MIRPUR, March 21: India out of Asia Cup as Bangladesh stunned Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in the last league match today. Chasing the target 212 in 40 overs, the host reached the landmark in 37.1 overs. Tamim Iqbal(59) and captain Shakib-Al-Hasan (56) scored half centuries while Nassir Hossain and Mahmudullah contributed unbeaten 36 and 32 respectively.

Earlier, chasing a revised target of 212, Bangladesh were reduced to 40/3 in seven overs by the Lankan pacers.

Nuwan Kulasekara removed Nizamuddin to give Bangladesh first blow before Suranga lakmal ended Jahurul Islam's challenge.

Kulasekara bowled out Nazimuddin (6) in the second over after game resumed. Lakmal then got Islam caught by Chamara Kapugedera in the seventh over.

The target was revised as rainfall delayed hosts' run-chase after Sri Lanka were bundled out for 232 in 49.5 overs.

For Sri Lanka Chamara Kapugedera (62), Lahiru Thirimanne (48) and Upul Tharanga (48) made significant contributions in the middle-order after a top-order collapse saw the islanders reeling at 32 for three in 10 overs.

Comeback man Nazmul Hossain was the pick of the bowlers with figures of three for 32 while left-arm spinners Shakib-al Hasan (2/56) and Abdur Razzaq (2/44) also got important breakthroughs.

Medium pacer Hossain, who was drafted into the playing XI in place of Shafiul Islam, struck triple blow to reduce Sri Lanka to 32 for three within the first 10 overs after Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim opted to field.

Nazmul, who played his last ODI back in October last year, bowled with lot of control as he rocked the Lankan top-order removing the seasoned trio of Mahela Jayawardene (5), Tillekaratne Dilshan (19) and Kumar Sangakkara (6).

Jayawardene who has played some poor shots in the two earlier matches once again tried to play across the line to a delivery that moved in a shade and breached his defence as his off-stump was dislodged.

Sangakkara played a rank bad shot as he tried to play an expansive cover drive off Nazmul only to be caught by Nazimuddin.

Dilshan hit three boundaries during his brief stay but then inside-edged one on to his stumps as there was minimal footwork from the former Sri lanka captain.

Thirimanne and Kapugedera then joined hands to stem the rot. The duo didn't take too many risks as they went on doing their job quietly.

The 88 runs they added did not come at a great pace and there were only five boundaries during their stay of little under 23 overs. They concentrated on taking singles as the 100 came up in the 28th over.

Thirimanne missed out on a half century when he charged out to a Razzaq delivery that was going down leg-side. Thirimanne's 48 came off 73 balls with three hits to the fence.

Kapugedera completed his eighth ODI half-century with a push towards mid-on that fetched him two runs. He found an able ally in Upul Tharanga (48, 44 balls, 5x4, 1x6) who was positive from the onset as they added 49 runs for the fifth wicket stand.

Kapugedera was finally dismissed for a well-made 62 off 93 balls (4x4) when he tried to hit a cover drive off Razzaq only to find that Shakib pouching a brilliant low catch.

It was Sachitra Senanayake (19 not out, 3x4) and Lasith Malinga (10) who added valuable 26 runs for the ninth wicket to give the Lankan total some respectability. Agencies

Mumbai, March 20 : Lata Mageshkar is jubilant about Sachin Tendulkar scoring his 100th Test ton but is unhappy about suggestions that he retire from the game.

“Why do we this to the best of our artistes and sportspersons,” Lata asked angrily.

“Why do we place so much performance anxiety on them? People think it’s been smooth-sailing all the way for me. But I’ve gone through a rough patch in my career. There was a time when I was ready to quit. I fought back. And so did Sachin,” said added.

Sachin scored his 100th ton in Dhaka on Friday and Lata derided the pressure that was put on him to achieve the mark.

“It was as if the other 99 hundred runs ceased to matter. I have to say, we as a nation do not respect our greatest treasures. Sachin was going through a rough patch.

“Fortunately, he never gave in to the pressure to score. He continued to go out there and play because he loves the game. I understand that. I too never did what I do because I had to perform. I sang without thinking of how well it would turn out,” she said.

“Sadly we steal our sportspersons’ confidence by demanding too much from them,” she added.

Ever since Sachin has created the new record, a large segment of poeple including Kapil Dev who led India to its victory in the 1983 World Cup, wants him to take retirment.

But Lata flares up at the mention of retirement for Sachin.

“Why should he retire? Who decides to retire a singer or a sportsperson? Sachin will retire when he wants to.”

