Kanpur, November 20
India overcame a wobbly start and some anxious moments before beating England by 16 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in a closely-contested third cricket one-dayer to take a comfortable 3-0 lead in the seven-match series here today.

Chasing 241 for a victory, the hosts were less dominating but were conscious of the Duckworth-Lewis requirement as they scored 198 for five in 40 overs before fading light necessitated an early end to the game.

India needed to score 183 for five in 40 overs under the D/L method and were declared the winners when bad light came into play. For the hosts, Virender Sehwag topscored with 68, while Yuvraj Singh scored a brisk 38 off just 31 balls. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten on 29 to steer the team to victory in a keenly contested tussle at the Green Park stadium.

After the early morning haze delayed the start and reduced the tie to a 49-overs-a-side affair, England captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and had little hesitation in opting to bat first. India now need to win the next match in Bangalore on Sunday to clinch the series by taking an unassailable 4-0 lead.

A rejigged batting order saw Ravi Bopara (60) walking out to open with Ian Bell (46) and the openers put on 79 runs before England lost the plot in the face of some disciplined bowling by the Indians and folded for 240 in 48.4 overs.

For India, Harbhajan Singh stood out, scalping three for 31, joining the 200 ODI wicket club in the process. For the home team's in-form and awe-inspiring batting order, the target of 241 should have been a stroll in the park. However small the target, they still needed to score those runs but a jittery start jolted them out of complacency.

A reckless Gautam Gambhir (14) and Suresh Raina (1) perished in quick succession and for India, reduced to 34 for two inside 10 overs, the chase for a modest target wasn't a cakewalk anymore.

Andrew Flintoff banged his fifth delivery short and Gambhir charged out only to guide it to third man where a grateful Broad pouched the catch. Flintoff tormented Suresh Raina (1) as well but it was Broad who got the left-hander when the batsman, rooted in the crease, dragged a ball onto his stumps.

Sehwag read the situation well but did not allow it to bog him down. Boundaries still came thick and fast and Sehwag enjoyed the fortune of the brave as well when Samit Patel almost caught him off his own bowling before the ball popped out of the left-arm spinners palm.

Sehwag celebrated by clobbering Graeme Swann for a six to complete his fifty and raised 67 runs with Rohit Sharma (28).

Rohit once again failed to convert the start and fell to Swann and then an airborne Paul Collingwood silenced the choc-a-bloc stadium by pulling off a stunner at point off Flintoff.

England's nemesis Yuvraj Singh walked amid thunderous applause and joined by captain MS Dhoni as the duo had just steadied the ship before Flintoff again turned the game on its head by removing the left-hander.

In deteriorating light, Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan (12 not out) played smart cricket to keep the team ahead in the Duckworth-Lewis chart before bad light interrupted match.

Earlier, for the first time in the series, England got off to a strong, if not spectacular, start with the Bell-Bopara duo raising 79 runs for the first wicket inside 15 overs. It was a marked improvement by the visitors, considering the fact that the opening stand had yielded 12 and six runs respectively, in the last two matches. 

Scoreboard

England:

Bopara st Dhoni b Yuvraj 60

Bell c Dhoni b Munaf 46

Pietersen c Zaheer b Harbhajan 13

Collingwood st Dhoni b Harbhajan 1

Flintoff lbw b Yusuf 26

Shah c Zaheer b Harbhajan 40

Patel c Raina b Ishant 26

Matt Prior b Ishant 5

Swann not out 5

Broad c Dhoni b Zaheer 0

Anderson b Munaf 1

Extras (lb-3, w-9, nb-5) 17

Total (all out, 48.4 overs) 240

Fall of wickets: 1-79, 2-102, 3-106, 4-133, 5-167, 6-203, 7-231, 8-231, 9-235, 10-240.

Bowling: Zaheer 10-0-45-1, Munaf 6.4-0-36-2, Ishant 9-0-60-2, Yuvraj 10-0-54-1, Harbhajan 10-2-31-3, Yusuf 2-0-7-1, Sehwag 1-0-4-0.

India:

Gambhir c Broad b Flintoff 14

Sehwag c Collingwood b Flintoff 68

Raina b Broad 1

Rohit c Prior b Swann 28

Yuvraj c Broad b Flintoff 38

Dhoni not out 29

Yousuf not out 12

Extras (lb-5, wd-3) 8

Total (5 wickets, 40 overs) 198

Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-34, 3-107, 
4-125, 5-177.

