Tim Southee took 4 wickets as New Zealand bowled England out for 160 to win the third one-day cricket international by 22 runs, tying the 5-match series at 1-1. The 19-year-old’s haul at Bristol’s County Ground included 3 dismissals in 2 overs to reduce the home team to 64-6, then he trapped captain Paul Collingwood leg before wicket. The Black Caps earlier made 182 all out. New Zealand is aiming to finish its tour on a high after previously suffering a 2-0 defeat in the Test series and losing a Twenty20 international. It was frustrated in its attempt to tie the series in the second one-day match on June 18 after the umpires took the players off with the Black Caps short of batting the minimum 20 overs. England won the opening game by 114 runs. Kyle Mills made New Zealand’s early breakthrough in the England reply, with Luke Wright edging to Scott Styris at second slip in the opening over, then Grant Elliott held a catch to dismiss Kevin Pietersen. Elliott, who had top-scored for the visitor with 56 as he helped it recover from 75-6, also finished with 2 wickets. Daniel Vettori and Styris were the other wicket-takers. Collingwood led England with 34, Graeme Swann made 29, and Ravi Bopara scored 27. England’s pace attack of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Chris Tremlett had made early inroads today before Elliott and Mills, 47 from 40 balls, lifted the Black Caps. Anderson took 3 wickets, but went for 61 runs, while Broad allowed only 14 runs from his 10 overs, collecting 2 dismissals.

Dmitri Torbinski and Andrei Arshavin scored in the second period of extra time as Russia beat the Netherlands 3-1 last night to reach the semifinals of soccer’s European Championship. Roman Pavlyuchenko had put the Russians ahead after 56 minutes in Basel, Switzerland, before Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy tied the game with four minutes of regulation play remaining. Russia coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink will now make its first appearance in the last four of a major tournament since competing as an independent nation. It previously played as part of the Soviet Union, winner of the inaugural title in 1960.

The Netherlands, the European champion in 1988, had won every group-stage match by outscoring its opponents 9-1. Defender Khalid Boulahrouz was included in the Dutch starting lineup, two days after deciding to stay with the squad following the death of his prematurely born baby daughter. His teammates wore black armbands as a mark of respect. It was Russia that created the game’s first opportunity, with Yuri Zhirkov forcing a save from goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the seventh minute with a free-kick. Pavlyuchenko then headed an Igor Semshov cross over from 10 yards out. Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev saved a 37th-minute shot from Van Nistelrooy and punched out a powerful drive from Van der Vaart after 44 minutes. The Dutch struggled to create clear chances until Van Nistelrooy tied the game. The Real Madrid striker dived to head in a freekick by Wesley Sneijder at the far post.

Both teams attacked from the start of extra time, with Van der Sar and Akinfeev both having to make saves in the first three minutes. In the 97th minute, Pavlyuchenko was denied his second goal by the crossbar after cutting inside and striking a right-foot shot from 20 yards. The Russians then wasted several opportunities as Torbinski couldn’t put the ball in from six yards and Kolodin sent a freekick wide. The teams remained tied at the end of the first 15-minute period. Torbinski, who will miss the semifinal after collecting his second yellow card of the tournament, put Russia ahead again with eight minutes remaining. He put a looping Arshavin cross into the net from close range for his second international goal. Arshavin then scored with a low shot, which went through the legs of Van der Sar, to end hopes of a Dutch comeback.

Russia will next face the winner of today’s quarterfinal between world champion Italy or Spain on June 26. Record three- time winner Germany faces Turkey on June 25 in the other semifinal.

Turkey, which entered the European championships with 40-1 odds to win the tournament, scored a 3-1 penalty kicks victory over Croatia to set up a semifinal match with record three-time champion Germany. After scoring decisive goals late in its last two matches against Switzerland and the Czech Republic, Turkey stunned Croatia when substitute Semih Senturk crashed in a shot with the last kick of the 120-minute match at the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna to force the shootout. Ivan Klasnic’s header a minute earlier appeared to have sent Turkey out. The Turks now move to Switzerland for its game against Germany on June 25 in Basle. Turkey beat the Swiss 2-1 in its second game and then managed to come from 2-0 down to edge the Czechs 3-2, with Nihat Kahveci netting twice in the final three minutes. It lost the opener 3-0 to Portugal. Croatia manager Slaven Bilic said Turkey’s win owed to “something special” that has surrounded them in this tournament and that his team was stronger in open play. He said the timing of Senturk’s goal destroyed his players’ confidence.

