Report
Nizar the hero as Kerala inflict heartbreak on J&K
Kerala entered the Ranji Trophy semi-final only for the second time in their history
Shashank Kishore
12-Feb-2025
Kerala 281 (Nizar 112, Saxena 67, Nabi 6-53) and 295 for 6 (Azharuddeen 67*, Nizar 44*) drew with J&K 280 (Wadhawan 48, Muzaffar 44, Nidheesh 6-75) and 399 for 9 decl (Dogra 132, Wadhawan 64).
Kerala qualified on first-innings lead
Kerala qualified on first-innings lead
Salman Nizar was the hero for Kerala as they entered the Ranji Trophy semi-final only for the second time in their history. They got there having batted out the entire final day of an absorbing contest against Jammu & Kashmir that went into the last 30 minutes with all results possible.
J&K needed four wickets, while Kerala simply needed to bat time to ensure a draw was enough since they'd taken a one-run lead. Nizar was unbeaten on 44 off 162 balls, Mohammed Azharuddeen 67 off 118 balls. The seventh-wicket pair batted out 42.4 overs to grind J&K's attack to dust on the final day. Kerala are set to face Gujarat in the semi-final on February 17, while Mumbai will take on Vidarbha in the other semi-final.
Full postAgha, Rizwan smash tons in Pakistan's highest ODI chase
Pakistan secured a spot in the tri-series final against New Zealand; South Africa have now lost six successive ODIs
Firdose Moonda
12-Feb-2025
Pakistan 355 for 4 (Salman 134, Rizwan 122*, Fakhar 41, Mulder 2-79) beat South Africa 352 for 5 (Klaasen 87, Breetzke 83, Bavuma 82, Verreynne 44*, Afridi 2-66) by six wickets
Salman Agha's first ODI century and Mohammad Rizwan's fourth combined as Pakistan completed their highest successful chase in ODIs and secured a spot in the tri-series final against New Zealand on Saturday. Rizwan and Salman, Pakistan's captain and vice-captain, shared in a record fourth-wicket stand of 260, the highest-ever against South Africa, and the fourth-highest by any pair while chasing. South Africa have never had a bigger score chased against them.
On a pitch perfect for batting, Pakistan's efforts trumped Temba Bavuma's highest ODI score since September 2023, Matthew Breetzke becoming the player with the most runs after two matches (233) and Heinrich Klaasen's fourth successive 80-plus score in the highest-scoring encounter between these two sides.
Full postGill century, and Kohli, Shreyas fifties power 3-0 rout of England
Visitors were 126 for 2 after 18 overs in pursuit of 357, but eventually folded for 214
Vithushan Ehantharajah
12-Feb-2025
India 356 (Gill 112, Iyer 78, Kohli 52, Rashid 4-64) beat England 214 (Atkinson 38, Axar 2-22, Rana 2-31) by 142 runs
If India's four-wicket wins against England in the first and second ODI didn't reflect the gulf between the two sides, the 142-run victory in the third at the Narendra Modi Stadium made up for it. As does the final series score of 3-0.
The margin owed much to Shubman Gill's 112 on his 50th appearance in the format, a seventh century helping India to 356. But for Adil Rashid's 4 for 64, his career-best figures in India, it could have been a whole lot more.
Full postAsalanka's stunning hundred, Theekshana's four wickets turn tables on Australia
On a surface that aided pace and spin, Sri Lanka's captain rescued his side with the bat before the visitors collapsed
Tristan Lavalette
12-Feb-2025
Sri Lanka 214 (Asalanka 127, Wellalage 30, Abbott 3-61, Hardie 2-13, Ellis 2-23, Johnson 2-44) beat Australia 165 (Carey 41, Hardie 32, Theekshana 4-40, Fernando 2-23) by 49 runs
A weakened Australia started their Champions Trophy preparation with a 49-run defeat after Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka engineered a remarkable turnaround in a low-scoring first ODI with an extraordinary century in Colombo.
Just three days after the Warne-Muralidaran Trophy ended, Sri Lanka's batting woes continued at 135 for 8 until Asalanka took over with a flurry in the backend and capitalised on a tiring Australia attack in humid conditions.
Full postNair, Dubey set up Vidarbha's semi-final date with Mumbai
Harsh Dubey scored fifties in both innings and picked four wickets as Tamil Nadu went down by 198 runs
Shashank Kishore
11-Feb-2025
Vidarbha 353 (Nair 122, Malewar 75, Dubey 69, Vijay 3-75) and 272 (Rathod 112, Dubey 64, Sai Kishore 5-78) beat Tamil Nadu 225 (Siddarth 65, Paul 48, Thakare 5-34) and 202 (Sonu Yadav 57, Paul 53, Bhute 3-19, Dubey 3-40) by 198 runs
Harsh Dubey starred with bat and ball, while Karun Nair continued his glorious run from the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy as Vidarbha beat Tamil Nadu by 198 runs. Up next in the semi-finals are Mumbai, who they will host at home in Nagpur by virtue of progressing through to the knockouts as the team with most points in the group stages.
Dubey, the season's highest wicket-taker with 55 scalps coming into the game, added three more second-innings wickets on Tuesday, the fourth day of the quarter-finals, as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 202 chasing 401. Long before he came on to bowl in the second innings, Dubey had already left his mark on the game, hitting two half-centuries, which also took him past the 400-run mark.
