Dhaka, May 11
After yesterday’s scrappy yet morale-boosting win, India will be looking to plug the loopholes and pocket the three-match one-day series against Bangladesh in the second ODI here tomorrow.

The five-wicket win may have helped the team in leaving behind the stunning loss to the neighbouring nation in the World Cup, but the stiff competition put up by the hosts at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium yesterday is yet another confirmation that Rahul Dravid’s team have a battle at hand during the remainder of the tour.

Besides, the team management needs to take a long, hard look at what Dravid and stop-gap cricket manager Ravi Shastri have themselves described as ‘grey areas’.

In yesterday’s match, the top order floundered, fielding looked sloppy and the pace bowlers wayward.

“There is work to be done in a couple of areas,” Shastri said.

Openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag needlessly went out to soft dismissals, as did Dinesh Mongia. Yuvraj Singh committed himself too early to an aggressive shot, while Dravid failed to build upon the start he got.

“We need to bat a little well at the top. We should not have lost as many wickets as we did, but I am quite happy and I am sure as the games go on, the top order will fire”, said Dravid, who has always found his bat refusing to do the talking against Bangladesh.

Despite his overall career average nearing 40, Dravid’s figures hover in the mid-20s against Bangladesh,and he would be keen to improve upon that in the coming engagements.

The below-par ground fielding is also causing concern to the team, and new fielding coach Robin Singh needs to work on that area.

Dravid conceded the fielding lapses and said, “We can do better in that department and we expect to better in that department irrespective of the conditions.” The Indian pacers also failed to find their rhythm in the series opener and sent down very ordinary stuff providing the Bangladesh batsmen an easy time.

The most experienced pacer, Zaheer Khan, went for about eight runs an over and this should be a cause of worry for the Indian team management.

On the positive side are M. S. Dhoni, playing a matured knock of 91 in trying conditions despite cramps, and Dinesh Karthik, delivering again at a moment of crisis.

Part-time bowler Dinesh Mongia also came good with his left-arm spin to pick up three wickets, while offie Ramesh Power, another comeback man, also bowled decently.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, should be ruing their missed chances.

They set India a challenging total and proceeded to put them on the mat but eventually failed to pin them down.

“We were in the match for most of the time. We were waiting for one wicket when Dhoni and Karthik were batting and we felt that we had a chance right till the end if we got that wicket,” said a dejected Habibul Bashar, whose lean patch has stretched to the series.

The hosts did not field well either, missing a crucial opportunity to run out Karthik in the 40th over.

“I think our excitement of being so close to victory made us miss the run out chance,” Bashar said.

However, Bangladesh can take heart from the form of openers Javed Omar and Tamim Iqbal, and the all-round show of Saqibul Hasan.

Teams (from): India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Dinesh Mongia, Ramesh Powar, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful (vice-capt), Javed Omar, Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Musfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Russel, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mohammad Rafique and Farhad Reza. — PTI

Dhaka, May 11
Five Indians, including Sachin Tendulkar, were today named in the 14-member Asian one-day cricket team for the Afro-Asia Cup to be held in India in June.

Other Indians in the Mahela Jayawardene-led team are Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh, Asian Cricket Council Chief Executive Ashraful Haq announced here.

Besides the five Indians, an equal number of Sri Lankans were also included with paceman Chaminda Vaas, 2007 World Cup sensation Lasitha Malinga, veteran Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga in the team.

Pakistan will be represented by controversial fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and star batsman Mohammad Yousuf in the three-match ODI series to be played in Bangalore on June 6 and in Chennai on June 9 and 10.

Mohammad Rafique will be the sole Bangladeshi in the team.

There was no dearth of fireworks at the press conference with the Bangladesh journalists virtually bombarding the four selectors and Haq for the inclusion of only one player from their country in the ODI team after the neighbouring nation’s impressive performance in the World Cup.

Questions were also raised about the inclusion of Shoaib and Harbhajan in the squad, with some scribes pointing out that they were not even in the Pakistan and Indian teams respectively.

The tourney has a total prize money of $100,000. $25,000 would be given to the winners of each match. The man of the match would be richer by $5,000 while the man of the series would pocket $ 15,000.

