Ferrari Dominates at Spaninsh GP

Barcelona: Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Brazilian Felipe Massa sealed Ferrari’s second successive one-two finish, and third win in a row, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton taking third place to revive his title challenge after a disappointing last race in Bahrain. Raikkonen’s 17th grand prix win left the Finn with 29 points, nine clear of closest rival Hamilton, and catapulted Ferrari back in front of BMW Sauber in the constructors' standings. Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who started on the front row for Renault, retired on lap 35 with a blown engine but he had already fallen down the field after being the first driver to refuel. Massa, winner in Bahrain, had got past double world champion Alonso at the start while Hamilton slotted into fourth place after muscling past BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica from fifth. Poland’s Kubica finished fourth, moving him up to third in the championship with 19 points, ahead of Massa on 18, with Australian Mark Webber fifth in a Red Bull. Britain’s Jenson Button finished sixth for Honda’s first points of the year while Japan's Kazuki Nakajima was seventh for Williams and Italian Jarno Trulli eighth for Toyota. Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella finished the Spanish GP at 10th, the team’s first Top-10 finish in the 2008 season. Adrian Sutil was forced out of the race in the very first lap when he spun off the track.

rafael nadal wins Monte Carlo Masters

Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal won an historic fourth successive Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday as he defeated world number one Roger Federer 7-5 7-5 in the latest thrilling instalment of their epic rivalry. The 21-year-old triple French Open champion came back from 0-4 down in the second set to achieve his third successive final victory over Federer. It was also his ninth win in 15 career meetings with the world’s top player and his seventh in eight claycourt clashes. The last man to win four Monte Carlo titles in a row was New Zealand’s Anthony Wilding in 1914 but Nadal, who now has 24 career titles, is the first man to complete the feat in the Open era.

RajasthanRoyals tame the DeccanChargers in front of their home crowd

9th Match 24th April

Hyderabad: Symonds's heroic effort goes in vain when warne got required 19 runs in his last over as DeccanChargers once again fell short in their third successive IPL League match. RajasthanRoyals get their batting act together in tremendous way.Yusuf pathan shows his hitting power and made 61 from just 28 balls, smith was exceptional and kaif also hit some good shots.

Brief Score:

DC

Batting: 214/5, Symonds-117*(11-4s, 7-6s), R sharma-36

Bowling: Afridi-3/28, D Kalyankrishna-1/30, C Vaas-1/42, RP Singh-1/44

RR

Batting: 217/7, Smith-71(9-4s, 2-6s), Y Pathan-61(4-4s, 6-6s), M Kaif-34, S Warne-22*

Bowling: Y Pathan-2/20, S Warne-2/47, S Watson-1/32

Result: RR won by 3 wickets

Ronaldo missed penalty as Man Utd draw with Barca into the Champions League's first leg SF

Barcelona: Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty as his side drew 0-0 with a dominant Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. The Portugal international sent his spot kick high and wide after Barca centre-back Gabriel Milito handled the ball in the area with just over a minute on the clock. Barca, the only non-English side in the semis, have been poor in the league but gave a far more impressive performance against an out-of-sorts United and will feel short-changed by a result that leaves the tie delicately balanced before next week’s return at Old Trafford. United seemed to have got off to a dream start when Milito conceded a penalty in the second minute, handling the ball after Ronaldo had beaten him to a header in the area. But the normally super cool Portuguese completely missed the target, sending the ball past Victor Valdes’s left post after he tried to chip it into the top corner. The crowd exploded with delight at the winger’s error, while United seemed to be in shock at their team mate’s miss. Barca took advantage of the confusion in the United ranks to put the visitors under heavy pressure with Deco driving forward from midfield and providing some good service for Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o. United barely got a sniff off the ball as Deco and Yaya Toure bossed the midfield and when they did get possession they looked nervous and surrendered the ball almost immediately. Barcelona continued to dominate the middle of the park but did not seriously challenge Van der Sar until the United goalkeeper tipped a long-range shot from right back Gianluca Zambrotta over the bar.

Sehwag shows his brilliance against DC, IPL update till 23rd April

6th Match 21st April

Jaipur: Shane warne's tremendous bowling effort and Shane Watson's sensible batting earns first victory for RajasthanRoyals against PunjabKingsXI.

Brief Score

PKXI

Batting: 166/8, Yuvraj-57(6-4s, 3-6s), Goel-26, Chawla-24*, Sangakara-20

Bowling: I Pathan-1/21, J Hopes-1/33, B Lee-1/35, Sreesanth-1/38

RR

Batting: 168/4, Shane Watson-76*(5-4s, 5-6s), R Jadeja-36*(5-4s, 1-6s)

Result: RR won this match by 6 wickets

7th Match 22nd April

Hyderabad: Sehwag's blitzkrieg knocks demolish DeccanChargers in their first home ground match.

Brief Score

DC

Batting: 142/8, Rohit Sharma-66(6-4s, 4-6s)

Bowling: RP Singh-1/27

DD

Batting: 143/1, Sehwag-94*(10-4s, 6-6s), Shikhar Dhawan-25*

Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets

8th Match 23th April

Chennai: Chennai SuperKings defeat MumbaiIndians in a thriller by 6 runs.

Brief Score:

CSK

Batting: 208/5, M Hayden-81(12-4s, 2-6s), S Raina-52(3-4s, 3-6s), MS Dhoni-30(4-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: Jogendar Sharma-2/29, Muralidharan-2/40, M Gony-1/18, Amarnath-1/57

MI

Batting: 202/7, A Nayar-45*(6-4s, 1-6s), R Uthappa-43(6-4s, 1-6s)

Bowling: M Khote-2/29, D Kulkarni-1/25, A Nehra-1/35

Result: CSK won by 6 runs.

Chelsea Escape defeat At Anfield in Champions League's 1st leg SF

Liverpool 1(Dirk Kuyt 43) Chelsea 1(Riise own goal 90+4)

Chelsea escaped from Liverpool with a 1-1 draw after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, rescued by an injury time own goal from substitute John Arne Riise. Dirk Kuyt had given Liverpool the lead after 43 minutes when he fired between goalkeeper Petr Cech’s legs and with almost five minutes of injury time played, it looked as though Liverpool would take a deserved lead to Stamford Bridge for next week’s second leg. However with Austrian referee Ko Plautz looking at his watch, Chelsea stitute Salomon Kalou lofted one last h ball into the Liverpool penalty area. ise, who had replaced the injured Fa Aurelio after 62 minutes, stooped t and head the ball clear, but instead ed it past helpless goalkeeper Pepe Reina and into the roof of his own net. It gave Chelsea a share of the spoils they hardly deserved as Liverpool dominated for long periods but were denied by some outstanding saves from Cech. With time almost up, it looked as though the seventh meeting between the teams in the Champions League in the last four seasons was about to end in a 1-0 scoreline for the fourth time. Instead, this match became the first to produce two goals and leave the tie on a knife-edge with Chelsea the slight favourites to advance to the final in Moscow on May 21. Although Chelsea started the brighter, they failed to create any real scoring chances. Their best opportunity in the opening exchanges came after only three minutes when Didier Drogba saw his free-kick deflected to safety by the wall. The breakthrough eventually came two minutes before half-time after a sustained period of Liverpool pressure. The move began with a quickly taken free-kick by Xabi Alonso who found Kuyt. His cross was headed clear by John Terry to Lampard who was dispossessed by Kuyt. The ball ran to Alonso who found Javier Mascherano, and his miscued shot beat Claude Makelele’s atted head er, allowing Kuyt to fire ugh C ech’s legs to put Liverpool ahead. It was the third time he had scored in knockout rounds after goals against Milan and Arsenal and looked to have done enough to win the match. Cech then denied Torres with another fine stop at his near post and Chelsea took full advantage.

