Hobart, February 27
Pushed to the very brink of elimination, a demoralised India face an ardous task of beating Sri Lanka with a bonus point to have any remote chance of qualifying to the final of the cricket tri-series when the two sides clash here tomorrow.

Barely left standing on their feet after a dismal show in the tournament, India would not only need a win with a bonus point to remain alive but also hope that Australia would somehow prevail over Lanka in the last league match on Melbourne on March 2.

The odds are heavily staked against the beleaguered Indians but teams have won with bonus points and India would hope that they do it tomorrow or leave Australian shores with humiliation after a Test series whitewash.

A bonus point is earned when a team achieves a run-rate of 1.25 times than that of the opposition. A team's run-rate will be calculated by the reference to the runs scored in an innings, divided by the numbers of overs faced.

In essence, India needs to chase down a target in 40 overs or while batting first, get the opposition out in the least number of overs as possible.

A bonus point though looks a wild dream for a team which is getting all-out in most of the matches and have suffered defeats by the margin of 101, 51 and 87 runs in last three successive matches.

No Indian has hit a hundred nor have they managed a century partnership in the tournament and the highest score from their miserable batsmen last night against Australia in Sydney was a mere 23. There have been only eight partnerships of 50 or more. They have lost four of their seven matches and managed a tie in one game.

It would be too much to expect from the hapless unit to suddenly discover the potency of scores and most bear the look of someone who would give anything to get out of Australia on the next available flight.

Sachin Tendulkar has just one innings, if India were to be knocked out tomorrow, to fulfil his unfinished mission of scoring his 100th international century.

There was poignancy in the manner he was run-out last night and it was one more instance where he's dismissed in an unexpected manner.

In the previous game, he had shouldered arm to Nuwan Kulasekara but the ball had still touched his willow and fell on to his stumps.

Virender Sehwag is unlikely to be replaced but it's also as certain that he would not score runs tomorrow. It's a dangerous thing to predict for the world record holder in ODI cricket but the only time his bat touches the bat it's in the form of an edge or an uppish drive.

Gautam Gambhir has sparkled all too briefly and his two innings of 90s in Adelaide look an act in distant memory.

Steepling bouncers are still taking him by surprise and edges result in due course.

Virat Kohli looks in control before he surprises everyone with his sudden dismissals. Rohit Sharma is now out of favour and Suresh Raina, it seems, is now being played more for his outstanding fielding than ability with bat.

It leaves too much of a gaping hole for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the rest to fill even though Irfan Pathan has been a delight in whatever time he's spending in the middle.

India's woes don't end with its batting. Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar are almost certain to be out for the morrow.

There's an outside chance Rahul Sharma might be played in place of Ravindra Jadeja who's had a poor series with the ball -- only two wickets from seven matches, an average of 142.00 and an economy rate of 5.39 runs per over. With the bat too, he has only 101 runs at 16.83.

Sri Lanka are aware they can play safe and yet be in the finals. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene, for a change, can opt for defensive fields and yet smoke India out of the competition.

He himself is such a tower of strength as an opener and is remarkably astute with his understanding of situation and proactive captaincy.

It's also good enough time for Kumar Sangakkara to hit straps. He's been getting regular scores in 20s but rarely beyond. Tillakaratne Dilshan too has a lot many 40s but never a high score.

Sri Lanka have been excellently served by 22-year-old Dinesh Chandimal who's the only batsman, besides David Hussey, to top the 300-run mark in the series. He has 306 runs to Hussey's 338 but has an innings advantage over the Australian middle-order batsman.

The two all-rounders, Thisara Perera and Angelo Matthews are also excellent with both bat and ball. Fast bowler Ferveez Maharoof and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath have made late entry into the competition but have only added meat to the Lankan attack.

Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara have been excellent with the new ball. Malinga has taken nine wickets at 33.66 average and an economy rate of 5.42. Kulasekara has shown the knack of picking up key wickets and has seven scalps at 34.85 average and an economy rate of 4.43. — PTI

The World Champs India have pretty much crashed out of the tri-series after another forgettable performance. Now even if they beat Sri Lanka with a bonus point it will be pretty hard for them to qualify because of the way they folded here and the manner in which Sri Lanka got past Australia’s imposing total in the previous game.

That will certainly boost the Lankan run-rate and unless India get over 350 and dismiss the Lankans for less than 100 they will be on the flight home earlier than planned. For some time when Australia were batting it looked as if India may pull it off. They fielded well and restricted the Australians in the final ten overs which is where by conceding more than 100 runs they have effectively lost games.

Suresh Raina has failed to make the most of his chances.

Here they fielded with zeal and bowled cannily with Sehwag picking three wickets and Umesh Yadav getting the crucial wickets of Wade and David Hussey when they looked threatening.

With the kind of batting line-up that they have, all India needed was a good solid start but that didn’t happen and when they had reached the halfway stage of overs the worry was that they wouldn’t last the entire innings which is exactly what happened. India are shell shocked as far as their batting is concerned.

No player is looking to settle down and play himself in and give himself some time out in the middle and then look to attack. It’s almost as if, if they don’t get boundaries from the word go then they won’t live up to their expectations. India have also paid for being stubborn about certain players and while it is expected that every skipper has a bit more faith in some players than some others.

The way Manoj Tiwary has been totally ignored is inexplicable. Now Tiwary may well play in what will be India’s last game on the tour and if he fails they will say “see he is not good enough and that’s why he was not picked”.

If only Tiwary gets the number of chances that some others have got. the selection committee back home must also share some of the blame for the manner in which they have ignored Yusuf Pathan.

Here is a batsman who is a game changer and to forget that incredible century that he got in South Africa around the same time last year when he almost won the match and with it the series for India is baffling.

Sure he didn’t get lots of runs after that but he is batting in a position where he invariably has to go and start slamming from the first ball. In such a situation to expect consistency is naive.

He can bowl the same number of overs that Jadeja does and concede maybe lesser runs but there is a greater chance of him playing that blistering innings that will turn the game India's way than Jadeja will do in overseas conditions.

Yes, the left-hander will be at home in the Asia Cup and Indian conditions but having failed in England and West Indies to have expected him to succeed in Australia was being optimistic alright. So also with Suresh Raina.

The selectors will sit in another couple of days to pick the team for the Asia Cup. We will then find out if they will be looking ahead or looking back. — PMG

New Delhi, February 27
Recovering from a malignant tumour between his lungs in the United States, star India cricketer Yuvraj Singh was paid a "surprise" visit by former skipper Anil Kumble. "It was so nice of jumbo to surprise me! Great motivation and a happy day spent with the legend,"

Yuvraj wrote on his twitter page, besides posting a picture of the two of them at the United States. Last Saturday, actor and good friend, Ranvijay Singh also had paid him a visit. "@RannvijaySingha came all the way to see me! Means a lot!," Yuvi had tweeted.

They later watched comedy film Andaz Apna Apna together. The left-handed batsman had earlier written on his page that his tumour was almost out of his system.

"Got very good news from dr lawrence today! The tumor is almost way out of the system Aftr reading my todays scan! Second cycle has started," he had tweeted. Yuvraj, who has been in Boston since last month, is expected to be back on the field in May, according to his doctor Dr Einhorn, who also treated legendary cyclist Lance Armstrong, who had suffered from testicular cancer in 1996.

The 30-year-old Yuvraj's second cycle of chemotherapy has started and the process of rehabilitation will start in April. The Punjab cricketer has not played competitive cricket since taking part in two of three home Tests against the West Indies in November after being diagnosed with the illness.

Yuvraj, who was named Player of the Tournament in the World Cup for scoring 362 runs and grabbing 15 wickets in nine matches, has so far scored 8,051 runs in 274 ODIs and 1,775 runs in 37 Tests. He made his international debut in 2000. — PTI

Hobart, February 27
Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene says he is wary of what is shaping up to be Sachin Tendulkar's final chance in Australia to score his elusive 100th international century for India.

