Pakistan (570 & 261/2 dec) lead India (449 & 25/0) by 358 runs at stumps, day 4
   A blistering half-century from opener Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan’s solid 84 not out allowed Pakistan to set India a challenging 383-run target in the third and final Test here on Sunday.
   Afridi (58) completed his fifty off just 26 deliveries, the quickest by a Pakistani batsman and the second-fastest in Test cricket, as the tourists declared their second innings on 261-2.
   India were 25 for no loss at stumps on the fourth day, with Gautam Gambhir (19) and Virender Sehwag (six) at the crease. They now need 358 in a minimum of 90 overs on what promises to be an exciting final day.
   Younis was 16 short of becoming the first Pakistani batsman to crack a double-century and a hundred in the same Test when Pakistan declared their innings. He scored 267 in the first innings.
   Pakistan, trailing 1-0 after their defeat in the second Test at Kolkata, had to go for a win by putting quick runs on the board.
   They found the right man in Afridi, who smashed two sixes and eight fours in his 34-ball knock to give his team with an explosive start.
   Yasir Hameed scored a responsible 76 for his seventh Test half-century and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq an unbeaten 31.
   Afridi equalled Englishman Ian Botham’s record for the second-fastest Test fifty (v India in 1981-82). But he missed by two balls the world record of a 24-ball half-century set by South African Jacques Kallis against Zimbabwe at home last month.
   Afridi broke compatriot Yousuf Youhana’s feat of a 27-ball fifty (v South Africa in 2002) when he swung Anil Kumble for his second six, the ball hitting Irfan Pathan’s hands at long-leg before going over the boundary.
   The Pakistani opener, who holds the world record for the fastest century in one-dayers (off 37 balls against Sri Lanka in 1997), was in punishing mood as he pulled paceman Pathan for a six and then two fours in an over.
   Part-time bowler Sachin Tendulkar replaced Pathan, who conceded 45 in his opening five overs. He managed to contain Afridi in his first over with leg-breaks before having him stumped in the second.
   But Afridi had done his job, putting on 91 for the opening wicket with Hameed off just 12.4 overs. Afridi’s blitz forced India to go on the back foot. Both Tendulkar and leg-spinner Kumble bowled a defensive line around the wicket, but Pakistan still managed to score briskly.
   Afridi also excelled as a leg-spinner when he broke a stubborn 53-run stand for India’s last wicket between Venkatsai Laxman (79 not out) and Kumble (22).
   Resuming on 379-6, India were bowled out for 449 in their first innings in reply to Pakistan’s 570.
   Pakistan looked set to wrap up the Indian tail when they captured three wickets in the space of 10 runs, but Kumble gave Laxman valuable support.
   Afridi ended the innings when he bowled Kumble with a faster one in his opening over.
   Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria grabbed two of the four wickets to fall on Sunday to finish with 5-127, his 10th haul of five or more wickets in an innings in 26 Tests.

A college student was killed by his cousin following a row over watching cricket match between India and Pakistan on television at a village under Shahjahanpur upazila in the district on Sunday.
   Local people said that the victim, Liton Paikar, 20, a student of Bogra Government Commerce College, after returning home from the college went to the house of his cousin Raju at village Laxmicola uttarpara at about 1:30pm.
   Watching the match in television, the two locked in an altercation and one stage, Raju threw a broken ceramic plate which pierced though the chest of Liton.
   The family members took Liton to the Mohammad Ali Hospital where the on-duty doctors declared him dead at about 2:30pm. The body was sent to the morgue for autopsy and it was brought to the victim’s village home for burial in the evening.
   No case was filed with the police station. However, both the families were trying to settle the matter locally.

Leg spinner Danish Kaneria believes he can bowl Pakistan to a series-levelling win in the third and final cricket Test against India.
   The hosts, 25 without loss at the close on Sunday, need another 358 to win the match on a fifth-day wicket with rough patches on the leg side that Kaneria can exploit.
   ‘I’ll give my 101 per cent,’ the 24-year-old told reporters. ‘If I can deliver, I’ll be the happiest man.’
   Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq made a bold declaration with Pakistan 382 ahead, leaving the match open for both teams and setting up a scintillating last day at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
   His decision would have sprung from his faith in Kaneria.
