ot off his shin for his 16th goal of the year. Montreal

Moeen Ali says hed had enough of giving his wicket away and now tries to bat like a top-order batsman for England. One of three centurions for England as they scored 537 in their first innings on day two of the first Test against India in Rajkot, Ali says he changed his approach after being left embarrassed by some of his previous dismissals.I try now to have the mindset of a top-order batsman, said Ali. When I go in I almost pretend were one wicket down for not too many, and try to play to that situation. Ive had enough of giving my wicket away; I was embarrassed with some of the ways I was getting out. I will still do that sometimes, but the less often, the better. The best of the action from the second day of the first Test between India and England in Rajkot. I really enjoy batting at five. It keeps me in the game for longer, while still letting me have a break after bowling, if Ive been in the field for a long time.Before this innings, I felt a little bit lethargic as I went out to bat, so I thought to get myself going, Im going to play a little bit like a one-day game, especially against the spinners, and use my feet.Normally I back myself to hit over the top straight away, that sort of immature batting. But I wont do that as much anymore, its more about knocking the spinners off their length, picking up singles and rotating the strike. Staff at the Rajkot Hotel surprise England cricketers Moeen Ali and Joe Root with a cake after their impressive innings When the time is right, and Im playing well, I will still hit over the top. But I just need to back my defence a bit more against spin.Despite Alis new mature approach, he still fell in bizarre fashion when he was finally dismissed; bowled by Mohammad Shami not playing a shot.I found facing Shami particularly tough to play on that wicket, Ali added. He was bowling really well, reversing it both ways. Moeen Ali falls in bizarre fashion for 117, bowled when leaving a straight ball from Mohammed Shami. I thought he had maybe one more over left in him, so I was just trying to see him through - I left one ball, and it was obviously the wrong thing to do.England failed to take an Indian wicket in the final 23 overs of day two, with the hosts closing on 63-0, but those personal struggles against reverse-swing, and some encouraging turn during his six overs with the ball, have Ali optimistic of Englands chances on day three.I thought we bowled alright up to stumps, but they just played really well. We just need to continue to be patient, as Saqlain Mushtaq keeps telling us. There were signs of reverse-swing and spin late on, which is encouraging ahead of tomorrow, and with a couple of wickets - I know they are brilliant players of spin - I feel we could get into them.All three spinners bowled well at the end of the day. That helps me a lot, because for the team I want to out bowl the other two spinners.Obviously we want to build partnerships together as bowlers, but from a personal point of view I want to out bowl them and take more wickets.Live coverage from day three of the first Test between India and England begins on Sky Sports 2 from 3.45am on Friday. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract - on NOW TV. Also See: Stokes leads England run-glut WATCH: Day Two highlights Scorecard Cricket videos Dennis Maruk Jersey . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first. Custom Washington Capitals Jerseys . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. http://www.officialcapitalspro.com/Alex-...als-jersey/.com) - Avery Bradley scored 21 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81. Nicklas Backstrom Jersey .Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs head of womens competitions, told a FIFA Live Your Goals Tour news conference Friday that the artificial turf is being tested to make sure it meets standards. Evgeny Kuznetsov Jersey .twitter.com/xBTpoAKLJk — Daryl Zerr (@darylzerr) May 29, 2014 @BarDown I give to you the @SquirrelsNCHL aka the Fighting Squirels.MONTREAL -- If the Montreal Canadiens had lost the game, Max Pacioretty would have been kicking himself for a long time, despite scoring a hat trick. With the Canadiens leading the Vancouver Canucks by only one goal midway through the second period on Thursday, a game Montreal would eventually win 5-2, Pacioretty was awarded two penalty shots in a two-minute span. He missed them both. For the first, Pacioretty was hooked on a breakaway by recently-acquired defenceman Raphael Diaz at 11:47. After the referee pointed to centre ice, the Canadiens leading goal-scorer walked in all alone, but shot high and wide. "I