Sylhet Royals collapse to sixth defeat

Suhrawadi Shuvo picked up three wickets in an economical spell 

Barisal Burners 121 for 1 (Shehzad 60, Hodge 54*) beatSylhet Royals 120 for 7 (Tanvir 33, Naeem 22, Shuvo 3-20) by nine wicketsBarisal Burners sealed a comprehensive win over Sylhet Royals at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. A strong bowling performance, led by left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo who took 3 for 20, helped restrict Sylhet to 120, a score Barisal chased with ease.Sylhet, after choosing to bat, began steadily but collapsed not long after. Kamran Akmal fell for a run-a-ball 17, and that was the start of the slide. In the 12th over, Sylhet were reeling at 58 for 6, having lost Akmal with the score on 21. Farhat Hossain picked up two of those wickets, Shuvo bagged two as well and Al-Amin Hossain and Yasir Arafat took one each. Sohail Tanvir (33) and Naeem Islam (22*) staged a recovery that gave the Sylhet score some respectability. The pair added 45 and helped post 120, which was inadequate.Barisal openers Ahmed Shehzad and Brad Hodge made a mockery of the Sylhet score, putting together a stand of 116 that sealed their opponents' fate. Shehzad smashed five sixes in his 60 before being stumped; Hodge struck as many sixes in his unbeaten 54, and saw his team through in just 13.2 overs.Sylhet are reeling at the bottom of the table with six defeats in a row. Barisal have three wins from six games.

Richard Levi brings South Africa level in style

 Richard Levi hit 13 sixes in his 117 off 51 balls and chased New Zealand's 173 with ease in the Twenty20 in Hamilton  

South Africa 174 for 2 (Levi 117*, de Villiers 38*) beat New Zealand 173 for 4 (Guptill 47, Botha 1-22) by eight wickets

A combination of a flat pitch and especially small boundaries provided the ideal opportunity for a powerful batsman to break a record at sold-out Seddon Park. And Richard Levi, playing only his second international match, took it. He hit the most sixes in a Twenty20 innings - 13 - on his way to the fastest hundred in the format, off 45 balls, and made New Zealand's 173 look at least 50 short of a par score.So brutal was Levi during his 117 off 51 balls, a maiden Twenty20 international century for South Africa, that the run-rate rarely dropped below 10 after the first over. They cruised to the target with four overs to spare, leveling the series 1-1 with the decider in Auckland.Levi was fortuitous in the first over, when a top-edged sweep carried well over the fine-leg boundary. Nathan McCullum was the bowler so the ball didn't even have much pace on it. Seddon Park was that small. Levi's next boundary was more convincing, a mow off Doug Bracewell high into the stands at backward square leg, and he barely mis-timed any after that. He took on everyone, including the feisty Tim Southee, who tried to repeat the short-ball attack that dismissed Levi in Wellington. It did not work in Hamilton.Hashim Amla holed out to long-off and Wayne Parnell, promoted to No.3 to have a go, was stumped, but neither of those dismissals deterred Levi. One of his sixes smacked the television floor manager on the back of the head, another went over the team dug-outs, another was flat-batted off a slower ball and a fourth bounced on the road outside the ground. South Africa had scored 63 for 2 before the fielding restrictions were lifted.Not that it mattered. Levi brought up his fifty off 25 balls with his only single on the off side at that point. Most of his sixes were down the ground or over the leg-side boundary. His next fifty runs came even quicker - off 20 deliveries - and Levi broke Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum's 50-ball record for the fastest T20 century.New Zealand were unable to force Levi to play on the off-side but as his innings progressed, Levi hit them in that area as well. Southee conceded 40 runs in four overs and Bracewell 37, his second and last over containing two sixes and a four from Levi.AB de Villiers was a spectator to the display of muscle, but even as a supporting act, he managed 39 off 36 balls. He also hit the last four, through mid-on, to earn his first win as Twenty20 captain.That New Zealand made only so much in near perfect batting conditions, however, was down to South Africa's much-improved performance in the field. de Villiers managed his bowlers better than he did in Wellington to restrict the hosts, when they had looked set for much more after reaching 79 for 1 in ten overs.The only wicket to fall in the first half of New Zealand's innings was via a run-out. Rob Nicol took on de Villiers' arm after he missed a pull against Marchant de Lange and the ball landed behind the stumps. Guptill raced through in time but de Villiers threw at the bowler's end and his direct hit had a diving Nicol well short. And after the loss of their lynchpin, Guptill, New Zealand stuttered through the second part of their innings.Guptill had continued his good form and was on track to score his seventh consecutive international half-century, but fell for 47, top edging a hook to deep backward square. It gave the debutant de Lange his first international T20 wicket in just his second game in this format.Guptill's dismissal allowed South Africa to drag New Zealand back and claim the wicket of Brendon McCullum. Johan Botha, who had opened the bowling, was the architect of stemming the run flow. He and JP Duminy helped keep New Zealand to 41 runs between overs 10 and 15.New Zealand were in danger of falling well short of a par score, when Franklin stepped up. Fresh from his 60 against Zimbabwe at this venue four days ago, Franklin cleared the boundary four times in his 10-ball 28. Parnell and de Lange, however, were able to keep New Zealand to 14 in the last two overs against an unsure Colin de Grandhomme.In the end, however, no total may have been large enough for Levi.