IPL round up till 20th April Sunday

1st match 18th April

Bangaluru: Kolkata Knight Rider(KKR) defeated Bangalore Royal Challengers(BRC) by 140 runs thanks to the record breaking effort by Brendon Mcullum who made 158 from merely 73 balls.

Breif Score:

KKR

Batting: 222/3, Mcullum-158(10-4s, 13-6s), Ponting-20, D Hussey-12, Ganguly-10

Bowling: Agarkar-3/25, Ishant-1/7, Dinda-2/9, Ganguly-2/21, L Shukla-1/12

BRC

Batting: 82/10, Praveen-18*

Bowling: Zaheer-1/38, Noffke-1/40, Kallis-1/48

Result: KKR defeated BRC by 140 runs.

2nd Match 19th April

Mohali: Chennai Super Kings(CSK) won this match by 33 runs thanks to the Hussey's heroic effort 116 from just 54 balls as he taken only 50 balls to score fastest hundred in the league and broke the record of Mcullum 53 balls hundred that he created against BRC last night.

Breif Score:

CSK

Batting: 240/5, M Hussey-116(8-4s, 9-6s), S Raina-32, Badrinath-31*, Hayden-25
Bowling: Muralidharan-1/33, M Gony-1/42, Amarnath-1/42, Jogendar-1/47

PKXI
Batting: 207/4, Hopes-71(10-4s, 3-6s), Sangakara-54, Goel-24, Yuvraj-23, Katich-21*

Bowling: I Pathan-2/47, Bret Lee-1/35, Mota-1/24, Hopes-1/53
Result: CSK won by 33 runs

3rd Match 19th April

New Delhi: Delhi DareDevils(DD) won by 9 wickets as RajasthanRoyals(RR) put merely 129 on board, Gambhir and Dhawan made 58 and 52 not out respectively.

Breif Score:

RR

Batting: 129/8, R Jadeja-29, Salunke-26*, Watson-21

Bowling: Watson-1/31

DD

Batting: 132/1, Gambhir-58*(7-4s, 1-6s), Dhawan-52*, Sehwag-12

Bowling: Mahroof-2/11, Bhatia-2/17, Mcgrath-1/21, Vettori-1/35

Result: DD won by 9 wickets

4th Match 20th April

Kolkata: Kolkata KnightRiders(KKR) won by 5 wickets. Hyderabad DeccanChargers(DC) put only 110 runs on a rough wicket.

Breif Score:

DC

Batting: 110/10, Symonds-32(2-4s, 2-6s), Gilchrist-23

Bowling: Vaas-2/9, Ojha-2/18, RP Singh-1/15

KKR

Batting: 112/5, D Hussey-38*(1-4s, 3-6s), Ganguly-14

Bowling: Karthik-3/17, Agarkar-2/19, Hafeez-1/8, Ishant-1/9, Dinda-1/18, D Hussey-1/35

Result: KKR won by 5 wickets

5th Match 20th April

Mumbai: Bangalore RoyalChallengers(BRC) won this match 5 wickets. Mumbai Indians(MI) got weaker due to absence of Tendulkar.

Breif score:

MI

Batting: 165/6, Uthappa-48(5-4s, 1-6s), Jayasuriya-29, Pollock-28

Bowing: Harbhajan-2/36, Kulkarni-1/19, Jayasuriya-1/39, Nehra-1/45

BRC

Batting: 166/5, Boucher-39*(4-4s, 2-6s), Dravid-32, Kallis-25, R Taylor-23, Kohli-23

Bowling: Zaheer-2/17, Akhil-2/17, Praveen-1/29

Result: BRC won by 5 wickets

Man Utd manage to Draw with Tevez's late equalizer

London: Carlos Tevez equalised two minutes from the end for Manchester United to draw 1-1 at Blackburn and stay three points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League title race. Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead in the 21st minute at Ewood Park and Rovers threatened to throw the title race wide open. After Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had made a series of top quality saves, Tevez leveled in the 88th minute when he headed home a flick-on from Paul Scholes. United now have 81 points and Chelsea 78 with the two teams meeting at Stamford Bridge next Saturday. United have a far superior goal difference of 54 against Chelsea’s 36. Chelsea were idle after beating Everton 1-0 Thursday. Blackburn unsettled United’s defence and was rewarded with Santa Cruz’s 20th goal of the season. Both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic missed the ball as Morten Gamst Pedersen’s throw in found its way to Santa Cruz’s feet. Nani released Wayne Rooney in the 86th only for Friedel to divert the shot wide. After Friedel produced another save to deny John O’Shea’s header,Tevez nodded home at the far post to level after Scholes flicked on Nani’s corner. In Saturday’s other games, fourth place Liverpool won 2-0 at Fulham to push the cottagers closer to relegation.

Barca draw again in spanish league

Madrid: Barcelona’s chances of winning the Spanish title looked doomed after a 0-0 draw in the local derby with Espanyol. Despite dominating the game for long periods, the Spanish giants failed to find the net in their Nou Camp stadium thanks to a combination of poor finishing and solid defending from Espanyol. Barca have drawn their last three league games. Real Madrid now have an eight-point advantage over Barca at the top of the table and a game in hand. The 30-time Spanish champions could have this season’s league title wrapped up by the time Barca visit the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the latest edition of ‘El Clasico’ on May 7. Barcelona had a purple patch in the middle of the first half but Xavi Hernandez, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto’O couldn’t convert good opportunities. Even the introduction of the often-inspirational Lionel Messi at half time failed to break the deadlock. Barca pressed hard for almost the entire second half but were unable to break down a resilient Espanyol.

AC Milan beat Reggina as Kaka scored hat-trick in Serie A

Rome: World player of the year Kaka scored a hat-trick as AC Milan beat lowly Reggina 5-1 at the San Siro on Sunday to keep alive their Champions League qualification hopes. Milan are still four points behind Fiorentina, who beat Palermo 1-0 at home on Saturday, with four matches to play as they chase that crucial fourth place and a slot in Europe's premier competition next season. Sixth-placed Sampdoria stayed level on points with Milan as they beat Udinese 3-0 at home, leaving the seventh-placed north-easterners eight points behind Fiorentina and out of the race for Europe's premier competition. Third-placed Juventus need only one more point to ensure they play Champions League football next season as veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory at Atalanta. Milan got off to a flying start with Kaka putting them ahead from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Francesco Modesto. Luca Vigiani brought down veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf on 34 minutes and Kaka held his nerve a second time from 12 yards. But five minutes before the break, Reggina pulled one back through Edgar Barreto, who sent a fizzing strike into the top corner of Australian goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac's net. Kaka completed his treble with a low right-footed shot from the left into the far corner and super-poacher Filippo Inzaghi mopped up the loose ball after substitute Pato's shot was turned onto a post by goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo. Pato put the final gloss on the result, heading home a cross from French midfielder Yohann Gourcuff.

