Fatullah, February 25
Embarrassed in South Africa and New Zealand, India would hope for a turnaround under a new captain when they take on a troubled Bangladesh in their Asia Cup opener in Bangladesh.

For the five-time champions India, the build up to the 12th edition of the regional tournament has been quite similar to that of 2012 when they landed in Bangladesh on the back of eight successive Test defeats in England and Australia.

Now they've come after losing to New Zealand 0-1 in Tests and 0-4 in ODIs. This came after a 0-1 loss to South Africa in Tests and 0-2 in ODIs last December. The world champion side capped their two overseas tours with four successive defeats in One-dayers.

However, playing against an opponent, who are struggling with their own set of problems and against whom they enjoy a good record, India would hope to finally notch up their first win in the 2014 calender.

The last Indian team that did not feature MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh or Suresh Raina played in January 2004. The new players such as Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik will have a huge responsibility to shoulder in this tournament. Bangladesh's attacking opener Tamim Iqbal has been ruled out of the event because of a neck strain and their all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan will also miss the action against India due to his two-match ban for showing lewd gestures on live TV.

Fitness doubts also hang over veteran pacer Mashrafe Mortaza (swollen knee) while captain Mushfiqur Rahim is nursing an injured finger that had kept him out of the two T20Is against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

Adding to the woes, the hosts have been hit by controversy over team selection, marring the their build-up. Skipper Musfiqur hit out at their chief selector for picking the squad without consulting him.

However, all-rounder Ziaur Rahman has been brought into the side to replace an out-of-form Mahmudullah at No. 7. He has two fifties and a mammoth hundred in three of his last four first-class games. All this gives India a good chance to make a winning start even without the finishing abilities of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was ruled out due to a side-strain, and left-handed Suresh Raina. Apart from the usual expectation of being the captain, Virat Kohli will also be the Indian batting mainstay as India would take solace from the fact that the stylish right hander's average against Bangladesh is a staggering 122. — PTI

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Squads

* INDIA: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane/Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron

* BANGLADESH: Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes/Anamul Haque (wk), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Ziaur Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain 

Mystery men

* Virat Kohli has scored the most runs against Bangladesh in ODIs - 370 runs in five games with two hundreds and two fifties. Kohli has also played the most number of games against Bangladesh among the current Indian squad.

* No Bangladesh batsman, since Alok Kapali, has scored a ton vs India. Kapali scored his only ton in ODIs vs India in 2008

* Flat deck but dew may become a factor for the side fielding second

Fatullah, February 25
Speedster Lasith Malinga's brilliant five-wicket haul under pressure and opener Lahiru Thirimanne’s second ODI century helped Sri Lanka script a thrilling 12-run win over Pakistan in a nail-biting opening match of the Asia Cup. 

Malinga produced a sensational spell of death bowling, picking up key wickets at crucial junctures, to ensure the win for his side with seven balls to spare at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

Lahiru Thirimanne celebrates scoring a century during the opening match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah. afp

Chasing an impsoing 297 for victory, Pakistan were on course for a remarkable victory before Malinga came up with a fiery spell to bowl out the ‘Men in Green’ for 284 in 48.5 overs.

Malinga first sent back dangerman Shahid Afridi (4) and well-settled skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (73) in a span of three deliveries in his eighth over before returning back to dismiss Saeed Ajmal (10) and Bilawal Bhatti (18) in his final over to finish with figures of 5 for 52.

Earlier, Thirimanne struck a fine 110-ball 102 to power Sri Lanka to a challenging 296 for six. Thirimanne hit 11 fours and a six in his innings and starred in a 161-run stand with Kumar Sangakkara (67) for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a huge score. Pakistan tried to make a comeback in the middle overs as they picked up a few wickets, before skipper Angelo Matthews provided the late charge, cracking a 50-ball 55, to take Sri Lanka close to the 300-mark.

