Cricketer Harbhajan sorry for playing Ravan

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh under attack for taking part in a TV reality show dressed as mythological character Ravan, apologised and vowed “never to do anything that could hurt religious sentiments of any community”."I apologise if my actions have hurt anybody. It was not my intention to hurt sentiments of anyone which includes members of my own community," the off-spinner told reporters in Chandigarh."It will be my sincere endeavour not to repeat such things in future," said Singh, currently playing in the first Test match against Australia at Mohali.

Cricket : 24 million watched IPL final

If you were glued to your television set on Sunday, you were not the only one. Groans or cheers (depending on which team you were supporting) filled the air in numerous pubs, coffee shops, homes and offices with the Indian Premier League reaching its crescendo and millions of viewers logging on to the final between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Snap polls suggest that over 24 million watched the nail-biting final, though industry experts say that this is a conservative estimate and the numbers could be much higher. According to Audience Measurement And Analysis Ltd (aMap)-the overnight audience measurement system-the semi-finals too drew a crowd. Though the semi-finals were damp squibs, over 20 million people watched the Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils while the second semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab drew an audience of 19 million. The aMap has a sample size of 6,000 households in 85 towns. Media analysts say that IPL viewership has been unprecedented. TAM has pegged the aggregate viewership between April 19 and May 24 at 99 million. According to TAM, the World Cup cricket ODI final which was simulcast on SAB, Set Max and DD drew in 32.8 million people while the T20 final-in which India played and won-attracted an audience reach of 48 million. In contrast, aMap said that 27 million watched the 2007 T20 final, indicating that these numbers could be on the lower side of the estimate

India clinch U-19 World Cup

Virat Kohli's India juniors won cricket's under-19 World Cup with a 12-run victory over unlucky South Africa in a rain-hit final here on Sunday. The South Africans, who bowled India out for a modest 159, were left chasing a tricky 116 in 25 overs after heavy thunderstorms forced the players off the Kinrara Oval for two hours. The Proteas, already struggling at 17-3 before the rain break, finished with 103-8, with Reeza Hendricks making 35 and captain Wayne Parnell contributing a valiant 29. Ajitesh Argal, Siddarth Kaul and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets each to hand India their second title after winning the premier junior event for the first time in Sri Lanka in 2000. The excellent drainage system at the ground ensured the game was not put off until Monday, the scheduled reserve day, and South Africa were left to chase 99 runs from the remaining 98 deliveries after the rain break. Before the enforced break, seamer Argal had removed the in-form Pieter Malan and Rilee Rossouw while Jon Smuts ran himself out in a mix-up with his partner Hendricks. Left-arm spinner Jadeja struck in the second over after the resumption when Jonathan Vandiar edged a faster delivery to wicketkeeper Sreevats Goswami, reducing South Africa to 22-4. Hendricks and Parnell put on 50 for the fifth wicket to revive the Proteas, but the fired-up Indians kept the runs in check by picking up wickets at regular intervals. The victory ceremony was disrupted when about 500 fans rushed on to the ground after the match, and as soon as security men stepped in to clear the field, heavy rain hit the ground for a second time. Earlier, the South African bowlers skittled India for 159, setting an ideal platform for the Proteas to win their first junior World Cup after finishing runners-up to Australia in 2002. Skipper Parnell, who gave India first strike, led the way with 2-21 from 7.4 overs of accurate left-arm seam bowling that helped terminate their rivals' innings in the 46th over. Matthew Arnold, Roy Adams and Mohammad Vallie also took two wickets each as Tanmay Srivastava played a lone hand for the Indians with 46. The South African bowlers, who won their team a place in the final by restricting defending champions Pakistan to 153 in the semi-final, grabbed Indian wickets cheaply. Parnell provided the early breakthrough when opener Taruwar Kohli (one) miscued an attempted hook off the seamer and skied a catch to Malan at square-leg. Goswami, the other opener, made six before edging Arnold to second slip to leave India on 27-2 in the 10th over. Left-handed Srivastava and skipper Virat Kohli carried the total to 74-2 by the 23rd over when both batsmen fell to catches by Sybrand Engelbrecht in the point region. Virat Kohli had made 19 when he slashed at a ball from Malan, Engelbrecht leaping to produce an outstanding catch. The fielder then took a similar catch off Adams to remove the dangerous Srivastava, who hit four boundaries and a six in his fluent innings.

