India, Korea declared joint winners

India and Korea were declared joint champions after the cup final was abandoned a little over six minutes after start in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament on Sunday. India, the defending champion, leads the pool with a tally of 13 points.

Heavy rain forced the Tournament Committee to arrive at this unprecedented decision. This is the first time that the teams have been declared joint winners in this tournament since its inception in 1983.

Even the two earlier matches, which Australia and Pakistan won, were affected by rain.

The rain had abated in the second half of the Australia-Malaysia encounter. But the drizzle began when the Indian and Korean teams lined up for the national anthem. It intensified into a heavy downpour reducing the visibility of the umpires and players. The rain continued for about 30 minutes leaving the pitch inundated.

The Tournament Committee and the TD, Paul Richards, met to take stock of the situation and decided to abandon the final. It was then conveyed to Sultan Azlan Shah, President, Asian Hockey Federation, for his approval.

Stunning show

Unfazed by the reverse of an early goal, Australia produced a stunning performance in the second half to corner the bronze medal against Malaysia.

Caught on difficult and slippery underfoot conditions on account of the wet pitch, the Aussies struggled to contain the enthusiastic and enterprising Malaysian forwards.

The home team scored two brilliant goals through Hanafi and then the equalizer in the second half from Rahim.

But the sparkle of the Malaysians was obliterated by the second half Aussie incandescence. No one contributed to the success to the team as much as Matthew Swann, who also scored the first goal. And appropriately enough, he was named the player of the match.

Russel Ford whacked a splendid goal on the backhand to hoist the lead for Australia. This was followed by Kieran Govers, Christopher Cirello and Grant Schubert. In the final minute Tajuddin netted the third goal for Malaysia.

Pakistan stretched

In a rain-marred match, Pakistan was stretched by China full length up to a sudden death phase when Rasool etched the win to confirm the fifth spot. The teams were 1-1 at regulation time, and dead-locked at the tie-breaker. The verdict was decided in the sudden death strokes. Pakistan won 6-5.

Sultan Azlan Shah, President, AHF, presided and presented the medals.

The results: Final: India and Korea declared joint winner after seven minutes of play.

3-4: Australia 5 (Matthew Swann, Russel Ford, Kieran Govers, Christopher Cirello, Grant Schubert) beat Malaysia 3 (Hanafi Hafizhafiz, Rahim Mohammad Amin, Tajuddin).

(5-6): Pakistan 6 (Shafqat Rasool.— Tie-breaker — Kashif Ali, Shafaqat Rasool, Zubair Muhammad, Ifran Muhammad, Tauseeq Ahmed — Sudden death: Shafaqat Rasool) bt China 5 (Na Yubo — TB — Liu Yixian, Yang Dong, Ji Mi, Liu Xianting, Sun Tianjun).

Final placings: 1. India and Korea, 3. Australia, 4. Malaysia, 5. Pakistan, 6.China, 7. Egypt.

Special awards: Top-scorer: Nam Hyun Woo (Korea) (nine goals); Best goalkeeper: Kumar Subramaniam (Malaysia); Player of the Tournament: Sardar Singh (India). Fair Play Trophy: Egypt .

T20's mission possible in US market

Weaning the Americans away from baseball and American football is difficult, but Twenty20 cricket has the thrills and spills to pull of the impossible.

From the country that gave the world the slider and the forkball, cricket's administrators are asking are Americans ready for the doosra and the googly?

The answer may be found this weekend when cricket makes its first real attempt to crack into the United States with two official Twenty20 matches between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the country's only purpose-built cricket stadium.

We are very keen, because we want to develop the game, we know that the U.S. is a big market, its got expats who are interested in the game, International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.

We are keen to get into the schools and it is starting to take root. This format is clearly understandable and can be appreciated by the U.S market.

At the Lauderhill ground on Thursday, New Zealand and Sri Lankan players practiced while in the stands, workers, staff and media chatted in accents more familiar to grounds in the Caribbean or the subcontinent.

Locals will also be able to see Jamaica playing the United States as part of the weekend, which is the first ticketed event organised by the US Cricket Association (USCA).

The organisation's chief executive Don Lockerbie said they felt it was the perfect time to put on an international Twenty20 match in the U.S.

Twenty20 has matured now ... we have a stadium and we have 1000 clubs in the U.S playing at 500 cricket grounds, that's quite a bit of infrastructure, Lockerbie said.

It has taken 50-60 years with the advent of Commonwealth immigration to the U.S to get there.

On top of that, television is interested. ESPN are broadcasting the games and 88 countries will see cricket played from the United States.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said the days when Americans would be bored and confused by cricket have long gone and after attending a Florida Marlins baseball game, he thought baseball fans might be impressed by the intense nature of cricket's shortest format.

