Ahmedabad, November 14
Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but India is serving England a rather baffling concoction of heat, dust, clay and some ham-handed guile.

The fans seem to be assuming that England would be laid low with this – that the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh would mystify the visitors into submission.

There are three major reasons behind that assumption – the fractiousness caused by the Kevin Pietersen affair, England’s bad record against spin in the recent months, and England’s struggle on the Indian tracks.

The England management and players vouch that the last factor is now irrelevant, that everything has been smoothed over, and that and that the team spirit is like it was never before. These are the extremely right noises which all players who’ve washed – nay, laundered wholesale – dirty linen in open will make robustly. But it’s also a fact that, despite being seen and lampooned by a massive number of England fans as an egotist-mercenary, it’s Pietersen who gives this England team heart and muscle. Without him, England’s chances were non-existent. With him, they have strength and hope, with a large dose of heartburn and personality issues thrown in.

Thus, the potency of the first two factors would be critical in determining the winning team.

England’s record against spin would encourage Indian players and fans. They lost the three-Test series to Pakistan at Dubai, unable to decipher the bowling of Saeed Ajmal, who took 24 wickets during the 3-0 whitewash. They managed to draw the two-Test series in Sri Lanka but worryingly, 29 of the 32 wickets fell to the spin of Rangana Herath, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Suraj Randiv. That’s a very high proportion – over 90 percent. This brings us to the third factor – the tracks.

It’s clear that the Indian team wants the tracks to spin square – clearly, the humiliating defeats overseas have pierced the player’s hearts and egos. Earlier this year, Gautam Gambhir said India must greet visiting teams with "rank turners". Suresh Raina said a few days ago: "I was there in England last year and I feel the pain of losing that series 4-0. I want to give some of that pain back."

Virender Sehwag, meanwhile, suggested that it’s the media who are fuelling the theme of revenge. “For us, it's important to win the series. You people use words like revenge because you have to run shows and write headlines," Sehwag said recently.

Even without the pain and the hurt, the wickets do spin in India – check the records. It’s a fact. Indian wickets spin a lot.

So, the wickets are going to spin, they anyway were going to. But what has happened is that with this verbal jousting over spin, India really must win, and win very handsomely. Of the 103 Tests between the two teams, India have won 19 and England 38. In India, though, India have won 14 of the 51 played, England have won 11. The clincher is the fact that since 1990 in India, England have won only once, India six times. And England’s batsmen average just 26.80 in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE since December 2001.

These numbers, past and present, add up to an overwhelming advantage for India. To thicken the plot, India has denied the visitors any useful practice against spin in their three practice matches. But we must not forget – Ashwin and Ojha are not up to the Ajmal class, maybe not even Herath class. The last time England won a series in India, they packed a strong spin punch – Phil Edmonds and Pat Pocock masterminded one of their two victories in 1984-85. England now have a rather useful spinner in Graeme Swann – and two of our batting stalwarts, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, are gone.

Thus, the toss gains importance. India would hate it if, on a crumbling last-day track, they’re made to chase even a modest total against Swann and are caught in their own spin trap.

Ahmedabad, November 14
MS Dhoni’s words a day before the match gave a sign of things to come – Yuvraj Singh is set to make an unbelievable comeback into Tests, Harbhajan Singh would miss a berth in the playing XI.

Dhoni said today that while the pitch is on the “drier side”, it’s not one on which he would play three or four spinners.

"If we get a wicket like we got in Kanpur against South Africa, maybe we will even go with four spinners," Dhoni said. But no, it’s not a Kanpur 2008 wicket, on which the match was over in three days.

Ishant Sharma has viral fever, but Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav are fit and Dhoni has said he wants pacers, which means he’ll accommodate only two spinners. They’re likely to be R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojya. In 2011-2012, Ojha has picked up 33 wickets in five Tests. Ashwin has 49 wickets from eight Tests in the same period. The man who aspires to replace one of them, Harbhajan, doesn’t seem to have done well enough to merit a berth.

Dhoni’s words about Yuvraj were very encouraging: “He looks in good shape. It takes a lot of fitness to score a double hundred… The best thing for us is he bats at No. 5 or 6, and his left-arm spin. It’s a very important role for us.”

So, but for a major last-minute change in plans, one of the two Punjab players will figure in the XI.