Pakistan failed to build partnerships at the top during their run chase as they lost their first four wickets for 121 before Misbah and Umar Akmal (74) led a sensational fightback with attacking fifties. Both added 121 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership to bring Pakistan back into the game but Malinga held his nerves and produced a match-winning spell to grab full points for his team.

Pakistan started their run chase on an attacking note, with opener Sharjeel Khan picking up quite a few boundaries before being dismissed by medium pacer Suranga Lakmal for 26.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 296 for 6 (Thirimanne 102, Sangakkara 67, Mathews 55*) beat Pakistan 284 (Umar Akmal 74, Misbah 73, Malinga 5-52) by 12 runs

Mirpur, February 25
Bangladesh’s premier pacer Mashrafe Mortaza said that beating a heavyweight Indian team is no longer considered as an “upset” as the hosts have defeated them on a few occasions in the near past including the last edition of Asia Cup.

“I don’t count a win against India as an upset. We have done it before. They are a good team in sub-continent. We have that in our mind,” the 30-year-old said.

Mortaza feels that playing infront of home crowd would be a boost and the Indian team will also have to make some adjustment having played their last couple of series in South Africa.

“They have been playing on different wickets in SA and NZ. We are playing in front of a home support. If we can come up with our best cricket I think we can fight it out. God willing, we will.”

But Mortaza was quick to add that they would have to be in the top of their game to beat a world class side like India. “They have a world-class batting line-up, they are never weak. Their recent performance in the sub-continent has been great. It won’t be an easy task, and we have to play our best cricket. We beat them two years ago. The most important thing is what happens tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik said being an “outsider”, he can add a bit of freshness to India's campaign after the battering in recent interna— PTI

NEW DELHI, February 25
The National Rifle Association of India is miffed with the Indian Olympic Association for not giving it fair “representation” despite the shooters’ consistent medal-winning efforts in top international events, including the Olympics.

“Look at our shooters’ performance in Olympics and other international tournaments. They have been consistently doing well but still we don’t have representation in the IOA. What can we do, it’s for the powers that be in the IOA,” NRAI President Raninder Singh said.

Dubai, February 25
India number one tennis player Somdev Devvarman recorded the biggest win of his career by beating world number five Juan Martin Del Potro but the victory came when the Argentine retired mid-way into the first round match of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Somdev, ranked 78, had won the first set 7-6 (3) in an hour and seven minutes and immediately after this, Del Potro took a medical timeout due to pain in his left wrist. The Argentine second seed found it tough to continue and conceded the match. Somdev had lost 4-6, 4-6 to Del Potro last year at this very event in the pre-quarterfinals. This is Somdev's first-ever win against a top-5 player who is also a Grand Slam champion. Del Potro is the 2009 US Open winner.

Somdev has competed against the legends of the game, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic but haven't won against any of them, although he fought well against all these multiple Grand Slam winners. He lost to Nadal in 2011 at Indian Wells Masters in two close sets and the same year he had lost to Federer at this very Dubai event.

Last year in his second meeting against the Swiss legend at the Roland Garros, he suffered a tame defeat in the second round. Against Djokovic, he lost in straight sets at the Miami Masaters last year.

Before Tuesday's match, his one of the biggest wins were against Croatia's Marin Cilic (world number 15) and Ivo Karlovic (world number 25) in 2009 and against Cyprus' world number 22 Marcos Baghdatis (world number 22) in 2010.

Somdev was well prepared coming into this tournament as he had won the Delhi Open Challenger tournament on Sunday. — Agencies

dubai, February 25
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi progressed to the doubles quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships after overcoming qualifiers Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Hanescu via Super Tie breaker.

The second seeded Indo-Pak pair defeated the Russian-Romanian combo 6-1 5-7 10-8 in one hour and 28 minutes in the opening round of the USD 2,359,935 hard court tournament.They next meet winner of the first round match between the pairs of the Oliver Marach/ Florin Mergea and Mahesh Bhupathi/Denis Istomin.

