Murray downs Smyczek at Farmers Classic

Andy Murray came back to action after nearly a month off, with the Scot top-seed struggling with unseasonably chilly temperatures to a tight 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over American qualifier Tim Smyczek at the Farmers Classic.

Murray began after a frantic week in which he parted company with two of his coaching team, leaving Miles Maclagan and Spain’s Alex Corretja pursuing other interests. But despite retaining his trainer and physio on staff, the Scot had his problems with condition in a match where he converted only seven of 18 break points and never looked entirely comfortable on court in a second round match played in 15 Celsius conditions.

“I’m stiff, I don’t know if it’s the weather or the fact that this is my first match since Wimbledon. It’s to be expected so hopefully it will be OK tomorrow,” said Murray.

“It was a good match with long rallies, we played to a good standard which will hopefully stand me in good stead for the rest of the week.”

Murray swept the first set in 27 minutes but went into a funk in the second and part of the third with breaks in eight of ten games.

The seed got his form back just in time with a break of the inexperienced American in the penultimate game for 5-2 and served out victory with a cross-court winner a game later.

The top-seed will on Friday face a quarterfinal test against Colombian Alejandro Fall, who beat fatigued fifth seed Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez moved comfortably into the last eight with his defeat of Israeli Dudi Sela 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. He will play James Blake, whose comeback is finally taking form after a year of knee injury problems.

The 31-year-old finally submitted to a regime of painkillers, which have made all the difference to his form. He showed it as he defeated German Benjamin Becker 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).

“I haven’t been in a quarterfinal for a while,” said the former top ten player who now stands a distant 117th, “I hope to go even further, been in final here before (2007), I’d like to take it one step further.

“I knew the match would be tough. He’s played more matches than me this year. But I played some of my better tennis to get through. It’s great to be back.”

“I played well especially in the last set. We were both tired. I’m happy to get through. I’m playing really well right now,” Falla said.

“He helped me a lot in the third set, he gave me chances, and I took them.”

Vettel sets pace at Hungarian GP practice

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was fastest in both free practice sessions on Friday for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old German registered the fastest time in the morning session ahead of teammate Mark Webber and the best time of the day in the afternoon session, recording a lap-time of 1 minute 20.087 seconds at the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring.

Alonso was second-fastest on the day with a time of 1:20.584 minutes, followed by Webber with an afternoon lap of 1:20.597.

Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari was fourth fastest in the second session with championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren sixth behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov after finishing down in 18th in the morning session.

Renault also impressed in the first session as Robert Kubica was third quickest, over a second adrift of Vettel, followed by defending world champion Jenson Button of McLaren, who had to settle for ninth in the second session.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Mercedes as seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was 1.686 seconds slower than Vettel in 10th with Nico Rosberg faring even worse in 13th.

Hamilton heads the drivers’ standings with 157 points after 11 of 19 races followed by Button on 143 and Webber and Vettel on 136.

Stung Massa bent on beating Alonso

Felipe Massa said on Thursday that he has no intention of letting Fernando Alonso go past him again if the two are fighting for the win at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

“I will win,” Massa said when asked about a possible repeat of last week’s scenario at the German GP in Hockenheim.

Ferrari was fined $ 100,000 after Hockenheim when stewards determined that the Italian team had sent Massa radio messages instructing him to let Alonso take the lead from him on the 49th lap of the race. Massa seemed to comply and finished second while Alonso went on to win the race.

Massa, who suffered a season-ending crash here in 2009, said he would quit racing if he was considered a team’s No. 2 driver.

“The time they say I am the No. 2 driver I will not race anymore, so I am not (No. 2),” Massa said ahead of Sunday’s 25th edition of the Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring track.

Massa said he had learned from the Hockenheim experience.

“I’m very strong and I’m looking for the victory,” Massa said. Two-time world champion Alonso, who has two wins this year, brushed off questions from reporters about the controversy, insisting that he was focused on the upcoming race.

“Hungary is our main target right now,” Alonso said. “(We are) completely concentrated on this race.”

While Alonso insisted that Ferrari’s interests were the priority, he avoided saying whether he would let Massa pass him if that was preferable from a team standpoint.

“Every race is different, with different circumstances and possibilities, and we will decide what is best,” Alonso said. “We are privileged to drive for Ferrari and we know what we have to do.”

Alonso picked up 25 points for winning at Hockenheim, while Massa collected 18 for second place. The extra points for the Spanish driver could prove critical in what is shaping up to be a tight drivers’ championship.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton leads the standings on 157 points, with teammate Jenson Button second on 143 points. The two Red Bull drivers, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, each have 136 and Alonso is fifth with 123.

Alonso dismissed criticism that he would be a “dirty” champion because of the manner of his victory in Germany.

“I don’t think anything has changed. I’m still the same and I will fight always ... for the team and the sport,” Alonso said.

“Naturally, I have not been affected at all. If we lost even one percent of our concentration because of what’s been said, we’d be finished.”

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello was more supportive of his fellow Brazilian Massa.

