Joseph Abraham — overcoming a hurdle

A year ago, at the Asian championships here, Joseph Abraham had just won the silver in the 400m hurdles behind Japanese Kenji Narisako. It was his best achievement till then, an improvement over his bronze in 2007.

Yet, he wore a worried look after the race. The reason: he had accidentally stepped into the inside lane as he cleared the last hurdle. For a few minutes, this soft-spoken Kerala and Railway athlete did think that he had wasted all the hard work by that accidental mistake. Would he be disqualified?

Luckily he was not. Whether the referee had taken note of it or whether the technical officials had ignored it since the infringement had occurred on the straight with no one being obstructed was difficult to tell.

Disappointment

The result stood. It was a relief for an athlete who had just three months earlier been disqualified for a hurdling violation during the heats at the World championships in Berlin.

Two years earlier, at the Osaka Worlds, Abraham had set his National mark of 49.51s in the semifinals, finishing seventh. “This race was for medals and not timings,” said Abraham on Thursday night as he soaked in the atmosphere, in between gasping for air, amidst the attention he was getting from the media after having won the Asian Games gold in 49.96s, his eighth best time ever.

There were no worries this time about stepping into an inside lane or a hurdling violation that was slapped on Narisako, who was disqualified.

Working hard

Abraham worked hard over that deficiency. It is about the trailing leg going below the plane of the top of the hurdle, something that you can do quite inadvertently.

“We changed his lead leg on the sixth hurdle. He now leads with the left there and that gives no chance for side hurdling,” said coach Rajinder Singh on phone from Patiala.

“Joseph ran a tactical race last night. He used to run the first five hurdles very fast. He slowed down and ran the first five with rhythm,” said a proud Rajinder, who is currently the junior National coach and has to spare his time for Abraham. He might not be able to do that on a regular basis since the junior camps are held at Bhopal while the senior camps are held in Patiala and Bangalore.

“I was sure of his gold. His fitness levels had reached close to that of 2007. He was very determined after he failed to make the final in the Commonwealth Games,” said Rajinder.

Abraham said once he saw Narisako in the heats, where he finished behind the Japanese, he was sure of the gold.

Rajinder hoped the success of Abraham and A.C. Ashwini would provide the right focus on hurdling in the coming months, towards a good build-up for next year's World championships and then the London Olympics.

Abraham's present worry is in getting his wife, Smithamol Joseph, also an athlete, a transfer from Central Railway to Southern Railway in Thiruvananthapuram. A request has been made to the Railway authorities and he was optimistic.

Federer sets up final showdown with Nadal

Roger Federer laid on a hard-court master class against Novak Djokovic with a 6-1, 6-4 victory to steamroll into the final of the ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday and set up a match with Rafael Nadal for only the second time this season.

Nadal escaped earlier with victory in a marathon lasting for more than three hours to produce a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) defeat of Andy Murray after the battling Scot saved two match points and broke the world number one as Nadal served for the match in the final set.

“We’ve had some epics, some classics and I’m really looking forward to playing Rafa again,” said Federer. “Our styles match up really well.” Federer reached the final of the year-end event without a loss — or a lost set — in four matches, and stands on the cusp of his fifth season-ending title. He fired 31 winners and broke four times in the rout of 79 minutes.

Federer bolted out of the blocks against Djokovic, whom he has defeated in three of four meeting in 2010, including this month’s Basel final in the Swiss player’s home town.

The Swiss went up a double break after less than half an hour, reaching 5-1 on a fourth break chance of that game and lifting the opener 6-1 after 31 minutes as Djokovic fired long, his 12th unforced error against 13 Federer winners.

Djokovic began to look respectable as he broke Federer for the first time to take a 2-0 lead in the second set after the Swiss let loose of a 40-15 lead. But the joy from an increased margin of 3-0 lasted only two games for Djokovic, who produced a pair of unforced errors to give the break back in the fifth game to put it back on serve. Federer won the match pulling away with an untouchable service winner.

Nadal called his won over Murray “a fantastic match, I’m very happy to beat a great champion like Andy. It was an amazing victory.

It was a really difficult match against one of the best players of the world. “His level is unbelievable almost always. If he plays like this, I don’t have any doubt he is going to have big chances to win very important titles.”

Murray showed grit from the start of an inspired contest in front of a home crowd of 17,000, hanging tough with his Spanish opponent who owns three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. “It was a great match, I think both of us played very well,” said the Scot who will move back to fourth in the world to end the season.

“I probably played one bad game the whole match, or maybe just a couple of bad points. “It was great tennis — but I’m disappointed to lose.” Murray saved a match point in the ninth game of the final set and did it again in the final game before Nadal came good on his third chance.

The Spaniard finally ended the drama with a ripping forehand cross-court into the corner. “Even when I was losing 4-1, 3-0 in the final tiebreak, I was happy,” said Nadal “I was saying, ‘Just try to be there, because there is always a chance for me.’ “I was really happy because I was playing a great match. Even if I lose, I had a fantastic season.

