ICC denies World Cup semi-final investigation

The ICC has dismissed a report in a British newspaper that it is investigating the 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan over fears of match-fixing.The Sunday Times ran a story which claimed to expose further corruption in cricket, including taped conversations with a Delhi bookmaker. The newspaper reported that the bookmaker alleged the India-Pakistan semi-final in Mohali was fixed, although he offered no evidence to support the claims.However the ICC, which was quoted in support of the original Sunday Times story without specific mention of the semi-final, said there was no evidence to prompt an investigation into the match."The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading. The ICC has no reason or evidence to require an investigation into this match," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said. "It is indeed sad for spurious claims to be made which only serve to cause doubt on the semi-final."New Zealand Cricket also came out strongly, rejecting claims in the article made by the bookmaker that some of their players were involved in fixing. "We have complete confidence that the claims made are baseless and have no credibility," NZC chief executive David White said.The Sunday Times story focussed on the alleged role of Bollywood actresses being used as honey traps for international cricketers, and also included comments from bookmakers about how English domestic cricket is now an easy target.In the past six months, jail sentences were handed out to three Pakistan players - Salman Butt, captain at the time, and two fast bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif for spot-fixing in 2010; Meryvn Westfield became the first player to receive a custodial sentence for fixing in English county cricket; and, in the High Court in London, Chris Cairns' libel action against the former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, brought allegations about corruption in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League into focus.

Kamal remarks throw Pakistan tour into doubt

Mustafa Kamal had been positive about Bangladesh's tour after visiting Pakistan

The uncertainty over whether Bangladesh will tour Pakistan next month and end a three-year drought of international cricket there continues, after BCB president Mustafa Kamal said they would not tour if the ICC did not agree to send their match officials. Several moves over the past two weeks suggested the tour was going to be given the green light. These included a Bangladesh delegation approving the security infrastructure in Pakistan, and the ICC introducing a special dispensation that would allow "non-neutral match officials" for bilateral series in "exceptional circumstances", should it find it unsafe to appoint its officials for a series.However, Kamal has now said said there was no question of the tour going ahead if the ICC did not provide officials. "We won't go if everything doesn't happen within the standard practice, which is the allocation of match-referees, umpires and all things by the ICC," he said on Wednesday in Dhaka. "That [allowing officials from the competing teams] means we are not going there because ICC also has responsibility. If they don't take responsibility, then on what basis can I send my players."The ICC's recommendation to allow bilateral series to continue even though the governing body had security concerns about them had already drawn flak from the Federation of International Cricketers' Association.Pakistan have not hosted any international matches since a terrorist attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore three years ago. They have played most of their home matches in the UAE since then, though the PCB has been pushing hard to stage matches in Pakistan.Kamal said he too wanted international cricket to return to Pakistan."I am the president of the BCB and also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, in that sense I have a dual responsibility, and yes I do want cricket to happen in Pakistan but it all depends on many issues - security, the ICC's views and the government's approval. The discussions are on and in a short time we will announce our decision."Last week, a nine-member delegation from Bangladesh, headed by Kamal, had been given a two-day demonstration of the security plan for the proposed bilateral series next month. After being briefed about the arrangements, the delegation had been satisfied with arrangements in Lahore, and Kamal had been optimistic about the series going ahead.

BNP Paribas Open 2012 Day 5 Results: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Ease Into Third Round, Azarenka Wins 19th Straight

Combined they have five titles from the BNP Parbias, so maybe that's why Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dropped only nine games total to advance to the third round.

Nadal, who has previously won in Indian Wells twice, defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, 6-1 6-3. Nadal broke his opponent twice and won in an hour and 15 minutes. Nadal has reached the last six semifinals of the BNP Parbias. He lost in last year's final to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

The match today was Nadal's first in six weeks, since his runner-up finish at the Australian Open.

Federer, who has three Indian Wells titles to his name, beat American Denis Kudla 6-4 6-1. Federer broke his wild card opponent's serve five times and won in under an hour. The victory was Federer's 10th consecutive win.

On the women's side, Victoria Azarenka rolled to her 19th straight victory. The World No. 1 beat 25th seed Svetlana Kuznestova, 6-1, 6-2. Azarenka is now onto the fourth round.

