Paes-Stepanek duo win Aus Open men's doubles title

MELBOURNE: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied the Bryan brothers a record 12th men's Grand Slam doubles title on Saturday as they beat the American top seeds in straight sets in the Australian Open final.

The 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory was the first for India's Paes over American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in a final after five defeats in title matches, and means he completes a career Grand Slam of doubles titles.

Coming into the Australian Open the Indian doubles specialist had won 47 career doubles titles with 11 different partners, including one with Stepanek, who now claims his first Grand Slam doubles title.

"I know what this means for him (Paes) because this title was missing from his career Grand Slam, and I'm happy I can be by his side," Stepanek said.

The two danced around the court gleefully after their win, which comes on the day that Bob Bryan's wife is expecting their first baby.

"She's probably going to deliver tomorrow so thanks baby, thanks for holding it in for me," he said.

Serve dominated in the first set with just a single break point for each pairing and no breaks of serve, but unseeded Paes and Stepanek stepped up their game in the tie-break to take it 7-1.

The fired-up Indian-Czech pairing finally broke the Bryans' serve in the second game of the second set and looked like they would run away with the match.

The Americans, with 76 titles together, stopped the rot by holding in the fourth game but they could not reverse the momentum and were broken again to slip to a comprehensive defeat.

Paes and Stepanek, playing in just their fourth Tour-level event together, had lost to the Bryan brothers in straight sets in both their previous meetings.

The result means the Bryans remain on 11 titles, sharing the record for the number of men's titles in the open era with Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

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Australian Open 2012: Maria Sharapova crushed by Victoria Azarenka in women's final in Melbourne

Victoria Azarenka became the first Belarusian to win a grand slam singles title when she claimed the Australian Open title with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Russia's Maria Sharapova on Saturday.
The 22-year-old's first grand slam title also means that she will become the new world number one when the WTA rankings are released on Monday.
With both players virtually carbon copies of each other, Azarenka's footwork and superior speed around the court proved to be the difference as the duo hammered away at each other from the baseline.
Sharapova broke the first game of the match and took a 2-0 lead when she held but was never in the match from then on, with the Belarusian winning 12 of the next 13 games and sealing the title when the Russian hit a backhand into the net.

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Ind vs Aus:again again again and again

ADELAIDE (Australia): Australia wrapped up a 298-run win over India to sweep the series 4-0 early on the final day of the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The end was swift with the Australians snapping up the final four wickets in an hour to dismiss India for 201 and inflict a fourth heavy defeat on the demoralised tourists.

It was India's eighth consecutive away Test loss after a 4-0 series loss in England last year and the Indians have not won a series in Australia in 10 visits.

Australia's dominance over India comes a year after their Ashes series humiliation at home to England and their significant improvement under new skipper Michael Clarke, who replaced Ricky Ponting.

Australia won by 122 runs in Melbourne, an innings and 68 runs in Sydney and an innings and 37 runs in Perth before their final Adelaide annihilation.

Australia's bowlers, led by pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus (27 wickets) and Peter Siddle (23), dented the reputations of India's decorated batting lineup with the eight-Test youngster Virat Kohli topping the side's batting averages with 37.50.

Sachin Tendulkar, who failed to bring up his 100th international century, has now gone without a century for 25 Test and one-day innings. His last hundred (111) was in the World Cup last March.

Tendulkar finished the series with 287 runs at 35.87, but it was sorry reading for the other batting luminaries.

Test cricket's second all-time highest run-scorer Rahul Dravid finished with 194 runs at 24.25, Virender Sehwag 198 at 24.75 and VVS Laxman just 155 at 19.37.

India were set an improbable 500-run target for victory in the Adelaide Test off 146 overs after Clarke's second declaration of the match at 167 for five in their second innings shortly after Friday's lunch.

The highest winning chase at the Adelaide Oval is Australia's 315 against England in 1902, while India's highest-ever run hunt was 406 against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1976.

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Sachin not recommended for Bharat Ratna

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar's name has not been recommended for the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna by the sports ministry, according to media reports. The sports ministry has sent the names of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award this year.

