Centurion, December 18
After conceding a mammoth first innings lead of 484, Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave a solid start in the second innings as the Indian batsmen finally started to come to terms with the Centurion wicket.

At stumps on Day Three, India had reached 190 for the loss of two wickets in 44.1 overs with Rahul Dravid unbeaten on 28 and night-watchman Ishant Sharma on 7.

Earlier, Jacques Kallis cracked his maiden double century as South Africa declared their first innings at a mammoth 620 for four to take a commanding lead of 484 .

Kallis remained unbeaten on 201 as the hosts declared their innings immediately after A B de Villiers (129 off 112 balls) was dismissed by Ishant Sharma about half an hour into the post-lunch session.

At tea India were 92 for no loss in their second innings with Virender Sehwag (51) and Gautam Gambhir (33) at the crease.

Sehwag got a reprieve when he was on 34 with a diving Hashim Amla spilling a difficult chance at short cover, Lonwabo Tsotsobe being the unlucky bowler.

The flamboyant opener brought about his half century in style by flicking Morne Morkel behind square for a boundary, an effort which came off just 46 balls.

Earlier, there was no respite for the Indians after the lunch break as both Kallis and de Villiers kept piling up the runs with ease.

Resuming at the lunch score of 591 for three, Kallis notched up his maiden double century in Test cricket when he flicked Jaidev Unadkat to the fine leg boundary. He raised his bat to acknowledge the cheers from the crowd and his teammates in the dressing room after completing the milestone.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept rotating his bowlers but none of them had the sting to pose much problems for the South African batsmen. — PTI

Scoreboard

India 1st Innings 136

South Africa 1st innings

Smith c Dhoni b Harbhajan 62

Petersen c Gambhir b Harbhajan 77

Amla c Dhoni b Ishant 140

Kallis not out 201

De Villiers c Dhoni b Ishant 129

Extras: 11

Total: (for 4 wickets decl in 130.1 overs) 620

Bowling: Sreesanth 24-1-97-0, Ishant 27.1-2-120-2, Unadkat 26-4-101-0, Harbhajan 36-2-169-2, Raina 7-0-77-0, Tendulkar 10-1-51-0.

India 2nd innings

Gambhir lbw Steyn 80

Sehwag c Smith b Harris 63

Dravid batting 28

Ishant batting 7

Extras: 12

Total: (for 2 wkts, in 44.1 overs) 190

Bowling: Dale Steyn 12-4-38-1, Morne Morkel 11-1-38-0, Lonwabo Tsotsobe 9.1-1-48-0, Paul Harris 8-0-34-1, Kallis 4-1-23-0

New Delhi, December 18
Irfan Pathan’s downward spiral as a cricketer continued as he was left out of the 30-strong probables’ list named by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today, as a run-up to the ICC World Cup 2011.

There were no real surprises in the list with Yusuf Pathan keeping the family colours flying as he made it to the squad and is almost sure to make it to the final 15, to be declared on January 19.

All the wicket-keepers who have been on display over the past couple of seasons - Wriddhiman Saha, Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel - have also been added to the squad, and one of them will be added to the squad as a back-up to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Mumbai batsman Ajinkya Rahane is in the squad while Cheteshwar Pujara also gets a look-in.

In a squad which didn't offer any major surprises, youngsters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were included along with established stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

The squad would be pruned to half by next month and chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth said whatever be the final combination, it would do well at the quadrennial mega-event starting February 19 and to be played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"As you know there are no big surprises. This is a probables team and everyone selects himself. There is one more month to go to select the final team and we will sit down and think calmly before finalising the team," Srikkanth told reporters here after a meeting of the selection panel.

"I am confident that the team will do well in the World Cup. They have been doing well in one-day cricket. The World Cup is happening in the sub-continent and I am confident that the team will do well," he added.

Apart from the omission of the 37-year-old Dravid, who has not played an ODI since September last year, and Pathan, on the sidelines since February 2009 in ODIs, there aren't any surprise selections.

The batting list expectedly features Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.

The 22-year-old Pujara along with Virat Kohli are among the youngsters picked in at least the preliminary squad.

The bowling line-up is also on the expected lines with the pace attack led by Zaheer Khan featuring Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma.

The spin department has the experienced Harbhajan Singh along with Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin.

