Hyderabad, October 3
Piyush Chawla laid bare Australia's utter discomfiture against quality spin and the gingerly visitors fumbled and faltered their way to 191 for four wickets on day two of their warm-up match against Board President's XI here today.

The Aussie top-order developed cold feet against Chawla and their free-scoring flair was completely non-existent as they finished the day still 264 behind the 455 runs which Board President's XI had scored in their first essay.

Incidentally, Ricky Ponting's men got at least three lbw reprieves, but for which things could have been even worse.

Michael Hussey (54), one of the beneficiaries of the reprieves, and Brad Haddin (34) were in the middle when stumps were drawn and they have the onerous task of bridging the gap when play resumes tomorrow.

Earlier, Board President's XI added 84 runs to their overnight score of 371 for six before folding. Both overnight batsmen Parthiv Patel (62) and Irfan Pathan (56) duly completed their half-centuries before the side lost last three wickets over a 10-ball span to be 455 all out in their first essay.

Matthew Hayden (20) led Australia's riposte but was lucky to get a reprieve when umpire Shavir Tarapore turned down Manpreet Gony's appeal for what looked like a plumb leg before dismissal.

Hayden responded by hitting two boundaries off a Pathan over before poking at one and the left-arm seamer was ecstatic, having the last laugh in his duel against him.

Simon Katich (15) similarly benefited from the doubt in umpire Amish Saheba's mind but he could make the most of the opportunity and fell to Pragyan Ojha.

Operating in tandem, the spinners stifled the visitors and Piyush Chawla (2/46) did everything to make life miserable for a clueless Ricky Ponting.

Ponting stepped out twice to hit Ojha over long on ropes and breathe easy but Chawla ensured he did not bloom further.

The leggie bamboozled him with a googly that crashed through Ponting's gate to rattle his timbers at the stroke of tea. Chawla went on to scalp Ponting's deputy as well, trapping Michael Clarke (18) on the other side of the break.

For them, the welcome grit came from Hussey and Haddin who gamely hung around. Hussey's unbeaten 54 came off 136 balls with seven hits to the fence and a six.

Earlier, with 371 runs behind them and four wickets still in hand, the Indian tail wagged merrily before suddenly collapsing in a heap soon after the new ball was taken.

Stranded one run short of half century, Parthiv Patel (62) duel reached the mark but departed dragging a Peter Siddle delivery onto his stumps.

Irfan Pathan (56) at the other end lived dangerously. At least thrice he inside edged and on all three occasions, it reached the ropes. Three boundaries off a Brett Lee over took him near the fifty mark and he celebrated by hitting Stuart Clarke past mid-on.

The new ball was taken soon and Clarke removed Pathan and Ojha (0) with the first and last deliveries of the 108th over and then Johnson removed Chawla (24) to halt the progress of the local favourites.

For Australia, Mitchell Johnson was the most successful bowler, picking four for 75, while Stuart Clark, who triggered the late collapse with the new ball, scalped three for 67 runs. 

Scoreboard 

Board President's XI (1st innings):

Chopra lbw b Johnson 25

W Jaffer c Johnson b Clark 19

S Badrinath lbw b Siddle 2

Yuvraj c Hussey b Johnson 29

Rohit c Krejza b Johnson 105

Kohli lbw b Lee 105

Parthiv b Siddle 62

I Pathan c Siddle b Clark 56

Chawla c Lee b Johnson 23

Ojha c Hussey b Clark 0

Gony not out 0

Extras (b-5, lb-15, nb-9): 29

Total (all out in 108.4 overs): 455

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-49, 3-59, 4-120, 5-266, 6-328, 7-403, 8-447, 9-451.

Bowling: B Lee 18-3-61-1, S Clark 18-5-67-3, M Johnson 23.4-4-75-4, P Siddle 18-3-64-2, J Krejza 20-1-123-0,M Clarke 11-0-45-0.

Australia (1st innings):

S Katich c Kohli b Ojha 15

M Hayden c Patel b Pathan 20

R Ponting b Chawla 41

M Hussey not out 54

M Clarke lbw b Chawla 18

B Haddin not out 34

Extras (b-4, lb-5): 9

Total (for 4 wkts in 68 overs): 191

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-54, 3-94, 4-128.

