Rain halts Australian juggernaut on day 3 of Kandy Test against Lanka

Kandy, Sep 10 : Australian batsmen Michael Hussey and Shaun Marsh slammed centuries to consolidate their team’s position before rain halted the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy today.
Hussey (142) and Marsh (141), who began the day at 264-3, shared a match-defining fourth-wicket partnership of 258 before part-time spinner Thilan Samaraweera dismissed Hussey 10 minutes before lunch.
Their partnership was the highest ever against Sri Lanka for the fourth wicket, surpassing the 256 by Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly for India in Mumbai in 1997.
The pair had joined forces on Friday morning when Sri Lanka grabbed three quick wickets to reduce Australia to 116-3 in reply to its own 174, ABC News reports.
Australia were 411-7, a lead of 237 runs with three wickets remaining, when rain stopped play during the second session on day three.
Usman Khawaja was batting on 13 with tailender Ryan Harris on nine.

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England clinch ODI series against India as well

London, Sep 12 - Rain robbed India a chance to end their losing streak as the fourth One-day International against England ended in a tie via the Duckworth Lewis Method at the Lord's here Sunday. England clinched the series with still a match left.
Suresh Raina (84) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (78) shared a blistering 169-run partnership to propel India to 280 for five and the tourists seemed set to secure their first win over England, having suffered a whitewash in the Test series.
But Ravi Bopara guided England to the brink of victory with his career best 96. Both Bopara and Raina were jointly adjudged as the Man of the Match.
The match was evenly balanced when rains interrupted for the third time with England at 270 for eight in 48.5 overs chasing a target of 281. But with the rain, the Duckworth/Lewis method came into play and India were unlucky.
Both teams wasted time in the final few overs that saw sides in pole position at different points. Going into the penultimate over, England were ahead of the required rate but Graeme Swann (31) was run out by Munaf Patel and then the bowler had Bopara caught on the boundary to ensure the match was tied.
Having set a challenging target for England, the visitors started on a good note with Rudra Pratap Singh dismissing the openers Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter for identical 12s. Praveen Kumar then trapped Jonathan Trott for
23 as England were reduced to 61 for three.
Bopara and Ian Bell (57) then added 98 runs for the fourth wicket to bail out England. But Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin then struck in quick successions to get rid of Bell and Ben Stokes (7) as England again slumped to 173 for five.
But Bopara was involved in two crucial partnerships with Tim Bresnan (27) and Swann to take England to the threshold of a win. With Bresnan, Bopara added 47 runs and with Swann 50 that nearly pulled England through.
Earlier, Raina smashed 84 runs off 75 balls while Dhoni struck 78 off 71 balls for his second consecutive fifty of the series. The two got together when India were struggling at 110 for four at the half-way stage but their brutal assault on the England bowlers in the last 13 overs produced 130 runs and took their side to a formidable total.
The visitors, put into bat, were off to a solid start with Ajinkya Rahane (38) and Parthiv Patel (27) being made to work hard for every run.
Both of them fell to Stuart Broad (2-52) while trying to push the scoring rate. Rahul Dravid (19) and Virat Kohli (16) took the mantle from 70 for two and batted sensibly before Grame Swann (2-49) removed them in his first over to turn the match in England's favour.
With India being 110 for four in 26 overs, Dhoni and his deputy Raina were left with the job of resurrecting the innings. England were able to sustain the momentum as India could only score 30 runs in the next 10 overs.
But Dhoni and Raina stepped on the gas there after, using the extra pace of the English bowlers for a flurry of boundaries and sixes.
Raina completed his half-century by hitting a James Anderson delivery for a massive six over square-leg. Dhoni's good form in the series continued as he smacked three sixes and six fours in his 71-ball innings. (IANS)

