Southee happy to hunt wickets with Boult

Unlike Sri Lanka's attack, New Zealand's has supported their spearhead effectively at the P Sara Oval. Their spearhead, Tim Southee, has claimed another heavy haul in Colombo, after his four wickets in the first innings in Galle, and he has attributed this to the others in the attack. Southee had removed Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara on the second evening, and he dismissed Angelo Mathews and Tharanga Paranavitana the next day, claiming figures of 4 for 51.

Southee said left-arm seamer Trent Boult had been especially helpful to his success in Sri Lanka. The bowlers not only complement each other by testing batsmen against different angles of attack, but also specialise in swinging the ball in opposite directions. Southee largely takes the ball away from the right-hand batsmen, while Boult moves it in.

"Trent Boult has got a massive role to play in the wickets I've taken," Southee said. "He's helping out by putting pressure at the other end and I am sure his turn to take wickets is just around the corner. It's tough conditions at the moment, but I'm going through a period where it's coming out nicely."

New Zealand were only able to remove three batsmen in almost 70 overs on the third day, and despite having worked their way to the start of Sri Lanka's tail, they were unable to dismiss the hosts for less than the follow-on mark. Thilan Samaraweera and Suraj Randiv resisted with an unbeaten stand of 97 towards the end of the day, but Southee's efforts leave his team still in the hunt for a win as, having lost six wickets, Sri Lanka still trail by 187 runs.

Southee said wickets in the first hour of the fourth day would be crucial to New Zealand's hopes of levelling the series, particularly as the pitch offers little for bowlers once the ball gets old. New Zealand will begin the day with a ball that is only 4.2 overs old.

"Massive hour tomorrow morning, if we can pick up a couple of wickets and run through them then who knows," Southee said. "It's definitely a new-ball wicket, and if you can grab a couple with the new ball, then it makes it easier to make inroads into the batting line-up. It's not as easy when the ball gets older, and that can affect the team."

Southee said New Zealand weren't displeased with their day's work, given the number of good batsmen in Sri Lanka's ranks. "It's a tough batting line-up and there are some world class players here who have scored a lot of runs. They keep coming one after another and it just shows their great batting depth is. It would have been nice to have a couple of more [wickets] today to really get into their tail. Hopefully in the second innings, the spinners come to play."

Read More..

Stop questioning Nehra's absence, says Dahiya

Delhi are now at the halfway stage of their Ranji Trophy campaign and are looking for outright victories in two of their four remaining games. Central to their chances of progressing to the quarters is the fitness of their most experienced and skillful bowler, left-arm swing man Ashish Nehra. An injury to Nehra's hamstring meant he bowled only six overs in Delhi's previous Ranji game against Baroda and then missed the fourth-round match against Tamil Nadu, both matches held at the Kotla.

It is not yet certain if Nehra will travel with Delhi to Lahli for their next Ranji fixture against Haryana on a pitch that is expected to produce seam movement. Conditions in Lahli, outside Rohtak, are expected to suit Delhi's strong pack of quick bowlers in Nehra, Parvinder Awana, Pawan Suyal and Sumit Narwal; captain Shikhar Dhawan said Nehra would definitely play if he was declared fit.

At the start of the season, it was believed that Nehra, who has been dogged by injury all his career whether for India or Delhi, would most probably play four of Delhi's eight Ranji matches. Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya has no issue with the idea, nor does he take criticism of his most experienced and effective bowler lightly.

"Why is it that when our bowlers get tired and take a break, it is said they are picking and choosing? Why is no one else criticised?" Dahiya said. He went on to name bowlers, either more celebrated or younger than Nehra, who had not been seen in action for a while in the Ranji Trophy. "How many games has Ajit Agarkar played this season when he is supposed to lead Mumbai? Praveen Kumar has not played in any match after the game in Ghaziabad. Where is Abhimanyu Mithun? Or Varun Aaron or RP Singh? Why is Ashish's case always picked on?"

