KHI 03-01-2013_Layout 1 1/3/2013 2:32 AM Page 19
Sports 18 watch it Live PTV SPORTS 2nd ODI: Pakistan V India 11:30AM
STAR SPORTS Pavilion se: Post Show 07:30PM
STAR CRICKET 2nd Test: Australia V Sri Lanka 04:30AM
neureuther takes in munich MunICH AgENCIES
Felix Neureuther and Veronika Zuzulova upset the odds to triumph in the men's and women's World Cup parallel slalom event in Munich's Olympic Park on Tuesday. Home favourite Neureuther won both heats in the last race to oust Austrian World Cup holder Marcel Hirscher, with France's Alexis Pinturault finishing third. Zuzulova claimed her second win in four days and once again edged out overall World Cup leader Tina Maze. The Slovakian claimed her maiden World Cup win in Semmering, Austria on Saturday and clearly took a lot of confidence into Tuesday night with two marvellous runs. Austria's Michaela Kirchgasser finished third.
taylor wins 16th world darts title LOnDOn AgENCIES
cables beat hamdard in Veteran festival cricket LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Amar Cables beat Hamdard Gymkhana Karachi by 77 runs in a veteran festival cricket match here on Wednesday at Shah Faisal cricket ground. Brief scores, Amar Cables batted first reached 138/6 in 20 overs. Man of the match ,Ahmad Shohab 34, Amer Ilyas Butt 31, Shahid Mansoor 23, Muhammad Arif 18 & Rauf Wain 11 runs. Hamdard Gymkhana Karachi bowling Munawar Hussain 2/18, Riaz Kareem 1/21, Muhammad Hanif 1/16, Muhammad Sarwar 1/12 & Najam Faisal 1/31 wickets. In reply Hamdard Gymkhana Karachi cheaply at 61 all out in 18.5 overs. Muhammad Rehan 25 runs. Amar Cables bowling Ameer Akbar 3/13, Ahmad Shohab 2/12, Tariq Hussain Raju 1/9, Shahid Mansoor 1/3, Muhammad Arif 1/9 & Sohail Madni 1/1 wickets. Waleed Yaqoob and Irfan Dilshad were the umpires and Qasim Shafiq was the scorer.
Torres ready to be on bench: Benitez LIvERPOOL AgENCIES
Rafael Benitez is confident that Fernando Torres will accept occasionally sitting on the bench if Chelsea bring in another striker during the transfer window. With Liverpool-bound Daniel Sturridge having been out of favour for most of the season, Torres has been a constant fixture in the Blues team, starting every league game. Although he has performed better of late, there is no doubt that Torres is still short of the form he exhibited under Benitez at Liverpool. Chelsea have been linked with a number of strikers, with Radamel Falcao, Demba Ba and Andre Schurrle all reported to be on Benitez's radar as he attempts to bring in some competition for the former Atletico Madrid man. With the transfer window now open, it seems only a matter of time before Chelsea land one of their targets and when they do Benitez insists Torres will understand that he will be rotated. "We are trying to manage the team so when I can change Fer-
nando I will do it," Chelsea's interim manager said. "We will try to manage him and hopefully we can do things properly. "He wants the team winning games and he understands that is the way so he will accept this." Chelsea yesterday held what were described as "unproductive" talks with Ba's representatives after entering the race to sign the Newcastle striker. One thing Chelsea have on their side in negotiations is the fact that they will almost certainly be able to offer the 27-yearold Champions League football next season. Indeed should Chelsea sign Ba, he may well end up being involved in a title challenge for the second half of the season. After four successive Barclays Premier League wins, the Londoners sit 14 points adrift of leaders Manchester United with two games in hand ahead of Wednesday night's meeting with QPR, but Benitez insists his thoughts, and those of his players, are not drifting towards the prospect of a title assault. "I don't like to think about this," Benitez said. "I like to think about the next game and three points. It is impor-
Phil Taylor overcame a spirited Michael van Gerwen to claim his 16th world darts title at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday. Taylor had to fight back from 2-0 and 4-2 down in the final against the young Dutchman before eventually running out a 7-4 victory. The 52-year-old Taylor, who had said after his semi-final victory over Raymond van Barneveld that he was feeling fatigued, appeared to get stronger the longer the match against the 23-year-old van Gerwen went on. Taylor, who last won the title in 2010, said he was "chuffed" at the success but was unsure as to how many more years he would remain in the top level of the game. "I really don't know how much longer I can keep doing this," Taylor said in a televised interview. "I'll be 53 years old next year when coming back to defend this title."