Recently the scope of the Bharat Ratan had been expanded to include exceptional services or performance of the highest order "in any field of human endeavour", thus sportspersons could also be chosen now for the award. Earlier the award could be given only in fields like arts, literature, science and public service. Last month, press council chairperson justice Markandey Katju had said that giving Bharat Ratna to cricketers and film stars, who have "no social relevance", is a "mockery" of the award.
"People are talking of giving Bharat Ratna to cricketers and film stars. This is the low cultural level to which we have sunk. We ignore our real heroes, and hail superficial ones," he said against the backdrop of the demand for conferring the coveted award to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and hockey legend Dhyan Chand.
Talking to reporters, Sports Minister Ajay Maken said that the sports ministry has forwarded all the names recommended by the sports federations for the award and BCCI did not send any name for consideration.

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Sania-Vesnina lose in Australian Open semis

Melbourne: The Indo-Russian pair of Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina's women's doubles campaign came to an end in the Australian Open semifinal on Wednesday.

The sixth seeded pair lost 6-7, 6-2, 4-6 to the unseeded Russian pair of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva after a tough battle of 2 hours 33 minutes.

Sania and Vesnina smashed a massive 47 winners in contrast to 29 by Kuznetsova and Zvonareva but the Indo-Russian duo also made more than double their opponent's unforced errors. They had 51 unforced errors to their names as opposed to 24 by the Russian pair.

Sania and Vesnina had earlier upset second seeds Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber to make the semis at Melbourne Park.

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Sania-Elena pair reaches Aus Open semis

ania Mirza and Elena Vesnina showed nerves of steel under pressure as they shocked second seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond to breeze into the women's doubles semifinal of the Australian Open here today. The sixth seeded Indo-Russian pair staved off very strong resistance from the Americans for a 6-3 5-7 7-6 (6) win in the marathon quarter-final, which lasted three hours and five minutes.

This is only the second time in Sania's career that she has reached a Grand Slam semi-final in the women's doubles event.
In 2011, she had reached the Wimbledon semis with Elena, losing to Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik.
Sania and Elena will now fight it out with the Russian combo of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva for a place in the summit clash.
The other semifinal will be played between the 11th seeded Italian pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci and seventh seeded Czech combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.
The deciding third set lasted 93 minutes, which was more than the duration of the first two sets.
Sania and Elena saved eight breakpoints in the third set, apart from converting two and dropping their serve twice in the final set.
In the match tie-break, the two pairs were going neck and neck but Sania and Elena held their nerves and clinched the issue.
Meanwhile, in the junior competition, Rutuja Bhonsle and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi came from behind to reach quarter-finals of the girls doubles quarter-finals.
They beat the Australian pair of Naiktha Bains and Danielle Wagland 5-7 6-2 10-5 in the second round clash.
They face Irina Maria Bara of Romania and Latavia's Jelena Ostapenko, who got a second-round walkover from second seeds Dutch Indy De Vroome and Estonia's Anett Kontaveit.

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Sania in quarters of women's and mixed doubles at Australian Open

India's Sania Mirza is through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open tennis with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in the mixed doubles and Russian Elena Vesnina in the women's doubles here on Monday. The Indo-Russian pair won 7-5, 6-3 against the American-Australian combine of Jarmila Gajdosova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania and Elena will next face second seeds Liezel Huber of South Africa and Lisa Raymond of the US in the quarterfinals.
In the mixed doubles, Sania-Bhupathi, winners in 2009, entered the last eight with a hard fought win over the Czech-Austrian pair of Iveta Benesova and Jurgen Melzer. The super tie-break went down to the wire but the Indians held their nerve for a 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 victory.
Earlier, Rohan Bopanna reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Lisa Raymond, beating Australia's Casey Dellacqua and Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. Bopanna-Raymond will play the winners of the match between Leander Paes and Elena and Su-Wei Hsieh and Marcin Matkowski.
In the juniors, India's Rutuja Bhosale and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi beat Ratnika Batra, also from India, and Australia's Georgiana Ruhrig 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 to advance to second round in the girls' doubles event.

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Maria Sharapova battles into Australian Open quarters

ELBOURNE: Russia's Maria Sharapova battled back from a set down to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Monday to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, her best performance since lifting the title in 2008.

The fourth seed won 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 2hr 15 min to set up a last-eight clash with fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Serena Williams earlier.

The 24-year-old Sharapova has now reached the quarter-finals or better in Melbourne five times, but this is the first time she has progressed so far since being crowned champion four years ago.

