Baking heat, rain and the threat of lightning all forced stoppages in play at the U.S. Open on Sunday but Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki marched on through a day of wild weather and upsets.

Former world number one Wozniacki had her fourth round match with Maria Sharapova halted briefly by the heat rule but it was the fifth-seeded French Open champion who wilted under a blazing sun, falling 6-4 2-6 6-2.

Later, rain interrupted Federer’s clash with Marcel Granollers before the five-time U.S. Open champion came back from a set down to crush the Spaniard 4-6 6-1 6-1 6-1 and storm into the fourth round.

Gilles Simon and Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer sweated it out under a midday sun, the 26th seeded Frenchman posting the first big surprise in the men’s draw with a 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-3 win.

A stormy day finished off with another upset on Arthur Ashe Stadium court as 17-year-old Swiss sensation Belinda Bencic swept past ninth-seeded Serb and former world number one Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (6) 6-3.

“It was always a dream to play on this court,” said Bencic, who is coached by Martina Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor.

“I watched it as a kid and I always dreamt about playing here.”

Next up for Bencic is another giant-killer in China’s Peng Shuai. The doubles specialist eased into the last eight with a 6-3 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova.

The departures of Sharapova and Jankovic leave only world number one Serena Williams, Canadian seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard and Wozniacki as the surviving members of the women’s top 10.

MARATHON TRAINING

Wozniacki showed great grit in battling past Sharapova as the punishing conditions turned the match into a battle for survival.

A grand slam title is the one major hole in Wozniacki’s considerable resume and the Dane may never have a better opportunity to fill it with the draw having opened up.

The 2009 U.S. Open runnerup is training to run the New York marathon later in the year and appeared better equipped to cope with the soaring temperatures and stifling humidity that took the players off court.

After play resumed, Wozniacki turned up her own heat on the five-time grand slam winner in the third set.

“I think it will help me a lot,” said Wozniacki, who will next face 13th seed Sara Errani, a three-set winner over Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. “Today was a tough battle out there. It was humid. It was hot. I had to change my dress.

“That rarely happens. It was just soaked. Definitely (the training) is helping, because I felt fresh out there and I felt like I could keep going.”

The Dane captured the decisive break in the third game after a spectacular point in which she raced three times across the baseline to retrieve shots before the Russian netted a backhand volley to fall behind 3-1.

Wozniacki broke Sharapova again for good measure in the final game to return to a grand slam quarter-final for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open.

Barring Ferrer’s upset, the men’s top 10 seeds remain intact, with sixth seed Tomas Berdych and seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov both advancing.

Rising talent Dominic Thiem continued to surprise, following up his second round win over 11th seed Ernests Gulbis by dismantling 19th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-4 6-2 6-3.

The 20-year-old Austrian will have to pull a bigger upset out of his hat in the next round when he meets Berdych, a straight sets winner over Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili.

Gael Monfils mowed down 12th seed and fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-2 6-2 and will also need to produce something special to overcome Dimitrov, who recovered from a sleepy start to dump Belgian David Goffin 0-6 6-3 6-4 6-1.

Ambitious Borussia Moenchengladbach looked tired from their midweek demolition of Sarajevo in the Europa League and were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw at Freiburg on a goalless Sunday in the Bundesliga. Gladbach beat Sarajevo 7-0 to advance to the group stage this week but were a shadow of their attacking selves against Freiburg, who missed a penalty. Striker Branimir Hrgota, who scored a hat-trick against the Bosnians, was taken off midway through the second half.

Freiburg, better in the first half, could have scored but instead Admir Mehmedi thundered his 62nd minute spot kick wildly over the bar. The result was Gladbach’s second draw in two games since the league start last week. In the day’s only other game, Hanover 96 failed to replicate their scintillating form of last week — when they beat Schalke 04 — and drew 0-0 at Mainz 05 to climb to four points from two games.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich dropped their first points in a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 on Saturday with Borussia Dortmund beating Augsburg 3-2 and fellow Champions League club Bayer Leverkusen staying top on six points with a 4-2 win over Hertha Berlin.

