The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

2 Ys deny India victory

Pakistani cricket captain Younis Khan acknowledges the crowd after reaching a century during the last day of the second Test between India and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. The match ended in a draw. — AFP photo

Kolkata, December 4
India failed to finish the job after pushing Pakistan to the wall as stand-in skipper Younis Khan struck a chanceless century under pressure to salvage a draw on the final day of the second cricket Test here today.

Set a winning target of 345, Pakistan were struggling at 78 for 4 in the post lunch session, before the seasoned pair of Younis (107 not out) and Mohammed Yousuf (44 not out) stitched together a match-saving 136-run partnership to deny India victory at Eden Gardens.

Replying to India's second innings essay of 184 for 4 declared, Pakistan had reached 214 for 4 in 77 overs when the match was called off with four mandatory overs still remaining.

Younis, who had scored a hundred on this ground in Pakistan's previous appearance in 2004-05, gave yet another fine exhibition of batsmanship to complete his 15th hundred in 57 Tests in an innings spanning 214 minutes. He faced 182 balls and struck 14 boundaries.

Yousuf, however, was lucky to survive on 32 when short leg fielders Dinesh Kaarthick and Wasim Jaffer failed to react to a bad-pad edge of a quicker delivery.

With Indian skipper Anil Kumble declaring 38 minutes into the day's play, Pakistan were left with a minimum of 81 overs to make a match of it.

However, the tourists lost Yaseer Hamid (14) as early as the seventh over with 23 on the board as the batsman went for an uppish drive off Zaheer Khan who stretched to his right to accept the catch.

The lunch was taken with Pakistan on 37/1.

The script seemed to be going India's way during the second session, as they picked up three wickets to be in a commanding position on the slowly turning track.

The visitors got a big jolt when first innings centurion Kamran Akmal (14) fell in the second ball after resumption. The wicket-keeper batsman tried to work away a leg-break from veteran leggie Kumble, missed the line and found his citadel shattered.

Younis, who opened with a boundary of Kumble and brought up Pakistan's 50 with a couple, defended dourly to save his side at a ground known for giving vicious turn to the spinners in the last session of the final day.

Kumble then plotted the dismissal of Salman Butt (8) with a delivery that turned in from outside the off stump to find the batsman plumb in front, leaving Pakistan at a precarious 65 for 3.

The veteran Indian spinner was unlucky in the next ball, as Pakistan's first innings hero and new batsman Misbah-ul Haq was dropped by Dinesh Kaarthick at short leg.

The lapse, however, did not prove costly, with pacer Munaf Patel deceiving Misbah with an off cutter that bowled him through the gap between bat and pad. Pakistan were looking down the barrel at 78 for four before Younis and Yousuf put their heads down to do the rescue act.

Younis and the in-form Yousuf then soldiered on, as the 100 of the innings came off 46.5 overs in 112 minutes.

India went wicketless in the last session, that saw the 100 of the partnership posted in 101 minutes of 181 balls.

The host bowlers seemed resigned to a drawn encounter as Pakistan's 200 came in the 74th over, when Yousuf cut Patel to the backward point ropes.

Younis completed his well-deserved ton in style, as he reverse swept a lacklustre Harbhajan Singh past backward point to the boundary, and gleefully took off his helmet and raised his bat. The right hander reached the milestone in 203 minutes, facing 174 balls, hitting 13 boundaries.

In the morning, the home side went for quick runs in their bid to effect an early declaration.

The day's opening over was eventful, as overnight not out batsman Sourav Ganguly picked up five runs of Shoaib Akhtar's very first ball, courtesy a single and a boundary of an overthrow.

The left hander took a single of the next delivery to reach 30 and complete 6000 runs in 98 Tests by playing the Rawalpindi Express to backward point, but injured his left elbow in the third ball as he dived to save himself from a run out. The physio had to be called in to attend to Ganguly.

Ganguly, however, recovered soon and pulled leg spinner Danish Kaneria to the square leg fence as 18 runs came off the first two overs.

Akhtar, however, got his maiden success of the match with a slower stuff that cut back after pitching outside the off stump and rattled the leg stump of M S Dhoni (37; 61 b, 2x4).

