WORLD CUP BERTH ALMOST CONFIRMED FOR INDIA TO ASIA CUP HOCKEY

WORLD CUP BERTH ALMOST CONFIRMED FOR INDIA  TO ASIA CUP HOCKEY

Their World Cup berth all but secured, a confident India would look to book a direct ticket to next year's mega event by winning the ongoing ninth Asia Cup hockey tournament when they clash with defending champions South Korea, here sunday.

Both India and Malaysia have virtually qualified for the World Cup to be held at The Hague, Netherlands after South Korea shut ther door on pakisthan with a narrow 2-1 win the first semi final.

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victoria duval defeated former champion samntha stosur

victoria duval defeated former champion samntha stosur

Victoria Duval is just 17 but has already experienced the heart-stopping terror of being held hostage by gunmen and almost losing er father in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

So, on Tuesday, defeating former champion samntha stosur in the US Open first felt tame by comparison, the tension of squandering three match points understandably trivial in the great drama of her young life.

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NADAL,SERENA ON CRUISE MODE

NADAL,SERENA ON CRUISE MODE

US Open favourates Rafael Nadal nad Serena Williams, with 28 Grand Slam titles between them, cruised into the US Open on Monday but 17-time major winner Roger Federer was Thwarted by rain.

Nadal, the second-seeded 2010 champion who watched the 2012 US Open from his home in spain as he endured a seven-month injury layoff, cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, win over America's Ryan Harrison to record a 16th win on hard courts this year.

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ENGLAND CELEBRATES THE ASHES............

Oval pitch controversy: England's leak of faith!

 Anything Monty Panesar can do, his England teammates can do better. Days after the out-of-favour Sikh spinner was fined and disciplined for relieving himself on nightclub bouncers during a drunken rampage.

English cricket found itself facing another embarrassing leak with allegations emerging that three top cricketers urinated on the Oval pitch during Sunday night's raucous post-Ashes celebrations.

Sections of the Australian media reported that after England's 3-0 drubbing of the Aussies ended with a thrilling draw in the fifth Test, the home team's dressing room revelry spilled over to the ground with Stuart Broad, Kevin Pietersenand James Anderson being involved in the disgraceful act of watering the pitch.

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It's Open !

No.1 Djokovic, Rejuvenated Nadal Target Murray's US Crown; Federer Keen To prove Critics Wrong


BIG FOUR DOMINATION
The so-called Big 4 Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray have combined to win 33 of the past 34 Grand Slam titles, a strech that began in 2005.

Nadal is definitely back, and he's playing may be the best tennis thaat he ever has played on hard courts."

-Novak Djokovic BELIEVES NADAL IS THE FAVOURITE

" I think you can play aggressive when you're playing well. I am trying to take the ball little bit early. I worked on my game to be a little bit  more aggressive."

-Rafael Nadal ON HIS HARD COURT GAME

"It's important that i concentrate on my game and that the passion is there, that I work the right way, that I'm prepared ,and then I feel like I can win a Tournament."

-Roger Federer ON HIS CHANCES

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ENGLAND'S REPLY FAILS TO TAKE ROOT

ENGLAND'S REPLY FAILS TO TAKE ROOT

Opener Joe Root's 68 puts Hosts On A Steady Course

Runs dried up for England as Australia dismissed Joe Root and Jonathan Trott in an attritional second session on the third day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval on Friday.

England, who at 3-0 up had already won the five-match series, were 247 for four at stumps, 245 runs behind Australia's first innings 492 for nine declared and still needing a further 46 to avoid the follow-on.

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Steven Smith puts Oz on top

Steven Smith puts Oz on top

Australia, after winning the toss declared the first innings on 492 for nine on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at The Oval on Thursday.

Steven Smith was 138 not out, after scoring his maiden Test hundred, while James Anderson led England's attack with four wickets for 95 runs.

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WATSON HITS RARE TON

WATSON HITS RARE TON

Shane Watson's magnificent 176 put Australia in command at 307 for four on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at The Oval on Wednesday.

