Mohnish Mishra returns in style after suspension

As the Madhya Pradesh team was going through its warm-up drills at Holkar Stadium on Sunday morning, ahead of its Ranji Trophy season-opener against Railways, MP coach Mukesh Sahani noticed that Mohnish Mishra, the vice-captain, was stiffer than usual. Sahani wasn't surprised, since Mishra was marking a return to top-flight cricket after serving a one-year suspension imposed by the BCCI for having indulged in "loose talk" and brought disrepute to Indian cricket, following a sting operation into alleged corruption in domestic cricket by India TV in May 2012.

"He just walked up to me and told me, 'You are thinking much more than what you should be,'" Mishra told ESPNcricinfo. "He asked me to set all other thoughts aside and concentrate only on the ball that would be coming at me. That is precisely what I did, and I am kind of relieved it worked."

The result was a near-perfect return to domestic cricket for Mishra, who threw his wicket away just three runs shy of what would have been his sixth first-class century. Still, his knock of 97, played in his trademark attacking style and helping MP cruise to 282 for 3 at stumps on day one, could be enough to silence those who raised eyebrows over his appointment as captain Devendra Bundela's deputy. And it was enough to reassure Mishra that he still belonged at this level.

"When you cannot play at this level for one full season, somewhere down the line you start asking yourself whether you belong here. Once I survived the initial anxiety, I knew that I was back to where I belonged and was keen to justify it," Mishra said. "Besides, the competition is so fierce nowadays that despite the MP Cricket Association, coaches, captain and selectors giving me full assurance, I knew I had to make their confidence count at the earliest."

Sahani agreed that it was crucial from both Mishra's and the team's perspective for him to come good at the earliest. "Having known him well since his Under-19 days, I knew that the sooner he got a decent score the better it would for everyone, to get the monkey off his back. And I am glad that he has managed to deliver in the first innings."

For more than half a decade before his suspension, Mishra was a vital cog in MP's line-up. In fact, in the 2011-12 season, he had led MP in the domestic one-day and Twenty20 competitions. As a result, for Sahani and the selectors, led by Narendra Hirwani, it was a "no-brainer" for him to be appointed vice-captain once he was available.

Even though Mishra couldn't play competitive cricket last year, he didn't give up training "even for a single day" all through the year. He was practising hard at his club in Bhopal and keeping in touch with his MP coaches and team-mates. "Not once did anyone make me feel I was unwanted, because they knew I hadn't done anything that would have shamed anyone. That helped me keep myself on my toes."

Mishra said the biggest change the forced one-year break brought was "maturity". "I started to know myself better - both as a person and a cricketer," Mishra said. "I had so much time to think about myself and my cricket that would help me in revitalising my dream of playing for India. That's why I am as disappointed with myself as I am happy today. Delighted, obviously, for coming good on my return. And disappointed for having missed out on a century and remaining unbeaten at the end of the day's play by playing a rash shot."

Read More..

Sylhet wins, Cox's Bazaar misses out

The ICC has retained Sylhet as one of the venues for next year's World Twenty20, after being convinced by the BCB that the stadium will be ready in time. There is still some development work left at the stadium, but the extended deadline of November 30 is being seen as adequate time to complete the work.

Sylhet has been given 28 matches, the most for one venue in this tournament, which includes 22 women's matches and six from the men's first round, which were to be played in Cox's Bazaar. But the coastal town was shelved as a venue as its playing surface is brand new and untested.

With 16 men's and 10 women's teams, this is the biggest tournament in its history. But the dropping of the Cox's Bazaar venue means that the 60 matches of both the tournaments will be crammed into just three grounds, one of which is still incomplete.

But there has been significant progress at the Sylhet venue since work started belatedly in June. The main pavilion building and the media centre on opposite sides of the ground have been completed structurally, but there is interior work still to be done. The floodlights have been installed while the green gallery, a small hill on the east of the pavilion, needs its seating arrangement to be made more spectator-friendly.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan said he is confident that they can complete the pending work well before time, but cautioned that the board cannot prevent the ICC from deciding on alternative venues if the work isn't completed on time.

"The basic structures [in Sylhet] are completed," BCB president Nazmul Hassan said. "The finishing touches are going on. We still have lot of work to do. It is a huge stadium and we also have some landscaping left to do. We are confident of doing it in time.

