The New Nation - Internet Edition

India dominate Australia in second Test

AFP, Mohali

Debutant leg-spinner Amit Mishra picked up two key wickets as India pushed Australia into a corner on the second day of the second Test here on Saturday.

Mishra, 24, sent back Simon Katich (33) before dismissing Michael Clarke (23) off the penultimate ball of the day to reduce the visitors to a shaky 102-4 on what still seemed a good batting wicket.

His efforts with the ball came after Sourav Ganguly hit a century and Mahendra Dhoni an attacking 92 to take India to 469 all out in the first innings.

At stumps, Michael Hussey was on 37 with five fours.

It was Zaheer Khan again who gave the home side the crucial breakthrough when he cleaned the off-stump of opener Matthew Hayden for a duck off just the third ball of the Australian innings.

It was the third time in the series that the left-arm paceman claimed Hayden cheaply after dismissing him twice in the drawn Bangalore opener.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting fumbled around for nearly half an hour for his five runs before being trapped leg before by a sharp incutter from new-ball bowler Ishant Sharma.

Katich looked in good touch, reading both the seamers and the spinners well until he misjudged Mishra and gifted him his maiden Test wicket.

His 65-ball knock contained six fours, including three of them off Sharma. Australia would have been in deeper trouble had Dhoni taken a simple catch off Hussey off Harbhajan Singh when the batsman was on 25.

Earlier Ganguly, aged 36, hit eight fours in his patient 225- ball knock and shared a 109-run partnership with Dhoni, who hammered eight fours and four sixes in his entertaining 124-ball innings.

Ganguly, set to retire after the four-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, reached his 16th Test century with a four to the square leg fence off leg-spinner Cameron White.

The former Indian captain, who completed 7,000 runs in his 111th Test on Friday, was out soon after reaching his century, holing out to Brett Lee at long off to give White his first wicket of the match.

White (2-71) struck again when he cleaned the off-stump of Harbhajan to reduce the home side to 442-8.

Dhoni though continued his attacking style of batting, pulling Lee twice over square leg for fours as the paceman struggled with his line and length once again in the morning session.

Lee (1-86) also needed two stitches on his right hand after hurting himself while stopping a ball in his follow through.

Dhoni, leading the side in the absence of injured captain Anil Kumble, was also severe on debutant fast bowler Peter Siddle, pulling him over fine leg for the first six of the innings.

Dhoni's fiery knock was brought to an end by Siddle, who trapped him leg before with a searing inswinger, while Zaheer was run out by Lee.

Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson finished with 3-85 while Siddle also picked up three wickets for 114 runs from 28 overs.

The Mohali Test will be followed by matches in New Delhi and Nagpur.

Anisur Rahman guides Rajshahi to score 275 for four

Sports Reporter

A splendid 111 by Anisur Rahman guided Rajshahi Division to score 275 for the loss of four wickets in the first innings against Chittagong Division on the first day of the four-dayer cricket match of the Ispahani Mirzapur Tea 10th National Cricket League at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium on Saturday.

Rajshahi made a poor start as they lost their early two wickets for only 46 runs. Later, Farhad Hossain and Rafiqul Islam repaired the damage adding together 60 runs in the third wicket stand.

After dismissal of Rafiqul Islam, Anisur Rahman and Farhad Hossain put on together 142 runs for the fourth wicket partnership.

Anisur Rahman remained undefeated with 111 playing 168 deliveries. He sent the ball 13 times through the fence before the bails were drawn for the first day.

Farhad Hossain notched up a fine 88 off 218 balls amid nine fours.

Mokhter Ali, Yasin Arafat and Mohammad Younus of Chittagong Division took one wicket apiece.

Meanwhile, Sylhet division made 253 for the loss of five wickets in the first innings against Dhaka Division on the first day of the four-dayer at the Sylhet Divisional Stadium on the same day.

Opener Golam Rahman of Sylhet Division hit his team's highest of 71off 192 balls including eight fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun made 69off 81 balls amid three sixers and six fours.

Kamrul Ialam and Ezaz Ahmed were at the stumps on 53 and 36 runs respectively.