Perth, December 18
A resurgent Australia looked all set to level the Ashes after a historic century by the reborn Mike Hussey in the third Test against England at the WACA Ground today.

At stumps on the third day England were in disarray at 81-5 in their second innings having been set 391 to win, with night-watchman James Anderson yet to score.

Up 1-0 in the series, England needed their biggest ever run chase to win the match and their hopes appeared forlorn after their top five — Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood — all went cheaply late in the day.

Cook was trapped lbw by Ryan Harris for 13 and Strauss (15) became Mitchell Johnson's seventh victim for the match when he nicked a ball to Australian captain Ricky Ponting in the slips.

Pietersen, dismissed for a duck in the first innings, made just three before being caught by Shane Watson at first slip from the bowling of Ben Hilfenhaus.

Just minutes before stumps, Trott fell to Johnson (2-28) for 31, caught by Brad Haddin on the rebound off the hands of Ponting, who immediately left the field with an injured finger on his left hand.

Then from the last ball of the day and without any addition to the score, Collingwood (11) was brilliantly caught by a diving Steven Smith in slips from the bowling of Harris (2-22).

If England can somehow conjure an unlikely win here they retain the Ashes, while an Australian win levels the series with two Tests to play.

England have only ever successfully chased 300 in the fourth innings three times in Test cricket.

Their biggest ever chase was back in 1928 at the MCG, when they made 332-7 to defeat Australia.

The Australian second innings of 309 was anchored by another brilliant effort from Hussey, who was the last man to fall for 116 and has 517 runs in the series at average of 103.40

The left-hander, who was close to being dropped for the first Test at the Gabba, also became the first batsman in Ashes history to pass 50 in six consecutive innings.

He produced a number of classical pull shots during his innings, including one to bring up his 13th Test century and second of the series.

Hussey, who became recalled seamer Chris Tremlett's (5-87) fifth scalp of the innings and eighth for the match, batted for 315 minutes, faced 172 balls and hit 15 boundaries.

He had been given out lbw to Tremlett, from the last ball before lunch, but his challenge was successful after replays showed the ball was going over the stumps.

Opener Watson again fell agonisingly short of a Test century when trapped lbw by the impressive Tremlett for 95.

Watson, who was chasing his third Test century, fell in the 90s for the fourth time at the top level.— AFP

Jamshedpur, December 18
India's only World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev today said with a combination of experience and youth and a little bit of luck, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men could win the 2011 quadrennial event to be hosted jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"The present Indian team has good track record. The combination of experienced and young players would help the team to win the World Cup," the legendary all-rounder, who led India to its only world title way back in 1983, said during a promotional event here. When apprised that none of the World Cup organising country could win the trophy at home ground till date, Kapil said perhaps, India will break the jinx this time. "No team can win the World Cup depending on a particular player. A total team effort is required to emerge champion," he said when asked to name one dependable player in the Indian team. In 1983, Kapil led underdogs India to victory by beating the formidable West Indies team.— PTI

New Delhi, December 18
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly isn’t convinced that Zaheer Khan’s absence should lead to the kind of absolute massacre that the Indian bowlers faced in Centurion against South Africa. He also felt that India should have played at least one four-day game before the Test series.

Ganguly, who was playing the Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Railways, which ended here today, said: “Zaheer is a human being. Every player gets injured. But you need to look at it from a different perspective. If someone is injured, it’s an opportunity for another player to grab the chance. Also, even if Zaheer was playing, Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma would have to pick up wickets. If Harbhajan gets injured, then one would expect Ravichandran Ashwin to do well.

“It was not easy to bat there (at Centurion). The pitch was a bit damp after rain and conditions were difficult for batting. India already have their backs to the wall in this Test, so the faster they can apply themselves, it’s better for the team. After Centurion, they would be next playing in Durban which is also a fast pitch.”

Asked if India was up to the challenge or not, Ganguly responded: “It is too early to draw any conclusions. It was an important toss to lose if you take the conditions under consideration. Also the fact that India entered straightaway into a Test match without playing a practice game made things even more difficult. A four-day game before the first Test would have made things better for India.”

Asked about his Indian Premier League plans, Ganguly said: “I would like to play for Kolkata Knight Riders but I have no option because it will be decided in auction. I did well in the IPL last year and scored nearly 500 runs. The only thing that I can control is my own performance.”

