Dhaka, May 12
Gautam Gambhir slammed a sparkling 101 as India inflicted a 46-run defeat on Bangladesh to clinch the three-match one-day cricket series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead here today.

The 25-year-old Gambhir, making a comeback to the national team, notched up his second ODI hundred to power India to an imposing 284 for eight before the bowlers restricted the hosts to 238 for nine in what turned out to be a rather lopsided contest at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

Opting to bat first in the rain-truncated match which was reduced to 49 overs a side, the left-handed Gambhir turned the spotlight on himself with some audacious strokeplay during his 113-ball knock while captain Rahul Dravid (42 not out) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (36) were the other notable contributors for the visitors.

While the Indians were a little scrappy in their first match, they were far more convincing today to settle score with their World Cup nemesis Bangladesh.

It was India’s first ODI series win abroad in 15 months since the 4-1 verdict against Pakistan in February, 2006.

Chasing the daunting target, none of the Bangladesh batsmen could really get going though Aftab Ahmed (40) and captain Habibul Bashar (43) got starts but could not make it count.

The margin of defeat could have been much bigger for the home team had it not been for some lusty hitting by Mashrafe Mortaza, who struck a blistering 42 off just 22 balls and took the score beyond the 230 mark which looked doubtful at one stage.

Mortaza picked up Dinesh Mongia for special treatment clobbering him for four consecutive sixes, much to the delight of the near capacity home crowd, which suddenly found its voice.

Young Piyush Chawla, playing his first ODI, was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three wickets for 37 runs off his 10 overs. The Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner was drafted into the team in place of an injured S. Sreesanth.

The two teams will now travel to Chittagong for the inconsequential third and final game to be played on Tuesday.

The Bangladesh reply began on a wrong note as they lost regular wickets in the early overs.

The promising Tamim Iqbal, who struck a belligerent half-century in the series opener, edged past gully off Munaf Patel to pick up a boundary, but it was curtains for him in the fourth over.

However, it was too late for Tamim (7) to regain the crease as Piyush Chawla sent in a precision throw to Dhoni, who did the rest.

Omar, who played in his characteristic gritty style, put on 33 for the second wicket as Aftab Ahmed let loose some wonderful strokes that brought the crowd to its feet.

But Omar (11) fell to a slower delivery from Zaheer as he committed himself to a stroke too early and Karthik made no mistake in taking the offering in the covers.

Zaheer then saw the back of another dangerman, Saqib Al Hasan (5), who edged behind the wicket, as Banlgadesh were in trouble at 60 for three.

Vice-captain Mohammad Ashraful also did not last long as he was foxed by a Piyush Chawla googly to give the delighted teenager his first international scalp on debut. Ashraful got 12.

Powar finally dismissed Aftab (40) in the 20th over when the batsman tried to force the pace but saw his stumps uprooted. Aftab faced 41 balls and picked up five boundaries and a six.

Skipper Habibul Bashar and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim tried to delay the inevitable as they saw the score past the 100 mark in the 23rd over.

The Indian openers initially could not break loose against a tight bowling performance by Mortaza and Syed Rasel.

Sehwag and Gambhir had to wait for the loose balls to pounce upon on a flat track.

The pair put on 43 runs, before Sehwag (21) yet again fell prey to a mad rush of blood in the eighth over.

Dhoni, again promoted in the batting order, was a trifle lucky even before opening his account as he edged Mashrafe, but the ball fell wide of wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Dhoni picked up a couple of fours in the 17th over, the first one being a cheeky stroke past the slip, as the 50 of the partnership came off 66 deliveries.

But Dhoni seemed to be riding his luck, as Razzak dropped a difficult caught and bowled chance in the next over, with the Indian on 26.

Maintaining a steady run rate of over five an over, the Indians reached the three-figure mark in 19.5 overs. The Delhi left-hander got to his half-century of 65 balls soon after.

India were cruising at 129 for one at the half way stage, but the 87-run stand ended in the next over, with Dhoni trying to cut a Mohammad Rafique delivery that pitched wide and Rahim took a great catch behind the wicket.

Now that’s the kind of comprehensive win the Indians would have wanted to make up for their defeat to Bangladesh in the World Cup. Not that it takes away the taste of the lost opportunity in the World Cup, but it might just make the Indians feel a lot better.

In 1983, the West Indies beat India 5-0 in the one-day series when they toured India after the loss in the World Cup final, and though it must have been hugely satisfying to them to do that, the record books still show India as the 1983 world champions.

The victory was set up by a top-class century from Gautam Gambhir, who got good support from M.S.Dhoni, Yuvraj and Rahul Dravid to take India to a total that was challenging to chase for Bangladesh. It was good to see that Gambhir has learnt from his earlier outings for India, and to see how he disciplined his game to ensure that he made the most of the chance to bat on a good flat pitch against bowling that was hardly testing.

