The best sports images from the last 24 hours

India pacer S Sreesanth bowls during a practice session ahead of the first Test against New Zealand, at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, on Tuesday.

Hosts India, the number one-ranked team in the world in Tests, take on New Zealand in a three-Test series, starting on Thursday.

Photographs: Reuters

The San Francisco Giants were able to savour a first World Series triumph in 56 years when they beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 in Game Five of the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship on Monday.

Shortstop Edgar Renteria stroked a three-run homer to left-center field in the seventh inning off Texas ace Cliff Lee to break up a scoreless stalemate and give a masterful Tim Lincecum his second victory of the series.

Renteria, who also homered for the first run of San Francisco's Game Two victory, was named World Series MVP after batting .412 in the Giants' 4-1 triumph to end a patchy season on the highest note possible.

Closer Brian Wilson struck out Nelson Cruz to end the game, setting off a wild celebration as Giants players charged out of the dugout for a group hug near the mound, while the outfielders threw their gloves in the air as they rushed to join in.

The triumph marked the first Fall Classic crown for the Giants since 1954 when the franchise played in New York.

It also capped a remarkable run for a team that will take a first title home to San Francisco after falling short in the Fall Classics of 1962, 1989 and 2002 following their move to the City by the Bay after the 1957 season.

French raider Americain overhauled fading favourite So You Think up the home straight to win the $6 million Melbourne Cup at a rain-soaked Flemington racecourse on Tuesday.

Gerald Mosse kept a patient hold on his six-year-old mount before unleashing a devastating sprint to hit the front 100 metres from home to win by more than two lengths from Maluckyday, becoming the first French jockey to win the marquee handicap.

"This job is so easy when you're in the best race on the best horse," a delighted Mosse told reporters.

The heavily backed So You Think, who was hoping to give Australian champion trainer Bart Cummings a 13th Melbourne Cup triumph, had stormed to the front 250 metres from the end of the 3,200m race but just failed to stay and finished third.

"I bided my time and saw a gap and let him go," Mosse added. "He was very, very strong over the last 250 metres and I knew I was going to catch him (So You Think)."

South Africa opener Hashim Amla scored an unbeaten century to help his team post a competitive 228 for nine in their 50 overs against Pakistan in the third One-Day International, at the Dubai International Cricket stadium in Dubai, on Tuesday.

Amla carried his bat through the innings to finish unbeaten on a splendid innings of 119, after Shoaib Akhtar's pace troubled the Proteas as he claimed three for 39.

Pakistan came up short despite an unbeaten 59 from Fawad Alam and lost by just two runs.

For the first time in more than five years, Tiger Woods became reacquainted with life away from the number one spot in the official world rankings.

The 14-times major champion was deposed by Britain's Lee Westwood when the world rankings were released on Monday, but Woods can return to the top should he win this week's WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai.

For the moment, though, the 34-year-old American is well aware that a mediocre 2010 season without a single victory would eventually result in one outcome.

"As far as the ranking is concerned, yeah I'm not ranked number one," Woods told reporters on Monday. "In order to do that, you have to win tournaments and I didn't win this year."

Roger Federer cruised into the second round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel, after his opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine retired with injury.

Federer lost only four points on his serve as he won 6-4, 5-2 in 51 minutes, the match prematurely ending after Dolgopolov hurt his ankle.

World number two Federer said the Ukrainian appeared more interested in shaking his hand than worrying about the injury.

"I ask him if he needed water, a towel, if I could help him out.

"He wanted to shake my hand while he was lying down on the floor, I was saying 'put on your shoe, let's hope you're okay, you can maybe walk out and then let's shake hands, don't rush yourself.'"

Federer, once a ball boy at his hometown tournament, is aiming to win it for the fourth time, having lost to Djokovic in last year's final.

"For me, it's always one of the nicest parts of the season," he said.

"In terms of importance, everybody talks about the Slams and everything but in terms of emotions, this is obviously very high up there, if not number one.

"I love this tournament, more than any other almost, and it's always wonderful for me to come back here. I try to get good at not getting injury before because it's happened twice before."

Blackpool celebrated a first home win in the English top flight for nearly 40 years when they beat nine-man West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Bloomfield Road.

West Brom could have moved into fourth place in the Premier League with victory but their hopes fizzled out in the rain as Pablo Ibanez and Gonzalo Jara were sent off before halftime.

Ibanez was unfortunate when his momentum took him into DJ Campbell after the striker turned sharply in the penalty area after 12 minutes. Charlie Adam slotted home the resulting spot kick.

There was no doubt about Jara's red card when the Chilean inexplicably launched into a crazy tackle on Luke Varney near the corner flag.

West Brom looked capable of an equaliser despite their numerical disadvantage but Varney doubled Blackpool's lead after 62 minutes when he slid in to meet Elliot Grandin's low cross.

What should have been an enjoyable final few minutes for the home crowd became fraught with tension when Youssouf Mulumbu weaved into the area and finished in style.

In a breathtaking finish to the game, Graham Dorrans wasted a great chance to snatch an unlikely point for the visitors when he blazed a last-minute chance over.

Blackpool moved up seven places to ninth and West Brom, like their opponents promoted to the top flight this season, remained sixth after their first defeat since losing to Liverpool in August.

Japan's Saori Sakoda (left) spikes the ball against Karen Cope of Costa Rica during their first round match at the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Tokyo.

The hosts continued their unbeaten run in the tournament after a straight-sets victory (25-9, 25-13, 25-8) over Costa Rica.