The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sports Reporter

Dhaka Divisional Women's Cricket team retained their winning streak in the Meril First Women's Divisional Cricket League when they beat Rajshahi Divisional Women's Cricket team by two runs in their one-dayer clash at the Dhanmondi Club Ground on Saturday.

Coin-favoured Dhaka decided to bat first and made 144 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 35 overs and then they bowled out Rajshahi for 142 off 34.2 overs.

Shopany Akhter of Dhaka top-scored with 30 off 48 balls amid two fours.

Papiya Haq was the other run getter for the winners who hit 26 off 55 balls.

32 runs came from extras to the Dhaka total.

Tithy Rani of Rajshahi bagged a pair of wickets conceding 35 runs while Ritha Khatun and Panna Ghosh plucked one wicket each for 13 and 25 runs respectively.

Panna Ghosh shone with the willow hitting a respectable 35 off 57 balls. She sent the ball three times through the ropes.

Lily Rani, Salma Akhter, Yamim Rupa of Dhaka chipped in with two wickets each for five, 13 and 14 runs respectively.

Besides, Papiya Haq and Shamima Akhter took one wicket each.

Meanwhile, Khulna composed an easy 51-run victory over Chittagong in their one-dayer match at the Dhaka University Ground on the same day.

Electing to bat first, Khulna made 191 for the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated 35 overs and then they skittled out Chittagong for 140 off 32.5 overs.

Rumana Ahmed of Khulna was her team's most successful woman in batting, who notched up a worthy 39off 47 balls including six shots across the fence.

Besides, Salma Khatun and Rifat Ara added 20 runs each to the Khulna total.

Mrs Extra contributed 43 runs to the winners total.

Champa Chakma of Chittagong grabbed three wickets giving away 27 runs while Hasina Akhter got two wickets in lieu of 48 runs.

Skipper Fatema of Chittagong was the day's top scorer with undefeated 40. She struck four boundaries in her 61-ball knock.

Opener Zerin Dastagir cracked 34 off 30 balls. She hit seven fours.

Rumana Ahmed of Khulna claimed four wickets at the cost of 23 runs while Monjila Khatun harpooned three wickets for just nine runs.

Sports Reporter

The Dhaka Bank Victory Day Hockey Tournament begins today at the Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium. Bangladesh Army will face Bangladesh Navy in the opening match.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) will arrange the hockey competition under auspices of Dhaka Bank Limited.

To mark the forthcoming hockey meet, a press conference was held at the conference room of BHF. General Secretary of BHF Sajed AA Adel, Secretary of the Tournament Committee Mirza Farid Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director of Dhaka Bank Limited Tanvir Rahim were present at the conference among others. s

A total of six teams will take part in the hockey tournament. The first phase will be held on single league basis. The top two teams will get the tickets of the final, which will be taken place on January 12. The teams, which will compete in the tournament, are: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force, BkSP, Sonali Bank SRC and Barnak Samaj.

The budget of the tournament is Tk one lakh twenty thousand and Dhaka Bank Limited, the sponsor of the meet will bear all the expenditure of the competition to run the hockey meet smoothly.

Reuters, Melbourne

A dominant Australia eased to comprehensive 337-run first test victory over India on Saturday when they dismissed the visitors for 161 in the final session of the fourth day.

The Australians, who have won 15 successive tests, exploited a wearing pitch to restrict the scoring while they chipped away at India's vaunted batting line-up, capturing the 10 wickets needed for victory with more than a day to spare.

Vangipurappu Laxman top-scored for India with 42 and Saurav Gangly added 40 but the tourists never looked like getting anywhere near the 499 runs needed for victory.

All Australia's bowlers contributed to their victory with Mitchell Johnson taking 3-21 off 15 overs, while Stuart Clark took two wickets, bowled nine maidens and conceded just 20 runs off his 15 overs.

The Australians, who were outstanding with the ball and in the field, blasted through any semblance of Indian resistance after tea with the capture of three wickets in four balls highlighting their dominance.

Wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni was the first wicket to fall after the break when he was caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist off Mitchell Johnson for 11 before India imploded.

SWELTERING HEAT

Captain Anil Kumble was dismissed in the same fashion for eight, while Harbhajan Singh was then run out, without facing a ball, on the first ball of the next over from Brad Hogg when Ganguly sent him back.

Ganguly, who had sought medical treatment during the middle session because of the sweltering heat, was trapped in front by Hogg two balls later to leave the Indians on 157-9.

Johnson ended the match when he clean bowled Rudra Pratap Singh for two shortly afterwards.