Ganguly became Akhtar's second victim as he tried to lob the fast bowler, missed and found his leg stump dislodged and Kumble invited Pakistan back to the popping crease. — PTI

Scoreboard

India (1st innings) 616 for 5 dec

Pakistan (1st innings) 456

India (2nd innings)

Jaffer b Kaneria 56

Karthik c Misbah b Kaneria 28

Dhoni b Akhtar 37

Ganguly b Akhtar 46

Dravid not out 8

Extras (lb-3, nb-6) 9

Total (4 wkts, 42.4 overs) 184 dec

Fall of wickets: 1-75, 2-95, 3-166, 4-84.

Bowling: Akhtar 12.4-0-46-2, Tanvir 9-0-41-0, Sami 5-1-28-0, Kaneria 15-0-61-2, Butt 1-0-5-0.

Pakistan (2nd innings)

Hameed c&b Zaheer 14

Akmal b Kumble 14

Butt lbw Kumble 11

Younis not out 107

Misbah b Munaf 6

Yousuf not out 44

Extras (b-8, lb-6, nb-4) 18

Total (4 wkts, 77 overs) 214

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-37, 3-65, 4-78.

Bowling: Zaheer 8-0-32-1, Kumble 25-4-73-2, Munaf 10-3-21-1, Harbhajan 31-5-67-0, Tendulkar 3-0-7-0.

Man of the match: Wasim Jaffer (India)