The tradition of sport here is towards shorter, more action-packed games and Twenty20 is ideal for that, he said.

I was at a Marlins baseball game the other day there are some similarities in terms of the skills required but in Twenty20 there is a lot more action happening, less down-time, more varied skills at work.

For a spectator coming over from baseball to Twenty20, they will see it is action-packed, the ball being hit around, athletic fielding, a lot of courage involved ... a lot of interesting things for ordinary fans.

Lauderhill is expected to be the base for future cricket events in the States, because it is within easy reach of a large Caribbean population and organisers are already looking at ways to bring West Indies game to the venues.

Lockerbie said the model for cricket's attempt to infiltrate American sporting habits has already been laid down by soccer, a game he worked in during the 1990s.

It's a flat out steal of what soccer has done.

If you look at Major League Soccer they are averaging 14-15,000 per game, which is commendable after 14 seasons but when Barcelona or Manchester United come out here there is 80,000 people.

Why is that? Because Americans like to see the best in the world. This our first opportunity to give them that in cricket.

Webber wins Monaco Grand Prix

Mark Webber leapt into serious contention for this year's drivers' World championship on Sunday when he drove to an imperious victory ahead of his precocious young teammate Sebastian Vettel in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old Australian led from start to finish and made light of four interruptions for the introduction of the Safety Car on his way to a second comprehensive win in succession, having won equally impressively in Spain last weekend.

It was the fourth win of his career, his second this year and he became the first Australian victor on the famous Mediterranean street circuit, bathed in more glamour than sunshine this time, since Jack Brabham won in 1959, on his way to the World title.

It was also the Red Bull team's third triumph in six races this year, sufficient evidence to confirm with reasonable certainty that it has overcome its reliability problems — at least on slower circuits.

An ecstatic Webber praised his team after taking the chequered flag. Over the team radio, he said: “Unbelievable. Thank you. You deserve every bit of this. The car is fantastic.”

Vettel, the 22-year-old wunderkind whose sheer talent had seemed to rattle Webber earlier and last year, was unable to mount a challenge to his partner's supremacy this time and came home a comfortable second, ahead of Pole Robert Kubica in a Renault.

All the top three drivers were powered by Renault engines. Webber's win lifted him to the top of the drivers standings on 78 points, level with Vettel as the season continued to unfold as a Red Bull in-house contest.

World champion Jenson Button lost any chance of retaining his lead in this year's championship was forced out of the Monaco Grand Prix on the third lap.

The 30-year-old Briton — who led Spaniard Fernando Alonso by three points going into the race — came to a halt with what looked like engine trouble as smoke billowed out of his McLaren.

Brazilian Felipe Massa came home fourth for Ferrari ahead of the 2008 champion Briton Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren with seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher, 41, taking sixth for Mercedes after a controversial move behind the Safety Car to pass Fernando Alonso on the final lap.

Two—time champion Spaniard Alonso appeared to slide wide and Schumacher took his opportunity to push him down to seventh, after starting from the pit lane, in the second Ferrari. Schumacher's Mercedes teammate and compatriot Nico Rosberg was eighth ahead of another German Adrian Sutil of Force India. Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi was 10th in the second Force India.

The results:

1. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:50:13.355; 2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) +00:00.448; 3. Robert Kubica (Renault) 00:01.675; 4. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 00:02.666; 5. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 00:04.363; 6. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 00:05.712; 7. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 00:06.341.

8. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 00:06.651; 9. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 00:06.970; 10. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 00:07.305; 11. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 00:08.199; 12. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 00:09.135; 13. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 5 laps, retired; 14. Karun Chandhok (HRT) 8 laps, retired; 15. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) 8 laps, retired.

Retired: Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 19 laps, Bruno Senna (HRT) 19 laps, Rubens Barrichello (Williams) 47 laps, Kamui Kobayashi (BMW Sauber) 51 laps, Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin) 52 laps, Timo Glock (Virgin) 55 laps, Pedro de la Rosa (BMW Sauber) 56 laps, Jenson Button (McLaren) 75 laps, Nico Huelkenberg (Williams) 78 laps

Federer gets the beating from Madrid Master Rafael Nadal

After disappointing his fans for a majority of the clay court season, world number one Roger Federer has shown to the audiences his bad days will come to an end. After defeating Earnests Gulbis in the quarter final (the same Latvian he lost against in Rome) and the ‘in-form’ David Federer in the semi-final, he has progressed to his first final on clay this season. In his run, the Swiss maestro forgot that he was up against the king of clay, Rafael Nadal.

The match was important for the tennis fraternity as they were witnessing an occasion such as this for the first time this year - a match between Roger Federer against arch rival Rafael Nadal. Everyone was wishing for these two champions to reach the final once Novak Djokovic pulled out of this tournament. Nadal was in sublime form throughout the clay court season and he showed it in this tournament as well. No one could pose any threat to the king of clay who played, who won and who made history in Madrid.

