The Sport Review: “Cricket World Cup: Sehwag fires India past Bangladesh” plus 3 more

Cricket World Cup: Sehwag fires India past Bangladesh
Sir Alex Ferguson hails Nani’s improvement at Man Utd
Federer and Djokovic take their rivalry to Dubai
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel sets pre-season pace in Barcelona

Cricket World Cup: Sehwag fires India past Bangladesh

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 05:23 PM PST

india icc world cup

Virender Sehwag smashed 175 as India overcame Bangladesh by 87 runs in the World Cup curtain-raiser in Mirpur.

Sehwag and Virat Kohli both reached three figures as they posted 370 in their 50 overs after Bangladesh opted to field.

A spirited Bangladesh response saw them compile 283-9 with Tamim Iqbal hitting 70 as Shakib Al Hasan also passed 50.

Aggressive from the outset, India quickly set about posting a large total but lost Sachin Tendulkar relatively early for 28.

Gautam Gambhir's run-a-ball 39 was the perfect support to Sehwag, whose onslaught at the other end was nothing short of a master class.

The 203-run partnership between Sehwag and Kohli simply took the game away from Bangladesh as Kohli backed his selection with a well-paced innings before bringing up his hundred in the final over.

Shakib returned to prevent Sehwag from breaking Gary Kirsten's record for the highest score by any player in a world cup match, playing onto his stumps and falling 13 runs short.

In reply Bangladesh took the game to India racing to 50 off just five overs with Imrul Kayes sending the ball to all parts.

Munaf Patel eventually undid Kayes but a strong middle order effort ensured there was no collapse with Junaid Siddique hitting 37 alongside a more patient Iqbal.

Captain Shakib then gave further impetus by hitting 55 from just 50 balls but once the run rate climbed above 10 and the tail was exposed Patel and Khan returned to see out the victory.

Speaking after the game India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his side must improve their fielding despite the convincing win. He said: "There are a few departments where we need to improve, we need to save runs and it's a big concern for us”.

Meanwhile, Shakib bemoaned his side's bowling performance. He said: "We bowled too many bad balls and it cost us the game but hopefully we can come back in the next game strongly.”

India 370-4 Bangladesh 283-9 (India win by 87 runs)

Sir Alex Ferguson hails Nani’s improvement at Man Utd

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 10:47 AM PST

nani

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has heaped praise on Nani for the part he has played in the club’s Premier League title push this season.

The 22-year-old Portuguese winger currently boasts the most assists of all midfielders in the top flight this term and is steadily blossoming into a capable successor for Cristiano Ronaldo.

And Ferguson believes Nani has adapted to the rigours of the Premier League more speedily than his Portugal team-mate.

“Ronaldo was exceptional,” said Ferguson. “He is a one-in-a-lifetime player. But it did take him time to settle and develop in the English game. If anything, Nani has done it a bit quicker.

The United manager added: “I don’t need to trumpet his improvement. He has been consistent all season.

“He is a match-winner who creates goals and he scores them. He had seven strikes against City and that is a high ratio for a winger, particularly in a big game.

“He is showing maturity now. Every time he gets near the box you think something is going to happen. When you get that, you have a great player.”

Nani joined United from Sporting Lisbon for around €25.5m in 2007 and has made 136 appearances, scoring 27 goals.

Federer and Djokovic take their rivalry to Dubai

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 07:26 AM PST

roger federer novak djokovic

Dubai is one of the pivotal 500 tournaments of the year: a hot, outdoor, hard-court launch pad for the first big Masters events in North America.

Dry and warm, luxurious and glamorous, it has all the advantages. So while some of the players spread their favours between the competing attractions of Acapulco and Florida, it is Dubai that has invariably drawn the biggest names.

Since 2003, Roger Federer has been title-holder no fewer than four times, Rafael Nadal once and Novak Djokovic twice.

Yet that illustrious roll of honour disguises a Midas touch with more than a hint of fool's gold. For Dubai, in recent years, has been cursed by a plague of withdrawals from its star turns.