	Ganguly completes 6,000 runs Kolkata, December 4 Sourav Ganguly Tuesday became the seventh Indian to score 6,000 Test runs with his knock of 46 on the fifth and final day of the second Test match against Pakistan here. Ganguly, resuming his innings on 24, was just six runs short of the 6,000 mark and duly reached the milestone at the Eden Gardens. He thus became the 46th batsmen in the world to score so many runs. Only Sachin Tendulkar (11,289), Sunil Gavaskar (10,122), Rahul Dravid (9,622), Dilip Vengsarkar (6,868), Mohammed Azharuddin (6,215) and Gundappa Viswanath (6,080) have scored more runs then Ganguly for India. It was the Kolkata-based left-hander's 159th innings of his 98th Test match since making his debut against England at Lord's, London, in 1996. In India's first innings, Ganguly reached a long-cherished personal milestone of scoring a century at his home ground. A three-figure knock eluded him in eight Test matches, but in the ninth the 35-year-old finally scored a century. — IANS
	Pak comeback commendable Zaheer Abbas writes Let me start by first of all congratulating the Pakistan team for a fine, fighting display. They were on the back foot for the first three days of this second Test match at Eden Gardens, but the manner in which they came back at the Indians is commendable as well as an encouraging sight. The fact that they did so under tremendous pressure only adds to the sheen of their performance. What the draw at the Eden Gardens does is to set up the Bangalore match nicely. The series is still alive and there is now all to play for in four days time. More importantly, Pakistan will carry the confidence of having survived a very stiff test indeed, in Kolkata, with them to southern India. This is in a venue they have scored some remarkable victories in the past on the last two occasions India and Pakistan have played there. Pakistan's second innings hero was the captain. Younis Khan may have played a somewhat rash shot in the first innings, but he redeemed himself today with a superb knock that was played according to the situation. Had one more wicket fallen at that juncture - with the first innings centurions Mishbah-ul Haq and Kamran Akmal already back in the pavilion - India would have got an opportunity to pile on the pressure yet again. However, the way in which Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf played out time was commendable. Misbah, Kamran and Mohammad Sami had showed their team-mates that there was not all that much in this wicket and how to go about batting on it. In the second innings, the two team seniors applied themselves brilliantly and Younis was rewarded with a well-deserved century too. In short, Pakistan came up trumps when it mattered. Also, it was important for Yousuf to play himself back into form, and there is no better way to do it than by spending time out in the middle. Younis may have got the hundred, but Yousuf's innings too was a very precious one and will boost his confidence considerably ahead of what promises to be a most crucial Test match in Bangalore. Overall, I though India's batsmen did not play fully to the situation in the second innings. The match was theirs to take, but they did not score quickly enough and that, in turn, did not give their bowlers enough time to get at the Pakistan batsmen. Having said that it is difficult to judge just how much time was really required to get 10 wickets since the pitch hardly deteriorated as much as it was expected to do. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and some of the other Indians had predicted that their spinners would do the job on the fifth day but a combination of time, lack of assistance from the pitch and some unimpressive tactics from the Indians combined with quality batting by Pakistan saw this match end in a well-contested draw. My only worry ahead of the third Test is the Pakistan bowling. The batsmen have proved themselves brilliantly here and to some extent in Delhi too. It is the bowling that is a cause for concern. Shoaib Akhtar is the only one who has really looked capable of taking wickets in every spell he has bowled. Unfortunately, none of the others have shown that capability. To win a match, you need to take 20 wickets, but how Pakistan plan to do that with one effective bowler is the question. Same showed that he has developed greatly as a batsman, and while that is welcome, his primary job in this team is to take wickets, which he has not really done. Danish Kaneria too was out of his elements though to be fair, even spinners of the class and quality of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh struggled to take wickets at the Eden. This was a match that looked like going all India's way especially over the first three days before Pakistan came back over the final two days. India would have expected to sweep this match after scoring that 600-plus total in the first innings, but that did not happen. Like I said earlier, all credit to Pakistan, and to Misbah, Kamran, Sami, Shoaib, Younis and Yousuf. They deserve all the congratulations. — News Watch Asia
	Kirsten signs contract Cape Town, December 4 Former South African opener Gary Kirsten signed a two-year contract to coach India today. “It will be a great honour to coach the game's most passionately supported team, and I can't wait to take on what I know will be one of the biggest challenges of my ongoing career in cricket,” Kirsten told Reuters from Cape Town. Kirsten is due to take over officially on March 1 next year but said he would join the Indian team during their tour to Australia from December to February. “I'll be with the team during the third and fourth tests to facilitate the transition,” Kirsten said. “A plan will also be made for me to meet with the Indian team before they leave for Australia on December 17.” Kirsten's first full series in charge will be against his home country South Africa in India in March and April. “I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that,” he said. “It will undoubtedly be a special series for me.” — Reuters
