Gambhir, Manhas fifties propel Delhi

Delhi 191 for 3 (Gambhir 64, Manhas 60*, Javed 2-36) trail Mumbai 324 (Lad 74, Awana 5-72) by 133 runs
Scorecard

Despite the traditional rivalry between Mumbai and Delhi, the Ranji Trophy Group A tie between the arch rivals was more significant for the three biggest players featuring in the match - all of whom had received a latest setback on Thursday when two of them, Mumbai captain Zaheer Khan and Delhi senior Virender Sehwag, were excluded from the BCCI contracts list, while Gautam Gambhir was demoted from Grade A to B.

For a handful of fans - not more than 50 - who had gathered at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex facility to watch the match, the second day's play turned out to be eventful. Halfway into the match, even though the game remained evenly poised with Delhi ending day two at 191 for 3, 133 behind Mumbai's first innings score of 324, the second day was all about Sehwag, Zaheer and Gambhir.

Even though the numbers may hint at Gambhir, who scored a scratchy 64 at the top of the order, being the most successful of the three, it was Zaheer who hogged the limelight. Not just with the willow, as he took Mumbai well past 300 in the morning with his maiden fifty in the Ranji Trophy that included four huge sixes, but also with the precision of his left-arm pace bowling.

Zaheer may have been rewarded with just one wicket - that of Sehwag immediately after he brought himself into the attack the moment the dangerous batsman arrived at the wicket - but he was also the most consistent, fearsome and unfortunate bowler on the day. After getting rid of Sehwag, he time and again squared Gambhir off and induced at least two inside edges that went past the leg stump for boundaries, and another which bounced just ahead of and behind the stumps.

Even late into the evening, with Gambhir running out of patience as he drove Javed Khan straight into Siddhesh Lad's hands at point, Zaheer troubled the seasoned Mithun Manhas, who looked the best of the Delhi batsmen. Manhas played and missed Zaheer several times during a five-over spell. Had fortune been on the Mumbai captain's side, he would have easily got a rich haul of wickets. But even Manhas survived, despite finding himself squared up off the last ball he faced from Zaheer, and watching the edge flying through the slip cordon to the third man fence.

Gambhir, on the other hand, appeared to be rusty at the crease all through his innings. Even though his knock of 64 included 12 boundaries, more than a third of those came through edges on either side of the wicket. Though he left the ball outside off reasonably well, what was missing was the footwork that was instrumental in establishing him as India's leading opener not long ago. Even against Vishal Dabholkar's left-arm spin, Gambhir hardly used his feet. The only time he looked in sublime touch was when he scored three boundaries off the spinner in an over. While two of those were his trademark square cuts, in between those, he stepped out and drove through covers. Just as he was set for his second century in three first-class games, Gambhir was dismissed and joined Sehwag in the dressing room.

Sehwag, on the other hand, wasted yet another opportunity to make a case for a slot in India's middle order for the Test series in South Africa. While he opened his account with a single off the second ball he faced, in the next over, he hit Abhishek Nayar for back-to-back boundaries in contrasting style. While the first of the attempted drives raced through the slip cordon, the next raced to the cover boundary in no time. However, he tried to repeat the same to Zaheer and without any movement of the feet, all he could manage was an edge to Aditya Tare behind the stumps.

Earlier in the morning, despite Zaheer's outbreak against spinner Vikas Mishra and Manan Sharma, both of whom were hit for successive sixes in consecutive overs, fast bowler Parvinder Awana was the star of the session. Thanks to Awana's five-wicket haul, Delhi eventually restricted Mumbai to a moderate total.

Read More..

Himachal eye big win in Dharamsala

Jammu & Kashmir 14 for 1 and 178 trail Himachal Pradesh 454 (Dogra 96, Bipul 74, Chauhan 53, Dhawan 50) trail by 262 runs
Scorecard

Paras Dogra missed his second century of the season by four runs, but his 96 set the tone for a solid Himachal Pradesh total that has put them in a dominating position against Jammu & Kashmir. Dogra's innings was followed by fifties from Rishi Dhawan, Bipul Sharma and Akshay Chauhan, with Himachal's last four wickets adding 194 runs.

