PERTH: India head into a hotly anticipated five-Test showdown against Austra­lia starting in Perth on Fri­day wounded by their first home series loss in 12 years and with a point to prove.

But questions also surround the hosts, who have been casting around trying to find a successor to fill the considerable shoes of reti­red opener David Warner.

India’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat to New Zealand last month was marked by repeated batting collapses, with mainstays Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma a shadow of their former selves.

With ageing spin king Ravichandran Ashwin and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also under pressure, the series against Pat Cummins’ men is a chance to prove the doubters wrong — or will add fuel to claims this India side is past its sell-by date.

Australian legend Ricky Ponting stirred the pot last week by questioning whether Kohli and Sharma should still be selected after both averaged just 15 against New Zealand.

That prompted a biting response from India coach Gautam Gambhir, who staunchly defended them and asked: “What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? “More importantly, I have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit,” he added, calling them “incredibly tough men”.

“I feel there’s a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the last series.”

Former India coach Ravi Shastri also jumped to the defence of Kohli, who has managed just one half-century across his last five Test matches.

“Well, the king is back in his territory,” he said, referring to the 36-year-old’s exceptional record in Australia, where he has scored six centuries and averages 54.08.

Sharma is set to miss the opening Test at Perth Stadium following the birth of his second child, with Jasprit Bumrah assuming the captaincy.

K.L. Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran are in line to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, while number three Shubman Gill is also a major doubt after reportedly fracturing his thumb.

The visitors are without injured pace bowler Mohammed Shami, with Bumrah leading an attack expected to feature two others from Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana or Nitesh Reddy.

Aside from the fate of some senior players, the series could decide the finalists of the World Test Championship.

The hosts need to win five of their remaining seven Tests this cycle to be assured of a place in the June decider at Lord’s. India must win the series at least 4-0.

‘A big one’

While India are under the gun they have a proud record in Australia, winning the last two Test series to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Such is the rivalry that the series has been boosted to five Tests for the first time since the 1991-92 summer, putting it on a par with the Ashes in duration.

After Perth, they move to Adelaide for a day-nighter, before heading to the Gabba at Brisbane, then Melbourne and Sydney.

“We’ve lost the (last) two series against them (in Australia), so this is a big one,” Australia skipper Cummins said. “We feel like our team’s in a really good place, so we’ve got no reason why we shouldn’t perform really well.”

Australia, who have not played a Test since their 2-0 series win in New Zealand in February, have their own issues with star all-rounder Cameron Green out for the series after undergoing back surgery.

Mitchell Marsh will fill the void as the fourth pace option alongside Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Austra­lian groundsmen traditionally preparing lively pitches.

Spinner Nathan Lyon will again be their foil, looking to add to his 530 wickets in his 130th Test.

The biggest headache for the hosts has been finding a replacement for Warner as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner.

While Steve Smith initially stepped into the role, he will revert to his usual number four, behind Marnus Labuschagne.

After a “bat-off” in two recent Australia ‘A’ games, uncapped South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney got the nod despite only ever opening once before at first-class level.

Chief selector George Bailey is confident the 25-year-old can handle the scrutiny and the Indian attack.

“I don’t think it’s a huge adjustment to go from three to opening,” said Bailey.

“He’s a very organised, composed player at the crease and think he’s got a game that will really suit Test cricket.”

Meanwhile, India will give Shubman Gill every chance to prove his fitness to start the opening Test with the batsman showing improvement after fracturing his left thumb, bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Wednesday.

Gill, 25, sustained the injury while fielding at slip last week as India were gearing up for the match, with squad sessions instead of a tour game against a local side.

“Shubman is improving every day. Obviously he picked up a nasty blow in that intra-squad warm-up game. I think with him it’s going to be a day-to-day process,” Morkel told reporters.

“Fingers crossed for that improvement. We’ll wait to take a call on him up until the morning of the test match.”

Amid Sharma’s unavailability, Gill’s absence could heap more pressure on India’s less experienced batsmen on fiery Australian pitches but Morkel backed them to rise to the occasion.

“It’s going to be great learning for these young guys, who can front up against a quality test bowling attack. Australia aren’t going to bowl you many bad balls,” Morkel said. “But in saying that there’s good leadership within the group that can help and settle the nerves with that. As a group, we’re all excited for the challenge.”