Look at 2009. Injury claimed no fewer than four of the top seeds: Federer, Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Verdasco. It was left with just five men from the top 20, headed by Djokovic and Andy Murray, and the latter added to Dubai's woes by pulling out after the second round with a virus.

Then 2010 showed that lightning really can strike twice when it again lost Federer, this time with a lung infection, lost Nadal once again with a knee injury, and lost world No5 Juan Martin Del Potro with a wrist injury that was to take him out for most of the year.

And 2011? Well once more, the chilly finger of fate has touched the richest of all the 500 events.

Nadal, for a third successive year, is absent while he continues to heal a thigh tear.

Murray has withdrawn with a wrist problem that flared up after his first-round loss to Marcos Baghdatis in Rotterdam.

Also missing is Andy Roddick who, though the title-holder in 2009, turned his back on the UAE—generally regarded as a political gesture over the country's refusal of a visa to Israel's Shahar Peer—and he has not returned since. For the third year in a row, his Masters groundwork will instead be focused on the indoor hard courts of the Memphis 500.

Of the other top-10 players, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer will vie for the 500 title on the clay of Acapulco—a particularly strange change of direction for the former who has played the indoor circuit of north America since the Australian Open.

Last week's Rotterdam champion, Robin Soderling, has elected to stay of Europe, as he did last year. He is currently sweeping through the indoor courts in Marseille and will then head home to play Davis Cup. That proved a sound foundation last year when he went on to the semis at both Indian Wells and Miami. Why disrupt a winning pattern?

Meanwhile, del Potro also seems to have forsaken the Middle East for good. He is steadily working himself back into form via San Jose and Memphis, reaching the semi-finals in both, and next week heads to the outdoor heat of Delray Beach. He is having to do everything the hard way from a lowly ranking of 298, but brings a touch of class wherever he plays.

Even the headline-grabbing newcomers of 2011 have opted for the Americas. Young Canadian Milos Raonic, who continued his assault on the rankings from 156 at the end of 2010 to inside the top 50 next week, is following a first title in San Jose with a semi-final finish in Memphis. Alexandr Dolgopolov, having shown his class on the hard courts, is now enjoying his top-30 ranking on the clay circuit.

So Dubai is having to work hard to keep its place in the spotlight, despite having now won its sixth ATP Tournament of the Year award. Next year, for its 20th anniversary, its heavy investment will appear in a new 15,000-seat capacity arena with a retractable roof. This year, though, it will attract the big pre-Masters kudos for two reasons: Federer and Djokovic.

Dubai has always been a happy stomping ground for Federer: He won the title in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007, and was runner-up to Nadal in 2006. He lives here when not in Switzerland and it is the base for most of his training camps. So Dubai is second only to Basel for the Federer 'home' crowd, and his return after a three-year absence will be celebrated.

The No2 seed returns as the reigning champion, and he won in 2009 as well. This time, though, he comes as the Australian Open champion, too.

As if Federer and Djokovic making their first appearances since Melbourne was not enough, the Dubai organisers will be hoping for something special from their two stars. On the horizon is the possibility of a 21st instalment in what has become one of the most compelling rivalries in tennis.

Now only two short of the match-ups between Federer and Nadal, they have met six times in the last six months and have exchanged the Nos 2 and 3 rankings almost as many times.

With just 85 points between them, Djokovic can again challenge Federer's ranking at Indian Wells, though Miami, where the Serb fell in his first match last year, offers an even better prospect.

Both have been in great form during that intensive six-month swing. Djokovic comes into Dubai with three finals and two semi-finals from six ATP events, plus a heart-lifting win for Serbia in the Davis Cup and his second Major in Australia. He could just be the most confident man on the tour.

Federer, for his part, won their last three encounters in 2010, going on to take the WTF title, but he lost to Djokovic in Melbourne and is without a Major title for the first time since he won Wimbledon in 2003.

How he responds to the Djokovic challenge in Dubai may be a key indicator to his entire 2011 campaign.

Before that sizzling rivalry can be played out, however, there are a few names in Dubai who may not have the star power of Nadal, Soderling and Murray but have great pedigree and the potential to upset even the best.

