The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Pace trio puts Aussies on the mat
World champs bundled out for 212 handing India 118-run first innings lead
Ashis Ray

Perth, January 17
The Swan River flows serenely though this metropolis. But only a stone’s throw from it - at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) ground - the serenity of Australian cricketing supremacy was shattered.

The home side were bundled out for 212 in a mere 50 overs to facilitate a 118-run 1st innings lead for India, which had been extended to 170, with nine 2nd venture wickets still in hand.

Though Andrew Symonds (66) and Adam Gilchrist (55) fought gamely, in a dramatically oscillating 2nd day of the 3rd Test, two exponents in their early 20s - Rudra Pratap Singh and Irfan Pathan - and 19-year-old Ishant Sharma ripped through the Australian batting, with the first-mentioned grabbing four for 68.

Besides, the first of captain Anil Kumble’s pair of wickets was his 600th in this his 124th Test. It “means a lot” to him, he emotionally remarked. His blue India cap has turned brown with wear and tear.

Mahendra Dhoni’s wicket-keeping was flawless as he notched up a tally of five catches. At close, Virender Sehwag had been rollicking along, cutting, driving and glancing merrily. India, though, have miles to go before they can sleep, for Australia are unlikely to buckle without a fight.

On resumption, Dhoni and Pathan boosted their 7th wicket partnership to 44 in relative comfort, before the former departed leg before wicket to Stuart Clarke, albeit a little dubiously.

Kumble was, then, dropped before he opened his account, Pathan was lbw to a ball of fuller length from Mitchell Johnson and off the very next ball - from the other end - Kumble perished at point off the persevering Clarke.

Indeed, a third wicket fell with the score stationary on 330 when Singh was caught in the close in cordon off Johnson, who redeemed himself with a return of four for 86. Indeed, he swung the ball in right-handers, which he had hardly done in previous Tests.

A smaller attendance in the searing 40 degree centigrade heat, but still vociferous one, settled in, confident of a cracker from the Aussie batters. 45 minutes after lunch, they were in shock and awe.

Bespectacled debutante opener, Chris Rogers was trapped lbw by Pathan, his partner, Phil Jaques was caught at 2nd slip off an outswinger from the same bowler, before local hero, Mike Hussey was capably caught by Dhoni off Singh for a duck. The hosts were tottering at 14 for three.

After lunch, Ricky Ponting attempted to hit is way out of trouble, driving Pathan off the front foot and Singh off the back foot to the cover fence. But the tall, lanky Sharma, with his extra bounce, in his very first over had the home skipper edging uncomfortably to gully.

The Delhi medium pacer deliriously almost danced back to the pavilion to celebrate his first Test wicket in this series - having been cruelly robbed at Sydney. Soon afterwards, a rare out-swinger from him removed Michael Clarke caught behind.

The score of 61 for five could have been worse, as prior to this Sachin Tendulkar at 1st slip spilled Symonds when this batsman was only on three. The controversial Queenslander rode his escape to register a half century before he became Kumble’s 600th victim.

The wrist spinner marked the success by raising the ball in the air to acknowledge a warm ovation.

Symonds and Gilchrist realised 102 runs for the 6th wicket. The former was particularly severe on Kumble, once hitting him for a lofted four to midwicket and a straight six off successive balls. The Western Australian, in contrast, was more conspicuous off the backfoot, powerfully pulling Singh and Pathan through midwicket.

With only the lower order to support him, the flamboyant left-hander flayed Singh for three fours in an over. The latter later revealed, Tendulkar came up to him at this point to tell him not to worry about this and to just concentrate on good length. He produced a skimming delivery, which Gilchrist could only flash at.

Cranking up his velocity, Singh, then, tore into the tail, dismissing Brett Lee and Stuart Clarke - both caught at the wicket - in the same over, with the score on 195. Kumble, thereafter, finished the job with a slower one to Shaun Tait.

The Indian quicks were expensive as they pitched the ball up more than their counterparts to induce it to swing. This invited the Australians to drive off the front foot, yet lured them to their doom.

