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Tsonga on song, dumps Djokovic
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NADA serves notice to four wrestlers
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Tsonga on song, dumps Djokovic
It was the second successive five-set victory for the 10th-seeded Frenchman, who until his fourth-round win over Nicolas Almagro on Monday had never played a five-set match before. Tsonga now meets world number one Roger Federer, who showed class always has the last word when he let his racket do the talking to knock Nikolay Davydenko out. The Russian had reached the quarterfinals on a platform of thumping victories and good old-fashioned bluster but on Wednesday the Swiss maestro silenced him on the court. For all Davydenko’s pre-match banter about scared top 10 opponents, the world number one calmly recovered from a set and a break down to carve out a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5 victory. Serena Williams too staged a stunning comeback from the brink of defeat to make the semifinals, but sister Venus was eliminated by Li Na. The defending champion and 11-time Grand Slam winner was down 4-6, 0-4 to seventh seed Victoria Azarenka before she got back on track, winning a tense tiebreaker 7/4 to level the match. Azarenka was rattled and Serena rammed home her advantage in the final set to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and set up a last four clash with Li, who also came from behind to shock Venus 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5. Tomorrow’s other semifinal is between comeback queen Justine Henin and the unseeded Zheng Jie, with China having two players in the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time. Fifth seeded Andy Murray plays 14th seed Marin Cilic in the first men’s semifinal tomorrow. Venus should have made it a sister act in the semis, but she threw it away against Li in a scrappy match where they made a incredible combined 110 unforced errors. She was one set and 4-2 up in the second when Li made her move, becoming relaxed as she began to play with greater freedom. At the same time, Venus tightened up as her forehand went to pieces on Rod Laver Arena. Venus, who has won seven Grand Slam titles but never been at her best in Melbourne, making only one final in 11 attempts, said Li had been the better player. Making the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time was a dream come true for the Chinese 16th seed. When asked whether she will dream about reaching the top five she replied, “Maybe - why not?” Mixed delight for Paes
Leander Paes had a bitter-sweet experience with the Indian tennis ace sailing into the semifinals of mixed doubles but crashing out of men’s doubles event here today. The Australian Open title continued to elude the men’s doubles specialist as he and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy, seeded third, went down 3-6, 4-6 to unseeded Croat-Serb combination of Ivo Karlovic and Dusan Vemic at Melbourne Park. The Indian derived some solace later in the day when he partnered Zimbabwean Cara Black to clear their semifinal passage in the mixed doubles event. The top seeded pair defeated eight seeds Elena Vesnina of Russia and Israel’s Andy Ram 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. They will next take on seventh seed pair of American Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie of South Africa.
— Agencies |
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India in B’desh
Mirpur, January 27 After putting up stiff resistance yesterday, Bangladesh succumbed to a spectacular batting collapse today with Zaheer wreaking havoc, especially with his grasp of reverse swing. Resuming on 228 for three, there was no hint of the hosts’ impending doom as they saw through the first 19 overs without any hiccup. Harbhajan Singh earned the breakthrough for India by removing overnight batsman Shahadat Hossain but it was Zaheer, who broke the back of the home side claiming three wickets in fours balls in the penultimate over before lunch as the home side collapsed for 312. It was a dramatic collapse by the home side which lost their final seven wickets for just 22 runs. Needing just two runs to complete the formality for a facile win, neither Virender Sehwag not Gautam Gambhir could open their account as Bangladesh conceded two bye runs to lose the Test with more than four sessions to spare. Zaheer, who was adjudged both Man of the Match and Man of the Series, today became only the fourth Indian fast bowler to take 10 wickets in an away Test. With three wickets in Bangladesh first innings, Zaheer ended the match with career-best figures of 10 for 149, eclipsing his nine for 134 that came against England at Nottingham in 2007.
— PTI Scoreboard
Bangladesh (1st innings) 233 India (1st innings) 544 for 8 decl Bangladesh (2nd innings) (overnight 228-3) Tamim c Dhoni b Zaheer 151 Imrul c sub b Zaheer 5 Junaid c Dhoni b Zaheer 55 Shahadat c sub b Harbhajan 40 Ashraful c Dhoni b Ojha 25 Raqibul b Zaheer 5 Shakib c Gambhir b Ojha 7 Mushfiqur not out 10 Mahmudullah c Vijay b Zaheer 0 Islam b Zaheer 0 Rubel b Zaheer 0 Extras (b-7, lb-5, w-2) 14 Total (all out in 90.3 overs) 312 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-219, 3-222, 4-290, 5-291, 6-301, 7-304, 8-304, 9-304, 10-312. Bowling: Zaheer 20.3-2-87-7, Sharma 15-2-50-0, Harbhajan 26-7-75-1, Ojha 22-4-77-2, Sehwag 7-2-11-0. India (2nd innings) Sehwag not out 0 Gambhir not out 0 Extras: (b-2) 2 Total (for no loss in 0.2 overs) 2 Bowling: Shakib 0.2-0-0-0. |
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Familiar story for B’desh
India wrapped up the Test and with it the series in fine style by beating Bangladesh by 10 wickets. There was stubborn resistance from night watchman Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful for almost 100 minutes in the morning but what happened thereafter is a familiar story of Bangladesh cricket.