“If I lose against Andy playing like this, just congratulate him, go home be very happy for everything, and practice for next year.” Added Murray: “I want to build on this (level) for next year,” said Murray.

Spectacular end to 16th edition of Asian Games

It was a spectacular climax to the 16th Asian Games, as China showcased the power and splendour of Asia, with a befitting closing ceremony, on the magnificent platform at the Haixinsha Island on Saturday. It was time to celebrate the success of the athletes and the success of the Games.

The torch tower and flame glowing in all its glory on the cauldron standing in front of the eight huge sail-boat television screens depicting the salient features of the 45 nations, the 610-metre Canton tower looking down majestically on one side, the fireworks lighting up the sky, the beautifully decorated and colourfully lit boats on sail on the river on one side, the city lit up nicely in the background, it was another spell-binding performance with emphasis on dance and music.

MERRY DANCE

The audience was floored by a sequence of songs, including one in Hindi ‘saajan ki ghar aayi' with the Chinese women in different costumes dancing merrily, depicting the conglomeration of the different cultures of the region.

The sea, with the sails, boats, children on six stands swaying to the beats, sometimes with lighted stars in their hands made for an unforgettable spectacle.

The Chinese continued to play with water. There was a boat that came out from water on the big stage and set sail with people waving. The platform opened up for a water channel and it was time for the boat to move from land to water.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

There was the formation of a huge flower under the torch tower, and people danced all around in different costumes, leading to a Dragon dance that won a huge round of applause.

The moments will be etched in memory for the 35,000 audience, lucky to be present at the arena, able to imbibe the whole picture, quite impossible for the biggest of television screens, and the best of modern movie cameras, to capture in one frame.

The athletes marched in with satisfaction, and quite appropriately boxer Vijender Singh carried the Indian flag into the arena. The volunteers walked up on the stage and were presented flowers by children as a token of appreciation for their splendid effort in making the Games a success.

The president of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, was all praise for the host, and played the mediator in handing over the first Asian Games torch, the first Asian Games flag and the first OCA flag from the hosts to the team from Korea, the host for the next edition in Incheon in 2014.

The OCA president summed up by saying, “the many moments of excitement, in one of the most outstanding edition in the history of the Games, would be reduced to memory to be shared by all.”

CITY OF SPORT

He said that the Guangzhou, the City of Flowers would be remembered henceforth as the “city of sport and peace.”

He declared the Games closed, and announced that the youth icons would meet again after four years, and celebrate the 17th Asian Games in Korea.

The Koreans took over the stage, and gave glimpses of what they would show as hosts, with a bunch of songs and a spell of dance, that included martial arts and acrobatics.

Soon, there was a lighted boat that sailed in mid air, as if it had descended from the skies, moving close to the cauldron. A lady waved from the boat and was seen projecting as if she was pouring water. The fire in the cauldron vanished, and the boat sailed away towards the Canton tower, merging into the night. The fireworks exploded in the sky. Well done Guangzhou. See you in Incheon.

Vettel writes Red Bull into F1 history

The Formula One season closed with another roller-coaster championship fight that saw Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team riding into the history books.

The 23-year-old Vettel emerged from F1’s first four-man duel to win the championship in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, becoming the series’ youngest champion and giving Red Bull its first title only five years after first fielding a team.

Vettel never led the standings during a topsy-turvy season in which five drivers were in contention until the next-to-last race, the Brazilian GP, where the German won to set himself up for Abu Dhabi.

An error in pit-stop strategy by Ferrari at Yas Marina circuit cost Fernando Alonso the chance of becoming the youngest three-time champion, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber saw his own ambitions extinguished by a similar miscue.

Those mistakes appear more glaring given that Vettel’s chances looked dim after he retired from the Korean GP, the race before Brazil.

“I think it’s a typical example of you never know, and just maybe a little similar to what happened in 2007,” Vettel said, referencing how Kimi Raikkonen, then with Ferrari, snatched the title from Alonso and McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton by a single point.

“Some things are out of our hands and just happen,” Vettel said. “Some people call it destiny, some people are a little bit more looking for explanations, but that’s the way it goes.”

Vettel’s title confirmed Red Bull’s ascension into Formula One’s elite ranks. The Austrian team secured 15 of 19 pole positions, but was often unable to turn that performance advantage into race wins. Still, Red Bull also took the manufacturers’ crown after Vettel’s fifth win - from his record-equalling 10th pole of the season - gave the team nine wins on the season.

“You know it’s always easy after things have happened to say, ‘OK, you did right, you did wrong,’ ” Vettel said. “In the end you need every single point.”

F1’s decision to overhaul its point system to award 25 points for a win and 18 for second place made victories more important than they were in the old system in which the first two cars earned 10 and 8 points, respectively.