The upset of the day is courtesy of American Christina McHale. She beat world No. 3 Petra Kvitova in three sets. McHale advanced from the third round with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Matchups to watch for in Day 6 (seeds in bold)

Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs Nadia Petrova (RUS)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)

Simona Halep (ROU) vs Maria Sharapova (RUS)

Andy Roddick (USA) vs Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Ryan Harrison (USA)

John Isner (USA ) vs Juan Monaco (ARG)

Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs Gilles Simon (FRA)

Matthew Ebden (AUS) vs Mardy Fish (USA)

Moore knocks Man City out of pole position

Manchester City surrendered top spot in the Premier League as Luke Moore's late goal fired Swansea to a shock 1-0 win over the title chasers at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. 

Roberto Mancini's side were second-best for much of the game and needed a first-half penalty save from Joe Hart, who kept out Scott Sinclair's strike, just to remain on level terms. 

And with seven minutes remaining substitute Moore popped up to clinch one of the shock results of the season with a header from a Wayne Routledge cross. 

City pressed hard for an equaliser in the closing moments, but there was no way through and their first defeat in five matches allowed bitter rivals Manchester United, who beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Sunday, to move one point above them at the top. 

Swansea have enjoyed a fine first season in the Premier League and Mancini showed respect for Brendan Rodgers' outfit by moving Yaya Toure on to Swansea playmaker Leon Britton in a bid to stop the home side from controlling the game. 

However, the tactical switch failed to have the desired effect as Swansea dominated possession for long periods. 

The Swans earned themselves a sixth-minute penalty when Sinclair's through ball was collected by Routledge. 

Hart closed in, but clipped the heels of the former Newcastle man and Lee Mason had no option but to award a spot kick. 

Sinclair's penalty was on target but weakly struck and Hart was equal to it. 

A Routledge header was Swansea's next decent opportunity, but once again Hart made no mistake. 

It was one-way traffic and Mancini's side had no answer to the slick Swansea passing that has caught so many off guard this season. 

Mancini was growing increasingly frustrated and when City midfielder Nigel De Jong hauled down Routledge, Mason gave out his first yellow card of the game. 

Danny Graham's shot on the turn brought to an end another period of intense pressure from last season's Championship play-off winners. 

With 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Gareth Barry was hauled off by Mancini and Sergio Aguero brought on to replace him. 

Barry, clearly unhappy, had a few words with coach David Platt as he left for the dugout. 

A deep cross from Angel Rangel, five minutes before half time, was cleared under pressure by Kolo Toure and as the half came to an end, the visitors enjoyed their best spell, with David Silva blasting just wide. 

Squeezing further up the field at the beginning of the second half, City were a far greater force without ever threatening in the final third until Mario Balotelli's through ball found Aguero on the edge of the box. His shot was crisp but off target. 

Michel Vorm was called into action to deny Samir Nasri and then Aguero as City pushed on in pursuit of the opening goal. 

They thought their chance had come when Balotelli appeared to be brought down by Joe Allen, but the Italian tumbled too easily and Mason waved play on. 

Steve Caulker headed just wide 19 minutes from time as Swansea came back into the game and with seven minutes left, they struck the killer blow. 

Gylfi Sigurdsson stole the ball in midfield and after a patient build-up, Routledge picked out Moore who made no mistake with his header. 

Micah Richards thought he had snatched an equaliser, two minutes from time, but his header was ruled out for offside.

Lionel Messi bags double as Barcelona bring down Racing Santander

Four days after scoring five times in a Champions League record Lionel Messi has added two more goals to reach 50 for the second straight season and lead Barcelona to a 2-0 win at Racing Santander in La Liga.

Messi scored five in Barcelona's 7-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and his double on Sunday further enabled him to close to within five goals of matching César Rodríguez's all-time club record of 235.

"Messi stands out from every other player in the world," the Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fábregas said. "It is a pleasure to play with him and to have him on the same team because he gives you that extra dose of confidence that every champion needs."

Barcelona's fourth straight victory means they are back to 10 points behind the runaway leaders, Real Madrid, who beat Real Betis 3-2 on Saturday, but with only 12 rounds to play the defending champions' chances of catching their rivals are dwindling.

Messi broke through Racing's 10-man defence in the 29th minute, and the three-time Fifa World Player of the Year added a penalty in the 56th as Barcelona enjoyed a rare easy win away from Camp Nou.

Barcelona's coach, Pep Guardiola, however, said his team had been put to the test. "We had to make a big effort," Guardiola said. "We played well on a pitch that didn't favour passing the ball. They packed in their defence and that is never easy."

The Racing coach, Alvaro Cervera, who became the troubled club's third coach of the season on Friday, could do little but watch as Barcelona kept the relegation-threatened side winless for their eighth straight week.

Cervera made Racing's strategy clear from the start. While some teams have had limited success pressing Barcelona, the former Racing and Spain player opted for his side to sit back and try to resist their opponents' precision passing game.