Ganguly, who scored a gutsy half century in Johannesburg in India's only Test victory in South Africa during the 2006-07 tour feels that the Indians need to get their act quickly in order to make a comeback.

Indians will be hoping that Zaheer Khan recovers fully before the next Test match starts in Kingsmead Durban as his replacement Unadkat has not looked penetrative at all.

New Delhi, December 18
In his moments of anxiety during or ahead of major events, is it the coaches who help Vijender Singh lift himself mentally? "Not really," said the Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist boxer while opining that it is ultimately the athlete's own strength of character which helps him tide over turbulent times.

The world number one middleweight boxer won a gold medal at last month's Asian Games despite fighting with a dislocated thumb in the final bout against a two-time world champion.

The 25-year-old's triumph in China last month further raised his profile after the historic bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

At a panel discussion on 'mentors and mentees' organised by Forbes magazine here last night, the Haryana-lad was quizzed about how much of a role coaches play in making an athlete mentally strong.

Not the one to mince words in expressing himself, Vijender had an audience comprising corporates in splits when he said, "Sometimes the coaches are more anxious and scared about what might happen than even us.

"I remember before my quarterfinal bout in the Beijing Olympics, my coach came to me and said 'what will happen Viju?' he was very skeptical about the outcome. I had to counsel him by saying 'don't worry coach, I am there. We are going to win this one'." Indian boxers are coached by Gurbax Singh Sandhu and Cuban B I Fernandes at present. The two have been associated with the team for a long time now.

Vijender said the key to dealing with the stress of being an international athlete lies in being expressive about the emotional turmoil that is a part and parcel of any sportsperson's life.

"You have to get it out of your system. There is no other way. Share your feelings with anyone you are comfortable with.

It strengthens you mentally. I had a psychiatrist friend in Hyderabad who told me how to go about it some years ago.

"Visualise yourself as the best. All these techniques are very helpful. After my semifinal loss in the Commonwealth Games, I was very upset but then this self-therapy helped me immensely." Ace shooter Gagan Narang, however, does turn to his coach in times of any mental turmoil.

"Before the CWG, I was expected to perform and the pressure was immense. I was not in a very good frame of mind.

Ultimately I got the gold medal and yes it is about how you handle the pressure but my coach motivated me," he said.

"Sometimes the mentee can become a tormentor for his mentor," he laughed with coach Stanislav Lapidus by his side.

Lapidus also recalled Narang's troubled frame of mind ahead of the CWG and how he had to jolt him out of the slumber.

"Just days before the vital competition, he told me 'I am not too sure about my performance'. He was struggling because when he is in a bad frame of mind, he does not even like to touch his rifle. I had to remind him that 'you are Gagan Narang the champion, go out there and shoot'," he recalled.

Adding perspective, billiards legend Michael Ferreira, who is now a coach, said, "The worst ever coach is the one who cannot get into the mental space of his ward. As a coach you have to be nimble mentally." — PTI

BRIEFLY

BCCI chief Manohar to decide on challenging stay
Mumbai: The BCCI today authorised its president Shashank Manohar to take a decision on whether to challenge the Bombay High Court's decision to uphold the stay on the termination of contracts of IPL franchisees Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in the Apex Court.The decision was taken at the BCCI's Working Committee meeting here. "The Working Committee has authorised the President to take a decision on filing an appeal in the Supreme Court," BCCI sources said. On December 14, Justice S J Vazifdar dismissed an appeal filed by BCCI challenging the stay granted to Royals by the arbitrator, appointed by both the parties to resolve their dispute, and permitted the IPL franchisee to participate in the IPL-4 auction. — PTI

Beckham to be conferred BBC lifetime achievement award
London: Former England football captain David Beckham will be conferred lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony tomorrow. According to BBC officials, the accolade recognised the 35-year-old midfielder's "remarkable" record on and off the pitch and his "tireless work as an ambassador for British sport". Beckham will receive the award at the annual ceremony in Birmingham tomorrow evening. The LA Galaxy star is England's most capped outfield player, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League crown with Manchester United. Beckham, who was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2001, also won the Spanish league with Real Madrid after a 25 million pound move from Manchester United and has spent two loan spells at AC Milan. — PTI