Hafeez spins Lahore Lions to title

Lahore Lions 154 for 7 (Jamshed 42, Adil 3-23) beat Faisalabad Wolves 121 for 8 (Hafeez 4-11) by 33 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Mohammad Hafeez's economical and incisive spell bowled Lahore Lions to a comprehensive victory against Faisalabad Wolves in the final of the Faysal Bank T-20, and potentially secured them a place in the Champions League T20 next year.

Chasing a target of 155, Faisalabad had reached 30 for 1 in the fourth over when the slide began. Asif Ali was first run out, and then Hafeez nipped out three wickets in successive overs to reduce Faisalabad to 56 for 5. The collpase did not cease and Hafeez returned to dismiss Imran Khalid to pick up his fourth wicket. He finished with 4 for 11, and Abdul Razzaq claimed 2 for 19, as Faisalabad were restricted to 121 for 8 in 20 overs.

Lahore's innings had been set up by a fiery start from their openers after they chose to bat. Ahmed Shehzad scored 29 off 18 balls and was first out with the score on 44 in 4.2 overs. Nasir Jamshed carried on, making 42 off 28 balls to lay the platform for a formidable score. The middle-order batsmen, however, could not sustain the momentum and Nos. 3 to 5 got starts but scored at only a run a ball. Lahore had to settle for 154 for 7, but it proved to be 33 too many for Faisalabad.

The final was watched by a crowd of 20,000 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, with several thousands outside the venue without tickets.

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Masakadza's record haul skittles Tuskers

A six-wicket haul from Shingi Masakadza led Mountaineers to a 30-run win against Matabeleland Tuskers at Mutare Sports Club. The performance - 6 for 16 - was Masakadza's best in domestic T20s and the fifth best in all T20 cricket.

Defending 136, Tendai Chatara struck the first blow for Mountaineers, dismissing Moeen Ali for 1 in the second over. In the third, Masakadza had the captain Gavin Ewing caught and Tuskers were 11 for 2. Craig Ervine made 41 but had no support from his team-mates. Tuskers had slipped to 104 for 7 when Masakadza bowled the 19th over and took four wickets to end the innings. He struck with the second, third, fifth and sixth ball to dismiss Tuskers for 105.

Mountaineers had also batted poorly after they won the toss. Mark Pettini was the only batsman to pass 30 and he made only 31. They were struggling at 110 for 7 in the 17th over and Masakadza's 16 lifted them towards 135 for 9. Tuskers' bowlers shared the wickets around, with Keegan Meth, Glen Querl, Njabulo Ncube and Ali taking two each.

The match between Southern Rocks and Mashonaland Eagles was washed out at at Masvingo Sports Club without a ball bowled.

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Khulna champions after narrow win

Khulna Division became National Cricket League champions by beating Rajshahi Division by 33 runs in a low-scoring game in Bogra. The win put them on 40 points, ten ahead of Dhaka Division, who can't catch up even though they are poised to thrash Barisal Division in Rajshahi. It is Khulna's third NCL triumph after winning the tournament in 2002-03 and 2007-08.

Rajshahi had a shot at victory after they bowled out Khulna for 180 in the second innings; they needed to chase only 187. However the pace and spin combination of Robiul Islam and Nizamuddin took eight wickets and Rajshahi were bowled out for 153.

In the first innings, Khulna had made 228 after being put into bat. Imrul Kayes' 60 was the only major contribution as the Rajshahi bowlers Farhad Reza and Saqlain Sajib took control, picking up three wickets each.

Rajshahi, however, batted poorly in their first innings and conceded a six-run lead. Maisuqur Rahman made 64 but the rest failed to support him. Robiul and left-arm spinner Murad Khan took three wickets each for Khulna.