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Tie was a fair result: Cook

London, Sep 12 - England captain Alastair Cook said that the tie was a fair result in the rain-affected fourth One-day International against India at the Lord's here Sunday.
The match was evenly poised when rain interrupted for the third time with England needing 11 runs to win off seven balls with two wickets in hand. But with the rain falling the Duckworth/Lewis method came into play and India were unlucky. England clinched the series with still a match left.
"It was touch and go towards the end, we ended up batting for D/L, being more defensive knocking off the singles, not sure when the rain was coming. Tie was a fair result," said Cook.
The England captain was all praise for Ravi Bopara, who hit a career best 96 and took his team to the threshold of a win. Bopara was jointly adjudged as Man of the Match with Suresh Raina.
"Great to see Bopara delivering on the big stage to get us a tie. We tried everything earlier but that partnership (between Dhoni and Raina) was fantastic. If we had kept them to 250, we could have got there comfortably. Possibly we missed (Jade) Dernbach. We will know on Stuart Broad in 48 hours," he said.
Bopara said it was not the ideal way to clinch the series.
"With the rain around, we did not know when to accelerate. Should I knock it for ones and twos, or go for the big shots, once (Graeme) Swann got out I thought we should really go for it towards the close. Last couple of games have been nice for me, long way to go ahead," he said. (IANS)

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Stosur breaks Australia’s grand slam title drought by winning US Open

New York, Sep 12: Samantha Stosur has become the first Australian woman to win a grand slam singles title in 31 years after pulling off a stunning upset over Serena Williams in the US Open final.
Stosur produced the match of her life to beat Serena 6-2, 6-3, in an hour and 13 minutes at New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The win makes Stosur her country's first female Grand Slam champion since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980 and the first Australian woman to win the US Open women's singles crown since Margaret Court Smith in 1973.
Lleyton Hewitt, who won the Wimbledon in 2002, was the last Australian to win a grand slam title.
"Ever since I started playing ... this was a dream of mine to be here one day," Fox Sports quoted Stosur, as saying after the match.
"I don't really know what to say," she added. (ANI)

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‘Cash-strapped’ PCB opts against using UDRS in Test series against Sri Lanka, England

Islamabad, Sep 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided against using the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in the Test series against Sri Lanka and England, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates.
The technology will, however, be in place for the ODI and Twenty20 matches.
PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad said that the technology would not be used due to the high costs of having it installed.
"We in principle support the use of the UDRS and want it for both Tests and ODIs, but unfortunately we couldn't reach an understanding with our broadcasters for the Tests (in the United Arab Emirates)," the Daily Times quoted Ahmad, as saying.
"We have, however, reached a understanding with a company to bear the costs for the use of the technology in the one-day matches in both series," he added.
Pakistan will play three Tests, five ODIs and Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in October and November, and three Tests, four ODIs and two Twenty20 matches against England in January and February next year.
Ahmad further insists that the board would include the use of the UDRS when it signs a fresh contract with the broadcaster.
"When we sign our next contract for broadcasting rights we will try to ensure the broadcaster is willing to bear the costs of using the UDRS system in our series, including Tests and ODIs," he said. (ANI)

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US Open: USTA to rule on Serena Williams outburst

New York, Sep. 12: American tennis star Serena Williams will discover on Monday whether she faces further punishment for an angry tirade at umpire Eva Asderaki in the US Open final.
Australia's Samantha Stosur won the match 6-2 6-3 after Williams was given a code violation for verbally abusing the Greek official.
Tournament referee Brian Earley must now decide whether to fine the 13-time Grand Slam champion.
Williams, 29, has been serving a two-year Grand Slam probation for an outburst at the US Open in 2009.
According to the BBC, umpire Eva Asderaki made a brave call - completely within her rights - to penalise Serena for hindrance and didn''t deserve the hurl of abuse.
"Any impact this code violation might have on Serena Williams'' Grand Slam probation would require the incident being ruled a major event," said a statement from the United States Tennis Association. (ANI)

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Pak cricket team likely to tour Bangladesh in December

Islamabad, Sep 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly agreed to tour Bangladesh for a full series in December.
According to the Daily Times, the PCB has approved a tentative itinerary sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for the series, which will include two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 match.
"Pakistan has not played Bangladesh in a bilateral series since early 2008 as it believed that the Bangladesh board had let it down on many occasions, especially by not supporting Pakistan when the World Cup matches were moved out of the country. But now things seem to have settled down," the newspaper quoted a source, as saying. (ANI)

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