Just two weeks after the Triseries tournament at Bangladesh, Pakistan hosts the Asia Cup 2008. Six teams are expected to take part in the tournament, including Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE. This will be the first Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan; previously political tensions between India and Pakistan did not permit Pakistan to host the event.

Here’s the complete TV schedule for the Asia cup on ESPN India and Star Cricket.

ESPN will broadcast the Group A matches played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The matches begin at 3:20 p.m. 

24th June: Bangladesh vs UAE
25th June: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
26th June: Sri Lanka vs UAE

Star Sports on the other hand will be much more comprehensive. There will be a 1 hour preview of the match at 2:30 p.m., followed by the game at 3:30 p.m. There will also be a 1 hour match review after the match at 11:30 p.m. The Group B matches will be played at National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan

24th June: Pakistan vs Hong Kong
25th June: India vs Hong Kong
26th June: Pakistan vs India 

The other six matches - to be played from 28th June to 4th July - will be decided later on depending on the points earned by each team. And you can count on us to keep you posted on those results. 

Holland victorious yet again, saving Italy a seat at the QF

Holland were every bit as professional as coach Marco van Basten promised they would be as they outclassed Romania 2-0 to send Victor Piturca’s side home and hand Italy a Euro 2008 lifeline.

Second-half strikes from Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie at Bern’s Stade de Suisse Wankdorf earned the Oranje - already assured of a quarter-final berth and top spot in Group C - their third win of the tournament.

Defeat for the Dutch would have seen both 2006 World Cup finalists Italy and France eliminated, but even a much-changed Holland line-up were simply too good for Romania.

Italy manage to edge out France 2-0, getting themselves to the QFs

Italy beat 10-man France 2-0 in Zurich to advance to the quarter-finals with a little help from Holland’s victory over Romania.

Andrea Pirlo put the world champions in front with a 25th minute penalty after Eric Abidal had brought down Luca Toni inside the area.

Abidal was shown a straight red, leaving the French with a mountain to climb following the earlier loss of Franck Ribery to injury.

But Italy were still made to suffer before Daniele De Rossi’s 62nd minute free-kick took a deflection off Thierry Henry and found the back of the net.

The turn of events completed a terrible tournament for Les Bleus, who were held to goalless draw against Romania in their Group C opener before being hammered 4-1 by Holland.

Romania’s 2-0 defeat to Holland saw Italy finish second in the group behind the Dutch. They will now take on Group D winners Spain on Sunday in Vienna but the Azzurri will have to do without key players Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, both among a plethora of cautions against the French.

Ballack gets Germany into the Quarter finals

Michael Ballack booked Germany’s place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 after his thunderbolt free-kick earned a 1-0 victory in a hot-tempered clash against co-hosts Austria.

The Chelsea midfielder has been unhappy with his performances in the tournament so far but returned to the form of the last six months of the domestic season, lashing into the top corner just after the break at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.

It sets up a last-eight clash against his new club boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, who will fulfil his Portugal duties before being unveiled at Stamford Bridge later this summer.

Croatia chucks out Poland from the Euro Championship

Ivan Klasnic’s second-half goal made it three wins out of three for Group B winners Croatia and in the process ensured an early tournament exit for Poland.

Klasnic struck in the 52nd minute with the only goal of the game to earn a much-changed Croatia a deserved victory and continue their impressive start to the tournament - which has also included triumphs over Austria and Germany and will next see them take on Turkey in the last eight.

For Poland the unlikely task of claiming a quarter-final spot proved mission impossible.

Needing a win and a favourable result from the Austria-Germany game to continue their adventure in their first European Championship finals, they could find no way through against an impressive Croatia.

Following the briefest of respites, the relentless pace of the MotoGP World Championship resumes as the series heads to Donington Park.

The man leading the way in MotoGP is Valentino Rossi, the rider who has made Donington Park a home-from-home in his eight top cylinder category visits to the British track. The Fiat Yamaha rider will be celebrating his 200th Grand Prix appearance, and has won five MotoGP races at the circuit, including his first 500cc victory back in 2000.