India thrash Russia in Olympic hockey qualifier

SANTIAGO: Eight-time gold medallists India got their campaign to qualify for the Olympic Games off to a flying start with an 8-0 win over Russia on Saturday. But Great Britain, one of India's closest rivals for the one ticket to Beijing available from this tournament, were also in ominous form, disposing of Mexico 11-0. Prabhjot Singh starred for India by hammering home a fine hat-trick. But it was Dilip Tirkey who was first on the scoresheet with a 14th minute penalty corner before Prabhjot grabbed his first of the day five minutes later scoring off a pass from Sardar Singh. On the half-hour mark, India were 3-0 ahead with Prabhjot notching his second before Shivendra Singh made it 4-0 at the interval. Tushar Khandekar added the fifth as the Russian defence began to wilt early in the second half before Sardar, with his second of the match, VR Raghunath and Prabhjot completed the rout. India have never missed the Olympics since field hockey was introduced as a medal sport in 1928. Austria and Chile make up the six-nation tournament here which runs until March 9. Ten teams have already qualified for the Olympic men's competition with the remaining two coming from the qualifying tournament here and the next one in Japan in April. The automatic qualifiers were Australia (Oceania champions), Belgium (European bronze medallists), Canada (Pan American champions), China (hosts), South Korea (Asian Games winners), the Netherlands (European champions), Pakistan (Asian Games bronze medallists), South Africa (African champions) and Spain (European silver medallists).

India colts ready for SA in Under-19 World Cup final

Kuala Lumpur: India colts take on South Africa in the final of the Under-19 World Cup on Sunday.
India last won the Under-19 World Cup under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif eight years ago in Sri Lanka with Yuvraj Singh bagging the Man of the Series award in that tournament.
So far it has been a near flawless tournament for India with five wins in five games. While some have been easy; others have been made possible by grit and resolve.
"Expectation to logon ko bahut hai. Sab yehi keh rahe hain ki jeet ke ana hai jab final tak pahuche hain. To dabaaw yehi hai ki accha khelne ki puri koshish karenge aur apna last effort hai. 100 per cent dene ki puri koshish karenge (There is a lot of expectation. Every won is telling us to win the final. The pressure is on us to give our best. We will try our best and give our 100 per cent," says left-hand batsman Tanmay Srivastava.
But the talismanic influence in the team has been skipper Virat Kohli. Virat has been leading with panache and batting with the maturity of a hardened veteran.
He has made 216 runs at an average of 54 and even picked up four wickets with his off-breaks.
India's opponents in the final won't be pushovers though. South Africa creamed two-time defending champions Pakistan in the semi-final and bring the traditional qualities of a South African team into battle. They have penetrative fast bowling, robust batting and a never say die attitude in the field.
"I think that it would be easy beating India in the final rather than the pool games. There is more pressure obviously with under 19s. It is a young age. Maybe one or two mistakes and then we can capitalise on that," hopes South Africa Under-19 team skipper Wayne Parnell.
India's juniors know the headlines await them on a day they share the limelight with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men – the men they aspire to be.

Left demands ban on Twenty20 cricket

KOLKATA: The government should ban Twenty20 cricket and ascertain the source of income for the BCCI-backed multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League, veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta demanded on Saturday. Describing Twenty20 cricket as a "gamble" involving "widespread betting" and "free investment of unaccounted money", Dasgupta alleged that a cabinet minister was involved in the "caricature of the game and looting cricket lovers." Dasgupta was apparently referring to Agriculture Minister and Maharashtra political heavyweight Sharad Pawar, who heads the cash-rich BCCI. "No player can exhibit talent in this format. It's a shameful attempt by unscrupulous people to make money. Unfortunately, there is no opposition to this, either from cricketers or from the government," the senior parliamentarian said. "The standards and morality of cricket will go down because of Twenty20 cricket and events like IPL. Cricket will be destroyed," Dasgupta said. Filmstars Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Preity Zinta, and industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya and Ness Wadia were among those who recently shelled out billions of rupees in bids to become franchise owners of Indian Premier League teams and rope in star players from India and abroad. The tournament would be held at eight venues in India from April 18 to June 1.