   ‘The fifth day is always for spinners,’ Kaneria said. ‘I believe I can do the job and the team have belief in me.’
   Kaneria completed his 10th five-wicket haul earlier in the day, finishing with five for 127 as India were bowled out for 449 to set up Pakistan’s second innings onslaught.
   ‘The wicket is a slow turner, it’s not easy to bowl on it,’ he said.
   ‘But I wanted to make up for my failure in Calcutta, where I didn’t bowl too well because of dehydration. I was eager to set things right.’
   The bowler from Karachi had grabbed six Indian wickets in the first innings of the first drawn test in Mohali, but looked way below his best in Kolkata, where the hosts won by 195 runs to take a 1-0 series lead.

A New Zealand newspaper said Sunday it had been the target of a legal warning and a public relations offensive after it began investigating allegations involving Australian cricket star Shane Warne and a text message.
   The Sunday News said it had received a call offering an off-field story about Warne for 30,000 NZ dollars (21,400 US) and the approaches began before it had completed its investigations or sought comment from the player.
   The enquiry centred on the alleged sending of a text message when Warne was in Wellington earlier this year.
   The lawyer’s letter, published by the newspaper, said: ‘Without knowing the content (and alleged recipient) of a particular message, Mr. Warne is unable to confirm whether he sent it.’
   ‘That aside, however, personal text messages sent between any two parties are private and confidential in nature, and may not be published without the consent of those parties.’
   A former New Zealand cricket star, which the newspaper did not identify, had also made approaches ‘effectively asking us to stop our inquiries’, while a woman claiming to represent Warne’s interests in New Zealand wanted to know details of the investigation, the Sunday News said.
   A spokesman for the Australian cricket team said they were looking into the matter.
   Warne, Test cricket’s most successful wicket-taker, has been a controversial figure off the field.
   In 1995, he was fined along with team-mate Mark Waugh for his alleged involvement with an Indian bookmaker.
   While playing for English county Hampshire in 2000, a British tabloid told of how Warne had left ‘dirty messages’ on the answerphone of a nurse he had met in a nightclub.
   South African woman Helen Cohen Alon also claimed in August 2003 that she was offered 28,000 US dollars by an associate of Warne to keep quiet about their relationship in a series of threatening phone calls and text messages.
   Warne hit rock-bottom after being given a 12-month suspension for taking a banned diuretic just before the 2003 World Cup.
   Earlier this year he revealed in a television documentary how he fled with his wife to Spain to save their marriage after an affair with a Melbourne stripper.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has found a novel method of avoiding pressure during his team’s high-profile cricket tour of India—keep away from newspapers.
   ‘I’m not reading newspapers at all on this tour. This is the best way to avoid pressure on a tough tour like that of India,’ Inzamam told AFP on Sunday.
   ‘You need to avoid all off-field pressure and I do it by keeping myself away from newspapers.’
   Inzamam said he had been following the advice of his former team-mate Saeed Anwar, a left-handed opening batsman who told the current Pakistani cricketers not to read newspapers on the India tour.
   ‘I succeeded in avoiding extra pressure by not reading newspapers on Pakistan’s tour of India in 1999. I’d advise this team to do the same,’ Anwar told the players before their departure for India last month.
   Inzamam said Anwar’s tip had been very useful.
   ‘I followed that advice. The only time I asked for newspapers was when my son’s pictures appeared last week,’ said Inzamam, who is leading the first Pakistani team in India for six years.
   Inzamam’s son Ibtisam-ul-Haq appeared in newspapers here practising with the Pakistani team ahead of the third and final Test, which was the Pakistani captain’s 100th match.
   Inzamam made the occasion memorable with a superb 184 to become the fifth batsman to score a century in his 100th Test after Englishmen Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart, Pakistan’s Javed Miandad and West Indian Gordon Greenidge.
   ‘You wake up and read all sorts of news, columns by former players which add to the existing pressure,’ said Inzamam, whose team is seeking a series-levelling win here after losing the second Test at Calcutta by 195 runs.
   Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said Inzamam always fired the team with his modesty.
   ‘Inzamam fires the team with his modesty and his ability to lead from the front as a batsman,’ said Woolmer.
