Rahul Dravid with six and Sachin Tendulkar with zero runs were at the crease at close. India still need 115 runs to beat the Australian lead and make them bat again.

The day belonged to the pair Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist both cracking superb centuries to guide Australia to safety after Harbhajan Singh annihilated their top order to reduce Australia to 99 for five. They put on a record sixth wicket partnership for Australia against India of 197 runs, at a-run a-ball average, to put the Kangaroos on the top.

Gilchrist took full advantage of another substandard fielding performance of the Indians, being dropped twice, once on 44 and the second time on 100, making the Indians pay dearly.

He was merciless on the Indian spinners who after bowling so well in the morning session, specially Harbhajan Singh, wilted under the onslaught. Test debutant Rahul Sanghvi beared the brunt, as he was lifted for a huge six over midwicket and cut to the square boundary.

Gilchrist who came in when Hayden was on 44 reached his century before the latter, in a mere 84 balls with 15 hits and four sixes.

Hayden played the sheet anchor role to perfection holding the innings together. He reached his hundred with a beautiful cover drive of Tendulkar. His hundred came in 155 balls with 15 fours and a six.

A change of bowling by Ganguly, who brought in Srinath for his second spell before tea, beared fruit as he struck with the price wicket of Hayden, who was trying to cut the ball and top-edged it keeper Mongia when on 119.

Gilchrist (122) followed soon after, as he was unfortunate to be out of crease when he completely missed a Harbhajan delivery which rebounded of wicketkeeper Mongia’s chest onto the stumps.

Shane Warne, the next man in, used the long handle to good effect hitting three sixers before Australia were all out for 349.

India began their second innings on a sedate note with the openers putting on 33 runs in 17.5 overs. Shibsunder Das (5), however, got a short ball from Gillespie which rose on him sharply to get his handle and flew to Steve Waugh in the gully.

His opening partner, Sadagoppan Ramesh after playing some pleasing shots on the off-side, flirted at a delivery from McGrath to give a tame catch to Ponting at second slip. Ramesh made 44 with seven fours.

Mongia came in as a nightwatchman to join Dravid. However, he was soon rapped on his right thumb from a delivery from Gillespie and had to retire hurt in great pain. It is still not known how bad is the injury and India would be hoping he would bat again.

Sachin then came out to play the last few balls and India went through without any more loss of wickets.

Earlier, Harbhajan Singh managed to give the Aussie batsmen all sorts of trouble as he gave a superb display of off-spin bowling. He got Langer (19) to edge at first slip to Dravid and sent Mark Waugh back to the pavilion on the next ball itself, having him flick a catch to skipper Ganguly at backward shortleg.

His hattrick chance was however foiled by Steve Waugh, who then played extremely well hitting three boundaries before Sanghvi claimed his first Test wicket, though a dubious one. Steve tried to play on the on side but missed completely. The ball went to Dravid at first slip for umpire Shepperd to raise his finger.

The Indian fielding left much to be desired with Gilchrist being given two lives, first by Badani substituting for Srinath, just after lunch and the second by Rahul Sanghvi at cover off Tendulkar. He was stumped by Mongia of Harbhajan, who ended with a haul of four wickets for 121.

The team for the second Test will be selected on March 7, the second day of the three-day match between Board XI and Aussies, at Delhi.

Chasing Pakistan’s 285 all out, New Zealand recovered from a minor middle-order hiccup at Carisbrook to score 290 for six in 48.1 overs and won with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier, Pakistan had been dismissed for 285 in 49.3 overs.

The victory came after New Zealand’s 138-run win in Christchurch three days ago.

Home side’s task was made easy by five dropped catches, two of them by fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who also conceded 34 runs in five overs before limping off the field.

Astle, who scored his first one-day international hundred in 26 innings, was dropped on 13 and 62 while Fleming, in his third match as opener, was dropped on 17 and then again on 39 as Pakistan’s fielding hit a new low.

Astle, who hit 71 off 88 balls in setting up New Zealand’s win in the fourth game in Christchurch on Sunday, was the dominant partner in the stand while skipper Fleming played the role of a sheet anchor.

