CENTURION: Pakistan defeated India by 54 runs in an exciting contest in their Group A day-night match in the ICC Champions Trophy here on Saturday.
Chasing a difficult target of 303, India batted well but their tail collapsed after experienced Rahul Dravid departed in 42nd over.
Dravid made 76 with four boundaries while opener Gautam Gambhir smashed 57 from 46 balls with two sixes and seven fours and Suresh Raina hit 46 off 41 balls with five fours and two sixes.
Seamers Mohammad Aamer and Rana naved-ul-Hasan, spinners Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, an enterprising century by Shoaib Malik and brilliant 87 by Mohammad Yousuf helped Pakistan set India a difficult target of 303 runs.
Malik made 128 from 126 balls and struck 16 fours while Yousuf hit seven fours in his 88-ball innings. He was later declared man-of-the-match.
Both added 206 runs, a record fourth wicket partnership against India.
For India, seamers Ashish Nehra bagged four wickets for 55 runs while Ishant Sharma claimed two for 39.
JOHANNESBURG: Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first in their Champions Trophy Group B match against New Zealand at the Wanderers on Sunday. WATCH LIVE CRICKET MATCH Sri Lanka made the surprise change of replacing veteran off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with seamer Thilan Thushara, while New Zealand have brought in fast bowler James Franklin for batsman Gareth Hopkins.
Defeat for New Zealand would rule them out of semi-final contention completely while a loss for Sri Lanka would leave them reling on other results going their way to advance.
New Zealand – Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Neil Broom, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Daryl Tuffey, Shane Bond. Reuters
S Africa Vs New Zealand, CENTURION: After their heart-breaking defeat in the first match, South Africa would look to bring their campaign back on track when they clash against a diffident New Zealand at Sport Park here today.
The hosts lost by 55 runs to Sri Lanka yesterday but would take confidence from the fact that the Black Caps are coming into the event after a morale shattering Lankan tour.
The Kiwis lost their Test series in the Island nation and also failed to make the final of the tri-series, losing both the league matches.
New Zealand have a decent attack, bolstered by return of Shane Bond, but have to overcome their batting woes.
They mostly depend on the trio of Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor who have been far from impressive in the recent past.
Let’s hope South Africa’s second match in the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand proves a better spectacle than Pakistan’s low-scoring victory over West Indies.
To lose by 117 balls suggests the West Indies haven’t improved since their dismal showing against England earlier this year. Pakistan looked awesome, though.
Pak Vs WI: A second-string West Indies team was bowled out for 133 inside 35 overs by Pakistan in the Champions Trophy on Wednesday, with only tailender Nikita Miller reaching a half-century.
Miller scored 51 off 57 balls with six boundaries and a six after coming in with West Indies on 47-7 at Wanderers stadium.
Darren Sammy (25) and Devon Smith (18) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures as fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer took 3-24 and Umar Gul 3-28.
West Indies’ squad for the event has been affected by a long-running contract dispute between the players and the cricket board.
West Indies captain Floyd Reifer’s decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired immediately on a lively pitch.
Dale Richards was caught and bowled by Aamer for 1 on the sixth ball of the innings. Three overs later, Andre Fletcher was out for 7, and 11-2 soon became 14-3 when Travis Dowlin was caught by Kamran Akmal for a duck off Aamer.
Smith and David Bernard put on 22 before Smith was caught by Umar Akmal off Gul.
Aamer bowled Bernard for 6, and Gul then dismissed Floyd Reifer (7) and Chadwick Walton in successive deliveries to leave West Indies on 47-7 in the 15th over.
Miller and Sammy added 38 but West Indies’ resistance was soon broken, helped by spinner Saeed Ajmal’s two wickets.
Mohammad Asif is back from the wilderness vowing to give his best whenever he gets the opportunity to represent the country in future.
The pacer has completed his one-year doping ban and joined the team here early on Wednesday morning. Asif was banned for using performance enhancing drugs during the Indian Premier League (IPL) last summer.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) was so strict on him that he was not even allowed to train and travel with the team till the expiry of the ban that ended midnight Tuesday. “Thank God I am back. I would do my best to serve the country whenever I get an opportunity to play,” he said.
The Pakistan think tank wants Asif to practice more with the team instead of rushing him in after a long break from international cricket.
He returned to the national side after a gap of nearly 17 months because of disciplinary and doping issues.
