Johannesburg, December 21
South Africa, set a target of 458 to win the first Test match, ended the fourth day's play at 138 for two in 45 overs of play. Opener Alviro Petersen was batting on a superb 76 (148 balls, nine fours) while Faf du Plessis was unbeaten on 10.

The two batsmen to be dismissed were captain Graeme (44 balls, six fours) and Hashim Amla (4).

The South African openers began their chase of the massive target on a confident and positive mode, adding 108 for the first wicket in 30.4 before Smith was run out off a direct hit from Ajinkya Rahane.

Amla was out in a strange manner when he tried to duck a short ball from Mohammed Shami, and the ball did not rise and struck the wicket right at the top.

Earlier, at tea, Smith and Petersen weathered a difficult 45 minutes to take South Africa to 38 without loss chasing the unlikely victory target. Smith (9) and Petersen (28) were circumspect as they negotiated their way to the interval in what is likely a quest to save the Test.

India were bowled out for 421 in their second innings as Cheteshwar Pujara top-scored with 153. Virat Kohli missed out on the chance to become just the fourth Indian batsman to score a century in each innings of a Test when he was out for 96. Had he added the four extra runs, he would have joined Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid on the list of those who have achieved the feat in the past.

Kohli was angry with himself at the manner of his dismissal, but the shot was on as he sought to cut an innocuous delivery from off-spinner JP Duminy to the point boundary, but instead nicked a thin edge to wicketkeeper AB de Villiers.

It was one of four wickets to fall in the morning session after India had resumed on 284-2 and South Africa toiled for an hour for a breakthrough which when it came, triggered the departure of three more batsmen.

Pujara added 18 to his overnight score before he was caught by De Villiers off Jacques Kallis and Rohit Sharma (six) was unlucky to be dismissed when he played on a delivery from the same bowler that stayed low.

Kohli was next to go, before Rahane (15) was out in the final scheduled over before lunch, caught by Smith at slip off Duminy. — Reuters

Scoreboard

India 1st innings 280

South Africa 1st innings 244

India 2nd innings

Dhawan c Kallis b Philander 15

Vijay c de Villiers b Kallis 39

Pujara c de Villiers b Kallis 153

Kohli c de Villiers b Duminy 96

Rohit b Kallis 6

Rahane c Smith b Duminy 15

Dhoni c sub (D Elgar) b Philander 29

Ashwin c du Plessis b Philander 7

Zaheer not out 29

Sharma lbw b Tahir 4

Shami b Tahir 4

Extras (b 9, lb 7, w 8) 24

Total (all out; 120.4 overs) 421

FoW: 1-23, 2-93, 3-315, 4-325, 5-327, 6-358, 7-369, 8-384, 9-405, 10-421

Bowling

Steyn 30-5-104-0

Philander 28-10-68-3

Morkel 2-1-4-0

Kallis 20-5-68-3

Tahir 15.4-1-69-2

de Villiers 1-0-5-0

Duminy 24-0-87-2

South Africa 2nd innings

Petersen not out 76

Smith run out (Rahane) 44

Amla b Shami 4

du Plessis not out 10

Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 1) 4

Total (2 wickets; 45 overs) 138

FoW: 1-108, 2-118

Bowling

Zaheer 9-0-29-0

Sharma 9-2-28-0

Shami 8-1-30-1

Ashwin 16-2-42-0

Vijay 1-0-3-0

Dhoni 2-0-4-0

Johannesburg, december 21
Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara today said that his team has enough runs on the board to press for a win on the final day tomorrow in the first Test against South Africa here.

“We are happy with the two wickets we have got and the way they have come. The conditions will be a little more difficult tomorrow. We have got enough runs on board. But it’s important for us to get a few wickets in the first session so that we can capitalise later on,” Pujara said at the press conference after the day's play.

“The wicket has variable bounce and we have seen cracks opening up. We are expecting that we will get more movement tomorrow from the ball that will hit the cracks. Even while I was batting in the morning I felt that the odd ball was going up and down,” said Pujara.

Pujara scored 153 in the second innings to help India reach 421 and set up the stiff target for the world”s number one Test side.

“I was batting well in the first innings (when I was run out). I knew the start was important. Initially (in second innings), I was trying to look through the conditions as the ball was new and was doing a bit. I was patient and waited for the opportunity to accelerate.” 