"I had lots of ups and downs today so I was fortunate to finish on a high note," she said.

"She was a good opponent and playing with confidence. I'm happy that although I didn't play my best tennis I hung in there."

Sharapova started with a blaze of attacking shots and broke Lisicki's first two service games with a series of punishing ground strokes.

But the gritty German refused to give in and slowly fought her way back into the match.

Using clever changes of pace and some deceptive serving, Lisicki didn't allow the much taller Sharapova to find any rhythm and the Russian's game began to fall apart.

Lisicki won the next six games to claim the first set in 36 minutes before Sharapova could stop the rot. The fourth seed then took control of the second set, breaking Lisicki twice to win the set and send the match into a decider.

The turning point came in the third game of the third set when Lisicki had five break points but couldn't convert any of them. Three games later Sharapova broke the German to gain a crucial 4-2 advantage.

Sharapova saved another break point to go to a 5-2 lead and brought up her first match point on Lisicki's serve.

The German held and forced Sharapova to serve for the match, but she kept her nerve and claimed victory on her second match point courtesy of a swinging serve to Lisicki's backhand.

The victory means Sharapova retains a chance of finishing the Australian Open as world number one, along with current incumbent Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka, all of whom are in the quarter-finals.

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CCL: Amma Kerala Strikers register thumping victory‎

Kochi: After a heartening loss to Chennai Rhinos Saturday, Amma Kerala Strikers captained by Mohan Lal managed a convincing 10 wicket victory over Mumbai Heores in the Celebrity Cricket League match here Sunday.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss Mumbai Heroes, led by skipper Suniel Shetty, had scored 128 runs in the stipulated twenty overs losing nine wickets. Amma Kerala Strikers reached the target in 16.5 overs without losing any wickets.

Rajiv Pilllai, 75 and Nivin Pauly, 16 led Amma Kerala Strikers to victory as the team fared exceedingly well in all other departments especially bowling and fielding.

Rajiv Pillai was adjudged Man of the Match for his outstanding performance, while Manikkuttan was given a special award for a superb catch at Mid Wicket.

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CCL: Chennai Rhinos beat Kerala Strikers

Chennai Rhinos defeated Kerala Strikers with 1 wicket. Winning the toss, Kerala Strikers set a target of 112 runs. Pillari was the highest scorer of the innings with 43 runs.

In reply Chennai Rhinos achieved the target in 19.1 overs with 1 wicket remaining. Chennai scored 115. Jiva was the highest scorer with 27 runs.

         Scores:-
                         Kerala Strikers - 112 all out in 18.4 overs
                        Chennai Rhinos - 115 for 9 in 19.1 overs

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VVS Laxman retire after the Australia series?

ADELAIDE: Embattled batsman VVS Laxman has quashed talks of his impending retirement following his dismal performance in the ongoing Test series against Australia, saying that such reports were untrue.

Emerging out of the one-on-one technical session with coach Duncan Fletcher in the team training session, Laxman dismissed speculations that he is on the verge of retirement.

"When Laxman was approached by an Indian television journalist after the session, the 37-year-old insisted reports of his impending retirement were untrue," a report in 'The Age' said.

Laxman is not alone among the Indian batsmen who have had little impact on the series, but the elegant stroke player has lacked freedom, failing to find other ways to score when the Australians blocked off his boundary areas.

He has scored just 102 runs from the six innings he has played so far at an average of 17. His languid fielding and ongoing back problems, combined with his poor form, have prompted reports that he would be the first of India's ageing champions to retire, perhaps even before the Adelaide Test, starting January 24.

Fletcher spent a significant amount of time in Laxman's net working on technical aspects of his batting, suggesting his tour is not finished.

Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has also defended Laxman, saying that no individual batsman should be blamed for the Indian team's debacle in Australia as it was a collective failure.