“I was very sorry to see what he had to go through. It was such a bad thing ... and I wished he didn’t go through that,” Barrichello said, ahead of his 299th race in Formula One.

In 2002, Barrichello was involved in a similar situation when he was forced by Ferrari to let teammate Michael Schumacher pass him for the win on the final straight at the Austrian GP. Barrichello was also ordered to concede second place to Schumacher at the same track the year before.

Schumacher won the 2002 championship with twice as many points as second—place Barrichello but since 2003 teams have been banned from giving drivers orders which determine race results.

“You should be allowed to race,” Barrichello said, although he added that teams still had ways of letting their drivers know if they were expected to back off or let a teammate pass them.

“If you don’t win the championship by one point, so be it,” Barrichello added. “If you win the championship because somebody let you win, what’s the point? “If I have to be a bad guy to be world champion, I don’t care for that.”

Massa said he met on Thursday with members of the rescue team who lifted him out of the cockpit after his crash last year but that the accident would not affect his performance on Sunday.

“I don’t remember a single thing from the accident,” Massa said. “When you close the visor ... you just think about doing your best.”

Barrichello, whose car lost the spring which hit Massa on the helmet and caused the crash, said Massa had moved on from the accident, and had even used it to his advantage while the two of them were playing poker earlier this year in Brazil.

“He put the helmet in which he had the accident on the table and it completely destroyed my night,” Barrichello said. “I started losing money and he just had fun with it. I think he’s going to drive flat-out.”

Massa was hospitalized for nine days in Hungary after suffering multiple skull fractures. He was placed in an induced coma and later had plastic surgery in Brazil.

Bengal struggles to hold Delhi

Host Bengal huffed and puffed against a gritty Delhi before coming up with a late equaliser and forced a 1-1 draw in the opening encounter of the Group-B quarterfinal league of the 64th senior National football championship for the Santosh Trophy here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.

Tamil Nadu gave Mizoram a good lesson in counter-attacks, firing in two goals in the second session, to open its campaign with a 2-0 win in the second group-B quarterfinal match of day.

Bengal midfielder Jayanta Sen found the equaliser in the 88th minute with a powerful pile-driver after Delhi went into the lead in the first session off a brilliant header from Tuishim Mashangva.

Tamil Nadu held off its overtly aggressive opponent with a quick-passing game and enjoyed a greater say in the midfield. Though forwards C.S. Sabeeth and P.C. Riju made probing runs into the Mizoram box they fumbled with their finishing.

Tamil Nadu's attacked looked more determined after the change of ends and it found the lead in the 63rd minute. Sabeeth made no mistake with the opportunity that came off a P. Sudhakar cross.

Insurance goal

R. Rajesh fetched the insurance goal seven minutes later when he neatly collected a through-pass from the midfield and finished with a grounder past the Mizoram custodian Danny Lalrohlua.

The three points Tamil Nadu earned from the win put it on top of the group league standings while Bengal and Delhi remained second with a point each.

Delhi appeared to be enjoying the advantage of having gained good match experience during the cluster stages as it started on a more confident note compared to the host.

Playing its first encounter of the tournament Bengal, which is one of the seeded sides in the quarterfinals, appeared a bit rusty and struggled to string together attacks effectively against its resolute opposition.

Going into the game as the favourite, the 29-time champion Bengal attacked on breaks but the tentativeness of its strikers — Tarif Ahmed and Robin Singh — in the striking zone spoiled its hopes.

Having successfully staved off the offensive, Delhi started venturing out on the break and caught the home side napping in the 40th minute. Mashangva, who was lying unmarked inside the Bengal box, came up with a sharp header to divert home a cross from Vikas Rawat.

Tentative attack

Bengal struggled to shrug off its tentativeness in the attack in the second session as Delhi continued to hold on to its slender lead. Bengal coach Shabbir Ali tried to tidy the attack introducing Shankar Oraon in place of Tarif Ahmed in the second half but that hardly helped in fetching the equaliser.

Delhi custodian Pronoy Roy stood in the way of Bengal's aspirations making a few good saves as Robin Singh, Arnab Mondal and Jayanata Sen came close to scoring at different points in the second half.

Finally, Sen ended Bengal's wait fetching the equaliser with an angular grounder that beat Roy all ends up.

The results: Quarterfinal league, group-B: Delhi 1 (Tuishim Mashangva 40th) drew with Bengal 1 (Jayanta Sen 88th); Tamil Nadu 2 (C.S. Sabeeth 63rd, R. Rajesh 70th) bt Mizoram 0.

Mayookha, Tintu record personal bests

Mayookha Johny and Tintu Luka registered personal bests as the Indian athletes struggled to make their mark in mediocre fields on the opening day of the two-day Asian All-Star athletics meet at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Coming back into top-level competition after a year's lay-off, Mayookha had been performing incredibly this season, though at times showing inexplicable slumps.

Yet, on Thursday she leapt to her career-best 6.64m, bettering her performance in the Asian Grand Prix in Bangalore (6.49) last month. Mayookha had a series of 6.26, foul, 6.43, 6.64.

She apparently passed her last two attempts, though the results showed them as NM (meaning no mark) which could mean no legitimate mark was recorded, which in turn can only mean ‘foul'.

