The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Misbah continues to torment
Rookie pacer Ishant notches up his maiden 5-wicket haul

Bangalore, December 11
Misbah-ul-Haq continued to torment India by hitting his second consecutive century as the third and final cricket Test seemed headed for a tame draw despite the home team trying to push for victory by scoring quick runs in the second innings here today.

Misbah (133 not out) underlined his growing stature as Pakistan's middle order mainstay by not only helping the team to avoid follow-on but taking them to a safe total of 537, making it difficult for the hosts to force a result.

With a lead of 89 runs, the Indians lost both their openers cheaply but the experienced duo of Rahul Dravid (35 not out) and Sourav Ganguly (63 not out) ensured that there were no further setbacks by taking their second innings total to 131 for two at close on the penultimate day.

The Indians now have an overall lead of 220 runs and will look to score at a brisk pace in the first session tomorrow and set a competitive target for the visitors on the fifth day track.

But with the M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch showing no signs of a drastic deterioration, a draw appears to be the only result possible. Even in that case, India, who lead the three-match series 1-0, will have something to cheer about as it will give them their first Test series win on home soil against the traditional rivals in 28 years.

For the hosts, the individual brilliance came from the young Ishant Sharma, who looked an improved bowler today and finished with 5-118 to notch up his maiden five -wicket haul.

Ishant did exceedingly well in the post-lunch session as he polished off the Pakistan tail forcing an early tea to buttress his claim for a berth in the Australia-bound team.

India, meanwhile, ended with the dubious distinction of conceding the most number of extras in a Test innings, a show even worse that the 71 gave away by the West Indies against Pakistan at Georgetown in 1988.

Resuming on 369 for five, Misbah and Kamran Akmal (65) added another 63 runs, while Yasir Arafat too chipped in with a handy 40-run knock as Pakistan inched closed towards the Indian total.

While Ishant was the pick of the Indian bowlers, Harbhajan Singh claimed two wickets.

Arafat was the first to go after Misbah completed a well-deserved century. Arafat had little clue as he played on to a delivery from Ishant which rattled his stumps.

Two balls later, Ishant cleaned up Mohammad Sami (1) with a beautiful yorker. And in the next two overs, he got rid of Shoaib Akhtar (1), who hopped and lobbed a simple catch to Gautam Gambhir at short leg, and last man Danish Kaneria (4), who spooned a catch back to the bowler, leaving Misbah stranded at 133.

Misbah faced 322 balls and hit 17 fours during his stellar knock.

India did not have a good start to their second innings with both the openers Wasim Jaffer (18) and Gautam Gambhir (3) cooling their heels in the pavilion when the score read 26.

Gambhir perished in the seventh over when Shoaib Akhtar thoroughly exposed the bat-pad gap to disturb the off-stump and six overs later, Arafat had Wasim Jaffer (18) leg before for the second time in the match.

That brought in Dravid and Ganguly and the left-hander continued his amazing run with the bat.

Ganguly made his intention clear as he drove Akhtar for two sweetly-times boundaries through his favourite offside region in the same over and continued tormenting the Pakistanis.

The left-hander, who had notched up his maiden double century in the first innings, came dancing down the track to hit Danish Kaneria for a soaring six and remained not out after an 89-ball 63 that also included nine fours.

Dravid was unbeaten on 35, facing 76 balls and hitting five fours in the process.

The two have now added 105 runs in 147 balls for the unbroken third wicket.

Scoreboard

India (1st innings): 626

Pakistan (1st innings):

Butt c Kaarthick b Ganguly 68

Hameed lbw b Kumble 19

Younis Khan b Harbhajan 80

Yousuf c Yuvraj b Pathan 24

Misbah not out 133

Iqbal c Gambhir b Sharma 22

Akmal st Kaarthick b Harbhajan 65

Arafat b Sharma 44

Sami b Sharma 1

Akhtar c Gambhir b Sharma 1

Kaneria c & b Sharma 4

Extras (b-35, lb-26, nb-15) 76

Total (all out in 168.1 overs): 537

Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-149, 3-221, 4-227, 5-288, 6-432, 7-425, 8-527, 9-529

Bowling: Pathan 37-14-80-1, Sharma 33.1-10-118-5, Kumble 44-12-116-1, Ganguly 10-2-20-1, Harbhajan 38-6-131-2, Yuvraj
6-2-11-0.