Full postMumbai ride on Dias, Rahane, Shardul efforts to seal Ranji semi-final spot
Strong third-innings batting performances from Rahane and Suryakumar eventually set a stiff target for Haryana on a deteriorating pitch
Shashank Kishore
11-Feb-2025
Mumbai 315 (Kotian 97, Mulani 91) and 339 (Rahane 108, Suryakumar 70, Thakral 4-70) beat Haryana 301 (Ankit 136, Shardul 6-58) and 201 (Dalal 64, Sumit 62, Dias 5-39) by 153 runs
A maiden five-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Royston Dias studded Mumbai's 153-run win over Haryana at Eden Gardens. Up next in the semi-final will be Vidarbha, in a repeat of last year's final.
Dias fittingly picked up the final wicket when he had Jayant Yadav top-edge a pull to Suryakumar Yadav at mid-on to complete his five-wicket haul. Shardul Thakur, who picked up 6 for 58 in the first innings, was the other contributor. He ended with a match haul of 9 for 84 as Mumbai completed a sensational turnaround from 94 for 6 on the first morning.
Full postUrvil Patel, bowlers lead Saurashtra's demolition in Sheldon Jackson's farewell game
Gujarat will face the winner of the game between Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir in the semi-final
Shashank Kishore
11-Feb-2025
Gujarat 511 (Urvil 140, Jaymeet 103, Jadeja 5-120) beat Saurashtra 216 (Jani 69, Gaja 4-48, Desai 2-35) and 197 (Desai 54, Jadeja 4-32, Nagwaswalla 3-54) by an innings and 98 runs
Urvil Patel, who had smashed the second-fastest T20 century in November last year, carried his fine form into the red-ball format to hit a maiden first-class hundred in Gujarat's innings-and-98-run victory over Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match in Rajkot. Gujarat will play the winner of the ongoing fixture between Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir in the semi-final.
Urvil top-scored with 140 in Gujarat's massive total of 511 in the first innings, which gave them a 295-run lead over Saurashtra, who managed only 216 after being sent in. Urvil was supported by Jaymeet Patel (103) and Manan Hingrajia (83) as they wore out a competent Saurashtra attack by batting out 159.1 overs.
Full postBartlett, Neser break through NSW resistance as Queensland claim vital win
A century stand between Josh Philippe and Jack Edwards threatened to rescue the visitors but they were bowled out with 10 overs remaining
AAP
11-Feb-2025
Queensland 387 (Clayton 134, Hearne 63, Hatcher 4-92) and 289 for 3 dec (Renshaw 125*, Clayton 76 ret hurt) beat New South Wales 259 (Edwards 108, Gilkes 66, Bartlett 4-54) and 229 (Philippe 80, Edwards 53) by 188 runs
Queensland's quicks were made to toil for a much-needed 188-run Sheffield Shield victory that appeared inevitable before some New South Wales resistance at the Gabba.
Set a 418-run victory target, a successful chase was never on the radar as NSW sunk to 89 for 6 thanks to more disciplined pace bowling from the hosts. But they showed fight, wicketkeeper Josh Philippe (80) and allrounder Jack Edwards (53) backing up his first-innings century to keep alive hopes of a draw with a stand of 125 in 44 overs.
Full postKieran Elliott denies Handscomb as Tasmania take 20-run thriller
The 29-year-old quick took 10 wickets in the match as the home side overcame being a bowler down
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Feb-2025
Tasmania 236 (O'Connor 53) and 291 (Weatherald 155) beat Victoria 258 (Dixon 66, Elliott 4-55) and 249 (Handscomb 93, K Elliott 6-84) by 20 runs
Peter Handscomb's rearguard fell short as Kieran Elliott powered Tasmania home against Victoria for a thrilling 20-run Sheffield Shield victory.
Elliott followed his first innings, four-wicket haul with 6 for 84 in 28.1 overs on Tuesday as the hosts defied early rain and several Victorian stands to notch a crucial, second victory this season. They were comfortably career-best innings and match figures for 29-year-old Elliott.
Full postHumphreys spins Ireland to a hat-trick of Test wins
Ireland needed just 18.3 overs on day five - with threat of rain looming - to close out the game
Ekanth
10-Feb-2025
Ireland 260 (McBrine 90*, Adair 78, Muzarabani 7-58, Ngarava 2-65) and 298 (Balbirnie 66, Tucker 58, Ngarava 4-55, Gwandu 2-28, Madhevere 2-48) beat Zimbabwe 267 (Welch 90, Muzarabani 47, McCarthy 4-75, McBrine 3-59) and 228 (Madhevere 84, Bennett 45, Humphreys 6-57, McCarthy 2-22) by 63 runs
Rain was the biggest threat Ireland faced when they came to the Queens Sports Club on day five. But in 18.3 overs, they wrapped up the one-off Test against Zimbabwe with a 63-run win. They needed to create seven chances for the last three wickets, and in the process completed their first hat-trick of Test wins in their ten-match history. It is the earliest point any team has earned a hat-trick of Test wins, bettering South Africa, who needed 14 matches.
Matthew Humphreys converted his overnight four-for into a career-best 6 for 57, with Andy McBrine - his spin-bowling partner - closing out the game by knocking over Richard Ngarava with the new ball.
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