Scoreboard

India (1st innings):

Jaffer c Gilchrist b Lee 16

Sehwag c Gilchrist b Johnson 29

Dravid c Ponting b Symonds 93

Tendulkar lbw b Lee 71

Ganguly c Hussey b Johnson 9

Laxman c Tait b Lee 27

Dhoni lbw b Clark 19

Pathan lbw b Johnson 28

Kumble c Rogers b Clark 1

R P Singh c Hussey b Johnson 0

Ishant not out 0

Extras (lb 19, w 9, nb 9): 37

Total (all out in 98.2 overs): 330

Fall of wickets: 1-57, 2-59, 3-198, 4-214, 5-278, 6-284, 7-328, 8-330, 9-330, 10-330

Bowling: B Lee 24-5-71-3, MG Johnson 28.2-7-86-4, SR Clark 17-4-45-2, SW Tait 13-1-59-0, A Symonds 10-1-36-1, MJ Clarke 6-1-14-0.

Australia (1st innings):

Jaques c Laxman b Pathan 8

Rogers lbw Pathan 4

Ponting c Dravid b Sharma 20

Hussey c Dhoni b RP Singh 0

M Clarke c Dhoni b Sharma 23

Symonds c Dravid b Kumble 66

Gilchrist c Dhoni b RP Singh 55

Lee c Dhoni b RP Singh 11

Johnson not out 6

S Clark c Dhoni b RP Singh 0

Tait c and b Kumble 8

Extras (lb-1, b-4, nb-2, w-4) 11

Total (all out for 50 overs): 212

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-13, 3-14, 4-43, 5-61, 6-163, 7-192, 8-195, 9-195

Bowling: RP Singh 14-2-68-4, Pathan 17-2-63-2, Sharma 7-0-34-2, Kumble 12-1-42-2.

India (IInd innings):

Jaffer c Hussey b Clark 11

Sehwag batting 29

Pathan batting 2

Extras (lb-2, nb-6, w-2): 10

Total (For one wicket in 11 overs): 52

Fall of wicket: 1-45

Bowling: Lee 4-1-14-0, Johnson 2-0-14-0, Clark 3-1-7-1, Tait 2-0-15-0.