"[But] there is always a possibility to move matches from one country to another or from one stadium to another. Everything depends on whether we can get the stadiums prepared by the time we committed to. If we don't do it, it will go to the alternate venues. Our advantage is that we have alternate venues. But I won't negotiate for this with the ICC anymore. I have promised them that we will finish it by November 20 [the official deadline is November 30], I can assure you we can do it by November 10."

Hassan said that work in Sylhet should have begun long time ago but it was stalled because the National Sports Council (NSC) took extra time to complete the tendering process. "The Sylhet stadium was not directly done by the BCB but by the NSC. The tender should have started at least nine months back.

"You can't ask us to finish a nine-month task in two months, and we couldn't. So we asked the ICC for another one month. A lot of work has been done. The entire process started too late."

The ICC will use all three venues - Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet - for the 35 men's matches, including the first round that will be held from March 16 to 21. Dhaka's Shere Bangla National Stadium will host 17 matches in all, and the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong will host 14 games.

But what should have been one of the tournament's biggest attractions, the Cox's Bazaar Stadium by the world's longest beach, will now only host practice matches. The land was acquired quite late and only happened after the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina intervened earlier this year. There was never going to be enough time to build a stadium from scratch in such a short timeframe, and although it was almost achieved, there was not enough time to test the pitches.

Hassan, though, said the warm-up games needed venues too. "It is not only the World Twenty20 matches but there will be a lot of practice matches for both tournaments. We cannot [overuse] the three [main] venues, so these practice matches will be spread around.

"We initially thought that the women's matches will be held in Cox's Bazaar. It is fully ready but the pitches have not been tested. There has never been a cricket match played on those wickets. To start a World Cup on completely unused pitches is a big risk."

Read More..

Ontong blitz leads Cobras to victory

Cape Cobras 286 for 6 (Ontong 97) beat Titans 285 for 7 (Behardien 89, Davids 80, Williams 3-41) by four wickets
Scorecard

Titans pushed past a wobbly start to set up a competitive target, but Justin Ontong proved the difference, as his whirlwind 97 took Cape Cobras to a thrilling victory, their third in the Momentum One Day Cup.

Set 286 to win, Cobras began solidly with Andrew Puttick and Dave Vilas putting on 75 runs, but Titans regained the advantage when both players fell in successive overs. Stiaan van Zyl continued to resist but, with the required rate on an upward trend, things were getting dicey.

Titans would have hoped Ontong, coming off a stretch of poor form in domestic limited-overs matches, would succumb to the pressure, but the Cobras captain was unfazed. A century partnership for the fifth wicket between him and Justin Kemp helped overhaul the required 95 in the final 10 overs. Ontong himself scored 55 off 33 balls in that period, capping it off by smashing 19 runs off the penultimate over. He was dismissed three short of a century, but by then, Cobras already had sneaked ahead.

Earlier, Titans were nursing a poor start - 67 for 3 in the 19th over - when Henry Davids, with 80 and Farhaan Behardien, who top-scored with 89, pulled off a rescue act. The duo added 96 runs, but it was the fifth wicket partnership that took Titans into a commanding position. Behardien and Mangaliso Mosehle looted 108 runs in 71 balls hoisting their side to 286 by the end of 50 overs. Mosehle was the driving force of the stand, scoring 62 off 43 balls, with 10 fours. Cobras' 20-year-old seamer Lizaad Williams, with 3 for 41, was the pick of the bowlers.

Dolphins 227 for 7 (Van Wyk 61, Delport 56, Morris 3-59) v Lions
No result
Scorecard

Only 43.3 overs were possible in Pietermaritzburg, as the match between Dolphins and Lions was abandoned due to rain.

Dolphins were losing momentum after a 119-run stand for the second wicket between Morne van Wyk and Cameron Delport when rain put paid to any further play. Van Wyk top-scored with 61 off just 38 balls, slamming seven fours and three sixes while Delport hit eight fours and a six as he made 56.

After their departure, seamer Chris Morris and legspinner Eddie Leie picked up four wickets between them to slow the scoring but it was to no avail with weather having final say.

Prospects were even worse at East London where the match between Warriors and Knights was called off without a ball bowled.

Read More..

