Anand finishes second in Tata Chess

Five times winner Viswanathan Anand had to be content with a second place finish following a draw with Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the 13th and final round of 73rd Tata Steel Chess tournament here. The World Champion could draw a big consolation from the fact that he would be the number one ranked player all over again as the results here proved that he will be overtaking world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the next rating list.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States own the title after drawing his final round game with Wang hao of China. For the records, Nakamura tallied 9 points in all, a half point more than Anand in this category-20 super tournament between 14-players. The American not only performed way beyond his rating of 2751 but also finished ahead of the world's top four ranked players.

Anand got the better position with his black pieces but could not find a breakthrough AS Nepomniachtchi simply got an impregnable position in the endgame arising out of a Sicilian defense game. The Indian ace settled for a draw in 37 moves. "Disappointing," Anand said after the final results were out.

"When I reached a plus-four score (Four wins and rest draws), I felt I was well on my way to a final victory but Hikaru just kept winning, picking up six points in a row, which was quite amazing. "But I'm not unhappy; it's difficult to be unhappy with a plus-four score. It's a pity I didn't manage to win the tournament but I think I performed above my rating, which isn't bad at all," the World Champion said.

The third place was shared by Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian of Armenia who both scored 8 points apiece. The last round of the tournament turned out to be a damp with all the games ending in draws for the first time in the event this year.

In Group 'B' Surya Shekhar Ganguly finished with 5.5 points after drawing quickly with with Vietnam's Le Quang Liem. England's Luke McShane and Czech Republic's David Navara tied for the title at 8.5 points and the former won the title on better tiebreak qualifying for the 'A' group of 2012.

Tania Sachdev started out as the lowest ranked player in the 'C' group but her performance was way above expectation. The Indian finished with 6.5 points in all to finish joint sixth after losing to Germany's Sebastian Siebrecht in her final round game. Italy's Daniele Vocaturo won the title and a promotion to the next year's 'B' group with 9 points after drawing with main rival Illya Nyzhnyk of Ukraine.

Final standings: Group 'A': Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 9 points), 2. Viswanathan Anand (8.5), 3-4. Magnus Carlsen (Nor), Levon Aronian (Arm) (8 each), 5-6. Vladimir Kramnik (Rus), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra) (7.5 each), 7-8. Anish Giri (Ned), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukr) (6.5 each), 9-10. Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus), Wang Hao (Chn) (6 each), 11-13. Alexander Grischuk (Rus), Erwin L'Ami (Ned), Jan Smeets (4.5 each), 14. Alexei Shirov (Esp, 4) .

Group 'B': Jon Ludvig Hammer(Nor, 4) lost to Laurent Fressinet (Fra, 6); Zahar Efimenko (Ukr, 8) drew with Gabriel Sargissian (Arm, 7.5); S S Ganguly (Ind, 5.5) drew with Le Quang Liem Liem (Vie, 7.5); Wesley So (Phi, 7.5) drew with Radoslav Wojtaszek (Pol, 6.5); David Navara (Cae, 8.5) drew with Luke McShane (Eng, 8.5); Wouter Spoelman (Ned, 5) beat Friso Nijboer (Ned, 3.5); Li Chao (Chn, 6) beat Vladislav Tkachiev (Fra, 7).

Group 'C': Robin Van Kampen (Ned, 4.5) drew with Benjamin Bok (Ned, 6.5); Daniele Vocaturo (Ita, 9) drew with Illya Nyzhnyk (Ukr, 8.5); Murtas Kazhgaleyev (Kaz, 7) drew with Dariusz Swiercz (Pol, 7.5); J.W. de Jong (Ned, 4) lost to Kateryna Lahno (Ukr, 8); Mark Bluvshtein (Can, 7.5) beat Ivan Ivanisevic (Srb, 7.5); Tania Sachdev (Ind, 6.5) lost to Sebastian Siebrecht (Ger, 5.5); Roeland Pruijssers (Ned, 4) lost to Mark van der Werf (Ned, 5) -PTI

Rain ruins contest after Barath's maiden ton

Match abandoned West Indies 245 for 5 (Barath 113, Sarwan 75, Malinga 3-51) v Sri Lanka

Kumar Sangakkara congratulates Adrian Barath on his first one-day hundred © AFP

The rescheduled one-day leg of West Indies' tour of Sri Lanka got off to a futile start as heavy rain in Colombo forced the abandonment of the first ODI at the SSC. The series had been postponed from December because bad weather had ruined the Test series but the move has had little effect.

Before it began to rain during the lunch break, Adrian Barath scored his maiden ODI century and his partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan drove West Indies to a competitive total. Their efforts at posting a strong score, however, were undone by lack of contributions from their team-mates and Lasith Malinga's death-over burst, which weakened the platform that had been laid for the acceleration.

The overcast day in Colombo began badly for West Indies when Chris Gayle nicked Nuwan Kulasekara's outswinger in the fourth over, depriving the innings of a potentially rapid start on a placid pitch. Barath and Darren Bravo consolidated and saw off the new ball without further damage. Their partnership was promising when a mix-up ended with Bravo being run out for 8, leaving West Indies 42 for 2. Bravo had backed up too far at the non-striker's end and failed to beat Kapugedera's return from midwicket at the bowler's end.

Sarwan, who was making a comeback to the team after being omitted from the original tour party to Sri Lanka last year, had a point to prove and he did it in some style. Barath and Sarwan steadied the innings, scoring at a healthy pace and rendering Muttiah Muralitharan wicketless during his ten-over spell. Barath was lucky to be let off on 54, when he played uppishly to an Ajantha Mendis delivery and Mahela Jayawardene managed to get his hand to the ball but could not catch it. Otherwise his innings was without blemish. He struck two sixes and eight fours during his 113 off 129 balls, while Sarwan took 100 deliveries to score 75.

West Indies took the batting Powerplay in the 44th over and the recent international trend of wickets falling during the fielding restrictions continued. Both Barath and Sarwan fell to Malinga in the first over of the Powerplay and Kieron Pollard followed soon. Malinga had both well-set batsmen caught at wide long-on by Chamara Kapugedera as they tried to take him on, and bowled Kieron Pollard with a well-disguised, slow inswinger. He had ripped out three wickets for three runs off eight balls and West Indies managed only 27 off the Powerplay.

It was left to Darren Sammy to strike a couple of boundaries and provide the late momentum. The weather, however, wiped out any possibility of play after lunch, frustrating both teams. -ESPNcricinfo

Pressure gets to me easily, have to be calm during WC: Ashwin

As he gears up to live the dream of being in a World Cup squad, young Indian off-spinner R Ashwin says he is trying all he can to be of more utility by improving his batting and, more importantly, learning to handle pressure which "gets easily" to him. "I'm trying my best to be an asset to the side. I'm working hard on my batting and want to be a utility man for the side so that I can be a real asset to the side. Pressure gets to me easily. I am working hard to be calm in a pressure-filled situation," Ashwin told PTI in an interview.

The 24-year-old player's rise from obscurity to rank among the top spinners in two years time is no fluke but Ashwin says he is not quite sure whether he would actually get a chance to play in the World Cup starting February 19. "I'm not overly-excited or thinking of figuring in the playing XI in the World Cup. I don't know if I have a chance to make the playing XI. I will do whatever is there in my hands. That is a part and parcel of every game. It really does not get to me. I'm focussed in whatever I'm doing," Ashwin said.

Asked how he was gearing up for the World Cup personally, Ashwin said, "I have been working hard and working smartly for past five-six months. When I bowl, I put myself in the batsman's shoes, I keep thinking a lot. "You really can't work hard on your skill but what you can do is to out-think the batsman on the field. You have to execute your plans well," Ashwin said.

