Durban, December 26
A second-wicket century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara put India in control before bad light forced an early finish to the first day of second Test against South Africa on Thursday.

On a lifeless wicket, India reached 181 for one without much drama at Kingsmead after the tourists won the toss and elected to bat, managing to blunt the much-vaunted South African attack on a ground where the home side have lost their last four Test matches. Vijay will resume on day two at 91 and Pujara on 58, the pair sharing a stand of 140 having made batting look comfortable before the players left the field for bad light just after tea with 61 overs bowled. The pitch is slow, with only Morne Morkel (one for 26) managing to unduly trouble the batsmen by extracting some bounce from the wicket.

Morkel passed a late fitness test, which South Africa captain Graeme Smith described as a "miracle" as the big fast bowler recovered from an ankle ligament strain picked up in the first test in Johannesburg that finished in a draw on Sunday.

The only wicket to fall was that of opener Shikhar Dhawan (29) as Morkel came around the wicket to the left-hander and had him caught at third slip by Alviro Petersen with the India score on 41. Dale Steyn once again battled to find his best form and has now bowled 408 deliveries since taking his last wicket, that of Dhawan in the first innings in Johannesburg. His career average is a wicket every seven overs.

South Africa made one change to their starting line-up, replacing leg-spinner Imran Tahir with Robin Peterson, but he has gone wicketless in 12 overs and conceded 43 runs. India also swapped slow bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja coming in for R Ashwin. This Test will be the 166th and last for South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who made his debut against England at this ground in 1995. — Reuters

Durban, December 26
Indian bowlers might have drawn flak after failing to win the first Test on a responsive wicket at Johannesburg, but bowling coach Joe Dawes backed his wards, saying “sometimes they get unwarranted criticism”.

In the drawn first Test at Johannesburg, Indian bowlers couldn't bowl out the hosts on a wicket that aided them, despite defending a mammoth 458-run target.

And it remains to be seen how many runs Mahendra Singh Dhoni will think are enough on what is the flattest Kingsmead pitch here seen in recent years.

“Yes, it was a disappointing that we couldn't bowl them out on a pitch that was doing something. However, it was a matter of just one partnership that saved the match for them. It happens, that's cricket for you,” Dawes said after the opening day's play of the second Test on Thursday. “But sometimes the Indian bowlers get unwarranted criticism. So far we are yet to lose a Test this year, and we have won every ODI series except the one here in South Africa. They bowled well in the Champions Trophy and sometimes not so well in the sub-continent. At such times, criticism is merited. However, it gets over the top at most times,” he added, defending his players.

The umpires took the two batsmen along with the Proteas off almost 90 minutes before the scheduled close of play. “We were in a very good position. Our batsmen were doing pretty well,” said the Indian team's bowling coach. “It is a disappointment really that we had to come off. South Africa were trying everything, trying hard to come at our batsmen. They tried attacking with the short ball and coming round the wicket. It didn't work. We would have liked to keep them in the field for six hours, but we can't control the weather conditions,” Dawes added.

The second day's play will start thirty minutes early on Friday and India will be looking to press on.

“Tomorrow we have to come back and press our advantage, try and get a high total. Then afterwards we have to bowl well. The pitch should take some turn later on and reverse swing will also come in to play. We will do our best to take 20 wickets later in the game,” said Dawes.

India made an interesting change in their playing eleven, bringing in Ravindra Jadeja for R Aswhin after the latter went wicket-less at the Wanderers. “Look at Jadeja he has done really well since playing that Test series vs Australia. We felt that maybe Jadeja fits better.” — PTI

Durban, December 26
Two former South African captains paid rich tributes to Jacques Kallis, who is playing his last Test match after he announced his decision to retire from Test cricket yesterday.

“When I started playing, the benchmark for Test batsmen was an average of 40. There were some guys in other countries, pushing the envelope, averaging 50, and Jacques took our guys to the next level,” said Pollock. “He’s been a wonderful cricketer.”

“The statistics speak for themselves. He didn’t try and draw attention to himself, he just knew what his ability was and he went about it daily, doing his best for South Africa,” he added. “He deserves all the credit he gets. There is no doubt he will be missed. He will go down as one of the legends. I can’t compare him with Garry Sobers because I never saw Sobers but he is surely one of the greatest of all time.”

Another former captain, Kepler Wessels, who played for both Australia and South Africa, said Kallis was “probably the best player South Africa has produced”.

“That comes in a rich tradition of magnificent players, so that’s saying something. I’m not going to compare him against Pollock and Richards because they were specialist batsmen but he batted as well as they did, he bowled exceptionally well and he caught very well,” said Wessels.

“You just know when it is time to go,” said Wessels about the timing of Kallis’s decision. “Rather too early than too late. You realise that maybe your best days are behind you. You have set a certain standard and you don’t want to perform below that.”