Cricketer dies after blow to head

A 32-year-old former South African first-class cricketer has been killed after being struck on the side of the head during a Border Cricket Board Premier League match at Alice in the Eastern Cape.

Darryn Randall was taking part in a match between Old Selbornians and Fore Hare University when he took the blow while attempting a pull shot and collapsed at the crease. He was rushed to Alice Hospital but medical staff were unable to revive him. A Cricket South Africa spokesman confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he had been wearing a helmet as all players are required to do.

Mark Boucher, the former South Africa wicketkeeper, tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers go out to the Randalls! Such sad news! Darren was a special boy! Life is short guys! Live it like there's no tomorrow!"

Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive, said: "This is a very sad day, indeed. I would like to convey CSA's deepest condolences on behalf of the South African cricketing family not just to his family and friends but also to all the players, umpires, clubs and everybody else who was present at this match. CSA will be offering counselling to all those involved."

Randall represented Border, as a wicketkeeper-batsman, in four first-class matches and four List A games during 2009 as well as the various provincial youth teams while a pupil at Stirling Primary and Selborne College in East London. He had established himself as a coach where he was running a highly regarded cricket academy at Stirling Primary School. He is survived by his mother and his fiancée.

In 1998 the former India Test player Raman Lamba died after being struck on the head while fielding at short leg during a domestic match in Bangladesh.

Read More..

Du Preez, Ismail seal series for South Africa

South Africa Women 274 for 3 (Du Preez 79*, Kapp 72) beat Sri Lanka Women 207 for 8 (Siriwardene 68, Ismail 3-34)
Scorecard

South Africa Women took an unassailable 2-0 lead courtesy of three top-order half-centuries, as they beat Sri Lanka Women by 67 runs in the second ODI in Potchefstroom.

Sri Lanka elected to field, but early breakthroughs were a difficult commodity as 21-year old Lizelle Lee and Trisha Chetty strung together an opening partnership of 72 runs. Chetty was the more dominant partner and departed first, caught in front by Shashikala Siriwardene. Lee held firm, reaching her third ODI half-century and when she fell in the 29th over, South Africa had already built a strong foundation at 141 for 2. Captain Mignon du Preez, with an unbeaten 79 and allrounder Marizanne Kapp, with 72, constructed an excellent charge, with the final 10 overs yielding 82 runs.

Sri Lanka's chase was hampered early when seamer Shabnim Ismail had the openers bowled inside the first five overs. Siriwardene offered resistance, with good support from No. 6 Chamani Seneviratna. Their 95-run partnership ensured Sri Lanka remained in the hunt, but when Ismail returned and had Siriwardene out for 68 in the 37th over, the chase began to slip away. An equation that read 120 runs off 78, proved enough cushion for offspinner Sunette Loubser to run through the lower order and limit the visitors well below their target.

"The top order did really well to get us to a good position so I'm happy with the first innings," said du Preez. "There were a few extra runs that we didn't need to give away but I'm happy with the way the bowlers recovered. It was definitely a team effort today."

Du Preez wanted to take the momentum from this win into the third and final ODI on Monday and whitewash Sri Lanka. "It would be really good to finish with a three-nil series victory, we look forward to going out there and giving it our all."

Read More..

Ranji pitches and points system in focus

With another Ranji Trophy season set to begin, the familiar complaints about the quality of pitches and the points system are in the spotlight again. Too many sides are happy to roll out flat tracks and convert matches into first-innings batting shootouts. There were a few exceptions like Rohtak and Mohali, where bowlers enjoyed themselves last season, but in many other venues centuries came easily.

At the start of the 2012-13 season, under the supervision of Sanjay Jagdale, the former BCCI secretary, the board had asked the pitch and grounds committee to prepare true pitches. At the BCCI's captains and coaches meeting held at the end of the previous season, Jagdale had pointed out that the percentage of outright victories had actually increased overall across the country, though only marginally. Last year, in 115 Ranji matches, there were 45 outright results (39.1%), while in 2011-12 there were 34 outright results in 88 matches (38.6%).

Still, the bland nature of the surfaces has forced teams to target the three points on offer for taking a first-innings lead in a draw. "The standard of the wickets has to be improved a lot," Mumbai's coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni, said. Mumbai, traditionally the powerhouses of Indian domestic cricket, had only one outright victory in the league phase last season, but still accumulated enough points to sneak into the quarter-finals.