Midfielder Luca Modric, praised by Bilic for his play in the tournament, missed Croatia’s first penalty. He slid the ball wide to the right and Arda Turan scored for Turkey. After Darijo Srna and Senturk made their teams’ second kicks, Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic fired his attempt wide. Altintop converted to give Turkey a 3-1 lead and goalkeeper Rustu Recber, playing only because first choice Volkan Demiral was suspended, then dived to stop a shot from Mladen Petric. His save ended the shootout, sending Turkish fans and players into celebration and the Croatian players down on their knees in the center circle. Minutes earlier, it was the Croatians who danced wildly, having scored the game’s first goal in the 30th minute of extra time. The team’s entire bench, led by gray-suited coach Bilic, stormed onto the field to celebrate Klasnic’s header.

Terim said he will have to asses the damage of last night’s victory at the team hotel today. Frontline striker Nihat Kahveci limped out with a thigh problem and Tuncay Sanli, Turan and Emre Asik will all miss the Germany game through suspension after receiving yellow cards. Turkey’s best previous European finish came when it reached the quarterfinals in 2000. It then went on to finish in third place at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

Germany overpowered Portugal 3-2 to reach the semifinals of soccer’s European Championship for the first time since 1996. Bastian Schweinsteiger returned from suspension last night to score one goal and set up two in the first quarterfinal in Basel, Switzerland. Germany will face either Croatia or Turkey in its first semifinal since winning a record third European title 12 years ago. Schweinsteiger missed Germany’s last game after getting a red card against Croatia. He returned to open the scoring in the 22nd minute, then provided free kicks which Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack headed in for goals. Nuno Gomes and Helder Postiga scored for Portugal, which was attempting to reach its third straight semifinal. The loss ended the five-year reign of Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who will take over English Premier League club Chelsea on July 1. Scolari’s counterpart Low was serving a one-game suspension after being sent to the stands during the win over Austria in Germany’s last match.

Portugal had the first scoring chance yesterday in the 15th minute as Deco sent a pass to Simao, whose shot was saved by Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Joao Moutinho was then undecided whether to head or kick a cross from Jose Bosingwa and the ball went off his thigh and over the crossbar. Germany took the lead in the 22nd minute when Lukas Podolski took Ballack’s return pass down the left side before centering a ball that Schweinsteiger slid inside the near post. Less than five minutes later, Schweinsteiger lofted a freekick into the area which an unmarked Klose headed in for his first goal of the tournament. Portugal made it 2-1 five minutes before halftime after Lehmann came out to block Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot. The rebound went to Gomes, whose left-foot effort evaded defender Christoph Metzelder on the goal line.

The Germans increased their lead 13 minutes into the second half as Schweinsteiger sent another freekick into the area and Ballack appeared to push off a defender before heading it in. Scolari said Ballack, his future player at Chelsea, should have been called for a foul. Postiga, who entered the game in the 73rd minute, headed in Nani’s cross with three minutes left make it 3-2. The Portuguese, runners-up to Greece at Euro 2004, pushed on during four minutes of injury time though couldn’t get a clear shot on goal.

The Boston Celtics capped the greatest single-season turnaround in National Basketball Association history by winning their record 17th championship with a 131-92 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who won the best-of-seven NBA Finals four games to two for their first title in 22 years. The Celtics have now won 9 of 11 NBA Finals matchups against the Lakers, whose 14 championships are the second-most in league history. The two franchises have combined for half of the NBA’s 62 titles. Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 assists and 6 steals for Boston, which last won an NBA championship in 1986 with a team led by Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. This year’s club was led by the All-Star trio of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Allen scored 26 points and Pierce 17.

After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles to send the series back to Boston, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 34-15 during the second quarter at TD Banknorth Garden to open a 23-point halftime lead. Garnett’s eight baskets at halftime were as many as the Lakers scored as a team during the first half. Boston extended its lead to as many as 42 points in the second half to finish 13-1 at home during the postseason. NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 22 points on 7 of 22 shooting.

The Celtics’ championship capped a campaign in which they won a league-best 66 games during the regular season. It was a record-setting turnaround for the franchise, which had the second-worst record in the NBA last season at 24-58 and finished in last place in the Eastern Conference. Boston was given 75-1 odds to win a championship after last year’s NBA Finals. The Celtics’ odds dropped after the offseason addition of All-Stars Garnett and Allen, who joined Pierce to spark the team’s 42-game improvement, the biggest one-year turnaround in NBA history. The Celtics finally won on the road in the next round to capture the Eastern Conference title against the Detroit Pistons in six games and set up another meeting with the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Boston won the first two games at home and after losing Game 3 in Los Angeles, took control of the Finals by rallying from a 24-point deficit to win Game 4 on the road. It was the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

Germany coach Joachim Loew is suspended for his side’s Euro 2008 quarter-final match against Portugal, Europe’s governing body UEFA said on Tuesday. The disciplinary code of the tournament states that any player or officials sent off is automatically suspended for one game (Article 9 of Disciplinary Regulations), in this case Thursday’s knockout match in Basle, Switzerland.

