Mumbai: Jai Prakash Yadav took four for 44 to help Central Zone beat South by 25 runs in a Deodhar Trophy league tie at the Brabourne Stadium Saturday. Yadav bowled his 10 overs at stretch as Central dismissed South for 226 in 45.4 overs after scoring 251 for nine in 50 overs. It was Central’s first win in three games, while South slumped to their second straight defeat.

BRIEF SCORES: Central Zone 251/9 in 50 ovs (Shreyas Khanolkar 54, Mohammed Kaif 43) South Zone 226 in 45.4 ovs (Rowland Barrington 70, Thilak Naidu 45; J.P. Yadav 4/44). Central won by 25 runs.

Aussies pip Indians

Chennai: Indian eves missed out a berth in the final of the quadrangular series when they allowed world champions Australia snatch a last-ball win and set up a clash with New Zealand. Opting for first strike, Indians made 230 for nine in 50 overs. They then kept the Aussies under check till the last two overs. In the 49th over, the Aussies stole four singles, each of which could have resulted in a run out had the ball been thrown at the right end. The Aussies tallied 18 points, while India finished with 13 points. New Zealand made the grade beating England by 27 runs, thus ending the league stage with an all-win record.

No surgery for Sania

New Delhi: Sania Mirza will be out of action for at least a month, but the good news for India’s only WTA Tour title-winner is that she doesn’t need to undergo surgery to treat her right knee. The 20-year-old, who pulled out of the Qatar Open three days ago, was found to have a “stretched anterior cruciate ligament” and has been advised a four-week rehabilitation programme. The hospital where Sania is admitted for treatment said a decision on further course of action would be taken after assessing her four weeks later. The orthopaedic surgeon who is treating Sania said the time of her return could be assessed only after the fourth week’s assessment.

Team Bhupathi goes down

Dubai: Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek fell at the last hurdle in the Dubai Open doubles event Saturday. The Indo-Czech pair lost 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 7-10 to third seeds Fabrice Santoro (France) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) in a nail-biting final. Roger Federer won the singles crown defeating unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3. It was his fourth Dubai title in five years and his 41st consecutive victory. Bjorn Borg, whose record of consecutive wins Federer equalled, was on hand to witness the occasion.

Ghosal up to 45

Chennai: Saurav Ghosal climbed one place to 45th while Ritwik Bhattacharya remained at No. 41 in the latest world squash rankings. Another Indian to have moved up is Gaurav Nandrajog (191 to 178).