Jayawardene to quit

Colombo: Mahela Jayawardene on Wednesday decided to step down as Sri Lanka’s cricket captain after the upcoming Tests in Pakistan. Jayawardene’s decision to quit came after India completed a 4-1 rout of Sri Lanka in a recent one-day series. The middle-order batsman, who led Sri Lanka for the first time in April 2004, did not play in Tuesday’s Twenty20 international here, which India won by three wickets. Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Duleep Mendis said Jayawardene’s resignation had been accepted, but no decision had been taken on the new captain. Kumar Sangakkara, the current vice-captain, was likely to take over as skipper. — AFP

Brazil beat Italy

LONDON: Brazil forward Robinho shattered Italy coach Marcello Lippi’s record bid with a breathtaking display in his side’s 2-0 friendly win over the world champions here on Tuesday. Robinho made the opener for Manchester City club-mate Elano with a defence-splitting pass and scored a sublime second himself to give Brazil an impressive victory at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Lippi was attempting to set a new world record for consecutive unbeaten matches by an international coach, but his run ended at 31 as he suffered a first loss with Italy since defeat against Slovenia during his first spell in charge way back in 2004. — AFP

Adebayor wins award

Lagos: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) picked Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor as the continent’s best player for 2008 at an elaborate awards ceremony on Tuesday. Adebayor beat final nominees Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt and Ghana’s Michael Essien in a vote that involved the national team coaches of CAF’s 54 member-nations. The Arsenal star took home a crystal trophy and a cash prize of $20,000. It was the first time a Togolese took the accolade as Africa’s best player. — AFP

IPL bans Asif

New Delhi: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif was today slapped with a one-year ban from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for failing a dope test during last year’s inaugural tournament. Asif, 26, tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during the opening season in 2008, in which he turned out for the Delhi Daredevils franchise. The bowler, who is currently suspended from playing official cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board, will not be allowed to take part in the second edition of the tournament in April-May. — AFP