About the clinching the game on Friday, Lata said: “I had a preominition that this could be it. I somehow saw the century coming. I wasn’t surprised when it happened.”

Reminiscing about her long association with Sachin, she added: “I first saw him play at Sharjah. I remember a sandstorm hit the stadium. But Sachin stood his ground. He sat there with his cricket togs on waiting for the storm to pass. In him, I saw the determination to excel that I always admire. I remember a few years ago on Sachin’s birthday on April 24 I was invited to his friend Raj Thackeray’s home to meet him. I had taken a figurine of Sai Baba because I got to know Sachin is a Sai bhakt.”

A huge cricket fan Lataji’s love for the game goes back to her childhood.

“My father Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar was a cricket fan. I guess I inherited his love for the game. I remember I watched my first live cricket match at the Brabourne Stadium when I was 15. I sat in the the cheapest stalls with a family friend and clapped like crazy. Agencies

New Delhi, March 20 : India’s five-time world champion boxer M.C. Mary Kom began her campaign in the Asian Women’s Championship at Ulaanbaatar Tuesday, defeating Thailand’s Asian Games gold medallist Laopeam Peamwilai 6:4 in the second round.

Mary Kom, who has shifted from her customary 48 kgs to the Olympic 51 kgs, had got a bye in the first round.

Although the Thai boxer was slightly the taller of the two, it was Mary Kom’s mental strength that gave her a slender lead of 2:1 after the first round of the bout. In the second round, the Indian increased the lead to 3:1 but in the next round the Thai girl came back strongly to reduce the deficit but Mary Kom led 4:3.

Round four was a tactical victory for Mary Kom as she delivered two crisp blows towards the end and she romped home the winner. She now meets Nandinsetseg Myagmardul of Mongolia in the quarterfinals slated for Thursday.

In the 57 kgs, India’s Mandakini Chanu defeated Rahemi Sadaf of Afghanistan by Referee Stopping the Contest (RSOC) in the fourth round as Mandakini was far superior to the Afghan. The Indian now faces Kil Ok Kim of North Korea. IANS

PARIS, March 20: Argentina’s Lionel Messi is the world’s highest-paid footballer, followed by David Beckham of England and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, according to France Football magazine.

Barcelona talisman Messi earns some 33 million euros ($43.5 million) a year with a 10.5-million-euro salary, 1.5 million euros in bonuses and 21 million euros in advertising and other contracts.

Former Manchester United midfielder Beckham, now at LA Galaxy, takes home 31.5 million euros, largely due to his 26 million euros’ worth of advertising and endorsement contracts.

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo earns 29.2 million euros, from a 13-million-euro annual salary and 15.5 million euros from off-the-pitch revenue, France Football said in an article to be published on Tuesday.

Ronaldo’s coach at the Camp Nou, Portugal’s Jose Mourinho, topped the list of highest-earning managers with 14.8 million euros a year, followed by Paris Saint-Germain’s Carlo Ancelotti (13.5 million euros). AFP

Bridgetown, March 20: A proposed move that would have seen the return of talismanic opener Chris Gayle to the West Indies team and ended his year-long impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board has been stalled.

A high-level meeting in St. Vincent earlier this morning, chaired by the country’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and involving WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire, WICB president Julian Hunte and Gayle, had been expected to produce a solution.

However, a source close to the negotiations in St. Vincent told CMC Sports that while a deal had been reached and agreed to by the WICB and CARICOM, Gayle was yet to sign off.

CMC Sports understands that the deal would have seen both Gayle and the WICB acknowledging that mistakes had been made during the impasse, but agreeing to move forward in the spirit of compromise. Agencies

MIAMI, March 20: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will try to defend their titles at the $9.6 million ATP and WTA Miami hardcourt event that begins on Tuesday.

The showdown stretches for nearly a fortnight and comes after Djokovic was upset in the Indian Wells semifinals and Azarenka beat World No. 2 Maria Sharapova in Sunday’s final, as she did in last year’s Miami final.

Djokovic was upset by big-serving American John Isner, who lost to World No. 3 Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final.

Now thanks to the first-round byes for Miami’s high seeds, Djokovic is off until Saturday when he faces either Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer or Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

“It’s still a week to my first match, so I’m going to take some time, regroup,” Djokovic said. “I feel physically well. I think I’m playing equally well. I’m confident ahead of the Miami tournament.”

Djokovic defeated World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, adding that title to his 2007 Miami crown.

The five-time Grand Slam champion comes into the event off a Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, just as he did last year.

