Bangalore, December 7
Yusuf Pathan butchered the New Zealand bowlers as he struck a 79-ball century to guide India to a fantastic five-wicket victory in the fourth ODI here today.

Courtesy Yusuf's (123, 96 balls, 7x4, 7x6 and three for 49) all-round performance, India now lead the five-match series 4-0. When Kyle Mills came on to bowl the 43rd over India needed 72 runs off 42 deliveries. The senior Pathan hit Mills for three boundaries and a huge six over mid-wicket. He took 21 runs from the over and brought equation down.

Yuvraj Singh jumps in the air after throwing the ball during the fourth ODI against New Zealand in Bangalore on Tuesday. — AFP

In the next over he hit Andy McKay for a flat batted tennis shot over long to complete a well deserved maiden century in ODIs.

The best of the seven sixes was the one off Mills which was hit more than 100 metres hitting the roof of the stadium and disappearing further. Even an hour's delay due to rain couldn't stop Yusuf as he lifted Vettori for a huge six of the first delivery he faced after break.

Yusuf had two fruitful partnerships --- first with Rohit Sharma (44, 48 balls, 4x4, 1x6) when they added 80 runs in 13.5 overs and then 133 runs with Saurabh Tiwary (37 not out 3x4, 1x6) for the sixth wicket This was incidentally the highest run-chase in an ODI at this ground. It was young Saurabh who finished the proceedings with a six off Nathan McCullum.

Parthiv Patel (53, 57 balls, 8x4) playing his first one day match after six and half years got his maiden ODI fifty.

Along with skipper Gautam Gambhir (27, 24 balls, 4x4), he added 67 runs for the first wicket before Gambhir was out trying to cut a widish delivery from left-arm seamer Andy McKay.

Virat Kohli (0) who has been in splendid form was out when he mistimed a hook shot after McKay dug in one short and was holed out at long leg where Kyle Mills took a simple catch. Patel whose innings was full of flashy shots through the third-man and point region completed his fifty in the company of Yuvraj Singh (20) who started off with a six but couldn't get elevation trying to hit off-spinner Nathan McCullum over mid-wicket as Jamie How took a smart low catch.

Earlier, James Franklin once again turned out to be an unlikely hero with the willow as his smashing innings of an unbeaten 98 from only 69 deliveries helped New Zealand reach a commanding 315 for seven in 50 overs. — PTI

Adelaide, December 7
Graeme Swann took three of the last six wickets to tumble today as England dismissed Australia for 304 to complete a comprehensive innings and 71-run victory in the second Ashes test. England wrapped up the test and a 1-0 series lead before lunch on the final day, with Swann, Jimmy Anderson and Steven Finn combining to claim the last six wickets for 66 runs after Australia had resumed at 238-4 with high hopes of salvaging a draw or being saved by forecast rain.

"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but if we keep these standards we have a good chance of winning the series," England captain Andrew Strauss said. The third test starts December 16 in Perth and England, which holds the Ashes after winning at home last year, could conceivably retain the old urn by taking a 2-0 lead ahead of the fourth and fifth tests in Melbourne and Sydney. "We've been totally outplayed this game, there's no hiding that," Australia captain Ricky Ponting said. "Now we have to find a way to get better for Perth. "No doubt it's a bad loss for us, there's no hiding that fact, an innings and 70 runs having won the toss on a good Adelaide wicket, probably just about says it all."

Australia rallied for a stunning comeback win at Adelaide in the previous Ashes series at home, and went on to complete a 5-0 series sweep to avenge losing the previous series in England. But after a draw to open this series in Brisbane and the loss in Adelaide, Ponting's squad looks vulnerable to slumping to its first Ashes series loss on Australian soil in more than two decades.

After Michael Clarke was out on the last ball Monday evening to part-time spinner Kevin Pietersen, Australia's hopes rested on Mike Hussey working with the middle order and tailenders. But Finn made the crucial breakthrough when Hussey mistimed a pull to Anderson at mid-on to depart for 52.