Tuesday's tri-series one-day international in Hobart will be the Indian batting great's last innings in Australia unless his team can find a way to bring off a bonus-point victory over Sri Lanka to stay alive for the series finals.

To date it has been a forgettable tour for the Indians, who lost all four Tests to Australia and have won just two of their seven matches in the tri-series.

The pressure is on the "Little Master" to produce one last piece of brilliance to get the World Cup champions the bonus-point victory over Sri Lanka they need for a chance to stay in the tournament.

Tendulkar's has been unable all tour to achieve his 100th international century. But his ability is not being discounted by Sri Lanka, who would also need to lose their last game against Australia in Melbourne on Friday to miss the finals.

"You never know," Jayawardene told reporters in Hobart on Monday.

"I've played against him on so many occasions, he's produced some brilliant individual performances.

"They're a good side so you have to expect something different from them I'm sure because they need a big win."

India slipped into Hobart on Monday following an 87-run loss to Australia in Sydney on Sunday and left the talking about Tuesday's crucial match to their Sri Lankan opponents.

"I have to feel for them. It's been a long tour, especially when you're not winning it becomes a much longer tour," Jayawardene said. — AFP

New Delhi, February 27
Former Indian captain Rajpal Singh and experience forward Arjun Halappa are the notable omissions from the Indian hockey probables for the London Olympics. Having earned their ticket to play at the London Olympics after a resounding 8-1 victory France in the Olympic Qualifiers at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here last night, a series of coaching camps will be held for the men probables at SAI Centre, Bangalore, from March 5.

Hockey India announced here today that prior to the commencement of the Olympic Games in London from July 12, the Indian will play at various tournaments overseas. HI has received invitations for two four-nation Tournaments at Lahore (Pakistan) and Santandar (Spain), besides the Olympic Test events in London and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia.

Hockey India selectors Col. Balbir Singh, B.P. Govinda and Syed Ali, alongwith Government Observers Harbinder Singh and Dilip Tirkey, besides chief coach Michael Nobbs held a selection meeting today to decide on the Core Group of Probables for future camps.

They unanimously selected the 48 probables who would be in consideration for the team that would play in the Olympic Games.

The List of probables is:Goalkeepers:Bharat Chetri,PR Sreejesh,Naveen Kumar,Harmanpreet Singh and Nanak Singh; Defenders:Sandeep Singh,VR Raghunath,Rupinder Singh,Manjit Kullu,Gurjinder Singh,Harbir Singh,Amit Rohidas and Rahul Shilpkar; Midfielders:Ignace Tirkey,Kothajit Singh Sardar Singh, Birendra Lakra, Manpreet Singh ,Vikas Sharma, Gurbaj Singh, VS Vinaya, Bharat, Pardeep Mor and SK Uthappa; Forwards:Yuvraj Walmiki,Tushar Khandker,Shivendra Singh,Danish Mujtaba,Sarvanjit Singh,SV Sunil,Gurvinder Singh Chandi,Pradhan Sommanna,Roshan Minz,Malak Singh,Akashdeep Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam,Ramandeep Singh Nithin Timmaiah,Dharamvir Singh, Mandip Antil, MB Aiyappa, Gurmail Singh, Arjun Antil, Damandeep Singh, Prabhdeep Singh, Ranjit Singh, Mandip Singh and MG Poonacha.

Sirsa, February 27
Indian hockey team’s victory in the qualifiers for the London Olympics has brought cheers in Sant Nagar, the native village of team’s vice-captain Sardar Singh. Sant Nagar situated on Rania road is inhabited by Namdhari Sikhs, the sect to which Sardar Singh’s family belongs.

