Mirpur, March 19
In the form of his life but young Indian batsman Virat Kohli said he felt under pressure in the crunch Asia Cup game against arch-rivals Pakistan but having learnt to value his wicket he managed to deliver a match-winning 183-run knock.

"It would be wrong if I say there was no pressure. I didn't play well against Pakistan the last 2-3 times. I was disappointed, so wanted to do well. It is always a high pressure game against Pakistan and all eyes are on this match," Kohli said after India chased down a mammoth 330 yesterday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the final.

Kohli had scored an unbeaten 133 against Sri Lanka in Hobart when India chased 321 with 80 balls to spare in the tri-series last month but the young batsman said the knock last night was more special. "I will rate it with Hobart, not equal but sort of more special because of the sort of game we were playing. It was a special game for us against a good opposition," Kohli told reporters at the post-match press conference.

Kohli's scores in his last four innings, including that of last night, read 183, 66, 108 133. "Batting at number three is an important position and I value my wicket more now because if I get set a good platform, I will be able to cover up, and that has been my strength and I will stick to that," he added.

Asked if getting a double century played on his mind, Kohli said, "For a brief period it did come to my mind but I told myself that I was thinking something else and I decided to get back to the game and tried to look at the ball and hit it."

Kohli scored his 11th century but the 23-year-old said he didn't have any recipe for success. "There is no recipe, I give myself the best chance every time I go out there, I try to stay till the end, that's my only aim and it is working for me. There is no special recipe, everyone wants to go out and score runs.

"I was able to go that extra mile today because I wasn't getting big hundreds and getting out at 40th or 42nd over. So I decided to apply myself more today as it was an important game for us," he said.

Kohli stitched two important partnerships - first of 133 runs with Sachin Tendulkar and then a 172-run stand with Rohit Sharma - and the middle-order batsman said the idea was to put pressure on the opposition by keeping wickets till the end of the match.

"We lost a wicket in the second ball, so we planned to build a big partnership. Chasing any total over 300, 320 or 330 if you have wickets in hand then opposition gets something to think over. So we wanted to put pressure and be in the game. That was the plan and we executed that perfectly, once we decided to go for the run in the end, we had seven wickets in hand," he said.

"We wanted to take the game till the end, so we played cautiously the strike bowlers as we know the ball comes really nice on to the bat while chasing, we kept that in mind," he added. — PTI

Mirpur, March 19
The ICC today sought to put a lid to the raging controversy surrounding Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal’s bowling action, saying the tweaker was well within “the allowed degree of tolerance”. According to a television report, Indian cricketers had raised concern over the bowler’s action after their stupendous six-wicket victory over arch rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup match yesterday.

BCCI officials, however, did not confirm whether the team had raised objections over Ajmal’s action.

Chasing a victory target of 330, India rode on a superb batting display by young Virat Kohli to overwhelm their opponents with more than two overs to spare.

“We do whatever protocol allows us to do and let us not forget that the match officials, the umpires are entitled to call any bowler, who has got a suspect action,” said the ICC CEO, Haroon Lorgat.

“In Saeed Ajmal’s case we have tested him, we have monitored him even in live situations, he bowls within the allowed degree of tolerance. So there isn’t any issue with him,” Lorgat told ‘Times Now’.

Lorgat said there is always a difference between what we see and what we perceive. “We need to be careful about what the eye sees and what the reality is. You are allowed to bowl with an arm that you don’t straighten in the course of action and he is well within the degrees of tolerance”, he said.

The 34-year-old Ajmal has been in the midst of a controversy over his action, and just before the Asia Cup the English cricketers had also raised their concern about the bowler. He later claimed that he had a special dispensation from the game’s governing body to straighten his arm beyond the allowed 15 degrees.

