Sports

PALLEKELE: Darren Bravo hit an impressive 63 not out for his third half-century to boost the West Indies in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
Bravo, who made 58 and 80 in the first two Tests, cracked nine fours in his 111-ball knock to steady the innings after the first-ball dismissal of former captain Chris Gayle.
He put on 115 for the second wicket with opener Devon Smith, who hit a solid 55 before being trapped leg-before by unorthodox spinner

BRISBANE: England head to this week's second Adelaide Test with all the momentum after dominating Australia over the final two days of the Ashes opener which ended in a draw at the Gabba on Monday.
England ensured they would not be beaten in the first match of their Ashes defence after conceding a 221-run innings deficit when Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott shared in England's highest partnership in Australia of 329 runs.
Cook became only the fourth Englishman to score a

LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation is seeking permission from the government to organise the Pakistan and India hockey test series at the neutral venue of Dubai.
According to an official of the PHF, the board has gotten clearance from the Sports Minister, Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry to go head on with India in the field of hockey. He further stated that the Indian Hockey Federation would also go through the same routine after showing its willingness to play against

LAHORE: Fresh claims made by runaway wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider's have led the Pakistan Cricket Board to delay the naming of the provisional team for the 2011 World Cup and the New Zealand series. Zulqarnain had stated that he has knowledge regarding the match-fixers in the team which led the PCB to stop the team announcement for the New Zealand tour and the World Cup.
He claimed on his Facebook page that he will reveal the names of those who have received money to fix

LAHORE: Junaid Jan and Fahadullah cracked centuries to give an upper hand to Lahore Ravi against Hyderabad on day two of the four-day Division II Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match here at the LCCA ground on Monday.
Lahore bowlers first tightened the noose on the visiting team by bowling them out for 212 on the opening day and later their batsmen put Hyderabad bowlers to the sword by making 254 runs for the loss of two wickets in 80 overs after resuming the innings at the score of three.

LAHORE: Another two matches were decided in the 1st CPL Raaziq 20/20 cricket tournament here on Monday.
In the first match, Ufone beat Coca-Cola by 4 wickets. Coca-Cola scored 137 for the loss of all wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Usman Hafeez 31, Shahid Mahmood 30 and Mohsin Naqi 17 did well from the Coke side. Raza Ijaz took three wickets while Ahsan Zaidi and Salman Rasheed grabbed two. In reply, U-Fone achieved the target with three overs to spare with Muhammad Bilal 42,

PALLEKELE: Sri Lanka and the West Indies hope for clear weather as they seek to clinch the series with a win in the third and final Test starting at a new venue on Wednesday.
The series is tied at 0-0 after rain-hit drawn matches in Colombo and Galle and the weather is likely to curtail play at the Pallekele International Stadium.
The West Indies, seeking their first Test victory in Sri Lanka, surprised the hosts with their impressive performance in Galle where they enforced

LAHORE: After a battle of nerves and golfing skills, the twenty-member Gymkhana golf team prevailed over the Royal Palm golf team, yesterday at the Gymkhana Golf Course, through an aggregate team score of 27 points to Royal Palm's 25, the winning margin not too imposing yet ample to fetch them the glittering trophy accompanied by the related honours.
The clash between the two teams has started to generate tremendous interest on both sides and members consider it an

BRISBANE: England are on course to salvage the opening Ashes Test after a dominant batting display to overturn a massive innings deficit into a mounting lead on the fourth day at the Gabba on Sunday.
England surged back after Saturday's fruitless third day in the field to trail by 221 runs and hit the front on the back of a ground record stand between skipper Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.
At the close, the Ashes holders, cheered on by their chanting Barmy Army fans, were

LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team, winner of Asian Games hockey event, was on Sunday awarded Rs10 million in a reception hosted by Punjab Chief Minister, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, at the CM House.
The Chief Minister presented cheques of Rs 500,000 each to all the members of the hockey team and also promised his full support to PHF President Qasim Zia in the team's preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Mian Shahbaz Sharif termed the hockey players as the shining stars of the

BRISBANE: Australia have a problem sustaining pressure on opposition batsmen, allrounder Shane Watson admitted Sunday after his side let slip a huge lead against England.
Centurions Andrew Strauss (110) and Alastair Cook put on England's highest ever partnership at Brisbane's Gabba ground to lead the team out of trouble and overturn a 221-run first innings deficit in the first Ashes Test. The tourists finished the day on 309 for one, with Cook unbeaten on 132 and Jonathan Trott

LAHORE: Carlton Tower Hotel cut the combined team of Guard Group and Diamond Paints into half in the final to claim the Novices Polo Cup 2010 here at the Lahore Polo Club's Aibak Ground on Sunday.
Rijas on the other hand claimed the subsidiary final when it edged aside Karachi Polo Team 5-4 earlier in the day.
In the presence of chief guest Gen. (R) Jehangir Karamat and fans who gathered at the LPC lounge to enjoy the mild weather, Shah Qubali Alam and Hamza Mawaz Khan

GUWAHATI: A century from Virat Kohli helped India secure a convincing 40-run victory in the first one-day international against New Zealand on Sunday. India's total of 276 looked enough, and New Zealand were out of contention at 169 for 8 after 36 overs before a quick ninth-wicket partnership of 67 between Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills offered them a glimmer of hope.
But McCullum's dismissal in the 45th over allowed India to bowl the tourists out for 236 and finish as easy

LAHORE: Former national wicketkeeper Moin Khan believes that former captain Mohammad Yousuf should focus on Test cricket only in order to keep himself fit and thus play for a longer duration at the top level.
"Yousuf should concentrate only on Test cricket," Moin said. He felt that Yousuf does not warrant selection in the Pakistan World Cup squad due to being dogged by injuries of late.
Although the right-handed batsman was selected for the recently concluded ODI series

LAHORE: Lahore Lions beat Lahore Blues by 20 runs in the opening match of the 3rd National Veterans cricket tournament that rolled into action on Saturday. Batting first, Lahore Lions scored 149 for 4 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Imran Bucha 59, Sarfraz Azeem 29 and Ali Zia 22 were the main scorers. Javed Zaman took 2 wickets for 37 runs. In reply, Lahore Blues scored 129 for 9 wickets with Arshad Khan 52, Imran Sheikh 18 and Shaukat Ali 14 being the prominent batsmen.