India (2nd innings):

Jaffer lbw b Arafat 18

Gambhir b Akhtar 3

Dravid batting 35

Ganguly batting 63

Extras (lb-6, nb-6): 12

Total (For 2 wickets in 37 overs): 131

Fall of wickets: 1-17 2-26.

Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 9-2-21-1, Mohd Sami 11-1-36-0, Yasir Arafat 9-2-38-1, Danish Kaneria 8-0-30-0. — PTI

	‘I tried to maintain good length’ Bangalore, December 11 Delhi speedster Ishant Sharma today said he was happy with his maiden five-wicket haul on a batsman-friendly wicket in the very second Test of his career. The 19-year-old Delhi lad, speaking to mediapersons after the fourth day's play of the third and final Test, said he did his best to maintain good length. “I tried my best to maintain a good line and am happy that ultimately I could do it. The five-wicket haul has made me immensely happy. I spoke to my father and mother soon after the Pakistani innings as their blessings are very important for me,” he said. The six-feet-four-inch pacer, who did well for India in the Under-19 World Cup, said he felt good that after playing in domestic cricket he could make it to the international stage early. In the only Test he had played earlier — against Bangladesh — he had taken one wicket. — UNI
	Misbah resembles Miandad Zaheer Abbas With the third Test match at Bangalore more or less decided, unless of course something really dramatic happens tomorrow, this is a good time to talk a little more about Misbah-ul Haq, and why he has done so well on this tour of India. In fact everywhere I have gone, people have been asking me about him as well as his sudden “emergence” from nowhere. Misbah is quite the hero here in India, it seems. He first caught everyone's attention during the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa where in both games against India, he did well but could not quite manage to do enough to win the matches for Pakistan. Since his arrival here, he has been in superb form and has come to Pakistan's rescue repeatedly. What strikes me the most about Misbah's batting is its unorthodoxy. In many ways, he resembles Javed Miandad, who used to always fidget around in the crease and used the strangest of strokes on occasions. Misbah is a lot like that which is why he is able to play so many of those shots that a more correct and technically better-equipped batsman will not do. You will have noticed through the series that he mixes long periods of defence with some shots that I can only describe as “sneaking the runs”. All that moving around in the crease also helps to confuse or at least unsettle the bowlers and sometimes they are not sure what line to bowl at him. That is one reason why he has been so successful, despite batting twice in a row under tremendous pressure, once at Kolkata and now here at Bangalore. If you look at more correct batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid and then compare Misbah with them, you will see what I mean. They play so much straighter, but then Misbah can well point at his runs in this series and shrug it off by saying, “So what”? I also felt that at least today, Anil Kumble gave the Pakistan batsmen too much space and freedom when play began. India needed a quick wicket today to put pressure on Pakistan's tail, but Kumble's field settings were a shade too deep and it allowed the batsmen some amount of freedom. Having said that, it must be said that there is so little life in this pitch — other than the occasional ball that squatted — that it may not have really made a difference. Almost every prediction made about the pitches here at Bangalore and in Kolkata were off target. Not one of the experts have been able to read the tracks correctly and just like we expected the pitch to do something on the fifth day in the second Test and nothing happened, this match too appears to be headed the same way. Seeing Jumbo and Mohammad Yousuf having a heated chat yesterday was something of a surprise. Both are senior men and essentially very cool customers who are rarely seen to be talking too loudly or too much in public. But then even the coolest of people sometimes show anger, and I would not read too much into it. These things happen on the cricket field, and I must say the atmosphere between the two teams this time is exceptional. I remember, whenever we played India, the intensity would be there as long as the game was on, and once we had left the ground, we used to have a lot of fun together. There is a natural affinity on either side and we used to really enjoy ourselves after a hard day on the field. In closing, a few words about Ishant Sharma. In the first innings, Yasir Arafat picked up five wickets on his debut, and that Sharma emulated today and I think he has a bright future. What I liked about Ishant is that he is just around 19-20 years of age and already has good attributes for a fast bowler — height, a nice whippiness and is willing to work hard — and these are qualities that will help him as he goes along. Most of all, Ishant will have to work and stay injury-free. He is a young guy with a lot of promise and if he is willing to give his heart out like he has shown in this match, there is no reason why he will not continue to make progress with more experience. — Newswatch Asia
