Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘Controversially Yours’ released

 NEW DELHI: Former Test cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’ whihc has already sparked much controversy has been released in India, Geo News reported Saturday.

The book was launched in New Delhi hotel and the ceremony was attended by Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik.

The former fast bowler said that people should read his autobiography first to "understand his remarks" about Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and added that they are "world class cricketers".

"I am not here to clarify anything... but facts in my book have been presented in a rather strange manner by the media here," Akhtar said responding to queries about his remarks on Tendulkar and Dravid.

Akhtar said that he respects Shah Rukh Khan but alleged that he was cheated by former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi and former PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf.

The bowler admitted to ball tampering and feels it should be legalised

World wants to see Indo-Pak play: Saqlain

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan spin legend Saqlain Mushtaq, believes that the rival of Indo-Pak cricket series will be great as the entire world wants to see India and Pakistan play for the sheer passion the players show.

There are talks that Indo-Pak cricket could be revived with India hosting a series in February-March 2012.

“I personally feel that India and Pakistan should start a series on the lines of Ashes. But lets wait for the ties to resume first," Mushtaq said.

Talking about Indian team's performance on the England tour, Mushtaq said, 'It was the failure of the team and you cannot just blame the spinners. You didn't have runs on the board and, in such scenario, the spinners can’t gamble".

“The conditions were pacer-friendly and, as one saw, it was the pacers who did the trick for the hosts. So I don't think it would be right to blame the spinners alone,"
Mushtaq said that he thinks India's performance in England was an overall failure and no specific department should be blamed. "The injuries made things worse for India as they could not field a full-strength. I am sure that if India did not have injury problems, the outcome would have been different.

In fact, I am sure that things will be different when England visits India next month. India should have all their players fit and the conditions will also favour them," he said.

Mathews' ton gets S Lanka 157-run lead over Aussies

 COLOMBO: Angelo Mathews scored his maiden test hundred to give Sri Lanka a handy first-innings lead of 157 against Australia on the fourth day of the third and final Test on Monday.

Mathews, unbeaten on 85 overnight, was stuck nervously in the nineties as he lost three partners in quick succession but finally got across the elusive 100-mark with a cover-driven four off Peter Siddle.

Mathews, on 95 when the ninth wicket fell, would have tothank last man Suranga Lakmal for hanging around for 37 minutes to help him get to his century.

The 24-year old all-rounder, who had twice been dismissed in the nineties in his 16-Test career, jumped into the air to celebrate his century and was warmly applauded by his team mates in the dressing room.

Australia made early inroads into the Sri Lankan batting on Monday when Siddle breached the defence of debutant Saminda Eranga (12) and trapped Rangana Herath (3) leg before.

Chanaka Welegedara (1) was run out after a misunderstanding with Mathews that saw both batsmen stuck at the non-strikers end.

Siddle, who replaced the injured Ryan Harris for the final Test, was Australia's best bowler, finishing with four wickets for 91.

Australian were 16-0 in their second innings, with Shane Watson and Phil Hughes at the crease at lunch.

Australia lead the three-Test series 1-0.

Hughes leads Aussies fight back against Sri Lanka

 COLOMBO: Phil Hughes hit timely form as Australia fought hard to wriggle out of a tight corner in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Monday.

Hughes was unbeaten on 78 as the tourists, trailing by 157 runs on the first innings, moved to 127-2 in their second knock at tea on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Michael Clarke's Australia need to bat out a major part of the last four sessions to draw the match and win the series 1-0 on the back of a 125-run victory in the first Test in Galle.

Hughes had walked to the crease in danger of losing his spot in the team after failing to score a half-century since an unbeaten 86 against New Zealand in March last year.

The left-handed opener responded with an aggressive knock that contained 11 boundaries and a six.

Hughes contributed 36 in an opening stand of 62 with Shane Watson, who fell leg-before to Rangana Herath for 21 when a TV review overturned umpire Tony Hill's decision to reprieve the batsman.

Shaun Marsh added 60 for the second wicket with Hughes when he was given out by Hill, caught at short-leg off Herath, even though replays showed the ball made no contact with the bat.

Former captain Ricky Ponting, who replaced Marsh, had yet to score.

Sri Lanka, needing a win to draw the series, gained a sizeable lead through a maiden Test century from vice-captain Angelo Mathews.

Mathews returned unbeaten on 105 as the hosts added 45 runs to their overnight score of 428-6 before they were all out for 473 shortly before lunch on the fourth day.