Dahiya said Nehra was improving and said that he would play only when the team was sure that there was no chance of him picking up another injury. It would, he said, be "tempting" to take Nehra to Lahli, if only to put the cat among Haryana's Ranji pigeons. Group B is tight at the top but Haryana are at the bottom of the points table, having lost three of three matches - all, ironically, at home.

"To have a guy like Ashish in our team it will put Haryana on the spot; [it will make them wonder] whether to play safe or to go for the outright win. They've got tough matches ahead," Dahiya said, adding that he will do a recce of the Lahli conditions by speaking to the Baroda team that played there in the just-concluded round.

After Haryana, Delhi travel again, to play Karnataka who were handed a staggering defeat by Odisha on Tuesday. Karnataka, with five points from four matches, are now seventh out of nine teams in Group B. "Karnataka are also under pressure," Dahiya said. "They too may want to play us on a pitch where you have results, so it gives us a good chance."

If Delhi were to get two outright wins from their four games, it could be enough for them to finish in the top three and qualify for the quarter-finals. Group B, Dahiya said, was still open: "The desperation will come in the last two rounds. Teams will then know where they stand and what they need to do. It is going to be crazy."

The first-innings points against Tamil Nadu means that Delhi can go into the crazy phase of their Ranji season feeling upbeat. "We think we've covered the points we lost in UP here. Look at the reputation of the Tamil Nadu side, look where they come from. Four of our guys got 100s, I can't remember when we've scored back to back totals of 500, it has been very good for our morale. "

Read More..

'An amazing but harrowing day'

Lahli in Haryana is a village 14 km from Rohtak, which is a further 70km from Delhi, the nearest city you can trust an average cricket fan in India to know of. It is cold there these days. Temperatures have begun to fall to a low of single digits. On Tuesday, though, two Ranji teams warmed the place up with frenetic action.

Fourteen wickets fell in the space of 30 overs and 81 runs, a total of 17 fell on the day, the ball turned and seamed, there was a 'mankading', an injured opener batted at No. 7 to help his side, a desperate fast bowler bowled 15 overs on the trot, there was a six hit by a No. 11 batsman with 16 runs to win, and finally the visitors, Baroda, went on to register only the 14th one-wicket win in the history of Ranji Trophy.

Only a handful watched the match, and the players don't know of any reporter's presence. Yet it was a day everyone was proud to have been a part of. "There was action in every over," Ambati Rayudu, Baroda's captain, told ESPNcricinfo. "It's one of the best games of first-class cricket I have been a part of. I am fortunate and privileged to have led the winning side."

"An amazing but harrowing day" is how Baroda's coach, Sanath Kumar, described it.

Even the vanquished, although bitterly disappointed, took a lot out of it. "Yes we are gutted," Amit Mishra, Haryana's captain, said. "But we also look at it the other way. If we can fight this well when defending 130, we can do a lot more." Haryana are in need of that belief. They have already registered two of their lowest totals this season - 55 and 60 - and are the only team without a point.

The overwhelming feeling, though, remains that of disappointment. They began the day at 127 for 2, with a lead of 98, one of their better starts in recent history. But too soon the craziness began with the run-out of Abhimanyu Khod, in the second over of the day. The partnership was broken, and as it happens with sides low on confidence, Haryana couldn't arrest the slide.

Rayudu had sensed that too. He said Baroda knew they could convert their first-innings lead into an outright win if they could get early wickets. They were relying on reminding Haryana of their previous collapses. It worked. A little more than an hour later, Baroda could sniff those six full points. Haryana had lost their last eight wickets for the addition of just 33 runs.

Lahli is set in open fields. The water table is high too. The pitch hardly ever loses its moisture, and the wind keeps the bowlers interested too. Mishra said that the Baroda bowlers managed both seam and reverse swing.

"When we got them all out for 150-odd, we felt a target of around 130 shouldn't take much out of our batsmen," Sanath said, before adding he couldn't have been more wrong. For starters, they couldn't open the innings with their first-innings centurion, Saurabh Wakaskar, who was injured and had been off the field.

Mishra, on the other hand, told his side that they have won such games in the past too, and they just needed to keep fighting. He also thought that if they could get a couple of early wickets, Baroda would have everything to lose -- not only the opportunity to gain six points, but also the three they had already secured via the first-innings lead.