Playing in his 133rd game, Astle reached his 50 off 48 balls and then his ninth hundred off 93 balls with 19 boundaries.

Astle eventually skied a catch to Salim Elahi at long off in the 40th over with New Zealand needing 52 runs from 64 balls.

Astle’s dismissal triggered a minor middle-order collapse as New Zealand lost 3-1 in five balls, two of them in succession to Shoaib, who bowled at half his usual pace from a shortened run-up.

But from 252 for six Chris Harris and Jacob Oram saw New Zealand through by remaining unbeaten on 14 and 16 respectively.

Akhtar, playing his first match since damaging his quadriceps during the second game in Napier, clocked 151 kph as the two openers struggled to see the deliveries in the twilight.

Astle and Fleming edged the fast bowler repeatedly past wicketkeeper Moin Khan as they just managed to put bat on most deliveries as Akhtar generated unplayable pace.

During the 193-ball alliance, Astle and Fleming posted a record stand for any wicket against all countries before fast bowler Waqar Younis finally bowled Fleming for 60 runs.

The stand was record for any wickets against all countries eclipsing the 181 for the third wicket between Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford against India at Baroda in October 1994.

Earlier, Pakistan innings was given a kick start by opener Shahid Afridi, who hit 65 runs off 55 balls before Yousuf Youhana chipped in with 68 runs off 73 balls.

Youhana shared 65 for the third wicket with Abdur Razzaq (41) and then 65 off 73 balls with Imran Farhat (33) runs.

But just when the Pakistan innings looked like losing momentum in the final 10 overs after both Youhana and Farhat fell to Craig McMillan in the space of four balls, Moin hit a quick-fire 36 off 20 balls with two sixes and four boundaries.

His son John, speaking publicly for the first time since his father’s death, today said he had been overwhelmed by the national outpouring of grief.

But he said his father, a notoriously private person who died aged 92 on Sunday, would not have wanted people to go overboard.

‘’I really hope that people won’t enshrine my dad too much. This iconic stuff is a little bit troubling,’’ he told a news conference.

Bradman’s family, keen to respect his desire for privacy, even in death, declined a state funeral.

It will bid a simple, family farewell to ‘’The Don’’ in Adelaide on Thursday instead.

But a public memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 25 at St Peter’s Cathedral and broadcast live across Australia.

The Adelaide Oval, scene of some of Bradman’s exploits with the bat, will be opened to the public with a giant screen installed for mourners expected to flock to the ground.

A hero in an age predating the cult of personality, Bradman became the darling of the cricket world — and a nation.

But deep down, he felt uncomfortable in the limelight, and died a virtual recluse, a prisoner of his own fame.

‘’I’ve spoken to a lot of people, but not publicly,’’ he said in his last interview in 1996. ‘’I don’t like publicity of any kind, never have done. And I like it less as I get older.’’

Bradman retired to the seclusion of his non-descript brick cottage in Adelaide, a sleepy Australian state capital nicknamed ‘’The City of Churches’’, in his final years.

‘’I think the constant public pressure and the death of his beloved wife Jessie was what made him a recluse in recent years,’’ said friend Richard Mulvaney, Director of the Bradman Foundation.

During his playing years through the dark days of the Depression, Bradman attracted tens of thousands to cricket stadiums around Australia to watch his magic on the crease.

For stars like Bradman, it was an age without personal bodyguards, press officers and or minders.

Bradman’s arrival and departure from the field was always through a sea of well-wishers slapping him on the back — ordinary people trying to touch an immortal.

As the cricketing records fell and stories of Bradman’s feats with the willow spread around the world, the public demands grew, something which sat uncomfortably with Bradman.

Bradman was a humble man from rural roots with a strong work ethic. Asked what he would like to be remembered for, he once said: ‘’if I had to put it into one word — integrity.’’

Bradman believed his deeds on the crease spoke for him and could not understand the fascination with the man. He played 52 Tests for Australia between 1928-1948, scoring 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94, and scoring 29 centuries.

His batting average has never been beaten.

Bradman was clearly not at ease when called on to make after dinner speeches during tours, but knew he was honour-bound to represent his country both on and off the field.

