India to test bench strength in Zimbabwe

NEW DELHI: A second-string Indian team left for Zimbabwe to play a tri-series, hoping to convince the selectors they were ready for the big league.

The 15-man-squad, led by Suresh Raina, will play Sri Lanka and the hosts in a double-leg tri-series that opens in Bulawayo on Friday and ends with the final in Harare on June 9.

The selectors have rested eight top stars -- captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra -- from the tournament.

"With the senior players taking a break, this is a good time for the younger lot to make an impression and prove their worth," said Raina, 23, ahead of the team's departure.

"The seniors may be missing, but we still have a very good team that can win the tournament."

Four members of the touring squad -- fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Pankaj Singh, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Naman Ojha -- have not played international cricket at the senior level.

India's tri-series squad:

Suresh Raina (capt), Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha.

Schedule:

May 28: India vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo

May 30: India vs Sri Lanka, Bulawayo

June 1: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo

June 3: India vs Zimbabwe, Harare

June 5: India vs Sri Lanka, Harare

June 7: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Harare

June 9: Final, Harare

Modi's "leak" to media irks Srinivasan

NEW DELHI: BCCI secretary N Srinivasan kept mum on whether he would recuse from proceedings against Lalit Modi but lashed out at the suspended IPL commissioner for his "habit of leaking information" to the media.

In a 14-page letter to BCCI president Shashank Manohar, Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Srinivasan, saying the BCCI secretary should not be part of the panel adjudicating charges of financial irregularities against the suspended IPL commissioner.

Asked if he would stay away from the proceedings and oblige Modi, an annoyed Srinivasan said, "I'm afraid I cannot discuss these issues in the media.

"Mr Modi has this habit of leaking information and letters to selected press but I cannot comment on these issues," Srinivasan said over phone.

In his letter, Modi said Manohar too should stay away from the proceedings, since it would "tantamount to being a judge, witness and a potential co-notice" in the case.

Manohar, however, was not available for comments. Charged with allegations of bid-rigging and proxy investment, Modi first sent a staggering 15,000-page reply to the show cause notice served to him and he followed it up with another letter on Tuesday in which he targeted Manohar but came down more heavily on Srinivasan with a series of allegations including that of "match-fixing".

Modi, in fact, requested Manohar to serve a show cause notice to Srinivasan and also suspend him pending an investigation.

Modi alleged Srinivasan has grossly misused his power as BCCI secretary and said there was a clear case of "conflict of interests" since he was also owner of the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL.

Modi said if allowed to be part of the panel deciding his fate, Srinivasan would have an axe to grind against him.

"This stems from the manner in which I have consistently frustrated and exposed his attempts at misusing his position as Honorary Secretary of the Board so as to confer a wrongful benefit to his team (Chennai Super Kings) at the cost and expense of other teams and the BCCI," Modi said.

Modi accused Srinivasan of trying to "fix" matches by hand-picking a panel of umpires to officiate Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) matches in the IPL.

"This constituted a clear attempt at umpire fixing/match fixing. Upon my coming to know this I objected to the same and removed them in the interest of the League," Modi said.

Srinivasan also pushed "tailor-made policies" to suit CSK's interest, Modi alleged.

According to Modi, Srinivasan ignored his objection and pushed for the proposal that would allow IPL teams retain seven players -- four Indians and three foreigners.

"The only reason for doing so was to ensure that Chennai Super Kings retained its players," Modi said.

The BCCI Secretary allowed a bank guaranty given by a broadcaster to lapse and tried to scuttle Mumbai Indians' signing of West Indian player Kieron Pollard, Modi alleged.

Srinivasan also altered auction rules, got backdated players' contract accepted and cancelled a player's contract to ensure that CSK retained their full purse of $2 million for players' auction, alleged Modi.

"I have consistently pointed out that the Honorary Secretary's wearing of two hats (administrator and team owner) had placed him in a clear conflict of interest position, which he had misused and exploited," Modi wrote.

"Since I have been opposed to this manner of functioning from the very inception, it is obvious that to protect his position, the Honorary Secretary has good reason not just to defame me but also to find me guilty of these imaginary wrongdoings alleged in the show cause notice," Modi added.

