Kolkata, November 24
Having put the brakes on South Africa’s impressive winning streak, a determined India will seek to keep the momentum going with another commanding show in the crucial fourth one-dayer here tomorrow.

With the five-match series poised 1-1, success at the Eden Gardens in tomorrow’s day-night tie will give an unassailable lead to the winners, a perfect set-up for an electrifying contest after the washout in Chennai.

Apart from on-field heroics, the toss can play a vital part in deciding the fate of the game as the dew factor assumes menacing proportions here at this time of the year.

Traditionally, teams batting second in day-night matches have returned red-faced on most occasions and both captains will hope to emerge lucky in the spin of the coin.

India are likely to go with the same side that did duty in Bangalore, though coach Greg Chappell’s thirst for experimentation is forcing everyone to keep their fingers crossed.

The South Africans return to a venue that will always have a nostalgic mention in their cricketing history.

It was on this ground that they played the ODI against India that sigalled their comeback to the mainstream of cricket after 22 years of exile during the apartheid era.

For Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, a favourable result will be an apt celebration for getting the Test captaincy after a prolonged wait as Sourav Ganguly’s deputy.

He has had scores of 8 and 10 in the series so far, an anti-climax after his stupendous show against the Lankans.

A good knock at the Eden will be the perfect icing to what is turning out to be a fabulous season for him.

Sachin Tendulkar stands on the threshold of another personal milestone, but the sudden dip in his form after the blitzkriegs in the first two matches against Sri Lanka has given rise to murmurs of discontent among cricket buffs.

Scores of 2, 11, 19, 39, 2 and 2 in the last six ODIs (aggregate 75, average 12.5) must be rankling him as he seems set to overtake Wasim Akram as the most capped player in ODI history.

He can pep himself up by looking at his past showings against the South Africans at this venue.

In 1991, Tendulkar struck 62 to take away the man of the match award jointly with Allan Donald.

Two years later, in the Hero Cup semifinals, he failed with the bat, but compensated for it by fashioning a pulsating Indian victory with a miserly last over with the ball.

The visitors, who have lost both matches they have played on this ground, have a batting line-up that boasts of the likes of Smith, Justin Kemp and Jacques Kallis.

Their bowling department seems a bit weak and Smith will depend on Shaun Pollock and Mkhaya Ntini for making early inroads into the strong Indian batting line-up.

However, the authorities will be concerned about the security aspect arising from the exclusion of Sourav Ganguly from the match on his home turf.

Though he has found a place in the side for the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chennai, the police and law-enforcement agencies have prepared themselves for demonstrations against Selection Committee Chairman Kiran More and coach Greg Chappell, whom Ganguly fans believe to be responsible for his exclusion.

A thick blanket of security has engulfed the stadium and the hotel where the teams are staying.

Squads (from): India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, S. Sreesanth, Gautam Gambhir, Rudra Pratap Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Jai Prakash Yadav.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Jacques Kallis, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, A.B. de Villiers, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Justin Ontong, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince. — PTI

Pune, November 24
Deposed captain Sourav Ganguly today said he would treat his comeback to the Indian side as if it was his first Test.

“If I get a chance against Sri Lanka, I will give my best, as I did in my first Test, and try to do well,” Ganguly said in his first reaction after being selected for the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting in Chennai on 
December 2.

“One is always happy at representing the country, be it your first, 50th or 100th Test, as it is a great honour,” he told a television channel.

Ganguly said he was expecting to be named in the squad as he had had a good tour of Zimbabwe.

Admitting that his experience would be valuable while making a comeback, Ganguly 
said one learnt something new every day.

“Even someone playing his 100th Test will say he can still improve,” Ganguly said.

“We have new experiences every day and new results and situations confront us while batting and bowling,” he added.

Ganguly said playing domestic cricket had benefited him.

