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Time to plunder
Down under
MSD lauds Munaf & Co
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Tendulkar ruled out of ODIs
Watson seals Australian win
India emerge champions, Pakistan finish second
Tendulkar inspires me: Bhaichung
Assefa, Yal win Mumbai Marathon
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Time to plunder Down under
Lee-Hesh warmed up for the first Grand Slam of the season with a victory at the Chennai Open but it won't be easy for them at the Australian Open -- starting tomorrow -- as the competition will be fierce with some formidable pairs in the fray. The last Grand Slam they won together was French Open in 2001 and have not competed on the ATP Circuit together since parting ways in 2002. Incidentally, Bhupathi has not won a men's doubles Grand Slam title since winning US Open with Max Mirnyi in 2002. Paes has been successful in adding three men's titles apart from winning three with Bhupathi. He won US Open in 2006 with Martin Damm and lifted two trophies (French Open in 2006 and US Open in 2009) with Luaks
Dlouhy. Agility and sharpness plays a big role in the doubles matches and the Indian duo will have to be in best form and fitness if they wish to complete their Slam tally. Rohan Bopanna is another Indian player to watch out for who created waves last season by reaching the US Open finals along with Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi. The pair is growing strong and gaining in confidence and are capable of putting up a few upset results. Picture does not look to rosy in the singles as Somdev has been struggling to cope with the demanding Tour. Loss of form is a big worry for him although his will and stamina can't be questioned. But ever since his sensational show at Chennai Open in 2009, Somdev's progress has just been okay and steady. He has also got a tough opening round as he will face world number 51 Tommy Robredo of Spain. It's a huge task to tame the Spaniard and the road will only get tougher even if Somdev manages to upset Robredo. Sania did extremely well to come through the qualifiers in the women's singles but it will be an altogether different ball game in the main draw. Of late Sania has been doing well and would be keen to improve on her Grand Slam performance. Her best performance here was in 2005 and 2008 when she reached third round. It would do a world of good to Sania's confidence and ranking if she is able to match those two years. Sania
qualifies
Sania Mirza booked a berth in the women's singles main draw of the Australian Open with an easy straight sets victory over Canada's Stephanie Dubois, here today. The 24th seed Indian triumphed 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 13 minutes in the third and final round of the qualifying competition. Sania had to go through the qualifying route due to low ranking as she has slipped to 145th spot due injuries last season.
— PTI Federer tips Rafa to win
Defending champion and 16-time grand slam winner Roger Federer has tipped Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open this year, as the World No.1 chases history. Nadal is in the quest to become the first man in 42 years to hold all four grand slam crowns simultaneously. Federer, who is in great touch this year winning a tournament victory in Doha, said: "He should be favourite. He's holding the three slams. I hold this one still, but just." "Of course, I won the World Tour Finals (last November), I've been playing really well on the hard courts right now, but he's been the one dominating the slams," The Age quoted him, as saying. "He's had hardly any tough matches in the last three slams. That makes him the favourite, I don't have any problems not being the favourite really," Federer said. "I hope it's on him, he deserves it, he's world No.1, he's going for four in a row, I always knew that is going to be big news ... it's unbelievable what Rafa's been able to do. ... He's going to for sure be ready for this, I'll follow it very closely. If I get a chance, I hope I can stop him obviously," he said.
— ANI |
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MSD lauds Munaf & Co
Johannesburg, January 16 With figures of four for 29, Munaf led India's stunning comeback to bowl out South Africa for 189 after the visitors had posted a paltry 190 on the board at the New Wanderers stadium yesterday. Munaf, who accounted for important scalps of dangerman Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, combined well with Zaheer Khan (2/37) upfront to script the historic win and help India level the series 1-1. "We got off to a decent start though it was bit slow but then we lost wickets in quick succession and because of that we could not post a big total. During the batting power play we lost vital wickets," Dhoni told reporters in the post-match press conference. "Bowlers brought us back in the game. Munaf did the trick for us as getting Amla out was crucial. I think Munaf's spell was brilliant. He bowls straight and varies his pace well. He deserved the man-of-the-match award," he said. The India skipper also lauded off-spinner Harbhajan Singh (1/32) for his misery spell in the middle overs. "Bhajji's (Harbhajan) contribution was vital too as he bowled that 7-8 over spell in the middle. The momentum was on South Africa's side when Bhajji came on to bowl. The South African batsmen took decision not to attack him and by doing so they shifted the momentum slightly in our favour," Dhoni said. The bowlers' performance, notwithstanding, it was Yuvraj Singh (53 off 68 balls), who together with Dhoni (38 off 61), revived India's innings with an 83-run fourth-wicket after the visitor's lost their first three batsmen for 67 runs. And Dhoni admitted that Yuvraj is a crucial cog in the Indian ODI team. "His (Yuvraj's) role in the batting lineup is crucial. If we get good start then he can come and score quick runs and if we lose few wickets then he can control the game with a solid innings. He played very well in the match. "It is important that Yuvraj gets into good form. He is now a decent all-rounder for us as he also bowls a few overs," the Indian captain said.