Real Madrid line up Mourinho as Pellegrini sacked

MADRID: Real Madrid have sacked coach Manuel Pellegrini and will appoint Jose Mourinho to replace him once they have reached agreement with Inter Milan about ending his contract with the Serie A club.

"I am ready to admit to some mistakes but the hiring of Jose Mourinho, one of the world's best coaches, is an opportunity that this Real Madrid, which always fights for excellence, could not afford to miss," Real president Florentino Perez told a news conference on Wednesday.

"We are absolutely convinced that we need a fresh impulse and that a coach like Mourinho can be the person to take charge of the squad for the next few years," he added.

Pellegrini left Villarreal to join Real last June and become the cornerstone of Perez's big-money bid to bring trophies back to the Bernabeu. The construction magnate invested a quarter of a billion euros ($307 million) in players, including a record 94 million on Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Pellegrini was charged with rebuilding the nine-times European champions and making them into a team capable of challenging Barcelona while entertaining a hugely demanding and impatient fan base.

But Real were dumped out of the Champions League by Olympique Lyon, humiliated by third-tier Alorcon in the King's Cup and ended the season three points behind La Liga champions Barca.

Portuguese Mourinho has made no secret of his wish to coach Real and will join the La Liga giants having led Inter to three major trophies last season, the Champions League and Italian league and cup double.

The former Porto and Chelsea coach said on Wednesday that it would be "impossible" for him to stay at Inter.

Roger Federer endures Falla, rain to reach French open third round

PARIS: Top-ranked Roger Federer endured one tense set and two rain delays before eliminating Alejandro Falla of Colombia 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday.

Federer lost serve just once against Falla, at 5-all in the opening set, but broke back and hit four winners in the tiebreaker. From there only rain could slow Federer - the match was stopped for 15 minutes in the second set and for an hour in the third.

Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam when he won at Roland Garros last year, is seeking his 17th major title.

No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling won 20 of the first 22 points and went on to beat unseeded American Taylor Dent 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. Soderling, who upset Rafael Nadal last year and then lost to Federer in the final, has lost seven games through two matches.

Other men's winners included No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 10 Marin Cilic and No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny before rain interrupted the day's play for a second time.

Venus Williams beat Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain 6-2, 6-4, improving to a 14-2 win-loss record on clay in 2010. She's seeded second at Roland Garros behind younger sister Serena, who scouted from behind the baseline, sitting next to their father. The sisters could meet in the final.

In other women's play, No. 26 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia rallied past Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 4-6, 6-2, 6-0. Cibulkova, a semifinalist last year, faces Williams next.

"I'll continue to try to execute my game and not worry really a ton about what my opponent is doing," Williams said.

Two-time semifinalist Nadia Petrova, seeded 19th, beat Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-1, 6-2.

For the day's opening match on center court, Williams again wore her lacy corset despite a brisk change in the weather, with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s F (high teens C). At her postmatch news conference, there were seven questions about her outfit.

"Lace has never been done before in tennis, and I've been wanting to do it for a long time," she said. "The illusion of just having bare skin is definitely for me a lot more beautiful."

Williams sent her flounce flying when she served. She went to deuce six times in her first service game before holding, then pulled away to take the set.

In the second set, both players held until the seventh game. Williams drew Parra Santonja into a moonball rally, then sprinted forward to slam a winner. That gave Williams a 4-3 lead, and she served out the victory, her 28th in 32 matches this year.

In 13 previous French Open appearances, Williams reached the semifinals only once - in 2002, when she lost to Serena in the final. But at 29 she's enjoying a career resurgence, and her record this year is the best on the women's tour.

Soderling remained on course for a Roland Garros rematch against Federer in the quarterfinals.

"I'm feeling good," Soderling said. "I won two matches pretty easy in straight sets, and I didn't have to run for many hours on court so far, so I feel fresh."