   ‘I don’t think he is a passive captain, but I do think he needs to be more aggressive with youngsters. His image of nice guy is not good all the time.’

Top seeds Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo cleared their first hurdles at the 6.5 million-dollar WTA and ATP Masters Series tournament here Saturday with second-round victories.
   World number one Federer, currently the undisputed titan of the ATP Tour, took his first step toward a first Key Biscayne title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Belgian Olivier Rochus.
   Rochus made Federer fight through five set points in the first set before he finally put it away on his sixth - but it was all over in 71 minutes.
   ‘It was good,’ said Federer, who is seeking to claim his second straight Masters Series title after winning in Indian Wells, California, last week.
   ‘It’s always hard to start a tournament. But I felt quite comfortable and quite confident, even though I have a lot of respect for the player he is.’
   Federer arrived in Florida with an ATP-best four titles this year. He has won seven of his last eight tournaments and 26 of his past 27 matches against top 10 opponents.
   The only blemish on his 2005 record is a semi-final loss to Marat Safin at the Australian Open in January.
   Federer said the idea of claiming a title he has never won is appealing, but not overly significant.
   ‘Of course, it would be nice to win every tournament you haven’t won,’ he said.
   Federer will next face Argentina’s Mariano Zabaleta, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 winner over Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan.
   Mauresmo, who has never made it past the fourth round in three previous appearances here, rallied from a set and a break down to beat 18-year-old Russian Maria Kirilenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
   The 25-year-old, who last year became the first French player to hold the world number one ranking, put her first-set struggles down to her own lack of rhythm as well as solid play from her young opponent.
   ‘She played really well that first set,’ Mauresmo said. ‘But I thought I was giving her too many free points. I finally got my game together and put the ball back in the second set.’
   Mauresmo said it was a useful start to the tournament, especially after a third-round defeat last week at Indian Wells.
   ‘I think it’s good to come out of a match like that, especially after the disappointment of last week,’ said the Frenchwoman, who on Sunday faces Israel’s Anna Smashnova, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Japan’s Akiko Morigami.
   Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi, making his 19th straight appearance in a tournament he has won six times, preserved his perfect record against France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu, posting a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
   The ninth-seeded American has now won all three of his matches against Mathieu.
   ‘It’s a good one to get through,’ he said. ‘The first set could have gone either way. He had his chances.
   ‘The second set I could have made it easier on myself, but all in all I feel real good about it.’
   Playing before an adoring crowd, Agassi appeared unhindered by the sore left toe that prevented him from taking the court in his quarter-final against Lleyton Hewitt in Indian Wells.
   ‘I felt like I could really push through it, and that was reassuring,’ Agassi said of his still-swollen toe.
   In other matches, fourth-seeded Guillermo Coria of Argentina reached the third round, beating Italian Davide Sanguinetti 6-1, 6-4.
   Coria was runner-up to American Andy Roddick here last year, when he was forced to retire from the final with back spasms.
   Sixth-seeded Briton Tim Henman ended the hopes of Czech lucky loser Ivo Minar 7-5, 6-3 and seventh-seeded Gaston Gaudio of Argentina defeated Germany’s Bjorn Phau 6-2, 6-2.
   American qualifier Jeff Morrison upset the form book, however, surprising 10th-seeded Swede Joachim Johansson 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.
   A string of seeded Russian women advanced, led by number four Elena Dementieva, a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 winner over compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya.
   No. 5 Anastasia Myskina defeated Venezuela’s Maria Vento-Kabchi 6-2, 6-1, and sixth-seeded US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat fellow Russian Galina Voskoboeva, a qualifier, 6-1, 6-3.

Chess legend Bobby Fischer began his new life as a resident of Iceland on Friday with anti-Jewish slurs and by lambasting his country of origin, the United States, which has a warrant out for his arrest.
   ‘The Jew-controlled United States is evil. They talk about the axis of evil. What about the allies of evil? What about the US, England, Japan, Australia and so on? These are the evil doers,’ said Fischer, who has been harshly criticized for issuing similar statements in the past.
   The chess genius, who arrived in Iceland late Thursday, also told reporters that chess is ‘dead’.
