The New Nation - Internet Edition

We want to win every match in upcoming ODI series; Daniel Vettori

UNB, Dhaka

Visiting New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori yesterday said they are hopeful of winning all the matches against Bangladesh in the upcoming ODI series beginning here on October 9 to upgrade their position in the ODI ranking.

"We want to win every match in the series to reach the second position in the ODI ranking. We don't want to miss the opportunity," Vettori said while addressing at a press s conference after the practice session at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the morning.

He said they have an idea about the local wicket and condition in the subcontinent as they earlier toured neighboring countries like India and Pakistan several times.

When asked to comment about Bangladesh team, the Kiwis captain said, "We have no idea about the opponents in absence of those joined in ICL. "But you have some good players like Masherafee and Razzak, who have the ability to upset any time."

The left-handed spinner Vettori said there is no way to underestimate the opponents as they take the series with caution and can make upset in any time.

Before the ODI series, the New Zealand team will play a warm-up match against a local selection on Tuesday.

Roddick upset by Berdych at Japan Open

AP, Tokyo

Andy Roddick was upset by Tomas Berdych 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (3) Saturday in the semifinals of the Japan Open, ending his bid for a second straight title in Asia. The ninth-seeded Berdych will face fifth-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in Sunday's final. Del Potro defeated No. 4 Richard Gasquet 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the other semifinal.

Roddick, coming off a win at the China Open last Sunday, broke Berdych to take a 2-0 lead in the final set and looked set for another trip to the finals after building a 5-2 lead."It's disappointing," Roddick said. "I don't know how to rate it. You feel like you have a match in your grasp and then let it go." After holding serve in the eighth game, Berdych broke Roddick with a crosscourt forehand to close the gap to 5-4 before sending the final set into a tiebreaker.

which he won with an ace.

"Being down 5-2 doesn't look good," Berdych said. "But it was only one break. I just tried to stay on my serve and look for a break and finally it came and I could finish the set."

Roddick also had a chance to win in the second set. With the score tied 5-5, Roddick double- faulted to give Berdych a 6-5 lead. He slammed his racket on the court and was given a warning.

Roddick, who had 25 aces, said Berdych made the most of his chances.

"He hit some good shots," Roddick said. "I don't think I missed any easy shots. He played a good game and this surface suits his game because he hits the ball hard and flat."

Berdych, 23, is chasing his first singles title this year and fifth of his career.

Earlier, Del Potro extended his extraordinary run by beating Gasquet in three sets.

The 20-year-old Del Potro has won 29 of his 30 matches, with the only loss being to eventual finalist Andy Murray in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

During that streak, he has won titles at Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel, Los Angeles and Washington.

In the women's event, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark coasted to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jarmila Gajdosova of Slovakia to reach the final. She will take on fifth-seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-4 in the other semifinal.

Wozniacki is chasing her third singles title in as many months.

Man United top Blackburn 2-0

AP, London

Wayne Rooney scored one goal and set up another for Manchester United in a 2-0 victory at Blackburn on Saturday that moved the Red Devils closer to the leaders in the English Premier League.

Rooney shook off an ankle injury to make it three goals in three games, and defending champion United won its fourth league and cup game in a row after a shaky start to the season. Wes Brown scored United's other goal.

The Red Devils are sixth in the standings, three points behind Chelsea and Liverpool, who lead with 14. On Sunday, Chelsea hosts Aston Villa and Liverpool is at Manchester City.

A rare headed goal by Cesc Fabregas salvaged a 1-1 draw for Arsenal at Sunderland after the Gunners appeared in danger of a second straight upset loss.

Beaten 2-1 at home by Hull a week ago, Arsenal trailed when Grant Leadbitter headed Sunderland ahead in the 86th minute at the Stadium of Light. Fabregas headed only his second goal in 25 games in the third minute of injury time.

In Saturday's other games, promoted West Bromwich Albion edged Fulham 1-0 and Middlesbrough won 1-0 at Wigan.

Bayern Munich tossed away a two-goal lead with seven minutes to go to draw 3-3 with lowly Bochum and slide to 11th in the Bundesliga.

The defending champion appeared to be coasting on two strikes by Ze Roberto and a 15th minute goal by Daniel van Buyten. But Christoph Dabrowski and Dennis Grote hit back for Bochum, which is 14th in the 18-club standings.

