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| Saturday, March 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Warne, Ponting may be
dropped
Inclusion of spinners a welcome
step Indian win great for
Test cricket: Marsh Aussie players to arrive on Sunday |
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Thorpe rescues
England Unbeaten double ton by
Sinclair Gopi for more exposure
for young players UEFA Cup 1983 World Cup on
CD 4 adventure sports centres to be set
up BSF down City
Club 4th
successive win for Pakistan
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Warne, Ponting may be dropped Sydney, March 16 Warne suffered both physically and mentally during the second Test in Kolkata won by India by 171 runs yesterday, and there are concerns over his ability to withstand the physical stress of chennai’s sapping heat and humidity. Warne also has some cracked skin on the middle finger of his bowling hand which is causing him irritation. “Warney’s quite distressed when he comes off the field all the time,” Buchanan told Australian Associated Press (AAP). “From his point of view it’s hard going, very hard going. This last test was a real test of his skill and his mental capacity to handle things.” Buchanan said Warne’s fitness had him struggling in the heat and he also had to bowl a lot of overs without much preparation after missing the home Tests last summer against the West Indies with a broken finger. “It’s to do with physical fitness — it’s no secret that Warney’s probably not one of the fittest characters running around in world cricket. “But certainly at the end of India’s second innings he’d been challenged mentally”. Buchanan said Colin Miller was almost certain to come into the team for the third Test but that Australia also hadn’t gone away from its policy of playing three fast bowlers, meaning Warne could be squeezed out. “The strategy is still the quick bowlers - when we look at all the Indian players they’re still susceptible to good quick bowling, there’s no question about that,” he said. “But if they get through that how then do you follow it up? “At the moment we’re following it up with a third seamer and I think Michael Kasprowicz did a very good job - certainly in the first innings. “We had Warney’s legspin that was being handled quite well by Laxman, and Mark Waugh’s offspin which was steady but not threatening. “Funky (Miller), therefore, presents as a real option but it’s how we balance that — whether we go with a quick attack plus Funky only is something we have to think about.” Asked if Warne was likely to be dropped, Buchanan said: “I’m not saying he’s going to be left out — he’s still in the frame. “But when we walk into this Test we’ve really got to have 11 blokes who can give five days of hard cricket and not be affected by any sort of physical limitations.” Warne suffered badly in the second innings at Eden Gardens, taking 1-152, the most runs he has ever conceded in his career. He had no answer to the footwork of Laxman and was devastated when he could not break down Rahul Dravid, a player he had dismissed seven times previously in Tests. Buchanan said Warne had a hard time dealing with the pair. Ricky Ponting was another player with a cloud over him after struggling to come to grips with the spin bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Buchanan said Ponting had become confused as to the best strategy to use against Harbhajan. “He’s one critical piece in the picture as to whether he can mentally prepare himself for this game,” Buchanan said of the number six batsman. “If he does that right he’ll get his technique right but he hasn’t got much time.
AFP Wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia, who was hit on his nose on the last day of the Kolkata Test yesterday, has been ruled out for the third and final Test against Australia starting here on Sunday. Mumbai Cricket Association joint secretary Mayank Khandwala told PTI here today that Dighe would fly to Chennai this evening after captain Saurav Ganguly called up to say that the wicket-keeper batsman be rushed to join the team. Mongia was injured by an Harbhajan Singh delivery and needed a couple of stitches on his nose yesterday. Though he came back and kept wickets, there was some swelling on his nose and an X-Ray was to be done today. Ranji Trophy champions, Mumbai, who are scheduled to play their quarter-final match against Punjab from March 20 to 24 will be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni and Dighe, all of whom would be doing service for the country in the third Test.
PTI
No pressure: Ganguly Captain Saurav Ganguly today denied the team was under any pressure following the epochal win against Australia at Kolkata and said it was keen on winning the third and final Test starting here on Sunday. “In that way, pressure is there even when you lose. But we are keen to win the series. We are geared up to achieve our goal,” he told reporters here when asked whether he felt any pressure going into the series decider. Earlier, Ganguly along with coach John Wright and manager Chetan Chauhan watched Indian master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and seven of his teammates going through net practice and strenous physical exercise at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, the venue of the final Test. Speedster Javagal Srinath, who is still uncertain for the match because of the finger injury he sustained in the Mumbai Test, bowled long spells at the nets. He looked to be doing fine, but Chauhan said a decision on him would be taken only tomorrow.