But the hosts' defensive stance led to zero shots on goal and did not stop Messi from taking his league goal tally to 30 – two behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the list.

"Entering the game 13 points behind [Madrid], we couldn't afford a slip," Guardiola said. "We imagined they could play one way or the other but we had to come out looking for the win from the first minute."

MAN UTD 2 - WEST BROM 0: UNITED LIFTED BY WAYNE ROONEY

For the first time since mid-October, United can look at the table on a Monday morning and see their names above City at the top.

Wayne Rooney continued his hot streak with another double. But the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for Swansea’s Luke Moore, who sentenced City to defeat at the Liberty Stadium.

The FA Cup defeat by Liverpool and the Europa League home setbacks against Ajax and Athletic Bilbao have tended to obscure United’s league form since the back-to-back defeats by Blackburn and Newcastle at the start of the year.

They have picked up 22 points out of the past 24 – including wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and a draw at Chelsea – while City’s defeats against Everton and Swansea in the same period mean they have managed only 18 from 24.

That has put United in the box seat and if they win at Wolves on Sunday, they will go four clear before City play again – their home clash with Chelsea having been put back to a week on Wednesday because of the London club’s FA Cup match.

The only disappointment for Sir Alex Ferguson was that United missed a great opportunity to further reduce City’s superior goal difference, especially after West Brom were forced to play with 10 men for the final 25 minutes following Jonas Olsson’s red card for a second bookable offence.

Olsson had been cautioned for clumsily bundling over Rooney and could have no complaints when referee Lee Probert showed him a second yellow and the red after a scything tackle from behind on Javier Hernandez.

United were leading 1-0 at that stage, courtesy of Rooney’s 35th-minute strike that underlined his sharpness in front of goal. He nipped in between two defenders to divert Hernandez’s shot past Ben Foster.

Rooney’s second came from the penalty spot, five minutes after Olsson’s dismissal, following Keith Andrews’ pull on Ashley Young.

That made it nine goals in his past six games and 26 for the season. Ferguson’s post-match demand for 40 goals by the end of the season might be asking a lot, but he is on course to beat his best of 34 in 2009-10.

Albion boss Roy Hodgson set aside his frustration at Probert’s failure to award a penalty for Patrice Evra’s trip on Peter Odemwingie when the score was 1-0, to praise Rooney.

“He’s certainly playing well,” he said. “His goal was a mark of that. He came from nowhere and it’s the type you don’t concede too often in the Premier League unless you are playing against a player of his calibre.

“We made a good fist of the first half until Rooney’s goal. There were a lot of tired legs out there but they never gave up, never stopped fighting.”

Albion made an encouraging start, with Andrews going close to giving them a fifth-minute lead. After their wins over Wolves and Chelsea had cost Mick McCarthy and Andre Villas-Boas their jobs, visiting fans taunted Fergusonwith “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.

But once Rooney had put United ahead, there looked little danger of West Brom matching last season’s feat of being the only team to take a league point at Old Trafford.

But they made United work hard, getting plenty of players behind the ball and denying them time and space.

United remained patient and in the end should have run up a bigger score. Danny Welbeck missed an open goal, Hernandez struck a post and then lifted a simple chance over the bar.

So United have their noses in front and, with their superior knowledge of course and distance, few would back against them, especially when the respective run-ins are assessed.

Rain has final say in compelling Test

South Africa 238 (Amla 62, Smith 53, Martin 4-56) and 435 for 5 dec (Smith 115, Kallis 113, Rudolph 105*) drew with New Zealand 273 (McCullum 48, Philander 4-72) and 137 for 2 (McCullum 58*, Taylor 48*) 

The final day of the first Test promised to be an intriguing one, with South Africa needing eight wickets to win and New Zealand 264 runs, but 14 hours of incessant rain in Dunedin made play impossible and the match was called a draw just after 2pm.Brendon McCullum was unbeaten on 58, having had an 84-run partnership with Ross Taylor, that put New Zealand in the hunt for a series lead. Graeme Smith was named Man of the match for his 115 in the second innings.The teams now head to Hamilton for the second Test of the three-match series, which begins on Thursday.

