Ajmal's late strikes keep third Test in balance

SHARJAH : Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took two wickets in an over to check Sri Lanka's victory bids on the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan at Sharjah stadium here on Sunday.The wily-spinner dismissed Angelo Mathews (13) and Kaushala Silva (nought) in the final hour to stop Sri Lanka who were on the right track after half-centuries by Tharanaga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara.Sri Lanka, aiming to level the three-Test series after losing the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets, will seek some quick runs early on Monday, with Paranavitana unbeaten on 66 and Kosala Kulasekera on four not out.They lead by 237 runs with five wickets intact on a weary pitch which helped the spinners as Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Rehman troubled the batsman with spin and deliveries that kept low.The first match in Abu Dhabi ended as a draw.Paranavitana, dropped on two and 25, batted valiantly to keep Sri Lanka in the hunt as they lost Tillakaratne Dilshan (four), Sangakkara (51) and Mahela Jayawardene (20) while in search for quick runs.Paranavitana has so far hit four boundaries and a six during his enterprising 156-ball knock.Paceman Umar Gul provided Pakistan with a quick breakthrough as he dismissed Dilshan, caught in the slip off the fifth ball of the innings.Sangakkara, who collected 516 runs from the six innings at an average of 86 in this series, added 75 for the second wicket with Paranavitana before he was caught off spinner Hafeez, causing a middle-order slump Jayaywardene also fell to Gul, trapped leg-before wicket.Earlier, left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegadara took his maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with 5-87 after Misbah-ul Haq missed his hundred by just 11 runs as Pakistan were dismissed for 340.The lanky paceman improved on his previous best of 4-87 he took against India at Ahmedabad in 2009.But despite Welegedara's effort, it was Misbah's fighting knock of 89 which brought Pakistan closer before the 37-year-old right-handed batsman fell 10 minutes before lunch, top edging a sweep off spinner Suraj Randiv.Misbah hit seven boundaries and a six during his 261-ball knock.He added an invaluable 47 runs for the ninth wicket with Saeed Ajmal (12 not out) after Pakistan lost Abdul Rehman off the last ball of the first over of the day, caught in the slips off Welegedara.It could have been worse for Pakistan if the Sri Lankan fielders had not dropped Misbah three times. Wicket-keeper Silva failed to grab a faint edge on a defensive push off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when the batsman was on 57.Two runs later Misbah's uppish drive off Welegedara went between the hands off Angelo Mathews at mid-off and then at 67 Misbah was let off by Tharanga Paranavitana off the same bowler.The Pakistan captain took full advantage of the lapses, hitting Welegedara for a straight six and four to take his team's total past the 300 mark.In between Herath dismissed Gul for five, but Ajmal provided Misbah the much needed assistance to bring their team closer to the Sri Lankan total.Welegedara finished the innings when he bowled number 11 Junaid Khan for nought. Herath finished with 3-85.

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Judges blame PCB inaction for fixing

KARACHI: Pakistan's senior judges, who conducted match-fixing inquiries in the past, Sunday said their recommendations to check corruption in cricket were ignored and that led to the latest betting scandal.A British judge Thursday sentenced former captain Salman Butt to 30 months, fast bowler Mohammad Asif one year and Mohammad Aamer to six months for their roles in fixing last year's Test against England.Their agent Mazhar Majeed received a 32-month jail term.Pakistan conducted different inquiries on match fixing between 1994 and 2000 but the menace resurfaced during the tour of England last year.When the young cricketers see a lot of money in the game they get distracted and go out of their minds to earn," said Justice retired Malik Mohammad Qayyum, who conducted a comprehensive inquiry between 1998 to 2000.It was because of that I recommended the Pakistan Cricket Board to check players' assets from time to time, but no action was taken."Look at Aamer, he is so young and talented, but had there been a proper check on him this case would not have happened.Retired judge Fakhruddin Ibrahim said fixing was not new in international cricket."It's old and endemic disease," Ibrahim told BBC Urdu. "Too much money has made the game a business and too much corruption has come in, and that's not confined to Pakistan only. It's a problem in India as well and other countries.Ibrahim led the 1995 one-man commission to investigate allegations by Australian trio of Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh, who blamed then captain Salim Malik for offering a bribe to underperform during their tour of Pakistan.Ibrahim absolved Malik of all charges due to lack of evidence after the Australian trio refused to give their statements to the inquiry in Pakistan."PCB needs to make this current case an example, but the problem is that the appointments in the PCB are also political and merit is not followed so such problems surface," said Ibrahim.Justice Qayyum recorded the trio's statement in Australia and banned Malik and paceman Ata-ur Rehman.It also fined former captains Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Mushtaq Ahmed and Akram Raza.Another judge Ijaz Yousuf said he recommended certain players to be banned in 1998."We conducted an inquiry and recommended that some players be banned and a new team be made, but that was never implemented," said Yousuf.