PTI |
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Inclusion of spinners a welcome
step Chandigarh, March 16 It was spin (Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar with some help from Raju which fetched India victory at Kolkata yesterday. And it has been spin which has taken the side to most of the victories it has recorded in international cricket ever since it started playing Test matches from way back the 1930s. One, however, feels sorry for Raju, who was axed from the squad after playing just one match in his comeback bid. It is welcome step that the selectors have finally realised the home team must play to its strength. Ever since the hosts crashed to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat in the first Test at Mumbai earlier this month, the debate on the type of attack and the nature of the wicket to be prepared for the remaining matches had only heated up. But the performance of Harbhajan Singh, who ended the Kolkata Test with a match haul of 13 wickets, has finally tilted the balance in favour of the spinners. Certain things must be remembered while discussing the role that Shane Warne, the star Australian spinner, has played for the visitors in the series. Leg spin, or for that matter any type of spinner, does not hold much threat to any top-class Indian batsmen because all through their cricketing career at home they are playing one spinner or the other. In his last tour of India it was Sachin Tendulkar who made a mockery of Warne’s bowling figures and this time around it has been V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid who have played a key role in spoiling Australia’s party by the way they tackled the spin of Shane Warne. Shane Warne’s figures of one for 152 in India’s second innings at Kolkata only goes to prove the ineffectiveness of the Australia leg spinner who has been a terror in the cricketing world ever since he blossomed on the international arena. And even in India’s first innings Shane Warne could take just two wickets for 65 runs. Bahutule and Kulkarni come into the national squad on the basis of their good performance for Mumbai against the visitors in the three-day match at Mumbai prior to the Test matches. Both bowlers have been knocking the doors for national selection but as craftsmen it is Bahutule who comes out as the better exponent of spin. These two bowlers, who have been playing together for the champion team of the country for quite some time, nearly put the visitors on the backfoot and it was left to Australian skipper Steve Waugh to salvage the prestige of his team with some dogged batting. Australia, set a target of 317 runs to win in a minimum of 48 overs, struggled to make 141 for six when the match ended. It is clear that India will play three spinners in the Chennai Test. Such an indication has also been given by Chandu Borde, chairman of the selection committee after he announced the composition of the squad at Kolkata. With four spinners, Harbhajan Singh, Sharandeep Singh, Sairaj Bahutule and Nilesh Kulkarni in the squad, the selectors will have a hard choice to make on the morning of the match. But it is quite likely that Sharandeep might have to cool his heels in the dressing room for one more match. While the selection of the bowlers for the Chennai match cannot be faulted, the continuation of opener Sadagopan Ramesh in the team after yet another failure at Kolkata cannot be understood. With batsmen of the class of Hemang Badani and Dinesh Mongia waiting in the wings, the time is ripe to blood them in place of Ramesh who had scores of zero and 30 in the second Test. The one option that the selectors might think of is to ask either Rahul Dravid or Nayan Mongia to open the innings along with Das and then squeeze in one more regular batsman to bolster the Indian batting. And in case the selectors have faith in the batsmen, and there is no reason why they should not have, then they can play one more bowler to lend more variety to the Indian attack. |
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Indian win great for Test cricket: Marsh Mumbai, March 16 Marsh, who is consultant for the BCCI, said the Indian team had a number of talented youngsters and it was great to see all of them come good when the chips were down. “Yesterday’s win has done a great thing not only for Indian cricket in particular but for Test cricket in general,” Marsh, who was part of the Aussie golf team which won the tournament at the Royal Palms yesterday, added. Marsh, who stepped down as the Aussie coach after the World Cup in England (1999), said the Australians did everthing they could when V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid were tearing the bowling apart but the duo played slendid innings. “The Indians came back brilliantly and batted beautifully on the fourth day and must have bowled brilliantly on the final day to win with quite a big margin. With this win the Indians have not only squared the three-Test match series 1-all but have created immense interest for the Chennai Test which I am sure will be a real thriller,” he added. Marsh’s opening partner David Boon said, “Laxman and Dravid really played well and I think it was just one bad day that did the Australians in. Of course they (Aussies) have not had a bad day in the last 16 Tests, so I think it was due any way.” “Though I am shocked with the result, I would just congratulate the Indians and I am sure we will witness a real thriller at Chennai,” the burly Tasmanian added. When asked about the Aussie bowling attack, Boon said, “I would not hold the bowlers responsible for the defeat as they all did their bit in the first innings. “Any team with a bowling attack of Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne would have enforced the follow-on if one was that far ahead in the first innings. They tried their best but the Indians played brilliantly,” he said.