Himachal lost their second wicket early at the start of the day, but an 86-run stand for the third wicket between Dogra and Abhinav Bali took them past J&K's first innings total of 178. J&K were set to limit the damage when they reduced Himachal to 260 for 6, but Dhawan set about taking the game away with a quick 45-ball 50. Dhawan's innings was bettered by Bipul and Chauhan lower down the order as both batsmen scored quick fifties to take Himachal well past 400. Samiullah Beigh was the most successful bowler with four wickets while Parvez Rasool failed to pick up any.

Hyderabad 53 (Suman 28*, Reddy 20*) trail Maharashtra 616 (Jadhav 204, Motwani 107, Khadiwale 107) by 563 runs
Scorecard

Maharasthra's batting, led by Kedar Jadhav's double-century, racked up 616 runs in the first innings against Hyderabad on the second day of their Group C tie. Apart from Jadhav, Rohit Motwani scored his third first-class century, while Sangram Atitkar scored 98.

Jadhav, overnight on 175, quickly went on to complete his double-century before being dismissed by Hanuma Vihari for 204. But Motwani and Atitkar added 179 for the sixth wicket to take Maharashtra close to 600. Motwani took 239 balls to score his runs in an innings that lasted for almost six hours, while Atitkar played 175 balls in his innings. Mahrashtra's innings folded soon after both batsmen were dismissed in consecutive overs. Ravi Kiran was the most successful bowler with four wickets while Amol Shinde picked up three.

Hyderabad responded with an unbeaten half-century stand between openers T Suman and Akshath Reddy in the 14 overs possible before the end of the day.

Kerala 297 (Prem 80, Dutta 4-38) lead Tripura 140 for 9 (Takawale 45, Warrier 4-27) by 157 runs
Scorecard

Solid contribution from the Kerala batting, led by Rohan Prem's 80, helped Kerala to a strong lead against Tripura by the end of the second day in Kannur. However, Prem's was the only half-century - the first of the match after two innings.

The innings was a story of important stands: Kerala batsmen added 65, 57 and 62 for the second, fifth and the sixth wickets. The total of these three partnerships itself was more than Tripura's first-innings total of 140. The second-wicket stand was between VA Jagadeesh and Sanju Samson, who has been in good form in this season, but both were dimissed in their 40s. Then Prem was central in building the innings with Sachin Baby and Vinoop Manoharan supporting him to push Kerala past 250. Prem was the eighth batsman to be dismissed, but by that time, the lead had swollen to 137 already. Kerala were dismissed soon after, with Rana Dutta and Abhijit Dey picking up four and three wickets respectively.

Assam 116 for 4 (Jadhav 44*, Vijaykumar 2-35) trail Andhra 297 (Bharat 70, Sumanth 75, Nechim 5-62) by 181 runs
Scorecard

Assam fast bowler Abu Nechim picked up four of the five Andhra Pradesh wickets to fall on the second morning to complete his seventh five-wicket haul on the second day of their Group C match in Anantapur. That burst helped Assam wrap up Andhra's innings for 297 with the last five batsmen adding 64.

In the second over of the morning, Nechim had Duvvarapy Shivkumar caught behind off the third delivery before nipping out Syed Shahabuddin off his next delivery. Andhra resisted for the next 16 overs, with Bodapati Sumanth holding one end together, as they pushed towards 300. But once Sumanth was dismissed, Nechim picked up the two remaining wickets quickly.

In response, Assam started positively with openers Dheeraj Jadhav and Pallavkumar Das adding 45 for the first wicket. Das was the first to be dismissed and Assam's following batsmen, just like Das, failed to make use of the starts. Sibasankar Roy and Tarjinder Singh were dismissed for 21 and 19 after playing 49 and 62 deliveries respectively. Assam were pushed into further trouble when they lost Pritam Das in the last over of the day, ending the day 181 runs behind Andhra with six wicket in hand.

Read More..

Colvin steps away for new career

Holly Colvin, the England left-arm spinner who played in two Ashes-winning sides plus the victorious World Twenty20 and World Cup campaigns in 2009, has decided to pursue a career outside cricket and will not be available for January's Ashes series or the World Twenty20.