Tsonga, France's best title hope, defeated countryman Josselin Ouanna 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. Cilic swept Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Youzhny rallied past Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal back on centre stage, Verdasco may face crowd

PARIS: Play on Court Philippe Chatrier will have a familiar feel on Thursday with Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin, holders of eight French Open singles crowns, bidding to move into the third round.

Nadal returns to the stadium where 12 months ago he suffered the only defeat of his Roland Garros career when he takes on Argentina's Horacio Zeballos in a match sure to be dominated by brutal baseline exchanges.

Henin, mobbed by eager children seeking autographs at Roland Garros on Wednesday, will hope her game is a little more fine-tuned after a rusty first round when she plays Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.

Women's top seed Serena Williams, the 2002 champion, will be on Court Suzanne Lenglen where she takes on Germany's Julia Goerges for a place in the last 16.

Men's seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick also feature on the venue's second principal court.

Spain's Fernando Verdasco may not receive the warmest of welcomes from the French crowd when he takes on home hope Florent Serra on the main court.

The seventh seed hurled profanities at the Nice crowd when losing the final to Richard Gasquet on Saturday. He later issued an apology but the Roland Garros spectators will be firmly behind his opponent.

With rain curtailing much of Wednesday's play, several matches will be carried over including British fourth seed Andy Murray's second-round clash with Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.

India beat South Africa by 14 runs

GROS ISLET (Saint Lucia): Suresh Raina became only the third man to make a Twenty20 International century as India beat South Africa by 14 runs at the Beausejour Stadium on Sunday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Victory, which saw India into the second round Super Eights after their seven-wicket win over Afghanistan on Saturday, was built on Raina's 101 out of a total of 186 for five.

Only West Indies' Chris Gayle and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum had previously made centuries at this level.

Raina had an escape on five when he was caught off a Morne Morkel no-ball.

It was an expensive error by the fast bowler, with left-hander Raina striking five sixes and nine fours in a blistering assault as he reached his century off 59 balls.

Together with Yuvraj Singh (37) he shared a stand of 88 in 10 overs after the pair came together with India 32 for two in the sixth over after they'd lost the toss.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith had promised his side would be flexible when it came to their openers but few foresaw the skipper dropping himself down to No 3.

Jacques Kallis, who opened in Smith's place, was nearly out for a second ball nought when a diving Yusuf Pathan at backward point just failed to hold on to a catch off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh.

Kallis, after the early loss of Loots Bosman, went on to complete a 45-ball fifty with three fours.

The experienced batsman then tried to keep South Africa on course by slog-sweeping Harbhajan for two successive sixes in the 15th over.

But a stand of 97 in 11 overs was ended when Smith was run out by Praveen Kumar's throw to wicketkeeper and India captain MS Dhoni.

Then 118 for two became 128 for three when Kallis fell on 73 after driving leg-spinner Piyush Chawla straight to Ravindra Jadeja in the deep.

South Africa though kept swinging and got the target down to 24 off the last over, bowled by Ashish Nehra and the left-arm quick conceded just nine.

India accelerated in the ninth over when Yuvraj swept spinner Roelof van der Merwe for the first six of the match and, two balls later, Raina lofted all-rounder Kallis high over wide long-on.

Both batsmen were severe on fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt, whose four overs cost 48 runs.

India took 25 runs off Kleinveldt's last over, the 18th, with Yusuf Pathan hitting the first ball for six and then taking a single.

Raina then struck three fours in a row, over long-on, through extra-cover and straight down the ground, before the batsman completed the over with a majestic six, struck off one knee and high over long-off.

Come the last over, Raina was on 95 and Dhoni was facing

But when he got on strike, for the third ball, Raina wasted little time in completing his hundred with a six over midwicket off Albie Morkel before getting out next ball.

This was only the 23-year-old Raina's 13th Twenty20 International and his score easily eclipsed his previous best of 61 not out against New Zealand in Christchurch last year.

Dhoni, whose side beat Afghanistan on Saturday, ended the innings with a six as India scored a mammoth 75 runs off the last five overs.

South Africa complete their group programme against Afghanistan in Barbados on May 5.