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Birt, Shah blow Heat away

Hobart Hurricanes 2 for 175 (Birt 57*) beat Brisbane Heat 6 for 172 (Christian 49, Gulbis 3-29) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A half-century from Travis Birt and some crisp hitting from Owais Shah helped Hobart Hurricanes to a comfortable two-wicket win over Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Birt and Shah combined for a 95-run partnership in less than nine overs, as the hosts' total of 6 for 172 was overhauled with an over to spare.

Tim Paine upped the tempo early on for the Hurricanes after Shane Watson's first over cost just one run. Wicketkeeper Paine cracked Watson for six in his next over and had helped put on a 50-run opening stand when he fell to James Hopes for 29 off 19 balls. Nathan Hauritz and Ben Cutting helped slow the run rate, the latter removing Jonathan Wells with the score on 80, but the third-wicket partnership was to prove decisive.

Shah hit Cutting for two sixes in the 13th over and Birt scored 21 off the next, which also included a wide from Hopes, to make the Hurricanes task a straightforward one.

Having won the toss, Brisbane were hampered in their attempts to set a more imposing total by the loss of regular wickets. Michael Hogan struck twice to remove the openers with 39 on the board before a 49-run partnership between Joe Burns and Dan Christian. Debutant Evan Gulbis removed Burns on the way to fine figures of 3 for 29 and Thisara Perara's late innings of 22 from eight balls was not enough to give Heat a winning platform.

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Meth, Mpofu lead Tuskers to close win

Matabeleland Tuskers 211 for 7 (Ali 48, Williams 48, Chatara 3-34) beat Mountaineers 210 (Sauramba 40, Mpofu 4-43) by nine runs (D/L method)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

An all-round effective bowling performance by Matabeleland Tuskers took them to a close nine-run win against Mountaineers in a rain-shortened contest at Mutare Sports Club. Chasing 220, Mountaineers were seven down for 164 when Natsai M'shangwe helped them accelerate to bring down their required run-rate to less than four runs per over with three overs remaining. But by then, they were eight down, and two wickets off the 41st over sealed a win for their opponents. Seamer Keegan Meth's two wickets and a run-out at crucial stages, and Chris Mpofu's four wickets, proved costly.

Matabeleland Tuskers' innings, earlier, progressed through stops and starts, and was built on two significant partnerships of over 70 each. After being put in to bat, seamer Tendai Chetara reduced them to 22 for 3, and a 75-run fourth-wicket stand between opener Moeen Ali and Sean Williams, both of whom scored 48, helped them recover. But Shingi Masakadza and Donald Tiripano took two wickets each to leave them struggling at 139 for 7 in the 28th over. Charles Coventry and Glen Querl played patiently thereafter, adding 72, which helped them go past the 200-run mark.

Mountaineers, according to D/L calculations, required 219 off their 50 overs, and fell short.

Mashonaland Eagles 102 (Chakabva 42*) v Southern Rocks- Match abandoned
Scorecard

The game between Mashonaland Eagles and Southern Rocks was called off due to rain. After being put in to bat, Mashonaland Eagles batted for 21.5 overs before rain halted play, and rain would not allow play to resume again.

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Ranji spectators turned away in Bangalore

While domestic matches in India are not known to fill seats in stadiums in the bigger cities, the first day of the Karnataka-Delhi Ranji Trophy match in Bangalore actually had the few spectators who showed up turned away; security has been tightened around the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the lead-up to the Twenty20 between India and Pakistan on December 25.

A top Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) told ESPNcricinfo that the stadium has been handed over to the police, who have the final say on letting spectators in. He added that it is possible for a spectator to watch the Ranji Trophy game in select stands, but will have to furnish personal information to convince the security team. It will also help if the spectator is a member of the adjoining KSCA club or can get authorised by a member.

The issue came to light when a fan, posting on ESPNcricinfo's Ranji Trophy blog, said he was not allowed entry. The ongoing match, against Delhi, will be the only Karnataka game affected by these security arrangements, as they play their next two home games in Mysore and Hubli.