Symonds follows Dhoni, bid at $1.35 mn

MUMBAI : The million dollar barrier was breached in the opening round itself when the Chennai franchisee of the Indian Premier League (IPL) bought Twenty20 World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a staggering $1.5 million (approximately Rs six crore) here today. Veteran Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya, at 39 among the oldest in the 77-player auction, was bought by Mukesh Ambani's Team Mumbai for $9,75,000, the second-highest winning bid after two rounds. Team Mumbai, which did not successfully bid for any of the six players in the opening round, went hammer and tongs in the second round and outbid others to capture the services of India's number one limited overs slow bowler Harbhajan Singh for $850,000. The side already has the services of icon player Sachin Tendulkar who was not part of the pool at Wednesday's auction. The Mumbai franchisee will now have to tread carefully in getting the remaining players for its team as they have exhausted $3.5 million out of the $5 million cap in buying out 'Matara Marauder' Jayasuriya and 'Turbanator ' Harbhajan. The cap includes the amount to be paid to Tendulkar which would be 15 per cent over and above their highest player bid in the auction, which after two rounds is the winning bid for Jayasuriya. Indian Test captain Anil Kumble was bought over by Team Bangalore, his home city franchisee owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, for $500,000, double his base price. Sri Lanka's highly successful wicket keeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara will represent Team Mohali, to be led by icon player Yuvraj Singh. Sangakkara was sold for $700,000, as compared to his base price of $250,000. In the first round, Team Hyderabad successfully bid for the swashbuckling Australian wicket keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist for the same amount as Sangakkara. The reserve price for Gilchrist, who is retiring from all international cricket at the end of the ongoing triangular series in Australia , was $300,000. Andrew Symonds was bought by Hyderabad franchisee of the Indian Premier League for $1.35 million. Retired Australian leg spin great Shane Warne's winning bid, by Team Jaipur (Emerging Media), was the same as his reserve price (USD 450,000). Warne is 38 and has already retired from international cricket. Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar (winning bid by Team Kolkata of Shah Rukh Khan for $425,000), Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (successfully bid for by Team Mohali of Preity Zinta Group for $475,000) and his teammate and the worlds highest wicket taker in Tests Muttiah Muralitharan (Winning bid by Team Chennai for $600,000) were bought for prices well above the base prices quoted for these players. The base prices for Akhtar, Jayawardene and Murali were identically fixed at $250,000. After the first two rounds of auction, the franchisees had paid $7.175 million while buying 10 players.

AHMEDABAD: In a shocking incident, two inebriated youth allegedly molested a foreigner inside the museum of Gandhi Ashram on Monday but strangely no c

NEW DELHI : Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena won the toss and decided to bat first against India in the do or die eighth ODI of the CB tri-series at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Both the sides made one change, India rested their injured pacer Sreesanth for Praveen Kumar while Sri Lanka rested Nuwan Kulasekara for Amerasinghe. It was expected that MS Dhoni would include fiery batsman Virender Sehwag in the crucial match but instead he prefer young all-rounder Praveen Kumar. With hosts Australia virtually assuring a place in the final having bagged 17 points from five matches, much will depend on India's performance against the Sri Lankans in the day-night encounter. The Indians were in the second position on the points table with 8 points from five games while Sri Lanka had six points from four matches. Faced with a choice of dropping a batsman, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni showed trust on out-of-form Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa but the plan came unstuck as the duo failed. All the three teams have struggled to come to terms with the new white ball and bowlers of all the teams have had a field day. India need their batsmen to fire big if they have to hold back the charge of the Lankans. Both sides need at least two wins under their belt but whereas India have just three games left of their lined up games, Sri Lanka have four matches to go for their desired wins.

