Ferguson: Chelsea are team to beat

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Chelsea are the team Manchester United are aiming for.

Forty-eight hours after the double winners scored six against West Bromwich Albion, the hosts put another newly-promoted team to the sword at Old Trafford with a 3-0 win over Newcastle United.

Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs, who extended his run of scoring in every Premier League season, found the net for Ferguson's men, who were never seriously threatened once Andy Carroll had failed to convert the visitors' best chance.

And already, the top two in the bookmakers' lists have made their intentions clear.

Eminem ft. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

ICC rankings - ICC Test and ODI rankings / Official Team Rankings

ICC rankings for Tests and ODIs

ICC Test Championship

7 Aug 2010

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
India	31	3944	127
South Africa	29	3463	119
Sri Lanka	23	2635	115
Australia	34	3830	113
England	34	3785	111
Pakistan	18	1513	84
West Indies	21	1668	79
New Zealand	25	1946	78
Bangladesh	19	131	7

ICC ODI Championship

13 Aug 2010

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
Australia	32	4229	132
India	29	3359	116
South Africa	17	1950	115
New Zealand	19	2173	114
England	23	2610	113
Sri Lanka	27	3058	113
Pakistan	17	1658	98
West Indies	18	1207	67
Bangladesh	24	1277	53
Zimbabwe	24	859	36
Ireland	6	207	35
Netherlands	4	127	32
Kenya	8	1	0

Australia's Ashes plans get serious

Australia's Ashes planning started from the moment of Michael Hussey's dismissal at The Oval last August, but it will take a step up early this week when the team's senior figures meet in Melbourne. Even though Australia face India, the Test No.1, in October, the talks will be dominated by England's visit.

Not since 1986-87 have England lifted the urn in Australia and a central theme of the hosts' Ashes planning conference on Monday and Tuesday is not letting it happen again. Home advantage has been crucial in the past three series between the teams, but this time age could also be a determining factor in the campaign that begins at the Gabba on November 25.

Confident hosts face under-pressure India

Match Facts

Monday, August 16, 2010
Start time 14.30 (0900 GMT)

Big Picture

	Can Rohit Sharma build on his recent comeback?© Associated Press Enlarge
Related Links Matches: Sri Lanka v India at Dambulla Series/Tournaments: Sri Lanka Triangular Series | India tour of Sri Lanka Teams: India | Sri Lanka

The recent contests between Sri Lanka and India have had an interesting subplot: Kumar Sangakkara v MS Dhoni. The Indian captain made his views clear about the floodlights in Dambulla, the poor practice pitches, the toss factor, and the difficulty of chasing a target. Sangakkara, on the other hand, said, "If you can't win batting under lights, you are not a good team". He wasn't responding to Dhoni at the time, but Sri Lanka chased a target with ease against New Zealand, after India had lost to the same team by 200 runs. Both Sangakkara and Dhoni are also planning for the World Cup, assessing the arsenal at their disposal. Monday's game gives them another opportunity to find answers to certain questions.

India's questions are several: Is Ravindra Jadeja good enough? Is there an in-form allrounder who can replace Jadeja, or should the part-time spinners fill the role of the fifth bowler in the subcontinent? Is medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun good enough? Should Virat Kohli play in the middle order, or should Rohit Sharma be persisted with? Will Ishant Sharma's form dip further if he is looted for runs in this format? And how long will Dinesh Karthik continue to squander starts?

For quite some time Sri Lanka, too, have had problems with their combination. Can Chamara Kapugedera grab one of his numerous opportunities, or it time to give Dinesh Chandimal a run? Is Thilan Samaraweera a good fit for ODIs or should he be replaced with either Chamara Silva or Thisara Perera? Should Suraj Randiv be played with Ajantha Mendis or with Rangana Herath? Should Dilhara Fernando be given a game here and there?

Hart unbeatable at the Lane

Joe Hart threw down the gauntlet to fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given on Saturday.

The young England custodian produced a man-of-the-match display in the 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Hart made a string of excellent saves before half-time as Spurs overran City and their expensive new recruits.

The 23-year-old, who travelled to the World Cup with England but did not feature, thwarted Jermain Defoe on three occasions, Peter Crouch, Tom Huddlestone and a deflected shot from Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Much of the talk surrounding the first Barclays Premier League match of the new season was who City manager Roberto Mancini would select in goal. Hart had returned from a successful loan spell at Birmingham City last season and made it clear recently that he was not keen to warm the bench at Eastlands.

VERY HAPPY

Liverpool and Arsenal shared the points

Liverpool 1 Arsenal 1
Scorer: Ngog (46)	Scorer: Reina (90 o.g.)
Attendance: 44,722	FT (17:57)

Reina (in grey) fails to stop the ball going in as Arsenal equalise

A mistake by Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina allowed Arsenal to salvage a draw against a Reds side who had Joe Cole sent off on his Premier League debut.

Cole was red-carded for a lunge on Laurent Koscielny before David Ngog's driven shot put Liverpool ahead.

The lead lasted until the last minute when Marouane Chamakh diverted a cross against the post and Reina spilled the rebound into his own net.

Koscielny was then sent off for a second bookable offence in injury-time.

The late drama capped a frantic finish to the game, with Reina the unlikely culprit as victory eluded a Liverpool side who had resolutely held Arsenal at bay.

Japan GDP figures show sharp slowing of economic growth

Economic growth in Japan weakened significantly in the last financial quarter, official figures show.

Between April and June this year gross domestic product - the sum of the nation's goods and services - grew 0.1%, much lower than expected.

Analysts said the country's export-led recovery appeared to be faltering as the value of the yen appreciates.

Federer sets a clash with Murrey in the Final

                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                      Djokovic (right) made Federer fight hard for his win

Roger Federer reached the final with a 6-1 3-6 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic.

Federer's battling victory over Djokovic means that he will reclaim the number two spot in the world rankings from the Serb.

Twice a winner in Canada, the Swiss star raced through the first set in just 25 minutes and then went 2-0 up in the second.

But he suddenly lost his way and Djokovic seized his chance, breaking Federer twice to send the match into a decider.

The third set swayed back and forth and appeared headed for another tiebreak until Federer broke Djokovic at 6-5 clinching victory on his first match point.

"I came out with all guns blazing, I played fantastic in the first set but in the second Novak was able to raise his game and make it super competitive," Federer said.

"He fought bravely. He put his foot in the door before I could close it, but I'm very happy to be back in the final."

Djokovic said: "It's a little bit frustrating that I haven't used the    

opportunity I had in the end. But, you know, he was the better player today."