If he thought his retirement from cricket in 1949 would spell the end of the public pressure he was wrong. The more he tried to retreat from the public, the more it wanted a piece of him.

His retreat fuelled the growing mythology that became ‘’The Don’’ — the iconic sportsman and archetypal Australian.

‘’The Don’’ was a man of the people, answering an estimated 4,000 letters a week before his health failed him, but hero status meant that whenever he ventured outside his home he was under an intense media and public spotlight.

Bradman chose to pull down the shutters, refusing requests for interviews and public engagements. He even failed to show at the 50th reunion dinner of the Invincibles, the team he captained in England in 1948, though the function was held in Adelaide.

‘’No other man in Australian history has known and lived with such massive, relentless and undying fame,’’ the Australian newspaper wrote this week in a tribute to Bradman.

So great was the public pressure that Bradman’s son John took refuge by changing his name to Bradsen in 1972. He only changed it back last January.

Mulvaney said Bradman fully understood why his son changed his name and rejected media speculation of a rift. ‘’Sir Don knew and understood the pressures of being a public figure and they have always been close,’’ he said.

‘’One of the reasons why he wished to be a recluse was to protect his family from further intrusions,’’ he said.

While Bradman’s public life revolved around cricket, his private life was dedicated to his family, his childhood sweetheart and wife Jessie and his children.

His family life was often filled with considerable sadness. His first child, a son, died shortly after birth in 1936. John, born 1939, was struck down with poliomyelitis as a teenager and daughter Shirley, born 1941, suffered cerebral palsy.

Chappel, the younger brother of former Australian Test captains Greg and Ian Chappel, would be responsible for coaching the side which made its debut at the end of last year in a one-off Test against India.

Chappel hit the headlines in 1981 when he was ordered by his brother Greg to bowl underarm against New Zealand to prevent the Kiwis from smashing a winning six off the final ball of a one-day international.

The source said team’s physio was another Australian, John Glaster.

Both would take up the new responsibilities “soon”, the sources said.

Bangladesh earlier this month signed an agreement with Australia on cooperation for cricket development.

Officials said under the agreement that an Australian would coach Bangladesh’s national team. Two Bangladeshi cricket players would also be trained each year in Australia’s Cricket Academy as part of the deal.

“Twelve years of playing and I’m proud of my commitment to Davis Cup and my record, which speak for my passion for it,” said Agassi, whose 30 singles wins in Davis Cup place him second only to John McEnroe on the U.S. all-time list.

“It’s time to give the younger guys a shot to play. I don’t have the belief that I can give the same to it anymore,” said the Australian Open champion after his first-round win at the Sybase Open here yesterday.

“With all those factors, it’s pretty clear that I won’t be playing ever again,” he said in what should come as a blow to new U.S. Davis cup captain Patrick McEnroe.

Fellow American superstar Pete Sampras also recently said he does not see himself playing Davis Cup again.

“You never say never because you never know when I might consider it the right thing for my game or goals, but I don’t see that happening.”

The 30-year-old Agassi said he watched the USA loose in the first round to Switzerland earlier this month from his new home in San Francisco Bay Area.

“I was pulling the guys and feeling for them because I’ve had 12 years of the same emotions,” Agassi said.

“I’ve been on many winning teams and losing ones. I have a strong appreciation for the anxiety and pressure of the situation. I enjoyed watching it from afar this time.”

The top seed, down a break in the third set and fighting for his life, rallied to pull out a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

Agassi nearly took too long to shake off the rust and appeared stunned at times by Lee’s powerful down-the-line backhand and authoritative service returns.

“I was pretty close to being out of here,’’ admitted Agassi.

Lee, who opened a few eyes by making it to the fourth round of the US Open as a qualifier last year, broke Agassi to go ahead 3-2 in the third set when the American double-faulted.

But a disgusted Agassi shook it off and broke right back to level the set at 3-3.

From there, Agassi finally took control, pounding the South Korean mercilessly before winning the match on a backhand volley lob over his opponent’s head.

For the first time in nearly four years, Agassi’s parents, Mike and Elizabeth, appeared together at one of their son’s matches.

