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Bangladesh signed off their campaign in the 11th SA Games on Monday winning as many as 18 gold medals that included key events of football and cricket.
   The hosts added four gold medals on the penultimate day from football, boxing and wusu which sealed their third position in medals table something which has never happened in the past.
   The Bangladesh Olympic Association had expected to win maximum 17 gold medals, but the athletes showed that they were capable of doing even better. Bangladesh’s successes came despite their failures in two key disciplines – athletics and swimming.
   Footballers put an icing on the cake when they thrashed Afghanistan 4-0 in the final to win the SA Games gold for only the second time in their history. Bangladesh had won their previous SA Games football gold in the 1999 Katmandu Games.
   The last time Bangladesh hosted an SA Games, their football team failed to go beyond the first round, but this time they not only emerged as the gold medallists but also won all matches.
   The final was surprisingly a one-sided affair with Bangladesh scoring two goals in each half. It was their biggest victory in any final of an international competition. The footballers’ success came a day after the host cricket team beat Sri Lanka by six runs to win the gold.
   Bangladesh, however, began their gold rush on the penultimate day far away from the capital when Misbah Uddin beat his Indian rival S Samarjit in the final of his wushu event at Sylhet BKSP.
   The hosts had some expectation from archery, but it all ended in frustration after they lost the finals of both men’s team and individual events. A bad omen followed in the boxing ring after their first finalist Foysal Mollah lost his bout.
   Then came the golden moment when Jewel Ahmed Jony and Abdur Rahim, the two other boxing finalists, won their battles to present the hosts two gold medals in less than half-an-hour.
   There was still no good news from the swimming pool and athletics track as the hosts went gold-less in both the disciplines. Sahjahan Ali Rony, who had won the face-saving gold medal for Bangladesh in last SA Games, however, finished with silver in his 50-metre breaststroke.
   Shehan Saearuwan Abeypitiyage of Sri Lanka and Naseem Hamid of Pakistan emerged as the fastest man and woman in track where Bangladesh’s Masudul Karim and Shamsunnahar Chumki finished seventh and fifth respectively.
   The curtain of the meet will fall today with a closing ceremony which will be preceded by a marathon race and men’s and women’s singles finals of table tennis. Bangladesh has a contestant in the marathon but has no chance in table tennis as they have none in the finals.

Bangladesh clinched the coveted football gold medal of the SA Games after long 11 years with a facile 4-0 victory over Afghanistan in the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Monday.
   Atiqur Rahman Mishu, Enamul Huq, Abdul Baten Komol and Towhidul Alam Sabuj scored the goals for the champions who dominated whole 90 minutes of the final and presented the hosts with the 18th gold medal of the meet. Bangladesh footballers produced excellent teamwork and maintained the same rhythm throughout the game. Afghanistan had very little space to show their abilities and their in-form forward Belal Arezou, who scored nine goals in the tournament, failed to inspire his team.
   Bangladesh went in front in the 18th minute through midfielder Mishu. Defender Nasir produced another of his dazzling footwork to dribble past two Afghan defenders and finding no way to halt Nasir an Afghan defender brought him down just outside the penalty box. Waly Faisal curled the resulting free-kick and Mishu headed the ball into the right hand post of Afghan keeper Bashir Ahmad.
   Bangladesh continued to probe the opposition defence. Forward Enamul’s a fierce side-volley from the middle of the box in the 24th minute whistled past the side post.
   The thirst for the title kept the Bangladesh players on their toes and they doubled the lead in the 33rd minute. Left-winger Shakil controlled an Enamul cross and gave a neat cross for Enamul to head it home.
   Afghanistan took a defensive approach and their forwards tried to use the flanks with long balls but it turned futile. Emily was unfortunate in the 40th minute when his header from a Shakil cross went out off the crosspiece.
   After the change of ends Bangladesh tasted the Afghan flair for a while and Aminul was the saviour as usual. Faisal Shahzada headed a neat Wahid Nadeem cross in the 58th minute but Aminul punched the ball to safety diving to his right.
   Serbian coach Djordevic sent on fresh attacking duo of Mithun and Komol half an hour from time taking off Emily and Enamul and it worked. Komol fired the third goal in the 69th minute. Afghan defence line failed to clear a Mishu free-kick from the right flank and Komol controlled the ball and turned 90 degrees before blasting the ball into the roof of the net.
   Two minutes before the long whistle substitute forward Towhidul Alam Sabuj put the final nail in the Afghan coffin after Fradon Khatebi, the substitute goalkeeper, let a Komol drive slip out his grip and nearby standing Sabuj headed it home sparking wild celebration in the stadium.
   Bangladesh coach Zoran Djordevic and skipper Aminul Haque attributed the success to their teamwork after their SA Games triumph at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Monday.
   Aminul was ecstatic with the title. ‘We needed it badly, football needed the title, we did not win any silverware in the recent past and felt frustrated, the SA Games title will enable us to look forward and to continue the success story,’ said Aminul.
   ‘It was the result of the perfect teamwork, all the players were committed to their duties, you see we have won five consecutive matches, it is a rare feat in the history of Bangladesh football,’ said Aminul.
   Djordevic said, ‘Since I took over the charges with my fellow assistant coaches I have always believed that Bangladesh have the potential to be a good footballing nation, I urge the government and all the other concerned quarters to come forward to assist football, I firmly believe that Bangladesh has the potential to be among the top-ranked teams of the world.’