Bronze for Prajusha

The Indian season leader so far, M.A. Prajusha (6.55m at Bangalore) had to settle for the bronze behind Uzbek Yuliya Tarasova (6.49) with a first-round 6.30. Reshmi Bose (6.13) came fifth.

Luka, following up her good performance this season, ran from the front, as is her wont, to effortlessly take the women's 800 metres in 2:01.24, a shade better than her Kochi National performance of 2:01.61 last May.

“She did not have any one to push her on the straight,” noted coach P.T. Usha as she analysed her ward's race.

She had a 58.2 for the opening lap when she had built up a commanding lead, leaving Sinimole Paulose and others to sort out the silver.

Mediocrity

The women's 800m was no exception to the rule of mediocrity that unfolded in the form of foreign opposition. As Indians bagged medal after medal, the arranged crowd of schoolchildren, made to wait for a long time outside, enjoyed the atmosphere.

Strangely, the National anthems were played though this was not a representative meet but an invitational one.

Vikas Gowda disappointed. Coming into this competition as the second best (63.22m) in Commonwealth, the US-based Indian could manage only 54.39.

Men's discus comprised only Indian athletes, though this was also part of All Stars meet.

Mandeep Kaur clocked a season best 52.29s in winning the 400 metres.

The Punjab woman had timed 53.65 in Yalta, Ukraine, in May and this effort showed that she was getting back into top form. Jauna Murumu (53.26) had a personal best for the third place.

The other woman quarter-milers, back from a training stint in Ukraine, disappointed. Sini Jose (53.45) was fifth, Ashwini (53.69) was sixth and Manjeet Kaur failed to finish.

The results (Indians unless stated):

Men: 400m: Sajjad Hashemi (Iri) 46.77, 2. Reza Bouzar (Iri) 46.88, 3. P. Kunhumohammad 47.12. 800m: 1. Sajeesh Joseph 1:48.92, 2. Ghamnda Ram 1:50.25, 3. Abdul Haris (Ina) 1:50.78. 110m hurdles: 1. Jumrut Rittidet (Tha) 13.88, 2. Fawaz Al-Shammari (Kuw) 13.89, 3. Hassan Mat (Mas) 14.61. High jump: 1. Manjula Kumara Wijesekara (Sri) 2.21, 2.Vitaliy Tsykuonov (Kaz) 2.18, 3. Hari Sankar Roy 2.15. Long jump: 1. Ankit Sharma 7.61, 2. Maha Singh 7.50, 3. Hari Krishna 7.50. Discus: 1. Vikas Gowda 54.39, 2. Arjun Singh 47.54, 3. Arpinder Singh 47.22. Javelin: 1. Rinat Tarzumanov (Uzb) 77.48, 2. Kashinath Naik 74.21, 3. Samarjeet Singh 72.49.

Women: 400m: Mandeep Kaur 52.29, 2. Juliya Gavrilova (Kaz) 52.93, 3. Jauna Murmu 53.17. 800m: 1. Tintu Luka 2:01.24, 2. Sinimole Paulose 2:04.58, 3. Jinnouchi Ayako (Jpn) 2:05.51. 5000m: 1. Triyaningsih(Ina)16:24.12, 2. Sitora Khamidova (Uzb) 16:51.08, 3. Ekaterina Tunguskova (Uzb) 17:37.25. 100m hurdles: 1. Anastasiya Sopurnova (Kaz) 13.66, 2. Gayathri Govindaraj 13.82, 3. Anastasiya Proshkina (Uzb) 13.84.Long jump: 1. Mayookha Johny 6.64, 2. Yuliya Tarasova (Uzb) 6.49, 3. M. A. Prajusha 6.30. Shot put: 1. Yang Yanbo (Chn) 16.65, 2. Safiya Burkhanova (Uzb) 16.06, 3. Liu Jing (Chn) 15.14.

Colombo Test ends in dreary draw

Predictably, the second Test of the Micromax series meandered into a draw. The match ended at 3.51 p.m. on Friday when both captains agreed to bring a closure to the contest.

Trailing by 65 runs after India, with a massive 707, posted its highest Test total on foreign soil, Sri Lanka was 129 for three in its second innings when the match came to a conclusion here at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten with 42 while Thilan Samaraweera was on 10 when the stumps were removed. Sangakkara was adjudged Man of the Match. Sri Lanka leads 1-0 going into the final Test at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium on August 3.

The largely docile pitch for the Test here has come under much scrutiny. Former Sri Lankan top-order batsman Sidath Wettimuny told The Hindu, “While the pitch at the SSC has always been batsmen-friendly, previously there used to be at least some grass on the wicket. Even that was not there in this match. It led to a one-sided contest where the bowlers had little chance. ”

Wettimuny added, “These pitches are not good for Test cricket. I think a lot of it is because of the television companies. They want the match to last all five days and the curators prepare flat tracks. It is time something is done about this.”

Looking back, he said, “The surfaces were far livelier in my time. There would be bounce and seam movement for the pacemen, turn for the spinners from the third day. The wickets tested the technique of the batsmen and only the good ones survived.”

