Melbourne, December 29
Matthew Hayden and captain Ricky Ponting scored unbeaten half centuries to guide Australia to a record fifth series win of 2004 today, beating Pakistan by nine wickets in the second Test.

Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne combined to take seven wickets in Pakistan’s second innings of 163, which left the home side chasing 126 to win.

Australia started their innings shortly before lunch, losing Justin Langer for five in the second over, caught behind off the bowling of Mohammad Sami.

Hayden (56 not out) and Ponting (62 not out) added 116 in 102 minutes for the second wicket against an injury depleted Pakistan attack as Australia reached 127 for one.

Ponting clubbed leg-spinner Danish Kaneria over long-on for six to hit the winning runs in the 28th over.

Australia, who won the first Test in Perth by 491 runs, hold an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The third Test starts in Sydney on January 2.

The home side had claimed a first innings lead of 38 with their total of 379 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, led by man-of-the-match Damien Martyn’s 142.

Top-ranked Australia beat Sri Lanka 3-0 and 1-0 in March and July before claiming a 2-1 win in India in October-November, their first series victory there for 35 years. Ponting’s side also crushed New Zealand 2-0 in Brisbane and Adelaide last month.

Ponting was delighted that his players achieved the win, especially since Pakistan had held the upper hand over the first two days of play.

With Pakistan chalking up 341 in their first innings, the hosts had appeared to be in trouble when they were reduced to 203 for five.

“When we have got into trouble we tend to play our best cricket, and we did that yesterday. Damien Martyn’s innings was outstanding,” Ponting said.

“We bowled extremely well and did what we had to do with the bat this afternoon,” he said.

“It is another great win for us, another great series win. This side keeps rolling along and breaking records, so it is a great team to be part of at the moment,” he said.

Pakistan resumed their second innings on 85 for five, with an overall lead of 47 runs.

Sami (11) fell leg before wicket to Jason Gillespie and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal failed to settle down as he was out for a duck to leave the visitors on 101 for seven.

All-rounder Malik scored a courageous 41 with four fours and two sixes despite split webbing in his right hand.

Malik’s knock came to an end when he misjudged a delivery from Warne (3-66) and was caught at mid-on, lifting the world’s leading wicket-taker to a total of 561 victims.

In the following over, McGrath (4-35) struck with his second ball of the day, removing Razzaq for 19, and four overs later, bowled Shoaib Akhtar for 14 to end the innings.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (first innings): 341

Australia (first innings): 379

Pakistan (second innings):

Butt c Kasprowicz b McGrath 0

Farhat c Martyn b Gillespie 5

Hameed c Gilchrist b McGrath 23

Melbourne, December 29
Injuries have disrupted the Pakistan team, with all-rounder Shoaib Malik and fast bowler Mohammad Sami ruled out of Sunday’s final Sydney Test against Australia.

Coach Bob Woolmer said the pair could not play, adding that Abdul Razzaq was back in hospital after batting on the final day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Razzaq fell ill at the team’s hotel before the start of yesterday’s (third day’s) play and spent most of the day having hospital tests but he came out to bat today and scored a gutsy 19 as Pakistan went down by nine wickets.

Woolmer said captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who missed the MCG Test with a back complaint, had improved but it was too early to say whether he would play in the New Year Test.

“Inzamam is feeling better; that is a good thing. We have some young quick bowlers with us who I think can do a good job,” Woolmer said after the series loss.

“I do not think that we need reinforcements for the last Test but we may change our one-day side slightly (for next month’s triangular tournament) because of the various injuries,” he said.

“Abdul Razzaq is in hospital, so he is in doubt. Shoaib Malik will not play because he has got stitches in his right hand Mohammad Sami will not play because he has got a very badly bruised and bleeding heel and he has been advised to rest for two weeks,” he said.

“But we have 17 in the touring party and we have some very good quality cricketers. Maybe we can give them an opportunity,” he said.

Woolmer paid tribute to his wounded brigade, who battled on with their injuries in an effort to help Pakistan stave off defeat.

“I take a lot of positives out of this game. It was a tremendously better result in terms of our cricket than in Perth. If we can maintain this upward curve, we can learn to play against teams like Australia,” he said.