On the three-pronged spin attack, Ashwin said, "Bhajji will lead the attack well. He has really been bowling well... he's always been inspirational and a guiding force. Also, I have the confidence and trust of my skipper (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) that helps in giving freedom as a bowler." With the hype rising about India's prospects in the biggest cricketing extravaganza, Ashwin said: "Already there have been talks that this is the strongest Indian side ever. We are really good as a unit and well-suited to the domestic condition."

"Obviously I want the team to win the Cup. The atmosphere in the team is just perfect, honestly speaking we stand a very good chance. We definitely have all the ammunition to make it to the last stage. But it's just one game at a time after all," Ashwin said.

"Every team is good at this level. You cannot underestimate any team. Moreover aided by technology all the 10 Test playing nations are well-equipped to tackle any opposition." Ashwin felt the recent tour to South Africa has also been good preparation for the mega-event. "It's one of the best South Africa tours, this team has the tenacity. We put them under tremendous pressure and fought till the end. That's really a good sign... This team has the right vibes, helping each other."

Alongside India, Ashwin picked England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and defending champions Australia to go all the way. "England are doing very well at the moment, in these sub-continental condition everybody knows that Sri Lanka can be a big threat, while Pakistan can be real dynamite. At the same time, we cannot just rule out World Cup champions Australia," he said.

At the same time, he said Bangladesh have it in them to upset the heavyweights. "In home conditions, Bangladesh can be a real threat. I will be surprised if they don't stun some big names in the cricketing world in the course of the tournament."

The World Cup is likely to be Gary Kirsten's swansong assignment as India coach and Ashwin said the South African, under whom the team did exceptionally well, would be missed. "Of course Gary Kirsten had a major role having been with the side for the last few years. He has been amazing. Hopefully somebody gets into his head and makes him to stay back (with us)," he quipped. -PTI

ICC confirms Bangalore as India-England match venue

The ICC today approved BCCI's proposal to hold the India-England Cricket World Cup tie at Bangalore after Eden Gardens was stripped of the right to host it and said the match will be held on the scheduled date of February 27.

The Indian Cricket Board had yesterday recommended Bangalore as the alternate venue after the ICC decided to shift the match out of Eden Gardens after an inspection team of the world body had found the stadium to be under-prepared for the tie.

"The ICC today confirmed its decision to relocate the venue for the India v England match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which had been originally scheduled for Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 27 February. It will now take place in Bengaluru on the same date," the ICC said in a media release.

ICC Chief Executive Officer Haroon Lorgat said with today's decision to re-locate tie, the stakeholders can now start working on the logistics to hold the match in Bangalore. "The BCCI has responded to the ICC nominating Bengaluru as its preferred alternate venue for the India v England match, a recommendation the ICC agrees to.

"This decision now clarifies and gives us certainty over the fixture. We can now work with our various partners and stakeholders to make sure that match along with the rest of the tournament is all it should be," Lorgat said in the statement. The world body said an inspection team will visit Eden Gardens to assess the readiness of the stadium for the remaining three matches of the World Cup.

"There will be an inspection of Eden Gardens on 7 February to assess progress ahead of remaining three scheduled fixtures in Kolkata," the statement said. "In a letter to the BCCI yesterday, the ICC outlined a schedule of works that needed to be carried out at Eden Gardens ahead of the ground's other scheduled fixtures on 15, 18 and 20 March. As such, an inspection team will visit Kolkata again on 7 February to assess progress in line with that schedule," it said.

The three other matches alloted to Eden Gardens are South Africa vs Ireland (March 15), the Netherlands vs Ireland (March 18) and Zimbabwe vs Kenya (March 20) -PTI

IPL takes franchises view on signing unsold Indian players

The IPL governing council has written to all the franchises asking them if they have any objections to teams signing Indian players who found no takers in the auction held in Bangalore on January 8 and 9. "We have received a request that franchises (subject to them having sufficient balance on the salary cap to pay at least the reserve price of the relevant player) have the opportunity to sign unsold Indian players from the auction," the letter stated.

IPL rules presently do not permit unsold players to be signed after the auction, and the auction regulations state that that the players not bought in the auction could only play in the 2011 edition as replacement players.

IPL CEO Sundar Raman asked the franchises for their views on the issue and if they are agreeable to the following terms:
1) Permit franchise to buy unsold Indian players from the auction.
2) The player can be bought only at his reserve price. The franchises have until February 3 to respond to the letter, with the BCCI expected to decide on the matter during the governing council meeting on February 4.

Djokovic tops Murray in Aussie Open final

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Andy Murray in the Australian Open men's singles final Sunday in Melbourne. (Rob Griffith/Associated Press)

Novak Djokovic hit passing shots and looping lobs with equal perfection to overwhelm Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday, winning his second Australian Open title and extending Britain's near 75-year drought in men's Grand Slam singles.

Djokovic's 2008 Australian title is his other Grand Slam victory. Murray has lost three Grand Slam finals, also falling to Roger Federer in the 2008 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open.

Djokovic overcame big obstacles en route to the final, including a win over Federer in the semifinals. And this came just two months after leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup title.

"We have known each other for such a long time," Djokovic said of Murray. "It was difficult tonight."

About an hour after his win, Djokovic went out on a balcony on the concourse at Rod Laver Arena and lifted his trophy as hundredsof supporters cheered below.

There wasn't much to celebrate in Murray's camp: he's still yet to win a set in a Grand Slam final.

Last year, the Scot cried after his loss to Federer. There were no visible tears this year, but the hurt may have been just as bad after he lost seven straight games through the end of the first set and into the second and never appeared to be in the match.

"I'll try to keep it together this year," Murray said, speaking confidently and talking about "having more chances in the future" as the crowd yelled out "Andy! Andy!"

The last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Fred Perry in the 1936 U.S. Open — more than 270 majors ago.

"It was better than it was last year," Murray said at his media conference. "I thought Novak played unbelievably well. It's tough, but you have to deal with it."

Murray said he tried to get himself back into the match, but Djokovic defended too well.

"You always have to try to find a way, to believe," Murray said. "When I got ahead in some games, even in just points, he was sticking up lobs that were landing on the baseline, passing shots that were on the line. I broke his serve twice in the third set and still lost 6-3."

The statistics underlined Djokovic's domination. He won 11 of his 14 service games, while Murray only won six of 13, and the Serb pounded Murray's second serve, with the Scot winning just 16 of 51 points (31 percent) on his second serve.

Murray and Djokovic, each 23 and born a week apart, are good friends and often practice together. At the coin flip before the match, Djokovic smiled broadly for photos while Murray looked fidgety and nervous.

After the match, the two hugged, then Djokovic threw his racket, his shirt and then shoes into the crowd. But there was no prolonged celebration so as to not offend his opponent.

"I understand how he feels, it's his third final and he didn't get the title," Djokovic said. "As I said on the court, I really have big respect for him and his game, because I think he has everything what it takes to become a Grand Slam champion."

The roof was closed at Rod Laver Arena for most of the day due to 100-degree temperatures, but was opened just before the match started and after the weather had cooled significantly.

Trailing 5-4, Murray double-faulted to lead off the 10th game of the first set. Then he hit a backhand into the net after a 39-hit point. Murray challenged the final point of the set when he thought his forehand stayed in on the backline, but Djokovic walked away with the set in 59 minutes.

"Maybe there was a turning point in the whole match, that 5-4 game," Djokovic said. "I was a bit fortunate, I kind of anticipated well and read his intentions and played some great shots and great moments. It is a big advantage mentally when you are a set up and you are getting to the second set and really going for the shots."

Djokovic held serve on four straight points to open the second set, then went up 2-0 when he again broke Murray's service, finishing off the point when Murray's attempted drop shot was returned cross-court for a winner. Murray had five unforced errors in the first two games.