Despite having new signing Xabi Alonso in the Bayern team 24 hours after he joined on a two-year deal from Real Madrid, they looked far from their best as Schalke got their first point to snap a two-game losing run with a gutsy second-half performance. “At this moment in the season it is not possible to play over 90 minutes the way we played in those first 25 minutes,” keeper Manuel Neuer told reporters.

Bayern sign Kurt

German champions Bayern Munich signed talented 18-year-old midfielder Sinan Kurt on Sunday, luring him away from Borussia Moenchengladbach with a four-year contract.

Kurt, an attacking midfielder who is considered among the most talented young players in Germany and is an Under-19 international, was Bayern’s third signing this week.

Gladbach were unwilling to sell him but the player, whose contract ran to 2016, had repeatedly said he wanted to move to Munich.

Defender Mehdi Benatia and midfielder Xabi Alonso have also been signed as Bayern look to fill the gaps left by a string of injured players, including Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa needs to learn to show respect to opponents after the Spaniard goaded Everton players during their pulsating 6-3 English Premier League win on Saturday, Toffees coach Roberto Martinez said.

New signing Costa taunted Seamus Coleman after the Irish defender’s own goal put Chelsea 3-1 ahead at Goodison Park which prompted an angry reaction from a number of Everton players, in particular American goalkeeper Tim Howard. “There are certain foreign players who come to the Premier League who need to understand the ethics and the culture,” Everton boss Martinez told reporters.

“The behaviour in the British game is unique. The last thing you want to see is disrespect from a player to another player and I am sure he will learn that very quickly. “There is a real professionalism and respect in the league so you can understand why the players weren’t happy with that, in the same way as trying to buy free kicks with the way he plays.”

Costa has been impressive in firing Chelsea to the top of the table after scoring four goals in his first three games since signing from Spanish champions Atletico Madrid in the close season. But he has also been accused of gamesmanship. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho thought his Brazilian-born striker was being unfairly targeted.

“To be chasing cards against a player who once more had good behaviour and was just here to play football is disappointing,” the Portuguese said. “At the end of the story, Diego is maybe the best player in the Premier League in the first three matches and he has two yellow cards — one against Burnley where he didn’t simulate, it was a penalty, and one against Everton, when everyone was chasing him to get him in trouble. That is disappointing.”

Liverpool’s speedy attacking unit produced a 3-0 victory at Tottenham Sunday though Mario Balotelli failed to make a goal-scoring return to the Premier League. The match was Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers’s 100th game in charge.

While the former Manchester City striker’s finishing was wayward, dazzling forward Raheem Sterling netted the opener inside eight minutes, captain Steven Gerrard scored from a penalty at the start of the second half and defender Alberto Moreno opened his account for Liverpool.

The dismantling of Tottenham was the perfect response by last season’s runners-up to losing at Manchester City in the previous game, reasserting their threat without Luis Suarez. For Mauricio Pochettino, who had opened his Tottenham reign with a pair of victories in both the Premier League and Europa League, the collapse showed the size of the gulf that still exists between the London club and its elite rivals.

Tottenham hadn’t even conceded a goal in its opening wins over West Ham and Queens Park Rangers, but Hugo Lloris’ goal was under siege from the start by Liverpool. Balotelli was signed from AC Milan for 16 million pounds ($26.5 million) on Monday to fill the void up front left by Suarez’s departure to Barcelona. But the Italy striker was never as menacing at White Hart Lane as Suarez who scored twice in Liverpool’s 5-0 win here last season.

Lost opportunities

Presented with an opening in the 2nd minute, Balotelli’s header was parried by Lloris but he couldn’t get the follow-up effort on target. Instead a trio of English players combined for the opener six minutes later.

Jordan Henderson seized possession on the halfway line and released Daniel Sturridge to launch a counterattack down the right flank before the ball was returned to the midfielder. Henderson then squared to Sterling, who was left unmarked by Eric Dier and Younes Kaboul to tap the ball into the net.

It could have been 2-0 in the 11th minute when Sterling played in Sturridge though the center but the striker’s effort was wide. Another attempt from Sturridge, after being played in by Balotelli’s backheel, was thwarted by Lloris’ diving save. And when Lloris was stranded outside the area, Balotelli tried his luck from distance but completely missed the net.

