World doubles squash C'ship | Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal reach the final

That the two Indian pairs placed in two different Pools would meet in the last four was one possibility at the end of the proceedings on Tuesday when one more match had remained for both in the league. It became certain after Joshna and Harinder went down fighting to the Australian pair of David Palmer and Donna Urquhart in three games to become Pool A runner-up where Dipika and Saurav kept a clean slate in disposing of the New Zealand pair Joelle King and Paul Coll also over extended games to top Pool B.

Dipika played a star role in her team's semi-final win over Joshna and partner. She controlled and commanded most of the match, according to National coach Cyrus Poncha, who witnessed the exciting fight. A lot of the play was centred around Dipika and Joshna and the former's consistency and aggressive approach paid rich dividends. Yet for all this, it was Joshna and Harinder who shot ahead. Trailing 7-10 in the first game, they were able to reel away four straight points to give the match a dramatic start. But the roles changed there. If it was Saurav who pushed up the side to 4-0 lead in the next then Dipika took over to ensure the good start did no go astray. Some fabulous winners from her at the right times kept Joshna and Harinder on the defensive and even groping. Dipika hit five winners to restore parity in scores and the duo did not look back from there to sign on on a triumphant note.

The results:

(league) Pool A: Australia 2 bt India 2 (David Palmer and Donna Urquhart bt Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu 7-11, 11-5, 11-8; Pool B : India 1 bt New Zealand 1(Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal bt Joelle King and Paul Coll 11-10, 8-11, 11-8)