Yawar Saeed, the Pakistan team manager, said that the team management wanted him to get into the rhythm in next two days so that he could play in the crunch match against India on Saturday.
“It all depends on how our bowlers play in the match against West Indies. His inclusion largely depends on the performance of the other bowlers. If they perform well I think we will continue with the same attack,” he said.
Yawar said Asif’s return was great news for the team as he was a bowler who could always challenge any batsman.
“But we feel he needs some more time in the nets to find his rhythm and tempo before he returns to the international arena,” he added.
Asif has bad memories of this ground as it was here almost two years back that he was hit by a bat by none other than his teammate Shoaib Akhtar. Shoaib was banned for the misadventure and as a result also lost his place on the team.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting oozed confidence Wednesday ahead of their 2009 ICC Champions Trophy debut this weekend against the West Indies. “It is the second biggest one-day tournament and we will be doing our best to win it. We have been playing some very good one-day cricket,” he told a media conference.
Ponting arrived in South Africa after leading Australia to a 6-1 series win in England and shot down suggestions that his team considered the two-week, 15-match competition as just another tournament. “The Champions Trophy is going to be a very tight tournament because there are some very good teams taking part and Sri Lanka have already caused a surprise. “I regard Sri Lanka as one of the top ODI teams and once they put on more than 300 runs it was always going to be hard work for South Africa,” Ponting said.
He conceded there were some weary Australians after Test, ODI and Twenty 20 series in England and preparations for the West Indies clash would start Thursday. “There are some tired bodies in our camp at the moment so we will have a rest today and start preparing tomorrow for our first tournament match on Saturday.”
BRUSSELS – Former world No. 1 Justine Henin is returning to competitive tennis, making the announcement barely a week after Kim Clijsters capped her comeback from retirement with a second U.S. Open title.
Henin had been retired for just over a year, but at 27 says she has the fire and physical strength to compete for an eighth Grand Slam title. Her announcement on VTM television capped an about-face that went from her "definitive decision" to retire last year, to weeks of no comment to a smiling admission Tuesday that she truly missed the game too much.
She wants to play two exhibition tournaments, in Charleroi, Belgium, and Dubai, to hone her skills ahead of a competitive return next year with plans to compete in the next Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
"The fire within burns again," Henin said. "I want to come back in January."
Henin officially retired on May 14, 2008, initially rejecting any thought of a comeback with a dogged determination that had come to mark her play throughout a decade-long career that yielded seven Grand Slam titles and one Olympic gold medal.
At 27, it certainly is not too late for a comeback. As Clijsters proved, breaking back into the top tier at short notice is far from impossible. She won the U.S. Open in her third tournament since announcing her return.
"Subconsciously, it might have had an impact," Henin said of Clijster's successful comeback. "But it certainly was not the most important reason."
Like Clijsters, Henin is still in her prime and has been able to rest her body for over a year. Throughout her retirement, during which she became a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Henin looked fit enough to immediately step back onto a court.
As recently as May, she complained about the old injuries that still gave her pain in the mornings and the dreaded life of living in a bubble as she was shuttled around the world chasing victories.
"The last 15 months I've been able to recharge the batteries, emotionally as well," Henin said.
Henin said coming face to face with the world's misery on UNICEF trips to places like eastern Congo widened her horizons like tennis never could.
Henin has won nearly $20 million in prize money and had been ranked No. 1 for all but seven weeks since Nov. 13, 2006, until her retirement. When she retired after a string of early tournament exits just ahead of Roland Garros, she felt the fire no longer within and gave in.
It was the first time in a life totally centered around her prodigious talent for whipping backhands past hapless competitors. She became the first woman player to retire as No. 1.
Then, suddenly, this summer the craving came back.
CENTURION: Sri Lanka piled up 319 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 50 overs against hosts South Africa in the opening match of the sixth ICC Champions Trophy here on Tuesday.
Winning the toss, South Africa captain Graeme Smith put Sri Lanka into bat who after the early dismissal of veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya, plundered a huge score to give the hosts a difficult target of 320 runs.
Opener Tillekaratne Dilshan smashed a brilliant century and made 106 from 92 balls with the help of 16 fours and a six while captain Kumar Sangakkara and former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit half centuries. They made 54 and 77, respectively.
For South Africa, seamers Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell claimed three wickets each.
Teams South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wk), Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Roelof van der Merwe, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell
World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan captured the opening ranking event of the season with a 10-5 win over Liang Wenbo to secure the Shanghai Masters.