Federer wins first title of the year

Estoril (Portugal): Roger Federer won his first title of the season on Sunday when he clinched the Estoril Open with a 7-6 (7/5), 1-2 win over Nikolay Davydenko who was forced to retire in the second set. The world No. 1, who suffered glandular fever before the Australian Open, broke his title duck as he notched a 12th win against no defeats in his career series against the Russian world No. 4. The Swiss had won the last of his 54 career titles in November at the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

IPL all set to roll today in a few hours

Bangalore: History will be created here as the mutli-million dollar IPL event gets under way in just a few hours. In the past, the Chinnaswamy stadium has hosted cricket matches and Miss World pageants; but for the first time, entertainment and sport — in that order — will converge in a big way. It will be interesting to see which comes out on top at the end of the night. For their part, Bangalore fans will be hoping that their team hands out a royal defeat to Team Kolkata in the inaugural match on Friday night; the visitors will be hoping to ride on some luck and pluck to start off on a victorious note too. The organisers — thanks to the local association — have remembered to lay out a lush green outfield and a cricket pitch too; this despite the primary task of putting up a stage for the artists, along with power lasers from the rooftop and massive speakers all along the ground. People in charge have no doubts that the pitch will remain true for the entire 40 overs. But will the highly paid cricketers live up to expectations and deliver a cracker of an opener? We will have to wait and see. There is no dearth of stars in either side. Both are led by former Indian captains and contain a host of international stars, with four from each side allowed to take the field as per the rules of the tournament. The total prize money of Rs 12 crore (the winner gets Rs 4.8 crore), ensures that the players will be interested till the very end. Big money has attracted the biggest of stars and led to an international integration that will see Australians team up with New Zealanders, South Africans with Sri Lankans along with the mother of all combinations, Indians with Pakistanis. If Dravid, the Bangalore skipper, has players such as Jaques Kallis and Mark Boucher with the experience to help him out on the field, Kolkata’s Ganguly will look to Ricky Ponting for support.

Chelsea's chances of EPL championship shrink as they drew with Wigan

London: Chelsea’s hopes of winning the Premier League took a huge dent at Stamford Bridge on Monday when an injury time goal from Emile Heskey gave the visitors a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against wigan. His strike cancelled out a 55th minute goal from Michael Essien that had given Chelsea the lead. Manchester United have 80 points, Chelsea have 75, Arsenal with in third place on 71 points after losing at United on Sunday. They still looked all set to close the gap on United to three points thanks to Essien’s strike. However, they were punished for not taking their chances when Heskey latched on to a cross from Jason Koumas and lashed the ball past Petr Cech from close range.

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Inter Milan maintained their top position by beating fiorentina

Inter Milan beats Fiorentina 2-0 at the San Siro on Sunday to maintain their four-point lead in Serie A. Goals from Esteban Cambiasso and teenage striker Mario Balotelli earned the champions a deserved victory over Champions League chasing Fiorentina. The result also gave AC Milan a Champions League lifeline after they lost 3-2 at Juventus on Saturday. The Viola’s loss meant Milan remain just four points off fourth place and the final Champions League qualification position. Inter had the better of the first half chances but goalkeeper Sebastien Frey was in fine form. But he could do nothing 10 minutes after the restart when Patrick Vieira managed to square the ball into the box, finding Cambiasso, who rifled home into the roof of the net. Seven minutes later rising star Balotelli beat the offside trap and kept his head to cooly slot home.

Sharapova wins first title on clay court

Maria Sharapova captured her first claycourt title when she defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 6-3 in the final of the Amelia Island Championships on Sunday. Sharapova win three titles this season following her success at the Australian Open and Qatar Open and improved her 2008 win-loss record to 22-1. She suffered her only defeat this season against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals at Indian Wells. Sharapova was pushed all the way in the opening set and eventually captured it 9-7 in the tiebreak when Cibulkova sent a backhand into the net. The Florida-based Sharapova cut down on her unforced errors from 26 in the first set to just seven in the second set to wrap up the match. Cibulkova, playing in her first WTA final, was hampered by a leg injury and received treatment from the trainer in the second set after breaking Sharapova for a 2-1 lead.

India level series against SA in Kanpur Test

Kanpur: It's a famous victory at the Green Park as India level the three-Test series against South Africa. Harbhajan Singh (four for 44), Ishant Sharma (two for 18) and Virender Sehwag (a blistering 22) have turned the match around. The stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni joined a very exclusive set of captains by winning very first test as a captain. South Africa resumed the third day positively but the ball turned viciously and the changes became even more rapid survival became impossible for the South Africans.They had only 61 to defend. To chase 61 India lost only two wickets of Sehwag and Jaffer. Saurav Ganguly was named the Man of the Match while Harbhajan got Man of the Series award.

Brief Score

South Africa

Batting

Ist Innings: 265/10, Smith-69, Hashim-51

2nd Innings: 121/10, Smith-35

Bowling

Ist Innings: Morkel-3/63, Steyn-3/71, Harris-3/101, Ntini-1/47

2nd Innings: Morkel-1/8, Harris-1/36

India

Batting

Ist Innings: 325/10, Ganguly-87, Laxman-50

2nd Innings: 64/2, Sehwag-22

Bowling

Ist Innings: Harbhajan-3/52, Ishant-3/55, Chawla-2/66, Sehwag-1/18, Yuvraj-1/39

2nd Innings: Harbhajan-4/44, Sehwag-3/12, Ishant-2/18, Sreesanth-1/9

Manchester United nail down Arsenal in EPL

Manchester United defeat Arsenal 2-1 and move six points clear of second-place Chelsea in English soccer's Premier League. Liverpool beat Blackburn 3-1. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty kick and Owen Hargreaves struck a free kick past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann after Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal ahead in the 48th minute at Old Trafford. United, now unbeaten in eight league matches, has 80 points from 34 matches, with Chelsea on 74 points from 33 of 38 games. Arsenal remains on 71 points, with Liverpool five points further back. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored the 30th goal of his debut season at the club to help the Reds in their attempts to secure the last qualifying spot for next season's Champions League. City rival Everton is five points back in fifth spot. Steven Gerrard and Andriy Voronin also got goals, with Roque Santa Cruz replying for Blackburn in injury time. Gerrard got the opening goal after 60 minutes. Torres headed into the net from a Gerrard cross after 82 minutes, with his replacement Voronin finishing from close range in the last minute.

Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A soccer round up

Madrid: Marco Ruben scored with two headers and rallied Recreativo Huelva to a 2-2 draw against FC Barcelona. The Argentine forward looped the equaliser over approaching goalkeeper Victor Valdes inside the far post in the 71st minute. Samuel Eto’o accounted for both of Barcelona’s goals, outjumping his marker in the second minute to deflect Giovani dos Santos’ short cross and spraying a bouncing ball from long range into the top corner in the 46th. Barcelona failed to subdue the 17th-place Recreativo and can fall further behind La Liga leader Real Madrid. Madrid, which plays no 19 Murcia, has 66 points, six more than Barcelona. Villarreal, which plays 9th-ranked Almeria, has 59. Recreativo has 37 to be four clear of relegation. Earlier on Saturday, Mohammed Tchite scored in the 83rd to give Racing Santander a 2-1 win over Valencia.

Juve beat 10-man AC Milan in thriller

Rome: Juventus dealt a potentially fatal blow to 10-man AC Milan’s Champions League hopes with a 3-2 win in blockbuster match in Turin. Goals from Alessandro del Piero, David Trezeguet and Hassan Salihamidzich gave the hosts the edge over the reigning European champions, who counted two Filippo Inzaghi goals while Daniele Bonera was dismissed in the second half. Juve thus closed the gap on second-placed AS Roma to seven points.