Elias Sunny of Dhaka Division grabbed three wickets giving away 64 runs.

Besides, Mohammad Azim and Emon Ahmed took one wicket each.

Tendulkar on top, but Lara still master of 'batathons'

AFP, New Delhi

India's Sachin Tendulkar is celebrating breaking Brian Lara's world record for most runs in Test cricket, but he lags behind the West Indian when it comes to playing marathon innings.

Tendulkar surpassed the retired Lara's mark of 11,953 runs during the second Test against Australia in Mohali on Friday, but would dearly love to match a couple of "batathons" played by the left-hander.

Tendulkar holds four world records-most runs and centuries in Tests (12,027/39) and one-day internationals (16,361/42) -- but still believes that performance matters only when it helps his team win.

Lara was peerless when it came to playing long innings, still holding world records for the highest innings in first-class cricket (501 for Warwickshire v Durham in 1994) and in Tests (400 not out v England in 2004).

The West Indian made 375 against England in 1994, a record that was beaten by Australian Matthew Hayden (380 v Zimbabwe in 2003), before being reclaimed by Lara.

Tendulkar is considered more consistent and technically sound than Lara, but has failed to convert any of his four double-centuries into a triple-hundred in 152 Tests. His best remains an unbeaten 248 in Bangladesh in 2004.

"He (Tendulkar) is in the same league with Lara, but I've always felt Sachin has a tighter technique," Australian captain Ricky Ponting said recently.

"Because he (Tendulkar) is so solid, our bowlers have had to work hard to get him out. At different times, we've worked out different plans, but Sachin comes up with something to combat themt the sign of a truly class player."

Pundits find it baffling how a Test triple-century has eluded Tendulkar while compatriot Virender Sehwag has two to his credit despite lacking the master batsman's consistency.

Tendulkar and Lara both made their Test debuts in Pakistan -

the Indian as a 16- year-old in 1989 and Lara the following year.

The pair were at the top of the game for more than a decade, scoring a bucketful of runs against quality pace and spin attacks in all conditions.

Both were feared and respected by their opponents, with Australian leg-spin genius Shane Warne once saying that Tendulkar and Lara were the two best batsmen of his era.

Lara spent most of his international career in a declining West Indies team and it was a tribute to his genius that he never allowed the side's repeated failures to affect his batting.

He plundered 688 runs in three Tests in Sri Lanka in 2001, only to see his team lose the series 3-0. His last Test series was a similar story-he scored 448 in three matches in his team's 2-0 defeat in Pakistan in 2006.

Tendulkar was also in a similar situation for a few years in the 1990s when he virtually carried the burden of his struggling team on his shoulders, especially in one- day internationals.

But he avoided Lara's fate as the emergence of world-class batsmen in Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman and Sehwag considerably eased the pressure on him.

Lara, considered one of the best finishers in the game, was renowned for winning matches from hopeless situations despite receiving little support from the other end.

The West Indies were reeling at 248-8 chasing a 308-run target in the third Test against Australia in Bridgetown in 1999 when Lara (153 not out) steered his team to a one-wicket win in the company of the tailenders.

Four years later at the same venue against the same opposition, Lara's brisk 60 set up his side's record 418-run chase.

Controversy followed Lara more than Tendulkar, with the West Indian often having brushes with authorities over selection, contracts and sponsorship deals.

Both Lara and Tendulkar never really enjoyed captaincy.

Tendulkar stepped down after losing a home Test series against South Africa in 2000 and since then has said no to captaincy. Lara was in his third stint as captain when he quit the game after the 2007 World Cup.

