Tharanga ton boosts SL

HAMBANTOTA, Aug 16: Upul Tharanga smashed a century to help Sri Lanka post a challenging 286-9 against Australia in the third one-day international on Tuesday. The left-handed opener made 111 for his 12th one-day hundred in the must-win match for Sri Lanka, who are trailing 2-0 in the five-match series. He also completed 4,000 runs during his 139-ball knock, which contained 12 fours.
Sri Lanka were strongly placed at 220-1 after 38 overs but paceman Doug Bollinger (4-42) bagged three wickets in two overs, including those of Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara (49).
The hosts made their best start in the series when Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan (55) put on 139 in the day-night match, watched by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his Maldivian counterpart Mohamed Nasheed.
Mahela Jayawardene was the other main scorer with a 33-ball 36. The Australian bowlers, who set up their team's comfortable victories in the first two games, initially struggled for wickets as they had to wait for more than 25 overs for the first success.
Bollinger provided the breakthrough when he had Dilshan caught pulling by Michael Hussey before Tharanga and Sangakkara added 81 in 13 overs for the second wicket.
Sangakkara hit a 37-ball 49 before being trapped leg-before by Bollinger, who got his second wicket in the same over when he had Dinesh Chandimal caught by skipper Michael Clarke in the slips. Australia retained the same side.

Ivanovic, Kuznetsova move up

CINCINNATI (OHIO), Aug 16: Philipp Kohlschreiber rallied from a set and a break down then kept calm as Andy Roddick lost his cool to upset the American in the first round of the Cincinnati hardcourt tennis tournament on Monday. Kohlschreiber emerged with a 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-1 victory over the 11th-seeded Roddick, who came into the tournament with a number 15 world ranking that could use a boost in time for the seedings for the US Open.
Instead, Roddick never really recovered after he was docked a point that cost him a break of serve that gave Germany's Kohlschreiber a 2-0 lead in the third set.
Roddick had already been warned by the chair umpire for slamming his racquet to the court after dropping the second set.
He double-faulted in the second game of the third to give Kohlschreiber a break point and smacked a ball into the stands in frustration.
That infraction cost him the point and the game, and after arguing with the umpire he promptly dropped three more games before holding for 5-1.
Kohlschreiber, who said he just tried to stay calm as Roddick continued to complain to the chair umpire at every changeover, served out the match, finishing it off with a service winner and shaking hands with Roddick.
“I think he did the right thing, but it's tough to call,” Kohlschreiber said of the umpire's decision to dock Roddick a point.
“I tried to stay calm. I thought, hopefully he's not playing his best tennis now because he's so pumped.”
Kohlschreiber had done well to rally, and said getting a bead on Roddick's powerful serve made the difference.
“I had no chance in the first set. Finally I started to read his serve. I think that was the whole key for the match,” Kohlschreiber said. “I just tried to hang in. I was in the right spots and I started to return his serve well.”
“For two sets tonight I actually hit the ball well considering,” said Roddick, who suffered an abdominal injury in July and had not played since Wimbledon.
“I probably will wake up tomorrow morning feeling a little bit better about where I'm at than I did when I woke up this morning. I'm not that concerned about New York right now.”
The joint men's and women's event-one of the ATP's elite Masters tournaments for the men-is a tuneup for the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season that starts in New York on August 29.
With the top eight seeds enjoying first-round byes, Monday saw players jockeying for position in the second round.
Rising US talent Ryan Harrison defeated Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-3 to book a second-round match against world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic.
Serbia's Djokovic extended his lead atop the rankings released on Monday after his victory in the Montreal Masters on Sunday-a victory that gave him his ninth title of 2011 and made him the first man to win five elite Masters titles in the same season.
Argentinian veteran David Nalbandian defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4 to book a second-round clash with world No. 4 Andy Murray.
US wild card Christina McHale defeated Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to earn a shot at women's top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Russian Ekaterina Makarova set up a second-round meeting with second-seeded compatriot Vera Zvonareva with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Israel's Shahar Peer defeated Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to set up a second-round clash with third-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Australian qualifier Anastasia Rodionova, ranked 139th in the world, crushed 42nd-ranked Polona Hercog 6-0, 6-0 to set up a meeting with fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova.
Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded 14th and trying to bounce back after a first round exit in Toronto last week, defeated US qualifier Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-4.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, a former French Open champion who is seeded 15th, advanced with ease, defeating American Alexa Glatch 6-0, 6-2.