Bowling: I Pathan 17-4-50-1, MS Gony 11-2-37-0, P Ojha 17-3-44-1, P Chawla 21-6-46-2, Yuvraj Singh 2-1-5-0. — PTI 

Chennai, October 3
Openers Aaron Redmond (105) and Martin Guptil (80) combined for a 190-run stand to guide New Zealand A to a commanding 270 for three in their first innings against India A on the opening day of their second and final four-day cricket match here today.

Redmond and Martin Guptil (80) walked away with the first day honours with some superb batting after the Kiwis elected to bat. The visitors crossed the 250-mark for the first time since the first match which they lost by 129 runs.

After the Indian bowlers toiled under hot and humid conditions without any success for most part of the day, leg-spinner Amit Mishra struck a double blow (2/62) dismissing Guptil and captain Peter Fulton (5) in successive overs after tea break.

Guptil was caught at deep mid-wicket by C Pujara while trying to go over the ropes after coming down the track while Fulton was caught behind.

Left-arm medium pacer R P Singh was off-colour and finally managed to taste success in his third spell to send back Redmond, in the 73rd over.

At close of play, Greg Hay (44) and James Marshall (21) were at the crease and had added 41 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket. — PTI

Scoreboard

New Zealand A:

Redmond b RP Singh 105

Guptil c Pujara b Mishra 80

Fulton c Saha b Mishra 5

Hay batting 44

Marshall batting 21

Extras (b-3, lb-7, nb-4, w-1): 15

Total (3 wkts in 90 overs): 270

Fall of wickets: 1/190, 2/195, 3/229.

Bowling: R P Singh 17-3-57-1; Ashok Dinda 16-3-39-0; Pradeep Sangwan 12-2-48-0; Amit Mishra 23-8-62-2; Jadeja 16-6-40-0; Suresh Raina 6-1-14-0.

Bangalore, October 3
Coach Gary Kirsten told India's squad to distance themselves from the controversy surrounding five senior players ahead of the start of the Test series against Australia next week.

The countdown for the four-Test series starting in Bangalore on Thursday has been overshadowed by news the Indian board has drawn up retirement plans for five veterans, including captain Anil Kumble and record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

A board official said on Wednesday that Kumble, Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Vangipurappu Laxman, all well into their 30s, had been told to plan their retirements by December.

"I think we should move on from that," South African Kirsten told a news conference on Friday. "We need to focus on the team and get on with the test series.

"India have got the best record against Australia and we have got a good idea of what we need to do, game-wise as well as mentally."

World number ones Australia won a four-Test series 2-1 four years ago to record their first series victory on Indian soil in 35 years but are rebuilding after several high-profile retirements.

Kirsten expects spin to pose a serious threat to the visitors but said the hosts were capable of winning in all conditions.

"It feels good to have two spinners who have got so many wickets in our team and that is certainly something that works in our favour," he said.

India named leg-break bowler Amit Mishra as a third specialist spinner in the squad for the first two tests as back up for Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

Leg-spinner Kumble is the world's third highest wicket taker and architect of several victories.

Off-spinner Harbhajan, who took 32 wickets in the 2-1 victory over Australia in 2001, needs nine more scalps to reach 300 in Tests. — Reuters

Hyderabad, October 3
Injured spinner Bryce McGain will return home but Cricket Australia is yet to decide on his replacement for the four-match Test series against India.

The team think-tank said in a statement today that the leg-spinner would return home for not recovering sufficiently from a right shoulder injury sustained during an Australia A match in India last month.

Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said the decision to send McGain home was made after it was determined that the Victorian leg spinner would not be able to bowl for the majority of the tour.

"Bryce's injury was first sustained in an Australia A match in September and despite his workload being managed throughout the early stages of this tour, he suffered a setback at training on Tuesday in an attempt to be available for Australia's four-day match currently being played in Hyderabad," the physio said.

"As a result, it has been decided that Bryce will not be available for selection for the majority of the tour," Kountouris added.

CA National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch said that a decision on a potential replacement player for McGain would be taken in due course.

"The National Selection Panel hasn't made a decision on whether a replacement player for Bryce will be called up for the remainder of the tour. The panel will make an assessment in the coming days and determine the appropriate course of action," he said.

In McGain's absence, rookie off-spinner Jason Krejza is expected to spearhead Australia's slow-bowling challenge but the youngster was less than impressive in the ongoing warm-up match against Board President's XI. Krejza bowled 20 overs without any success and conceded 123 runs. — PTI

Hyderabad, October 3
Australian coach Tim Nielsen said the left-handed batsman Simon Katich, who was preferred over Phil Jacques in the practise match against Board President's XI, can also be a choice as Matthew Hayden's partner to open the innings in the first Test at Bangalore.