“The more cricket one plays, the better one gets,” he added. — PTI

Kolkata, November 24
The demand of tickets for the one-dayer here tomorrow has picked up after the announcement of the inclusion of Sourav Ganguly in the Test team.

Several special ticket counters have been opened following the increased rush.

A section of Sourav fans are not happy that he has been divested of captaincy and not included in this match. They will be present at the stadium, but with black badges.

Sourav may not be present at the stadium tomorrow if he is in the city as his presence may be an embarrassment for him, his friends and associates have said.

He has requested the people from Pune not to make an issue out of him.

Coach Greg Chappell has been provided with special commando security, Kolkata police chief Prasun Mukherjee has said.

He has added that extra security arrangements have been made both at the hotel where the cricketers are staying and at the stadium.

At least 4,000 police personnel, five battalions of commandos and CRPF and BSF personnel will be on duty in and around the stadium tomorrow and about 500 close-circuit television sets have been installed for watching the movements of spectators.

Mohali, November 24
Punjab’s Ishan Malhotra and Amit Uniyal emerged as saviours as they shared a partnership of 113 runs off 133 balls for the eighth wicket on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Services here today.

The partnership came at a crucial time, when the Punjab were tottering at 83 for seven.

Punjab later consolidated their position by taking eight Services wickets for 228 runs by the end of today’s play. Services were now 152 runs ahead.

Punjab earlier resumed on 130 for seven. Malhotra scored a valuable 63 off 59 balls. Uniyal (68 off 93 balls) stayed with him for 101 minutes to take Punjab to 223.

A. Mohanty took both the crucial wickets. Vineet Sharma, last man in for Punjab, was run out by Narendera Singh.

Services started their second innings on a cautious note, but Malhotra snared Narendera Singh (14 off 20 balls), caught by Rajesh at point in the eighth over.

P.M.S. Reddy steadied the innings by scoring 55 runs off 76 balls before being trapped leg before wicket by Rajesh.

Yashpal Singh (49) and S. Tomar (28) shared a partnership of 66 runs off 111 balls.

Malhotra claimed four wickets for 61 runs. The other wicket-takers for Punjab were skipper Dinesh Mongia (2 for 21), Uniyal (1 for 33) and Rajesh (1 for 66).

Mohanty and Arun were batting on 29 and 3, respectively, when bad light stopped play.

Scoreboard

Services (1st innings) 147 all out

Punjab (1st innings)

Ricky c Sarabjit b Fazil 4, Munish lbw b Fazil 5, Mongia lbw b Pankaj 25, Dharmani lbw b Fazil 4, Sodhi c Yashpal b Pankaj 41, Kakkar lbw b Pankaj 0, Gupta c Reddy b Arun 3, Malhotra st Sarabjit b Mohanty 63, Uniyal lbw b Mohanty 68, Rajesh not out 8, Vineet run out 0, Extras (w-1, nb-1) 2, Total (all out, 54.2 overs) 223, FoW: 1-5, 2-14, 3-20, 4-74, 5-80, 6-83, 7-83, 8-193, 9-223, Bowling: Fazil 18.2-3-74-3, Ghag 10-4-25-0, Pankaj 9-0-57-3, Mohanty 8-0-20-2, Arun 9-0-47-1; Services (2nd innings): Narendera c Rajesh b Malhotra 14, Reddy lbw b Rajesh 55, Jasvir c Sodhi b Malhotra 11, Yashpal b Mongia 49, Tomar c Uniyal b Mongia 28, Sarabjit c Munish b Malhotra 4, Mohanty batting 29, Fazil b Uniyal 18, Pankaj c Gupta b Malhotra 1, Arun batting 3.

Extras (nb-3, w-5, b-1, lb-7) 16, Total (8 wkts, 64.5 overs) 228, FoW: 1-34, 2-77, 3-92, 4-158, 5-172, 6-172, 7-214, 8-215, Bowling: Vineet 7-1-25-0, Uniyal 10.5-3-33-1, Rajesh 14-4-66-1, Malhotra 17-3-61-4, Sodhi 5-1-14-0, Mongia 11-4-21-2.