“I was trying to play the ball as late as possible, trying to watch the ball till it hit the bat so that whenever there was variable bounce, I could play accordingly. So, it was important to see through the new ball and then play my shots,” he said. — PTI

New Delhi, December 21
More than Yuvraj Singh battling it out with the likes of Virender Sehwag, rival sides Delhi and Punjab are concerned about the foggy conditions which may be the biggest impediment to an outright win in the 7th group league Ranji Trophy game at the Roshanara tomorrow.

The poor visibility during the last week of December has always been a problem in Northern India and BCCI's shoddy scheduling of matches added insult to the injury.

Delhi with 19 points from six games and Punjab with 17 from an equal number of outings are currently placed fourth and fifth respectively in group A. Only an outright win in this game would brighten their chances to make it to the quarter-finals and the weather is likely to play spoilsport.

"We had requested the BCCI to schedule our matches in such a manner that the final few games during the last week of December are away matches. We wanted to play at home during the earlier phase," a worried chairman of selectors Chetan Chauhan said.

Even Punjab coach Bhupinder Singh (Sr) feels that if 70 overs are possible each day, it will be a good thing. "We have told the match referee and the umpires that we are prepared for 70 over per day. The track is a result oriented one and I hope that my boys have saved their best for the last."

The "poor facilities" at the Roshanara ground has irked the Punjab team management. "We have also been told that once the day's proceedings get over, the players will have to carry their kitbags and keep them in a separate room as the makeshift dressing room will be used by the club members in the evening. We asked DDCA as to why they arranged it here when you had Kotla," an angry senior member of the Punjab team management questioned.

On the team front, while Yuvraj Singh is available for this game and had a knock at the nets, Harbhajan Singh is unlikely to play in this game as he still has some pain in his shoulder while bowling.

While Mandeep Singh is again set to lead the side, VRV Singh also looks like a doubtful starter. In that case, Manpreet Singh Gony, Sandeep Sharma, Jaskaran Singh and Siddharth Kaul are likely to form the four-pronged pace attack. — PTI

Amritsar, December 21
Surjit Academy, Jalandhar, clinched the 11th Maharaja Ranjit Singh Junior Gold Cup hockey tournament by beating Sports School, Jalandhar, 1-0 at Guru Nanak Dev University on Saturday.

In the final of the women’s Test series, Punjab XI (Pakistan) beat Punjab XI (India) 1-0. Manpreet Kaur scored a field goal in the 10th minute, which subsequently proved enough for the Pakistan side.

The junior final turned out to be an exciting affair with both the teams ignoring the dense fog and the chilly conditions to put in their all.

The winning team played as a well-oiled machine, weaving together stunning moves at the front and holding up the fort at the back.

Shamsher Singh scored an early goal for Surjit Academy in the 4th minute and the team held to take the title and the prize money of Rs 51000.

Harjit Singh of Surjit Academy was declared the best player of the tournament. 

Hamilton, December 21
New Zealand openers Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford safely negotiated their way to the close of play on the third day of the third Test against West Indies on Saturday after their bowlers had set up a likely victory with a destructive display.

Trent Boult had blown the top off the West Indies order before Tim Southee polished off the tail to pick up his 100th Test wicket as New Zealand dismissed the tourists for just 103 in their second innings shortly before the close in Hamilton.

New Zealand had conceded an 18-run first innings lead after they were bowled out for 349 earlier on Saturday, courtesy of Ross Taylor's third century of the series, before paceman Boult reduced West Indies to 13 for three in a devastating spell.

Neil Wagner and Corey Anderson then chipped in with vital wickets through the middle order before Southee claimed three victims in his ninth over to finish off the West Indies innings and set his side a victory target of 122 runs.

New Zealand, who reached 6-0 in the two overs they faced in the evening session, lead the three-match series 1-0 after cruising to victory in Wellington last week.

"The bowlers bowled outstandlingly well to get 10 wickets in a session," Taylor said. "Every single one of them bowled with aggression and put pressure on the West Indies batsmen.”

Boult, who took match figures of 10-80 in the second Test, was back to his best, bowling Kraigg Brathwaite with an inswinger for seven on the first ball of the fifth over. — Reuters

Brief scores: West Indies 367 & 103 (Boult 4/23, Southee 3/12) vs New Zealand 349 (Taylor 131, Williamson 58; Narine 6-91) & 6/0. 

Ludhiana, December 21
Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, and MP academy, Gwalior, scripted easy victories in the women’s section of the All India Sahibzada Ajit Singh hockey tournament at the Punjab Agricultural University on Saturday.

