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Untitled Document
 Asian XI hoping to book Afro-Asian Cup title
8th Jun 2007 22:09 IST
Agencies
Asian XI captain Mahela Jayawardene should be happy the way his bowlers performed, particularly new ball bowlers Mohammad Asif, who made a memorable comeback rattling the African XI top order with a three-wicket haul. India's left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan gave him ample support claiming two wickets.
The experienced Jayasuriya and Harbhajan Singh, who shared four wickets between them, will spearhead the spin attack.
The African XI batting, devoid of match practice in the run up to the tournament, left much to be desired and but for the heroics of South Africa's Shaun Pollock, who has opted to be a batsman, their margin of defeat could have been much more.
Pollock (130) produced a superlative maiden hundred which earned him the Man of the Match award even though it could not save his side.
The African bowling, lacking teeth in the absence of the likes of Makhaya Ntini added to Pollock's decision not to bowl, had also been ineffective with Morne Morkel proving expensive in Bangalore.
Despite the presence of the Indian stars, the ticket sales have been dull so far. The organisers, however, are hoping that it would pick up on the match day.
Chief curator K Parthasarathy, meanwhile, hinted a run-feast tomorrow.
"It will be a bouncy wicket. Batsmen known for stroke-play will relish batting, as the rise of the ball will be helpful to them. The pitch will behave uniformly throughout the match," he said.
Meanwhile, apart from the weather factor, tomorrow's match also runs the risk of being overshadowed by the selection of next Indian team coach.
Both the contenders, South African Graham Ford and England's John Emburey, will be interviewed tomorrow on the sidelines of the match before the BCCI names the new coach.
Teams (from):
Asia XI: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Upul Tharanga, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Yousuf, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Dilhara Fernando, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Rafique, Mohammad Asif.
Africa XI: Justin Kemp (Capt.), A B de Villiers, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippenaar, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Steve Tikolo, Thomas Odoyo, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Peter Ongondo.
Umpires: Peter Parker and Tony Hill.
Third and fourth umpire: Amish Saheba and Suresh Shastri. |
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