Port Elizabeth, November 29
Yet another top order collapse resulted in India losing the fourth ODI against South Africa by 80 runs here today.

Chasing a competitive target of 244, India were once again found wanting in tackling genuine pace bowling under lights at St. George’s Park.

After a positive start to make 22 runs in five overs, India were set back when they lost Wasim Jaffer and Sachin Tendulkar in the space of five balls.

Jaffer, back in the line up as replacement for injured skipper Rahul Dravid, attempted an awkward drive-cut against the searing pace of Makhaya Ntini and edged a catch to slip cordon.

Tendulkar (1) then departed when he failed to take his bat in time out of the way of an outswinger from Shaun Pollock and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher made no mistake behind the stumps.

Sehwag, leading the side in Dravid’s absence, became the second victim of Ntini (2-26) when he was caught by Loots Bosman for 18 in the 10th over.

Mohammad Kaif then was run out for 10 to make it 39-4 before Dinesh Kaarthick and Mahendra Singh Dhoni built a minor recovery. But the partnership, eventually worth 43 runs, was always in danger with Dhoni’s hit or miss style of batting.

And after a cameo 26, Dhoni under-cut an Andre Nel bouncer to be caught at deep point in the 20th over. In the end, India’s batsmen seemed to have undone a spirited performance by their bowlers who restricted South Africa to 243 for eight.

Earlier, under-fire India put up a spirited bowling performance to restrict South Africa to a competitive 243 for eight in the fourth cricket one-dayer here today.

After Zaheer Khan (1-38) and Sreesanth (1-29) did the early damage, veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble (2-42) kept it tight in the middle to lead India’s resurgence following huge losses in the previous two matches.

But the visitors lacked the killer punch and South Africa once again plundered runs in the closing overs in the day-night game at St. George’s Park.

Herschelle Gibbs (93 no) led the middle order recovery after South Africa were reduced to 93-4 while Jacques Kallis (49) and Shaun Pollock (37) chipped in with useful knocks.

Scoreboard
South Africa

Smith lbw Zaheer 0
Bosman b Sreesanth 0
Kallis c Dhoni b Kumble 49
Gibbs not out 93
De Villiers lbw Kumble 13
Boucher lbw Sehwag 29
Kemp c Sehwag b Sachin 0
Pollock run out 37
Hall run out 13
Nel not out 0

Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-2, nb-2) 9
Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 243
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-6, 3-75, 4-93, 5-154, 6-155, 7-216, 8-240.
Bowling: Zaheer 8-1-38-1, Sreesanth 7-1-29-1, Agarkar 5-0-33-0, Pathan 7-0-28-0, Kumble 10-0-42-2, Sehwag 5-0-22-1, Sachin 8-0-46-1.

India
Jaffer c Smith b Ntini 10
Sehwag c Bosman b Ntini 18
Tendulkar c Boucher b Pollock 1
Kaif run out 10
Kaarthick c Nel b Kemp 17
Dhoni c sub b Nel 26
Pathan not out 47
Agarkar c Hall b Kemp 6
Zaheer c Boucher b Kallis 11
Kumble c Smith b Pollock 2
Sreesanth c de Villiers b Kemp 3

Chandigarh, November 29
A month after suffering a knee injury, middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh is making a good recovery and a functional assessment test will be conducted to determine the actual progress, BCCI’s orthopaedic consultant Anant Joshi said today.

“I checked up on Yuvraj here last night and he is doing quite well. He is following the physiotherapy course programme given by John Gloster. It would be another month or so before we carry out a functional assessment test where he will be subjected to a range of activities to see how much he has actually recovered,” Joshi told PTI today.

Yuvraj, who suffered a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee while playing kho-kho with team-mates at Mohali ahead of their Champions Trophy match against Australia, did not have any swelling in his knee now.

“The swelling has gone down. He is no longer limping or using crutches. A range of motions which were earlier restricted because of the injury have come back,” Joshi, who reached here yesterday to perform surgeries in a private hospital at Mohali, said.

He said the whole focus now was to build-up muscle strength, which would later include running and other related exercises. — PTI 

New Delhi, November 29
Sourav Ganguly today stepped down as Bengal captain, further fuelling speculation of his recall to the Indian Test team which would be picked here tomorrow against the backdrop of calls for bringing back experienced players.

Ganguly, who led Bengal against Punjab in a Ranji Trophy tie last week, requested the Cricket Association of Bengal to allow him to relinquish captaincy, a request that was readily granted, apparently in anticipation of a comeback by ‘Dada’.

The stylish-left hander, on his best behaviour ever since he was shown the door by the committee headed by Kiran More, was also seen taking part in a rigorous net session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata early this morning.