O'Sullivan rattled in a break of 70 in the opener and won a tactical frame lasting almost an hour to move 3-0 up.
A break of 80 put him 4-1 ahead before Liang came back with 81 in the next.
Breaks of 75 and 91 helped 33-year-old O'Sullivan go 6-3 ahead after the first session and he duly secured his 22nd career title in just over four hours.
"I'm very happy to have won the tournament and got my season off to a good start," said O'Sullivan.
"It was a tough match, I struggled with my technique and I wasn't hitting the ball sweetly.
"I would have loved to entertain and play open snooker as that was the kind of game I was expecting but it got slow and there were some drawn out frames so it was hard to build any momentum.
"I was only able to play flamboyant snooker in two or three frames. The rest of it was steady, hard, match snooker and I needed patience."
The Englishman paid tribute to his Chinese opponent for making the final difficult for him.
"You think you've got him in trouble and you'll get back to the table and then he pots a difficult ball - and he pots so many - and you have to stay in your seat, so you can get frustrated," he added.
"It's very satisfying to get a victory, especially here in China where snooker is so popular."
Former world number one Justine Henin has announced she will return to competitive tennis in 2010, having retired just 16 months ago.
The 27-year-old Belgian, who won 41 singles titles including seven Grand Slams, sparked rumours of a comeback when she began training again recently.
Henin retired on 14 May, 2008, saying she had lost her passion for tennis.
Her return follows the fairytale comeback of compatriot Kim Clijsters, who won the US Open earlier this month.
"I'm really happy and deeply moved to be able to announce tonight that I'm coming back to competitive tennis," Henin said as she made the announcement live on Belgian television.
"These past 15 months have been enriching but there is a flame that has been re-lit. I thought it had been put out forever."
Henin plans to play two exhibition tournaments this year, in Charleroi, Belgium, and Dubai, before returning to competition at the Australian Open in January.
"I think it is a good choice, a big decision in my life," she said. "The past 15 months I have been able to recharge my physical batteries, mental batteries, emotional batteries.
"The aim is to return in January in Australia. In any case it will be during the 2010 season."
And Henin's coach, Carlos Rodriguez, said her ambition to win a first Wimbledon title after twice finishing runner-up was a driving force.
"I swear I was extremely surprised," he said. "I'm happy because at the end of the day it's what she loves.
"She has entrusted me (to be her coach) once again and I will try to never let her down.
"I'm very happy to be helping her to restart her new life. It's a super challenge for her. The desire to win Wimbledon is one of the main reasons she's come back and I'll do everything to help her do it."
And Henin herself admitted that success at the All England Club is her chief aim, saying: "It is a dream of mine. I want to work to get it. I make it a priority."
Clijsters returned to the sport after two-and-a-half years away, during which time she gave birth to a daughter, Jada.
After barely a month back on the tour, the 26-year-old former world number one beat both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to success at Flushing Meadows.
However, Henin said that Clijsters had not been the main motivation behind her own decision to return.
"Subconsciously, it might have had an impact," said Henin. "But it certainly was not the most important reason."
She added: "Returning at that level so fast is something I respect enormously."
Henin had played down speculation of a comeback in May, saying that the sport had left her with so many physical ailments a return was unthinkable.
But since the revelation that she was back in training, she had refused to speculate on a possible return to the WTA Tour.
Following her retirement, Henin, who was ranked number one in the world when she quit, had been working as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and opened her own tennis academy.
She won the French Open four times, the US Open twice, the Australian Open once and an Olympic gold in 2004.
Henin's relatively small stature - she is only 5ft 5ins tall - and elegant one-handed backhand made her stand out among her rivals.
Her last competitive match was a three-set defeat by current world number one Dinara Safina at the German Open on 8 May, 2008.
The news of Henin's return comes as huge boost for women's tennis, which had been struggling for competition at the very highest level before Clijsters' shock US Open win.
"Justine is one of the great champions in the history of women's tennis, and we, along with millions of her fans around the globe, are thrilled with her announcement today," said Stacey Allaster, chairman and chief executive of the WTA Tour.
"Justine is that rare athlete who decided to step away from the game at the height of her powers, and no doubt she will be a force to be reckoned with from the get-go.
"Her career was marked by so many amazing moments, and a new chapter begins today."
CENTURION: Pakistan defeated India by 54 runs in an exciting contest in their Group A day-night match in the ICC Champions Trophy here on Saturday. 
