A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Dravid and Singh give India edge
CRICKET: Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni batted with authority yesterday to steer India into a huge lead as New Zealand were left with an uphill task of batting out two days to save the deciding Test.
That task became harder after Harbhajan Singh dismissed opener Tim McIntosh to leave the tourists reeling at 24 for one, still needing 349 runs to make India bat again.
“The key in this game, as we saw this morning, is that you have got to make an impact while the ball is hard and new,” Dravid told New Cricket channel.
“Tomorrow’s morning session is going to be really important. The ball is still hard and if we have a few quick wickets early then we can put a lot of pressure on them.”
India declared their first innings at 566 for eight with a lead of 373 after New Zealand’s bowlers had picked up three early wickets on day three of the third and final Test.
Isinbayeva targets Bubka's record 35
ATHLETICS: Pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, batteries fully recharged after she decided to take an indefinite sabbatical last April, has now set her sights on breaking Sergei Bubka’s mark of 35 world records.
“It’s not an ambition, it’s a goal,” Isinbayeva said. “Sergei fully supports me, he says he will be very happy when I do it. He says ‘For you it will be easier now because you have a certain goal. When I started jumping I didn’t know how many records I could set’.”
Ukrainian Bubka, who mentors the 28-year-old Russian, retired after the 2000 Sydney Olympics following a glittering career during which he set 35 outdoor and indoor records. Isinbayeva, the first woman to vault five metres, has set 27 world records.
Triathlon date for Armstrong
CYCLING: Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is to compete in a triathlon event in New Zealand after he finishes his competitive cycling career at January’s Tour Down Under in Australia, organisers have said.
Armstrong will compete at the Blue Lake Multisport Festival, set for January 29th-30th in Rotorua in New Zealand’s geothermal region in the central North Island.
Pakistan could yet avoid follow on
CRICKET: Azhar Ali fell 10 runs short of a maiden Test century as Pakistan reached 317 for six at the close on the third day of the second Test against South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium yesterday.
Azhar, who scored 56 and 63 in the drawn first Test in Dubai, drove Dale Steyn to Graeme Smith at mid-off. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq continued Azhar’s good work with an unbeaten 77 to give his side hope of passing the follow-on target of 384. South Africa declared their first innings on 584 for nine.
Sandford Park set up Skerries date
SCHOOLS’ RUGBY: Sandford Park cruised past Maynooth Post Primary on a 37-7 scoreline to qualify for a Leinster Schools’ (Section A) McMullen Senior Cup semi-final against Skerries Community College at Barnhall RFC yesterday.
This replay was in marked contrast to the 13-all draw between these two schools last week as fullback John McNaughton struck for two of the six tries, the others coming from wing Rob Foley, scrumhalf James Orr, hooker Josh Cowan and centre Jamie Scanlon against a converted reply from Maynooth fullback James Walsh.
A fast start from East Glendalough, yielding tries for lock Daniel Norse and wing Luke Daunt-Smith, was more than half the battle in their 15-8 win over CBS Naas in the Leinster Schools’ (Section A) Duff Junior Cup semi-final at Ballycorus.
In the other semi-final, Skerries Community College made full use of the wind to build an early lead and sealed the issue when centre Paul O’Connor glided over for the first of his two tries in the 31-14 win over De La Salle Churchtown at Coolmine RFC.
Dominant Djokovic opens London account strongly
TENNIS: A courtside entourage, including former Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona, watched Novak Djokovic open Group A at the ATP World Tour finals in London yesterday with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Czech Tomas Berdych.
The Serb dominated from start to finish against a player whose form has deserted him since reaching the Wimbledon final in July, after he was gifted a service break in the first game.
A tense Berdych, the only debutant in the eight-man field, offered up two double faults and Djokovic completed the set when his opponent faltered again on his own delivery at 3-5.
The world number three quickly moved 3-0 ahead at the start of the second set and closed out victory in front of a subdued mid-afternoon crowd, which was far from a sellout.