	Jayawardene slams unbeaten 167 Colombo, December 11 Mahela Jayawardene scored a superb unbeaten 167 and Michael Vandort made 138 as Sri Lanka reached 379 for four at close of play on the third day of the second Test today. Sri Lanka, who resumed the day on 105 for two, overhauled England’s first innings total of 351 all out for a 28-run lead with six wickets remaining. Jayawardene’s innings, his 20th Test hundred, spanned 367 deliveries and included 13 boundaries and one straight six. The innings carried the 30-year-old past 7,000 Test runs to make him the highest run scorer in Sri Lanka’s Test history. The record was previously held by the now retired Sanath Jayasuriya, who finished with a career tally of 6,973 runs. Skipper Jayawardene came to the wicket on yesterday evening with Sri Lanka in trouble on 22 for two but lifted the hosts into a strong position with a 227-run third-wicket partnership with Vandort. Vandort's hundred was the fourth of his career and spanned 259 deliveries, including 18 fours and one swept six. England broke through with the second new ball when left-armer Ryan Sidebottom, trapping Vandort lbw midway through the afternoon but Jayawardene then added 128 runs with Chamara Silva (49). Steve Harmison finally claimed another breakthrough just before the close with a short delivery that rose steeply on Silva and was fended off to gully. In the morning, the closest England came to breaking through were a couple of streaky edges through the slips by Vandort off the quick bowlers. Slow left-armer Monty Panesar, who finished with 0-111 from 32 overs, spun the ball sharply at times, especially when bowling over the wicket into the rough.. But on an increasingly placid pitch, Sri Lanka's batsmen were rarely troubled by the England attack. Sri Lanka won the first Test in the three-match series by 88 runs. — Reuters Scoreboard England (1st innings) 351 Sri Lanka (1st innings) Vandort lbw Sidebottom 138 Tharanga c Prior b Sidebottom 10 Sangakkara c Prior b Sidebottom 1 Jayawardene not out 167 Silva c Panesar b Harmison 49 Mubarak not out 2 Extras (b-5, lb-6, w-1) 12 Total (4 wkts, 128 overs) 379 FoW: 1-20, 2-22, 3-249, 3-377 Bowling: Sidebottom 25-3-72-3, Broad 25-4-63-0, Harmison 28-8-67-1, Panesar 32-4-111-0, Pietersen 12-0-43-0, Bopara 5-2-12-0, Collingwood 1-1-0-0.
	Nicky Boje denies involvement New Delhi, December 11 Former South African cricketer Nicky Boje today denied his involvement in the 2000 match fixing scandal. Boje, who was questioned by the Delhi police this morning in connection with the scandal also involving late Proteas skipper Hansie Cronje, denied his involvement in match fixing, additional commissioner of police (crime) S.C. Garg told reporters after his interrogation. “Boje was questioned in connection with the match fixing case of 2000. We wanted to question him on certain things pertaining to the case. Since Nicky Boje is in India, we wanted to clarify a few things which are in the records against him so that the case can move ahead,” Garg said. During the over one-hour long interrogation, which began at around 11 am at the Delhi Police Officers' Mess in RK Puram in South Delhi, Boje was questioned whether he knew the alleged bookies Sanjeev Chawla, Rajesh Kalra, Kishen Kumar and Sunil Dhara who had reportedly fixed matches during the 2000 one day series between India and South Africa. Boje arrived at the Mess accompanied by a senior official of the South African High Commission. Garg said Boje was very cooperative during his questioning and gave a satisfactory reply to all the questions posed to him. ''The case is still open. If there is a need we will question Boje again. We are examining all aspects of the case. Any number of players can be questioned,'' Garg said adding that there is no deadline for filing the chargesheet in the case. Nicky Boje, who is in India to play in the Indian Cricket League, was last week issued a notice by the Delhi police to join investigations into the case. The notice was issued to Boje under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires the attendance of a person if they are found to be "acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case.'' Boje is playing for 'Hyderabad Heroes' in the breakaway league which began on November 30 in Panchkula. Interrogation of Boje came seven years after his name cropped up in the match-fixing scandal. — UNI