Nadal’s win over Roger Federer earn’t him a plethora of distinctions. He’s become the proud winner of all three clay court Master 1000 events in the same year. Nadal has also overtaken Andre Agassi’s record of 17 ATP 1000 Master Cup Shields. Prior to the match, Nadal was tied on the number one spot with Andre Agassi as far as this record was concerned. Federer sits on number three position with 16 titles to his name. This is one record that has eluded the Swiss for many years. Usually, Federer favours the best of five sets played in the grand slams more than the quick three setters of the ATP 1000 events.

Nadal came in as the favourite in this match although the Swiss ranked higher than him. This was probably because of current form that the Spaniard was experiencing. His body is fitter than perhaps when he first arrived on the circuit. The new strings that he used in his racket gave him more spin, making sure that most of his balls land inside the court. Nadal’s angles improved as well as far as his shots were concerned. Nadal was always miser when it came to the unforced error tally, but the new found spin has further decreased the lefty’s mistakes. With the consistency of Nadal, everyone knew that he wouldn’t give the match to Federer. If the Swiss champion had to win, he had to play out of his skin.

Federer on the other hand, has been inconsistent. The champion had been in a very poor form coming in this tournament. Although he managed to reach the final but there were two tight matches in between where he made way too many errors compared to his high standards. However, after his loss to Nadal in the final, critics can only analyse the quality tennis that he played in the rest of the tournament. There were many moments of brilliance on his way to the final as you would expect from the Fed express. But he needed more than that to beat the Spaniard on his home clay. Federer relied heavily on his serve throughout the tournament and that was a major factor for his defeat in the final. Importantly, both Federal and Nadal are on equal terms now. Federer has found good form before the French open and that is an exciting proposition for his fans too.

Longest Goal

Australian women cricketers win T20 World cup

Australian women cricket team went onto playing one up on their male counterparts, as they beat New Zealand in the final of women’s T20 world cup. In an exiting final, which saw the same grit with determination usually on display by Aussie men, meanwhile Australia’s women team staged a fabulous comeback to down their neighbours to win the final by only3 runs in Barbados.

Australian women suffered the same manner of collapse as their men’s team, as one after the other all batters in the top order failed to handle the moving ball. Eventually they were rolled over for a meagre score of 106, and the final seemed to be heading in a lopsided win for New Zealand. However little did the kiwis know, that a typical dogged comeback was to happen, and the 2nd half of the match was where all the action took place?

Defending a small total, Australia got the early wickets that they desperately required, and when Perry struck twice in 12 balls New Zealand were tottering at 29 for 4, and Perry was not done adding one more in the game. He also took on the responsibility to bowl the crucial final over, when only 14 runs were needed, but she held her nerve to only concede 10, and break the run of defeats against New Zealand in the most important match of all time.

Aussie women added to their already impressive trophy cabinet, which has five 50 over World Cups to their name, and in front of 3 of their male counter parts, Michael Clarke, David Warner and Mitchell Johnson who had stayed in the ground to support their women in the final.

The chase for New Zealand had begun in a positive manner, as Suzie pulled the very first ball for a boundary, and later followed it up with a brilliantly timed six. Watkins though left early, and Sara Mcglash was run out brilliantly soon after.

Australian women had started to sense a turnaround, and after Sarah caught Bates, Perry followed it up by disturbing the furniture behind Amy, and the women in yellow were certainly on top at that point.

The spin from Shelley and Lisa kept the pressure on the Kiwis, as they could not even manage to score at 3 runs per over in middle of their innings, and a mistake by 3rd umpire Asada Ra who while judging a stump dismissal pressed the out button instead of not out really set the cat amongst the pigeons but within moments it was corrected, to the relief of New Zealand.

Sophie Devine though kept one end going as she got 38 from 35, aided well by Nicola at the other end, as they kept New Zealand in the hunt, but the boundaries were still hard to come by for both.

Browne was Perry’s 3rd victim, all but rest assured an Aussie win but, in the 2nd last over Rene hit a six and a four to get Kiwis back in the game, but Perry held her nerve in the final over to get Australia over the line and win their first T20 World Cup.

England Won T20 World Cup 2010

Defying odds, England ambushed Australia by seven wickets to win its first title in an ICC Global event at the Kensington Oval here on Sunday.

Chasing 148, England outplayed Australia with three overs to spare to triumph in the ICC World Twenty20.

The side has been professional and was also ruthless.

The bowlers, led by left-arm paceman Ryan Sidebottom, set up the victory. Then intrepid opener Craig Kieswetter (63 off 49), who was declared ‘Man-of-The Match', and the inspiring Kevin Pietersen (47 off 31) took the match away from Australia with a 111-run partnership for the second wicket.

