball 23 which included three fours. The asking rate rose to 4.5 after the 10th over but with eight wickets in hand and Claire Taylor at the crease England were in a comfortable position. Taylor opened up after the halfway mark and hit a flurry of boundaries to ease the pressure. She shared a 31-run stand for the third wicket from 33 balls with Beth Morgan (6) and took England to victory in style with a four off Browne.
— PTI Scoreboard
New Zealand Bates st Taylor b Marsh 1 (3) Doolan c Taylor b Brunt 14 (26) Watkins b Brunt 2 (8) Satterthwaite c Taylor b Shaw 19(55) Priest c & b Brunt 0 (1) Browne b Shaw 1 (9) McGlashan c Greenway b Gunn 9 (14) Tsukigawa c Taylor b Gunn 5 (6) Devine run out 10 (14) Pulford c Taylor b Edwards 14 (9) Ruck not out 0 (1) Extras
(b 1, lb 4, w 4, nb 1) 10 Total: (all out; 20 overs) 85 Fall of wickets:
1-2, 2-10, 3-23, 4-23, 5-31, 6-48, 7-58, 8-62, 9-84,10-85. Bowling:
Marsh 4-0-16-1, Brunt 4-2-6-3, Shaw 4-0-17-2, Colvin 4-0-16-0, Gunn 3-0 19-2, Edwards 1-0-6-1. England Taylor c Priest b Pulford 23 (31) Edwards b Ruck 9 (13) Taylor not out 39 (47) Morgan c McGlashan b Browne 6 (18) Greenway b Devine 3 (3) Gunn not out 2 (4) Extras
(lb 1, w 3) 4 Total: (4 wickets; 17 overs) 86 Fall of wickets:
1-19, 2-39, 3-70, 4-74. Bowling: Devine 3-0-12-1, Ruck 4-0-17-1, Pulford 4-0-20-1, Bates 2-0-8-0, Browne 3-0-18-1, Doolan 1-0-10-0. |
London, June 21 Twelve months ago, Federer's five-year All England Club domination was brought to an end by Nadal in a five-set classic now widely regarded as the greatest Grand Slam final of all time. But with deposed Roland Garros champion Nadal forced to pull out to rest his injured knees, Federer has a golden opportunity to move within one title of Pete Sampras's record of seven Wimbledon triumphs. “I don’t feel like I have extra pressure,” said world number two Federer. “There’s a lot of weight off my shoulders since Paris. So I’m entering tournaments a little bit more relaxed these days.” Federer will open proceedings on Centre Court against Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu on Monday in what will be his first tennis since beating Robin Soderling in the Roland Garros final.
Federer is a player reborn. Five months ago, his tearful exit after losing to Nadal in the Australian Open final was interpreted as an emotional confession that his era was over. But marriage and impending fatherhood have given the 27-year-old a new perspective on his personal life while his Paris breakthrough, which took him level with Sampras on 14 majors, have combined to make him the overwhelming favourite. — Reuters Four Indians in action in men’s doubles
Sania Mirza will once again lead the charge in ladies singles while men’s doubles event will have plenty of Indian interest as four players, including debutant Somdev Devvarman, will be seen in action at the Wimbledon, starting here tomorrow.
— PTI |
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Vettel wins British GP
Silverstone, June 21 Britain’s Button, winner of six of the first seven races, had his overall lead over Barrichello trimmed to 23 points after finishing off the podium for the first time this year. The dominant victory, from pole position in a race low on incident, was Vettel's second of the season and third of his Formula One career. The German, who also led Red Bull to a one-two in China in April, is now 25 points adrift of Button with nine races remaining. “Thank you very much guys, this is a dream coming true. We’ve won the British Grand Prix,” he said over the team radio after taking the chequered flag. “This is what I was dreaming of when I saw the first grands prix at Silverstone in the era of (Britain's 1992 world champion Nigel) Mansell,” he added later. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fourth, ahead of Germany’s Nico Rosberg for Williams. Italy’s Jarno Trulli was seventh for Toyota, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen taking the last point in a race billed as a farewell to the track that hosted the first Formula One championship race in 1950. Red Bull’s superiority over the Mercedes-powered Brawn was underlined by Vettel lapping more than a second a lap faster than his rivals in the early stages and finishing 41.1 seconds ahead of Barrichello.
— Reuters |
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FIH confirms India as World Cup host
Johor Bahru, June 21 FIH said India has sorted out its “internal problems” and so there was no uncertainty over the prestigious event being held in New Delhi. “There will be no changes. New Delhi will host the World Cup as scheduled and everything is in place for them to do so. They have sorted out their own internal problems, including the merger of their women’s and men’s federations,” FIH president Leandro Negre said here. “They have also found a title sponsor for the tournament and I am happy for them. India, hosting the Hockey World Cup would benefit the country,” said Negre on the sidelines of the Junior World Cup here. India had been warned in April that it could lose the World Cup if the men’s and women’s hockey bodies did not form a single entity, as stipulated by FIH rules. A six-month period was given by FIH but before the time was up, Hockey India was formed earlier this month as an umbrella organisation for the game in the country and FIH had given official seal of approval to it. Negre thanked Malaysia for agreeing to be on standby to host the prestigious event in case India did not comply to FIH’s ruling.
— PTI |
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More Bravo awaits India in ODIs
Bravo, brother of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne, scored 605 runs with an average of 43.21 for Trinidad & Tobago in the domestic four-day competition. The 20-year-old cricketer was also part of West Indies team that participated in 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. All-rounder David Bernard, who last played an ODI in 2003 but was part of the Twenty20 World Cup squad, also got a call to replace paceman Fidel Edwards who is nursing a back injury. Besides, left-hand batsman Narsingh Deonarine, who was the leading run-scorer in the domestic competition, made a return to the national squad after two years. Those who were there during the country's last ODI assignment in England but faced the axe from selectors include Lendl Simmons, Dale Richards, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy. First two ODIs will be held on June 26 and 28 in Kingston. — PTI
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All India Hot Weather Football Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 21 RCF await the winners of ONGC and Dalbir Academy, Patiala for the title clash. Sukhraj Singh, Amarinder Singh and Gopal Thapa scored a goal each in that order. The victory became all the more easy for RCF since their rivals virtually presented two gifts within 25 minutes, leaving the rest of the proceedings a mere formality. The first RCf attack in the fourth minute proved rewarding as a cross from the left flank in front of the goalmouth was handled by defender Abhishek and resultant penalty kick was nicely converted by Sukhraj Singh. As if this defensive lapse was not enough, the Rourkela goalkeeper Saroj maharana dropped from a simple cross by Ajit, as Amarinder Singh was waiting to tap in and score to give RCF a 2-0 lead. Early on resumption, RCF carried out a swift attack and Gopal Thapa drove home the third goal. The kapurthala team remained in command for the rest of the match.
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Wins Indonesian Open to become first Indian
to annex Super Series
Advantage Federer
In the 14th over, Afridi suddenly exploded with a six to midwicket and a four to extra cover off Murali. No boundaries transpired from the 15th to the 17th overs. Then, another volcanic flare-up as a booming on-drive from Afridi recorded an over-boundary followed by a four to fine leg off a no-ball at Udana’s expense. 
On a sun-baked afternoon, Sri Lanka rather squandered their luck with the coin by a self- destruction of their top order. First it was two for two; later it became 70 for six. 
He missed the grasscourt tournament at Halle last week, but is now refreshed and ready to go. “I was mentally drained because I felt like I had to play like four finals at the end of Paris because of the pressure,” he said.
Port-of-Spain, June
21