	Jumbo joins exclusive club Third to take 600 Test scalps after Murali and Warne Perth, January 17 India captain Anil Kumble joined one of cricket's most exclusive clubs when he captured his 600th Test wicket during the third Test against Australia today. Kumble joined fellow spinners Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Australia's Shane Warne as the only players to take more than 600 Test scalps when he had Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds caught at slip by Rahul Dravid. Kumble, who picked up another wicket for good measure to finish off the Australian innings, said he was humbled by the achievement. ''It means a lot, you never think when you first start off that you will reach that milestone, but having played this long you keep crossing landmarks and milestones,'' he told a news conference. ''When you first start off, people don't even think you will last two test matches, so it means a lot. You have the belief and you have the faith.'' Despite being the third greatest wicket-taker in cricket history, Kumble has rarely received the same recognition as Muralitharan and Warne. A tall wrist-spinner who has often been criticised for not turning the ball a lot, Kumble has long silenced his doubters over a distinguished 18-year career, achieving several feats that neither Muralitharan or Warne have managed. Along with England's Jim Laker, Kumble is one of only two bowlers to have taken 10 wickets in a Test innings, which he achieved against Pakistan in 1998/99. He achieved the distinction of scoring a century against England last year and was awarded the captaincy the same season, at the ripe old age of 37 after shoulder injuries had briefly stalled his career when he was younger. Kumble is also one of the most respected players in the game. Australia's vice-captain Adam Gilchrist rang Kumble when he captured his 500th wicket and was batting at the non-strikers end when Kumble grabbed his 600th. ''I've always found him a real pleasure to play against,'' Gilchrist said of Kumble. ''He's got very clever with his experience and those subtle changes in flight, his position on the crease. ''He's just trying to create a little bit of doubt in the batsmen's mind and he's doing that in an effective fashion. ''It's a real credit to him to get that achievement.'' — Reuters
	Ranji Final Chopra, Bhatia rescue Delhi Mumbai, January 17 An unbeaten 160-run fifth-wicket partnership between opener Akash Chopra and Rajat Bhatia rescued Delhi on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final against Uttar Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium here today. At close of play, Delhi, after being reduced to 36 for four, had recovered to post 196 for four in reply to Uttar Pradesh’s first innings score of 342. Chopra was not out on 85 (205 balls, 15 fours), while Bhatia was batting on 81 (135 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) when stumps were drawn. Delhi are 146 runs adrift of Uttar Pradesh’s total with six wickets in hand. Earlier, in the morning, resuming at 292 for seven, Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for 342, with Ravikant Shukla being unlucky to miss his century, falling for 96 to Rajat Bhatia as he spooned an easy catch to Mithun Manhas in the covers. Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal took four wickets apiece. In reply, Delhi were rattled by a superb spell of bowling by Praveen Kumar as he reduced them to 21 for three and then 36 for four. Praveen dismissed the three in-form top-order batsmen, including Gautam Gambhir for a duck. Praveen started the collapse with his third delivery. With just one man in the covers, he bowled an outswinger. Gambhir took the bait but ended up edging the expansive drive to third slip. Shikhar Dhawan, who started off with a fierce cut and a cover drive, was castled with an incoming delivery. — UNI Scoreboard UP (1st innings) Rohit Srivastava lbw Narwal 6 Tanmay Srivastava c Dhawan b Sangwan 105 Suresh Raina lbw Sangwan 16 Mohd Kaif c Chopra b Nanda 16 Ravikant Shukla c Manhas b Bhatia 96 Piyush Chawla c Jain b Narwal 20 Amir Khan c Chopra b Sangwan 15 Praveen c Manhas b Narwal 8 Bhuvanesh c Jain b Narwal 10 P Gupta c Bhatia b Sangwan 27 Sudeep Tyagi not out 0 Extras (b-1, lb-13, w-4, nb-5) 23 Total (all out, 110.1 overs) 342 Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-60, 3-99, 4-200, 5-231, 6-274, 7-285, 8-297, 9-341. Bowling: Pradeep Sangwan 27.1-7-80-4, Amit Bhandari 21- 3-79-0, Sumit Narwal 26-5-81-4, Rajat Bhatia 19-3-41-1, Chaitanya Nanda 16-2-39-1, Mithun Manhas 1-0-8-0. Delhi (1st innings) Akash Chopra not out 85 Gautam Gambhir c Raina b Praveen 0 Shikhar Dhawan b Praveen 14 Mithun Manhas lbw Praveen 0 Aditya Jain c Raina b Tyagi 8 Rajat Bhatia not out 81 Extras (lb-2, w-2, nb-4) 8 Total (4 wkts, 67 overs) 196 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-15, 3-15, 4-36. Bowling: Praveen Kumar 21-6-44-3, Sudeep Tyagi 15-4-44-1, Bhuvanesh Kumar 12-4-30-0, Piyush Chawla 10-2-47-0, P Gupta 7-2-22-0, Ravikant Shukla 2-0-6-0.