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

MONTEVIDEO: A magnificent volley from Lautaro Martinez was enough to give world champions Argentina a 1-0 win over Peru while Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Uruguay in South American World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Argentina remain on top of the CONMEBOL standings with their qualification for the 2026 tournament surely just a matter of time.

Their eighth win from 12 games leaves them on 25 points at the top of the table, five points ahead of Uruguay.

Ten-man Ecuador upset Colombia with a 1-0 victory with both teams on 19 points each.

Five-time World Cup winners Brazil lag in fifth position with 18 points after several uninspiring performances, still hoping that striker Neymar will return from injury and fit in again.

Paraguay, who drew 2-2 at Bolivia, are in sixth place with 17 points.

South American qualifying will give six direct berths in the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Seventh-placed Bolivia, with 13 points, are in the international playoff position. Venezuela (12), Chile (nine), and Peru (seven) are out of qualifying spots.

Martinez notched his 32nd international goal, which put him level with the legendary Diego Maradona, 10 minutes after the break, capitalising on a fine cross from Lionel Messi to fire home a half-volley into the top-right corner.

Until Martinez scored, Argentina’s best chance was in the 21st minute, when striker Julian Alvarez hit the Peruvian goalkeeper’s right post.

Messi once again had a modest performance, as he did in his team’s 2-1 defeat at Paraguay on Thursday.

Despite the disappointing performance at home, Lionel Messi’s team will finish the year with few question marks beyond their performances in November.

“This year was very positive and luckily we closed it with a victory,” Martinez told local TV. “It was a spectacular year in terms of performance, goals, games played. We have to keep playing and improving day by day. Everyone wants to beat us. Argentina’s national team are always the main characters. There are things to improve but we have to continue on this path.”

Brazil laboured for long stretches of the game at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador and fell behind when Uruguay’s Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde curled a fine long-range low shot into the far corner in the 55th minute.

But seven minutes later Brazil equalised when a headed clearance fell kindly to Gerson who smashed home a perfectly-struck volley.

Gabriel Martinelli went close to a winner when he showed a deft touch to switch feet before a volley which brought a fine save out of Sergio Rochet.

“I’d actually swap my goal for the win,” Gerson told Brazil’s Globo TV.

“We knew it was a tough game and we wanted to win. We conceded the goal and got the equaliser. We’ll just have to keep working at our clubs and next year when there’s another international break we can go for it. We just have to keep working and trust in our work.”

Ecuador won in Barranquilla with a goal by Enner Valencia in the seventh minute, in which he dribbled through three players before scoring.

Ecuador lost defender Piero Hincapié to a red card in the 34th minute but held on for the win.

Bolivia looked to make home advantage count against Paraguay at 4,150m above sea level in El Alto and they took the lead after 15 minutes via Ervin Vaca’s first international goal.

The hosts squandered several chances to extend their lead and Miguel Almiron found the equaliser for Paraguay with a first-time finish off a pass from Julio Enciso in the 71st minute.

Bolivia went ahead again nine minutes later when Miguel Terceros made no mistake from the penalty spot but Enciso halted the home fans’ celebrations early in stoppage time with a superb strike from the edge of the box.

Chile have a lot of work to do if they are to make one of the six automatic qualifcation spots but they did their cause no harm with a 4-2 thrashing of Venzeula.

Venezuela took the lead thanks to a thunderbolt from the edge of the box from Jefferson Savarino but seven minutes later Eduardo Vargas levelled.

Ruben Ramirez restored the lead for the ‘Vinotinto’ but an own goal from Tomas Rincon made it 2-2 and Lucas Capeda’s 38th minute goal sent Chile in with a 3-2 lead at the break.

Capeda finished off a swift counter attack in the 47th minute to give Chile their second win of the campaign.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

LAHORE: Downplaying the brewing debate over the double role of national selector and white-ball head coach given to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently, Aaqib Javed on Wednes­day said his primary focus currently was on One-day Internationals due to the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

“There is a slight difference in the reality. There is a thing called experience. I have been coaching for the last 20 years at domestic and international level. While defining the double role, when I took up the position as [national] selector we always consulted the captain and the coach before announcing the best side,” national selector Aaqib, who got an additional assignment of interim white-ball team coach recently, said while answering a question on the subject of an official’s dual role during his media talk here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

“However, so far from Multan [Test against England] to the three-match ODI series in Australia there was no change in the team.”