Wettimuny observed, “Now scoring runs in Tests has become much, much easier. The ICC along with the various boards should address the problem. The crowds will come back to Test cricket if there is a good and an even contest between the bat and the ball. Having said this, the pitch for the third Test at the P. Sara ground should offer more to the bowlers.”

There was not much assistance for the bowlers from a fifth day pitch at the SSC. The spinners were only getting some turn and bounce from the footmarks.

Operating with the new ball, Ishant was a tad short with his length. There was some movement, though, for Abhimanyu Mithun under a cloud cover. The young paceman did take a couple of deliveries away from the left-handed Thanranga Paravitana. The intrepid Tillekaratne Dilshan, who had slashed the pacemen for boundaries, fell attempting to a pull a short-pitched delivery outside the off-stump from Mithun. Ishant pouched the catch at short mid-wicket.

Harbhajan bowled well to the in-form Paranavitana from round the wicket. He, rightly, operated to a fuller length, getting the batsman to drive. The senior off-spinner consumed Paranavitana with a flighted delivery that turned away from the off-stump. The left-handed opener edged an attempted drive to V.V.S. Laxman in the second slip.

The Indians soon had the opportunity to prise out the prolific Mahela Jayawardene. Mahela could not keep a sweep off Harbhajan down and Mithun at a squarish fine-leg reacted late to make a hash of the offering.

Not much not later, Virender Sehwag was fortunate to win a leg-before verdict against Mahela. The Sri Lankan, attempting to work a ball delivered from round the wicket to the on-side, was rapped on the pads. Replays showed the ball was spinning past the leg-stump. Sri Lanka was now 97 for three and the Indians celebrated some unexpected success.

The Indians did try to make something out of the contest. Dhoni set attacking fields and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha turned a few deliveries away from the right-handers.

However, the left-handed Sangakkara held firm. There are different dimensions to his game. The naturally aggressive southpaw batted with soft hands and fine judgment to keep the Indian spinners at bay. And Samaraweera offered him fine support in a pressure situation of sorts.

Earlier, the surface continued to play so well that the last wicket pair of Ishant and Ojha batted for most part of the first session putting on 39 runs and stretching India's lead to 65.

After a rather tentative beginning, the two tail-enders grew in confidence. Ishnat, who attempts to bat with the full face of the willow, cover-drove Ajantha Mendis pleasingly. Ojha was not far behind, off-driving Mendis past the ropes.

Dammika Prasad tested Ohja with a series of short-pitched deliveries but the Indian survived. Finally, Ishant attempted a slash off Dilhara Fernando to be held by Sangakkara at gully. Under the circumstances, a draw was the only result possible in the Test. And no bowler has conceded more runs in a single innings of his Test debut than Suraj Randiv's 222 runs in 73 overs; the off-spinner picked two wickets. The pitch was the hitch.

Scorecard: Sri Lanka (Ist innings) 642 for four declared.

India (Ist innings): M. Vijay lbw b Mendis 58 (124b, 8x4), V. Sehwag st P. Jayawardene b Randiv 99 (101b, 15x4), R. Dravid lbw b Randiv 3 (18b), S. Tendulkar c P. Jayawardene b Dilshan 203 (347b, 23x4, 1x6), V.V.S. Laxman lbw b Mendis 29 (98b, 2x4), S. Raina c Sangakkara b Mendis 120 (228b, 12x4, 2x6), M.S. Dhoni c & b Dilshan 76 (138b, 7x4), Harbhajan c Sangakkara b Dilshan 0 (3b), A. Mithun b Mendis 41 (97b, 4x4), I. Sharma c Sangakkara b Fernando 10 (117b, 1x4), P. Ojha (not out) 18 (92b, 1x4), Extras (b-9, lb-7, w-4, nb-13) 33; Total (all out in 225.2 overs) 707.

Fall of wickets: 1-165 (Sehwag), 2-169 (Vijay), 3-173 (Dravid), 4-241 (Laxman), 5-497 (Raina), 6-592 (Tendulkar), 7-592 (Harbhajan), 8-643 (Dhoni), 9-668 (Mithun).

Sri Lanka bowling: Prasad 22-2-101-0, Fernando 31.2-1-116-1, Mathews 9-1-24-0, Randiv 73-16-222-2, Mendis 63-10-172-4, Dilshan 27-6-56-3.

Sri Lanka (IInd innings): N. Paranawitana c Laxman b Harbhajan 34 (62b, 5x4), T. Dilshan c Ishant b Mithun 14 (21b, 2x4), K. Sangakkara (not out) 42 (114b, 5x4), M. Jayawardene lbw b Sehwag 5 (34b), T. Samaraweera (not out) 10 (46b, 1x4), Extras (b-8, lb-8, nb-8) 24; Total (for three wickets in 45 overs) 129

Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Dilshan), 2-73 (Paranavitana), 3-97 (M. Jayawardene)

India bowling: Mithun 6-1-17-1, Ishant 4-0-31-0, Sehwag 9-1-17-1, Harbhajan 13-0-35-1, Ojha 13-6-13-0.