Mohit Sharma, who had taken four wickets in the first innings, began with the wicket of Kedar Devdhar with the first ball of Haryana's defence. The real collapse, though, began with the run-out of No. 3 Abhimanyu Chauhan in the eight over. That was the last ball before lunch. Thereafter, it became a contest between a bicycle stand and house of cards. Four wickets fell in the next 28 balls, and Haryana were now favourites at 48 for 6.

	"When we got them all out for 150-odd, we felt a target of around 130 shouldn't take much out of our batsmen," Baroda coach Sanath Kumar said, before adding he couldn't have been more wrong.

Wakaskar, though, came out to bat, without a runner, and he and Gagandeep Singh took Baroda to 85. The needle was on, and so was the heat. Mishra, who saw the help for the quicks and brought himself on quite late despite a five-for in the first innings, lost the grip on the ball as he was about to deliver. He saw Wakaskar was backing up too far ... And this is where the stories from the two sides differ: Haryana say they clearly warned Wakaskar here, Baroda say they didn't.

A little later, Ashish Hooda 'mankaded' Wakaskar. Baroda say they were shocked. The umpires confirmed with Haryana whether they wanted to go through with the appeal. Haryana did. And Wakaskar was gone. The Ranji Trophy, where teams try every trick for every single point, is not the place for such charity. Moreover, there is legally nothing wrong with 'mankading'. Neither side reported ugly scenes. Eighty-five for 7 then.

Mishra said it was difficult to take the ball away from Mohit. He was enjoying bowling here, had had a tea break in between, and wanted to continue bowling until he had won the side the game. Three overs after the run-out, he produced the wicket of Gagandeep too, completing his second first-class five-for. At 91 for 8, Haryana were favourites again.

However, Murtuja Vahora, who had triggered the Haryana collapse, was not going to watch his hard work being washed away. He hit two boundaries in a crucial 12, taking Baroda to 108 before he fell to Mishra. Twenty-four still required. Just the time for the biggest partnership of the innings.

Enter left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt to join offspinner Utkarsh Patel. A reaffirmation that this is the week of spin twins in India (though not necessarily to the benefit of the home side). "When I walked in to bat after Murtuja was dismissed, not much was said in the dressing room," Bhatt said. "When I joined Utkarsh, all we said was 'humein khade rehna hai' [we have to stay at the wicket]."

They did more than just stay in. Both began to attack. Mishra was taken on but kept himself on. With 16 required, Bhatt played the shot that rang around Lahli. The ball turned into him, and he stretched and lofted it for a six. "That wasn't predetermined," Bhatt said. "We required 16 or 17 then. He tossed it up and I felt I could reach it and stepped out and connected well."

Mishra opted for Sachin Rana now. He felt the different pace could do the trick, but it didn't. "It was sensible batting," Sanath said. "They were positive, very positive. When the ball was there to be hit, they played their shots. One over of Mishra - they hit him for 12 runs. They were scoring off the balls that needed to be scored off. As a result, they didn't let the tension rise."

In 3.5 overs, the two added 25 to take Baroda to the top of the table in Group B, and break Haryana's hearts. A game of four days was won or lost in the final 23 balls.

Read More..

Broad's Test place in the balance

David Saker, the England bowling coach, has admitted Stuart Broad's performance in Mumbai "wasn't up to scratch" and provided the biggest hint yet that he will struggle to keep his place in the team for the third Test in Kolkata.

Broad has yet to take a wicket in the Test series against India and, since the start of June, has taken 11 Test wickets, eight of those at Headingley against South Africa, at 54.00.

With Steven Finn returning from injury to take 4 for 50 in the England Performance Programme match in Mumbai and England now committed to playing two spinners in the rest of the series, it is hard to see how Broad can be accommodated.

Saker accepted that conditions in India were tough for seam bowlers like Broad, but urged him to "front up" and learn from the example of fast bowlers who have achieved success on such wickets.