PTI Sydney, March 16 Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken will replace Michael Slater, Justin Langer, Colin Miller, Michael Kasprowicz and Matthew Hayden who will fly back to Australia after the third and final Test. The one-day series start in Bangalore on March 25 followed by matches in Pune (March 28), Indore (March 31), Visakhapatnam (April 3) and Goa (April 6). India and Australia have played 62 one-day international matches with Australia winning 36, India winning 23 and three games ending in no results. In India, the two countries have played 39 times, with Australia winning 21 and India winning 15. All the three no-results were played in India. They last played a one-day game in the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi last year when India triumphed by 20 runs.
PTI |
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Thorpe rescues England Colombo, March 16 After England slumped from 45 without loss to 91 for four, the fifth-wicket pair lifted the touring team to 175 for four at the close in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings of 241. Thorpe was unbeaten on 71, counter attacking at first but subsequently blending watchful defence with steady accumulation, and Vaughan was 26 not out after a disciplined effort on his first appearance of the series. With the teams level 1-1 and England facing the prospect of batting last on a turning pitch, left-hander Thorpe and Vaughan rose to the occasion with a crucial partnership after four wickets had gone for 46. They have taken the side to within 66 of Sri Lanka’s total, but the need for a useful lead has been heightened by a thigh injury to captain Nasser Hussain which is likely to curtail the part he plays in the rest of the game. England ran into trouble directly after lunch, first losing Michael Atherton lbw for 21 as he pushed forward to a delivery from left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas that came back into him a shade. A freak dismissal then accounted for fellow opener Marcus Trescothick for 23. He swept at debutant left-arm spinner Dinuk Hettiarachchi and the ball lodged between Russel Arnold’s arm and the inside of his shirt at silly mid-on. Hettiarachchi’s first Test wicket was followed by that of Hussain. England’s captain, handicapped by his right thigh injury and using a runner, tried to drive but was caught at short extra cover by Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya for eight. SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka (1st innings): Atapattu b Caddick 0 Jayasuriya c White b Croft 45 Sangakkara c Vaughan b Gough 45 De Silva c Vaughan b Giles 38 Jayawardene c Stewart b Croft 71 Arnold lbw b Giles 0 Dilshan lbw b Croft 5 Vaas not out 19 Fernando c Trescothick b Croft 2 Hettiarachchi b Gough 0 Muralitharan not out 1 Extras: (b-4, lb-4, w-1, nb-6) 15 Total: (all out, 101.1 overs) 241 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-88, 3-108, 4-205, 5-209, 6-216, 7-219, 8-225, 9-240. Bowling: Gough 14-5-33-2, Caddick 11.1-1-40-2, White 10-1-45-0, Giles 34-13-59-2, Croft 32-9-56-4. England (1st innings): Atherton lbw b Vaas 21 Trescothick c Arnold b Hettiarachchi 23 Hussain c Jayasuriya b Hettiarachchi 8 Thorpe batting 71 Stewart b Muralitharan 3 Vaughan batting 26 Extras: (b-8, lb-9, nb-6) 23 Total: (for 4 wkts, 78 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-45, 2-55, 3-66, 4-91. Bowling: Vaas 17-4-37-1, Fernando 5-0-26-0, De Silva 3-1-2-0, Muralitharan 26-7-43-1, Hettiarachchi 19-4-33-2, Jayasuriya 8-1-17-0.