Ahmedabad, November 14
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today virtually ruled out the possibility of his side playing with three front-line spinners in the first Test against England on a dry Sardar Patel Stadium wicket here tomorrow.

This would mean that senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, recalled to the side after more than one year in the wilderness, will be left out of the playing eleven with R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha getting the nod.

"Maybe, if we get a wicket like the one at Kanpur against South Africa (in 2008), we will go in with four spinners. What we need to see is that if we get a wicket like that the fast bowlers also get a bit of reverse swing. It's always advisable to have a bowling attack to have people (available) for different scenarios," said Dhoni at the customary pre-match media conference.

Dhoni also informed that speedster Ishant Sharma will not play in first Test as he is yet to recover while all others, including Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav who did not practice today with the rest of the team, were available for selection.

"Ishant has got viral and not recovered fully. All others are available," said Dhoni.

On Ashok Dinda, called up as back-up for Sharma, Dhoni said it was just an extra precaution that the team has taken. "He is just a back up. If someone breaks down in the night or tomorrow morning then he comes into the picture," said the India wicketkeeper. Explaining the absence of Zaheer and Yadav from practice today, Dhoni said it was as per the team's plans as they wanted to give the two pace bowlers some rest after the long practice sessions over the last few days in Mumbai and here.

"That's our plan. We had longish sessions in Mumbai when we were there (from November 9-11) and over the last two days here. (These were) long sessions for them. We said it would be good to give them rest (today)," he said. Dhoni refused to be drawn into a debate on whether or not it was a revenge series for the team for the 4-0 thrashing it had received from England last year in the latter's backyard. Dhoni ruled out breaking up of the opening partnership of Gambhir and Sehwag. — PTI

New Delhi, November 14
Former India captain Kapil Dev today advised Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men not to depend too much on Sachin Tendulkar and asked the youngsters to shoulder responsibility during the four-Test series against England.

“Sachin will be the centre of attraction. The focus will be on him. But you can not rely only on Sachin. He is an important player, but it is the time when youngsters will have to shoulder the responsibility," Kapil said. After receiving a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of England late last year, India is looking to exploit the home advantage to its maximum against the visitors. However, Kapil warned that the move may "backfire".

"If you are playing on a turning wicket, toss plays an important role. The team that wins the toss gets an opportunity to play on the fresh wicket. You should always prepare the wicket as per team's strength. But a rank turner might backfire," the veteran all-rounder said.

Kapil said that the upcoming series would be a test for India's opening pair of Gambhir and Sehwag, who have failed to give the country a solid platform in the recent past. "Sehwag and Gambhir are big players, they hold a lot of importance. However, they have been struggling since last 15-20 Tests and it is really terrifying that what will happen if they don't score at the top.

"Every player has a reputation and on that basis a team is selected but if they don't perform the team might have to struggle. Our opening is weak. If we get a good beginning, we can dominate England," he said. — PTI

Ahmedabad, November 14
Insisting that his team is well prepared for the four-Test series, England captain Alastair Cook on Wednesday said that the visitors would be looking to put India under pressure when the two sides meet in their opening match in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

"There is always a lot of pressure on the home team but one thing we've seen is that they have an excellent home record. History shows that they've coped with that over the years. Our job is to put them under pressure," said Cook.

"All through the tour we have said that we have wanted to get used to conditions. It is for the first time since I've been playing that we've had three practice games. We'd have liked to face more quality spinners but we can't control that. What we have had available, we've had some excellent bowlers in the nets," added the left handed opener.

Cook also said that his side was ready for the trial by India's spinners R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, besides senior bowler Harbhajan Singh. "We're ready, that's the reason why we came here three weeks in advance. You're going to lose wickets no matter who is bowling, in any game, you can read what you want, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We can always deal with what is thrown at us," said Cook. — PTI

Ahmedabad, November 14
England skipper Alastair Cook could have been in a tricky situation while going out for the toss for the first Test here tomorrow as he forgot to bring his team blazer and somebody had to rush it from home, if off-spinner Graeme Swann is to be believed. Swann, who returned here after flying home for a few days to attend to his sick little baby Charlotte, said Cook left messages to his mobile phone asking him to bring his England blazer from home.