Colvin, 24, made her international debut aged 15 against Australia in 2005 and still harbours ambitions to resume her England career but believes now is the best chance for her to establish a profession off the field. She was part of the side that recently returned from the Caribbean and currently sits on 98 ODI wickets from 72 matches, alongside 63 in 50 Twenty20 internationals.

"This is not a decision I have taken lightly as playing for England means so much to me and has been an integral part of my life since I was 15 years old," Colvin said. "But after eight years in the sport I feel now is the right moment to take a break and seek to establish myself in a career outside cricket.

"The England team management fully understand my thinking and I have reassured them that I have no intention of retiring from the sport. There is still much that I want to achieve in international cricket and I very much hope that I can be part of a successful England team again in the future."

Clare Connor, the ECB's head of women's cricket, said: "This has not been an easy decision for Holly as she has played for England for all of her young adult life. She has been a key member of the team, playing her part in our World Cup and World T20 wins in 2009 as well as successful Ashes campaigns in 2009 and 2013. I am sure that many exciting opportunities will open up for Holly and we wish her every success as she takes some time away from the game to explore new avenues."

Colvin's place in the England women's performance squad has gone to 23-year-old Rebecca Grundy, a left-arm spinner from Warwickshire who has been part of the England academy system, and she will now be competing for a spot on the tour to Australia followed by the World T20 in Bangladesh where spin will play a major role.

Connor added: "Rebecca has developed enormously over the last couple of years at Warwickshire and thoroughly deserves this opportunity."

Read More..

Du Plessis, bowlers secure 2-0 win

South Africa 150 for 5 (du Plessis 58*, Amla 48, Ajmal 3-25) beat Pakistan 144 for 9 (Maqsood 37, Parnell 3-25) by six runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Dale Steyn bowled it full, Shahid Afridi hit it cleanly, the boundary was in sight but there was something in the way. Faf du Plessis moved to his left, cupped his hands and snatched the ball out of the sky. In that moment, the match and the series was won.

It ended a period in which Pakistan lost six wickets for 38 runs in the space of 32 balls, which included a South African team hat-trick, to collapse one final time in the limited-overs leg of the tour. They squandered a good start and a resilient effort by Sohaib Maqsood, surrendered to a South African attack which has been exceptional throughout the series and left themselves with a lot of questions ahead of the return leg in South Africa.

For du Plessis, there are no such worries. His team has jumped to No. 2 in the Twenty20 rankings, behind India by one hundreth of a decimal point, showed composure and confidence with bat in hand and defended with venom.

Although South Africa's bowling won them the match, their foundation for victory was set-up by a batting line-up which has progressed through their visit to the UAE. They had an explosive start from Quinton de Kock followed by a hard-hitting fifty from du Plessis and both contributed to an above-par total.

De Kock took on both Irfan and Abdul Razzaq, whose medium pace was ineffective upfront. Irfan left the field with what looked like a hip injury in his second over, leaving Pakistan without their most imposing player but Sohail Tanvir assumed the responsibility. He bowled a tight opening over before spin was introduced and Pakistan clawed their way back.

Saeed Ajmal tempted de Kock with flight and had him caught in the deep slog-sweeping. That wicket made Ajmal T20's highest wicket-taker, going past his compatriot Umar Gul and kept South Africa quiet for a little while.

Hashim Amla had quietly watched de Kock, without scoring many, but targeted Afridi. Amla took a risk when he hit him inside-out over extra cover and then tried to launch it back over Afridi's head. Instead, he presented a catchable chance but Afridi spilled it. Dropping Amla often proved costly in the next over when he hit Mohammad Hafeez over long-on for six.

At the halfway stage, South Africa were 67 for 1 and du Plessis decided to up the ante. He also took on Afridi, finding good placement down the ground and brought up South Africa's 100 with a premeditated slog-sweep off Ajmal. Amla played one more big shot, off Shoaib Malik, before holing out off Ajmal.

