Kalmadi, NSF chiefs hit out at sports minister

NEW DELHI: Government's bid to limit the tenure of sports administrators met with stiff resistance with IOA president Suresh Kalmadi and other angry bosses of sports bodies vowing to do everything to protect their autonomy.

Miffed administrators, many of whom are politicians who have occupied the post for more than a decade, made it clear that they would oppose the directive, setting the stage for a bitter standoff with the sports ministry.

"We are surprised by the government order and we would do everything to protect our autonomy," Kalmadi told reporters on Monday.

"We have called an IOA Executive Committee meeting on May 18 and may convene a General Assembly meeting as well (to discuss the issue)," Kalmadi said.

Cracking down on the sports administrators who have monopolised most of the NSFs, the sports ministry on Sunday announced a new regulation which says federation presidents cannot continue more than 12 years, with or without break, while secretaries or treasurers can serve two terms of four years at a stretch and would have to take a four-year gap before they seek a re-election.

The regulation hurts Kalmadi, who has been at IOA's helm since 1996, while it also seeks to end the reigns of NSF chiefs V K Malhotra (archery), Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (cycling), VK Verma (badminton), captain Satish K Sharma (aero club) and BS Adityan (volleyball), who have been occupying the top posts for more than a decade.

Insisting that the autonomy of the IOA and NSFs are paramount, a defiant Kalmadi said, "Our constitution goes to the International Olympic Council (IOC) and no one can meddle with that. All NSFs also send their constitution to the respective international bodies and no one can interfere there either."

Kalmadi also dismissed sports minister MS Gill's assertion that the guideline would help bring transparency to the functioning of IOA and NSFs.

"As far as transparency is concerned, IOA was brought under RTI (Right To Information) Act by the Ministry and we accepted it with a smile because we have nothing to hide.

"The Sports Minister himself has given a letter to the court that all the federations have given their accounts properly. So why this about-turn and that too on the eve of the Commonwealth Games?" he asked.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary general Randhir Singh said the government regulation has been forwarded to Olympic Council of Asia and IOC.

"We are expecting a positive reply from them because this government regulation infringes on the working of the national Olympic committee," Singh said.

Rowing Federation of India president KP Singh Deo criticised the timing of the guideline.

"It is rather strange that it came out when the (Commonwealth Games) Coordination Commission is here," he said.

Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by 14 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method

PROVIDENCE (Guyana): Mahela Jayawardene's classy century and Guyanese rains combined to give Sri Lanka a 14-run win over Zimbabwe on the Duckworth-Lewis method in their World Twenty20 Group B match on Monday.

This was a match Sri Lanka, beaten first up by New Zealand, had to win to stay in the tournament.

But it was a close run thing for last year's losing finalists with the five overs needed in Zimbabwe's reply to constitute a match only just completed before rain ended the game.

Veteran batsman Jayawardene's innings was the cornerstone of Sri Lanka's 173 for seven, made after captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss.

Zimbabwe, playing their first match of the tournament after encouraging warm-up wins over defending champions Pakistan and Australia, saw their innings halted by rain in the first over.

That left them with a revised target of 104 off 11 overs before rain halted the match at the five-over mark with Zimbabwe on 29 for one, rather than the 43 for one they needed for victory, following the early loss of Hamilton Masakadza to a farcical run-out.

Unless Zimbabwe beat New Zealand by a huge margin on Tuesday, Sri Lanka should go through to the Super Eights with the Kiwis.

Former captain Jayawardene, who made 81 in Sri Lanka's two-wicket loss to New Zealand, scored exactly 100.

Jayawardene's hundred was only the fourth in all Twenty20 internationals but the second in this competition in as many days after India's Suresh Raina scored 101 against South Africa in Saint Lucia on Sunday.

Stylish right-hander Jayawardene faced 64 balls with four sixes and 10 fours, concentrating mainly on classical cricket shots.