Villagers thronged Sardar Singh’s house to congratulate his father Gurman Singh on his son’s spectacular success. Sardar Singh was declared ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the qualifiers. Gurnam Singh was seen serving sweets to the visitors. Sardar’s mother Jasvir Kaur said Sardar has contributed well in India’s victory and she hoped he would repeat his feat in the future games too.

The Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda, the Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar and the DC J Ganeshan congratulated Sardar Singh and his parents for the success. The Haryana government has announced cash awards of Rs 11 lakh each for all players hailing from the state, Rs 1 lakh per goal in other matches and Rs 5 lakh per goals for the final game.

New Delhi, February 27
Former players today lavished praise on the Indian hockey team and its Australian coach Michael Nobbs for convincingly qualifying for the London Olympics and said a top-four finish in the quadrennial event "is a tall ask but not impossible" for the eight-time champions.

India put up a superlative performance and routed France 8-1 in the final of the men's Olympic qualifiers here last night to keep a date with the London Games after missing out on the Beijing edition four years ago.

Even though they were gung-ho about the home team's performance in the just-concluded Olympic qualifiers here, the yesteryear stars of the game were unanimous in pointing out that India need to address their grey areas before the London Games in July-August.

"It was an excellent performance from the team. It was heartening to see India play as a team. Full marks to Michael Nobbs for bringing attacking style of hockey back to India. We Indians are used to play attacking hockey, it is our own style," Zafar Iqbal, a member of India's last Olympic gold medal winning team in 1980, told PTI.

"To qualify for the London Olympics is a big boost for the team. We have crossed the first hurdle easily but now the real test starts. They will have to now prepare for the big matches," he said.

Zafar said with a little bit of hard work and determination, India can reclaim their top position in world hockey. — PTI

Lahore, February 27
Banned Pakistan pacer Muhammad Aamir is expected to file a statement with the Court of Arbitration for Sports for his appeal against the five-year ban, imposed on him by the ICC, to be heard at the earliest.

The pacer, who returned to Pakistan yesterday for the first time after serving a jail sentence in the United Kingdom for his role in the spot-fixing scandal, spent the whole day consulting with his lawyer Sajida Malik today.

Sajida Malik, a UK based lawyer has accompanied Aamir to Pakistan and sources say the purpose is to ensure that she is present when the Pakistan Cricket Board calls him for any meeting and also to prepare for the CAS appeal hearing.

Aamir had already filed an appeal with the CAS last year with his banned teammates -- Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif -- for the ICC ban to be removed but the legal advisor of the board Tafazzul Rizvi said a hearing could only be held when the players pushed for it.

The CAS has not formed any panel to hear the appeal or given any date for it as yet.

"When any of the players request the CAS for a hearing date, only than will the CAS form a panel or give a date," Rizvi explained. — PTI

New Delhi, February 27
Just two days are left for its start but the World Series Hockey continues to remain in a limbo as the FIH today said it cannot give sanction to the lucrative league until the two warring factions — Hockey India and Indian Hockey Federation — reach an agreement.

While appreciating the need for a professional league in the country, FIH president Leandro Negre gave both HI and IHF one month's time to resolve their issues and unite.

"We are acting as a mediator between HI and IHF. We are listening to both the sides and trying to find a solution. We tried our best to reach an agreement and had a very good discussions with both parties," said Negre, who met both HI and IHF office bearers during the just-concluded London Olympic Qualifiers here.

"We were very close to reaching a solution but there are very small disputes which need to be sorted out. So, we have given both the parties one month's time to come together," he said.

"But till an agreement is reached, WSH remains an unsanctioned event for us. They still have one month to find a solution and the FIH will do its best to settle the problem," Negre reiterated.

Negre said they are not against WSH but the tournament should be held under HI's aegis to get recognition.

"We are not against the concept of WSH. There is need for a strong professional league in India. But we can only sanction tournaments (domestic or international) organised by HI as FIH doesn't recognise IHF," he maintained. — PTI

Kolkata, February 27
Olympian and 1951 Asian Games gold medal winning football captain Sailen Manna died at a private hospital in the wee hours today. Manna was 87 and is survived by his wife and daughter.