AFP/Reuters
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Unbeaten double ton by Sinclair Christchurch (New Zealand), March 16 At stumps Faisal Iqbal and Inzamam-ul-Haq had restored some stability to the Pakistan innings, which stood 65 for two. Faisal is batting on 22 and Inzamam on 26. The first Pakistani wicket to go was that of Imran Farhat, who miscued a shot from Chris Martin’s bowling and lobbed a simple catch to Chris Drum at mid-on. Daryl Tuffey then bowled Ijaz Ahmed off a no-ball. Ijaz did fall when debutant Chris Drum’s bowled his first legitimate ball — his first in Test cricket was a no-ball. Ijaz was forced back by a short delivery and trod on his stumps as he played the ball quietly out on the leg side. That brought Inzamam to the wicket for his first innings since the one-day international at the same ground three weeks ago, when he injured his groin and a calf muscle while fielding and scored 37 batting with a runner. Inzamam showed his classic batting style straight away as he and Faisal attempted to resurrect the Pakistan innings. Mathew Sinclair was the mainstay of the New Zealand total of 476 when he scored 204 not out, his third Test century — two of which have been double-hundreds. Sinclair batted for a total of 520 minutes for his chanceless 204, facing 348 balls and hitting 27 fours and two sixes. One of the sixes brought up his 200. Adam Parore and Sinclair put on a stand of 101 for the seventh wicket, which was broken when Parore was out for 46 attempting to sweep Saqlain Mushtaq. At that stage Sinclair was on 173 and, while Tuffey hung around for 21 runs — scoring 13 himself — Sinclair was running out of partners to help him reach the 200-mark. He got some help from Drum, but elected not to take some singles so the No 10 batsman was not exposed too much. As it was, Drum faced 25 balls before snicking a Waqar Younis ball through to wicketkeeper Moin Khan. Martin came in and again Sinclair farmed the bowling until he got the chance to bring up the 200 with the six off Saqlain. SCOREBOARD New Zealand (Ist innings): (overnight 284-5) Richardson b Saqlain 46 Bell c Faisal b Saqlain 75 Sinclair not out 204 Fleming run out (Younis) 32 Astle c Moin b Waqar 6 Bradburn c Farhat b Fazl 0 McMillan c Younis b Fazl 20 Parore lbw b Saqlain 46 Tuffey lbw b Fazl 13 Drum c Moin b Waqar 4 Martin b Waqar 0 Exras: (lb-17 nb-10 b-2 w-1) 30 Total: (156 overs) 476 Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-163, 3-248, 4-276, 5-282, 6-327, 7-428, 8-449, 9-468. Bowling: Waqar 34-6-114-3, Sami 36-4-107-0, Fazl 32-6-87-3, Saqlain 48-11-134-3, Younis 6-1-15-0. Pakistan (Ist innings): I Farhat c Drum b Martin 4 I Ahmed hit wkt b Drum 11 Iqbal not out 22 Inzamam not out 26 Extras: (nb-2) 2 Total: (for two wickets, 22 overs) 65 Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-25. Bowling: Tuffey 7-2-23-0, Martin 8-2-24-1, Drum 4-1-7-1, Bradburn 3-0-11-0.
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Gopi for more exposure for young players
Hyderabad, March 16 Speaking at a crowded press conference here, the ace shuttler from the state said: “The Badminton Association of India and the government must look in terms of providing better infrastructure facilities like a well equipped academy and rope in sponsors to help in moulding future champions. Asked about the final, where he played an utterly uncharacteristic game, Gopichand said, “it was a well thought out plan. Since my opponent Chen Hong was also a very fast player, I opted to play a slower game and tire Hong before getting the better of him. This paid off well”. On physical standards, he said: “While Indians have better endurance, Europeans have better stamina, but it was the endurance which won us many games as the opponents tire out and cave in at crucial stages”. The ever-smiling Gopichand said he had no regrets for lack of certain facilities and advantages while playing international matches. While other players have a coach who analyses the tapes, a physiotherapist and a psychologist to keep the player’s physical and mental frames intact, the Indian has none and has to get into the act all by himself.