Zimbabwe kept taking wickets at the other end but could do little about opening batsman Jayawardene.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, player of the tournament at last year's World Twenty20 in England, has not looked anything like the same player at this edition and he made just two before a miscued drive off Elton Chigumbura went straight to mid-off.

Twenty20 debutant Thissara Perera helped Jayawardene add 56 in six overs before he was well caught in the deep by Chigumbura.

Several batsmen then failed to get going but Jayawardene carried on serenely before he was finally caught at long-on off left-arm spinner Ray Price.

T20 WC: West Indies beat England by 8 wickets (D/L)

PROVIDENCE: West Indies won through to the second round of the World Twenty20 after beating England by eight wickets in a match whose context was completely changed by rain on Monday.

England made a challenging total of 191 for five, featuring 55 from former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan, after being sent-in to bat by West Indies captain Chris Gayle.

But rain, which had interrupted Sri Lanka's match against Zimbabwe here earlier in the day, returned after the West Indies had started their reply in barnstorming fashion to be 30 without loss at the Guyana National Stadium.

And when play resumed, the West Indies were left with a revised target of 60 in six overs, under the Duckworth/Lewis method for rain-affected matches.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul (15 not out) and Andre Fletcher (12 not out) saw the hosts to victory with a ball to spare as they scored the eight runs they needed off the last over, from fast bowler Stuart Broad.

England now have a winner-takes-all clash against Ireland, who suffered a 70-run Group D thrashing by the West Indies last week, here on Tuesday to decide which team will join the hosts in the Super Eights.

Left-hander Morgan faced just 35 balls and struck three sixes and six fours.

Together with Luke Wright, unbeaten on 45 off 27 balls, he put on 95 for the fifth wicket.

England started well thanks to their new South Africa born opening pair of Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter.

Lumb, on his international debut, took 16 off one Ravi Rampaul over.

Fast bowler Rampaul's three overs cost a hugely expensive 52 runs in total.

Wicketkeeper Kieswetter struck three sixes in as many balls, one off Rampaul and two off Nikita Miller.

But in-form West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy checked England's progress with two wickets in the tenth over, bowling England captain Paul Collingwood for six and inducing Kevin Pietersen (24) to hole out to midwicket.

With England 88 for four at the halfway mark, Morgan and Wright consolidated before going for their shots, Wright striking two sixes off Kieron Pollard's first over.

Morgan then demonstrated his dexterity by sweeping Dwayne Bravo for six, with England scoring 76 runs in the final five overs of their innings.

New Zealand cautious ahead of their clash against Zimbabwe

GUYANA: A confident New Zealand will be eyeing a Super Eight berth when they take on Zimbabwe in a Group B match of World Twenty20 at the Providence stadium on Tuesday.

The Black Caps pulled off a thrilling two-wicket win with a ball to spare against Sri Lanka in their opening match on Saturday and they would be eager to qualify for the next round.

New Zealand strike bowler Shane Bond said it is unlikely that they will tinker with the lineup that clinched a victory in the opening match.

Bond, however, said his side is far from being complacent against Zimbabwe.

"In this sort of format, the shorter it is, the more even it gets, so I think there are no favourites in the tournament," he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.

"I suppose we will be fielding the same team (to the one that beat Sri Lanka) as it is a must-win game for us. You want to carry momentum forward into the next stage, so I expect similar lineup to the first game."

Bond, who took two for 35 against Sri Lanka, is well aware of Zimbabwe's ability to create upsets, having already beaten Australia and defending champions Pakistan in the warm-up matches last week.

"Zimbabwe are capable of upsetting, especially if they get surfaces that suit them," he said.

Referring to all-rounder Andy Blignauht's return to the side after five years, Bond said Zimbabwe have a lot of experienced players back in the side.

"They are an experienced team that's been together for a long time so in this format they are going to be very tough and we have to show them due respect."

The low and slow pitches in the Caribbean will force Black Caps to make the most of their spin options.

