Monday, June 20, 2011

England denied Rose Bowl win by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara

Third Test, The Rose Bowl (day five):

England 377-8 dec drew with Sri Lanka 184 & 334-5

Match scorecard

Kumar Sangakkara
Sangakkara's 25th Test century was his first in England

Kumar Sangakkara's maiden Test century in England denied Andrew Strauss's side victory on the final day of the third Test at the Rose Bowl.

After Sri Lanka had resumed on 112-3, 81 behind, Sangakkara (119) shared 65 with nightwatchman Rangana Herath (35).

Herath eventually fell lbw to Graeme Swann before Thilan Samaraweera (87 no) added 141 more with his captain.

Sri Lanka were 334-5, 141 ahead, when rain arrived at tea, leaving England to settle for a draw and a 1-0 series win.

England will rue the early chances they missed to dismiss Herath, with Strauss dropping a chance at slip off James Anderson and the Lancashire paceman missing with a shy at the stumps when the batsman was well short of his ground.

At the other end, Sangakkara took advantage of some below-par England seam bowling by punctuating some careful leaves with elegant drives through the covers and down the ground.

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Monday, June 6, 2011

Nadal's grip on title and Federer tightens


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Rafael Nadal of Spain bites the trophy as he poses during a ceremony after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland during their men's final at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Vincent Kessler

PARIS | Mon Jun 6, 2011 2:25am EDT

(Reuters) - Rafa Nadal had doubted he could seal a sixth French Open title having started in shaky form and with rivals looking imperious, but the Spaniard need not have worried after triumphing with another claycourt masterclass.

His 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-1 victory over his great rival, the in-form Roger Federer, in Sunday's final was a microcosm of the Spaniard's tournament as he equalled Bjorn Borg's record for Roland Garros men's singles crowns.

Ice cool Swede Borg won his six titles in eight years while Nadal has reached that mark in seven and his delight was clear as he sank to his knees on the court that since debuting in 2005 has become a private stage for his audacious skills.

This year had not all been plain sailing though.

The top seed, who has clung on to the world number one spot under pressure from Novak Djokovic, slumped 5-2 down in the first set just as he was two sets to one down in the first round against John Isner in his first five-set match at Roland Garros.

Both times Nadal refused to budge and roared back despite the majority of the crowd supporting the underdog.

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Dilshan sets record before weather halts Sri Lanka

Second Test, Lord's (day three):

Sri Lanka 372-3 v England 486 all out

Match scorecard

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan tormented England's bowlers throughout his inningsSri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan tormented England's bowlers throughout his innings

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a record-breaking 193 as Sri Lanka closed in on England's first innings total of 486 on a weather-affected third day of the second Test.

The captain made the highest score by a Sri Lankan at Lord's and helped the touring side reach 372-3 before rain and bad light brought a premature end to play.

In truth, Dilshan's task was made easy by some wayward bowling from England's seamers, who fired an alarming number of deliveries down the leg side and never really built enough pressure to unsettle their opponents despite plenty of evidence that the ball was swinging under heavy cloud cover


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