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Heroes pip Badshahs in upset win
The Lahore Badshahs' unconquered reign was finally brought to a close, as the Heroes defended a target of 144 with a disciplined bowling effort to go 1-0 up
Cricinfo staff
04-Apr-2008
Hyderabad Heroes 143 for 6 (Rayudu 44, Maher 33) beat Lahore Badshahs 137 (Umar 43, Mahmood 34, Razzaq 3-18) by six runs
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The Lahore Badshahs' unconquered reign was finally brought to a close, as the Heroes defended a target of 144 with a disciplined bowling effort to go 1-0 up in the best-of-three finals. Fortunately for the Badshahs, they can still recover from the blip, but the loss couldn't have come at a worse time.
The Heroes decided to bat and Abdul Razzaq gave them the early momentum with a brisk 21 off 12 balls. Steady partnerships were forged during the Heroes' innings - Jimmy Maher and Ambati Rayudu put on 27 before the latter and Kemp added 53 for the third wicket.
Full postSathish blitz helps Superstars finish third
Inspired by R Sathish's 42-ball 86, the Chennai Superstars secured third place with a 32-run victory over the Kolkata Tigers
Cricinfo staff
04-Apr-2008
Chennai Superstars186 for 4 (Sathish 86, Vignesh 40, Nechim 3-28) beat Kolkata Tigers 154 (McMillan 35, Kumaran 3-12, Devendran 3-35) by 32 runs
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Inspired by R Sathish's 42-ball 86, the Chennai Superstars secured third place with a 32-run victory over the Kolkata Tigers. The other big contributor to the win was T Kumaran, who turned in another miserly performance - taking 3 for 12 in his four overs.
The Superstars chose to bat first and were given a splendid start by G Vignesh, who crunched six fours and two sixes in a 19-ball 40. Medium-pacer Abu Nechim brought the Tigers back into the match, taking two quick wickets to reduce the Superstars to 59 for 3 after seven overs. Hemang Badani and Sathish, though, ensured the initiative gained by Vignesh's pyrotechnics weren't wasted as they bludgeoned 108 off 12 overs. While Sathish was the dominant partner, Badani contributed a measured 36.
Full postWest Indies fight hard for control
Sri Lanka and West Indies fought hard to try and gain the upper hand but the second day's play ended with neither team earning a decisive advantage
The Bulletin by George Binoy
04-Apr-2008
West Indies 268 for 7 (Sarwan 57, Muralitharan 3-64) trail Sri Lanka 278 (Silva 76, Dilshan 62, Edwards 4-84) by 10 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Sri Lanka and West Indies fought hard to try and gain the upper hand but the second day's play at the Queen's Park Oval ended with neither team earning a decisive advantage. The battle for the first-innings lead was closely contested and West Indies finished ten runs short of Sri Lanka's 278 with three wickets in hand.
West Indies had the better of the first two sessions and by tea they were superbly placed to go past Sri Lanka. Their bowlers had managed to winkle out Sri Lanka's last five wickets for 61 runs and their top three batsmen - Ramnaresh Sarwan's 57 was the highlight - made useful contributions to steer West Indies to 133 for 1. However, Sri Lanka put the skids on the scoring rate after tea and Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas had the batsmen under immense pressure. The result was that West Indies lost six wickets for 135 to bring the match back into balance.
Full postSchiferli keeps game level
Edgar Schiferli claimed a career-best 5 for 48 as Netherlands limited UAE to a lead of just two runs on the second in Sharjah
Cricinfo staff
04-Apr-2008
UAE 289 (Saqib 58, Amjad Ali 55, Schiferli 5-48) lead Netherlands 287 by two runs
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Edgar Schiferli claimed a career-best 5 for 48 on the second day in Sharjah but UAE dented Netherlands' hopes of qualifying for the Intercontinental Cup final by taking a narrow two-run lead.
To stay in the race for a spot in the final, Netherlands really needed to collect the maximum 20 points from this match, but after conceding a lead, only 14 points are now available. However, following the efforts of Schiferli victory is still within reach. The home side looked well placed for a handy advantage on 256 for 5 until Schiferli ran through the tail as the last five wickets fell for 33 runs.
Full postde Villiers double leads South African run-fest
An unbeaten 217 by AB de Villiers and his 256-run stand with Jacques Kallis, who made 132, helped South Africa to 494 for 7, a lead of 418
South Africa 494 for 7 (de Villiers 217*, Kallis 132, Harris 9*) lead
India 76 by 418 runs
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How they were out
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If an Indian team with ambitions to world dominance found the opening
day at the Sardar Patel Stadium humiliating, day two was soul-destroying, with a
classy AB de Villiers double-century and a dogged Jacques Kallis hundred
underpinning a relentless South African charge to victory. By the time the
rain came down to wash away Indian tears, they had rampaged to 494 for 7,
with de Villiers still going strong on 217, the highest score by a South
African against India.
In the 77.2 overs bowled in the day, India managed just three wickets, two
of them when the batsmen were in the quest for quick runs after tea. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked up one apiece, with Mark Boucher and Morne Morkel trapped leg before, but by then the only question being posed was just how imposing
the lead would be.