In the warm up matches, Zimbabwe opened their bowling with off-spinner and captain Prosper Utseya and orthodox left-arm spinner Ray Price against Australia. Against Pakistan, they opened with legspinner Graeme Cremer and another offie, Greg Lamb, who were successful.

"We're trying to work a method out to play on these surfaces," New Zealand coach Mark Greatbatch said. "They are a bit low and slow and turning and it's not easy to score boundaries all the time, so it's important we come up with an effective method."

"We have got a bit of work to do playing the spin, and Zimbabwe have got plenty of that. We need to get the ball into the outfield, which is nice and big, and put pressure on their fielders, and we're going to get more runs like that."

Chelsea closer to title triumph after sinking Liverpool

LIVERPOOL: Chelsea are on the brink of their first Premier League title in four years after Steven Gerrard's mistake helped the leaders secure a vital 2-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are now four points clear of second-placed Manchester United and, even if the champions keep the title race alive with a win at Sunderland later on Sunday, the Blues will be crowned kings of English football if they beat Wigan at home next weekend.

Gerrard had used his programme notes to insist that the hosts would not throw in the towel against Chelsea, even though a Liverpool victory would have aided the title aspirations of bitter rivals United.

Yet the England midfielder's horrendous back pass allowed Didier Drogba to score his 26th Premier League goal of the campaign before Frank Lampard wrapped up a comfortable victory after more lacklustre defending from Rafa Benitez's team.

This game had long since been earmarked as a must-win for Chelsea and a match that would test both their title-winning mentality and mettle. They delivered on both counts.

Rumours of a conspiracy had been sweeping Merseyside in the days before that Liverpool would not mind losing to Chelsea as it would help prevent United from winning a record 19th title.

A banner draped over the Centenary Stand at Anfield before the game "Cockneys For A Day" did little to dispel that theory.

But those suggestions should have been laid to rest inside the opening three minutes, Javier Mascherano's shot from 25-yards deflecting narrowly wide for a corner as Liverpool made the brighter start.

Chelsea were strangely lethargic considering the prize that was at stake.

Despite early attempts by Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka, it was Liverpool who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening exchanges as Alberto Aquilani went close to delivering a crushing blow to Ancelotti with a cracking 25-yard effort that clipped the top of the bar.

Aquilani then crumpled under a challenge from Branislav Ivanovic in the area but the referee adjudged there was no foul before Gerrard's clanger 12 minutes before half time brought Chelsea within touching distance of the title.

Gerrard, under no pressure whatsoever, attempted a needless back pass that provided Drogba with an open invitation to pounce, round Jose Reina and slot home in front of the Kop.

That brought the Ivory Coast striker level with Wayne Rooney at the top of the Premier League scoring charts - more importantly it left Chelsea on the verge of their third title in six seasons.

Suddenly, Chelsea were going for the kill. It required a superb challege by Liverpool's Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos to prevented Nicolas Anelka from making it 2-0, while the visitors felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the first half after claiming that Lucas had clipped Kalou.

Liverpool had started the day with an outside chance of securing a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, but Benitez's side struggled to recover from falling behind.

Kalou and Florent Malouda, who were both magnificent, were causing all sorts of problems and both had chances to extend Chelsea's lead before Lampard sealed a priceless victory in the 54th minute.

At least Chelsea were not handed the goal on a plate this time, although the defending that led to England midfielder Lampard sliding home to meet Anelka's low cross was poor to say the least.

Liverpool never threatened to mount a fightback and although Chelsea's celebrations on the pitch at the final whistle were subdued, the title is almost theirs.

Nadal matches Agassi record with Rome win

ROME: Rafael Nadal, the world number three, won a record equalling 17th Masters title with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of 13th-seeded Spanish compatriot David Ferrer at the Rome Masters 1000 at the Foro Italico on Sunday.

In a match that finished four and a half hours after it started due to two rain delays, clay court king Nadal was never troubled.

His victory matched the mark of 17 Masters wins set by Andre Agassi, although the American was 34 when he won the last of his while the Spaniard is still just 23.

