Chennai, March 28
A belligerent Virender Sehwag presided over a bowlers' bloodbath and blasted an unbeatean 309 as India responded emphatically to South Africa's massive first innings total in the first Test here today.

The dashing right-hander wielded his willow like a sword and cut the South African attack to ribbons during his 292-ball blitzkrieg that powered India to 468 for one at stumps on day three.

Sehwag thus equalled his career best score of 309, also the highest Test score by an Indian, which he had recorded against Pakistan in the 2004 Multan Test.

India now trail the visitors by 72 runs and Sehwag and Rahul Dravid (65) will return tomorrow to first wipe out the arrears and then establish a lead.

Sehwag's savage innings, the fastest triple century in the history of Test cricket, was studded with a staggering 41 fours and five sixes. He bettered Matthew Hayden's 300 off 362 balls against Zimbabwe in Perth in 2003-04.

Resuming on 82 for no loss this morning, Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer (73) gave no leeway to the South Africans and with the Delhi opener on song, Jaffer was content playing the second fiddle.

Sehwag reached his 14th century in his 92nd innings in style, hitting Jacques Kallis to long off boundary. Jaffer, however, could not reach the ton and departed soon 
thereafter.

Jaffer's sedate 166-ball knock included six hits to the fence beside a six and though he missed out on a personal milestone, the Mumbaikar had played his part in the 213-run opening stand with Sehwag.

Smiles on the South African faces, however, vanished soon as Sehwag went berserk. Once he neared 150, Sehwag looked in tremendous hurry and Morne Morkel bore the brunt of his belligerence in the 61st over when he was hit for three boundaries.

It was then Harris who incurred Sehwag's wrath and the spinner was hit for three successive boundaries as the batsman's strike rate exceeded 100.

At 193, Sehwag did what probably only he can and went for a six. Even though he did not connect the Makhaya Ntini delivery properly, the big flourish of the bat was enough to send it soaring over the long leg boundary for a six.

Ntini's next ball yielded three runs and Sehwag posted what entered the record book as the third quickest double-hundred in Test cricket that came off just 194 balls. He in fact took just 23 balls to reach 200 from 150.

Nathan Astle's 153-ball double century against England in the 2001-2 Christchurch Test remains the fastest, while Sehwag stood second in the chart for achieving the landmark in 182 balls against Pakistan in the 2005-6 Lahore Test.

Records kept falling by the wayside and Sehwag went on to post the highest individual score at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Earlier, the record stood against Sunil Gavaskar's name following the batting great's 236 against West Indies in 1983-84.

Even after Sehwag reached 200, there was no let up in South Africa's misery and the batsman took just 31 balls to complete his 250. There was no signs of nerves even when he was nearing his 300. Then at 291, Sehwag stepped out to send a Harris delivery soaring over the sightscreen.

In the next over, an Ntini full toss was flicked for a single and Sehwag reached the 300-mark for the second time in his career, off just 278 balls.

Sehwag's batting pyrotechnics so dominated the proceedings that hardly anyone seemed to notice Dravid labouring his way to his 52nd Test half century.

Dravid was unbeaten on 65 after facing 181 balls and hitting eight fours.

Meanwhile, Ntini's reputation as a premier bowler took a beating on an unresponsive track and against an unforgiving Sehwag with the South African conceding 99 runs in his 18 overs of wicketless toil.

Harris did return with a wicket against his name but the left-arm spinner bled 141 runs in his 36 overs. — PTI 

Scoreboard

South Africa (1st innings) 540

India (1st innings)

Jaffer c Kallis b Harris 73

Sehwag batting 309

Dravid batting 65

Extras (b-8, lb-8,w-2, nb-3) 21

Total (1 wkt) 468

Fow: 1-213.

Bowling: Steyn 19-1-79-0, Ntini 18-2-99-0, Morkel 18-3-56-0, Harris 36-3-141-1, Kallis 12-0-61-0, Prince 3-0-16-0. 

Chennai, March 28
India's Sultan of Multan repeated his triple century knock at Pakistan in 2005-2006, against South Africa, here today and said his patient and concentration paid him to reach the landmark.

Talking to newspersons here, after his unbeaten 309, he said ''my patient and concentration was not to this extent, when I scored my first triple-ton in Pakistan''.

This is better than the Multan knock, the dashing opener said, adding conditions in Multan, were better than in Chennai.

He said he was not after any record and loved to play for the country. ''I played session by session. I did not think of breaking any record. My captain told me to stay at the wicket'', he added.