   Asked how he saw his future in the small island nation near the Arctic Circle, he said, ‘I see it as very good. It’s a wonderful country (with) fresh air, nice people, nice food and plenty of room.’
   The US has never forgiven him for defying sanctions on Yugoslavia by playing a rematch with Spassky there in 1992, and if he ever returned to his country of origin he would face 10 years behind bars.
   ‘We’re going to continue to act on this case and we’re going to continue to seek to bring it to a satisfactory resolution,’ Deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said on Thursday, expressing regret that Fischer had not been extradited from Japan to the US.
   ‘Obviously, we’d hoped that the Japanese courts could have resolved this in a way that would have led to his repatriation to the United States... We’re disappointed that that was not able to happen. But we will continue to press the issue,’ Ereli said.
   Fischer however did not seem worried. ‘They don’t have any extradition request so far as I know. Let’s see what they do,’ he said on Friday.
   Magnus Skalason, an supporter of the chess ace, said he hoped Fischer ‘will change his style’.

A first-half goal by striker Lukas Podolski gave World Cup 2006 hosts Germany a slender 1-0 victory over Slovenia in a friendly on Saturday.
   While most of Europe was engaged in World Cup qualifying matches Germany were struggling to beat a Slovenia side warming up for Wednesday’s Group Five qualifier at home to Belarus.
   ‘Not everything worked out the way we planned,’ said Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann. ‘It was a very physical match and we weren’t able to get into any rhythm.
   ‘We didn’t get enough goal chances and at the end of the day we were a bit lucky to come away with a victory.’
   ‘We were fortunate to win,’ agreed captain Michael Ballack. ‘The match was chaotic, it wasn’t good at all. Our defence wasn’t well organised and that shouldn’t happen. We should have gone ahead 2-0 and then things would have been easier.’
   Slovenia, third in their World Cup group two points behind leaders Italy and level on seven points with Norway before the Italians hosted Scotland on Saturday, were unfortunate to lose to Germany following an impressive display after the break.

Spain warmed up for next week’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia & Montenegro with a comfortable 3-0 win over China in a rain-soaked friendly on Saturday.
   Luis Aragones’s side turned in a confident display in their first match against China but will need to show more of a killer instinct in front of goal if they are to overturn the Group Seven leaders in Belgrade on Wednesday.
   ‘The Serbia game will be much tougher than this one,’ midfielder Albert Luque told Radio Marca after the game. ‘But if we build on the attitude we showed today, we should do well and come away with a result.’
   The scorers for the home team were Fernando Torres, defender Pablo Ibanez and winger Joaquin.
   Spain could have added a fourth shortly before the final whistle, but Garcia hit the bar with a powerful long-range drive.

Faltering France have left themselves a mountain to climb to qualify for the 2006 World Cup after being held at home to a 0-0 draw by the Swiss, while fellow European big guns England, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden all recorded convincing wins in qualifying matches Saturday.
   In the knowledge they have little room for error with just one automatic group qualifying spot up for grabs, there was a shake-up for the strong quartet of the Netherlands, Romania, Finland and the Czech Republic in Group 1, previously only separated by a single point.
   The Dutch recorded a 2-0 win away to Romania thanks to goals from veteran Phillip Cocu and Ryan Babel and now head the group with 13 points from five games, with a healthy goal advantage to their credit.
   The Czech Republic are second a point adrift after a thrilling game against Finland that saw them run out 4-3 winners, sealed by an 87th minute goal from Vratislav Lokvenc.
   Romania and Finland now lie in third and fourth place, with 10 and nine points respectively.
   In Group 2, Ukraine – who sat out this round of matches – saw their six-point lead cut to three as European champions Greece notched up a crucial 3-1 win in Georgia.
   Turkey, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists who failed to qualify for Euro 2004, won 2-0 against Albania and Denmark scored a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan to leave both sides on nine points, two behind second-placed Greece.
   Slovakia took their chance to draw level on 13 points from five games with early Group 3 pacesetters Portugal with a 2-1 win over Estonia in Tallinn.
   Russia recorded an unimpressive 2-1 win over Liechtenstein to move into third place on 10 points. In Group 4, three teams are locked in top place on nine points.
