The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Rain washes out a thriller
Set a revised target of 141 runs to win in 26 overs, Oz were 51 for 3
Ashis Ray

Brisbane, February 3
India had to reconcile to sharing points with four-time World Cup winners Australia in the opening one-day international (ODI) in the triangular Commonwealth Bank Series after rain, which had rendered the pitch friendly to the Indian faster bowlers and raised hopes of an Indian victory, frustrated a potential thriller. Nearly 40,000 spectators, thus, went home a little disenchanted.

The Australians, missing the services of Mathew Hayden and set a revised target of 141 runs to win in 26 overs, under the Duckworth and Lewis rule, had reached 51 for three in 7.2 overs when the match was abandoned.

“Long live Gilly”, said a banner of Adam Gilchrist, who retires from ODIs after this tournament. But both this entertainer extraordinaire and skipper Ricky Ponting had been sent back to the pavilion.

The aggressive Sreesanth and the delightfully impressive Ishant Sharma nailed the Australians back after the wicket became co-operative following a rain break.

Among the former’s two wickets was an unplayable late out-swinger to Ponting - eagerly held by Virender Sehwag at 2nd slip - while the Delhi beanpole flattened the blossoming James Hopes’ off-stump with an incisive in-coming delivery.

In humid conditions, India had earlier recovered from 102 for six to 194 all out in 45 overs - reduced from 50 - thanks to collective resistance from Gautam Gambhir (39), Mahendra Dhoni (37) and Rohit Sharma (29), Harbhajan Singh (27) and Irfan Pathan (21).

Nevertheless, paceman Brett Lee finished with five for 27 - his 7th such haul in ODIs. The Indians’ next outing is against the other participant in the competition - World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka - on Tuesday.

The pitch at the 113-year-old Woolloongabba ground is reputedly fast and bouncy; yet captains mostly bat first here, as Dhoni chose to. But the failure of both of India’s two most experienced batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag followed by their middle order inexperience (accentuated by Yuvraj Singh’s absence due to injury) conceded an initial advantage to Australia.

The difference between the Lee of past seasons and now is his ability to swing the ball both ways together with a new found accuracy and ability to mix his pace. His latest effort was, in fact, just disserts for such attributes. His partner Mitchell Johnson’s figures of two for 33 reflected enhancing economy.

But three mini-partnerships of 65, 45 and 42 for the 3rd, 7th and 8th wickets thrust India to a better-than-expected total. After Sehwag departed, cutting too close to his body, and Tendulkar exited hit-wicket, retreating to turn Lee around the corner, the left-hand-right-hand combination of Gambhir and Sharma promised much, only to be nipped in the bud.

The Delhi batsman drove and cut with confidence. But he was dropped twice in the slips when on 24 off Johnson. Finally, the left-armer slanted one in to him to win an lbw appeal.

Twenty-year-old Sharma caught the eye with some superb cover drives. But the seasoned Lee constricted his scoring options with some gun barrel straight short-pitched deliveries, before feeding him a wide one, which the batsman mis-cut to the wicket-keeper.

Indeed, India slipped from 91 for two to a perilous 102 for six. Debutante Manoj Tiwari, confronted by the whizz of Lee with the sound of the jet plane he had disembarked on Saturday still buzzing in his ears, was frozen by an in-swinging yorker; while Robin Uthappa was committed to the front foot when surprised by a bouncer from Ashley Noffke - which he gloved to gully.

Making his maiden appearance, Noffke had previously proved to be expensive, though not as profligate as Nathan Bracken.

Pathan batted with calmness in the company of Dhoni before attempting a non-existent single. But Harbhajan, whose batting has been one of the revelations of India’s current tour, filled the breach innovatively before mis-hooking Lee.

Had Dhoni, otherwise responsibly restrained, played out the final over instead of clubbing its very first ball to mid-off - and thereby ensured India were not bowled out - the target for Australia under the Duckworth-Lewis calculation would have been stiffer than it actually was.

Forcefully striking a bowler of Lee’s velocity off the back foot runs the risk of playing uppishly. It’s a shot Dhoni is likely to pull off more often than not at the Keenan Stadium, but generally not at the bouncier ‘Gabba.