— PTI |
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Tendulkar ruled out of ODIs
Johannesburg, January 16 Tendulkar’s injury comes a day before the selection committee meeting in Chennai to pick the 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup, starting February 19. Tendulkar, who had not played one-dayers after scoring the game’s first ever ODI double hundred in February 2010, suffered the injury during the second ODI against the Proteas yesterday. "Sachin Tendulkar will not take further part in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. Parthiv Patel is being flown to South Africa as his replacement," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a release. Tendulkar did not field during the South African innings yesterday and at the post-match press conference India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had said that the champion batsman will not take part in the remaining three ODIs of the five-match series. With this, Sachin has become the fourth Indian cricketer to return home due to injury after openers Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and pacer Praveen Kumar. Tendulkar had achieved another milestone in his career yesterday, when he equalled Sanath Jayasuriya's record of being the most capped player in one-day international cricket. The second ODI against South Africa was Tendulkar's 444th match, the same as Sri Lankan legend Jayasuriya played in his career.
— PTI 2nd ODI Scoreboard India Vijay c Morkel b Tsotsobe 16 Tendulkar b Botha 24 Kohli run out 22 Yuvraj c Steyn b Tsotsobe 53 Dhoni b Tsotsobe 38 Raina lbw b Tsotsobe 11 Rohit lbw b Morkel 9 Harbhajan c Miller b Morkel 3 Zaheer c Tsotsobe b Steyn 0 Nehra c Botha b Steyn 1 Munaf not out 6 Extras (lb 4, w 3) 7 Total (all out; 47.2 overs) 190 Bowling: Steyn 9.2-1-35-2, Tsotsobe 10-2-22-4, Parnell 7-0-43-0, Morkel 8-0-32-2, Botha 10-0-35-1, Duminy 3-0-19-0. South Africa Smith b Munaf 77 Amla c Dhoni b Munaf 4 Ingram lbw b Harbhajan 25 de Villiers c Dhoni b Nehra 8 Duminy c Vijay b Rohit 13 Miller c sub b Zaheer 27 Botha lbw b Zaheer 4 Parnell c Yuvraj b Munaf 12 Steyn run out 6 Morkel c sub b Munaf 6 Tsotsobe not out 1 Extras (lb 5, w 1) 6 Total (all out; 42.6 overs) 189 Bowling: Zaheer 9-0-37-2, Munaf 8-0-29-4, Nehra 7-1-44-1, Harbhajan 10-0-32-1, Raina 6-0-27-0, Rohit 2-0-12-1,Yuvraj 1-0-3-0.
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Watson seals Australian win
Melbourne, January 16 One of the few Australians to emerge with his reputation intact after the Ashes disaster, Watson's brilliant unbeaten 161 enabled the home side to chase down England's imposing total of 294 from 49.4 overs with five balls to spare. Fittingly, the right-hander hit the winning runs from the first ball of the last over, lofting Ajmal Shahzad over long-on for six to take Australia to 297-4. He and Brad Haddin laid the foundation for the win with a 110-run partnership, although another scratchy innings by captain Michael Clarke, who was jeered by home fans as he struggled for 36 from 57 balls, threatened to derail the chase. However, Watson was not going to let his good work go unrewarded again and held the innings together in the latter overs as the tension rose. He reached his fifth one-day century from 110 balls and went on to post a career-best innings, facing 150 deliveries in total and hitting 12 fours and four sixes. Watson said the innings was some compensation for failing to convert several promising starts into centuries during the Ashes, and that he hoped the result would be a fillip for those Australians battling floods, including in his hometown of Ipswich. "To be able to play an innings like that is always nice," he said. "A few little things went my way, I got dropped once and a few shanks fell in the gaps, and you need that bit of luck to get a big score. "It would have been nice to get a few bigger ones, or at least one big one, in the Ashes, but it wasn't to be." England captain Andrew Strauss admitted the English simply couldn't rein in Watson. "A truly top quality knock," he said. "He strikes the ball very hard and he's able to clear even very big boundaries, so it is hard to defend when he is in form. "We had a couple of half chances that might have gone our way on another night, but he deserved to be on the winning side." The solo effort of Watson, dropped on 44 by Jonathan Trott from the bowling of Chris Tremlett at mid-on, spared Australian blushes after a hapless performance in the field. Kevin Pietersen led the way for England, who won the toss and elected to bat, with 78 from 75 balls including three sixes. Brief Scores: Australia 297 for 4 (Watson 161*) beat England 294.