Both were dismissed late in the game but, by then, the verdict was not in doubt. Skipper Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan closed out the contest clinically. In a big game, the Aussie bowling and fielding wilted.

England was emotional in its celebrations.

Success straightaway

Australia had success straightaway when Michael Lumb, clipping Shaun Tait uppishly was held at mid-wicket. In walked Kevin Pietersen.

England regrouped. When Dirk Nannes bowled a fuller length, he was cover-driven and flicked for boundaries by the attacking and quick-footed Craig Kieswetter.

The free-stroking Kieswetter cashed in on fuller length deliveries; Tait was bravely driven over the covers.

Pietersen had his moment of uncertainty against the speedy Nannes. He created room on the off-side but found a yorker-length ball thudding into his pads. However, a cover-drive on the up against left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson underlined his quality. The England total was 44 for one after the six Power Play overs.

Pietersen, settling down, was looking increasingly dangerous. He sashayed down the track to ease Johnson down the ground.

His batting has the rare blend of strong back-footed play, the ability to use his feet to shimmy down the pitch with wristy sub-continental flair. He simmers with aggression; wants to dominate. His cricket oozes belief and confidence.

So quickly do his feet move that the bowlers' length is disrupted. Consequently their line suffers. He is an Englishman with the attitude of an Aussie.

Gradually, the hunter became the hunted. The England zeroed in on Shane Watson, the weak link, with Kieswetter dismantling the Aussie paceman with strikes that were chancy but effective.

When Tait returned, Pietersen, his footwork precise, head still and balance perfect, smacked him over his head.

Thing of beauty

Pietersen's back-swing is a thing of beauty. Crucially, he was picking the length early and was ready with his response.

When Tait bowled a full-length scorcher, Pietersen, effortlessly, eased the ball over the long-off ropes. It was a stunning strike.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, England, perhaps influenced by the rousing Australian chase in the last-four duel against Pakistan, opted to field.

Key batsman Shane Watson slashed at a rising ball, angling across, from Sidebottom in the first over. The 'keeper Kieswetter could not latch on to the offering but Greame Swann was quick to pouch the deflection.

Australia was just 24 for three after the Power Play overs. England has contained and struck during an extremely important phase of the match.

Michael Clarke put a price on his wicket. The Australian captain is nimble-footed and his duel against off-spinner Swann made compelling viewing.

Booming strokes

Then the in-form Cameron White cut loose against Yardy with booming strokes over the straight field and the mid-wicket region. David Hussey earned a reprieve at 25 when Broad misjudged a skier at mid-on; Tim Bresnan was the bowler to suffer.

Broad, soon, held on to a looping ball when White (30 off 19) attempted to biff paceman Luke Wright.

David Hussey continued to torment England. And his brother, Miracle Man Michael Hussey, drove and flicked with a surgeon's precision.

David Hussey's enterprising innings (59 off 54 balls) in a pressure situation concluded when he was run out going for a second run in the final over.

Australia: S. Watson c Swann b Sidebottom 2 (3b), D. Warner (run out) 2 (4b), M. Clarke c Collingwood b Swann 27 (27b, 2x4), B. Haddin c Kieswetter b Sidebottom 1 (2b), D. Hussey (run out) 59 (54b, 2x4, 2x6), C. White c Broad b Wright 30 (19b, 4x4, 1x6), M. Hussey (not out) 17 (10b, 2x4), S. Smith (not out) 1 (2b); Extras (b-1, lb-2, nb-1, w-4): 8. Total (for six wickets in 20 overs): 147.

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-7, 3-8, 4-45, 5-95, 6-142.

England bowling: Sidebottom 4-0-26-2, Bresnan 4-0-35-0, Broad 4-0-27-0, Swann 4-0-17-1, Yardy 3-0-34-0, Wright 1-0-5-1.

England: M. Lumb c D. Hussey b Tait 2 (4b), C. Kieswetter b Johnson 63 (49b, 7x4, 2x6), K. Pietersen c Warner b Smith 47 (31b, 4x4, 1x6), P. Collingwood (not out) 12 (5b, 1x4, 1x6), E. Morgan (not out) 15 (13b, 1x6); Extras (lb-1, w-8): 9. Total (for three wickets in 17 overs): 148.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-118, 3-121.

Australia bowling: Nannes 4-0-29-0, Tait 3-0-28-1, Johnson 4-0-27-1, Smith 3-0-21-1, Watson 3-0-42-0 .

David Cameron is new British Prime Minister

Britain's first post-war coalition government, with Conservative leader David Cameron as Prime Minister and his Liberal Democrat counterpart Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister, took office on Wednesday, promising to give the country a “historic new direction” as the sun set on the 13-year Labour rule with Gordon Brown's dramatic resignation on Tuesday.