“I thought he would try and go out against Australia at Newlands but you know your own body,” said Pollock. “If you reach a stage where you don’t have the motivation or feel you can’t give of your best you know it’s time to go.” “As long as he keeps fit and plays in some one-day tournaments there is no reason why he can’t play in the World Cup,” said Pollock about Kallis’s desire to play and win the 2015 World Cup. — Agencies

Mumbai, December 27
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will receive the Polly Umrigar Award from the BCCI for being India’s best international cricketer of the year 2012-13.

India’s best performers in the senior and the junior level cricket in a period of 12 months from 1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013, will be honoured at the BCCI’s annual Awards ceremony, to be held in Mumbai on January 11.

Ashwin took 43 wickets, including four five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in a match. He also scored 263 runs, including two fifties, from eight Tests. In ODIs, he took 24 wickets from 18 matches and three wickets from four T20 Internationals.

The Polly Umrigar Award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs. 5 lakhs. The award has been won in previous years by Sachin Tendulkar (2006-07 and 2009-10), Virender Sehwag (2007-08), Gautam Gambhir (2008-09), Rahul Dravid (2010-11) and Virat Kohli (2011-12).

Abhishek Nayar will receive the Lala Amarnath Award, for being the best all-rounder in the 2012-13 edition of the Ranji Trophy. He scored 966 runs at an average of 96.6. He hit three centuries and eight fifties, and 19 wickets at an average of 22.8, inclusive of one 5WI, from 11 matches. The award comprises a trophy and a cheque for Rs. 2.5 lakhs.

The Mumbai Cricket Association, which Nayar represents, will collect the trophy for the Best Overall Performance in the 2012-13 season. The various teams representing the MCA won the Ranji Trophy, the Under-25 C.K. Nayudu Trophy, the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, the Women’s Under-19 Inter-State tournament, and finished runners-up in the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy.

The achievers of 2012-13 apart, Rohit Sharma will receive the Dilip Sardesai Award, for being India’s best cricketer in the recent Test series against the West Indies. He scored hundreds in both Tests, and accumulated an aggregate of 288 runs. — PTI

Melbourne, December 26
Mitchell Johnson's late double strikes fired up a world record test crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and left England a rocky 226 for six after Kevin Pietersen threatened to win the opening day of the fourth Ashes match for the tourists.

Roared on by a heaving crowd of 91,092, paceman Johnson steamed in to remove number six Ben Stokes (14) and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (10) in quick succession to put Australia marginally ahead at the end of a meandering Thursday's play. Coming in to the match under a barrage of criticism, Pietersen responded with a defiant half-century after being granted lives on six and 41, and went to stumps unbeaten on 67, with Tim Bresnan hanging on desperately with one run.

With seamer Ryan Harris having Ian Bell caught behind by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin for 27 in the first of three wickets after tea, Australia's bowlers worked hard to validate captain Michael Clarke's surprise decision to field after winning his fourth successive toss of the series.

The hosts could have been in a stronger position, however, had they not let three catching chances go down, with two reprieving Pietersen. Their bowling attack also suffered a blow with all-rounder Shane Watson sustaining a groin injury. Watson pulled up in his runup and left the ground after lunch, and though he later returned to field in the slips, he did not bowl again.

“It was difficult, I think Michael (Clarke) wanted to lose this (toss),” Harris, who bowled superbly to finish the day 2-32, told reporters.

“We didn't start as well as we liked ... Once again we pulled it back and 6 for 220 the end of the day and with three chances down as well is a pretty good day (for us).”

England first innings
Cook c Clarke b Siddle 27
Carberry b Watson 38
Root c Haddin b Harris 24
Pietersen not out 67
Bell c Haddin b Harris 27
Stokes c Watson b Johnson 14
Bairstow b Johnson 10
Bresnan not out 1
Extras: (b-10, lb-6, w-1, nb-1) 18
Total (6 wkts; 89 ovs) 226
Fall of wickets: 1-48 2-96 3-106 4-173 5-202 6-216
Bowling: Harris 20-8-32-2; Johnson 20-2-59-2; Siddle 22-7-48-1; Lyon 20.2-3-60-0; Watson 6.4-2-11-1.

Jammu, December 26
Jammu and Kashmir Ranji cricketers had to endure a torrid time on Tuesday when they were woken up in the middle of night and questioned for hours by the police, which was looking for a suspected militant.

The incident happened hours before the cricketers were to play against Hyderabad on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match, which ended in a draw later.

Team all-rounder Samiullah Beigh narrated the incident on his Facebook page. “Cudnt sleep whole night....police came to search our hotel at midnight and questioned us for hours at 1:15am in the night," Beigh wrote.

“We dnt lock our doors as only our Ranji trophy team stays in that hotel. we r still feeling d shock n horror of finding uniformed people with guns surrounding us when v wre fast asleep," his comment read further.

