18-19 Sports-29th-JAN-SUNDAY_Layout 1 1/28/2017 11:17 PM Page 1
18 SPORTS
Sunday, 29 January, 2017
Tahir and Parnell dismanTle sri lanka for 181 a
masterclass of one-day legspin by Imran Tahir snuffed out Sri Lanka’s middle order as they limped to 181 in the opening match of the series in Port Elizabeth. Tahir finished with 3 for 26, including the scalp of top-scorer Kusal Mendis for 62, and did not concede a boundary in his 10 overs, to ensure South Africa never lost control of the innings after deciding to bowl first. Wayne Parnell made swift work of the openers, before a stand of 72 for the third wicket between Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal steadied the innings, although it was laborious progress against probing bowling from South Africa’s quartet of seamers. It meant that when Tahir made his inroads, with three wickets in 15 balls, Sri Lanka had little to show for the consolidation. Their only hope would appear to be that their pair of wrist spinners, Jeffrey Vandersay and Lakshan Sandakan, can have the same impact as Tahir. AB de Villiers, who made his international return in the final T20, was back in charge of the one-day side in his first ODI since last June, and he opted to give his formidable batting line-up a target to chase. South Africa’s squad for this se-
ries is probably not far from what they will take to the Champions Trophy, but some players are still in need of performances to cement their positions. Chief among those is Parnell, and he made the perfect start when he trapped Niroshan Dickwella lbw first ball. He soon followed that with the wicket of debutant Sandun Weerakkody, who had only arrived in the country yesterday after a delayed flight, when he had a waft outside off which smacked of jetlag. Sri Lanka knew they had to avoid fur-
ther early losses, so caution was the watchword for Chandimal, although Mendis showed greater inclination to attack, twice taking two boundaries in an over off Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo. Mendis was given lbw on 48, but the decision by Richard Kettleborough was overturned when replays showed an edge off his sweep and he reached his fifty from 74 balls. But it wasn’t long before Tahir started to unpick the innings. Chandimal, who had taken 47 balls to find the boundary, was beautifully set up by a series of leg-breaks, before Tahir tossed
a googly wide which spun back between bat and pad. Two overs later, he removed Mendis, lbw, playing back to a delivery that spun enough to beat the outside edge, and this time the review brought no reprieve. Upul Tharanga, captaining this side in Angelo Mathews’ absence, continued in the middle-order role he had in last year’s tri-series in Zimbabwe despite his 13 hundreds coming as an opener. He could not lift his side, however, when he drove limply to cover, although Tahir deserved credit for switching his line to around the wicket. Sri Lanka’s problems were compounded by a mix-up between Dhananjaya de Silva and Asela Gunaratne which saw the latter run out after a relay throw from the deep via Quinton de Kock to Parnell at the bowling end. Nuwan Kulasekara clubbed a couple of lusty shots, including the one six of the innings, before edging Kagiso Rabada. With nine overs remaining, there was little choice but to try and see out the innings. They failed by nine deliveries as Parnell and Chris Morris removed the final three wickets and from the start of the 43rd over they did not score more than one run off a delivery. – COURTESY ESPN
Morgan saves the day for Leicester in FA Cup DERBY AGENCIES
Ukraine dominates in malam Jabba int’l ski Cup SPORTS DESK The 1st day of long awaited skiing races was dominated by the Ukrainians in Malam Jabba International Alpine Ski Cup being held at the enchanting resort of Malam Jabba, Swat. Ukraine skiers outclassed their rivals in both men and women categories at the magnificent ski slope, which is hosting this international event for the first time in the history of Pakistan. Ivan Kovasnkyuk of Ukraine got 1st position in Men’s Giant Slalom category while Jan Jakooba of Slovakia remained 2nd. 3rd Spot was also secured by Ukraine skier Vasyle Telychuk. Pakistan’s only hope in the category, Olympian Muhammad Karim remained 4th in the race. In the Women Giant Slalom category, Ukraine proved unbeaten as two Ukraine athletes Tetyana Tikun and Anastasia Gorbunova got the 1st and 2nd positions respectively.
