Mumbai, March 29: It might seem to be an unconquerable feat but Sachin Tendulkar believes either Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma will break his record of 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar(39) made his prediction at a lavish bash thrown by industrialist and his IPL team Mumbai Indians’ owner Mukesh Ambani to felicitate him for completing 100 international tons after actor Salman K...

MUMBAI, March 29: “Sachin Tendulkar is the reason I started playing” — said India’s most promising batting talent right now, Virat Kohli, as he paid tribute to the senior batsman for completing a century of international hundreds.

At a felicitation function organised by industrialist and IPL team Mumbai Indians’ owner Mukesh Ambani, Kohli was asked to give ...

MIAMI, March 29: In the first doubles match played on the stadium court in this year’s Miami Masters, seventh-seeded Leander Paes of India and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek defeated Spaniards David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco in straight sets, 7-6 (6), 6-4, to enter the semifinals on Wednesday.

Paes and Stepanek played superior tennis, committing 11 unforced errors and hittin...

GALLE, March 29: Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed a match haul of 12 wickets as Sri Lanka condemned top-ranked England to their fourth consecutive Test defeat on Thursday in the series opener.

The 34-year-old grabbed six wickets in each innings as the tourists, chasing a stiff target of 340 runs, were bowled out for 264 soon after tea on the fourth day at the Galle International ...

Miami Masters Tennis

MIAMI, March 29: Rafael Nadal set up a mouth-watering semifinal clash with Andy Murray at the ATP/WTA Miami tournament, coming through a tough battle with French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The Spanish world number two, chasing his first tournament win of the season, needed almost three hours to defeat Tsonga 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in a quarterfinal night match.

MIAMI, March 29: Agnieszka Radwanska brought Venus Williams’ comeback event to a halt on Wednesday, downing the American 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the Miami hardcourt tennis tournament.

Radwanska, ranked fourth in the world and seeded fifth, next faces either world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or French seventh seed Marion Bartoli for a place in the final.

MIAMI, March 29: Victoria Azarenka’s 26-match winning streak was snapped Wednesday by French seventh seed Marion Bartoli, who stunned the world number one 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters.

Azarenka’s season-long win streak earned her four titles, including her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, with which she gained the world number one ranking....

Wellington, March 29: New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has expressed hope of playing in next month’s Indian Premier League despite suffering an arm fracture in the third Test against South Africa. Taylor said he has not given up hope of taking up his contract with Delhi Daredevils, which is believed to be worth about 1.1 million dollars, Sport 24 reports. He was originally signed by the Rajas...

Bridgetown, March 29: Former Barbados captain Ryan Hinds has been released on bail after appearing in court here on Tuesday to face charges of rape.

The 31-year-old, who was dropped from the Barbados side recently following a poor run of form in the Regional First Class Championship, has been charged with raping a 28-year-old woman last month.

Magistrate Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell ...

Brussels, March 29 : Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters will be sidelined for at least four weeks after tearing a hip muscle, her agent said in a statement. “Kim has got an excess of fluid in her right hip joint, which turned out to be a deep muscle tear in her hip,” the statement said.
The former world number one lost to compatriot Yanina Wickmayer in the last 16 of the WTA tourna...

Madrid, March 29 : Spain will play international friendlies against Serbia, South Korea and China ahead of the Euro 2012 Football championships in June-July. The World and European champions will face Serbia May 26, South Korea four days later and then take on China June 3. According to local media, the Spanish team will likely gather at the Austrian Alpine village of Schruns May 21, two days afte...

MANCHESTER, March 29: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson on Thursday hit back at claims by title rivals Manchester City that the defending champions received preferential treatment from referees. Manchester City football development executive Patrick Vieira was widely quoted this week as saying that United and other top clubs around Europe were often given the benefit of the doubt by refe...

Champions League quarter-finals first leg

MILAN, March 29: AC Milan and holders Barcelona played out a tight and nervy 0-0 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday to leave their Champions League quarterfinal finely in the balance ahead of next week’s second leg at the Camp Nou.

Chances were at a premium as the two sides adopted a largely safety-first policy to ensure they...

MARSEILLE, March 29: Bayern Munich took control of their Champions League quarterfinal against Marseille with a 2-0 win at Stade Velodrome on Wednesday that condemned OM to an eighth defeat in nine matches.

With Steve Mandanda suspended, Marseille coach Didier Deschamps chose to field third-choice goalkeeper Elinton Andrade but the move backfired in the 44th minute when the Brazilian al...

London, March 29: London 2012 will be a blueprint for future Olympic Games, IOC president Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday ahead of a three-day inspection of the venues.

“London has raised the bar on how to deliver a lasting legacy,” Rogge told a news conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron.

“We can already see tangible results in the remarkabl...

LONDON, March 29: Manchester City can steal a march on Premier League title rivals Manchester United this weekend and hope mind games do the rest when the champions play on Monday for the second straight week.

Roberto Mancini’s City took top spot temporarily last Saturday after a 1-1 draw at Stoke City only for United to go three points clear with a 1-0 home win over Fulham, where...

Johannesburg, March 29 : South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis has been cleared to play in a one-off Twenty20 match between South Africa and India at the Wanderers.

“Jacques` neck has fully recovered. The scan revealed a small tear, and he should be fit to play,” Sport 24 quoted Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee, as saying. Money raised from Wanderers’ game wil...

Johannesburg, March 29 : South African coach Gary Kirsten feels the Proteas have the ability to dominate world cricket.

Kirsten, who led India to the World Cup in 2011 and the No.1 spot in Test cricket, said South African has set some lofty standards to achieve in their bid to become the No.1 side in the world.

“We’ve set ourselves some lofty standards, and we want t...

New Delhi, March 29: Clarifying that the government has not asked athletes to boycott the London Olympics over the Dow Chemicals sponsorship, Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday said that the matter has been pursued at a diplomatic level with the host nation.

“India has not asked its athletes to boycott the London Olympics over Dow Chemicals sponsorship,” Maken said in re...