Tamil Nadu coach, WV Raman, remains positive that pitches will improve with time. "The directive to not have the tracks that were really flat or facilitate a run-fest has changed the dynamics somewhat," he said. "Teams will have to be patient before every venue implements the right measures."

More than the pitches, Raman said the grey area is the awarding of points to teams. Last year, the number of points awarded for a victory was increased from five to six, while the points for taking the first-innings lead in a draw was retained at three.

Raman felt teams needed to be given even more motivation to not settle for draws. "I still stick to my guns that the points system has to be changed," he said. "You still need to give some incentive to force the issue and go for outright victory, then it becomes a habit. We should also help teams learn to play under pressure and play to win."

One change both Kulkarni and Raman are happy with is the BCCI technical committee's move to give an additional day's break between group matches starting from the fourth round. The coaches felt the extra rest would help keep the best players fit throughout the campaign.

"The main reason is to give a break to fast bowlers," Kulkarni said. "Because injuries to them has become the biggest worry not only for the domestic teams but also for players who are on the fringes of selection into the Indian team."

Plenty of quick bowlers including Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Varun Aaron and Zaheer Khan have spent lot of time recovering from injuries at the NCA in recent years. A coach of a prominent team chirps that the NCA was becoming renowned as a National Rehabilitation Centre, instead of an academy that grooms and readies a pool of match-fit players. The extra day's break will hopefully help the quicks maintain their fitness and make more of an impact on India's premier first-class tournament.

Read More..

Haryana not overawed by Tendulkar factor - Jadeja

Ajay Jadeja, the former India allrounder, finds himself playing a part in what is likely to be Sachin Tendulkar's final domestic match and, while relishing the prospect of an unexpected encounter, says his team won't be overawed by the occasion.

Jadeja, who came out of retirement to lead Haryana in the Buchi Babu tournament, and will now do the same against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, says he isn't quite sure of the role he'll be able to play on the field at his age - bordering 43 - apart from mentoring the side.

He denied there was any pressure on his players to push themselves more because of the hype surrounding the game. Instead he felt it was a rare chance for them to test themselves against someone like Tendulkar. "The match is going to be played on the ground. Whether there is hype or no hype there is no player who turns up not wanting to do his best. This is a player's career, his life.

"It's wonderful to have people watching because if there's interest in the game and people talking about it, it can only inspire you. That encourages our team to go out there and do what needs to be done. It's not as though you can do something extra just because of the hype.

"The coach needs to tell people not to get overawed all the time. We are looking at this as an opportunity to play against the best in the world. You always have a shot when you walk on to the park. This is not an under-15 team. Sachin Tendulkar will have an effect, but the squad is full of professional first-class cricketers, so they'll be looking at it as a chance to play against the greatest ever."

He paid tribute to Tendulkar's longevity. "I've been watching him for 30 years," Jadeja said. "He is enjoying the game today as he did when he started off. For a player any match, whether it is his first or last, is about enjoying the game. I have never seen him do anything different in any match. he always gives it everything.

"Some of us were fortunate to spend time with him. He is considered the god of cricket, so to have been able to spend that time with him, on the field and travelling, I consider myself lucky, at least I can tell my kids about the times I spent with him. The last memory is of beating them in Mumbai. That's the last memory I carry of a Ranji encounter against Sachin."

Jadeja remarked that there was no need for people to go to France - a reference to Zaheer Khan's trip to meet with fitness expert Tim Exeter - when they had facilities in the country such as the ground in Lahli. "It's wonderful for us at Haryana. We've been here a few weeks, we live at the ground. There are nets available all day. The facilities at the ground are terrific. We have indoor nets. If someone wants to be away from the crowd, play cricket and get fit, you don't necessarily have to go all the way to France."

The playing square had a a liberal covering of grass and Jadeja said it would help the quick bowlers. "This is my first game here. The pitch has been helpful to seamers but there have been occasions of 500-plus scores. Walking in, my first thought was wondering where they were going to mark the crease, because it all looks green at the moment on the square. So that probably gives you a little hint. Let me put it this way, I think it will help Zaheer for sure."

Read More..

All eyes on Delhi's Sehwag and Gambhir

Delhi: The Sehwag and Gambhir show?