Djokovic, who has captured the past three Grand Slam titles, could join Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi as the only three-time men’s champions at Miami and become the first man since Federer in 2005 and 2006 to win back-to-back titles.

Nadal, a 10-time Grand Slam champion, has never won the Miami crown despite three trips to the finals, settling for runner-up honors in 2005 and 2008 as well as last year.

Nadal will open against either fell Spaniard Pablo Andujar or Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo.

Federer, who has won a record 16 Grand Slam crowns, has not won the Miami crown since 2006 but is on a roll, having won three tournaments in a row with titles at Rotterdam and Dubai as well as Indian Wells.

World No. 4 Andy Murray of Britain, who crashed out in the second round at Indian Wells, will try to bounce back at Miami, where he defeated Djokovic in the 2009 final.

Murray will open against either Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin or Colombia’s Alejandro Falla while Federer’s first foe will be either US wildcard Ryan Harrison or Italy’s Potito Starace.

Isner, ranked 10th, will open against either US countryman James Blake or Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko.

On the women’s side, Azarenka’s first match will be against either a qualifier or Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek while Sharapova, on the opposite end of the draw, starts in round two against a qualifier or Israel’s Shahar Peer.

Czech third seed Petra Kvitova had the worst luck of the draw, with a bye into round two against either Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm or US wildcard Venus Williams, a three-time Miami champion with seven Grand Slam singles titles.

Williams, like her sister Serena, is coming back after a long injury absence.

Chinese eighth seed Li Na, the reigning French Open champion, opens against a qualifier or Italy’s Alberta Brianti. She could face compatriot Peng Shuai in the round-of-16 and Sharapova in the quarterfinals. AFP

New Delhi, March 20 : The Indian table tennis team for the London Olympics qualifiers will have a blend of youth and experience. Sharath Kamal and Poulomi Ghatak remain the best bet in men and women’s category at the tournament to be held at Hong Kong from April 19 to 22.

Kamal and Ghatak will be joined by Anthony Amalraj, who ended Sharath’s five-year reign by winning his maiden national in January, and 18-year-old Soumyajit Ghosh, who pipped veteran Subhajit Saha for the third and last spot. Ghosh is better known for his mixed doubles bronze in the 2010 World Junior Championships in Bratislava.

Ghatak, who won her seventh national title in Lucknow, will be looking for her second Olympic appearance after Sydney 2000. Shamini Kumaresan, part of the silver winning women’s team in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the young Ankita Das are the other two members. Ankita reached the quarterfinals of the World Juniors in Bahrain in November.

“The senior players selected themselves in the team while coach Leszek Kucharski organised trials for the third player in each category. Ghosh defeated Saha while Ankita beat Mouma Das in the trials in Patiala,” TTFI secretary general Dhanraj Choudhary told IANS adding that the national team is training in Austria ahead of the World Team Championships in Dortmund, beginning March 25.

Seventy-two players make the final draw in the men and women’s sections. Top 28 in each category get direct entry and 40 make it from the continental qualifications. Two will come through the final world qualification event, one gets an invitational berth and a single spot has been reserved for the hosts. A maximum of two players can represent their country in singles.

Sharath and Neha Aggarwal qualified for the Beijing Games in 2008. IANS

Miami, March 20: Sania Mirza moved to second and final round of the qualifying event of the Sony Ericsson Open, a WTA Premier event, with a straight set victory over 18th seed Irina Falconi. Sania faced stiff resistance from the American in the first set before pulling of a 7-6 (4) 6-0 win in one hour and 18 minutes.

Sania broke the world number 100 thrice each in both the sets.

Sania will not fight it out with American 10th seed and world number 90 Sloan Stephens for a place in the main draw of the elite event. A total of 12 main draw berths are available from the qualifying event. Sania had missed out on a main draw berth at Indian Wells event, another WTA Premier event. However she did well in the doubles by reaching the finals with Elena Vesnina. PTI

London, March 20 : Young Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Aamer, who served a six months jail term after being convicted of spot-fixing, has broken his silence for the first time, saying that former captain Salman Butt and bookie Mazher Majeed tricked him into the wrongdoing.

In an interview with former England captain Mike Atherton on Sky Sports, Aamer, who was released from a young offenders’ institute after serving half his jail term, said he felt betrayed by Butt, whom he looked up to as an “elder brother”.

Aamer, who is now in Pakistan rebuilding his life, revealed that both Majeed and Butt forced him into spot-fixing by falsely claiming that he was already being investigated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for fixing.

