Ahmedabad, November 7
A near dead and buried match, seemingly heading for a tame draw, suddenly came back to life courtesy the Indian team’s inept (or irresponsible, take your pick) batting display on Sunday. A maligned pitch, which was referred to as “lifeless” by the Indian bowlers, suddenly became a minefield when New Zealand came on to bowl in India’s second innings.

Chris Martin ripped apart India’s top-order reducing the home team to 15 for five and New Zealand, who were supposed to be the underdogs going into this Test, suddenly transformed into potential match-winners. New Zealand were a bowler short -- Hamish Bennett being injured -- but that did not hamper Martin from turning in a lion-hearted performance.

Martin grabbed four wickets and Sehwag was run-out by a sharp piece of work by substitute Martin Guptill and India were staring down the barrel. Gambhir and Dravid were caught by wicketkeeper Hopkins, Tendulkar had his leg-stump uprooted and Raina edged to the slips. Before the Indians knew what had hit them, the match had turned on its head. At this stage, Martin’s lethal spell read: 9-6-15-4. He showed the Indian bowlers that there is life in the Motera pitch provided you bowl the right lengths.

By close of play on the penultimate day, India had crawled to 86 for six (an overall lead of 110) with VVS Laxman unbeaten on 34 and Harbhajan on 12. The final day seems headed for an exciting finish if the Kiwis can polish off the remaining four Indian wickets. As for India, for the umpteenth time, they will be looking towards Laxman to repair the damage.

Martin returned for a second spell to remove captain Dhoni and grab his fifth wicket of the innings. He also became the fourth bowler from a visiting team to pick up five wickets in an innings at the Motera Stadium, the others being Wayne Daniel in 1983, Ashley Giles in 2001 and Dale Steyn in 2008.

Things could have been far worse for India had Australian umpire Steve Davies not made an error of judgement. On his personal score of 8, VVS Laxman prodded forward to off-spinner Jeetan Patel, the ball hit Laxman’s bat and went safely into the hands of Watling at short-leg. But the umpire gave Laxman not out.

Earlier in the day, Kane Williamson became only the eighth New Zealand batsman to hit a hundred on Test debut, when he scored 131 in the Kiwi first innings. At 20, Williamson is the youngest Kiwi batsman to achieve this feat. Apart from Williamson, the seven other New Zealand batsmen who have scored a century on Test debut are Mathew Sinclair, Mark Greatbatch, Scott Styris, Jackie Mills, Rodney Redmod, Bruce Taylor and Lou Vincent.

Captain Daniel Vettori also entered an elite club of Test all-rounders today during his innings of 41. Before the start of this match, Vettori needed 38 runs to complete 4000 runs in Test cricket. He now becomes only the third all-rounder in the world to have achieved the rare double of 4000 runs and 300-plus wickets (the other two being Kapil and Botham).

On Saturday, in New Zealand’s first innings, spinner Pragyan Ojha was the pick of Indian bowlers with four for 107 and Harbhajan was the biggest disappointment, managing just a solitary wicket in his spell of 43 overs. With his reverse-swing not working, even Zaheer looked harmless. New Zealand went on to score 459 and conceded only a 28-run lead to the Indians. All hell broke loose shortly afterwards with Martin spreading mayhem in the Indian batting ranks with a spell of accurate fast bowling.

Ahmedabad, November 7
The Indian team were rattled by pace bowler Chris Martin in the second innings here today and although it was a mixture of good bowling and bad batting, the Indian set-up feels it was just a ‘great spell’ by Martin.

“Martin really bowled a superb spell,” said Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha, who interacted with the media after the day’s play.

“He put the ball in the right areas and it is a bit up and down out there,” he added. “Laxman is still there and, all of us who are remaining, will also give it our best shot and chip in,” said Ojha.

Ojha himself had figures of 4 for 107 in New Zealand’s first innings and these bettered his previous best Test figures, which he had recorded earlier this year against Sri Lanka in Colombo (4 for 115).

“There is some turn on the wicket but it is outside the off-stump. If we set a target of around 160-170, I think we can make a match out of it tomorrow,” said Ojha optimistically. “It will be good if the pacers get 2-3 wickets upfront. That will make the job of the spinners a little easier.”