Bowling: Anderson 6-0-47-0, Broad 9-2-36-1, Flintoff 9-0-31-3, Swann 10-0-47-1, Patel 3-0-18-0, Pietersen 3-0-14-0. — PTI

Kanpur, November 20
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh became the sixth Indian bowler to take 200 wickets in ODIs during the seven-match series against England here today. Harbhajan achieved the feet when he scalped Owais Shah while the batsman was trying to hoic the off-spinner over the long-off fence for a six only to see Zaheer Khan taking a catch at the boundary.

The off-spinner claimed three wickets in the third ODI here to restrict England to a modest total of 240. However, in the all-time list, which is headed by former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram (501), Harbhajan lies at the 29th spot.

In his 178-match long ODI career, Harbhajan has picked up 200 wickets at an average of 32.85 with an economy rate of 4.85. Former Indian captain Anil Kumble is still leading the chart with 334 ODI wickets from 269 matches.

Speedster Zaheer Khan is the only bowler, who is still playing for India and from his 152 matches, the left-arm pacer has bagged 214 wickets. Besides Harbhajan, the other Indian bowlers who have picked up 200 or more wickets are - Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath (315), Ajit Agarkar (288), Kapil Dev (253), Zaheer Khan (214). — UNI 

England wasted a golden opportunity at Kanpur to post a bigger, and more challenging total on the board. It was disappointing to see a number of their batsman throw their wickets away after getting starts, and not going on to get bigger scores. It’s paramount that a top order batsman capitalises on his start in a one-day game, and goes on to get a 100, to lay the foundation for a big total, which the opposition will struggle to chase.

Ravi Bopara looked good coming in as an opener, but should have gone on to get a big one on this wicket. Kevin Pietersen, who is England’s best player, needlessly threw his wicket away when the team required his presence till the end, and Paul Collingwood, who looks woefully out of form, gifted his wicket to the Indian bowlers. It’s surprising that Collingwood still bats ahead of Flintoff, inspite of looking completely off colour in the three matches so far. The best players must have the opportunity to bat for a bulk of the allotted 50 overs, and it’s critical that England send Flintoff up the order where his talent can be put to better use.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni used his bowlers exceptionally well, as he brought on the spinners pretty much after the shine had disappeared from the new ball. He even threw to ball to his part-time spinners Sehwag and Yuvraj, who made perfect use of the spin friendly conditions.

Harbhajan Singh found some perfect bowling rhythm in this game, and it was good to see him bowl a lot slower in this game to ensure maximum purchase off the wicket. Harbhajan bowled much flatter in the game at Indore, keeping his pace at around 100 km/h, and got hit for three huge sixes by Flintoff. In this game he kept his pace around the mid 80's and got a lot more turn, causing problems for the English batsman.

India will be happy with their effort in the field, but must be careful about the no-balls which were in abundance today. With the new free hit rule in one-day cricket, its critical that teams cut out on their no balls, as it could cost them dearly in a tight game.

For a team that had piled on 387 and 290 odd in the previous games, a target of 240 would not be that difficult to achieve, and the Indians got some early momentum at the start of their run chase. With the light fading at Kanpur and the D/L method coming into play, a good start was absolutely vital, and Sehwag played some perfect strokes at the top of the order. It was disappointing to see Gambhir get out without a big score again today, but Sehwag' innings would have calmed the dressing room considerably.

It's strange that the in-form Yuvraj is still coming in down the order after Raina and Rohit Sharma. He should definitely come in earlier so that he has more overs to bat, and dominates the bowling.

Dhoni started cautiously, but always knew he had another power play up his sleeve and ensured that he was ahead of the Duckworth Lewis par score, to seal a comfortable win for India. They are playing some outstanding cricket at the moment and will look to seal the series at the day night game in Bangalore. — PMG

New Delhi, November 20
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has, in a welcome decision, taken Sourav Ganguly on board of its Technical Committee, thereby indicating that retiring from Test cricket or ODI was not the end of the road for his links with cricket. (Sourav played his swang song as a swashbuckling Test cricketer in the fourth and last Test against Australia at Nagpur recently, which India won to clinch the series 2-0).