The Serb went up 3-0, then continued his domination in the next game, breaking Murray in four straight points to go up 4-0 and held for 5-0, his seventh straight game win. Murray finally stopped the streak with an ace on game point to trail 5-1, then broke Djokovic in the next game to cut it to 5-2.

Murray appeared to be having problems with his eyes, blinking often and rubbing them on changeovers and often during points. That didn't help in the next game when he again dropped serve and lost the second set in 40 minutes, Djokovic establishing set point with a memorable crosscourt winner off a near-impossible shot from Murray.

The third set started with Murray's second break of Djokovic's service in the match, but Djokovic ensure that Murray's advantage was short-lived by breaking him in the next game. After an unforced error wide, Murray pounded his fist and yelled out in disgust.

Things didn't improve for Murray, who held off six break points before Djokovic prevailed on the seventh in the fourth game, hitting a backhand down the line to pass a stretching Murray. Djokovic pumped his fist and let out a loud yell in celebration.

That, too, was short-lived, when Murray broke back in the next game to pull to 3-2, then held through two break points to level the set at 3. Late in the match, Murray appeared to clutch his lower back after a low return on the baseline.

Djokovic soon broke serve again and then served it out to win in 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 5-3, ending a three-match streak for Murray.

Earlier Sunday, Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia and Daniel Nestor of Canada won the mixed double doubles championship, beating Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and Paul Hanley of Australia 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. -AP

North Zone enter Duleep Trophy final

VADODARA: North Zone entered the finals of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament on the basis of their first innings lead after their semifinal match against defending champions West Zone ended in a draw on the fourth day here today.

North, who will now take on South Zone in the final of the event, did not go for an outright victory today despite starting the day on a healthy lead of 259 runs here at the Moti Baug ground. Amit Mishra's men could have gone for an outright win by declaring their innings early and trying to get the West all out but they decided to give their batsmen some match practice ahead of the crucial final.

After resuming on 191 for three in their second essay today, North went on score 421 all out to set their opponents a target of 485. At the end of the final day's play, West Zone reached 61 for three in their second innings in a drawn encounter. Overnight batsmen in Mithun Manhas, resuming on 48 and Yashpal Singh on eight gave North a perfect start. While Manhas remained unbeaten on 158, Yashpal chipped in with a valuable 42 as the duo shared a 96-run stand together.

After Yashpal departed, few wickets fell in quick succession but Manhas held on to his ground and played some fine shots. Sumit Narwal (50) then joined him in the middle and the pair put up a 103-run stand to extend North's lead even further. Manhas's 158 not out came from just 178 balls, including 26 fours during his 265-minute stay at the crease. For West, Bhargav Bhatt (4 for 104) and Samad Fallah (4 for 113) chipped in with four wickets each.

Chasing an unachievable target, West lost both the openers Harshad Khadiwale (21) and Sahil Kukreja (12) before losing first down batsman Ajinkya Rahane (19) cheaply. While Vikas Mishra (2 for 5) accounted for two wickets, Narwal (1 for 14) took one.

Brief scores: North Zone: 460 & 421 all out in 88.5 overs (Mithun Manhas not out 158, Sarul Kanwar 53, Shikhar Dawan 53; Bhargav Bhatt 4/104), Samad Fallah 4/113). West Zone: 397 & 61 for three in 23 overs (Harshad Khadiwale 21; Vikas Mishra 2/05) -PTI

Paes-Bhupati miss Aus Open title again, lose the final

MELBOURNE: The Australian Open trophy continued to elude Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the re-united 'Indian Express' could not stop Mike and Bob Bryan from scoring a hat-trick of titles at the Melbourne Park here today. The third seeded Indian pair, which united after nine years with an aim to complete their career Slam, lost 3-6 4-6 to the top seeded American twins in the summit clash of the men's doubles event which lasted a little over one hour.

The Bryan brothers won their fifth Australian Open trophy but it slipped out of the hands of Paes and Bhupathi for the second time, having lost the title clash back in 1999. They reached the final here with different partners after separating but neither of the two players could complete the career Slam.

Paes made the final with Czech Republic's Martin Damm in 2006 while Bhupathi ended runners-up with Bahamas' Mark Knowles in 2009. However, it is a fabulous start for the Indian pair in the 2011 season as they had won the Chennai Open early this month. Paes and Bhupathi last played at a Grand Slam together in 2002 when they lost in the second round. Bhupathi said he would continue playing with Paes in the remaining season.

"There is a reason why Mike and Bob are number one team. When they have a first serve percentage of 83, it is impossible to beat them. I thank my partner (Paes), it took the best team in the planet to stop this train. Looking forward to playing with you a lot more this year," Bhupathi said. In today's final, the Bryan brothers dominated as they served well and were miser on the unforced errors' count but had the Indians converted the break chances in the very first game of the match, it might have been different.

Left-handed Bob served extremely well after being down 0-40 to lead 3-2 on serve. The sixth game, in which the two pairs played a stunning 20-shot rally, turned the tide in favor of the defending champions as the Americans converted their first of the two break chances off Paes' serve. It was easy for the Americans from there on as Bob served out the set after just 29 minutes of play.

The Indian duo did well to save a break point in the fifth game of the second set but Bhupathi dropped his serve in the ninth game to hand the Americans the advantage. Bob served out the set, match and the championship in the next game after saving another break point. -PTI

How CAB botched up final ICC inspection of Eden

Having lost their face in front of the cricketing fraternity, the blame game has already started in the corridors of Cricket Association of Bengal for the inept manner in which they handled the situation during the January 25 inspection of the Eden Gardens by the ICC team.

In pic: Construction work at Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata

Labourers work at the Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata January 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri

It has now come to light that an unprecendented 32 officials mostly without any knowledge about the progress of renovation work accompanied the ICC team. With their distinct lack of knowledge, they made the situation even more messy and damage was waiting to happen.

The most baffling aspect was how Chitrak Mitra, a former joint secretary of the association and in-charge of the stadium renovation work could absent himself on January 25 when he was the one who was aware about every minute detail related to the renovation.

"There were 32 people inside the ground with officials when all you needed was two to three officials who are in the loop. Instead those who were present didn't have an iota of knowledge about what to say and what not to say infront of ICC officials," a former executive functionary, who was one of the few who had attended stadium committee told PTI today.

It may sound hilarious but the ICC officials were taken to exactly those areas where the construction work was yet to be finished. "These officials who accompanied the ICC team, took them to all the areas where work was incomplete. They took them to corporate boxes and even to the washrooms. Our officials just played it into their hands", he said.

The allegations are also flying thick and fast against Mitra whose high-handed attitude is believed to have also had an impact in the decision making. It has been learnt that when ICC team told them to adjust the height of sightscreen to 20 feet, the CAB counter questioned asking the world cricket body to specify how many other venues were doing the same adjustment? During the final inspection, the CAB officials were also reluctant to divulge how many seats in the corporate boxes will they be releasing for the sponsors.

The CAB gave a logic that they would give 250 Club House tickets including making arrangements in the lower-tier boxes of Dr. B.C. Roy Club House. "Instead the CAB officials started questioning the ICC officials asking them to come clear whether the match was on or not otherwise they won't come clear on how many corporate boxes they would release from sponsors," a board official said.

If all these weren't enought, CAB officials' so-called throwing caution to the wind was evident when senior IPS officers came for inspecting the security arrangement a week earlier. The team of security personnel had expressed their concerns on a host of issues none of which were addressed by Mitra, who is now failing to come up with any convincing answer. Former BCCI joint secretary and senior CAB official Goutam Dasgupta conceded that there was laxity on their part too.