	BCCI wants Vengsarkar to continue New Delhi, December 4 In a sudden turn of events, the BCCI today climbed down in its standoff with chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, saying it would go into his "legitimate" demands for compensation for not writing columns. In an apparent bid to effect a truce, BCCI president Sharad Pawar said he wanted Vengsarkar, who had demanded relaxation of the stiff guidelines that barred selectors from writing columns or adequate compensation for the ban, to continue in the post. In an unscheduled press conference, Pawar announced that a Working Committee meeting has been convened on December 16 in Mumbai to look into the chief selector's "legitimate" demands for compensation. Expressing hopes that the miffed chief selector - sulking after asked to comply with the Board's seven-point guideline and stop writing columns - would continue in the post, Pawar said Vengsarkar's demand for compensation was a "legitimate" one. Vengsarkar had also set a deadline of today for a reply from the BCCI on his demands and the Board had earlier said he was free to quit. Vengsarkar had claimed Rs 40 lakh as compensation from the Board, which BCCI had initially rejected. Pawar, however, admitted that the amount was quite a big one and he also conceded that the selectors need to be paid. "We don't have paid selectors, like some other countries have. But selectors need to travel a lot and watch number of matches. And Vengsarkar said he would incur a loss of Rs 40 lakh, which is not a small amount. So we have to decide how to compensate the loss." "Actually there is a legal problem and we can't pay selectors who are our elected office-bearers. Vengsarkar himself is an elected vice-president of Mumbai Cricket Association, while the case is same with Sanjay Jagdale (Madhya Pradesh), Ranjib Biswal (Orissa), who are office-bearers with their respective state associations.” "His (Vengsarkar) is a legitimate demand and we want to compensate too but we can't violate the law. So we have convened a Working Committee and office bearers' meeting on 16th to find a way out," Pawar said. Vengsarkar relents Mumbai: Ending days of suspense and close to six hours of high drama since his arrival today at the Wankhede Stadium here, chief cricket selector Dilip Vengsarkar has decided to attend tomorrow's selection panel meeting at Bangalore. — PTI
	Decision on Mongia before match: Sandhu Gopal Sharma Tribune News Service Panchkula, December 4 After they suffered a crushing defeat against Kolkata Tigers in their previous match, Chandigarh Lions will be eager to dish out a better performance to keep their campaign going in the ICL Twenty20 match against Hyderabad Heroes at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in the evening match tomorrow. The team was bowled out for 81, the lowest score in the tournament as opener Darren Maddy bowled a dream spell, claiming six wickets in 2.3 overs, giving away just six runs. The team led by charismatic Chris Cairns and having an impressive star line-up will need to pull up their socks if they have to fancy their chances against the Inzamam-led Hyderabad Heroes. The Lions are expected to get a boost with the likely inclusion of Dinesh Mongia. Left-handed batsman, a useful left-arm bowler and a fine fielder, Mongia had sustained a thumb injury before the start of the tournament and had to cool his heels from the sidelines in the first two games that Chandigarh Lions played against Delhi Jets, which they won, before losing the second match to Kolkata Tigers on Sunday. Team coach Balwinder Sandhu revealed to The Tribune that though the chances of Mongia playing the game are good, the final decision about his inclusion will be taken before the start of the match. “During practice session today, he did bowling and looked okay. But a final call on whether he will play or not will be taken tomorrow morning,” Balwinder Singh, a former India seam bowler, revealed. “As we still have to play crucial matches, we will not risk him as the injury may not flare up again,” he said. For Chandigarh Lions, the onus will be on the hard-hitting all rounder Cairns and Andrew Hall and former Kiwi opener Hamish Marshall to come good so that the team can have a chance to go for a victory. Hyderabad Heroes will be pinning their hopes on the dangerous Pakistan trio of skipper Inzamam-ul Haq and all rounders Abdul Razzak and Azhar Mahmood and former South African all rounder Nicky Boje and New Zealand’s Chris Harris to do well and consolidate their position in the points tally. Both the teams had a work-out in the afternoon. An interesting contest is on the cards when both the teams take the field on the morrow. Teams: Hyderabad Heroes (from): Inzamam ul Haq, Anirudh Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Abdul Razzak, Azhar Mehmood, Syed Shahubuddin, Chris Harris, Nicky Boje, Stuart Binny, Inder Shekhar Reddy, Vinay Kumar, Ibrahim Khaleel, Kaushik Reddy, Bheema Rao, Alfred Absolom, Shashank Nag, PS Niranjan, Baburao Yadav and Zakaraia Zuffri. Chandigarh Lions (from): Chris Cairns, Imran Farhat, Dinesh Monigia, Hamish Marshall, Sarabjeet Singh, TP Singh, Andrew Hall, Reetinder Sodhi, Rajesh Sharma, Ishan Malhotra, Daryl Tuffey, Sumit Kalia, Chetan Sharma, Love Ablish, Bipul Sharma, Karanveer Singh, Amit Uniyal, Gaurav Gupta and Harpreet Singh. Start of play: 6 p.m.