He continued, “The team which played the Multan Test was retained for the Rawalpindi Test. Similarly, the team which played the first ODI against Australia was kept same for the next two matches. So I don’t think there is any problem because our objective is to select the best team for Pakistan.”

Interestingly, Aaqib in the past criticised the dual roles given to former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and ex-pace bowler Wahab Riaz.

Former Test pacer Aaqib replaced Gary Kirsten as Pakistan while-ball coach after the latter resigned just a week before the limited-overs series Down Under.

Aaqib insisted that it was a responsibility for him to build a team which could earn desired results.

“We beat England [in the home Test series] and then no one could imagine that Pakistan would win the ODI series in Australia after 22 years. I think there are many positives for us as far as [team] selection is concerned. Coaching is also not a new thing for me,” he said.

Pakistan after suffering an innings thrashing at the hands of England in Multan, make an exhilarating comeback to win the next two Tests and the series. Out-of-form frontline players including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah were axed by Aaqib, who got the selector’s job immediately after the first Test, and fellow selectors, a move which clicked for the hosts.

Aaqib, who worked as director cricket operations and bowling consultant of PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars from 2016 to 2024, said his primary focus was on ODI cricket and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

“Our main focus will remain on ODI cricket and you will see regular changes in the team for the T20 format as the [next] T20 World Cup is currently far away,” he said.

To a question about the absence of opener Fakhar Zaman from the national team, Aaqib said that the southpaw was a match-winner who faced some fitness problems.

“As soon as he [Fakhar] gets fit, we will consider him for [national] selection.”

Aaqib reckoned that the role of a coach for players was limited noting that he could only give a loud and clear message to players and help them in training while it was the job of captain and his team to produce good results.

Commenting on Pakistan’s recently-held T20 series in Australia which the hosts won 3-0, the head coach regretted that the Greenshirts could not avail some opportunities that came their way.

“The first match became shorter [seven-overs-a side due to rain]. Pakistan got some opportunities in the remaining two games but those were wasted. In this format once you miss an opportunity, you have very little time to come back,” Aaqib underlined.

Aaqib said that young opener Saim Ayub was not selected for the T20 series in Australia because he was developing in the right direction in Tests and ODIs after taking a modest start in these two formats.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top player Noor Zaman beat Perry Malik of England in a thrilling quarter-final of the CAS Serena Hotels International Squash Championship here at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Wednesday.

Second seed Noor overcame Malik 14-12, 5-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7 in a clash lasting 54 minutes.

After Noor won the first game 14-12, Malik made a strong comeback to claim the second game 11-5. In a seesaw match, Noor bounced back to win the next game 11-7 only for Malik to bag the fourth game 12-10.

In the decisive game, Noor defeated his opponent 11-7 to move into the last-four stage where he will face compatriot Ashab Irfan, who got the better of Dutch Rowan Damming 10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-5 in their quarter-final that lasted 48 minutes.

Nasir Iqbal, another Pakistan campaigner, beat Seif El Shenawy of Egypt 10-12, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 in a last-eight match that lasted 35 minutes. Nasir in the semi-final will face top seed Ibrahim Elkabbani of Egypt who comfortably downed Malaysia’s Darren 17-15, 11-6, 11-5.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

Rafael Nadal could not conjure the fairytale ending his career deserved as the Spanish 22-times Grand Slam champion bowed out with defeat in the Davis Cup on an emotionally charged and tearful night in Malaga on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old’s legs and mind were as willing as ever but the magic was missing as he lost 6-4 6-4 to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in what proved to be his final competitive match.

Spain’s new tennis king Carlos Alcaraz levelled the quarter-final tie beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(0) 6-3 and had Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then beaten Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp, Nadal would have got another chance in a semi-final on Friday against Germany or Canada.

But it was not to be as Koolhof, also playing the last event of his career, played out of his skin to rip up the script and inspire the Dutch to a 7-6(4) 7-6(3) victory.

Nadal willed the Spanish duo on from the sidelines, barely sitting down, but looked crestfallen as the reality that it was all over began to sink in.

The Mallorcan, who featured in four Davis Cup winning teams for Spain, was tearful as the anthem was played before the tie.

And after a long speech on court in front of his adoring fans, family, friends and teammates, the tears flowed again as a video montage of his stupendous career was played.

“I was just a kid from a small village that had luck because my uncle was a tennis coach and had a family who supported me,” Nadal said.