Rajesh Kumar, the Inspector General of Jammu Police, said acting on a tip off, they searched all Jammu hotels and the Ranji team was not targetted “specifically”.

“We searched most of the hotels in Jammu...a routine check-up. We did not have the prior information that the Ranji team is staying in the hotel. Police was not aware of the fact that they are the members of the Ranji team. So it is possible they must have been questioned," Kumar said.

A furiuos Beigh said even if it was a routine check up, the treatment meted out to them was not appropriate. “Whether deliberate harassment or routine check up, surely this isnt d way to treat bunch of guys with national and international repute, especially when u r playing the most important match of the jk cricket history," he wrote. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has denounced the police action.

“As police say, it may be routine check up, I won't say anything about that but conducting a routine check up in the middle of the night is going to harass anybody. If they had any routine check up, they should have come early but coming late in the night would obviously harass (players),” JKCA treasurer Manzoor Wazir said.

“Our players were already under stress as a crucial match was on. We have officially closed the matter because we want our boys to focus on next match,” Wazir said.

Wazir said the police should have know about the fact that the state Ranji players were staying in that hotel. “They have their own ways of saying things but let me tell you clearly, we are playing in our own state and police should have input about each one of us. They should have known that the team is stationed in the hotel,” Wazir said. — PTI

Patiala, December 26
The silver-medallist in the women’s 800m race in the 74th All India Inter University Athletics Championship was today disqualified for evading the dope tests being conducted by NADA.

The five-member jury of appeal of the championship disqualified Ashwini of MD University, Rohtak, who evaded the mandatory drug test by sending her team mate Anju in her place.

The jury disqualified Ashwini from the 800m race and debarred both the girls from any further participation in the championship.

NADA is taking samples from various players and has made these tests mandatory for the players winning gold or silver. Ashwini, who won silver yesterday, was called for sample collection. However, she pasted Anju’s photograph on her own identity card and sent her team mate in her place. However, since all the events are being telecast live, NADA got suspicious that the girl who had come for sampling was not the medal winner. They brought the matter to the notice of Director Sports of the university who put it forward to the jury of appeal.

Though the coaches of MD University expressed ignorance, Ashwini admitted to committing the misdeed.

London, December 26
Manchester United recovered from conceding two early goals and were then gifted a 3-2 win over Hull City to continue their recent Premier League surge on Thursday.

Forced to battle back from going 2-0 down within 15 minutes, they did so with Chris Smalling's header, a Christmas cracker from Wayne Rooney and James Chester's own goal. It was rough on former United player Chester who had shot Hull in front after four minutes, but a huge festive boost for the champions who despite not playing well showed their old knack of turning around unpromising situations.

Rooney's equaliser was his 150th in the Premier League for United and the England striker said victory, achieved with 10 men after Antonio Valencia's late red card, was a massive result as United attempt to muscle in on the title race. "We had some bad results at the start of the season but we are showing our quality now.” — Reuters

Chandigarh, December 26
Anirban Lahiri “holed almost every putt” to end the first round at the top in McLeod Russel Tour Championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course on Thursday.

Anirban shot a six-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Jyoti Randhawa in the richest tournament of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) calendar.

“I holed almost everything except for a short par putt on the 16th. The best shot of the day had to be the 25-foot downhill putt on the 17th. The conditions were tough in the morning as it was quite windy but I feel more comfortable at the RCGC now than I did a few years back,” said Lahiri, who made eight birdies and two bogeys today.

Sanjay Kumar and Abhinav Lohan were tied third after opening rounds of 68 and Chandigarh lad Angad Cheema was tied fifth alongside Kahlin Joshi after carding a three-under 69 in the Rs 1.35 crore season-ending event. Gaganjeet Bhullar and Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha were tied 13th at 71.

BRIEFLY

Bad boy Shirokov wins 2nd successive Russian award
Moscow: Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Roman Shirokov was named Russia's Footballer of the Year for a second successive time on Thursday.The 32-year-old, capped 40 times by Russia, topped the annual poll of sports journalists, conducted by Football Weekly, to add to the award he won in 2012."It was really unexpected to win last year but I'm not so surprised this year," said the player known for his aggressive manner on the pitch and frequent arguments.

Federer says another child on the way in 2014
Kolkata: Already in the swing of parenting, Roger Federer is getting ready for a larger family.The tennis star says on Twitter that he and his wife, Mirka (right in pic), are expecting another child next year. Twins Charlene and Myla were born in July 2009, and Federer wrote on Wednesday, "Mirka and I are very happy to share the news" that the couple's daughters "will be big sisters in 2014!" Federer's agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed that the tweet is legitimate. The 32-year-old Federer has won a record 17 Grand Slam singles titles. — Agencies