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Pakistan extended their inspiring run in Test cricket since the spot-fixing scandal deprived them of three first-choice players, secure a series win over Sri Lanka on a rare rain-hit day in Sharjah. Properly, Misbah-ul-Haq, the man who took over as captain and give a backbone to a team that was in disorder last year, remained unbeaten to ensure there were no implosions and confirms the draw.

The result extends Sri Lanka's winless streak to 14 Tests, again stress their struggle to come to terms with the loss of Muttiah Muralitharan. They give up a lack of killer nature by batting on the final day of this must-win Test, despite a three-hour rain delay. They were 237 ahead by stumps on the fourth day, adequately large lead in a match where the run-rate had been around two-and-a-half over the first four days, but they weren't confident enough to declare at the start of play when 67.2 overs remained.

Pakistan needed a high-octane start if they were to make a serious tilt at the target of 255 in 61 overs. Pakistan was 20 for 0 midway through the fifth over, but their momentum was taken away by a direct hit from substitute Lahiru Thirimanne at midwicket, which caught Hafeez short. It was at ease for Pakistan in the end, with Shafiq and Misbah stonewalling 16 overs in the fading light. Misbah even shared a light-hearted moment with Sangakkara as the match wound down, for a laugh imitating a left-hand batsman.

Sri Lanka 413 (Sangakkara 144, Dilshan 92, Ajmal 4-132) and 181 for 6 dec (Paranavitana 76*, Sangakkara 51) drew with Pakistan 340 (Younis Khan 122, Misbah 89, Azhar 53, Welegedara 5-87) and 87 for 4

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New Zealand 426 (Guptill 109, Mpofu 4-92) and 252 for 8 dec. (R Taylor 76, Jarvis 5-64) beat Zimbabwe 313 (Sibanda 93, Vettori 5-70) and 331 (Taylor 117, Bracewell 5-85) by 34 runs

The currently unranked Zimbabwe went at the world No. 8 New Zealand ruthlessly on a fifth day saturated with Test-match brilliance, but they ran out of steam radically after tea to lose by 34 runs. It was a crushing result for the hosts who went for a win in a condition that would have forced many of the Test elite sides to play safe. Their spark was lit by Brendan Taylor, who hurries up to his third century in seven innings.

Taylor's brilliance put Zimbabwe on pole position at tea, but the game turned on its head once he exited after the break. Doug Bracewell and Daniel Vettori barged through, as Zimbabwe capsized from 265 for 3 to 331 all out, with less than six overs left in the match. The force was with Zimbabwe at tea, with the target down to 101 off a possible 29 overs. New Zealand's shoulders had visibly drooping a little earlier.

Taylor had cut Chris Martin uppishly to deep cover where BJ Watling dived forward to scoop it inches from the ground, but it was not possible to say from the camera angles on offer whether it was a clean catch. Incredibly, Taylor holed out to the same fielder in the first over after the break, and this time Watling pouched it clearly.

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a blow in his offer to be eligible for the ATP World Tour finals when he was knocked out of the Valencia Open by Sam Querrey. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a blow in his bid to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour finals when he was knocked out of the Valencia Open at the second round stage by Sam Querrey.

Second seed Tsonga could have leapfrogged Tomas Berdych into sixth place in the standings with a good run in Spain but was left to rue missed chances after his 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 defeat. Querrey, the world number 116, needed just one hour and 17 minutes to complete his passage to the quarter-finals where he will face sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who beat South Africa's Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4.

Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero reached the last eight for the first time in seven years with a topsy-turvy 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2 win over Alex Bogomolov Jr in a match featuring 13 breaks of serve. Next up for Ferrero is Juan Monaco, who swept to the side Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-1. Last year's beaten finalist Marcel Granollers came from behind to reach the last eight with a 3-6 6-3 7-5 win over Marin Cilic.

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Ben Stokes, the England and Durham all rounder, will be out of cricket for around six months after undergoing surgery on his right index finger in the USA. He is probable to return to action for the start of the 2012 County Championship season.

Stokes had picked up a complex fracture displacement in his finger during a County Championship match between Durham and Lancashire in May and had undergone surgery then, but his finger failed to heal totally despite wide rehabilitation and he was unable to resume bowling.

In the meantime, he made his England debut, in an ODI against Ireland in August, and played four matches during the home one-day series against India. He was left out of the squad for the tour of India so that he could undergo the surgery, and will now be out for six months.

The initial healing phase following the operation will be about three months and then there will be a additional three months of graded recovery and rehabilitation. The lay-off means Stokes will miss England's series against Pakistan in the UAE early next year. "My priority now will be to work hard on my rehabilitation over the next six months," Stokes said. "I want to make sure I am fully fit and available to start next season."

