COLOMBO: Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan quickly needs to regroup his resources and improve his fitness level if India are to fancy their chances of winning the World Cup Twenty20 again, feels former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram.

The trouble while playing against a team like Afghanistan first up in a global tournament is that there is everything to lose and nothing to gain.

At best, India can go par for the course and thrash them comprehensively, or at worst, they can go into the match with a complacent mindset and end up red-faced in embarrassment.

Colombo: Kamran Akmal smashed a blistering unbeaten 92 as Pakistan dented arch-rival India's confidence ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 with a thrilling five-wicket win in their last warm-up game here on Monday.India posted a competitive 185 for three riding on Virat Kohli's unbeaten 75, but their listless death bowling allowed Pakistan to overhaul the target with five balls to spare at the R Premadasa Stadium.

Greater Noida: With just over a month left for the second edition of the F1 Indian Grand Prix, the organisers have sold 30,000 tickets, with the maximum sale coming from the corporate bookings.

"We have touched the figure of 30,000. We are hoping that the ticket sale will now pick up. The BIC has a capacity to accommodate 95,000 fans," Askari Zaidi, vice-president of corporate communication at Jaypee Group, said here on Tuesday.

A huge question mark hung against the debt-ridden Deccan Chargers' future on Thursday after the owners of the Indian Premier League franchise rejected the lone bid they received. Now, the BCCI will decide the franchise's fate on Saturday.

Colombo, Sep 16: Their tails up after an easy outing against hosts Sri Lanka, India would like to keep the winning momentum going when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second warm-up game on Monday ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 beginning on September 18.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team would, however, want their batsman to come good against a superior Pakistani bowling unit to maintain a clean slate ahead of their World Twenty20 opener against Afghanistan on September 19.

Colombo, Sep 15: Indian batsman Virat Kohli was named ODI Cricketer of the Year at the International Cricket Council Awards here Saturday.

During the performance period, he played 31 ODIs and compiled 1,733 runs at an average of 66.65, including eight centuries and six half-centuries. His highest score, 183, came against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in March.

Dubai: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named captain of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’ which also includes Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.

This is for the fifth consecutive year in a row that Dhoni has been selected in ICC`s `ODI Team of the Year`.

London: Ricky Hatton will return to the boxing ring in November after the former world welterweight and light-welterweight champion confirmed he was coming out of retirement on Friday.

The Manchester-based fighter, who quit the sport after a devastating two-round knockout at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in May 2009, will fight a so far un-named opponent in his home city's MEN Arena in November.

The Board Of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday night terminated the contract of the debt-ridden Deccan Chargers, bringing an end to the suspense on the fate of the beleaguered franchise.

The decision to terminate Deccan's contract was taken at an emergency governing council meeting of the IPL in Chennai.