“A lot of people work hard but I am one of the lucky ones that life gave me the opportunity to live unforgettable experiences because of tennis. I just want to be remembered as a good person and a kid that followed their dreams.”

Nadal had won 29 of his previous 30 singles in the team event, his only previous loss in his first tie in 2004.

Last month, he announced he was ending his career at the Davis Cup Final Eight, raising the possibility of one last addition to a career that was etched on the Parisian clay on which he won a record 14 French Open titles.

Selected for the singles by captain David Ferrer, Nadal showed flashes of his former brilliance but in what was only his 24th match since the start of 2023, the rust showed and he struggled to hold off the powerful Dutchman who admitted afterwards he would have been cheering for Nadal had he not been required to face him on the court.

When French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz levelled the tie by defeating Griekspoor he said he had “done it for Rafa”.

But he could not inspire a Spanish win in the doubles as the Dutch duo proved party poopers.

Nadal had been philosophical after his singles defeat — his first in the event since losing to Jiri Novak in 2004.

“In some ways it is good, maybe, if that was my last match because I lost my first match in the Davis Cup and I lost my last one. We close the circle,” he said.

His fans in Malaga, many of whom wore scarves with “Gracias Rafa” on them, stood to salute him at gone midnight in a special presentation to Spain’s greatest sportsman and there was barely a dry eye in the house as he signed off.

The only thing missing was his old rival and great friend Roger Federer walking on to give him a hug.

Earlier in the day Federer, whose own final career match at the Laver Cup in London in 2022 ended with him and Nadal in tears and holding hands, published a letter to his pal.

“Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me — a lot. More than I managed to beat you, the Swiss 20-times Grand Slam champion said.

“You challenged me in ways no one else could.”

LAHORE: Lahore Whites’ pacer Ubaid Shah ran riot with the ball as he took 8-79 against Larkana on the first day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy’s fifth-round match on Tuesday.

In the round’s other matches, Lahore Blues’ Qasim Akram and Abbotabad’s Mohammad Bilal struck centuries, while Quetta’s Jalat Khan and Islamabad’s Musa Khan and Fata’s Arshadullah registered five-wicket hauls.

At Islamabad’s Marghzar Cricket Ground, Ubaid, taking his maiden five-wicket haul, helped his team bundle out Larkana for 202 before Lahore Whites went on to post 121-1.

Meanwhile, Qasim’s quickfire 109 off 87 balls, which featured 18 fours and two sixes, saw Lahore Blues score 287 against Fata at the Gohati Cricket Stadium in Swabi as Arshadullah bagged 5-89. At the close of the day’s play, Fata were 52-2.

At Islamabad’s Diamond Cricket Ground, Bilal’s 102 proved crucial for Abbotabad to post 290 against Hyderabad. He received able support from skipper Usman Khalid (62 off 76, nine fours and six) for an 88-run seventh-wicket stand to lift his team from 139-6.

In turn, Hyderabad were 59-1 at stumps.

Jalat, against Dera Murad Jamali at the Railway Cricket Ground in Haripur, bagged 5-28 as he ran through the opponents’ batting line-up to bowl them out for 144 after Abid Ali top-scored with 67 off 176 balls. In response, Danish Aziz took four wickets to reduce Quetta to 73-4 before stumps were drawn.

At Islamabad’s National Cricket Ground, Musa (6-51) bagged his third consecutive first-class five-wicket haul as he helped Islamabad to skittle Faisalabad for 202. In reply, Islamabad were 72-5 by the close of play.

Elsewhere, at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Ground in Rawalpindi, Peshawar notched 351-7 as Sajjad Ibraheem, Zubair Khan and Israrullah hit half-centuries.

In Charsadda, Multan had a productive day against Azad Jammu & Kashmir, closing the day unscathed with 117 runs on the board in reply to AJK’s 188.

Sialkot bundled out Karachi Blues for 171 before closing the day with 59 runs on the board for the loss of one wicket. Karachi Whites dismissed Bahawalpur for 248 in 72.3 overs as Mohammad Sheharyar top-scored with 95.