Pakistan used that as an opportunity to drag South Africa back. They gave away just 35 runs in the last five overs and punctured the middle order, leaving du Plessis to muscle his way to the end. Tanvir made good use of the slower ball while Ajmal ensured questions over David Miller's ability against spin will continue to be questioned as he trapped him lbw.

In between that, du Plessis reached his fourth T20 half-century, much-needed runs in what has been a lean tour for him. He may remember his innings a little less than the catch that sealed the match which came after Pakistan's opening pair posed 39 in the first five overs.

Both Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad took on Lonwabo Tsotsobe before Wayne Parnell undid their start. He had Shehzad caught at fine leg, as he went on the pull, and Hafeez lbw for a first-ball duck. Hafeez was the victim of a poor decision but with no technology available to contest it, Pakistan had to focus on rebuilding rather than being wronged.

When Jamshed became the third wicket to fall in nine balls, Pakistan could have unraveled but Maqsood and Malik found a good balance between attack and defence. They went after anything short while treating Imran Tahir with respect as he found sharp turn.

Malik had his innings interrupted when he had to retire with a finger injury which brought Umar Akmal to the crease. He batted with his usual aggression but started the collapse when he hooked a Ryan McLaren short ball straight to Tahir. When he departed, Pakistan needed 50 runs off 39 balls and were still in control.

Malik returned, only to chop Tahir onto his stumps before Razzaq left a googly and was bowled. When Maqsood was caught behind, brilliantly as de Kock dived to his right, the equation had tipped. Pakistan needed 39 off 29 balls but had only three wickets in hand.

Tanvir and Afridi could still get them over the line but Tanvir was bowled by Steyn - who turned the pace up as his spell came to an end - and then there was that catch. Game, set, catch, match. Pakistan's fight was over.

Read More..

Sunny, Dalal take Haryana to 296

Haryana 296 for 8 (Dalal 58, Sunny 53, Nadeem 3-108) v Jharkhand
Scorecard

A fine showing from Haryana's top order- including fifties from Sunny Singh and Rahul Dalal- helped them to 296 for 8 against Jharkhand in Rohtak.

With the exception of Nitin Saini who was dismissed for 8 in the fifth over, Haryana's first six batsmen all scored at least 30.

Sunny's 53 included eight fours, and he added 84 for the second wicket with Abhimanyu Khod, but Haryana were quickly pegged back by two quick wickets in the 28th and 29th overs, that left them at 96 for 3.

However, Dalal led the counterattack, putting up crucial stands of 71 and 54 for the fourth and fifth wickets with Avi Barot and Sachin Rana respectively. Dalal eventually departed for 58 - his second first-class half-century - having struck six fours, but Harshal Patel and Mohit Sharma continued the scoring, hitting a total of five fours and two sixes, that left the team on the verge of crossing the 300-run mark heading into day two.

Shahbaz Nadeem picked up three wickets for Jharkhand, and Varun Aaron and Shankar Rao picked up two each.

Karnataka 226 for 7 (Kapoor 57, Agarwal 42) v Gujarat
Scorecard

A young Gujarat attack played within its limitations to stifle and frustrate a strong Karnataka batting line-up that would be disappointed at its overall performance, given that the top order had done much of the ground work in a challenging first session.

To read the full report, click here

Mumbai 252 for 6 (Lad 74, Jaffer 61, Nehra 2-16) v Delhi
Scorecard

On a wicket that aided pacers all throughout the day, Mumbai and Delhi both would be happy with the score at the end of the first day's play in their Ranji Trophy Group A league tie at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex facility. Or both the camps will perhaps be a tad disappointed with their efforts.

To read the full report, click here

Odisha 226 for 3 (Behera 90*, Podder 74) v Vidarbha
Scorecard

Odisha's slow and steady progress took them to a comfortable 226 for 3 at the end of the first day against Vidarbha as Niranjan Behera and Govind Podder scored half-centuries. Podder scored 74 after coming in at No. 4 and Behera was unbeaten on 90, getting closer to his third first-class hundred.