Bopanna and Qureshi broke their rivals twice to run away with the opening set. However, Davydenko and Hanescu regrouped to break the second seeds twice in the second set to stretch the match to a Super Tie-Breaker. — Agencies

ISTANBUL, February 25
Galatasaray’s Didier Drogba will be full of emotions when he strides out to face former club Chelsea on Wednesday but Jose Mourinho knows the striker will be as clinical as ever on the field.

The Champions League last-16 first-leg clash in Istanbul is the first time the Ivorian has been on the pitch with the Blues since scoring the winning penalty when Chelsea lifted the trophy in May 2012.

The 35-year-old, who media reports say could return to the London club as striker coach, is Chelsea’s record European scorer with 34 goals in 69 games.

Including the spot kick in the Munich shootout and his header late in normal time, he has also bagged nine goals in nine domestic and European finals.

His sizeable contribution to the club’s recent history is apparent from the number of posters of him still dotted around Stamford Bridge.

“It’s a strange feeling but, as we know him so well, we know that for him no friends during the game,” said Chelsea boss Mourinho, who managed Drogba during his first spell at the club.

“Before the game, big friends and big respect for a legend. After the game, the same. But, during the game, we have a job to do. He has his nature, he wants to score, he wants to win. I think it is a tie to go until the end.”

“He deserves a reception here even better than mine, because he deserves much more than me. For Didier, double or three times better and bigger than I had.”

Previous meetings

Mourinho, who rejoined Chelsea in the close season, has already experienced playing against Drogba in the Champions League.

He was at Inter Milan four years ago when they took on Drogba and Chelsea and also held the reins at Real Madrid last year when the Spanish giants met Galatasaray.

Both times Mourinho was on the winning side.

Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini, who is no stranger to Premier League side Chelsea after coaching Manchester City for four seasons before joining the Istanbul club last September, was not too optimistic about his side’s fate.

“I know Chelsea very well. For us it will be a very difficult game because Chelsea are used to playing these important games but we want to play a good game if it’s possible,” the Italian said.

“They have improved a lot in the last two months. We went through in a difficult group with Real Madrid and Juventus and I think it was a miracle. Now we are here and I don’t know if we can do another miracle but we want to try. In football never say never.” — Reuters

London, February 25
Michael Schumacher’s manager has dismissed claims by a German magazine that doctors have stopped the “waking up process” as he continues to be slowly brought out of the medically-induced coma he has been in for nearly two months.

German publication Focus reported earlier this week that “insiders” close to Schumacher had informed them that doctors had stopped attempts to awaken the 45-year-old “due to complications”. However, Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm has confirmed that the situation remains “unchanged” and has stressed the importance for patience with what can be a very lengthy process.

“This phase can take a long time which, much to our regret, can lead to many misinterpretations,” said Kehm on Tuesday.

Schumacher is receiving around-the-clock medical care after undergoing two operations to reduce swelling on his brain and remove haematomas formed from the severe impact.

His former Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa visited his close friend ahead of last week’s pre-season testing event in Bahrain, and he revealed that Schumacher had looked “normal” and had “made some reactions with the mouth”. The Independent

Margao, February 25
Goa's Churchill Brothers went down 2-0 to Persipura Jayapura in their opening Group E encounter of AFC Cup at Mandala Stadium in Indonesia.

Second half goals by Boaz Solossa and Yohanes Pahabol ensured the win for the home side. The visitors succumbed to pressure in the second as their citadel fell in the 49th minute when Solossa slotted home a Yohanes Pahabol cross from the right.

The Indonesian team then increased the lead in the 62nd minute through Pahabol, who latched on to a pass from Ronny Beroparay.

Churchill tried to pull one back in the 83rd minute but Richard Costa's long shot sailed over the crossbar.

Moments later, Lenny Rodrigues attempted the same but the ball went safely into the hands of the goalkeeper Jae-Hoon.

Mizoram shock Kerala, Uttarakhand lose

Siliguri: Mizoram stunned five-time champions Kerala 3-1 while Maharashtra beat Uttarakhand 3-2 on the opening day of the Santosh Trophy football tournament final round at the Kanchenjunga Stadium here on Monday.