How costly Tottenham’s own miss just before half time proved to be. A defensive mix-up presented Nacer Chadli with an opening but he stabbed the ball straight at goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Then, four minutes into the second half, Liverpool was further in front after being awarded a soft penalty when Joe Allen went down after being held back by Dier. Despite Balotelli’s presence, Gerrard retained penalty taking duties and sent the spotkick beyond Lloris’ reach. Pochettino waited until the 59th minute to respond with changes, with central defender Mousa Dembele on for Nabil Bentaleb and winger Cristian Eriksen replaced by Andros Townsend.

Inside a minute, Townsend’s first contribution was being dispossessed on the half way line by Moreno, who dispatched the ball into the net.

The damage for Tottenham could have been worse had Sterling’s finish matched his skill in waltzing past three Tottenham players. The convincing win sets up Liverpool to build from a position of strength after the international break.

ARSENAL HELD BY LEICESTER

Arsenal missed the chance to move up to third in the Premier League table after they were held to a 1-1 draw by a dogged Leicester City on Sunday.

Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring with his first Premier League goal but Arsenal were pegged back within two minutes by Leicester’s record signing Leonardo Ulloa. The visitors dominated for long spells but appeared to miss the presence of last season’s top scorer Oliver Giroud, who faces up to four months on the sidelines with a broken leg.

Arsenal sit seventh in the standings while Leicester, in 15th, remain winless but have performed well in their three games since returning to the Premier League.

It was the season’s first derby and the atmosphere at the Salt Lake Stadium was electric. East Bengal had been slow off the blocks in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) this term, but they came roaring back to form when it mattered most. A memorable, 3-1 victory over Mohun Bagan was achieved without breaking much sweat. They were far better technically and tactically than their arch-rivals.

This was a clash between the modern and conventional styles. East Bengal’s modern outlook towards football is a gift from their former coach Trevor Morgan. He rebuilt the team during his three-year stint and now Armando Colaco is reaping the benefits. To Colaco’s credit, it must be said, he completely outwitted his Bagan counterpart Subhas Bhowmick on Sunday.

East Bengal’s star recruit Ranty Martins had a very good game. The Nigerian tormented his compatriot Alao Adisa Fatai, scored twice and wasted another couple to miss out on a hat-trick. Fatai, on the other hand, had a forgettable CFL debut. Bagan were one-dimensional in their approach, working down the left through Katsumi Yusa and belting in crosses into the area, more in hope than conviction.

The first goal came on 11 minutes when Kevin Lobo skipped past a couple of defenders and was poleaxed by Fatai inside the area. The penalty was awarded, and East Bengal and Martins were off the mark. The green-and-maroons equalised nine minutes later as ‘keeper Abhijit Mondal completely misjudged a Satish Singh cross from the right and presented CS Sabeeth with a simple tap-in opportunity.

East Bengal had a free-kick, two minutes before the half time, following a stupid challenge from Fatai on Martins. Joaquim Abranches’s 25-yard drive deflected off the Bagan defender into the net. An unmarked Martins punished Bagan again, a couple of minutes after the break, as he headed home from eight yards. Abranches was the provider.

Maninder Singh’s exploits on the kabaddi mat have earned him the title ‘Jaipur ka Panther.’

The slogan, pasted beside his printed portrait, was raised on many a poster at the National Sports Club of India, Mumbai. The raider didn’t fail to disappoint his fans as he helped the Jaipur Pink Panthers win the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League.

The 24-year-old holds Sunday’s win as the biggest moment of his career. “I have never won, or even competed in anything this big,” he explains in Punjabi. The 129 raid points he earned in 16 games put him in third position among the top scoring raiders of the tournament.

But for him, the statistic was only a number. What he really values is the increased stature his performances have brought him. “Fans know my name and keep chanting it during matches. It feels good. But what also has been a morale booster is that the coaches too have started taking note of my performances,” he says.

On the day of the final Maninder, or ‘Mani’ as he is fondly called among the Jaipur faithful was again in form. Eight points in the final against U Mumba earned him the best raider of the game at the NSCI. It did take him some time to start off though.