India vs Australia second Test

scoreboard

AFP, Mohali

Scoreboard at stumps on the second day of the second Test between India and Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here on Saturday:

India 1st innings:

G. Gambhir c Haddin b Johnson 67

V. Sehwag c Haddin b Johnson 35

R. Dravid b Lee 39

S. Tendulkar c Hayden b Siddle 88

V. Laxman c Haddin b Johnson 12

S. Ganguly c Lee b White 102

I. Sharma c Katich b Siddle 9

M. Dhoni lbw b Siddle 92

H. Singh b White 1

Z. Khan run out 2

A. Mishra not out 0

Extras: (b4, lb10, w5, nb3) 22

Total (all out) 469

Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Sehwag), 2-146 (Dravid), 3-146 (Gambhir), 4-163 (Laxman), 5-305 (Tendulkar), 6-326 (Sharma), 7-435 (Ganguly), 8-442 (Harbhajan), 9-469 (Zaheer), 10-469 (Dhoni) Bowling: Lee 24-5-86-1 (w5, nb2), Siddle 28-6-114-3 (nb1), Johnson 27-4-85-3, Watson 24-3-71-0, Clarke 7-0-28-0, White 19-0-71-2.

Australia 1st innings:

M. Hayden b Zaheer 0

S. Katich b Mishra 33

R. Ponting lbw b Sharma 5

M. Hussey not out 37

M. Clarke lbw b Mishra 23

Extras: (lb1, nb3) 4

Total (for four wickets) 102

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Hayden), 2-17 (Ponting), 3-62 (Katich), 4-102 (Clarke).

Bowling: Zaheer 13-4-24-1 (nb1), Ishant 9-3-28-1 (nb1), Harbhajan 10-2-28-0 (nb1), Mishra 8.5-1-21-2.

Bangladesh v New Zealand first test scoreboard

BSS, Chittagong

Scores at stumps on the second day of the first test between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Stadium here today:

Bangladesh 1st innings (overnight 183-4)

Tamim Iqbal c McCullum b Vettori 18

Zunaed Siddique lbw b O'Brien 0

Rajin Saleh b O'Brien 20

Mohammad Ashraful lbw b Vettori 2

Mehrab Hossain c Radmond b O'Brien 83

Mushfiqur Rahim c How b Vettori 79

Naeem Islam st McCullum b Patel 14

Shakib Al Hasan c Vettori b Patel 5

Mashrafe Mortaza c Ryder b Vettori 0

Abdur Razzak c McCullum b Vettori 11

Shahadat Hossain not out 0

Extras: (b12, lb1) 13

Total: 245

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Siddique), 2-34 (Iqbal), 3-40 (Saleh), 4-44 (Ashraful), 5-188 (Mehrab), 6-229 (Islam), 7-229 (Rahim), 8-229 (Mortaza), 9-245 (Razzak)

Bowling: Mills 19-7-46-0, O'Brien 23-11-36-3, Oram 20-13-14-0, Ryder 3-1-10-0, Patel 21.1-7-67-2, Vettori 36-15-59-5

Overs: 122

New Zealand 1st innings

A. Redmond lbw b Hasan 19

J. How c Saleh b Hasan 16

J. Ryder c Saleh b Hasan 1

R. Taylor lbw b Razzak 12

B. McCullum c Razzak b Hasan 25

D. Flynn c Rahim b Islam 19

J. Oram c Mortaza b Hasan 0

D. Vettori not out 48

K. Mills c Rahim b Hasan 4

J. Patel c Hasan b Ashraful 0

Extras: (b4, lb6, nb1) 11

Total: (for nine wkts) 155

To bat: I. O'Brien

Fall of wickets; 1-27 (How), 2-29 (Ryder), 3-46 (Taylor), 4-52 (Redmond), 5-99 (Flynn), 6-99 (McCullum), 7-100 (Oram), 8-126 (Mills), 9-155 (Patel)

Bowling: Mortaza 7-4-13-0 (1nb), Hossain 11-0-35-0, Hasan 24-7-31-6, Razzak 14-1-46-1, Mehrab 1-0-8-0, Islam 3-0-11-1, Ashraful 0.3-0-1-1

Overs: 60.3

Inter-private varsity football begins today

bdnews, Dhaka

The Private-University Football tournament, organised by Auritro and sponsored by Mentors' Education, gets underway on Sunday at Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Northern University will take on North South University in the opening match with National Sports Council secretary Akbar Hossain declaring the meet open.

A total of 1o universities, split into three groups, will play the group-phase matches and later top two teams from Group A along with two champions from Group B and Group C will qualify for the semifinals.