But Swann did not check his phone and so did not know about the message and it needed a friend to bring the blazer for Cook who would be wearing it tomorrow when he goes out for toss with MS Dhoni. "Cook left messages asking if I could bring his England blazer back with me,” Swann said. — PTI 

Ahmedabad, November 14
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today praised his spin trump card R Ashwin for the variations in his bowling and said that the youngster should use his off-breaks as his stock delivery.

"Ashwin has got variations. He can bowl almost each and every delivery, googly, off-spin, leg-spin, carrom ball. The majority of his deliveries are still off-spin. I think it's important for him to concentrate on his stock delivery. I think he has done that really well," said Dhoni when asked to compare Ashwin with unorthodox Pakistan bowler Saeed Ajmal.

"They are different bowlers. It's unfair to compare them.

Ajmal has got a brilliant 'doosra' and generates a lot of pace when it goes away from a right hander. He's quite special," said Dhoni at the media conference ahead of the first Test against England.

While 26-year-old Ashwin has grabbed 49 wickets in eight Tests, including 40 at home in five games, 35-year-old Ajmal has impressive figures of 122 wickets in 23 Tests, including 24 in three Tests in the United Arab Emirates nine months ago.

Dhoni did not see any threat to the future of Test cricket played in India, though he conceded that the crowd turning out at stadia have dwindled over the years.

"It's a very competitive world out there. On week days it's very difficult for a large amount of people to come out and see because it's not easy to work for the private sector and seek a holiday to see India play. That's also a big factor," Dhoni said.

"There was a period when stadiums were houseful for Tests. Still a decent amount of people turn out for Test matches. We got more crowds than in some of the bigger cities. I don't think it's really alarming. There is good future for Tests.

"I feel it's very important to get children into Test because it's a world of fast food where people don't want to wait for one hour to get orders delivered,” he said. — PTI

Ahmedabad, November 14
While the lovers of sport would wish for a ‘good contest’ in the Test series against England, a certain amount of animus has been injected into the contest – fans and media seem to be thirsting for revenge, for their 4-0 drubbing in England last summer.

The notion that the Indians were somehow done in then by England seems to have gained currency, and that has multiplied the cries for retribution.

However, it must be emphasised that the wickets provided to India then were the normal wickets of that country – and most certainly not greentops, or tracks impossible to bat on: The technically adept and determined Rahul Dravid did score three centuries, and England did score in excess of 450 four times in the six innings they had. There was nothing wrong with the pitches. India failed because they were not prepared to succeed.

They were either arrogant or indifferent, and perhaps both. Virender Sehwag had played with a shoulder injury in the IPL, and possibly exacerbated it, requiring surgery. Sachin Tendulkar had chosen to opt out of the Test tour of West Indies and was unprepared – and his doomed pursuit of his 100th international century weighed him down. Zaheer Khan too hadn’t been on the tour of the West Indies because he was injured. He broke on the first day of the first match and took no further part in the series. With him out, India’s hopes were reduced to dust. And incredibly, India played just one practice match on the tour. Just think – one match against an ordinary county team to prepare for possibly the sport’s toughest challenge, of playing in seaming, swinging, cold and windy conditions.

These were the reasons India lost – not because they were made to bat on tracks that were a sea of green, indistinguishable from the infield. Now, everyone knows that wickets in India turn. Different playing conditions around the world spice up the game, challenge the players and excite the fans. Spin has always been a factor in India. Why, when England last won a Test series here, in 1984-85, their spinners played a decisive hand in the win that equalled the series in Delhi, picking 13 of the Indian wickets in two innings.

Last week, former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra didn’t bowl at all in the second innings in England’s third practice match, after picking up four wickets in the first innings. It’s obvious there’s a plan, a very unsubtle plan, as captain MS Dhoni practically conceded today when he said: “That’s an administrative decision about which I cannot say anything… No instructions from my side.”

Dhoni is usually a very smart man in front of cameras and questioners, but it seems he’s slipping – he’s practically conceded that there was an ‘administrative decision’ behind England’s spin-starvation in practice games.

And we’ve managed to turn this contest into a national conspiracy, when in fact spin has been, for years and years, decades and decades, quite the normal and obvious challenge to any visiting team in India.

Ahmedabad, November 14
Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne has asked England to follow a five-point game plan, including a unique bowling strategy, if they are to become first British team to win a Test series in India in 28 years.