England seek a 4-0 Test whitewash

LONDON, Aug 16: England spinner Graeme Swann says his teammates must not allow their impending ascension to the top spot in the world rankings to go to their heads as they seek to complete a 4-0 Test whitewash of India at The Oval this week. England will be confirmed as the best Test side in the world after the series but Swann believes the team must ensure they complete the job and see off the demoralised tourists.
He said: "It's a nice feeling (to take over the top ranking) - but it's not what we are focusing on.
"We said before the series it didn't matter if we got to number one in the world.
"It's about finishing the series well and that is what we are aiming to do at The Oval
"We want to do ourselves justice in the last game - we did that very well in the Ashes. Having retained them we gave our best performance of the series in Sydney in the last game and we are looking to emulate that here.
"It's the last Test match for a while and it's a good chance for us to sign off on a winning note.
"We have played some exceptional cricket in the last 18-24 months and it would be a shame if we ruined it all by cruising through this game so let's make it a really good five days and see what happens.
Meanwhile, Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which hosted the England-India Test that ended on Saturday with the home side crowned the world's best, has incurred a 29 million pound debt to retain its international status but has no regrets about the “risk”.
A new four-floor stand at the Edgbaston pavilion end that has increased capacity by 25 per cent to 25,000 -- making the ground the second-largest cricket venue in England behind Lord's-should ensure many more international games in Birmingham despite the financial burden.
The significant investment mirrors similar radical steps taken by other English cricket grounds such as Headingley in Leeds and Old Trafford in Manchester, as they stake their futures on remaining as major match hosts.
“A number of us were in a difficult position three years ago when existing staging agreements were coming to an end and there was a real threat that we would not get any more test matches unless we delivered top-class facilities,” Warwickshire's chief executive Colin Povey said.

Ballack brings Bayer back on track

BERLIN, AUG 15: Ex-Germany captain Michael Ballack led Bayer Leverkusen to their first win of the season on Sunday as Czech midfielder Michal Kadlec's late goal sealed a 1-0 win at home to Werder Bremen.

Last season's German league runners-up have had a torrid time of late, throwing away a 3-0 lead at second division Dynamo Dresden two weeks ago in the German Cup to suffer a 4-3 defeat.
They were then beaten 2-0 at Mainz last weekend in the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season.
To add injury to insult, goalkeeper Fabian Giefer - who was filling in for injured Germany shot-stopper Rene Adler - was so badly concussed at Mainz that he suffered a complete memory blank.
Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt was forced to bring in teenage goalkeeper Bernd Leno from VfB Stuttgart as emergency cover, and the 19-year-old stood up to the task before Kadlec's 85th-minute winner gave his side victory.
Ballack skippered Leverkusen for 83 minutes before he was replaced by regular Bayer captain Simon Rolfes who provided the final pass for Kadlec to score two minutes after coming off the bench.
Earlier, newly-promoted Augsburg drew 1-1 at Kaiserslautern to pick up their second draw of the season.
On Saturday, defending champions Borussia Dortmund crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Hoffenheim while Wolfsburg's coach Felix Magath demanded the introduction of video replays to correct referee blunders after his side lost to Bayern Munich.
Hoffenheim poached an early lead when Bosnia striker Sejad Salihovic curled in a free-kick after just nine minutes.
Having beaten Hamburg 3-1 last weekend, Dortmund showed none of the self-assurance which secured that victory despite Jurgen Klopp re-shuffling his attacking midfield with three second-half changes.
Having been shocked at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend, Bayern picked up their first win as Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo scored in the 91st minute at 2009 champions VfL Wolfsburg.
French play-maker Franck Ribery provided the final pass and Gustavo drilled his shot into the top left-hand corner to break Wolves' hearts.
Wolfsburg had the ball in the Munich net in the first half, thanks to a header from former Germany striker Patrick Helmes, but the effort was ruled offside, leading Magath to call for video referees.
“If four referees are not able to assess the situation properly, then it's time for television referees,” fumed Magath after replays showed Helmes was not offside.
Schalke 04 bounced back from last Saturday's defeat at VfB Stuttgart with an impressive 5-1 win at home to Cologne as Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick.
Hanover and Mainz both picked up their second wins of the season.
Hanover - who host Sevilla in a Europa League play-off on Thursday - picked up a 2-1 win at Nuremberg, while Mainz enjoyed a 2-1 win at Freiburg to go top of the table on goal difference.
Hertha Berlin picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at Hamburg
VfB Stuttgart and ten-man Borussia Moenchengladbach shared a point on Saturday evening.
'Gladbach had defender Roel Brouwers sent off for a second yellow card while Belgium defender Filip Daems netted a second-half penalty for the hosts before Stuttgart's Cacau equalised. AFP