Odisha had won the toss and elected to bat but the decision seemed erroneous initially when they lost both openers - Girjia Rout and Natraj Behera - to Amol Jungade within the space of eight deliveries, leaving them at 26 for 2. However, Niranjan Behera and Podder revived the innings with a stable and patient stand of 150 runs for the third wicket. While Podder scored his second consecutive fifty, which included nine fours and two sixes, Niranjan took much more time to score his 90 runs.

The partnership was broken when left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh had Podder caught behind at the score of 176. Niranjan and Biplab Samantray carried on till stumps by adding 50 runs together, out of which 31 were scored by Samantray.

Read More..

Close contest expected in derby final

There have been 31 matches. Seven were decided in the last two overs and three others finished with a result margin of one or two runs. And now there are two teams left.

South Africa's domestic one-day title will go the way of either the Titans or the Cobras in a north-south derby that, if recent records are to be believed, will be closely contested. They've already played each twice in the tournament, the Cobras winning both matches, once by two runs and the second time in the final over.

"We've had two great battles already so whatever happens, I think we'll have another one on Friday," Rob Walter, the Titans coach, told ESPNcricinfo. "Of course, it would be nice to be on the right side of things if we do."

In his first season as a franchise coach, Walter has already had his fair share of nerves. After losing four of their first seven fixtures, the Titans seemed destined to end in the lower half of the table. They needed wins in their last three pool matches and pulled them off. Then, they needed a win against the team Walter described as the "best side in this competition", the Dolphins, in the play-off and pulled that off too.

In the process, they lost their captain Henry Davids to national duty, their senior-most player, Jacques Rudolph, to a broken hand and yet, still, three of their batsmen are in the top five run-scorers of the season.

Leading the list is Heino Kuhn, the wicketkeeper-batsman who has made five Twenty20 appearances for South Africa but has since been overlooked. He is followed by Davids, who won't be able to finish what he started because he is in the UAE with South Africa's T20 squad and another national discard, Farhaan Behardien. Walter believes all three are ready to stake a claim for regular places in the national team.

"We had discussions about developing their games to put them in positions where they could compete for places at international level," he said. "With Heino, it was about going from being a keeper who can bat to showing he is a high-quality batsmen. With Henry, it was about taking good starts with beautiful shots and then getting out to having the responsibility to bat deeper; and with Farhaan it was also about conversion."

Kuhn has handed the gloves to Mangaliso Mosehle and is focused on his role as an opening batsmen. He scored back-to-back hundreds in the last two matches to put the Titans in winning positions. Behardien, who Walters said "stands out as a leader", has taken over the captaincy in Davids' absence and blossomed under the burden. He has a century and two fifties so far and has been working on the things that saw him dropped from the South African side, such as his shot selection.

While moulding men who can turn out on the international stage, Walter has also had to concentrate on filling a trophy cabinet that remained empty last summer - a rare lack for the Titans. He has had Roelof van der Merwe to help in that mission. The left-arm spinner is the team's leading wicket-taker and fourth overall. "He knew he had to go from being a containing bowler to an attacking one," Walter said. He has taken nine wickets in the last four games as proof.

All that individual brilliance will come up against a Cobras unit that have played like a team. Only the veteran Charl Langeveldt, who is likely to recover from a hip injury to play the final, is among the top five bowlers in the competition while none of their batsmen feature on the corresponding list.

"It was never one individual getting us home. We've had performances spread all around," Paul Adams, Cobras coach, said. "And I think it's really shown in our fielding, where we've picked up a lot of run-outs. In pressure games, the younger guys have learned to step up and the more experienced ones have shown their quality."

Justin Ontong top-scored with 97 in their second win against the Titans, Langeveldt took four wickets at the death when they beat the Lions, Andrew Puttick scored a century against the Warriors to set up a win but it was up to the newer players like Dane Piedt and Lizaad Williams to bowl the Cobras to victory. Adams said tense situations like those helped ready the team for a final. "Guys are really focused now, they know what to expect."

This is the second successive season in which Cobras will feature in the one-day cup final. Last summer, they shared the trophy with the Lions, after two washouts. This time, the Lions finished bottom of the table while the Cobras have maintained their impressive run.