	Sangakkara slams superb 152 Kandy, December 4 Kumar Sangakkara scored a superb 152 as Sri Lanka set England an improbable 350-run victory target on the fourth day of the first Test today. Sangakkara, who became the first person to score 150 or more in four successive Tests, powered Sri Lanka to 442-8 declared in their second innings. England's bid to save the game started badly when Alastair Cook (4) was dismissed in the opening over of the innings. The tourists closed on nine for one with skipper Michael Vaughan on one and night-watchman James Anderson on four. Sangakkara, following his first innings 92, dominated with a display that spanned 269 deliveries and included 19 boundaries. The 30-year-old shared a 122-run partnership with skipper Mahela Jayawardene. Brief scores: Sri Lanka (1st innings): 188 England (1st innings): 281 Sri Lanka (2nd innings): 442 for 8 decl (Vandort 49, Jayasuriya 78, Sangakkara 152, M. Jayawardene 65, Panesar 3-132) England (2nd innings): 9 for 1. — Reuters
	Bisla, Barun frustrate Delhi Dharamsala, December 4 Maninder Bisla and Barun Sharma frustrated Delhi's late charge for outright victory as they dug in for 18.1 overs to help Himachal Pradesh force a draw and earn three points by virtue of their first innings lead in the group 'A' Ranji Trophy Super League match here today. Forced to follow on Delhi made 482 for 6 before declaring their innings. Himachal were 83 for 5 in 35 overs when the match ended. Riding on Aakash Chopra's double-century (215), Delhi declared their second innings at 482 for six, setting a victory target of 215 runs for the hosts in 35 overs. The visitors at one stage looked like bundling out the hosts cheaply as Ishant Sharma had them reeling at 34 for 5 in 16.5 overs but all their hopes were dashed by some stubborn batting by Bisla and Barun Sharma. Brief scores: HP (1st innings): 343 Delhi (1st innings): 75 Delhi (2nd innings): 482 for 6 declared (G Gambhir 103, A Chopra 215, AK Thakur 3-72) HP (2nd innings): 83 for 5 (I Sharma 4-44) — UNI
	Bengal beat Punjab Siliguri, December 4 Bengal defeated Punjab by nine wickets in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group -B match here today. Resuming at 64 for 1, Punjab were all out for 315. S. Sohal made a valiant 95. Bengal had to score 44 runs in their second innings and they lost Arindam Das in the chase. Brief scores: Punjab (1st innings): 241 Bengal (1st innings): 513 for 6 decl. Punjab (2nd innings): 315 (S Sohal 95, Dharmani 43, U Kaul 38, RR Bose 3-55, SS Sarkar 3-81, Dinda 3-117) Bengal (2nd innings): 45 for 1 (AP Majumdar 29 n.o)
	Ronaldo double lifts Man U Manchester, December 4 Cristiano Ronaldo made up for missing out on the European Footballer of the Year award by scoring both goals as Manchester United moved to within three points of leaders Arsenal with a 2-0 win against Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday. Ronaldo, who was overlooked in favour of AC Milan's Brazilian forward Kaka for the Ballon d'Or award that was announced on Sunday, proved too good for Fulham, who saw their woeful Premiership away record stretch to 24 games without victory as Sir Alex Ferguson's team cruised to the win. United had allowed themselves to fall off the Premiership pace by losing 1-0 at Bolton in their last league outing and nothing but three points against Fulham would do for the champions with Arsenal stretching their lead to six points with a weekend victory at Aston Villa. Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez should have hit a hat-trick during that period as three golden chances fell into his path, but the former West Ham forward failed to take any of them. Where Tevez was wasteful, however, Ronaldo was lethal and the Portugal international gave United the lead on ten minutes with a thunderous volley that left Niemi completely helpless. On this occasion, poor defending by Fulham unlocked the door for United. Lawrie Sanchez's team failed to properly clear Ryan Giggs's corner and the ball ultimately fell to Ronaldo on the edge of the six yard box after a flick-on from defender Nemanja Vidic. Unmarked, Ronaldo simply lashed a right-foot volley into the roof of the net to put United ahead and claim his twelfth goal of the season. Sanchez's team could not hold out until the end of the game, though, and Ronaldo doubled United's lead when he headed in John O'Shea's cross from close range on 58 minutes. — AFP
	JCT, Mahindra split points Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 4 The lacklustre match between JCT, Phagwara, and Mahindra United ended in a goalless draw in the ongoing ONGC Professional National Football league at Guru Nanak Stadium here today. Except for rare entry of ball near the goalposts, most of the time the players were rallying in the mid-field area. The draw ended the victory run of the local favourites JCT. The JCT have defeated Mohun Bagan and the East Bengal (3-1) in the earlier league matches. The Mahindra United team were runners-up in the Federation Cup title on the same grounds in September earlier this year. Pointwise, the JCT are placed far ahead of the Mahindra United. Mahindra United have only two points. It had earlier lost to Churchill Brothers 5-1 and drew 1-1 with Air India in the opening match. JCT have seven points and Mahindra United two. JCT will stay among the point toppers in the league in case Churchill draw with Dempo in today's match. In the case of a decider, the JCT will naturally be ranked second. Yellow cads were shown to Arata Izumi and Manjit Singh of Mahindra United and Edu Ardo Dasilva and Sunil Chhetri of JCT. Sushanth Mathew of Mahindra United was shown a green card. Julius Akpele, captain of the JCT, was adjudged the 'man of the match'. JCT lacked manpower because the key midfielder Renedy Singh did not play. The