“Shoaib Malik did fantastically. Two pain-killing injections and three stitches in his right hand and Abdul Razzaq went out and batted. He is back in hospital now, so I thought that they fought very hard,” he said.

“For two-and a-half days, I thought that we were really competitive,” he said.

“In the first innings, we had three bowlers essentially, Mohammad Sami also has a heel injury, which is going to rule him out,” Woolmer said.

“So he was bowling in terrific pain in the first and second innings. Shoaib Akhtar bowled a lot for someone of his pace and length of his run-up. Danish Kaneria just gave everything the whole way through.,” he said.

Woolmer said there was a huge learning curve playing against the formidable Australians, who lead Pakistan 10 series to five since they began playing each other in 1956.

Pakistan last beat Australia 12 Tests ago in Sydney by 74 runs in 1995.

“If you look at the average age of our side and take out Inzamam (aged 34) the average age is 23. Compared to Australia, they average 50 Test matches a head, and our guys — taking Inzamam out of the equation — average 16 Test matches. So it is a huge learning curve for the guys,” he said. — AFP

Melbourne, December 29
Australia’s cricketers have donated their winning prize money from the Boxing Day Test to the disaster relief funds of the South-East Asian tsunami and earthquake victims.

More than 56,000 people were killed in the massive earthquake and tidal waves that struck Indian Ocean shorelines last weekend, amid warnings that the true toll could be far higher.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting announced the team’s gesture after Australia’s nine-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground today.

Ponting said the figure was around $ 13,000 and promised that there were more fund-raising initiatives in the pipeline.

“We are very supportive of a number of charity fund-raising events that the team can do to help out these victims,” Ponting said at post-match press conference.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said: “I think the two teams have signed shirts and these are being auctioned somewhere to help them.”

Cricket Australia official Peter Young said the International Cricket Council was working on efforts to co-ordinate an overall cricket response to the aid relief with initiatives at Test matches scheduled around the world next week.

Young said he expected details to be in place by Friday and said Cricket Australia was talking to its commercial partners for ways to help one of the welfare agencies with close ties to Sri Lanka and India, two of the countries worst affected by the disaster.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Ranji cricket team has decided to donate Rs 50,000 for the Tsunami victims in South India, coach Madan Lal said on Wednesday.

“The team will send a draft for Rs 50,000 to help the Tsunami victims as soon as possible,” he said.

The players would shell out the amount from their match fees and team manager T.S. Bawa was making all arrangements to make it possible at the earliest, he said.

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan will play an exhibition soccer match with a Nigerian team here on January 7 to raise money for the thousands of people in India affected by the tsunami disaster.

Announcing this, Bagan assistant general secretary Balaram Chowdhury told mediapersons here on Wednesday that a 17-member squad of Saro Football Club of Nigeria would arrive here on January 4 to play the match at the Salt Lake stadium.

The entire gate money of the match would be donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund as succour to the victims of one of the gravest tragedies to hit India.

The match would be jointly organised by the Bagan and the West Bengal Sports Department. — AFP, PTI

Durban, December 29
South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini helped slow England’s progress by taking two wickets on the fourth day of the second Test today.

England reached lunch on 366 for four in their second innings, a lead of 173 runs with Graham Thorpe on 35 not out and Andrew Flintoff on 21. England resumed on 281 for one but in the fifth over of the day Andrew Strauss edged Ntini to Martin van Jaarsveld at third slip for 136.

Eight overs later, Ntini struck again when he had captain Michael Vaughan caught behind down the leg side by wicketkeeper AB de Villiers for 10.

England were 314 for four within five overs when Mark Butcher, on 13, edged Jacques Kallis to Van Jaarsveld at slip.

Scoreboard

England (Ist innings) 139

South Africa (Ist innings) 332

England (2nd innings)

Ludhiana, December 29
Holders Indian Railways, hosts Punjab, last year’s losing finalists Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh secured their berths in the last eight stage of the 55th Dhanoa Senior National Basketball Championship at Guru Nanak Sports Complex, here today.

Reigning champions Indian Railways and Punjab women won all their super league matches, assuring themselves of a place in the quarterfinals. Today, Indian Railways overcame stiff resistance of Chhattisgarh to win 99-70. Dependable Cherian (20) and Anju (16) of Indian Railways contributed their share in the victory while Anitha and Sofi Sen accounted for 15 and 13 points, respectively.