Khel Ratna award for Saina Nehwal

Khel Ratna for badminton star Saina Nehwal and recognition for football after eight years were the highlights of the recommendations for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards made by two specially-constituted panels here on Friday.

It must have been extremely disappointing for wrestler Ramesh Kumar, the only World championship medallist in the entire list of Khel Ratna and Arjuna award nominees. He had won a freestyle bronze at Herning, Denmark in September last year, a good 42 years after Vishambhar Singh won a silver in freestyle. World championship medals have been rare in Indian sport.

Hockey coach A.K. Bansal was recommended for the Dronacharya Award. The selection panel, headed by hockey great Ashok Kumar, also picked L. Ibomcha Singh (boxing), Subhash Agarwal (billiards and snooker), A.K. Kutty (athletics) and Capt. Chand Roop (wrestling).

Kutty got the award after many futile bids and mainly because of changed rules allowing for two life-time awards.

Popular choice

Saina's was obviously a popular choice as she edged out Ramesh Kumar and shooter Gagan Narang. Among the titles Saina won in the last three years were the Indonesian Open (2009), Syed Modi Grand Prix (2009) and World junior title (2009). She climbed to No. 2 in world rankings recently following three major titles in a row in Chennai, Singapore and Indonesia.

She also became the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the All England and Asian championships.

Deepak Mondal is the footballer recommended along with two athletes, Krishna Poonia and Joseph Abraham. Hockey also has two awardees in Sandeep Singh and Jasjit Kaur. Others recommended by the panel headed by athletics legend P.T. Usha are Dinesh (kabaddi), Rehan Poncha (swimming), Sanjeev Rajput (shooting), Kapil Dev (volleyball), Dinesh Kumar (boxing), Parimarjan Negi (chess), Jhulan Goswami, Rajesh Choudhary (yachting) and Jagseer Singh (Paralympics).

Among those who missed out were judoka Ram Asre Yadav, a silver medallist at the Asian championship last year and rower Sukhjeet Singh, also a silver medallist in the Asian championships last year.

In boxing, the verdict went in favour of Dinesh Kumar ahead of Suranjoy Singh and Jitender Kumar. Dinesh won a World Cup bronze in 2008 and made the quarterfinals of the World championships next year. He also won an Asian championship bronze the same year.

Suranjoy won a gold in the President's Cup (in Azerbaijan) and also an Asian championship title in 2009. Jitender reached the quarterfinals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics apart from winning a World Cup bronze.

Mondal makes it

Award for Mondal, a veteran defender, must be heartening for the football fraternity. After Bruno Coutinho (2001) and I.M. Vijayan (2002) footballers were not considered for the award due to poor standards of the game. But obviously, the panel members were impressed by India's success in the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and the Nehru Cup last year.

Rehan Poncha, the ‘medley man' of Indian swimming for the past decade, has become the first swimmer to be honoured since Shikha Tandon received the award in 2005.

Though his achievements in the International arena are not much to speak of, Poncha was among the four Indian qualifiers for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In last year's National championship, in the absence of young talents like Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal, Poncha hogged the limelight in the company of Richa Mishra.

Rajput had qualified for the Beijing Olympics. He had won the air rifle silver in a World Cup in Sydney this year.

He went on to win the rifle 3-position gold in the Commonwealth championship with a National record, apart from the team gold.

He has made the finals of six World Cups so far — three in air rifle and three in 3P. He had won the silver in the Asian championship.

The young Heena Sidhu, a student of dentistry, stood a better chance with her World Cup silver in Beijing last year, the best medal ever by an Indian pistol shooter, male or female, on the global stage but was pipped perhaps because she does not have the variety of achievements of the seasoned Rajput.

The recommendations for Dhyan Chand awards were Satish Pal (athletics), Kuldeep Singh (wrestling) and Anita Chanu (weightlifting).

The awards will be presented on August 29.

Dhoni slams placid pitch

Indian captain Mahendra Singh revealed Sachin Tendulkar was suffering from stiffness in his groin.

Dhoni said here on Friday, "Sachin (Tendulkar) looks okay but we do not know about the extent of the injury."

The maestro notched up his fifth Test double century in the second Test. The Indian captain said Gautam Gambhir (sore right knee) and Yuvraj Singh (fever) had recovered well.

Talking about the pitch at the SSC, he said, "It was a flat track, there was nothing in it for the bowlers. On such a pitch, 99.9 per cent of the time, you will not get a result?"

He added, "For me a sporting wicket does not mean the one that seams around but it has to have bounce. In the sub-continent, it is really difficult to make wicket like that. Sub-continent is known for its turning tracks. The pitch starts turning after the first day. The spinners get help and there is reverse swing for the pacemen. But this placid track had nothing in it for anyone. Even great bowlers would struggle in these conditions. It was only in the last session that we could see some wear and tear in the pitch.”