Manchester United and FC Barcelona storm into the Champions League Semis

Manchester United 1(Carlos Tevez 70) AS Roma 0

Manchester: Manchester United kept alive their dream of a Champions League and Premier League double when they beat AS Roma 1-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to become the third English side to qualify for the semi-finals. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal after 70 minutes when he dived in low to head home an Owen Hargreaves cross and secure United’s 11th straight home win in European competition. That put the English champions and league leaders 3-0 up on aggregate, a result that secured a place in the last four and maintained their belief they can win the European Cup for the third time in Moscow in May after the triumphs of 1968 and 1999. Roma, trailing 2-0 from the first leg, had a chance to get back in the tie with a 30th minute penalty for a foul by Wes Brown on Mancini but Daniele de Rossi blasted over the bar. United, into the last four for the second successive season and for the fifth time in the Champions League, will now face Barcelona at the end of the month.

FC Barcelona 1(Yaya Toure 43) Schalke04 0

Barcelona: Barcelona set up a mouth-watering Champions League semifinal against Manchester United with a nervy 1-0 win over Schalke 04 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday. Barca, 1-0 up from the first leg of the quarter-final in Gelsenkirchen, were put under severe pressure in the opening half hour but the Schalke storm blew itself out just before halftime and the Catalans were gifted a goal after a series of mishaps in the German defence. Midfielder Yaya Toure scuffed the ball in from close range in the 43rd minute after a Bojan Krkic cross from the right had ballooned off the foot of a defender and was then headed off the line. Now Barca have 2-0 aggregate over Schalke04.

Liverpool and Chelsea reach Champions League SF

Liverpool 4(Hyypia 30, Torres 69, Gerrard 85(pen), Babel 92) Arsenal 2(Diaby 13, Adebayor 84)

Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-2 in a classic Champions League battle at Anfield on Tuesday to clinch their quarter-final tie 5-3 on aggregate and reach the semi-finals. Arsenal, took the lead through Abou Diaby after 13 minutes. Liverpool fought back with a header from Sami Hyypia on the half hour and a stunning shot on the turn from Fernando Torres in the 69th minute to take a 2-1 lead on the night and 3-2 on aggregate. A breakaway by substitute Theo Walcott which saw him skate past four Liverpool players six minutes from time set up Emmanuel Adebayor to make the score 2-2 — 3-3 on aggregate and Arsenal ahead on away goals. Liverpool got a lifeline a minute later when Arsenal defender Kolo Toure tugged Babel’s arm to concede a penalty and Gerrard, who had not had the best of games, scored to put Liverpool 3-2 ahead. Babel sealed the win with his stoppage time goal to finally ease the tension at Anfield which was almost unbearable throughout an absorbing, enthralling encounter.

Chelsea 2(Ballack 4, Lampard 87) Fenerbahce 0

London: Michael Ballack put Chelsea on course for another Champions League semi-final collision with Liverpool as his goal set up a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in Tuesday’s quarter-final, second leg. Ballack’s first half header was followed by a late Frank Lampard strike at Stamford Bridge to send Avram Grant’s side through 3-2 on aggregate.

Zaheer named Wisden's Cricketer of the year in their 2008 edition

Zaheer Khan has been chosen as one of the Wisden’s ‘Five Cricketers of the Year’ in their 2008 edition, to be released on Wednesday. Zaheer has been honoured in the 145th edition of the world’s longest-running sporting yearbook with a profile written by ToI’s Pradeep Vijayakar for his outstanding bowling on India’s tour to England last year in which he took 18 wickets in three Tests. India won the series 1-0 under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid, their first series triumph in England since 1986. Zaheer is joined by two other pace bowlers, England’s Ryan Sidebottom and West Indian Otis Gibson, who is also fast bowling coach for the England team. Gibson, last year at the age of 37, took all ten wickets for 47 runs for Durham against Hampshire in the English county championship. The other two are West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul England batsman Ian Bell. South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has been chosen as ‘Leading Cricketer in the World’, an award first constituted in 2004 and previously awarded to Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff and Muttiah Muralitharan. For the first time, five legendary cricketers who for some reason or the other were never named among Wisden’s Five, have been profiled. These include former India left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, who is profiled by former England captain Mike Brearley. The other four are Pakistan batsman Inzamam-ul Haq, West Indies fast bowling great Wes Hall, Australian pace legend Jeff Thomson and Pakistan’s master leg-spinner of the 80s, Abdul Qadir. Zaheer is the 13th Indian Test player to be named in the list of the famous five that was first instituted by Wisden in 1897.

Man Utd escapes defeat as Rooney's late equaliser in EPL

Middlesbrough: Wayne Rooney’s late equaliser rescued a point for Manchester United as they were pushed all the way by Middlesbrough in a pulsating 2-2 Premier League draw at the Riverside Stadium here on Sunday. Middlesbrough’s 12 million pounds (US$24 million dollars) club record signing Afonso Alves finally came good to break his duck with cool finishes either side of half-time to threaten table-topping United with a rare defeat. But Sir Alex Ferguson’s men displayed their title credentials by hitting back through Rooney’s 17th goal of the season with 16 minutes left, as the England striker swept home a low Park Ji-Sung cross from close range with the aid of a deflection off defender David Wheater. The draw was enough to push United three points clear at the top as they close in on their 10th Premier League crown. But their failure to win on Sunday means that second-placed Chelsea retain hopes of preventing the Old Trafford club from successfully defending their title.

Real Madrid forced to draw by Mallorca in Spanish Primera La Liga

Madrid: Ten-man Real Madrid continue to give their title rivals hope after dropping two points in an action-packed 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca. Wesley Sneijder put Real ahead shortly before half-time but Sergio Ramos was sent off for two bookings midway through the second half and seven minutes later Mallorca made the extra man count with substitute Borja Valero curling in a brilliant equaliser on Saturday. Real are now seven points ahead of Villarreal at the top of the Spanish first division but Manuel Pellegrini’s team can shave that lead to four points with victory over Sevilla on Sunday. Barcelona are eight points behind Real and have a tricky home match against Getafe. Real were relieved to pick up a point as Mallorca should have won the match late on but Daniel Guiza hit the crossbar with the goal at his mercy to let the champions off the hook.

Inter Milan regain top slot at Serie A

Milan: Inter Milan restored their four-point lead in Serie A after goals from Patrick Vieira and Mario Balotelli secured a 2-0 win at Atalanta on Sunday. Second-placed AS Roma’s 3-2 win over Genoa on Saturday had cut the gap to a point but champions Inter returned to form with a clinical display after three league games without a win. Vieira’s 21st-minute header was controversial however, after he climbed all over Atalanta defender Maximilano Pellegrino to convert Balotelli’s corner. Balotelli, 17, scored his first league goal when he rounded the keeper in the second half. With six games remaining, Inter have 72 points and Roma are on 68. Fourth-placed Fiorentina are four points clear of AC Milan in the race for the final Champions League spot after strikers Giampaolo Pazzini and Adrian Mutu sealed a 2-0 win over Reggina.

Felipe Massa wins at Bahrain GP

Brazilian Felipe Massa stormed to victory here on Sunday for his second successive victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix and answer his mounting bank of critics as his Ferrari team celebrated a comfortable one-two with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second. The 26-year-old Latin American, who had failed to score a point after an error-strewn performance in both opening races, came home as a comfortable winner ahead of his team-mate defending drivers world champion Finn Kimi Rakkkonen. They came home first and second ahead of third-placed Pole Robert Kubica of BMW, who had started from the first pole position of his career, and his team-mate German Nick Heidfeld. This was enough for the BMW-Sauber team to lead the constructors’ championship for the first time. Giancarlo Fisichella outpaced Lewis Hamilton and cut through a cluttered midfield to finish an impressive 12th as Force India notched up its first double finish of the season in the Bahrain Grand Prix here on Sunday. Starting 18th on the grid, three-time race winner Fisichella proved why he is considered such a high-quality driver as the Italian came up with a sublime show to finish 12th in the race, ahead of, Williams’ Kazuki Nakazima, Toro Rosso’s Sibastien Bourdais and Red Bull’s David Coulthard besides Hamilton. Team-mate Sutil, however, was involved in an opening lap mess and had to pit his car early with a broken nose. The German would still be happy with his 19th place, especially after failing to finish the races in Melbourne and Sepang.