''Mainly the selectors thought that Katto (Simon Katich) and Jaquesy (Phil Jacques) pretty much had a bat-off in the West Indies,'' Nielsen said.

''We didn't picture it that way at the time, but they thought Katto was playing extremely well,'' he added.

Katich, who was all along being considered as the reserve batsman in the team, has said to have clinched the place by scoring back-to-back hundreds in Australia's last Test series against the West Indies.

''He made hundreds in Antigua and Barbados, the last couple of Tests of the series, he's come off a stellar summer in Australia and is in such good form that they just thought he may have edged himself in front of Jaquesy as the second choice opening batsman behind Matthew,'' he said.

Nielsen further added that ''It's a nice position to be in when you've got three quality opening batsmen, unfortunately three doesn't go into two, so the choice they made was to go with Simon this time.'' — UNI 

Kolkata, October 3
Unheralded Branco Cardozo saved Mohun Bagan from a possible defeat at the hands of Air India as the visitors returned from Mumbai unvanquished after two away matches in the second ONGC I-League match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here tonight.

Air India struck in injury time of the first half from a set piece through Soccor Velho but Branco Cardozo levelled the score for Bagan just 20 minutes before time.

The draw earned Air India a point at the end of the second round to take their total to two points from as many matches as the visitors held local runners up Mohammedan Sporting 1-1 in the opener earlier this week.

Mohun Bagan were left with only one point from two matches as they had lost to Mumbai FC 1-2 in the campaign earlier. Bimal Ghosh praised his boys for being able to withstand the pressure from the two big Mumbai-based clubs.

As the teams were looking headed into half time with their goals intact, Air India were awarded a free kick from outside the box. Soccor Velho anticipated the cross and swooped on to the ball before Shilton Paul and deflected it home.

But just like previous matches, the visitors could not hold the lead and conceded the equaliser when P.C. Lalwmpuiya, from the left flank, fed Branco to level the score. — UNI

Paris, October 3
Tottenham have edged nervously into the UEFA Cup group stages to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Juande Ramos but fellow English strugglers Everton crashed out. Tottenham, rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, drew 1-1 with Wisla Krakow in Poland to secure a 3-2 aggregate win yesterday.

Pawel Brozek’s lobbed equaliser with seven minutes to go, following Arkadiusz Glowacki’s 58th-minute own goal for Tottenham, pushed Spurs into crisis defensive mode but they hung on grimly to go through, courtesy of their 2-1 win at White Hart Lane two weeks ago.

“The important thing is qualification,” said Ramos who led Sevilla to two UEFA Cup titles before switching to England. “There was no euphoria at the end of the match, it was just a sense of getting the job done.”

Everton slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Standard Liege in Belgium to lose 4-3 on aggregate, a result which will pile the pressure onto manager David Moyes.

Axel Witsel put the Belgians ahead in the 22nd minute before Everton levelled in the 67th minute when Phil Jagielka prodded the ball home after goalkeeper Rorys Aragon fumbled a cross. Milan Jovanovic grabbed the winner 12 minutes from time . — AFP 

New Delhi, October 3
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today directed Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr M.S. Gill to give a detailed presentation on the preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi so as to ensure that nothing was left to chance. The Prime Minister was particularly keen that work on infrastructural front was keeping pace with the schedule.

The Commonwealth Games figured at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which approved the I and B Ministry's proposal regarding coverage of the Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune from 12 to 18 October 12 to 18, and the Commonwealth Games in 2010, by the Prasar Bharati and the Press Information Bureau at a cost of Rs.463 crore.

The Union Cabinet also approved the release of additional funds of Rs 43.50 crore to the organising committee for the conduct of the Commonwealth Youth Games. Thus, the government, in all, would be making available a total of Rs 110 crore for the Youth Games.

The government had earlier approved an expenditure budget of Rs 767 crore, as loan to the Organising Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, out of which Rs 66.50 crore were for the conduct of the Youth Games. But the Youth Games Organising Committee later presented a revised estimate to the Government "in order to make these games a grand success since they would set the tone for the main Commonwealth Games in 2010".

The escalating cost in the conduct of the Youth Games is a pointer to the heavy cost involved for mounting the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which has already hit the roof. No wonder, the Prime Minister is keen that things move on the right path, with checks and balances in place.

Moga, October 3
Punjab lost to the Services in the final match (men’s category) of the north zone Kabaddi championship held here, today. However, the hosts managed to qualify for participation in the national championship along with the Services from the north zone.