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Former champions Williams, Sharapova into third round at Australian Open

Former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova dropped a combined five games to reach the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Five-time winner Williams, the No. 12 seed from the U.S., followed Sharapova’s 6-0, 6-1 victory against unseeded American Jamie Hampton by defeating Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Williams’s 500th career victory extended her streak at Melbourne Park to 16 straight wins after back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. She missed the season-opening Grand Slam last year as she recovered from two operations on her foot. Her preparations this year were disrupted by an ankle sprain.
“It’s fine,” Williams said of the injury in a televised interview. “I just have really wobbly ankles. I wasn’t meant to be like a ballerina or anything.”
No. 4 seed Sharapova, one of four women who can finish the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament as the WTA’s No. 1- ranked player, is playing in her first event since October following a left ankle sprain. The Russian has dropped just two games in Melbourne, where she spent nearly two weeks ahead of the tournament while she rested her injured ankle.
“The goal is to get through and keep playing more,” Sharapova, who struck almost four times as many winners as the 144th-ranked Hampton, said in a news conference. “It’s just about taking it one at a time and improving, because it’s only going to get tougher from here.”

No. 13 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, whom Sharapova beat in the 2008 final in Melbourne to win her third Grand Slam title, sealed a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Michaella Krijicek of the Netherlands moments later on the No. 2 Hisense Arena court.
No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), while No. 25 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia and 29th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova lost.
Juan Ignacio Chela, the No. 27 from Argentina, and 23rd- seeded Canadian Milos Raonic were among the early men’s seeds to advance on day four, when top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia continues his title defense against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Fourth seed Andy Murray of Britain meets Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.
No. 8 Mardy Fish of the U.S. became the highest-ranked man to go out of the tournament yesterday. Defending women’s champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark reached the third round.
Second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park, while No. 3 Roger Federer of Switzerland had a walkover to the third round when German Andreas Beck withdrew with a lower back injury.

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Sania Mirza crashes out of Australian Open 2012

Melbourne: India's challenge in the singles event of the season's first Grand Slam was over in just an hour and 28 minutes as Sania Mirza went down to Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.
Coming back from a knee injury, Sania showed glimpses of fightback against Pironkova but that did not prove to be enough as the world No. 105 Indian went down 4-6, 2-6.
In absence of Somdev Devvarman, who has been forced out of the tournament with an injury, Sania was country's only hope in the singles event of the championship.
The Indian put up a brave show in the first set but made 20 unforced errors as compared to 14 by her Bulgarian opponent and that cost her set.
Sania started the second set on a positive note. After keeping her first serve easily, she fought her way from 0-40 down to deuce on Pironkova's serve in the third game of the set. But the Hyderabadi failed to earn a much needed break.
However, she backed it with a fine service game to make it two-all in the second set.
The 25-year-old had great chance to go ahead in the next game as she pounced on loose second serve from Pironkova to gain a break point, but Sania squandered the advantage.
She once again conceded two break points in the sixth game to help Pironkova tighten her grip over the match with the score reading 4-2 in favour of the 47th ranked Bulgarian.
Sania tried to make a comeback in the next game holding her opponent to a deuce but Pironkova won the seventh game of the set to make it 5-2.
From there on it was a tough task for Sania to make her way into the match and Pironkova relied on her powerful service game to shut the door on the Indian.
Sania has only twice managed to reach the second round of a Major in the last two seasons, while Pironkova had reached Wimbledon semifinals in 2010 and quarterfinals last year although she struggled at other Grand Slams in the same period.

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Dravid's unwanted world record

Perth, Jan 15: This is one record Indian batsman Rahul Dravid would have done without. "The Wall" known for his watertight technique now holds the dubious distinction of being bowled most times in Test cricket history with 54 times.

Dravid, who was bowled again on the third day of the Perth Test against Australia on Sunday, went past former Australian skipper Allan Border (53) in the list of most bowled batsman.

India lost the Perth Test on Sunday by an innings and 37 runs to hand the series to the home team. Australia lead 3-0 with one Test to go in Adelaide.

The 39-year-old right-hander was bowled for the fifth time on the current tour of Australia. Dravid's leg-stump was flattened by paceman Ryan Harris at the WACA Ground and the Bangalorean was once again left pondering what is going wrong with his reliable techique. He was comprehensively beaten by Harris for a score of 47 in the second innings.