Bahrain GP Results

1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:31:06.970

2. Kimi Raikkonen(Fin) Ferrari +3.3 secs

3. Robert Kubica(Pol) BMW +4.9 secs

4. Nick Heidfeld(Ger) BMW +8.4 secs

5. Heikki Kovalainen(Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +26.7 secs
6. Jarno Trulli(Ita) Toyota +41.3 secs
7. Mark Webber(Aus) Red Bull-Renault +45.4 secs
8. Nico Rosberg(Ger) Williams-Toyota +55.8 secs
9. Timo Glock(Ger) Toyota +69.5 secs
10. Fernando Alonso(Esp) Renault +77.1 secs
11. Rubens Barrichello(Bra) Honda +77.8 secs
12. Giancarlo Fisichella(Ita) Force India-Ferrari +1 Lap
13. Lewis Hamilton(Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes +1 Lap
14. Kazuki Nakajima(Jpn) Williams-Toyota +1 Lap
15. Sebastien Bourdais(Fra) STR-Ferrari +1 Lap
16. Anthony Davidson(Gbr) Super Aguri-Honda +1 Lap
17. Takuma Sato(Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda +1 Lap
18. David Coulthard(Gbr) Red Bull-Renault +1 Lap
19. Adrian Sutil(Ger) Force India-Ferrari +2 Laps

Retired

Nelsinho Piquet(Bra) Renault 40 Gearbox
Jenson Button(Gbr) Honda 19 Accident damage
Sebastian Vettel(Ger) STR-Ferrari 0 Accident damage

Driver's Standing

1. Kimi Räikkönen(Fin) Ferrari 19
2. Nick Heidfeld(Ger) BMW 16
3. Lewis Hamilton(Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 14
4. Robert Kubica(Pol) BMW 14
5. Heikki Kovalainen(Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 14
6. Felipe Massa(Bra) Ferrari 10
7. Jarno Trulli(Ita) Toyota 8
8. Nico Rosberg(Ger) Williams-Toyota 7
9. Fernando Alonso(Esp) Renault 6
10. Mark Webber(Aus) Red Bull-Renault 4
11. Kazuki Nakajima(Jpn) Williams-Toyota 3
12. Sebastien Bourdais(Fra) STR-Ferrari 2

Constructors Standing

1. BMW 30
2. Ferrari 29
3. McLaren-Mercedes 28
4. Williams-Toyota 10
5. Toyota 8
6. Renault 6
7. Red Bull-Renault 4
8. STR-Ferrari 2
9. Honda 0
10. Force India-Ferrari 0
11. Super Aguri-Honda 0

Davydenko and Serena wins at Miami

Miami: Russian fourth seed N i ko l ay Davydenko d e f e at e d S p a n i s h s e c o n d seed Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the $3.77 million Miami ATP Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open hardcourt event on Sunday. Davydenko won $590,000 and his 12th career ATP title, his first since capturing the crown at Moscow last October and what he dubbed the biggest title of his career. Davydenko’s best Miami result in six prior appearances was reaching the fourth round two years ago. “For me it’s surprising standing here (as the winner). I never play good in Miami,’’ Davydenko said. “For me to beat Nadal in the final, first time in my career. I think it’s crazy.’’ Reigning French Open champion Nadal, ranked second in the world for a record 140 weeks in a row since July of 2005, had won both prior meetings with Davydenko but struggled from the start. Davydenko became the first Russian to win the Miami crown by despatching two foes in a row he had never beaten. He ousted Andy Roddick in the semifinals despite having lost all five prior matches with the sixth-seeded American.

And in Women's final Former World No. 1 Serena Williams successfully defended her title at the WTA Sony Ericsson Open by defeating fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. Williams captured her second title of the season, the 30th of her career and her fifth at this money-spinning event on Saturday. The 26-year-old American cruised through the opening set in just 28 minutes as Jankovic hit just three winners and made 11 unforced errors. The Serbian, who has been battling a cold all week, found herself in trouble over and over again because of a weak second serve. But Jankovic rallied to take the second set 7-5 before Williams, who struggled repeatedly on match point, eventually won 6-3 in a sloppilyplayed third set. Eighth-seeded Williams also won her fifth championship here, having won last year in addition to claiming three straight titles from 2002-04. Williams has amassed a 47-5 record during her 10 appearances at this hardcourt tournament, also finished as a runner-up in 1999 to sister Venus.

SA crushed India by an innings and 90 runs in 2nd Test at Ahmedabad

India had to score 418 to avoid an innings defeat. South Africa declared immediately in the morning. India were thus left with the task of getting 418 runs to make the visitors bat again and avoid a humiliating innings defeat. Virender Sehwag started the day with a typically characteristic blast, pulling Dale Steyn for two sixes over fine leg in the first over itself. But SA got him soon enough as Ntini trapped him plumb in front in the eighth over. Sehwag’s second innings average dipped to 28.34 in the second innings, as compared to his first innings average of 67.69. Smith’s men netted Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer’s scalps as well before lunch. VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly added 55 for the fourth wicket, but just as we thought something special was in store, Laxman perished to a faint edge. India’s fight back entered its best phase as Dada joined forces with Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take the innings to tea without any further loss of wickets. Sourav Ganguly scored his sixth fifty against South Africa, while Dhoni got his first. Dhoni escaped a difficult chance at fine leg and a much easier stumping opportunity off Paul Harris. After both added 110 runs for the fifth wicket, Ganguly got caught behind off a full length delivery off Steyn. Dhoni got out to a bad stroke and Irfan Pathan (43 not out) was the only one standing amongst the ruins as the tail failed to take the match into the fourth day. India finished at 328, to lose by an innings and 90 runs inside three days. This is South Africas biggest win over India. AB de Villiers (217 not out) was declared Man of the Match. Steyn finished with eight wickets, while Makhaya Ntini netted six. South Africa go one-up in the three-Test series.