This kind of an atmosphere is more challenging to bat in, as there is every chance that a batsman can get lulled into complacency and try something over-ambitious and chuck his wicket away. This is what Gambhir has been doing in the past, and the fact that he applied himself is a good sign and shows that he is prepared to learn.

He may well have seen how Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is a huge hitter himself, had disciplined his batting and curbed his shot-making in the interests of his team in the previous game, and the left-hander did pretty much the same, though at no stage did he look a slouch with the bat.

Unfortunately, the Dhoni lesson was lost on Sehwag, who having got off to a good start, tried to go over the top and was out. Sehwag has a run-rate closer to a run-a-ball than most others, and that too in Test cricket, but in the one-day arena, he seems to try to do too much and throws it away.

How much sympathy he will retain after this performance remains to be seen, but the way he is getting out indicates that he is looking to commit cricketing suicide, and unless he does learn from Dhoni, and now Gambhir to temper his game, he will find himself in the cricketing wilderness, for quite simply, if he is not willing to show some patience, then the skipper and the selectors will also lose patience with him.

Useful contributions from Yuvraj, Dhoni and Dravid ensured that the scoring rate was maintained as India inched closer to 300. In this kind of heat, there is lot of energy lost as players chase the ball around the ground and even just standing makes one lose vital fluids, so its never easy to come in and do the batting, and that too if it is at almost six runs an over. Bangladesh never really got the partnerships it needed to get close to the Indian total, and once the top order had perished, it was only a matter of time before the game was decided.

Piyush Chawla made a fine impression with his bowling. It was refreshing to see the young man not cowed down by the format of the game and still give the ball lots of air and get the loop and turn so essential for a leg-spinner.

The manner in which he got Habibul Bashar’s wicket also showed top temperament. He had lured the Bangla skipper out of his crease the previous ball, but Dhoni fumbled the stumping. Not deterred by that, the leggie, knowing that Bashar would try and ride his luck and charge him again, gave the next ball enough air to have the batsman flailing at it as it spun away, and Dhoni grabbed the chance to redeem himself. That was terrific bowling, and showed the young man has a good head apart from a stout heart for taking disappointments in his stride. — PMG

New Delhi, May 12
India’s weather office could soon play a key role in deciding the cricket team’s tour itinerary in the subcontinent.

As rain continues to affect play in the ongoing India-Bangladesh series, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has stepped in with an offer to provide weather forecasts for any tour within the subcontinent, as also Sharjah, a proposal that has caught the cricket boss’ interest.

“We had suggested to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to evolve a permanent mechanism for having weather-related inputs from the Indian Meteorological Department for cricket matches in the subcontinent,” Minister for Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal told reporters here today.

Pawar was quick in his reply and favoured such a mechanism, Sibal said.

The first two one-dayers of the India-Bangladesh series were slightly curtailed due to rain and the early onset of monsoon is expected to affect the second Test match that begins on May 25.

The south-west monsoon has already set over Andaman and Nicobar island on May 10, a week in advance and is expected to reach Bangladesh shores on May 24.

“Currently, the monsoon is active in the Bay of Bengal and a low- pressure area over central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify and move north-eastward, bringing some more rain in the north-eastern states and adjoining Bangladesh,” said Akhilesh Gupta, an adviser in the ministry.

Gupta said there were chances of slight interruption in the May 15 ODI due to rain and thunderstorm, while the two Test matches could see major interruptions.

Sibal said sports itineraries finalised in consultation with the Met Department would help in better organisation of events and help spectators enjoy it to the fullest.

“Cricket could just be a beginning, such customised forecast could help in better organisation of other sporting events too,” he said.

Gupta said the weather department could provide a normal expected weather for a particular period of the year and then give short-term forecasts for a week, five day and three days.

“The weekly forecasts are 55 per cent accurate, while the five-day and three-day forecasts are 60-65 per cent and 70-75 per cent accurate, respectively,” he said.

The Met Department is gearing up to provide venue-specific weather forecast for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and has plans for a massive restructuring exercise for the purpose.

A Cabinet note is being moved to modernise the Met Department at a cost of Rs 900 crore. — PTI

Barcelona, May 12
Felipe Massa took his third straight pole position today for the Spanish Grand Prix. It was the fifth career pole for the Ferrari driver, who won the Bahrain GP last month after qualifying fastest.

Massa timed at 1 minute, 21.421 seconds on the 4.627-kilometre Circuit de Catalunya course.

Two-time defending world champion Fernando Alonso finished second for the third time this year with a time of 1:21.451. Alonso became the first Spaniard to win the Spanish GP after starting from pole last year.

“It’s been a really good weekend for us with the car performing well so to be on front row reflects the competitive package we’ve put together,” Alonso said.

