Light saves Pak but India win series

Chasing 374, Pakistan was 162 for seven on the final day of the third Test at Bangalore on Wednesday when bad light stopped play.Sourav Ganguly was named Man of the Match for his magnificent double-hundred and second-innings 91. He was also the player of the series.India won their first series in 27 years against pakistan at home, but the margin was 1-0 after the Bangalore Test ended in a draw. The fans though did get what they had hoped for, with plenty of last minute drama. With Anil Kumble's five-wicket haul driving Pakistan to desperation, he will be disappointed for not having declared just a little bit earlier.Pakistan lost four wickets in a span of just 10 runs, Anil Kumble and Yuvraj Singh joining hands to bring India back in to contention. But India's hopes were dashed when poor light forced play to be stopped. With both teams having agreed to not use artificial lights through the Test series, India played the waiting game but in the end the umpires declared the match drawn.Earlier, India declared their innings at 284 for six setting Pakistan a 374-run target.Overnight batsmen Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid carried on in style early on Day 5, before both fell in the space of two balls.Ganguly carried on his great touch and looked all set to complete another Test hundred. Dravid and Ganguly put on 152 runs for the third wicket, before Dravid fell to Kaneria for 42. On the crumbling Bangalore track, Ganguly looked quite at ease but was dismissed 3 balls later by Mohammad Sami for 91. Sami struck again after that, dismissing birthday boy Yuvraj Singh for 2, but not before he completed 1000 Test runs.There was a shocker for India though - VVS Laxman being hit by a Shoaib Akhtar delivery, that stayed very low. Laxman was hit on the elbow and was clearly in a lot of pain. He retired hurt for 14 and was sent to the hospital for a precautionary scan. Laxman and Karthik put on a 41 run stand. India may have lost the chance to force a result after managing a first innings lead of just 89 runs thanks to a Misbah-ul-Haq's century. But they finished Day 4 with an overall lead of 220 runs and with eight wickets still in hand.

India close to developing Agni-IV missile

India is close to developing ballistic missile Agni-IV, capable of hitting targets upto a range of 6,000 km, cthe ountry's top missile scientist Dr V K Saraswat said in Delhi on Wednesday.
He also said that the Defence Research and Development Organisation would carry out three more tests of nuclear capable 3,000 km range Agni-III missiles over the next 12 months as a part of an initiative to develop an indigenous robust nuclear deterrent.
Though Sarswat said that Agni-IV was still in design stage, DRDO officials were of the view that the first trials of the missiles which would give India an almost inter-continental reach could be held by 2010.
On Agni-III tests, the DRDO official said the second trial of the missile would be done by June 2008 and more tests hopefully in another nine months to a year.
Agni-III, the indigenously developed two-stage all-solid fuel, 16-metre-long missile was first successfully test-fired in April 2007, after initial test failure.
The missile, with a range of 3,000 km and capacity to carry a nuclear or conventional payload of 1.5 tonnes will give India the capability to reach remote Chinese mainland cities of Beijing [Images] and Shanghai.
The three tests of the missile are to validate it for induction by 2009, DRDO sources said.
Agni-III according to experts is the missile with the longest reach in South Asia and more powerful than any missile in Pakistan's arsenal. However, China has missiles with a longer reach.