Kruger earns 1st European Tour title in India

He protected his overnight lead by shooting a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory at the Avantha Masters. The 25-year-old Kruger made four birdies and overcame a bogey on the 17th to finish with 14-under total of 274. Jorge Campillo of Spain and Marcel Siem of Germany were two shots back in a tie for second. Jose Manuel Lara of Spain and Australian Marcus Fraser finished joint fourth at 11 under. Kruger finished second on the Asian Tour three times in 2010, while his best previous result on the European Tour was third at the Africa Open the same year. His best on this year s European Tour has been ninth at the Joburg Open in South Africa.

Real 13 points clear after crushing Santander

A Cristiano Ronaldo header set Real Madrid on their way to a 4-0 win at home to 10-man Racing Santander on Saturday that stretched their advantage over second-placed Barcelona at the top of La Liga to 13 points. Ronaldo’s sixth-minute goal from a clever Kaka assist was his 28th of the season in the league, putting the Portuguese forward five clear of Barca’s World Player of the Year Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring chart. Santander, who are 18th in the standings, were reduced to 10 men six minutes before the break when the referee ruled defender Domingo Cisma had handled the ball for a second time in the game and showed him a second yellow card. Real doubled their lead in added time when a dinked Karim Benzema effort was deflected over the line by Santander defender Bernardo under pressure from Sergio Ramos. Substitute Angel Di Maria, back after injury, netted the third goal and the best of the night in the 73rd minute when he powered a left-foot strike past goalkeeper Tono from just outside the area. Benzema’s deflected effort made it 4-0 a minute from time to seal an 18th win for Jose Mourinho’s side in 19 league matches since the end of September and lift them to 61 points from 23 games. “The best thing is that we have three more points and one less game to play,” Mourinho told a news conference. “We won without sparkle, but without much effort,” the Portuguese added. “At this stage of the season, winning without suffering and without much effort is the most positive thing.”

IMPERIOUS FORM

Barca, who beat arch-rivals Real 3-1 at the Bernabeu in December but have otherwise suffered patchy away form, can trim the gap to 10 points with a win at home to third-placed Valencia on Sunday. However, with Real in such imperious form and unlikely to drop many points, the world and European champions’ bid for a fourth straight domestic title already appears a lost cause. Benzema said the comfortable win was ideal preparation for the Champions League last-16 first leg at CSKA Moscow. “It was a great game for us tonight and now we’ll try to do the same on Tuesday,” the French international told Spanish television. In the earlier kickoff, Espanyol climbed above Levante into the fourth Champions League qualification place despite surrendering the lead in a 1-1 draw at Getafe. Espanyol have 33 points, one ahead of Levante who host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Sevilla ended a run of three straight defeats and eight games without a win when they beat Osasuna 2-0, a first success for new coach Michel. Gary Medel netted the opening goal in the 16th minute at the Sanchez Pizjuan when he crashed a low shot into the corner of the net before substitute Piotr Trochowski turned in the second in second-half added time. The victory lifted the Andalusian club to 10th on 29 points as they seek to get their bid to qualify for Europe next season back on track. Osasuna, who beat Barca 3-2 at their Reyno de Navarra stadium last weekend, are eighth on 31 points.

