Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten century to steer Sri Lanka to a draw in the final Test against Pakistan on Friday and win his first series as captain.

The left-hander made 130 not out as Sri Lanka, faced with a world record target of 492, defied the Pakistani bowlers to finish with 391/4 on the fifth day at the Sinhalese sports club.

The rock solid Sangakarra’s 19th Test century featured a fourth-wicket stand of 122 with Thilan Samaraweera (73) and 114 for the unbroken fifth with Angelo Mathews (64 not out).

Sri Lanka clinched the series 2-0, their first at home against Pakistan after five unsuccessful attempts, and provided Sangakkara with a winning start as captain after he took over from Mahela Jayawardene in April.

Sangakkara hung on for nearly seven hours on a placid pitch to frustrate Pakistan’s bid to record a face-saving win ahead of the five-match one-day series starting at Dambulla on July 30.

No team has achieved this high a target in the fourth innings to win a Test match. The highest successful chase so far is 418/7 by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2003.

The two teams went into the last session of the match with Sri Lanka needing 154 runs from a possible 38 overs to record a record-breaking win and Pakistan requiring six wickets.

The hosts gave an indication they would prefer to settle for a draw when they made just 76 runs from 26 overs in the two hours after lunch.

The final session, watched by some 3,000 home fans, provided dull cricket from both sides as the batsmen plodded along and the bowlers set defensive fields to ensure the run-rate did not pick up.

Play was finally called off when 15 overs remained with Sri Lanka needing a further 101 runs.

It was the first time in the series that play went into the fifth day after the tourists lost the first Test in four days and the second in three.

Sangakkara and Samaraweera, who resumed the day at 183/3, batted through the morning session to take Sri Lanka to 262 without further loss by lunch.

The pair made a cautious start in the morning, scoring 50 runs in 21 overs before Pakistan captain Younus Khan took the second new ball as soon as it was due in the 81st over.

Samaraweera welcomed the change by driving the first delivery from Umar Gul to the cover fence and executing another perfect off-drive from the last ball of the over.

Sri Lanka suffered a setback soon after lunch when Samaraweera strained a hamstring while taking a single and called for a runner.

The injury did not seem to bother him as he hit the first ball from pace bowler Mohammad Aamer for a boundary, but then was smashed on the helmet by a rising ball later in the same over.

Samaraweera was dismissed in the following over when he failed to read a straight ball from off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and nicked an easy catch to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Source from: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indyalive.com

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Australian skipper Ricky Ponting is determined not to be fooled by Edgbaston’s ‘jelly’ pitch report that similarly had ruined

their Ashes dreams four years ago and said he would better wait and watch this time.

In 2005 Ashes Tests, Ponting was flayed for bowling first without injured pacer Glenn McGrath after concerns that heavy rain

would make the pitch a minefield.

Four years down the lane, Ponting finds himself in a similar situation with Edgbaston’s groundsman Steve Rouse claiming that

heavy rain has delayed the preparation of the pitch for the third Test and the wicket is a bit like a jelly.

But the Australian skipper said this time he will assess the pitch early next week before forming any notion.

“That’s what we were told last time. That’s the reason we ended up bowling first in 2005,” Ponting was quoted as saying in

the Herald Sun.

“We were told exactly the same thing for the week leading up. There had been a cyclone and a tornado that had gone through

Birmingham and wicket preparation was miles behind.

“It was overcast on that day so we won the toss and bowled. And the thing (the ball) didn’t move off the straight for the

whole day.

“I’m not sure I’ll be falling for that one this time around. We’ll wait and see,” added the Australian skipper.

Ponting is currently on a three-day tour match against Northampton county team and would travel to Birmingham with the side

on Sunday night after the match.

“We’ll have a look first thing on Monday,” Ponting said of the pitch.

“It will be a good opportunity to have a look at the wicket and see how far advanced the preparation is and then hopefully,

we’ll be able to make a more accurate forecast once we’re there.

“Last time around we probably got a bit carried away with what we heard and not going so much on the cold, hard facts of what

we saw.

“The wicket looked OK there last time but with the overhead conditions, that’s what most captains here usually look at on the day

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Bangladesh 246 for 9 (Ashraful 57, Shakib 54, Roach 5-44) beat West Indies 194 (Smith 65, Razzak 4-39)
by 52 runs

Shakib Al Hasan, yet again, was the architect of Bangladesh’s success as he delivered a fine allround performance to lead his team to a 52-run win in the series opener in Dominica. His fighting half-century helped his team post a formidable total on a slow pitch; his tactic of opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak succeeded in denting West Indies early in their chase, and his dismissal of Devon Smith helped strangle the resistance which threatened to cause an upset. Mohammad Ashraful and Mahmudullah backed the effort with important contributions while fighting through a disciplined bowling performance led by Kemar Roach’s five-for.