The Italian is on a stellar run of six podium finishes from the first seven races of 2008, including consecutive victories in China, France and Italy. Second place in Catalunya, from ninth on the grid, at the most recent round reflected a performance that was vintage Rossi.

A gap of seven points separates Rossi from nearest rival Dani Pedrosa, the rider who took a comprehensive victory ahead of his rival in round seven. Repsol Honda’s Spanish star has also only once finished off the podium this season, with a 2006 victory at Donington Park in his rookie season adding further credence to his chances of a win there on June 22nd.

Will Rossi keep his position? Or succumb to Honda’s Pedrosa? I guess we’ll just have to wait and watch. The race starts at 4:27 p.m. on the 22nd of June, Live on ESPN India.

Turkey’s last minute goals get them a spot at the quarter final

Nihat Kahveci scored twice in a dramatic final four minutes to earn Turkey second spot in Group A and a quarter-final clash with Croatia after thrilling 3-2 defeat of Czech Rpeublic in Geneva.

The Czechs looked home and dry in the 61st minute when Jaroslav Plasil added to Jan Koller’s first-half opener to put his team 2-0 ahead.

But in an amazing end to the winner-takes-all match, Arda Turan halved the deficit in the 75th minute before Nihat came to the party.

The Turkey captain drew the sides level in the 86th minute when he took advantage of a ghastly error by Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech to poke home into an empty net.

And the Villarreal striker sparked delirium among the Turkish fans when he curled home an unstoppable winner with two minutes remaining.

There was still time for Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel to receive his marching orders for an off-the-ball incident involving Koller, but his team held on to record their first win over the Czechs in 12 attempts.

The Croatian Group B winners now lie in wait for the Turks in Vienna on Friday.

Switzerland defeat Portugal 2-0 in an unimportant match. Nonetheless, well done Switzerland!

Hakan Yakin’s slick second-half double gave Switzerland coach Kobi Kuhn a victorious send-off as the co-hosts bowed out of Euro 2008 with three points and a 2-0 win from their final match against a much-changed Portugal side.

The Young Boys midfielder, who also netted his team’s only other goal of the tournament in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Turkey, struck 19 minutes from time and then again from the penalty spot 11 minutes later to secure the triumph.

The Portuguese may count themselves a little unfortunate, having hit the woodwork through both Pepe and Nani, although Gokhan Inler was also denied by the frame of the goal for the Swiss.

With Portugal already guaranteed top spot in Group A and Switzerland knowing they could not climb off the bottom no matter what the result, there was on the face of it little to play for on Sunday.

But both teams played their part in an entertaining affair, with the crowd certainly enjoying themselves and creating a party atmosphere inside Basle’s St Jakob-Park with a Mexican wave in the early stages.

I missed out on reporting yesterdays’ matches due to some network issues. Sweden defeated Spain 2-1 while Russia got the better of Greece in a narrow 1-0 victory.

Pakistan beat India by 25 runs to win the Bangladesh Tri Series. Though Dhoni and Yuvi tried valiantly, Malik’s boys were better.

The Pakistanis had a brilliant batting side with Younis Khan (108) and Salman Butt (129*) together making possible the high score of 315. With Akmal (15) and Butt opening for the Pakistani side, the Paks got off on a slow start. However, when Pathan got Akmal’s wicket, it brought out the formidable Younis Khan, who together with Butt, made for a seamless partnership of 200 runs in 191 balls. 

Salman Butt suddenly collapsed due to dehyderation and had to be taken out of the game with a high score of 129. read all »

Buffon saves the last minute penalty, giving Italy one more chance to qualify.

Italy live to fight another day at the European Championships thanks to a late penalty save from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in their 1-1 draw against Romania.

Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu had put the Romanians in front in the 57th minute only for Christian Panucci to equalise straightaway for the world champions, who suffered a 3-0 humiliation to Holland in their opening Group C game.

Panucci then brought Daniel Niculae down five minutes from time to concede the penalty, but Mutu’s effort from the spot was saved by Buffon.

The result means that Italy must now win their last game against France on Tuesday to stand any realistic chance of progressing.