"Many people failed to realise that World Cup is now ICC event unlike the 1987 Reliance Cup and 1996 World Cup," Dasgupta said. Even CAB secretary Biswarup Dey admitted that CAB couldn't handle the situation properly. "If members feel I am the guilty party, I am ready to quit," he said. -PTI

Australian Open: Andy Murray's previous grand slam final appearances

Andy Murray will compete in his third grand slam final on Sunday when he takes on Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Let's hope it goes better than his two previous attempts.

Pain of defeat: Andy Murray acknowledges the crowd after losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Australian Open last year Photo: AFP

US Open 2008 - Federer beat Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2

Andy Murray’s first appearance in a grand slam final, at the 2008 US Open, went by so quickly that he can hardly remember a thing. “That first final I played against Federer, I didn’t know what was going on. It just went by really quickly,” Murray recalled.

Federer had the advantage of a day’s rest before the final, which, because of the rain at Flushing Meadows, was played on an unscheduled third Monday.

Murray’s semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal was spread over a couple of days, having started on Super Saturday and finished on Sunday, while Federer had completed his win over Novak Djokovic on Saturday.

Yet, even if they had both had similar preparation for the final, Federer would almost certainly still have beaten Murray at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Murray was playing an opponent whose victory made him the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to win five consecutive US Open titles (Tilden won six in succession from 1920 and 1925), as well as the first to win two different slams five times in a row, having already achieved a golden five on Centre Court at the All England Club.

Murray, who was the first British man to appear in a slam final since Greg Rusedski finished as the runner-up to Pat Rafter at the 1997 US Open, was beaten in straight sets.

Australian Open 2010 - Federer beat Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6

Roger Federer suggested before last year’s Australian Open final that Andy Murray would be attempting to become Britain’s first male winner of a grand slam for “around 150,000 years”.

That was bettered by Murray’s remark during the post-final ceremonies. A year after Federer had broken down after a five-set defeat to Rafael Nadal, and told the crowd on the Rod Laver Arena, “God, it’s killing me”, Murray also lost control of his bottom lip during his thank-you speech.

Murray might have lost another grand slam final in straight sets to Federer, yet he still had something to add to the evening and he returned to the microphone, his eyes pink and puffy, and said: “I can cry like Roger, it’s a pity I can’t play like him.”

Perhaps, if Murray had taken the third set — he held a 5-2 lead in games, and could not convert any one of his five points for the tiebreak — this could have ended very differently.

As it was, Federer stood on the podium holding his sixteenth grand slam trophy and Murray sobbed into the mike. The tears, and the self-deprecating humour, would have done much to soften Murray’s image, though.

Australian Open: Time to create History

Paes - Bhupati to play Australian Open Doubles Final today.

You can call it a grand re-union of the greatest Lawn-tennis duo that India has ever produced. After a break of nine long years, the Indian tennis veterans Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes are back together to recreate the magic. They have already showed their powerful chemistry on the court by clinching their first doubles title on their reunion and fifth at the ATP Chennai Open this year. What next for this great Indian pair, popularly called the "Indian Express", is the first Grand Slam of the Year, the Australian Open.

Paes and Bhupathi played with determination to start the season and have stormed into the Australian Open men's doubles final. If they beat hattrick-chasing American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final today, the dashing duo will win the only Grand Slam title missing from their list of achievements. Will the trademark chest bumps create the magic once again? Will the aggression, which had once made them a feared doubles pair, bring us that missing laurel?

Let's stroll down the memory lane and recall the success saga of Paes and Bhupathi. It was in 1997 Chennai Open when the pair won their first ATP doubles title and then went on to write a number of chapters in tennis history. It was in Chennai only that the duo won three back to back titles from 1997 to 1999. The year 1999 was their most successful year in Grand Slam history, winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles.

In 2002, the pair made a successful comeback in Chennai by winning the title once again, but then the unnamed split happened and from such a high, the relationship between the pair gradually declined and reached a point of no communication. The exact cause or causes for the rift has never been known so far though various factors like ego clashes, each player garnering more attention than the other have been rumoured over the years. But the lure of a much awaited win at the Rod Laver Arena seems to be stronger than the dislike, and the dominating double partners are back to rule the court.

Paes and Bhupathi forged a formidable partnership in the late 90s until 2001-02, before they split up as a pair and decided to go on their own individual courses. But both of them had struggled with their doubles campaign with other players. While Paes partnered with players like Sebastian Lareau of Canada and Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, Bhupathi tried his hand with players like Belarussian Max Mirnyi, Mark Knowles of Bahamas and Andrew Kratzmann of Australia. Although they have achieved decent success with their other double partners, but the chemistry they shared with each other as a team was incomparable.

Paes showed promise early in his career by winning titles at the Junior U.S. Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He rose to the number 1 in the world in the junior rankings. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the Bronze medal. However, his journey being a single player was not that great. Like Paes, Bhupathi also had greater success in doubles as compared to singles as he won only 10 singles matches, while lost 28 matches, so far in his career. But together these two Indians have made remarkable records and hence, regarded as one of the best doubles team in the world of tennis.

Today, when the Indian duo will take on the Bryans, the crowd will surely do their bit in providing the impetus. Inspiration will come from a loud 'Come on' and the whole India will hold its breath to see whether the magical pair has the last laugh, bringing home the victory in the golden hour.

Ferrer ends Nadal's bid for 'Rafa Slam'

MELBOURNE: David Ferrer dumped injury-hit Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open in straight sets today, ending the world number one's bid for a historic sweep of the Grand Slam titles. The grimacing Nadal was in trouble right from the 18-minute second game, but despite repeated medical attention and a strapped left thigh he grimly battled to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final defeat.

In pic: Under pressure ... Rafael Nadal during a break in his straight-sets loss to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Melbourne last night. Photo: AFP

Nadal's shock loss comes on the exact anniversary of last year's injury pull-out in the quarter-finals against Andy Murray, which also came on Australia Day as celebratory fireworks lit up the Melbourne night sky. The demise of Nadal, 24, halts his quest for the "Rafa Slam", a non-calendar year Grand Slam which would have united the four major titles for the first time since Rod Laver in 1969. "It's not easy because Rafael is a gentleman and he was playing injured and we are friends," Ferrer said. "He was injured in the first set but I played my game, I fight a lot and sometimes it's not easy."

Nadal stands at nine Grand Slam titles and is the youngest man to win all four of the big tournaments. However, another injury setback will revive doubts about his longevity in the game. Spain's Ferrer will face Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final after the British fifth seed outgunned rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov. Ferrer has a 3-2 winning record against Murray but has never beaten him on hardcourt.

Murray, last year's runner-up to Roger Federer, dropped his first set of the year against Ukrainian shot-maker Dolgopolov, 22, who dominated a third-set tie-break before going down 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3. "It was very tough and every point was different, he hits the ball different to a lot of other players and I struggled a little bit with my rhythm early on," Murray said. "He came back at me well in the third set but I thought I did well enough."

Murray, 23, is now into his fifth Grand Slam semi-final as he bids to break a British men's major drought stretching back to Fred Perry's 1936 US Open win. Earlier three-time Grand Slam-winner Kim Clijsters beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to set up a heavyweight semi-final with world number two Vera Zvonareva, who downed Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4.

Zvonareva wore a black ribbon on her cap to support victims of Monday's deadly suicide bombing at Domodedovo airport in Moscow, her home city, which killed 35 and left her frantically calling relatives. "You're calling back home and making sure everyone is okay, the people that you know," she said. "I just tried to put it away. It happened, it is terrible. But you try to move on."

The 26-year-old remains on course for her third straight Grand Slam final, after losing to Serena Williams at Wimbledon and Clijsters at the US Open in September. Clijsters overcame a high error-rate to see off Radwanska, who played a limited game but stayed in the match with some scrambling defence, taking advantage of the Belgian's 37 unforced errors. "Everything has to be better (against Zvonareva)," said Clijsters, who beat the Russian in September's US Open final.

