Saina creates history in All Eng badminton
Saturday, March 13, 2010, London: Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the All England Super Series badminton championship when she defeated German Juliane Schenk in straight games in the quarterfinals here.
The world number seven Indian beat Juliane 21-8, 21-14 in just 27 minutes to set up a tough semi-final clash with former world number one Tine Rasmussen of Denmark at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.
Rasmussen beat world champion and sixth seed Lan Lu 16-21, 23-21, 21-11 in the first quarter-final.
"It is a fantastic victory," said former All England champion and national chief coach Pullela Gopi Chand.
Asked about the semi-final match to be played late on today, Gopi Chand said Saina should have an edge, even though the Indian has a 0-2 record against Rasmussen.
"Saina is a much improved player than last year. She has been working on her strokes. She has the edge over Rasmussen," said Gopi Chand.
The Hyderabadi sensation had beaten Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands and Korean Seung Hee Bae in the first two rounds before getting past Juliane in the quarter-finals.
Australia beat Germany to win 2010 Hockey World Cup
Saturday, March 13, 2010, New Delhi: Australia on Saturday thrashed Germany 2-1 in the final to win the FIH Hockey World Cup 2010 here at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
This is Australia’s biggest victory in hockey considering the pre-tournament suspense over their participation in the World Cup following terror threats from groups like al Qaeda.
Australia dominated the first half of the game with a lead of 1-0.
In the second half of the match, Germany played hard and scored their first goal to level the score 1-1.
But right after this goal, Australia’s Grant Schubert scored their 2nd to again take a 2-1 lead.
After that, no team could score a goal and Australia won the match and the World Cup. It was a heart-break for Germany as they tried hard to net in the equalizer.
Yusuf’s ton goes in vain as Mumbai clinch thriller
Saturday, March 13, 2010, Mumbai: The magnificent century by Yusuf Pathan went in vain as Lasith Malinga’s last over heroics helped Mumbai Indians clinch their opening Indian Premier League encounter against Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs here at Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.
More than being an exciting win for Mumbai Indians, it was more of a disappointing loss for Rajasthan Royals as a stupendous 37 balls century by Pathan went futile.
Nevertheless, the spectators who came out in large numbers to support their favourite team had the time of the life as the encounter whose fate kept hanging till the last ball.
All seemed to be going fine for Mumbai Indians from the very beginning; first they won the toss and deciding to bat and later, some commendable contributions by their batsman helped them to post a magnificent total.
Extravagant innings by Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu helped Mumbai reach a a mammoth 212/6; this is also the highest score ever posted by Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
Boundaries and sixes were a regular affair as both, Tiwary (53) and Rayudu (55), reached their respective fifties. The deadly duo played an astounding 110 runs partnership, adding ten spectacular boundaries and four astonishing sixes, to raise their team’s score 180/4 from 70/3.
However, the desire to see Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar (17) doing wonders with the bat on Mumbai Indian’s home ground against old foe Shane Warne remained unfulfilled.
With short yet significant contributions from Sanath Jayasuriya (23) and Aditya Tare (23), it was mainly the pair of Rayudu and Tiwary who lifted Mumbai Indians to a comfortable score.
In the end, Harbhajan Singh was retired hurt with a just ball left in the innings, after being hit on the knee by Shaun Tait. The injury restricted him from bowling in the second innings.
The 213-run chase looked a bit difficult for Rajasthan Royals as they lost their first four wickets very early in the game. While the other batsmen kept on losing their wickets at regular intervals, it seemed difficult to the visitors to even reach anywhere near the given target.
However, it was the heroics of Yusuf Pathan which brought his team so close to victory and had it not been his unfortunate run-out, Rajasthan Royals would, for sure, have won the match.
The Vadodara lad scored a stupendous century off just 37 balls, with the help of nine boundaries and eight sixes that not only earned him the Man of the Match award, but also gave him his maiden IPL century.
The game, at one point, seemed to be slipping away from Mumbai Indians’ hands, thanks to Yusuf, and Paras Dogra (after Yusuf’s dismissal). But it was the last over heroics by Lasith Malinga, where he picked two wickets, that finally helped Mumbai clinch their opening IPL match
Afridi in, Malik out of PCB's squad for T20 World Cup
Karachi, Mar.13: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 15-man squad sans the name of the skipper for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Championship in the Caribbean.
The squad also includes all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Akmal brothers (Kamran and Umar), who were slapped hefty fines by the PCB for violating the player's code of conduct during the winless tour of Australia.
Announcing the team at the National Stadium here, chief selector Mohsin Khan expressed the hope that the squad would be able to defend the title.
"Name of the captain will be announced later by the PCB.This is the best possible team and if they play to their potential I am sure they can defend the title," The Daily Times quoted Khan, as saying.
He also backed the board's decision to ban and impose hefty fines on some of the senior players of the team, describing it as a necessary step.
"The problems of indiscipline and infighting were affecting the team like cancer and I back all the decisions, not as chief selector, not as a former player but as a Pakistani," Khan said.
While former captain Shoaib Malik and fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, both of whom were also fined by the PCB, have been axed from the squad, veteran batsman Misbah-ul- Haq and opener Salman Butt have staged a come back in the team.
Under-19 all-rounder Hammad Azam has aloe been rewarded with a place in the senior team for his brilliant show in the Uder-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.
Another opener Mohammad Hafeez has also secured a place in the squad for the tournament, which will be played in West Indies from April 30 to May 16.
Squad:
Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Khalid Latif, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Misbahul Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Khan Afridi, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Hammad Azam, Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal.
Reserve players: Shahzaib Hasan, Hasan Raza, Naved Yasin, Mohammad Sami and Sarfraz Ahmed. (ANI)
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