Batsmen let down as India crash to 50-run defeat

ADELAIDE, February 17: Indian bowlers pinned down Australia but their famed batting colleagues made a mess of a modest chase as the visitors hurtled to a 50-run defeat in the cricket tri-series One-dayer on Sunday. After their seamers had restricted Australia to 203 for nine wickets in 50 overs, India's much-vaunted batting order proved a huge let down as they collapsed in just 41.2 overs for a meagre 153 against an Australian attack sans their spearhead Brett Lee. Australia also managed to bag an additional bonus point from the win and are virtually assured of a place in the final. The hosts lead the table with 17 points in the kitty from five matches. India remain second with eight points from as many games, while Sri Lanka have six from four outing. India, chasing 204 for win, were always against it when they lost three wickets in a clutch to be 59 for four in the 16th over. Irfan Pathan (14), Gautam Gambhir (34) and Rohit Sharma (1) departed within eight balls to leave India staring at defeat at a critical time. Sachin Tendulkar went early for five off a dubious leg before decision but Gambhir and Pathan took the score to 55 without much trouble when the rot set in. India were revived by the 56-run fourth wicket stand between skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (37) and vice captain Yuvraj Singh (26) and appeared to be back once again in the hunt. Yuvraj, who appeared set to play his first substantial innings of the tour, struck a big six off Brad Hogg and three pleasing fours before hitting a long hop from the left-arm spinner into the hands of the long-on fielder Stuart Clark. It was a critical blow for the visitors as Dhoni was hamstrung by a pulled thigh muscle and needed a runner to support him. The end became a reality when Dhoni was run-out for 37, made off 50 balls with one four, as his runner Rohit Sharma failed to make it at the non-striker's end. All the frontline bowlers did a good job for the hosts with Mitchell Johnson (3 for 42) and James Hopes (2 for 16) being the stand-out performers. Earlier, Michael Clarke played a lone hand in providing Australia with a fighting total. The middle-order batsman held his ground while the rest keep falling from the other end as he compiled 79 in team's total of 203 for nine in allotted 50 overs. Indian fast bowlers, led by the impressive Pathan and the irrepressible Ishant Sharma, had Australia in complete disarray for most of the innings after the hosts had won the toss and chosen to bat. Ishant took two for 32 and had Australia on the ropes early even though Irfan finished with the best figures of four for 41. Opting to go into the game with five bowlers after resting Virender Sehwag, India did almost nothing wrong in the field from the very word go. Sehwag, who had blasted a century against Australia at this very ground last month in the last Test, was put to the bench despite reporting almost fit from his back-strain. Dhoni preferred to keep faith in his deputy Yuvraj rather than trust Sehwag as India took the big gamble in a critical game. Australia had moved to 25 by the sixth over without much trouble when Ishant provided the breakthrough with Adam Gilchrist (15) inside-edging a cut on to his stumps. Munaf Patel, who was carted over long on for a six by Matthew Hayden in his first over, was rewarded in his third over when out-of-form Ricky Ponting (10) slashed a cut to Rohit Sharma at point. Australia were soon 43 for three when Hayden erred in cutting a bouncing delivery in Pathan's first over into Dhoni's gloves. The hosts lost another wicket when Andrew Symonds (3) didn't pull his bat out of the way of a rising Ishant delivery and a reluctant cut went to Robin Uthappa at point. Australia's scoring dropped as they had managed only 73 from 23-odd overs when Mike Hussey (5) gave Pathan his second wicket to leave his team stuttering at 73 for five. Clarke then took roots and young James Hopes (19) was an able foil as 39 runs were realised for the sixth wicket before Harbhajan Singh broke the stand. Harbhajan beat Hopes with a wrong'un and Dhoni effected an easy stumping. Clarke was well-supported by Brad Hogg (32) for the seventh wicket as 72 runs were gathered before the latter was run-out. Australia lost Clarke three runs later when the elegant right-hander pulled a long-hop from Pathan to Ishant at square leg fence. He faced 108 balls for his 79 and hit six fours. Pathan picked up his fourth scalp in the same over as Nathan Bracken (0) edged one to Dhoni.

