Napier, january 19
Virat Kohl's 123 off 111 balls went in vain as India slumped to a 24-run loss against New Zealand in the first One-Day International of the five-match series at McLean Park here Sunday. Corey Anderson smashed an unbeaten 68 off 40 balls to take New Zealand to 292 for seven.

The Indian batting failed to get going and they were bowled out for 268 in 48.4 overs. Barring Kohli and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (40), the middle-order was found wanting.

Opener Rohit Sharma, who failed in South Africa, looked out of his depth in foreign conditions and was dismissed for three after facing 23 balls. His partner Shikhar Dhawan (32) fared better, falling to Anderson in the 19th over.

Both Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Suresh Raina (18) failed to make significant contributions and the visitors found themselves in a spot of bother at 129 for four in 28.2 overs. Kohli and Dhoni then combined well and notched a 95-run stand for the fifth wicket, taking India closer to the target. With Stuart Binny knocking on the doors, Ravindra Jadeja (0) didn't do himself any favours with a dismal show with the bat.

Kohli hit a few lusty blows to keep India's hopes alive but his fall in the 45th over ended all chances of an Indian win. Some clean hitting by Ravichandran Ashwin (12) and Mohammed Shami (7 not out) managed to take India close but it was not enough.

Earlier, after losing openers Martin Guptill (8) and Jesse Ryder (18) cheaply, Kane Williamson crafted the innings initially, stroking his way to 71 off 88 balls, guiding New Zealand to safety. Shami, on his first tour to New Zealand, bowled brilliantly, removing both openers, and then dismissing the dangerous Ross Taylor and Nathan McCullum (2).

Williamson, along with former captain Ross Taylor (55), steadied the ship with a patient 121-run stand for the third wicket. The hosts lost Williamson just before the final powerplay, paving the way for former opener and captain Brendon McCullum (30). Shami dismissed Taylor early in the powerplay but New Zealand still managed to score 41 off the five overs.

That set the stage for Anderson, who recently displaced Pakistan's Shahid Afridi as the holder of the record for the fastest hundred in ODIs.

Anderson bludgeoned his way to a half-century in just 30 balls. New Zealand benefited immensely as Anderson and Luke Ronchi (30 off 18 balls) combined well to gather 50 runs off just five overs. —IANS

For the record

n Dhoni has become the first Indian keeper and fourth overall to effect 300 dismissals in ODIs. Leading the list are Gilchrist (472), Sangakkara (443) and Boucher (425).

Scoreboard

New Zealand

Guptill c Ashwin b Shami 8

Ryder b Shami 18

Williamson c Rahane b Jadeja 71

Taylor c Dhoni b Shami 55

McCullum c Dhoni b Kumar 30

Anderson not out 68

Ronchi c Kumar b Sharma 30

McCullum c & b Shami 2

Southee not out 3

Extras (lb 1, w 6) 7

Total (7 wkts; 50 overs) 292

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-32, 3-153, 4-171, 5-213, 6-279, 7-284

Bowling

Kumar 10-0-38-1

Shami 9-0-55-4

Sharma 9-0-72-1

Jadeja 9-0-61-1

Ashwin 10-0-52-0

Kohli 3-0-13-0

India:

Rohit c Southee b McClenaghan 3

Dhawan c Taylor b Anderson 32

Kohli c Ryder b McClenaghan 123

Rahane c McCullum b Anderson 7

Raina c Southee b Milne 18

Dhoni c Ronchi b McClenaghan 40

Jadeja c Ronchi b McClenaghan 0

Ashwin c Southee b Williamson 12

Kumar run out 6

Sharma b Southee 5

Shami not out 7

Extras (lb 3, w 12) 15

Total all out; 48.4 overs) 268

FoW: 1-15, 2-73, 3-84, 4-129, 5-224, 6-224, 7-237, 8-244, 9-259, 10-268

Bowling

Southee 9.4-2-43-1

McClenaghan 10-0-68-4

Milne 7.3-0-40-1

Anderson 10-0-51-2

McCullum 10-0-54-0

Williamson 1.3-0-9-1

MELBOURNE, January 19
An inspired Ana Ivanovic blew the race for the Australian Open women's title wide open when she stunned overwhelming favourite Serena Williams in the fourth round at Melbourne Park on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic was for once forced to cede the spotlight to another Serbian but showed no signs of relinquishing his iron grip on the men's title and was merciless in his 6-3 6-0 6-2 flogging of Fabio Fognini. He gave his friend of 10 years Fognini absolutely nothing in their 93-minute encounter and still had plenty of energy left at the end to launch into an impersonation of new coach Boris Becker.