Boxers Jewel Ahmed Jony and Abdur Rahim rose to the occasion to help Bangladesh win two more gold medals on the penultimate day of the 11th SA Games at the Mohammad Ali Boxing Stadium in Dhaka on Monday.
   Jony defeated Ajit Gurung of Nepal in the lightweight 60kg category final bout before Rahim outboxed Sisira Kumarasinghe of Sri Lank in the light welterweight 64kg category to win the precious medals for Bangladesh.
   This was the first international success for Bangladesh in the boxing ring since Mozammel Hossain won a gold medal in 1993. The twin boxing golds came after Bangladeshi contestant Foysal Mollah lost in the final of featherweight 57kg category to India’s Chhotte Lal.
   The tiny gallery of the refurbished stadium was packed to the brim as the Bangladeshis went into their gold-deciding matches. Many rushed to the stadium curbing their desire to watch the 100-metre sprint at the nearby Bangabandhu National Stadium but hardly could they manage a seat.
   The crushing defeat of Foysal poured some cold water on all excitement that returned immediately after Jony began his fight. Initially he too was cornered but bounced back only at the closing stage of the first round. Jony totally dominated his Nepalese counterpart in the last two rounds and was a clear winner after the end of the fight.
   ‘He (Ajit) was trying to play foul. But I got the advantage with my height,’ said Jony, a 19-year-old boxer of Bangladesh Ansar.
   Jony began his career in Rajshahi Modern Boxing Club and was the national junior champion in his category for three years before moving to senior level last year.
   Jony, who will appear at the SSC examination under the Bangladesh Open University this year, took training in an academy in Thailand for two months last year that he said helped him to a great deal.
   The Thai coach of Bangladesh, Bandwanna, also had a great influence in his performance, said Jony.
   ‘Without him maybe I could not come this far. He helped me improve my technique to a large extent,’ said Jony.
   Other gold medallist Rahim gave credit to the Thai coach for a few other reasons.
   ‘I thought today [Monday] I will not be able to compete. Last night I had to drink a lot of water for dope test after which
   I felt very weak. I was thinking of giving a walkover,
   but our coach encouraged me to stay in the competition.
   He realised my problem and put his finger
   on my throat to bring the water out. And after
   he did it, I felt okay,’ said Rahim.
   The 22-year-old boxer, who is a member of the Bangladesh Army, had advanced to the second round beating his Bosnian rival in the first round of the World Boxing Championship in Italy last year.
   ‘I also received one month’s training in Italy and after that I also attended the two-month training camp in Thailand. Both these camps helped me improve my technique,’ said Rahim, who hails from Jessore.
   Both Jony and Rahim said if they can continue training with the same intensity that they had in Thailand they are confident of brining more laurels for Bangladesh from the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Bangla-desh swimmers disappointed the country as they failed to capture any gold from the 19 events of the 11th South Asian Games swimming that ended at the National Swimming Complex on Monday. They had to be satisfied with six silver and 10 bronze medals this time.
   In the men’s 50-metre breaststroke, Bangladesh’s Shajahan Ali Rony surrendered his title (he won gold in 2006 Games in Colombo) to India’s Arjun Jaya Prakash, who created a new record by clocking 00:30.04 seconds to win the gold. Rony timed 00:31.04sec to win the silver while another local lad Kamal Hossain clocked 00:31.05sec to grab the bronze.
   Rubel Rana, Kamal Hossain, Jewel Ahmed and Mahfizur Rahman also failed to deliver a gold to the country when they lost to India’s Rehan Poncha Jehangir, Arjun Jaya Prakash, Agnel Aaron D’souza and Virdhawal Vikram Khade in the men’s 400-metre medley relay, when they clocked 03:58.76sec to clinch the gold ahead of the host quartet, who clocked 04:00.39sec to grab the silver.
   In the women’s 400-metre medley relay, Sobura Khatun, Dolly Akhter, Mahfuza Khatun and Sonia Akhter Tumpa timed 4:55.94sec to win the bronze finishing behind India’s Fariha Zaman, Gauri Desai, Richa Mishra and Talasha Satish Prabhu, who clocked 04:41.55sec to win the gold.
   Shubha Chittaranjan of India clocked 00:27.98sec to win the gold in the women’s 50-metre freestyle and the silver went to her compatriot Sneha Thirugnana Sambandam, who clocked 00:28.67sec.
   India finished top in the chart with 16 golds, 6 silvers and 2 bronzes while Sri Lanka became second with 3 golds, 7 silvers and 4 bronzes. Bangladesh finished third in the meet.