Brief Score
India
Batting
Ist Innings: 76/10, Pathan-21*, Dhoni-14
2nd Innings: 328/10, Ganguly-87, Dhoni-52, Pathan-43*
Bowling
Ist Innings: Harbhajan-4/135, Sreesanth-2/87, Kumble-1/78
2nd Innings: Did not bowl
South Africa
Batting
Ist Innings: 494/7 Declared, Kallis-132, AB De Villiers-217*
2nd Innings: Did not bat
Bowling
Ist Innings: Steyn-5/23, Ntini-3/18, Morkel-2/20
2nd Innings: Steyn-3/91, Ntini-3/44, Morkel-2/87, Kallis-1/26, Harris-1/68

Arsenal drew with Liverpool and Chelsea stunned by Fenerbahce into the Champions League 1st Leg QF

ARSENAL 1(Adebayor 23) LIVERPOOL 1(Dirk Kuyt 26)

London: Arsenal and Liverpool drew 1-1 in an end-to-end Champions League quarter-final first leg match at the Emirates Stadium. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor headed Arsenal in front after 23 minutes when he rose unchallenged to power the ball past keeper Pepe Reina from close range. Arsenal’s joy was shortlived, however, as Liverpool equalised in the 26th minute when captain Steven Gerrard surged past three defenders wide on the left and crossed for Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt to slide home. Wednesday’s match was the first of three between the teams inside seven days. The game had all the power, speed and high tempo play typical of the Premier League and while Arsenal created the better chances, Liverpool defended superbly. Their only slip was to leave Adebayor free to score his 24th goal of the season and his second in successive games in the Champions League. Robin van Persie had a great chance to put Arsenal ahead after 20 minutes when he found himself in space and onside after escaping his markers after collecting a 50-metre pass from Mathieu Flamini. Somehow though, with only Reina to beat, he sent a left-foot volley high over the bar. Two minutes later he forced Reina into a low dive to his left to force a corner—from which Arsenal scored. Van Persie’s cross found the unmarked Adebayor and the tall striker rose unchallenged to powerfully head home. Gerrard, who had an outstanding game, provided a quick response with the cross for Kuyt who nipped in between Philippe Senderos and Gael Clichy to equalise. Arsenal appeared to have legitimate claims for a penalty denied when Kuyt seemed to pull back Aleksandr Hleb’s left shoulder inside the box. Dutch referee Pieter Vink, who did not need to use cards throughout the game, waved play on. Liverpool were fortunate twice in the space of five minutes midway through the second half. Defender Martin Skrtel cleared an Emmanuel Eboue shot off the line and a shot from Cesc Fabregas hit Arsenal team mate Nicklas Bendtner standing on the Liverpool goal-line.

TEAMS:

Arsenal: 24-Manuel Almunia; 5-Kolo Toure, 10-William Gallas, 6-Philippe Senderos, 22-Gael Clichy; 27-Emmanuel Eboue (26-Nicklas Bendtner 67), 16-Mathieu Flamini, 4-Cesc Fabregas, 13-Aleksandr Hleb; 11-Robin van Persie (32-Theo Walcott 46), 25-Emmanuel Adebayor.

Liverpool: 25-Pepe Reina; 23-Jamie Carragher, 37-Martin Skrtel, 4-Sami Hyypia, 12-Fabio Aurelio; 8-Steven Gerrard, 20-Javier Mascherano, 14-Xabi Alonso (21-Lucas Leiva 76); 19-Ryan Babel (11-Yossi Benayoun 58), 18-Dirk Kuyt; 9-Fernando, Torres (10-Andriy Voronin 86).

FENERBAHCE 2(Kazim-Kazim 65, Deivid 81) CHELSEA 1(Deivid 13 own goal)

Istanbul:Fenerbahce midfielder Deivid went from zero to hero as his side came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal, first leg. Deivid had looked like the villain of the peace when he gifted Chelsea the lead with an early own goal at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium. But the Turkish champions snatched an equaliser through Colin Kazim-Kazim midway through the second half and Deivid made amends for his earlier blunder with a breathtaking winner nine minutes from full-time. As the club's volatile fans crammed into the stadium hours before kick-off, it was easy to see why they were unbeaten in the last 11 home European matches. In such a seething cauldron of noise, Chelsea's stars made an assured start and scored with their first serious attack in the 13th minute. Frank Lampard cleverly dummied Ashley Cole's pass, allowing Florent Malouda to find space on the left side of the penalty area. He drove a low cross towards Didier Drogba and Deivid tried to clear but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past by wrong-footed keeper Volkan Demirel into his own net. Confidence now flowing, Michael Essien almost doubled Chelsea's lead moments later with a swerving 25-yard strike that skimmed the crossbar. Drogba's muscular presence unsettled Zico's team time and again. Michael Ballack had yards of space to produce a majestic defence-splitting pass to Drogba. The Ivorian striker was only denied a goal by Demirel's charge from his line. Kazim-Kazim was an unlikely saviour for Fenerbahce. He was called Kazim-Richards when he was bought by Brighton with a transfer fee donated by a fan but changed his name after moving to Turkey last year. Fenerbahce equalised as Grant's side were caught sleeping at the back in the 65th minute. Mehmet Aurelio's pass cut out Chelsea's centre-backs and Kazim-Kazim timed his run perfectly before lashing it past Cudicini.And there seemed little danger when Deivid took possession 30 yards out in the 81st minute. He quickly disproved that theory with a stunning strike that arrowed into the top corner.

TEAMS:

Fenerbahce: 1-Volkan Demirel; 19-Onder Turaci, 2-Lugano, 36-Edu, 6-Gokcek Vederson; 33-Claudio Maldonado, 15-Mehmet Aurelio, 25-Ugur Boral (8-Colin Kazim-Richards 54); 99-Deivid, 9-Mateja Kezman (23-Semih Senturk 72), 20-Alex

Chelsea: 23-Carlo Cudicini; 5-Michael Essien, 26-John Terry, 6-Ricardo Carvalho, 3-Ashley Cole; 13-Michael Ballack, 4-Claude Makelele, 8-Frank Lampard (12-John Obi Mikel 76); 15-Florent Malouda, 11-Didier Drogba, 10-Joe Cole (39-Nicolas Anelka 86).

Nadal booked SF birth at miami

World No.2 Rafael Nadal rallied for a three-set victory over James Blake to book his semifinal berth at the ATP and WTA Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday. Nadal, seeded second behind world No.1 Roger Federer, defeated Blake 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 as he moved a step closer to his first title of 2008. It was the Spaniard’s second victory over Blake in as many starts, following his quarterfinal win over the American at Indian Wells. Prior to that, Blake had won the first three career meetings between the two. Nadal earned the break he needed in the third game of the of the third set, and held on to close out the match in 1hr 55min. Nadal said the key to his changing fortune against Blake was a more aggressive, albeit riskier, stance. “I think just before I was running a lot, two meters behind the line,’’ he said. “I think right now I’m playing a little bit more aggressive.’’ In the semifinals, Nadal will face Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych, who eliminated Russian Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-4 in the day’s other men’s quarterfinal. In women’s action, fourth-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic reached the semifinals when Russia’s Elena Dementieva retired while trailing in the second set of their quarterfinal clash. Jankovic led 6-1, 3-1 when Dementieva, battling a back injury for which she received treatment after the first set, decided she cannot continue because of pain in her lower back. Jankovic, who had saved five match points in her battling second round victory over Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson, booked a semifinal match-up with Vera Zvonareva, who beat Russian compatriot Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-4. Jankovic’s abbreviated quarterfinal echoed her experience at Indian Wells, where she reached the semifinals when American Lindsay Davenport retired from their contest with a back injury. The Serbian will make her fourth semifinal appearance of the year but is still seeking to make her first final of 2008, having lost in the final four at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells. On Tuesday, third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and American Serena Williams, the eighth seed and defending champion, advanced to the semifinals. Williams easily defeated world No.1 Justine Henin of Belgium, while Kuznetsova downed Venus Williams.