Brazil edge out Spain in 'real final'

MEDELLIN (COLOMBIA), AUG 15: Brazil beat Spain in a penalty shootout Sunday in a quarterfinal game viewed as the “real final” between the two best teams in the Under-20 World Cup
In the end it came down to chance with Brazil winning 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes and a 2-2 stalemate after 30 minutes of extra time. In the other quarterfinal Sunday, France edged Nigeria 3-2 in extra time.
In the semifinals Wednesday, Brazil will face Mexico, and France will play Portugal.
The final is Saturday in Bogota. Brazil has won the title four times and Portugal twice. Mexico and France will be trying to break through for their first.
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui made it clear he thought the better team lost. Spain led in possession, outshot Brazil 26-17 and led in corners 12-5.
“I feel very proud of these kids,” Lopetegui said. “I think overall they were better than Brazil and deserved to advance. Today, the best team in the World Cup is out.”
In truth, there was nothing to choose from.
The two best teams in the field thrilled the crowd with end-to-end soccer, possession passing and counterattacking to keep the other side off balance. Spain came back twice, and Brazil was rock solid to pull through on penalties.
“As we anticipated, it was a very difficult match against a very top team - strong and excellent,” Brazil coach Ney Franco said. “We had great penalty takers and a keeper who made the difference.”
Willian gave Brazil the lead in the 35th, before Rodrigo - who was born in Brazil - equalized for Spain in the 57th. Brazil went ahead with Dudu's goal in extra time, but Spain answered two minutes later thanks to Alvaro Vazquez.
Vazquez is the tournament's leading goal scorer with five.
First to take its kick, Spain fell behind when its first penalty-taker, Jordi Amat, was stopped by a diving Brazil keeper Gabriel. Vazquez also missed Spain's fourth penalty when Gabriel kicked the shot away.
In the meantime, Brazil converted its four from Casemiro, Henrique, Danilo and Dudu.
Mexico is on a roll and will have lots of motivation against Brazil. Mexico's senior team won the regional Gold Cup title in June, defeating the United States 4-2, and added the Under-17 World Cup title in July, beating Uruguay 2-0 in the final at Aztec stadium in Mexico City.
Were it not for the drama of Brazil vs. Spain, France's 3-2 win over Nigeria in extra time would grab more headlines. Nigeria won its first four matches and was seen by many as a match for Brazil or Spain.
France changed that.
Gueida Fofana gave France a 2-1 lead in the 102nd minute. Two minutes later, Alexandre Lacazette scored his second goal of the match to seal the victory. Maduabuchi Ejike scored his second goal in the 111th to give Nigeria hope of a comeback, but the west Africans couldn't score again.
France should have won in regulation, but Nigeria equalized in the final seconds of second-half stoppage time on a header by Ejike. Lacazette gave France the lead in the 50th with his first goal of the match. This is the first time France has reached the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup.
Nigeria came into the match having won its first four decisions and was the highest scoring team in the tournament. But France managed to slow the Nigerian attack for most of the game, giving up possession but few threatening chances. The elimination is another disappointment for the Nigerians, who have finished second two times-in 1989 and 2005. AP