Scores in brief:

Lahore Whites vs Larkana, Marghzar Cricket Ground

LARKANA 202 in 58.4 overs (Faraz Aziz 36, Akbar-ur-Rehman 35; Ubaid Shah 8-79); LAHORE WHITES 121-1 in 26 overs (Attyab Ahmed 61 not out, Gauhar Hafeez 50 not out)

Islamabad vs Faisalabad, National Ground

FAISALABAD 202 in 47.5 overs (Atiq-ur-Rehman 61, Faheem Ashraf 39; Musa Khan 6-51, Nusratullah 3-48); ISLAMABAD 72-5 in 21 overs (Faizan Riaz 25 not out; Faheem Ashraf 2-9, Shehzad Gul 2-31)

Abbottabad vs Hyderabad, Diamond Cricket Ground

ABBOTTABAD 290 in 62.5 overs (Mohammad Bilal 102, Khalid Usman 62; Mustafa Nasir 3-50, Mohammad Waqar 3-57, Shehryar Baloch 3-84); HYDERABAD 59-1 in 13 overs (Haris Khan 30 not out)

Peshawar vs Rawalpindi, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

PESHAWAR 351-7 in 93 overs (Sajjad Ibraheem 73, Zubair Khan 69; Mehran Mumtaz 3-91, Mohammad Faizan 2-49)

Bahawalpur vs Karachi Whites,

Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

BAHAWALPUR 248 in 72.3 overs (Mohammad Sheharyar 95, Muhammad Imran 60; Mohammad Asif 4-88, Aftab Ibrahim 3-41)

Multan vs AJK, Ashfaq Cricket Ground Sirdheri

AJK 188 in 55.2 overs (Hasan Raza 82, Usman Salahuddin 25, Qazi Muhammad Arbqan 23; Huzaifa Ayub 4-64, Tahir Hussain 3-26)

MULTAN 117-0 in 22 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 57 not out, Zain Abbas 56 not out)

Lahore Blues vs Fata, Gohati Cricket Stadium

LAHORE BLUES 287 in 64.2 overs (Qasim Akram 109, Imran Butt 46; Arshadullah 5-89, Afaq Afridi 2-72); FATA 52-2 in 15 overs (Jamshed Ali 19 not out, Mohammad Usman 17 not out; Mohammad Abbas 2-17)

Karachi Blues vs Sialkot, Mirpur Cricket Stadium

KARACHI BLUES 171 in 47.4 overs (Fawad Alam 60, Saifullah Bangash 33; Mohammad Ali 4-51, Amad Butt 3-33, Shoaib Akhtar 3-51); Sialkot 59-1, 14 overs (Azan Awais 23, Ashir Mehmood 17 not out; Tabish Khan 1-13)

Quetta vs DM Jamali, Railway Cricket Ground

DM JAMALI 144 in 69.4 overs (Abid Ali 67, Taimur Ali 39; Jalat Khan 5-28, Najeebullah Achakzai 4-36); QUETTA 73-4 in 21 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 22 not out; Danish Aziz 4-22)

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024

ISLAMABAD: While strongly criticising the last interim government over its decision to put the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under the ambit of the Cabinet Division, National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-provincial Coordination on Tuesday recommended the PCB to be placed under the IPC ministry again.

The IPC committee, which met here at the Pakistan Sports Complex with MNA Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel in the chair, unanimously recommended that the PCB should be put under the ambit of IPC ministry, noting 44 other sports federations were operating under it.

Sanaullah said that the caretaker government, in violation of its mandate, decided to remove the PCB from the IPC domain and placed it under the ambit of the Cabinet Division.

“All decisions [related to the PCB] made by the caretaker government stand dissolved,” the chairman of the committee said while adding that only elected representatives could make any such decision.

Sanaullah said that just a few days before the formation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government this year, the interim government on Feb 19 through a notification placed the PCB under the Cabinet Division.

“We want to know the reasons [as to] why the PCB is a holy cow,” he wondered as the committee decided to write a letter to the PM to withdrew the Feb 19 notification issued by the interim government.

Expressing his displeasure over the absence of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi in the NA committee meeting, Sanaullah said he should be summoned to the next meeting.

“We know he [PCB chairman] is the [federal] interior minister as well but he will have to attend [the] committee meetings,” the MNA maintained.

Later talking to media, Sanaullah urged India to send its cricket team to Pakistan to play the ICC Champions Trophy insisting politics should not be mixed with sports.

Giving a briefing to the committee, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) director general Yasir Pirzada informed the committee about the progress made by the PSB during the last five years.