Early in the game, the Jalandhar native failed in his raids. But as he picked up momentum, so did the Jaipur team. The first of three all outs for the eventual winners came in the 13th minute of the match, taking the score to 13-7 in Jaipur’s favour. From there on it was the Maninder and Jasvir Singh show. Both attackers worked well to gather bonus points.

The Punjab Police player, Maninder, was handy on the defensive front too. He often partnered the diminutive, yet effective Prashant Chavan, who won the best defender of the match award.

The Jaipur franchise eventually finished as comfortable 35-24 winners in a final that was a repeat of the opening fixture of the tournament. A consolation for runners-up U Mumba was their captain Anup Kumar, winning the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament.

Earlier in the day, the Patna Pirates got the better of the Bangalore franchise 29-22 in the third-place play-off.

Ninth-seeded Carolina Marin pulled off a huge badminton upset by defeating Li Xuerui, the top-seeded Olympic champion, in the world championship women’s singles final on Sunday.

The 21-year-old lefthander came from behind in both the second and third games to upset the talented Chinese shotmaker 17-21, 21-17, 21-18.

Angular overhead smashes and well-placed drops paid off for Marin along with superior control in the crisis points. She took the title with a low serve which Li returned into the net.

The Spaniard laid on her back and sobbed with her hands over her eyes.

“I don’t really have the words, because it’s so fantastic,” Marin said. “I wasn’t so nervous. I just set out to fight, fight, fight to the end.”

The top-seeded player also lost in the men’s tournament as Lee Chong Wei was beaten in the final for the third time in a row. Second-seeded Chen Long of China beat the 31-year-old Malaysian 21-19, 21-19. Lee lost the previous two finals to Lin Dan of China. Lee almost came back from what was a six-point deficit in the second game but his deft combinations of net shots, clears and ambushing attacks were not quite enough against the acrobatic defense and sudden fierce smashes of his physically more powerful opponent.

“I am very disappointed but I shall try again,” Lee said.

Marin is the first European for 15 years to win a world singles title. Li led Marin by a game and 15-12. But Marin continued to seek openings for her attacks and enjoyed five points in a row to change the match.

Li still looked a likely winner when she turned an 8-11 deficit into a 15-13 lead in the decider but her error ratio crept up and she played a poor point to trail 16-15. She immediately asked permission to take bandages off the back of her right leg and consulted a physio before continuing.

“The bandages had nothing to do with the result,” Li said. “I just made too many mistakes.”

Frenchman Gilles Simon delivered the first big surprise in the men’s draw at the US Open, taking down fourth seed David Ferrer of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 to move into the fourth round on a sweltering Sunday at Flushing Meadows.

With the loss Ferrer earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first top-10 men’s seed to be shown the exit while Simon moves on to face either big serving Croatian Marin Cilic or South African Kevin Anderson who clash later on Sunday.

A well-rested Ferrer, who reached the third round in a walkover after Australian Bernard Tomic withdrew with a hip injury, got off to a sluggish start but fought back to take the second.

But by the end of the nearly three-hour clash a distressed Ferrer was hunched over the courtside timing board between points dripping in sweat with the 26th seeded Simon finishing off the exhausted Spaniard on his third match point. “David is always fighting until the end,” said Simon, after earning just his second win in seven meetings with Ferrer. “We were 5-1 he destroyed me five times. I just stayed relax today and had nothing to lose. I had a good start and then you know how it is.”

Twice Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka secured her spot in the last 16 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Russian Elena Vesnina. Eugenie Bouchard, a semifinalist in the previous three Slams, including a runner-up finish at Wimbledon, had to fight to keep from joining the list of upsets, the seventh-seeded Canadian holding her nerve to earn a 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Serena Williams is the last American standing at the US Open after the remaining home-grown hopefuls said goodbye to Flushing Meadows on Saturday.

A total of 29 Americans (12 men, 17 women) started the year’s final Grand Slam on Monday and by the time the gates to the US National Tennis Center closed on Saturday only the World No.1 was still in the hunt for a singles title.

The last two hopes of the men’s draw, 13th seed John Isner and Sam Querrey, both bowed out in the third round, while Nicole Gibbs and Varvara Lepchenko also made third-round exits, leaving home fans pinning their hopes on Williams heading into the second week.