The powerful right-hander startedout all guns blazing and, after being struck on the head by a Stuart Broad bouncer, he dug in to his his highest Test score and share a fourth-wicket partnership of 145 with Steve Smith.

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Dhoni rises to 16th on Richie Rich list in Athletes

Dhoni rises to 16th on Richie Rich list in Athletes

Indian cricket team captian Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been ranked 16th in the latest Forbes list of highest-paid athletes with an earning of  $31.5 million (around Rs.180 crore), placing him above the likes of Rafael Nadal and usain bolt.

As per the latest Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in the world, the 31-year old captain of the Indian cricket team earned $31.5 million between june 2012 and june 2013.

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Dhoni says "Virat has changed a lot over the last year"

Dhoni says "Virat has changed a lot over the last year"

Indian skipper MS Dhoni is a busy man for the most of the year. His fitnes methods, he says, help him endure the Hetric grind of the international cricket calendar. These days, he is going easy on his body, recovering from the rigours of the last season, and playing a lot of badminton to hone his reflexes.

Dhoni says the best thing about him is that he is very expressive, and that helps a captain. His approach towards his game and also the way he operates in the field has changed.

He now has alla the ingredients to lead a side and has led well in Zimbabwe, Dhoni said while speaking at a promotional event here on monday.

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Raina, Rohit pile on the runs

Raina, Rohit pile on the runs

Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina joined the run feast with superb centuries as India A posted a mammoth 582 for nine against South africa A to take command of the unofficial Test, here on sunday.

Sharma scored 119 while Raina blasted 135 as the two overnight batsmen ripped apart the home bowling attack on the second day of the match. India skipper Cheteshwar Pujara had struck 137 on Saturday to put his side in a strong position.

Sharma and Raina shared a 106-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which was broken when the former was caught by Temba Bavuma off JP Duminy at the fagend of the morning session.

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CLINICAL INDIA EMERGE WINNERS

CLINICAL INDIA EMERGE WINNERS

INDIA   'A' on wednesday clinched the Tri-series title with a comfortable 50-run victory over Australia 'A' in a low-scoring final, relying on a clinical display by their bowlers.

Opting to bat on a placid strip, India could manage only 243 in 49.2 overs with Shikhar Dhawan (65) and Dinesh Karthik (73) being the notable contributors.The India bowlers,who had been woefully out of sorts in the tournament,then managed to bowl out the Aussies for 193 in 46.3 overs to guide the team to victory at the LC de Villers Oval.

It was India's fifth 'A' tournament victory since the concept was introduced in 1994.

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Dhawan on fire at Pretoria

SHIKHAR TOUCHES ANOTHER PEAK

BUT FALLS 20 SHORT OF WORLD RECORD

Shikhar Dhawan smashed 248 (150b), the second highest scorer in limited overs cricket, and set up a 39 run for India 'A' agaist south Africa 'A' at the LC de Villiers Oval in pretoria in monday.

Opening Dhawan blazed 30 fours and seven huge sixes as he fell 20 runs short of the record held held by Ali Brown, who bludgeoned 268 from 160 balls for surrey against Glamourgan at The Oval in 2002.

The 27-year old Dhawan also smashed 187 from 174 balls in his first Test innings against Australia in march this year.

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Zim players take lessons in Indian dressing room

Zim players take lessons in Indian dressing room

  Demolished in the just-concluded ODi series against India, Zimbabwean players were sent to the riva
dressing room by their coach andy wallerto gather some crickting tips from Virat Kohli and his men.

"They're in the hanging room with (India) now, to talk to them, " Waller said at post-match press conference of the fifth ODI here.

The best time tolearn is now in the change room with the best players in the world,and talking one-on-one when you;re shy talking out in the open. And our guys are quite bad like that.

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TEAM INDIA ON A ROLL

TEAM INDIA ON A ROLL

Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina Strike From; Mohit Sharma MoM on Debut

India made light work of their fourth one-day International against Zimbabwe on Thursday, as they beat the hosts by nine wickets to take a 4-0 leadd in the series.

After bowling Zimbabwe out for just 144, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina hit unbeaten half-centuries as India achieved their target inside 31 overs.

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