Red Bull eventually triumphed behind its decision to back both drivers “equally” even though it favoured Vettel at times, such as at the British GP at Silverstone when a wing was removed from Webber’s car and given to his teammate.

“Of course (Vettel) deserves the world title this year,” the 34-year-old Australian said. “We start again from the first race next year. I think if I’m turning up next year thinking that I’m going to follow Sebastian around then this is not the right way.”

The Red Bull drivers trailed Alonso during the closing stages of the season, when the Spaniard controlled his own destiny. “I will remember this year for a long time and despite the final result,” Alonso said. “I’m very proud of this, the job the team has done and our approach to the last part of the year.”

But Ferrari’s decision to publicly back Alonso over teammate Felipe Massa could have played into the hands of opponents as Massa faded badly after being asked to let Alonso pass for a German GP win in July.

Crew changes could also be imminent at the Italian team after the season-ending gaffe, which saw Alonso finish seventh because he was unable to pass Renault driver Vitaly Petrov for 40 laps. A top-four finish would have been enough to secure the title.

“We are Ferrari, which means we are condemned to having to win, so a second place is a defeat; but this is also part of sport and we have to accept it,” team principal Stefano Domenicali said.

Alonso’s situation also highlighted how a lack of overtaking remains a big problem; the drama in the championship race wasn’t often mirrored in the action on the track.

The season started in the Middle East at Bahrain with much enthusiasm after several driver changes and the return of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher. But that start turned into a bore like the finale, which demonstrated how the modern circuits commissioned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone may be bold and beautiful but often lack bite. And with a new race in India beckoning next season, that seems unlikely to change.

Hamilton stayed in the hunt for the title to the final race for the third time in four years and the 2008 champion expects McLaren to be even hungrier in 2011. Teammate Jenson Button was in contention until Brazil.

“Every driver has moments when he could have done better, or would have done something different, so you just have to accept what you have and make the best of it,” said Hamilton, who lost crucial points when he didn’t finish in Monza and Singapore and retired in Spain and Hungary. “I think we have a very good baseline from which to evolve this car into 2011.”

Schumacher, meanwhile, finished ninth overall in a return from three years in retirement that led to questions over 2011 and whether the 41-year-old German driver’s legacy has been negatively affected by his Mercedes stint.

“Looking back at certain events there are reasons to be happy with certain things,” Schumacher said. “Most importantly I am happy to keep on working together because I have fun.”

Fellow German Nico Hulkenberg is looking for a new seat after Williams released him even though he won the pole in Brazil. Rookie teams Lotus, Virgin and HRT all failed to make any impact on the grid, and Ecclestone even labelled them “cripples” before the close of the season.

Renault, meanwhile, made a strong return in the points after three disappointing seasons. Robert Kubica spearheaded the revival that could see the French team contend in 2011.

Pakistan regains Asiad gold

Playing with palpable aggression throughout, Pakistan beat Malaysia 2-0 to regain the gold medal that it last won in 1990 in the men's hockey competition of the Asian Games on Thursday. Pakistan scored once in each half.

The outcome confirmed Pakistan's place in the next Olympic Games in London.

The pace and punch that the Pakistanis packed in their approach brought enormous pressure on the defenders who were wobbly at the first sign of alarm. Goal-keeper Kumar had to bear the brunt of the stress. Effectively, he brought on a few lovely saves to restrict the margin.

Malaysia's spirits sunk when Sohail Abbas smashed in a penalty corner to the roof of the net midway in the first half.

However, there were hints of counter attacks by Jalil and Hanafi that were effectively dealt with by the Pakistani defenders among whom Zeeshan Ashraff was prominent.

Pakistan enlarged the lead in the early minutes of the second half when the seasoned campaigner, Rehan Butt, slotted the goal from a cross by Shafiq Rasool.

Malaysia had three penalty corners in the second half but the handling of them was amateurish. Late in the match, Malaysia did press hard for a goal but Salman Akbar stood like a solid bastion.

India bags bronze

Tushar Khandekar covered himself with glory netting a peach of a goal to ensure India a spot on the podium. The team missed that at the last edition in Doha.

The 1-0 victory over the defending champion, South Korea was an extension of the earlier 3-2 verdict in the Azlan Shah tournament.

India had to play a tactical match against the seasoned Koreans and did that intelligently and imaginatively.

The Indians controlled the pace of the contest, positioned themselves and tackled with a touch of assurance. Once again the key man in the defence was Sardar Singh, helped by the hard working Mahadik, and supported in the midfield commendably by Halappa and Gurjaj Singh. Vikram Pillay lent adequate support to the defenders.

Goalkeeper Bharat Chettri deserves a pat for the two penalty corner shots that he saved from Nam Hyunwoo.

Tushar Khandekar was the cynosure. It is a pity that he could not score more than one solitary goal that mattered in the end. He had two attempts late in the match, each as resourceful as the other, but the goal-keeper, Lee Myungho, padded them with aplomb.