"The most important thing is to have a big crop of players to call on and then managing them well so they can pace themselves through the competition," Adams said when asked how he was able to continue that run. Those stocks will be added to with the inclusion of Vernon Philander and Robin Peterson for the final game.

Adams, who is in his second season in charge admitted "the nerves are always there" but said he does his job by "looking for ways to inspire people". And the ones he wants to influence ahead of the final are the fans.

Despite the high quality of cricket, stadiums have been starkly empty throughout the tournament. Matches on school-nights and late finishes are the main reasons for the dampened interest but with no New Year's Test at Newlands, Adams hopes people will go and watch their domestic team tussle it out on Friday.

Read More..

Sammy's shot reflects West Indies' poor commitment

It is unclear what West Indies have really learned from Kolkata. Their batsmen remain distracted. Their bowlers continue to spray the ball all round. And their captain has failed to lead by example

Jeff Dujon: 'West Indies need to rotate the strike more'

Empty words. That is what Darren Sammy has delivered so far not only to the fans in the West Indies, but also the general cricketing crowd. For three innings in a row this series, the West Indies batsmen have displayed an utter lack of application and a level of patience thinner than that of a toddler. To say that West Indies would be somewhere else rather than playing the farewell series for Sachin Tendulkar would not be inaccurate.

Of course, every member of the West Indies squad has said that it is a privilege to play in Tendulkar's final series. Yet if they really understood Tendulkar, they would pay their respects with a hard fight and not the limp and lame manner in which they have fought in the four days of Test cricket played so far. In the nets, Tendulkar hates a distracted bowler. For him commitment to the game has always come first.

Seventy eight, 54.1, 55.2 are the number of overs West Indies have lasted in their three innings in Kolkata and today in Mumbai. The Kolkata Test ended in three days. Already there is talk about this one, too, not lasting the distance.

No one was a bigger culprit today than Sammy. He had just played one ball, against R Ashwin. The previous delivery Narsingh Deonarine had been caught brilliantly at short gully. West Indies had already lost all their specialist batsmen except Denesh Ramdin. They had not played even 50 overs while they were yet to reach the 170-run mark. The ball was turning big. Yet Sammy slog swept Ashwin's next delivery, another turner, with a face that declared a pre-determined intent to clear the ground, except the leading edge did not even cross the 30-yard circle. A member of the West Indies management clearly showed his frustration at the selection of the captain's shot.

What really was Sammy thinking? Did he even consider playing the situation? What happened to his statement after the Kolkata defeat about learning from the pair of Rohit Sharma and Ashwin, whose record double-century partnership, had punctured West Indies' spirits decisively.

Sammy's position in the team had already been questioned going into the match. Michael Holding, former West Indies fast bowler, speaking on ESPNcricinfo's Match Point was categorical in saying Sammy did not deserve to hold a place in the team as an allrounder. According to Holding, Sammy could not adapt to the demands of a Test batsman while as a bowler he was mediocre. Just being a cheerleader, Holding pointed out, was not helping West Indies win matches.

To defend himself Sammy might send this retort to Holding: he averages 25.4 when he comes in to bat with West Indies five down or more for less than 200 runs. This is more than his career average of 21.60. His solitary Test century and three of his four half-centuries have come in these innings. But ridiculous shot selections like today and in Kolkata just diminish the importance of those numbers.

Regardless, the question about his worth in the Test team will not die down. Sammy is an impressive leader in the shorter formats where his players like to express themselves in the manner they like - be aggressive. Sammy himself contributes in all three departments with influential performances, but in the Tests he does not have the same kind of respect, the same level of influence that he can extract the best out of his players.

West Indies' last six wickets have averaged 11.38 in this series - the lowest they have averaged for their last six wickets in any series in Tests. Sadly, all the main batsmen for West Indies, men who have the ability to have an impact on the match, have failed miserably.

Chris Gayle is playing his 99th Test. Sadly, he has sleepwalked so far on this tour. Darren Bravo once again got the start but threw it away with hanging his bat to a turning away delivery against Ashwin.