Group A : Northern University, North South University, Independent University Bangladesh and Dhaka International University

Group B : IBAIS University, Gono Bishwabidyalay and United International University

Group C : Asian University of Bangladesh, University of Asia Pacific and International University of Business Agriculture and Technology

I want to be Argentina coach, says Maradona

AFP, Buenos Aires

Argentina superstar Diego Maradona said on Friday he wants to succeed Alfio Basile as the national team coach and take them to the World Cup finals.

However, Maradona is likely to lose out to Sergio Batista, who led Argentina to the Beijing Olympics gold medal, in the race to take over the reins from Basile who resigned in the aftermath of the 1-0 qualifying defeat to Chile on Wednesday.

"Perhaps I am behind in the betting but I am without doubt the number one in the hearts of Argentinians," said the 47- year-old Maradona who skippered Argentina to 1986 World Cup victory.

"I couldn't ask for anything better. I would be in seventh heaven."

Batista said he was ready to take charge.

"I feel as if I am capable and I'm convinced that I could do the job," he told La Red radio.

Other candidates are believed to be Miguel Angel Russo, currently in charge of Argentine club side San Lorenzo, and former international midfielder Diego Simeone, the coach of River Plate.

A spokesman for the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Friday that the new coach will be named on October 27.

Basile, 64, had been under fire since his team's lacklustre showing in the World Cup qualifer against Chile, a defeat which left them third in the group.

It was Chile's first ever qualifying success over the albiceleste and first of any description since 1973.

Argentina's poor form stretches back over seven games, however, with only one win notched up in that time - a 2-1 victory over Uruguay last week.

Basile signed up in his latest stint as Argentina coach in July 2006 from Boca Juniors. He had previously been national coach from 1991 through to the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Basile took over from Jose Pekerman, who quit following Argentina's quarter-final elimination at the hands of hosts Germany on penalties in the World Cup.

Venus, Ivanovic into Zurich semi-finals

AFP, Zurich

Venus Williams survived an inconsistent performance to defeat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-3 and reach the semi-finals of the Zurich Open on Friday.

The third seeded American struggled to overcome a tenacious opponent in an untidy match that was riddled with errors from both players, but also featured some well- contested rallies and spectacular shot-making.

Five consecutive service breaks ended with Williams leading 5-3 after Schiavone double-faulted to leave her serving for the first set.

In the second, Williams broke again to lead 1-0, but she had to fight off two break points in the next game and then needed four game points to hold for 3-1.

Following an exchange of breaks in the next two games, Schiavone held and then was unable to convert any of three break points to level at 4-4. After Williams held for 5-3, a strong return forced Schiavone to net a forehand and drop her serve on match point.

"She's a good competitor and she went for a lot out there today, sometimes maybe a little too much, but if a lot of those balls went in it would have gone well for her. But it went well for me," said Williams.

Williams will next face second seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Czech left- hander Petra Kvitova 6-1, 6-4.

It is the first time since Wimbledon that the Roland Garros champion has won consecutive matches.

Kvitova forced Ivanovic to save two break points in the early stages of the match but her serve let her down, and two consecutive double-faults gave Ivanovic a break for 3-1.

And although Kvitova recovered from 1-4 to 4-4 in the second set, a ninth double- fault gave Ivanovic a decisive break for 5-4.

Italy's Flavia Pennetta followed up her victory over top seed Jelena Jankovic by beating Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 7-5, 6-2.

One aspect of her game that allowed Pennetta to recently rise to a career-high ranking of 15 is her improved serve, and she says that has played an important factor in her progress to the Zurich semi-finals.

"My serve has improved a lot," she said. "It makes a lot of difference to win a few points with no play, just rest, is good. Now I understand how the men feel."

Pennetta will now play Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues, who reached her fifth semi-final of the season when opponent Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired after pulling a chest muscle.

The incident occurred after Azarenka had won the first set 6-4 and as she lost a point to go down 5-3 in the second.

Azarenka attempted to continue after treatment, but retired after losing her serve and the set 6-3.