‘real-barca hold must be broken’ MADRID AgENCIES
tant to give the players this mentality. "My job is to think about the next three or four or five games and if I have to adjust something I will do it. But the players just have to think 'This is my game, I have to give 100 per cent to win this game'."
Barcelona and Real Madrid have occupied the top two spots of La Liga seven out of the past eight sasons but the duopoly appears to be under severe threat this season with Atletico Madrid occupying second spot, nine points behind Barcelona and seven points ahead of city rivals Real Madrid, in the winter break.
Manchester duo cruise; Arsenal stutter LOnDOn AgENCIES
The gap between Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United and second-placed Manchester City remains seven points after both sides recorded easy wins on Tuesday. Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie both scored twice as United beat Wigan 4-0 to begin the year in fine style. Hernandez also had a strike disallowed, which came prior to him making the breakthrough after 35 minutes at the DW Stadium. Van Persie doubled United's lead in the 43rd minute and it was the Dutchman's free-kick that bal-
looned up to present Hernandez with his chance to net again in the 63rd minute. The Mexican striker's volley ended Wigan's hopes of any reward and Van Persie fired a late fourth as United passed the 50point mark, taking their haul to 52 from 21 games this season. Sir Alex Ferguson's side continue to head nearest rivals and defending champions City by seven points as they attempt to claw back the league title from their neighbours. Full-back Pablo Zabaleta inched City towards a 3-0 win against Stoke when he scored in the 43rd minute at the Etihad Stadium. Edin Dzeko doubled the lead after 56 minutes when Sergio Aguero saw a shot pushed out, and Aguero fired a 74thminute penalty to complete the scoring
after Steven Nzonzi fouled David Silva. There was less joy however for Arsenal, who were brought back down to earth after their 7-3 win over Newcastle as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton. Gaston Ramirez fired the hosts in front in the 34th minute when he pounced on some poor defending to drill an effort past Wojciech Szczesny, but the Gunners' blushes were spared four minutes before the break when Guly do Prado netted an own goal. Tottenham climbed to third place, a point ahead of Chelsea who have two games in hand, after a 3-1 home win over second-bottom side Reading. Andre Villas-Boas saw his side fall behind to a Pavel Pogrebnyak effort in the fourth minute, but Michael Dawson headed the hosts level in the ninth minute and Emmanuel Adebayor edged them ahead six minutes into the second half. Clint Dempsey made the points safe, with his shot benefiting
from a deflection as it beat Adam Federici for the third Tottenham goal in the 79th minute. Danny Graham cracked home a late equaliser for Swansea against Aston Villa to earn a 2-2 draw. Visitors Villa had fallen behind to Wayne Routledge's ninth-minute finish, after he surged clear of a static defence to round goalkeeper Brad Guzan. But the outlook improved for Paul Lambert's side just before the break when Andreas Weimann netted an equaliser in the 44th minute. Christian Benteke's penalty after Nathan Dyer's foul on Weimann put Villa ahead, as they looked to banish memories of dismal recent results. But Graham had the final say, his powerful finish with time running out sparking delight among home supporters at
the Liberty Stadium. A third-minute penalty from Mark Noble and Joey O'Brien's strike in the 26th minute gave West Ham a 2-0 cushion against Norwich at Upton Park. Russell Martin pulled one back for Norwich late in the second half but the Canaries could not find a leveller. Earlier, Fulham eased their relegation worries as Alexander Kacaniklic's second-half goal earned them a 2-1 win at West Brom. The Cottagers had slid towards the bottom three after winning only one of their previous 12 games but were well worth their second away success of the campaign. Dimitar Berbatov's seventh goal of the season gave the Cottagers a halftime lead and although Romelu Lukaku levelled after the break, Kacaniklic restored the visitors' advantage in the 58th minute.
thursday, 3 January, 2013