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UEFA
Cup London, March 16 Joining them in Friday’s semifinal draw are Alaves, who lost another all-Spanish game 1-2 to Rayo Vallecano but went through 4-2 on aggregate. Liverpool, 2-0 home winners over Porto and Kaiserslautern, who won 1-0 at PSV Eindhoven for a 2-0 aggregate in a game marred by crowd trouble. Barcelona, leading 2-1 from the first leg, got their own vital away goal after 29 minutes when Rivaldo struck from the edge of the box following a breakaway led by Marc Overmars. Catanha equalised five minutes later with another long-range strike after a neat pass from Alexander Mostovoi but Rivaldo got a crucial second away goal for his side a minute before halftime with a free kick from close to 30 metres. That left Celta 2-4 down and needing to score three times in the second half to go through. They got one back with a Gustavo Lopez penalty after 64 minutes and but Mostovoi’s equaliser two minutes into injury time left no time to find the winner. “If Rivaldo had been wearing a different coloured shirt the result would have been very different,” said Celta coach Victor Fernandez. “Rivaldo can score goals that no one else can. He proved again tonight that he’s the most important player in the world.” A first-half strike by Jordi Cruyff helped Basque side Alaves into the semifinals in their debut season in Europe. Cruyff’s angled shot in the 19th minute followed some good work by Romanian international Cosmin Contra and effectively extinguished Rayo’s faint hopes of staging a comeback after their comprehensive 3-0 defeat in Vitoria last week. Rayo equalised four minutes before the break with a well-taken strike by Jose Maria Quevedo and went ahead with a Luis Cembranos penalty after 79 minutes. But the fightback came too late for the Madrid-based side, also playing in Europe for the first time. Liverpool’s goal-less first leg in Porto was a dire game but the return at Anfield was fast-paced and exciting. After making most of the early running Liverpool went ahead in the 33rd minute when midfielder Danny Murphy gathered a driven Steven Gerrard cross before rolling a shot under Porto goalkeeper Pedro Esphina. Espinha was slow to move to stop Michael Owen’s downward header from bouncing into the roof of the net from another Gerrard centre five minutes later. The second goal knocked the fight out of the Portuguese side and kept Liverpool on course for a cup treble. They have already won the League Cup and face second division Wycombe in the FA Cup semifinals. “I think the whole team played very well,” said Owen. “We more or less killed it off in the first half and were able to slow it down in the second half. It was a job well done.” PSV’s game was halted for 15 minutes in the second half when irate home fans broke through on to the playing area. Spanish referee Antonio Lopez Nieto halted play 16 minutes from time while PSV coach Erik Gerets and his team tried to restore calm. They were angry over a penalty awarded against their team and a red card shown to captain Mark van Bommel for a second bookable offence. Mario Basler had converted the penalty in the 71st minute to give Kaiserslautern 1-0 lead which they held until the end. Basler said he was shocked by the invasion: “It was pretty frightening,” he said. He denied, however, that his gesture after scoring was provocative. He had cupped his hand to his ear as if straining to hear, after the PSV fans had whistled loudly as he was taking the spot kick and had thrown lighters on the
pitch. Reuters |
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1983 World Cup on
CD New Delhi, March 16 The CD collection, sponsored by Zurich India Mutual Fund, is innovative and first of its kind in India. It has a good navigational interface, and is filled with exclusive interviews, video clippings of spectacular moments, interesting trivia and Srikkanth’s selection of the best 11 players of the 1983 World Cup. It has also exhaustive details of all the matches, including the league matches, the teams, top performers and selected press clippings. The VCDs have a recording of the Australia vs India league match, India vs England semifinal and India vs West Indies final matches, with score card of all matches, details of the teams, along with the top five batsmen and bowlers of the championship. |
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4 adventure sports centres to be set