The comprehensive win marked a contrast to the start of play for Bangladesh. The hosts delivered the best possible start to the Dominican crowd witnessing their first international fixture, when Roach got opener Tamim Iqbal to edge one first ball. The overnight and early morning showers had made their mark on the pitch, and the four-pronged pace attack was expected to thrive on the movement on offer. But Roach and debutant Nelon Pascal, another slinger on the international scene, faced a counter-attack.

With the surface beginning to hold up and the spinners introduced, Ashraful and Shakib shed their aggressions and relied on nudges, dabs and sweeps. And when the time for acceleration came, it was Mahmudullah who cut loose, breaking a 104-ball boundary drought with a six off Lewis. Shakib joined in the act to smack two fours off Nikita Miller to reach his half-century. Though Roach bagged three wickets in his spell to complete his haul, 43 runs had come off the final powerplay, boosting Bangladesh to a match-winning total.

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Australians 308 for 8 dec (Watson 84, Hussey 75 ret ht) and 270 for 3 (McDonald 75, Hughes 68, Manou 59*, Watson 50) beat Northamptonshire 226 for 7 dec (Wakely 62, Wessels 50, Siddle 3-53) and 217 (O’Brien 58, McDonald 4-15) by 135 runs

The Australians have recorded their maiden first-class victory on this tour of England, but the path to a Test triumph appears more treacherous by the day. Another dispiriting performance from Mitchell Johnson has cast significant doubt over his mechanical and mental readiness for Edgbaston, and placed the one-time spearhead in grave danger of the axe.

Johnson conceded at least one boundary in each of his first six overs on Sunday; a streak that could have stretched to seven but for the negative tactic to bowl short and wide of the Northamptonshire batsmen in the closing stages of his spell. His main persecutor, Niall O’Brien, is more notable for his work behind the stumps for Ireland than his first-class average of 27.68, but the left-hander was made to look every bit the specialist batsman after thumping Johnson for seven of his nine boundaries en route to 58, scored in better than even time.

Johnson’s woes also extended to the field and he dropped Ben Howgego at mid-on off the bowling of Stuart Clark, but it was his analysis of 1 for 65 from 11.1 overs – ending a match in which he dismissed a solitary tailender, and conceded runs at close to six-per-over against a second-division county line-up – that might have tipped the selection scales against him. Demotion at Edgbaston would represent a stunning fall from grace for a bowler who, barely a month ago, arrived on these shores touted as the world’s most dangerous paceman and charged with leading Australia’s Ashes defence.

Entering the three-day match at Wantage Road, many observers felt Clark would duel with Peter Siddle for a sole pace berth at Edgbaston, only for the crosshairs to shift to Johnson as the match progressed. Siddle, curiously, bowled just four disciplined overs in the second innings, possibly indicating the desire of the Australians to keep him on ice for Edgbaston.

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alexander

SHIMLA: The legend of Alexander the Great lives on. In Himachal Pradesh’s sleepy Malana, a cluster of 12 villages comprising eight clans, the
mystique comes alive when its inhabitants proclaim themselves as descendants of the Greek king and speak a language only they can understand.

This may be unravelled soon: a Swedish university is in talks with the Institute of Tribal Studies of Himachal University to launch a research to understand the mysterious but small population.

Uppsala University, one of the oldest institutions Nordic countries founded in 1477, and named after the town where it is located, boasts of preserving a large number of ancient symbols that have survived even today.

Institute of Tribal Studies director P K Vaid told TOI that the project had been broadly divided into two parts – trace the origin of the language that the people of Malana, a village located at a height of 8,600 ft and considered as the oldest democracy, speak. And second, trace the origin of the people in Malana.

“Their dialect, which differs from the one spoken in the region, does not find mention even in `vanshavallis’ (ancestral tree) of Kullu kings. It is a mixture of various languages. We’ve got about 500 to 600 words that are used in their dialect and will be tracing them back to the languages from which they may have been taken. This could give us a clue to its origin,” Vaid said.

The people of Malana have their facial features that, to an extent, resemble the Romans’, Vaid claimed. Alexander the Great had defeated Indian king Porus along the banks of the Beas. After a series of campaigns on India, his soldiers felt tired and wanted to return home. Alexander, too, is said to have gone back home. Lore has it that some of his soldiers, too tired to return, preferred to settle down along the banks of the Beas and it is said residents of Malana may be their descendants.