Scoreboard
India:

Sehwag b Bracken 6

Tendulkar hit wicket b Lee 10

Gambhir lbw b Johnson 39

Rohit c Gilchrist b Lee 29

Tiwary b Lee 2

Dhoni c Ponting b Lee 37

Uthappa c Clarke b Noffke 5

Pathan run out 21

Harbhajan c Clarke b Lee 27

Sreesanth run out 4

Ishant not out 1

Extras (lb-7 w-4 nb-2): 13

Total (all out, 45 overs) : 194

Fall of wickets: 1-12 2-26 3-91 4-93 5-94 6-102 7-147 8-189 9-190 10-194

Bowling: Lee 9-2-27-5 (nb-2), Bracken 9-0-55-1 (w-1), Noffke 9-0-46-1, Johnson 9-2-33-1 (w-2), Hopes 6-0-17-0, Clarke 2-0-5-0 (w-1), Symonds 1-0-4-0

Australia:

Gilchrist c Dhoni b Sreesanth 14

Hopes b Sharma 17

Ponting c Sehwag b Sreesanth 0

M Clarke not out 2

Symonds not out 5

Extras (b-4 w-4 nb-5) 13

Total (for 3 wickets, 7.2 overs): 51

Fall of wickets: 1-33 2-38 3-39

Bowling: Pathan 2-0-23-0 (w-2), Sreesanth 3.2-0-17-2 (w-2),

Sharma 2-0-7-1 (nb-1)