Such security arrangements are likely to be employed in Delhi too, and so their next home Ranji game, from December 15, will probably not be played at the Feroz Shah Kotla which is the venue for the final India-Pakistan ODI on January 6.

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J&K, Kerala even on record-breaking day

Kerala 0 for 0 v Jammu and Kashmir 215 (Dev Singh 117*, Shahid 8-51)
Scorecard

On a strange day in which two players single-handedly dominated the bowling and batting for their respective sides, and in doing so, created history, Jammu and Kashmir played out an evenly-contested first day against hosts Kerala. Opener Ian Dev Singh scored an unbeaten century, becoming the second J&K batsman to have carried his bat, and seamer CP Shahid, playing in his third first-class game, took 8 for 51 to register third-best figures for any bowler in his side in history. Besides opener Adil Rishi and No. 3 Bandeep Singh, who were the first two to be dismissed, all fell to him, as J&K were bowled out for 215.

But wickets didn't fall in a heap, as Ian Dev struck useful partnerships, especially for the third and the seventh wicket. None of them, however, lasted beyond 59 runs, and seven single-digit scores put paid to J&K's hopes of a big first-innings total.

Services 284 for 4 (Chatterjee 103, Yashpal 92) v Goa
Scorecard

Services captain and opener Soumik Chatterjee scored a century to lead his side to a strong 284 for 4 against Goa at stumps in Porvorim. After choosing to bat, they lost their other opener Pratik Desai in the fifth over, No. 3 Ansuhl Gupta for 31 in the 18th over and the next batsman Soumya Swain after ten more overs. But Chatterjee then combined with Yashpal Singh, who gave him able support, to give their side a strong foundation. The duo added 141 runs for the fourth wicket, before Chatterjee got out in the final session after scoring his fourth century.

Assam 213 for 4 (PP Das 90) v Himachal Pradesh
Scorecard

In Guwahati, Assam built the foundation for a strong first innings against Himachal Pradesh after being put in to bat. Opener PP Das, playing his eighth first-class match, was dismissed for ten short of what would have been his maiden first-class century. Although none of the top-order batsmen scored a fifty, they featured in four productive partnerships, to help their side reach 213 for 4 at stumps.

Das' innings of 90 contained 15 boundaries, but he also played out many dot deliveries, as his innings' strike-rate was 48.36. For Himachal, offspinner Gurvinder Singh, with two wickets, was the most productive bowler.

Jharkhand 95 for 3 (Jaggi 43, Tiwary 38) trail Tripura 106 (Shubhrajit 43, Yadav 6-38) by 11 runs
Scorecard

Jharkhand held the upper hand in their contest against Tripura in Agartala after right-arm fast bowler Ajay Yadav, in only his second first-class match, took 6 for 38 to help bowl Tripura out for 106. After a poor start to their reply, Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary scored 85 runs together to leave their side to within 11 runs of their opponent's total.

Tripura's innings crumbled from the beginning. Opener Shubhrajit Roy top-scored with 43, and only two others scored beyond five runs in the innings. When five wickets had fallen for 12 runs in the 11th over, Shubrajit and Debabrata Chowdhury stuck for 17.2 overs, and helped them to a better position, adding 54 runs. But Chowdhury's dismissal led to another collapse, and Tripura were soon bowled out. Their bowlers, however, gave them a positive start with the ball, as Jharkhand were reduced to 10 for 3, but Tiwary and Jaggi batted responsibly to ensure their side's dominance.

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'We deserved to win this ODI series' - Mushfiqur

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has said his team earned the 3-2 ODI series victory over West Indies through skill and by building up towards peak form over the past four weeks. The coming together of all three departments in the crucial final game of the series, albeit with some major scares along the way, he said, was what made the difference for Bangladesh.

"We deserved to win this ODI series, judging by our performance since the Tests and our cricket skills," Mushfiqur said after the game. "We would have at least drawn that first Test had we not made some mistakes. We didn't bat and field well in the third and fourth [ODIs], though we bowled very well. Today our only plan was to get it right in all three departments.