Ajmal, during an interview to an English media house, after Pakistan’s 3-0 Test win over England in the UAE, had claimed, “ICC has allowed me 23.5 because my arm is not good because of an accident, that is why a problem.” The comments raised some sparks in India as well with one of the former cricketer calling Ajmal an “outright chucker”. — PTI

Chandigarh, March 19
Chandigarh Comets held their act together in a nerve-wrecking thriller to defeat Pune Strykers 4-3 in the ongoing World Series Hockey (WSH), at the hockey stadium of Sports Complex Sector 42, here today.

Three goals in first seven minutes and plenty of missed chances by the home team were enough to predict the team’s fate but the home team fought back and scored the decider with just five seconds left for the game. Candian international Sukhvinder Singh Gabbar scored two goals including a penalty stroke in the dying minutes to ensure the Comets’ victory.

Starting off their campaign on a poor note, the home team conceded their first goal in 2nd minute after Tyrok Pereira struck the wooden plank after taking a excellent shot from the left flank. But soon Ken Pereira doubled the lead after scoring another field goal in the 6th minute. In the very next minute Gurpreet Singh successfully made it 3-0 off a penalty stroke after defender Matthew Philips foul-played Armada Mario in the restricted area. On other half, Rehan Butt reduced the margin by 3-1 in the 13th minute after scoring off a defender’s deflection.

In the second quarter the Chandigarh team missed about three chances to level the score but Gurjinder Singh managed to score in the 34th minute through a penalty corner. After the lemon break, the home team came back in the match and leveled the score to 3-3 when Sukvinder Singh Gabbar scored a excellent goal after taking full advantage of a power-packed shot in the 37th minute. The last quarter witnessed a see-saw battle after both teams played with an attacking verve, but in the 70th minute Gabbar again came to his side’s resuce and sealed the victory. 

Mirpur, March 19
Millions of Indian cricket fans will be praying for a Sri Lankan victory when the islanders take on hosts Bangladesh here tomorrow in their last league match, the result of which will determine India's fate in the Asia Cup cricket tournament. The Indians recorded their highest run-chase ever to pull off an extra-ordinary victory over arch rivals Pakistan yeserday, riding on Virat Kohli blistering 183 off 148 balls to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the final.

But yesterday's win alone is not enough for the defending champions to seal their place for Thursday's summit clash as India's fate now entirely depends on how Sri Lanka perform. India, whose Asia Cup campaign was thrown into disarray after their upset five-wicket loss to minnows Bangladesh, will now have to wait for the result of tomorrow's Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

If Sri Lanka win, India will go into the final but a defeat for the islanders will ensure that Bangladesh take on Pakistan in the title clash on Thursday. As per the rules of the tournament, if two teams are tied on points, head-to-head record will be considered, so Bangladesh will go into the final as they had beaten India in their league match.

Going by the form of both the teams, Bangladesh would back themselves to register another upset win in the tournament. After giving Pakistan a scare in the tournament-opener, Bangladesh sprung a surprise by chasing down India's challenging 289-run target with five wickets in hand and four balls to spare.

Nicknamed 'Tigers', the Bangladesh cricket team has so far showed in the continental event that they are quite a handful in front of adoring home fans.

Tamim Iqbal, Jahurul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and captain Mushfiqur Rahim all batted brilliantly against India the other day to set up the brilliant run chase. In particular, Tamim has been solid upfront while Shakib and Mushfiqur have been providing the impetus towards the end.

If batting is turning out to be their strength in this tournament, Bangladesh's bowling has been unimpressive. To add to their woes, Shafiul Islam is uncertain for tomorrow's match after hurting his shoulder against India and in such a scenario the pressure would be high on experienced Mashrafe Mortaza to deliver the goods up front. — PTI

Patiala, March 19
Displaying a perfect blend of skill, strength and conviction, Punjab’s men outclassed ONGC, Uttarakhand, to win the final of the 26th Federation Cup Basketball at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi, Kerela, after a long gap of 10 years. They defeated ONGC (72-59), the hot favourites for the title, by a margin of 13 points amidst loud cheers.