Result: Match abandoned because of rain

	Give youngsters time to settle: Dhoni Brisbane, February 3 Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni backed his young team and outlined his vision for the 2011 World Cup after the opening game of the tri-series against Australia was washed out here today. "If we are looking for a team for 2011 World Cup, it's important that we have guys who have played 80-100 matches by then...I think this is the team I wanted," an earnest Dhoni said. "This is the plan which can succeed it can backfire as well. But they (the youngsters) need the right opportunity and base to perform." Dhoni was not perturbed that he has given opportunity to his men, selected in place of veterans such as Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, in conditions as difficult as in Australia. "It's up to individuals if they succumb to pressure. It's up to them to show courage or perform." The wicketkeeper-batsman said he picked Manoj Tiwary by instinct ahead of Suresh Raina even though the Bengal youngster arrived in Australia only yesterday. "I go by instinct. It doesn't matter that he arrived only yesterday or he didn't have enough practice. It's tough cricket and good ones can adapt quickly," he said. As for today's game, Dhoni felt it was evenly-poised after his bowlers broke through early. "After the second break, Ishant (Sharma) and Sreesanth bowled brilliantly in the right areas and troubled the batsmen. "I think it was evenly-poised. When the rain came, the momentum was with us. But the target was so small, a good innings could have turned the momentum their way." Dhoni felt his bowlers did not bowl the first two overs well and his side could have also done better in the field. Batting first in overcast conditions may have raised a few eyebrows and Dhoni admitted the decision could have gone either way. "It (the decision) was confusing. It was sticky and overcast and we expected it to swing. But it did not swing that much," Dhoni said. Losing early wickets did not help India's cause, he felt. "We lost early wickets and Tendulkar's dismissal was unfortunate. However, Gautam (Gambhir) and Rohit (Sharma) played really well." As for his own innings, Dhoni felt if he had got out cheaply, the side could have been bundled out for 150-160 runs. "I see my position in the side as that of a floater. I can come low down the order and depending on the situation, you could also see me at number three." The Indian captain is not upset that Australian fans in the stands are giving Harbhajan Singh a hard time. "I really don't care. Harbhajan feels that it actually is helping him relax," Dhoni added. — PTI
	‘Hearing outcome shattering’ Brisbane, February 3 Australian all rounder Andrew Symonds has strongly opposed ICC Appeals Commissioner's blame that he sparked off the racism row involving Harbhajan Singh during the Sydney Test, saying it makes his "blood boil" if anyone questioned his integrity. "To have people questioning my integrity as a person and cricketer is pretty ordinary," Symonds said in his first reaction to the whole "head-spinning" episode. "Anyone who knows me, understands that I'm a very straight up and down bloke, what you see is what you get, so to have people saying I'm not playing cricket in the right spirit really makes my blood boil," he wrote in his column for 'Sunday Telegraph'. ICC Appeals Commissioner John Hansen had criticised Symonds' behaviour in the Test, saying he had unnecessarily instigated the verbal exchange while letting off Harbhajan, who was accused of racially abusing the all rounder, with minor punishment. Symonds said it was "shattering" to hear the outcome of the hearing after the controversy had taken a toll on him as well as his family. "The last four weeks have been the most full-on, stressful period of my career. From the initial racism row to the threats about the whole series being called off, my head hasn't stopped spinning. "There have been meetings with lawyers and advisors, a day in the Adelaide courtroom, the charges downgraded by the court, fingers pointed and all of a sudden I'm somehow getting the blame... I am pretty shattered," he said. "It's been a rough ride and it's taken a pretty big toll on me personally, but more importantly, on my family, my girlfriend and those close to me," Symonds said. The hard-hitting batsman insisted that he would never make a mountain of a molehill. "I'm quite happy for the general public to make up their own minds about what did or didn't happen, but I can assure you I wouldn't take a stand against something unless I really believed in it." Symonds acknowledged that his captain Ricky Ponting stood by him like a "rock" during the entire controversy. "It was good of Ricky Ponting to come out and stand up for my character. In times like these you find out who your friends are and there's no doubt in my mind Punter's rock solid." Symonds lamented that some quality cricket was overshadowed by dramatic events. "It's a great series. Real shame all this other drama has overshadowed some quality cricket." — PTI