	Ranji Roundup Solid fightback by Baroda Ashok Sethi Amritsar, December 11 Leading from the front, skipper Conners Williams scoried unbeaten hundred on his 100th first class match as Baroda put up a solid fight after Punjab declared their first innings at the overnight score of 496 for 8 on the third day of the Ranji Trophy match against Punjab being played at Gandhi Ground cricket stadium. Punjab bowlers were unable to extract any benefit from the wet and wintry conditions and allowed the visitors to put up a fighting total with the loss of just one wicket. After declaring their first innings, Baroda were put into bat on a placid track with Conners Williams and Satyajit Parag openimg the innings. Satyajit was severe on Punjab bowling and hit quickfire 80 runs in 87 balls to give a good start to his team. At lunch, Satyajit and Conners were not out with the total at 93 for no loss. Conners supported Satyajit who drove and cut effortlessly and the Punjab famed pacer duo Gagandeep and VRV Singh failed to get any support from the wicket. Playing in 100th first class match Conners achieved a major milestone by hitting unbeaten 106 studded with 17 hits to the fence. He was dropped with his individual score at 89. Satyajit fell after lunch when he was adjudged lbw off Manpreet Gony at the total score of 124. His 80 runs included 15 fours. Conners was joined by Azar Bilakhiaya and both of them carried the score to 252 for 1 at the close of stumps. Only 73 overs were bowled during the day due to abd light. Brief Scores; Punjab (1st innings): dec for 8 wickets: 496 Baroda (1st innings): Satyajit Parab lbw Manpreet Gony 80, Conners Williams 106 n.o., Azar Bilakhiaya 47 n.o. Fall of wickets: 1/124 Total: for the loss of one wicket: 252 Bowling: Gagandeep 17-4-60-0, VRV Singh 14-0-61-0, Manpreet 15-2-59-1, Charanjit 15-3-29-0, Ravi Inder 5-2-17-0, Ankur kakkar 7-1-18-0.
	Police Hockey CRPF beat Chhattisgarh Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 11 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) outplayed Chhattisgarh 7-1 on the fourth day of the 56th All- India Police Hockey Championship being played at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here today. CRPF was ahead 5-1 at half time. Out of the eight penalty corners CRPF could only convert the second one in the 15th minute through Nimhas Khakha. Chhattisgarh could not get any benefit from their two penalty corners. Simon Tirkey scored the first field goal for CRPF in the eighth minute. Rajender Singh, Vincent Hemrom and Toshil Ekka scored one each goal in the 10th, 20th and 31st minute. Rajesh Kumar scored two field goals in the 50th and 55th minute. Virendra Lakra scored the lone field goal for Chhattisgarh in the 27th minute. In another match, SSB beat Tripura 5-2 (half time score 3-1). Syed Yasir Shamim of SSB scored three goals by converting penalty corners in the 11th, 30th and 54th minute. L. Joychandra Singh and Sanjit Singh scored field goals in the 17th and 59th minutes respectively. Dhetang Horo and Sulra Lohar of Tripura scored field goals in the 9th and 66th minutes respectively. Karnataka defeated Manipur 6-1 (half time score 3-1). Roshan Madappa scored three goals for Karnataka in the 3rd, 23rd and 27rd minutes, N.P. Laxman Rao scored two field goals in the 43rd and 57th minutes and G. Magesh hit another field goal in the 56th. Turan of Manipur scored the lone goal in the 34th minute. Manipur were unable to convert even one of their seven penalty corners.