Though the Punjab team, which was playing without its two experienced international stars TJ Sahi and Amanjyot Singh, was lagging behind in the first quarter, the team bounced back with the help of long distance shooting. For Punjab, Amritpal Singh was the highest scorer with 22 points followed by Jagdeep Singh who gathered 17 points. Amanjot and Harminder Singh stole the show in the second quarter by shooting three-pointers continuously to take their team ahead of the star-studded ONGC.

Giving credit of their success to the unity and hardwork of the team, the first-time coach Gurkirpal Singh Dhillon, international player who was the captain of the Punjab team that won the 62nd Senior National Basketball Championship after 12 years recently at Chennai and later bid adieu to playing to begin his inning as a coach, while talking to The Tribune over phone said the players gave a spectacular performance under pressure. “The players were little apprehensive before the match but I told them to play their natural game without bothering about who they were competing against. Though all players played really well but the three-pointers in the second quarter turned the tables on ONGC.”

He also thanked the Punjab Police Department and Punjab Basketball Association for their support. Assistant coach Ravinder Singh Bruce Lee said the boys were in their best form and played fearlessly. 

New Delhi, March 19
Hockey India announced here today that a development team will participate in the Tri-Nation International Hockey Tournament for men, to be held in Lahore from April 9 to 13, subject to Government clearance. Besides India, hosts Pakistan and Malaysia will play in the tournament.

The team: Goalkeepers: P.T Rao and Nanak Singh; Defenders: Rupinderpal Singh, Harbir Singh, Amit Rohidas; Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh (captain), Manpreet Singh (vice-captain), Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Gurmail Singh, M.B Aiyappa, S.K Uthappa Dharamvir Singh and Nithin Thimmaiah; Forwards: Chinglinsana Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Pradhan Somanna, P.L Thimmanna, M.G Poonacha. Officials: Mohd. N. Riaz (coach), B.J Kariappa (coach), Dr. Umesh T.N (doctor). 

Kingstown, March 19
Big-hitting Kieron Pollard blasted a typically muscular 47 as West Indies clinched their first win in six years over Australia when they took the second one-dayer by five wickets. In a match reduced to 40 overs a side because of rain, Australia struggled to 154 for nine under cloudy conditions last nigh with West Indies reaching their Duckworth-Lewis target of 158 with 10 balls remaining.

Pollard top-scored with 47, an innings which featured four huge sixes, one of which, off spinner Xavier Doherty, cleared the Arnos Vale stands and ended on the runway of the neighbouring St Vincent airport. Baugh had the honour of hitting the winning runs, another six of the hapless Doherty which flew over midwicket. — AFP

Scoreboard

Australia: Watson c sub b Sammy 25, Warner b Roach 13, Forrest c Sammy b Roach 0, Mike c Baugh b Narine 24, David b Narine 37, Bailey c Samuels b Dwayne 21, Christian run out 6, Wade c Pollard b Narine 3, Lee not out 11, McKay st Baugh b Narine 6, Doherty not out 0; Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 2, nb 1) 8; Total (9 wkts; 40 ovrs) 154; FoWs: 1-19, 2-19, 3-46, 4-77, 5-109, 6-121, 7-136, 8-136, 9-154. Bowling: Roach 8-3-23-2, Dwayne 6-0-30-1, Sammy 4-0-19-1, Russell 6-0-14-0, Narine 8-1-27-4, Pollard 4-0-18-0, Samuels 4-0-18-0; West Indies Powell lbw b Lee 0, Charles run out 26, Samuels b Watson 20, Bravo b Doherty 16, Dwayne run out 30, Pollard not out 47, Baugh not out 18; Extras (b 4, w 2) 6; Total (5 wkts; 38.2 ovrs) 163; FoWs 1-0, 2-42, 3-67, 4-74, 5-138; Bowling Lee 8-1-37-1, McKay 8-2-16-0, Watson 7-1-28-1, David 3-0-13-0, Christian 5-0-26-0, Doherty 7.2-0-39-1.