From the visiting team, 20-year-old New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson, who became the youngest Kiwi player to record a Test century on debut today, was also all praise for Martin’s bowling. “After he got two wickets and Sehwag got run out we really sensed an opportunity,’ said Williamson.

On his own innings he said, “I prepared for this series. I knew playing spin well will be the key here and I’m happy that I did that really well. I also knew patience will be the key on Indian wickets and I was prepared to wait for the right ball to hit. My ODI century in Bangladesh also gave me a lot of confidence.”

With that hundred in Bangladesh, Williamson also became the youngest New Zealand batsman to hit an ODI hundred. The earlier record for that feat was with Martin Crowe. So, right at the start of his career, this youngster is already rewriting New Zealand record books.

New Delhi, November 7
He is miffed with the system here and considers it to be the toughest challengea is facing but chief hockey coach Jose Brasa still wants to prolong his association with the Indian team. After the recent success in the Commonwealth Games, where India bagged the silver medal, Brasa now has 2012 London Olympic in his sight although the Spaniard's contract expires on November 30.

But Brasa, who had earlier decided to leave the job after the expiry of his contract, now wants to stay with the team provided his Project India is implemented properly. "Renewal of contract is not in my hand but definitely I want to prolong my stay here provided the system becomes more professional and things get better.

"India has the potential to be in the top league. It's just a matter of having proper and professional system. If my Project India gets implemented, then I am more then happy to be with the team," Brasa told PTI Bhasha in an interview.

After India's disappointing eighth place finish in the World Cup earlier this year, Brasa had unveiled the roadmap for Indian hockey's revival and demanded more control in the day-to-day running of the team. Brasa's next assignment is the Asian Games and the Spaniard is optimistic about India's chances in the November 12-27 event in Guangzhou, China.

"If we play the same level of hockey we played against Pakistan and England in Delhi Commonwealth Games, we will be in the final for sure. All the players know how important the gold medal in Asian Games is," he said. He also felt that the silver medal in the Delhi Games is just the beginning of a long journey.

"It's just a beginning. We should not think much about it. Our target is London Olympic 2012 and for that we must win the gold in Asian Games. We will have two full years for preparation and will not have to go through the qualification round. It is very important for the revival of Indian hockey," said Brasa. Brasa had witnessed many positive changes in the team since he had taken over in June 2009.

"Indian players are immensely talented. I have seen a lot of improvement in them as far as technique and fitness are concerned. Their passing, men to men marking, dribbling is better now.

"Of course there are some areas of concern which will be taken care of. They can beat any team on their day. I strongly feel that India can be in the top league provided the game is run in a better way here," he said. — PTI

London, November 7
Park Ji-sung struck deep into stoppage time against Wolverhampton to secure Manchester United's third successive Premier League victory, while Tottenham was brought back to earth following its European exploits by losing at Bolton. Park netted his first goals of the league season to secure a 2-1 win over Wolves. The South Korea midfielder's opener on the stroke of half time was canceled out by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake in the 66th.

United is now two points behind Chelsea ahead of the leaders' match against Newcastle today.

"It was a long struggle," Alex Ferguson said on his 24th anniversary as United manager. "Right on half time and right on the final whistle are amazing times to score. But Ji's in great form actually, he's been one of our best players in recent weeks. It was another really good performance from him today." Tottenham lost 4-2 at Bolton after failing to replicate the ruthless attacking display that saw holder Inter Milan beaten 3-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Also yesterday, Blackburn beat Wigan 2-1, Sunderland defeated Stoke 2-0 and Aston Villa was held 1-1 at Fulham, while there were 2-2 draws between Birmingham and West Ham, and Blackpool and Everton.

United's match started badly when Owen Hargreaves limped off just five minutes into his first start in more than two years with an apparent hamstring injury.

The gloom was lifted before half time when Darren Fletcher cut in from the left before splitting the Wolves defense with a throughball that allowed Park to put United ahead. But former United trainee Ebanks-Blake was in the right place to intercept a Nenad Milijas shot in 66th minute, turn sharply to round Nemanja Vidic, then drive a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Park, though, restored United's lead in the third minute of stoppage time after cutting inside the penalty area from the right wing two minutes into injury-time and driving his shot past American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann at the near post.