India bowls out for 76 on day 1 at Ahmedabad Test Match

India’s first innings lasted just 20 overs. The hosts, after winning the toss and batting, on a lively pitch, dished out a diabolical performance and were bowled out for 76. The intensity of the South African seamers, led by Dale Steyn 8-2-23-5, who was suffering from flu till Wednesday evening, Makhaya Ntini 6-1-18-3 and Morne Morkel 6-1-20-2, made a mockery of the Indian batsmen and their reputations. India were dismissed 10 minutes before lunch. It was India’s second lowest total at home, narrowly beating the 75 they aggregated against West Indies in 1987 at New Delhi’s Feroze Shah Kotla. That too was thanks to Irfan Pathan’s spunky unbeaten 21. Pathan’s 39-minute, 17-ball effort showed that there were more devils in the minds of the Indian batsmen, than the pitch. The manner in which the South African openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith played to take South Africa past India’s score in the 16th over itself along with Jacques Kallis (60 not out) and Ab de Villiers (59), who added an unbeaten 106 for the fifth wicket, reinforced the view. Apart from Harbhajan Singh, who struck once between lunch and tea and twice after tea in a threatening 12-over spell, to dislodge McKenzie, Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince, the Indian bowling was inspid. It allowed South Africa to recover from a wobbly 117-4 to a secure 223-4 at stumps on Day 1. It gives the visitors a lead of 147 runs with six wickets in hand. Earlier, the positive decision that Anil Kumble took by electing to bat and opting to play five bowlers (the last time India did that at home was against England at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, March 2006), deserved better results. But the ‘best batting line-up’ in the world, contrived to embarrass their captain and the nation. It took the South Africans only 21 balls and 17 minutes to start India’s slide. After a couple of wayward overs, Ntini reaped the rewards of pitching the ball up and getting Wasim Jaffer edge to Graeme Smith at first slip. Sehwag, who supposedly has a ‘chink’ in his armour against the short ball has a bigger ‘chink’ against the three quarter length delivery. Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath and Mohd Asif have all succeeded bowling that length to him and getting him bowled off the inside edge. Steyn hit that length and did the same. When Laxman joined Dravid, India had two men who love batting together, at the wicket. But they didn’t last long. Ntini had started hitting the right length and troubled Laxman with full length deliveries seaming away. Laxman, who was playing and missing at those deliveries, left one in the next over that darted in from outside off stump and hit it. At 3 for 30, Ganguly walked in to a crisis. That metamorphosed into a catastrophe two balls later when he played onto Ntini. The quickie had taken three wickets in the span of 12 balls. Dravid and Dhoni took the score past 50. That’s when Smith replaced Ntini after a dream spell of 6-1-18-3, with Steyn. The bowler responded by castling Dravid with the ball of the series, a full length delivery that pitched on middle stump and hit off. Morkel got rid of Dhoni and Kumble off the same over and Harbhajan played all across a full swinging delivery from Steyn to be lbw. At 55 for 8, India looked in danger of beating their record for the lowest score against South Africa (66 in Durban in 1996). But Pathan helped India avoid that embarrassment. A 100 looked in sight as RP Singh seemed determined to hang on and support Pathan. But Steyn’s mop up job denied India that luxury.

Man Utd and Barca comes through their first leg of QF

AS ROMA 0 MAN UNITED 2 (Cristiano Ronaldo 39, Wayne Rooney 66)

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a clinical 2-0 win at AS Roma on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Portugal forward Ronaldo soared inside the area six minutes before the break to head home a Paul Scholes cross after Rooney had skipped away from Philippe Mexes. Rooney then poked home the second goal himself in the 66th minute after a header from South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park sparked a goalmouth scramble. “It’s a very good performance,” Ronaldo said. “Everyone knows it’s a tough game. Roma played very well, but we created a few chances. I think we deserved this win.” Roma had nothing to show for some fluid football and have a massive task in next Wednesday’s return at Old Trafford, where they lost 7-1 at the same stage of the competition last season. The English champions made a shaky start at the Stadio Olimpico and their Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was lucky to get away with a risky early clearance. Roma defender Christian Panucci then headed just over the bar in the 12th. United tried to fashion a response but Brazilian midfielder Anderson hoofed their first effort well off target and Ronaldo drilled a long-distance freekick wide. The hosts continued to look dangerous and Montengro striker Mirko Vucinic hit a powerful strike over the bar but it was Ronaldo who gave United the lead to stun the home fans. Roma tried to respond and Vucinic squandered a superb chance to equalise with only Van der Sar to beat soon after the goal. A determined Roma, who were without injured captain Francesco Totti, made a bright start to the second half. Fullback Max Tonetto come close with a powerful effort and almost surprised Van der Sar with a cross-come-shot, while Panucci blasted over from short range. Van der Sar produced a superb reflex save from a Vucinic header in the 62nd and United looked to be struggling before Rooney claimed his fourth goal in five games against Roma. Ronaldo hit the post with a shot from outside the area and midfielder Michael Carrick nearly made it 3-0. Rooney then struck the ball wide from a good position and Ronaldo volleyed just over as the home side began to lose heart.

TEAMS:

AS Roma: 32-Doni; 77-Marco Cassetti, 5-Philippe Mexes, 2-Christian Panucci, 22-Max Tonetto (3-Cicinho 69); 11-Rodrigo Taddei (14-Ludovic Giuly 59), 16-Daniele De Rossi, 8-Alberto Aquilani (18-Mauro Esposito 76), 7 David Pizarro, 30 Mancini, 9-Mirko Vucinic.

Manchester United: 1-Edwin van der Sar; 6-Wes Brown, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 15-Nemanja Vidic (22-John O'Shea 33), 3-Patrice Evra, 16 Michael Carrick, 18-Paul Scholes, 8-Anderson (4-Owen Hargreaves 56); 7-Cristiano Ronaldo, 10-Wayne Rooney (32-Carlos Tevez 84), 13-Park Ji-Sung.

SCHALKE 04 0 BARCELONA 1 (Bojan Krkic 12)

Barcelona's teenage striker Bojan Krkic gave his side the initiative in their Champions League quarter-final after the Spaniards left Germany with a 1-0 win over Schalke 04 on Tuesday night. Krkic, who will not turn 18 until the end of August, struck as early as the 12th minute with a valuable away goal to put the Spanish giants firmly in the driving seat for next Wednesday's second leg at the Nou Camp stadium. The goal came after a dream pass from Spanish international Xavi Hernandez split open Schalke's defence. Ex-Arsenal striker Thierry Henry seized the chance and fired at Schalke's keeper Manuel Neuer who parried the shot, but Henry snatched the re-bound and slid a pass to teenager Krkic to bury his shot in the top of the net. A curling pass from Germany defender Heiko Westermann put Danish substitute striker Soeren Larsen into a threatening position, but his header went wide with ten minutes to go. And Westermann was incensed when his appeals for a penalty were turned down moments later.

TEAMS:

Schalke 04: 1-Manuel Neuer; 18-Rafinha, 5-Marcelo Bordon, 20-Mladen Krstajic, 2-Heiko Westermann; 14-Gerald Asamoah (9-Soren Larsen 73), 3-Levan Kobiashvili, 8-Fabian Ernst, 24-Christian Pander; 22-Kevin Kuranyi (27-Vicente Sanchez 60), 19-Halil Altintop (11-Peter Lovenkrands 89).

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 11-Gianluca Zambrotta, 5-Carles Puyol, 3-Gabriel Milito, 22-Eric Abidal; 24-Yaya Toure (4-Rafael Marquez 73), 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 27-Bojan Krkic (16-Silvinho 86), 9-Samuel Eto'o (17-Giovani dos Santos 82), 14-Thierry Henry.