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Australia crush India, win series

PERTH: Australia came through early frustration to move to the brink of victory and an unassailable 3-0 series lead by reducing India to 165 for six after the third morning of the third test on Sunday.
Only Virat Kohli was able to sustain any resistance to the Australian quick bowlers and he was unbeaten on 69 alongside R. Vinay Kumar (six not out) at lunch with the tourists still 43 runs from forcing the hosts to bat again.
India, bowled out for 161 in the first innings, had resumed on 88 for four facing an uphill battle just to match Australia's first innings tally of 369.
On a blistering morning at the WACA, which had the fans crowding around the casks of complimentary sunscreen as they streamed into the ground, India kept the hosts in the field without success for a lengthy period for the first time in the series.
The quartet of Australian quicks continued to make full use of the bounce on offer from the wicket but, despite several wafted attempted shots from the batsmen, were forced to wait for the breakthrough.

Kohli, under pressure for his place in the side for much of the series, once again proved to be one of his team's more impressive batsman and brought up his fifty with a flicked four through long on off Mitchell Starc after an hour's play.

He and Rahul Dravid (47) had put on 84 for the fifth wicket when Ryan Harris finally separated them, fooling the senior partner with a ball that swung in, crashed through the gate and removed the leg stump.
It was the fifth time in six innings in the series that the 39-year-old Dravid, known as "the Wall" for his strong defence, had been bowled.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni came in next but lasted just 20 minutes before edging a Peter Siddle delivery to Ricky Ponting in the slips with the former Australia skipper taking a fine low catch.
With the captain gone India's cause looked lost, not least because their tail has been fragile at best during the series.
Australia won the first test in Melbourne by 122 runs and the second in Sydney by an innings and 68 runs. The fourth test begins in Adelaide next week.

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Azarenka wins Sydney tennis title

Known best for the sounds she makes on court, Victoria Azarenka will instead head to Melbourne Park with plenty of noise being made about her Australian Open chances after the Belarusian took out the Sydney International on Friday night.
The 22-year-old overcame a second-set lapse to down defending champion Li Na 6-2 1-6 6-3 at Sydney Olympic Park.
One of the noisiest players on tour – who grunted her way to the 95 decibel mark during her semi-final run to Wimbledon last year – Azarenka instead turned up the volume on her powerful ground strokes, giving Li the run around from the back of the court.
While much of the focus this week has been on the battle for the world No.1 between incumbent Caroline Wozniacki and her suitor Petra Kvitova, Azarenka has quietly consolidated her No.3 ranking and must be considered a serious threat in Melbourne.
A 2005 junior Australian Open champion, Azarenka was a stealthy mover on the tour last year, rising from tenth in the world to her current ranking thanks to three titles and consistent results at the four grand slams.
She fairly blasted through the first set on Friday night, ripping winners at will, particularly on the backhand flank.
But the errors that tallied so swiftly for Li in the opener began to dwindle in the second set, China’s No.1 player taking it comfortably as she began to eye off her first tournament win since last year’s French Open.
After games had stayed on serve at 4-3 in the decider Azarenka then found an extra gear, breaking her opponent to serve for the match.
Also known on occasion for her fragile temperament, Azarenka steeled herself during a tense game to serve out the match, calmly blunting several break back opportunities to snare the title.
Despite the loss, Li will also have plenty of confidence heading to Melbourne.
She is 18-2 in singles matches in Australia over the last year, her only losses across four tournaments coming on Friday night and in the final of the grand slam opener of 2011 against Kim Clijsters

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Australia opener David Warner blasts fourth fastest century ever as India reach new low at Perth

David Warner smashed the one of the fastest ever Test centuries to cap a wholly dominant opening day for Australia in the third Test against India at Perth.

After an all-seam attack made full use of a fast-paced WACA Ground wicket to rattle out India for 161, Warner unleashed an onslaught of strokeplay to reach his second Test century in just 69 balls.

It was the equal fourth-quickest in history and was secured in typical style when the diminutive left-hander thrashed debutant Vinay Kumar deep into the crowd over mid-on.

Warner's blazing innings ensured Australia were well on course to claim a series clinching win after finishing the day 149 for none - just 12 runs behind.

Australia's four-pronged pace battery had earlier sunk the already beleaguered Indians, trailing 2-0 in the four-Test series, with Ben Hilfenhaus (four for 43) and Peter Siddle (three for 42) doing the major damage.

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MS Dhoni to quit Test cricket?

PERTH: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Thursday made a surprise revelation that he may retire from Test cricket if he is to play in the 2015 cricket World Cup.

"If I have to see through the 2015 (World Cup), I would have to retire from one of the formats," Dhoni told mediapersons here.