Marlon Samuels was made to look like he was walking over a bed of hot coal by Mohammed Shami today. In Kolkata it was the reverse swing that Samuels found hard to negotiate. On a hard Wankhede pitch, Samuels was at large trying hard to figure out which way Shami was moving the ball. In the end, Samuels charged two successive balls but it only turned out to be a hit-and-miss exercise.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul's 150th Test was ruined as he failed to counter the away swing and seam movement that Bhuvneshwar Kumar got off the pitch and in the air. Chanderpaul in the end was squared up and edged to slips.

Ramdin can watch himself in the mirror and get embarrassed at the moment he decided to unfurl the piece of paper on which was scribbled in capital letters: " "YEH, VIV, TALK NAH."" after scoring a century in the Edgbaston Test against England in 2011. Ramdin apologised immediately to Richards, who had been critical of the Trinidadian for being inconsistent. Ramdin has just one century after that match, against Bangladesh.

Even the tailend pair of Tino Best and Shane Shillingford today played irresponsibly to get out when they had seen Ashwin, India's No. 8, score a match-turning century.

It is unclear what West Indies have really learned from Kolkata. Their batsmen remain distracted. Their bowlers continue to spray the ball all round. Their captain is under pressure. To make matters worse, West Indies do not have a batting coach after Toby Radford joined Glamorgan recently.

Sammy and West Indies might point out that they have not played Test cricket after March. But it's the same case with India. So clearly it is a question of adapting in the mind and being ready than trying to look for reasons. After their victory in the World T20 and Test victories against New Zealand (home), Bangladesh (away) and Zimbabwe (home), there has been talk about West Indies, now No. 6 on the ICC Test rankings, being on the road to recovery. But have West Indies really turned the corner?

Read More..

Injured Corey Anderson to return home

New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson has been ruled out of the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour to begin rehabilitation on the rib injury which ruled him out of the second ODI in Hambantota.

Anderson underwent an MRI scan of his side on Wednesday, which ruled out any major damage. He is being flown back to New Zealand as a precautionary measure and will miss the third and final ODI on Saturday and the two T20s.

"Corey felt pain in his right side while bowling during the first ODI. Post-match assessment indicated a minor case of rib impingement," New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close said. "We decided it's in Corey's best interest to return home and focus on making a full recovery for the series against West Indies."

New Zealand did seek any replacement for Anderson for the remaining games. New Zealand lead the three-match ODI series 1-0.

Read More..

Fawad, Azam set up big win for NBP

A clinical performance in both departments put Habib Bank Limited over Khan Research Laboratories by seven wickets in Rawalpindi.

The slide started early for Habib Bank as they chose to bat. They lost Imran Farhat off the first ball and fumbled to 40 for 5, with captain Younis Khan (69) holding the innings together. He forged a 64-run union with wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar but with only three batsmen reaching double figures, the innings folded for 162, with more than seven overs remaining. Medium-pacer Yasir Arafat was the most successful bowler with 3 for 35 off nine overs, but was ably supported by Rahat Ali and Ali Khan who picked up two wickets apiece.

The opening partnership whittled away well over half the target as Zain Abbas (57) and Mohammad Yasin (78) eased to half-centuries. Though they lost two wickets in between the 35th and 36th overs, the game was already in the bag.

National Bank of Pakistan recovered from a horrid start to roll over State Bank by 77 runs. Fawad Alam's century led a recovery from 0 for 2 and Hammad Azam blasted 91 off 66 helped amass a match-winning total.

Tabish Khan's successes in the first over proved anti-climatic as opener Sami Aslam and Alam compiled a brisk 165-run stand for the third wicket. Reprieve did not come when Aslam fell four runs short of a second List A century, but the incoming Pakistan Under-23 captain Azam blitzed 10 fours and five sixes to power his side to a daunting 313 in the allotted 45 overs. Alam remained unbeaten with 102, with 12 fours.

Rameez Raja and Raheel Majeed made cautious fifties after losing a couple of early wickets, but with the required rate ever rising - it crossed eight before 20 overs - State Bank were always chasing the game. Both batsmen perished attempting to accelerate, as they lost three wickets in three overs to sag on 177 for 7 by the 35th over. Gulraiz Sadaf remained unbeaten on a 28-ball 43, but his efforts came far too late and were not supported by the tail as State Bank was bowled out for 236.

