Brasilia, Feb. 9: Ronaldinho’s hopes of a Brazil recall received a sizeable blow on Tuesday when he was left out of Dunga’s squad for the team’s final friendly prior to the World Cup against Ireland on March 2.

Dubai, Feb. 9: The smell of cigar smoke in the No-Smoking press room at the end of the Dubai Desert Classic told its own story — Miguel Angel Jimenez was back in the winner’s circle at the ripe old age of 46.

NAGPUR , Feb. 8: South African speed merchants Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel served up the exact ingredients the pampered Indian batting order dislikes. Swift through the air, a probing length and disconcerting bounce from a three-quarter length were mixed in the right proportions to leave India in disarray in the first Test here on Monday.

Nagpur  ,Feb. 8: It took S. Badrinath 10 years of toil on the domestic scene, 22 hundreds and stages in life where he had to fight self-doubt before arriving on the Test scene. Having earned his right to Test cricket the hard way, the Tamil Nadu batsman was not going to let the chance go by easily. The situation was shaky, the bowling close to hostile but Badri does what he does best — hang in.

Nagpur ,Feb. 8: The sight of Dale Steyn rushing in with rhythm and purpose is starting to become one of the endearing images of modern day cricket. Steyn’s performance should not come as a surprise. Batting units around the world are finding it increasingly difficult to find solutions to his searing speed, movement and swing. The seven-wicket hero spoke to reporters after another rewarding day in office. Excerpts:

New Delhi ,Feb. 8: The Dale Steyn-triggered capitulation of the Indian team on the third day of the Nagpur Test has not only brought to the fore the fragility of the hosts’ batting without mainstays Rahul Dravid and Venkatasai Laxman, but also kicked off a selection debate that is unlikely to die down soon.

London ,Feb. 8: First-half goals from Didier Drogba earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and secured a return to the top of the Premier League two points ahead of Manchester United.
Drogba, who has scored 12 goals in as many appearances against Arsenal since joining Chelsea in 2004, was left unmarked at the far post and simply poked home captain John Terry’s header from a Florent Malouda corner in the eighth minute.

Dhaka, Feb. 8: India dished out their best performance on Monday grabbing 42 medals, including 21 gold, to end the penultimate day with a total haul of 170 medals in the 11th South Asian Games here.
India won 21 gold, 13 silver and seven bronze, their largest haul on a single day in the Games, with most medals coming from swimming and track and field events.

New Delhi , Feb. 8: In a move that could mean curtains for Rajpal Singh’s stint as skipper, striker Prabhjot Singh on Monday got the “green signal” from chief coach Jose Brasa and the 18-member World Cup squad, backing the latter to lead the side instead. The development comes two days after Hockey India named Rajpal as skipper despite Brasa picking Prabhjot for the job.

Sydney, Feb. 8: Striker Kieran Govers with only three international games experience is the surprise inclusion in the Australian squad for the field hockey World Cup in India, Hockey Australia said on Monday.