	TN set HP challenging target Chennai, December 11 Abhinav Mukund and S.S. Kumar struck half centuries to help Tamil Nadu set a challenging target for Himachal Pradesh in the Elite Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match here today. At close on the penultimate day, Himachal, who were set a target of 308 runs, scored five for no loss in their second essay, requiring to make another 303 runs on the final day tomorrow. Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 19 for one, the home team lost early wickets and were tottering at 86 for three. Scoreboard Tamil Nadu (1st innings) 234. Himachal Pradesh (1st innings) 223. Tamil Nadu (2nd innings): A Mukund c Bisla b Thakur 96, M Vijay c Bisla b Sarandeep Singh 9, H Gopinath c Bisla b Malik 2, S Badrinath lbw Sarandeep Singh 36, K Vasudevadas c Dogra b Sarandeep Singh 12, Srinivasan c Dogra b Bhatia 34, SS Kumar not out 66, R Ramkumar not out 9 Extras (b-19, lb-11, nb-2) 32 Total: 296 for six decl Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-32, 3-86, 4-112, 5-184, 6-280. Bowling: A K Thakur 18-4-49-1, V S Malik 11-2-45-1, V Bhatia 23-4-54-1, Sarandeep Singh 27-3-78-3, Sandeep Sharma 4-1-14-0, J Mehta 8-1-26-0 HP (2nd innings): M Gupta not out 4, Sandeep Sharma not out 0 Extras (lb-1) 1 Total: 5 for no loss Bowling: V Yo Mahesh 1-1-0-0, P Amarnath 0.3-0-4-0 — UNI
	Haryana reeling at 75 for 7 Rohtak, December 11 An inspired bowling performance by Madhya Pradesh saw hosts Haryana lose the upper hand, slumping to 75 for seven after bundling out the visitors for 215 on the penultimate day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match here today. Earlier, resuming the first innings at 109 for four, Madhya Pradesh floundered to get past Haryana's first innings total of 302. A collective failure on the part of the visitors saw them handing a crucial 87-run lead to the hosts. No MP batsmen could make a big score although most of them got starts. Haryana batsmen found the going tough as they lost four wickets in the span of mere eight runs and in the 16th over they were tottering at 36 for four. Brief scores Haryana (1st innings) 302 MP (1st innings) 215 Haryana (2nd innings) 75 for 7 — UNI
	Day 3 play washed out Jammu, December 11 The Ranji trophy tie between Jammu and Kashmir and Goa was today washed out as rain played spoilsport on the third day. Rains did not allow the game to resume and no ball was bowled due to wet ground conditions with a day left in the match. — UNI
	A great news for cricket: ICC Dubai, December 11 Elated over cricket's inclusion in the Olympic movement after a gap of more than 100 years, the ICC today said the IOC's decision to recognise the sport would enhance its popularity all across the world. "The IOC’s decision to recognise the ICC and cricket for the first time since the sport featured in the 1900 Paris Olympiad will lead to closer collaboration between the ICC and IOC for the good of sport. It is also expected to enhance cricket's profile in territories where it is a developing sport," the ICC said in a statement. ICC President Ray Mali said the recognition will help cricket reach out to previously unexplored territories. "This is great news for cricket. The Olympic Movement is instantly recognisable around the world and for cricket to be a part of that again has to be a good thing. —PTI
	Sania ad shooting sparks row Hyderabad, December 11 The shooting of a commercial advertisement featuring tennis star Sania Mirza at the historic Mecca Masjid has sparked a row with the minorities welfare department seeking a report from the mosque officials. The ad was shot on Monday without the permission of the department, which is responsible for the upkeep of the 17th century mosque. The shooting also evoked protest from the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a powerful Muslim political party in the Muslim-majority old city. MIM and some locals objected to the shooting and Sania Mirza’s participation in it. The advertisers had informed the police about the shooting and Sania’s arrival but did not bother to take permission from the minorities welfare department. The police reportedly used mild force twice to disperse locals objecting to the shooting. The mosque employees said the attitude of some of the members of shooting unit was also objectionable. They were reportedly wearing shoes when they entered the mosque and pushed away a mosque watchman who tried to stop them. Sheikh Karmeeullah, the district minority welfare officer, Hyderabad, has sought a report from the superintendent and manager of the mosque on the incident. Khaja Nayeemuddin, superintendent of the mosque, said he had no information about the film shooting. The two-hour shooting was over before the mosque custodians could reach the spot. The mosque officials pointed out that the shooting of films and commercials was not permitted in the mosque premises. MIM has protested to the minorities welfare department. “This is an attack on the sanctity of the mosque and it has hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims,” said MIM legislator from Charminar Ahmed Pasha Khadri. — IANS