There was relief in the markets that the political uncertainty, caused by an indecisive verdict in last week's general election, had finally ended.

William Hague, a right-wing Conservative with a hard line on Europe, is the new Foreign Secretary; George Osborne, a close ally of Mr. Cameron, the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and Liberal Democrat Vince Cable, who famously predicted the banking crisis, the Business Secretary.

Mr. Cable is among the five Lib Dem figures who have been given Cabinet posts, causing heartburn among the Conservatives.

The only female member of the Cabinet is Theresa May, a former Conservative party chairperson, who has been appointed Home Secretary.

At 43, Mr. Cameron is the youngest Prime Minister since 1812. His elitist background — having been the son of a stockbroker and educated at Eton and Oxford University — was sought to be made into an election issue by the Labour Party, which argued that he was not in touch with the ordinary people.

Like him, Mr. Clegg, also 43, has a whiff of class baggage. Son of a banker with an aristocratic Russian-German lineage, he was privately educated and then he went to Cambridge. Mr. Clegg, seen on the right of his party, was under pressure from his left-wing colleagues to form a “progressive” alliance with the Labour. But the talks collapsed in the face of opposition from those in the Labour. Calling each other by their first names, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Clegg pledged to usher in “new politics.” “We have a shared agenda and a shared resolve,” Mr. Cameron said. Both parties compromised on their election promises to make the deal possible, with the Conservatives dropping their proposal to raise the threshold of inheritance tax that would have helped mostly wealthy families and agreeing to a referendum on voting reforms — a key Lib Dem demand. Mr. Cameron also agreed to a fixed five-year term for the coalition to allay Lib Dem fears over its stability.

The Lib Dems, on their part, abandoned their plans for amnesty to illegal immigrants and a “mansion tax” on large property.

Viswanathan Anand retained the FIDE World Chess Championship 2010

Viswanathan Anand retained the FIDE World Chess Championship, defeating Bulgarian Veselin Topalov with black pieces in the final classic game of the series in Sofia on Tuesday.

Anand won the 12-game match with a score of 6.5-5.5 to defend the title he claimed in 2007.

A draw in the final game would have taken the match into a series of four rapid games, but Topalov blundered on his 31 {+s} {+t} and 32 {+n} {+d} moves to hand Anand the decisive victory, which came at the end of 56 moves.

The same spirit that saw Topalov adopt the ‘Sofia rule,' under which he refused to accept draw offers, was evident when he battled till the end before resigning as his position became increasingly untenable.

Anand opted for the Lasker defence after Topalov opened with d4 and black's isolated pawn on c5 was the focus of the early part of the middle game. Anand, however, obtained some counterplay with his light bishop, which exerted its influence all along the long diagonal from a8 to h1. The position still remained fairly equal until Topalov decided to take black's poisoned pawns on f5 and e4, letting Anand breach his defences in a slightly protracted but ultimately critical manner.

Anand earlier got off to the worst possible start in the Championship, losing the first game before bouncing back with wins in games two and four. Topalov managed to regain parity by winning in the eighth , but Anand's latest victory, the first time that either player had won with black pieces in the series, put an end to the contender's challenge.

Anand became the Undisputed World Chess Champion after winning an eight-player tournament in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. Topalov won the right to challenge Anand after getting the better of Gata Kamsky in 2009.

Webber won Spanish Grand Prix

Mark Webber secured his first victory of the season and the third of his career on Sunday when he cruised to a sumptuous triumph for Red Bull in the Spanish Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old Australian, starting from his third pole position, made the most of that advantage to hold his place in the crush on the opening lap, resisting all attacks at the first corner, and streaking clear of the field.

It was his first win since last year's Brazilian Grand Prix after he had become the first Australian victor since Alan Jones in 1981 when he claimed his maiden win in Germany — and will have injected priceless belief in his bid to challenge for the championship.

Webber came home 24 seconds clear of home hero two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, who profited from two dramatic late incidents to climb from fourth and give the big Catalan crowd good reason to celebrate.

Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren looked certain to finish second until he suffered a puncture on his penultimate lap of the 66-laps contest and crashed off the track, his front left wheel almost wrenched off his car.

This gave Alonso his second place and also enabled Webber's Red Bull team-mate German Sebastian Vettel to take third. despite having to take an additional pit-stop in the closing stages after he had gone off into a gravel trap.

These late rare incidents were among very few to punctuate what turned out, predictably, to be a largely processional race at the Circuit de Catalunya. Seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher, 41, came home fourth ahead of fifth-placed defending champion Briton Jenson Button in the second McLaren.

Webber's win lifted him up among the leading contenders in the drivers championship still led by Button on 70 with Alonso now second on 67. In the constructors' title race, McLaren lead with 117 and Ferrari are second on 116.