"I mean, serving, returning, the unforced errors. Everything has to be better." World number one Caroline Wozniacki will face China's Li Na in tomorrow's other semi-final, while defending champion Federer plays third seed Novak Djokovic in a mouth-watering men's last-four match-up. -AFP

Sutil stays on, di Resta to make debut with Force India

Ace German driver Adrian Sutil will continue with Force India for a fifth consecutive season while Paul di Resta is set to make his debut with the Silverstone-based team in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship season. Force India today confirmed that it has finalised its driver line-up for the 2011 season, putting to rest weeks of speculation.

Besides, Sutil and di Resta, Force India will also have Nico H lkenberg as the test and reserve driver as part of its long-term partnership. "I am genuinely excited by the drivers we will be fielding in 2011. I believe that the combination of talent we've assembled gives us one of the strongest line-ups on the grid," team principal and chairman of Force India, Vijay Mallya said.

"Adrian has matured into one of F1's most consistent and highly-rated young drivers, while Paul is, I believe, a real star of the future. He has won in every category in his career and this base speed was in evidence when he got in the car on Fridays last year. "With Nico, signing him was too good an opportunity to let by. He showed a good racing head and talent and I was amazed by his control in Brazil last year. Together I think they are a formidable partnership and will help take us to the next level of performance," he added.

Twenty-seven year old Sutil enjoyed his most successful season in F1 last year, securing 47 points to help Force India to seventh position in the constructors' championship. En route to his highest-ever drivers' championship classification, he notched up nine points scoring positions, including a fifth spot finish in the Malaysian Grand Prix. "I made my F1 debut with the team back in 2007 and we've worked together since then, so to stay for another year here feels very right," Sutil said.

"I've always said that I feel good in this team, it feels like family and when you feel good, you are confident and can push to your maximum. "We've made some good progress together over the past four years and I'm excited to be part of the team when it takes the next step, which is hopefully to become a front running team. We have the same ambitions so it makes a lot of sense to achieve them together," he added.

His new partner di Resta will make his F1 debut in 2011 following a strong year of Friday performances as Force India's test and reserve driver last season and his recent DTM title success. The 24-year-old Scot joined the team after an impressive test in late 2009 and said he is thrilled to join the Force India team. "Naturally I am thrilled to be making my race debut this season. Becoming an F1 driver has been a long-held ambition of mine, something I've wanted to do since I first stepped into a kart, and to finally realise it feels amazing," said di Resta, who participated in eight free practice sessions in 2010 to get up to speed with the challenges of F1 circuits.

"I've worked really hard for this opportunity throughout my career and to get it with Force India, a young team that's got ambitions as big as mine, is genuinely exciting. I can't wait to be on the grid in Bahrain, it can't come soon enough," he said. German Nico H lkenberg, who completes Force India's driver line-up for the 2011 season, had strong performances in the junior circuit. The 23-year-old also had an impressive rookie form in last year's F1 championship, including a sensational pole position in Brazil.

"I am happy I can stay in F1 in 2011. I am looking forward to working with Force India and I am sure the team will continue improving in the future. I appreciate the team trusting me by signing a long-term contract. I will do my very best to live up to expectations," Nico H lkenberg said. -PTI

Form 'just around the corner' - Collingwood

It was only a run-a-ball 27, but for Paul Collingwood it felt like riches and he hopes the innings at Adelaide will kick-start his search for career-saving form. He has had an awful tour of Australia with the bat, making 83 runs in the Ashes before retiring from Test cricket, and lost his one-day place at the beginning of this series until Kevin Pietersen's groin strain gave him an early return.

Paul Collingwood had some success with the ball in Wednesday's 21-run win, but would like to move back up the order as a batsman

© PA Photos

When he came back into the line-up at Sydney he was bowled second ball by Xavier Doherty from a delivery that hardly spun, which confirmed the seriousness of his problems. It was his bowling that kept him in the team for the next match and he batted at No.7, but he at least managed to feel the ball on the bat during a vital 56-run stand with Michael Yardy.

The fact England took the batting Powerplay also meant Collingwood had no choice but to try and free himself up rather than dwell on his troubles. "It was a nice situation for me to come in, I had to be positive," he said. "It was just good to get past 20. I hadn't done it for a while. It was a good feeling and obviously contributing with the ball later on. I was happy with my game.

"I'm the first to admit that I haven't been in great form and that's my role in the side," he added. "I'm trying everything possible to get back into good nick. I know from past experience that getting back into a good run of form can be pretty immediate. Maybe after an innings like yesterday when I hit a couple out of the middle of the bat it might just click. I'm really confident it is just around the corner."

There was one moment that reminded people of what Collingwood is capable of when he swung Brett Lee over midwicket for six. The strong bottom hand came in, as it has so often during his career, and Collingwood believes even just one shot can make a huge difference.

"Things like that can click you back into form," he said. "The mental side of the game is huge. David Boon, when he was at Durham back in 1998, he came out with a quote that international cricket is 90% mental and 10% technique and at the time I didn't understand what he meant by it.

"But the more I've played international cricket the more I understand that statement. Confidence is a huge factor, all the things that you take into your batting is very mental. Hopefully there will be less tension going out into the middle next time around and more confidence and that can do me the world of good."

Collingwood's bowling, the main reason he was picked at Adelaide, was also vital to England's 21-run victory as he bowled seven overs for 22 and claimed the wicket of Michael Clarke, who is struggling almost as badly as Collingwood. However, he doesn't want his mixture of medium-pace and cutters to define the closing stages of his international career and is desperate to move himself back up the order to where he has scored most of his 5006 runs.

"Hopefully I can get back into better form and gradually get back up the order. That would be the ideal team," he said. "But whatever way you can contribute to England winning you go out there and do it. I guess I was just happy to be in the side, the way that the form has been going with that bat. I feel as though I can do a fifth bowler role, I have done in the past. I'm just happy to be in the side and contributing well." -ESPNcricinfo

Eden Gardens loses India-England fixture

In pic: The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will not be ready in time to host the India-England World Cup clash on February 27 © AFP

In a major embarrassment to the World Cup organisers, the ICC has ruled out Eden Gardens as the host of the game between India and England on February 27. The ICC's inspection team, which included some of the leading experts in the field of stadium and ground preparation, felt that Eden Gardens would not be ready in time. No alternate venue for the match has yet been named. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the three World Cup stadiums in Sri Lanka were all given the go-ahead by the ICC.

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said. "This was no easy decision to take and while it is most unfortunate, it is absolutely necessary." The Cricket Association of Bengal is having an emergency meeting to discuss the development.

Kolkata was to host three other matches in the World Cup, but the status of those games is still unclear. "At this stage no decision has been taken on those matches," an ICC spokesperson said.

The news of switching the match from Kolkata comes just two days after the tournament director, Ratnakar Shetty, waved away worries over readiness of World Cup venues. Media personnel had been barred from a recent inspection of Eden Gardens.

The venue, one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world, has hosted some of the highest-profile matches of the previous two World Cups held in the subcontinent including the final in 1987 and the semi-final in 1996. No international matches have been held in Kolkata since the Test between India and South Africa in February as the stadium was being renovated.

"All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches," Lorgat said. "We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks.

"The Central Organising Committee had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011."

The ICC is still deciding on the new venue for the India-England match. "We will work with the new venue, the tour operators and the ticket distributors to manage the logistical challenges that will surely arise," Shetty said.

It is not yet known whether the people who bought tickets to the fixture will get refunds.