“Hopefully it was good for them,’’ said Agassi, who with girlfriend Steffi Graf recently bought a $23 million mansion in nearby Marin County.

“My dad has his superstitions and comfort levels and he usually watches on TV. It was enjoyable but a little nerve-racking. You don’t want to give them a nailbiter but they had no choice.’’

Earlier, fourth seed Tommy Haas safely navigated the first round with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over fellow German Christian Vinck.

Promising 18-year-old American Andy Roddick, the world’s top-ranked junior last year, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over compatriot Chris Woodruff, who upset Pete Sampras last week in Memphis.

DUABI: Pat Rafter of Australia beat defending champion Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the $1 million Dubai Open on Tuesday.

The tournament’s fifth seed, who had lost to Kiefer in three previous encounters, held the upper hand throughout the match, capitalising on his clever dropshots, returns and sharp volleys.

Kiefer’s only chance to get to the game came in the second set when he broke Rafter and took a 4-2 lead. But Rafter immediately came back to level at 4-4, held off three break points in the ninth game and broke Kiefer to win on his third matchpoint.

“It’s always nice to beat somebody you haven’t beaten before. There’s a sense of relief. I’m feeling great. I’m just so happy with the way I’m playing,” said the Australian.

In another match, top-seeded Marat Safin of Russia recovered from the disappointment of a first round exit in last week’s Rotterdam ATP tournament to see off David Prinosil of Germany 7-5, 6-2 in just over an hour.

The first set went with the serve until the talented Russian broke his older rival in the 11th game and then served for the set in the next game.

“I came into the match without confidence as I had lost in the first round at Rotterdam and also the two Davis Cup matches against Slovakia,” said the 21-year-old, Safin who on Monday hired former world No 1 Mats Wilander as his coach.

The Swede will be Safin’s fifth coach in a year.

Also in first round play qualifier Lars Burgsmuller of Germany surprisingly beat fourth seed and 1998 champion Alex Corretja of Spain 6-4, 6-2, Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus defeated Australian Andrew Ilie 6-4, 6-3 and seventh seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, the runner-up here last year, raced through his match in 70 minutes to beat Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 6-4 6-3.

Wild card entry Omar Behroozian became the first-ever citizen of the UAE to play in a professional tournament, losing to 24th ranked Andrei Pavel of Romania 1-6, 2-6 in 39 minutes.

In other matches, Nicolas Escude of France defeated Karol Kucera of Slovakia 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) and Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine beat Daniel Nestor of Canada 6-3, 7-6 (13-11).

SCOTTSDALE (Arizona): Seventh-seeded Lisa Raymond brushed aside qualifier Shinobu Asagoe and moved within one victory of her second straight WTA Tour quarterfinal.

Raymond, who lost to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals at Oklahoma City last week, rested after her 6-0, 6-1 rout of Asagoe on Tuesday and then teamed with Rennae Stubbs to win a doubles match at the State Farm Women’s Tennis Classic.

Two qualifiers got past the first round when Jana Nejedly beat Lilia Osterloh 7-5, 6-2 and Tina Pisnik upset Kveta Hrdlickova 6-2, 6-3.

Cara Black outlasted Pavlina Nola 7-5, 7-6 (6) Kristina Brandi defeated Nicole Pratt 7-6, (8-6) 6-4 and Ai Sugiyama beat Anna Smashnovas 6-2, 6-2.

The Swiss is now in fourth position with 179 weeks at number one ranking, behind Steffi Graf (378 weeks), Martina Navratilova (331) and Evert (262).

“It is an amazing achievement and when I look back on my career — one I will be very proud of,” Hingis said through WTA Tour spokesman John Dolan.

“I have some way to go before beating Chris Evert’s position of third — but I will give it my best shot.’’

Despite Hingis’s two-year drought at grand slam tournaments, her accomplishment is remarkable — she has reached 179 weeks at number one at 20, younger than Graf, Evert and Navratilova.

“I knew I was pretty close to Monica’s record but I had no idea it would happen this week,’’ she said.