team's best bet Edu Ardo failed to fire as he was deftly marked by the opposition. Sunil Chhetri deserves a special mention in rallying the team near the opposition goal. The abysmally low crowd turn-out was a big dampener for the organisers and the commentator made repeated mention of the fact that crowd were little forthcoming despite elaborate attempts to woo them. The organisers expect a bigger crowd gathering at the next match which also features the JCT on December 8. The match picked up a little tempo in the second half with the JCT dominating the scene. The Mahindra United made a close attempt right in the beginning of the second half when a kick by Manjit Singh nearly reached the post before goalkeeper keeper Karamjit Singh made a brave attempt to thwart a near-definite goal. Douhhou Pierre of the Mahindra United showed an excellent display in feeding his forward line.
	Dempo defeat Churchill Bros Margao, December 4 Defending champions Dempo Sports Club brushed aside the challenge of Durand Cup champions Churchill Brothers by 2-0, and registered their third consecutive win in the ONGC I-League Championship football match at the Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, today. Dempo avenged the defeat suffered by them in the Super Cup final match that was held last month. Roberto Mendes Silva in the 45th minute and Renty Martin in the 65th minute scored for the winning team. With today's win, Dempo is leading the table with nine points from three wins, while Churchill remains at six points from two wins and a loss. Churchill made a series of attacks in the first half of the game but Dempo's defence was rock solid. Defender John Dias and Mahesh Gawali tightly marked both Churchill forwards Odafe and Mboyo. The fast paced first half witnessed an equal share of exchanges and missed chances from both the teams. Dempo's Edeh Chidi initiated the first move as early as in the third minute from the right flank and passed the ball to Renti Martins, who missed a sitter as his well attempted try sailed over the bar. Churchill came near scoring in the 24th minute, but Khemtange Paite's free kick shot was smartly punched to safety by Dempo goalkeeper Satish Kumar. After six minutes, Churchill had another good chance to move ahead but Rowilson Rodrigues' header missed the target narrowly following a flag kick by Paite. In the 37th minute, Dempo's defender Sameer Naik, who was injured, was replaced by Pio Rodrigues. Churchill could have scored in the 44th minute, had not Mboyo Iyomi's header missed by a whisker. Dempo surged ahead at the stroke of half time through Medio Roberto Mendes Silva (Beto), when Dempo's Valerian Rebello took a free kick and Roberto, who headed the ball, slowly entered into the empty goal taking the score to 1-0. Inspired by the lead, Dempo continued to attack and could have consolidated their lead in the 51st minute but, Churchill goalkeeper made a smart save off a rasping shot by Roberto Mendes. Dempo increased their lead in the 65th minute through Renty Martin, whose header found the net off a well measured pass received from Nicolau Borges, taking the score to 2-0. Dempo's medio Roberto Mendes Silva was adjudged the man of the match for his fine performance. — UNI
	Sipaeya, Bopanna to clash in round 2 New Delhi, December 4 Sunil Kumar Sipaeya and Rohan Bopanna were the only Indian survivors on a day when three of their compatriots bit the dust in the first round of the $50,000 ATP Sail Open Challenger series tournament at the DLTA courts here today. While Bopanna staved off wildcard Tushar Liberhan's challenge 6-3, 6-4, Sipaeya got the better of Kuwaiti Mohammad Ghareeb 7-6, (10/8), 6-3 in a baseline battle. However, only one of them will remain in contention tomorrow as Bopanna and Sipaeya face off in the second round. But it was curtains for wildcards Vivek Shokeen and Ashutosh Singh while qualifier Ranjeet Virali Murugesan was also knocked out. Shokeen went down fighting 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 to top seed Dane Kristian Pless. In contrast, Ashutosh was outplayed 2-6, 1-6 by France's comeback man Sebastian De Chaunac. Murugesan lost 4-6, 1-6 to Russian Dmitry Vlasov. The match between Bopanna and Liberhan went on expected lines with the former having no trouble in beating his compatriot. Earlier, Shokeen, who returned after drawing a blank in the inaugural Asia Cup, put up a fighting display against his fancied opponent. After being blown away in the opener particularly due to his own poor serve, the Indian staged a brilliant comeback and fittingly sent down an ace to clinch the second set. However, he failed to build on the advantage and was once again let down by his slipshod serve. Shokeen could not capitalise on the few chances that came his way to bow out. Later in the day, Aisam-ul Qureshi got a walkover into the quarterfinals from Kindlmann. — PTI
	Indian eves enter final New Delhi, December 4 India rallied from behind for the third time in a row to hold Azerbaijan 1-1 in their last round robin league encounter and set up a title clash with the same opponents in the Four-Nation Women's Hockey tournament here today. Ritu Rani found the equaliser in the 61st minute after Aliyeva Mi Kyong had put Azerbaijan ahead from a penalty corner in the 15th minute. Azerbaijan, who had already secured a berth in tomorrow's final before today's match, collected seven points from two wins and a draw. They had beaten Italy (4-2) and Malaysia (4-1) by convincing margins in their earlier matches. India have five points to their kitty after today's draw. They had started their campaign on an unconvincing manner with a 1-1 draw with Malaysia before beating Italy 2-1. In both matches, they were trailing 0-1 at half time. — UNI