Brand Sania remains on top despite pull-out

New Delhi: Asia's top tennis player Sania Mirza will retain her strong brand value despite her decision to shun Indian tournaments in protest at being dragged into needless controversies, Indian advertisers say.
The 21-year-old Indian is skipping next month's Bangalore Open, rattled by a court case last month which alleged she showed disrespect to the national flag, an offence punishable by jail.
"Sania has become a brand not because she won a few matches in India or because of her ranking," Santosh Desai, CEO of India's Future Brand, told the Hindustan Times daily.
"It is because of her success worldwide, and if she continues to play well and make us buy into the idea of her international success, sponsors will continue to support her."
Mirza's popularity has rivalled cricketers in India since she became the first Indian woman to win a tour event in 2005 and the articulate player enjoys many commercial endorsements. She is ranked 29th in the world.
Sania has also had to pay a price for her popularity, however, and has been at the centre of a series of controversies. She faced an edict from a Muslim group for playing in normal tennis attire soon after her rise to prominence.
In December, she apologised to mosque officials in hometown Hyderabad following a police complaint for trespass after she shot an advertisement film in its premises.
Mirza said last month she even contemplated quitting tennis because of the issues.
Her boycott decision has won support from doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi, her mixed doubles partner and manager, but Davis Cup captain Leander Paes has urged Mirza to handle such issues better.

Controversies force Sania off Indian courts

New Delhi: The soon to be held WTA tennis tournament in Bangalore has lost its star attraction.
Asia's top ranked player Sania Mirza says she will give the event a miss because of the controversies that dogged her whenever she was playing in India. And she had the backing of her mentor Mahesh Bhupathi and his company Globosport.
"Whether I'm playing Bangalore Open, as of now, no, because I have been advised by my managers not to play. I think a lot has been happening in the last few months and every time that I played in India there has been some kind of problem," Sania said.
Finally the petty controversies had taken its toll. Just back from Bangkok where she was part of the Fed Cup team, Sania Mirza dropped this bombshell. She had had enough of the off-court troubles.
"I'm human and I'm a normal 21-year-old person who's just trying to play tennis and of course it takes a toll," Sania reasoned.

$60-million catch made Aussies dilute Bhajji case

Sydney: A fear of losing $60 million if India terminated the tour midway made the Australian cricket board force the reluctant Australian players to dilute the charge of racial abuse against Harbhajan Singh, local media reported on Tuesday.
Cricket Australia (CA), which took legal advice, told its players that if the television rights holder and sponsors sued CA successfully, it could take 10 years to recoup the losses, the daily Sydney Morning Herald said.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed Australian player involved in Tuesday's re-hearing as saying that the CA backtracked because of the money power enjoyed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"The thing that pisses us off is that it shows how much power India has. The Aussie guys aren't going to make it up. The players are frustrated because this shows how much influence India has, because of the wealth they generate. Money talks," said the paper in its Wednesday's edition posted on its website.
At Tuesday's hearing by a New Zealand High Court judge, Justice John Hansen, Harbhajan was slapped with 50 percent fine of his match fee, replacing his three-Test ban handed by International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Mike Procter after the second Test in Sydney this month.
Andrew Symonds had alleged that Harbhajan had called him 'money', following which his captain Ricky Ponting had complained to the on-field umpires, leading to Procter handing the punishment.
Harbhajan was, however, allowed to play on after he appealed to the ICC against the ban. The ICC then appointed Hansen to have a re-hearing after the four-Test series ended in Adelaide Monday. Australia won the Test series 2-1.
The paper claimed Tuesday that the BCCI had threatened to fly its players home without playing Friday's Twenty20 International in Melbourne and the subsequent One-Day International (ODI) triangular series if the racial charge against Harbhajan was not dropped.
"The BCCI had even chartered a plane to take its players home tomorrow if the Indian player's three-Test suspension - for calling Australia's Andrew Symonds a monkey during the Sydney Test - had not been overturned at yesterday's [Tuesday] appeal in the Federal Court in Adelaide," it wrote