“To me it means a lot as I was the youngest number one even back in 1997 and four years later I am still there and have been number one for almost all of that time.’’

Hingis first gained the number one ranking on March 31 1997 at 16 years, six months — the youngest player to do so since computer rankings arrived in 1975.

Even though Hingis has failed to win a grand slam title since the 1999 Australian Open and has been beaten in her last three appearances in grand slam finals, she has won 19 singles championships during that period and is always a fixture late in tournaments.

While Hingis has won five grand slam singles crowns, she is still far behind Graf with 22, Navratilova (18) and Evert (18). Seles said that despite this, she would still place Hingis among the all-time greats.

“She’s definitely right up there with all of the top players,’’ said Seles.

“She has won five grand slams and stayed number one for a very difficult period in women’s tennis where the competition was very strong. She is very consistent.’’

But Seles, who has won nine grand slam singles titles, said that it is the major titles that count the most.

“If you would ask me how many weeks I’ve been number one... or when I was... I would have no idea,’’ she said. “For me it is truly the grand slams. “I never looked at the rankings. I still don’t do it.’’

Hingis, though, refuses to place the grand slams above her ranking.

“You can’t compare winning grand slams and (being) number one because they are both important. I have won grand slams before and I know I will again,’’ said Hingis, who won her third title of the year last week in Dubai.

Given her small stature and the superior height, strength and power of her main competitors, the Williams sisters, Lindsay Davenport and Mary Pierce, it is doubtful that Hingis will be able to catch Graf, Navratilova and Evert in the grand slam title department.

“You can’t compare different eras and you don’t see the domination at the grand slams anymore with just one person like you did with Steffi or Martina,’’ Hingis said.

“These days more girls believe they have a shot at winning and that’s good for the sport — but I think it is unlikely that you will see the domination or the longer careers that we saw before.’’

The other game in the fourth round yesterday was a draw between Anatoly Karpov of Russia and Peter Leko of Hungary. All nine games in the first three rounds of the tournament were drawn.

With black, the 37-year-old Kasparov — who is the world’s top rated player — used his favourite Najdorf variation of the Sicilian defence and seemed to get an advantage out of the opening. He proceeded to outplay Grischuk, who at age 17 is 28th in the world and the youngest player in the top 200.

Kasparov’s pieces were better coordinated, and after obtaining the bishop pair, his advantage steadily increased.

A series of exchanges occurred and Kasparov — who lost the world championship to Vladimir Kramnik last year — emerged with a decisive extra pawn at move 33. Two moves later, Grischuk blundered away a second pawn and resigned.

Polgar, the world’s best woman player, misplayed the opening and was forced to leave her king in the centre. However, she won a pawn and the computers analysing the position all gave her a large advantage.

Experts analysing the situation all preferred Shirov’s position, with some predicting a win for black. But Polgar defended precisely.

Shirov tried to force matters with a temporary exchange sacrifice on move 25. After she returned the exchange, Polgar enjoyed a powerful extra passed a-pawn in a greatly simplified position.

Shirov was able to win his opponent’s queen for a rook and minor piece, but his queen had no chance to stop Polgar’s a-pawn. He resigned on move 47.

Karpov enjoyed a clear advantage throughout his game with Leko. His rooks were much more active than Leko’s and he made Leko defend precisely for 57 moves before conceding the draw.

In last year’s tournament, 23 of the 30 games ended in draws.

The tournament is a double-round robin with each player playing every other player twice, once with white and once with black. It runs through March 6.

The players are playing for prize money of $22,000. But the real money is in appearance fees: a total of $ 220,000. Tournament officials would not give the breakdown except to say that Kasparov received the most and Grischuk the least.

The decisions were taken yesterday in an effort to stop the disease from spreading, especially to Ireland which so far has been unaffected by the outbreak across Britain. Foot-and-mouth affects only livestock but can be carried by humans.

Racing officials acted to give one of Britain’s oldest sports the best chance of continuing in the long run and also of staging next month’s Cheltenham Festival, British Horseracing Board Director Paul Greeves said.

Ireland also banned imports of horses and greyhounds from Britain and cancelled all race meetings in Ireland indefinitely due to the outbreak.

