Sports

Pune, November 14: Indian selectors' decision to not pick a single specialist spinner for England's warmup game against India 'A' indicates that it's difficult to expect Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav/Ishant Sharma to run through the English batting. The first Test begins in Ahmedabad from Thursday and the clues are already out. If the wickets are pacy and have some grass, India could well open a

London, November 13: Former England Test captain Andrew Strauss has said the only way they can trump India on their own home turf is by applying a ruthless approach. Strauss, who has averaged 54 on Indian pitches, said once England manages to take a lead in a Test match, they have to finish the game off without giving the world champions an iota of a chance to recover. “It’s one of the biggest

Karachi, November 13: The Pakistan Cricket Board has preferred to remain non-committal on the allegation that the 2011 World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan was fixed, but former PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt kicked off a debate after he asserted the board to investigate the claims. Butt's assertion that the present PCB set-up should either hold an inquiry itself or ask the ICC to investigate

Mumbai, November 13: Zaheer Khan is reckoned by most teams as one of the experts with the shining as well as the old ball. He has cultivated the happy knack of breaking a partnership making the reverse swing work; one of the reasons why the Indian team management must be hoping that the extremely dexterous left- arm seamer regains fitness for the exacting demands of Test cricket. Moreover he’s the

London, November 13: Novak Djokovic produced a masterful display to end Roger Federer's reign as ATP Tour Finals champion as the world number one swept to a 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 victory in the final on Monday. Djokovic underlined why he will finish as the world's top ranked player for the second successive year as the Serb withstood an early barrage from Federer in both sets before overwhelming the six

London, November 13: History slipped out of the hands of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna as the Indian pair lost the summit clash of the ATP World Tour finale to Spanish pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, here on Tuesday. The fifth seed Indian pair, making its debut as a pair at the elite event, lost the title clash 5-7 6-3 3-10 to the sixth seeded combine in one hour and 30 minutes. No

London, November 12: The Test series is still a few days away but England has started the mind games with pacer James Anderson saying that his team needs to make sure that it does not treat Sachin Tendulkar “with too much respect in the middle”. “There has been much talk that this may be Sachin Tendulkar’s last Test series. I do enjoy bowling against him as testing yourself against the best is

New Delhi, November 12: Jwala Gutta, who won gold in women’s doubles with Joshna Ponnappa at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, is unhappy that among the current badminton crop only London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has got her due. Jwala, who is one of the five Indian players taking part in the 2013 Indian Badminton League, is also disappointed with the way the sport is being run in India.

New Delhi, November 12: “Beauty sells“, Maria Sharapova had once famously remarked, an ironic statement from someone who evokes a sense of awe and admiration both for her tennis and drop-dead gorgeous looks. At 25, she presents a perfect picture. Four time Grand Slam champion, hugely talented, stunning looks, earnings in the range of $25 million a year the highest for a women athlete worldwide a

Centuries from Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla put Australia on the ropes before South Africa's bowlers landed some early blows of their own to leave the hosts struggling at 111 for three after the third day of the first Test on Sunday. The tourists were reduced to 10 fit batsmen after an injury to JP Duminy on Friday but 147 from the evergreen Kallis and 104 from the in-form Amla helped them to an