"This is what gave us the wins in the first two games of the ODI series. In this final game, we told everyone that we have to make sure we give 100% effort."

Bangladesh's nerves could have frayed at two crucial points in the game, but they came out on top on both occasions. First, when Kieron Pollard began his assault, hammering eight sixes in an innings that was threatening to take the series away from the home side. As the big hits piled up at the feet of a sell-out crowd, Mushfiqur's bowling choices were compromised. He tossed the ball to the innocuous Mominul Haque, who bowls part-time left-arm spin. Sensing an opportunity to get one more out of the ground, Pollard went for a big swish after clearing the front foot, but the ball had snuck below his bat and onto the stumps.

Mushfiqur joked that he would like credit for that wicket but praised the maturity shown by Mominul: "Mominul is a fighting cricketer. That is how he is, one of my favourite young players. He takes up the challenge so when I gave him the bowling, I told him to just do what you can, don't worry about the outcome."

The other crucial juncture was when the 91-run fourth wicket stand between Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah ended with the latter getting bowled by Sunil Narine in the 21st over, with Bangladesh still needing 97 runs to win. They had two more batsmen in the shed, Nasir Hossain and Mominul, and these two came together when Mushfiqur was also dismissed by the same bowler not long after. The two youngsters, Nasir playing the role of the senior batsmen for once, showed the guts required in these tight situations and on a 53-run fifth wicket stand that took Bangladesh almost to the victory.

"When I was batting with [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai, I wanted to put up a partnership," Mushfiqur said. "After I got out, another partnership was a must and credit goes to Nasir and Mominul. They handled the pressure situation very well, showed their maturity in such a game. Even Sohag Gazi's 15 runs were vital in the circumstances."

The captain was happy with Shafiul Islam, who was a last-minute replacement for the injured Mashrafe Mortaza and the only pace bowler in the attack. He took 3 for 31 - his second-best bowling performance in terms of wickets taken and his most economical spell of bowling against a major team; he has been known to leak runs in the past.

"I think 70% of [credit for] the win goes to him," Mushfiqur said. "He bowled so well in such a final match, and it is not easy to bowl against Gayle, Pollard and Samuels. He hasn't played for a long time [due to injury]. We kept telling him to be ready for an opportunity. He can use the inswinger with the new ball, so we were sure he could do the job."

Mushfiqur pointed out that the win had come against an in-form team that has just won the World Twenty20, and that Bangladesh were without their linchpin, Shakib Al Hasan. That, he said, made it a superior performance to the two previous series wins against teams ranked higher than Bangladesh. "I would put this above the West Indies whitewash [in 2009, against a second-string side] and the 4-0 win over New Zealand [in 2010]. This is a T20 champion side and all their top players were here.

"We also missed a big performer in this series, so it became a huge challenge. I would say that this is the biggest win for us."

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Ponting was fearless - Viv Richards

Viv Richards has hailed Ricky Ponting's brashness and "show-no-fear" attitude as among his greatest traits, and Shane Warne has lauded Ponting's habit of making runs when Australia most needed them. Ponting farewelled Test cricket with Australia's loss to South Africa in Perth this week and on Thursday, Warne and Richards, in Melbourne in the lead-up to Friday night's Big Bash League opener, reflected on Ponting's 17-year Test career.

"Certainly he's up there with the very best," Richards said. "What I love about him more than anything else, you look at the way he walks out to the crease. He always has presence. There is a tenaciousness about him. He walks out and believes. He's not going to be intimidated by no one. I would like guys like that. I appreciate seeing guys who come out and have a particular presence."

The same words could have been used to describe Richards, one of Wisden's five cricketers of the century, a man who never wore a helmet and stared down fast bowlers all over the world while nonchalantly chewing his gum. Although the careers of the two men did not overlap - Richards retired from Test cricket four years before Ponting made his debut - Richards saw plenty of Ponting's batting and was impressed by the attitude he displayed from his very first match in 1995.

