Hamilton sets pace at final test session

BARCELONA: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Sunday's final Formula One pre-season testing session when the likely rivalries for the coming year finally fell into place.

The true pace of cars has been difficult to judge during February's four tests because of bad weather and different fuel loads, but on Sunday the teams went flat out to prove their readiness for the first race in Bahrain on March 14.

Ferrari and Red Bull had looked to be ahead after previous tests but 2008 world champion Hamilton showed McLaren were fully competitive by setting the fastest lap of one minute 20.472, the quickest time in Barcelona this week.

His team mate and fellow Briton Jenson Button, last year's champion, finished his testing on Saturday and declared himself happy with the McLaren before Hamilton pushed the car even more.

Red Bull pair Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were second and fifth on Sunday's timesheets with Ferrari's Felipe Massa third quickest. The Red Bull has been very pacy but has suffered more reliability problems than the Italian team or McLaren.

Mercedes, who took over world champions Brawn, are generally considered by the paddock to be the fourth fastest at this stage and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher backed up the assertion by setting a quickest lap just short of Vettel's best.

Adrian Sutil impressed to go fourth fastest in the Force India with Williams in seventh ahead of Sauber, Toro Rosso and Renault.

New teams Lotus and Virgin have consistently been at the bottom of the timesheets during the testing in Spain, as expected, but at least they have made it to the practice sessions.

Fellow newcomers Campos and U.S. F1 have not tested although the former believe they can be ready to race in Bahrain.

Struggling U.S.F1 are waiting to see if the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) allows them to skip the first four races, with Serbian outfit Stefan GP saying they are able to step in and take their place in Bahrain despite also not testing and not having a 2010 entry.

Sachin Tendulkar should get Bharat Ratna: Kapil, Wadekar

NEW DELHI: Describing Sachin Tendukar as 'Kohinoor' of cricket, former captains Kapil Dev and Ajit Wadekar on Friday said the milestone man should be conferred Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian award.

The record of highest International runs (31,041) and centuries (93) already by his name, Tendulkar on Wednesday became the first cricketer in the history of One-day cricket to score a double hundred in Gwalior.

"Sachin is the Kohinoor diamond of the game of cricket. This cricketer has unmatched talent and you can't find another Tendulkar ever. I think, he should have got the Bharat Ratna," Wadekar said.

India's only World Cup winning captain Kapil also supported Wadekar's view and said Tendulkar very much deserves the honour.

"Sachin has touched several milestones during his 20-year career in the international cricket. He certainly deserves the Bharat Ratna. We will be very happy if he gets the highest honour of the country," Kail said.

Kapil, though, said his views would be the same even if Tendulkar had not achieved the rare feat of scoring an ODI double hundred.

"Even if Sachin would have got a duck in this innings, still I would say that he deserves the honour. No decision should be taken on the basis of performance in one match, but I am keeping in mind his overall contribution," he added.

Another former captain and former selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkar echoed the same sentiment.

"If any player deserves the Bharat Ratna, it must be Tendulkar. He must get the award," he said.

Wadekar also hoped that Tendulkar would continue to play even after the 2011 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"Sachin has proved with his fielding how fit still he is. I think, he can play for at least two more years after the World Cup next year."

Wadekar, who has also worked with Tendulkar as coach of the national team, supported the view of former England captain Nasser Hussain that Tendulkar was better than even Don Bradman, the iconic Australian batsman.

"I don't think any batsman can be better than Tendulkar, not even Bradman. Sachin has succeeded in all the three forms of cricket - Test, one-dayer and Twenty20," Wadekar said.

Tendulkar, Sehwag rested for Ahmedabad ODI

CHENNAI: Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar and explosive opener Virender Sehwag were rested while Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay and Karnataka speedster Abhimanyu Mithun were on Thursday included in the Indian squad for Saturday's third and final one-dayer against South Africa in Ahmedabad.

With India having clinched the three-match series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead, the national selectors opted to rest the seasoned duo for the inconsequential match.

The selectors left out Uttar Pradesh pacer Praveen Kumar and Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar from the 14-member squad, with Mithun and Rohit Sharma replacing them.

Harbhajan Singh, who had opted out of the first two matches because of his sister's wedding, has also been rested, meaning that leg-spinner Amit Mishra is the only specialist spinner in the squad announced after a selection committee meeting.

Mithun, who was named in the squad for the first Test against South Africa in Nagpur, was left out from the second match in Kolkata without having played the match.

But the selectors opted to give him another chance at the expense of Praveen Kumar.

With Tendulkar, who created history by becoming the first cricketer to score a double century in one-day internationals, and Sehwag being rested, Vijay and Dinesh Karthik are expected to open the innings.

Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin, who is also a decent batsman, has been retained in the team along with Uttar Pradesh paceman Sudeep Tyagi. The two youngsters have not yet played a single match in the series and one of them could get a chance in Ahmedabad.

India will again miss the services of in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, hard-hitting middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, all of whom are recovering from injury.

India won the first one-dayer in Jaipur by just one run and then clinched the series with an emphatic 153-run victory in the second one-dayer in Gwalior which will be remembered for Tendulkar's stupendous unbeaten knock of 200.

Squad:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sudeep Tyagi, S Sreesanth, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun and Ashish Nehra.

Tendulkar zooms to ICC ODI third spot after historic innings

DUBAI: Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday jumped three places to third in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings after his record-breaking double-century against South Africa while India are almost assured of $75,000 for ending the calendar year at number two position in the championship table.

Tendulkar (766 points), who returned undefeated on 200 in his 442nd appearance at Gwalior on Wednesday, now trails second-placed Mike Hussey (809) of Australia by 43 points with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (827) strengthening his position at the top of the rankings after hitting a 35-ball 68 not out against South Africa in the second ODI.

It is Tendulkar's highest ranking in two years after he had reached second position following an unbeaten 117 against Australia in Sydney.

While Tendulkar has vaulted into third position, fellow opener Virender Sehwag has dropped one place to 10th position.

After missing a few matches, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir also slipped one and two places respectively to be at 13th and 21st. A player loses one per cent of his ratings points for every match missed.

In the bowlers list headed by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, Harbhajan Singh is the only Indian at top 20 and the off-spinner retained his place at fifth.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship, India has all but cemented second position after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against South Africa. It is now on 123 ratings points while South Africa has slipped to 115 ratings points.

The only way India can finish third at the annual cut-off date of 1 April is if it loses Saturday's match and New Zealand makes a clean sweep of the five-ODI series against Australia starting in Napier on March 3, which is highly unlikely.

In that scenario, New Zealand will jump to 123 ratings points while India will finish on 122 ratings points.

On the other side of the coin, if India wins on Saturday then irrespective of how New Zealand and Australia series pans out, India will finish second on 124 ratings points.

Australia has already sealed the number-one position with 134 ratings points and can only drop to as low as 128 ratings points if it loses all the five ODI against New Zealand.

ACA claims positive progress on IPL security demands

MELBOURNE: Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has ridiculed the safety concerns raised by it but the Australian Cricketers Association claims to have made "some positive progress" in getting its players' security demands met by the IPL organisers.

"Our security adviser Reg Dickason has been working with the IPL's security adviser, Nicholls-Steyn. They've been working for a few days now on what we've identified as the issues that have come out of various player meetings," Marsh said.

"Nicholls-Steyn is aware of those and they are working through the issues and we're making some positive progress. It's probably looked more positive over the last few days than what it has (before). There's still 15 days to go before the event starts and things can happen very quickly in India, we've seen that over the years," he added.

Modi had earlier dismissed the ACA's concerns in his twitter feeds, saying the IPL would not "be dictated by players associations on where to play".

Meanwhile, Marsh played down reports of a bust-up between current and former Australian cricketers with regards to IPL participation.

"Like just about every meeting, when you're dealing with a difficult issue, there are different points of view and there were definitely different points of view in this particular meeting. The players were completely unified on the position that they wanted to go," Marsh said.

"However, there was one school thinking they would only go if our security adviser, Reg Dickason who we trust, believes it's safe to go. There was another school that said it's a risk-and-reward type situation, would we go regardless. We got to a position at the end of it where we all said okay, let's put back to the IPL the things that we need so that all the players can go.

"If we can resolve those issues with them, and that is our hope, then we would expect to get to a point where our security adviser recommends that it's safe for the players to go. If we can't overcome these issues then the opposite is the most likely scenario. This is a decision to be made by each individual player," he added.

Paes-Dlouhy reaches Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals

DUBAI: Indian ace Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the doubles semi-finals while it was curtains for compatriots Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.

The second seeded pair of Paes and Dlouhy beat Arnaud Clement of France and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden 7-6(3), 6-1 in the quarter-finals to set up a clash with Christopher Kas of Germany and Belgian Dick Norman.

Christopher and Dick stunned fourth seeds Frantisek Cerman of Czech Republic and Slovak Michal Mertinak 6-4, 6-2 in another quarter-finals.

However, it was end of roads for Bhupathi as he and his Belarus partner Max Mirnyi were defeated 4-6, 4-6 by Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Australian Paul Hanley in the last eight match on Wednesday.