Sania becomes Asia's number one tennis player

NEW DELHI, January 28: Controversies, injuries and inconsistent form have threatened to derail Sania Mirza's career time and again but the Indian star continues to rise nevertheless, touching a new high on Monday by becoming Asia's number one woman tennis player. After her third-round appearance at the Australian Open, Sania gained three spots to rise to the 29th position with 931 points to become Asia's new numero uno player in the latest WTA rankings overtaking Chinese ace Na Li, who dropped to the 32nd position. Sania, who lost to Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the third round, however, slipped in the doubles rankings, losing five places to drop out of top-20 and be placed 23rd in the latest list. She had teamed up with Australian Alicia Molik in the Australian Open and the duo had been knocked out in the third round. Becoming the Asian number one is yet another remarkable achievement for the 21-year-old Hyderabadi, who has been India's lone flag-bearer in women's tennis after a breakthrough season in 2005.
Sania : The controversial star
"I am very happy, I think this is the first time I have become Asian number one, so it's an honour," Sania said. She became the first Indian to break into the top-50 of WTA rankings and has notched up some memorable wins over Grand Slam champions like Martina Hingis and top-20 players like Patty Schnyder and Dinara Safina. However, the glamorous star has had to deal with heightened expectations and one controversy after another ever since her rise to prominence. Her on-court attire, her views on pre-marital sex and numerous other petty issues have raised the heckles of Islamic fundamentalists who have never wasted time in issuing one fatwa after another against her. Injuries have also hampered her and she continues to play with minor niggles but all this has not affected her performance. A WTA title eludes her and the best she has done at a Grand Slam is reaching the fourth round of US Open, but her fighting spirit and determination have won hearts wherever she has played. "I'm 21 and I'm trying to be the best I can be," a bit upset but resolute Sania had said after off-court furors forced her to think of quitting the game altogether a few weeks ago.

Grandmaster Anand is 2007's top sportsman

In his triumph, he brought glory to India and made us proud. CNN-IBN's chosen one for Indian of the Year 2007 in the Sports category is the man who inspired enough of his countrymen to take up the game, so much so, that the country became a world chess power. He is none other than Mr Consistent Viswanathan Anand. He is India's first Grandmaster who shocked the mighty Gary Kasparov. And now even after 20 years into the sport, the fire still burns for the current World Champion.

Sania Mirza crashes out of Australian Open

New Delhi: Eighth seed Venus Williams survived her toughest test at the Australian Open to beat Indian Sania Mirza 7-6 6-4 and reach the fourth round on Saturday.
Mirza produced a superb performance, but American Williams eventually wore her down to reach the last 16 and will next meet Li Na of China or Polish qualifier Marta Domachowska.
India Mirza, seeded 31st, made an excellent start by snatching an early break but the Wimbledon champion broke back and played a flawless tiebreak, winning it 7-0.
Games went with serve in the second set until 3-3 when Williams broke and she took her ace count to seven while serving out for victory.
Sania put up a brave fight in the first set, making the 8th seed sweat for every point.
The 20-year-old Indian had earlier defeated Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland on Thursday in the second round in three sets 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to make it to the third round.
Venus had reached the third round after defeating French player Camille Pin 7-5, 6-4.

Incredible win at Perth

PERTH, PTI: India recorded one of their most amazing Test triumphs overseas when they beat Australia by 72 runs in the thrilling third Test to snap the champion team's record 17-match winning streak on Saturday.Set 413 to win a world record 17th Test in succession, the Australians were dismissed for 340 to allow the spirited visitors to reduce the margin to 2-1 in the four match series with one full day to spare.Not many had given the Indians any hope at the WACA, regarded as the fastest pitch in the world, but Anil Kumble and his men came out firing on all cylinders to not only pull off a sensational victory but raise hopes of levelling the series.The Indians celebrated wildly and hugged each other after RP Singh castled last man Shaun Tait, bringing an end to a dramatic Test which saw fortune fluctuating from one team to the other on the four days.It was a remarkable show of character by the Indians who did not allow the acrimonious events of the Sydney Test to affect them as they went about plotting the demolition of the champion team.