"He's finding it tough, no doubt," Saker said. "I don't think he's the first fast bowler to come over here and find it tough. It's another great learning curve for him. Bowling fast over here isn't easy and you have to find a way to survive. The really great bowlers always have. You don't just say the fast bowlers are going to have no influence - a defeatist attitude like that is not accepted. We've got to have a look at the way bowlers have done it over here and try your best at replicating that.

"He's learning it the hard way at the moment and it's probably not going the way he'd like it to go. His confidence is probably not as high as he'd like but this place can really dent your confidence quickly. As a fast bowler you want to see a few balls zinging through to the keeper and it's hard to do that here. He's finding that difficult but it's something he will learn from and hopefully become a better bowler for it.

On Tuesday, Broad tweeted that he had lost 5kgs over the last week after reports during the Test that he was suffering from illness, but Saker did not want to look for excuses.

"I think he had a little bit of an illness but once you cross the line you're a hundred percent. His performance wasn't up to scratch but that happens over here," he said. "It's a tough place to bowl fast. He's had a little bit of a break, he needs to front up and find out what's the best way to go about it over here.

Broad certainly appears to have fallen behind Finn and James Anderson in the pecking order. Although Anderson has only claimed two wickets in the series to date, Saker was hugely impressed by his performance in Mumbai and conceded that, if Finn came through the EPP game, he would prove hard to ignore.

	"He's finding it really difficult to get his head around changing the way he bowls. You can bowl fourth stump nearly everywhere in the world but if you go wide of the stumps here you get hurt." David Saker on Stuart Broad's struggles

"Jimmy was outstanding here," Saker said. "It was as good as I've ever seen him bowl and he could have had a few more wickets if things had gone his way.

"Finn has been monitored the last few days and if he gets through this game with the Lions squad there's a good chance he might play in Kolkata, without a doubt. He's a special talent and has the pace we probably need for this place. We'd like to get him in the team.

"If he can get through that game there's no doubt he'll come into the selection picture. We thought he was on target for the Mumbai Test. I was very optimistic he could play, and that backfired so we don't want to get ahead of ourselves this time. We want to see him bowl 20 overs and take some wickets.

"It would have been an interesting selection call if he'd been fit here. We obviously made the right call with the two spinners so one of the fast bowlers may have had to miss out and both Stuart and Jimmy have played well up to now. We would have had to make a call on that and we'll have to make a call for this one, for sure, if Finn is fit."

Saker rejected the idea that Broad had lost pace over the last few months, suggesting that the issue was more a failure to react to the conditions in India and a subsequent loss of confidence.

"I don't think it's a matter of pace," Saker said. "He came back from injury at the World Twenty20 and bowled at good pace and I thought in the warm-up games and in the first Test he bowled at a good pace.

"I just think he's lacking a bit of confidence and finding it really difficult to get his head around maybe changing the way he bowls. Here you have to change it a bit. You can bowl fourth stump nearly everywhere else in the world but if you go wide of the stumps here you get hurt. We did discuss that before this trip, how bowling straight is crucial, and we watched as lot of footage of the teams who have come here and done well, Australia, South Africa and even the West Indies who came out here not long ago, bowled straight and had some success.

"He probably just hasn't played that well in these two Tests. Maybe he's looking for something that just isn't there as well. He's asking a lot of questions that probably don't need to be asked."

Saker also hinted that recent weeks have provided him with his biggest challenge while working with England. "I've been blessed in that I haven't had to do a lot of hard yards up to now as a bowling coach but now, with Tim Bresnan and Stuart of late, we've had to have some good talks and maybe some tinkering with actions. At the end of the day we still have to keep the game as simple as we can."

Read More..

Sri Lanka not worried about following on - Herath

Sri Lanka may have lost three of the four most prolific batsmen in their side on the second evening at the P Sara, but Rangana Herath says Sri Lanka will give little thought to avoiding the follow on. New Zealand made 412 in their first innings, with Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson both making hundreds, but Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene could only manage nine among the three of them.

Dilshan played around a straight ball that clattered into middle and off from Tim Southee, before Sangakkara failed to control a hook on zero, finding the only leg-side fielder in the deep. Mahela Jayawardene then flirted outside off stump repeatedly before edging a cover drive to gully off Trent Boult, who angled the ball across him.