India had only two penalty corners in the match but neither of them was successful.

The all important goal came after a fruitless first half. It was a well worked out move from the right involving Shivender and Gurbaj Singh, and Tushar was at the right place to connect the cross that bewildered the rival goal-keeper. India did well to hang on to the lead showing excellent sense of ball possession and repulsed whatever moves that the Koreans conceived.

This is the first time since 1990 at Beijing that the Koreans are going home without a medal. India's last bronze was in 1986 at Seoul. Today's was the second bronze for India since the start of the hockey competition in Tokyo in 1958.

Chief coach Jose Brasa viewed the victory as no consolation. “I am not happy. We played the best hockey in the tournament and deserved the gold” he added. About his contract, Brasa said he had not heard anything from the ministry yet.

Meanwhile Harendra Singh who resigned after the defeat against Malaysia said he was requested to continue till the conclusion of the Asian Games. He was in the team bench this afternoon.

The results:

Final: Pakistan 2 (Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt) beat Malaysia 0 HT 1-0.

For 3-4 places: India 1 (Tushar Khandekar) beat South Korea 0 HT 1-1; 5-6:China 2 ( Liu Yixian, Na Yubo) beat Japan 0 HT 1-0; 7-8: Oman 6 (Samir Al Shibli, Basim Rajab, HashimAl Shatri, Akram Bait Shamiah, Md. Bait Jindal, Hussain Al Hasani) beat Bangladesh 5( Chayan Rahman 2, Pushkor Khisa 2, Krishno Kumir) HT 2-3; 9-10: Hong Kong-China 2 (Arif Ali 2, including the golden goal) beat Singapore 1 (Enrico Marican) HT 1-0.

Final placings: 1. Pakistan, 2. Malaysia, 3. India, 4. South Korea, 5. China, 6. Japan, 7. Oman, 8. Bangladesh, 9. Hong Kong-China, 10. Singapore.

Strauss, Cook revive England hopes

Centuries from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook set up a dominating fourth day for England as the tourists reached 309 for one at stumps on Sunday and closer to a likely draw with Australia in the first Ashes test.

England came into the day 202 runs behind Australia, but enters the final day leading by 88 with Cook unbeaten on 132 and Jonathan Trott on 54.

Strauss and Cook shared a 188-run opening stand to produce England’s best ever partnership at the Gabba ground before the England captain was dismissed for 110, stumped by Brad Haddin off Marcus North.

Cook needs seven more runs to record England’s best score at the Gabba and surpass Ian Botham’s innings in 1986—87.

The opening partnership surpassed the stand of 160 by Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe in 1994.

Strauss was dominant in the morning session, being particularly severe on Shane Watson who he hit for four boundaries in five overs. He brought up his first century in Australia with a superb late cut off Xavier Doherty.

Strauss then seemed to lose his rhythm, scoring just 10 from his next 40 deliveries, before a rash cross—batted shot caused his demise.

Cook looked less assured, but ground his way to his second century against Australia.

Although England toiled in the field for much of the previous day against centurions Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin, their bowlers produced a much better comeback at the end of the day, taking five wickets for 31 runs. In contrast, Australia’s bowling attack failed to make an impact Sunday and, despite overcast conditions, there was no discernible swing.

In a day of few opportunities for the Australians, Trott gave a slight chance to Michael Clarke at point off the bowling of Peter Siddle.

Australia’s hero in England’s first innings, Siddle was also unlucky in the morning session as Cook edged just wide of third slip and later Strauss missed his leg stump from an inside edge.

Strauss was given a reprieve before lunch while on 69 when he hit a Doherty ball to Mitchell Johnson at mid—on, but the chance was dropped.

England scored 260 in the first innings before Australia notched 481 in reply with centuries from Hussey and Haddin.

Sania breezes into quarterfinals

Sania Mirza silenced the Chinese spectators at court No. 1 with her strong game as she outclassed sixth-seeded Shuai Zhang 6-2, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of women's singles in tennis, in the Asian Games here on Friday.

Serving well, swinging into her strokes with ease and stroking the ball with authority on either flank, Sania handled the tricky Chinese girl who had beaten her in the last meeting, with efficiency.

Sania did drop her serve three times, but was playing so well that she did not have to worry about it much. She broke the Chinese seven times, and was able to turn the match around despite being broken in the first game of the second set.

There was a lot of fight from the Chinese, who was perhaps hampered by a heavily taped and strapped left thigh. She did stay on par at 2-2 in the second set, but Sania lifted her game to race away with the next four, saving two breakpoints on her serve in the seventh, and wound up the show with a down-the-line forehand.

Sania will play World No. 58 Tamarine Tanasugarn in the quarterfinals on centre-court.

There was another fine exhibition by Sania, as she and Vishnu Vardhan rose to the occasion to record a 6-3, 4-6, 12-10 victory over Bai Yan and Shengnan Sun of China.