According to Yasir, the PSB during the said period trained over 4,000 athletes while facilitating their participation in international competitions in which Pakistan won 154 medals, including 38 gold.

Initiatives such as the establishment of the Arshad Nadeem High Performance Academy and the upgrading of sports infrastructure highlight PSB’s commitment to excellence, he added.

The PSB director general further said that a new sports policy had also been forwarded to the government for approval.

He added that a new award policy had also been made under which national champions of a sport would now be given Rs1 million as prize money. Under new rules, the PSB official said, Paris Paralympic Games bronze medallist Haider Ali will get a reward of Rs5 million.

Yasir also informed the NA committee that the PSB in the past five years disbursed grants exceeding Rs1 billion to national sports federations and awarded Rs45.25 million to medal-winning athletes.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has brought back Shahid Aslam as the batting coach of the national white-ball squads, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Tuesday.

Shahid, who is a qualified coach, has worked for a number of years with the Pakistan team in different capacities including assistant coach, fielding coach and assistant manager. But for the last two years he has been working in a coaching capacity at the High Performance Centre in Lahore.

Previously, former Test captain Mohammad Yousuf was working as the batting coach with the national team and was then made a national selector. But Yousuf then not only stepped down as selector but also as batting coach and was working at the HPC.

Yousuf recently also resigned from his position at the HPC but the Board has rejected his resignation.

Now Shahid has been brought in as batting coach on the recommendation of Aaqib Javed, the interim white-ball coach.

The PCB on Monday appointed Aaqib as the white-ball head coach until the ICC Champions Trophy early next year after Australian Jason Gillespie turned down a chance to become all-format coach.

Aaqib, who will continue as senior national selector has left to join the players in Zimbabwe where they play a series of three ODIs and three T20 Internationals before moving on to South Africa for another white-ball rubber.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024

HONG KONG: Japan are on the brink of qualifying for the World Cup after a 3-1 win at China on Tuesday while Son Heung-min scored again as South Korea were held by Palestine.

Indonesia meanwhile stunned Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jakarta to boost their unlikely hopes of reaching the tournament in North America in 2026.

Headers from Koki Ogawa and Ko Itakura put runaway group leaders Japan two goals up at half time before Lin Liangming pulled one back for China early in the second half.

Ogawa snuffed out China’s hopes of a comeback with his second to silence a crowd of 45,000 in Xiamen, where fans without tickets gathered outside the ground to watch the action on their phones.

Loud booing greeted the Japanese national anthem before kick-off and the game was briefly stopped in the first half when a fan invaded the pitch.

“It was tough at times and we knew that the opening goal was going to be key,” said Dutch-based striker Ogawa.

Japan were playing their first senior international in China in nine years and there is a long history of rivalry between the two countries.

There was a heavy police presence outside the Xiamen Egret Stadium, where about 750 Japan fans were expected to be in attendance.

“All the players got us this win today,” said Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu. “The players on the pitch, the players on the bench and those that weren’t on the bench today — it was down to their energy that we won.”

The convincing victory gave Japan five wins and a draw in Asian qualifying Group C and took them to within touching distance of a place at the World Cup.

The top two teams in each of the three groups will reach the showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Second place in Group ‘C’ is wide open after Indonesia beat Saudi Arabia with Marselino Ferdinan scoring either side of half time.

It left Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and China all on six points ahead of the Socceroos’ visit later Tuesday to Bahrain, who have five.

In Group ‘B’, Palestine — nominally hosts for a game taking place in Jordan — grabbed a surprise 12th-minute lead over South Korea thanks to Zaid Qunbar.

The advantage lasted just four minutes, talisman and skipper Son firing in from close range to bring the Koreans level with his 51st goal for his country.

It was all South Korea after that and Son had a goal chalked off for offside late on, but Palestine held on for a valuable point that helps keep them alive.

Despite the 1-1 stalemate the Koreans are firmly on course for the World Cup at the top of the group with four games to go.

In Group ‘A’, talented 21-year-old Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored the only goal to give Uzbekistan a 1-0 win over North Korea in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

It cemented the Uzbeks’ place in the top two in the group, along with table-toppers Iran, who were 3-2 winners at Kyrgyzstan.

Teams finishing third and fourth in the three Asian groups will go through to a further round of qualifying. North Korea are rooted to the bottom of Group ‘A’ and have yet to win in six games in this phase of qualifying.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024