The loss of three wickets means Sri Lanka have to rebuild in the first session tomorrow to earn parity with their opponents, but Angelo Mathews batted positively towards the end of play for an unbeaten 20, giving Sri Lanka hope of salvaging a good first-innings score. Opener Tharanga Paranavitana remained unbeaten on nine alongside him.

"We're not looking at the follow-on target, because we know the capability of our batsmen and if we bat well, we can go past 400 and past their score," Herath said. "We trust our batsmen to be able to do that. The first hour of tomorrow is very important for us. We have to make sure that we don't give away a wicket in that period and score as many runs as we can.

Mathews had contributed to a first-innings rescue in Galle, where Sri Lanka recovered from 50 for 5 to take a lead. Sri Lanka finished at a comparatively more comfortable 43 for 3 at the P Sara, but have a much steeper New Zealand total to overhaul than the visitors' 221 of the first Test.

"I think we can do it, like we did in Galle. This is a similar situation and Angelo and Para are batting really well for us."

Herath said that although Sri Lanka could have been more circumspect, New Zealand's fast men bowled well with the new ball. "I think we should have been little more cautious in batting than we were today, but mistakes can be there in any match. The most important thing is not really what happened, but how we are going to recover from this situation."

The hosts are unlikely to be without Thilan Samaraweera in the first innings, despite a split webbing on his hand that required stitches. Samaraweera sustained the injury at slip, when he spilt a difficult chance off Daniel Flynn, and Mathews was sent out to bat to allow him time to recover.

Herath also completed his third consecutive five-wicket haul on day two, taking 6 for 103 in the first innings. He became the highest wicket-taker in 2012 when he bagged 11 scalps in the first Test, but now trails Graeme Swann by one wicket after Swann took eight wickets against India. With Monty Panesar and Pragyan Ojha also taking five-wicket hauls in the Test in Mumbai, Herath said it had been a special few days for left-arm spinners.

"I think patience plays a crucial role for spinners. I played first-class cricket for more than 15 years and that taught me patience. This is my 42nd Test match but I think I have played more than 170 first-class matches."

Read More..

Championship returns to late September in 2013

County cricket will return to the latter half of September in 2013, with the fixture list confirming that the window in the ICC's Future Tours Programme reserved for the T20 Champions League will not be kept free. The final round of the Championship will begin on September 24, 2013, meaning that the season will not be subject to the record early starts of recent years.

For the last three seasons, cricket in England has ceased in mid-September, to accommodate the Champions League. However, the counties recently agreed not to participate in the 2013 competition, in order to protect the domestic calendar.

The opening round of Championship matches will commence on April 10, five days later than in 2012, when the traditional pre-season university fixtures were forced to begin in March. The final of the Clydesdale Bank 40 will be held at Lord's on Saturday September 21, meaning that the domestic season will start and finish with first-class cricket.

The Friends Life t20 group stage, in its final year as a block, has been moved back due to the staging of the Champions Trophy in England and is scheduled to run for six weeks from June 26. The tournament retains the same format as last season, with three groups and ten games per county; Finals Day will be held at Edgbaston on Saturday August 17.

Warwickshire, winners of the 2012 Championship, will play the Champion County match against MCC in Abu Dhabi at the end of March before beginning their defence against newly promoted Derbyshire. Yorkshire, runners-up behind Derbyshire in Division Two, will mark their return to the top tier by hosting Sussex at Headingley. The two relegated clubs, Lancashire and Worcestershire, are to face off at Old Trafford in the opening round of Division Two.

Hampshire, holders of both limited-overs trophies, will play the first CB40 fixture of the season in a floodlit match at Essex on May 3, with Scotland, Netherlands and the Unicorns again joining the 18 counties in three groups. The competition is due to revert to a 50-over format from 2014, after the ECB and the counties agreed a compromise that would retain the current Championship structure.

As well as the Champions Trophy, which runs from June 6 until June 23, New Zealand will tour England in the first part of the summer, followed by the Ashes, with the first Test against Australia starting at Trent Bridge on July 10. Derbyshire, Kent, Somerset, Worcestershire, Sussex and Northamptonshire are all scheduled to host tour matches, while England will play an Ashes warm-up fixture at Essex.

