Report
India through to final despite hiccup
India Under-19s were stretched for the first time in the tournament but they held their nerve and overcame New Zealand by three wickets in a tense semi-final
The Bulletin by George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur
27-Feb-2008
India U-19s 191 for 7 (Goswami 51, Virat 43, Southee 4-29) beat New Zealand U-19s 205 for 8 (Anderson 70, Virat 2-27) by three wickets (by D/L method)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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India Under-19s were stretched for the first time in the tournament but held their nerve in a tense chase under lights in wet conditions at the Kinara Oval to beat New Zealand by three wickets to reach their second successive final.
The victory was set up by their bowlers, who bowled an economical wicket-to-wicket line and restricted New Zealand to 205 and their batsmen, Shreevats Goswami in particular, displayed composure during the run-chase, which was shortened to 191 off 43 overs by the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Full postChopra clatters ton in Delhi's big win
The following are the summary of results on the first day of the Ranji one-day tournament
Cricinfo staff
27-Feb-2008
The following are the summary of results on the first day of the Ranji one-day tournament
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North Zone
Aakash Chopra's 89-ball 101 propelled Delhi to an emphatic nine-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Ian Dev Singh's gritty 90 lent some respectability to the J&K total, once they chose to bat, but a total of 168 was never going to be too challenging for a strong batting line-up and Delhi cruised to victory with 22.1 overs to spare, gaining the bonus point in the process.
Full postTitans running away with Championship
The Titans took an almost unassailable lead at the top of the MTN Domestic Championship, their three wins this week maintaining their 100% record and giving them an 11-point lead over the Dolphins
Cricinfo staff
26-Feb-2008
The Titans took an almost unassailable lead at the top of the MTN Domestic Championship, their three wins this week maintaining their 100% record and giving them an 11-point lead over the Dolphins. However, all of the victories were hard fought.
Their game with the Warriors was the match of the week. Warriors posted 221 for 9 and the Titans seemed to be coasting as they reached 221 for 7 before losing two wickets in three balls. They eventually squeezed a one-wicket win. Against the Lions they again struggled, eventually overcoming a target of 139 with four wickets In hand. A hundred from Tatenda Taibu enabled Zimbabwe Chevrons to score 223 for 8, and when the Titans slid to 166 for 7 an upset seemed likely. But David Wiese and Brendon Reddy added an unbeaten 58 in five overs to see them home.
The Dolphins started the week with a thumping win over Zimbabwe, Johann Louw's 5 for 27 setting them on their way to a five-wicket victory, and two days later Louw was again to the fore with 4 for 23 as they beat Cape Cobras by four wickets. But their hopes of staying in touch with the Titans suffered a major blow when they crashed to a five-wicket loss at the hands of the Lions.
The Eagles lifted themselves into the middle of the table with two solid wins over the Cobras and the Warriors. Roger Telemachus was the star against the Warriors with 6 for 24. The Cobras, who led the competition early on, suffered two more defeats to leave them struggling to make the semi-finals.
Full postNepal fight back to script narrow win
A round-up of the matches Under-19 World Cup matches that took place on February 26, 2008
Cricinfo staff
26-Feb-2008
Nepal Under-19s 143 for 8 (Paras 44, Silver 3-20) beat Namibia Under-19s 139 for 9 (van Schoor 48, Shreshta 2-23) by 4 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Paras Khadka, the Nepal captain, effected a run-out to dismiss Tiaan Louw, reducing Namibia to 81 for 5. van Schoor though was holding up one end, and his 35-run stand with Keady Strauss before Shrestha struck again. But the crucial dent to Namibia's came into in the penultimate over of the match by Rahul Vishwakarma, his two wickets all but sealed the match, and left them needing 16 off seven balls.
van Schoor perished in the final over bowled by Paras, and No. 10 Gert Jan Coetzee's 9 from four deliveries wasn't enough as Namibia fell short of their target by five runs.
Full postEngland quicks impress in draw
England's pace bowlers enjoyed a productive workout as they blew away a strong New Zealand Invitational XI batting line-up on the second day in Dunedin
Cricinfo staff
26-Feb-2008
England XI 369 drew with New Zealand Invitational XI 146 (Sheed 47, Anderson 3-31, Hoggard 3-32) and 102 for 3
Scorecard
Scorecard
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England's pace bowlers enjoyed a productive workout as they blew away a strong New Zealand Invitational XI batting line-up on the second day in Dunedin. The match ended in a draw, but that was almost irrelevant as this was never more than an early-tour loosener for the tourists.
The home side's top order contained four players likely to feature in the first Test next week, but replying to England's overnight 369, they were skittled for 146. Even that represented a recovery as they had been 26 for 5 midway through the morning session. James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard shared six wickets while Steve Harmison grabbed two in a performance which improved after a wayward start.
Full postSri Lanka limp out of tri-series
Sri Lanka beat themselves in their must-win game as India eased into the finals with an emphatic seven-wicket win in Hobart
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2008
India 3 for 180 (Gambhir 64*, Tendulkar 63) beat Sri Lanka 179 (Kapugedera 57*, Kumar 4-31, Ishant 4-41) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Sri Lanka beat themselves in their must-win game as India eased into the finals with an emphatic seven-wicket win in Hobart. In what was a pathetic batting display, Sri Lanka skid from a comfortable 1 for 72 to a perilous 7 for 93, blowing their chances on a flat deck. A composed fifty from Chamara Kapugedera avoided a debacle but couldn't take away the one-sided nature of the contest.
