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Warriors settle for safe draw
Western Australia settled for the draw on the final day in Hobart, using the first two sessions as batting practice before declaring at tea, 521 ahead
Cricinfo staff
06-Dec-2007
Tasmania 343 and 1 for 75 dec (di Venuto 50*) drew with Western Australia 8 for 511 dec and 2 for 358 dec (Langer 121, Rogers 87, Marsh 66*, Hussey 59*)
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Western Australia settled for the draw on the final day in Hobart, using the first two sessions essentially as batting practice before declaring at tea, 521 ahead. With two bowlers down (Brad Hogg with an infected finger, Ben Edmondson with a side strain) Adam Voges didn't think twice about going for the outright win.
Tasmania reached 1 for 75 before an early declaration, once Michael di Venuto had made his fifty, brought the game to a close.
Full postImran Farhat blitz destroys Heroes
Imran Farhat clobbered a 48-ball 74 to help the Chandigarh Lions run roughshod over the Hyderabad Heroes and share top place in the table
Cricinfo staff
05-Dec-2007
Chandigarh Lions 137 for 4 (Farhat 74*) beat Hyderabad Heroes 134 for 7 (Hall 3-18) by 6 wickets
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Imran Farhat clobbered a 48-ball 74 to help the Chandigarh Lions run roughshod over the Hyderabad Heroes and share top spot in the table. Earlier, three wickets in a tight spell by Andrew Hall had restricted the Heroes to 134.
After winning the toss and, in keeping with the trend in the previous four matches, choosing to bat , the Heroes suffered an early setback as Syed Sahabuddin was done in by an inswinger from Andrew Hall in the first over. A 48-run partnership between Ambati Rayudu and Anirudh Singh followed which set the foundation for the big names of the Heroes' middle order.
Full postHopes and Watson blast Bulls home
Queensland brought South Australia's three-match winning streak to a shuddering halt at the Gabba and took the Bulls to second on the table
Cricinfo staff
05-Dec-2007
Queensland 4 for 159 (Watson 70, Hopes 61) beat South Australia 7 for 203 (Christian 94*) by six wickets (D/L method)
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Queensland brought South Australia's three-match winning streak to a shuddering halt at the Gabba and took the Bulls to second on the table. Shane Watson and James Hopes hit fifties to shrug off the early loss of Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds and Jimmy Maher and ease to their twice-revised target of 156 from 29 overs.
Daniel Christian's unbeaten 94 in his second match for South Australia boosted them to 7 for 203 in the 39 overs made possible by the rain. Christian - "a massive pick-up for us," according to his captain Nathan Adcock - compiled a sensible innings replete with clean, simple but effective shots after coming in with South Australia 3 for 28.
Full postRecord-breaking Langer responds to Marsh ton
Justin Langer became Western Australia's highest run-scorer as he and Chris Rogers reached unbeaten fifties to leave the Warriors strongly placed against Tasmania
Cricinfo staff
05-Dec-2007
Western Australia 8 for 511 dec and 0 for 146 (Langer 86*, Rogers 54*) lead Tasmania 343 (Marsh 117*, Bailey 68, Di Venuto 61, Magoffin 5-53) by 314 runs
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Justin Langer became Western Australia's highest run-scorer as he and Chris Rogers reached unbeaten fifties to leave the Warriors strongly placed against Tasmania heading into the final day.
Dan Marsh pummelled his way to 117 not out, and although George Bailey and Michael Di Venuto contributed half-centuries, Adam Voges still had the option of forcing the follow-on.
Full postSri Lanka beat the light to secure victory
Sri Lanka claimed the first Test by 88 runs at Kandy, but England came with about 20 minutes of salvaging a draw
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
05-Dec-2007
Sri Lanka 188 and 442 for 8 beat England 281 and 261 (Bell 74, Prior 63, Vaas 3-56) by 88 runs
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How they were out
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It took more sweat and toil than Sri Lanka might have envisaged but they eventually wrapped up an 88-run victory in the first Test at Kandy about 20 minutes before bad light would have come to England's rescue. A defiant stand of 109 in 44 overs between Ian Bell and Matt Prior gave England hope of survival after a poor morning session; then, in fitting style, Muttiah Muralitharan removed both with wicked deliveries to ensure a match that started with him as centre of attention ended with him the hero.
But it took Muralitharan more than two sessions to make his decisive mark. Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando did the damage before Sri Lanka came up against the Bell-Prior alliance. As England ticked down the minutes during the final session Mahela Jayawardene began to fret, perhaps having flashbacks to the 2003-04 series when England hung on in the first two Tests. He'd already taken some criticism for his late declaration on the fourth evening and that would have intensified had the result escaped Sri Lanka. He was reluctant to set over-attacking fields, often placing a man at deep point. However, he always had Murali.
Full postCheruvathur hat-trick sinks Gujarat
A round-up of the first day's play of the fifth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
04-Dec-2007
Kerala 58 for 3 trail Gujarat 154 (Parthiv 50, Cheruvathur 7-30) by 96 runs
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Sony Cheruvathur became only the second Kerala bowler to pick up a hat-trick, running through Gujarat with a seven-wicket haul in Surat. Gujarat hit back after being shot out for 154 by reducing Kerala to 58 for 3 by stumps. Gujarat were sitting pretty at 72 for 0 before Cheruvathur, the medium-pacer, got into the act. He removed the debutant Rajesh Tabrar before his partner Tinu Yohannan prised out the other opener Parthiv Patel (50). Only Niraj Patel crossed 30 as Cheruvathur knived through Gujarat line-up before terminating the innings with a hat-trick in his 16th over. In the process he emulated Sreesanth, who was the first bowler from Kerala to manage a hat-trick. However, Gujarat waged a fightback through Mohnish Parmar, who grabbed two quick wickets after Siddharth Trivedi had removed Raiphi Gomez for a first-ball duck.
