Jansher’s power ends Jonathan bid

The brilliant fightback by Khan, who won 15-8, 12-15, 10-15, 15-13, 15-7 more than made up for a match ruined by lackadaisical refereeing. To twist the catchline of a famous product advertisement, `lets’ did the match. The incessant calls of `let’ added a good half-an-hour to the match which tired both players and forced them to play much below what they were capable of.

Referee Ian Allanach stuck to the rules. But there were occasions when both players had enough room to reach the ball, but collided with each other and asked for `let’. Once they realised that Allanach was in an obliging mood, they kept doing exactly that.

This was in sharp contrast to the Nicol-Chaloner match, in which both players veered around each other and always found enough room to play their shots and enthralled a surprisingly large crowd.

Khan took the first game without much ado. In the second, both went neck and neck till 8-all, when Power pulled ahead with some amazing drop shots. the same story was repeated in the third, and after 7-all, Power took the game with some outrageous drops and sidewall boasts. In the fourth, Power raced to a 4-0 and then a 10-5 lead, and it looked as good as over for the mighty Khan.

“I thought I could do two things. Just give up or play patiently. As I was not that tired, I decided to play a waiting game. The clinching points were the two drops that brought me level at 13-all. And then it was much more easier,” said Jansher after the match.

In the fifth, as Power went for the exotic, Khan was just content in keeping the ball in play. The tactic paid off as Power made the errors and finally lost. Said Khan later, “If you play risky shots, either you win by a huge margin, or you lose badly. I think Power took the risks in the second and third games and it paid off for him. He took the risks again in the fifth but he lost.”

NICOL IN DEVASTATING FORM: The Nicol-Chaloner match was much more exciting. There were some out-of-the-world rallies. One, in the third game, with Nicol 13-10 up, drew more than a minute-long applause. In that, both players criss-crossed each other at least eight times to retrieve cross-court drops and ran diagonally to reach shots. Nicol, who will be looking for his third consecutive Mahindra title tomorrow, was full of energy even at the end of the final game, executing four lunging retrieves which drew gasps of admiration from the crowd.

Results (semifinals): Jansher Khan (Pak) bt Jonathan Power (Can) 15-8, 12-15, 10-15, 15-13, 15-7; Peter Nicol (Scot) bt Mark Chaloner (Eng) 15-5, 6-15, 15-11, 15-11.

Pakistani star wants to do it for India

With the final line-up for living up to the seedings, world No 1 Jansher Khan of Pakistan will take on world No 2 Peter Nicol at the CCI tomorrow.

While defending champion Nicol wants to make it three-in-a-row here, Khan’s motivation is to do it for India and Asia, in that order.

“This is my first time in Mumbai, and I know people want me to win the tournament. I always wanted to play in India and win the title for my fans here and for Asian squash,” said the man from Peshawar.

Nicol will have an advantage as he is not only in tremendous form, but has also shown remarkable ability to cope with the heat and humidity here. His strongest point is his ability to retrieve almost hopeless balls and the fact that he is a southpaw.

Khan, who was unwell before the start of the tournament and still feels a bit weak after a bout of temperature, will have to recoup after the five-game semifinal against Jonathan Power. His main weapon will be his impeccable court coverage and tons of experience.