By Vishal Dikshit

Where they finished last season
After losing (3) more matches than they won (2), Delhi finished fourth in group B behind Uttar Pradesh, Baroda and Karnataka. Despite enforcing a follow-on against Vidarbha in their last match of the season, Delhi fell three wickets short of a quarter-final berth.

Big Picture
Since winning the title in 2007-08, Delhi have qualified for the knockouts only once - in 2009-10. The 2011-12 season was particularly poor for them, when they won only one match and finished second from bottom in Group B. Last season, none of their batsmen or bowlers were among the top 15 run-scorers or wicket-takers: Mithun Manhas was their highest run scorer and Sumit Narwal got them the most wickets, and both players are aged over 30. This season, they will be without Shikhar Dhawan for the beginning of the season, if not for most of it.

However, that's not to say they'll be short on star openers - unless they make unexpected comebacks to the Indian Test team, starting with the West Indies series, they should be available for Delhi through the season. And with both likely to be trying their hardest to work their way back into top form and earn a national recall, that augurs well for Delhi.

Delhi have a new coach in Sanjeev Sharma, who was promoted from assistant coach to coach because Vijay Dahiya wasn't available due to his IPL commitments. They also have a more-than-decent pace attack led by Ashish Nehra and comprising Parvinder Awana, Pawan Suyal, Rajat Bhatia and Sumit Narwal, who will have to make up for an inexperienced spin attack. Questions remain however, over how much the 34-year-old Nehra will play; he has said he may not be able to play back-to-back matches.

Coach Sharma is of the view that the conditions in Delhi will make the seamers and fast bowlers critical to the team's chances. "In the conditions we have, especially in the months of November and December, fast bowlers perform very well," he told ESPNcricinfo. "Seventy per cent of the bowling will happen after 10-15 November, so with the wickets and the moisture in the pitches here and in other parts of north India, like Punjab, we depend on our fast bowlers."

Key players
Still a part of the India squad at the beginning of the domestic season last year, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will begin this season in hopes of making it to the national team once again. Even though Gambhir has two recent first-class hundreds, one against West Indies A and the other against Gloucestershire, his record for Essex during his short county stint, with 239 runs from seven innings at 34.14, wasn't exhilarating.

Sehwag, on the other hand, has hardly played any first-class matches since his last Test, against Australia, in February. In two innings against West Indies A he produced scores of 7 and 38 in the middle order before rain in the Duleep Trophy final didn't give him a chance to bat. He did not opt for a county stint and neither did he go to France to work on his fitness like India's other senior discards. A new season might be their last chance to make it back to the national team, whether in the top order or middle. There's no saying whether, by some luck, they'd make it to the home Tests against West Indies when the team is picked on October 29. If they don't, the runs will have to flow this Ranji season for them to state their case.

Click here for the full squad.

****

Gujarat: Can they find consistency this year?

By Rachna Shetty

Where they finished
Fourth in Group A, behind Punjab, Saurashtra and Mumbai.

Big Picture
All through the group stage in Ranji Trophy last year, Gujarat were in with a chance of making it to the knockouts from Group A. At crucial junctures, however, their campaign seemed to run out of steam. It's a weakness that their new coach, Vijay Patel, is well aware of and one that he says the team has worked hard on addressing in the off-season.

"Our major problem was that we lost our bowlers towards the end of the season last year," Patel said. "But we have addressed that this year. We started preparations for this season after August, in spite of the weather in Ahmedabad, and recently played a four-day game against Baroda as part of our preparations."

Among the bowlers to watch out for, Patel pointed out pacer Bhargav Merai and spinners Samit Gohel, Chirag Gandhi and Jesal Karia. Gujarat have had some of their players - Bhavin Thaker and Avi Barot - choosing to play for other teams in the lead-up to the season. Patel, who returns to the team as a coach, replacing Mukund Parmar, brushed away the transfers, saying the side was a settled unit. "There was a lot of competition to finalise this squad," Patel said. "Last season, whenever youngsters, like Smit Patel, were given a chance, they performed and that has only been good for us."

Players to watch
Gujarat's batting has a good mix of seniors like captain Parthiv Patel - their leading run-getter in last year's tournament - and Venugopal Rao, but the focus will also be on youngsters like Smit Patel and Manpreet Juneja. Juneja, in particular, hit some form in recent games for India A, scoring 193 against New Zealand A in a four-day game, followed by half-centuries against West Indies A in the four-day game in Mysore.