During Aamer’s prosecution at the Southwark Crown Court last year it was revealed that the youngster had sent suspicious texts to a businessman in Dubai, vaguely referred to Monday as “Ali”. This act implicated Aamer in fixing outside of the undercover sting operated by The News of the World.

Amir claimed Majeed and Butt used these texts to force him into their plan to bowl deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test against England in 2010.

Revealing the details, Aamer said: “I was in the hotel, I think, and I received a call from Mazhar saying that I should go to the car park because he wanted to talk to me about something very important. So I went out and Mazhar had a grey coloured car in the parking area. I went and sat next to him in the front seat.

“All of a sudden it was as if someone had launched an attack. Suddenly he said: ‘Oh bro, you’ve got yourself in big trouble, you’re trapped, and your career is at stake.’ I said: “Bro, what’s happened? He told me that my calls and texts with Ali had been recorded and had reached the ICC. He said that he had received a phone call from a friend of his saying that my name was involved. I said: “But I have not done anything for him.’ He said: “Nevertheless you’re trapped; your name’s being mentioned, and the case is now open.’

“I said: “What now?” And he said: “He’s my friend and you’re lucky that he’s the one who is in charge of this case.’ He said that he told him: “Bro, put an end to this case, shut this file. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it. Whatever needs to be done, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything.

“But Amir’s name should not be mentioned.’ That’s when he said: “Can you do me a favour?” I asked him what favour. He replied: ‘Do two no-balls for me,’” said Aamer.

Amir admitted that he acted as a “stupid” and should have walked away.

“I panicked so much that I didn’t even think to ask him, ‘what are you doing?’. On one hand he had spoken about the whole ICC intelligence investigation, and on the other hand he was asking me to deliver no-balls. I was panicking so much it didn’t even occur to me how ridiculous it was. He told me that Salman would help me and that he was with me. It was at this very moment that Salman turned up and sat behind us,” he said.

Amir said he couldn’t forgive himself after he bowled the no-balls at Lord’s.

“I was cursing myself. I wondered what was happening. I knew that it was cheating cricket; that it was out of order, and that it shouldn’t happen. It was a really horrible feeling. Then I thought on the other hand that they are being kind to me and helping me. I thought that they are saving me and if I don’t do it, it might become a problem for me. That’s what I was thinking at the time. Then I did it,” he said. IANS

INDIAN WELLS, March 20: Swiss superstar Roger Federer is setting his sights on more Grand Slams, after winning his third-straight tournament on Sunday in Indian Wells.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner had to fight off a cold and a strong field to capture his fourth Indian Wells title.

“Well, naturally I love winning tennis tournaments, especially when you put in all the hard work and the sacrifice of playing a lot of matches before this to make sure I get some momentum and confidence going,” Federer said after beating John Isner 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 in the Indian Wells final.

“Then when it all pays off, after a bit of a scare early in the week, and you get the title and the emotions are going, it’s a wonderful feeling.”

Federer has won 15 straight matches, three consecutive tournaments and six of his last eight. His last lost this year was to Isner in Davis Cup in February but he avenged that by beating 11th seeded American on Sunday.

“It’s nice taking it all the way and getting the victories,” he said. “I was just extremely proud of my performance.”

World number three Federer will play the next tournament in Miami and then take a well deserved break.

“I’m happy I have been holding up because it’s been a lot of tennis and I am definitely looking forward to a break soon,” he said.

“But I will push for one more in Miami, and then I’ll probably have to take a week off or so and then I will manage my schedule all the way through to the French Open.”

Many people were starting to write Federer off last season when he turned 30 and his game dropped off a bit. Last year was the first time since 2002 that Federer did not win at least one Grand Slam title.

But age is just a number for Federer.

“Some people don’t understand how you can play tennis at 30 years old which is shocking to me because normally that’s still when you’re young enough to play some of your best tennis,” Federer said.

“I think I’m showing that since I turned 30 in August last year. That’s basically when my run began.

“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what people say.”

Federer said that his biggest wish this year is to win a gold medal at the London Olympics. But he also wants to some day reclaim the world number one ranking.

“I guess that’s a long, long-term goal,” he said. “I said it loud and clear that it’s not right now a goal for me in the short-term because I can’t be world No. 1 because Novak (Djokovic) has played amazing these last 12 months.

“Just because I have been on a great run doesn’t mean he hasn’t.

“He might go and do another run or someone else might come up like Rafa ( Rafael Nadal) might go on his clay court run again and then all things become very difficult for me to get to world No. 1.