   France, who have only beaten the Faroe Islands and Cyprus so far, were practically obliged to win against the Swiss after being held to draws at home by two of their direct rivals and with a tricky away trip to Israel on Wednesday.
   But the former champions could only manage a 0-0 draw with Switzerland after spurning a raft of golden opportunities to put the game beyond the battling Swiss.
   ‘It’s always disappointing not to win particularly when you have numerous chances to score,’ said France coach Raymond Domenech.
   ‘But the battle continues, it’s still all to play for in the group.’
   A last gasp goal from Israeli replacement Abas Suan earlier held Ireland to a 1-1 draw.
   Ireland had gotten off to a dream start with a Clinton Morrison opener after just four minutes.
   But Israel came storming back seconds into injury time with Bnei Sakhnin striker Suan blasting past Shay Given from 25 yards out.
   Group 5 saw frontrunners Italy host winless Scotland, and two almost identical Andrea Pirlo’s free-kicks, one in each half, settled a lively contest 2-0 in the Italians’ favour.
   Italy have 12 points from their five matches played, while Norway and Slovenia are level on seven points but they both have a game in hand on the pace-setting Azzurri.
   Coach Marcello Lippi was pleased with his team’s performance, but expressed his concern at their inability to kill the game off sooner.
   ‘I was very happy with the first half as we took few risks and created plenty of chances,’ he said. ‘Unfortunately we only put one of them away and so Scotland were still in the game until Pirlo’s second goal.’
   England remain in pole position in Group 6 on 13 points after handing out a 4-0 thrashing to Northern Ireland, without a competitive win since October 2001.
   After being held goalless in the first half at Old Trafford, England stepped up the pressure in the second period and scored through Chelsea duo Joe Cole and Frank Lampard, Michael Owen and an own goal from defender Chris Baird.
   ‘But overall it was a good three points which is very important when you play those games but also a very good performance during the 90 minutes. I’m very pleased with the team today,’ said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
   Second-placed Poland, just a point behind England, hosted winless bottom side Azerbaijan and dismissed them with aplomb, coming out 8-0 winners in a one-sided game that saw Tomasz Frankowski score a hat-trick.
   Austria kept their qualifying hopes alive with a 2-0 win over John Toshack’s Wales in Cardiff and lie third on eight points.
   The three top sides in Group 7 all had the weekend off, but strugglers Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina faced off, the Belgians coming out 4-1 winners to record the first victory for either side in the campaign.
   In Group 8, goal-happy leaders Sweden travelled to Bulgaria, who have a game in hand, and came out 3-0 winners thanks to a brace from Arsenal striker Freddie Ljungberg and another from Erik Edman.
   Croatia’s 4-0 win over Iceland pushed them into second place on 10 points, two adrift of Sweden and also with a game in hand.

Maybe England has found the answer to its left-sided problem in Joe Cole.
   The real test will come against stronger teams than feeble Northern Ireland.
   The Chelsea midfielder put Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men on the road to a lopsided 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory at Old Trafford on Saturday with the opening goal in his first competitive start.
   Michael Owen’s typical
   close-range strike, Frank Lampard’s deflected long-range shot and an own goal by Chris Baird gave England the margin of victory it deserved against a Northern Ireland team that had one shot on target in the entire game.
   Perhaps a game against Italy, Brazil or Argentina will be a far sterner test to establish whether Cole is the man to finally solve a problem England has had since Eriksson took over the job four years ago.
   The victory kept England on top of Group 6 by one point from Poland, which stayed just behind by crushing Azerbaijan 8-0.
   On Wednesday, England host Azerbaijan at Newcastle’s St. James’ Park and Poland play Northern Ireland in Warsaw.
   Normally playing in the centre of midfield or wide on the right, Cole was forced to play on the left to link up with established midfielders David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
   He produced his usual array of tricks – stepovers and flicked passes from his heel – to entertain the fans. But the England coach was pleased that he didn’t do them too often.
   ‘He finally learned that football is not only to make tricks,’ Eriksson said. ‘Football is to choose when to do it and when not to do it.
   ‘When you do it in the last third of the pitch, you have six or seven or eight players behind you. If you do it in the middle of the pitch when there are fewer midfield players behind you, then that’s very different.