Warne said the same plan, prepared by him, was executed successfully by the Australian side during their India tour in 2004 when they won 2-1. "There were two important points: attacking bowling with defensive fields and defensive bowling with attacking fields. That sounds counterintuitive, so it's important to grasp the thinking behind this statement," Warne wrote in his column for 'The Telegraph'. Warne said such tactics worked wonders for them in containing the famed Indian middle-order of 2004. "We went with that mindset in 2004 and it worked. If, for instance, Glenn McGrath was all over VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid then that was the time to adopt a defensive field and not be overly aggressive. So we defended with the field.

New Delhi, November 14
News agencies Reuters and the Associate Press have decided to boycott the India-England Test series starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday protesting the Board of Cricket Control for India’s decision to bar photo agencies such as Getty Images and Action Images.

“All clients please note that Reuters coverage of cricket events conducted under the auspices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and, more immediately, the England tour of India will be suspended from November 15.

“This is a direct result of a policy decision by the BCCI to exclude news agencies working only in the photographic medium from covering its events. “No reasonable explanation has been given for this policy, which we consider to unfairly discriminate against genuine editorial news agencies, including Action Images, a Thomson Reuters business.

“Reuters is committed to providing its clients with accurate, unbiased and timely sports coverage and remains open to discussions with the BCCI should they decide to review their accreditation criteria,” a Reuters statement said. — Agencies

Dhaka, November 14
West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit his second ever double century and Denesh Ramdin struck an unbeaten 126 as the tourists took command of the first test against Bangladesh on Wednesday.

West Indies declared their first innings at 527 for four just before tea on the second day after Chanderpaul reached 203 to equal his career best innings.

The hosts responded in typically aggressive manner and lost three wickets to leave them on 164-3 at the close.

Tamim Iqbal, who led the Bangladesh attack, was the last man out, caught by Sunil Narine at mid-on off Darren Sammy for 72 from 71 balls.

Earlier, West Indies' Ravi Rampaul took the wickets of opener Zunaed Siddique (seven) and Shahriar Nafees, who made a quick-fire 31 off 27 balls, but Tamim was unperturbed.

The left-hander brought up his 12th test 50 off only 38 balls when he charged off-spinner Narine down the track for a six and struck an almost identical six three balls later to help Bangladesh past the 100-run mark in 13.4 overs.

The hosts, who still need 164 runs to avoid the follow on, slowed down after Tamim's dismissal as Naeem Islam, unbeaten on 27, survived alongside Shakib Al Hasan (16 not out). West Indies dominated the first two sessions and added 166 runs to their overnight 361-4 without losing another wicket.

Chanderpaul, resuming on 123, survived a few anxious moments as a catch fell short of the slip cordon and a short ball from paceman Shahadat Hossain rubbed his shoulder before reaching the slips.

West Indies 527/4d

Bangladesh 164/3

Gayle c Mahmudullah b Gazi 24

Powell b Gazi 117

Bravo c Rubel b Gazi 14

Samuels c Gazi b Hossain 16

Chanderpaul batting 203

Ramdin batting 126

Extras: 27

Total: (4 wkts decl; 144 overs) 527

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-74, 3-106, 4-231

Bowling: Gazi 47-7-145-3, Hossain 21-3-85-1, Hossain 18-0-89-0, Mahmudullah 14-0-45-0, Al Hasan 34-4-104-0, Al Hasan 34-4-104-0,

Hossain 1-0-8-0,Iqbal 1-0-10-0 

New Delhi, November 14
India on Wednesday created history by booking their maiden quarterfinal berth in the WSF Women's World Team Squash Championship after an upset 2-1 victory over eighth seeds, The Netherlands at Nimes, France.

India, who had upset seventh seeds Ireland in their tournament opener before clinching pole position in Pool G, are taking part in the biennial tournament for the third time only. They had finished 18th in their debut in 2002 and 11th last year.

Anaka Alankamony, the number three in the squad, gave 10th seeds India the lead with a resounding 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-5) win over Milou van der Heij but it was even-steven with Indian number one Dipika Pallikal losing 8-11, 4-11, 3-11 to Natalie Grinham in the second game of the Round of 16 tie.

World number 13 Pallikal was outplayed by her stronger rival Natalie, who is currently ranked 11 in the world.