"A young batter who wants to make it, you cannot feel like you have one foot in and one foot out," Richards said. "You've got to make that crease your house. Ricky always made the crease his house. I've always been in his corner as a player because of that brashness, he's an in-your-face sort of guy. Show no fear. Batsmen sometimes can be intimidated by a guy from how far he runs up, but you just put that at the back of your mind and bat with what you have. Ricky, to me, certainly did that."

Richards is part of the BBL this year as a batting mentor for the Melbourne Stars, who are captained by Warne, a man who played 85 Tests alongside Ponting. Although Warne was not always enamoured with Ponting's captaincy decisions, he said Ponting's ability to score runs when Australia faced potential trouble was one of the reasons the team was so successful.

"It was fun to play with Ricky Ponting," Warne said. "I met him as a 16-year-old at the cricket academy in Adelaide. He was a guy who was pretty tough and an uncompromising sort of player. He will definitely go down with Greg Chappell and Allan Border and Bradman as the greatest batsmen Australia have had, and he'll hold up well on the international stage.

"He loved a scrap, he loved a fight, he was always good when the team really needed him he put his hand up. That's a really good characteristic in any player. It's not about how many runs you get, it's about when you get your runs and when you take your wickets. I think Ricky always got the majority of his runs when Australia really needed him. That was a standout characteristic of his. He was good fun to play with and tough as nails."

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Quick Indian-visa process likely for Pakistan fans

Pakistan's whistle stop two-week, five-match tour of India that starts on Christmas Day in Bangalore could be kicked off with the 3000 Pakistani ticket-holders for the series being issued Indian visas in less than ten days.

The Pakistan tour of India, featuring two T20 Internationals in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, and three ODIs in Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi, has been pushed through via the highest levels of the government and cricket administration on both sides of the border. The PCB will be issued the 3000 tickets to be distributed, by the board, in Pakistan: 1000 for the match in Delhi and 500 for each of the other four cities. Pakistan citizens holding tickets to all five matches will be issued five-city visas, an unusual diplomatic practice in itself. An announcement on a quicker visa-issuing process for the cricket is expected in a few days' time.

A four-man PCB recce team concluded its visit of India on Thursday, after travelling to each of the venues where the matches will be held. Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB's general manager, media, said that the issue of security will be left in the hands of the hosts. "What we expect is fool-proof security for our players, and we expect that the capability that these cities have will provide that."

The PCB recce team's chief concerns were more related to practice facilities and net bowlers, and ensuring that team hotels clear out mini-bars. There was, Sarwar said, no strict 'ban' on players socialising or attending private parties. "We would discourage individuals from socialising because it's going to be a very busy tour - five matches in 14 days. It's not like there's a ban or a restrictive list [of activities] on the tour, because there is very little time for socialising."

He said the future of Indo-Pak cricketing relations depended on India: "The ball will now be in their court." As for international cricket in Pakistan, Sarwar said that the PCB was confident that teams would start visiting Pakistan "very soon". "It is, at the moment, just a question of perception. We are in negotiations with several boards. Teams will start coming to Pakistan, hopefully soon."

On this tour, the Pakistan team, Sarwar said, wanted to redress their recent poor record against India: India had won the previous four games between the teams - two Asia Cup ODIs, the 2011 World Cup semi-final and a World T20 group match in September.

In Kolkata the PCB team met with Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI president, who recognised PCB chief Zaka Ashraf's role in pushing the series through. The May and June meetings between Ashraf and BCCI president N Srinivasan led to the announcement of a schedule for the series, which is sandwiched between England's Test and ODI tour of India. In September, Ashraf met with the-then Indian foreign minister, SM Krishna, in Islamabad and two months later, the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan travelled to Lahore for discussions on visa issues with PCB officials.

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