   ‘He has learned and it was absolutely perfect today. If he goes on like this it will be very difficult to move him from there. He played football in a very mature way.’
   England captain Beckham also praised Cole’s performance.
   ‘I believe Joe can play in any position,’ the Real Madrid star said. ‘He has a good right foot and is equally capable with his left. His performance today will give him a massive confidence boost.
   ‘He was getting a little bit of cramp at the end, which shows just how hard he was working. He deserves his chance because of what he has been doing for Chelsea and he proved just how much he wanted it.’
   Cole has been a fringe player for two years because he was too much of an individualist and would lose the ball in positions that put his defence under pressure.
   He also spent most of his time on the bench at Chelsea until coach Jose Mourinho found him a place on the right side of midfield.
   ‘I owe Jose Mourinho a lot,’ said Cole, who joined the Blues from West Ham at the start of last season.
   ‘Chelsea are a great club to be at, the best in the country and I am just delighted Jose has shown great faith in me and taught me a lot of lessons.
   ‘I produced a decent performance (on Saturday). I kept the shape of the team and kept things simple when I had the ball.
   ‘I didn’t give possession away a lot, was quite good going forward and made a few things happen.
   ‘But I am not getting carried away. There is still improvement to be made. I will stay on my toes and am looking to get better.’

Argentina rallied from a goal down to overcome Bolivia 2-1, and Colombia left Venezuela with a fifth draw in South American World Cup qualifying on Saturday.
   In a late game, Chile tied Uruguay 1-1 in a match played in the Chilean capital, Santiago.
   Argentina scored twice in seven minutes of the second half to erase Bolivia’s opening goal four minutes after halftime.
   Bolivia stunned the competition leader when Jose Alfredo Castillo connected with Danner Pachi’s left cross in the 49th minute for the home side’s first goal in three qualifiers.
   But Luciano Figueroa equalised, also on a header, in the 57th, and moments later Luciano Galetti netted the winning goal on a low shot to the right of goalkeeper Leo Fernandez.
   Argentina’s lead stretched to 25 points from 12 games, while Bolivia remained last with 10 points.
   In Maracaibo, Colombia conceded a fifth draw in 12 games and improved only one spot in the standings to a provisional fifth, while Venezuela rose to sixth, trailing only on goal differential.
   Both teams had numerous scoring opportunities, particularly in the final minutes when Colombia goalkeeper Miguel Calero held off a flurry of shots before 35,000 at Jose Encarnacion Romero Stadium.
   Venezuela’s Rafael Castellin nearly scored in the 29th minute, while Colombian striker Edixon Perea pegged the post in the 44th, sending the rebound toward team-mate David Ferreira, who also hit the post.
   ‘We showed consistency ... despite the lack of key players,’ said satisfied Venezuela coach Richard Paez.
   In Chile, the draw left Uruguay with 15 points in the South American series after 12 games, while Chile has 14.
   Midfielder Mario Regueiro gave Uruguay an early lead in the third minute with a 15 meter (yard) shot. But Milovan Mirosevic tied the game at minute 47, shooting into the mouth of the goal after a good combination by Marcelo Salas and Jorge Valdivia.
   On Sunday, Brazil plays Peru, and Ecuador meets Paraguay. On Wednesday, Chile will visit Paraguay in Asuncion and Uruguay will host Brazil.
   The top four teams in the group advance to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. The fifth-place team will face the Oceania champion in a playoff for another berth.

El-Hadji Diouf scored twice as Senegal crushed Liberia 6-1 Saturday to strengthen their chance of a second consecutive World Cup appearance.
   The former African Footballer of the Year marked his first appearance for the Teranga Lions in the 2006 qualifying competition with a goal in each half as the weakened visitors were ripped apart in Dakar.
   Diouf was one of four English Premiership footballers to hit the target with Bolton Wanderers team-mate Khalilou Fadiga, Amdy Faye of Newcastle United and Henri Camara of Southampton also scoring.
   Moussa Ndiaye from French outfit Istres was the other marksman for Senegal, who lead Group 1 on goal difference from Zambia after an indifferent start to their 10-match campaign nearly cost French coach Guy Stephan his job.
   Senegal were the surprise packets of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, stunning defending champions France 1-0 in the opening match and taking Turkey to extra time before bowing out in the quarter-finals.