Republic Day wishes

South Africa take series despite blazing Yusuf ton

South Africa 250 for (Amla 116*, van Wyk 56, Munaf 3-50) beat India (Yusuf 105, Morkel 4-52) by 33 runs by the D/L method

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In pic: Yusuf Pathan celebrates his second ODI century © AFP

Hashim Amla's century was his sixth in ODIs in the last 12 months © Associated Press Enlarge

Yusuf Pathan launched the sort of assault that has made him a rich man to ensure it wasn't all one-way in Centurion but it wasn't enough to prevent South Africa from snatching the series with a 33-run victory. After a tough tour over the past month-and-a-half, the last day of the series seemed set to be an anti-climactic non-scrap courtesy yet another Hashim Amla century and a slew of reckless strokes from the Indians.

Yusuf, though, blasted a century of utter violence when all looked lost, and after an hour of Yusuf, the South African bowling was looking clueless and India were 49 short, dreaming of a miraculous win. Yusuf clubbed a 68-ball century but holed out soon after, much to the relief of the Sunday crowd at Supersport Park.

The tour had begun with South Africa's crushing Test victory in Centurion and ends with another defeat for the visitors at the same venue. One reason India's bowlers will be thrilled to be heading back home will be that there will be less sparring with Amla, who has plundered more than 1100 runs in the past 11 months against India in Tests and one-dayers. He collected another 116 on Sunday to push South Africa to a tall total in a rain-hit match.

MS Dhoni had chosen to bowl on winning the toss, perhaps swayed by Supersport Park's reputation of being a ground where it is easy to chase in day games. No matter what the past record, though, it is unlikely any team can win when its top-order combusts so spectacularly and heedlessly as India's did. Barring Virat Kohli, the rest of the top six were dismissed not by unplayable deliveries but by attempts at extravagant strokes.

Rohit Sharma's horror series ended as he was bowled by Lonwabo Tsotsobe going for a loose drive through the line; Dhoni's imperious cut ended as an edge to first slip; Yuvraj Singh edged two boundaries to third man before giving catching practice to JP Duminy at point; Suresh Raina smashed a couple of fours before an upper cut sailed to third man; Parthiv Patel was the only one in the top order to inspire confidence, middling nearly every ball for the second innings in a row before falling to a debatable diving catch by Faf du Plessis at cover. India were 74 for 6 in the 14th over, and their only hope of saving the series seemed to be if the ominous clouds circling the stadium brought a massive downpour which washed away the match before the 20th over.

Enter Yusuf. He fell over reverse-sweeping Robin Peterson for a six early in his innings, but the wickets kept tumbling and India slid to 119 for 8. With Zaheer Khan adopting a blithe step-away-and-swing approach, the end seemed minutes away, but he knuckled down after some initial scares and kept turning the strike over to Yusuf.

Indian fans would have nursed little hopes even when bursts of hitting took Yusuf to 66 off 58, and India moved to 175 for 8 in the 33rd over. That all changed as Yusuf pounded three sixes and three fours in the next three overs to race to his century, and a 21-run over from Tsotsobe brought the required-rate below five. Yusuf skied another attempted blast down the ground, and du Plessis latched on to it to settle South African nerves.

Yusuf's ton was in absolute contrast to Amla's in the morning, when the South African chose patience over pyrotechnics to coolly compile his runs - he reached his half-century on the back of 30 consecutive singles. After Graeme Smith's troubles against Zaheer Khan continued - again unsure of how the ball will jag around, he nicked to second slip - Amla let No. 3 Morne van Wyk be the aggressor.

van Wyk grew in confidence as his innings progressed, unleashing a series of powerful cuts whenever he was given width, and even pulling off an audacious lap-shot off Munaf Patel for four.

India went in with only two quick bowlers, and their armada of spinners didn't pose too many questions to the South African batsmen. South Africa glided to 113 for 1 before Yuvraj plucked a spectacular caught-and-bowled to send back van Wyk, and had AB de Villiers stumped with a sharply turning delivery.

Amla and Duminy, the home side's two form batsmen this series, both had lives - Duminy surviving a close lbw shout and Amla dropped at square leg - and revived South Africa with a 102-run stand. The standout shot in Amla's innings was the dab to third man, perfectly timing the ball as he opened the face to pick up several boundaries, one of which brought up his century.

In the four overs that remained after an 80-minute stoppage, South Africa lost their heads and plenty of wickets as panicky running, smart bowling and attempted slogging combined to result in a collapse of 6 for 24. Amla played only two deliveries in those last four overs. India went into lunch on a high, but there was little joy for them after the break till Yusuf's heroics, and their dreams of a maiden series win in South Africa were shattered. -ESPNcricinfo

Australian Open: Bopanna loses in first round of mixed doubles

MELBOURNE: India's Rohan Bopanna and China's Zi Yan lost to third seeds Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 6-7 (3), 6-3 in the first round of mixed doubles at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The other two Indians Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi made it to the second round of the mixed doubles with their respective partners on Saturday.

Bhupathi and Australian Anastasia Rodionova defeated German Andrea Petkovic and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland 6-2, 6-2. They will now face Sara Errani of Italy and David Marrero of Spain.

Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe came through a tough match against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 (2), 4-6, 12-10. They will take on Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan and Australian Paul Hanley in the second round. -IANS

Hussey and Lee hand Australia 3-0 lead

Australia 6 for 215 (Hussey 68*, Haddin 54) beat England 214 (Trott 84*, Lee 3-27) by 4 wickets

In pic: Brett Lee was Man of the Match for his 3 for 27 © AFP

Australia put themselves within touching distance of taking the one-day series with a four-wicket victory at the SCG. David Hussey guided them home in an uncertain run chase with an unbeaten 68 alongside Victoria team-mate John Hastings after Brad Haddin's aggressive 54 set the early pace. England were kept interested by early wickets and a double for Paul Collingwood but there were always too few runs on the board for a depleted bowling attack.

It was an important innings for Hussey, who reached his fifty with a six, after he was named in the World Cup despite not playing ODI cricket for 18 months and he showed the finishing skills that have so often been evident for his domestic teams. He had important support from Steve Smith (26) after Australia wobbled on 5 for 114 then, after Smith departed to a horrid swipe, Hastings showed why he's off to the World Cup with a composed 18.

It was a match low on batting quality as England limped to 214 only thanks to Jonathan Trott's determined 84. Continuing their pattern of the series they handed wickets to Australia, this time including the run-out of Andrew Strauss, but the home side weren't blameless when it came to their dismissals. That at least kept the contest interesting until Hussey rattled down the target with consecutive boundaries off Ajmal Shahzad and Australia had four overs in hand.

When Collingwood, recalled to the side to replace the injured Kevin Pietersen who has a groin strain, claimed two wickets in the first two overs England suddenly sniffed a victory to haul themselves back into the series. Collingwood failed again with the bat when he missed a straight ball from Xavier Doherty, but trapped Cameron White lbw with his second delivery and then had Haddin, who was earlier dropped on 37, caught at long-on for 54 from a needless shot.

Haddin put Australia well ahead of the rate but kept losing partners. Shane Watson missed a drive at Chris Tremlett in the second over and Shaun Marsh, promoted to No.3, was brought back down to earth after his 110 at Hobart when he was lbw to Shahzad. Michael Clarke's form showed no signs of improving as he chipped Chris Woakes' sixth ball in one-day international cricket to midwicket, where Michael Yardy juggled the catch.

It should have been 4 for 68 when Haddin drove to mid-off but Tremlett couldn't take the chance low to his left and Haddin brought up his fifty with a fine cover-drive only to put pressure on his team-mates with poor shot selection. The difference at the moment, though, is Australia's belief is on the rise and England's is taking a hit, which is especially evident in the batting

With the exception of Trott, whose innings is also likely to spark debate, no one covered themselves in any glory against an Australia attack lacking two first-choice options in Nathan Hauritz and Shaun Tait. Injuries are a problem for both sides - Tim Bresnan has been ruled out of the series - but the hosts are covering their casualty list with much more aplomb. On this occasion, Doherty was impressive with 2 for 37 and Hastings showed his all-round value.

