S P O R T S

england complete whitewash
London, August 22 Sachin Tendulkar came agonisingly close to a phenomenal 100th international century before a pathetic India slumped to an innings and eight runs defeat in the fourth and final cricket Test to give a ruthless England a resounding 4-0 series win here today. Elusive Ton: Sachin evades a bouncer during his knock of 91 at The Oval on Monday. — Reuters

Sehwag, Ishant ruled out of ODI series
London, August 22
The injury-ravaged Indian cricket team's wretched tour of England just got worse with opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Ishant Sharma ruled out of the lone Twenty20 and five-match one-day series, starting August 31.

Cameron meets Tendulkar, team New Delhi, August 22 Sachin Tendulkar may have had a lean patch with the bat in the Test series against England but there is no let-up in his popularity with the high and mighty. Though interacting with prime ministers, presidents and other top dignitaries have become a routine chore for the batsman, even Tendulkar was surprised and thrilled when British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his desire to meet him during the Oval Test.

Sachin with British PM David Cameron in London. — PA Images/Surrey County Cricket Club

Malinga claims record hat-trick Colombo, August 22 Chasing 212 for a win against Australia, Sri Lanka had reached 144 for the loss of four wickets in 26.4 overs before rain stopped play in the fifth and final ODI here today. Earlier, Lasith Malinga grabbed a record third hat-trick as Sri Lanka restricted Australia to 211. Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga celebrates his hat-trick in the final ODI against Australia in Colombo on Monday. — Reuters

Paes-Bhupathi win Cincinnati, August 22 Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won their third title of the season and first at Cincinnati after 10 years, following a hard-fought win over Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in the summit clash of the Western and Southern Open. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi with their trophies after winning the final of Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio on Sunday. — AFP

India lose to Trinidad 0-3
Port of Spain, August 22
The Indian football team failed to continue its recent good show and was handed a 0-3 drubbing by Trinidad and Tobago despite putting up a spirited performance in their international friendly here today.

Man City beat Bolton

Manchester City's David Silva (R) vies with Bolton Wanderers' Gretar Rafn Steinsson during their English Premier League in Bolton on Sunday. City beat Bolton 3-2. David Silva, Gareth Barry and Edin Dzeko scored for City. — AFP

Football tournament in Srinagar
Srinagar, August 22
A National-level football tournament would be held here from September 15, Minister for Youth Services and Sports, R.S. Chib, announced here. Chib was speaking at the conclusion match of a State-level inter-district under-17 football tournament at the Polo Ground here yesterday.

Ian Chappell criticises CA
Melbourne, August 22
Ian Chappell, former captain and brother of sacked selector Greg, launched a scathing attack on Cricket Australia for depending on a review to sort out the problems within the system rather finding a solution on its own.

Third time lucky for Simpson
Greensboro, August 22
Former US College star Webb Simpson triumphed by three shots at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday to capture his first US PGA Tour title after twice going close earlier this season.

england complete whitewash
Beat India by innings & 8 runs
India lose series 0-4
Slip to 3rd in rankings
Swann claims 6 wickets
Sachin misses ton by 9 runs

London, August 22
Sachin Tendulkar came agonisingly close to a phenomenal 100th international century before a pathetic India slumped to an innings and eight runs defeat in the fourth and final cricket Test to give a ruthless England a resounding 4-0 series win here today.

Needing to bat out the entire fifth day to save the game, Tendulkar (91) led a spirited fightback alongwith Amit Mishra (84) but the complexion of the game changed dramatically after their dismissals as the visitors lost as many as seven wickets for a mere 21 runs to be all out for 283 in the second innings just at the stroke of tea.

With this emphatic victory, England officially crowned themselves the number one team in Test rankings with 125 points followed by South Africa with 118 points.

The Indians, who started the series as the number one Test team, surrendered the number one tag after losing the third Test in Birmingham and have now slipped to the number three position following the 4-0 whitewash.

Spinner Graeme Swann was the wrecker-in-chief for England with with impressive figures of six for 106 while Stuart Broad chipped in with two wickets.

Resuming at the overnight total of 129 for three, Tendulkar and Mishra raised hopes of drawing the game as the duo put on 144 runs for the fourth wicket but Mishra's departure virtually opened up the floodgates as none of the Indian batsmen showed the determination to hang around for long.

The visitors suffered a stunning collapse, losing their last seven wickets for 21 runs, a reflection of the caputilation which has been a feature right through the series.

Tendulkar and Mishra, who resumed this morning, continued the good work for the first 40 minutes after lunch but then both were gone in quick succession. Mishra started the rot when he played inside the line to a Graeme Swann delivery and his off-stump was pegged back.

The gusty knock by the leg-spinner lasted for 184 minutes and 141 balls and his 84 runs included 10 fours. From the other end, India suffered the double blow when Tendulkar was given out leg before wicket which appeared a harsh decision as the Tim Bresnan delivery appeared to be heading down the leg stump.