— AFP |
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India emerge champions, Pakistan finish second
Auli, January 16 Indian skiers bagged maximum Gold to emerge as overall champions. Pakistan stood second while other countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives failed to open their account during both skiing and skating events. The seventh participating country Bhutan were mere observers in the games. In today’s final day events, Indian skiers won all the gold medals at Auli. India won all first three positions in both men and women categories of cross country. In Men’s 15-km cross country, Nadim, Tashi and Hemant Kumar got first, second and third place, respectively, for India. Also in Women’s 10km cross country, Bhuvneswari, Phyntsog Yamdon and Yasmina Akhtar got Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for the host country. Preeti Dimri of India continued her good run in the Games and claimed gold medal in the Alpine slalom for India. Aminawali of Pakistan and India’s Vandana stood second and third in the same category. However, Pakistan gave its protest to technical committee against India on the basis of alleged wrong calculation in timings and till the filing of the report, the committee was in a meeting to decide over second place in the slalom finally. While in men’s Alpine slalom, India’s Arif Khan stood first. Mir Nawaz of Pakistan and Santosh of hosts team settled for bronze and silver medals, respectively. Earlier India had claimed all the four gold, silver and bronze medals in ice skating held in Dehradun in the first phase of the games. |
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Arsenal blank Hammers
London, January 16 Third-placed Arsenal kept up the pressure with a 3-0 victory at West Ham United in a what, according to local media reports, could be Avram Grant's last game in charge of the bottom club. Chelsea were untroubled in beating Blackburn Rovers 2-0 with second-half goals by Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas
Anelka. City's victory takes them back to the top on 45 points from 23 games, a point ahead of Manchester United, who visit Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and have three games in hand. Arsenal have 43 points, Chelsea 38 and Spurs 36. West Bromwich Albion beat Blackpool 3-2, Stoke City beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 and Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 with
Fulham. Wolves, who beat City at Molineux in October and have taken the scalps of Liverpool and Chelsea in recent weeks, took a deserved lead after 12 minutes through Nenad
Milijas. City rode their luck and levelled five minutes before halftime through Kolo Toure and went ahead four minutes after the restart when Tevez skipped past three challenges and finished
superbly. Dzeko set up Yaya Toure for a simple finish after 54 minutes and Tevez headed the fourth after 66, his 14th league goal of the season. Wolves though hit back with a Kevin Doyle penalty and after Ronald Zubar headed their third four minutes from time City were hanging on desperately. "I was worried in the last eight minutes as we conceded a lot of chances and we must improve in this situation," City boss Roberto Mancini told BBC Radio 5-Live. "We played good football in the second half but we had some problems at the back and shouldn't concede three goals at home," Mancini told the club's website
(www.mcfc.co.uk). — Reuters |
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Bhullar wins Gujarat Kensville Challenge
Ahmedabad, January 16 Bhullar battled with his nerves during a closing round of 75, but his five-under par 283 was enough to see off England's Matt Ford, who signed for a round of 70 to finish just a stroke behind. Such was the demanding nature and condition of the Jeev Milkha Singh-designed Kensville Golf Club here that only six players finished under par. England's Jamie Moul finished in third place courtesy best-of-the-day round of 69, whilst his compatriot Matthew Baldwin took the fourth place at two-under 286. The only other players to finish below par were Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman (73) and Denmark's Mads
Vibe-Hastrup (72), who shared fifth place at one-under par 287. After opening with a bogey, Bhullar recovered by picking up a shot at the third hole, which he has birdied on all four days. He immediately gave a shot back at the next hole, and after another bogey at the tenth, Bhullar's grip on the trophy appeared in some peril – especially when Ford ran up successive birdies on the 13th and 14th. However, Bhullar remained composed thereafter and, despite another bogey on the penultimate hole, a par on the last sealed his victory. The 22-year old rising star is now 32,000 euros richer but, perhaps more importantly, has written his name into the history books. The lad from Kapurthala was excited with his maiden international victory. "I'm very pleased to begin the season with a victory. “Last year, I also began the season with a victory on the Asian Tour, but I cherish this moment as this is my first international victory in India. "It was my father's birthday on January 14, so I dedicate this win to him. I hope that this season brings me more success, and I'm now looking forward to stepping up to The European Tour," said
Bhullar. — PTI |
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Tendulkar inspires me: Bhaichung
Doha, January 16 India coach Bob Houghton had compared Bhutia with Tendulkar for the influence both the players have in their respective national
teams. Bhutia described Tendulkar as the legendary sporstsperson whose influence goes much beyond cricket. "I have met him once or twice and obviously he is a sporting legend. He is the sole example of a role model sportsperson in India. He inspires a senior footballer like me to bring laurels for the country," Bhutia told PTI after their training session ahead of India's last group match against South Korea in the Asian Cup
here. Bhutia said it was difficult to compare between a footballer and cricketer in India but said the amount of time they have played for the country and the service they have rendered could be
similar. "Sachin is different from me. Football is totally different from cricket. The amount of time we two have played for the country and the amount of the service we two have given could be compared," he said. "Me, Leander
Paes, Sachin, Dhanraj Pillay, we played for the country for quite long and can be compared in that sense. But football is completely different from cricket," he added.
— PTI |
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Assefa, Yal win Mumbai Marathon
Mumbai, January 16 24-year-old Assefa from Addis Ababa took the men's honours and also led a 1-2 for the African nation known for its runners by finishing the 42.195-km course. — PTI
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All eyes will be on Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the 'Indian Express' returns to Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in nine years with an aim to win that elusive Australian Open trophy even as Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza will be the Indian faces in the singles events.
Melbourne, January 16
But Paes and Bhupathi played together for the nation in Davis Cup and Commonwealth Games so chemistry is not a problem but the effects of growing age have started to show.