Having been kept to 183 by New Zealand’s tidy bowling attack, Bangladesh were drubbed by the broad bat of Ross Taylor as they surrendered the series to the hosts at the University Oval in Dunedin on Monday. Another cheap Brendon McCullum dismissal and Martin Guptill’s wicket inside the first ten overs would have given Bangladesh some hope, but Taylor’s belligerent innings confirmed what most had expected from this Dunedin match. Swatting five sixes in his 52-ball 78, Taylor pushed Bangladesh into a corner and helped seal the game in the 28th over.
   This win, however, had been sealed in the first half of the day by New Zealand’s bowling attack. A familiar Bangladesh collapse at the top saw the home team take a firm grip on proceedings following an excellent new ball spell from Andy McKay, who was supported well by Daryl Tuffey and Ian Butler in the first 15 overs. The New Zealand seamers ripped apart a spineless Bangladesh top order that capitulated to 25 for 5 and then 46 for 6, before Mushfiqur and Naeem Islam combined to bring up a record seventh-wicket stand that gave the scoreline some respectability.
   McKay, in just his second appearance for New Zealand, bowled an immaculate line, occasionally extracting swing and bounce from the Dunedin track, nicking out Tamim Iqbal with a short riser and knocking out Sakib al Hasan’s middle stump to end with the impressive figures of 17 for 2 from his ten overs. Tuffey did well to hold onto a sharp chance off his own bowling to dismiss the out of form Mohammad Ashraful in the ninth over, who toiled for 18 balls for just one run. Butler too picked up a wicket in the Powerplay overs, with Aftab Ahmed caught behind playing a loose cut shot on just 10.
   Extremely poor running between the wickets compounded the problem for Bangladesh, with Imrul Kayes and Mahmudullah being found short of their ground after being sent back by their partners. Bangladesh were left in tatters in the 23rd over as Mahmudullah departed, with the total on 46 for 6.
   Thankfully for Bangladesh, Mushfiqur and Naeem played intelligently, cautiously keeping the good deliveries out and picking up the singles on offer to get Bangladesh to a position from which they could attack in final ten overs. Even the threat of Daniel Vettori was negotiated without incident by the pair, who brought up 101 runs in 147 deliveries, a Bangladesh record for the seventh wicket. Mushfiqur was especially superb in the batting Powerplay which ended in the penultimate over, clobbering some lacklustre death bowling by Tuffey and Butler over midwicket and straight down the ground for a valuable spate of late boundaries.
   Despite Mushfiqur’s late surge however, the damage had been done by New Zealand in the first half of the innings, and 183 was always going to be challenging to defend on a track that seemed to be getting better for batting as the day wore on.
   Bangladesh started reasonably well with the ball, dismissing Brendon McCullum early on for 9, but a quick Martin Guptill 32 effectively ended any hopes of a Bangladesh victory. Rubel Hossain bowled with pace to induce a top edge from Peter Ingram to leave new Zealand at 100 for 3, before James Franklin joined Ross Taylor to see New Zealand to within striking distance of the Bangladesh total.
   Taylor continued his rich vein of form, hammering 78 in a 56-ball innings which included five massive legside sixes and six fours, but was caught in the deep attempting to end the chase with a maximum over square leg. Neil Broom received a beauty first up and was given out lbw, but Vettori and Franklin saw New Zealand home in the 28th over with no further drama. In the end an all too easy five wicket win for the hosts.

Shehan Saearuwan Abeypitiyage of Sri Lanka and Naseem Hamid of Pakistan emerged as the fastest man and woman of the 11th SA Games after winning their respective 100-metre sprints at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Monday. Shehan clocked 10:46 seconds and Naseem took 11:81seconds in the events.
   Shehan upset India’s Abdul Najeeb Qureshi, who won the 200m sprint defeating Shehan and was regarded as hot favourite for 100m title. On the other hand, a woman from Pakistan winning the 100m sprint was unimaginable as it did not happen in the 26-year history of the SA Games. Naseem blazed to victory to create a piece of history on the BNS track.
   Shehan, who was in lane number four, was running neck and neck with Najeeb until the 50-metre mark. Both the sprinters had a nice start but Shehan accelerated and overcame the challenge in the last 10 metres and raced past Najeeb to breast the tape to finish first. Najeeb clocked 10:56 seconds to grab the silver. Liaqat Ali of Pakistan timed 10: 63 to bag the bronze. Masudul Karim of Bangladesh finished seventh.
   Naseem’s sparkling feat was never anticipated by anyone. Her lone appearance in the track was in the 4X100m relay when Pakistan won the bronze. Her coach prevented her from taking part in the long jump and the move worked. The non-commissioned officer of Pakistan army did a wonder and created a slice of history. She outran Pramila Priyadashini of Sri Lanka who clocked 11.93 seconds to win the silver and Achala Shalika Dias timed 12:12 seconds to take the bronze. Shamsunnahar Chumki of Bangladesh was fifth with a timing of 12:16 seconds.
   ‘I don’t have the words to express my feelings, I actually can’t believe that I am the fastest woman of South Asia, I have been working hard for the success but it was a distant dream,’ said the newly-crowned fastest woman Naseem
   ‘It was a wonderful feeling that gives me great motivation to look forward, for the first time in the history a girl from Pakistan has won the title of the women’s 100-metre sprint in the SA Games,’ said Naseem, a student of Millat School in Karachi.
   ‘I think this will continue to inspire the upcoming female athletes of my country to come forward. I want to continue the success at the upper level,’ she added.
   New fastest man Shehan Saearuwan Abeypitiyage termed the moment ‘unforgettable’. ‘I saw myself ahead of others at the 50 metres and I started to say that if not this time then it would be never,’ he said.
   ‘I felt the thrust within myself and accelerated the speed, I knew I did it when I crossed the finishing line,’ said Abeypitiyage, a fan of Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world.
   ‘My next target is the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, I don’t know where I will stop but being the fastest man of South Asia motivates me to repeat the feat again and again,’ he said.