The Indians, who found scoring difficult in both of their innings with only one player, Sachin Tendulkar (62), passing 50 in either knock, were strangled by the Australians from the outset on Saturday with their total not reaching 50 until the 32nd over.

All of the top-order batsmen, apart from Laxman and Ganguly were unable to push on after making starts.

Gilchrist, who took four catches in the first innings, took another four in the second to move past Ian Healy for the most dismissals by an Australian wicketkeeper.

He now has 399 dismissals, just behind South Africa's Mark Boucher, who holds the world record with 406.

No other active player has more than 200.

The next match in the four-test series, where the Australians will be seeking a world record-equalling 16th successive victory, begins on Jan. 2 in Sydney.

AFP, South Africa

The West Indies called up uncapped wicket-keeper/batsman Patrick Browne on Friday to join the squad on the tour of South Africa.

The 25-year-old is scheduled to arrive in Cape Town ahead of the second Test, which starts on January 2 at Newlands.

"The call-up came as a total surprise but I'm delighted. I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and I'm looking forward to it," Browne said.

Browne has been called up after the team management decided that a second wicket-keeper was needed to share the workload with Denesh Ramdin.

He has played 44 first-class matches since his debut in 2001 and is a former West Indies Under-19 and West Indies 'A' Team player.

West Indies are in a pretty strong position in the first Test as they hold an overall lead of 359 going into the fourth day but with just two wickets remaining in their second innings.

AFP, Paris

It will be the year of the Golden Slam for tennis in 2008 and realistically only two names are in the running.

Both Roger Federer and Justine Henin finished this year as clear No.1s in their sport and they are set to dominate again.

But from there to winning all four Grand Slams events plus Olympic gold in Beijing in the same calendar year is a huge step.

To date only Steffi Graf has achieved the rare feat in 1988 when tennis returned to the Olympic fold in Seoul.

Since then, in Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), Sydney

(2000) and Athens (2004) - no-one has come close

Having won three out of the four Grand Slam events in three out of the last four years, the 26- year-old Federer certainly looks capable.

But he still has to work out how to defeat claycourt nemesis Rafael Nadal in Paris and avoid an Olympic flop like the one he had against Tomas Berdych in Athens in 2004.

Federer is currently gearing up for the new season and his defence of the Australian Open in the second half of January under the warm, winter sun of Dubai where he has taken up residence in the brief off- season.

Two more Grand Slam titles in 2008 will see him equal Pete Sampras at the top of the tree with 14, but he is keenly aware also of the prestige that an Olympic title brings.

"I'm probably going to go in as one of the big favourites and I really expect myself to do well. It's one of my goals of the seaon," he said after winning the Masters Cup in Shanghai last month.

"But it's going to be a tough trip, coming from the French Open to Wimbledon, over to North America and back but I'm ready for it. It's going to be interesting to see how the surface will be played - slow or fast."

Where the opposition will come from will largely depend on levels of physical fitness and mental fortitude when faced with the player now widely regarded as the greatest ever.

Injury doubts surround world No.2 Nadal and flashy Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while Novak Djokovic needs to temper his exhausting calendar and Andy Murray is between coaches.

The biggest obstacle in Federer's path is likely to be Argentina powerhouse David Nalbandian who rededicated his career in the last few months of the year and took the Swiss player's scalp at the Madrid and Paris Masters Series tournaments.

The 25-year-old Henin in 2007 put an end to a long period of fluctuating leaders in women's tennis by winning the French and US Opens to break well clear of the chasing pack.

But she slumped badly at Wimbledon and that will be her biggest challenge once again as well as how the slightly-built Belgian can cope physically with such a demanding schedule.

Her long-time coach and mentor Carlos Rodriguez says they are fully aware of how taxing the year is likely to be for her.

"The 2008 calendar is very tough, but if Justine wants to be at the Olympics, she must do it," he said.

"When you target four Majors, the Olympics, the WTA Championships and four out of the six tournaments take place in a time frame without much breaks between them it's necessary to peak at the right moments.

"The ideal answer doesn't exist. If there was a solution, it would have been common knowledge and given to us."

Who her main rivals will be remains to be seen.

The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are major threats, especially at Wimbledon, if they stay injury-free and are fully focussed, while Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo can both trouble her if they are fully fit.

But it is maybe from rising Serb stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic that the main threats to Henin's predominance will come.

The 2008 ATP season starts on Monday at Doha, Chennai and Adelaide, while the WTA opens up at Gold Coast and Auckland.