	Thumbs up for three musketeers India’s tour of Australia Allan Border writes What a turnaround it has been. All those, including me, who had said a couple of days ago that with Australia going into the Perth Test with a 2-0 advantage, the series being almost decided in their favour will have to eat into their words. Five of the six sessions so far have been won by India, who by far easily have been the best team over the last two days. And their dominance in all the three departments has correctly reflected in the scoreboard at the end of the second day's play. When a side goes into the third day of a Test match 170 runs ahead of their opponents and with nine wickets left, it definitely has a massive edge over their opponents. All that India need now is to bat sensibly on Friday and if they are still batting at close, they would have definitely pocketed the match. And it would mean the series would be far from being over going into the last match. Having said that, one feels if India would have seen those last seven minutes through in Sydney, they could still have been in with a chance to seal the series. Let's not go into that. But one thing is sure, the top-notch cricket that both the teams, especially India, have played so far has definitely helped in regaining focus back to the on-field activities. Thumbs up for the young pace trio of India. Even with Zaheer Khan available, there were doubts about India's fast bowling and one wasn't sure whether they have enough firepower to take 20 Australian wickets. And when their key bowler was forced out of the series due to injury ahead of the Sydney Test, the doubts rose manifold. But the three musketeers - Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh and Ishant Sharma - showed their worth and mettle when it mattered the most. It was such a clinical performance by all three of them - with Irfan giving the early breakthroughs, Ishant getting rid of the middle order and then Rudra coming to the party to polish the tail off. This is what a team needs - a collective effort. Despite not having a centurion or a bowler with a five-for, India clearly are in the driver's seat. And this certainly augurs well for them considering the long run. The last time Australia were undone in Perth was by the West Indies' greats like Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop. And though it's too early to put the young Indian trio in the Windies greats' category, they definitely have it in them to join the ranks sooner than later. For Australia, the lesser we speak the better it would be. If at all I can see any chance of them coming back into the match is to get four wickets in the first hour, like they did on Thursday. If they fail to get Virender Sehwag out early on Friday and if the Indian opener bats till lunch, it will be all over for Aussies. And lastly, all the credit of India's performance should be given to skipper Anil Kumble. The great leg-spinner became only the third bowler to celebrate his 600th Test victim. But I am sure he will not have a blast unless his boys conquer the WACA Test. If not for his bowling effort, Kumble has played a major role in India having the upper hand purely because of his courageous decision to bat first. Not many teams would have had the courage to bat first against an all-pace Australian attack. But Kumble did and it has almost paid off. — PMG
	I am more relaxed now: Kumble Perth, January 17 Having tormented batsmen the world over, Anil Kumble today added another feather to his glittering career by becoming the first Indian bowler and the third in the world to claim 600 Test wickets. Kumble achieved the milestone in his 124th match when he had Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid. The 37-year-old Indian captain pointed out that many felt he would not be able to make it this big in his career but he had proved his critics wrong. The leg-spinner said he was producing a lot of variety in his deliveries and there was a conscious effort on his part to slow down. "Of course, it was a conscious decision to slow things up and probably I'm more relaxed now and enjoy my bowling," he added. Kumble lauded the performance of his pace bowlers on the unfamiliar WACA pitch and helping the team on the difficult tour. Waugh salutes ‘quiet performer’ Lavishing praise on Anil Kumble for becoming only the third bowler to achieve 600 Test wickets, former Australian skipper Steve Waugh today said the veteran spinner may not have been a dreaded headline-hunter like Shane Warne but his quiet rise to prominence is no less admirable. “Any fair-minded cricket fan would have enjoyed Kumble’s 600th Test wicket even though it was Australia’s potential saviour Andrew Symonds,” Waugh wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph. “Kumble has taken 600 wickets with a fraction of the publicity afforded to Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan but he has been a much admired performer among his rivals,” he added. — PTI
	We will aim for 450-run target: RP Perth, January 17 Indian bowlers were more successful than their Australian counterparts on the WACA track because they bowled in "set areas", according to paceman Rudra Pratap Singh who said he only concentrated in maintaining a good length. "I maintained a proper length and bowled in the set areas as planned before the match," said RP Singh, who took 4-68 to put India in the driver's seat in the third cricket Test. RP Singh said the wicket still had a lot for batsmen and it would be a challenge to bowl in the fourth innings. "The wicket is quick as I had heard about it and has a good bounce. It still has life and it will be better to bat tomorrow as well. We will aim for 450 target as it could be difficult to bat on fourth day," he said, adding "we will have to see if the match will last till the fifth day". — PTI
