Johannesburg, November 19
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers came together and steadied the South African second innings against Australia at the Wanderers here on Saturday. After SA had been jolted with three wickets at a score of 90, Amla and de Villiers put together an unbroken stand of 139 for the fourth wicket when bad light brought about a premature end to the third day’s proceedings.

At stumps, Amla was unbeaten on 89 and de Villiers was not out on 70 as SA reached 229 for the loss of three wickets giving them an overall lead of 199 runs with seven second innings wickets still intact.

Earlier, fast bowler Pat Cummins struck twice as South Africa lost three wickets before lunch.

South Africa were 94 for three at the interval, an overall lead of 64.

Debutant Cummins dismissed Jacques Rudolph for 24 and Jacques Kallis for two as the advantage swung to Australia, who need a win to level the series.

The 18-year-old debutant had figures of two for 27 from nine overs.

South Africa also lost captain Graeme Smith, who made 36 before cutting off-spinner Nathan Lyon to backward point.

Starting the day 30 runs behind Australia's first innings total, South Africa quickly wiped out the deficit, with Rudolph looking in outstanding form as he made 24 off 23 balls with five fours.

But with the total on 40 Rudolph tried to pull a short ball from Cummins which rose sharply into his body and the ball looped off the splice of his bat to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Smith was out tamely to Lyon and the scoring rate slowed as Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis concentrated on defence.

But Cummins came back into the attack and produced a good delivery which Kallis edged to Australian captain Michael Clarke at first slip. He scored two off 19 balls. — AFP

New Delhi, November 19
Sports minister Ajay Maken might have called for a probe into the match-fixing claims made by Vinod Kambli but a defiant BCCI on Saturday said it would not give any importance to the former cricketer's allegations.

Kambli has created quite a flutter by claiming that something was "amiss" in India's loss in the 1996 World Cup semifinal against Sri Lanka and Maken said the claim should be investigated by the BCCI or else his Ministry might order a probe.

But, senior board official Rajiv Shukla said Kambli's claims are not worth investigating. "We are not giving any importance to the claims made by Kambli. If a person wakes up after 15 years and makes some allegations, that is not worth taking note of," Shukla told reporters.

Shukla, the chairman of the IPL Governing Council, said the BCCI has acted tough on corrupt cricketers and has never forgiven such players. "Many of the boards have forgiven players after they were found to be involved in corrupt practices but BCCI has never forgiven such players," he said.

Mohali, November 19
Saurashtra are just six wickets away from victory against Punjab in their Ranji Trophy Elite Division match at the PCA Stadium Mohali.

In all, the home team lost eleven wickets on the penultimate day on Saturday and were reeling at 44 for four in their second innings after following on. They are still 220 runs behind Saurashtra and will have to battle really hard on the final day on Sunday if they are to avoid defeat.

Punjab, who resumed their first innings at 59 for three, were done in by some good pace and spin bowling by Saurashtra. Pacer Jaydev Unadkat (6/87) added three more wickets today to his first day tally of three while spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja struck two blows to the hosts.

Sandip Maniyar and Siddharth Trivedi accounted for one batsman each. Mandeep Singh was the top scorer for Punjab with his unbeaten 85 while Amitoze Singh (64) was the only other notable contributor in their first innings. The two batsmen added 121 runs for the seventh wicket but their effort was just not enough in reply to Saurashtra's mammoth total of 542.

Maniyar accounted for three Punjab batsman. Uday Kaul (11) and Mandeep (1) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day.

Brief Scores: Saurashtra 1st innings: 542 all out Punjab : 278 and 44/4 in 21 overs. (U Kaul 11; S Maniyar 3/14).

Mumbai, November 19
Abhishek Nayar notched up his second successive century before retiring due to cramps as Karnataka took firm hold of their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai, here today.

Chasing Karnataka's huge first innings total of 635 for 9 declared, Mumbai had struggled their way to 354 for 8 on day three, still needing 132 runs to avoid the follow on which the visitors may not enforce on the last day. The unbeaten batsman at close was diminutive wicket-keeper batsman Onkar Gurav (20) after the home team lost Dhawal Kulkarni (17) in the last over bowled by Stuart Binny.

