Davis Cup, Pakistan tries to convince ITF

After having been denied a chance to host their Davis Cup tie at home once, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is trying to get a nod from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) once again. Pakistan was scheduled to host its Davis Cup tie against Lebanon at home, earlier this month but was forced to play the matches away, after the ITF moved the tie on security grounds. Having won the tie (3-2) in Lebanon, Pakistan moved into the second round of the Asia-Oceania Group II and will now face Philippines in April. Once again, Pakistan is expected to host the tie, pending a clearance from the ITF. PTF officials say they are “taking all necessary measures” to host the tie at Lahore’s Defence Club from April 6 to 8. The national tennis body has submitted a “comprehensive security plan” to the ITF and has promised “fool-proof security arrangements for the visiting team.” A senior PTF official met with the ITF president and the Davis Cup committee in London, assuring them of best possible arrangements. The PTF has also, reportedly, proposed that the ties be held in either India (Chandigarh) or the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). The final decision, on whether the tie will be hosted in Pakistan or elsewhere, lies with the ITF.

Inaugural BPL trophy up for grabs

Shahid Afridi would have played two Twenty20s for Dhaka Gladiators less than 48 hours after Pakistan's series with England ended

Match facts

February 29, Mirpur
Start time 1800 local (1200 GMT)

Big Picture

With so much of the spotlight on controversies, a proper cricketing final would be a solace for the inaugural edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. Thankfully, two very entertaining Twenty20 teams, Barisal Burners and Dhaka Gladiators, will go head-on in the final in front of what is expected to be a sellout crowd.

Barisal have gone through a lot to finally arrive in the final, an ascent that some predicted with Chris Gayle in the line-up initially. But even though they have missed Gayle and his power-hitting since the end of the tournament's first week, they have progressed to the title clash. One of their main strengths is the captaincy of Brad Hodge, who has stood out as a leader who can influence the proceedings with his clever tactics.Dhaka, on the other hand, rely on all-out aggression. Imran Nazir, Azhar Mahmood, Mohammad Ashraful, Shahid Afridi, and Saeed Ajmal are all attacking players who can single-handedly change the course of the final.It promises to be a game that can go either way, even if a team does score really big in the first innings. If they don't, expect a scrappy chase.

In the spotlight

Barisal's Ahmed Shehzad is the highest scorer in the competition after his murderous 113 off 49 deliveries in the semifinal against Duronto Rajshahi. His previous six innings in the tournament include a hundred, two half-centuries and two forties.Dhaka's left-arm spinner Elias Sunny currently shares top spot on the wicket-takers' list with Mohammad Sami. A double-strike in his first over in the semi-final, removing both Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Smith, put Khulna Royal Bengals' chase under tremendous pressure.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Barisal -- WWLWW
Dhaka -- WLWLW

Head to head

Dhaka won both games against Barisal in the league phase - the first by 21 runs, despite a blistering Gayle century, and then by five wickets, a game Kieron Pollard finished off in style with a 17-ball 35.

Messi, Ronaldo genius secures wins for Barca, Real

Sharp thinking and brilliant execution by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lifted Barcelona and Real Madrid to wins at Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano respectively on Sunday that mantained Real’s 10-point lead over their great rivals at the top of La Liga. Messi caught the Atletico defence napping to score with a breathtaking 81st-minute free kick and secure a 2-1 success for Barca, while an audacious Ronaldo backheel gave Real a 1-0 victory against Madrid neighbours Rayo. It was a 28th league goal of the campaign for Messi, who succeeded Ronaldo as World Player of the Year and has won the award three times on the trot, leaving him one behind the former Manchester United forward at the top of the La Liga scoring chart. With 24 of 38 matches played, Jose Mourinho’s Real have 64 points, with Pep Guardiola’s Barca on 54 in second and Valencia, who lost 2-1 at home to Sevilla on Sunday, 14 points further back in third. Levante, the lowly Valencia-based club who are this season’s surprise package, climbed to fourth on 35 points thanks to their 2-1 win at Espanyol on Saturday, although only eight points separate them from Villarreal in 17th. Messi’s genius settled an intense battle at the Calderon after Atletico’s Radamel Falcao had cancelled out Daniel Alves’s opening goal. As the home defence lined up to defend a free kick wide on the left, Messi noticed Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois out of position and curled a stunning strike over the Belgian’s head into the far top corner. The goal gave Barca only their fifth win in 12 games on the road, a poor run of away form that has effectively scuppered their bid for a fourth straight title and put Real within touching distance of a first La Liga title since 2008.

Liverpool beat Cardiff 3-2 to win league cup

Liverpool beat Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties to win the English League Cup for the eighth time in a thrilling game which ended 2-2 after extra time at Wembley. Cardiff s Anthony Gerrard, cousin of Liverpool s Steven, fired the final spot kick wide as the Championship (second division) side s hopes of becoming the first Welsh club to win the trophy ended in heartache. Dirk Kuyt, Stewart Downing and Glen Johnson converted their spot kicks for Liverpool, while Cardiff missed three of theirs. Substitute Kuyt appeared to have sealed victory for Liverpool when he put his side 2-1 ahead at the start of the second half of extra time after a nailbiting final had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. The Dutchman then turned saviour as he headed a Cardiff effort off the line, but from the resulting corner Ben Turner prodded in a dramatic equaliser to take the game to penalties. Cardiff, the first Welsh side to reach the League Cup final in the competition s 52-year existence, stunned Liverpool when they took the lead after 19 minutes through Joe Mason s smartly taken shot and Kenny Miller almost snatched victory near the end of full time after defender Martin Skrtel had equalised for Liverpool on the hour.

