MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014 SPORTS India’s pace potency could decide their fate in England

MUMBAI: As India prepare to take on ing on the seam attack to get a bulk of England in what promises to be a hard- the needed for a win. fought series, the potency of a attack in which Ishant Sharma is the only ISHANT KEY paceman to have played a test on Out of the six frontline seam bowlers, English soil could prove to be the deci- the lanky 25-year-old Ishant is the only sive factor. one to have toured England before. India were humiliated 4-0 the last Ishant caught the imagination of Indian time they toured England in 2011 but supporters with his fiery spells against the hosts appear vulnerable ahead of Australia Ricky Ponting at Perth this five-match series after a 5-0 Ashes in 2008, during which he beat the right- whitewash in Australia at the start of the handed batsman on numerous occasions year and a more recent home series and dismissed him in both innings. defeat against . Despite going on to play 55 test ’s 18 wickets were the key matches, his career has stagnated since to India’s last test series triumph in his exploits at the WACA, disappointing England with a win at Trent Bridge earn- those who marked him out as the coun- ing them a 1-0 victory in a three-match try’s next bowling leader after Zaheer. series seven years ago. He has taken 164 test wickets and However, with the 35-year-old wily been impressive in patches but has also left-arm paceman missing from the tour- been derided for his failure to lead the ing party, doubts have emerged over bowling attack in the absence of the India’s ability to bowl England out twice injury-prone Zaheer. in a test match. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and , who led India to the Mohammed Shami, the most likely pace 2007 series victory, believes the team duo to start alongside Ishant, are able to have the batting strength to match their swing the ball both ways - a crucial skill opponents, leaving it down to the in English conditions - they have only bowlers of either side to make the differ- played six test matches apiece. ence. Ishant’s role will not just be restricted “I think the key is going to be the abili- to taking wickets this time but also guide : Sri Lankan bowler (center) watches South African batsmen Hashim Amla (right) and AB de Villiers run between wick- ty to take 20 wickets,” Dravid, who is the young attack with his experience. “It ets during the first match. — AP mentoring the Indian team on the tour, is Ishant who has played the most num- told reporters at Lord’s this week. “When ber of matches and he has been around we won the series here in 2007, Zaheer for a while,” Zaheer told ESPNcricinfo in Amla inspires South Africa was exceptional but he got good sup- an interview. port from the other guys as well. “It is time he steps into that role. “For The spinners, who can run through Bhuvi (Kumar) and Shami, it is their first the opposition on surfaces conducive to (England) tour so they will look to Ishant to big victory in first ODI slow bowling, will receive little assistance and (bowling coach) Joe Dawes for input from English pitches with the onus rest- to perform in those conditions.” —Reuters COLOMBO: Opener Hashim Amla smashed 109 said. The victory yesterday was only South Kulasekara off Mendis. David Miller (36 ) and Ryan McLaren took two wickets in three Africa’s third in 17 one-dayers against the hosts and Ryan McLaren (22 not out) then unleashed balls as South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka by 75 in Sri Lanka. Amla, named the new Test skipper some hard hitting in the final overs to take the runs in their first one-dayer yesterday. last month, was in top form although he was visitors to their highest ODI total in Sri Lanka Amla, 31, hit eight fours in his composed 130- dropped on 49 by at long-on. against the hosts. ball knock and shared a 151-run third- The opener also saw an appeal under the Amla, named man of the match, completed stand with skipper AB de Villiers (75), helping the Decision Review System go in his favour, with his 13th ODI century before being trapped in visitors post a formidable 304-5 at the R. replays remaining inconclusive about whether front of the middle stump by Mendis. He hit Premadasa Stadium. he had nicked to the wicketkeeper while trying eight fours and a six. It was his second ton in two responded with a fine 88 off just 84 balls but Sri to go for a hook shot. At the other end, de days after he hit a century in a practice game Lanka were still bundled out for 229 off 40.3 Villiers played a sparkling knock, his 75 coming against a Sri Lankan President’s XI on Friday. overs. The hosts appeared headed towards vic- off just 70 balls with the help of five fours and a The second ODI will be played in Pallekele on tory at one point. But paceman McLaren dis- six. De Villiers, who was also dropped on 17, was Wednesday, followed by the third and final missed and Sangakkara in the out when he chipped a simple catch to Nuwan match in Hambantota next Sunday. — AFP 38th over to trigger a collapse that saw Sri Lanka lose their last five wickets for just 13 runs. “We had a bad day at the office. The South SCOREBOARD Africans played