Lalzofolai, Zico and Ronald scored for Mizoram in the Group A match which was locked goal-less at half-time. Nasaruddin pulled one back for Kerala, who were also the runners-up in the last edition.

In another Group A fixture, Maharashtra got the better of Uttarakhand in a tightly-contested match.

Allan Dias (37th minute), Mohammed Shabaz (43rd) and Santosh Koli (88th) scored for Maharashtra.

For Uttarakhand, Ashok Singh (19th) and Sher Singh (68th) found the target. — PTI

London, February 25
England manager Roy Hodgson is considering using a psychologist to help his side avoid more penalty heartbreak at the World Cup in Brazil later this year.

"I'm not averse to using a psychologist," the 66-year-old said. "We are considering the possibility of inviting someone with us but I think it's very important they're someone who is part of the group. I'm not sure just suddenly shipping someone in to give the players a lecture would work.”

England have suffered a miserable record in penalty shootouts, having been knocked out of six tournaments since 1990 after failing from the spot, including their quarter-final defeat by Italy at the 2012 European Championships, Hodgson's first event in charge of the national team. — Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, February 25
A South African judge ruled on Tuesday that the murder trial of Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius can be televised, giving millions around the world direct access to one of the most sensational celebrity trials since O.J. Simpson's.

Pistorius, 27, has admitted to shooting his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year, but has said it was a tragic accident in which he had mistaken her for an intruder. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

AP athletes display 'Telangana' name on jerseys
Coimbatore: Athletes representing a team from Andhra Pradesh, taking part at the ongoing 35th National Masters Athletic Championship here, were seen sporting 'Telangana' jerseys during the event. The team has 130 participants, including 32 women, and has already won a medal yesterday. Though organising committees sources claimed the team is participating under the Telangana Masters Athletics Association banner, officials said the team will be considered from Andhra Pradesh and points would be given to that state only, since Telangana State was yet to be officially declared.

An elderly woman in action during the 35th National Masters Athletics Championship in Coimbatore. PTI

Three West Indies cricket legends to be knighted
St. John’s (Antigua): Three West Indies cricket legends are to be knighted during the first One-Day International (ODI) between England and the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Friday, media reports said. Former fast bowlers Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose and former West Indies captain and batsman Richie Richardson will be knighted, the Antigua Observer reported Monday. Organisers planning the event have been tight-lipped but the Observer quoted sources as saying that the Antigua and Barbuda cricket greats will be knighted during the lunch break by Governor General Louise Lake-Tack, CMC reported. Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and Leader of the Opposition Gaston Browne will also be attending the function. Roberts, the first Antiguan and Barbudan to represent the West Indies made his debut against England in March 1974.

Sharmila takes Day 1 honours in Pro Tour
New Delhi: Sharmila Nicollet returned to form taking a one-shot lead over Vani Kapoor and Ankita Tiwana to lead after Round 1 of the fourth leg of the Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC). Sharmila, the youngest Indian to qualify for the Ladies European Tour (LET), has been struggling with her form lately and didn’t get off to the best possible start. After a disappointing front nine, she made a strong recovery in the back nine to end at one over 71. Sharmila started with a bogey and had two more on the third and 12th holes along with a double bogey on the fourth. However, she recovered with birdies on the second, 11th, 16th and 18th.

Serena continues to dominate WTA rankings
Johannesburg: Serena Williams, continues to dominate the world rankings leading currently ranked world No. 2, China's Li Na, with a massive 5865-points despite losing to France's Alize Cornet in Dubai's semifinal last week. The world No 1's sister Venus Williams stands at 29 in the world rankings following her title win in Dubai, which helped her gain 15 places. This was reportedly Venus's first tournament victory in 16 months. Germany's, Angelique Kerber, and Romania's, Simona Halep, have both moved up two spots in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world top 10 rankings while Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova has slipped down three spots, the report added. — Agencies