Mumbai's hopes rest mainly on Nayar, who is expected to resume his innings on the morrow after retiring to the pavilion on 137 - his second ton of the season after a double century against holders Rajasthan in the previous game.

Orissa-UP match heading towards draw

Vadodara: Riding on Tanmany Srivastava's superb century, Uttar Pradesh gave a strong reply to Orissa's first innings total of 482 by scoring 287 for three on day three as their Ranji Trophy Elite Division match today headed towards a draw here.

Resuming at 54 for one, Uttar Pradesh batsmen gave a good show with Srivastava hitting 115 while Mohammad Kaif contributing a well-made 88 to give their side in the hunt for a first innings lead.

Chandigarh, November 19
Beijing Olympic Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra once again proved his mettle as he won a battle of nerves and pipped Commonwealth Games champion Gagan Narang for the 10-metre air rifle gold at the 55th National Shooting Championships here yesterday.

Bindra fired a total of 700.2 points, including 104.2 in the eight-man final, to bag the gold medal, while the Hyderabad-based Narang (696.6), representing Air India, secured the silver ahead of bronze winner Chain Singh of the Army who shot 695.7.

Bindra’s mental trainer Dr Amit Bhattacharjee, while speaking to The Tribune said, “It was a hard fought contest and once again Abhinav proved that his mental strength was superior to his peers. It is really down to him and his use of bio-mechanics of the nervous system, which optimizes his performance, even when he is under pressure.”

The Bindra vs Narang was being billed as the major event for the Nationals, and this is the second time that the Chandigarh lad has beaten Narang. The last time he took part in the nationals was in 2005 and had beaten Narang even then.

“He is benefiting a lot from proper training. What bio-mechanics does is to improve the overall psyche of a person. His appetite, sleep, breathing pattern and also reduces stress levels up to 30 per cent. It also reduces the threat of common injuries like ligament tear and ensures proper blood flow.”

Chandigarh, November 19
World Series Hockey has announced the highest ever prize money for any hockey event in the world. In fact, the champion team in WSH stands to win almost 30 times more prize money, as compared to the Euro Hockey League, the leading domestic hockey league in Europe. The total prize money, in excess of Rs 10 Crores (100 Million), is structured in a manner which ensures that there is a big incentive for the teams and the players.

The champions will recieve a prize money of Rs 4 crores, runners up will pocket Rs 2 crores, and third and fourth place teams will get Rs 1 crore each.

All WSH franchises have committed to sharing a minimum of 50% of their team winnings with the players, creating a player winning purse of at least Rs 4 crores.

In addition to the prize money listed above, there are several individual awards recognizing match winners and stars including: WSH Rockstar (Most Valuable Player), who’ll get Rs 1 crore, Indian Super Star (Star Indian Player) to win Rs 50 lakhs, Golden Stick (Highest Goal Scorer) will be awarded Rs 25 lakhs, Game Changer (Best Midfielder, Defender or Goal Keeper) to get Rs 25 lakhs and Rookie of the Year (Best emerging player under 21) will be awarded Rs 10 lakhs.The WSH will be held from December 17 to January 22, 2012 and will involve 200 leading players from India and abroad.

Patiala, November 19
Eighteen-year-old Khushpal Singh’s happiness knew no bounds when his horse Neela bagged first place in the 40-km 2nd All India Horse Endurance Meet being organised by Horse Sports and Breeders Society of Punjab, here today in a photo finish with an amazing timing of 1hr and 24 minutes. Neela clocked 20 km first lap in 41 minutes and second in 43 minutes, the average speed throughout the course was an incredible 28.5 km per hour.

According to a spokesperson of the Equestrian Federation of India, Neela surpassed the national speed which was 22 km per hour thus creating a new record. Khushpal who hails from Boparai village in Ludhiana diustrict, has been riding horses for the past four years and this race was no more than a routine exercise.

Raja Jahaz of Kiranjit Singh from Mukatsar district stood second as its speed was 28 km per hour.