Watson stars as Australia beat Pakistan by 34 runs

GROS ISLET: Shane Watson top-scored with 81 as Australia punished lax Pakistan fielding to win their opening World Twenty20 match by a convincing 34-run margin on Sunday.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

Man-of-the-match Watson's innings was the cornerstone of Australia's 191 all out, made after captain Michael Clarke won the toss.

But the all-rounder was dropped twice and Watson made defending champions Pakistan pay by striking four sixes and seven fours in his blistering 49-ball innings.

Together with David Hussey, he put on 98 in under nine overs for the third wicket.

Hussey dropped on 18 at long-off by Salman Butt, a relatively easy chance, went on to make 53 off 29 balls with five sixes and two fours.

Hussey was especially severe on seamer Mohammad Sami, striking him for 28 runs in the 16th over with the batsman striking four sixes, including three in a row.

Pakistan lost Kamran Akmal for nought to the first legitimate ball of their reply when he sliced Dirk Nannes to Steven Smith at short third man.

Salman Butt (15) miscued an attempted hook off fast bowler Shaun Tait and was caught by David Hussey before left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson's second ball proved too much for Mohammad Hafeez, who pulled straight to deep square leg.

Australia, holding their catches, had reduced Pakistan to 34 for three inside five overs and they never looked like recovering from such a start.

Tait then had the satisfaction of bowling Pakistan captain and hard-hitting batsman Shahid Afridi for 33 before finishing the match by bowling Saeed Ajmal off the last ball.

Misbah-ul-Haq top-scored for Pakistan with 41 but that was never going to be enough by itself.

Afridi had only inherited the Pakistan captaincy after the fall-out from the team's disastrous recent tour of Australia where they failed to win in three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20.

Earlier, David Hussey holed out off Ajmal and, three balls later, the off-spinner had Watson lbw.

There was an extraordinary end to the Australia innings with a five-wicket maiden during the last over from Mohammad Aamer.

Brad Haddin was caught off the over's first ball, Mitchell Johnson clean bowled off the second with both Michael Hussey and Steven Smith run out by direct hits from wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as they tried to run byes.

Tait survived the fifth ball but was bowled off the last for nought.

Left-arm quick Aamer finished with three wickets for 23 runs, with Ajmal taking three for 34.

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs in the first Group A match here on Saturday and both Pakistan and Australia will qualify for the second round of if the Aussies beat Bangladesh in Barbados on Wednesday.

Nadal matches Agassi record with Rome win

ROME: Rafael Nadal, the world number three, won a record equalling 17th Masters title with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of 13th-seeded Spanish compatriot David Ferrer at the Rome Masters 1000 at the Foro Italico on Sunday.

In a match that finished four and a half hours after it started due to two rain delays, clay court king Nadal was never troubled.

His victory matched the mark of 17 Masters wins set by Andre Agassi, although the American was 34 when he won the last of his while the Spaniard is still just 23.

Nadal clearly coped better than Ferrer, who was aiming for a first ever Masters title, with the rain as until the first break it was 4-4 and 40-15 to Ferrer on his own serve.

However, he won only three more games after the heavens opened and Nadal, who has dropped only one set on clay this year, proved that he is in great shape ahead of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year.

Two weeks ago he stormed to victory at the Monte Carlo Masters and here he was only troubled in his three-set epic against Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in the semi-finals.

It was his fifth win in Rome in the last six years.

Over the last six years he has won Monte Carlo six times, here and Barcelona five times and at Roland Garros will also be aiming for a fifth title.

The players were forced off by rain at 4-4 in the first set and when they came back out, Ferrer seemed to have lost focus.

He had already been under pressure on his serve before the break but at 5-5 he finally gave up a break after netting a forehand when facing his sixth break point of the set.

However, he almost broke straight back as he earned his first and only break point of the first set but he went long on a backhand return.

Nadal's deep hitting in the next point allowed him to come forward and bury a volley before another backhand error on the return from Ferrer allowed the world number three to seal the set.

Things looked ominous for Ferrer at the beginning of the second as he dropped to 15-40 on his serve but he dug deep to hold.

However on his very next game he dropped to 0-40 only to save all three before a forehand wide and a backhand long gave up the break.