The meeting of the Selection Committee, which was slated to be held in Mumbai, was shifted here at the last minute to enable BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to interact with the panel, headed by Dilip Vengsarkar, before it picks the squad for the three-Test series against South Africa beginning on December 15.

It is not common for BCCI chiefs to meet selectors before the announcement of a team but the drubbing in Durban and Cape Town and the strong reactions in the country appear to have made Pawar decide on a discussion with the selectors.

The call for bringing back experienced players in the squad has only become shriller and has already seen VVS Laxman pack his bags to join his team-mates for the one-day series.

Vengsarkar, however, was non-committal and said all players who have been doing well in domestic cricket were in the running.

“I can’t say anything as I am yet to talk to the other selectors. We will be discussing various things, including the ideal combinations. All those who have been doing well in domestic cricket are in the running,” the former India captain told PTI today.

It is the SOS to Laxman, which has set tongues wagging about a real possibility of Ganguly returning to the team after nearly 10 months.

The first Test against South Africa is slated to begin on December 15 in Johannesburg.

Any decision of the selection panel would be made in the light of the poor display by middle-order batsmen Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia in the ODI rubber. The batting line up could certainly do with some experience, especially on the fast-paced tracks of South Africa.

If Ganguly is recalled, the Bengal left-hander will be making a comeback after being ignored by the previous Kiran More-led selection panel since the end of the series in Pakistan in January this year.

Ganguly’s past record in South Africa against all comers in ODIs, an average of 49 in 25 matches with five hundreds and two half-centuries to boot, and his utility as a bowler on seamer-friendly pitches could work to his advantage though Test cricket is a different kettle of fish.

His record in five Tests that he has played in South Africa spread over two tours in 1996 and 2001 is not great, with 73 being his highest score, but he has had decent starts on four of these occasions.

His overall experience of 88 Tests would certainly work in his favour though, negating Chappell’s ‘look for young’ policy, which seems to be coming unstuck since the 1-4 one-day loss in the West Indies.

Also to Ganguly’s advantage has been his decent form in domestic cricket in which he has scored a century in Duleep Trophy and came up with a good score of 43 on a lively PCA ground in Mohali in last week’s Ranji Trophy tie against Punjab, whose pacer V.R.V Singh is also in the running for a place in the Test squad.

Ganguly is not among Chappell’s favoured players after their public spat in September, 2005, but the coach’s views could be diluted in the absence of anything concrete that has come about either from the team’s point of view or from the younger batsmen he has backed.

Apart from Ganguly, who averages a healthy 40-plus with 12 tons in Test cricket, the recall of Laxman to the Test side is a foregone conclusion.

The squad would be heavy on experience if Ganguly makes it to the team, but whether that alone would compensate for the Indian batsmen’s long-time weakness against bounce and movement is debatable.

The selectors are also expected to induct a third opener in Delhi left-hander Gautam Gambhir, especially with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag having a horrendous run with the bat. — PTI

Karachi, November 29
Mohammad Hafeez scored an undefeated 57 to give Pakistan a lead of 174 runs at close of play on the third day of the final Test against the West Indies today.

Pakistan reached 130 for two after plodding along in the final two sessions having bowled out West Indies for 260 runs at the stroke of lunch for a first-innings lead of 44.

The home side lost Younis Khan, celebrating his 29th birthday, leg before for 20 three overs from the end and Hafeez was joined by Mohammad Yousuf who requires 46 to break West Indian Vivian Richards's record of 1,710 test runs in a calendar year, set in 1976.

Opener Imran Farhat went before tea, caught behind by keeper Denesh Ramdin off Daren Powell for a torturous 20 runs.

Younis tried to break the shackles after an opening stand of 43 in 23 overs by hitting four boundaries and a big six from 99 deliveries.

Scoreboard
Pakistan (1st innings) 304
West Indies (1st innings)

Gayle c Razzaq b Gul 40
Ganga c Akmal b Razzaq 81
Lara b Gul 0
Sarwan b Gul 0
Chanderpaul c Farhat
b Kaneria 36
Morton c Farhat b Kaneria 21
Bravo c Akmal b Kaneria 8
Ramdin run out 50
Powell b Gul 1
Taylor c Akmal b Nazir 1
Collymore not out 8

Extras (b-5, lb-2, nb-7) 14
Total (all out, 96 overs) 260
Fall of wickets: 1-51, 2-51, 3-51, 4-114, 5-153, 6-190, 7-204, 8-213, 9-216.
Bowling: Gul 24-5-79-4, Nazir 17-3-58-1, Kaneria 35-12-62-3, Razzaq 16-5-44-1, Hafeez 4-1-10-0.