Nadal clearly coped better than Ferrer, who was aiming for a first ever Masters title, with the rain as until the first break it was 4-4 and 40-15 to Ferrer on his own serve.

However, he won only three more games after the heavens opened and Nadal, who has dropped only one set on clay this year, proved that he is in great shape ahead of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year.

Two weeks ago he stormed to victory at the Monte Carlo Masters and here he was only troubled in his three-set epic against Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in the semi-finals.

It was his fifth win in Rome in the last six years.

Over the last six years he has won Monte Carlo six times, here and Barcelona five times and at Roland Garros will also be aiming for a fifth title.

The players were forced off by rain at 4-4 in the first set and when they came back out, Ferrer seemed to have lost focus.

He had already been under pressure on his serve before the break but at 5-5 he finally gave up a break after netting a forehand when facing his sixth break point of the set.

However, he almost broke straight back as he earned his first and only break point of the first set but he went long on a backhand return.

Nadal's deep hitting in the next point allowed him to come forward and bury a volley before another backhand error on the return from Ferrer allowed the world number three to seal the set.

Things looked ominous for Ferrer at the beginning of the second as he dropped to 15-40 on his serve but he dug deep to hold.

However on his very next game he dropped to 0-40 only to save all three before a forehand wide and a backhand long gave up the break.

Play was then immediately suspended for the second time and the players were off court for an hour and a half but when they came back Ferrer put up little resistance.

He held his first service game but then at 2-4 he gave up a break point with a double fault and then hit a wild forehand long to allow Nadal to serve for the title.

Watson stars as Australia beat Pakistan by 34 runs

GROS ISLET: Shane Watson top-scored with 81 as Australia punished lax Pakistan fielding to win their opening World Twenty20 match by a convincing 34-run margin on Sunday.

Man-of-the-match Watson's innings was the cornerstone of Australia's 191 all out, made after captain Michael Clarke won the toss.

But the all-rounder was dropped twice and Watson made defending champions Pakistan pay by striking four sixes and seven fours in his blistering 49-ball innings.

Together with David Hussey, he put on 98 in under nine overs for the third wicket.

Hussey dropped on 18 at long-off by Salman Butt, a relatively easy chance, went on to make 53 off 29 balls with five sixes and two fours.

Hussey was especially severe on seamer Mohammad Sami, striking him for 28 runs in the 16th over with the batsman striking four sixes, including three in a row.

Pakistan lost Kamran Akmal for nought to the first legitimate ball of their reply when he sliced Dirk Nannes to Steven Smith at short third man.

Salman Butt (15) miscued an attempted hook off fast bowler Shaun Tait and was caught by David Hussey before left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson's second ball proved too much for Mohammad Hafeez, who pulled straight to deep square leg.

Australia, holding their catches, had reduced Pakistan to 34 for three inside five overs and they never looked like recovering from such a start.

Tait then had the satisfaction of bowling Pakistan captain and hard-hitting batsman Shahid Afridi for 33 before finishing the match by bowling Saeed Ajmal off the last ball.

Misbah-ul-Haq top-scored for Pakistan with 41 but that was never going to be enough by itself.

Afridi had only inherited the Pakistan captaincy after the fall-out from the team's disastrous recent tour of Australia where they failed to win in three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20.

Earlier, David Hussey holed out off Ajmal and, three balls later, the off-spinner had Watson lbw.

There was an extraordinary end to the Australia innings with a five-wicket maiden during the last over from Mohammad Aamer.

Brad Haddin was caught off the over's first ball, Mitchell Johnson clean bowled off the second with both Michael Hussey and Steven Smith run out by direct hits from wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal as they tried to run byes.

Tait survived the fifth ball but was bowled off the last for nought.

Left-arm quick Aamer finished with three wickets for 23 runs, with Ajmal taking three for 34.

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs in the first Group A match here on Saturday and both Pakistan and Australia will qualify for the second round of if the Aussies beat Bangladesh in Barbados on Wednesday.