Dhoni observed, "On a wicket like this, you have to be really practical. If you have too many attacking fielders, we had one or two slips and a gully throughout the two Test matches, nothing might go to them. If you have a wicket that has nothing for the bowlers, it’s always better to have semi-defensive field. Because on wickets like this you never know how to get the wickets. You have the option of getting the batsman to pull but the pacemen cannot bowl eight-ten over spells in these conditions."

Dhoni was all praise for Raina. "I think he was outstanding during his debut. Made a century in a pressure situation. He has played 98 ODIs, knows what to do in the park. He is a wonderful fielder as well."

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said, "I knew the match was a draw after tea yesterday when they (India) went beyond our score. Maybe we should have scored around 750 runs in the first innings."

Asked about the batsmen-friendly pitch at the SSC, he said, "The crowds like to see an even contest between the bat and the ball. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case before this Test match. The wicket at the SSC has been always flat. I remember when we played against Pakistan, we had to bat out about five sessions to save the Test and at the end we were 424 for four."

On wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene dropping Tendulkar on 29, he said, "It turned out to be a big miss at the end. But you see Prasanna rarely misses anything. This was one off day and he missed one chance.

Unfortunately for him, Sachin went on to make a double hundred. We created a few chances against him, but could not cash in after picking three quick wickets"

Sangakkara said off-spinner Suraj Randiv was preferred to left-arm spinner Rangana Herath since the lanky bowler could, with his high arm action, extract more bounce from the pitch."

Saina: Khel Ratna is truly a special one

Saina Nehwal says the announcement that Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award will be conferred on her means “greater responsibility and also a huge motivation ahead of the World championship in Paris next month”.

It may be mentioned here that on Friday Saina Nehwal was named to receive this prestigious award.

The champion shuttler, who only recently achieved another first by becoming the first-ever badminton player from India to be ranked World No. 2, is delighted to reiterate that she never ever in her dream realise that she would have such a fantastic run.

“This is exactly the reason why I feel once a sportsperson starts winning the big titles, things will fall in place,” the unassuming champion remarked.

“Well, any national award carries its own special value and charm. And, this Rajiv Khel Ratna is truly a special one and I am mighty pleased with this announcement,” Saina said. “Definitely, I never gave a thought to these awards. But, it doesn’t mean that they don’t matter much. Getting them in itself is a huge achievement,” she explained.

The Hyderabadi also took the opportunity to thank the Lok Sabha Speaker and all the members for the recent congratulatory message hailing her achievements. “It was a terrific gesture for it gives you that rare feeling of your achievements is getting the due recognition,” she said.

"I don't think that these awards mean great pressure in the events lined up ahead. In fact, it should be the other way round. Make you feel confident if not complacent," she said to a query.

"Let me repeat again that winning World Championship is more important than attaining World No. 1 status. For even if you are the No. 1 and still don't win the world title it may not have that much of significance," Saina argued.

Only last year, Saina got the Padma Shri and her coach and mentor Pullela Gopi Chand Dronacharya Award. And, by getting this prestigious award, the famous trainee of the ‘guru’ is only emulating the latter who was also the recipient of Rajiv Khel Ratna in his illustrious career.

“This is a fantastic feeling. She truly deserves this award. And, it is not something, which is earned overnight. There is lot of struggle behind this award,” pointed out Gopi.

“Well, she has always been a special talent and all these rankings and awards are perhaps just what she needs as inspiration to keep improving,” he said.

“In fact, whatever is happening to Saina will have a direct positive bearing on the Indian badminton itself. For the titles and awards won by Saina should definitely inspire many more youngsters to look up to badminton as a big sport,” Gopi felt.

As always Dr. Harvir Singh, father of Saina Nehwal, was also delighted even while pointing out that he did not expect it to come so soon. “Anyhow, we thank God for all the blessings,” he added.

Dronacharya S. M. Arif says he is not surprised by the way Saina has been hogging the limelight. "These victories and the awards are a reflection of her growing stature. I wish all the best for the World championship and she has every chance and the calibre to be the World No. 1," he remarked.

Centurions Sachin, Raina pound Sri Lanka

A double hundred from Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina's century on debut added some spice to what was otherwise a dreary fourth day of the second Micromax Test. The surface at the Sinhalese Sports Club is only breaking the heart of the bowlers.

During times when attendance for Test cricket is low, at least in the sub-continent, sporting wickets are mandatory. Leading Sri Lanka by 27 runs with one wicket left on Thursday, the Indians will have the opportunity to employ the heavy roller on Friday morning in a last-ditch effort to try and break the pitch.

Unless Sri Lanka collapses dramatically in its second innings – an extremely unlikely prospect on this surface – the match is heading for a draw.

Barren pitches often whip up batting records and India's 669 for nine at stumps is the highest Test total by a visiting team in Sri Lanka. On a pitch that, at best, offered only slow turn to the spinners and almost nothing to the pacemen, Sri Lanka desperately missed Muralitharan's deception in flight and the air-speed and reverse swing of Lasith Malinga.

The Indian batsmen were certainly not complaining. After Tendulkar's monumental 203 (347b, 23x4, 1x6) and Raina's impressive 120 (228b, 12x4, 2x6), skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni made 76 with placements, hard-running and typically wristy blows.