Full postKlusener's 91 fails to halt Badshahs' march
Even a battling 91 from Lance Klusener couldn't halt the undefeated run of the Lahore Badshahs
Cricinfo staff
03-Apr-2008
Lahore Badshahs 182 for 7 (Imran Nazir 42, Humayun 39, Shibsagar 2-19) beat Kolkata Tigers 175 for 4 (Klusener 91, Shahid 2-12) by seven runs
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Even a battling 91 from Lance Klusener couldn't halt the undefeated run of the Lahore Badshahs as the Kolkata Tigers failed to surmount an imposing target of 183.
Klusener's 91 made for half of the Badshahs' total of 182, but a remarkable spell by Shahid Nazir thwarted the efforts of the South African as the Badshahs sealed their place in the final against the Hyderabad Heroes with a seven-run win.
Full postArshad five limits Netherlands
Arshad Ali took five wickets for UAE, but Netherland's were indebted to fifties from Baz Zuiderent and Peter Borren in their 287 on the first day in Sharjah. At the close, the hosts had moved to 10 without loss
Cricinfo staff
03-Apr-2008
UAE 10 for 0 (Amjad 3*, Arshad 7*) trail Netherlands 287 (Zuiderent 77, Borren 56, Arshad 4-43) by 277 runs
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Arshad Ali took five wickets for UAE, but Netherland's were indebted to fifties from Bas Zuiderent and Peter Borren in their 287 on the first day in Sharjah. At the close, the hosts had moved to 10 without loss.
Netherlands, who were put in by Saqib Ali, began confidently with their opening batsmen, Alexei Kervezee and Zuiderent, putting on 79 for the first wicket. Kervezee struck eight fours in his 44 before he was trapped in front by Khurram Khan - and both Ryan ten Doeschate and Eric Szwarczynski fell cheaply before Zuiderent was joined by Borren.
Zuiderent fell for 77, caught by Fahad Alhashmi off Mohammad Tauqir, but Borren found excellent support in Daan van Bunge who helped put on 59 for the fifth wicket. At 224 for 5, the match was hovering nicely in the balance, but Arshad Ali ran through the lower-order to pick up 5 for 43.
Full postDilshan and Silva spark recovery
The first day of the second Test began and ended in similar fashion, with West Indies bowling a poor line and length and the Sri Lankan batsmen, who finished on 217 for 5, scoring at a fast clip
The Bulletin by George Binoy
03-Apr-2008
Sri Lanka 217 for 5 (Dilshan 58*, Silva 37*, Edwards 3-50) v West Indies
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How they were out
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The first day of the second Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad began and ended in similar fashion, with West Indies bowling a poor line and length and the Sri Lankan batsmen scoring at a fast clip. In between the two wayward periods, Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor operated with hostility to take five quick wickets, but a counter-attacking partnership after tea between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva wrested the initiative for Sri Lanka and they ended the day on 217 for 5.
The conditions were ideal for West Indies and Chris Gayle won the toss and gave his all-pace attack, which was bolstered by the inclusion of Edwards, first use of a grassy pitch. However, Daren Powell and Taylor sprayed the ball around and Sri Lanka capitalised by scoring at four runs an over. West Indies were beginning to look ragged and dropped two catches but Edwards struck twice to help them salvage the first session. Taylor landed a couple of significant blows after lunch to reduce Sri Lanka from 62 for 0 to 117 for 5.
Full postLangeveldt hat-trick rocks Easterns
A round-up of the Standard Bank Pro20 matches that took place on April 2
Telford Vice and Ken Borland
03-Apr-2008
Warriors 119 for 7 (de Bruyn 34, Dyili 28) beat Lions 87 for 8 (Coetsee 17, Theron 2-13) by 18 runs (D/L method)
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Charl Langeveldt's hat-trick rocked the Easterns Titans top-order and lead the Western Cape Cobras to a 60-run win in their Standard Bank Pro20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Langeveldt's high-quality pace bowling cost the Titans any chance of chasing down a target of 166 and their unbeaten record as they crashed to 9 for 4. The drama began with the first ball of Langeveldt's second over as a fast away-swinger raced past Roelof van der Merwe, who was swinging to leg, and took out his off stump.
Full postSteyn and Kallis lead South African charge
Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn scythed through the batting order as India slumped to 76 all out, their second-lowest total on home soil. By close of play on the opening day, Jacques Kallis had led South Africa to 223 for 4
South Africa 223 for 4 (Kallis 60*, de Villiers 59*) lead
India 76 all out (Steyn 5-23, Ntini 3-18) by 147 runs
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How they were out
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In a country where the most lucrative and least-skilled form of the game is now being seen as the best thing since loaves came sliced, there was almost delicious irony in a much-vaunted Indian line-up being skittled in exactly 20 overs. A fine 12-over spell from Harbhajan Singh then offered India the chance of redemption, triggering a South African slide from 100 for 1 to 117 for 4, only for Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers to play spoilsports and bat with the concentration and obduracy one usually associates with a Test match.
After Anil Kumble had won the toss on a pitch that had a smattering of grass, Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn scythed through the batting order as India slumped to their second-lowest total on home soil, surpassing the 75 in New Delhi in 1987 only because South Africa were generous with the extras. Only Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni managed double-digit scores, and it took South Africa just 14.4 overs to ease into the lead. By stumps, that advantage had swelled to 147 runs, with Kallis and de Villiers adding an unbroken 106.
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