Five-time US Open champion Williams played her part in the American demise, dispatching three of her compatriots in rapid succession.

After dismissing Taylor Townsend in the opening round and Vania King in the second, Williams chased the 52nd ranked Lepchenko with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Williams, who has failed to reach the quarterfinals of any of the previous three Grand Slams this year, was just happy not to be one of the US casualties.

“I’ve been a casualty this whole year at Grand Slams,” said Williams, who will next face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, a 7-5, 6-0 upset winner over 15th seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

Djokovic, a US Open finalist the last four years and winner in 2011, has also done his part to spoil America’s Grand Slam party. The Serb squashed another American hope on Saturday, pounding Querrey 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the eighth straight year while improving his record to a perfect 8-0 when facing US opponents at Flushing Meadows. Isner bombarded Philipp Kohlschreiber with 42 aces and never lost his serve but still dropped a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) decision to the German.

Briton Murray, the 2012 Open champion and 2013 Wimbledon winner, double-faulted to send his match to a fourth set, then swiftly took charge in a 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.

That set up a clash against Tsonga, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

Raonic won three tiebreakers in a straight-sets win against Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos to set up a fourth-round duel with Japanese 10th seed Kei Nishikori, who beat 23rd seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in straight sets.

Australian Open winner Wawrinka was given a walkover into the fourth round when Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia defaulted because of a right foot injury.

Zimbabwe beat Australia for the first time in 31 years on Sunday as captain Elton Chigumbura’s 52 not out led his team to a famous three-wicket win in the ODI triangular series.

Chigumbura carried the tournament host to 211-7, overhauling Australia’s below-par 209-9 on a tough batting strip at Harare Sports Club.

Opposite number Michael Clarke also made an unbeaten half-century for Australia on his return from injury, but then re-injured his hamstring in only his country’s second loss ever to the southern African team and said he would leave the tournament to return home for treatment.

It was Zimbabwe’s first win over the Australians since they met in ODIs for the first time at the 1983 World Cup. Chigumbura had valuable help from Prosper Utseya, who was 30 not out in a match-winning half-century partnership at the end.

“I had to be there until the end,” Chigumbura said. “The most important thing was to stay calm. The guys worked very hard for this and the supporters were behind us throughout.”

The tense victory _ sealed with two overs to spare but after Zimbabwe was struggling at 156-7 _ sparked rare celebrations and a lap of honor for a team that recently lost two ODIs in a row to draw a series with lowly Afghanistan and had been beaten in its previous seven one-dayers at home.

Utseya, whose 30 came off just 28 balls to help carry Zimbabwe home, sealed the win by launching a six over mid-wicket and into the delighted home crowd. The victory keeps alive Zimbabwean hopes of making Saturday’s final of the three-team tournament. Australia, which has lost its last two games, plays South Africa on Tuesday. Australia started the triangular series as the top-ranked team in ODIs but had slipped down to fourth after Sunday’s surprise loss.

Zimbabwe’s long-awaited success was built on its earlier spin bowling effort as the Australian batsmen struggled on a slow, turning pitch to only just get past 200, with only Clarke looking completely settled with his 68 not out.

“Definitely not enough runs,” Clarke said, “but credit to Zimbabwe, they bowled well and batted well. We lost the match during our innings, and Zimbabwe showed us how to play spin.”

Clarke hit his half-century in his first international in six months and after passing a fitness test to play, but retired hurt in the 43rd over just as Australia appeared to be slowly recovering from a poor start.

The Aussies had been 97-5 after Zimbabwe’s spinners struck early and quickly, but Clarke built a 50-run stand with Brad Haddin (49) before he made the decision to limp off and limit any damage to his hamstring. He returned briefly for the last over.

Haddin was supported by Ben Cutting (26) down the order but the Australians ultimately didn’t make enough runs and offspinner Nathan Lyon’s career-best 4-44 couldn’t save them.