Pakistan (2nd innings)

Hafeez not out 57
Farhat c Ramdin b D. Powell 20
Younis lbw Gayle 38
Yousuf not out 1

A prolific run-getter in domestic circuit, Hanumant Singh scored a century in his Test debut against England at Delhi in February, 1964. India were 116 for three when he walked in. He straightaway settled down and scored a resplendent 105. His knock helped India draw the fourth Test.

Dismissed for zero in the first innings of the first Test against Australia at Madras in the same year, Hanumant Singh showed that he had nerves of steel. He was on a verge of breaking that ‘hoodoo’ of debutant century-maker getting another one. He was only six short when he fell. He was caught by O’Neill off Veivers. Many thought this was a better knock than his maiden century.

Hanumant Singh was one of the few batsmen who did not shy away from rising deliveries. He faced Roy Gilchrist, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, John Snow and others manfully. “I got runs against these ‘demon’ bowlers because I resisted the temptation of hooking them”, said Hanumant Singh.

While ‘Hanu’ was comfortable against pace, he was vulnerable against spinners. Essentially a back-foot player, he tried to bring into play front-foot strokes and that proved his undoing. In England he fell to Illingworth on all four occasions.

Hanumant Singh was among runs and he should have been on the tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1967-68. He was sidelined on flimsy medical ground. The report said that his left thigh was thicker than his right thigh. “My left thigh has always been more developed than right since childhood”, said Hanumant Singh to doctors. But they put a question mark on fitness.

In wilderness for two years, Hanumant Singh was appointed skipper of the Rest XI. Vijay Merchant was chairman of selection committee in 1969-70. He played one Test against New Zealand at Bombay. There was speculation that Merchant was drafting him as captain in place of Mansur Pataudi. The criticism against them became so intense that he was dumped and this time forever. Hanumant Singh played 14 Tests (24 innings) scoring 686 runs (average 31.18).

Born at Banswara on March 29, 1939, Hanu announced his arrival while playing for Delhi University in the inter-universities competition in 1960-61. He had shifted from Vikram University to Delhi.

Affectionately called ‘Chhotu’, Hanumant Singh had piles of runs in domestic cricket. He scored 6,170 runs in Ranji Trophy from 1956-57 to 1978-79.

Doha, November 29
Indian women paddlers began their Asian Games campaign in style, thrashing Uzbekistan 3-0 in the group stage of the team championship here today.

The Indians were never really tested in the Group A tie as they conceded just one game before disposing of the Uzbeks in about 80 minutes in a lopsided contest at the Al Arabi Indoor Stadium.

The Indians, however, began on a shaky note with former national champion Poulomi Ghatak losing the first game to Aliye Ismailova 7-11. But she bounced back brilliantly to wrap the next three games 11-6, 13-11, 11-6.

“I was not getting my rhythm in the first game. I just had to calm down a little bit and focus. Once I regained my composure, things became easier,” Ghatak said.

National Champion Mouma Das then gave the Indians a 2-0 lead by prevailing over Ekaterina Levina 11-4, 12-14, 17-15 though she had to overcome some anxious moments, particularly in the second and third games.

While both Ghatak and Mouma had some lapses in concentration, Shamini Kumaresan had no such problems as she routed Madina Ayubova 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 in quick time to give India a rousing 3-0 triumph.

The women’s team will play another group-A match against Korea later in the day while the men’s team will play two matches—against Japan and China—in the team events.

Doha, November 29
China has zeroed in on shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, fearing that the Indian marksman may spoil their party in the Asian Games here.

The Chinese consider Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as one who can stand between their plans of a clean sweep.

“Rathore is a very crafty shooter. He is very tough and can hold on to his nerves at crucial moments,” said Chinese shooter Hu Binyuan.

Hu said he has no hesitation in tipping Rathore as his toughest opponent in the Doha Asian Games.

“Rathore is a dangerous opponent even though Ahmed Al Maktoum is not coming,” said Hu, world runner-up in double trap.

“But in shooting, concentration is most important and I won’t let my guard down,” added Hu, who won a gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok.

Al Maktoum, 42, who won the first Olympic gold for United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the 2004 Athens Games, will not take part in the Asian Games starting Friday. He is a member of the ruling family of Dubai and was once the UAE national champion in squash.

“It is really a pity, because he is a great shooter. He didn’t compete in international events this year,” said Chinese head coach Sun Shengwei.

As many as 44 Gold medals are at stake in the shooting competition to be e held from December 2-8 at Lusial Shooting Complex. — UNI

Doha, November 29
India may have maintained a stranglehold in kabaddi in the Asian Games, but the players are not willing to take any chance as they prepare to launch their campaign in the 15th edition of the Games.

The Indians have worked out some new strategies to counter strong opponents like Pakistan and Iran and are quite confident of retaining the gold medal, which they won in the last Games in Busan.