	We’ve got heaps of depth: Lee Brisbane, February 3 Dissappointed by Shaun Tait's absence from cricket, Australia pace spearhead Brett Lee reposed faith in the new-look bowling line-up and said his team has the depth in bowling to cope against best batsmen. ''It's not nice that we haven't got Shaun to pick from,'' Lee said. ''But we have got a great bowling squad, including Clark and Ashley Noffke, who bowled very well. The talent is around and we've got heaps of depth.'' Australia unleashed a fresh pace attack against the Indians at Brisbane in the opening match of the CB series and responded well to dismiss the famed batting line-up for just 194. Lee has been leading the bowling ever since Glen McGrath and Shane Warne retired from international cricket and has performed exceptionally well for the World Champions. He bowled a fiery spell at Brisbane against India and returned with figures of five for 27. ''I have bowled a lot of balls this summer and my workload has increased a fair bit,'' he said. ''We'll have to wait and see [about a rest]. I'm looking forward to playing in Sydney and we'll see what happens after that,'' he added. The 31-year-old pacer was impressed with the way Ashley Noffke who came in place of Stuart Clark as the latter could not play because of family reasons. Lee was confident that Noffke would be a useful addition to the squad. ''It's always hard in your first game,'' he said. ''After his first couple of overs he was rushing through a little bit and we had a chat and a laugh and he was fine. ''The way he's played over the past couple of seasons, he's a great find for Australian cricket, not only with the ball, but also with the bat. He's a fantastic allrounder and can do some great things for Australia,'' he added. Lee's heroics in the opening match were washed away with rain as the match was abandoned with both the teams sharing two points each. However, when the match was called off it was evenly poised with the hosts reeling at 38 for three wickets. ''It would have been a good fight from us to get home from there,'' Lee said. ''With our batting we would have had a good chance, but it was disappointing the rain came,'' he said. — UNI
	Sachin hit-wkt for first time Brisbane, February 3 Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed 'hit wicket' for the first time in his international career when he accidentally dislodged the bails while facing Australian fast bowler Brett Lee in the abandoned opening match of the Commonwealth Bank Triangular One-Day Series here Sunday. Tendulkar is only the third Indian to be dismissed in this fashion. Nayan Mongia, off Wasim Akram of Pakistan, at Sharjah April 7, 1995, and Anil Kumble, off Andre Adams of New Zealand at Wellington Jan 8, 2003, are the other two. Amongst the seven batsmen in the 10,000-run club in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Brian Lara of the West Indies and Tendulkar have been dismissed hit-wicket once each. Tendulkar (10) recorded his lowest score at the Gabba here. In his previous four innings at this venue, he had made 77 against West Indies and 11 against Australia in 1992, 13 against Pakistan in 2000 and 86 against Australia in 2004. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh put on 42 runs for the eighth wicket, which is India's highest for this wicket against Australia, obliterating the unbroken 40 between Chetan Sharma and Manoj Prabhakar at Bangalore in 1989-90 and 40 between Anil Kumble and Harbhajan at Centurion in 2002-03. Harbhajan, in his maiden ODI innings in Australia, posted 27 off 19 balls. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma put on 65 runs, India's second best for the third wicket at Brisbane, next only to the 133 between V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid against Australia Jan 18, 2004. Irfan Pathan (21) registered his second best score in Australia, next only to his 30 off 41 balls against Australia at Sydney Feb 8, 2004. Dhoni and Pathan put on 45 runs for the seventh, wicket which is India's best stand for the seventh wicket at Brisbane, eclipsing the 17 between Sanjay Manjrekar and Kiran More in 1991-92. Ponting registered his 17th duck and his third against India. Only Adam Gilchrist has recorded more ducks (18) than Ponting for Australia in ODIs. — IANS
	Ganguly bats for debutant Tiwary Kolkata, February 3 Notwithstanding Manoj Tiwary's failure in his maiden one-day international in Brisbane today, former captain Sourav Ganguly is confident that the right- hander would do well for the country if given more opportunities. Tiwary was dismissed for just two after struggling to find his bearings. But Ganguly said "such things happen. Not everybody has a good debut. But I'm hopeful that he will do well if given proper chances." Australian speedster Brett Lee put the youngster out of his misery with a yorker which went past his defensive bat on to the stumps. When Ganguly was reminded of his maiden tour for India to Australia in 1992, he said "that was long back. Now, you don't get too many practice games. One has to adjust fast. I am confident that Tiwary will also become used to the conditions quickly." Ganguly said he had a conversation with Tiwary before the young talent left for Down Under. Ganguly, who has been axed from the one-day side now doing duty in Australia, extended his good wishes to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team. "At this point I can't say whether they will make it to the final of the triangular series. But if they play well, they should, but the (new) players have to get attuned to the conditions fast." Ganguly, speaking to newspersons at a blood donation camp organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal, said he was yet to decide whether to play in the Ranji Trophy one-dayers. — PTI
	SA complete 5-0 whitewash Johannesburg, February 3 South Africa beat the West Indies by eight wickets to clinch a 5-0 series whitewash in the fifth and final one-day international in Johannesburg today. Earlier, Devon Smith's career-best score inspired West Indies to 295 for seven. Opener Smith lashed 10 fours and three sixes in his 91 off just 76 balls, while Patrick Browne made a bright 49 not out and Shivnarine Chanderpaul a more sedate 51. Shaun Pollock, playing his last one-day international, stood out among a South African attack that was mostly expensive, taking one for 33 in 10 overs to finish with 393 wickets in 303 matches. Scoreboard West Indies Parchment c De Villiers b Pollock 2 Smith c Boucher b Langeveldt 91 Chanderpaul lbw Langeveldt 51 Browne not out 49 Bravo c Smith b Steyn 40 Morton c Boucher b Kallis 4 Ramdin c Boucher b Langeveldt 6 Sammy run out 1 Lewis not out 28 Extras (lb-8, w-12, nb-3) 23 Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 295 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-156, 3-167, 4-222, 5-232, 6-241, 7-241. Bowling: Pollock 10-1-33-1, Steyn 10-0-78-1, Nel 3-0-27-0, Langeveldt 10-0-61-3, Duminy 6-0-30-0, Morkel 8-0-48-0, Kallis 3-0-10-1. South Africa: Gibbs c Chanderpaul b Powell 102 Smith b Powell 5 Kallis not out 74 Pollock not out 10 Extras (lb-3, w-17): 20 Total (2 wicket, 28.5 overs): 211 Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-185 Bowling: Powell 7-0-39-2 (w-4), Rampaul 5.5-1-39-0 (w-4), Sammy 4-0-41-0 (w-6), Bravo 5-0-52-0 (w-3), Lewis 3-0-18-0, Chanderpaul 4-0-19-0. — Reuters