Ferguson said several players were feeling ill after a midweek Champions League trip to Turkey.

"Some players played with touches of flu and others with diarrhea, so we've done really well to get a result," Ferguson said. At Bolton, Kevin Davies' double, including one from the penalty spot, along with strikes from Gretar Rafn Steinsson and Martin Petrov condemned Spurs to their second successive domestic defeat. — AP

Karachi, November 7
Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has been stopped from leaving for the UAE for a Test series against South Africa because of the spot-fixing charges he faced during his county stint with Essex. In a late night development, Kaneria was stopped by the Pakistan Cricket Board from going to Dubai to join the national team for the two Test matches against South Africa starting November 12.

Kaneria was scheduled to leave with Muhammad Sami from Karachi as were Muhammad Yousuf, Taufiq Umar and Azhar Ali from Lahore in the early hours of Sunday. But as he was preparing to leave for the airport, Kaneria was told by the PCB to remain in Karachi till further orders.

Zakir Khan, the director of cricket operations in the board, today said the board had not given clearance to Kaneria for the Test series. He refused to say anything more on the issue.

A similar response came from chief selector Mohsin Khan who said he couldn't select any player in the team who was not cleared by the board. "Under the new regulations only those players can play who are given clearance by the board and apparently in Kaneria's case he has been stopped from playing for Pakistan at this point," Mohsin said.

A well-placed source in the board told PTI that infact it was the ICC that had told the PCB not to play Kaneria at this time in the coming series. "Apparently the ICC is still not satisfied with the conduct of Kaneria because of the criminal investigation that was conducted against him this year by the Essex police," the source said. — PTI

Basel, November 7
Roger Federer will look to record his third win in four matches against Novak Djokovic as the Swiss great bids to regain his title at the ATP Swiss Indoors here.

Hometown pride will also be on the line for the top seed and three-time champion (2006-2008), as Federer faces the Serb he has beaten in 11 of 17 meetings in front of a sell-out crowd at the St Jakobshalle.

Federer thrashed long-time rival Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-4 in his semi-final on yesterday, continuing the ruthless form that has carried him to overwhelming victories all week at the hall where he began his tennis career as a ballboy. Djokovic engineered a second straight escape against dangerous compatriot Viktor Troicki, with the second seed eking out a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win.

The Serb took the Basel trophy from Federer in the 2009 final and the 16-time Grand Slam-winner is keen to exact revenge. "Playing Novak is as tough as they come," said Federer, who beat Djokovic recently in Shanghai and Canada but lost to him in a five-set US Open semi-final.

"He likes a fast indoor court. A lot of our matches have been close. That's exactly what I'm looking for again." Djokovic, however, is keen to hold onto his title -- and an undefeated 9-0 record in Basel.

"Roger and I know each other's games well," he said.

"He's been on the top level for six or seven years and is the best ever. He's at the top of his game all the time." Federer had no mercy for Roddick, who he has now defeated in 20 of 22 career matches stretching back ten years and starting here in 2001. That winning run includes victories in three Wimbledon finals, the latest in 2009.

Federer fired 13 aces to just four for his big-serving opponent. The Swiss was broken at the start of the second set but fought back to 3-3 and polished off victory in 70 minutes with a crisp passing winner. — AFP

Madrid, November 7
An amazing 30-yard strike from Javier Marquez gave Espanyol a 1-0 win over struggling Malaga and moved them into a Champions League place. There was only a minute on the clock when Marquez let fly with his left-foot and the ball flew into the top corner.

It meant an uphill battle already for third-from-bottom Malaga whose defence appeared to lose their nerve as Espanyol dominated the opening exchanges. Pablo Osvaldo should have doubled the lead but his tame shot was beaten away by the keeper Arnau Grabulosa. Espanyol took their foot off the pedal and Malaga grew in confidence as the first half wore on and Eliseu Pereira and Nabil Baha were guilty of bad misses.

In a scrappy second half Malaga had chances on the break but came closest to scoring from a long-range effort from Quincy Owusu-Abeyie which came back of the crossbar.

