Nasir, Younis guide Pakistan to victory against India

CHENNAI: A steady hundred by Nasir Jamshed and a classic half-century by veteran Younis Khan guided Pakistan to an exciting six-wicket win against India in the first One-day International here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target of 228, Pakistan were under immense pressure as they lost two early wickets for only 21 runs on the board. Both wickets went to young pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Mohammad Hafeez was bowled on the very first ball of the innings and later Azhar Ali was caught by Rohit Sharma.

However, a 112-run third wicket partnership between Nasir and Younis made the target easy and Pakistan completed the victory in 48.1 overs when Shoaib Malik hit Dinda to boundary.

Younis Khan made 58 off 60 balls. He was caught by Ashwin off Dinda.

Nasir Jamshed completed his second ODI hundred and remained unbeaten on 101 while Shoaib Malik was 34 not out.

Earlier, Mahinder Singh Dhoni leading from the front rescued his team from trouble. He made an unbeaten 113, off 125 balls with three sixes and seven fours.

After Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to take field in the match delayed by an hour due to morning rain, India made a disastrous start when their top-order batsmen could not resist against the fierce bowling by Junaid and Irfan.

First to go was veteran batsman Virender Sehwag who was clean bowled by Junaid in the fourth over. He made only four and India were 17 for one.

Then his partner Gautam Gambhir was also bowled but this time by Irfan at the same score in the fifth over.

Two runs later, the most in-form batsman Virat Kohli departed without opening his account. as Junaid uprooted his stumps

Dashing batsman Yuvraj Singh also could not stay at the crease and he was also clean bowled by Junaid for only two runs and India lost four wickets for only 20 runs.

Later, Rohit Sharma was brilliantly caught by Mohammad Hafeez at third slip off Junaid for four and India were reeling on 29-5.

Then, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni came to rescue and steadily batted to see India reach 100 in 30 overs but just runs later Sharma was bowled by off-spinner Hafeez for 43.

He and Dhoni added 73 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.

Then with Ashwin (31 not out), Dhoni made record 125 runs for an unfinished seventh wicket partnership

Junaid claimed four for 43 while Irfan and Hafeez took one wicket each.

Pakistan win toss, put India into bat in 1st ODI

CHENNAI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to take field first against India in the first of the three One-day Internationals here on Sunday.
This is the last ODI of the year 2012 being played in India.
Teams:
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gaul, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal.
India: Mahinder Singh Dhoni (captain & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Dinda.
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and S Ravi (India), TV Umpire: Sudhir Asnani (India), Reserve Umpire: CK Nandan (India).
Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka).

Greig hailed as 'godfather' of the modern game

SYDNEY: The cricket world on Sunday paid tribute to former England Test skipper and broadcaster Tony Greig, remembering him as "the godfather of modern cricket" due to his influence in shaping the game.

South African-born Greig died Saturday after a heart attack at his Sydney home at the age of 66, as he battled lung cancer diagnosed just two months ago.

The towering Greig was remembered as being instrumental in the formation of late Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer's breakaway World Series Cricket (WSC) contest staged from 1977-79, which sent shockwaves through the sport.

"It could be argued that Tony Greig was the godfather of modern cricket, the man who believed the game should be entertaining and a little irreverent but always ruthlessly competitive," wrote The Australian's Peter Lalor. "Cricket has lost one of its giants."

Broadcasting doyen Richie Benaud, a former Australian captain who shared the Channel Nine commentary box for decades with Greig, described him as a dynamic cricketer, a fearless thinker and an entertainer.

Kerry Packer's son James said Greig "stood shoulder to shoulder with my father at times when it was not always fashionable".

Former Australian captain Lawry was distraught by the news, describing Greig as "an Englishman with an Australian attitude" whose absence from the commentary box had left a big hole in the game this Australian summer.

Greig's opposing captain in WSC and fellow Channel Nine commentator, former Australia captain Ian Chappell, spoke of Greig's trademark competitiveness.