Dhoni, who has played in 66 Tests so far and won 17 of the 36 matches in which he has skippered, almost casually mentioned it which took everyone by surprise at the press conference.

Thursday's disclosure by Dhoni seems to convey what he feels about his future in the game if read together with what he had said earlier that he will decide by 2013 whether to play in 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The 30-year-old Dhoni is more and more being acknowledged as a really good captain in one-day cricket and a very effective batsman in the limited-overs format.

In the Tests, on the other hand, his team seems to have lost the knack of winning abroad in testing conditions and his batting, against lifting and seaming deliveries, look completely out of sorts.

Dhoni had earlier been quoted in the media that he will decide by 2013 if he will play in 2015 World Cup.

"What I really meant is by 2013 I would have to see where I stand as to my body. Whether I will be able to survive till the 2015 World Cup," he had said in the media.

"Of course form is a big factor but also what I need to say is that all of a sudden in 2014 if I feel I can't survive the 2015 World Cup and there comes a new wicketkeeper who has played just 30 ODIs, it's not fair.

"At 2013 end, I have to decide if fit enough to proceed in one of the format. It's not for personal but for country and for the individual who is taking my position. He should have played 70-80 ODIs before he goes in World Cup. That's my personal thinking," he had said.

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Neymar wins Fifa's Puskas Award for best goal of 2011

Neymar won the Puskas Award at Fifa's annual awards for his solo strike against Flamengo, beating fellow strikers Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.

"I think it’s the best goal I’ve ever scored," the Brazilian said. "I picked up the ball on the left, went past two opponents and laid the ball off to a team-mate.

"We played a great one-two and I managed to wriggle clear of two more opponents and put the ball away. It was just about the perfect move."

The 19 year-old danced past three defenders, completed a one-two with a teammate before chipping the ball past the Flamengo goalkeeper. Flamengo had the last laugh by winning the match 5-4.

Neymar also said he was happy to stay in Brazil after being continually linked with a move to Europe.

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Lionel Messi named the world's best player for the third time

Zurich, Jan 10: Already judged one of football's all-time greats at just 24, Lionel Messi unsurprisingly extended his reign as the world's best player for a third year on Monday.

The Barcelona and Argentina forward received the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2011, beating his club teammate Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid to the game's most prestigious individual honor.

"It's a huge pleasure for me," Messi said, after accepting the trophy from another three-time winner, former Brazil forward Ronaldo. "It's the third time I get this award, and it's a huge honor."

Messi's prolific scoring and unselfish creative play inspired Barcelona to win five trophies last year including the Champions League, Spanish League and Club World Cup.

Messi is the first man to win three straight FIFA world player awards in the honor's 21-year history. Zinedine Zidane of France also won three FIFA player awards.

Messi received 47.88 percent of the points in votes cast by national team coaches and captains plus invited journalists. They chose from an original shortlist of 23 players.

Cristiano Ronaldo finished second with 21.6 percent and Xavi got 9.23 percent to finish third for the third straight year.

"This one is very special because I want to share this with my friend and teammate Xavi . He deserves it," Messi said.

On a night of Barcelona dominance, the Catalan club inflicted another defeat on its great rival Madrid in the men's coaching award.

Barca's Pep Guardiola was chosen ahead of Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson of Manchester United. Mourinho and Ronaldo did not attend, as Madrid plays a Spanish Cup match Tuesday in Malaga.

In the women's award, Homare Sawa of Japan ended Brazil forward Marta's five-year rule as the world's best player. Abby Wambach of the United States was also shortlisted.

Sawa led Japan to win the 2011 Women's World Cup and adds the FIFA prize to her tournament best player and top scorer trophies.

A major international tournament victory is all that now eludes Messi.

Guardiola and Ferguson agreed at an earlier news conference that Messi should be classed alongside legends such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Alfredo di Stefano.

"Now he can sit beside them. It's a huge award, no?" Guardiola said.

FIFA's world player honor merged last year with the Ballon d'Or trophy awarded by France Football magazine since 1956.

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Tendulkar should take counselling: Latif

Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif on Monday suggested that Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar should take counselling from a sports psychologist to get over the "mental block" caused by the continuing wait for his elusive 100th international century.

"He is under pressure no doubt about it. He might not admit it but he is facing a mental block because of this hype over his milestone. It would not be a bad idea for him to get some counselling from a sports psychologist," Latif suggested.