Despite a mountain of achievements, Tendulkar's hunger for runs remains undiminished. His journey has been a relentless quest for perfection. It can be extremely demanding for a 37-year-old to bat for more than four sessions in such humid conditions.

Tendulkar's fifth double century in Tests – his first after the 2004-05 season - may have come on a flat track against a rather inexperienced attack. Yet, the innings brought the maestro's resolve to the fore. Nothing in Test cricket is ever given away easily.

It must not be forgotten either that Tendulkar, along with Raina, batted India out of a crisis situation. The Sri Lankan attack was undone by a right-left combination.

Tendulkar's square-drives and cuts off pacemen Dilhara Fernando and Dammika Prasad were exquisite. He used the depth of the crease, shortened the length of the bowler. When the pacemen erred in line, he responded with delicate glances.

The maestro's balance and poise were on view against the spinners. He essentially played Mendis off the front foot, which was the right ploy. Tendulkar's deft footwork once again disrupted off-spinner Suraj Randiv's length. It was a triumphant moment for the legend when he turned Mendis for a brace to reach his double hundred.

Raina's equanimity as he approached a major individual landmark underlined his temperament. The left hander was positive and batted with decisive footwork.

The southpaw's batsmanship stems from a balanced and upright stance. His has an elaborate back-lift and uses it to impart more power and weight behind his strokes. Over the years, he has also worked on straightening his back-swing.

Raina is a buzzing left-hander but there have been question marks on his handling of the short-pitched deliveries from the quicks. Indeed, he has been squared-up by well-directed lifters in the past.

Fernando did probe him with a few bouncers here but Raina swiftly got out of the harm's way. But then, it would be premature to arrive at a verdict on Raina's ability vis a vis short-pitched bowling from his display on this surface. Bigger tests await him on juicy tracks against hostile pacemen.

Yet, it would be unfair to take credit away from Raina's innings here. He is the 12th Indian to score a Test hundred on debut and the ninth to achieve the feat in his maiden innings.

Someone who unsettles the length of the bowlers, Raina skipped down to Randiv and lifted the ball over the long-off fence. And he slog-swept the same bowler for the maximum. Then, Raina off-drove Prasad fluently to reach the three-figure mark. The southpaw's Test debut had been a memorable one.

Raina eventually miscued an on-drive off Mendis to be held at short mid-wicket by Sangakkara. The fifth wicket association between Tendulkar and Raina produced a massive 256 runs.

Tendulkar continued to build partnerships, putting on 95 with Dhoni for the sixth before being held bat-pad by 'keeper Prasanna Jayawardene off part-time spinner Tillekaratne Dilshan. Bowling from round the wicket, Dilshan had spun one into Tendulkar. The maestro walked.

Harbhajan Singh once again gifted his wicket away, Dhoni knocked one back to Dilshan and Mithun contributed usefully before being castled by Mendis. The young Mithun does have some ability with the willow.

Despite some success, it was an ordinary day for Mendis. Although the Sri Lankan spinner troubled Dhoni with a couple of googlies, the Indians are definitely reading him better.

Scorecard: Sri Lanka (Ist innings) 642 for four declared

India (Ist innings): M. Vijay lbw b Mendis 58 (124b, 8x4), V. Sehwag st P. Jayawardene b Randiv 99 (101b, 15x4), R. Dravid lbw b Randiv 3 (18b), S. Tendulkar c P. Jayawardene b Dilshan 203 (347b, 23x4, 1x6), V.V.S. Laxman lbw b Mendis 29 (98b, 2x4), S. Raina c Sangakkara b Mendis 120 (228b, 12x4, 2x6), M.S. Dhoni c & b Dilshan 76 (138b, 7x4), Harbhajan c Sangakkara b Dilshan 0 (3b), A. Mithun b Mendis 41 (97b, 4x4), I. Sharma (batting) 10 (40b), P. Ojha (batting) 0 (4 b), Extras (b-9, lb-5, w-4, nb-12) 30; Total (for nine wkts in 198 overs) 669.

Fall of wickets: 1-165 (Sehwag), 2-169 (Vijay), 3-173 (Dravid), 4-241 (Laxman), 5-497 (Raina), 6-592 (Tendulkar), 7-592 (Harbhajan), 8-643 (Dhoni), 9-668 (Mithun).

Sri Lanka bowling: Prasad 19-1-96-0, Fernando 31-1-116-0, Mathews 9-1-24-0, Randiv 64-14-212-2, Mendis 54-7-157-4, Dilhara 21-4-50-3.

Diego Maradona says he was ‘betrayed’

An emotional Diego Maradona, close to tears, said he was betrayed as Argentina coach by national team director Carlos Bilardo and lied to by Julio Grondona, the president of the Argentine Football Association.

Speaking one day after the Argentine Football Association declined to renew his contract, Maradona claimed yesterday that Bilardo worked deviously to get rid of him and that Grondona had previously said he was happy with his work.

Argentina was beaten 4-0 by Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa.

“They called me to put out a fire, and we put it out,” Maradona said. “Grondona lied to me. Bilardo betrayed me.

