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Lanka hammer Australia to force third final
Key is to compete well at all times: Jayawardene
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Karthikeyan debuts for HRT FI12
WFI names squad for last Olympic qualifier
Rustam Sarang (62 kg) will be part of the Indian contingent at the Senior Asian Weightlifting Championship in Korea. A Tribune photograph
AC Milan will not ease up: Allegri
AC Milan's coach Massimiliano Allegri during a press conference on the eve of his team’s Champions League match against Arsenal in London. — AFP
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Lanka hammer Australia to force third final
Dilshan scores strokeful 106
Jayawardene chips in with 80
Malinga picks up three wickets
Adelaide, March 6 Chasing Australia's competitive 271 for six, built around skipper Michael Clarke's 117 and David Warner's 100, the islanders rode on a 179-run partnership for the opening wicket to overhaul the target with 34 balls to spare in what turned out to be a lop-sided contest. Dilshan, who hit his 12th ODI century, and captain Mahela Jayawardene (80), rattled up the runs in just 27-odd overs which made the chase of 272 runs under lights easy. The two produced the best batting partnership of the series and brought the Australians on to their knees, hitting boundaries at will and nearly always managing to strike in the gap. The Australians were at a loss to stem the flow of runs and none of their bowlers, including otherwise efficient left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, could bowl with economy. The chase began good enough with Brett Lee conceding 12 runs in his first over but then there was a slice of luck in the second over when Jayawardene was caught behind for one, only for television reviews to reveal that the bowler Clint McKay had overstepped the bowling crease. This was as close as Australians could have a sniff of a wicket for a long time as the two batsmen went after the bowlers, raising the first 50 off only 37 balls and bringing about the 100 in the 16th over. The third final will be played at the same venue on Thursday. Dilshan was the first one to reach his fifty off 56 balls with five fours while Jayawardene's half-century arrived in as many balls, also with five fours. The Lankans didn't slack at any stage and the hectic pace continued unabated, the 150 being raised off only 133 balls in the 22nd over. — PTI Scoreboard Sri Lanka
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Key is to compete well at all times: Jayawardene
Adelaide, March 6 Sri Lanka's eight-wicket win at Adelaide today is their sixth win in the last eight games in Australia, including four in the present series. "The way to do is to compete with them at all times. You must be able to handle a few situations better than them," said Jayawardene after the day's play. Chasing Australia's 271 for six, the Lankans overhauled the target with 34 balls to spare in what turned out to be a lop-sided contest and took it to the deciding third and last final of the tri-series, to be played here on Thursday. Australia today bemoaned islanders dominance in the powerplay and death overs but Jayawardene said they purposely didn't targeted the home bowlers in those phases of the match. "We have batted with controlled aggression today, though we took the extra risk. We look to break down the target and play according to the situation," said Jayawardene. Extremely disappointed with his team's effort in the field earlier in the day, Jayawardene said it was his one of the team's worst performances of the tour. "We were dropping everything. With just four bowlers (in the ranks), we had to pick wickets. It's our one of the worst performances of the tour. We can laugh about it now but it would have cost us (the finals)," he said. Jayawardene, who picked up an issue with umpire Bruce Oxenford after he had delayed in terming a delivery no-ball bowled by Ferveez Maharoof, admitted that he became hyper. "I am culprit for carrying it on a bit long and have been fined (10 per cent) for it. It's good though once in a while to do so but I was hyper (than required). My issue was not the no-ball but how late the call was made. Umpire (Oxenford) said there was a lack of communication with the square leg umpire (Asad Rauf)." The particular moment sort of galvanised the Lankans, who didn't allow Australians to run away with a large total in the final overs. "The only thing I told them was to make sure they can't have free runs, let them have a tough run. The guys did it well," said Jayawardene. Regarding the Sri Lankans showing remarkable flexibility, like using off-spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan with the ball first up in the Australian innings, Jayawardene explained: "We had an option to go with an off-spinner or an extra batsman. Since we knew we would be chasing today, we opted for an extra batsman. "He (Dilshan) bowled very well, besides his batting of course." Jayawardene now has a strong case to be a regular opener in ODI but the skipper said he would have a word with selectors and see how it pans out. His promotion though has pushed the regular opener Upul Tharanga lower down the order. "He's been told we would be flexible with the batting order. Everyone's getting the reasoning (for shift in batting order) and it's done tactically," explained Jayawardene. — PTI |
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Clarke: We didn’t score enough runs
Adelaide, March 6 Australia set Sri Lanka 272 to win the match and the hosts overhauled the target comfortably with 34 balls to spare with eight wickets in hand. "We were probably 40 runs short of a good total. We tried to score as fast as we could but couldn't manage," said Clarke who is battling to be fit for the third finals on Thursday. "We couldn't get the momentum and it's credit to the Lankans—they changed their pace very well and bowled yorkers well too. We have to be at our best to beat them which we are not doing at the moment," he said. Even though the Australians fell short of the desired total, the worry for them continues to be the bowling which is being literally toyed with by the Lankans. "We are giving too much width. We were managing a little swing but you can't afford the width on good wickets. We didn't have enough score and our fielding let us down—the bowling was poor too," he said. There was a feeling that the ball came on to the bat a lot better than it did during the first half of the day. "When the sun goes down, the ball does skid. But we have no excuses." Clarke, who battled with right hamstring earlier in the series, now appears to have done in his left hamstring and wasn't sure if he would be available for Thursday, as well as for the tour to the West Indies. "I am not sure to what extent (I have injured the hamstring). I would have a scan but definitely I'm not feeling good. But I would rather not pass the judgement and wait (for the scan report. " — PTI
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Karthikeyan debuts for HRT FI12
New Delhi, March 6 Narain’s immediate objective was to ensure that all the systems were functioning appropriately and there were no major niggles. “The first impressions are quite good; it is definitely a step up from last year.” were Narain’s first words after emerging out of the cockpit. “Everyone has worked hard and the new team management has put everything together in a very short period of time”, said Narain in a statement released here today. “We have a lot of experienced people in the team and everyone knows what they are doing. We’re definitely heading in the right direction to progress throughout the season.” The Formula 1 season kicks off on March 18 at the Albert Park circuit in Australia.