	Thomas Cup: India drawn with Japan New Delhi, February 3 Indian men shuttlers were drawn with third seeds Japan and Pakistan in Group C in the Thomas Cup while their female counterparts were clubbed with Malaysia for the Uber Cup in the Asian Qualifiers in Vietnam, from February 19-24. The men’s team, to be led by Anup Sridhar, are expected to go through the quarterfinals as top two teams will make it to the last eight stage after a round-robin group league to be played in Ho Chi Minh City. Top seeds Malaysia head Group A while second-seeded South Korea and fourth seeds Hong Kong head Group B and D. Top four teams - the semi-finalists - qualify for the finals in Jakarta from May 11-18. P Kashyap, Arvind Bhatt and Chetan Anand are the other Indian men's singles players while Rupesh Kumar, Sanave Thomas, V. Diju, Akshaye Diwalkar and J. B. S. Vidhayadhar were chosen for doubles. The men's team had a brilliant run last year and reached the finals of the world group where they finished fifth. In the Uber Cup Asian Zone qualifiers, Group Z has only India and Malaysia while top seeds Japan play Thailand and Sri Lanka in Group W. The Indian team consists of Saina Nehwal, Aditi Mutatkar, Trupti Murgunde and Sayali Gokhale for singles while Jwala Gutta, Shruti Kurien, Aparna Balan and Jyotsna make up the doubles. Only top three teams will qualify for the finals to be held in Jakarta. The team finishing fourth will be compared to the fourth-placed team from the European qualifiers. The higher-ranking of the two, as of February 27, will make it to Jakarta. — PTI
	Haryana rout Orissa 7-2 Kusum Arora Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 3 Continuing their winning spree Haryana eves crushed Orissa 7-2, while in a one sided match Uttar Pradesh outplayed Chhattisgarh 4-0 on the third day of the 55th Rakshak Senior Women’s National Hockey Championship here today. Haryana started the game on a fast note with a penalty corner conversion by Mamta Kharb in the 4th minute. In the 16th minute, skipper Pritam Siwach sounded the board to make it 2-0. Haryana was leading 2-0 at halftime. In the second half, Orissa missed a penalty corner in the 36th minute as Suniti Kispotta failed to convert. Later, Harmanjeet Kaur converted a penalty corner in the 42nd minute to make it 3-0. In the 45th minute, Mamta Kharb scored through a penalty corner to make it 4-0 followed by another penalty corner in the 53rd minute to make it 5-0. Orissa managed to open their account in the 56th minute through Sarita Bara. In the 61st minute, Haryana consolidated its lead with a penalty corner conversion by Monika Dahiya to make it 6-1. The Orissa eves scored their second goal when Sarita Bara converted a penalty corner in the 66th minute. In the 69th minute Haryana scored through skipper Pritam Siwach to make it 7-2. With this win Haryana earned seven points. In the second one-sided match of the day Uttar Pradesh thrashed Chhattisgarh 4-0. Meanwhile in another match host team Jharkhand outplayed Punjab 3-2.
	Ferguson defiant as Gunners pull clear London, February 3 Sir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United are still on track to retain their Premier League title despite being forced to produce a stoppage time equaliser to earn a point against revitalised Tottenham. The setback allowed Arsenal, 3-1 winners at Manchester City, to open up a two point lead at the top of the table. But Ferguson insisted that gap will be closed if his side continue to display the spirit they demonstrated at White Hart Lane. "Some people are saying we have dropped two points but that could be a massive point for us," the Scot said. Dimitar Berbatov's first-half strike had looked set to give Spurs victory but United's late pressure paid off when, after a corner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Carlos Tevez wrapped his leg round Spurs defender Michael Dawson to prod home an equaliser. It was though a good day for Arsenal, who had ended Manchester City's unbeaten home record and also saw third-placed Chelsea held to a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth. Berbatov put Tottenham ahead against United with a close-range finish in the 20th minute after Edwin van der Sar failed to hold Aaron Lennon's cross. The United goalkeeper was then booked for angrily protesting to the officials over what he felt was a handball by Jermaine Jenas in the build-up, but television replays suggested the Dutchman was simply venting his frustration at what could prove to be a very costly error. Ferguson said Tottenham deserved credit for a display that suggests Juande Ramos is beginning to have a major impact on the club. "You're seeing an upswing with Tottenham, there's no question about that, Juande Ramos has done a fantastic job," said the Scot. "But we've never stopped going and that's a great credit to the players. I think we deserved a point, but just." Arsenal's win came courtesy of two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and a fine finish from Eduardo da Silva, with Gelson Fernandes netting for City. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger acknowledged the outcome had been in the balance for long periods. Jermain Defoe marked his debut for Portsmouth with a well-taken equaliser as Chelsea's nine-match winning streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park, where Nicolas Anelka had given them the lead. "Defoe's goal was offside, but that's history now," said disgruntled Chelsea boss Avram Grant. "We had enough chances to win the game." Everton's bid to claim a place in next season's Champions League suffered a setback when they were held to a goalless draw at Blackburn. But David Moyes's side remain in fourth place, a point ahead of Liverpool, who beat Sunderland 3-0 at Anfield. A Peter Crouch header, Fernando Torres's 18th goal of the season and a late penalty from Steven Gerrard gave Rafael Benitez's side their first league win since December 26. At the bottom, Bolton took a significant step towards securing their Premiership status with an impressive 2-0 win away to fellow strugglers Reading, courtesy of goals either side of half-time from Kevin Nolan and Heidar Helguson. Wigan also enjoyed their day. Kevin Kilbane headed Ryan Taylor's free-kick beyond Robert Green to give them a 1-0 win over West Ham which lifts them out of the relegation zone. That move came at Birmingham's expense. Alex McLeish's side slipped to third from bottom after a 1-1 draw at home to Derby. Sebastian Larsson had given Blues the lead with just over 20 minutes left but Argentinian striker Emmanuel Villa came off the bench to rescue a point for the bottom side. — AFP
	Sydney A1 GP Karthikeyan 11th as team draws blank Sydney, February 3 Narain Karthikeyan finished 11th in both Feature and Sprint as Team India returned empty-handed from the A1 GP race at the Eastern Creek here today. Karthikeyan had a tough 19th place starting position on the grid for the 42-lap Feature race. After initially going out on slicks, Karthikeyan found the going difficult after the wet start to the race and went into the pit lane to change tyres almost immediately. As a result, Karthikeyan began his race from the pit lane but the driver still managed to skillfully steer his way from the very back of the grid in the hour-long race. Subsequently, a three-way battle ensued and Karthikeyan finished 11th, sandwiched between cars from China (9th) and Pakistan (12th). In the Sprint race, Karthikeyan started 13th on the grid and managed to slightly pick up positions before finishing 11th -- just short of picking up a point. "It was a rather challenging race with the unpredictable weather conditions, but it certainly made for an exciting driver's race," Karthikeyan later said. "Unfortunately we were not able to pick up points this weekend. It is vital we get a good set-up for the car to improve our qualifying position and be able to move up the grid as we already know what we are then capable of achieving," he said. The Indian also oozed confidence of scoring points in the next race in South Africa on February 24. — PTI
	Jeev tied 19th Dubai, February 3 Jeev Milkha Singh shot a rollercoaster one-under 71 to settle for a tied 19th finish, while Jyoti Randhawa's two-under 70 in the final round earned him a share of the 30th position in the Dubai Desert Classic here today. The third Indian in the fray, Shiv Kapur, turned in his worst card of the week - 75 - to tumble from an overnight tied fifth position to finish tied 25th with a total of four-under 285. Jeev signed off a shot ahead of Kapur, while Randhawa ended with two-under 286. American Tiger Woods clinched the title by one stroke by turning in a sizzling seven-under 65 in the final round to total 14-under 274. The world number one reeled off nine birdies against two bogeys to emerge champion. German Martin Kaymer (66) took the second spot, a stroke ahead of overnight leader South African Ernie Els (71) who was tied for the third spot. For the Indians, it turned out to be a rollercoaster day. Although he managed the best finish among the the three, Jeev's round included two bogeys and a double bogey, which took the sheen off his five birdies - four of which came in the front nine. Randhawa, on the other hand, had hardly celebrated a birdie-brace on the first two holes before he stumbled to a hat-trick of bogeys from fourth to sixth. He, however, managed to arrest the slide thereafter and sank in a birdie on the ninth and continued the fine run in the back nine. His backward journey, which went bogey free, was studded with two birdies. However, it was nightmare for Kapur as he managed just three birdies against four bogeys and a double bogey. — PTI
	Russia enter Fed Cup semis Tel Aviv, February 3 Defending champions Russia took an unassailable 3-1 lead over Israel in their Fed Cup world group first-round tie today after Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze won their singles rubbers. Russia advance to a semi-final showdown on April 26-27 with the winners of the tie between the United States and Germany. Israel will play to avoid relegation from the world group. Russia's world number seven Chakvetadze secured the tie after seeing off a brave challenge from Israel's Tzipi Obziler to win 6-4, 6-2. The Russian came back from 3-0 down in the first set and shut out the chanting from a hostile home crowd who sensed they might be able to unsettle Chakvetadze if Obziler could stay with her. Chakvetadze was too good for her veteran opponent who was never able to threaten her on the important points. ''I started off slowly but then I managed to get into the match,'' said Chakvetadze, who was critical of the hostile crowd. ''I think they (the crowd) should be a little more respectful ... all we ask that they are a little more quiet during the points.'' Obziler said she had done her best but was beaten by a better player. ''I lost the momentum after a good start, perhaps I could have done some things better but today proved the difference in standard between us,'' the Israeli said. — Reuters