up Chandigarh, March 16 Stating this today at the concluding function of five-day trekking training camp for boys at Koyal Tourism Complex, Morni, Dr. B.K. Sinha, Director, Sports, Haryana, said that the four trekking and rock climbing training camps of boys and girls would be organised in the coming financial year. Two camps will be held in the summer vacations, the third in October while the fourth camp will be in the winter break. More than 500 youth would be trained in these camps. The training and practice of trekking and rock climbing would be imparted in the Morni Hills. Dr Sinha, while addressing campers, said that the participation in the adventure sports activities not only increase stamina and physical fitness but also helps develop the confidence of an individual to face the adverse situations in the life. He said that during this year 500 boys and girls were given training in river rafting, para sailing & rock climing and trekking at Solanganala, McLeodganj, Damdama, Pinjore and Morni. The trekking training camp for 38 girls would also start from March 16 to 20 at Morni. The in charge of adventure sports activities of Haryana Tourism Corporation, Mr Rajiv Midha, imparted the training to the campers aware about the High Altitude Sickness, Acclimatization and Expedition Planning. Giving his assessment on this five days training camp, Mr Midha said that a rich talent of adventure sports is available in Haryana which needed to be trained and motivated properly. He selected Harikesh (Bhiwani), Mahinder (Yamunanagar), Dinesh Kapoor, Vikas (Kurukshetra) and Dr Ramjee Jaimal of Sirsa for basic mountaining training. Haryana Sports & Youth Welfare Department would contact Himalyan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttrakashi, and Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali (H.P.) for advance and higher training to the selected youths of the state. The boys who attended the trekking training camp at Morni Dr. Ramjee Jaimal and Sunil Kumar (Sirsa), Mahinder Nagpal and Vipin Kumar (Yamunanagar), Naveen Kumar and Mukesh (Ambala), Shiv Kumar and Gobind (Mohindergarh), Angrej Ali and Rajesh Kumar (Panipat), Yograj and Mukesh Kumar (Kaithal), Dinesh Vinod (Gurgaon), Harikesh and Jagbir (Bhiwani), Sanjay Daka and Satish Daka (Rohtak, Anand Prashar and Rajender Kaushik (Sonepat), Bhupesh Kaushik and Noor Alam (Panchkula), Kuldeep and Ramesh (Jind), Pardeep and Sandeep (Faridabad) and Vikas and Dinesh (Kurukshetra). |
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BSF down City
Club New Delhi, March 16 The cops encountered unexpected resistance from the Haryana boys, but broke the ice eventually when inside-left Dharmendra Singh slotted home in the 30th minute of first half. D.S. Negi scored the second goal in the 24th minute of the second half. BSF, having collected six points from two matches, sailed into the semi-final. In the second match, local league champions Indian Nationals also qualified for the semi-finals, trouncing Himalayan Tigers, Himachal Pradesh 8-0. Nationals, who led by five goals at the interval, got their goals through Ran Vijay Singh, Rakesh Kumar (two), Pushpender Dhondial, Yakubu Ribiu Mallam, Rakesh Kumar (2) and Trilok Singh Bisht. To complete the Himachal team’s humiliation, their defender Love Kishore was shown the red card. Meanwhile, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has appointed Delhi Soccer Association joint-secretaries N.K. Bhatia and Hem Chand as match commissioners for the JCT-Zee Churchill Brothers match on March 18 and the JCT-Mahindra United match on March 23 at Ludhiana, respectively. |
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4th successive win for Pakistan Dhaka, March 16 The former champion, who finally pushed malaysia out of the tournament, will play group a runners-up Japan in the semi-finals scheduled for Sunday. In the first semi-finals match on Sunday, Group A toppers India, with successive wins in three league games will clash with Group B runners-up Egypt for a berth in the final of the 11-day tournament scheduled on March 20. During today’s relatively slow encounter, Pakistan’s Zeeshan Ashraf bagged two of the three goals in the 21st and 29th minutes from penalty strikes ending the first half 2-0. His compatriot Kamran Ashraf widened the margin five minutes after the second half which saw no major attacks until a surprise 66th minute hit from captain K. Shanmuganathan gave Malaysia a face-saving 3-1 finish. Egypt was the last team to qualify for the last four on better score. Today it won its last pool encounter against Ireland 2-1 and edged out China which too has six points. Both teams in the encounter were evenly matched but Egypt took the lead in the 21st minute through Adnan El Sayed goal. Ireland had to wait for 19 minutes for a equaliser. Justin Sherrif struck in the 40th minute for them. Aware that the win was crucial for a semi-final berth, Egypt pressed hard and in the 56th minute Belal Ibharam compteled the scoreline. In an inconsequential match, pool ‘B’ toppers Pakistan beat the team placed last, Malaysia, 3-1. Pakistan dictated the pace of the game from the start and relied on ball possession to deny the oponents any chance to score. In the 20th minute Zeeshan Asharaf took them ahead and nine minutes later consolidated the lead. Kamaran Asharaf made it 3-0 in the 40th minute. In the 65th minute Shan Muganathan reduced the margin but all further Malaysian attempts were thwarted.
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