The third position bagged by Sultan of Harpinder Singh of Ropar district with the average speed of 27 km. The fourth position again went to nihangs of Boparai village of Ludhaina district as the Bomb of Hakam Singh with average speed of 26.5 km. The fifth position went to Kundan Yadav of Gurukul, Kurekshetra from Haryana.

Kamalbir Singh Dhindsa, general secretary of the Society, informed that 38 horses participated in the event and only 24 were allowed in the second round considering their physical condition, especially the heart beat.

International fame Equestrian judge Col Sarpartap Singh, who is the vice president (Technical) of the Society, informed that the endurance witnessed some power-packed performances and all first five positions have surpassed the national speed which is 22 km per hour.

BRIEFLY

Basil D'Oliveira dead
London: South African-born English cricketer Basil D'Oliveira passed away early Saturday morning. D'Oliveira, 80, was not keeping well for some time. He came into the limelight in 1968, after being chosen to represent the English side for the tour of South Africa which had to be cancelled as the South African government refused to accept his presence. D'Oliveira played 44 Tests for England after migrating there due to lack of opportunities for non-white players in South Africa. — IANS

Ceat rating awards
Mumbai: India's middle order batsmen Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina today won the Ceat International Youngster of the Year and T20 Player of the Year awards, respectively. Left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir walked away with the Match-Winning Innings of the Year honour for his superb 97 in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium. Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman were honoured with special awards for completing 10 years in international cricket and for their huge contribution to Indian cricket. — PTI

Ankita Das enters quarters
Manama: Ankita Das continued making waves in the ongoing Volkswagen World Junior Table Tennis Championships here Saturday beating higher-ranked Chinese Taipei's Hsien-Tzu Cheng 8-11, 15-13, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 in the pre-quarterfinals of the girls singles event. World number 85 Ankita will meet 12th-ranked Ruochen Gu of China in the quarterfinals later in the day. — IANS

Humpy draws with Yifan
Tirana: Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy recovered from a difficult position to play out a draw with defending champion Yifan Hou of China in the fourth game of the World Women's Chess Championship here. After losing the third game with white pieces, this was a decent comeback by Humpy who was in a difficult position for most part of the match and she eventually got a draw with her second black of the 10-game contest. — PTI

Randhawa in form
Johor Bahru: Jyoti Randhawa, desperately in need of a good finish to bolster his ranking and confidence, was four-under through five holes in the third round of the rain-hit Iskandar Johor Open which was reduced to a 54-hole affair here today. Randhawa, who shot 69 and 70 in the first two rounds, rose with four birdies in five holes in the third when play was halted due to bad weather. — PTI

Messi on FIFA shortlist
ZURICH: Superstar forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Wayne Rooney featured on the 10-goal shortlist published by FIFA on Friday competing to be chosen the best scored in 2011. Messi was nominated for a strike featuring delicate skill for Barcelona against Arsenal in the Champions League; Neymar for a solo goal for Santos against Flamengo; and Wayne Rooney for his overhead kick in a Premier League Manchester derby match. — AP

Hamilton vows to win
London: British Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton has vowed to end his roller-coaster season with a “triumph” in Brazil. "Winning in Abu Dhabi was a great feeling. It's made me determined to end the year in Brazil triumphant," he added. Hamilton had earlier admitted that he had been going through a "tough time" since his split from singer Nicole Scherzinger. — ANI

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka
Dubai: Pakistani bowlers held their nerves to stop a threatening Sri Lankan team to win the third day-night international by 21 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Umar Gul (3-48) bowled well in the final overs to make sure that the good work by spinners Saeed Ajmal (3-42) and Shahid Afridi (2-42) do not go waste as they dismissed Sri Lanka for 236 in the penultimate over at Dubai stadium. — AFP

US sniff victory
MELBOURNE: South Korea's Kim Kyung-tae drained a clutch putt on the 18th hole to beat Tiger Woods in their four-ball match and give the Internationals a glimmer of hope with the Americans closing in on a seventh Presidents Cup victory on Saturday. Partnered with YE Yang, Kim's six-foot knee-trembler in front of a massive gallery at Royal Melbourne sealed a 1-up victory over Woods and Dustin Johnson as the Internationals edged the United States 3-2 in the four-ball matches. — Reuters