Faisalabad, November 24
Pakistan maintained their 1-0 lead in the three-match series by drawing the second Test against England here today.

England, chasing an improbable target of 285 to win, struggled to 164 for six when bad light ended play early on the fifth and final day.

Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan did the damage as England slumped to 20 for four.

The tourists were rescued by the middle-order trio of Andrew Flintoff (56), Kevin Pietersen (42) and Geraint Jones (30 not out).

Earlier, the home team declared their second innings on 268 for nine after skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq broke Javed Miandad’s record of 23 Test centuries.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (1st innings) 462

England (1st innings) 446

Pakistan (2nd innings)

Malik c Bell b Flintoff 26

Butt lbw b Udal 50

Younis lbw b Hoggard 27

Yousuf b Flintoff 20

Inzamam not out 100

Afridi b Flintoff 0

Akmal c Jones b Harmison 9

Naved c Jones b Harmison 1

Shoaib c Jones b Hoggard 14

Sami lbw b Hoggard 5

Kaneria not out 2

Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-3, w-2) 14

New Delhi, November 24
England thwarted India’s victory bid when allrounder Rosalie Birch and Laura Harper put on a 48-run partnership to draw the one-off Test match at the Jamia Milia ground here today.

The visitors, facing a daunting task of making 311 for victory in their second innings, played the waiting game perfectly to compile 210 for six in 113 overs. The hosts’ spinners failed to exploit the fourth day’s conditions to their advantage.

“I am pleased with the performance of our girls, as we were playing a Test match after a two-year break”, said Indian captain Mithali Raj.

Scoreboard

India (1st innings) 289

England (1st innings) 154

India (2nd innings) 175 for 4 dec

England (2nd innings)

Edwards lbw Jhulan 46

Newton c Anjum b Nooshin 16

Taylor c Mithali b Nooshin 3

Gunn b Neetu 32

Brindle run out 46

Greenway c Mithali b Nooshin 6

Birch not out 20

Harper not out 21

Extras (b-6, lb-14) 20

Total (6 wickets, 113 overs) 210

Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-62, 3-73, 4-146, 5-162, 6-162.

Bowling: Jhulan Goswami 22-7-46-1, Amita Sharma 5-3-9-0, Rumeli Dhar 12-4-18-0, Nooshin al-Khadeer 32-15-30-3, Neetu David 31-18-46-1, Mithali Raj 1-0-5-0, Asha Sharma 2-1-4-0.

Jalandhar, November 24
The presence of two foreign players, Pakistan’s Mohammed Saqlain and Spanish player Pau Quemada, in the Sher-e-Jallandhar team for the Premier Hockey League will strengthen the team, feels coach Ramandeep Singh Grewal.

Ramandeep said if the two foreign players could establish good coordination in the team, it would boost their chances of winning the league. The introduction of the third umpire will also rule out any controversy during conversion of penalty corners or other decisions. If the experiment is successful, it could also be adopted by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), said Ramandeep.

Olympian Baljit Dhillon said Quemada and Saqlain could end the problems faced by the team in converting penalty corners, thus reducing the pressure on strikers and allowing more room for experimentation and changing strategy. He admitted that title holders Hyderabad Sultans and Chandigarh Dynamos were strong teams.

Five members of the team are already part of the national squad.

Another Olympian, Baljit Saini, said Saqlain’s presence would strengthen the midfield. The Sher-e-Jallandhar team has senior players like Baljit Dhillon, Baljit Saini and Daljit Dhillon. Players like Prabhdeep Singh, Gurvinder Chandi and goalkeeper Maninder Singh would be keen to put up a good show to improve their chances of making it to the national team.

Daljit Dhillon, Prabhdeep, Kanwalpreet Singh and Prabhjot Singh felt that home advantage would be a crucial factor.