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Sri Lanka boost lead in third Test against Pakistan

SHARJAH: Sri Lanka increased their overall lead to 141 after losing an early wicket on the fourth day of the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sharjah Stadium here on Sunday.Sri Lanka, aiming to level the three-Test series after losing the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai, moved to 68-1 at tea after losing skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan in their second innings.At the break, Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 43 and opener Tharanga Paranavitana was 19 not out, as Sri Lanka look to score faster and set a target for Pakistan to force a result.Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai. The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw.Earlier, left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegadara took his maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with 5-87 after Misbah-ul Haq missed his hundred by just 11 runs as Pakistan were dismissed for 340.Sri Lanka had made 413 in their first innings.The lanky paceman improved on his previous best of 4-87 he took against India at Ahmedabad in 2009.But despite Welegedara's effort, it was Misbah's fighting knock of 89 which brought Pakistan closer before the 37-year-old right-handed batsman fell 10 minutes before lunch, top edging a sweep off spinner Suraj Randiv.Misbah hit seven boundaries and a six during his 261-ball knock.He added an invaluable 47 runs for the ninth wicket with Saeed Ajmal (12 not out) after Pakistan lost Abdul Rehman off the last ball of the first over of the day, caught in the slips off Welegedara.It could have been worse for Pakistan if the Sri Lankan fielders had not dropped Misbah three times. Wicket-keeper Kaushal Silva failed to grab a faint edge on a defensive push off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when the batsman was on 57.Two runs later Misbah's uppish drive off Welegedara went between the hands off Angelo Mathews at mid-off and then at 67 Misbah was let off by Tharanga Paranavitana off the same bowler.The Pakistan captain took full advantage of the lapses, hitting Welegedara for a straight six and four to take his team's total past the 300 mark.In between Herath dismissed Umar Gul for five, but Ajmal provided Misbah the much needed assistance to bring their team closer to the Sri Lankan total.Welegedara finished the innings when he bowled number 11 Junaid Khan for nought. Herath finished with 3-85.

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Brathwaite, Chanderpaul steady Windies

NEW DELHI : Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit half-centuries to steady the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test against India on Sunday.Brathwaite, who turns 19 next month, was unbeaten on 61 and Chanderpaul on 55 not out as the tourists reached 159-3 at tea in their first innings after winning the toss.Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha bagged two wickets in the first session and debutant off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin one in the second to reduce the West Indies to 72-3 before Brathwaite and Chanderpaul added 87 runs.Chanderpaul hit the first six of the match when he lofted Ashwin over long-on. He also cracked four boundaries in his 88-ball knock for his 57th Test half-century.Brathwaite batted patiently for four hours, having so far hit only four boundaries in his 196-ball knock for his second Test half-century.Ojha, playing his first Test in a year, put pressure on the West Indies when he trapped opener Kieran Powell (14) leg-before in his second over and then held a return catch to dismiss Kirk Edwards (15).Ashwin got his maiden Test wicket when he dismissed Darren Bravo, who was bowled while attempting to cut in the first over after the lunch-break.Bravo, who smashed 195 in his previous Test innings against Bangladesh in Dhaka last week, contributed 12 runs.Ojha, who was pressed into the attack after just nine overs, had an opportunity to remove Powell in his opening over but failed to hold on to a return catch. But the batsman fell in the next over.Ojha has so far conceded just 30 runs in his 20 tight overs.India went into the opening Test of a three-match series with two pacemen, Ishant Sharma and debutant Umesh Yadav, and as many spinners, Ashwin and Ojha Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket, needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries.The remaining two Tests will be played in Kolkata and Mumbai.

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Windies struggle against India as Ojha strikes

NEW DELHI : Pragyan Ojha grabbed two quick wickets as India reduced the West Indies to 69-2 at lunch on the opening day of the first Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on Sunday.The left-arm spinner, playing his first Test in a year, trapped opener Kieran Powell (14) leg-before in his second over and then held a return catch to dismiss Kirk Edwards (15) after the tourists won the toss.Opener Kraigg Brathwaite was unbeaten on 29 at the break with Darren Bravo (10 not out).Ojha, who pressed into the attack after just nine overs, had an opportunity to remove Powell in his opening over but failed to hold on to a return catch. But the batsman fell in the next over.The Indian spinner kept testing the batsmen in his opening spell, having so far conceded just 14 runs off 10 overs.India went into the opening Test of a three-match series with two pacemen, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, and as many spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ojha.Ashwin and Yadav made their Test debuts.Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the world's leading scorer in both Test and one-day cricket, needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries.The remaining two Tests will be played in Kolkata and Mumbai

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Pakistan all out for 340 to give Sri Lanka 73-run lead

SHARJAH: Left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegadara took his maiden five-wicket haul to help Sri Lanka take an invaluable 73-run lead over Pakistan on the fourth day of the third Test on Sunday.The 30-year-old fast bowler finished with 5-87 after Misbah-ul Haq missed his hundred by just 11 runs as Pakistan were dismissed for 340 in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings score of 413 in the match at Sharjah stadium.The lanky paceman improved on his previous best of 4-87 he took against India at Ahmedabad in 2009.But despite Welegedara's effort, it was Misbah's fighting knock of 89 which brought Pakistan closer before the 37-year-old right-handed batsman fell 10 minutes before lunch, top edging a sweep off spinner Suraj Randiv.Misbah hit seven boundaries and a six during his 261-ball knock.He added an invaluable 47 runs for the ninth wicket with Saeed Ajmal (12 not out) after Pakistan lost Abdul Rehman off the last ball of the first over of the day, caught in the slips off Welegedara.It could have been worse for Pakistan if the Sri Lankan fielders had not dropped Misbah three times. Wicket-keeper Kaushal Silva failed to grab a faint edge on a defensive push off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when the batsman was 57.Two runs later Misbah's uppish drive off Welegedara went between the hands off Angelo Mathews at mid-off and then at 67 Misbah was let off by Tharanga Paranavitana off the same bowler.The Pakistan captain took full advantage of the lapses, hitting Welegedara for a straight six and four to take his team's total past the 300 mark.In between Herath dismissed Umar Gul for five, but Ajmal provided Misbah the much needed assistance to bring their team closer to the Sri Lankan total.Welegedara finished the innings when he bowled number 11 Junaid Khan for nought. Herath finished with 3-85.Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai. The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw.

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