Dambulla, August 24
Bruised and battered in their previous outing, India go into the do-or-die encounter against a gritty New Zealand with concerns about the continuing poor form of their batsmen in the cricket tri-series here tomorrow. Languishing at the bottom of the points table, India will hope that rain does not play spoilsport as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men need an outright over the Kiwis to progress to Saturday's final against Sri Lanka.

But going into the match, Dhoni would be a worried man as his famed top-order line-up has struggled throughout the series, the proof of which was the 103-run surrender to Sri Lanka in the last match. Barring Virender Sehwag, all other Indian top-order batsmen have found the going tough on the tricky Rangagiri Dambulla wicket.

Sehwag will have to shoulder the responsibility of guiding the Indian innings against the pace-heavy Kiwi attack. India's main worry, however, will be the form of youngsters who have failed to rise to the occasion in the absence of seniors such as Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.

Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have failed miserably in the earlier matches. To add to it, Dhoni himself has very little to show in the tournament. But Yuvraj Singh's return to runs in the last match might give Dhoni something to cheer about.

Yuvraj, who came back to the playing eleven against Sri Lanka in the last match after recovering from dengue, managed the only knock of substance for India with a fighting 38 off 64 balls.

"Next game is like a semi-final now. We have to do well in that match or we have to pack up and go back home," Dhoni had said after the humiliating eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka, which was also India's biggest loss in terms of balls remaining. "Yuvraj batted well (in the last match). That was the positive thing. He is a crucial man at the middle order. He is the kind of guy who can graft for runs and also hit big shots," the Indian skipper said of the left-hander.

On the bowling front, the Indian attack has done a fine job so far, except for the last match where they had very little to defend.

Need a spark of brilliance in batting: Dhoni

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni today defended his woefully out-of-form batsmen, saying he team just needs one individual spark of brilliance for the entire line-up to click in the must-win tri-series match against New Zealand.

"You want one batsman to play a big innings in all games, whichever the batsman may be, especially on these kind of wickets. It can be termed as individual brilliance because you have one batsman batting through and the others batting around him," Dhoni said in a pre-match press conference. "It's more about the mindset because in one-day cricket you're so used to going after and hitting the bowlers right from the first delivery. It's not only in the sub-continent, throughout the world you see wickets are a lot flatter now, especially for the one-dayers," he explained.

"If you talk about the batting collapses, it's happened twice in three games. But if it is said that this is the batting strength of our side, I won't agree with that. One thing we can't deny is that we have had two batting failures and we have to rectify the problem, get on the wicket and try to score some runs," he added. Dhoni said the key to success on the pitches here is to play steadily for at least 20 overs before cutting loose.

"To give respect to the bowlers for the first 10 overs, and the next 40 overs is yours. This is one of those venues where you have to prolong the respect for bowlers by another 10 overs. If you don't lose too many wickets for 20 overs, then you can really dictate the bowlers and can have your own game plan set after that," he said. The crushing previous defeats to New Zealand (by 200 runs) and Sri Lankan (by eight wickets) have been hard to take, admitted Dhoni but insisted that the team can recover.

"As a team, we are disappointed about it. But if you see, all the matches have been one-sided, which suggests if you lose too many wickets early, there is a big batting collapse. We have seen it happen throughout the tournament," he said.

India have the experience to bounce back: Taylor

India might be in woeful form right now but New Zealand captain Ross Taylor says the recent poor run would make Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men all the more dangerous when the two sides clash in a do-or-die encounter of the ODI cricket tri-series here tomorrow.

"I think it almost makes them dangerous, they didn't play that well against us in the first game, and then they came back and played well against Sri Lanka, obviously they didn't play as well as they would have liked to play against Sri Lanka in the last match, that makes them dangerous," Taylor said in the pre-match press conference. — PTI 

Paris, August 24
Top Indian shuttler Chetan Anand crashed out of the World Badminton Championships with a disappointing straight-game defeat against a lowly-ranked opponent in the men's singles first round here today.