Current Australian captain Michael Clarke said the news was upsetting for the Test team.

"Personally, he has also been a great mentor for me, providing great advice through the good times and the bad."

Greig played 58 Tests -- 14 of them as captain -- for his adopted country England between 1972 and 1977, scoring 3,599 runs with eight centuries at 40.43 and capturing 141 wickets at 32.20.

He is survived by his wife, Vivian, and four children. (AFP)

India fighting back after early collapse

CHENNAI: India captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni and middle-order batsman Suresh Raina were fighting back to repair the early damage made by Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan in the first One-day International here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk on Sunday.
After Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to take field first, India made a disastrous start when their top-order batsmen could not resist against the fierce bowling by Junaid and Irfan.
First to go was veteran batsman Virender Sehwag who was clean bowled by Junaid in the fourth over. He made only four and India were 17 for one.
Then his partner Gautam Gambhir was also bowled but this time by Irfan at the same score of 17 in the fifth over.
Two runs later, the most in-form batsman Virat Kohli departed without opening his account. as Junaid uprooted his stumps
Dashing batsman Yuvraj Singh also could not stay at the crease and he was also clean bowled by Junaid for only two runs and India lost four wickets for only 20 runs.
Later, Rohit Sharma was brilliantly caught by Mohammad Hafeez at third slip off Junaid for four and India were reeling on 29-5.
Then, Rohit Sharma and Dhoni came to rescue and steadily batted to see India reach 100 in 30 overs.
Junaid captured four for 19 in seven overs while Irfan claimed one for 19 in six overs.

Sri Lanka 280-4 in second Pakistan ODI

PALLEKELE: Sri Lanka scored a challenging 280-4 after electing to bat against Pakistan in the second one-day international in Pallekele on Saturday.

Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan top-scored for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 119, hitting one six and 11 fours in his 139-ball knock.

Pakistan lead 1-0 in the five-match series following their six-wicket win in the opening one-dayer on Thursday.

Pak U19 cricket team named for Asia Cup

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board here on Wednesday announced the Pak U-9 team and management for the ACC U19 Asia Cup in Malaysia being played from June 21 to Juky first.

Batsman Babar Azam leads the 16-member side whose other members are Sami Aslam,Imam ul Haq, Umar Waheed, Azizullah,Mir Hamza, Ehsan Adil, Salman Afridi (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Syed Faraz Ali, Akhtar Waheed Kiyani, Mohammad Zia ul Haq, Shahid Ilyas, Shahid Qadir,Syed Saad Ali and Jaahid Shoukat Ali.

Team Management:Haroon Rasheed team Manager, Sabih Azhar coach, Dr Sohail Saleem, Doctor/Physiotherapost, Yasir Malik ,trainer, Usman Hashmi,Analyst.

Nadal and Ferrer in Spanish showdown at French Open

PARIS: Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will meet in an all-Spanish French Open semi-final after winning their way through from the last eight on Wednesday.

Defending champion and second seed Nadal ousted another Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-3, while sixth seed Ferrer outgunned fourth seed Andy Murray of Britain 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-2.

Friday's other semi-final has already been set, with top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia taking on third seed Roger Federer of Switzerland.

The win over Almagro was the 50th for Nadal at the spiritual home of claycourt tennis since he first competed in Paris as an 18-year-old in 2005.

His only defeat came in the fourth round in 2009 when he lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden in a fourth round match.is year Nadal is bidding to become the first player to win seven French Open titles, moving him out of a tie with Swedish legend Bjorn Borg. A win on Sunday would also be his 11th Grand Slam title, level with Borg and Rod Laver.

In the end Almagro went the way of so many others over the course of the last seven years, but he gave a solid account of himself especially in a hotly-disputed first setHe had chances in the third. He had a few very good moments hitting the ball very hard," said Nadal of Almagro who he beat for the eighth time in eight matches.

"But my serve worked really well, and he had one mistake, one important mistake with the forehand."