Fabregas finally joins Barca from Arsenal

MADRID, AUG 15: Cesc Fabregas is finally returning to his boyhood club Barcelona.
The Spaniard's long-awaited transfer from Arsenal finally materialized Sunday when the two clubs announced they had reached a preliminary agreement for the 24-year-old midfielder.
The deal will be completed once Fabregas signs his contract and undergoes a medical exam on Monday, the clubs said.
Spanish media reports put the price of the transfer at around ?40 million ($57 million).
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said the club was reluctant to let Fabregas go.
“However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona,” the Frenchman said in a statement on Arsenal's website.
Fabregas will return to the club that nurtured him before he joined Arsenal in 2003. He went on to become Arsenal's youngest ever starter only one month later at 16 and was made club captain in November 2008.
“It's been costly, a saga of two years. It's like when a son returns home because we consider him one of us,” Barcelona president Sandro Rossell said.
The 24-year-old playmaker could make his debut Wednesday at the Camp Nou as the Spanish champions welcome Real Madrid for the return leg of their Spanish Supercup series, after a 2-2 draw in Sunday's first leg.
“Tomorrow is the presentation and after that we see,” said Guardiola, who didn't believe relations between the clubs had soured because of the protracted and sometimes awkward negotiations for Fabregas.
“Last year we made an offer and they said no. All the time this situation is happening, it was tough negotiations,” Guardiola said from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Fellow Barcelona youth team graduate Andres Iniesta said he was happy Fabregas had joined.
“We already know all about him and hopefully he can show everything that he is-a great player,” Iniesta said. “We are happy that he can be here, that he can train and from now on he is one more (of us).”
Barcelona defender Daniel Alves said drawn out transfers were hard on players.
“It's been a very long story and in the end you have a bad time living through those situations. They are uncomfortable situations for a player,” the Brazilian said.
Fabregas announced his desire to move back to Barcelona after the 2009-10 season, but Arsenal refused to sell their most valuable player and Fabregas agreed to stay for one more year.
This offseason has seen a similar storyline play out, with Fabregas again stating his desire to return to Spain, and Arsenal trying to fend off Barcelona's interest.
Fabregas sat out most of Arsenal's preseason campaign, with the club citing an injury worry, and he was not selected for the team's Premier League opener on Saturday - a 0-0 draw at Newcastle.
Fabregas scored 57 goals in 303 appearances and won one league title and an FA Cup with Arsenal. He has played 58 times for the Spanish national team and was part of the squads that won the 2010 World Cup and 2008 European Championship.

Man United survive WBA scare

MANCHESTER, AUG 15: English champions Manchester United opened their title defence with a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday while Chelsea could manage only a draw in new coach Andre Villas-Boas's first Premier League match.

United opened the scoring in the 13th minute, when Wayne Rooney combined well with winger Ashley Young before sending a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.
The hosts levelled through debutant Shane Long, who made the most of United keeper David De Gea's lack of conviction, before Young masterminded a winner that West Brom defender Steven Reid deflected into his own net in the 81st minute.
United did what none of their main rivals could this weekend after Chelsea drew 0-0 at Stoke City on Sunday and Arsenal and Liverpool also managed only a point apiece in their openers on Saturday.
Alex Ferguson's side struggled away from home last season, picking up just 25 points from a possible 57 on their way to a record 19th title, and started the game in a lively fashion that suggested they were keen to travel better this term.
Their main negative from the match was injuries picked up by centre backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who Ferguson said were facing six and two weeks on the sidelines respectively.
Those blows came hours after United said fellow defender Rafael would be out of action for 10 weeks after dislocating his shoulder. .
Encouraged by the inspirational second-half showing in the 3-2 comeback win over Manchester City in last weekend's Community Shield, Ferguson backed his youngsters to deliver on a bigger platform.
Midfielder Tom Cleverley, 22, and 20-year-old striker Danny Welbeck both started, while new signing Young made his United league debut with a blistering performance down the left wing.
He exchanged passes with Rooney for the opener before bursting into the box nine minutes from time to fire in a cross that bounced off Reid to ensure United took the points.
“He was a threat all the time,” manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports.
Young's confidence contrasted with goalkeeper De Gea, whose shaky start to his United career continued after his handling of Manchester City's goals last week was widely questioned.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, who arrived at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid for around 18 million pounds as a replacement for the retired Edwin van der Sar, should have comfortably saved Long's nonchalant effort in the 37th minute.
The gum-chewing Long, who arrived from Championship (second division) side Reading, drove a shot in low across the goal that De Gea allowed to get past him at the far post.
Goalkeeping was also an issue for Chelsea on Sunday, as they were held 0-0 at Stoke City thanks to some excellent saves by Stoke's Asmir Begovic.
Following a muted first half, Chelsea picked up the pace after the break with John Obi Mikel, substitute Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou all testing Begovic's reflexes.
Striker Fernando Torres was behind many of the Chelsea moves, dribbling past defenders with a confidence last seen in his best Liverpool days.
As well as being denied by Begovic's acrobatics, in particular when he tipped Mikel's long-range volley over the bar and Anelka's curling shot against the woodwork, Chelsea were also frustrated that their appeals for penalties were ignored. Manchester City host Swansea City on Monday, seeking to match United's pace. REUTERS