Bangladesh had to remain content with the two silvers from the men’s individual and team events of the SA Games archery at the BKSP in Savar on Monday. Tarundeep Rai of India broke the heart of the hosts by snatching the gold beating Sajib Sheikh by 108-106 points in the individual event.
   In the team event, Bangladesh trio of Nur-e-Alam, Sajjad Hossain and Emdadul Haque Milon again surrendered the gold to India’s Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar and Mangal Singh Champia losing by 211-204 points. The hosts also grabbed three bronzes in the men’s individual, women’s individual and women’s team events.
   In the men’s individual, the bronze was shared by Bangladesh’s Sajjad Hossain and India’s Jayanta Talukdar, both scoring 108 points. Mathoai Pro Marma (102 points) of Bangladesh clinched the bronze behind India’s Dola Bannerjee, who won the gold scoring 107 points, while in the team event the eves again could only manage the bronze (176 points) behind Sri Lanka (178 points) and India (214 points), who won the gold.

Misbah Uddin gave Bangladesh the second gold medal from wushu in the SA Games after beating his nearest rival S Samarjit of India in the men’s taulu nangun event at the Sylhet BKSP on Monday.
   Earlier on Saturday, Eti Islam won the first gold medal for Bangladesh in the sansu event of wushu at the same venue.
   Misbah, the eldest among three sons and one daughter of Abdur Rashid Talukder and Piara Begum of Barisal, expressed his hope to win more laurels for the country in the future.
   ‘It is possible for our athletes to perform better than the Indian players if we can practise round the year,’ Misbah said, adding that his main demand to the authorities concerned will be to take necessary steps in this regard.
   Misbah scored 18.22 points while his nearest contestant S Samarjit scored 18.20 points in the taulu nangun event of wushu, adding another gold medal to Bangladesh’s tally in the SA Games.
   ‘Being the eldest son, my parents were not willing to allow me to start my career as an athlete and in such an unpopular game like wushu. But I was determined to build my career in wushu,’ Misbah said while talking to newsmen after winning the event.

South Africa were eyeing victory after Dale Steyn picked a career-best 7-51 to trigger a dramatic India collapse on the third day of the first Test on Monday.
   The right-arm quick polished off the last five India wickets for three runs in 7.4 overs after tea to bundle them out for 233 and help the visitors enforce the follow-on at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur.
   Following on, India were tottering at 66-2, trailing South Africa by 259 runs on first innings with eight wickets in hand.
   Murali Vijay was batting on 27 with Sachin Tendulkar on 15 when stumps were drawn for the day.
   Steyn struck again in India’s second innings, sending back Virender Sehwag for 16 while Morne Morkel pegged back the off-stump of the other opener, Gautam Gambhir (one).
   ‘I tried to hit the right areas with the same intensity,’ said Steyn.
   ‘On some days you can bowl the best of your life and not pick wickets and then you have some days when things just fall into place.
   ‘There was a ball change (around tea time) as the seam had split open and we came back strongly after that.’
   India’s slide began with the dismissal of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (six) in the first over after the tea break.
   Subramaniam Badrinath’s resistance in his first Test appearance was cut short in the next over when he chipped Steyn straight to short mid-wicket. His 56-run innings came off 139 balls and included seven fours.
   The other debutant, Wriddhiman Saha was out off the first ball he faced from Steyn. Zaheer Khan and Amit Mishra played on to their stumps before Harbhajan Singh was trapped lbw, giving Steyn his 13th five-wicket haul in 37 Tests.
   The only positive for India was the 109-run knock by Sehwag, who hit 15 fours and also shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket with Badrinath after India were reeling at 56-3.
   But Sehwag was dismissed shortly after reaching his 18th Test century when he sliced a quite wide delivery from paceman Wayne Parnell (1-31) to cover where Jean-Paul Duminy took a well-judged catch.
   ‘We all are very disappointed with our performance,’ said Sehwag.
   ‘We needed some big partnerships. But Steyn used the reverse swing very well. He is a very good bowler but he was simply brilliant today.
   ‘We will now try hard and fight back. We will give our 100 percent to save the match.’
   Replying to South Africa’s first innings 558-6 declared, India were off to a disastrous start, losing their three top-order wickets inside the first hour.
   Steyn got rid of Tendulkar (seven) and Vijay (four) after Morkel (1-58) had dismissed Gambhir (12) to reduce the hosts to 119-3 at lunch.
   Gambhir, coming into the series with eight centuries in his last 11 Tests, was out off the first ball he faced when he was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher after poking at an away-going delivery.
   The second and final Test between the world’s top two teams begins in Kolkata on February 14.
   South Africa can snatch back the number one Test ranking from India if they win the series while the hosts need just a draw to remain on top.

Pakistan on Monday left out coach Intikhab Alam and wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal from its 14-man side to face England in two Twenty20 matches.
   There is speculation Alam will be sacked over Pakistan’s humiliating 3-0 Test and 5-0 one-day series whitewash in Australia last month, but a Pakistan Cricket Board official denied he had been dismissed.
   ‘Alam is not sacked,’ PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari told AFP.
   ‘There is no decision on Alam’s future as yet, but it will be taken subsequently,’ he added.
   PCB has ordered a six-man evaluation committee to look into why Pakistan was routed in Australia, summoning Alam, team manager Abdul Raqeeb and captain Mohammad Yousuf to appear for questioning on Friday and Saturday.
   Chief selector Iqbal Qasim has already resigned following the defeat in Australia, refusing to reverse his decision despite a request from the PCB.
   A panel of four selectors, without any chief selector, chose the team for the two Twenty20 matches, said Bari.
   ‘Akmal is our main player and since we want to groom other players as well we have rested Akmal,’ said Bari. Akmal was criticised for poor wicket-keeping in Australia, dropping several important catches.
   Shoaib Malik, sacked as captain in January last year after Pakistan’s 2-1 home series defeat against Sri Lanka, will lead the team in the Twenty20 matches, to be played in Dubai on February 19 and 20.
   Pakistan’s original Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi will be part of the squad but cannot play in the first match following a ban of two Twenty20 international matches for ball-tampering.
   Afridi was caught on television cameras biting the ball during the fifth and final one-day international against Australia at Perth, which is against the rules of the game.
   Squad: Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Umer Akmal, Shoaib Malik (captain), Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmad, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha.