Television replays showed that the ball would have hit the top of the leg stump. Tendulkar made his 91 runs in 239-minutes and 172-ball innings, slamming 11 fours. — PTI

Scoreboard

Sehwag, Ishant ruled out of ODI series

London, August 22
The injury-ravaged Indian cricket team's wretched tour of England just got worse with opener Virender Sehwag and pacer Ishant Sharma ruled out of the lone Twenty20 and five-match one-day series, starting August 31.

"Mr. Virender Sehwag and Mr. Ishant Sharma have been ruled out of the forthcoming ODI series against England," the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

Sehwag, who had joined the team midway through the Test series after recuperating from a shoulder surgery, now has an ear infection to deal with, while Ishant has suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle.

"Mr. Sehwag suffered from labyrinthithis of the left ear on 24 July 2011. Although his condition has improved, he continues to experience headaches. An ENT specialist, who was consulted on the same, has said that he will take two more weeks to recover completely," BCCI statement read.

"Mr. Sehwag has made good progress since the surgery on his right shoulder. He will be continuing rehabilitation to build up his throwing and bowling fitness."

Sehwag was seen massaging his troublesome right shoulder and seeking physio Ashish Kaushik's attention on the field during the course of his 67-ball 33 in India's second innings of the fourth and final Test at the Oval on Sunday. He made a king's pair in the third Test at Edgbaston and contributed eighth and 33 in the ongoing match.

On Ishant, the BCCI said that he "sustained a ligament injury in his left ankle during the Birmingham Test of the ongoing series. He has responded well to treatment, but will need to undergo a course of intensive rehabilitation and training to prevent recurrence of the pain in his left ankle".

Rookie 23-year-old opener Ajinkya Rahane has been drafted into the squad to replace Sehwag, while Ishant's place has been taken by the 21-year-old Varun Aaron, who did well in the Emerging Players' Tournament in Australia.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Ajinkya Rahane and Varun Aaron as the replacements of the two players in the team for the T20 International and ODI series. Both players will join the squad at the earliest," the BCCI said. — PTI

Cameron meets Tendulkar, team
M.S. Unnikrishnan
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 22
Sachin Tendulkar may have had a lean patch with the bat in the Test series against England but there is no let-up in his popularity with the high and mighty. Though interacting with prime ministers, presidents and other top dignitaries have become a routine chore for the batsman, even Tendulkar was surprised and thrilled when British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his desire to meet him during the Oval Test.

Cameron’s office sent a message to Indian team manager Anirudh Chaudhary that the PM wanted to meet Tendulkar, and Chaudhary reciprocated by inviting Cameron to the Indian dressing room. All the Indian players, including Tendulkar, were virtually on Cloud Nine when the British PM sauntered into the area, where entry is strictly restricted.

“Cameron had a chat with Sachin about the on-going cricket series in general and Sachin in particular,” Chaudhary told The Tribune from London. “The PM told Sachin that he was a great fan of his and it was his long-time desire to meet him in person. Cameron said he would mention this meeting when he meets Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next time. Cameron also gave an open invitation to Sachin that he was always welcome to come to Britain (Sachin has a house in London, close to the Wimbledon arena).”

Chaudhary said Cameron left the dressing room pleased as Tendulkar and the others saw him off at the door. Tendulkar’s low batting form has not dented his popularity with general fans either and the PM calling on the maestro really boosted the batsman’s morale and spirits, Chaudhary said. "Sachin is much sought after wherever we go," he added.

Malinga claims record hat-trick

Colombo, August 22
Chasing 212 for a win against Australia, Sri Lanka had reached 144 for the loss of four wickets in 26.4 overs before rain stopped play in the fifth and final ODI here today. Earlier, Lasith Malinga grabbed a record third hat-trick as Sri Lanka restricted Australia to 211.

The paceman dismissed Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Xavier Doherty in his eighth over to become the first bowler to take three hat-tricks in one-dayers and keep alive his team's hopes of posting a consolation win.

Australia, who have an unbeatable 3-1 lead, were comfortably placed at 210/5 before losing their last five wickets for just one run, with Malinga doing the maximum damage to finish with 3-35 off eight overs.

Malinga was superbly supported by unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis (3-49) and seamer Shaminda Eranga (2-45). — PTI

Scoreboard

Paes-Bhupathi win
Cincinnati Masters: Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray triumph in singles

Cincinnati, August 22
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won their third title of the season and first at Cincinnati after 10 years, following a hard-fought win over Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic in the summit clash of the Western and Southern Open.

The third seeds edged past the fourth seeded French-Serbian combination 7-6(4), 7-6(2) after battling for one hour and 41 minutes.

"If you had asked me 10 years ago if we would win here again 10 years later, I would have started laughing that we'd still be playing," Paes said after the win.