For Chhattisgarh, M. Pushpa (15), Kamaljeet Kaur (18) and Akanksha Singh (14) played well. Despite this defeat, Chhattisgarh made it to the knockout stage.

Punjab women continued their domination. In a match played today, they proved too good for Uttar Pradesh, winning 64-16 to advance into the quarter finals. Punjab skipper Kamaljit Kaur (13) and Mandeep Kaur (15) played a pivotal role in the win. They were assisted by Aashna (11) and Mukti (10).

Last year’s runners-up, Delhi won 76-45 against Tamil Nadu to enter the last eight stage. The winners led 45-23 at half-time. The outcome of this match, however, had no effect on Tamil Nadu’s chances of making it to the knockout phase.

The championship witnessed a major upset as hosts Punjab stunned reigning champions Tamil Nadu 79-70 in a pool ‘A’ match last night. The hosts were leading 43-27 at the end of the second quarter.

Punjab men began the proceedings in a whirlwind fashion. They shot into the lead immediately and managed to hang onto it till the long whistle. The holders did their best to stop the energetic Punjab cagers, but failed in their exercise as the hosts seemed unstoppable. Punjab skipper Parminder Singh Senior led from the front and scored 18 points, followed by Talwinder Singh (17), Amit Prashar (12) and Harmander Singh (11). For Tamil Nadu, their skipper Robinson (30) and Suthamakesh (10) and John (10) reduced the margin.

The match turned out to be a high-voltage battle and witnessed some heated exchanges. Ultimately, Harmander Singh of Punjab and Puvenshwarn of Tamil Nadu were disqualified for using foul language and were given marching orders by the match refrees.

Fourth day’s results: (women) — Kerala beat Madhya Pradesh 53-38, Punjab beat Uttar Pradesh 64-16, Andhra Pradesh beat Maharashtra 71-49, Delhi beat Tamil Nadu 76-45, Himachal Pradesh beat Haryana 60-55 and Indian Railways beat Chhattisgarh 99-70; (men) — Jharkhand beat Maharashtra 105-35, Madhya Pradesh beat Uttar Pradesh 73-64 and Kerala beat Andhra Pradesh 109-83.

Chandigarh, December 29
Chandigarh men and Punjab women won their super league matches in the 26th Senior National Softball Championship at the Punjab Engineering College grounds here today.

Chandigarh players trounced Karnataka 13-0 in the first super league fixture. They had dethroned Rajasthan, defending champions, 7-5 in the pre-quarterfinal tie. They excelled in all departments of the game and never allowed their rivals to come back. Sunder and Pankaj secured three home runs each while Vikash and Dewan scored two home runs each. Sujeet, Vikash and Baljeet contributed one home run each. In other super league, matches, Madhya Pradesh downed Jammu and Kashmir 13-0 while Punjab handed out a 10-0 drubbing to Chhattisgarh.

For Punjab, Mandeep, Vikash, Loverishi and Shiv scored two home runs each. Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh shared honours by playing a 5-5 draw. Hosts Chandigarh suffered defeat at the hands of defending champions Punjab 11-3 in a women’s super league fixture. In another super league match, Madhya Pradesh defeated Himachal Pradesh, whom they beat 11-5. Delhi prevailed over Kerala 4-2 to secure full points while Maharashtra outclassed Andhra Pradesh 16-0.

Results: super league: men: Chandigarh b Karnataka 13-0, Madhya Pradesh b Jammu and Kashmir 13-0, Andhra Pradesh drew with Himachal Pradesh 5-5, Punjab b Chhattisgarh 10-0; women: Madhya Pradesh b Himachal Pradesh 11-5, Delhi b Kerala 4-2, Maharashtra b Andhra Pradesh 16-0, Punjab b Chandigarh 11-3.