better cricket and we were really rusty,” said Sri Lankan captain . COLOMBO: Full scoreboard of the first one-day international between Sri Lanka and South Africa “After the start we got, the middle order at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo yesterday: made some poor shot selection and that cost us the game.” Spinner was a tad expen- South Africa: M. Jayawardene c de Kock b Tahir 10 sive but emerged as the highest wicket taker for H. Amla lbw b Mendis 109 A. Priyanjan c Kallis b Tahir 5 Billy Hurley in action in this file photo. the visitors, finishing with 3-50 from seven overs. Q. de Kock b Mathews 27 A. Mathews c de Kock b Morkel 13 The visitors had got off to a steady start after J. Kallis lbw b Mendis 0 L. Thirimanne b McLaren 15 Hurley leads at Greenbrier winning the toss, putting on 58 before losing AB de Villiers c Kulasekara b Mendis 75 N. Kulasekara b Steyn 1 two batsmen in quick succession. Opener J. P. Duminy c Dilshan b Senanayake 16 S. Senanayake b Tahir 6 WEST VIRGINIA: Billy Hurley III moved golf, not scrambling around but just trying Quinton de Kock was bowled by Mathews (1-30) D. Miller not out 36 A. Mendis c McLaren b Steyn 0 within sight of his first PGA Tour victory to see how many putts we can make.” “I’m for 27 which included a mighty six over mid- R. McLaren not out 22 L. Malinga not out 6 wicket off spinner (1-49). when he opened a two-stroke lead over not the longest hitter on tour, probably one Extras: (lb8, w10, nb1) 19 Extras: (lb5, w4, nb2) 11 Just two balls later, unorthodox spinner Total: (for five wkts; 50 overs) 304 Angel Cabrera after the third round at The of the shorter hitters but I keep it pretty Total: (all out, 40.3 overs) 229 Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia on straight and if we can do that again tomor- (3-61) trapped star all-rounder Jacques Kallis leg before wicket with his trade- Fall of wickets: 1-58 (de Kock), 2-60 (Kallis), 3- Saturday. American Hurley carded a tidy row we’ll have a really good chance to win.” Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Perera), 2-98 (Dilshan), 3- three-under-par 67 in delightful conditions But he will have to contend with mark carrom ball for a duck, to reduce the 211 (de Villiers), 4-239 (Amla), 5-249 (Duminy) Proteas to a shaky 60-2. Bowling: Malinga 7-0-52-0 (w2), Kulasekara 6- 122 (Jayawardene), 4-138 (Priyanjan), 5-164 on Greenbrier’s Old White course in White Cabrera, a man for the big occasion who (Mathews), 6-216 (Thirimanne), 7-217 Sulphur Springs, but Cabrera loomed large, has played nearly 200 regular tour events But Amla and de Villiers made light of the 0-26-0 (nb1), Senanayake 10-0-49-1 (w2), (Sangakkara), 8-223 (Kulasekara), 9-223 moving into second place with a sizzling without victory. twin setbacks and steered the innings to a posi- Mathews 6-1-30-1 (w2), Mendis 10-0-61-3 (Senanayake), 10-229 (Mendis) 64. The Argentine veteran has won two “I’ve just got to keep waiting, keep tion of strength with their 141-ball stand. (w4), Priyanjan 7-0-47-0, Dilshan 4-0-31-0. major titles, the 2007 US Open and 2009 working and it will happen,” said Cabrera, “We fought really well and I am really proud Masters, but has never captured a regular who was on the course when he found out of our first innings here. I thought the guys Sri Lanka: Bowling: Steyn 7.3-0-38-2 (w1), Philander 8-0- tour event. his countrymen had won their World Cup recovered really well,” said de Villiers. K. Perera c Morkel b Philander 34 40-1 (nb2, w1), Morkel 7-0-39-2 (w2), McLaren American Kevin Chappell (69) was alone quarter-final match against Belgium. “I had “We are very motivated to win our first series T. Dilshan c de Kock b Morkel 40 6-0-33-2, Tahir 7-0-50-3, Duminy 5-0-24-0 in third, three strokes behind, while seven already started with three birdies (in four here, things have started really well and we’ll S’kkara c sub (du Plessis) b McLaren 88 South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 75 runs others trailed Hurley by four strokes. “I’m holes), so my happiness was complete.” have to go really hard in the next few games,” he excited to have a chance to win. I just have He also finished strongly, curling in a 28- to do my thing, be Billy Hurley,” the leader footer for birdie at the 16th before hitting a told PGATour.com after posting a 12-under deft pitch to set up another birdie at the Stars down Fever, Dream win 198 total. Hurley, unlike the long-hitting par-five 17th. Eight-time major champion Cabrera, relies on precision rather than Tom Watson, 64, came within four strokes power, and he has played to his strength of matching his age to improve to equal INDIANAPOLIS: Kayla McBride hit a 3-pointer added 16, and Montgomery had 15 to help the added 14 points, and Courtney Paris had 12. The this week in his 59th start on tour. “I hit it 43rd on three-under. “I’m getting better at with 1.8 seconds left to give the San Antonio Sun (9-10) rebound from a 13-point home loss to tied it Diggins’ driving layup with 24.3 seconds out of the middle of the (club)face all day, the birdies. I made two the first day three Stars a 71-70 victory over the Indiana Fever, spoil- the Shock on Thursday night. Skylar Diggins led left. Diggins was fouled on the play by drove it really