"He is batting well and he is looking good out in the middle. It is just a mental block and pressure that has prevented him from reaching this milestone earlier," he said.

India lost the first two Tests after batting collapses with Tendulkar scoring a half century in each match but failing to get to his elusive 100th international hundred.

Latif said he had a feeling that Sachin would get the hundred in the final Test and definitely in the series. He said the world's top athletes at some time in their career required counselling to get over mental blocks.

"It can happen to anyone," he added. The Indian maestro's last international century came against South Africa in March last year.

Latif pointed out that there was no other plausible reason for Tendulkar not scoring his 100th international hundred.

"I have seen many of his innings in the last 10 months and in these two Tests and he is definitely not out of form or facing issues timing the ball. He is moving well and is balanced at the crease this can be judged by the fact that he has scored runs but fallen short of the hundred," the former Pakistan captain pointed out.

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Ojha should be there in place of Ashwin: Ganguly

 Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is in favour of drafting left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha in the Indian side for the Perth Test in place of R Ashwin who is struggling against the Australian cricket team.
However, Ojha, who has taken 62 wickets in 14 Tests, has never played overseas.

"I think the left-arm spinner could come in and do well. He's a good bowler and he's ready, and Ashwin obviously hasn't bowled well," Ganguly said.
Spin has accounted for just four of the 24 Australian wickets to fall in the series.
Ganguly though said Umesh Yadav should be spared the axe.
"I thought Umesh Yadav bowled very well in Melbourne so you can't leave him out after one bad Test match, and he had bowled very well previous to that," Ganguly was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.
India's preparation has come under fire from former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar after several players missed training before the Test in Melbourne to go sightseeing.
Ganguly though said the players need to spend time away from the nets.

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Paes, Tipsarevic win doubles crown in Chennai Open

The third seed Indo-Serbian pair of Leander Paes and Janko Tipsarevic on Sunday won the doubles title at the Aircel Chennai Open 2012, defeating fourth seed Israeli duo of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets in Chennai.   In a match the lasted 73 minutes,

the local favourites won their first title together and Paes' sixth doubles title in Chennai.

Tipsarevic played the match right after losing the singles final. Asked how he had managed such a physically difficult task, Tipsarevic said, "I had a very hard pre-season. I have that every year, fitness in general is one of my strength".
About Paes, he said, "I love playing with someone who loves to ask me something but also to give something".
Paes and Tipsarevic wrapped up the title in game 10 of the second set on Paes' serve, right after they had broken Erlich in the previous game.
Serving for the set, Paes and Tipsarevic were aided in their cause after Erlich hit two consecutive serve returns long from the baseline. At 40-0 up and three match points at their disposal, Ram and Erlich left a Paes volley sail unharmed between them, gifting the first doubles title to the Indo-Serbian pair.
Erlich and Ram have already been runners up once in the Chennai Open, losing in the 2004 doubles final to the Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo.
Paes said, "I know how difficult it is mentally to play two finals on the same day. The way he (Tipsarevic) prepared for both the finals, it was impeccable. He epitomises what an athlete should be."
Following their semifinal victory over Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky on Saturday, Paes had attributed the success of his partnership with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic to their "work ethic".

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Former India players call for Laxman's head

VVS Laxman should be the first veteran head to roll in a batting revamp if India are to secure their future in Test cricket, several former players have said in the wake of a second crushing defeat in Australia.

India, who surrendered their World No 1 Test status during a disastrous tour of England last year, slumped to their sixth successive loss in overseas Test matches with the innings defeat in Sydney on Friday.

The 4-0 drubbing in England, coupled with the first and second Test defeats in Melbourne and Sydney, have seriously dented the pride of the world's most vaunted batting line-up.

Senior batsmen like 38-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (38) and Laxman (37) have traditionally been India's strength but they have failed to live up to their reputation and calls for infusing more young blood have been gaining ground.

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Zheng and Pennetta in final

China's Zheng Jie won through to her first WTA Tour final since 2010, when she upset Svetlana Kuznetsova at the ASB Classic on Friday.

zheng

Kuznetsova, the third seed in Auckland, clinched the first set of their semi-final, but Zheng fought back to win 2-6 6-3 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes.
The world number 48 Zheng last appeared in a title decider in May 2010, when she lost to Alexandra Dulgheru in Warsaw, and has failed to win a singles tournament since 2006.