Pre-quarterfinals: men: Karnataka b Kerala 10-2, Chandigarh b Rajasthan 7-5; Andhra Pradesh b Pondicherry 7-1, Punjab b Goa 9-2; Himachal Pradesh b Uttaranchal 13-0, Madhya Pradesh b Indian Oil Corporation 12-0, Chattisgarh b Manipur 5-4, Jammu and Kashmir b Delhi 3-2; women: Maharashtra b Goa 10-0, Andhra Pradesh b Chhattisgarh 12-2, Delhi b Pondicherry 22-3, Punjab b IOC 10-0, Kerala b Orissa 14-1, Himachal Pradesh b Haryana 12-0, Madhya Pradesh b Gujarat 11-0, Chandigarh b Rajasthan 11-0.

New Delhi, December 27
There were birdies as well as bogeys for India’s ‘Big Three’ on the international scene in 2004, which also saw the emergence of a new breed in youngsters like Rahil Gangjee and Ashok Kumar.

Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh may not have enjoyed great success, but they ensured once again that India continued to stir the consciousness of the world.

The highlight of the year was Randhawa breaking his title drought — he was winless since September, 2003 — with a victory in the season-ending Volvo Masters in Kuala Lumpur.

When the 32-year-old pro sank a 15-foot birdie on the second playoff hole, he not only pocketed $ 99,000, but also leapfrogged to the second place in the Asian Order of Merit after just seven events, some of which did see him come tantalisingly close to the title.

If the year ended on a bright note, the start was no let-down either, with unheralded rookie Rahil Gangjee winning his first Asian Tour title after holding his nerve to clinch the inaugural Volkswagen Masters in Beijing, China, in a sudden-death playoff.

The 25-year-old showed remarkable poise at Pine Valley Golf Club to emerge victorious after a pulsating final round, which saw at least seven players in with a chance of winning the $ 3,00,000 event.

It was indeed a remarkable win for the youngster who had turned pro in 2001 after establishing himself as the top amateur of the country.

Atwal, who clearly overshadowed others in the preceding year after he became the first Indian to qualify for the prestigious USPGA Tour, was a shade subdued after he failed to repeat the feat this time when he finished joint 77th in the gruelling 108-hole annual qualifying tournament, played at La Quinta in California.

Atwal would have finished higher but for a disastrous fifth round, which undermined his overall card. However, Atwal managed, just by a stroke, to finish high enough to get full exemption on the Nationwide Tour, the next rung to the PGA Tour.

Also, by finishing in the top 150 on the PGA Tour in 2004, Atwal guaranteed himself a minimum of 18 PGA events next year. It also meant he only had to play in the last of the three stages on the qualifying tournament.

So with the disappointment came the hope that the Kolkata pro would make the most of the Nationwide Tour which offers high-quality competition and lucrative prize money, besides opening the doors to PGA avenues.

For Jeev, the year was yet another of toil and little success, raising concerns about his best being behind him.

Jeev, who had made history by qualifying for the US Open, the toughest major in the world in 2002, struggled clearly before showing signs of vintage form in the Okinawa Open, which incidentally, is the first event of the 2005 season, to promise of better things to come.

The domestic tour, which got a shot in the arm with the Sahara Group extending its support to it through Amby Valley, was dominated by 23-year-old Ashok Kumar.

Ashok’s emergence led credence to the belief that Indian golf would be in safe hands once the Big Three relinquish their places because not only did he impress in the PGAI Tour, he also made a mark on the Asian Tour, the highlight being a joint fifth finish at the Vietnam Open earlier this month.

He featured in three Asian Tour events and did not miss the cut in any of these, which in itself is a creditable achievement for a youngster.

Ashok was on song back home, registering five straight wins on the Amby Valley Tour to finish on the top of the Order of Merit table.

Another youngster, Shiv Kapur, who won the Asian Games gold as an amateur, also made his presence felt in his maiden appearance as a pro on the Indian Tour.

He won a title in only his second event on the tour and capped his good show with another triumph in Surya Nepal Masters in December.

India also enjoyed their share of limelight when world number one Vijay Singh of Fiji kept his promise and made a second visit to the country in two years to play in the BILT Skins Golf championship in Gurgaon.

Asked to comment on Indian golf, he said, “The problem is that there are not enough players coming out of India. There are two or three top golfers, but there are no additions to this group.”

One can only hope that the legendary golfer’s observation is proved wrong and India do manage to throw up a few world champions in the near future. — PTI