Earlier, South African skipper Graeme Smith was appointed captain of the Africa team and Steve Tikolo, one of four Kenyans in the squad, was made his deputy.

The tournament was first played in August 2005 in South Africa, ending in a 1-1 draw with one match being washed out.

Teams: Asia: Mahela Jayawardene (SL, capt), Sanath Jayasuriya (SL), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Mohammad Yousuf (Pak), Yuvraj Singh (Ind), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Chaminda Vaas (SL), Shoaib Akhtar (Pak), Lasitha Malinga (SL), Mohammad Rafique (B’desh), Mohammad Asif (Pak) and Upul Tharanga (SL).

Ipoh, May 11
Hosts Malaysia snatched an exciting 2-1 win over India to join Australia in the final of the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup eight-nation hockey tournament here today.

In a match that resembled a bout between two lightweight boxers, the Indians scored points through jabs, but the Malaysians delivered the knockout punch.

Ahmed Tajuddin (11th minute) put Malaysia ahead, but India equalised in the 13th through Shivendra Singh. However, the hosts struck a second time on a lucky break with Kelwinder Singh (40th) sounding the board for the match-winner.

Malaysia made it to the final of this tournament after a long gap of 22 years.

The Malaysian tactics were apparent from the start as they chipped away from the right flank, giving India’s left-back Harpal Singh a working over.

Consequently, the Indians virtually invited the speedy Malaysian forwards into the striking circle.

It was no surprise then that the hosts struck in the 11th minute when the pocket-sized dynamite Selvaraju broke in from the right, past a tentative Harpal and centred for Tajuddin to make the telling deflection.

To India’s credit, the youngsters kept their composure and equalised two minutes later with Shivendra having all the time to trap a Sardara Singh pass and slam it in with as many as three defenders around him.

The home team, backed by a vociferous capacity crowd, resorted to aerial balls that caused some consternation in the Indian ranks, but as they persisted with that line of attack, the Malaysians became rather predictable.

The Indians looked the sharper, creating more opportunities but were unable to capitalise. Right-half Gurbaj and Sardara Singh in the middle were eye-catching with their tireless work, constantly feeding the forwards. But at the finish, it was the old story of wasted chances.

The Indians lost Vikram Kanth on a yellow-card suspension for his tackle on Mohd Sharun. Reduced to 10 men, the Indians felt the heat of the fast and furious Malaysian attacks.

The Indians kept up their attacking game and repeatedly entered the Malaysian circle, but the hosts threw men in their defence to avert danger, though more often than not, it was a touch-and-go situation.

The Malaysian defenders did well to soak up almost ceaseless pressure even as India had 10 men camped in the rival half, but leaving the door open at the back for counter-attacks.

The hosts did put in a few good runs, but India survived, though only just.

With the seconds ticking by and Malaysians defending with their hearts, Indian hopes of drawing level evaporated.

Saturday’s fixtures: 7th-place playoff: Canada vs China (5.05 pm); 5th-place playoff: Pakistan vs Argentina (7.05 pm). — PTI

Ipoh, May 11
Olympic champions Australia extended their supremacy over Asian Games gold medallists Korea, scripting a 6-2 win to enter the final of the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today.

It was Australia’s fourth consecutive entry into the final of this tournament that they have won as many times and a repeat of last year’s World Cup semifinal that the Aussies had won 4-2.

Goals by Desmond Abbot (9th, 69th), Andrew Smith (22nd), Liam Deyoung (37th), Eli Matheson (51st) and Grant Schubert (60th) set up the Aussie victory, while the Korean replies came from Jeong Yun Sang (11th) and Lee Sung Min (57th).

The scoring began in the ninth minute when Abbott swept home a clearance by goalkeeper Lee Myung Ho who had blocked Deyoung’s try off a Bevan George free hit.

The Koreans retaliated and forced a penalty corner against the run of play, with Sang finding the net with a powerful drag-flick for the equaliser in the 11th minute.

The Aussies kept up the pressure and past the 22nd minute, Smith completed a slick set-piece move that saw Mathew Wells quickly taking a free hit from outside the circle and relaying to Schubert who in turn squared it to Smith.