Nadal's drive into the final four has come at the cost of just 30 games and he will take confidence into the semi-final clash with close friend Ferrer having beaten him 15 times out of the 19 times they have played each other.

Ferrer is fully aware of the extent of the challenge that awaits him.

After his hard-earned win over Murray he said: "It will be a tough match against Rafa, he's the best in history on this surface, but I hope to have a good match."

"Tonight's match was very hard, physically very difficult. But I am happy to be in the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the first time."

Murray, bidding to reach a second successive French Open semi-final, comfortably matched his opponent in the gruelling, big-hitting rallies, but was undone by 59 unforced errors.

It meant his long-running quest to end 76 years of heartbreak for British tennis at the four major tournaments in tennis will now move on to the grass at Wimbledon.

"He had his chances and converted them. He's solid and consistent and if you don't convert opportunities against him, the games become longer and the pressure builds on you," said Murray, who had reached the semi-finals in the last five Grand Slams.

"But it was a good tournament for me. I felt better coming in this year than I did last year. I lost to a better claycourt player tonight. There are things to work on but I knew it would be a tough match."

Asked who he thought would win the tournament Murray replied: "I think the four best claycourt players in the world are left in and whoever plays best will win.

First day in third England-Windies Test washed out

BIRMINGHAM: The first day's play in the third Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston here on Thursday was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Heavy overnight and early morning rain meant the square was fully covered when the captains should have been tossing up ahead of a scheduled 11am (1000GMT) start.

There was a brief spell when the covers were removed but fresh rain meant it was not long before the pitch and square were fully covered again, as overcast skies threatened another downpour.

The umpires subsequently announced they would be taking lunch 30 minutes early at 12.30pm local time (1130GMT) in the hope of a prompt start to the afternoon session.

But further rain saw the square remain covered and at 3.35pm (1435GMT) the announcement was made that play had been abandoned for the day.

It is estimated somewhere in the region of #650,000 could be paid out if all the 16,500 spectators who purchased tickets for the day apply for a refund.

It was the first time a full day's play in a Test in England had been lost to bad weather since the third day of the 2009 Ashes clash against Australia at Edgbaston

And not since the 2007 Test between England and the West Indies at Chester-le-Street had the first day of a Test match in England been abandoned without any play whatsoever.

Rain is also forecast Friday, raising the prospect of the opening two days of a Test in England being called off with no play at all for the first time in nearly 50 years since an Ashes clash at Lord's in 1964.

England have an unbeatable 2-0 lead in this three-match series. (AFP)

Pacemen Gul, Sami restrict Sri Lanka

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Umar Gul grabbed three wickets in a sharp opening spell as Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 135-8 in the first one-day international in Pallekele on Thursday.

The fast bowler (3-24) removed skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal to send Sri Lanka reeling at 23-3 in the first nine overs of the day-night match, reduced to 42-overs-a-side due to rain.

Gul was superbly backed by paceman Mohammad Sami, who dismissed Kumar Sangakkara and all-rounder Angelo Mathews in his first two overs to reduce the hosts to 41-5. He finished with 3-19 off six overs.

Lahiru Thirimanne, who added 50 for the eighth wicket with Nuwan Kulasekara (18), top-scored for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 42 while extras contributed 31, the second-highest of the innings.

Thisara Perera (17) and Upul Tharanga (10) were the other batsmen to reach double-figures.

Sangakkara, who took 20 deliveries to open his account, made just nine runs before being trapped leg-before while Mathews was caught at first slip by skipper Misbah-ul-Haq for no score.

Off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez bagged two of the last three wickets to finish with an impressive 2-20 off 10 overs.

Gul struck in his third over when he had opener Dilshan (five) caught by Saeed Ajmal at mid-on and then trapped Jayawardene (three) leg-before in his next over.

He put more pressure on Sri Lanka when he bowled Chandimal for no score in his fifth over.

The second one-dayer will also be played in Pallekele on Saturday and the last three games in Colombo on June 13, 16 and 18.

The one-dayers will be followed by a three-Test series starting on June 22. (AFP)