Three wickets in four balls effectively ended Australia's chances of a draw. Anderson had Brad Haddin caught behind for 12 and trapped Ryan Harris lbw with consecutive deliveries. Harris' exit gave him two first-ball dismissals, known as a "king pair." He is only the second Australian batsman after Adam Gilchrist in 2001 who has had that dubious milestone in test cricket. Two balls later, Swann had Marcus North trapped lbw for 22. England's appeal was initially turned down but the video umpire ruled that the ball had struck the Australian batsman in front of the stumps and would have gone on to dislodge the bails. Swann then bowled Xavier Doherty and Peter Siddle to finish with a five-wicket haul and complete England's 100th test victory over Australia. — AP

Scoreboard
Australia 1st innings: 245
England 1st innings: 620-5 dec.
Australia 2nd Innings: (Overnight: 238-4)
Watson c Strauss b Finn 57
Katich c Prior b Swann 43
Ponting c Collingwood b Swann 9
Clarke c Cook b Pietersen 80
Hussey c Anderson b Finn 52
North lbw b Swann 22
Haddin c Prior b Anderson 12
Harris lbw b Anderson 0
Doherty b Swann 5
Siddle b Swann 6
Bollinger not out 7
Extras: (b-5, lb-1, w-5) 11
Total: (all out, 99.1 overs) 304
Bowling: Anderson 22-4-92-2, Broad 11-3-32-0, Swann 41.1-12-91-5, Finn 18-2-60-2, Collingwood 4-0-13-0, Pietersen 3-0-10-1.

Sao Paulo, December 7
Star Brazilian footballer Ronaldo said on his Twitter feed that he is undergoing a DNA test to determine whether he is the father of a five-year-old boy living in Singapore. "Life is full of suprises. After the sadness over yesterday's game (when his Corinthians team lost a national championship by drawing Sunday against rivals Goias), today I got to know Alex, a beautiful, polite and healthy boy," the 34-year-old player wrote yesterday.

"Now we are waiting for the results of the test and will take on the responsibilities and pleasures that the results give us," he said. The mother of Alex, Michele Umezu, has been trying since 2009 to have Ronaldo recognized as the father and is demanding child support. She says she met Ronaldo in a party in Tokyo in 2002 celebrating Brazil's championship in the World Cup that year. Ronaldo, she says, returned to Tokyo in 2004 during a tour of Real Madrid, who he he was playing for at the time.

She said she became pregnant by him at that time. Reports said Michele Umezu was a 28-year-old Brazilian living in Singapore. Ronaldo, nicknamed the "Fenomeno," already has three children: a 10-year-old son with his ex, and two younger daughters, one aged one year and the other eight months, with his current wife Bia Anthony. — AFP

London, December 7
Braga could complete a memorable Champions League turnaround by reaching the 12-point mark this week but it is likely to be a bitter-sweet success as they could still fail to progress to the knockout phase despite four wins. Having badly lost the first two games of their debut Champions League season and won the next three, the Portuguese club face an unprecedented scenario going into the competition's final round of fixtures this week when only four of the 16 qualifiers are still to be identified.

Group H is the only one where both places are still available and Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk, who they visit on Wednesday, and Arsenal could all finish on 12 points. No team has ever earned 12 points and failed to progress.

Shakhtar sit top on 12, three clear of Arsenal and Braga. A draw would send the Ukraine league leaders through for the first time and in top spot and even defeat is unlikely to derail them. If all three teams end on 12 points the qualifiers will be decided by goal difference in games between the three.

Arsenal, with a 6-0 thrashing of Braga and 5-1 win over Shakhtar in the bag, would almost certainly come out top in that equation should they beat Partizan Belgrade at The Emirates. Shakhtar have a goal difference of 0 from the "mini-group" with Braga on -7, leaving the Portuguese side needing a four-goal victory to swing things in their favour.