It was left to Joshana Chinappa to show that the top-spot finish in the pool was no fluke and she beat Orla Noom in a tense deciding game 5-11, 11-9, 8-1, 11-2, 11-3. Earlier, India had thrashed Argentina 3-0 to clinch pole position in Pool G. The event boasts of a record entry of 26 nations and is being staged simultaneously at both the eight-court Club des Costieres and La Parnasse Arena where, for the first time ever, action is taking place on three all-glass show courts.

Result: Round of 16: (10) India bt (8) The Netherlands 2-1; Anaka Alankamony bt Milou van der Heij 11-8, 11-6, 11-5; Natalie Grinham bt Dipika Pallikal 11-8, 11-4, 11-3; Joshana Chinappa bt Orla Noom 5-11, 11-9, 8-1, 11-2, 11-3. — Agencies

New Delhi, November 14
Jeev Milkha Singh, who withdrew after the first round of the Singapore Open, has also pulled out of the Hong Kong Open to let his injured right-hand finger heal completely ahead of the big events coming up.

The Indians taking part in the event are Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chowrasia, Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur, Digvijay Singh, Himmat Rai and Chiragh Kumar.

The 40-year-old Indian professional, who has twice won the Asian Tour Order of Merit, said, "I wanted to take care and not aggravate it further. I have some very big events coming up, including the Race to Dubai finals and the JT Cup in Japan."

The injury is the same which has been bothering Jeev since the time he won the Scottish Open. The win enabled to him qualify for the British Open, where he played despite the injury and he did the same for WGC-Bridgestone.He was then forced to pull out of European Masters and took some rest before playing events in Japan.

This time the injury was mending well when he seemed to have hurt it during the Pro-Am before the Singapore Open. "I actually felt a lot of pain on Wednesday evening (during Singapore Open Pro-Am) and I thought it might get better, but it began to hurt again in the first round.” — PTI 

Austin (Texas), November 14
The eyes of the motor racing world will be riveted on Texas this weekend as Formula One makes its return to the United States but it is unclear if Americans will be watching, even with a driver's championship on the line.

The stage has been set for a Sunday of high-drama worthy of a Hollywood Western as clinical German Sebastian Vettel and fiery Spaniard Fernando Alonso engage in their own version of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral at the new $400 million Circuit of the Americas.

The penultimate race in a title chase that has taken the glamour series to the four corners of the globe could well be decided in the distinctly unglamorous scrublands of south Texas, as Formula One tries again to establish a presence in the U.S. following a five-year absence.

Vettel, who will be making his 100th career start in Austin, will have an opportunity to complete a hat-trick of titles at the U.S. Grand Prix and join Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and Germany's Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to win three titles in a row.

"I think we were not always fast enough this year but for the last couple of races we were, so looking forward to the next two races," said Vettel, cautiously assessing his position following a third-place finish in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

"The fans got the best Formula One for a long time. I personally would have loved it to be a little bit more boring at some stages.

"The tyres keep results up in the air until the very last metres of the race. When you are in the hunt you still can turn it around - and when you are in the lead you can still lose it."

A 27th career win in his Red Bull would move Vettel into a tie with Jackie Stewart on the all-time wins list but it still may not be enough to clinch a championship.

Vettel, who tops the standings with 255 points to Alonso's 245, must finish Sunday's race with 15 more points than his Spanish rival, which can be produced by many combinations of results.

A sixth victory of the season would give Vettel the title if Alonso places outside the top four. Should Alonso fail to score a point, Vettel must still finish at least third. One thing that is certain - the Spaniard will not go down without a fight.

Ferrari's Alonso has stood on the top step of the podium three times this year and will be determined to take the championship down to the final race in Brazil. "I am confident, we will fight until the end," said Alonso, who would move into a tie for fourth on the all-time win list alongside former-champion Nigel Mansell by notching his 31st career victory on Sunday.

"We are not fast enough, this is true and we are honest with ourselves, we know this. We need to accept this.

"We have some strong points which we will try to use." They like big things in Texas and there is nothing bigger in motor racing than the crowning of a new F1 champion but for many Americans, Vettel and Alonso could just as easily be field goal kickers in the NFL as the world's leading drivers.