Wildcards Rohan Bopanna of India and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi became a first round casualty after going down 7-5, 6-7(5), 8-10 in the first round against Clement and Lindstedt on Wednesday.

Another Indian in the fray, Somdev Devvarman also lost his second round singles match against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 3-6, 6-3, 1-6 on Wednesday.

Skeet gold for India in Commonwealth Shooting

NEW DELHI: Arozepal Singh and Mairaj Ahmed Khan fetched India's lone gold medal on Thursday as they grabbed the top honours in the team skeet event for men taking the host's medal tally to 37, including 18 gold, at the end of day eight in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships here.

Arozepal and Mairaj combined for a score 185 (93+92) to clinch the gold ahead of England's Rory Warlow and Craig Lakey, who were just a point behind the Indians.

The bronze medal in this event went to Bangladesh's Iqbal Islam and Nooruddin Salin, who totalled 175 in the shotgun event.

In the women's competition, Arti Rao and Rashmee Rathore missed the gold by just a point and settled for the silver with a combined score of 83. The gold was clinched by England's Nicki Brocklesby and Pinky Le Grelle.

Welshwomen Elena Allen and Cerys Evan had to be content with the bronze after shooting a score of 79.

However, there was disappointment for India in the 50m Rifle Prone Team event for women as Tejaswini Sawant and Lajja Gauswami finished fifth despite equalling the previous meet record of 1171.

Scotland's Jennifer McIntosh and Sheena Sharp shattered the five-year-old meet record to grab the gold medal in this event by scoring 1178. The silver in this event went to England's Michele Smith and Sharon Lee, who finished a point behind the gold medallists.

Wales' Johanne Brekke, who was part of the team that set the previous meet record in 2005, and Helen Warnes settled for silver after shooting 1174.

India continues to lead the medal tally and besides the 18 gold medals, the home shooters have also clinched 13 silver and six bronze medals. After adding the consolation badges given to the third member of a team, the hosts' tally swells to 57.

England is a distant second on the list with 27 medals and badges, while Scotland is third on the list with eight medals and badges.

Sensed a double century only after 175: Tendulkar

Day in Pics: February 23

GWALIOR: Milestone man Sachin Tendulkar said he sensed he could be the first batsman to hit an ODI double century only after he had reached 175 in the second one-dayer against South Africa.

Tendulkar, whose unbeaten 200 earned him a slice of one day history, said he was merely striking the ball well early in his innings. It was only in the final eight overs that he realised he stood a chance to re-write history.

"In the first half an hour, I was striking the ball well and timing well. The ball was coming nicely onto the bat," Tendulkar said after the match.

"I was not thinking about it all along. It was only when I crossed 175 and realised that it was still the 42nd over, I felt I have an opportunity. So I decided to take singles and give strike to (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni who was hitting so well," said the batting great.

On his epic knock, Tendulkar said, "I don't know how to react. I'd like to dedicate this double-hundred to the people of India for standing behind me for the last 20 years, come what may."

The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association on Wednesday gifted Tendulkar a silver bat apart from Rs 10 lakh and announced that a pavilion in the Captain Roop Singh Stadium would be named after the Mumbaikar.

Tendulkar said he expected India to score somewhere in the vicinity of 340-350 but it was the big-hitting spree of Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan which guided the team to 401 for three.

"I felt a good target was around 340-350. We had some fantastic batting by Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf and MS. If you look at the partnerships, every over there was a big shots played. Yusuf changed the momentum and MS finished well," Tendulkar said.

His captain Dhoni lavished praise on Tendulkar and felt promoting Yusuf Pathan had paid off for the team.

"Once Viru got out it was important to get some runs. Dinesh and Sachin batted really well, they went on with the innings. We were eyeing 350 when they were going strong. But Sachin batted through the innings and he played really well, using the pace of the ball when he got tired," he said.

"Yusuf was sent up the order and with the talent he's got, he can be a great asset to the side. He needs to be given confidence," Dhoni explained.

His counterpart Jacques Kallis had no qualms in admitting that the South Africans just could not make a match of it Wednesday night.

"The toss was quite vital. Our basics were just weren't good enough today. We were outplayed. We lost wickets at crucial stages, or basics let us down. A fantastic innings by Sachin. He took advantage of some good conditions and he played superbly. We let us down in some areas," Kallis said.