The results: 1. Mark Webber (RedBull-Renault) 1:35:44.101; 2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +00:24.065; 3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull- Renault) 00:51.338; 4. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 01:02.195; 5. Jenson Button (McLaren) 01:03.728; 6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 01:05.767; 7. Adrian Sutil (Force India-Mercedes) 01:12.941; 8. Robert Kubica (Renault) 01:13.677; 9. Rubens Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth) 1 lap; 10. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1 lap; 11. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 1 lap; 12. Kamui Kobayashi (BMW Sauber-Ferrari) 1 lap; 13. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1 lap; 14. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 2 laps; 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India-Mercedes) 2 laps; 16. Nico Huelkenberg (Williams-Cosworth) 2 laps; 17. Jarno Trulli (Lotus-Cosworth) 3 laps; 18. Timo Glock (Virgin-Cosworth) 3 laps; 19. Lucas Di Grassi (Virgin-Cosworth) 4 laps r. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 24 laps r. Karun Chandhok (HRT-Cosworth) 39 laps r. Pedro de la Rosa (BMW Sauber-Ferrari) 48 laps r. Bruno Senna (HRT-Cosworth) 66 laps r. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus-Cosworth) DNS laps.

Standings: Drivers: 1. Jenson Button 70 points; 2. Fernando Alonso 67; 3. Sebastian Vettel 60; 4. Mark Webber 53; 5. Nico Rosberg 50; 6. Lewis Hamilton 49; 7. Felipe Massa 49; 8. Robert Kubica 44; 9. Michael Schumacher 22; 10. Adrian Sutil 16; 11. Vitantonio Liuzzi 8; 12. Rubens Barrichello 7; 13. Vitaly Petrov 6; 14. Jaime Alguersuari 3; 15. Nico Huelkenberg 1; 16. Sebastien Buemi 0; 17. Pedro de la Rosa 0; 17. Kamui Kobayashi 0; 19. Heikki Kovalainen 0; 20. Karun Chandhok 0; 21. Lucas Di Grassi 0; 22. Bruno Senna 0; 23. Jarno Trulli 0; 24. Timo Glock 0.

Constructors: 1. McLaren- Mercedes 119 points; 2. Ferrari 116; 3. RedBull- Renault 113; 4. Mercedes GP 72; 5. Renault 50; 6. Force India-Mercedes 24; 7. Williams-Cosworth 8; 8. Toro Rosso- Ferrari 3; 9. BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0; 10. Lotus-Cosworth 0; 11. HRT-Cosworth 0; 12. Virgin-Cosworth 0 .

Google enters digital book war

SILICON VALLEY: Google is set to launch its own online e-book store in 2010.

Google Editions books will not be tied to a specific device, unlike rival e-book company Amazon.

The Amazon Kindle is linked to books from the company's own store and similarly with Apple's iBookstore.

“It is a different approach to what most readers today have and the vision is to be able to access books in a device agnostic way,'' said Google .

To date, Google has scanned over 12 million books, both in-print and out-of-print, giving it a greater selection of material than either Apple or Amazon.

Analysts at the Yankee Group have predicted that the U.S. e-book reader market is “about to catch fire sparking from $1.3 billion in revenue in 2010 to $2.5 billion by 2013''.

Now other industry watchers have said Google Editions will boost those figures further still. “Anything that puts more kinds of art in people's hands in a way that fosters competition, innovation and creativity is good,'' said an analyst.

With books accessed through Google Editions readable on any web enabled device from a mobile phone to a netbook and from a tablet to a desktop, the implications are clear for e-book stores tied to a single device.

In particular researchers point to trouble ahead for Amazon which, despite not releasing any specific figures, has been the leader in the market.

Earlier this year the e-tailer said throughout 2009, the Kindle was the most popular present in Amazon's history and that it had sold more e-books than physical books on Christmas day. Ahead of Apple's iPad coming on the block analysts predicted pain for Amazon.

“We're quite comfortable having a diverse range of physical retailers, whereas most of the other players would like to have a less competitive space, because they'd like to dominate,'' said a Google official.

Google confirmed to the BBC that Google Editions would not be affected by the firm's present legal troubles over trying to digitise millions of out-of-print books.

“Plans for Google Editions will happen independent of whatever the settlement agreement is,'' said a Google's official.

Digital library

The search giant's efforts to create the world's biggest digital library have been mired in legal action for the last couple of years.

Critics have long claimed Google's deal with U.S. publishers and authors would give them a monopoly over online book sales.

Google said it would make “millions of books searchable via the web''

A ruling on the issue is due soon. — © BBC News/Distributed by the New York Times Syndicate

Rafael Nadal won his fifth Rome Masters title in six years

ROME — Rafael Nadal has won his fifth Rome Masters title in six years, withstanding two rain delays to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2 on Sunday.