Haryana 268 for 7 (Lavasa 76) v Madhya Pradesh
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Powered by a 76 from the debutant Abir Lavasa, Haryana reached 268 for 7 by the end of the opening day against Madhya Pradesh in Rohtak. There were some useful contributions from the lower middle-order too - two batsmen went past 40 - but no-one converted it into a big score. A double-strike by medium-pacer Sanjay Pandey left Haryana in a wobble at 25 for 2 but Lavasa settled the nerves with a 92-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Sachin Rana. Ashutosh Jadhav struck two quick blows, removing Rana and Lavasa, but Haryana rallied through an unbeaten 47 from Sunil Viswanathan.
Full postHimachal cling on for dramatic draw
A round-up of the final day's play of the fourth-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
04-Dec-2007
Himachal Pradesh 343 and 83 for 5 (Bisla 24*, Ishant Sharma 4-44) drew with Delhi 75 and by 482 for 6 dec. (Chopra 215)
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Aakash Chopra's double-century set up a declaration and Ishant Sharma's burst threatened to bowl Himachal Pradesh out inside 36 overs, but Maninder Bisla and Barun Sharma hung on desperately for 18.1 overs to bat out a draw, which gave them the three points for the first-innings lead they had attained.
Chopra, who started the day at 146, continued to pile on the runs and reached his double-century with a six off Sarandeep Singh. Delhi declared as soon as Chopra got out for 213 and Ishant took four wickets to get Himachal down to 34 for 5 in the 17th over. But Bisla, who has impressed with his fighting innings in the middle and lower order, in company with Barun denied Delhi till stumps.
Full postUthappa's onslaught in vain as match ends in draw
Robin Uthappa briefly fluttered hopes of a come-from-behind Karnataka win on a dramatic final day against Rajasthan, but the see-saw clash ended in a draw
The Bulletin by Jamie Alter in Mysore
04-Dec-2007
Rajasthan 393 (Bist 99, Sharma 68, Jhalani 62, Joshi 6-83) and 131 (Joshi 4-25) drew with Karnataka 329 (Goud 110*, Shamsher 4-79, Aslam 4-90) and 153 for 2 (Uthappa 54)
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Robin Uthappa briefly fluttered hopes of a come-from-behind Karnataka win on a dramatic final day against Rajasthan, but with time and overs fast disappearing a see-saw clash ended in a draw at the Gangothri Glades in Mysore. Sunil Joshi prompted another Rajasthan collapse earlier in the day and in a spectacular twist Karnataka needed 196 to win in a probable 27 overs. Uthappa gave an enthusiastic crowd plenty to cheer about with a robust 54 from 38 balls but with the asking rate too high, it was Rajasthan who took the game's honours, courtesy first-innings bonus points.
The groundwork for a thrilling chase was done on the fourth morning, when Rajasthan resumed on an overnight 0 for 0 and stumbled splendidly. Karnataka were far improved after near three days of below-par cricket, led by a parsimonious Joshi, who opened the bowling. From the start, Joshi hit the right areas and got the new ball to turn. In his first over, the veteran spinner was up in vigorous celebration even before the umpire adjudged that Manish Sharma got bat on ball for Uthappa at silly point to take the catch.
Full postTasmania struggle after Voges fires with 180
Adam Voges' dominant century lifted Western Australia to 8 for 551 declared on the second day against Tasmania in Hobart, while the home side could only struggle to 4 for 147
Cricinfo staff
04-Dec-2007
Tasmania 4 for 147 (Di Venuto 61) trail Western Australia 8 for 551 dec (Voges 180, Rogers 123, Gilchrist 86, Magoffin 45) by 404 runs
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Adam Voges' dominant century lifted Western Australia to 8 for 551 declared on the second day against Tasmania in Hobart, while the home side could only struggle to 4 for 147, still trailing by 404 runs. Voges made his highest first-class score of 180 and Adam Gilchrist 86 as the pair shared a fifth-wicket stand of 161 to continue the good work started in the latter exchanges of Monday.
Voges added exactly 100 on the second day while Gilchrist played a typically quickfire innings from 74 balls that included three sixes. Both were then trapped lbw by Brendan Drew, who had also grabbed Brad Hogg for 4, but this only paved the way for some lower-order hitting from Darren Wates (35 not out) and Steve Magoffin, who made his highest score of 45 to push them past 500.
Full postWest Indies close out easy six-wicket win
West Indies, led by their seamers, overpowered the home side for a second successive game to record a six-wicket win in Harare
The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran
04-Dec-2007
West Indies 142 for 4 (Bravo 45*, Morton 38) beat Zimbabwe 139 (Taibu 32, Taylor 3-18, Powell 3-32) by 6 wickets
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After Zimbabwe's surprise win in the first ODI, the series took a predictable turn as West Indies, led by their seamers, overpowered the home side for the second successive game to record a six-wicket win in Harare. Zimbabwe were made to fight against the tide from the time they lost the toss, with the overcast conditions helping the West Indies bowlers skittle Zimbabwe for 139, a total that was never sufficient, considering that batting became easier in the afternoon.
Runako Morton and Dwayne Bravo, the stand-in captain in place of the injured Chris Gayle, then helped the visitors ease to the target with 133 balls to spare.
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