well, hit a lot of quality shots,” the second day and four today,” Watson ing Tamika Catchings’ season debut. Tulsa (7-11) with 30 points, her sixth game this Montgomery, but missed the free throw. he continued. “That’s a nice way to play said. — Reuters Indiana led by 13 with just more than 5 min- season with 25 or more points. Glory Johnson Montgomery made up for the defensive miscue utes left before the Stars rallied. The Fever trailed had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Odyssey Sims with the winning basket. — AP 68-67 with 6.8 seconds left when Briann January Waratahs secure top hit a 3-pointer to give them the lead. McBride answered from the wing for the win- ner. The rookie finished with 14 points. Playing in spot as Sharks falter her first contest of the season after missing the first 17 games with a sore back, Catchings fin- SYDNEY: The New South Wales Waratahs after going down 24-16 to the defending ished with six points, seven rebounds, four secured top spot in Super Rugby with champions Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton. The assists, two steals and three blocks. another superb performance yesterday ACT Brumbies, who had a bye this week- Danielle Adams scored 13 points for San after the Coastal Sharks stumbled to a sec- end, cling on to the sixth and last play-off Antonio (10-9). Shavonte Zellous led Indiana (8- ond straight defeat. position but face a do-or-die showdown 10) with 16 points. The Waratahs hammered Otago with fellow Australians Western Force in Highlanders 44-16, scoring six tries to one Canberra next weekend. The Force kept DREAM, 86, MYSTICS 73 at home to give them an unassailable sev- their hopes of a maiden finals appearance Sancho Lyttle scored 18 points and Atlanta en-point lead heading into next weekend’s alive with a 30-20 win over the Queensland dominated inside to beat Washington. Angel final regular round before the play-offs. Reds in Perth. McCoughtry and Tiffany Hayes each had 16 It was the Sydneysiders’ sixth straight The Waratahs were in irresistible form, points to help the Dream (12-5) win for the ninth victory and their biggest-ever win over the racing away from the Highlanders in the time in 11 games and improve to 3-0 against the Highlanders to underline their favorites tag second half for a bonus-point win after Mystics this season. for this year’s Super 15 title. The Sharks’ shading the Kiwis 11-9 at halftime. Tied at 40 at the half, the Dream had a 26-12 Super 15 title hopes suffered a major set- The Waratahs are clearly enjoying their edge in points in the paint in the second half. back when they lost 27-20 to the lowly rugby under coach Michael Cheika as they Emma Meesseman led Washington (7-12) with 18 Central Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. chase their first Super Rugby championship points. After shooting 16 for 36 in the first half, All the long-time southern hemisphere after being runners-up in 2005 and 2008. the Mystics were 11 for 29 in the second. provincial championship leaders from Jake White’s Sharks face the in-form Durban took from the match was a losing Stormers away next weekend and defeat STORM 80, SKY 73 bonus point. means they will be pitched into a sudden- Sue Bird scored eight straight points late in It brought them level with the record death game against the sixth-placed team the fourth quarter to help Seattle beat Chicago. seven-time champion Crusaders on 46 in the opening weekend of the play-offs. It Bird and Crystal Langhorne each scored 19 points, but the South Africans stay third was only the fourth victory of the season points for the Storm (8-12). Camille Little, return- because of an inferior points difference. for the Cheetahs, who have failed to match ing to action after missing Seattle’s loss to Los Whichever team finishes second after their 2013 showing when they reached the Angeles on Thursday night because of a death in the final league round gets a bye into the play-offs. semi-finals and a home fixture, with the A dash of Fijian Nemani Nadolo bril- her family, added 18 points. Bird’s scoring run side finishing third needing a home play- liance got the Crusaders home with his sec- included a 20-footer with 2:48 remaining that off win over the sixth-place team on the ond try seven minutes from time. With Dan snapped the 11th and final tie, giving Seattle a final standings to reach the semi-finals. Carter’s conversion it lifted the Crusaders 73-71 lead. Jessica Breland scored 20 points for The Crusaders secured their 13th con- from a narrow 14-13 lead to eight points the Sky (8-10). Sylvia Fowles had 19 points and 11 secutive Super Rugby play-offs berth with a ahead and left the Blues with the near rebounds, and Epiphanny Prince added 16. 21-13 victory over the Auckland Blues in impossible task of having to score twice in Christchurch. Canterbury lie four points the closing minutes. The Chiefs kept their SUN 78, SHOCK 76 ahead of the Highlanders, while the faltering title defence on track with a tight Renee Montgomery made a basket with 5.8 Wellington Hurricanes remain fifth overall win over the Hurricanes. —AFP seconds left to lift Connecticut past Tulsa. Katie Douglas scored 18 points. Chiney Ogwumike Kayla McBride in action in this file photo.