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WFI names squad for last Olympic qualifier
Patiala, March 6 In the men’s section, Ranjit Chinchwade will take part in 56 kg, Rustam Sarang in 62 kg, Katulu Ravi Kumar in 69 kg, S. Sathish Kumar in 77 kg, Jasvant Singh in 85 kg, Chandrakant Mali in 94 kg, V.A. Christopher in 105 kg and Himanshu Kumar Chang will compete in +105 kg. They will be accompanied by three coaches - Jaswant Singh, Harnam Singh and Deodutt Sharma. In the women’s section, Ngangbam Soniya Chanu and Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu will compete in 48 kg, Tikina Gopal will take part in 53 kg, Minati Sethi will take part in 58 kg, Seeta Kumari Jena and Rajwant Kaur will take part in 63 kg and Laishram Monika Devi will compete in 69 kg. Padamshree N. Kunjarani Devi and Dronacharya Awardee Hansa Sharma will be the coaches for women squad. Notably, it is the last chance for the Indian weightlifters to continue their chase for the London Olympics as this Asian Weightlifting Championship is the last Olympic qualifier for the weightlifters and till date, none of them have qualified for the mega event. Talking to The Tribune in this regard, chief coach Jaswant Singh informed that as many as 17 men and 8 women weightlifters took part in these trials. “The pugilists had been rigorously training for these selection trials because they were very crucial and now that they know the final list, the effort is going to get doubled. Their performances have improved in the recent past. Lets see what fate has in story for them,” he added. About the qualifiers, he said these will not be easy as we will be facing very strong opponents, “But I can assure you that the performance of players will be something to look forward to. None of the Indian weightlifters had qualified in 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics but the chances are brighter this time. I am hopeful that these players will end this eight-year drought,” added Harnam Singh.
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AC Milan will not ease up: Allegri
London, March 6 "Tomorrow may seem like an easy game, but only in appearance," Allegri told a news conference in Italy before flying to London with his team. "In reality it is not. We must have great concentration, we must not underestimate the game." Allegri said Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored the fourth goal against Arsenal in the San Siro last month and bagged a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Palermo on Saturday, was playing as well as any striker in Europe. "Along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the three of them are at this moment the best players in the world," he said. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would be unlikely to swap Robin van Persie for anyone, including Ibrahimovic, after the Dutchman's 31 goals in all competitions this season. Wenger said there is no chance that he could rest the striker against Milan, despite the odds being stacked heavily against Arsenal overturning the first-leg deficit. "I would not be very credible to tell you we want to score five goals and then leave Robin van Persie out," Wenger said at a news conference on Monday. "We will not accept going out of the Champions League because we want to stay in. We will give it our best shot tomorrow. It is important we have a strong belief and that we show we have enough belief to make what looks impossible, possible. "We know that only one thing gives us a chance, and that is to play a top-class performance for 90 minutes. That is what we will try to put in. The task is a very high one, the level of the performance that is demanded is very high as well, but we want to be top-level performers and that is what the target is tomorrow." Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta are both doubtful for Tuesday's clash, as is Yossi Benayoun. Milan have included midfielders Alberto Aquilani and Urby Emanuelson in their squad with Massimo Ambrosini suspended. Maxi Lopez, Alessandro Nesta, Alexandre Pato and Antonio Cassano are all still out. — Reuters
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After registering a comprehensive win over Australia in the second final of the tri-series, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene today said that the key to his team's success against a tough opponent is to "compete well at all times".
New Delhi, March 6
Patiala, March 6
London, March 6