Melzer defeats Raonic in Memphis Championships

Jurgen Melzer defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets Sunday (February 26) afternoon to win the ATP Memphis Championships. Austrian Melzer battled to a 75 76(4) win over Canadian fourth seed Raonic to claim his fourth career title and first since Vienna in 2010. The unseeded Melzer took a difficult path to the title, defeating top seed John Isner in a quarterfinal match and then third seed Radek Stepanek in the semifinal. For Raonic the loss was his second in a row in the Memphis final after falling last year to Andy Roddick. Raonic had been in excellent form lately, winning 19 straight sets and losing his serve just once in his last 41 games before meeting Melzer.

City tightens grip on Premier League lead

Manchester City tightened its grip on top spot in the Premier League on Saturday by registering a 13th straight home victory, easing past Blackburn 3-0 on a day Chelsea ended its lean streak to ease the pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas. City barely broke into a sweat at fortress Etihad Stadium as it moved provisionally five points clear of Manchester United, with strikers Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko scoring. England midfielder Frank Lampard scored one goal and set up another to inspire Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Bolton, ending the team s miserable run of five straight winless games. Chelsea climbed provisionally into fourth place above Arsenal, which plays third-place Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday.

Banned Aamer returns home

Pakistan’s banned cricketer Mohammad Aamer returned home Sunday after serving his jail sentence for spot-fixing in London. Aamer was sentenced for six months, but was released earlier this month due to good behavior after serving half his sentence, for spot-fixing with two teammates – Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif – during a test against England at Lords in August 2010. Butt and Asif are still serving their jail sentences. Aamer did not speak to the waiting media on arriving at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport. Local television showed the 19-year-old left-arm fast bowler – sitting on the back seat of a white car with his lawyer – being driven away to his house in Lahore. “He has arrived with his lawyer Sajida Malik,” Aamer’s mentor Asif Bajwa told the Associated Press. Aamer is banned by the International Cricket Council until September 2015 for bowling deliberate no-balls. Aamer pleaded guilty and did not contest his case in London’s Southwark Crown Court last year and was given less punishment than Butt and Asif. Butt, the then Pakistan captain, was jailed for 2 1/2 years and Asif for 1 1/2 years after being convicted for receiving money to ensure no-balls were bowled in the Lord’s test 18 months ago. The left-arm paceman could appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the ICC ban. “Hopefully the ICC ban will be reduced after his appeal in the CAS,” Bajwa said. “I am very optimistic that Aamer will return to international cricket in near future.” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf said earlier this month that he would see how Aamer’s appeal goes in the CAS, but the cricket board may assist Asif in his rehabilitation through an education program whether his ban is reduced or not. Aamer was considered one of cricket’s brightest prospects, claiming 51 wickets in 14 test matches and 25 wickets in 15 ODIs before bowling those infamous no-balls. The PCB chief admitted that it was a case of a huge talent lost and said once Aamer serves his ban it was up to the selectors to pick him for the national team.

Five-goal Sandeep gets India to Olympics

They did so with an emphatic 8-1 win over France in the men s final of the qualifying tournament on Sunday. Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh was India s star of the night, scoring five goals (19th minute, 26th, 38th, 49th, 51st) and his second hat-trick against France. The other Indian scorers were Birendra Lakra (17th), S. V. Sunil (43rd) and V. R. Raghunath (56th). France, who made their last Olympic appearance in 1972 at Munich, found the target through Simon Martin-Brisac (24th). India, winners of a record eight Olympic men s titles who failed to make it to the 2008 Beijing Games for the first time since their maiden appearance in 1928, took some time to translate their superiority into goals. Manpreet Singh made a good attempt from top of the striking circle in the 16th minute but his reverse-hit was saved by French goalkeeper Matthias Dierckens. India kept pressure on the French goal and struck twice in quick succession, with Lakra scoring off a Manpreet cross and then Sandeep converting a penalty-corner. France, who lost 6-2 to India in a league match, looked impressive in patches and made it 2-1 when Martin-Brisac deflected in a Sebastien Jean-Jean shot to surprise Indian goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh. There was no stopping India after that as they pumped in six more goals, with Sandeep scoring four and Sunil and Raghunath one apiece. In other men s matches, captain Ken Pereira scored two goals as Canada downed Poland 4-3 to finish third. Rob Short and Matthew Guest were the other scorers. Artur Mikula, Szymon Oszyjczyk and Bartosz Zywiczka found the mark for Paland. Italy finished fifth with an easy 5-0 victory over Singapore, with Ignacio Salas twice finding the target. Daniele Malta, Andrea Corsi and Agustin Nunez were the other scorers. Two more men s qualifiers will be decided after tournaments in Dublin and the Japanese city of Kakamigahara. Those who have been given a direct entry to the Olympics are defending champions Germany, hosts Britain, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.