thought a little bit too much before the shot," said Pacioretty, who had already scored Montreals first goal earlier in the game. "That didnt help me." Less than two minutes later, Alexandre Burrows took Pacioretty down on another breakaway, and the decision on the ice was the same. "I couldnt believe it," said Pacioretty. "I was just trying to catch my breath, wipe down my visor, buy myself a little extra time. Thats the last thing I would expect to happen so quickly after my first one." This time, Pacioretty lost control of the puck, bobbled it, and then took a weak backhand shot on Roberto Luongo, who made the pad save. Pacioretty has taken three penalty shots in his career - two on Thursday, and another on Oct. 12, 2013, in Vancouver. Luongo, who made 25 saves on Thursday, got the better of him on all three occasions. "Hes a big goalie, hes a good goalie," said Pacioretty of the Canucks netminder. "When it comes to penalty shots, hes in my head." Despite missing both, Montreals leading scorer became the first Canadien in team history to take two penalty shots in the same game - let alone the same period. Pacioretty redeemed himself at the start of the third, though, beating Luongo glove-side for his second of the game, the game-winner, and team-leading 25th goal of the season. He also added an empty-netter for his second hat trick of the season. "He stuck with it," said P.K. Subban of his power forward. "It says a lot about his character. Its tough, especially for a guy like him who wants to score so badly. He scored two goals afterwards. It shows how mentally tough he is and determined he is. Kudos to him." The Canucks have lost six consecutive games for the first time in five years. The team is still winless (0-3) since coach John Tortorellas return from a 15-day suspension. After the two missed penalty shots, the Canucks (27-23-9) started the third period down 2-1, but couldnt beat Carey Price for the equalizer. Price frustrated Vancouvers shooters all night, stopping 42 shots for Montreal (31-21-6). Tortorella calledd the game an "uphill battle.dddddddddddd" "Our first period was okay," he said. "We played really well in the second. We just couldnt carry it. We needed momentum early in the third period, and maybe score a goal to keep us going." The Canucks did get one back in the third when Alexander Edler beat Price far side with a wrist shot while the Canucks played 5-on-4. But it wasnt enough. Stuck on 63 points, Vancouver is holding on to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. But Tortorella doesnt think his players have the wrong attitude. "Thats the only thing we can do as a club, right now, is stay positive," said Tortorella. "Why lose that battle? The bench was alive, they played hard. That wont be a problem. We need to continue working at this." After Paciorettys first goal of the game at 14:59 of the first period, Ryan White fired home his first goal of the season. White couldnt have asked for an easier first goal, taking advantage of a sprawled-out Luongo, who thought he was covering the puck, to fire a backhand shot into the roof of the net and give the Habs a 2-0 lead. "I was making sure I put that one in, for sure. I saw the empty net, and I just wanted to make sure I didnt give (Luongo) any opportunity to make the save. He was down and out, and I had to make sure." Dale Weise, in only his second game with Montreal, got an assist on the goal. Former-Hab Chris Higgins made it 2-1 for the visitors at 2:31 of the second period, beating Price on the power play with a redirected shot off his shin for his 16th goal of the year. Montreal had killed off 28 straight penalties prior to Higgins power-play goal. The Canadiens added a fourth goal when Edler kicked the puck into his own net at 8:14. Tomas Plekanec, the last Montreal player to touch the puck, was credited with the goal. The Canadiens had lost four in a row in January, but have since gone 4-1-1. "Were a more confident group," said White. "When you lose, youre second-guessing yourself. Youre maybe not making the right plays all the time, they come back to haunt you. "When were confident, when were playing as a group, those mistakes tend to slide sometimes." NOTES: Henrik Sedin (rib) and Dan Hamhuis (leg) were not in the lineup for the Canucks. The injury even forced Sedin to withdraw from the Olympic Games earlier in the day. ... Weise and Diaz both faced their former teams after they were traded on Monday. ... Travis Moen (lower body) did not dress for the Habs, and is listed as day-to-day. ... This was the second of two games between Montreal and Vancouver this season. The Canadiens beat the Canucks 4-1 on Oct. 12, 2013. ' ' '