Sehwag said his omission from the home series against Pakistan enabled him to perform with renewed vigour. ''I was disappointed after being dropped for the Pakistan series'', he added.

Asked whether he would be going for Brian Lara's record of 401, when he resumes tomorrow, Sehwag said if he plays till lunch, he is confident of breaking Lara's record.

To a question, he said if India could get a lead of 150 runs, the chances of forcing a victory are bright.

The opener said he would dedicate this knock to his family, especially his father and son.

Sehwag also expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for providing him required energisers during breaks. All my colleagues, especially Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla motivated me at regular intervals, he added. — UNI

Chennai, March 28
Ask opener Neil McKenzie what price he paid to pile up 94 runs on the first day of the first Test against India in Chennai, which is searing at 35 degree Celsius and you will get an unusual answer - loss of one kg weight per hour.

The South African opener, who laid a firm foundation for his team's mammoth 540, lost three-and-a-half kilogram while batting on the first day of the first cricket Test against India in Chennai.

It means, he lost one kilogram for every hour he stayed at the crease.

Mohammad Moosajee, the team doctor, was a worried man.

"Losing three and a half kg in one day is a lot. The average loss should not be more then between one and two kg.

"With the temperature at around 35 degrees Celsius and the humidity between 70 and 80 per cent, we have to take care of their hydration, heat tolerance, nutrition and recovery," he was quoted as saying in a South African daily.

Moosajee said McKnezie regained some of the lost weight, and got back to the same figure after the match.

"Neil got about two and a half kilogram back through the liquids and nutrients he took and the food he ate," he said.

Moosajee said lack of liquid causes problem for the players and they strive hard to maintain the body temperature of the players.

"The difference between cricketers and cyclists or racing drivers is that cricketers do not have liquids with them at all times. They are at the mercy of the umpires.

"We have tried ice jackets before but they are too uncomfortable. Therefore, we prefer ice baths or cool towels," he said. — PTI 

If the Motera stadium at Ahmedabad is the place where Indian players have achieved world landmarks, the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai seems to be the place where India's best batting is on display. Going back to 1955 when the late Vinoo Mankad and the late Pankaj Roy shared what was till last month the world record opening partnership till this game where Virender Sehwag became only the third batsman and first Indian to score a triple hundred in a Test match.

In between there have been some truly memorable batting deeds. Who can forget Vishy's 97 not out against a rampaging Andy Roberts in 1974-75 on a pitch where there was appreciable bounce. Just to show how much he enjoyed rescuing India out of tight situation, Vishy got a century against the same opponents, the West Indians, four years later, on what I consider as the bounciest pitch that I have ever played on. He then scored a double hundred against the Englishmen in 1981-82. There was then Sachin Tendulkar's inventive century against the Australians in 1997.

The little champion brought out the slog sweep shot which had not been seen earlier from him to tackle the prodigious turn that Shane Warne was getting from round the wicket. Tendulkar then played an epic innings against the old rivals Pakistan despite being in enormous pain through a back injury.

Now Virender Sehwag has added his name to the list with an innings of such audacity that brought the knowledgeable but normally sedate Chennai crowd to their feet. To go into bat when the opposition has put a 500 plus total on the board and kept you on the field for better part of two days, is a daunting task. The physical tiredness to go in to bat can make the batsman lose his concentration and get out. If anything, Sehwag seemed to thrive in that condition.

He batted as if to make up for the Test matches he missed over the last 12 months. When Sourav Ganguly was left out of the side and came back with great determination, there was a section that gave credit to the coach for that comeback. It will be interesting to see how many people applaud the selectors who dropped Sehwag last year and then selected him to Australia despite him not being in the original list of probables. One can write reams about his range of shots but more than anything else what needs to be really admired is his temperament.

India still had a mountain to climb when he got to his hundred and were still not out of danger when he got to his double century. So he kept going on in the incredibly energy sapping heat of Chennai to see that his team not only gets close to the South African total but is also in a position to overhaul it. In the context of this series this is an important psychological blow for if the South Africans were to have dismissed India cheaply, then it would been hard for India to comeback in the series. Now thanks to Viru's innings, India are in a position to control the game and also the series.

This aspect of his batting for the team has not always been appreciated but if one looks at his previous Test century at Adelaide, then one will realise how with experience Viru has tempered his approach to suit the needs of his side. Even as one respect and understand the value of his batting the jaw still drops at the audacity of some of his shots. Not for him any lingering and loitering in the 90s and within a few deliveries he got to his hundred, double hundred and triple hundred.