Zheng will face Italian fourth seed Flavia Pennetta in the final on Saturday, after she accounted for Germany's rising star Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-2 in just under an hour.
The result avenged Pennetta's loss to Kerber in the quarter-finals of the US Open in September last year.
Pennetta has nine singles titles to her name on the tour, from 20 finals appearances.
The world number 20 Pennetta leads the head-to-head record with Zheng 3-2, winning their most recent clashes in Cincinnati (2010) and Doha (2011) in straight sets.

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Ind vs Aus: Australia crush India by an innings and 68 runs

Michael Clarke

The historic 100th international ton continued to elude Sachin Tendulkar as India slumped to an innings and 68-run defeat in the second cricket Test against Australia, who have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

India lost the first Test at the MCG by 122 runs and now for the second successive time they have lost with more than a day to spare. They have now suffered the ignominy of losing half as many as six consecutive Test matches on foreign soil.

Resuming at 114 for 2, India were all out for 400 with 25-odd overs of the fourth day's play still remaining.

sachin

There were as many as four half centuries in the Indian innings - Gautam Gambhir (83), Sachin Tendulkar (80), VVS Laxman (66) and Ravichandran Ashwin ( 62) - yet none produced a gritty effort which could take the match into the fifth day.
Tendulkar again came close to the historic milestone of 100 international centuries but was dismissed by part-timer Michael Clarke to break a few million Indian hearts.
Even though the visitors chalk up 400 runs in their second innings, 114  runs came for the last three wickets by when the match was as good as over.
Ben Hilfenhaus ripped the heart out of India's batting, claiming Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as his victims for figures of 5 for 106.
Peter Siddle took 2 for 88 while James Pattinson, Michael Clarke and Nathan Lyon shared the other three wickets.
The two teams will now travel to Perth for the third Test beginning January 13.
The morning session had promised some rearguard action by the Indians as 129 runs accrued for the loss of a solitary wicket of Gautam Gambhir.

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INDIA CRICKET SCHEDULE 2012

Jan-2012
Tue 03 - Sat 07 23:30 GMT, 10:30 local	India v Australia 2nd Test - Australia vs India Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Fri 13 - Tue 17 02:30 GMT, 10:30 local	India v Australia 3rd Test - Australia vs India W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth
Tue 24 - Sat 28 00:00 GMT, 10:30 local	India v Australia 4th Test - Australia vs India Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Feb-2012
Wed 01 06:35 GMT, 19:35 local	India v Australia 1st T20 - Australia vs India Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Fri 03 06:35 GMT, 19:35 local	India v Australia 2nd T20 - Australia vs India Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Sun 05 03:20 GMT, 14:20 local	India v Australia 1st Match - CB Series 2012 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Wed 08 03:20 GMT, 11:20 local	India v Sri Lanka 2nd Match - CB Series 2012 W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth
Sun 12 03:20 GMT, 13:50 local	India v Australia 4th Match - CB Series 2012 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Tue 14 03:20 GMT, 13:50 local	India v Sri Lanka 5th Match - CB Series 2012 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Sun 19 03:20 GMT, 13:20 local	India v Australia 7th Match - CB Series 2012 Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
Tue 21 03:20 GMT, 13:20 local	India v Sri Lanka 8th Match - CB Series 2012 Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
Sun 26 03:20 GMT, 14:20 local	India v Australia 10th Match - CB Series 2012 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Tue 28 03:20 GMT, 14:20 local	India v Sri Lanka 11th Match - CB Series 2012 Bellerive Oval, Hobart
Mar-2012
Tue 13 08:30 GMT, 14:30 local	India v Sri Lanka 2nd Match - Asia Cup 2012 Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Fri 16 08:30 GMT, 14:30 local	India v Bangladesh 4th Match - Asia Cup 2012 Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sun 18 08:30 GMT, 14:30 local	India v Pakistan 5th Match - Asia Cup 2012 Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
Sep-2012
Wed 19 14:00 GMT, 19:30 local	India v TBC 3rd Match, Group A - Twenty20 World Cup R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Sun 23 14:00 GMT, 19:30 local	India v England 10th Match, Group A - Twenty20 World Cup R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

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