Vivek Mohan, who has conducted over four years of study and produced a national award winning documentary `Malana’, said the answer to Malana residents’ origin remains a riddle to him.

Malana is the oldest known `republic’ in the country. The police could reach the inaccessible area only in 1996. “However, I’m convinced the settlement has nothing to do with Alexander,” he said.

Malana worships Lord Jamlu. Some historians believe Jamlu Dev comes from Jamabala Dala Shakche in Bhotti dialect, which means God of Wealth or God Against Enemies and it is He who gives them their rigid rule of governance called `ra-Deo’ (rule in the name of God).

“They are a few thousand people whose political allegiance is only to themselves and whose religious devotion focuses on their deity,” Vivek Mohan said. On their origin, Vaid claimed, since their dialect is a mixture of Sanskrit, Bhotti and Kinnauri, this alone could be the only clue to their origin.

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microsoft-and-yahoo

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc have agreed to an online search and advertising partnership, in an attempt to rival Google Inc, that will be announced within 24 hours, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Microsoft will not pay an upfront fee to Yahoo, and the focus of the deal is on sharing revenue between the two companies, said the source, who did not want to be identified because a formal announcement has not been made.

The news and details of the expected deal were first reported by the AllThingsDigital blog and Advertising Age. Microsoft and Yahoo declined comment. The two companies have talked for months about cooperating in the online advertising market, dominated by Google.

Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo last year but its $47.5 billion bid was rebuffed and Yahoo’s attempt to seal a search advertising deal with Google Inc fell apart under regulatory scrutiny. Under the expected deal, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine will power Yahoo’s searches, according to Advertising Age, while Yahoo will handle the advertising sales, using Microsoft technology.

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India Navy and Coast Guard have stepped up their patrol of the coast of Konkan after intelligence inputs that a suspicious ship headed towards Goa.

Goa police received intelligence inputs on the last night of their counterparts in Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) that warned of a suspicion of moving the ship .

A Goa police on such a motion of the ship we learn. But we are still checking, Master Manohar Nambiar, Public Relations Officer, Indian Navy reportedly said on Friday.

Sindhudurg police had based their entries in the information provided by fishermen.

There were no specific details on the container. The information did not mention whether it was even a big ship or small boat-like container, a police official said more.

The navy india and search mission launching the Coast Guard immediately after the tickets were transported to it but so far we have not received any feedback. This means that the container was not traced or entries were incorrect Atmaram Deshpande, superintendent of police (special branch), said.

The police in Goa said that according to the entries, the vessel was assumed to play the state the ’s coast this morning.

There are now hardly any movement of the ship in rough seas because of the time. So if there is any container, it is not difficult to locate, Deshpande said.

The police in Goa said she warned that police increasing coastal surveillance along the belt from the beach as she puts ‘t want to leave anything chance.

The terror attacks of Post-Mumbai the possibility of a strike from the sea were feared by intelligence agencies that had even said that Lashkar-e-Toiba ’s the wing of the sea is likely to hit the west coast.

Goa with Maharashtra and Karnataka, is in alarm due to the celebrations of Independence Day.

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Only 2.5 million of 172 million Pakistanis pay taxes. Of these, 1.8 million are paid and paid Rs.27.37 billion in taxes during the just ended fiscal 2008-09, the Senate was informed Thursday.

The figures were supplied by the minister of state for finance and economic affairs Hina Rabbani Khare, online news agency reported.

Responding to questions, said that the income resulted from the collection of taxes was only 9.6 percent of GDP.

Addition to extending the tax system to raise taxes, those taxes that were recorded – but not paying the tax paid would have to be persuaded to pay, the tax she added.

Responding to a question, Khare said, we must extend our hands to donor agencies, international lending to the search after two years as a tax on income targets are not found.

Pakistan ‘parliament on June 25 passed a budget of Rs.2.9 s one million for fiscal 2009-10 that began July 1 that focuses on sustainable development, the revival of industry and providing relief to the vulnerable and the millions of refugees by uprooting anti-Taliban offensive in the northwest.

Presenting the budget on June 13, Khare said that when the income during the fiscal was estimated at one million Rs.2.174, expenditure was estimated to be one million Rs.2.897.

The deficit of Rs.722.5 billion – 4.9 percent of GDP – would be found with the external loans of Rs.264.9 billion and loans of Rs.457.6 billion domestic.

It was the first time in Pakistan ’s in a history of 62 years that a woman had presented the budget.

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china-internet-cafe

Melbourne, July 30 (ANI): The Internet is growing in size every second, so that both are more addresses than there are people on earth, claims the team behind Microsoft ‘Search Engine Bing.