Ailing for more than a year, Manna's condition turned critical last night and he was rushed to a Salt Lake hospital around 11 pm.

"He was put on life support... But his condition did not improve. My daughter was with him. And the sad news came around 1.55 pm," his wife Abha Manna said.

Known as one of the best Indian defenders who went on to become a captain of high repute, he made his first international appearance in 1948 London Olympics.

Manna was the captain of India in the 1952 Olympics and a member of the 1954 Asian Games team. He was awarded the Padmashree in 1971.

A graduate of the Surendranath College in the city, Manna started his playing career for Howrah Union, then a club in the second division Calcutta Football League in 1940.

Known for his powerful freekicks, Manna switched to Mohun Bagan after a couple of seasons and continued playing for the club for a period of 19 years till his retirement in 1960.

He was captain of Mohun Bagan from 1950-1955. The club conferred him 'Mohun Bagan Ratna' in 2001.

Among other honours, he was included in the list of the 10 best captains of the world by English FA in 1953 and awarded the 'Footballer of the Millennium' by the All India Football Federation in 2000. — PTI

London, February 27
However bad it was before and however bad it gets after, Arsenal fans will always have Sunday's astonishing 5-2 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur to cheer them through the aftermath of what looks like being yet another trophyless season.

The club's victory over their north London rivals having gone 2-0 down in the first 34 minutes is likely to be considered the pinnacle of their season and will have done much to bring supporters back onside following criticism of manager Arsene Wenger and his players.

Under fire from all quarters in the wake of some heavy defeats and abject performances, Wenger summoned the spirit of Mark Twain's "this report of my death was an exaggeration" when facing a media who had been savaging him in recent weeks.

"Arsenal are alive more than anybody thought before the game," Wenger said. "We had a great spirit." Leading the on-pitch resuscitation was Theo Walcott, who having under-performed for much of the season looked out of touch again in the early stages on Sunday and was heckled by own fans before scoring two goals in three minutes.

"The crowd was starting to get on his back and you wonder if (it would not) do him a favour by leaving him on. But I felt that he has the qualities that, considering the rest of the team, are highly needed," said Wenger.

"He is a very direct player, he can sometimes miss a first touch but considering the balance of the team, I thought it was important to keep him in the side."

Arsenal went into the match lacking form and confidence after a 4-0 first-leg defeat at AC Milan in the Champions League and a 2-0 loss at Sunderland in the FA Cup left them facing a seventh successive season without a trophy.

It was a far cry from Wenger's glory years when he won seven trophies in his first nine years, including the league and Cup Double in 1998 and 2002.

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane, working as a television pundit, said during the Sunderland game that it was the worst Arsenal team he had ever watched. — Reuters

Barcelona, February 27
With Barcelona's faint Spanish league title hopes fading, Lionel Messi scored from a crafty free kick late on to give Barcelona a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid and keep his team in the chase.

Despite its first away victory in three games, Barcelona is still 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's superb back-heeled goal in his team's hard-fought 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano earlier.

After Radamel Falcao had canceled out Dani Alves' opener for Barcelona, Messi caught Atletico's players unawares while they were trying to form a defensive wall by looping a perfectly placed shot into the far side of the net in the 81st minute yesterday.

Messi's own bit of brilliance took his league tally to 28 goals, one behind Ronaldo's 29.

"A leader is someone who steps up when the team needs him and Leo has been doing that for the past four years," said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who also acknowledged that his team's shot at winning a fourth straight league title since he took charge is slim.

"I don't believe we will win the league. But I hope we will compete like we did today and that we will compete in the Champions League and Copa del Rey final." Barcelona dominated possession from the start at Vicente Calderon stadium, patiently probing for a way through an Atletico team on a nine-game unbeaten streak since the arrival of coach Diego Simeone. — AP