Steady contributions all through the batting order and a disciplined bowling effort, let by the captain Azhar Ali ensured Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited recorded a 71-run win over United Bank Limited in Faisalabad.

Choosing to bat first, they enjoyed a prosperous opening stand which fetched 62 runs, but were hurt by two quick wickets. Though only Hussain Talat, who remained unbeaten, was the only batsman to cross fifty, SNGPL were not lacking in partnerships, one of which was accounted for 100 runs between Talat and Saleem Mughal, who made 43 off 49. For United Bank, Tariq Haroon was the most successful bowler taking 2 for 30 off seven overs .

Though United Bank began promisingly in their chase of the 254-run target, losing five wickets for 27 runs foiled the efforts of opener Abid Ali who stuck it out for 49 off 64 balls. He became one of Azhar's victims as the spinners picked up six wickets between them. Wicketkeeper Bismillah Khan did his best to keep United Bank in the hunt with his aggressive 42, but they fell well short of the target in the 38th over.

Pakistan Television slumped to their third successive loss when they fell short of their target of 257 by 53 runs against Pakistan International Airlines in Islamabad. Their top and middle-order batsmen got starts but could not capitalise on them and an unbeaten fifty from No. 7 Zohaib Ahmed also went in vain.

PIA were put in to bat and after losing Shehzar Mohammad early, their next three batsmen laid the platform for a competitive score. Kamran Sajid and Fahad Iqbal scored 45 and 42 respectively and Faisal Iqbal scored 56. PTV struck back with four wickets within 35 runs, leaving PIA at 213 for 8, but Tahir Khan's 18-ball 35 charged them to 256.

PTV had two strong partnerships - for the second and fourth wickets - but once they were 121 for 4, PIA's bowlers struck regularly to ensure PTV never came back in the game. Three of PTV's batsmen scored 23 and Mohammad Sami scored 43 apart from Ahmed's 52 not out, but all of those weren't enough to take them close to victory.

A four-wicket haul by Sohail Khan bowled out Water and Power Development Authority out for 183, before half-centuries by Kamran Younis and Khalid Latif helped Port Qasim Authority to an easy eight-wicket win. WAPDA were struggling at 55 for 6 before Saad Nasim resisted with 65. A 124-run stand between Younis and Latif had all but sealed the game for PQA.

Read More..

Mathews' weather gamble backfires

Angelo Mathews has admitted Sri Lanka did not consider the likelihood of rain when they chose their XI for the second ODI against New Zealand, nor did they vouch on weather hampering the team bowling second, at the toss.

New Zealand have hoped to bowl first in both matches in Hambantota, reasoning that Duckworth-Lewis recalculations favour chasing sides, but despite the potency of Sri Lanka's ongoing monsoon season, Mathews has wished to bat first on both occasions, focusing on the inclination of the venue's surface instead. The first match had been washed out after 54.1 overs, and last November's ODI series against New Zealand had also been severely affected by rain, with the team batting first gaining a discernible advantage in those matches.

Sri Lanka were doubly disadvantaged by the rain in the second match, as they contended with a wet ball that the spinners in particular found harder to grip, and a wet outfield that lubricated the ball's passage over it. The visitors eventually secured a thrilling four-wicket win, off the last ball of the match.

"We played two spinners, because we didn't make a decision based on the weather," Mathews said. "If you looked at our innings, their spinners managed to get some good turn, which showed the pitch was susceptible to spin. We weren't taking rainfall into the equation. There was rain in the past few days, but because we couldn't foresee what would happen with the weather, we took the choice to have a balanced attack - with three fast bowlers and two spinners.

"If you look at the pitch here, it's good to bat on at the start and gets more and more suited to spin, and plays slower as the match goes on. We aimed to put a big total on the board first up, but didn't take the rain into account."

In a frank assessment of his team's failure, however, Mathews suggested changes to that strategy might be afoot, ahead of the last match of the series in Dambulla. Sri Lanka must win that match - provided the rains relent long enough to allow a game of cricket - in order to draw the series.

Read More..