“Sourav Ganguly has been nominated to the Technical Committee of the BCCI," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a press statement. The Technical Committee, with sweeping powers, is headed by Sunil Gavaskar and takes decisions on matters related to cricket and rule changes.

Sourav Ganguly, as the most successful Indian cricket captain, fits the bill perfectly. The Technical Committee consists of Sunil Gavaskar (chairman), Chetan Chauhan, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Sourav Ganguly, M V Sridhar, Biman Bhattacharjee, Milind Rege, Gyanendra Pandey, V K Ramaswamy and N Srinivasan. 

Lahore, November 20
It seems as if there is no end to Mohammad Asif’s miseries as the dope-tainted pacer was slapped with a whopping bill as legal costs for his release from detention in Dubai earlier this year.

Asif was detained for 19-day in Dubai for possession of a banned substance and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had hired the legal firm, Afridi and Angel, to represent the pacer in the case contested with the Dubai police. “The issue now is that the previous PCB management have forwarded a bill sent by the Dubai based ‘Afridi and Angel’ firm to Asif for payment,” a source close to the PCB said.

“Asif has taken up the issue with the present management pointing out that no one ever consulted him or took his consent while hiring the services of the firm that time, so why should he pay for the legal costs,” the source added.

The source further added that the bill was in thousands of dirhams and Asif has told PCB that the representative of the Board, sent to assist him in Dubai in June, had bothered to visit him just once at the detention centre during his nearly two-week stay in Dubai.

An application has already been submitted by Asif to the present PCB chairman Ijaz Butt for the release of the money, which is due to him as per his central contract with the Board even though he was at present suspended.

“The PCB chairman will review Asif’s request for release of funds this week as the pacer also wants the Board to review the ban imposed on him after he tested positive in a dope test carried out  during the Indian  Premier League,”  disclosed the source.

“Asif wanted to know why the ban was imposed on him as he was neither representing Pakistan in the IPL, and the tests were conducted in a foreign country and under foreign laws, which had nothing to do with Pakistan cricket,” he added. — UNI 

Jalandhar,November 20
“I humbly request you to kindly coach me. I am prepared to work as hard as I can and make you feel proud of me one day”. This is what Abhinav Bindra wrote to Lt Col J.S. Dhillon (retd), an international shooter, in a brief personal letter about 13 years ago, to be exact on July 11, 1995.

At that point of time Bindra, who has now become a superstar for being India’s first individual Olympic Gold Medalist ever, was just 14. Today not only Dhillon but the entire nation is proud of him. But what is most unfortunate is that no one has uttered even a word of praise for Col Dhillon.

Col Dhillon, to whom Bindra gives all credit not only for initiating him in the field of shooting but also training him in air rifle precision target shooting since July 1995 to his Olympic Gold Medal winning feat, is a disappointed man because the government of his own state, Punjab, has failed to honour him when it gave Rs 11 lakh to Gurbax Singh Sandhu, chief coach of NIS, who had trained Vijender Singh, an Olympic bronze medallist boxer.

Interestingly, Punjab Government has honoured Dr Bhattacharya, who was Abhinav’s mental trainer and spent a short period with him, with Rs 5 lakh but not to Col Dhillon who coached Bindra for several years since 1995. “I am happy that Punjab Government has honoured coach Sandhu and Dr Bhattacharya but I am also bit disappointed owing to the fact that no one said even a word of praise for me. Forget talking about giving me a cash reward”, Col Dhillon said while talking to The Tribune.

“Impressed by Bindra’s letter, I rang him on July 12,1995 to see me the following day. And he started getting shooting lessons at a range that I had put up in the backyard of my house in sector 35-A at Chandigarh”, said Col Dhillon, who has many interesting stories to tell about Bindra.

Before entering any international competition abroad, Bindra made it point to post a card to his coach Col Dhillon. And after winning all major competitions, Bindra always gave the credit to Col Dhillon for his success.

Narrating an interesting story, Col Dhillon said Bindra scored 600 points out of 600 at the 6th All-India GV Mavlankar Shooting Championship at Ahmedabad in November 1996 but the organisers did not declare the result. “When we lodged our protest, organisers replied that Bindra had used round nosed pellets which were not allowed in competition. I immediately sent a fax to UIT headquarters, Munichen, Germany for clarification and got a reply the next day that stated pellets of any shape could by used.