There is a good reason their names are not familiar. There has not been an F1 race in the U.S. since 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and there will be no Americans on the starting grid. While Sunday's race could be the pinnacle of the F1 season, Americans motor sports fans do not view the U.S. Grand Prix with as much anticipation.

In Texas, NASCAR is king and it is likely more eyeballs and television remotes will be focused on Homestead, Florida where the Chase championship will also be decided on Sunday.

This is also football country, where Friday night high school games can attract crowds that some English Premier League teams would envy.

Saturday's belong to college gridiron and the Texas Longhorns, while Sundays are dominated by the NFL with Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys taking the local spotlight. — Reuters

Fanling (Hongkong), Nov 14
Rory McIlroy could be forgiven for taking his foot off the gas at this week's Hong Kong Open after securing the money list titles on both sides of the Atlantic with a third-place finish in Singapore on Sunday.

However, the British world number one insists the adrenaline that flowed at September's Ryder Cup victory and his U.S PGA Championship triumph the previous month will continue to run at one of his happiest hunting grounds.

"Back in 2005, I first came here as a junior in the Faldo Series. We stayed at the golf club and I really enjoyed the course," the defending Hong Kong Open champion told reporters on Wednesday.

"Then when I came back here as a European Tour player, I stayed in Hong Kong city and really enjoyed the buzz and the atmosphere.

"But its here at the golf course that I have had some great experiences as a player, taking part in one of the best ever playoffs against Lin Wen-tang in 2008 and then finally putting my name on the trophy last year," the 23-year-old added.

"I wasn't feeling well on the Saturday and went into the final round three behind but shot a 65, holing a bunker shot at the last, to win by two."

McIlroy admits that his love of the Fanling course was one of his main motivations to return to Hong Kong as he attempts to pick up a fifth victory of the season at the co-sanctioned Asian and European Tour event.

"It is really old school," he said. "I love the trees that frame most of the holes. You can really see your shots. There is a lot of definition. Length here doesn't matter. There won't be too many drivers used around here."

Among the sub-plots being played out this week will be the final formation of the top 60 on the Race to Dubai money list that will advance to a trip to the Emirate for next week's season-ending TP World Tour Championship.

Former European Ryder Cup players David Howell (61st) and Paul Casey (74th) have travelled to Hong Kong sitting outside the cut-off point, desperately hoping they can finish high enough to earn a berth at the lucrative tournament.

The final positions on Sunday will also decide which players will retain their European Tour cards for 2013, with the top 119 players on the money list keeping their privileges for at least another season.— Reuters

Prague, November 14
The Czech Republic will look to achieve a rare double when they take on champions Spain in the Davis Cup final that starts on Friday.

It is 22 years since a country has won the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup in the same season but the feat is on for the Czechs after their women's team beat Serbia at the same Prague venue two weeks ago.The hosts are hoping a vociferous home crowd and a fast hardcourt surface will combine to give them the edge against a Spanish team aiming to lift the Davis Cup for the fourth time in five years.

Spain are without injured former world number one Rafa Nadal and will be delighted if they can repeat their 5-0 drubbing of the Czechs in the final on the claycourts of Barcelona three years ago. "Barcelona was a great experience that we can learn from and maybe we can use that experience in front of our home crowd," Czech player Radek Stepanek told reporters. "For us the most important thing is to have three points come Sunday. That is why we are here ... that is what we are focusing on."

The Czechs, who have only lifted the Davis Cup once before in 1980, face an uphill task.

Spain's challenge will be led by world number five David Ferrer, 30, who has enjoyed the best year of his career. "The court will be better for the Czechs than us but it is the final of the Davis Cup so I'm sure it is going to be very close," said Ferrer who is accompanied in the team by Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.

Both became the first Spanish pair to win doubles title at the ATP Tour Finals for 37 years. — Reuters

London, November 14
Roger Federer believes 2013 could be even better if court surfaces were made faster.

Nowadays, baseline exchanges of 20 plus strokes are commonplace, shots that used to be clean winners are coming back and matches are stretching longer and longer. It bodes well for tennis. — Reuters

Johor Bahru, November 14
After posting two impressive wins, India were held to a goalless draw by arch-rivals Pakistan in their third round-robin league match at the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament on Wednesday.

Both teams were attacking but the forwards lacked in giving finishing touches. — PTI