India beat Sri Lanka by 50 runs

India defeated Sri Lanka by 50 runs in the Asia Cup one-day tournament in Dhaka on Tuesday. Virat Kohli (108) and left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir (100) scored centuries as India posted a challenging 304-3 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 254 in the day-night match. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene (78) and Kumar Sangakkara (65) were the main scorers for Sri Lanka, while seamer Irfan Pathan bagged four wickets for India. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and paceman Vinay Kumar each took three wickets. Brief scores: India 304-3 in 50 overs; Sri Lanka 254 in 45.1 overs

Cricketers doubt Virtual Eye technology

The International Cricket Council has backed the accuracy of technology used in the Decision Review System after its developer threatened to withdraw it from the current New Zealand-South Africa test because of criticism from players. South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis and New Zealand fast bowler Doug Bracewell both questioned the accuracy of the Virtual Eye system after decisions reviewed during the first test at Dunedin went against them. Kallis said "99 percent" of international cricketers had doubts about the accuracy of the technology. But ICC general manager of cricket and former South Africa player Dave Richardson said his organization had faith in its reliability. Ian Taylor, head of the New Zealand-based Animation Research company, had threatened to withhold rights to the use the Virtual Eye technology for the second and third tests of the New Zealand-South Africa series because of player criticisms. He withdrew the threat on Monday when the ICC restated its support for the system. "We ve looked at both decisions (involving Kallis and Bracewell) and are 100 percent satisfied that ball tracking provided is as accurate a result as could have been achieved," Richardson said. "As far as we are concerned the majority of players are certainly in favor of using the DRS," he said. "We have 100 percent support for its level of accuracy and reliability. The way we use it is totally fit for purpose and we wanted to reassure Ian we support the technology." Richardson said examination of the system over several years showed "more than 97 percent" reliability. "Bottom line is it s going to be more consistent and accurate than the human eye," he said. "To people who want to not have the DRS, my argument is if we go back to not having it we are going to have a situation that s worse than it is now." Kallis and Bracewell s complaints both concerned lbw decisions. In Bracewell s case, the ball was judged to have pitched outside leg stump, which conflicted with immediate visual evidence that suggested the ball had pitched on the line of the stumps.

Dour preseason frustrates Ferrari's F1 title hopes

And will likely leave a frustrated Fernando Alonso in Red Bull s rearview mirror again. Ferrari s new design lacked competitive edge in testing and appears to have fallen behind McLaren and Lotus in the chase to dethrone Red Bull and two-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel. Pat Fry already said Ferrari has no shot at the podium in the season opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as the team struggles to stabilize an already radically redesigned car. "I saw in (team principal Stefano) Domenicali and our engineers a great desire to show what they re worth and to react to a winter program that didn t live up to our targets," Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said. "We will only discover the truth about where we stand compared to the others after Saturday s qualifying session in Melbourne. Today we can only make assumptions." Fry replaced technical director Aldo Costa last season with the Italian team struggling and the decision to take risks on this year s design has left Ferrari looking vulnerable due to its inability to completely understand its car in testing. "The new car has certain characteristics that are difficult to understand and you could say we are not exactly where we want to be," said two-time world champion Alonso, the Spanish driver going into his third season with the team. "But we ve all lived through many Formula One seasons and we all know very well that until we re in Australia we don t really know where we stand regarding to the others." Since Kimi Raikkonen edged Alonso and then McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton for the 2007 title in the season s final race, the Italians have struggled to compete with McLaren and Red Bull, who have swept to three of the four titles since. Alonso, meanwhile, has twice lost championships in season finales, the last to Vettel during his debut season with Ferrari. Alonso won at Silverstone last year but Ferrari never mounted a serious challenge to Vettel, who won 11 of 19 races to become the youngest driver to win back-to-back titles breaking Alonso s record earned with Renault in 2005 and  06.

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."