Top knocks in ODIs

Runs	Balls	Batsman	For	Vs.	Venue	Date
200*	147	Sachin Tendulkar	India	South Africa	Gwalior	24.2.2010
194*	156	Charles Coventry	Zimbabwe	Bangladesh	Bulawayo	16.8.2009
194	146	Saeed Anwar	Pakistan	India	Chennai	21.5.1997
189*	170	Vivian Richards	West Indies	England	Manchester	31.5.1984
189	161	Sanath Jayasuriya	Sri Lanka	India	Sharjah	29.10.2000
188*	159	Gary Kirsten	South Africa	U.A.E.	Rawalpindi	16.2.1996
186*	150	Sachin Tendulkar	India	New Zealand	Hyderabad	8.11.1999
183*	145	M S Dhoni	India	Sri Lanka	Jaipur	31.10.2005
183	158	Sourav Ganguly	India	Sri Lanka	Taunton	26.5.1999
181*	166	Matthew Hayden	Australia	New Zealand	Hamilton	20.2.2007
181	125	Vivian Richards	West Indies	Sri Lanka	Karachi	13.10.1987

Sachin Tendulkar immortal at 200

Even before he took guard at Gwalior, Sachin Tendulkar's place in the pantheon of cricketing gods was assured. He had already amassed both the highest number of runs and the maximum tons in Tests and one-dayers alike.

Scorecard | Match in Pics | In Pics: Sachin's double ton

If devout worshippers had any reason to quibble, it was that there was no one record-shattering innings - Brian Lara has the highest Test score of 400 and Saeed Anwar and the little-known Charles Coventry shared the ODI record of 194.

Just 147 balls later, Tendulkar set the record straight in emphatic fashion. A staggering 2,961 matches and almost 39 years after the first ODI was played - and remember, many ODIs in the early years featured innings of 60 overs each, which gave batsmen more scoring opportunities - the Little Legend finally became the first cricketer to score 200 in a one-dayer, propelled by a record 25 fours in one knock.

The landmark 200 came in the final over of the innings, though Sachin crossed the previous record of 194 in the 46th over; in the interim, several lustily-hit fours and sixes by M S Dhoni were accompanied by groans from millions of spectators desperate to see Sachin on strike.

The big moment, though, finally arrived, crowning what is fast turning into one of Sachin's most productive periods with the bat. The last 12 months have seen him score 10 international hundreds: six in Tests - including four centuries in his last four Tests - and four in ODIs.

Three of those 4 ODI tons - Wednesday's 200, the unforgettable 175 against Australia last November and the brilliant 163 in New Zealand last March - are among his four highest ODI scores. Only his previous highest score of 186, against the Kiwis, falls outside this golden patch.

Some years ago, as Sachin struggled with injury and a dip in form, some commentators had the temerity to suggest that Ricky Ponting would eventually overhaul his records.

Over the past 12 months, though, Sachin has once again opened up a yawning gap between himself and all his contemporaries, and ensured that if at all any comparisons have to be made, they should be with another Australian - Don Bradman, who was famously reminded of himself when watching Sachin bat.

True, no one comes close to the Don's amazing average of 99.94, or his phenomenal 29 centuries from just 52 Tests. But the fact that Sachin is breaking records barely two months shy of his 37th birthday testifies both to remarkable longevity and an insatiable appetite.

Indeed, there are no speed limits on Sachin Tendulkar's road to excellence. After two decades of basking in the glory of his sporting pre-eminence on the world stage, India is now privileged to witness the second coming of the most complete and prolific batsman of this age. Even the back-breaking expectations of a billion unrealistic fans, it seems, are a pittance compared to the soaring aspirations of the man himself.

Over the last year, Sachin has taken his skills to a whole new level of consistency. The body, close to breakdown in the mid-2000s, has been chiselled to accessorize this new-found garb of perfection. Back in 1998, he had scored 12 international tons, 9 in ODIs and 3 in Tests. This purple patch has turned back the clock.

In the last 12 months, he has been the only player to score six hundreds in 10 Tests, at an average of 78.3. In 20 ODIs, a format in which his records are set in stone, he has notched up 1158 runs at 72.37, with 4 hundreds.

How about a Test triple, Sachin?

In Gwalior, Tendulkar strutted on his stage like a man possessed, ran between the wickets like a 20-year-old and reaffirmed his relevance in modern cricket's rapidly-changing dynamics.

When it finally came to pass, the unbeaten double ton almost seemed a scary inevitability. There were no cramps, no nerves, just steely intent to go on with a ruthlessly dominating display. Where have all the years gone?

Commentator Ravi Shastri repeatedly referred to him as a run machine, but that's only a half-Sach. Tendulkar isn't a mundane machine. Instead, he scripts his achievements with soul. This is a man for whom excellence is a habit, who is so devoted to his craft, so enthusiastic still, that with experience he has mastered the art of seamlessly binding talent, discipline and perspicacity, all without compromising on style, for maximum gain in a team cause. The end result is machine-like consistency.