Gul heroics edge Shakib's in thriller

Umar Gul made key strikes in the end to deny Shakib Al Hasan and Bangladesh an upset in the Asia Cup opener 

Pakistan 262 for 8 (Hafeez 89, Jamshed 54, Gul 39, Shahadat 3-53) beat Bangladesh 241 (Shakib 64, Tamim 64, Gul 3-58) by 21 runs

Pakistan built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Bangladesh built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Pakistan's base was strong enough to weather the near-self-destruction. Their counterattack proved sharper in the end as they stopped hosts Bangladesh short of what would have been their highest successful chase at home.Bangladesh produced most of the unexpected passages in the game. They reduced Pakistan to 198 for 7 from 135 for 0. They recovered from 135 for 5 to become the favourites towards the closing stages of the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior.Umar Gul smashed his highest ODI score of 39 from 25 deliveries to convert 198 for 7 into 262 for 8. With Bangladesh requiring 39 off 40 with five wickets in hand, Gul and Saeed Ajmal took 5 for 17 between them to ensure that Shakib Al Hasan's heroic innings ended in frustration and disappointment.Shakib had induced the Pakistan batting collapse, along with Shahadat Hossain. Like a fighter who has resolutely accepted the fact that he will always have to battle more than his fellow soldiers, he brought his side back into contention after they threatened to implode in the chase.Young Nasir Hossain matched his former captain stroke for stroke in an 89-run sixth-wicket partnership at a run a ball. Shakib drove, Nasir pulled, Shakib slashed, Nasir pulled harder, and Bangladesh hoped.When Nasir took consecutive fours off Gul in the 44th over, Bangladesh seemed to have moved decisively in front. Gul is made of sterner stuff, though. He found nip off the pitch and movement in the air with a 21-over old ball and bowled Nasir for 47. Ajmal, who had gone for 11 in the previous over, stepped in now.With the asking-rate under six, Abdur Razzak decided to slog at a full delivery only to get bowled. Mashrafe Mortaza saw the flight but did not read the doosra. Bowled again. Shafiul Islam had two deliveries to keep out in the next over, the 46th. Gul hurled in the inswinging yorker first up. Gone leg-before.A shocked Shakib steadied himself and squeezed the first ball of the next over, bowled by Ajmal, for four past point. With last man Shahadat at the other end, Shakib was forced to play out most of the over to keep strike for the 48th.He tried to take two off the the first ball of the 48th but managed one. Shahadat blocked out the next five. The equation had rocketed to 22 off 12 by now. Shakib had no choice. He tried to slog Gul but only managed to play on. Game over.Gul had earlier rescued Pakistan with the bat after they lost 7 for 63. He showed that his ODI batting average of 9.28 did not reflect his flicking and pulling capabilities. He savaged Mortaza for 16 runs in the 49th over, hitting the bowler for three consecutive boundaries in his lone counterattack.Pakistan's innings could be summed up as accumulation, panic and aggression. After Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on 135, Shahadat and Shakib brought Bangladesh back with a flurry of wickets before Gul hit back.Pakistan would have never thought that they would need Gul to bail them out after the start given by Hafeez and Jamshed. Hafeez put his lean run against England behind him with a patient knock - his first fifty in ODIs in four months - and along with his latest opening partner, Jamshed, gave Pakistan a strong start to their Asia Cup campaign. Jamshed justified his selection ahead of Azhar Ali with a busy innings that afforded Hafeez the space to overcome his scratchy beginning. Shakib apart, Bangladesh's attack was steady at best and allowed Hafeez to work himself into some form.As Hafeez and Jamshed brought up their fifties, Bangladesh's decision to bowl on the flat pitch seemed set to hurt them further, until Jamshed's slow response to a call for a single gave them an opening. Bangladesh barged into it whole-heartedly as Pakistan's batting crumbled without warning or justification.Younis Khan succumbed to a leading edge off Shahadat after playing his flick early. Shahadat, who had been average till then, immediately found some menace and produced two sharp bouncers to lure Hafeez and Asad Shafiq into fatal pulls.Umar Akmal, never one to change his hit-everything style, slog swept his wicket away to Shakib, who was to get more reward for being the bowler who troubled Pakistan the most. Shahid Afridi did not get the time to display his brand of hit-everything, as he bunted a return catch to Shakib first ball.Drama has a way of somehow squeezing itself into everything Afridi is involved in. Shakib fumbled the catch on the first attempt, prevented the ball from touching the ground on the second, lobbed it up into Misbah-ul-Haq's helmet and still had enough balance left to take the rebound on the third attempt. Misbah himself did not get the opportunity to use his crisis-recovery skills as he was soon bowled through the gate. Bangladesh were on top at that stage but would not have accounted for Gul the batsman.Afridi had lasted one delivery with the bat but struck in successive overs to leave the new cautious avatar of Tamim Iqbal and the Bangladesh middle order with a climbing asking-rate. The hosts' chase was on course at 90 for 1 in the 21st over when Afridi bowled Jahurul Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim in the space of five deliveries. Till Afridi's strikes, Bangladesh had gone about the chase with unusual calm. With Tamim clearly looking to anchor the innings, Nazimuddin and Jahurul did the attacking.Both batsmen were well-set when they gave away their wickets. Nazimuddin slashed a wide delivery to third man while Jahurul was bowled as he missed a slog off a flighted Afridi delivery. Afridi dealt a bigger blow to Bangladesh when he bowled Rahim who tried to cut his faster one.At the other end, Tamim went on accumulating serenely, finding the boundary every now and then to keep the required-rate in check. He got to his fifty off his 75th delivery, but Hafeez further dented Bangladesh with a double strike. Tamim dinked an innocuous delivery onto his stumps, and Mahmudullah was adjudged leg-before first ball, though replays showed the ball would have missed leg stump.At 135 for 5, Bangladesh were staring at a familiar ending, but Shakib was determined to swim against the tide. His misfortune was that, in the end, he was the only one with that resolve.