How many times has Bangladesh floundered after getting a good start is pretty well known in cricketing circles, so even as there was plenty to cheer about the magnificent innings of Tamim Iqbal and his partnership with Junaid Siddiqui and then later on the stay put batting of Ashraful and Shahdat there was the awareness that it was too good to last. They avoided the innings defeat and that will be a small consolation but the fact remains that unless more players show the same resolve Bangladesh will continue to disappoint its many followers in their country and those outside who believe there is potential in their team. The batting of Tamim and the solidity of Junaid Siddiqui shows that the skill and application is there and haven’t we seen from Mushfiqur and Mahmoodullah the same attitude and determination. It is however the seniors who need to put their hands up and be counted. If Ashraful played a horrible shot in the first innings it was skipper Shakib who seemed to be in a needless hurry in the second innings. These two have it in them for better deeds but unless they combine patience with their strokeplay they will be inconsistent and not the contributors that Bangladesh need. India showed plenty of patience as they knew that Bangladesh self destructs most times and even if there is a huge stand the others will bat as if they were already more than a century and thus perish. Zaheer picked up three wickets when that big stand took place between Tamim and Junaid and it was his constant variations and change of angles that Bangladesh had to watch. Once he had tempted Juniad into an indiscreet shot and then got past the outside edge of centurion Tamim he opened the door wider for the Indians. The Shahadat - Ashraful partnership only delayed the inevitable and it was great ball from Ojha that sent back Ashraful and then Zaheer came back to send the rest packing. From 290 for 3 to 312 all-out tells you how well he bowled. He was deservedly the man of the match and the series and that too on pitches which were tailor made for batsmen. India did what they had come to do. They have a bigger battle ahead but they have warmed up pretty nicely for that with this 2-0 win.
— PMG |
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The three musketeers
Chandigarh, January 27 Yuvraj, though stripped of captaincy, remains a pivot for the team, Kaif was bought in the latest auction by Kings XI for 2.5 crore and Sodhi, the former India all-rounder who is still revered in cricketing circles for his never-say-die attitude, was snapped up after he was given clearance to be part of the IPL by BCCI. Although the three of them have had very different career charts, they came through the first batch of the National Cricket Academy and also played a key role in the U19 WC win in Sri Lanka. The three also represent the same outfit in the BCCI Sahara Corporate Trophy, their employer Air India. Kaif was the skipper whose career and reputation received a big boost after the win. He made winning junior tournaments look important. Yuvraj was the Man of The Series in the World Cup, and has never really looked back after shining at the world stage and Sodhi, once hailed as the solution to India’s problem with finding a genuine all rounder, was the Man of The Match in the final, has worked very, very hard to find his way back in the mainstream. Arvinder Singh, senior vice-president for Kings XI Punjab while speaking to The Tribune played down the idea that the franchisee was looking at deliberately bringing back the trio, but expressed his pleasure that they managed it nonetheless. “There was no plan in place, but the three are important players for us. Kaif, the latest buy, was added for we needed some cover at the number six spot.” Coincidence or not, the trio that took the world by storm as young boys, have grown into men with enviable reputations. They now strike fear into the opposition’s mind by their mere presence, but will they strike the right chord for the Kings??? We won’t have to wait too long for an answer. |
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NADA serves notice to four wrestlers
Patiala, January 27 The wrestler’s, who have tested positive for steroids include Mukesh Kumar and Sudhir (both 66-kg freestyle). Another wrestler, who has been served notice is Birju’s (96-kg Greco-Roman), whose urine sample showed the excessive amounts of a banned diuretic. The name of the fourth wrestler is yet not confirmed. Notably, after the first test came positive recently, the above mentioned wrestlers were expelled from the camps, which are currently in progress in Haryana, for the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG), scheduled to be held in New Delhi in October this year. Reliable sources said that now the second test also shows the presence of suspected power enhancers in as many as four wrestlers’ body. Confirming the development, the secretary of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Kartar Singh told The Tribune, “The second test of these wrestler’s is also positive and as per the NADA rules, they will have to face a ban, starting from one year term and may be more depending upon the NADA guidelines.” He further said that the four wrestlers, guilty of doping, were already expelled from the camp for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, after their first test came positive.” Kartar further said that now a special designated committee of NADA would announce the penalty to be imposed on all four wrestlers. Meanwhile, the president of WFI GS Mander said that steering committee would meet in some days to finalise the names of the new wrestlers, who will replace the wrestlers found guilty. |
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Melbourne, January 27