Read More..

Pressure on Sri Lanka - Williamson

On a surface that even New Zealand's tail made seem friendly, three of Sri Lanka's big four batsmen could not manage better than single figures, and Kane Williamson said the value of those wickets could not be understated, given the pitch remained good for batting.

New Zealand amassed 412 on the P Sara surface, thanks in the main to a 262-run partnership between Ross Taylor and Williamson, which was almost chanceless beyond the first hour of their union. In reply, however, Sri Lanka were reduced to 12 for 3 inside the first six overs of their innings, with their most experienced men in the top order all falling to New Zealand's opening bowlers.

Angelo Mathews then joined Tharanga Paranavitana at the crease and the pair survived the remaining 11.5 overs until stumps, but two boundaries that Mathews ventured in one Tim Southee over suggested the wicket had plenty more runs to give. The New Zealand bowlers also had far less assistance from the conditions than in Galle, achieving only a fraction of the movement they had showed themselves capable of gaining in the first Test.

"It's great to finish the evening the way we did, getting those three wickets," Williamson said. "I guess that makes our first innings total look a lot better, and there is a lot of pressure going on the Sri Lankan side tomorrow. "But as Mathews showed towards the end when he started playing some shots, it is still a good wicket."

Few would have imagined New Zealand would be in a position to pursue a large first-innings total only a few days ago, after their batsmen had collapsed woefully in their second innings in Galle, recording their lowest total in an already bleak year. Williamson's doughty 135 and a measured 142 from Taylor were the backbone of New Zealand's innings and Williamson said time in the nets had been key to their turnaround, in the absence of adequate match practice. The limited-overs leg of the tour was ravaged by rain, and the match schedule did not allow New Zealand time to play a warm-up before the Tests.

"It's been tough not having time in the middle and batting in the one-dayers, the circumstances didn't allow you to figure out whether you were hitting the ball well or not. I've been practising hard this week and it was very nice to put together an innings. I had a lot of time with batting coach, and hit a lot of balls."

Williamson's century was the third of his Test career and his second in the subcontinent, but he had only passed fifty once since his last hundred, a match saving 102 not out in Wellington. He said encouragement and insight from his more experienced team-mates helped him overcome the dry spell.

"I talked to Brendon McCullum and a few of the other batsmen, just to get my head around a few things because I hadn't scored for a few Tests. They all helped out and the team were supportive. Having not scored in the first Test, it was good to get the word from them on how things played here and take that into this match."

Despite their terrific position, New Zealand must still take 17 more wickets on a surface showing few signs of wear, if they are to score an unexpected triumph. Thilan Samaraweera moved down the order after he received stitches on his hand for split webbing, but he is expected to bat in Sri Lanka's first innings, and beyond the batsmen, the tail is one of the more capable Sri Lanka have fielded, with last man in Shaminda Eranga having made a first-class ton.

"They've got some seriously good cricketers, and to bowl them out twice is not going to be an easy feat," Williamson said. "We're not getting too far ahead of ourselves and we know we have to play good cricket each time we go out there."

Read More..

Punjab continue relentless march

Punjab 205 (Jiwanjot 61, Trivedi 5-64) and 120 for 2 (Goel 75*) beat Saurashtra 90 (Sandeep 7-25) and 233 (Jogiyani 76, S Kaul 6-63) by eight wickets
Scorecard

A solid all-round showing from Punjab on Monday helped them ease past Saurashtra by eight wickets in Mohali with over a day to spare, and record their third win in four games in the Ranji Trophy this season. While medium pacer Siddarth Kaul closed out the Saurashtra innings quickly in the morning to ensure Punjab were chasing just 119, Karan Goel anchored the chase with 75 not out.