Australia are confident they have found Chris Gayle’s weakness after he miscued an attempted pull from his fifth delivery in West Indies’ 113-run loss on Sunday. The short ball from Doug Bollinger was too close to Gayle’s body for him to comfortably swing and it is a tactic the Australians believe will frustrate Gayle early in his innings.
   Bollinger’s left-arm angle is especially useful in giving Gayle no width outside off stump and the plan also worked in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, when Gayle was caught behind off Bollinger trying to cut a ball too close to his body. Shane Watson said Australia had no doubt that denying Gayle width was the best way to remove him cheaply.
   ‘That’s a big key to him,’ Watson said after the Melbourne game. ‘You don’t really want to give him room to be able to swing his arms. Dougie bowled beautifully to him. It’s always going to be pretty difficult with Dougie bowling exactly where he wants to with a bit of bounce and a little bit of swing.
   ‘That is our plan, to be able to keep him tucked up and hope that he might hit a pull shot or something in the air, or go for one shot too many. He is a key wicket so we’ve got to make sure we’re really on our game every time we bowl to him.’
   Gayle is always the big wicket for West Indies’ opponents but that is even more so with the absence of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo. Gayle said ‘thought the shot was on’ but perhaps he could have given himself a few more sighters before such an ambitious swing.
   He had already been lucky to get away with two similar strokes, one that flew just over midwicket’s head and one that was bottom-edged past the wicketkeeper for four. It was the third time in three matches - two Tests and one ODI - that Bollinger had removed Gayle.
   ‘I knew how to bowl to him,’ Bollinger said. ‘We tried to bowl really tight to him and everyone knows that he plays his shots. I’m just happy to get him out. We know how quick he can score and how hard he hits the ball.
   ‘I think just bowling really tight to him and being really consistent with him because he is a match-winner, everyone knows that, and just trying to get him out. If you get him out early it’s a massive boost because you don’t know what he’s going to do. Especially if they’re chasing a target it’s a massive thing to do.’
   However, Australia’s plans to Gayle haven’t always worked out - he scored two centuries against them in the recent Tests and was the Player of the Series. Notably, Gayle was the Man of the Match in the only game Australia have failed to win this summer, the drawn Test in Adelaide, which is also the venue of Tuesday’s second ODI.

South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn attributed his success with the ball on Monday to detailed planning before the start of the two-Test series against India.
   ‘Before the Test started, we said that reverse swing was going to be key on these pitches,’ Steyn said at a press conference after the day’s play.
   ‘We knew we will not get a lot of sideways movement off the wicket. Since there’s not a lot of grass on the wicket, you’ve got to rely on getting the ball to do something through the air.
   ‘I said before that a ball bowled at 145 kilometres per hour, whether it’s in Johannesburg or Nagpur, is still 145ks in the air. The plan was to hit the deck hard, with pace.
   ‘This type of stuff just doesn’t happen out in the middle. We have really planned it.’
   Steyn was almost unplayable after the tea break Monday, rattling the stumps thrice with his devastating reverse swing.
   ‘It is something I have been working a lot with in the nets,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to reveal all my secrets. You work on these things and then it’s nice to see guys shoulder arms and then the ball cannons into the stumps.
   ‘I got (Ian) Bell like that in Johannesburg and that was where it started from. It’s a skill that you have to have in your armoury as a pace bowler.’
   Steyn said he set up Murali Vijay, batting at number three in place of an injured Rahud Dravid, before finally getting his scalp.
   ‘I worked him (Vijay) out quite nicely with two balls that went away and then bringing one back in which he left.’