Earlier Real Sociedad beat Racing Santander 1-0 thanks to a clinical strike from Joseba Llorente. This was Real's fourth victory in five games and they went ahead after just six minutes when in-form Llorente latched onto a clever through-ball by Xabi Prieto and made no mistake with his finish. The visitors were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply and Antoine Griezmann went close to doubling the lead when his lob went over the crossbar.

Ariel Nahuelpan had a shot saved by Real keeper Claudio Bravo but in the second half Real should have added to the lead notably when Griezmann, on his own in the area, saw his shot saved by the keeper Tono Rodriguez and then Prieto hit the post after a fine run. "We should have made the game safe and not suffered so much but I thought it was a fairly even game," said Real coach Martin Lasarte.

"We know what we have to do this season and we are not going to start to talk about Europe although we can enjoy the position in the league for the moment." On Sunday, leaders Real Madrid play local rivals Atletico but Real coach Jose Mourinho has tried to play down the importance of the game.

"I don't aim to win derbies but to win championships and in order to do that you have to win games. The idea of playing derbies is to pick up points and that is what I want to do whether it is Atletico or anyone else," he said. — AFP

BRIEFLY

Atwal ends tied 48th
Shanghai: Arjun Atwal went over-par for a second successive day, carding a 74 in the final round, to drop 10 rungs and sign off tied 48th in the WGC - HSBC Champions golf tournament here on Sunday. Atwal managed two birdies against two bogeys and a double bogey to be two-over for the day and end the tournament with a total of three-over 291. The Orlando-based golfer was one-over in the front nine after managing to sandwich a birdie in between a couple of bogeys. The back nine comprised a double bogey against a birdie as Atwal rounded off his campaign on a rather disappointing note. — PTI

McGrath backs Aus for Ashes
Melbourne: Former seamer Glenn McGrath has ridiculed the critics for considering Australia's bowling weak and backed Ricky Ponting and his men to regain the Ashes from England. Australia have been on a losing streak in all forms of the game and critics pinpointed lack of "swagger" and "arrogance" as a sign of collective weakness in Australia's pacemen. Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan felt Australian bowling lacked talent, while former England skipper Michael Vaughan also criticised the Aussie attack, saying it lacks the "X factor" and even suggested the bowlers could ultimately be responsible for Ponting losing his captaincy. — PTI

CA to cut player salaries
Melbourne: Battling for form on field, there is bad news for Australian cricketers off it as well with the prospect of salary cuts looming large after their Board fell short of the projected revenue by 16 million dollars. According to a report in the 'Herald Sun', Cricket Australia's general manager of finance and business services Kate Banozic has sent a letter to its 180 players informing them of the CA's decision. "Whilst this isn't great news to have to deliver to players, it is important to note we are currently in difficult financial times and cricket is not immune from these," she wrote. — PTI

Button: Title hope over
London: Formula One champion Jenson Button has finally accepted that he will not be able to retain his F1 title this season. The McLaren driver could only finish 11th in qualifying for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Button admitted he is now too far down the grid to threaten Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, teammate Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel above him. "Before, there was a slither of hope of retaining the championship. But now it's gone, it's basically impossible," The Sun quoted Button, as saying. — ANI

Australian WAGS during Ashes
Melbourne: Cricket Australia in stark contrast to England's policy will allow wives and girlfriends (WAGS) of players more often than ever during the Ashes series. England has banned WAGS for the first six weeks of the Ashes tour, but the Australian players will be able to have their families stay with them at team accommodation whenever they want. Cricket Australia's decision comes after it commissioned research from relationship and social experts, which revealed having WAGS on tour eased the strain on family life, and was a positive move for team harmony. — ANI

Don's bat goes under hammer
Melbourne: An old bat used by Australian cricket legend Don Bradman during the Ashes tour of England in 1930 would go under the hammer in Sydney today and it is expected to fetch up to $20,000. The cricket bat has Sir Bradman's signatures on the reverse side and is covered in signatures of the Australian and English players on the front side, the ABC Online reported. Also termed as "The Ultimate Backyard Bat" by a sport memorabilia expert, it would surely be a thing to treasure by the cricket fans. — PTI