The reverse woke up the Koreans and earned a free hit on top of the circle. Kim Chul hit the ball into the circle where Yoon Sung Hoon put his stick out for a deflection. As the ball slammed into the board, umpire Paramjit (Malaysia) signaled a long corner for Korea. Hoon claimed he had got a touch and as such a goal be awarded to Korea.

There was a hold-up as the Koreans trooped off to their bench on the sideline even as the replays of the incident were played on the giant screen. Apparently, the evidence was inconclusive and a few minutes later, the Koreans returned to the pitch to take the long corner with about two minutes left to half-time.

On resumption, the Aussies struck early when Deyoung went in on a Hammond free hit for the third goal. Korean defenders allowed Matheson a free run from the left and the Aussie forward slipped the ball past the goalkeeper to give his team a 4-1 lead.

The Koreans forced a series of penalty corners and Min finally found the board from the fifth.

The Aussies added two more goals in the last 10 minutes through Schubert after a good run from Smith and then Abbott, who let fly from the top of the circle. — PTI

Gurgaon, May 11
Jyoti Randhawa came up with a brilliant eight-under 64 round to take the lead with a seven-stroke buffer over the field at the midway stage of the Rs 65 lakh DLF Masters Golf here today.

Overnight second, Randhawa now aggregates 12-under 132, which puts him well ahead of Gaurav Diwan who carded a four-under 68 today following a 69 in the first 18-holes yesterday to move into the second spot.

Australia’s Richard Backwell who carded a two-under 70 was third with six-under 136 in aggregate while overnight leader Ranjit Singh did not have a very satisfactory round and a two-over 74 that saw him slip to tied fourth with SSP Chowrasia and Vijay Kumar with four-under 140.

Youngster Himmat Singh Rai played some consistent golf, carding a 71 after a 70 yesterday and is tied alongside Digvijay Singh, Gaurav Ghei and Mukesh Kumar for seventh place at three-under 141.

Shiv Kapur and R. Srinivas were tied 11th at one-under 143.

Randhawa started the day with a bogey on the 10th hole but made no mistakes thereafter as he birdied the 11th , 12th 17th and 18th holes to make the turn at three-under 33. Birdies on the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh holes resulted in a five-under on his back nine, resulting in an eight-under 64.

New Delhi, May 11
Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal were handed straight-game defeats as Indian challenge ended as early as in the first round of the Hurghada Open squash tournament in Egypt.

Seeded eighth, Joshna went down 7-9, 2-9, 4-9 to Lauren Siddall of England, while qualifier Dipika bowed out with a 1-9, 2-9, 4-9 defeat against third seed and local favourite Engy Kheirallah in the opening round of the $21,000 event.

Not in the pink of her fitness following food poisoning, Joshna still raced to a 7-2 lead in the first game before losing the plot. Siddall came from behind to win the game and the next two games were more or less one-sided.

The 56th ranked Siddall, 11 rungs below the Indian, needed nearly half an hour to tame the Indian.

Fellow Chennai player Dipika stood hardly any chance against Kheirallah. The Indian teen, who is currently based in Cairo training under Mohamed Hafiz, tried her best but her higher-ranked opponent took just 24 minutes to seal the match. — PTI

New Delhi, May 11
Five Indian women boxers, along with three of their male counterparts, entered the quarterfinals of the International Open Boxing Championship being held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mandakini Chanu (48 kg), Sunita Yadav (54 kg), Jyotsana (75 kg), Lata Rani (50 kg) and Aswathy Mol (70 kg) won their second-round matches.

Among the men, SK Beliwal (51 kg), Diwakar Prasad (57 kg) and Sanjay Kolte (48 kg) entered the quarterfinals. — PTI

Nawanshahr, May 11
Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the boys section and Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in the girls section entered the semifinals of the 34th National Sub-Junior Basketball Championship at Kirpal Sagar Academy here today.

In the quarterfinals (boys), Punjab crushed West Bengal 52-15, Madhya Pradesh defeated Andhra Pradesh 37-29, Rajasthan routed Delhi 46-8 and Chhattisgarh beat UP 55-44.

In the girls section, Chhattisgarh routed Kerala 66-17, Maharashtra beat Punjab 37-27, UP defeated Madhya Pradesh 47-21, and Haryana scraped past Jharkhand 45-36.