Chasing 180 was never going to be too much of a challenge for India, especially when Sachin Tendulkar started to cut loose. Gautam Gambhir added a polished fifty to what's been a fantastic series, leaving Yuvraj Singh to add the final touches on a comprehensive win which got India a bonus point they no longer need. Sri Lanka travel to Melbourne for their final league match but that will now be only of academic interest.
Full postButt and Misbah tons round off draw
A round-up of the fourth day of the second round matches of the Pentangular Cup
Cricinfo staff
25-Feb-2008
Punjab 354 (Butt 72, Misbah 53) and 340 for 4 (Butt 117, Misbah 100*, Nasir 59) drew with North West Frontier Province 446 (Younis 117, Zulfiqar Jan 73*, Mohmand 54, Riaz 5-113)
Scorecard
Scorecard
Salman Butt and Misbah-ul-Haq scored brisk second-innings centuries as Punjab batted out a high-scoring draw against North West Frontier Province in Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. After Wahab Riaz had taken five wickets to dismiss NWFP - who took three points from their first innings lead - for 446 in the first session on the final day, Punjab had few hassles posting 340 for 4 on a dull track.
Butt and Misbah scored half-centuries in Punjab's first innings but with a result never even a possibility the duo cashed in on starts to post three figures. Butt lost fellow opener Mohammad Hafeez early, but shared stands of 136 with Nasir Jamshed (59) and 90 with Misbah. He faced few problems against NWFP's attack, picking up 18 fours during his 117 off 157 deliveries. After he departed, leg before to Mohammad Aslam with the score 227 for 3, Misbah shepherded the middle order to the end of the day with an unbeaten 100 off just 108 balls.
NWFP are now tied on three points with Punjab.
Full postSinhalese consolidate position at the top
A round-up of the fifth-round matches of the Premier League Tournament
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
25-Feb-2008
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Sinhalese consolidated their position at the top of the Premier League Tier A table with a crushing innings-and-104-run victory over Colombo Colts at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
For the third time in five matches, their strong batting line-up ran up a total in excess of 500 to which the opposition had no answer. Sinhalese's batting has been so overwhelming that they look well in sight of the title just halfway through the season.
Sinhalese's two prolific batsmen, Thilan Samaraweera and Thilina Kandamby, both made their third hundreds for the season and figured in their second double-century partnership, putting on 248 for the fourth wicket. While Samaraweera celebrated his selection to the Tests in the Caribbean next month with a typically workmanlike 184 off 264 balls, it was the left-handed Kandamby who caught the attention with a 268-ball 202, the first of his career. Colts' batsmen fumbled against Sinhalese's varied bowling attack and succumbed for totals of 274 and 174. The win opened up a 15-point lead for Sinhalese over their nearest rivals Moors, who moved into second place after Colombo were held to a draw by Nondescripts.
Full postTaylor leads England victory charge
England bounced back in strong fashion following their opening defeat against New Zealand with a powerful nine-wicket win led by Claire Taylor's unbeaten century
Cricinfo staff
25-Feb-2008
England 243 for 1 (C Taylor 111*, Atkins 69*) beat New Zealand 242 for 8 (Tsukigawa 73, Browne 45) by nine wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
England bounced back in strong fashion following their opening defeat against New Zealand to level the one-day series with a powerful nine-wicket win led by Claire Taylor's unbeaten century.
Taylor and Caroline Atkins added an unbroken 178 for the second wicket as England eased over the finishing line with more than five overs to spare. Taylor creamed 15 boundaries in her run-a-ball innings while Atkins played a fine supporting hand.
The bowlers had earlier made swift inroads to leave New Zealand on the back foot. Isha Guha continued her fine form by removing both openers and at 91 for 4 a competitive total was looking a long way away. Haidee Tiffen, the captain, steadied the innings in a 64-run stand with Sarah Tsukigawa, who added the real acceleration with a 54-ball 73.
Full postCook and Shah boost England XI
Owais Shah boosted his chances of a Test recall after impressing in England's warm-up match against an Invitational XI in the lead-up to the start of the three-match series against New Zealand
Cricinfo staff
25-Feb-2008
England XI 369 (Shah 96, Cook 87, Bell 59) v New Zealand Invitational XI
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Shah top-scored with 96 out of the England XI's 369, with Alastair Cook's 87 and 59 from Ian Bell, before he retired hurt, being the other contributions of note after the New Zealand Invitation XI - fielding five member's of New Zealand's last Test line-up - put them in at Dunedin's University Oval.
Shah made the most of a dropped catch when on 38 and hit 14 fours and a six. Cook built on his two half-centuries during the one-day series loss to the hosts with a polished innings and Bell's was also a timely contribution. Andrew Strauss, Shah's Middlesex team-mate, could only manage 4 in his bid for a Test comeback before he hit his own stumps while trying to deflect the ball away. Strauss and Shah are both vying for a spot in the side.
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