‘Prabhakaran’s son injured in clashes with Sri Lankan Army’

LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran’s son Charles Anthony has been injured in fierce clashes with the Sri Lankan security forces in the island’s embattled north, officials said on Wednesday.

24-year-old Charles, the eldest of the two sons and a daughter of the elusive LTTE chief, was injured in the fighting in the Tiger bastion of Pudhukkudiyiruppu, Defence Ministry officials said.

Charles, who was believed to have been commanding a contingent of rebel forces, was wounded on March 8, official sources said, as the Sri Lankan Army pushed deeper into the rebel-held territory to capture their remaining pockets.

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Lankans close in on Prabhakaran hideout in jungle

The Sri Lankan Army said on Sunday it was moving in on the jungle stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, in a final assault aimed at ending the longest running ethnic war in Asia.

Flush with confidence after retaking their main city two days ago, the Army vowed to capture LTTE chieftain Velupillai Prabhakaran as troops pushed deeper into northern territory long under the complete control of the guerrillas.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said in a New Year’s address that 2009 would be the year of “heroic victory” over the Tigers, who have been waging war since 1972 to establish an independent homeland for ethnic Tamils.

Troops captured Kilinochchi, the de facto capital of the rebel state within a state on Friday, and the general leading the assault said his forces were now advancing on Mullaittivu, their last major centre of control.

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‘Ram Sethu not integral part of Hindu religion’

The government on Tuesday contended before the Supreme Court that the mythological Ram Sethu is not an “essential and integral” part of the Hindu religion.

In a written submission to the court, the UPA government has said, “It has not been proved undoubtedly to be the belief of the Hindu community that Lord Ram did not himself break the bridge. Nor has it been established that whatever remains of the Ram Sethu as a piece of worship is an essential and integral part of the Hindu religion.”

During the last hearing on July 30, the court had asked the government to explore an alternative route and had also asked the government to give details on the “religious significance” of the Ram Sethu.

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Pakistan provide surprise again

It’s no secret that Pakistan are an unpredictable outfit. It’s how they manage to reiterate the point time and again that never ceases to surprise.

They had to win Wednesday’s encounter to stay in contention for a place in the Asia Cup final, their coach was caught in the middle of an ugly war of words with the local media and their captain — under pressure to retain the top job — had collapsed during a fitness test before start of play.

Then, after India had elected to bat first, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir tore into their bowling attack with such ferocity that 10 overs into the day’s play, a defeat looked almost a certainty.

But this is Pakistan, the team that can never be written off.

They pulled things back after the initial onslaught to restrict the Indian total to 308 — Dhoni & Co looked set for bigger things after the torrid start — and then, they chased it down with enough conviction to leave anyone who was watching wondering why they had been written off.

Incidentally, Pakistan’s eight-wicket win has made India’s match against Sri Lanka on Thursday a virtual semi-final now. The kind of form the Lankans have been in, Dhoni & Co will have to get everything right to keep their hopes alive. A loss, on the other hand, will see Pakistan take on Lanka for the title.

Start to finish

But first, the chase. Salman Butt’s 36 off 31 balls set the ball rolling, flashes of brilliance bringing runs from both sides of the wicket. The young opener pulled and drove as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for once, hesitated in continuing any of his attacking pairs for longer than two or three over spells. Ishant Sharma, visibly exhausted, went for as many as 16 in his first over, allowing Nasir Jamshed, in the process, to settle down alongside Butt.

India’s brightest spark while resisting the chase came when Gautam Gambhir ran Butt out. Then, 10 overs later Jamshad succumbed — retired hurt to a bout of cramps, while Mohammad Yousuf was bowled round his legs by Piyush Chawla soon after.

That was as far as India got though. The openers had given their team a great start and once the platform was set, Younis Khan got his bat to do the talking until the winning runs were scored. Khan was unbeaten on 123 as Pakistan strolled to an eight-wicket victory with 27 deliveries to spare.

Dhoni’s fireworks

Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had cashed on an excellent 88-run opening stand provided by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, and despite a brief collapse, led India past the 300-mark along with Rohit Sharma.

Strengthening the middle-order has been one of the big talking points in recent times, at least as far as Dhoni goes. The Indian captain, among other things, has repeatedly spoken about finding ways to improve the run-rate between the 30th and 45th over of the innings, using innovating stroke play to get runs when the powerplays are not on and including batsmen who could stem the rot in case of a top-order collapse.

Yesterday, Dhoni himself played all those roles as India put up 308 for seven in their 50 overs.

However, as things turned out, it was never going to be enough. Not once Pakistan had decided this was the day they were going to provide the surprise.