Saurashtra had begun the day on 212 for 7, 97 ahead, and it took Punjab less than eight overs to claim the remaining wickets. Kaul took two of those wickets to finish with a career-best 6 for 63. Like in Saurashtra's first innings, it was the seamers who did all the damage, claiming all 10 wickets among them. Kaul's six-for puts him at joint-third on the wickets chart, tied for the moment with his team-mate Sandeep Sharma (who took three in the innings to finish with a 10-for) and Assam offspinner Arlen Konwar.

In the chase, opener Jiwanjot Singh had his first real failure of the tournament, but Goel held firm at his end. Mayank Sidhana made a contribution too with a rapid 21, before Mandeep Singh and Goel took Punjab home. The win helps them extend their already sizeable lead on the Group A points table.

Hyderabad 423 for 3 (Akshath Reddy 196, Vihari 191) trail Mumbai 443 (Shah 156, Rohit 112, Nayar 64, Tare 62, Ashish Reddy 4-77) by 20 runs
Scorecard

Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari put on the largest partnership in Hyderabad's history to pummel Mumbai at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. Twenty-one-year-old Reddy, who is the stand-in captain, and 19-year-old Vihari, who was part of India Under-19s World Cup-winning squad, batted almost the entire day as they added 386 for the second wicket to put Hyderabad comfortably on course for taking the first-innings lead. Mumbai were weakened by the absence of their captain Ajit Agarkar and fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni, and experienced bowlers like Aavishkar Salvi and Ramesh Powar could make little impact against the young Hyderabad pair. Both batsmen made career-best scores, but both missed out on double-centuries, dismissed a handful of overs before stumps. Still, this was a dramatic turnaround in the match after Mumbai were at a dominant 325 for 2 at stumps on the first day.

Gujarat 117 (Parthiv 55, Bangar 5-12) and 288 for 6 (Parthiv 65, Juneja 57*, Smit 55, Gohel 53) lead Railways 308 (Paunikar 85, Rawat 66, Bangar 61) by 97 runs
Scorecard

A slew of half-centuries from Gujarat's batsmen helped them stay in the game against Railways, and though they still have work ahead, Gujarat finished the day in a relatively more comfortable position than they have been in all match. After the openers Smit Patel and Samit Gohel hit half-centuries, Parthiv Patel made his sixth 50-plus score in seven first-class innings to keep Gujarat's hopes of salvaging a draw alive. After his dismissal, Manprit Juneja took over, ending the day unbeaten on 57 to put Gujarat 97 ahead with four wickets still remaining. Taking the game to the fourth day itself is an achievement for Gujarat, after imploding for 117 on the first day and then letting Railways take an almost 200-run lead.

Madhya Pradesh 342 (Ojha 99, Bundela 61, Birla 50, Ahmed 7-79) and 135 for 3 (Birla 60*, Ankit 56*) lead Bengal 299 (Jhunjhunwala 107, Saha 87, Pandey 5-87) by 178 runs
Scorecard

Madhya Pradesh secured a first-innings lead, bowling Bengal out for 299 despite some stiff resistance from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and No. 10 Veer Pratap Singh. Jhunjhunwala, playing his first game of the Ranji season, kicked on from an overnight 41 to his fourth first-class century. Bengal began the day disastrously, losing Laxmi Shukla and hat-trick man Shami Ahmed for ducks, before Jhunjhunwala put on a fighting tenth-wicket stand of 83 with Veer. That was still not enough to lift them past MP's 342 - they fell 43 short. In their second innings, MP suffered a wobble, falling to 37 for 3, before an unbroken 98-run stand between Ankit Sharma and Udit Birla put them firmly on top.

Read More..

Asnodkar century gives Goa advantage

Kerala 47 for 1 trail Goa 512 for 8 dec (Kamat 107, Asnodkar 100*, Shahid 4-147) by 465 runs
Scorecard

An unbeaten century from Rohit Asnodkar, batting at No. 7, and useful lower-order contributions led Goa to a strong first-innings total against Kerala in Malappuram. Overnight batsman Ravikant Shukla scored 87 and Asnodkar made his maiden first-class century in his 13th match. Goa declared on 512 for 8, giving themselves a strong chance of taking a first-innings lead. Kerala lost VA Jagadeesh for 19 before stumps.