Nadal improved to 10-0 on clay this year and signaled he's back to dominating on his preferred surface after a series of injuries. He won the Monte Carlo Masters two weeks ago to end an 11-month title drought.

"I didn't play at the level I did in Monte Carlo, but I'm still winning and that's the important thing," Nadal said. "I'm probably more happy winning without playing (my) best. It was more of a mental thing."

Nadal showed no signs of fatigue after pulling out a long three-set win over Ernests Gulbis in the semifinals a day earlier.

With the 17th Masters Series title of his career, Nadal matched Andre Agassi's record. Agassi achieved the feat at age 34, while Nadal is only 23.

Top-ranked Roger Federer, who was upset by Gulbis in the second round, is second with 16 Masters Series titles.

In contrast to his emotional celebration in Monte Carlo, Nadal was comparatively subdued upon winning, simply raising his hands over his head and letting out a big smile before calmly walking to the net to shake hands with Ferrer.

This tournament is an important warmup for the French Open, which starts May 23. Nadal won four consecutive titles at Roland Garros before being stunned by Robin Soderling in the fourth round last year in Paris.

"It's important to have the motivation to want to keep improving. That's the main thing," Nadal said.

Nadal's only loss in Rome came against fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the opening round two years ago, when he was slowed by a foot blister. No other player has won more than three titles at the Foro Italico.

Nadal has won his last seven meetings with Ferrer, who was playing the first Masters Series final of his career.

Ferrer indicated that he was affected by the rain.

"Maybe the court was slower and I had problems to (end) the points," Ferrer said. "Of course, Rafael had good chances in the important moments. It's difficult against him, but I'm happy with my game."

Before a bundled up crowd of 10,500 inside the tournament's new stadium, both players had to deal with a slippery court and swirling winds.

Nadal applied pressure from the start and at 2-2 in the first set Ferrer had to save five break points with some uncharacteristic attacking play, going for outright winners to the corners.

Midway through the first set, Nadal won a spectacular point that included a behind-the-back shot from Ferrer.

The match was suspended for an hour because of rain with Ferrer serving at 4-4 in the first set. Ferrer maintained his concentration when the players came back out and held serve to take a 5-4 lead, but Nadal broke Ferrer's next service game when Ferrer's forehand clipped the top of the net to end a long rally.

Nadal didn't face a break point until he served for the first set and saved it with a well-positioned serve out wide that Ferrer returned long. On the next point, Nadal moved Ferrer from corner to corner and then rushed forward for an easy volley put away.

On his first set point, Nadal hit another solid first serve and Ferrer's reply sailed long.

Nadal broke again in the third game of the second set, and the match was suspended again for 1 hour, 45 minutes — prompting many fans to head home. When the players came out again, Ferrer hit a costly double-fault and followed that with a loose forehand wide to hand Nadal another break and let him serve out the match.

Nadal finished with 24 winners to Ferrer's 15, and had 13 fewer unforced errors.

Ferrer had five double-faults, while Nadal had none. He won only 39 percent of the points on his second serve to Nadal's 67 percent.

Nadal collected the winner's check of $578,000.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Chennai Super Kings won IPL3 [2010]

The third edition of the Indian Premier League has certainly lived up to its hype and expectations. Some of the additions to the second edition were the initiation of the two-and-a-half-minute strategic timeouts for the teams, which had a very good effect on the game and also with the live broadcast of all the games on the popular video sharing website YouTube, the Indian Premier League enjoys the privilege of being the first sporting event to do so. From the start of this season, all teams scurried to collect valuable points. However, the teams which qualified for the semi-finals were Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Semi-finalists

The Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians had a very strong start winning their first two games against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils. After losing a game against Royal Challengers, Tendulkar played a blazing knock of 71, getting the Mumbai Indians back to winning ways. They were truly unstoppable from there and went on to extend their winning streak, getting five victories in a row to finish with 20 points at the end of the league stage and they became the first side to book a semifinal berth. Excellent batting efforts from Tendulkar, Tiwary and occasional lusty blows from Pollard and Rayudu saw their team build good totals while Malinga and Zaheer were the pick of the bowlers.

The Champions of the 2009 season, Deccan Chargers led by Adam Gilchrist started off with a loss against Kolkata Knight Riders. However they were quick enough to bounce back with 3 wins against Chennai, Punjab and Delhi. But, they lost their momentum losing two games to Rajasthan and again to Mumbai and Kolkata. When nobody thought that Deccan would make it, we saw some stunning consistent performances from Suman, Symonds and Rohit Sharma in spite of a let down by their out-of-form skipper. Winning five games in a row and making 16 points at the end of the league stage, Deccan Chargers made its way into the semi-finals. Outstanding bowling efforts from Harris and Vaas, while the player who surprised everybody was Harmeet, who did a wonderful job varying the pace every time he came to bowl, leaving us confused of what his real pace is.