World No11, Mikhail Youzhny, produced some stunning tennis in narrowly losing his quarterfinal against Soderling in Rotterdam, and is already in the semis in Marseille this week. He was runner-up in Dubai last year.

No7 Tomas Berdych has started to post some good results in 2011 after a poor conclusion to 2010. In Rotterdam, his first-round demolition of the Guillermo Garcia-Lopez—dropping just six points on serve—was outstanding, but his run was brought to an abrupt halt by a dose of flu. He reached the quarters in Marseille this week and, with a return to full health, he could be just as big a challenge in the run up to Indian Wells and Miami as he was last year.

The middle ranks are also full of intrigue and possibilities. Gilles Simon almost terminated Federer's run in the second round of Melbourne. Ivan Ljubicic reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last week. New top-20 entrant, Victor Troicki, also made a semi-final run in Rotterdam.

Add in Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis and a Nikolay Davydenko fighting to stay inside the top 40, and there is plenty of room for upset.

But it would be no surprise to anyone to see a 21st face-off between the two former champions come Dubai's climax: Federer seeking revenge over Djokovic for his Melbourne defeat.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel sets pre-season pace in Barcelona

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 06:05 AM PST

sebastien vettel

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was the quickest driver on day one of the third Formula 1 pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

The reigning world champion completed just 37 laps in the RB7 as the Red Bull mechanics opened the car to carry out precautionary checks, but a stunning late time of 1:24.374 was 1.111s quicker than Alonso's best time.

The test started on a damp track after overnight rain but it gradually dried out across the day allowing the teams to test out Pirelli's intermediate tyres until a dry line formed around lunchtime.

The times tumbled as Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, and then McLaren's Jenson Button went quickest on slicks, before Alonso trumped both of them, again looking imperious as the Ferrari 150th Italia completed over 100 laps without incident.

Many teams opted to focus on longer runs in the afternoon session as conditions improved, and that was when some of the quickest times came.

Alguersuari finished third quickest with a time of 1:25.641 in the STR6, while Button's time of 1:26.365 was enough for fifth quickest behind Sauber's Kamui Kobayasho.

Paul di Resta was sixth in the VJM04 for Force India, just two tenths slower than the McLaren with the same engine despite only taking to the track late in the day as the team waiting on parts to arrive at the circuit.

Rubens Barrichello was seventh quickest for Williams without KERS with a time of 1:26.912, after earlier leading the standings in damp conditions before an engine issue sidelined the Brazilian who was quickest across testing in Jerez last week.

Michael Schumacher concentrated on race simulation in the afternoon as he completed a race distance including pit stops on his way to 90 laps and eighth quickest with a time of 1:27.512.

Narain Karthikeyan completed a productive 116 laps for Hispania as the Spanish team returned to testing after missing last week's run-out in Jerez. The Indian driver got to experience the different Pirelli compounds as well as gaining mileage in the car with a quickest time of 1:28.393.

Heikki Kovalainen completed 58 laps across 10 runs throughout the day as the Team Lotus ran through a number of compound choices with a heavy fuel load before a gearbox issue prevented the team from going for a race distance. Kovalainen set his quickest time of 1:30.065 on lap 37, and hopes to be able to go for a race distance on Saturday.

Jérôme d'Ambrosio also completed 116 laps for Virgin Racing in the MVR-02 with a full race distance with the new car as he achieved a time of 1:30.950.

Renault suffered a torrid day as a complicated KERS problem sidelined the R31 for much of the day.

The team opted to run both drivers to test a new traffic light pit stop system, with Nick Heidfeld—standing for the injured Robert Kubica—running in the morning in the wet conditions, while Vitaly Petrov was able to run in the final 40 minutes of the day.

Heidfeld's fastest lap was 20 seconds slower than Vettel and was indicative of the difference in track conditions in the morning rather than the car's performance as the German completed just 27 laps.

Petrov's afternoon was cut short, and his quickest time was also way off the pace from just 20 laps, but the team is confident that the KERS problem has been resolved and they will be on the pace in the remaining three days of the test, with both now drivers expected to get some running on Saturday.