“So right now that’s not even on top of my head. I’m just happy how well things are going, and I will try to use that momentum to win more tennis matches.” AFP

Panaji, March 20 : India’s leading football club Sesa Goa, which is owned by mining major Vedanta Resources, wants popular foreign clubs not to treat India just as a commercial market but contribute in developing the game at the grass roots.

Managing director of Sesa Goa P.K. Mukherjee wants foreign clubs to invest in India by building good academies. “They have to invest in India. They should not treat India as a commercial hub where they can come and sell apparels that is not what we are looking at,” Mukherjee told reporters. “We are in talks with foreign academies. They may not be the Barcas (Barcelona) and MUs (Manchester United) of the world, but they have to invest in football here,” Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee said Sesa Goa remains committed on creating a supply chain of quality football players for the Indian football team.

“We want to create a supply chain of players for the Indian football team. We do not need to hire foreign players for winnings tournaments,” Mukherjee said.

Sesa Goa football academy has been operational in Goa for the last several decades and has produced several players of international calibre who have played in the Indian national team. IANS

New York, March 20 : China-owned Swedish automaker Volvo has announced an endorsement deal with NBA’s new Asian-American superstar Jeremy Lin, marking the first major corporate contract for the Knicks guard.

Over the next two years, Lin will participate in Volvo’s corporate and marketing activities as a “brand ambassador” for Volvo Car Corp, appearing in advertising and promoting Volvo cars around the world.

His first commercial of Volvo will come out this summer, according to the company.

Lin, 23, who ascended from basketball benchdom to stardom earlier this year, said at the press conference that he found his belief in common with what Volvo stands for in terms of “continuing progress”.

“To continue improving every day, every year. For me, obviously, just to continue to get better as a basketball player and a person off the court; for them, their style, their designs, their performance, the safety, continue to progress,” Lin was quoted as saying by Xinhua on Monday. (IANS)

Madrid, March 20: Lionel Messi needs one goal to equal the Barcelona scoring record after Cesar Rodriguez’s total was revised to 232 from 235, the La Liga club said.

Barca’s Documentation and Studies Centre and La Vanguardia newspaper conducted a joint study to verify the number of official goals scored by Rodriguez in the 1950s.

The study showed he had scored three less than previously thought, Barca said in a statement on their website.

World Player of the Year Messi, who has 51 goals in all competitions this season, could overhaul the record when Barca host Granada in La Liga later on Tuesday. The 24-year-old is in his eighth season with Barca.

“After studying all of Cesar’s matches, it has been confirmed that Messi is only one goal behind,”Barca said.

“It`s worth noting that Cesar Rodriguez is the club`s all-time top goalscorer in official matches, but the absolute record belongs to Paulino Alcantara, who scored 369 goals in 357 official and friendly matches.” Agencies

Accra, March 20 : The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has sacked Goran Stevanovic as the coach of the national team, the Black Stars, following three weeks of extensive meetings.

The Serbian coach, who has a year left under his current deal with the team, has been under incessant pressure after Ghana failed to win the 2012 African Cup of Nations co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The GFA said in a statement issued here Monday that the decision was taken in the best interest of the nation.

"We will like to express our gratitude to the general public for their concerns about the national team and their patience so far," the statement quoted the GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi as saying.

Assistant coach of the Black Stars, Kwesi Appiah, has been asked to take temporary charge of the team until a substantive trainer is named.

Ghanaian media and fans blamed the disappointing fourth place of the team on player indiscipline while others accused coach Stevanovic of poor selection. IANS

Madrid, March 20 : Miguel Angel Lotina has been named the new coach of Spanish La Liga football side Villarreal after the Sunday night sacking of Jose Molina.

Molina lost his job as a direct result of Villarreal’s 0-1 defeat away to Levante Sunday. The result leaves the side fourth from bottom of the table.

Molina lost his job after just 10 games in charge after the former B-team boss had replaced Juan Carlos Garrido, who was sacked just before Christmas.

Molina’s stint as first team coach failed to lift Villarreal away from danger and yielded just two wins, three draws and five defeats with just one point coming from the last five games, Xinhua reports.

Lotina, who has coached clubs such as Espanyol, Deportivo la Coruna, Celta and Real Sociedad has signed until the end of the season with the brief of helping the club avoid relegation. An experienced coach, used to working on a limit budget, he has a reputation for getting results in the short term and in making his sides tough to beat.

On being presented at the club, Lotina admitted that it was a difficult task, but said he was excited by the challenge. He faces a baptism of fire on Wednesday night as his side entertains league leaders Real Madrid. ANS