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Date	Match	Place	Time
Nov 6 - Nov 10	First Test	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	09:30
Nov 14 – Nov 18	Second Test	Eden Gardens, Kolkata	09:30
Nov 22 – Nov 26	Third Test	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai	09:30
Nov 29	First ODI	Barabati Stadium, Cuttack	14:30 D/N
Dec 2	Second ODI	Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium, Visakhapatnam	14:30 D/N
Dec 5	Third ODI	Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	14:30 D/N
Dec 8	Fourth ODI	Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore	14:30 D/N
Dec 11	Fifth ODI	MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	14:30 D/N

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to bring up his century of goals for Real Madrid and see them into the Champions League knockout stages. Lyon played with pride and had their chances, but Ronaldo was the only man able to find the quantifiable touch in front of goal. Jimmy Briand was first to test visiting keeper Iker Casillas, while Hugo Lloris held Ronaldo's long-range strike. The France keeper then had to tip over Karim Benzema's effort before Dejan Lovren's block denied Ronaldo.

But Real took the lead when Yoann Gourcuff's push on Benzema allowed Ronaldo to find the net with a fierce low free-kick from inside the D. Xabi Alonso had a trademark effort from his own half, which was nautical wide even before Lloris shooed the goal line official aside to gather the ball. Briand's deflected strike was saved by Casillas before Lovren another time rescued Lyon by blocking Angel Di Maria's shot.

But the Croatia defender then injured him volleying obvious after Ronaldo had set up a shooting chance with a delicious piece of trickery but seen a weak wayward effort stabbed away by Mouhamadou Dabo. Ozil shot feebly at Lloris and Lyon then threatened in first-half stoppage time, with Casillas tipping Gourcuff's effort over after Bafetimbi Gomis sent his team-mate clear. Bakary Kone, Lovren's replacement, headed directly at Casillas early in the second half after he was not flagged offside from Gourcuff's free-kick.

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The Pakistan side that takes guard on Thursday will also be unrecognizable from the flashy crowd-pullers that used to grace this venue back in the day. The last time Pakistan lined up for Test cricket in Sharjah, they were handed two brutal hammerings by Australia, including the humiliation of being bowled out for 59 and 53 in the same match. Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Taufeeq Umar were a part of that series in 2002, and each of them would vanish into Pakistan's fringes before re-emerging, stronger than ever.

The bowling line-up has lost the Mohammad Asif and Amir but Junaid Khan has already replicated their talent to hoop the ball each way. The lack of bowling nous has put Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene under such powerful pressure that it has affected their efficiency with the bat. The captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan, is going through a horror run of form as well - he has scored 177 runs in his last nine outings, 83 of those coming in one innings against Australia.

A turnaround in his personal fortunes will help his team get back on track. There's plenty riding on this match for Pakistan. A 2-0 series score line will take them ahead of Sri Lanka to fifth in the ICC Test table, and within moving distance of Australia

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Date	Match	Place	Time
Nov 11	First ODI	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	15:00 D/N
Nov 14	Second ODI	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	15:00 D/N
Nov 18	Third ODI	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	15:00 D/N
Nov 20	Fourth ODI	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium	15:00 D/N
Nov 23	Fifth ODI	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	15:00 D/N
Nov 25	Only T20I	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	21:00 D/N

David Ferrer made short work of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco to move into the second round of the Valencia Open with a 6-3 6-2 win. Ferrer only faced one break point - which he saved - in the entire one hour and 23 minute match and he will be a heavy favourite to movement in his second round match against Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suffered a scare against Spanish world number 182 Javier Marti, falling the first set before fighting back to claim a 4-6 7-5 6-2 win in two hours and 17 minutes. Former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-4 7-6 (7/2) and another Spaniard, Marcel Granollers, higher with a shock 6-3 6-4 win over Ukrainian seventh seed Alexandr Dolgopolov.

But the host nation did not have it all own way as Nicolas Almagro suffered a shock 6-4 3-6 6-4 defeat to Juan Monaco of Argentina, while Albert Montanes crashed 6-3 6-1 to French third seed Gael Monfils. Also in first round action, South Africa's Kevin Anderson advanced with a 6-1 6-4 win over Slovakia's Martin Klizan, and American Sam Querrey was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

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Upul Tharanga and fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga have been included in Sri Lanka's 15-man squad for the one-day series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. In all, Sri Lanka have made seven changes from the Test squad that presently trails Pakistan 0-1 in the three-Test series, with openers Tharanga Paranavitana and Lahiru Thirimanne, and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath among those missing out. Dimuth Karunaratne, who played two one-dayers on the tour of England in July, returns, but there was no place for spinner Ajantha Mendis.

Mendis picked up a back injury during the following Tests and was not selected for the Test series against Pakistan. In his absence, off spinner Suraj Randiv and the two leg spinners, Jeevan Mendis and Seekkuge Prasanna. Tharanga was Sri Lanka's second-highest scorer against Australia, but struggled apart from making 111 in the third ODI, his next best score in the series being 34. Malinga returns to provide the bowling attack with the cutting edge it appears to lack in Tests following Muttiah Muralitharan's retirement.

He will be joined in the seam department by Fernando, who has not played since breaking down on Sri Lanka's tour of England, Dhammika Prasad, who did not feature in the ODIs against Australia, and Suranga Lakmal. Kosala Kulasekara, a big-hitting batting allrounder who replaced the injured Shaminda Eranga in the Test squad, has also kept his place. But Chamara Silva and Nuwan Kulasekara, both of whom were part of the Australia series, have not been included.

ODI Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeevan Mendis, Kosala Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dilhara Fernando, Suraj Randiv

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