India secure series win

A superb unbeaten 86 from Rohit Sharma led India to a three wicket victory over West Indies Saturday to secure the five-match one day series for the tourists who now have an unassailable 3-0 lead. Sharma led India's recovery from 92 for six as they chased down 226 at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium. An 88-run partnership with Harbhajan Singh (41) put India back in contention and then Praveen Kumar (25 not out) saw the tourists through to a comfortable victory with 22 balls to spare. It was a day for lower order contributions with West Indies only managing to set a decent target thanks to an outstanding 92 not out from 84 balls by Jamaican Andre Russell. Russell's score is the highest made by a number nine batsman in one-day internationals and included a 78-run partnership with wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh as the Caribbean side recovered from 85-6. The big hitting innings included eight fours and five sixes as the success-starved home crowd were finally treated to some entertainment. Once again West Indies struggled against spin with leg-spinner Amit Mishra taking 3-28 from his ten allotted overs. Opener Lendl Simmons again was the pick of the West Indies batsmen with 45 before Mishra had him caught by Virat Kohli at slip but the middle order again failed. India's innings had a similar structure with opener Parthiv Patel hitting 46 but no-one else making a major contribution until Sharma's big knock turned the game. "That was a game that got away from us," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy. "Russell and Baugh got us back into it and the guys were confident but we lacked the killer instinct after taking early wickets. "We have not been getting runs at the top and we lacked the finishing touch," he said. With the series in the bag, India skipper Suresh Raina said he would rotate the squad in the final two games before the test series begins.

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Strauss, Cook lead Birthday Honours list

	Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook helped England win an Ashes series in Australia for the first time in 24 years.

England captain Andrew Strauss and team director Andy Flower have been awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), while opening batsman Alastair Cook received an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's birthday honours list released on Saturday.

The trio was rewarded for their efforts in England's historic victory in the 2010-11 Ashes in Australia - their first series win in the country in 24 years. Strauss captained the team to three innings victories in the five-Test series, which England took 3-1, apart from scoring 307 runs at 43.85. Cook topped the batting charts, with 766 runs at an average of 127.66.

"It is a great honour to receive this accolade," said Strauss, who received an MBE after England's 2005 Ashes victory at home. "It's one of the better items of post you get through the letterbox - certainly better than a gas bill. I'm very proud to receive it and, more than anything, very proud of how the team performed out there in Australia.

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Ronaldo plays last game for Brazil

SAO PAULO — Former world footballer of the year Ronaldo ended his international career here on Tuesday with a 15-minute appearance as a substitute in Brazil's 1-0 win over Romania in a friendly match.
Watched by a 30,000 crowd, the 34-year-old striker came on for the last 15 minutes of the match with the home side already ahead through a goal from Fred after 21 minutes and he had several goal chances in that time.
"I had three goal opportunities but did not manage to score which would have been a nice present to give back to those who gave me so much," he said afterwards to fans in a chilly Pacaembu stadium.
Fred's match-winning goal was set up by the latest Brazilian golden boy Neymar, who has been linked to a move into the English Premier League.
Ronaldo announced his retirement in February citing recurring injury and health problems.
During a glittering 14-year spell in Europe, Ronaldo scored goals at a prolific rate for PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan, before returning to Brazil in 2009.
He won the World Cup with Brazil as a youngster in 1994 and then in 2002 and became the leading scorer in World Cup finals tournaments when he scored his 15th goal at the 2006 tournament in Germany.
He was twice named European Footballer of the Year, in 1997 and 2002, FIFA world footballer of the year in 1996, 1997 and 2002 and finished his international career with 62 goals in 97 appearances.

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