Massa’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen finished third in qualifying for the third time in 2007, finishing in 1:21.723.

F1 rookie Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who topped two of three practice sessions over the weekend, including today’s, qualified fourth for the third time this year, clocking 1:21.785.

Alonso is tied for the championship lead with Hamilton and Raikkonen, with 22 points after three races. Massa has 17. McLaren leads the constructors’ standings with 44 points. — AP

Ipoh, May 12
Shut out of the final, India have now trained their sights on a podium finish in the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup eight-nation hockey tournament.

Rated as the second best team in the competition after Australia, the Indians take on Asian Games champions South Korea in the play-off for third place tomorrow.

“It was disappointing to lose to Malaysia in the semifinal last night, but now we have to focus on the next best option available to us and that is a bronze medal,” coach Joaquim Carvalho said.

The Indians would aim to emulate the feat they managed last year when they finished third in the prestigious tournament. They had also won the event three times in 1985, 1991 and 1995.

Carvalho admitted that the task before India tomorrow would not be easy. “The Koreans are fit and fast, and we need to be on our toes. However, I am confident that the team would put up another strong performance,” he said.

The absence of a strong fullback to partner William Xalco has been India’s major concern, especially in the light of Harpal Singh’s rather low-key showing so far.

Carvalho opined that reaching the semifinals was a good result for India who have come here with a fairly young and inexperienced side with the express intention of providing exposure to the new players.”

After a false start which saw them losing 0-1 to Australia in the opening game, the Indians gathered momentum, defeating China 5-4 and Argentina 2-0 before losing to Malaysia in the semifinals.

Carvalho asserted that the players have shrugged off the semifinal defeat and would be keen to end their campaign here on a winning note.

The Indians have played with a lot of spirit and spunk, but mistakes inside the striking circle have cost them dear.

The Koreans have openly expressed their admiration of the Indian team that they described as “young, fast and talented.” Being the Asian Games champions, the onus will be on the Koreans to live up to expectations while the Indians have nothing to lose.

“They have some extremely talented players and I do not expect an easy match,” said Korean coach Myung Jun Cho.

His team has displayed up-and-down form that saw them lose to Malaysia 1-0 in the group match besides a long drawn-out 4-2 win over Pakistan and an unimpressive 1-0 result against lowly Canada.

Coming up against Australia in the semifinals, the Koreans were blown away 6-2, but suffered on account of some strange umpiring decisions, including a disallowed goal that would have tied the scores at 2-2. — PTI

3rd-place match
India vs Korea 12.30 pm

Ipoh, May 12
Argentina saw off a late revival by Pakistan to post a 4-2 win and finish fifth in the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today. Argentina went 3-0 ahead on goals by Pedro Ibarra (11th), Lucas Rafael Rossi (16th) and Juan Eduardo Garreta (24th), but Ehsan Ullah (47th) and Rehan Butt (61st) brought Pakistan back into the match.

Argentina delivered the final blow in the 65th through Pedro, who converted his second penalty corner of the game.

It was Pakistan’s worst finish in this tournament that they had won in 1999, 2000 and 2003. Last year, they had finished fifth.

Earlier, a three-goal burst, including two in the last four minutes, by Xian Tang Liu, featured China’s 4-2 win against Canada in a playoff for the 7th position.

Yi Song (27th) scored the other Chinese goal after Liu had opened their account in the 17th minute. Canada scored through Wayne Fernandes (27th) and Paul Wettlaufer (34th). — PTI

Karachi, May 12
The PCB has launched its zero tolerance policy on indiscipline by fining Imran Farhat and placing him on probation for six months after the opener expressed his dissent at the national selectors. The board acted after the 24-year-old Farhat telephoned chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed to complain about his omission from this month’s one-day series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.

Salahuddin, a former Test player, filed a written complaint to the board in which he explained that Farhat’s father-in-law had also voiced his displeasure with the selectors’ decision in person.

“Farhat will be fined 50 per cent of his match fee when he next plays for Pakistan,” PCB director of cricket operations Zakir Khan told Reuters today.

Farhat, who has appeared in 27 tests and 33 one-dayers, later apologised to the board and selectors for his behaviour. — Reuters

Gurgaon, May 12
Shiv Kapur went on a birdie spree to leap to second place but Jyoti Randhawa strengthened his hold on the title by extending his sole lead on the penultimate day of the Rs 65 lakh DLF Masters golf here today.

Randhawa, after an amazing run on the first two days, returned a card of one-under 71 that put him at 13-under overall and gave a six-stroke cushion over Kapur going into the final day.

Kapur, coming into the tournament after a month’s lay-off to recover from a back injury, found his touch to fire a six-under 66 which catapulted him from tied-11th to lone second position at seven-under 209.