Another key player for Gujarat is Rakesh Dhurv. The left-arm spinner was the leading wicket-taker for Gujarat last year - 36 wickets in eight games at an average of 25.55. His experience will be important in leading a young Gujarat attack.

Click here for the full squad.

****

Odisha: Underdogs seek to upset

By Kanishkaa Balachandran

Where they finished last season
Sixth place in Group B.

Big Picture
One of the more low-profile teams on the Ranji circuit, Odisha struggled last season to push for a position in the playoffs. A team lacking star players won just two games, though it was a marginal improvement from the 2011-12 season in which they failed to win a single game and finished at the bottom of the table. They began last season with a rained-out draw against Tamil Nadu, lost by ten wickets to Delhi but their campaign gained mileage with two consecutive wins against Haryana and Karnataka and at the end of that round, Odisha were on top of the table in Group B.

That was followed by a draw against Maharashtra, and they failed to consolidate their position. Their batting struggled in the three following games as the side failed to pass 200 in six innings. Even a target of 145 against Uttar Pradesh was out of reach as they ended their Ranji season folding for 101. Debashis Mohanty, the former India fast bowler who is the Odisha coach, acknowledged that the batting was biggest problem but added that the team played "positive cricket" in order to push for results.

The team now has a new captain in Biplab Samantray, who takes over from Natraj Behera. The squad's practice in the lead-up to their first game against Punjab was interrupted by heavy rains in the state but Mohanty said the players had begun preparations well in advance and was confident the team would be well prepared.

Key players
Odisha has produced less than a handful of players who have been selected for India, but from this squad, one of the more recognisable names who could put himself on the selectors' radar is Biplab Samantray. The middle-order batsman and medium-pacer has been a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad in the IPL. Samantray was among only two centurions for Odisha in the previous Ranji season and he ended the season with 18 wickets. Samantray has featured in the East Zone team and this season is a chance to push for higher honours, such as the India A squad.

After Debashis Mohanty, the other Mohanty making waves is Basant Mohanty, the right-arm seamer. Basant was the team's leading wicket-taker last season with 33 wickets at an average of 16.27 and a miserly economy rate of 1.91. His only five-wicket haul sent Haryana crashing to 66 in Rohtak to bring up the team's first win of the season. More will be expected of him this season.

Click here for the full squad.

****

Vidarbha: Developing side aiming for glory

By Amol Karhadkar

Where they finished
Fifth in Group B, one point behind the third qualifier from the group, with two outrights wins and six draws.

Big Picture
Vidarbha started the previous season with an outright victory against Haryana, and added another six points to their kitty in the penultimate round against Odisha. Still, the most low-profile of the three teams that hail from Maharashtra, Vidarbha was never really in contention for a spot in the knockouts. Besides the two victories, their only notable performance was against Tamil Nadu, when they grabbed three points for the first-innings lead.

A look at the batting and bowling charts reveals it was a sort of miracle that Vidarbha ended up in the middle of points chart. Neither a batsman nor a bowler from Sairaj Bahutule's team featured in the top-25 run-getters and wicket-takers. While Faiz Fazal was the only batsman to aggregate more than 500 runs, Sandeep Singh was the most successful bowler with 27 scalps.

Perhaps, the numbers are enough to justify Bahutule's claim that "playing as a unit" is Vidarbha's biggest strength. At the same, Bahutule, who has taken over as coach after retiring from first-class cricket at the end of last year's Ranji Trophy, realises the team needs to perform more consistently. In order to strengthen the batting unit, Vidarbha have replaced Shiv Sundar Das with his former Orissa team-mate Rashmi Parida, who is renowned for holding the innings together.

Even though the Ranji league stage will only end in the new year, Vidarbha's fortunes will be clear midway through the round robin stage, as they play all four of their home games early in the campaign. If the team doesn't impress in its home outings, they may well be fighting to avoid relegation as they go on the road against the likes of Mumbai, Punjab and Delhi.

Players to watch
Umesh Yadav will be keen to cement his place in the Test side and regain his place in ODIs with a strong showing for his home team. The more he is available for Vidarbha, the better it would be for the team since he can work in tandem with left-arm seamer Shrikant Wagh, who had been rewarded with an India A place during off-season. And Rashmi Parida's presence might spur on not only the young home-grown batsmen but also the other import, former India batsman Hemang Badani who had a mediocre last season with Vidarbha.