Services’ captain Vikas and two of his teammates Naveen and Rajesh, who steered the Indian team to a gold medal in the last Asian Games, put up a brilliant show of strength in a thrilling match to clinch it for Services by a point. Services got 18 points while Punjab got 17 points at the end of the game.

Other teams from Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir failed to put up a spirited show in the three-day championship and failed to qualify for participation in the national championship.

In the women’s category, Himachal Pradesh emerged victorious on the basis of scoring more points in all the matches. Haryana stood second and managed to qualify for participation in the national championship. Punjab remained on third position and failed to qualify for participation in the national championship.

BRIEFLY

Karachi
Hearing in Shoaib’s fine case postponed: The hearing of the Lahore High Court to determine if controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar can play in the National Twenty20 Cricket Championship without paying a fine of 7 million rupees has been rescheduled for October 8. The Board has allowed Shoaib to play in the National T20 Championship until the court gives a verdict but due to Eid holidays Friday’s hearing has been differed to October 8, said Tafazzul Rizvi, the legal counsel of the Board. “The hearing would be on the October 8 now and the situation is clear until the court now gives us clear directives on the fine issue he can continue to play,” Rizvi said. The court is expected to give clear directives on the fine issue in one hearing as it has presently suspended the ban on Shoaib. — PTI

Inzamam against ministry’s intervention in cricket: Pakistan’s former captain Inzamam-ul Haq on Friday said he did not support the Sports Ministry’s interference in cricket affairs and felt a lack of proper communication between players and the PCB was giving rise to a sense of uncertainty among them. “I really don’t support what is happening. The sooner they announce a new chairman of the board and allow him to get on with the job independent of the ministry it is better for Pakistan cricket,” he said on a show on a private TV channel. Inzamam said the Board really needed to work hard to improve their communication channels with the players. “There is a sense of uncertainty among the players as well as the Board and this is not helped because there is no proper communication between the two,” he added. — PTI

NEW DELHI
Paes-Dlouhy in Japan Open semifinal: The top seeded pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy won their sixth match on the trot to advance to the semifinals of the $869000 Japan Open in Tokyo on Friday. The Indo-Czech pair overcame a late challenge from Philipp Petzschner of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria 6-2, 7-6 in one hour and eight minutes in the quarterfinal of the hard-court event. The Thailand Open winners next face Robert Kendrick of America and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the last-four stage. In the quarterfinal, Paes and Dlouhy broke their rivals twice and saved two breakpoints on their own serve to run away with the first set. — PTI

Vijender, Sushil receive Rs 5 lakh from MCD: Cash prizes continue to pour on Olympic medallists, grappler Sushil Kumar and pugilist Vijender Singh as the athletes were rewarded Rs 5 lakh each by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for their Beijing feat on Friday. Delhi mayor Arti Mehra and BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudi handed over the cheques, along with a memento and a trophy, to the athletes, who clinched the bronze medal in their respective disciplines during the Beijing Olympic Games. “Our youngsters are very talented and this trend should be continued from now on. If properly trained, the young talent can fetch more Olympic medals for the country,” Vijender, who clinched a medal in the middleweight category, said. — PTI

YPS in All-India IPSC tourney quarters: Yadvindra Public School (Mohali) blanked Sawan Public School, Delhi, 2-0 to enter the quarterfinal of the All India Inter-Public School Championship for badminton (under-14 boys) at the Modern School here on Friday. YPS (Patiala) defeated Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, 2-0, to sail into the last eight. Former international Madhumita Bisht inaugurated the championship. Over 150 players from 17 prominent public schools from across the country are participating in the championship, including Mayo College, Ajmer, YPS, Mohali, and Patiala, Modern School, Delhi Public School, Scindia School, Gwalior, Doon School, Maharani Gayatri School (Jaipur) and Lawrence School, Ooty. — TNS

ROHTAK
MDU to host cross-country event: Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here will host the All-India Inter-University Cross-Country (men and women) championship (2008-09) on October 6. The director (sports) of MDU, Dr K.S. Sangwan, said the championship would commence at 6 a.m. on October 6. The commissioner (Rohtak division), S.P.Gupta, will be the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony, while Arjun awardee boxer Akhil kumar will be the guest of honour. The MDU vice-chancellor, Dr R.P.Hooda, will give away the prizes. As many as 92 universities from all over the country are expected to take part in the event. — TNS