Brief scores: Australia 209/9 in 50 overs (Michael Clarke 68*, Brad Haddin 49; Sean Williams 2/21, Donald Tiripano 2/34, Prosper Utseya 2/45) lost to Zimbabwe 2011/7 in48 overs (Elton Chigumbura 52 n.o, Prosper Utseya 30 n,o, Brendon Taylor 32, Nathan Lyon 4/44, M itchell Starc 2/41)

India opener Rohit Sharma’s participating in the Champions League T20 tournament, which begins with the Qualifiers on September 13, is in doubt because he will have to give his fractured finger three-to-four weeks of rest. Sharma had sustained the fracture in the middle finger of his right hand, an injury that resulted in him missing the third One-day International versus England.

Sharma is currently undergoing treatment in England and is expected to be fully fit in about 21 days. Sharma captains the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Champions League T20.

“He will be not available for Champions League. He is undergoing rehabilitation. It will take another three weeks for him to recover. If Mumbai Indians want they can ask for a replacement player for him,” informed a top BCCI official.

All-rounder Keiron Pollard and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are two players the Mumbai Indians can turn to in order to fill the captaincy void. Pollard captained Barbados Tridents to the title in the 2014 Caribbean Premier League whereas Harbhajan was at the helm when Mumbai Indians won their maiden Champions League in 2011.

This is not the first time Sharma has injured a finger while on tour in England. In 2012, Sharma had fractured his finger in the first ODI after he attempted to play a Stuart Broad bouncer.

On Sunday, the Mumbai batsman expressed his disappointment on Twitter. “England, why must you take it out on my fingers. Disappointed that I have to end a tour like that.. That was the last thing I wanted.. Let’s hope we make 4-0,” he tweeted.

In the last week, India have gone from having plenty of problems to potentially facing a problem of plenty. As recently as the second ODI in Cardiff, India’s batting order was looking more or less settled. In that match, Rohit Sharma made a gritty half-century to cement his position at the top, Ajinkya Rahane played a composed 41-run knock at No.4, and Suresh Raina reclaimed his No.5 position with, perhaps, a career-reviving century.

Then, Rohit broke his finger. Forget about the lofty ambition of a well-established batting order for the World Cup in six months’ time, India’s plan for the next match in Nottingham after two days looked uncertain.

Before the third ODI, Ambati Rayudu went up to Dhoni and said he was ready to open the innings if needed. Dhoni appreciated the gesture but turned the offer down. He turned to Rahane.

“Apart from being a middle-order batsman, he (Rahane) is someone who will have to open if the team needs him to open. And that is one of the reasons that he is there,” Dhoni explained.

Fail-safe batsman

Rahane has looked India’s most at-ease batsman, a sort of fail-safe, during the Test series where they went into free fall. He is technically gifted, which makes the job of opening easier. Also, he has done it before. And he enforces himself on the opposition and the game (like Shikhar Dhawan at his best), without having to make any effort (unlike Rohit).

That’s what he did during those 45 runs in the glorious sunshine at Tent Bridge, as India’s chase took off. His back-to-back boundaries on either side of the wicket off James Anderson took the sting out of the attack. But Rahane has the knack of introducing a touch of pathos just when it looks like he is scripting a limited-overs classic. On Saturday, it was the attempted push to third man that ended up in the wicket-keeper’s gloves.

Promoting Rahane to replace Rohit solves one problem. But it creates another. It left a Rahane-sized hole in the middle order. In stepped Ambati Rayudu.

Seizing his chance

The Andhra batsman would have felt hard done by when he lost his place in the XI to Raina after making 72 in the practice game. And with Raina seizing his chance with a 75-ball-100, Rayudu would have given up any reasonable hopes of getting a look-in during the series. So, when the sudden opportunity to replace Rahane at No.4 came, he pounced on it.

It was fitting that he came out to bat as Rahane was walking back. At 85/2, India were still a long way away and then they proceeded to lose Virat Kohli at 120. However, Rayudu was firm at the other end, rotating the strike and playing smart shots. He added 87 runs with Raina, and after the latter got out, stayed till the end to see the team home and put them in pole position to win the series.

Which brings us back to the problem of plenty.

Rahane’s knock at the top and Rayudu’s in the middle have meant this batting order will likely be the template for the remaining two matches of the series. And should they go on to further cement their positions, it will be a difficult decision as to whom to leave out when Rohit is fit and available for selection.