Snarling Sharapova wins battle of the Russians

MELBOURNE, January 18: Fifth seed Maria Sharapova bared her fangs as she downed fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-0 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday. Sharapova was in no mood to tolerate any obstacles in her quest to make amends for a humiliating loss in last year's final, snarling "you're messing with the wrong person" as her opponent refused to buckle early in the match.
With her long blonde ponytail and sun visor, Vesnina looked like a slightly shorter version of Sharapova on the court and matched her compatriot as the pair exchanged service breaks in the opening stages of the match. Then when Vesnina saved two break points at 3-3, Sharapova smashed down a return to convert a third, warning the world number 55 not to mess with her as they exchanged ends. A pumped-up Sharapova went on to take the first set in 56 minutes and overpowered Vesnina in the second, muttering darkly to herself between points. Sharapova's on-court grunting was measured at 71.5 decibels by a Melbourne newspaper this week -- close to the noise made by a power drill -- and she was in full voice as she closed Vesnina out of the match. But the 20-year-old was all smiles after securing a win, shaking hands with Vesnina and saying she had simply been frustrated early on at her misfiring serve. "I was giving her too many looks at my second serve," she said. "We just kept breaking each other." Sharapova, who overwhelmed Lindsay Davenport in the second round to end the American tennis mum's Grand Slam return, said she was looking forward to reaching the business end of the tournament. "I'm really excited, it gets tougher from here and I'm really looking forward to stepping it up and playing at the next level," she said. Sharapova will meet another Russian in eleventh seed Elena Dementieva in the next round, with a possible quarter-final against world number one and top seed Justine Henin if she wins.

Sania sails in Oz Open

Melbourne: Sania Mirza defeated Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland on Thursday in the second round of the women's singles at the Australian Open enter the third round.
The 20-year-old Indian won the match 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. She will now meet eight seed Venus Williams of the US in the third round.
Former world No.1 Venus stumbled into the third round of the Australian Open with an unimpressive 7-5 6-4 win over France's Camille Pin. Venus was grateful to edge a tight first set and her erratic serve did not improve in the second either. Pin battled on but the American's superior power eventually brought her victory.
On Wednesday, Sania and her Australian partner Alicia Molik won their women's doubles first round match beating Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Jasmin Woehr of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Sania has so far won all her singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches in the tournament. She had beaten Iroda Tulyaganova in the first round 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the women's singles and has also advanced to the second round of mixed doubles along with her partner Rohan Bopanna.

Sania considered quiting tennis over flag row | Sania vs Venus?

Melbourne: Sania Mirza, at the centre of controversy for reportedly disrespecting her national flag, admitted on Tuesday she had considered quitting the sport over the row.
But the 21-year-old, who advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-4 6-2 win over Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan, said it was only a fleeting thought and she expected to be around for a while yet.
"I think a lot of thoughts went through my head in the last couple of weeks," Mirza told reporters.
"One of the thoughts was that, but I wouldn't say it was serious enough that I am going to quit right now."
Mirza is the subject of a court summons in Hyderabad after a private citizen made a complaint under the country's Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act.
The controversy surrounds a photograph taken at the Hopman Cup mixed team event in Perth, played at the beginning of the year, that appeared to show Mirza's bare feet resting near the national flag.
The maximum punishment for the offence is a three-year jail term, but Mirza, one of the country's biggest sporting heroes, said she would never do anything to hurt India.
"I just know that I would not do anything to disrespect my country" she said. "I love my country, I wouldn't be playing Hopman Cup otherwise, but besides that I am not allowed to comment."
Mirza admitted, though, that her preparations for the year's first grand-slam event had been affected by the controversy.
"It's not easy to deal with things like that off the court," she said.
"Obviously there are some misunderstandings happening. I am not super-human, so it does affect me a little bit. "I am not a politician here, to outsmart people and try to fight.
That's not what I am trying to do - I am trying to play tennis, I am 21, and I am trying to do the best I can. "However I try and block it out, it's still at the back of my mind. (But) under the circumstances, I am just glad I came through the first round."

Brad Hogg as guilty of abuse as Harbhajan

Australian spinner Brad Hogg faces a disciplinary hearing on Monday for allegedly abusing Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the Sydney Test. Already seething over the Harbhajan episode, Team India wants Hogg to face a similar penalty for they say Hogg too has used an abusive word against the Indian players.