UEFA director of communications William Gaillard told a press briefing in Vienna that the organization’s disciplinary committee will be looking into the sending off of Loew on Wednesday. Loew and his Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger were sent off during the first half of Monday’s Group B game between Germany and Austria, which the three-time champions won 1-0 to advance to the quarter-finals, while Austria were knocked out. Loew protested his innocence and rather attacked the fourth match official for interefering all the time.

If Loew’s suspension stands, he would have no access to the players after they arrive at the stadium for their quarter-final against Portugal. He will not be allowed to communicate with the players at all in the stadium. He could though, participate in the pre- and post-match news conference. Loew said he had no explanation for the sending off and for his part issued sharp criticism on the fourth official Damir Skomina of Slovenia.

Germany take on Portugal in the first quarter final of Euro 2008 on the 20th of June. Match will be shown live on ESPN from 00.05 IST onwards.

Sania Mirza might have suffered a first-round exit in her comeback match but she managed to retain her ranking of 33 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) list Monday.

Sunitha Rao, who reached the quarterfinal final of the DFS Classic in Birmingham last week, jumped eleven places to a career-high 149. This has been a good year for Sunitha, who in May achieved her career high doubles ranking of 108. She along with Hungarian Melinda Czink won the ITF doubles title in Croatia last month and also made a quarterfinal appearance in the DFS Classic.

In the men’s section, Mahesh Bhupathi, who has not been in his best form losing early in French Open and Gerry Weber Open in Germany, maintained his 13th position in the ATP rankings. Leander Paes entered his first final of the season at Gerry Weber last week with new Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy. But the doubles ranking of the Indian tennis ace remained at the 23rd spot. Rohan Bopanna climbed two places to break into the top-50 rankings in d

England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s reverse-handed shot that took New Zealand by surprise two days ago was cleared by cricket’s rule-making body today. In his match-winning innings of 110 not out, Pietersen launched New Zealand medium-pacer Scott Styris for two sixes after switching his stance from right- to left-handed at the last moment. His performance ignited a debate about the shot, which had already come under scrutiny from the International Cricket Council at a meeting in Dubai in May.

“The MCC believes that the switch-hit stroke is exciting for the game of cricket,” Marylebone Cricket Club, the sport’s rule-making body, said in a statement. “It conforms to the Laws of Cricket and will not be legislated against.” The MCC ruling said the shot was legitimate because it did not give an unfair advantage to batsmen, and said it was a risky tactic that “offers bowlers a good chance of taking a wicket.”

Pietersen, 27, known for his flamboyant stroke play, last played the shot in an international match against Sri Lanka in 2006 before stunning Styris with his display in England’s 114- run victory at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, north- east England. “It’s important that we as players are innovative, and if this shot helps make cricket more exciting and entertaining for spectators then that has to be good for the sport,” Pietersen said in a statement.

The second of England’s five-game one-day series with New Zealand takes place in Birmingham and will be shown live on star cricket at 15.15 IST

With the county season less than a few hours away many sides are still trying to come to terms with the impact of the two Indian leagues which are threatening to change the face of England’s domestic cricket. Already a number of players have had their registrations rejected after taking part in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), while the official Indian Premier League (IPL) is sending the powers that be into a frenzy as they try to keep up with the pace of change. So far the IPL has had a limited impact on English cricket but it won’t stay that way for long. Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire allrounder, is the only English player to be involved in the first IPL after joining the Jaipur franchise following a deal made with his club. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has said that England players will be welcome at future events and doesn’t want to clash with the domestic season.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has made it clear that he doesn’t see England’s top players taking part in the IPL but there is a danger that the situation could run away from the board. Andrew Flintoff would be high on the list of any franchise and it has already been reported that the he and Kevin Pietersen have attracted interested. However, Flintoff isn’t interested in any offers at this stage although hinted that it could be an option in the future but Lancashire chief executive, Jim Cumbes, has warned that the English game must act quickly in finding a way of keeping its leading players happy otherwise the IPL will become a greater threat. “At the moment the IPL is standing off English cricket but I cannot see them doing that indefinitely,” he said. “The Indian leagues will have a big impact on cricket here if counties do not move quickly to set up something here - that’s my view anyway.

While the Twenty20 cup 2008 wont be as glamorous as the IPL, It is still going to be a great watch as some of the best players in the game will be taking part. The tournament gets underway on the 17th of June 2008 and will be telecast on Star Cricket from 22.00 IST onwards

Australia won the third cricket Test against West Indies in Barbados by 87 runs to take the series 2-0 after the home team failed to achieve a record victory target. West Indies, set 475 to win at the Kensington Oval, was bowled out for 387 in its second innings. The highest score to win a Test match batting fourth was its 418-7 to defeat Australia in Antigua in May 2003. Top-ranked Australia completes a ninth straight Test series win. It took the opener in Jamaica by 95 runs, while the second match in Antigua was drawn.