Fast bowler Peter Siddle claimed two of the last four Sri Lankan wickets to finish with 4-91 from 35 overs. Trent Copeland and Mitchell Johnson picked up two wickets each.

Siddle bowled Shaminda Eranga for 12 and trapped Herath leg-before for three within the first hour.

Mathews was stranded on 95 when Sri Lanka lost their ninth wicket, but the right-hander reached the coveted century by driving Siddle to the cover fence for his 10th boundary.

The 24-year-old has been one of Sri Lanka's few batting stars in the series, having made 95 in the first Test and 58 in the drawn second game.

Last man Suranga Lakmal contributed 13 in a 10th-wicket stand of 23 with Mathews before he was bowled by Johnson.

Zahlavova Strycova wins first WTA title

 QUEBEC CITY: Czech sixth seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova captured her first WTA title on Sunday, rallying to beat New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 and win the $220,000 Quebec City Challenge final.

The 25-year-old, ranked 10 spots ahead of Erakovic at 75th in the world, had lost her only prior WTA final last year on clay at Prague.

Erakovic broke to open her first WTA final but the Czech fought off two break points in the third game to hold serve and broke back. Erakovic, 23, broke again in the ninth game and held to take the first set after 53 minutes.

Zahlavova Strycova, who denied Erakovic on nine of 11 break-point chances in the first two sets, responded by winning 12 of the last 13 games to capture the match in one hour and 57 minutes.

Erakovic, a 2008 Olympian, had lost all three of her prior WTA semi-finals until ousting third-seeded defending champion Tamira Paszek of Austria on Saturday

Sri Lanka hope to level series despite Hughes ton

 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka kept their hopes alive of securing a series-levelling win over Australia in the final Test in Colombo on Monday, despite an unbeaten century from opener Phil Hughes.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath grabbed all three wickets as the tourists, trailing by 157 runs on the first innings, ended the fourth day's play at 209-3 in their second knock at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Hughes was unbeaten on 122 and skipper Michael Clarke was on eight, with Australia going into the final day on Tuesday 52 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand.

Clarke's men will need to bat out at least two of the last three sessions to draw the match and clinch the series 1-0 on the back of a 125-run win in the first Test in Galle.

The rain-hit second match in Pallekele was drawn.

Hughes had walked to the crease in danger of losing his spot in the team after failing to score a half-century in 11 innings since an unbeaten 86 against New Zealand in March last year.

The left-hander, who had an umpire's review for a catch at the wicket go in his favour off the last ball of the day, responded with an aggressive knock that contained 16 boundaries and a six.

Hughes had also survived a review for leg-before on 99 before cutting seamer Chanaka Welegedara for two runs later in the same over to bring up his third Test century.

Hughes celebrated the landmark by raising his fist towards the travelling Australian media in the press box before he acknowledged the cheers from his team-mates and the crowd.

Hughes contributed 36 in an opening stand of 62 with Shane Watson, who fell leg-before to Herath for 21 when a TV review overturned umpire Tony Hill's decision to reprieve the batsman.

Shaun Marsh added 60 for the second wicket with Hughes when he was given out by Hill, caught at short-leg off Herath, even though replays showed the ball made no contact with the bat.

Marsh, surprisingly, did not ask for a review.

Hughes then put on 66 for the third wicket with Ricky Ponting, before the former captain edged a vicious turner from Herath to the slips after making 28.

Earlier, Sri Lanka gained a sizeable lead through a maiden Test century from vice-captain Angelo Mathews.

Mathews returned unbeaten on 105 as the hosts added 45 runs to their overnight score of 428-6 before they were all out for 473 shortly before lunch on the fourth day.

Fast bowler Peter Siddle claimed two of the last four Sri Lankan wickets to finish with 4-91 from 35 overs. Trent Copeland and Mitchell Johnson picked up two wickets each.

Siddle bowled Shaminda Eranga for 12 and trapped Herath leg-before for three within the first hour.

Mathews was stranded on 95 when Sri Lanka lost their ninth wicket, but the right-hander reached the coveted century by driving Siddle to the cover fence for his 10th boundary.

The 24-year-old has been one of Sri Lanka's few batting stars in the series, having made 95 in the first Test and 58 in the drawn second game.

Last man Suranga Lakmal contributed 13 in a 10th-wicket stand of 23 with Mathews before he was bowled by Johnson

Dhoni urges India to finish strongly

 LONDON: India captain MS Dhoni has urged his side to finish their difficult summer with a flourish in Friday's final one-day international against England in Cardiff.

A dramatic tied match at Lord's on Sunday gave England, who are 2-0 up with one to play, the one-day series but Dhoni's team have one last chance to get an international win this summer.