	Federer eases into 3rd round Melbourne, January 17 Roger Federer’s wizardry entranced Australian Open crowds today and the passion of Marat Safin illuminated the night session but only the Swiss stayed in the hunt for the title. Federer’s sleight of hand totally bamboozled court magician Fabrice Santoro and the top seed produced a centre court masterclass to reach the third round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 rout. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt also reached the third round but none could match the mastery of Swiss top seed Federer. Santoro has long been a wizard of the court. Armed with an arsenal of unconventional shots, wristy groundstrokes and a heavy reliance on slice, his game has confounded the world’s best over the years. But he had no answer to a dominant Federer whose own heavy spin left the Frenchman flapping at the air as the balls flew past his despairing lunges. Santoro, 35, was playing in a record 62nd Grand Slam singles tournament. Rarely could he have lost so comprehensively as in straight-set thrashing. Federer, bidding for a third successive Australian Open title, downplayed his dominance. “I played really in a smart way,” the Swiss said. “The scoreline was very one-sided, so that was good for me anyway.” Where Federer was sublime, Safin was savage. The Russian, champion here in 2005, bludgeoned his way back from two sets down before succumbing 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 to 15th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. Third seed Djokovic crushed Italian Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, Australian Hewitt kept the home fans happy with a 7-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 win over Uzbek Denis Istomin and fifth seed Ferrer was 6-3, 6-4 up on Juan Martin Del Potro when the Argentine retired. Venus hit back from behind in both sets before beating Frenchwoman Camille Pin 7-5, 6-4. Second seed Kuznetsova was far from convincing in her 7-6, 6-2 victory over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova. Ivanovic underlined that she is much more than the pin-up of the women’s tour by thrashing world number 40 Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-3. — Reuters
	Sania survives, to meet Venus next Melbourne, January 17 Sania Mirza survived a scare to beat Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland and advance to the third round of the women's singles event in the Australian Open here today. In a battle lasting for one hour and 44 minutes, Sania got the better of Timea 6-1 4-6 7-5. In the next round, Sania has the uphill task of taking on eighth-seeded Venus Williams of the USA. The American defeated Camille Pin of France 7-5 6-4 to book a berth in the third round. Sania banked on the unforced errors of her opponent to wrap up the first set in style. But Timea fought back strongly in the second set. Both the players committed an identical 17 unforced errors. However, Sania's three double faults pumped up the Swiss girl who unleashed 10 winners to draw parity. In the keenly contested decider, Sania approached the net more often and reduced her unforced errors to emerge victorious. The 31-seeded Indian said she was delighted to make it to the third round after the off-the-court controversies that chased her before the tournament. "She was in the match till the end, and I think I was just stronger a bit mentally. I hung in there very well," Sania said. — PTI
	Ex-athlete bags shooting gold Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 17 Arjuna awardee Rachna Govil, changing track from athletics to shooting, beat off a strong challenge to win the 10-metre pistol gold in the 51st National Shooting Championship held at Ahmedabad. Archna’s victory was commendable as the field included internationals Shweta Chaudhary and Harveen Srao. Archna, representing Haryana, upset the odds after finishing fourth in the qualifying rounds with a score of 377/400. She hit perfect scores of 10 for 100.1 in the final round of eight to lift the gold with a combined total of 477.1. Shweta, who headed the field after the qualifying rounds, had to settle for the silver. Archana, a former international middle-distance runner, who received the Arjuna Award on the strength of her victory in the Indira Gandhi International Half Marathon in Allahabad a few years ago, took to shooting in 1997 as she could not pursue her athletics career due to time constraint after she became a director with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. But even her shooting pursuit had to be put on hold due to work pressure, and she resumed shooting after a four-year gap. Archana is perhaps the only officer with the SAI who is a practising sportsperson, though there are many former international sportspersons on the SAI rolls. Archana said she had just a week’s practice at the Siri Fort Shooting Complex here before the national championship, and the golden triumph came as an unexpected boon. She is now on the threshold of being included in the national squad to make her international debut. Her son, Prakharvel Kulshrestha, had won the 10m air pistol gold and 50m free pistol bronze in the Tamil Nadu Shooting Championship. Archna said her high fitness level was one of the reasons for triumphing in precision shooting, despite facing strong challenge from younger, full-time internationals like Shweta and Harveen. Archana also qualified for the “champion of champions” honour along with Gurpal Singh, Bapu Vanzaare, Neeraj Kumar and Raj Kumar of the Army, Lakhbir Kaur and Heena Sidhu of Punjab and Annu Raj Singh of Indian Airlines.