"This is extremely frustrating," Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann said. "We were simply a bit too overconfident."

It could get worse for Bayern on Sunday if Hannover overtakes Klinsmann's team with a win at Borussia Dortmund and the champion slips to 12th with nine points.

Promoted Hoffenheim beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on goals by Demba Ba to tie Stuttgart for the lead with 13 points. Stuttgart outplayed Champions League contender Werder Bremen 4-1.

Shunsuke Nakamura's close range volley put Celtic on the way to a 4-0 victory over Hamilton to maintain pressure on Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.

Georgios Samaras, Scott McDonald and Aiden McGeady also hit the target at Celtic Park, and Gordon Strachan's team drew level on 19 points with Rangers, who visit last-place St. Mirren on Sunday.

Celtic and Rangers are already six points ahead of their rivals.

Yuvraj and Jaffer shine in draw

Cricinfo

Board President's XI 455 (Rohit 105, Kohli 105) and 292 for 4 dec (Yuvraj 113, Jaffer 93) drew with Australians 314 (Hussey 126*, Chawla 5-89) and 127 for 2 (Ponting 58*)

Ricky Ponting hit a crucial fifty and Michael Clarke made an assured 36, but the Australians will leave Hyderabad with more questions than answers. Their bowlers once again were second-best; Board President's XI set the Australians an impossible target of 434 by declaring 47 minutes after lunch. Yuvraj Singh played a vital role in building BP XI's formidable lead, scoring an entertaining hundred, while Wasim Jaffer contributed 93.

For the visitors, the important phase of the day was Ponting's batting against spin, especially Piyush Chawla, who had knocked him out in spectacular fashion in the first innings. It was a technical draw. Ponting laced a cover drive early in the contest but was beaten a couple of times when he tried to cut. Tea intervened, and as it happened Ponting then didn't face Chawla much: at one point of time he had played only four deliveries from Chawla as compared to the 28 against Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj. Ponting looked pretty comfortable against Ojha, using his feet and clattering him over long-on a couple of times. Chawla got ten more balls at Ponting, who started to stretch out to defend. Chawla dragged back the length and earned a close lbw shout. Just when the contest got interesting, the game ended in a stalemate.

Clarke was his usual self, looking for every opportunity to come down the track to the spinners. He drove and cut well. The openers, though, fell cheaply again: Simon Katich chopped a short delivery straight to point and Matthew Hayden, who had made a cautious start, fell lbw to Chawla.

Stuart Clark was Australia's best bowler, dismissing both Yuvraj and Jaffer, but the others, especially offspinner Jason Krejza, struggled. An additional worry was wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's fitness: he left the field after being hit on the glove by a delivery from Clark that kept low. Michael Hussey stood in, and though the team management said Haddin - who had a below-par game, conceding 15 byes - was ready to come back, Yuvraj had declared by then.

Yuvraj and Jaffer laid into the Australian attack in the morning and, as a result, BP XI scored 130 runs in 25 overs during the first session. The highlight was Krejza's sixth, and last, over. He had fielders at long-off and mid-on, but Yuvraj chose the high-risk option, lofting a full ball over long-off before sweeping the next for four more. He dispatched another flighted delivery over the bowler's head for six before giving the strike to Jaffer, who also hit Krejza over mid-off for four. Krezja's over cost 21 and his figures read 11-1-76-0.

Yuvraj started quietly last evening and did the same this morning. He scored only five runs off his first 19 balls before breaking free with a perfectly-timed straight drive off Brett Lee. He brought up his half-century by lifting Krejza over the extra-cover boundary in the next over, and continued to accelerate. His second 50 took only 44 balls, and he reached his hundred by pulling Clarke powerfully over deep midwicket.

Yuvraj's eye-catching timing overshadowed Jaffer, who also began cautiously on the final day. He was squared up by the fast bowlers a few times but had an over to remember against Peter Siddle. He opened the face to guide the second ball to the third-man boundary, pierced the infield at point off the fifth, and drove the final ball straight for four. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batted without any trouble and added 52 before Yuvraj decided to declare. The Australians will be happy that he did as Ponting and Clarke got some runs ahead of the Test series, which starts in Bangalore on October 9.