RCF twice came from behind to beat Chandigarh XI 5-2, while MP academy overpowered Sonepat XI 5-3.

After a few initial hiccups, RCF, who were held by MP academy to a 2-2 draw yesterday, managed to overpower Chandigarh XI today. Saroj converted a penalty corner to give Chandigarh XI the lead in the ninth minute. But their joy was short-lived as the rail women scored the equalizer four minutes later through Deepali Thakur.

The Chandigarh outfit again went ahead when Anjali found the target in the 24th minute. However, RCF restored parity in the 32nd minute as Amandeep Kaur dodged her way through the opposition defence before catching the goalkeeper on the wrong foot. In the second half, RCF was a changed side as it launched a series of attacks. Deepali scored a hat-trick to wrap up the issue 5-2.

In the second match, Sonepat XI, which had squeezed 2-1 past Chandigarh XI yesterday, fought valiantly against MP academy before going down 5-3. The two sides were tied 2-2 at half time. Neha sounded the board in the 40th minute to put Sonepat XI ahead but eight minutes later, Diksha brought MP academy back on level terms. RCF’s Priyanka scored a hat-trick and take the match away from the Gwalior girls.

Patiala, December 21
BSF, Jalandhar, and Sports Academy, Jarkhad, entered the final of the 38th Liberals All India Hockey Tournament here today. Sports Acedemy, Jarkhad, ousted Sikh Regimental Centre (SRC) 2-1 in the first semifinal, while BSF got the better of EME, Jalandhar, in the penalty shootout to make their way into the final after their game was washed out.

Centre half Daljit Singh of Jarkhad academy surprised the army defence in the 7th minute when he combined with inside right Ravinder Singh to hoodwink a couple of defenders before placing the ball into the net. SRC failed to break into Jarkhad defence in spite of some good moves initiated by centre half Baljit Singh. 

Dubai, December 21
Sri Lanka's late order batsmen held their nerve to beat Pakistan by two wickets and level the series in a match in which fortunes swung from one side to another in Dubai.

Set 285 to chase, Sri Lanka needed 16 off the last two overs and four off the final, as number ten batsman Sachitra Senanayake drove Shahid Afridi for boundary to seal a tense win for his team with two balls to spare yesterday. The win levelled the five-match series at 1-1.

Ahmed Shehzad smashed a career best 124 off 140 balls for his fourth one-day century as Pakistan posted a challenging 284-4 in 50 overs after being sent in to bat.

Brief scores: Pakistan 284/4 (Shehzad 124, Misbah* 59; Prasanna 1/45) vs Sri Lanka 287/8 (Sangakkara 58, Mathews 47; Junaid 3/52, Afridi 2/46) — PTI

London, December 21
Luis Suarez celebrated his new contract by sending Liverpool to the top of the Premier League thanks to two goals and another virtuoso display in a 3-1 home win over crisis club Cardiff City on Saturday.

The Uruguayan, who looked to be heading out of Anfield in the close season amid his ban for biting, expertly volleyed in the opener before setting up Raheem Sterling for the second after a superb ball from the resurgent Jordan Henderson.

It was soon three when 26-year-old Suarez netted his 19th of the season on halftime with a superb curling shot from the edge of the box following more Henderson magic with a back-heel.

Liverpool hammered Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 away last weekend and could have had more against Cardiff with Suarez almost netting a hat-trick when he clipped the post. The easy win over 15th-placed Cardiff and beleaguered manager Malky Mackay put Liverpool a point clear at the top with 36 from 17 games ahead of previous leaders Arsenal.

Suarez, captain in the continued absence of the injured Steven Gerrard, penned a reported four-and-a-half year deal on Friday as Liverpool try to build on a strong start and finally challenge for the title again after years of woe.

The teams had only previously met in the league once in 1959, when Liverpool great Bill Shankly took charge for the first time as Cardiff won 4-0 away. — Reuters

Kuala Lumpur, December 21
Five players and three team officials from a Malaysian lower league soccer club have been handed life bans after being found guilty of match-fixing.

The eight who represented Kuala Lumpur were also fined 20,000 Malaysian Ringgit by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) who will hold a disciplinary hearing on Friday for seven more players. Coach Stanislav Lieskovsky, assistant manager Rosli Omar and kitman Shaari Jani were the officials disciplined with the Slovak manager having already returned home to Europe in July. The Malaysian players named were Jeremy Danker, Hafizi Roslee, Fadhulah Yunsiar, Khairul Anuar and Phoo Kai Lun. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

New Delhi
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