Cricket
Sanath Jayasuriya shrugged off a shoulder dislocation to lead Sri Lanka to a tense victory over India in the first match of the Indian Oil Cup. Muttiah Muralitharan and debutant Dilhara Lokuhettige both bowled well to to restrict India to 205-9 in Dambulla. But Jayasuriya, who popped his shoulder in the field and batted down at number six, had to hold the tail together after Sri Lanka slipped to 112-5.His unbeaten 38 off 47 balls saw Sri Lanka home with 10 balls to spare. And they had three wickets in hand as Farveez Maharoof hit an important 23 not out in an unbroken partnership of 37 for the eighth wicket. India won the toss and opted to bat in the curtain-raiser of the triangular series, which also features a weakened West Indies.
But without Sourav Ganguly or Sachin Tendulkar available, India were not at full strength either and they struggled with only Rahul Dravid (54) the only batsman in the top six to play any sort of innings. Muralitharan took 3-33 while opening bowler Lokuhettige had 2-31.Sri Lanka were without bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa, but Lokuhettige picked up the mantle by bowling Mahendra Dhoni for two and dismissing Yuvraj Singh for 12.Muralitharan's first wicket came when he removed one of two Indian debutants, Suresh Raina, lbw for a golden duck. The Sri Lankan reply was a stuttering affair from the off, and Harbhajan Singh's two wickets in mid-innings swung things India's way.But Jayasuriya had other ideas, and Lokuhettige showed he can also bat when hitting 21 off 20 balls at a vital point in the contest. Jasuriya had to have his shoulder clicked back into place before batting, but concerns remained about his well-being.
Australia spinner Stuart MacGill believes England were distracted by media hype in their crushing 239-run defeat in the first Ashes Test.
Tennis
Marat Safin fought back from a set down to win the Australian Open final and end Lleyton Hewitt's dream of winning his home Grand Slam title. Safin made a dreadful start and quickly lost the first set as he made 13 unforced errors to Hewitt's one. The Russian levelled but was in trouble at 4-1 down in the third before reeling off seven magnificent games. One break was enough in the fourth and Safin served out confidently for a stunning 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 win.
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08-01-2005, 03:20 AM
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