Djokovic earns victory over qualifier

Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a third BNP Paribas Open championship by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday. The top-ranked Djokovic, who beat Rafael Nadal in last year s final at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and also won in 2008, is 23-4 on the slow PlexiPave courts that he said favor his game and will face No. 29 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the third round. It is the second year in a row that Djokovic has beaten Golubev in the second round of this $11 million event. Djokovic used a serve and high forehand volley to set up match point and a service winner to bring the 80-minute match to a conclusion. Andy Murray, the No. 4 seed and a possible semifinal opponent for Djokovic, was scheduled to play the final match of the day against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. Isner, the No. 11 seed, earned a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Frederico Gil of Portugal, while fellow-American Roddick, who is at his lowest ranking (31) since August 2001, needed three sets to top Poland s Lukasz Kubot 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. It was a badly needed win for Roddick, who has struggled with injuries this season, and it came after what he called an hour and a half of playing so poorly "I couldn t have hit a return into the ocean from the beach." "I don t feel like I d stolen a match in a while and I did today. I got a (good bounce on a) let cord to break (for a 4-3 lead in the third set) and it felt fantastic. I wasn t sorry at all, even though I said I was." The 29-year-old Roddick, who will meet No. 8 seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the third round, won the second-set tiebreaker with a forehand that appeared long, but went unchallenged. And he took control of the third set after Kubot needed a visit from an ATP Tour trainer for a back problem after holding serve for a 3-2 lead. Berdych got by Sergly Stakhovsky of the Ukraine 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Gilles Simon moved into the third round after a three-set win over qualifier Dudi Sela of Israel, but No. 16 seed Richard Gasquet of France was beaten by Albert Ramos of Spain 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 after having match point in the second set. American Robby Ginepri lost to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the women s No. 15 seed, opened the day on Stadium Court with an easy 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Johanna Larsson of Sweden. No. 6 Samantha Stosur of Australia, No. 10 Francesca Schiavone of Italy and No. 16 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also advanced. No. 11-seeded Sabiine Lisicki lost 6-1, 6-4 to Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain. Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova played later in the day.

Chelsea revives Champions League hopes with win

Chelsea boosted its hopes of securing Champions League football for next season by beating 10-man Stoke 1-0 on Saturday while Queens Park Rangers  controversial 2-1 loss to relegation rival Bolton reignited the debate over goal-line technology. Didier Drogba s 68th-minute goal his 100th in the Premier League rescued the win for Chelsea in its first league game since firing manager Andre Villas-Boas, drawing the team level on points with fourth-place Arsenal. Liverpool lost 1-0 at Sunderland thanks to Nicklas Bendtner s 56th-minute goal to leave the League Cup winners 10 points off Chelsea and Arsenal, which hosts Newcastle on Monday. Third-place Tottenham played Everton later Saturday. Bolton s victory over QPR, which lifted the winners out of the relegation zone, was tinged with controversy as officials failed to spot Clint Hill s header clearly crossing the line for the visitors when the score was 0-0. Bolton then grabbed a 85th-minute winner through Ivan Klasnic to pile on the misery for Mark Hughes  side, which dropped into the bottom three and is without a win since January. "Obviously, from our point of view, to have that clear goal chalked off was a significant moment," Hughes said. "Don t underestimate the significance of scoring first." Wolverhampton Wanderers stayed in the drop zone after losing 2-0 at home to relegation rival Blackburn, with Canadian forward Junior Hoilett scoring both goals. Fulham s march up the table was halted by a 1-0 loss at Aston Villa, with Andreas Weimann grabbing a last-minute goal.