Dhawan a concern

Dhoni acknowledged that there could be a surplus of options once the Mumbai batsman returns. “Overall it looks like a good team. If you look at the batting order itself, it is a fantastic one. If Rohit gets fit at the top of the order or if he is batting in the middle, it is looking good,” he said.

For the moment, however, Dhoni need not worry about this impending happy-headache. Shikhar Dhawan is working diligently on an antidote: He is repeatedly throwing away his wicket.

Jaipur Pink Panthers proved too strong for U Mumba as they produced a clinical performance in the all-important final to emerge triumphant in the inaugural Star Sports Pro-Kabaddi League at the NSCI Stadium here tonight.

The Abishek Bachchan-owned Panthers scored a 35-24 victory in an action-packed summit clash in front of a full house with a number of celebrities in attendance.

Maninder Singh started off well for the Panthers and secured 7 points followed by Rajesh Narwal (5).

For U Mumba, the points tally in raiding was expectedly led by captain Anup Kumar (11) but what swung the game the Panthers way was superior defending through which they secured 13 points as compared to their rivals’ 4.

Things went neck to neck in the initial stage, the highlight being U Mumba captain Anup Kumar taking three rivals out to help his side take a 4-2 lead before the Panthers caught up and then jumped ahead to a two-point lead (8-6).

From then on the Panthers were ahead of their rivals and then got a lona by packing off the entire rival squad to lead 13-7. They kept up this slight advantage till half time though Mumba reduced the gap to four points at the end of the 20th minute of the game (18-14).

Raider Jasvir Singh got four points for the Panthers from a single raid with 10 minutes left when he got a touch on the last two Mumba players standing to pack the rivals off for a second lona and two additional points.

Stout defending, especially from Prashant Chavan, also saw the Jaipur franchise pack off the star rival raider Anup Kumar on a few occasions to further push U Mumba, who were handicapped by the knee injury sustained by key raider Shabbir Bapu Sharfuddin that handicapped his staying on court, behind.

Earlier, in the match to decide the 3-4 places between yesterday’s losing semi finalists, Patna Pirates easily overcame Bengaluru Bulls 29-22 after leading 17-9 in a defence-dominated game.

The Pirates, though handicapped by the absence of their star player and captain Rakesh Kumar, defended stoutly to keep their rivals at bay, especially in the first half, to win the third place in the eight-team tournament that concluded today.

Ravi Dalal (4) and Sandip Narwal (3) were the leading raiders for the winners while for the losers Parmod Singh (4) and Ajay Thakur (2) emerged as the top raiders.

Anand Mahindra, chairman and MD of Mahindra and Mahindra, said on behalf of promoters Mashal Sports, in between the placings tie and the final that season 2 of the League will be held in March, 2015.

Spain’s Carolina Marin pulled off a monumental upset as she beat Chinese world number one Li Xuerui to win the women’s singles title at the Badminton World Championships in Copenhagen on Sunday.

The 21-year-old ninth seed recovered from dropping the opening game to the top seed and Olympic champion to complete an incredible 17-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory and earn her country its first ever major title in the sport.

Li had rarely looked in trouble during her run to the final and she again looked at ease with her terrific stroke play proving too much for the tenacious Marin in the opening game.

However, the Spaniard was undeterred and came out positively at the start of the second set as she established an early lead before Li reeled her back in.

This time though Marin responded by taking the attack to her opponent for whom the nerves perhaps began to take hold as Li began to misfire more regularly with Marin levelling the contest on the first of three set points.

The Chinese regrouped in the third game and inched 14-11 ahead but once more Marin came roaring back and moved to within a point of an improbable victory as Li fired long.

Marin then fell to the court in delight on the subsequent point as Li planted her shot into the net.

Zimbabwe beat Australia for the first time in 31 years on Sunday as captain Elton Chigumbura’s 52 not out led his team to a famous three-wicket win in the ODI triangular series.

Opposite number Michael Clarke also made an unbeaten half-century for Australia but re-injured his hamstring in only his country’s second loss ever to the southern African team and said he would leave the tournament to return home for treatment.