Chetan, the highest ranked Indian in the fray and seeded 14th in the prestigious event, lost 14-21 18-21 to Singapore's Ong Zhao Ashton Chen who is placed 107th in world rankings.

The world number 15 Indian, who recovered from a knee injury recently, failed to find any rhythm and lost the tie without much fight in 37 minutes. With Chetan's early exit from the tournament today, Indian challenge in men's singles ended as Parupalli Kashyap had also crashed out in the first round last night. Chetan trailed from the start but could narrow down the gap at 5-7 only to fall behind again.

Drop shots, net play and trying to pin Chen to the back courts didn't work for Chetan as the Singaporean had all the answers. Time and again, Chen's weapon the overhead smash from the back court worked to perfection. Chetan changed shirt from an all-white to a yellow-red combination in the second game and it seemed it brought some luck as the Indian took the first point and then led 2-1.

Chen, however, came back to take a 6-3 lead with a couple of powerful mid court smashes. Chetan fought back and for the first time in the tie he led 9-8 with some deft drop shots and net play which brought applause from the crowd.

The lead exchanged hands quite a few times before Chetan committed quite a few unforced errors to hand a 17-12 lead to his opponent. Chetan did pull back to 14-18 but it was not his day today and Chen raced to 20-18 before shutting the door on the Indian with a drop shot.

The disappointment was all evident when after the tie, Chetan said, "It is a big blow as I had trained keeping the World Championships in focus." "But today, nothing seemed to work and I just failed to come to grips with my game and also played into my opponents hands," he added.

Diju-Jwala win

Indian mixed doubles team of V Diju and Jwala Gutta eased into the third round beating Malaysia's Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh at the World badminton Championships here today. After their hard fought three game win over England's Chris Adcock and Gabriella White on the opening day, the Indian pair outclassed the Malaysian pair 21-19, 21-8 in 24 minutes. — PTI 

London, August 24
Carlos Tevez claimed two second-half goals as a confident Manchester City overwhelmed Liverpool 3-0 to underline their Premier League title credentials on Monday.

With Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour given a standing ovation bythe fans on attending his first home game since buying the club two years ago, big-spending City provided plenty for their billionaire owner to savour on a wet night at Eastlands. Newly-signed England midfielder James Milner enjoyed an impressive debut, setting up the 13th minute opener by surging into the box and stroking the ball back for former Aston Villa team mate Gareth Barry to side-foot home.

Tevez made it 2-0 in the 52nd, claiming a classic poacher's goal from point-blank range after seemingly adding the final snatched touch to a powerful Micah Richards header. Richards told Sky Sports television that the goal was his.

"It's definitely mine, I'm definitely going to claim it," he said. There was no doubt about the third, with Tevez calmly sending Pepe Reina the wrong way. — Reuters

New Delhi, August 24
"I am still the boss of the Commonwealth Games", embattled Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi insists, while making it clear that he is not a quitter and the spate of corruption allegations will not force him to step down at this stage. Kalmadi said delivering a good Games was a challenge he has taken up and there was no question of resigning from the post as he had done nothing wrong.

Asked specifically whether he was still the boss of the Commonwealth Games after the government set up an empowered committee of bureaucrats, Kalmadi said, "Yes. Organising the Games is my responsibility. I am continuing with it." "Group of Ministers was there. The committee of secretaries under Cabinet Secretary was always there. The Prime Minister had a meeting and he has asked all these committees to get more active and give more support. I am getting more support from government and I am the OC chairman," Kalmadi told PTI.

"CGF chief Michael Fennell had come and he had given a good report. So I welcome all this because of the circumstances," he said. The build-up to the October 3-14 Games has been marred by a series of corruption scandals and construction delays but Kalmadi said things were now under control and his team was capable of delivering a "good and transparent" Games.