Anna Ivanovic lets out a triumphant roar after stunning Serena Williams, the overwhelming favourite. The American (below) seems to be questioning a referee’s call in desperation. — AFP

Third seed David Ferrer also advanced to the last eight and a meeting with Tomas Berdych and his stripy football shirt, while women's fourth seed Li Na and Flavia Pennetta set up a last eight clash of 31-year-olds. Li and Pennetta had every reason to expect their path to the final to be blocked by world number one and top seed Williams until Ivanovic secured the biggest shock of the tournament with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

The Serbian's win instead sent her through to a quarter-final clash against Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard, who ended Australia's hopes of a home champion when she overcame Casey Dellacqua 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-0.

"I actually believed," said Ivanovic, whose mental toughness has been frequently questioned because of her failure to back up her 2008 French Open title. “I tried to make it a good match. I was very competitive till the last moment and I'm just very thrilled.”

All-round Paes

It was a fruitful day for Leander Paes, who sailed into the quarterfinals of the men`s doubles with Czech partner Radek Stepanek, besides making the second round of the mixed doubles with Slovakia`s Daniela Hantuchova.

Fifth seeds Paes and Stepanek hit 25 winners en route their 6-3 6-2 win over Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus. In his mixed doubles, Paes and Hantuchova, got the better of Ajla Tomljanovic and James Duckworth 7-5 4-6 10-7 to set up a second round clash against Mahesh Bhupathi and Elena Vesnina.

However, Rohan Bopanna and his partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi endured a shocking defeat against the 12th seeded duo of Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot to crash out of the men`s doubles event. — Agencies

Visakhapatnam, January 19
A fine bowling performance by India, led by left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana's four-wicket haul, helped the Indian women team post a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series today.

After bundling out Sri Lanka for a meagre 76, the Indian women achieved the target in 32.3 overs, losing three wickets in the process. The Sri Lanka team, which opted to bat, was dealt early blows as Jhulan Goswami, playing her first match since February 2013, struck early to dismiss opener Chamari Atapattu (6) and Deepika Rasangika (4).

Sri Lanka could never overcome those initial jitters and kept on losing wickets at regular intervals to eventually get dismissed for 76 in 39.3 overs. Yasoda Mendis (17) was the lone batter to reach the double-digit mark.

In reply, the Indian openers — Karu Jain (6) and Smriti Mandhana (13) — could add just 15 runs before their stand ended in 10.3 overs. Sri Lanka picked up two more wickets but their low total meant the Indians were never in much trouble. They reached 80 for three with 105 balls to spare.

Mithali Raj and Anagha Deshpande (23) put on a 43-run stand together for the third wicket. Mithali finished unbeaten on 34 off 59 balls with six fours.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 76 all out in 39.3 overs (Mendis 17; Sultana 4/04); India: 80 for three in 32.3 overs (Mithali 34no, Deshpande 23). — PTI

Mumbai, January 19
Punjab defeated Baroda by 187 runs to storm into the final of the Vijay Merchant Trophy (U-16) here on Sunday. It was Mayank Sidhu's 88-run knock in the first innings that steadied Punjab and helped them reach a total of 299. The highlight of his knock was his 102-run stand for the last wicket with Nipun Pandita (37).

Baroda, in reply, were shot out for 116 in 50.2 overs, thanks to superb bowling by Resham Sharma who picked up a five-for, conceding just 37 runs. Punjab, however, faltered in their second essay, caving in for just 126. However, the first innings lead came handy for them as Baroda, chasing 309 for victory, folded up for just 122 runs. Resham was again the pick of the bowlers with an impressive 5/49 haul. — TNS

Brief scores: Punjab 1st innings 299; 2nd innings 126 all out ; Baroda 1st innings: 116; 2nd Innings: 122 all out.

Chandigarh, january 19
It was an eventful week for Indian professionals as Anirban Lahiri finished third at the King's Cup in Hua Hin, Thailand, while Gaganjeet Bhullar secured a top ten finish on the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship.

Anirban carded a final round of 68 in the final event on the Asian Tour season to finish the week in third place at nine-under 279, three behind winner Prayad Marksaeng. "It was a solid week; it has been a great season for me to finish on a high. I played well today but should have made a couple more birdies. There are lots of positives I can take back from this week," said Lahiri.

The result helped Lahiri finish third on the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit and confirm his place in the team for the EurAsia Cup.