Chigumbura carried the tournament host to 211-7, overhauling Australia’s below-par 209-9 on a tough batting strip at Harare Sports Club. It was Zimbabwe’s first win over the currently top-ranked Australians since they met in ODIs for the first time at the 1983 World Cup. Chigumbura had valuable help from Prosper Utseya, who was 30 not out in the match-winning partnership at the end.

The tense victory sealed with two overs to spare but after Zimbabwe was struggling at 156-7 sparked rare celebrations and a lap of honor for a team that recently lost two ODIs in a row to draw a series with lowly Afghanistan and had been beaten in its previous seven one-dayers at home.

“I had to be there until the end,” Chigumbura said. “The most important thing was to stay calm. The guys worked very hard for this and the supporters were behind us throughout.”

Utseya, whose 30 came off just 28 balls to help carry Zimbabwe home, sealed the win by launching a six over mid-wicket.

Zimbabwe’s win was built on its earlier spin bowling effort as the Australian batsmen struggled on a slow, turning pitch to only just get past 200.

“Definitely not enough runs,” Clarke said, “but credit to Zimbabwe, they bowled well and batted well. We lost the match during our innings, and Zimbabwe showed us how to play spin.”

Clarke hit his half-century in his first international in six months and after passing a fitness test to play, but retired hurt in the 43rd over just as Australia appeared to be slowly recovering from a poor start.

The Aussies had been 97-5 after Zimbabwe’s spinners struck early and quickly, but Clarke built a 50-run stand with Brad Haddin (49) before he made the decision to limp off and limit any damage to his hamstring.

Haddin was supported by Ben Cutting (26) down the order but Australia ultimately didn’t have enough runs and offspinner Nathan Lyon’s 4-44 couldn’t save Australia.

Brendan Rodgers marked his 100th game in charge by watching Liverpool produce an irresistible performance as they beat a toothless Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 in the Premier League at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Alberto Moreno were on target as Liverpool bounced back from Monday’s defeat by champions Manchester City with a classy performance that ended Tottenham’s 100 percent start to the season.

Enigmatic striker Mario Balotelli made amends for his wasteful finishing on his Liverpool debut with his impressive all round performance and positive work ethic.

Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann scored as Aston Villa maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 victory against Hull City at Villa Park.

“It was great link up play by Daniel (Sturridge) and Jordan (Henderson). The manager has been telling me to get inside the post and try add to my goal tally and that’s what I’ve done,” Sterling told Sky Sports.

“Mario and Daniel up front is always a threat and I’ve got to try be in the box to get some goals.”

The result allowed fifth-placed Liverpool to move level with Tottenham in the standings with six points.

Balotelli nearly enjoyed a dream start inside three minutes but his powerful close-range header was parried by Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Spurs had been joint Premier League leaders after winning their opening two league games without conceding a goal but were left reeling by Liverpool’s trademark explosive start.

Sturridge and Henderson linked up well and the latter’s well weighted cross was steered in at an acute angle at the far post by Sterling in the seventh minute.

Tottenham took just one point from eight games against last season’s top four, conceding 27 goals and scoring just two, and Sterling’s goal signalled the start of another forgettable day.

Sturridge and Balotelli had chances to extend their lead but were thwarted by a combination of poor finishing and the athletic Lloris.

Spurs were second best for much of the first half but could have drawn level in the 42nd minute had it not been for Simon Mignolet’s stunning save that blocked Nacer Chadli’s rasping shot.

Liverpool started the second half with the same intent they displayed in the first, with Gerrard coolly converting a penalty after Joe Allen had been needlessly pulled back by Eric Dier.

Moreno, who had been at fault for Stevan Jovetic’s first goal as Liverpool were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City on Monday, added a third with a superb solo run and finish after he had dispossessed Andros Townsend on the halfway line.

Aston Villa suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat against third-tier Leyton Orient in the League Cup on Wednesday but showed no lingering effects of that loss.

The lively Agbonlahor opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a pinpoint finish from Weimann’s clever lay off.

The hosts doubled their lead after 36 minutes when Weimann capped a flowing move with an accurate shot.

Villa were coasting but were made to sweat when Nikica Jelavic headed home in the 74th minute to set up a tense finale.