Holland’s amazing gameplay buried France 4-1 to seal their ticket for the quarter-finals

Rampant Holland produced an attacking masterclass for the second time in four days to bury France 4-1 in Bern and seal qualification for the quarter-finals of Euro 2008.

Dirk Kuyt opened the scoring and Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder added others after the break as Marco van Basten’s in-form team sank the French in the same way they did world champions Italy at the same stadium on Monday.

Les Bleus’ consolation came through Thierry Henry on his return to the team, but even their revered defence could not handle the pace and brio of their opponents’ attacks.

France meet Italy on Tuesday but they both may be eliminated if Romania, who are second in the group, defeat Holland on the same night following their 1-1 draw with the Italians earlier, although this is highly doubtful considering the strong team Holland has put forth.

The Dutch, meanwhile, will now have to cope with the tag of tournament favourites after disposing of the two World Cup finalists of 2006 in sensational style, scoring seven goals in the process. They were bound to feel at home given the army of Oranje fans who had invaded Bern city centre during the day and then the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in the evening.

Looking at the current standings, Holland is definitely a strong contender for the finals. With 7 goals scored in total, and definitely some more to come against Romania, the Dutch are finally proving themselves.

The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is staged by the United States Golf Association in mid-June, scheduled such that the final round is always played on the third Sunday, which is Father’s Day. It is one of the four major championships in golf and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. From 2008, it will also be an official money event on the Asian Tour, with 50% of Asian Tour member’s earnings counting towards the Order of Merit.

Tiger Woods, fresh out of surgery on his left knee, seems to be keen on winning his 3rd US Open, his last one being in 2002. Woods decided to forgo this week’s Memorial Tournament in favor of furthering his recuperation and rehabilitation in advance of the year’s second major. ”The whole idea,” Woods said, “is to be ready for the U.S. Open.”

However, it is doubtful that Tiger will make it to the Top 5 at the USO this year according to many golfers. He might make the cut, but having not played for a long time will have left his skill a little rusty. Garcia, Mickelson, maybe someone like Robert Allenby are strong contenders for the win. And you can’t rule out the kids like Kim and others.

The US Open Golf tournament will be aired Live on Star Sports India, from the 12th to the 15th. The first 2 hour round will go on air at 10:30 p.m. on the 12th of June. Rest of the rounds after the break.  read all »

Darkhorses Croatia defeat Germany only for the second time. Qualify for the quarters.

Croatia brought hope back into their game by defeating Germany 2-1 in a ultra-tense match today. Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic struck their side’s goals as Croatia, who had only ever beaten Germany once before, produced arguably the first major upset of Euro 2008 in an entertaining encounter in Klagenfurt.

A frantic start to the match promised much but for all their huffing and puffing, neither side were able to create anything resembling a chance in the opening 20 minutes as defences held firm.

The ball did find its way into the back of the net in the 22nd minute when Germany striker Mario Gomez slotted past Stipe Pletikosa but the offside flag had already gone up against the Stuttgart man well beforehand.

The deadlock was broken for real just two minutes after that incident though, when Croatia went ahead through Srna.

The Croats doubled their advantage when Olic had the easy task of slotting one for the team in the 62nd minute. 

Low’s side earned themselves a lifeline with 12 minutes to go though when Podolski lashed home a shot on the half-volley after the ball had fallen kindly to him in the box.

Germany could not build on that goal, though, and their final hopes of getting anything out of the match all but disappeared when Schweinsteiger was given a straight red card for shoving an opponent.

Austria levels score with Poland, with just two minutes left into the game.

Austria veteran Ivica Vastic levelled three minutes into injury time to earn a 1-1 draw against Poland after English referee Howard Webb awarded a controversial penalty.

Roger Guerreiro’s first goal for his country looked to have given Poland a win against the Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria in Vienna. However, Guerreiro, the Brazil-born playmaker, looked offside when he tapped in his first for his adopted country.

Austria, then frantically looking for a chance to score finally got their break in the 92nd minute, way into the injury time.