Rahil Gangjee carded a level-par 72 after three consecutive 71s to finish tied 12th, while Jyoti Randhawa carded a 69 today, finishing tied 27th at one-under 287.

Meanwhile, Bhullar shot a final round of three-over 75 to tie for tenth place at seven-under 285. The $2.7 million event was won by Pablo Larrazabal, while Phil Mickleson and Rory McIlroy finished tied for second place.

Bhullar made two bogeys early in his round, followed by a third on the 13th hole. His only birdie came on the 15th. "I would have liked to have made more birdies today but overall it has been a good week. It's great to play with the big boys as you get to learn a lot and I hope I have many such opportunities in the future," said Bhullar.

Shiv Kapur had a good final round of 67 to finish the week at three-under 285, while Jeev Milkha Singh carded a level-par 72 to finish with a total of two-over 290. 

BRIEFLY

India need Pujara, Zaheer in the one-day squad: Ganguly
Kolkata: India need Cheteshwar Pujara and Zaheer Khan in their one-day line up, former captain Sourav Ganguly said today as India began their New Zealand tour with a defeat in Napier. Criticising Ishant's selection, Ganguly felt India leaked too many runs. "I feel selectors should think about two players — Cheteshwar Pujara and Zaheer Khan. Pujara is the most-needed batsman in these conditions. He has adjusted well in the Test mould and I'm sure he will do well in the ODI format. Similarly Zaheer is needed in the bowling attack. If he can bowl 30 overs in Tests, why can't he do that for 10 overs?"

Australia stroll to series win
Sydney: David Warner and Shaun Marsh smashed fifties to complement their bowlers' efforts as Australia crushed England by seven wickets in the third ODI in Sydney to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Warner blasted seven boundaries and two sixes in his 71 off just 70 balls at the top of the order while fellow left-hander Marsh remained unbeaten on 71 to anchor the chase as Australia maintained an utter dominance of their arch-rivals. The hosts comfortably chased down their 244-run target with 10 overs to spare . Brief scores: Australia 3 for 244 (Marsh 71*, Warner 71) beat England 9 for 243 (Morgan 54, Coulter-Nile 3-47) by 7 wkts.

Lanka battle for strong lead
Sharjah: Sri Lanka lost early wickets in their second innings but extended their lead to 220 runs over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah to boost their chances of a series victory. Spinner Abdur Rehman and paceman Mohammad Talha picked up two wickets apiece to reduce Sri Lanka to 89 for four but experienced Mahela Jayawardene (46) and captain Angelo Mathews (14 not out) thwarted Pakistan with a stand of 38 runs. At stumps on the penultimate day of the series, Sri Lanka reached 133 runs for five wickets to add to their first-innings lead of 87. Jayawardene became the first Sri Lankan to cross 11,000 Test runs and eighth batsman overall during his innings.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 428 for 9 dec (Perera 95, Mathews 91, Sangakkara 52) and 133 for 5 (Mahela 46) lead Pakistan 341 (Shehzad 147, Misbah 63, Herath 5-125, Eranga 4-60) by 220 runs

IPL probe panel meets Ganguly, Dalmiya in Kolkata
Kolkata: The IPL Probe Commission led by Retd Justice Mukul Mudgal met former India captain Sourav Ganguly and former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya in Kolkata. According to a media release issued by the BCCI, the committee also met senior journalist Kishore Bhimani, cricket historian Boria Majumdar and Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma. The committee is set to meet a few other stakeholders in Bangalore today.

Indian athletes will shine in Asian Games, CWG: PT Usha
Hyderabad: Sprint queen PT Usha is hopeful that Indians would do well in athletics in prestigious international tournaments such as Asian Games and Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held this year. “I think athletics is coming up well. Last Olympics, two athletes came in the finals and one was 10th. It is coming up well. May be, next time, good chance is there,” she said.

Dennis Rodman checks into Rehab centre
Trenton: Dennis Rodman has checked into an undisclosed alcohol rehabilitation center to treat his long-time struggle with alcoholism, his agent says. Darren Prince declined on Saturday to say which facility will treat Rodman and how long he will be there. Rodman recently returned to the United States from his latest trip to North Korea. He later apologized for comments he made in North Korea about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure as he organized an exhibition game there.

Eto'o hat-trick all but ends United title hopes
London: Samuel Eto'o's hat-trick lifted Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday which all but ended the champions' slim hopes of defending their Premier League title. Two first-half goals and one soon after the restart by Eto'o took Chelsea up to third place with 49 points, two behind leaders Arsenal, and United remained in seventh place, 14 off the summit. — Agencies