West Indies, starting the final day on 235-3, frustrated Australia for most of the morning before Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were dismissed in successive overs. Bravo was the first to go, caught by Phil Jaques at silly point for 69 off the bowling of Beau Casson to end a 122-run partnership. He’d struck three sixes off spin bowler Casson earlier in the session. Chanderpaul became the fourth West Indian to score 8,000 Test runs when he reached 49, though added only 1 more run before being trapped leg before wicket by Stuart Clark.

The home team then lost its remaining five wickets for 84 runs. Jerome Taylor hit a Test-best 31 in a 42-run partnership with Denesh Ramdin, while Sewnarine Chattergoon, playing with a runner because of an ankle injury, made 13. Brett Lee ended the match by claiming his second wicket of the innings when Daren Powell edged to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Clark was the pick of Australia’s bowlers with 3-58, while Casson, on his debut, took 3-86. Australia had yesterday declared on 439-5 in its second innings after Simon Katich’s Test-best 157.

The Los Angeles Lakers avoided a second straight home collapse, beating the Celtics 103-98 to send the National Basketball Association Finals back to Boston. The Lakers, who surrendered a 24-point lead in Game 4 four days ago, twice blew double-digit leads last night at the Staples Center before pulling out the win to deny the Celtics a chance to celebrate their first championship in 22 years. Boston leads the best-of-seven playoff series 3-2 and hosts Game 6 tomorrow. A seventh game, if necessary, would also be played at TD Banknorth Garden, where the Celtics have a 12-1 record in the postseason.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points, including 15 in the first quarter as Los Angeles opened a 39-22 lead last night. While Bryant hit only 3-of-16 shots the rest of the way, teammates Pau Gasol and Odom picked up the slack. Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Odom added 20 points and 11 reboundsAs happened in Game 4, Boston recovered its early deficit. The Celtics cut the Lakers’ 19-point advantage to three at halftime and took a 58-57 lead 2:01 into the third quarter on a free throw by Pierce. The foul shot capped a 34-14 run for Boston.

The Lakers regained a 79-70 lead after three quarters and were up by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter. Boston again responded, with a 16-2 run to tie the score at 90-90, yet wasn’t able to go ahead. With the Lakers nursing a 97-95 lead in the final minute, Bryant stripped the ball from Pierce and scored on a two-handed dunk with 37.4 seconds left. The Lakers added four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the win. While Pierce had 8 assists, 6 rebounds and hit 16 of 19 free throw attempts for the Celtics, teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen combined for 29 points and took only 9 foul shots. The Celtics now head back home, where they’ll look to claim a record 17th NBA championship. No NBA team has blown a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Game six of the NBA finals between Lakers and Celtics will be telecast as a same day delay on ESPN at 14.00 IST on the 18th of June. Those of you who want to catch the game live, you can log on to NBA.com and catch the game live.

West Indies needs another 240 runs to avoid a Test cricket series loss to Australia after benefiting from three dropped catches to reach 235-3 on day four of the final match in Barbados. Australia set the home team a record 475 runs to win at the Kensington Oval after Simon Katich’s Test-best 157 led the top- ranked Australians to 439-5 declared in their second innings. A victory for West Indies would tie the three-match contest and deny Australia a ninth straight Test series win. The highest score to win a Test match batting fourth was by West Indies in 2003 when it made 418-7 to defeat Australia in Antigua.

The Caribbean team’s run chase was aided by the Australian fielders. Xavier Marshall struck 85, his highest first-class score, after Katich at third slip, then wicketkeeper Brad Haddin both failed to hold chances. His fellow opener Chris Gayle was dropped by Beau Casson during his innings of 26. Ramnaresh Sarwan scored 43 in a 95-run second-wicket stand with Marshall before being trapped leg before wicket by Michael Clarke. Spin bowler Casson claimed his first Test wicket when he had Marshall caught by Phil Jacques.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul will resume on 27 tomorrow, with Dwayne Bravo 30 not out. Bravo survived an lbw appeal from a full-length Brett Lee delivery and an appeal for a catch behind. Sewnarine Chattergoon is unlikely to bat on the final day because of an ankle injury. Earlier, Katich added 9 runs to his overnight score before being caught by substitute fielder Darren Sammy on 157. Andrew Symonds made 2, while Clarke finished unbeaten on 48 and Haddin 45 not out.

Catch the final day of the third test match between Australia and the West Indies live on Ten Sports today the 16th of June from 19.30 to 02.30 IST