If their domestic form is anything to go on, that looks a long shot. They lost 3-1 at Uniao Leiria on Saturday when they conceded two penalties and had three players sent off. The defeat was their fourth in the last five games and leaves them still without an away win all season. Having begun their first Champions League campaign with the Arsenal humiliation and then a 3-0 home defeat by Shakhtar it is something of a surprise that they are still in contention but coach Domingos Paciencia still sees the domestic league as his main focus.

"The most important goal for Braga is the national championship and finishing in the top four," he said. "We know the toll will be very different to previous years because taking part in the Champions League for the first time has a big physical and emotional cost."

Arsenal warmed up by beating Fulham 2-1 to go top of the Premier League and they will expect to progress to the knockout phase for the 11th successive season by making it six defeats out of six for Partizan.

Barcelona have already secured top spot in Group D and Copenhagen will join them if they beat Panathinaikos in Denmark. The Danes have seven points to the six of Rubin Kazan, who visit Barcelona where they pulled off a shock 2-1 win last season. — Reuters

London, December 7
Liverpool ensured it was an unhappy return for former manager Gerard Houllier with a comfortable 3-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Monday. David Ngog and Ryan Babel's first-half strikes and a tidy Maxi Rodriguez goal sealed victory for Roy Hodgson's side and lifted them to eighth in the league table. Villa stayed 16th.

The match was a first competitive return to Anfield for Frenchman Houllier who left Liverpool in 2004 after six years as manager having won five trophies in 2001. It was not to be a memorable one, though, as Liverpool raced into an early lead with two quickfire goals.

The first came from a corner on 14 minutes when Ngog dived on to a Martin Skrtel header to beat goalkeeper Brad Friedel from close range and the hosts were two up minutes later.

Babel, replacing the absent Fernando Torres whose wife had just gone into labour, latched on to a Lucas throughball on the edge of the box before swivelling to finish sweetly from an angle. Liverpool, also without injured defender Jamie Carragher and captain Steven Gerrard, added a third 10 minutes after the break when Rodriguez calmly swept home an incisive counter-attack.

The defeat prolonged a poor spell for Villa who have won just once in 10 league matches and hardly created a clear-cut goalscoring chance at Anfield. Defenders Glen Johnson and Sotirios Kyrgiakos went close to stretching Liverpool's lead, the latter having a header cleared off the line. Houllier, who has also managed France and Ligue 1 sides Paris Saint Germain and Olympique Lyon, was appointed Villa boss in September. — Reuters

Gurgaon, December 7
Churchill Brothers rode on Okolie Odafe's 65th minute strike to salvage a 1-1 draw against JCT in their second round I-League match at the Tao Devi Lal Stadium here today.

JCT, after the shocking defeat against HAL in their opening fixture, looked on course to register their first win after Balwant Singh put them in lead with a 37th minute strike.

Odafe, however, had other ideas and struck the equaliser 19 minutes into the second half. The Punjab outfit looked positive from the word go and the aggressive approach paid off when Balwant headed in Amandeeep Singh's assist from the right. It was Saran Singh who did the spadework and gave the ball to Amandeep.

Odafe, who helped his team come from behind in their opening fixture against defending champions Dempo, did a repeat when he headed in a corner. The ball hit the crossbar on its way to the post.

Much before that, in the first half, JCT skipper Daljit Singh lost possession in the midfield and that nearly proved disastrous for his team, but a diving Pawan Kumar under the bar stretched full length to cover Bineesh Balan's attempt.

In his quest to find the equaliser, Churchill Brothers coach Vincent Subramaniam tried to rev up the midfield, bringing in Charan Rai in place of Chandam Chitra Singh, but the move did not yield the desired result as JCT went to the lemon break with their lead intact.