The Indian duo will next meet fourth-seeded Chia-Jung Chuang and Chu-Huan Yi of Chinese Taipei.

The other mixed doubles combination of Sanam Singh and Rushmi Chakravarthi went down fighting to Hiroki Kondo and Yurika Sema of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 3-10 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Devvarman advances

In men's singles, second-seeded Somdev Devvarman and seventh-seeded Karan Rastogi reached the pre-quarterfinals without dropping a game against players from Qatar and Turkmenistan respectively.

Devvarman will meet Vaja Uzakov of Uzbekistan in the pre-quarterfinals and Rastogi will be up against Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei.

Devvarman and Sanam Singh won the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals 6-4, 6-2 against Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Gonzales Jr. of Philippines but Rastogi and Vardhan lost 6-1, 3-6, 2-10 to Young Jun Kim and Jae Min Seol of Korea.

In men's doubles, the top-seeded Ratiwatana twins, Sanchai and Sonchat went down in the pre-quarterfinals 6-4, 5-7, 9-11 to Liang Chi Huang and Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei.

In women's doubles, Tara Iyer and Nirupama Sanjeev played very well but were unable to capitalise on their chances and lost 4-6, 5-7 to Shuai Zhang and Shengnan Sun in the pre-quarterfinals.

Bajrang Lal wins India's second gold

Bajrang Lal Takhar led from start to finish in the men's single sculls event, to clinch India's second gold medal, and the first ever gold in rowing, in the Asian Games here on Friday.

It was a moment that Indian rowing had been awaiting for four years, ever since the team had won two silver medals and a bronze, in the last Asian Games in Doha.

Bajrang Lal was the undisputed hero of the day, as he warded off a late surge from Ming Hui Wang of Chinese Taipei with a touch of assurance to win by a length. “It was my aim to win the Asian Games gold. I am very happy that I have fulfilled it,” said Bajrang of the Rajputana Rifles in the Indian army.

With the men's eights team getting silver and the women's pair coming up with an unexpected bronze, the joy in the Indian rowing camp knew no bounds.

Favourite

Being a two-time Asian champion and by the sheer weight of his best timing in qualification, Bajrang Lal was tipped as favourite, particularly in the absence of the Chinese, who were restricted to competing in 10 of the 14 events as per rules. It was another matter that China won all the 10 golds it took part in.

Initially it was the Uzbek, Vladimir Chernenko who was chasing the Indian. Bajrang Lal maintained a comfortable lead of a few seconds at the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres stage over the Uzbek and Iraqi, Haeider Hamarasheid.

However, in the last 500 metres, Ming Hui Wang came up with a strong surge, but the the Indian was ready for the challenge.

Bajrang Lal won with a time of 7 minutes 4.78 seconds as against 7:07.33 for the second place. Haeider Hamarsheid of Iraq managed to cling on to the bronze, for his country's first rowing medal, at 7:10.10.

“I had the confidence as I had maintained a good lead till the 1500 metres.

“I was keen about getting a strong start and having a good lead at the 500-metre mark. I was sure of a good finish,” Bajrang Lal said. He punched the air with both fists at the finish and fell back in the boat in a moment of celebration that he will cherish forever.

“It was a really fierce competition. Coming up from fifth to second, I think it was because of solid experience

“I have gained, including through my participation in two Olympic Games,” he said.

Ming Hui Wang, the 27-year-old from Taipei said, “at 1500 metres, I was exhausted. I reminded myself of my training in the last eight months. I asked myself what I wanted to achieve with those hard training sessions. I rushed forward and forward.”

The 27-year-old from Taipei did pass every other boat on the way, but could not deny the Indian.

Hard work

Saying he had worked very hard in the last four years to graduate from silver to gold, Bajrang Lal hoped the medal would help elevate the status of rowing back home, and help the sport get a lot more support.

National coach Ismail Baig, who had introduced Bajrang Lal to the sport in 2001 and had been nurturing him throughout, said he had been confident of the strong finish, and said the challenge from Taipei was on expected lines.

Bajrang Lal had beaten the same lad in the Asian championship last year.

“This was the medal that we have been waiting for all these years,” said Ismail Baig, even as he recalled how Indian juniors had won two gold medals at the same venue earlier this year.

It was the sixth gold in the international arena for Bajrang Lal who had won the SAF Games gold apart from the two Asian championships.

The Indian men's eights (Lokesh Kumar, Satish Joshi, Saji Thomas, Jenil Krishnan, Anil Kumar, Ranjit Singh, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Manjeet Singh and Girraj Singh) clinched the silver at 5:49.50 behind China (5:37.44).

The duo of Pramila Prava Minz and Pratima Puhana of Orissa, won the bronze at 7:47.50 behind China (7:22.06) and Kazakhstan (7:35.13) in the women's pair event, the first medal for Indian women in rowing, which wound up with an impressive collection of one gold, three silvers and a bronze in the current edition.