Team speak
"We are a developing side. The boys are getting a taste of the elite division. Hopefully this year, we won't just be competitive but we will be contenders as well."
Sairaj Bahutle, the Vidarbha coach

Click here for the full squad.

Read More..

South Africa sense swift finish

South Africa are one wicket away from wrapping up the second Test swiftly according to AB de Villiers. Despite Pakistan being only four wickets down at the end of the third day, de Villiers said one more scalp would open them up.

"With the new ball around the corner we just need to be patient tomorrow. We feel if we get one more and then we have the wicketkeeper in there, we can run through them," he said.

Apart from Misbah-ul-Haq, who is at the crease on 42, Pakistan do not have much in the way of solid batting to come. Still trailing by 286 runs, they will need a massive effort from their captain and healthy contributions from the lower order to bat out at least a full day if they hope to avoid an innings defeat.

On a pitch that is expected to become more difficult for batsmen during the last two days, that would seem nothing more than fanciful but Saeed Ajmal was able to remain optimistic. "The wicket is not that bad," he said. "It's still good for batting. There was a bit for the new ball bowlers and it's spinning a little bit but there are still runs in the pitch.

"Although we didn't perform well in our first innings, we saw South Africa put on over 500 in their innings. If we can bat the whole day, runs will come slowly. We hope our batting can be as good as our bowling."

But de Villiers was not convinced that they would be up to task, especially when reflecting on how South Africa's lower-order coped on the third morning. They lost their last four wickets for 31 runs and struggled against the spin Ajmal was generating. "That shows you how well Graeme played. It's not easy," he said.

Smith added only seven runs to his overnight score and de Villiers increased his score by the same number but their quick dismissals barely had an impact on the state of the game. The hard work had been done the day before, when Smith and de Villiers shared in South Africa's highest fifth-wicket stand and wore down Pakistan's attack.

They swelled the lead to 361 by the end of the second day and only wanted a little more on the third morning. "We talked about declaring somewhere after lunch. That didn't happen but we still wanted the runs we wanted to," he said. "We wanted the lead over 400."

South Africa were bowling six minutes before lunch and took two wickets in that time, creating expectation for a third-day finish. Dale Steyn found considerable swing but the house of cards did not collapse as quickly as the early incisions suggested.

Instead of frustration, de Villiers said it was an important lesson for South Africa's bowlers. "We like to finish a Test in two days if we can," he admitted. "But it's important to remind the bowlers that you need to be patient to get wickets on this pitch."

He also did not expect lightening to strike twice for Pakistan's line-up. "I don't know if they played really poorly in the first innings. There were maybe a few soft dismissals. I think they will be quite angry with themselves," de Villiers said. "But it's not over. We still respect the game and the opposition a lot."

Niceties aside, de Villiers seemed certain South Africa will square the series on Saturday. "We missed a trick early on in Abu Dhabi and sometimes, the minute things turn on you it's difficult. Pakistan played too well," he said. "This time around we were a bit more ruthless."

Read More..

Hafeez agrees to BBL contract with Renegades

Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan allrounder, has agreed to a Big Bash League contract with the Melbourne Renegades. He will miss the first two games of the tournament due to international commitments with Pakistan in the UAE. This will be the first time he will play in the Australian T20 league, which begins on December 20.

"I have agreed [to] a deal with Melbourne Renegades," Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo. "Playing in Australia is always a tremendous experience and the opportunity will allow me to play around the best players. Since the 2015 World Cup will be in Australia, my stint will help me acquire ample acquaintance of Australian conditions."

Hafeez is currently Pakistan's leading run scorer in T20Is with 1093 runs, and has led the Pakistan T20 squad since June 2012 to 12 victories out of 18 matches. He last toured Australia in 2005, and had a poor run averaging just 12.50 in six ODIs. He most recently featured for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League.

Hafeez was recently dropped from the Test squad for the South Africa series in the UAE, and is likely to miss out on the Tests against Sri Lanka in December. Hafeez is currently training ahead of his departure to the UAE for the limited-overs leg of the South Africa tour, which begins on October 30.

Read More..