Motera stadium may yet see another world landmark next if the little champion gets the runs needed to go past Brian Lara's aggregate in Test cricket. But before that, will the Chidambaram stadium see the bettering of the West Indian left-handers's mark of the highest individual score in Test cricket? — PMG

Patiala, March 28
In a dramatic turn of events, Athens Olympics silver medalist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore created a ripple when he disappeared from the venue of the 6th Sardar Sajjan Singh memorial shooting meet, being held at the New Moti Bagh Shooting range at village Main, near here, today.

Rathore’s sudden disappearnace from the venue just after the qualifying events of the double trap event left many at the venue flummoxed by the turn of events. The official version given by Rathore to the secretary of the National Shooting Federation Baljit Singh Sethi was that he was indisposed and hence could not take any further part in the event.

However, facts speak an entirely different story. Rathore, who only yesterday had exuded supreme confidence that he would win a medal in the fothcoming Beijing Olympics, today ended qualifcation rounds of the double trap event and was placed a dismal sixth with an abysmally low score of 122 points. Nevertheless, he managed to qualify for the finals because the first six placed shooters are allowed to make the final cut.

Experts say that that the “indisposed” excuse given by Rathore faded into oblivion given his below par performance today.

After the qualifying rounds, Rathore, who was the cynosure of all eyes today, drove away to New Delhi with his American coach Lakatos Joshua in tow, after giving his application to Baljit Singh Sethi.

Rathore is among the nine shooters who have already qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Rathore will now head for the World Cup slated to be held in China from April 10.

Meanwhile, ace marksman Ronjan Sodhi, who is currently ranked 10th in the world, won the event by accumulating 181 points. He was followed by Vikram Chopra and M. Asab in that order.

In the women’s final of the double trap event, Seema Talwar bagged the top honours. She was followed by Varsha Tomar and Shervasi Singh in that order.

Chandigarh, March 28
Mukesh Kumar, the 42-year-old professional from Mhow (Madhya Pradesh), continued with his steady game carding a three-under 69 for a two-day tally of eight under 136. He thus built up a two-stroke lead at the midway stage of the Centurian Bank of Punjab Open Golf Championship on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Hot on his chase was the 19-year-old Kapurthala lad Gaganjeet Bhullar, who also fired a three-under par 69, to be tied second along with Vijay Kumar at 138. Just one stroke behind the two is C. Miniyappa.

Yesterday's joint leader, 14-year-old Ashbeer Saini, slipped to the fifth position as he carded a one over par 73 after yesterday's opening round of 67.

Fiftyeight professionals and four amateurs made the cut in the Rs 25 lakh prize money tournament brought to Chandigarh by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

The Mhow seasoned campaigner started with a bogey, but made amends with birdies on the second and third. He lost another stroke on the sixth. But then a birdie on the eighth saw him take the turn at one under par 35.The return nine was blemish-free with birdies on the 14th and 15th.

Mukesh was happy about his driver. He said:"My hitting was really god today. I could have shot an even lower score had I not missed close putts on the first and sixth holes. The course did not play tough, despite the windy 
conditions".

Gaganjeet began with a birdie, but then be bogeyed the second. He birdied the seventh and ninth holes and bogeyed the eighth to be one under par 35 in the front nine. The Kapurthala golfer played a blemish-free return nine with birdies on the 12th and 17th to end with 69 in the 
second round.

"I had a very steady round today despite a few ordinary tee shots," said Bhullar. Looking ahead to the weekend, the Kapurthala-based professional said, "I have played two good rounds and if I continue to play this way I am definitely in with a chance."

Vijay Kumar (69, 69) joined Bhullar in tied second position with a bogey-free 69. Vijay sank birdies on the first, fifth and 17th.

C Muniyappa (69, 70) is fourth at five under 139. Muniyappa's second round 70 saw him make birdies on the first, second and fourth and a lone bogey on the 10th.

Ashbeer Saini (67, 73), the joint leader after round one slipped to fifth place. The 14-year-old amateur's total now stands at four under 140.

Chandigarh pros Harmeet Kahlon (71, 72) and Harendra Gupta (71, 72) are tied eighth at one under 143.Mohammed Siddikur Rehman's 68 was the best round of the day. The Bangladesh golfer had fired 78 in the first round. He is now tied 21st with a total of two over 146.

Arjun Singh (72, 74) joined Siddikur Rehman in tied 21st place.

Digvijay Singh (76, 72), currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit is tied 38th with an overall score of four over 148.Rahul Ganapathy (75, 76), a double winner on the PGTI this season was unfortunate to miss the cut by one stroke. His total was seven over 151.