Play was then immediately suspended for the second time and the players were off court for an hour and a half but when they came back Ferrer put up little resistance.

He held his first service game but then at 2-4 he gave up a break point with a double fault and then hit a wild forehand long to allow Nadal to serve for the title.

India's CWG boss, Suresh Kalmadi, told his time is up

NEW DELHI: India's long-serving Olympic chief Suresh Kalmadi was on Monday given a government deadline to quit, prompting criticism exactly five months before the country hosts the Commonwealth Games.

The sports ministry ruled that heads of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and national sports federations cannot remain in their posts for more than 12 years or beyond the age of 70.

Kalmadi, the chief organiser of the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, has served as the IOA president for 14 years and turned 66 on Saturday.

But the ministry has allowed Kalmadi and other sports chiefs to complete their current tenures, ensuring there is no break in preparations for the Commonwealth Games.

Kalmadi, whose current term ends in 2012, declined to comment on the sports ministry's diktat, but other officials slammed the move.

"It is a ridiculous decision," said opposition lawmaker Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who has headed the country's archery federation for 31 years.

"It makes no sense. People have served in parliament for 30 years, many of our ministers are above 70, so why this rule only for sports officials?"

Sports Minister Manohar Singh Gill, a former chief election commissioner, defended the decision to limit sports chiefs' tenures.

"This order will serve the best interest of sportspersons of the country and it will give an impetus to transparent and professional management of Indian sports in the new century," Gill said in a statement.

Former stars, like athlete Milkha Singh, welcomed the regulations.

"It is a step in the right direction, it should have happened much earlier," said Singh. "It will lead to better people joining the federations and that can only be good for sports."

Politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen have often been accused of turning sports federations into their personal fiefdoms, holding on to their posts for years to remain in the spotlight.

Former sports minister Sukhdev Dhindsa has headed the cycling federation for 14 years; bureaucrat V.K. Verma has run the badminton association for 12 years and businessman B.S. Adityan has been volleyball chief for 12 years.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, the richest sports body in the country, has a fixed tenure of three years for its president. The present incumbent Shashank Manohar is a lawyer.

Lankans in do-or-die situation against Zimbabwe

GUYANA: With their campaign derailed by a shock loss to New Zealand, Sri Lanka face a battle of survival against a confident Zimbabwe in their second Group B match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Monday.

In their opening match, Sri Lanka had done most things right till the last over. The Islanders posted a good score on board and defended it well before Nathan McCullum stole the match with a six off Lasith Malinga in the final over.

That six of the second last ball has placed the Lankans in a do-or-die battle against Zimbabwe, who are coming into Monday's match after beating formidable Australia and defending champions Pakistan in their warm-up games.

Sri Lanka boasts of a very formidable batting line up with Mahela Jayawardene, who scored a 51-ball 81 against New Zealand, rock solid at the top and Dinesh Chandimal giving him good support in the last match.

But skipper Kumar Sangakkara has been battling with his form and it has continued till now in the World Cup.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is not the explosive self that he used to be until last year.

Sri Lanka wasted old war-horse Sanath Jayasuriya at number seven in the last match and Angelo Matthews, who performed well at the IPL, also flopped.

On the bowling front, spinners Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Chanaka Welegedara, Jayasuriya -- all have done a decent job on the slow wickets here.

Medium pacer Matthews has also chipped in with a wicket but Malinga's last match performance should be a cause of worry for the Lankans as the pacer went for 33 runs in 3.5 overs without a wicket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have been quite phenomenal in their warm-ups and would come into the match high on confidence.

Despite being short of experience, Zimbabwe have beaten two formidable teams, which shows there is hardly any scope of error in this format of the game.

For the African team, Elton Chigumbura have done the bulk of scoring, hitting a 35-ball 76 against Australia and an unbeaten 35-ball 49 against Pakistan.

Craig Ervine, Charles Coventry and opener Hamilton Masakadza have also contributed with the bat.

On the bowling front, Prosper Utseya have been the pick of the bowlers taking six wickets, while Chigumbura have also picked up three wickets against Pakistan.