Bing has put the number of web pages at “over 1 trillion”, while Google had earlier indexed more than one trillion discreet web addresses.

The current global population is over 6.7 billion, that means that there are about 150 Web addresses for the person in the world.

This could mean that if a person spent only one reading minutes each Web site in existence, to follow or be kept occupied for 31,000 years without any sleep.

Average person would need one hundred thousand six decades Nonstop to read with the reading of the information Bing News.com.au quoted as saying.

Mark Higginson, director of analytics for Nielsen Online, said the global online population had jumped 16 percent since last year.

Approximately 1:46 billion people worldwide now Internet USA is that it represents a solid 16 percent increase from the previous year ’s the estimate of (1.26 billion in 2007) said.

The population of the largest Internet belongs to China, with 338 million users online, which is more than there were people in the U.S.

However InternetWorldStats.com (IWS), a Web site that combines multiple data sources, claimed that China ‘the people in line s are more like 298 million.

With the rates of India and China still quite low, there is a large quarter for growth in the coming decade, Higginson said.

But measuring the population in line could be complicated, there are users, users, per capita numbers, and percentages of penetration to be evaluated.

And so it is difficult to find a single figure to represent the online population in the world.

The combined data of IWS UN ‘the international telecommunications union of s, the Nielsen Online, the GfK survey and the office of the U.S., and its latest global figures for the number of users of the Internet in the World 1596270108.

And this is only 23.8 percent of the estimated 6.0706.993.152 people in the world. But changes daily.

According to the future, we anticipate the motive to contribute significantly to the use of the Internet, Higginson said.

Under IWS, the above 5 countries with most users of the Internet are:

1 – China (298,000,000 users, or 22.4 percent of its population)

2 – EU (227,190,989, or 74.7 percent)

3 – Japan (94,000,000, or 73.8 percent)

4 – India (81,000,000, or 7.1 percent)

5 – Brazil (67,510,400, or 34.4% percent) (ANI)

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Australia ’s Graham Manou achieved an ambition of his career doing the test while only beginning to be included in the bid team after playing in England at Edgbaston here Thursday.

The Wicket-keeper of South Australia has its very late call-up play in the third test of the ash after the first-choice gloveman Brad Haddin broke a finger in the pre-heating of the phosphorus.

Australia has, for several years now, made a great game out to make new arrivals next to the test with the green buffer flaccid.

But this was the nail between Haddin ‘injury of seo start of phosphorus there was no opportunity for Manou, Australia ‘ player of the cricket test s 411th, received an article of headgear awarded.

No, not yet as you can imagine there, wasn ‘t long before the beginning of the game, so hopefully I will receive the first thing tomorrow morning (Friday), Manou told Sky Sports after the stump in Thursday, with Australia 126 for one in their first times.

Manou, 30, has a reputation as a depositary healthy but Haddin ’s top of the beat effectively meant that the injury would consider myself on the side of the test in this tour.

The teams strong – and remains Australia’s first test in the world rankings despite a 115 run loss in the Lord ’s in that they left down 1-0 in this series with three to play – rarely change their Wicket-keeper.

That was certainly true in Australia recently where Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist, who retired only five days of the format of last year, dominated the role between them for two decades.

I don ‘t think you can put into words to be honest Manou, said when asked how he felt about his elevation to test the status. Eye hopefully I can wear the green flaccid with absolute pride.

Manou ’s inclusion of even more questionable was nerve-wracking for Australia than when the player quick Glenn McGrath had to withdraw after having turned his ankle during the warming in the last ashes test at Edgbaston four years ago.

That was on Thursday because, unlike 2005, the bid had already taken place and the teams were exchanged between the captain Andrew Strauss of England and Ricky Ponting of Australia counterparts.

Bus Tim Nielsen from Australia granted after the end of Thursday ’s of that in the circumstances, Strauss would be within their right to refuse visitors a replacement of the specialist.

But Strauss, whose good sportsmanship was questioned this series after England seemed to dock in time-wasting during the first test taken in Cardiff and he claimed a disputed catch in the slip you ’s in, Manou has taken his chance.

Nielsen said that Strauss had a gesture thin and a grateful Manou added: I actually read the stories in local papers about the sportsmanship and for Andrew Strauss and English side to allow us do what we did is very marked.

Fortunately for Manou, and indeed Australia, has not entered this match cold and has been efficiently and 59 marked the electrical device of the tour last week ’s meeting of the first English county of Northamptonshire.

Fortunately I played last week in Northampton and it was nice to get out there and get some rhythm and only one, the game said.

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