The Irish Government also advised racegoers not to travel to the Cheltenham Festival, on March 13 to 15, setting up the possibility of the unthinkable in racing terms.

The festival is the highlight of the jump racing season, attracting top Irish horses and vast crowds of fans from Ireland. To many followers, Cheltenham without the Irish is like a jockey without a saddle.

Top trainer Nicky Henderson said: “I would be the first to admit if the Irish contingent... were not there you would have to think it would feel rather a hollow championship.” Cheltenham Managing Director Edward Gillespie added: “If the Irish don’t turn up they can’t win the prizes and it will be a very sad day when an Irish trainer can’t find a way to Cheltenham.”

But Greeves said: “We believe that, by having a short break, racing is giving itself the best chance of continuing in the long run and also of staging the Cheltenham Festival next month as scheduled.

Earlier in the day, shares in British racecourse operators and betting concerns fell because of fears of disruption to the calendar.

A foot-and-mouth outbreak in 1967-68 caused racing in Britain to be shut down for six weeks. The outbreak also led to the Irish Government banning the touring New Zealand All-Blacks from travelling to Ireland from Britain for a rugby test.

Organisers of the Six Nations, one of the most popular events in British sporting life, said the decision to postpone the Cardiff game had been taken after strong advice from Ireland’s Department of Agriculture.

The Irish Government was worried that the 10,000 fans expected to travel to Wales could bring the disease back home.

“It was an easy decision to make,” said Six Nations chief executive Roger Pickering. “Our thoughts are with the agricultural communities in the UK and Ireland. Rugby takes second spot in this situation.”

The A and under-21 games between the two countries at the weekend were also postponed. Pickering said there was now some doubt over England’s trip to Dublin on March 24.

In the General Budget presented in Parliament today, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has provided Rs 173.15 crores (Rs 149.39 crores Plan and Rs 23.76 crores non-Plan) as compared to the Rs 151.93 crores actually spent last year. The provision for the year 2000-1 was even less at Rs 143.39 crores (Rs 129.66 crores Plan and Rs 13.73 crores non-Plan).

As always, the ‘white elephant’, Sports Authority of India walks away with about 70 per cent of the amount provided for sports overall. Compared to the Rs 89.41 crores spent on it last year against a provision of Rs 78.14 crores, the SAI gets as much as Rs 98.74 crores (Rs 81.33 crores Plan and Rs 17.41 crore non-Plan) for the year 2001-2, an increase of Rs 9.33 crores for a body whose role in Indian sports is always controversial.

As much as 80 per cent of the sum allotted to the SAI goes towards meeting the wages of its staff and only 20 per cent is available for the purpose for which it was set up - maintaining infrastructure in the capital and various other places and conducting coaching camps for Indian squads preparing for international events.

Similarly, Laxmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education finds that it has been given Rs 7 crores, Rs 45 lakhs more than spent on it last year.

The Budget also provides Rs 20 crores for organising of the Afro-Asian Games. Only Rs 1 crore was given for this purpose last year.

The government which has been talking about introducing a new National Sports Policy, certainly does not give any indication of its commitment towards promotion and development of sports in the country slashing its grants in various areas.

The National Sports Federations find that they get Rs 17.50 crores, Rs 6.33 crores less than the amount of Rs 23.83 crores given to them last year although Rs 50 lakhs more than the amount initially allotted last year.

The irony is that the Finance Minister Mr Yashwnat Sinha, is himself the president of the All-India Tennis Association.

The universities and colleges, always the nurseries for sporting talent, too get step-motherly treatment with grants for them reduced from Rs 5 crores to Rs 4.50 crores.

Incentives for promotion of sports activities also go down from Rs 4 crores to Rs 3.60 crores as does the provision for creation of sports infrastructure by Rs 3 crores from Rs 11.50 crores spent last year against Rs 10 crore provided, down to Rs 8.50 crores for 2001-2.

As much as Rs 8.50 crores was allotted for laying of synthetic tracks and surfaces last year but only Rs 2 crores actually spent. For the coming year, a sum of Rs 5.40 crores has been earmarked.