Serena beats Henin at miami

World No.1 Roger Federer rolled over unseeded Jose Acasuso 7-6(5), 6-2 in a fourth round match at the $3.8 million ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament here at Miami on Tuesday. “Now I feel like I’m playing well,’’ said Federer who faces American Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. Second seed Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the 2005 final, also reached the quarterfinals by beating 15th-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-4. Ninth-seeded American James Blake is through to the quarterfinals after claiming a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 27 Radek Stepanek. Roddick will join his compatriot in the last eight. Roddick struggled in the first set before rallying to beat unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov failed to move through as 10th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win in their fourth round match. On the women’s side of the draw, Svetlana Kuznetsova spoiled the prospect of an all-Williams semifinal. Hours after Serena Williams was victorious in her quarterfinal, Kuznetsova defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4. Williams was attempting to capture her fourth title at the event, having won the tournament in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Younger sister Serena had held up her end of the bargain earlier on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over top seed and World No. 1 Justine Henin. Henin had won three straight in the series against Serena — claiming quarterfinal victories at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open — but was outplayed by the American. Serena, who beat Henin here in last season’s championship match, captured three breaks in each set of the 80-minute match. It was another tough loss for the 25-year-old Belgian, who was playing her first tournament since being upset by Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals at Dubai. “Today I didn’t make as many errors,’’ Serena said. “I stayed positive no matter what happened.”

Federer advances at Miami

World No.1s Roger Federer and Justine Henin advanced at the $7.54 million ATP and WTA hardcourt event here on Monday, Henin in straight sets and Federer thanks to an injury retirement. Swiss superstar Federer was leading Robin Soderling 6-4, 3-0 when the Swedish player retired with illness, advancing the world No.1 into a fourthround match. “There is a big difference between not playing at all and playing a set and a half. I prefer today,’’ Federer said. “I get the feel of the tournament playing a match and I’m able to handle the conditions.’’ Federer, upset by American Mardy Fish at the Indian Wells semifinals in his most recent prior event, will next face Argentina’s Jose Acasuso, who eliminated Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-4. Belgium’s Henin beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-2 in a fourth round match to book a quarterfinal date with defending champion Serena Williams of the United States in a rematch of last year’s final. Williams, the eighth seed, beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 to give herself another date against Henin. Williams rallied to defeat Henin 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 for her 28th career crown. Henin, who won titles at Sydney and Belgium in four starts this year, fired eight aces to overcome six double faults in her victory. She is in her first event since a Dubai quarterfinal ouster. Possibly awaiting the Williams-Henin winner in the semifinals would be Venus Williams or Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the runner-up at Indian Wells. Kuznetsova, the 2006 winner here, defeated Israeli 16th seed Shahar Peer 7-6(4), 6-3, while the elder Williams sister, seeded sixth, beat Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3. Serbian fourth seed Jelena Jankovic eliminated China’s Zheng Jie 6-4, 7-5 to advance into a quarterfinals date with Russian 10th seed Elena Dementieva, who ousted Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-2. Also reaching the final eight was Russian Dinara Safina, who ended the run of US tennis mum Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-4. She will face either Japan’s Ai Sugiyama or Russian Vera Zvonareva. In other matches on the men’s side, Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko reached the round of 16 by defeating Italy’s Simone Bolelli 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1 and will next face Croatian wildcard Mario Ancic or Argentina’s Juan Monaco. Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was eliminated by fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-3 in another third round match. Benneteau, ranked 72nd, awaits the winner of a night match between US sixth seed Andy Roddick and Czech qualifier Ivo Minar.

PCB imposed ban on Shoaib for five years

Maverick fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was on T u e s d ay banned for five years by the Pakistan C r i cke t Board (PCB) for gross misconduct and repeated violations of the players code of conduct, virtually ending his international career which has been plagued by injuries and controversies. The 32-year-old Akhtar, who appeared before a disciplinary committee earlier in the day on charges of publicly criticising the board, has been banned from all forms of cricket but would continue to be a part of the IPL. PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf told a press conference that the board had “lost confidence on Shoaib,’’ who was already on probation for two years for hitting fellow pacer Mohammad Asif with the bat before the World Twenty20 championships in South Africa last year. “Shoaib can’t play for Pakistan or anywhere in Pakistan. But he is free to play in the Indian Premier League which is not in our jurisdiction,’’ Ashraf said. “Shoaib’s presence damaged Pakistan cricket at every level and he has been banned from playing in any form of cricket. PCB has lost confidence on shoaib,’’ Ashraf said in a strongly worded decision by the board. The ban effectively ends the controversial 11-year career of the world’s fastest bowler, which has been rocked by injuries, disciplinary problems and a doping scandal in 2007.

Chelsea gets closer to Manchester Utd in English Premier League

Chelsea trimmed Manchester United’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points on Sunday with a patchy 1-0 defeat of Middlesbrough. Liverpool, meanwhile, took control of the fight for fourth place with a 1-0 win over city rival Everton on Sunday. While Chelsea were in second place after a 1-0 win over visiting Middlesbrough, Liverpool moved five points clear of their neighbours through Fernando Torres’ 28th goal of the season. Ricardo Carvalho’s header inside the opening five minutes at Stamford Bridge gave Chelsea the perfect start but they were guilty of not killing the game as Shaun Wright-Phillips twice wasted good chances. Chelsea rode their luck after the break when Boro substitute Afonso Alves could have scored a hat-trick. The £12 million Brazilian signing was twice denied by the woodwork and also missed the target when unmarked in front of goal. Chelsea have 71 points from 32 games to United’s 76. Arsenal are in third place with 70 points. Boro remain 12th and still not safe from relegation. United show class against Villa Earlier on Saturday, Manchester United swept Aston Villa aside to move closer to retaining the trophy on a day when Arsenal had to produce an extraordinary fightback to prevent their fading title hopes from being extinguished. The Gunners battled back from two goals down with ten men to end a five-match winless run with a lastgasp 3-2 victory at Bolton. But that did not reduce the six-point gap between them and a United side whose 4-0 defeat of Villa was brilliantly orchestrated by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger started proceedings with his 35th goal of the season — a cheeky backheel from ten yards out — before providing the decisive passes that allowed Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney (twice) to net United’s other goals.

Real betis shocked Barca in Spanish La Liga

Barcelona surrendered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at Real Betis that dropped them into third place in the Spanish league after Villarreal beat Atletico Madrid 3-0. Betis striker Edu Schmidt scored twice as Barcelona conceded three goals in 15 minutes in the second half. Villarreal improved to 59 points behind two goals from Nihat Kahveci and another by Santiago Cazorla. Real Madrid, who played sixth-ranked Sevilla on Sunday, lead the standings with 62 points, while Barcelona remained on 58. Edu moved around defender Liliam Thuram before unleashing a spinning shot that beat Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes inside the near post for the winner in the 78th minute. Edu, who also had a penalty kick saved by Valdes in the 75th, started Betis’ rally with a header in the 63rd. Juanito Gutierrez chested a throw-in before hitting a low volley past Valdes to equalise in the 76th. “I’m ashamed by this result,” Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said.

Kaif recalls for 2nd Test as Sachin injured

Sachin Tendulkar aggravated the groin injury he picked up during the Australia tour on Saturday and will therefore be unavailable to play the second Test at Ahmedabad starting on April 3. Tendulkar’s place will be taken by UP captain Mohammed Kaif, who returns to the Test team for the first time since the West Indies tour in 2006. It is possible that Tendulkar may not be available even for the third Test at Kanpur, but a final decision on that will be taken after the Ahmedabad game. Skipper Anil Kumble also suffers from a right groin strain which forced him to not field on the final day at Chepauk. Kumble’s condition will be assessed by physio Paul Close on April 2 in Ahmedabad. It is learnt that Kumble is also a doubtful starter even as Close told BCCI that he is ‘‘confident of getting Kumble to play the second Test’’, informed board secretary Niranjan Shah. Piyush Chawla is most likely to replace Kumble in the playing XI if the veteran misses out.