But fortune favoured the Goans after the change of ends with Odafe scoring the much-needed goal. The Nigerian, in fact, may have given his team its first win of the league but his 82nd minute attempt, after being fed from the centre, went over the bar. — PTI

Gurgaon, December 7
In what could be a major boost to I-League side JCT, coaches and experts from English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers are likely to visit the Punjab outfit's base in Hoshiarpur in April next year. "They are, in all likelihood, going to visit the club in April. We will be getting a break of about 20 days during that time and if they (Wolves) are also free, they will come here," said JCT coach Parminder Singh after his side played out a 1-1 draw with Churchill Brothers in an I-League match here.

Five JCT players — Pawan Kumar, Balwant Singh, Parveen Kumar, Amarwant Singh and Amandeep Singh — visited Wolverhampton in June last year under a tie-up signed few years ago.

"The plan was to stay for 15 days but due to Santosh Trophy, which was scheduled around the same time, we had to return after seven days," said Parminder. The five players, who spent a week with the English side, are now integral to JCT's fortunes in any major tournament.

"Experts from Wolves would impart education about football to our boys during their stay at out academy," Parminder said. "The boys benefited after a training stint with them earlier, and I am sure, it would be learning experience for the boys again as the club work in a very systematic and dedicated manner," Parminder added. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Anand to star in London Classic
London: Having regained the numero uno spot in international rankings, world champion Viswanathan Anand will now look to consolidate his position at the top in the London Chess Classic that gets underway here later today. With an average ELO rating of 2724 points, the category 20 event will also see Magnus Carlsen of Norway in action along side former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Hikaru Nakamura of United States. The other four participants in this tournament are all English headed by Michael Adams who is currently ranked 22nd in the world and is the highest rated Englishman. — PTI

Indiana Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy (L) passes the basketball past Toronto Raptors DeMar DeRozan during the third quarter of their game in Indianapolis on Monday. — Reuters

Gibbs’ new innings in WC
Johannesburg: His participation in next year's World Cup is all but over after losing his contract with Cricket South Africa, but Herschelle Gibbs may still be seen in action during the mega-event in the sub-continent, this time as a commentator. Gibbs' agent, Donne Commins said that the controversial South African opener is in talks with with several international broadcasters, including an Indian channel for the job. "(Gibbs) has received several offers and we are busy weighing them up against his desire to play for the (provincial side) Cape Cobras in the Pro20 series," Commins was quoted as saying by the Afrikaans daily Beeld newspaper. — PTI

Humpy to meet Jovanka Houska
Turkey: After an easy opening win, Grandmaster Koneru Humpy will take on International Master Jovanka Houska of England in the second round of the World Women's chess championship here. Humpy beat Melissa Greeff of South Africa with a 2-0 margin but faces a tougher opponent in Jovanka who has beaten a few Grandmasters in the past. The first round saw the elimination of three out of five Indians in the fray and besides Humpy, GM norm holder D Harika is the other Indian in the fray who will take on Tatiana Shadrina of Russia in the second round. — PTI

Indian Open not in Asian Tour
Kuala Lumpur: Indian golf's marquee event, the Hero Honda Indian Open, does not figure in the Asian Tour's 2011 provisional schedule announced today but the Indian Golf Union insisted that the USD 1.25 million tournament would be alloted a slot "very soon". The Asian Tour announced its 2011 Schedule with a provisional 25 tournaments which will travel throughout Asia and as far as Switzerland. But the calendar does not feature the Indian Open, the 47th edition of which was won by Sweden's Rikard Karlberg at the Delhi Golf Course last week. However, IGU Director General A Parmar told PTI that the Indian Open will get a slot soon. — PTI

Broad sustains abdominal injury
London: England fast bowler Stuart Broad has sustained a torn abdominal muscle injury during the fourth day of the Adelaide Test, which will keep him out of the rest of the Ashes series. England medical officer Nick Peirce said the nature of the injury meant Broad would be ruled out of the rest of the tour. He will fly home this week for a course of rehabilitation. The injury will also keep Broad out of the one-day series that follows the Ashes, but he is expected to have fully recovered by the time of the World Cup in February. — ANI