They were beaten 4-0 in the Test series, lost the only Twenty20 and were 2-0 with one no result going into the fourth one-dayer.

And Dhoni has demanded his side -- who have been decimated by injuries -- do not relax now that the series is gone.

"Every game is important," Dhoni told reporters after Sunday's game at Lord's.

"Despite the fact we have lost the series every game is an international game. We all know we have lost the series but it is important to get the most out of that game and we want a victory in the final game of the whole series."

For some of the younger players Friday's match is their last opportunity to impress their captain before England play five one-dayers in India before Christmas.

Dhoni has lost eight players to injury on this tour including big names such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and expects the youngsters to make way for the established players when they host the five-match series.

Players such as 22-year-old Ravindra Jadeja, 24-year-old Ravichandran Ashwin and 23-year-old Ajinkya Rahane have featured in this series but may have to take a back seat when the veterans are fit again.

Dhoni added: "We have quite a few players who we have to get fit and who will be back in the one-day squad.

"We will not be as good a fielding side as we are now but you shouldn't forget that most of the grounds in India are quite small and there is not as much opportunity for the batsmen to take twos and threes.

"Everybody is considered but you have to see who is available. It becomes difficult when you have senior players who are missing this series.

"They always get the upper hand so it is tough for the youngsters but this is a good grooming period and once their time comes we all know they will be there for the next five or ten years."

ANP welcomes Altaf’s retraction: Haji Adeel

welcomed the decision of MQM Chief Altaf Hussain to retract his statement against ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan.

Hussain during his press conference had alleged that Asfandyar had received millions from the US to win the 2008 elections.

Speaking to Geo News Adeel said that if Hussain wanted to end differences he should hold dialogue with Pakhtuns and other ethnic groups that live in Karachi.

Adeel added that everyone’s hard work was involved in the prosperity of Karachi and not one but all ethnic groups were stakeholders in the city

Sri Lanka take charge against Aussies

COLOMBO: Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan inspired Sri Lanka's tenacious batting display as the hosts took charge of the third cricket Test against Australia in Colombo on Sunday.

Sri Lanka, seeking a series-levelling win, closed the third day's play at the Sinhalese Sports Club on 428-6 in their first innings, a lead of 112 runs over Australia's 316 with four wickets in hand.

Dilshan struck a rousing 83, Kumar Sangakkara made 79 in his 100th Test appearance, Mahela Jayawardene hit 51 and Angelo Mathews returned unbeaten on 85 as Sri Lanka led Australia for the first time in the series.

Prasanna Jayawardene chipped in with 47, sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 81 with Mathews that increased Australia's frustration in the field on a hot, humid day.

Dilshan, who had contributed just 56 runs in the previous four innings of the series, hammered 14 boundaries before he was caught behind off Trent Copeland just before tea.

Dilshan put on a valuable 121 for the fifth wicket with Mathews on either side of lunch after Australia had threatened to take charge in the morning session.

Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle, who battled bravely in trying conditions to finish the day with 2-76 from 27 overs, said his team faced a tough task over the next two days.

The tourists grabbed the crucial wickets of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in the space of 12 runs after Sri Lanka resumed at the overnight score of 166-2.

The pair, who compiled Test cricket's highest partnership of 624 at the same venue in 2006 against South Africa, put on 101 for the third wicket.

The two former Sri Lankan captains appeared to have settled in for the long haul when Australia earned a lucky break.

Jayawardene batted aggressively in the morning session to hit four boundaries but chased a wide ball from Shane Watson and edged a catch to wicket-keeper Brad Haddin.

Jayawardene, who has hit 10 Test hundreds at the SSC, managed only a half-century this time.

Australia claimed the second new ball after 81 overs and met with immediate success when Siddle dismissed a well-set Sangakkara with the fourth delivery.

Sangakkara smashed the first ball to the cover fence, but edged a rising ball later in the same over to Haddin.

Dilshan, an opening batsman who demoted himself to number five for this match, had a harrowing start to his innings.

He left the first delivery from Watson, which dipped in dangerously close to the off-stump and had yet to get off the mark when a miscued shot off Watson fell just short of a diving Shaun Marsh at mid-on.

Dilshan opened his account with a flick off Mitchell Johnson for a boundary, which also brought up Sri Lanka's 200 and then joined hands with Mathews to flay the Australian attack on a good wicket.

Mathews reached his third half-century in the series with two boundaries in one Siddle over after resumption.

Australia are ahead 1-0 in the series, having won the first Test in Galle by 125 run