Indian Rowing Federation President Col. C.P. Singh Deo presented the medals to Bajrang Lal.

Injured Gerrard could be out for up to a month

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard could be out of action for up to a month after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty with England on Wednesday.

The Premier League club said on Thursday that Gerrard would have a scan to confirm their early prognosis but that they expect him to be out for “three to four weeks.”

“Steven injured his hamstring last night. He’s just been in for an early assessment here and it certainly looks like a significant hamstring injury,” Dr Peter Brukner, the club’s head of medicine, told Liverpool’s official website.

“He’s just heading off for a scan as we speak and we should have the results of that tonight. He’s going to be out for a little while, I’m afraid. I’d imagine it could be three to four weeks.” Gerrard suffered the injury in the 85th minute of England’s match with France, a match that Liverpool had asked that he only play in for an hour.

“If you put your hand up to play for your country, you’ve got to accept how long they want you to play for,” Dr Brukner said.

“There were obviously circumstances last night, which came together to result in Steven playing for a bit longer than we’d hoped, which is disappointing but there’s nothing we can do about that now.

“We’ll move on and work as hard as we can to get him back playing for Liverpool as soon as possible.” England manager Fabio Capello said on Thursday that he had intended to take Gerrard off earlier but injuries to key players meant he could not do so.

The news is a major blow to Liverpool’s hopes of quickly climbing the Premier League table, in which they lie 11th after a slow start to the season under new manager Roy Hodgson.

Kiwis not an easy opposition to get past

India has to find right answers to vexing questions in what could be the decisive third Test, beginning at the VCA ground here on Saturday. The winner takes it all.

The tenacious New Zealand will not be easy to overcome though. The Kiwis, against all odds, have displayed character in the series. They have proved hard to break and have responded to challenges.

However, weather could dictate the course of the duel. It rained here again on Friday afternoon, restricting India's practice in the arena to 30 minutes. More rain has been forecast for Saturday.

The pitch — it has a tinge of grass — is expected to provide reasonable bounce and carry to the bowlers; this also suggests the batsmen would be able to play their strokes. As the match progresses, the surface could favour the spinners.

First strike

Batting first is the right option but there could be additional help for the pacemen due to some moisture on the wicket. Even if the wicket and the square are covered, the pitch has a tendency to absorb moisture from the surrounding areas.

The side taking first strike will have to back itself to survive the first session with minimal damage.

Once again considerable focus will be on Sachin Tendulkar, one short of a phenomenal 50 Test centuries. Will the maestro achieve the feat here?

The home side's batting has to guard against collapses and mini slumps. India should not expect Harbhajan Singh's spirited batting to bail it out time and again.

Both Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been short of runs in recent times. Shot-selection is a critical element of batsmanship.

The team is almost certain to continue with the four-bowler theory. Ishant Sharma for the injured Zaheer Khan is expected to be the lone change in the eleven.

In Zaheer Khan's absence, greater responsibility rests on Harbhajan Singh. Despite limited returns, the experienced off-spinner insists he has been bowling well without being among the wickets.

To be fair on Harbhajan, he has lacked support from the other end; Pragyan Ojha has not inspired confidence. It is pressure from both sides that produces wickets; successful bowling is much about partnerships.

When Anil Kumble was the lead spinner, Harbhajan provided him able support. However, when Harbhajan has slipped into the role of the spearhead, he has not been backed up adequately from the other end.

Missed opportunities

Of course, the close-in cordon needs to be alert. The missed opportunities hurt India in Hyderabad. None more than the let-off by Cheteshwar Pujara at short-leg off Harbhajan's bowling when Brendon McCullum was on 148.

If the cloud cover persists, Santhakumaran Sreesanth could find his natural away swing. And the lanky Ishant Sharma could test the batsmen with bounce and seam movement. Can he re-discover his rhythm quickly following an injury lay-off?

The New Zealand batsmen have displayed greater application in these conditions than the much-hyped Australians earlier in the season. Their performances have been underlined by preparation.

McCullum can be both a dasher and a stayer — the decision to promote him has worked like magic. The left-handed Tim McIntosh has his heart in the right place and Martin Guptill is a positive, elegant batsman at No. 3.

Southpaw Jesse Ryder can unsettle bowlers and the talented Kane Williamson seems to be on the highway to glory. The visitor will be hoping that the strokeful Ross Taylor strikes form in the vital Test.

Skipper Daniel Vettori's left-arm spin of subtle variations, if not biting turn, is the back-bone of the attack. The Kiwis could bring in left-arm paceman Andy McKay — the quickest bowler in the squad — for Brent Arnel. Pace bowling all-rounder James Franklin, another left-armer, is another option. The side needs to get past the Indian tail quickly.