Treasure this new, improved Tendulkar. He is, by far, still India's most valuable player, and will remain so till he decides to call it quits. But that's for later: after Gwalior, and given the form he is in, it's time to ask what's next. Maybe a 100 international hundreds, given that 93 are already in the bag?

* Highest run-getter in ODIs, with 17,598 runs from 442 matches. Jayasuriya (13,428) and Ponting (12,731) follow

* Most centuries in ODIs (46), followed by Ricky Ponting (29) and Sanath Jayasuriya (28)

* Since Feb 24, 2009 has scored 1,158 runs in 20 ODIs, with 4 tons, averaging 72.37. In the preceding 12 months, had scored 352 runs from 9 ODIs at an average of 44

* His double century is the first in 39 years of ODIs, including 60-overs-a-side matches

* Highest scorer in Tests, with 13,447 runs from 166 matches. Next best Lara (retired with 11,953) and Ponting (playing with 11,859)

* Most Test centuries (47), well ahead of Ponting (39) and Kallis (34) among active players, and retd Lara and Gavaskar (34 each)

* In 2010, has already scored 477 runs averaging 95.40. Only Hashim Amla (674) has scored more Test runs this year

* In his last 10 Tests, has scored 1,018 runs at an average of 78.3 and is the only one with 6 tons in the last 12 months. In the previous 10 Tests, he had 647 runs and averaged just 38.08

India thrash South Africa by 153 runs, win series 2-0

GWALIOR: Sachin Tendulkar rewrote history on Wednesday by smashing the first double century in ODI cricket as India crushed South Africa by 153 runs in the second one-dayer to clinch the three-match series with one game to spare.

Scorecard | Match in Pics | In Pics: Sachin's double ton

Tendulkar (200 not out) became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double century as India piled on a mammoth 401 for three and then skittled out South Africa for 248 in 42.5 overs for a facile win.

With this victory, India not only took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and rendered Saturday's third and final match in Ahmadabad inconsequential but also ensured there was no threat to their status as the number two ODI side in the world.

For them, Dinesh Karthik (79 off 85 balls), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (68 not out off 35 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (36 off 23 balls) starred with the bat but the day belonged to Tendulkar.

Everything else paled in comparison to Tendulkar's epic 147-ball blistering knock, studded with 25 fours and three sixes, as the master blaster treated the capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh stadium to a stunning exhibition of strokeplay.

It was not only Tendulkar's 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Conventry.

Charl Langvedt went into the history books as Tendulkar steered the pacer to the off side to get to the magical figure as the packed stadium went into a frenzy.

Tendulkar's previous best was an unbeaten 186 against New Zealand made at Hyderabad in 1999.

South Africa's mammoth chase looked doomed as Praveen Kumar cheaply castled swashbuckling opener Herschelle Gibbs (7) in the third over.

S Sreesanth (3/49) removed Roelof van der Merwe (12) with his fourth delivery and returned to see the back of in-form Hashim Amla (34 off 22 balls).

Ashish Nehra got the better of Jacques Kallis (11) in his second spell and by the 23rd over, South Africa were gasping for breath at 134 for seven.

AB de Villiers (114 not out) showed the kind of defiance not seen in his teammates as he hit his fifth ODI century. He added 77 runs with Wayne Parnell (18) to delay the inevitable but South Africa's defeat was just a matter of time by then.

De Villier's unbeaten 101-ball knock had 13 fours and two sixes in it.

It all, however, was reduced to a footnote on Wednesday as Tendulkar made history.

During his unforgettable knock, Tendulkar rattled up a record 194-run second-wicket partnership with Dinesh Karthik, who recorded his career best 79 off 85 balls with the help of four fours and three six.

They bettered the earlier Indian record of 181 runs that Tendulkar had put together with Rahul Dravid against the same opposition at Nagpur in 2000.

It was Tendulkar all over as he also shared quick and big partnerships with Pathan and skipper Dhoni to pile the agony on the South Africans.

With Pathan he added 81 runs for the third wicket, which ended when the Baroda all-rounder fell to Roelf van der Merwe.

Pathan played his own aggressive brand of game and was ruthless against Parnell, hitting the left-armer for two sixes and a four in the 38th over.

Then for the fourth wicket, Tendulkar and Dhoni raised an unbeaten 101-run stand, which took India to its highest score against South Africa.

Earlier, Wayne Parnell had cut short Virender Sehwag's (9) stay but once Karthik joined Tendulkar in the middle, India were always in charge.