"It's a great feeling to come back and win in the summer. We didn't have so much rhythm in Europe, but we managed to put it together this week. We've beaten some really big teams and are playing well. For us, it's a big confidence booster for the US Open, but we still have a lot of work to do there."

This is the third title of the season for the Indian Express as they had triumphed at the Sony Ericsson Open and Chennai Open.

Neither team dropped serve in the match. "They are the hottest team and we had to play our best match of the year to beat them. We served and volleyed great, and played an error free match. When we had chances, we took them," Bhupathi said.

The French-Serbian duo was looking to win their third straight title, having won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC and the Rogers Cup in Montreal last week. The defeat snapped their superb 11-match win streak.

Sharapova wins

Fourth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova survived an erratic performance to win the Cincinnati WTA title, prevailing 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 over Serbia's Jelena Jankovic.

Sharapova, 24, earned her second title of the season after a triumph in Rome. She improved on her runner-up finish to Kim Clijsters here last year and gave herself a momentum boost prior to the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season that starts on August 29 in New York. — Agencies

India lose to Trinidad 0-3

Port of Spain, August 22
The Indian football team failed to continue its recent good show and was handed a 0-3 drubbing by Trinidad and Tobago despite putting up a spirited performance in their international friendly here today.

In the end, Armando Colaco's boys found their opponents, who are 65 places above them at 88th in FIFA rankings, too good at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Trinidad and Tobago, who led 1-0 at half time, scored through Stern John (19th) and Darryl Roberts (47th and 85th).

The first goal of the 'Soca Warriors' came off a penalty from veteran striker John in the 19th minute while Roberts added two more in the 47th and 85th minute respectively.

Both the teams started cautiously with the home side trying to keep possession even as the Indians adopted a more direct approach. India conceded the first goal in the 19th minute when Raju Gaikwad brought down Darryl Roberts on the right side of the box.

Stern gleefully converted from the spot. Stung by the early reverse, India tried hard to regroup and their best chance of the opening half came on the half-hour mark when Syed Rahim Nabi beat the rival defence on the left, cut in but his right-footer just curled wide of the goal. T & T doubled their lead immediately after the resumption when Darryl Roberts making it 2-0 in the 47th minute.

The goal raised fears that India could be in danger of falling apart, but the visitors combined well as they went all out to reduce the margin. First a Nabi header off a Raju Gaikwad throw-in in the 53rd minute went inches above the crossbar and then a couple of minutes later, T & T goalkeeper Marvin Phillips blocked Sunil Chhetri's effort and Nabi shot over off the rebound. — PTI

Football tournament in Srinagar
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 22
A National-level football tournament would be held here from September 15, Minister for Youth Services and Sports, R.S. Chib, announced here. Chib was speaking at the conclusion match of a State-level inter-district under-17 football tournament at the Polo Ground here yesterday. Srinagar district defeated the Baramulla team 5-1 in the final.

Chib congratulated the Srinagar team and also appreciated the Baramulla team for playing with all vigour and energy. The minister also encouraged other 300 participants for their role in the three-day tournament. He said that several districts of the State including Jammu, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda, Kathua, Samba, Kishtwar, Ganderbal, Budgam, Bandipora, Shopian, Anantnag, Pulwama, Kupwara and Baramulla took part in the tournament.

Ian Chappell criticises CA

Melbourne, August 22
Ian Chappell, former captain and brother of sacked selector Greg, launched a scathing attack on Cricket Australia for depending on a review to sort out the problems within the system rather finding a solution on its own.

Chairman of the selectors Andrew Hilditch and Greg lost their jobs while national coach Tim Nielsen was asked to re-apply on the recommendation of a review panel, headed by a mining company boss Don Argus. Selection chairman role was made a full-time position and the profile of the coach has also been enhanced.

"It's got to give you a bit of a clue when you have to hold a review to see what's wrong with the body that's supposed to be running cricket," Chappell said. "That's got to tell you where most of the problems are, surely? If you've got the right people in place, they see that there's problems and start doing something about them." — PTI

Third time lucky for Simpson

Webb Simpson with the trophy in Greensboro on Sunday. — AFP

Greensboro, August 22
Former US College star Webb Simpson triumphed by three shots at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday to capture his first US PGA Tour title after twice going close earlier this season.

The 26-year-old North Carolina native kept a cool head at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro to post a final-round 3-under-par 67 and take his tournament total to an 18-under 262, holding off George McNeil, another of the young Americans who has been making his mark this season, and unheralded compatriot Tommy Gainey.

McNeil, already with one US PGA Tour title under his belt this season, climbed up the leaderboard on Sundayu with a sizzling 64 to claim second place at 15 under while the unconventional swinging Gainey was a further shot back at 14 under.

Fiji's former world number one Vijay Singh was among a group of five players who tied for fourth at 13 under. And so too was best of the Europeans, Carl Pettersson of Sweden. — Agencies