Brett Lee was the overall pick, though, and began England's problems in the first over when he removed Matt Prior lbw for his second consecutive duck since his recall. A wicket to the new ball is forgivable, but the mix-up between Strauss and Trott was shambolic as they were left standing at the same end. The only reason the third umpire was needed was to decide Strauss was the man to go.

Ian Bell got a leading edge back to Watson who took it with a dive in his follow through before Trott and Eoin Morgan began a recovery with a stand of 50. Morgan, though, had struggled to settle with two near-misses in his innings before pulling a long hop from Hussey to midwicket. He's just lost his knack of finding the gaps.

There was help on offer for the spinners but England made it look even harder. Collingwood opened his account with an edge past leg stump then missed a delivery which took off stump. Yardy continued to struggle when he chipped a limp return catch to the bowler and it left Trott needing to bat out the innings.

He and Luke Wright added 49 but it was slow progress as Trott dealt in singles for 40 consecutive scoring shots, then Wright gave it away with a loose drive at Hastings. Lee hustled through the lower order and Tremlett's run-out when he failed to ground his bat summed up how England, so outstanding during the Ashes, are starting to make costly basic errors. It's a long way back from here. -ESPNcricinfo

Chawla replaces Nehra, India bowl first

Match Facts

January 23, Centurion
Start time 10.00 (8.00 GMT, 13.30 IST)

Virat Kohli could force his way into the World Cup starting XI with his irrepressible form © AFP

Big Picture

The curious case of Virat Kohli keeps getting interesting. Prior to the series his case was distilled into this emotive question: How can you drop him from the playing eleven when he is in such good form? Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir return to take the top three. Yuvraj Singh is the best part-time spinner and can win a game with the bat, Yusuf Pathan's explosiveness will be vital lower down, and Suresh Raina can potentially get going right from the start and is more suited to the lower order, in Indian conditions, than Kohli.

Or so it seemed before this series. With Yusuf clicking in one game and Yuvraj too hitting a fifty, apart from his bowling, the pressure has escalated on Raina. If there is Yusuf and Yuvraj for power hitting, would it better to blood an in-form Kohli ahead of Raina? That's the thought Kohli will strive to strengthen in this decider and something that Raina will try to kill.

The series itself hangs on a knife's edge. India had just won three random games against South Africa in South Africa before this series and are on verge of something special. For their part, South Africa have hung on, despite threatening to implode in all the games, and pushed the series to a decider. The weather might play spoil sport, though, with the forecast predicting thunderstorms on the match day.

South Africa's World-Cup puzzles too are falling in place. JP Duminy has shown that he has the temperament to lead the lower order, Faf du Plessis hinted at a solid temperament, and Morne Van Wyk, with an accomplished performance in the Twenty20 game, is putting pressure on Colin Ingram. Smith has had a torrid time in the last two games and though he is an established player, a good show at Centurion won't hurt him. They have been shy to give Imran Tahir any exposure in this series, probably preferring to keep him hidden till the World Cup.

Morne Morkel has been simply outstanding in this series, extracting bounce from sluggish tracks in the last two games and indicating he might be a force to reckon with even on traditional slow-and-low subcontinental tracks. The ball to remove Yusuf Pathan - a full length delivery that seamed away at the last instant - in the fourth ODI also showcased that he is just not a hit-the-deck short of length bowler but someone who thinks a lot about his game and has the full repertoire.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been in rich form though one still has to wait and watch how he performs in the subcontinental conditions. He does have a good off cutter but can he continue to churn out good performances even in the World Cup?

Form guide

South Africa: WLLWW
India: LWWLW

Players to watch out for…

Graeme Smith: He looked a shadow of the man who scored a confident 77 in the second ODI. And it just can't be put down to the pressure of a brittle lower order as he has struggled to put bat to ball in the last two games. He has stabbed inside the line, groped outside the line, stumbled forward, and has had a horror time. Will he get back to form with a confident knock in the last game?

Suresh Raina: The selection sword dangles over him. The pressure is truly on. He got to a start in the third ODI but threw it away with a wild slog against Morne, just as the game entered the final lap. He combusted cheaply in the last match, rushing out too early to be left stranded. Meanwhile, Kohli has been marching from strength to strength. Until now, Raina had the clear upper hand as he was more suited to the lower order and his case only strengthened when you throw in his off breaks into the equation. But he can't afford any more slip-ups.

Team news

India (probable): 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla/ Ashish Nehra, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Zaheer Khan

South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Morne Van Wyk/ Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Wayne Parnell/Robin Peterson, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Stats and trivia

• du Plessis' 60 in the third ODI made him the first South African batsman to score a half century on debut against India. The previous best was 43 by Adrian Kuiper in 1991.

Quotes

"We have done well with the ball in this series. We have generally fielded well. The intensity has been good. We are excited to go to Pretoria. The teams have been trading blows for two months now and it has been a competitive series" -ESPNcricinfo
Smith is excited ahead of the decider

Lee and Doherty impress against poor England

England 214 (Trott 84*, Lee 3-27) v Australia

Xavier Doherty removed Paul Collingwood for 1 during a poor England display © AFP

Australia's resurgent one-day form continued at the SCG as they limited England to 214 although they were given a helping hand by the visitors with batsmen again donating too many wickets. Andrew Strauss fell to a horrid run out and the middle order subsided against Australia's motley collection of spinners. Jonathan Trott, who arrived five balls into the innings and was guilty in the Strauss dismissal, battled his way to an unbeaten 84 as England edged over 200.

Both teams have been badly hit by injuries, with England without Kevin Pietersen (groin) and Tim Bresnan (calf) while Shaun Tait (thigh) is missing for Australia. But it's the hosts who are dealing better with their casualty list as they take advantage of a slip in England's skills with Australia's replacements, Xavier Doherty and John Hastings, both putting in useful contributions.

After slipping to 3 for 61, Trott and Eoin Morgan had begun to revive the innings with a stand of 50 only for Morgan to pull a David Hussey long hop to midwicket where Michael Clarke took a sharp catch. Paul Collingwood's nightmare continued, after he'd been recalled for Pietersen, with an inside edge to get off the mark before missing a straight ball from Doherty that took off stump.

Doherty struck again when Michael Yardy offered a limp return catch to leave England on 6 for 130 and threatening to slide further. Trott and Luke Wright at least stemmed the tide but it was an effort in damage limitation rather than domination as they added 49. Trott became becalmed, although had to ensure he stayed at the crease, and Wright let himself down with a wild drive at Hastings to edge behind.

Clarke was proactive in the field, although it helped that wickets fell regularly, and never bowled anyone in a long spell. Brett Lee returned in the closing overs to have Chris Woakes (12) caught behind and England were forced to take the batting Powerplay with two tailenders alongside Trott, who didn't try to increase his aggression. The second half of his stay included 40 consecutive singles. Ajmal Shahzad spooned to mid-off and the innings ended in suitably shambolic fashion when Chris Tremlett failed to ground his bat.

Lee had given Australia the perfect start when he trapped Matt Prior lbw for his second consecutive duck since being recalled to the one-day team. Prior had already been beaten first ball by a fine outswinger and was then struck on the back leg for an easy lbw decision although he still asked for a review. After learning how to use the UDRS in Tests England aren't showing the same judgement in ODIs.

Strauss targeted Hastings and took consecutive boundaries in his first over as England began to take advantage of the good conditions. However, a shambolic run out knocked them right back when Trott and Strauss were left standing at the same end. The third umpire was needed, but only to decide that Strauss was the man out.