While we were still in mourning (the loss to Germany), Bilardo worked in the shadows to throw me out.

“My technical team and I were prepared to keep going,” he added. “Grondona, in the changing room in South Africa, said in front of witnesses that he was very happy with my work and wanted me to continue. But back in Argentina things started to change.”

Bilardo was the coach of Argentina and Maradona its star player when the team won the World Cup in 1986.

The AFA had said several weeks ago that it planned to offer him a new four-year deal, and Maradona said Grondona asked him in a meeting Monday to continue but without seven of his assistants. Maradona said he could not meet those conditions.

Grondona, replying after Maradona spoke, said he had not lied to the famous No. 10.

“I continue being sorry that he has gone because it’s very sad,” Grondona said. “But I did not lie to Maradona. I told Maradona that I was content with him, that he had to continue. What he misinterpreted was that the conditions weren’t the same.”

Maradona read from a prepared script for about 10 minutes in a restaurant in the Buenos Aires suburb of Ezeiza.

And despite a room packed with reporters and family members - including his two daughters - he took no questions.

The 49-year-old Maradona replaced Alfio Basile as Argentina coach 21 months ago. He suggested he didn’t have enough time to make changes, noting that Argentina had failed to get past the World Cup quarterfinals for the fifth straight time.

Argentina has some of the best players in the world, including forwards Lionel Messi of Barcelona, Carlos Tevez of Manchester City and Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid.

The team is made up of mostly young players with immense futures,” Maradona said. “They can dream big and beautifully.”

Maradona didn’t mention Argentina youth team manager Sergio Batista, who will be the interim coach for the Aug. 11 friendly at Ireland. There is also a Sept. 7 friendly at River Plate stadium against world champion Spain.

Possible permanent successors include two club coaches in Argentina: Alejandro Sabella of Estudiantes and Miguel Russo of Racing.

Maradona, a national icon who divides opinion, was hired by Grondona despite having little coaching experience. Some thought he was out-coached by Germany’s Joachim Loew, who identified Argentina’s defensive frailties and lack of midfield speed.

Maradona gave no hint of his future plans.

“I’ve given everything. Everything,” Maradona said, ending his speech. “I am convinced that Argentine football needs to be in a better position. I have tried to transmit the pride that I feel, being Argentine.”

Argentina President Cristina Fernandez was “sad” about Maradona’s departure and planned to meet with him, her office said.

Raina: Batting with Sachin is a dream come true

After notching up a century on his debut, Suresh Raina said he was nervous when he took guard but Sachin Tendukar’s pep talk helped him overcome the initial jitters.

Raina with his 120-run knock against Sri Lanka also became the first Indian cricketer to have scored a hundred in all formats of the game.

“Yes I was nervous when I came to bat but Sachin said just enjoy yourself, this moment will never come, you are playing your first Test match, just enjoy,” Raina said.

With Tendulkar, Raina raised a record 256-run partnership for the fifth wicket and said he realised a long time dream by batting alongside the legend.

“By God’s grace I got this opportunity and it was my dream to bat with Sachin and today it came true. He said ‘you are winning matches for the side in one-dayers, do well in Test also and enjoy’,” he said.

McLaren look to close gap on Ferrari and Red Bull

McLaren head into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest looking to close the performance gap on Red Bull and Ferrari and keep their dual championship challenge on track.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso controversially won last Sunday’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim ahead of teammate Felipe Massa and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel to reignite his title hopes.

McLaren still top the constructors’ standings and Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers’ championships from teammate Jenson Button but the team is bound to be concerned as the German GP was the first race since Monaco in May where if failed to seal a podium finish.

Hamilton finished fourth and now has 157 points with eight races remaining. Defending champion Button came home one place further back and has 143 points, followed closely by Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel on 136.

Alonso’s second victory of the season sees the Spaniard move on to 123 points in fifth.

McLaren have tried to introduce their version of the exhaust-blown diffuser used by their two main challengers and the British-based team had an upgrade at Hockenheim.

“Were learning more and more about the blown floor after every session, and I feel like we got some very useful data from Sunday’s race in Germany,” said Button.

“Now it’s all about maximising our package and hopefully securing a strong result before the summer break — that would be a massive positive for everybody on the team.”

McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe admitted that his team are a couple of races behind Ferrari in the introduction of the blown diffuser, which increases downforce, and half a season behind Red Bull.

“But we did reach a point in Hockenheim of being able to race a working system, which was both giving us performance and was reliable,” he added.

Massa, meanwhile, returns to the scene of the accident, which nearly cost him his life last year. The Brazilian required emergency surgery after his skull was fractured by a metal spring during the 2009 Hungarian GP.

“My first meeting when I arrive at the Hungaroring circuit will be with all the marshals and medical staff who did such a very good job of carefully getting me out of the cockpit,” said Massa.

Alonso, meanwhile, will be hoping to build on his success of last weekend.

We knew full before Hockenheim that our car was much more competitive and that was what made me so confident. Now we must continue in this direction, starting this coming weekend in Budapest,” said the Spaniard.

“I have already said it many times before: there is still a long way to go in the championship.”