John Terry ended a miserable week on a high as Chelsea striker Didier Drogba tormented Arsenal again to inspire his team to a 2-0 win that sent the Blues back to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
   Terry showed no signs of being affected as he returned to the spotlight just 48 hours after being stripped of the England captaincy in response to allegations that he had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of international colleague Wayne Bridge.
   The Blues skipper received a warm welcome from Chelsea’s fans at Stamford Bridge and ignored the jibes of Arsenal’s travelling supporters to set up Drogba’s first half opener and give a commanding performance.
   Drogba, so often a thorn in Arsenal’s side, capped a clinical counter-attack with a blistering finish to increase Chelsea’s lead before half-time.
   That was enough to ensure Carlo Ancelotti’s team moved two points clear of Manchester United and left Arsenal, now nine points behind the leaders, looking like also-rans in the title race.
   Last weekend’s chastening loss against Manchester United had left Arsene Wenger’s side with little margin for error and the Gunners boss knew it would take a significant improvement if Arsenal were to end their woeful run of just two wins in 15 matches against Chelsea.
   When Ancelotti’s men thumped the Gunners 3-0 in November, it was Drogba who took centre-stage with a match-winning double. This time all the focus was on Terry but once again Drogba reduced Arsenal to rubble.
   Terry’s name was cheered to the rafters before kick-off by Chelsea supporters who responded to Arsenal taunts of ‘you’re not captain anymore’ with chants of ‘there’s only one England captain’.
   He didn’t look bothered by his unwanted role as pantomime villan and played a major part as Chelsea took the lead in the eighth minute.
   When Florent Malouda curled over a corner, Terry rose above Abou Diaby to glance a header towards the far post, where Drogba was lurking to volley home his 11th goal in 12 appearances against Arsenal.
   Wenger’s team regrouped and caused panic in the Chelsea defence twice in quick succession.
   Samir Nasri measured his run onto Cesc Fabregas’s long ball in time to round Petr Cech, forcing the goalkeeper to scramble his shot away for a corner.
   While that was only half a chance, Andrey Arshavin had a glorious opportunity to equalise when he volleyed Fabregas’s cross straight at Cech from close-range.
   It proved a costly miss as Chelsea punished Arsenal’s weakness against the counter-attack in the 23rd minute.
   In a near-replica of Wayne Rooney’s goal at the Emirates Stadium seven days ago, Frank Lampard sprinted clear when Arsenal’s intricate passing broke down on the edge of the penalty area and picked out Drogba on the right wing.
   Drogba powered past Gael Clichy with a clever flick and the Ivorian had time to pick his spot and lash a ferocious strike past Manuel Almunia.
   It was the perfect response to Wenger’s claim after the teams’ last meeting that Drogba doesn’t contribute much to Chelsea’s play.
   Ashley Cole almost added a third goal before the break but the left-back’s first touch let him down and Almunia was able to block his shot.
   While Arsenal enjoyed plenty of possession after half-time they lacked the cutting edge that a player like Drogba provides.
   Drogba caused more problems for the visitors when he lofted over a deep cross. Malouda found Lampard and the England midfielder saw his flick pushed out by Almunia.
   Fabregas’s low free-kick forced a fine save from Cech, but Wenger’s frustration boiled over when he argued with Chelsea assistant Ray Wilkins on the touchline in the closing stages.
   There was still time for Drogba to strike the bar with a free-kick as Chelsea gave Terry a reason to be cheerful at last.

Inter Milan continued their inexorable march towards a fifth straight Serie A title as they crushed Cagliari 3-0 at the San Siro while AC Milan were held to a 0-0 draw at Bologna on Sunday.
   That allowed AS Roma to leapfrog Milan into second as they extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 games with a crucial 1-0 success at Fiorentina.
   Although Inter’s lead was pegged back to eight points, they have a game in hand over the Roma and are 10 points ahead of third-placed Milan.
   Ahead of the Milan derby two weeks ago the Serie A title race seemed to be alive and kicking with Milan knowing a victory would have left them three points behind and with a game in hand.
   But they lost that and have drawn their next two leaving the champions to creep over the hill and out of sight.
   Goals from Goran Pandev, Walter Samuel and Diego Milito earned Jose Mourinho’s men the three points that give them a seemingly unassailable lead.
   It left Mourinho reflecting on a profitable month.
   ‘It’s an important victory because it puts us 10 points clear of second place,’ he said prior to Roma’s win.
   ‘We developed a lot of confidence in January and today (Sunday) we began with a confident and attacking mentality.
   ‘Cagliari aren’t an easy team to play and even when 2-0 down they didn’t let up and created some problems.
   ‘But we were solid and compact and Pandev had a great game.’
   There was an ominous feel to the game when Inter took the lead after just six minutes.
   Captain Javier Zanetti made a typically purposeful burst down the right flank, breaking into the box and pulling the ball back for Samuel Eto’o, playing his first game since returning from African Nations Cup duty.
   However, the Cameroon hitman’s poor shot hit two defenders before falling invitingly into Pandev’s path, the Macedonian slotting home at the near post.
   On 20 minutes it seemed to be game, set and match as centre-back Samuel rose in the box to head home a Maicon corner for 2-0.
   And yet Cagliari could, and possibly should, have gone into the break level.
   Alessandro Matri had a goal wrongly disallowed on 34 minutes when, although he was marginally offside as the ball was played through to him, television replays showed that it was Inter full-back Davide Santon’s touch which sent him in on Julio Cesar.
   And two minutes later it was Julio Cesar who stunningly kept Cagliari off the scoresheet as he made a reaction save from Brazilian countryman Nene’s acrobatic volley from close range.
   Any hopes Cagliari had were wiped out two minutes after the restart following a brilliant goal from Inter that saw Pandev feed Eto’o on the edge of the Sardinians’ box, take the return pass and slip in Milito, who took a touch and then slid the ball low into the corner.
   Roma’s Mirko Vucinic scored the only goal of the game eight minutes from time as Claudio Ranieri’s men took their recent run to 16 wins and three draws in their last 19.
   Only twice before have Roma been on longer unbeaten runs with Fabio Capello’s 2003-04 team managing 20 games while the record of 35 matches dates from the early 1980s when Nils Liedholm was in charge.
   Milan laboured to a draw in Bologna with loan signing from Inter Mancini failing to impress on his debut.
   Ronaldinho came closest to breaking the deadlock as he hit the bar with a sideways bicycle kick in the second half and in injury time captain Massimo Ambrosini also hit the bar with a header.
   Leonardo said he had no complaints with his team but already he seemed to be throwing in the towel.
   ‘I think things (in the league) are very clear. Inter have been winning for a few years with a solid foundation,’ he said.
   ‘I can’t remember another team that managed to win so much for so many years in a row.’
   Antonio Di Natale scored a hat-trick for hosts Udinese in a 3-1 win as they ended Walter Mazzarri’s 15-match unbeaten league run since taking over at Napoli in October.
   Napoli’s Cristian Maggio had an eventful game, giving away a penalty, scoring and then being sent-off before half-time while there was crowd trouble before the game that saw four people taken to hospital.