	Hockey juniors whip Korea 6-1 New Delhi, January 17 Drag-flicker Diwakar Ram scored a hat-trick as India opened their campaign with a resounding 6-1 win over South Korea in the eight-nation Junior International Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lumpur today. According to information received here, India outplayed their rivals in all departments of the game and dominated the proceedings throughout. The other goal scorers were Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Promod Kumar and Sanawar Ali (one each). The losers reduced the margin in the dying moments of the game by converting a penalty corner. Other teams taking part in the tournament are Australia, Germany, Holland, Pakistan, New Zealand and hosts Malaysia. India face New Zealand in their second outing tomorrow. — UNI
	Bids invited for IPL title sponsorship New Delhi, January 17 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today invited bids for global title sponsorship rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The winning bidder would have its name attached to the domestic Twenty20 league involving franchised teams based in the country, IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said in a statement. The title sponsorship rights include a number of naming, branding and other marketing benefits, he said. The bid document can be acquired from tomorrow from the BCCI’s office at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. “Bids must be submitted no later than 12 noon on February 6 at the BCCI cricket centre office, after which the tender will be opened by the IPL governing council,” Modi said. All 59 matches of the Twenty20 championship will be shown live on Sony Entertainment Television. — PTI
	Bhupathi, Paes advance Melbourne, January 17 Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi fought off strong resistance from their opponents to win their respective doubles first-round matches in straight sets in the Australian Open here today. Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley, seeded fifth, had to dig deep to their vast reserve of experience to down Peru’s Luis Horna and Austria’s Stefan Koubek 7-6, 7-6 in a see-saw battle lasting one hour and 48 minutes. Sixth-seeded Bhupathi and Mark Knowles of Bahamas were also stretched to the limit in the first set. However, they broke their opponents’ serve once in the second set to register a 7-6, 6-4 victory over the Russian-German pair of Mikhail Youzhny and Mischa Zverev in one hour and 39 minutes. In the second round, Paes-Hanley will meet the Indo-American duo of Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram. — PTI
	Sridhar moves up, Saina bows out Kuala Lumpur, January 17 India had a mixed day in the Malaysia Open Super Series, with top men’s shuttler Anup Sridhar fashioning a come-from-behind victory and Saina Nehwal crashing out in the first round of women’s singles. Sridhar rallied to outsmart qualifier Tan Chun Seang of Malaysia 16-21, 21-18, 21-14 in a 49-minute match at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil. World No. 27 Saina went down 21-23, 9-21 to higher-rated Juliane Schenk of Germany. — PTI
	Batsman hits 301 runs off 126 balls! Kolkata, January 17 A young batsman scored 301 runs off 126 balls on a single day in the CAB 110-point junior cricket tournament at Kanchrapara, near here, today. Masrum Sarkar, turning out for Kanchrapara Cricket Coaching Centre, struck a dazzling triple hundred in the league match against Shilpashree Dum Dum Cricket Coaching Centre. Right-handed batsman Sarkar, who came in to bat at the fall of the third wicket, hit 19 fours and as many as 32 sixes as Kanchrapara were all out for 634 in 77.5 overs on the opening day of the two-day encounter. — PTI
	Indian National enter final Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 17 Indian National defeated Ahbab Club 2-0 to enter the final of the Delhi Soccer Association Senior Division Football League Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium here today. After a goal-less first half, Nigerian striker Iffyani Nkenchor’s shot from the top of the box was misjudged by Ahbab custodian Mohammad Atif to let the ball in. A few minutes before close, Atif fumbled once again when Trilok Singh Bisht’s powerful shot rocketed past him into the net. New Delhi Heroes will take on Tarun Sangha in the second semifinal tomorrow.
	Narain to lead Team India challenge Taupo, January 17 Narain Karthikeyan is all set to lead A1 Team India’s challenge in the fifth A1GP race slated for January 20 here in New Zealand. The team, after a brilliant win this season at Zhuhai in December, now has 27 points and is at an unprecedented 10th position in the standings. It is looking to move into the top five as the season progresses. Narain said, “We will definitely be looking at improving our standing at Taupo from last year.” — UNI