ESPN: Pakistan Cricket Board official Nadeem Akram returned to Pakistan on Wednesday after failing to secure the release of Mohammad Asif. The fast bowler was detained by customs officials at the Dubai International Airport on June 1 on suspicion of carrying drugs on his person.

“Akram has indeed returned home,” said PCB media manager Raza Rashid. “The attorney general in Dubai has not given us a time frame, so we are not sure when a decision would actually be made.”
A small quantity of a powder was found in Asif’s wallet and was sent to a laboratory for testing. The bowler also gave blood and urine tests, with the results of those yet to be divulged.

Akram, the director of human resources at the PCB, was immediately rushed to Dubai to oversee the case but has now left that responsibility to an official from the Pakistan embassy in the United Arab Emirates.

“An official from the Pakistan embassy in the United Arab Emirates will now oversee the case,” Akram told reporters in Dubai prior to his departure.

“We are still hopeful that he would be released. No charges have been laid so far.”
Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer, said Akram had to return to help Pakistan’s preparations for the Asia Cup.

Pakistan is set to host the six-nation cricket tournament (like there could be anything else!) from the 24th of June. Hopefully they will get their star player back by then. 

Defending champions India are expected to assert their position as South Asia’s top football team at the South Asian Football Federation Championship Final. They will after all be playing against one of the Co-hosts, Maldives. 

To be played at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, there will be no ‘home’ advantage to either teams. 

How did they get here? India first knocked out Nepal with a 4-0 win in the beginning of the group stages. Then they took on the Maldives themselves, and emerged victorious albeit with a close 1-0 outcome. And finally, they took down Pakistan with a 2-1 victory. India then went on to defeat Bhutan 2-1 in the Semi-final, although a sketchy one at that. 

As for Maldives, other than their loss to India, they defeated Pakistan 3-0, and Nepal 4-1. They then went on to defeat co-hosts Sri-Lanka at the Semi-finals. So far they have performed exceptionally well. 

Who will win the SAFF Championship? Will India be able to defend their title, or will Maldives make some quick moves to get past the Bhangra defense.

Unfortunately, like we mentioned earlier, there will be no Live broadcast of this match. The Final will be aired with Same-day-delay on ESPN India at 1:00 p.m. on 15th June, 2008. 

If you hear of any channel broadcasting this match Live, please do let us know. DD Sports might broadcast this, but there is no way of telling as they don’t post an upfront schedule. To stay updated, follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feeds.

Portugal ready for quarter-final after defeating Czech Republic 3-1.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sweet second-half strike all but booked Portugal’s place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals on Wednesday as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s team beat Czech Republic 3-1 at Stade de Geneve.

Man of the match Cristiano Ronaldo declared himself “very happy” after putting Portugal on the brink of a Euro 2008 quarter-final place. The Portuguese overcame Czech Republic 3-1 at the Stade Geneve on Wednesday to move onto six points from two games in Group A.

Ronaldo and substitute Ricardo Quaresma struck second-half goals - the latter in stoppage time - to earn the victory after Libor Sionko had cancelled out Deco’s opener.

“Our main aim was to get to next phase. I’m very happy to have helped my team-mates to win,” said the Manchester United star.

Will getting to the Quarter finals be enough for Portugal? I sure hope they got a little more than that, although, judging by their performance, they sure look like the strongest team on at the tournament. 

Turks knock the co-hosts Switzerland out of the tournament

Turkey’s Arda Turan stunned Switzerland with an injury-time goal at a rain-soaked St Jakob-Park Stadium on Wednesday to knock the Euro 2008 co-hosts out of the tournament.

Hakan Yakin opened the scoring for Switzerland in the 32nd minute but substitute Semih Senturk’s equaliser shortly before the hour mark left both teams searching for their first win in Group A and in the bottom two places of the group.

Just as the game looked to be headed for a draw, Arda struck from the edge of the area. His right-footed effort deflected off a Swiss defender and into the goal to silence the home crowd.

The Swiss wasted the chance to move in front late in the game when Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Demirel made a stunning save to deny Yakin’s close-range effort. Turkey take on the Czech Republic in the last group game on Sunday while the Swiss face unbeaten Portugal. I’m sure Portugal is just going to increase their points.