Spanish international striker Alvaro Negredo had a night to forget scoring an own goal and being sent off for violent conduct as nine-man Sevilla crashed to a 2-1 defeat at lowly Real Zaragoza on Sunday to slip out of the top four.
   Negredo, a club record summer signing at 15 million euros, headed into his own net for what proved Zaragoza’s winning goal on 40 minutes and got a straight red on 81 minutes for kicking out at Matteo Contini.
   It was a seventh league defeat of the season for Sevilla who slip to fifth with Real Mallorca a point ahead in fourth after an impressive 10th consecutive home win as they beat Villarreal 1-0 at the Ono Stadium on Sunday.
   The latest Sevilla defeat will crank up the pressure on coach Manolo Jimenez who set a top-three finish and title challenge as the pre-season target.
   Sevilla must pick themselves up for Wednesday’s Kings Cup semi-final second leg at Getafe and they begin as favourites holding a comfortable 2-0 lead from the first leg.
   ‘It was a game to forget in every aspect from beginning to end,’ fumed Jimenez. ‘If we want to be in three competitions (the league, Champions League and cup) we have to be competitive in all of them and not have other games at the back of our minds.’
   Zaragoza move out of the bottom three after recording a second consecutive league win for the first time this season with Valladolid slipping into the relegation zone.
   Mallorca’s Portuguese centre-back Jose Nunes netted on 81 minutes to maintain Mallorca’s flawless home record as new Villarreal coach Juan Carlos Garrido tasted a 1-0 defeat in his first match in charge.
   Mallorca move into the Champions League spots and have a perfect 30 points at home conceding just three goals in the process.
   ‘This was a test against a team that we have struggled against historically,’ said Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano. ‘This was a big win for our aspirations to be high up in the table.’
   Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid and Racing Santander shared the spoils in a heated 1-1 draw and prepare to meet for the third time in a week on Thursday in the second leg of the Kings Cup semi-final.
   Racing trail 4-0 from the first leg and hoped to avenge the cup loss in the league but Atletico took a 24th-minute lead through Diego Forlan before Atletico old boy Gonzalo Colsa equalised for Racing 12 minutes later.
   Atletico stay down in 12th a point behind Racing but still have a chance to rescue their season in the Kings Cup although Forlan warned against complacency despite the 4-0 first leg lead.
   ‘We know we are 90 minutes away from the final,’ said Forlan. ‘We got a good result (in the first leg) but we have to stay calm and try to get through.’ In other matches, Deportivo La Coruna fell two points behind Mallorca in sixth after a 0-0 draw at Malaga on Sunday.
   Athletic Bilbao closed to within two points of Depor with a 3-2 comeback win over Xerez on Sunday thanks to a brace from Spanish international Fernando Llorente.
   Xerez prop up the table, as they have done for virtually the whole season, and are seven points from safety.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian superstar Kaka believes he is yet to show his best form since his 68.5-million-euro move from AC Milan after scoring for the first time in three months in his side’s 3-0 home win over Espanyol on Saturday.
   Kaka, 27, was a prolific scorer with AC Milan but has found goals hard to come by since joining Real in the summer with the goal against Espanyol, only his fourth league strike of the season and his first since he netted in the 3-2 derby win over Atletico Madrid back on November 7.
   Kaka had his season interrupted by five weeks out with a groin injury picked up before Christmas, but the Brazilian international believes he is starting to get match sharpness back.
   ‘I am feeling better and better and you can see that on the pitch,’ said Kaka. ‘First of all I had the groin injury that stopped me playing like I wanted to but now I am better and feeling good.
   ‘It is always important to score and, besides helping the team, it gives you confidence.’
   Kaka scored Real’s second goal on 29 minutes following up after Raul’s initial shot was saved and could have had another in the second half only to be denied by the post.
   ‘After a month and a half out it is difficult to ask for more (from Kaka),’ said Real coach Manuel Pellegrini. ‘He will get back to his top level soon and is a very important player for us.’
   Cristiano Ronaldo completed his two-match suspension against Espanyol and Kaka said that while Ronaldo is an important part of the side, Madrid were far from a one-man team.
   ‘Cristiano is a key player but the team can’t depend on one player,’ added the Brazilian. ‘We are playing better with each game and we want to continue in this vein.
   ‘We can’t drop any points and we just have to keep winning and hope Barcelona drop points.’ Unbeaten leaders Barcelona stayed five points ahead of Real after beating Getafe 2-0 on Saturday despite playing 65 minutes with ten men.
   Along with the form of Kaka, Real were boosted by the return to fitness of Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, who made his first appearance after three weeks out with a leg injury.
   Higuain scored in the final minute to make it 3-0 with his 12th goal of the season and believes Barca could drop points with some difficult games coming up notably next weekend at Atletico Madrid who beat them 4-3 at the Vicente Calderon last season.