"I don't know why all these campaigns started. Everything was smooth till the last 15 days or so. All the foreign countries are saying there will be a good Games. I am ready to face any inquiry after the Games," he said. "Our reputation is at stake and after all these years of hard work I don't want to go down in this manner. That is why I want this inquiry," Kalmadi pointed out.

Asked whether the thought of resignation had crossed his mind in the wake of these allegations, he said, "No. This is a challenge I have taken up. I had promised the CGF when we won the bid that I will deliver a good Games. So there is no question of any such thought." — PTI 

Washington, August 24
Tiger Woods and Swedish model wife Elin Nordegren divorced yesterday, their marriage succumbing to a blistering sex scandal that has left the world's top golfer struggling badly for form. Woods, 34, and Elin Nordegren, 30, issued an amicable joint statement, saying they were sad to be ending their six-year marriage, wishing each other the best and promising to work together for their children's happiness.

"We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future," it said. "While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us." In Nordegren's petition for divorce, filed at the beginning of July, she claimed the marriage was "irretrievably broken" and asked for her maiden name to be restored.

Both Woods and Nordegren attended yesterday's execution of the divorce at a court in Panama City, Florida, where they agreed to joint custody of their three-year-old girl Sam and one-year-old boy Charlie. "Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being," the joint statement said.

"The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern." Nordegren's lawyer, contacted by AFP, could provide no information about the terms of the divorce settlement, valued in media reports at anywhere between $100 million and $500 million. — AFP

BRIEFLY

Sania to face Ksenia
New York: Forced to go through the qualifiers to compete in the US Open due to low ranking, Sania Mirza has been drawn against Russian Ksenia Lykina as her first round opponent. This is for the first time ever since her breakthrough year in 2005 that Sania has to go through the qualifiers to play in a Grand Slam. The singles ranking of Sania has dipped to 160 as she is struggling with form and a recurring wrist injury. — PTI

Bowden, Hill set to make history
London: In a rare feat, ICC Elite Panel umpires Billy Bowden and Tony Hill of New Zealand will create history on Thursday by becoming the first neutral umpires from the same country to officiate together in a Test match. Bowden and Hill will be in charge of the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at the Lord's Cricket Ground here. — PTI

2 Tests for Pak in New Zealand
Wellington: Pakistan's cricket tour to New Zealand beginning in December will feature fewer Tests and more One-Day Internationals to help the teams prepare for February's start of the World Cup. The teams were to play three Tests but will now play two and have six ODI matches and three Twenty20 Internationals after agreement between the national bodies. — AP

Man U to pay Fergie's £60K fine
London: Manchester United will pay 60,000-pounds in fines for manager Alex Ferguson as he carries on his ban of speaking to the BBC. New Premier League rules say all bosses must talk to the Beeb after games or will be fined, with the scale of punishments increasing for repeat offenders. The first fine is 1,000-pounds, but this rises each time with the cost hitting around 60,000-pounds for the full season, The Sun reports. — ANI

Hamilton fined $500 for burnout
Melbourne: British Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton was on Tuesday fined 500 dollars for doing a burnout outside the Australian Grand Prix circuit in March. Hamilton did not appear at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. His lawyer, Sandip Mukerjea, said that the 25-year-old was overseas, but would plead guilty to the charge of 'improper use of a motor vehicle'. — ANI

Tighten technique, Boycott to Eng
Sydney: Former opener Geoffrey Boycott has said England can kiss the Ashes Down Under goodbye if they continue to put up a batting performance like they did against Pakistan at The Oval. It maybe recalled that England lost the test match to Pakistan by four wickets after scoring a little over 200 in both their innings.— ANI

Latif resigns as Afghanistan coach
Karachi: Former Pakistan wicket keeper Rashid Latif has resigned as Afghanistan's batting coach citing differences and too much interference in his work. Latif’s resignation comes just a week after another former Pakistani cricketer, Kabir Khan, resigned as the head coach of the Afghan cricket team. — ANI