Rahul Dravid at his elegant best completed his third century of the series yesterday as India battled to avoid a whitewash on the fourth day of the fourth Test against England at The Oval.
Dravid, the only member of the celebrated India top order to live up to his reputation in a dreadful series for the visitors, reached his 35th Test century with a late cut for two off Tim Bresnan.
At lunch, India, who were in disarray overnight at 103 for five in reply to England’s 591 for six declared, had rallied to 218 for six, but they still need another 174 runs to go past the follow-on target.
Photo: AFP
Dravid was again pressed into service as an opener after Gautam Gambhir suffered mild concussion while attempting a catch on Friday and he responded with an innings of great character and skill.
After resuming on 57, Dravid negated the threat of Graeme Swann through adroit footwork and playing the ball as late as possible.
He could have been run out on 61 after a mix-up with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but he survived to race through the 90s with three sweetly timed boundaries in one Swann over.
India captain Dhoni was the only batsman to depart during the morning session and his dismissal came as no surprise. Dhoni was beaten twice outside the off-stump by Stuart Broad and he edged another delivery which landed in front of Andrew Strauss at first slip. He also survived a leg before wicket appeal against Swann.
James Anderson replaced Broad at the Pavilion end after 35 minutes and Dhoni, propping forward, edged his 10th ball of the morning straight to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
Dravid then found an able lieutenant in Amit Mishra, who glanced a boundary and then used his feet to strike Swann for another four to bring up the 150. His third four, an edge through the slips off Bresnan, brought up the 50 partnership.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from