The most consistent team across all editions of the IPL so far has been the men in yellow, the Chennai Super Kings. The Super Kings led by ‘Captain Courageous' Dhoni were on and off in the league stages. The loss against Kings XI Punjab in the super over hurt them hard, especially after scores were level, they couldn't take it, their fans felt it hard to digest. It was then a big leap by the Chennai Super Kings where the local players, Badrinath and Vijay won crucial games for their side almost single handedly.

And it was then their champion player Suresh Raina who took over from there and amassed runs on the board in no time. He has had an outstanding IPL this season and he has regained his form perfectly at the right time ahead of the T20 World Cup. In the bowling department, Morkel and Bollinger's ability to hit the deck hard and also swing the ball away from the batsmen has been outstanding. The find of the season, Ashwin has clearly delivered his goods upfront for the Super Kings. His bowling in the initial overs is very crucial and he is getting the wickets too.Full marks to Dhoni for his excellent captaincy and his valuable knock against Kings XI Punjab in a do or die game, which fetched them a berth in the semifinals. Chennai with that emotional win booked a semifinal berth with 14 points

The Royal Challengers Bangalore led by the old fox Anil Kumble was very impressive in the initial stages of the tournament getting four wins in a row. And then as the season progressed, they began to face the bitter part of cricket losing some games in the middle. But, Kallis slowly began to unfold scoring runs at a brisk rate.

The win against Rajasthan Royals, where Pietersen quick-fired 62 of just 29 balls gave them a much needed victory and put them into the semi-finals. While skipper Kumble and Vinay Kumar swung it for them in the bowling department very consistently. So, with wins here and there they managed to sneak into the top four. But with the start they made, they should have certainly landed just after Mumbai and they certainly are a well deserved lot. So, Kumble's men take spot four in the points table with 14 points.

The first semi-final saw the clash of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Mumbai Indians initially rode on the good knocks of Tiwary and Rayudu. Tiwary was certainly at his best and played his shots to near perfection and Rayudu showed us glimpses of some hard hitting. Later, Pollard came down firing on all cylinders scoring 33 of just 13 balls. The Royal Challengers after an initial setback saw a good partnership between Uthappa and Ross Taylor, however Pollard came back scalping 3 wickets while Harbhajan and Malinga grabbed two wickets each to give Mumbai by 35 runs.

The second semi-final at the low bounce wicket in D.Y. Patil stadium between Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers was a low scoring game. The Super Kings batting first scored 142 in their 20 overs which saw a patient innings from Badrinath and Dhoni. While a good effort by Aniruddha in the end did give the Super Kings some runs on the board for them to defend. The Deccan Chargers batting second lost wickets at regular intervals while only Symonds managed to get some runs, the other players disappointed. Doughy Bollinger was the man who made all the damage getting 4 wickets giving away just 13 runs from his 4 overs. This game saw the Super Kings win by 38 runs.

Exciting finale

The closing ceremony kick started with an awesome performance from the Oscar-man A.R. Rahman while dance performances by Bipasha Basu and Shahid Kapur added some glitz and glamour to the ceremony ahead of the game.

The finals of the third edition of the Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings witnessed an outstanding game and saw both the teams putting up a tough fight for the trophy. Super Kings winning the toss, started off slowly but steadily, getting some runs from Vijay and Raina on the other end provided with the much needed fire works scoring runs at a rapid pace. Dhoni too chipped in with a timely knock and the Super Kings finished with 168 in their 20 overs. The Mumbai Indians too started slowly with Tendulkar playing an anchor innings and Dhoni rotated his spinners too well, which saw the dismissals of the Mumbai Indians batsman notwithstanding pressure. At one stage, it looked as though Pollard will take them home, but again Dhoni's non-theoretic field placements did the trick. The Mumbai Indians finally fell short by 22 runs. The Chennai Super Kings had been very consistent with their performance in the first and second editions of the Indian Premier League but missed the title. But this time, they have done it beating the Mumbai Indians in the finals of the third edition by 22 runs lifting the trophy for the first time. After the Super Kings' win, it's all party time here in Chennai, and we are very much waiting for the trophy to come home! In the local language and to all the Chennaites out there “Namma Chennai Super Kings ku PeriyaWhistla Podu”!

The Third Edition of the Indian Premier League has been a huge success and with the addition of two more teams in IPL 4, we are looking forward for a bigger event next year. As Lalit Modi said, there have been some off field mishaps, but the respect for the game and the excitement never fades out. It would have been better without them, but the intensity and entertainment never went down !! IPL is just getting bigger and bigger!

Praveen is a III Year Information Technology student at Rajalakshmi Engineering College.