Jammu and Kashmir 153 (Sahabuddin 5-53) and 13 for 0 trail Andhra 390 (Pradeep 136, Dayal 5-63) by 224 runs
Scorecard

A century from AG Pradeep and fifties from Syed Sahabuddin and Rajesh Pawar led Andhra to a 237-run lead in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir. Resuming on 118 for 4 on the second morning, Andhra lost Amol Muzumdar before a run was scored, and were further reduced to 163 for 6, before the lower order lifted them to 390. Ram Dayal took 5 for 63 for J&K, his maiden five-wicket haul.

J&K had to face four overs before stumps and their openers scored 13 without being dismissed.

Himachal Pradesh 201 for 4 (Prashant Chopra 101, Aakash Chopra 61) trail Jharkhand 236 (Tiwary 102, Dhawan 6-63) by 35 runs
Scorecard

A 154-run partnership between Himachal Pradesh's openers, Aakash Chopra and Prashant Chopra, laid a solid platform for their team to take a first-innings lead against Jharkhand. Prashant, who was part of the India Under-19 team that won the World Cup, scored a century, while Aakash made 61. Himachal suffered a slide towards the end of the day, with three wickets falling for 21 runs, but trailed by only 35 runs.

That batting effort came after fast bowler Rishi Dhawan took a career-best 6 for 63 to dismiss Jharkhand for 236. The visitors had begun the second day on 176 for 5 and Dhawan trapped Sunny Gupta lbw early. Saurabh Tiwary, who was 65 not out overnight, went on to make 102. He was the last man dismissed as Jharkhand lost five wickets for 60 runs on the second day.

Services 302 for 8 (Paliwal 143*) lead Assam 182 (Yadav 4-58) by 120 runs
Scorecard

Rajat Paliwal scored his second hundred in consecutive games to give Services the first-innings lead against Assam. Replying to Assam's 182, Services began the second day on 11 for 0, and slipped to 113 for 6, with seamer Arup Das taking three wickets. Paliwal held one end up, making an unbeaten 143, and 20s from Suraj Yadav and Shadab Nazar led Services past 300. They ended the day on 302 for 8, ahead by 120 runs.

Read More..

Murad spins Khulna to big win

Khulna Division 367 (Imran 156, Kayes 62, Haque 4-145) and 8 for 0 beat Sylhet Division 244 (Imtiaz 108, Mabud 43, Razzak 3-65) and 130 (Ahmed 41, Murad 6-64) by ten wickets
Scorecard

Khulna Division have taken a big lead in the National Cricket League after they crushed Sylhet Division by ten wickets in Rangpur. Sylhet narrowly avoided an innings defeat as Left-arm spinner Murad Khan took six wickets to take his team to a winning position in the second innings. They are now on 34 points after five straight wins.

Khulna, in the first innings, rode on Tushar Imran's 156 as they made a competitive 367 in their first innings, in reply to Sylhet's 244. Imtiaz Hossain struck 108 for Sylhet but Abdur Razzak's three wickets did much of the damage.

Enamul Haque jnr took four wickets, but the batsmen floundered as they were bowled out for just 130 runs in the second innings, succumbing to Murad.

Dhaka Division 401 (Chowdhury 114, Nazmul 77, Nurul 49, Arafat 3-66) beat Chittagong Division 138 (Karim 46, Islam 4-34, Mosharraf 4-58) and 194 (Karim 54, Faisal 50, Mosharraf 5-49, Hom 4-47) by an innings and 69 runs
Scorecard

Dhaka Division have moved to the second position after they posted their third win, defeating Chittagong Division by an innings and 69 runs. The comprehensive victory was set up on the first day when left-arm spinners Mosharraf Hossain and Nazmul Islam took four wickets each to skittle out Chittagong for 138 runs.

Dhaka replied well, piling up 401 runs, as Nadif Chowdhury scored 114 while the big-hitting Nazmul Hossain Milon smashed 77 off 88 balls.

Chittagong required 263 to avoid an innings defeat, but Mosharraf's five-for helped bowl them out for 194 runs in the 71st over, ensuring a smooth third day for Dhaka, who won handsomely.

Read More..