Ian Bell backed up his pre-game talk of retaining a positive approach, but failed to take the chance of a long innings when he got a leading edge that was well caught by Shane Watson in his follow through. Australia thought they'd made another quick inroad by having Morgan caught at slip off an inside edge and reviewed the on-field not out call where TV evidence didn't show any bat. -ESPNcricinfo

At least Trott managed to focus after his involvement in Strauss's departure and a painful blow on his knee when a throw came in at the non-striker's end. Morgan was unconvincing as he was almost caught at long-off then edged into Brad Haddin's knee on 10 and couldn't believe it when he picked out midwicket. He's normally so good at finding the gaps but, like for the team, it's a struggle at the moment.

Mohun Bagan to play without Barreto against AIFF XI

KOLKATA: After finding the touch with back-to-back away victories in the last two rounds, Mohun Bagan will look to maintain the momentum when they take on debutants AIFF XI in a round-II I-League clash at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here tomorrow. Mohun Bagan will rest their star striker Jose Ramirez Barreto bringing in Subair Muritala Ali up front with Edeh Chidi, in what appears a bold move by Subhas Bhowmick.

Asked about the ploy, the technical director said, "He did not practice today how can you expect him to play..." and he also ruled out any fitness worries for the Brazilian striker who has been the Mohun Bagan saviour for long. That the ageing Barreto is yet to hit a purple patch this season, might be one of the factors.

Fresh from their two successive away wins, Mohun Bagan will be confident of getting full points against the AIFF outfit that has been drafted into the league with an eye on 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Bhowmick said they could not afford to lose points as they would have to improve from here on with the side lying on sixth spot with 14 points -- still 12 points shy of table leaders and their bitter rivals East Bengal --after 10 rounds. "We have a young side and slowly they are hitting the right chord. We have to hold on to the winning run and make it a habit. There is no room for error now and we cannot afford to relax," Bhowmick said.

Mohun Bagan beat second-placed Salgaocar and got past minnows ONGC with an identical 3-1 scoreline in the last two matches. But even in the victories their weak defence conceded two goals that will again be a concern for Bhowmick. "Defence is still weak, there is still a lot of room for improvement. We are working on it," Bhowmick said. For the Desmond Bulpin-coached AIFF, there is nothing to lose. The side held JCT to a goalless draw in the last match as they have 10 points from 10 matches to lie on 10th spot. -PTI

Court sends notice to PCB for early hearing of Shoaib's appeal

LAHORE: A court has issued a notice to the Pakistan Cricket Board in response to an application by fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar seeking an early hearing of his appeal challenging the one and a half year ban and fine of Rs 7 million imposed on him. The ban and fine were imposed by an appellate tribunal constituted by the PCB.

The Lahore High Court had earlier given interim relief to Akhtar by allowing him to participate in national and international cricket matches by suspending the ban. The bowler, through his counsel Abid Hasan Manto, informed the High Court yesterday that the PCB's appellate tribunal is not authorised to award such penalties because these were not provided for under the relevant laws.

Akhtar's lawyer contended that the tribunal illegally passed the impugned order by relying on two earlier orders given by two different disciplinary committees of the PCB. He pointed out that a disciplinary committee had in October 2007 imposed a ban of 13 matches on Akhtar and asked him to pay a fine of Rs 4 million on the charge of hitting a fellow cricketer in South Africa. Manto said the other committee passed an order for a life ban, which Akhtar challenged in the PCB's tribunal.

He said that imposing a life ban was "completely ultra vires and illegal" because it was not provided for in any law, rule or policy of the PCB. He said an illegal part of that order cannot be relied on either by the disciplinary committee that imposed a ban or by the appellate tribunal which reduced the punishment. Manto requested the court to declare the disciplinary committee's order and the findings of the appellate tribunal as illegal. -PTI

Inconsistent batting worry India ahead of series-decider

CENTURIAN: With the series tantalisingly poised at 2-2, India will have to quickly regroup and sort out their batting woes as they go into the fifth and final cricket one-dayer here tomorrow against the Proteas, hoping to register their first-ever series triumph on South African soil.


In pic: Rohit Sharma failed to impress © AFP

The Indians have never won a limited-overs series in South Africa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his young bravehearts will leave no stone unturned to achieve the feat at the SuperSport Park here. But it won't be easy for the visitors as with their 48-run win via Duckworth and Lewis method in the fourth ODI, South Africa have showed that they will not allow the series slip from their hand without a fight.

Down 1-2 after back-to-back defeats in Johannesburg and Durban, the Proteas made a strong comeback in Port Elizabeth last night to level the series and take it to the decider. But going into the match, India would be a worried lot as their middle-order failed yet again in the series.

Young Virat Kohli has been the only bright spot in the series for India in an otherwise out-of-form batting line-up, which has been hit hard by injuries to key players like Sachin Tendulkar and opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. At the St George's Park yesterday, Kohli scored his second half century of the series but his 92-ball unbeaten 87 runs knock was not enough to win the fourth ODI for India. The batting has come a cropper in the series so far with skipper Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina failing to consolidate on the starts they got.

What will be worrying Dhoni the most is the opening slot as Rohit Sharma's woeful run continues at the top while Parthiv Patel, who replaced an out-of-touch Murali Vijay in the last match, failing to make any impact. With World Cup round the corner, India would not only want to win the series here but also be keen to see the youngsters, who have done well in the recent past, show some character on the pacy South Africa pitches before the game's show-piece event, which stars next month. In the second match, too, it was some superb bowling by the Indians that helped them defend a low total of 190.

The likes of Yuvraj and Raina would need to take some responsibility tomorrow to down the ever-fighting Proteas while it is also high time for Dhoni himself to produce something valuable from his bat. Dhoni himself conceded that the middle-order need to fire after the visitors failed to secure a historic series-win in the fourth ODI.

"It's (Kohli's batting) a big positive for us. It's good for us at number three. He has carried through the innings but the other batsmen also need to chip in. The middle-order has not clicked," Dhoni said. "It (final match) will be interesting. The team that handles pressure better will win," he added.

On the bowling front, the Indians so far did a decent job in the series. But the performance of his frontline bowlers in the last match would be worrying Dhoni ahead of the decider. In the last match, except for Ashish Nehra no other frontline bowler has managed a wicket while part-time spinner Yuvraj got three prized scalps. The pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel and spinner Harbjhajan Singh turned out to be a tad too expensive and Dhoni would need the trio to deliver in tomorrow's encounter.

However, the Indian skipper can take heart from the part-timers performance with Yuvrj, Raina, Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan all coming good in the middle-overs yesterday. South Africa, on the other hand, will be high on confidence after their series-levelling win in Port Elizabeth and would do whatever it takes to prevent India from creating a first on the African soil.

The Proteas may be missing the required balance in the side in the absence of veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis, but one or the other have chipped in with runs for the home team when they needed most. If it was skipper Graeme Smith in the first two matches, JP Duminy delivered the goods for South Africa in the next two.

The left-handed Duminy scored fifties in consecutive matches to rescue South African innings in both the third as well as fourth ODIs. His crucial 71-run unbeaten knock yesterday turned out to be the match-winner for South Africa. Duminy, who batted till the last, shared two crucial partnerships with Johan Botha (44) and Robin Petersen (31) to rescue South Africa from a precarious situation.

The South African bowling, meanwhile, has been the talking point of the series with both Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tostsobe igniting fire upfront while Botha stemming the run flow in the middle overs.

In Peterson, who impressed with both bat and ball yesterday, South Africa have found an utlity player. All in all a cracker is in the offing in the final match of the series, which has seen some outstanding competitive cricket from both the sides.

The teams (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/keeper), Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Piyush Chawla, Parthiv Patel.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper), Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. -PTI

Match starts 1330 hrs (IST) Live on Ten Cricket and DD National