Wes Morgan spared Leicester’s blushes as his late equaliser rescued a 2-2 draw against second tier Derby in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday. Claudio Ranieri’s spluttering side were just four minutes away from an embarrassing exit at the hands of their local rivals when Foxes defender Morgan headed home to force a replay. Derby striker Darren Bent had given Leicester an early lead with a bizarre own goal before making amends with a glancing header. Craig Bryson’s fine finish just before half-time put Derby ahead and the left Premier League champions reeling again before Morgan came to their aid in the nick of time. “It was a tough match. We started well and scored but slowly we lost our calm,” said Ranieri. “We have to concentrate. Too many times we concede. We can only work and be more focused. “In the second half we again started well. It was tough to score but thankfully Morgan got one for us,” he added. After so many poor results of late, things were looking up for
Leicester when Bent sliced his attempted goal line clearance into the net after Robert Huth’s header struck Chris Baird and bounced towards the net in the eighth minute. Bent soon had a chance to redeem himself following good work by Johnny Russell, who cut into the penalty area from the left, but he scuffed his shot eight yards out. However, Bent equalised after 21 minutes, proving he is much more effective at the other end, glancing home a header from Will Hughes’ clipped cross. Shinji Okazaki’s driving run and shot brought a fine fingertip save from Scott Carson as he
helped the shot over the crossbar before a similar surge forward from Jamie Vardy saw his shot deflected just wide. Derby deservedly led at the break after Bryson’s strike. The midfielder won the ball 30 yards from goal before breaking into the penalty area past Morgan and sending a left-footed shot beyond Kasper Schmeichel and into the far corner of the net. Ranieri made an attacking change at half-time with Demarai Gray replacing Christian Fuchs and it almost paid dividends immediately. Gray saw a shot from the left side of the box come back off the far post and this time Okazaki sent the rebound straight at the grounded Carson. Carson was also in the right place again to catch Vardy’s powerful header after Derby switched off from a throw-in. Leicester and deservedly equalised when Morgan headed home Gray’s inswinging corner three minutes from time. Huth survived a penalty appeal when Tom Ince’s effort struck his hand and the neighbours will meet again at the King Power Stadium next month.
PTBf to start bowlers exchange programme with Turkmenistan ISLAMABAD APP
Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation (PTBF) and its counterpart in Turkmenistan are planning to start a tenpin bowlers exchange bowling in the next few months. “We are in talks with Turkmenistan’s tenpin bowling officials for a bowlers’ exchange programme. We hope this programme will start in a few months,” Secretary PTBF Ejaz-urRehman told APP. He said under the programme 12 bowlers from Pakistan would attend a training session in Turkmenistan. Afterwards, the same number of Turkmenistan bowlers would arrive Pakistan to attend training sessions here. “The programme will polish skills of bowlers of the two countries,” he said. He said Pakistan’s tenpin team would also feature in the Asian Tenpin Bowling Test Games in Ashgabat, next year.
Psl to kick-off on feb 9
SPORTS DESK Pakistan Super League (PSL) will begin on February 9 with its inauguration ceremony at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The ceremony will be hosted by famous film and television star Fahad Mustafa while popular singers Ali Zafar and Shehzad Roy will perform at the ceremony along with internationally acclaimed singer from Jamaica, Shaggy. The first match will be played between the teams of Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai. Six teams will participate in PSL. In all, 24 Twenty20 matches will be played in the 30-day tournament – 13 at Dubai and 10 at Sharjah while the final of the PSL 2017 will be held in Lahore on March 7. A few former and current international players will also be showing their cricketing action in the tournament. The first season was last year and it received a positive response from the people. Some former players have opined that the PSL is an important event for the local players to play with the Pakistan team and learn more from them and for the Pakistani team to know more about where they lack in cricketing skills.
David Warner says only competitive showing will not please Australia on India tour MELBOURNE AGENCIES
Australia‘s vice-captain and dual Allan Border medallist, David Warner has declared a competitive showing will not be enough to satisfy the tourists in their upcoming tour of India, as suggested by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. Australia has not won a Test match – let alone series – on Indian soil since their famous 2004 triumph, with the No. 1 ranked Test side being the favourites entering the four-Test series. The first Test starts in Pune on February 23. Ponting had offered a bleak fortune for the underdogs, tipping Australia would struggle against the home side’s slow bowlers,
spearheaded by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who occupy the No. 1 and 2 spots respectively in the latest ICC bowling rankings. According to Cricket Australia, Australia were shell shocked by the experienced Rangana Herath on their tour of Sri Lanka in August 2016 where they were humiliated to a 3-0 series defeat. Herath was the leading wicket-taker across three matches, accumulating 28 scalps at an impressive average of 12.75. Warner, who has been given rest for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against New Zealand ahead of India tour, stated that his side would be ready to confront the imposing Indians. “It’s going to be a challenge no mat-
ter what. They’re so good in their home backyard and for us to play out of our skin, that’s what we’re going to have to
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do to beat them. We talk about batting big and scoring big – well look at England, they did that, and India scored even bigger runs. We’re definitely going to be well prepared and we’re not going to leave anything out there”, stated a determined Warner ahead of the mouthwatering series. England topped 400 three times during their 4-0 series loss against India last year, with a best of 537 in the drawn first Test at Rajkot. Nonetheless, Virat Kohli’s team piled on more than 400 runs on five occasions, including massive totals of 759 for 7 declared and 631 in the final two Tests. Kohli continued his rich vein of form hammering 655 runs in the series and became the fifth
batsmen to hit three double-centuries in a calendar year in process. On the other hand, Ponting believes the best-case scenario for Australia is to be more competitive than they were in Sri Lanka. “The challenges are going to be there for the Aussie team. Unlike what happened in Sri Lanka, as long as they can find a way to be competitive in the Test series. Even if we don’t win, I don’t think it’d that big of a deal. It’s a real learning curve for our guys now to find a balance between playing the Australian way but (also) adapting that to Indian conditions”, concluded the former skipper who helped his side in lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2003 and 2007.