British boxer Dereck Chisora detained

His arrest was made following brawl with former WBA champion David Haye at a post-fight press conference on Saturday night. Chisora and his coach Don Charles were detained at Munich airport on Sunday and taken in for questioning, police spokesman Gottfried Schlicht told The Associated Press. "Then we will decide whether to proceed further (with charges)," Schlicht said. Schlicht said the police were still looking for Haye, who wasn t at his hotel. "We don t know where he is," Schlicht said. Chisora and fellow Londoner Haye came to blows after Chisora s defeat by unanimous decision to Vitali Klitschko in their WBC title fight. Chisora taunted Haye about losing the WBA belt to Klitschko s younger brother Wladimir last July, leading to a heated exchange before Chisora knocked a bottle out of Haye s hand and they came to blows. Haye also fought with members of Chisora s entourage, and his coach, Adam Booth, was left bleeding from a cut on his head. Camera equipment went flying and reporters fled before security eventually managed to separate the men and police arrived at the scene. "You ve really lost it this time," Chisora told Haye. The 40-year-old Klitschko beat Chisora in a bruising bout in which the Ukrainian claimed to have fought from the fourth round with only his right fist after injuring his left shoulder. Klitschko was being examined in a Munich hospital on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury. "I think we all heard excuses about a broken toe," Chisora said before the brawl, referring to Haye s claim after his defeat to Wladimir Klitschko in Germany last July. Chisora found little support from the sellout crowd of 12,500 after slapping Vitali Klitschko s face at the weigh-in on Friday, and ensured the ill feelings continued when he spat water in Wladimir s face as his brother s record was being called out before their bout. "I wanted to knock him out, to be honest," Vitali Klitschko said. "Such a cheek." Wladimir acted as a buffer as Chisora continued to goad them. Vitali was clearly incensed, but it took some time before he could assert control against the Briton s aggressive approach. His greater reach and experience made the difference. The judges scored it 118-110, 118-110 and 119-111. Chisora said after the bout he wanted a rematch, or a bout with Wladimir, who is now "super" WBA champion and the holder of the IBF and minor WBO and IBO belts. The younger Klitschko is due to fight next against Jean-Marc Mormeck of France on March 3 in Duesseldorf, Germany. But Chisora was not hopeful of a rematch. "He won t fight me again. I don t blame you. I wouldn t fight me either," he said. Klitschko improved his record to 44-2 (40 KOs) after what was arguably the toughest bout he s had to endure since losing on a technical knockout to Lennox Lewis in 2003. The Zimbabwe-born Chisora dropped to 15-3 (9 KOs) after his third defeat in his last four fights, but he had the fans in Munich s Olympiahalle worried as Klitschko appeared to tire from his relentless attacks. Sensing an upset, they chanted the Ukrainian s name in the seventh round before Klitschko reasserted his dominance with a series of precise blows. Chisora was bleeding from the lip after the first round, but seemed more than capable of taking Klitschko s multiple blows. Klitschko eventually took control of the bout in the ninth round, catching Chisora with a huge right and seemingly picking his punches at will. Chisora was barely hanging on in the 10th. "He tried it all, but apart from a few grazes I didn t get anything more," Klitschko said. Chisora gave it everything he had in the 12th and final round as he sought a knockout blow, but Klitschko, knowing the work was already done, used his greater experience to safely see out the round, and maintain the brothers  dominance of the heavyweight division. "I wanted to give him what he deserves. It didn t work out. Life is an interesting thing. Life is long. Who knows? Maybe we ll meet some other day," Klitschko said.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng wins LPGA Thailand

Tseng won with birdies on the final two holes Sunday to hold off playing partner Ai Miyazato by a stroke. The 23-year-old Taiwanese star shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 19-under 269 on Siam Country Club s Pattaya Old Course. She opened with a 73, then shot consecutive 65s to enter the final round a shot behind Miyazato. Miyazato, the Japanese player who won the 2010 tournament, closed with a 68. She also birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th. South Korea s Jiyai Shin, tied for the lead with Tseng after a birdie of her own on 17, had a 67 to finish third at 17 under.