The team: India (from): M.S. Dhoni (captain), V. Sehwag, G. Gambhir, R. Dravid, S. Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, S. Raina, Harbhajan, I. Sharma, P. Ohja, S. Sreesanth, M. Vijay, C. Pujara, A. Mishra, J. Unadkat.

New Zealand (from): D. Vettori (captain), B. McCullum, T. McIntish, M. Guptill, R. Taylor, J. Ryder, K. Williamson, G. Hopkins, T. Southee, I. McKay , C. Martin, J. Franklin, B. Arnel, J. Patel, B.J. Watling,

Umpires: S. Taufel & N. Long; Third umpire: S. Hazare; Fourth umpire:K. Srinath.

Alonso left to rue F1 title loss

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari leave Abu Dhabi wondering how a Formula One title that looked theirs for the taking somehow slipped into the hands of Sebastian Vettel on Sunday.

After his win in the dramatic Korean Grand Prix last month, Alonso became points leader and the momentum had shifted away from the Red Bulls, as neither Vettel nor teammate Mark Webber finished that race.

A third-place finish behind the Red Bulls in Brazil kept him atop the drivers’ standings coming into the final race on Sunday. When the Spaniard qualified third in for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - two places ahead of nearest rival Webber - all looked in place for Alonso’s third drivers’ championship.

But like much of the topsy-turvy Formula One season, the race didn’t go according to script and the decisions by Ferrari and Red Bull to change tyres early cost Alonso and Webber at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

While they were stuck behind traffic, Red Bull’s Vettel was clear in front and went on to win the race and become the youngest ever F1 champion.

The 23-year-old German, who had not led the championship at any stage until he received the chequered flag on Sunday, showed a maturity over the final two races that some had thought was lacking when he made costly errors in Belgium, Turkey and Hungary.

“It has been an incredible journey, to lead the championship after the last race is unbelievable,” Vettel said. “It’s been extremely intense and a tough season mentally.”

Ferrari, which appeared on the rebound after a subpar season in 2009, was left to rue the mistakes that cost them the title.

“There is great sadness at the moment, because to come so close to our goal and to see it slip away for just a few points really hurts,” Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. “This was probably our worst race of the season.”

A pivotal moment in the race came on lap one, when seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher spun. With his Mercedes motionless and facing the wrong way, it was hit at speed by the Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi, with the car mounting Schumacher’s Mercedes and the wheel narrowly missing the German driver’s head.

The pair walked away unscathed, but that brought out the safety car. Several cars, including Renault Vitaly Petrov, took advantage of the situation to pit and change tyres while all the main drivers stayed out.

Webber was the first of the title contenders to change tyres, coming in on lap 11. Ferrari, assuming Alonso only had to finish close to the Australian to win the title, brought in the Spaniard four laps later to mirror Webber’s strategy.

However, that instead put both of them behind Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, and Vitaly Petrov, whose Renault they ended up trailing for the rest of the race. All the time, Vettel plus the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button got further away.

Alonso repeatedly tried to pass the rookie Petrov, who is the first Russian to race in F1. He almost clipped Petrov during a failed attempt on lap 24 and then twice more went off the track as his aggressive driving almost got the best of him.

As the two crossed the finish line, Alonso angrily shook his fists at Petrov. But afterward, Alonso appeared ready to move on.

“Renault was quick on the top speed. It was a frustrating race behind him,” he said. “This is a sport. This is motor racing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian. But next year, we will try again.”

The 29-year-old Spaniard refused to blame the team’s pit strategy for his failure to win a third championship title. He ended up four points adrift of Vettel, followed by Webber 14 points back.

“After the race, it is always very easy to see the best strategy,” Alonso said. “If we didn’t stop, Webber probably would have overtaken us. If we stopped we cover from Webber but let Petrov and Rosberg in front so it was a very difficult call.”

But his teammate Felipe Massa was not so kind, telling reporters “the race was not good” and that “it was not a great strategy to stop so soon.”

That was echoed by Domenicali, who admitted the team made several mistakes during the race.

“We made a wrong strategy for three reasons,” he said. “We marked a rival with two cars, we were unduly concerned about the wear rate of the soft tires, and we did not take into consideration the difficulty of getting past other cars on the track.”

In the end, it was Red Bull, which was celebrating after adding the drivers’ championship to the constructors’ title it had already won.

Messi magic gives Argentina victory over Brazil

Lionel Messi struck with a trademark dribble and shot in stoppage-time to give Argentina a 1-0 victory over Brazil in a friendly international in Doha.

The Barcelona striker broke the deadlock as both teams were appearing to settle for a goalless draw, to give Argentina a first win over their arch-rivals for five years.

Messi traded passes with Ezeguiel Lavezzi around the centre circle before setting off on a run towards the Brazilian penalty area.

Although surrounded by four Brazilians, he managed to fashion enough space to the left to fire in a shot from just inside the area to beat the diving Viktor in goal.