Bolton defender Gary Cahill’s chances of going to the World Cup with England have been destroyed by a blood clot in his arm which is likely to mean he misses the rest of the season.
   Cahill, 24, missed his club’s goalless draw with Fulham on Saturday after his arm swelled up on the morning of the match.
   ‘There was no way he could play so we took him straight off to hospital,’ Bolton manager Owen Coyle reported. ‘It turns out he had a blood clot in his arm, so he is going to be out for a number of months.’
   Cahill was due to be released from hospital on Monday but the treatment for his condition will prevent him playing for the forseeable future.
   ‘It is a severe blow for the boy but our main concern is his welfare,’ Coyle added. ‘We have to make sure Gary is fit and well.
   ‘He will miss the next few months, it might be for the rest of the season, we will hear from the specialist later.
   ‘The clot needed to be resolved and in doing that you need the medication. It follows you can’t play.
   ‘As disappointed as we are, at 24, Gary has a marvellous career ahead of him. I believe he would have made the World Cup for the summer but we have to make sure first of all he recovers from this blood clot.’
   Cahill broke into Fabio Capello’s England squad last year and had been widely tipped to make the squad for South Africa given the injury doubts covering a number of the defenders who are above him in the international pecking order.
   Even if he could make it back in time for the end of the season, it is hard to see him meeting Capello’s criteria for inclusion in his final squad, which are that players are playing regularly for their clubs and are fully match fit.
   The loss of Cahill is also a severe blow to Bolton, who are battling for survival in the Premier League. Coyle’s side travel to Manchester City on Tuesday with just one point keeping them out of the relegation zone.

Ancelotti salutes Terry
   Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to John Terry’s inspirational leadership after the Chelsea captain put aside his off-field problems to help the Blues secure a crucial 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday. The centre-back savoured an emotional celebration at the end as he threw his shirt into the crowd before hugging Ancelotti on the touchline. Ancelotti was delighted with Terry’s performance and said: ‘My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game. ‘For the team it is important to have this leadership. He is always in control of the game and really he has a strong mentality. ‘I wanted to hug him at the end to thank him for his performance. Is he the perfect captain? Yes for sure.’ Ancelotti, who refused to criticise England coach Fabio Capello’s decision to axe Terry, admitted he wasn’t surprised to see the defender produce such a dominant display. ‘I am not disappointed. It is not my decision and I don’t want to judge about this decision,’ he said. ‘I’m not surprised by John. He is working for his club and we are happy to have this performance from him in this moment.’ Ancelotti needed Terry to be at his best. The Gunners dominated possession to such an extent that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insisted his side had forced Chelsea to play a negative game.Wenger said: ‘Chelsea won and you have to congratulate them. We didn’t get a demonstration of football but they were highly efficient. —AFP
   
   Ibrahimovic unconcerned by current goal drought
   Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he is not concerned by his recent barren spell in front of goal. Ibrahimovic enjoyed a flying start to his Barca career following his big-money summer switch from Inter Milan, and by Christmas he had already notched 11 goals in La Liga. However, since scoring the only goal in Barca’s derby win over Espanyol on December 12, the Ibrahimovic has only found the back of the net once, which was during the Copa del Rey defeat to Sevilla at the start of January. Despite going almost two months without scoring in the league, though, Ibrahimovic is not letting the situation get to him and believes he is still contributing to his team’s success in other ways. ‘I’m not worried,’ he told El Periodico de Catalunya. ‘This has happened to me other times. In my first year at Ajax, I started very well, then things went bad, then well again... a rollercoaster. ‘It’s normal, because you have to adapt to many things and in very little time. The same thing happened when I arrived at Juventus and at Inter, a season with ups and downs. ‘Obviously, being the No. 9 and a centre-forward in a team like Barcelona, it’s important to score goals, but that’s not everything - at least not for me. ‘If you participate in the play and set up team-mates, I feel just as good. An assist is like a goal, because you are making a team-mate happy, and this is as important for me as scoring. ‘I’m not worried about this poor run because the goals will end up coming. If you play well, you help the team. If you create chances, you score.’—Agencies
   
   ‘Terry remains vital to England’
   Fabio Capello insists John Terry remains one of the most important players in the England squad despite his dismissal as captain on Friday. ‘It has been a normal week for me. There have been no problems,’ he said. ‘I spoke with John Terry, you all know why, and I will speak with Rio.’ He added: ‘This is now over, it is finished. It is time to move on, but John Terry is still an important player for England. He is one of the most important players for England.’
   —Agencies

‘Pakistan must
move on’
Former bowling great Wasim Akram Monday called for positive steps in Pakistan cricket following its humiliating defeats in Australia, saying the team needed a strong approach to progress. ‘Pakistan cricket must move on after what happened in Australia,’ Wasim told AFP. ‘No one was expecting such disappointing results, especially in the one-day matches but we need to move on as we have no dearth of talent.’ Wasim said the committee’s aim was not to punish or sack people. ‘The idea is to evaluate the reasons of defeats and not to punish anyone. Through this evaluation we need to give a cushion to the Pakistan team,’ He said Pakistan needed ‘one good captain for all three forms of the game... because we are getting not even one good captain.’ He said it made no sense to talk of separate Test, one-day and Twenty20 captains, and suggested Shahid Afridi for the unified role. ‘Afridi can lead the team in all three forms, he is a quality cricketer but needs to learn the rules of the game. I hope he has learnt his lessons after what happened in Perth,’ he said, referring to a ball-tampering incident.
   —AFP