“Before the Ahemdabad competition, Bindra had scored 600 out 600 points at a competition in Chandigarh and some other shooters taking part in the competition protested saying that it was not possible that a small boy of 14 years could perform such a miracle.”

Two days before the shooting event in which Bindra was to take part at Beijing, his parents and others including his coach Col Dhillon wished him luck through an advertisement, which appeared in Chandigarh Tribune on August 9, 2008. But still the man, who played a pivotal role in bringing the medal and the glory to our nation, feels left out and judging by the way our governments are, he might just be shooting in the dark.

Kolkata, November 20
Defending champions Dempo hold the edge when they face local outfit Mohammedan Sporting in the ninth round of the ONGC I-League at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here.

Dempo have so far garnered 11 points from eight matches compared Mohammedan Sporting’s nine. The Kolkata side is being dogged by injury problems with strikers Theodore Wrobeh and Vimal Pariyar doubtful for the match. While Vimal is suffering from a stomach ailment, Wrobeh is nursing a back injury. — PTI 

BRIEFLY

Sunil Gavaskar has hit back at Australian skipper Ponting saying that the Aussies are still rattled by their recent humbling in India.

Indian Challenge ends at Knoxville
NEW DELHI: Indian challenge in the $50,000 Knoxville Challenger ended in both singles and doubles following the defeats of Somdev Devvarman and Ashutosh Singh-Harsh Mankad pair. Somdev, who was up against American top-seed Vincent Spadea, conceded his first round match after losing the fiercely fought first set 6-7 (7). The unseeded duo of Ashutosh-Harsh lost their quarter-final match 3-6, 3-6 to top-seeded American pair of Rajeev Ram and Bobby Reynolds. Earlier, Prakash Amritraj had already crashed out of the event after losing his first round match — PTI

News agencies boycott Oz cricket
SYDNEY: Global news agencies have boycotted coverage of the first cricket Test between Australia and New Zealand that started on Thursday because of conditions imposed by organisers. The agencies - Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images - have also suspended coverage of all Australian cricket news until further notice over demands made by the governing body, Cricket Australia (CA). “AFP deeply regrets that it is unable to cover the Australian cricket season as planned,” said AFP chairman and chief executive Pierre Louette. — AFP

Hayden pondering his future in Tests
SYDNEY: Opener Matthew Hayden, who is just one match away from his 100th Test, has asserted that his participation in the Ashes cricket tour next year would depend on the ongoing Test against New Zealand at Gabba. “I think this game is going to tell me that,” Hayden said while replying to a question whether he will be around for a remarkable fifth Ashes tour next year. The 37-year-old Hayden, who had recurring injuries and a poor start to the four-Test series in India, had critics questioning his future in Australian top-order. — UNI

Maradona starts as coach with 1-0 win
GLASGOW: Diego Maradona began life as Argentina coach with a 1-0 win over Scotland that was as lacklustre as his playing days were spectacular. At the Hampden Park stadium where Maradona scored the first goal of an international career that would make him his country’s greatest player, Argentina showed only flashes of the sort of skill that Maradona was famous for, not least for the move that led to Maxi Rodriguez’s 8th goal on Wednesday. “What made things happen is that I succeeded in making the players get over their fear of losing and that’s what we needed to do.” Maradona said. — AP

AITA eyeing Roche to guide coaches
KOLKATA: All India Tennis Association (AITA) is planning to get Roger Federer's former coach Tony Roche to act as a consultant for coaches in the build-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi. The AITA has already drawn up a list of 40 players to undergo training for the Commonwealth Games. Two preparatory camps would be held in Delhi and Pune under a pool of coaches including Enricko Piperno, Nandan Bal and Nitin Kirtane and it is to guide the coaches that Roche’s service is being sought. — PTI

‘Don’t expect Symmo to be model citizen’
MELBOURNE: Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has said that he does not expect Andrew Symonds to be a ‘model citizen’ and asked the temperamental allrounder to be his usual self when he wears the baggy green against New Zealand in the first Test in Gabba on Thursday. Symonds is making a comeback to the national side, after being dropped from the squad because of his "gone-fishing" saga in Darwin in August this year. “I don’t expect him to be the model citizen when he comes back into the side, I expect him to be the Andrew Symonds of old,” Ponting was quoted as saying in a radio channel here. — PTI