The prestige friendly in Doha, which host Qatar was hoping would help showcase its bid to host the 2022 World Cup seemed to be petering out into a goalless draw until Messi’s brilliance.

Both sides, with new coaches since the World Cup, had created chances to win a game, which proved entertaining for the first-half at least for a capacity 50,000 crowd in the Khalifa stadium.

Brazil enjoyed the better of the opportunities as they sought to underline recent dominance over their neighbours who had not won against the Selecao in five games since June 2005.

Dani Alves rattled the bar early on after a one-two with David Luiz, while Argentina’s Javier Mascherano came close to putting the ball into his own net while clearing a Neymar cross.

Brazil coach Mano Menezes included Ronaldinho, back in the team after an 18-month absence, and with a bit more luck the 30-year-old veteran might have scored with a back heel, which brought a save from Sergio Romero.

Romero also dived to punch away a Ronaldinho free-kick, while at the other end, Victor pulled off two saves in quick succession from a Gonzalo Higuain header and the follow-up from Javier Pastore, but the linesman’s flag was up for offside.

Messi, who had the crowd cheering every time he was on the ball, also gave a reminder of his threat with a run towards the Brazilian penalty area before whipping in a shot just past the angle of bar and post.

The game fell away in the second-half as both Menezes and Argentina coach Sergio Batista, in charge for the first time as Diego Maradona’s permanent replacement, rang the changes.

An intruder on the pitch, who was chased by eight or nine stewards before being captured, brought some cheers — but the best entertainment was left to the last with Messi’s moment of magic.

Indian attack has lacked penetration

The Indian attack does not befit the side's World No. 1 status. The lack of thrust has been conspicuous. A determined New Zealand side has been able to not only keep the Indian bowling at bay but also, in crucial phases, dominate it.

The Indians' body language on the field was not aggressive. A top-ranked Test outfit has to impose itself on the opponent.

The Kiwi side, expected to be swept away by many, came close to winning the first Test and forced an honourable draw in the second.

New Zealand's totals — of 459, 22 for one, 350 and 448 for eight declared in the series — tell the story. Penetration has been the missing element in the Indian bowling.

Much focus has been on the pitches for the first two Tests. Although the surfaces favoured the batsmen, they cannot be termed flat tracks. It has become fashionable these days to dub a pitch lifeless if it fails to produce a result.

At Motera, there were a few areas around the bat that could have been exploited by the spinners. And at Uppal, there was good bounce for the bowlers all through the five days.

Had the wickets been so barren, a result could not have been a distinct possibility going into the last day of both the Tests.

In the first Test, India battled to force a draw. It was the other way round in the second with the Kiwis shutting the door on the host.

Wanted: strike spinner

Harbhajan Singh is in the form of his life with the bat. He has 295 runs in the series at an awesome 147.50 with two history-making back-to-back centuries at No. 8. And his runs arrived when the team needed them.

However, is he living up to his more important role as the spin spearhead following the departure of the formidable Anil Kumble? India needs Harbhajan, the match-winner.

Someone with 374 Test scalps should not be too dependent on the surfaces. Guile is a key attribute for a spinner. Harbhajan's last five-wicket innings haul (five for 59) came against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in February this year.

Subsequently, his returns have been 0-98 & 0-24 at Galle, 1-147 & 1-35 in Colombo (both against Sri Lanka), 3-114 & 2-40 at Mohali and 4-148 & 2-63 in Bangalore (both against Australia), 1-112 in Ahmedabad and 4-76 & 1-117 at Hyderabad in the ongoing series.

While the experienced off-spinner has been useful on certain occasions, he has certainly not lived up to his billing as the strike spinner in the line-up.

There was bounce for him to exploit in the second Test and Harbhajan did show signs of a return to form in the first innings. However, he was ordinary in the second and his length did come under scrutiny. Flight, revolution and a telling off-stump line with subtle variations were absent.

Not creating pressure

Test cricket is much about persistent pressure from both the ends. Even if the surface favours the batsman, denial of runs can create stress leading to dismissals.

But then, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson were able to score runs with freedom in the critical first session of the fifth day here. It was almost as if pressure did not exist.

Left-armer Pragyan Ojha is still a work-in-progress. And the inability to deliver a potent arm ball is making him predictable.

The Indian bowling averages in the series so far are revealing. Ojha has seven wickets at 46.42 and Harbhajan six at 50.83. S. Sreesanth, luckless on the few occasions when he moved the ball, has six at 50.16.

In fact, India's best bowler Zaheer Khan — seven wickets at 23.85 — will be missing from the third Test because of a groin strain. In the absence of the crafty left-arm paceman, the attack could be stretched further.

India also seeks a genuine fast bowler, who can consistently bowl around the 150-kmph mark, to strike or unsettle the opponent. And we are not talking about medium-pacers who bowl the odd sharp delivery here. Air-speed can make a difference, on any surface.