   A shortage of funds left new Liberia coach Joseph Sayon without most of the experienced foreign-based professionals who form the backbone of the Lone Stars squad.
   And they were six goals behind in the Senegalese capital before Oliver Makor scored a consolation goal for the country that came agonisingly close to pipping mighty Nigeria for a place at the previous World Cup.
   But thoughts of competing in Germany next year have long vanished from the minds of Liberians, who were suffering their fourth loss in five qualifiers after celebrating a win over Mali in the opening round.
   Senegal (plus nine goal difference) and Zambia (plus four) have 13 points each and Togo (plus four) can join them if they complete a double over Mali by winning in Bamako Sunday.
   Fadiga, whose career was in jeopardy last year due to a heart condition, broke the deadlock midway thorugh the first half by converting a free kick awarded for a foul on Diouf by goalkeeper Lartee Jackson.
   Diouf converted a late first half penalty after Mamadou Niang was fouled and the floodgates opened after half-time with Senegal scoring regularly to emphasise their dominance over opponents they whipped 3-0 in Monrovia last October.
   Zambia scored early and late first half goals to defeat
   Congo 2-0 in the northern mining town of Chililabombwe and maintain their challenge for a first appearance at the quadrennial showcase of international football.
   Midfielder Elijah Tana struck in the first minute and was also cautioned before prolific scorer Collins Mbesuma from South African champions Kaizer Chiefs added the second after a swarm of bees entered the ground forcing a six-minute delay.
   Striker Dennis Oliech became the leading scorer in the African qualifiers with six goals when he struck the winner as Kenya edged Botswana 1-0 in a Group 5 Nairobi clash.
   Oliech caused endless headaches for the Zebras as Kenya dominated and his goal arrived on the stroke of half-time when he headed in a Zablon Amanake cross to the relief of new coach Mohamed Kheri.
   Kenya have changed coaches twice in five World Cup qualifiers and Kheri needed a police escort after the Harambee Stars were held at home by Rwanda in a recent warm-up.
   Midfielder Steven Pienaar scored after 72 minutes to give lacklustre Group 2 leaders South Africa a 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Uganda in a Johannesburg showdown that never rose above the mediocre.

Michael Owen’s friendship with Alan Shearer will not stop him trying to nudge the Newcastle striker down a little in the record books when England take on Azerbaijan at St James Park on Wednesday.
   After claiming his 29th international goal in his 68th appearance for England in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Northern Ireland, the Real Madrid striker is one goal Shearer, Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney, who currently share fourth place in the country’s all-time scoring charts.
   And Owen made it clear that he fancies his chances of leapfrogging those three with a double against the lowly-ranked Azeris on Wednesday, with Bobby Charlton’s all-time record of 49 goals still firmly in his sights.
   Owen said, ‘It would be very nice to break Alan’s record against Azerbaijan at Newcastle on Wednesday. I’m very good friends with Alan, so it would obviously be very special if I could go level with him or even go past him at his home ground.
   ‘Every time I score for England, whenever I look in the newspapers the following day there is a table showing that I have moved up a place or two in the goal scoring charts for England.
   ‘My goal against Northern Ireland took me to seventh, but another couple on Wednesday and I think I’ll go fourth.
   ‘It’s a long way to the top three, but I hope that I can break into that and then go on to break the record later in my career.
   ‘I’m only 25, so I have a lot of years ahead of me. If I avoid injuries, then I should have a chance of getting the record.’
   Meanwhile his Real team mate Raul has told Michael Owen to quit Real Madrid if he is not totally committed to the club.
   England striker Owen has scored 10 goals for the Spanish giants since his summer move from Liverpool.
   But his failure to dislodge Raul and Ronaldo from the starting line-up has frustrated him.
   With Owen spending so much time on the Real Madrid bench, English clubs have been linked with a move for the 25-year-old.
   Raul told the Sunday Mirror, ‘I know Michael Owen has been linked with a return to England but all I can say is that Real Madrid has to have players who really want to play for this club.
   ‘If anyone is unhappy here I think it’s best that they leave. And that means anyone, including Michael Owen.
   ‘We only need people here who are desperate to represent Real Madrid.’