“We are not taking any team lightly at this level. We have to play well in all the matches to win the gold medal again. The players have worked very hard and we are looking forward to the competitions,” Indian coach Balwan Singh said after the team had a practice session at the Aspire Sports Academy.

India will begin their campaign with a round robin league match against Bangladesh on December 2. Pakistan, Iran and Japan are among the other teams in the competition, which will be played on a league basis with the two top teams making it to the final. — PTI

Doha, November 29
India squandered a crucial lead in the injury time and were held to a 1-1 draw by Hong Kong in the football competition of the Asian Games here this evening.

India looked all set to collect full three points when in the 89th minute midfielder N P Pradeep scored a stunning goal, firing a powerful long ranger. But, the Indians could not defend that lead in the three minutes of the injury time as Chun Siu Ki took advantage of the confusion in the rival defence to head home the equaliser.

India thus shared points with Hong Kong in a match which they should have won. A win would have put India in a strong position to make it to the knock out stage, but now they will have to win the next two matches — against Maldives and defending champions Iran — to keep their hopes alive.

It was an absorbing tussle with Hong Kong making some good moves and India managing not only to defend but also creating few incisive counter attacks.

Captain Baichung Bhutia was marked well but he still got past the defenders a couple of times but the Indian upfront lacked finishing. — UNI

New Delhi, November 29
Star long jumper Anju Bobby George and runner Pinki Pramanik will spearhead the country’s challenge as India today announced a 43-member contingent for the athletics competitions of the 15th Asian Games at Doha.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said in a release that 21 men and 22 women athletes would form the contingent at Doha. The AFI also said that the trials for the 4x100m relay would be conducted tomorrow.

Anju will reach Doha on December 3, while 13 athletes, who are training in Muscat, would reach the Asian Games venue on December 2, the AFI release said.

Middle and long distance runners, who are sweating it out in the Bangalore camp, would leave for Doha on December 6.

Women’s squad: Hiriyur Manjunath Jyothi (4x100m relay), Poonam Tomar (100m, 4x100m relay), Deepthi Jose (4x100m relay), Nidhi Singh (4x100m relay), Anuradha Biswal (4x100m relay), Chitra K. Soman (200m, 4x400m relay), Manjeet Kaur (400m, 4x400m relay), Mandeep Kaur (4x400m relay), S. Geetha (4x400m relay), Tintu Luka (4x100m relay), Pinki Pramanik (200m, 400m, 4x400m relay), Shanthi Soudarajan (800m, 1500m), Sinimol Paulose (800m, 1500m), Jaisa O P (5000m, 10000m), Preeja Sreedharan (5000m, 10000m), Anju B George (long jump, triple jump), Seema Antil and Krishna Punia (discus throw), Soma Biswas (heptathlon), J J Shobha (long jump, Heptathlon), V.S. Surekha (pole vault) and Hardeep Kaur (hammer throw).

Men’s squad: Arunjit Sivadasan Nair (4x100m relay), Arvind Alaguvel (4x100m relay), B G Nagraj (4x100m relay), Vilas Shivappa Neelgund (4x100 relay), Amit Kumar Saha (4x100m relay), Vishal Kumar Saxena (4x100m relay), Binu K Mathew (400m, 4x400m relay), Joseph Abraham (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Shankar Patlavath (4x400m relay), Bhupinder Singh (4x400m relay), Aboobacker Thanikkal (4x400m relay), Sreejith P S (4x400m relay), Hamza Chatholi (1500m), Sunil Kumar Singh (5000m), Surender Kumar Singh (5000m, 10000m), Shiv Shankar Yadav (long jump), Ranjith Maheshwary (triple jump), Hari Shankar Roy (high jump), Vikas Gowda (discus throw), Navpreet Singh (shot put) and P.J. Vinod (decathlon). — UNI

Ferozepore, November 29
Punjab girls won the gold in table tennis defeating Maharashtra 3-2 in the final on the third day of the National Inter-School Games for under-16 boys and girls at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium here today.

In volleyball, Kerala eves won the gold edging out Haryana 3-1. Kerala won 18-25, 25-24, 25-19, 25-11. In the bronze-medal playoff, Tamil Nadu defeated Punjab in straight sets 25-23, 25-19 and 25-8.

In the team championship of weightlifting (boys), Tamil Nadu bagged gold while hosts Punjab got the silver and Maharashtra settled for bronze. Among girls, Maharashtra won the gold with 29 points followed by Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

In wrestling, Haryana boys bagged the gold in team championship by getting 70 points leaving behind Maharashtra with 68 points. Punjab wrestlers pocketed bronze with 65 points.

Maharastra girls’ wrestlers proved much powerful than Punjab when they won the gold with 69 points. Punjab has to satisfy with silver by bagging 65 points whereas Mizoram got the bronze with 56 points.