Report
England secure warm-up win
Kevin Pietersen produced his first half-century of the tour and Alastair Cook continued his recent good form, as England wrapped up a morale-boosting victory over the Sri Lanka Board President's XI at Colombo
Andrew Miller in Colombo
27-Nov-2007
England XI 134 and 246 for 5 (Pietersen 59, Cook 58) beat Sri Lanka Board President's XI 298 for 9 dec and 81 (Hoggard 5-25) by five wickets
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Kevin Pietersen produced his first half-century of the tour and Alastair Cook continued his recent good form, as England wrapped up a morale-boosting victory over the Sri Lanka Board President's XI at Colombo. The pair combined in a third-wicket stand of 55, making 59 and 58 respectively, before Owais Shah and Matt Prior sealed the victory with a flurry of boundaries shortly after tea.
After their first-innings aberration, in which they lost three top-order wickets in six overs, England's batsmen seemed keen to make amends. Michael Vaughan, who fell for a duck first time around, made a brisk and stylish start, cracking four fours in his 32-ball 28, as England added 50 for the first wicket in only ten overs.
Full postMassive win for Pakistan Under-19
Medium-pacer Junaid Nadir took four wickets as Pakistan Under-19 completed a 144-run victory over Bangladesh U-19
Cricinfo staff
26-Nov-2007
Pakistan U-19 257 for 8 (Shehzad 56, Asad 56, Talukder 3-32) beat Bangladesh U-19 113 (Nadir 4-29, Wasim 3-13) by 144 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Medium-pacer Junaid Nadir took four wickets as Pakistan Under-19 completed a 144-run victory over Bangladesh U-19 in the first ODI at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.
Sent in, Pakistan scored 257, thanks to half-centuries from opener Ahmed Shehzad and wicketkeeper Ali Asad, and a late cameo from captain Imad Wasim. Shehzad, who impressed during Australia Under-19's tour of Pakistan recently, led a solid start for the hosts with a 94-run opening stand with Shan Masood.
Rony Talukder then took three wickets as Pakistan stumbled to 121 for 4 before Usman Salahuddin and Asad put on 77 runs to repair the damage. Wasim's 22-ball 34 ensured Pakistan reached a competitive total.
Full postYadav leads Hyderabad to a draw
Arjun Yadav played a captain's knock, hitting his second Ranji Trophy hundred to steer Hyderabad to a draw against Baroda
The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Hyderabad
26-Nov-2007
Baroda 479 for 6 dec (Williams 153, Solanki 78, Shah 68, Mohan 4-132) drew with Hyderabad 261 (Teja 72, Manohar 71, Pai 62, Pathan 4-71, Singh 3-39) and 272 for 4 (Yadav 101*, Shinde 57, Teja 54)
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Arjun Yadav played a captain's knock, hitting his second Ranji Trophy hundred, to steer Hyderabad to a draw against Baroda. The visitors entered the final day eyeing the six points from an outright win but had to settle for three - and concede one to Hyderabad - after being thwarted by a 135-run partnership between Yadav and Amol Shinde, on a wicket that didn't throw up any demons.
Hyderabad, resuming at 40 for 1, suffered an early setback when Irfan Pathan dismissed Anoop Pai in the sixth over of the day and Baroda nearly gained the upper hand when Irfan forced Yadav, yet to open his account, to play a low square-drive to backward point, where Azhar Bilakhia failed to hold on.
Full postGambhir scores century in draw
Gautam Gambhir led Delhi's chase of 387, but after Mumbai came back with three quick wickets in the space of one run, the match petered out to a draw
The Bulletin by Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai
26-Nov-2007
Mumbai 166 (Naik 40, Sangwan 3-38) and 471 for 9 dec (Kukreja 199, Nayar 93, Agarkar 60, Sangwan 5-102) drew with Delhi 251 (Gambhir 89, Salvi 3-44) and 252 for 3 (Gambhir 137*, Chopra 81)
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A match that had swung first one way, then another, ended in a draw on a day that had its own twists. Delhi began the day needing a further 328 to beat Mumbai and set off down that path, inspired by Gautam Gambhir, before a short, sharp burst from Aavishkar Salvi - two wickets in two balls - after lunch stopped them in their tracks. Delhi reached 252 for 3 when the captains agreed to call off the game just before the mandatory overs were to start.
The first session belonged to Delhi's openers. Gambhir and Aakash Chopra played by the book, circumspect in the first hour before opening up. Mumbai's erratic bowling display didn't improve matters and their problems were compounded by the benign pitch. Gambhir had made 80 and Chopra was one run behind as Delhi took lunch with the target in their sights - they required a further 212 from the remaining 52 overs.
Full postTripura lose thriller despite Shetty special
A round-up of the fourth day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
26-Nov-2007
Vidarbha 315 and 186 beat Tripura 201 and 287 (Shetty 130, Manoj Singh 62, Sandeep Singh 5-90) by 13 runs
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Scorecard
Nishit Shetty almost masterminded an incredible run-chase, but the latter half of the Tripura innings came apart in the last 10 overs as they lost to Vidarbha by 13 runs with 10 balls to spare. Shetty scored a century at almost a run a ball to bring Tripura to within 60 runs of the required 301, with five wickets and more than 10 overs to spare.
At that point, a 75-run sixth-wicket stand between Shetty and Subal Chowdhury was ended with Chowdhury's run-out. After that, the batting collapsed, with Shetty being the last batsman to fall for a 137-ball 130. Sandeep Singh took five wickets for Vidarbha, including two at the death.
Earlier, Tripura had done well to take the last four wickets in 6.3 overs. Shetty ended with fine figures of 3 for 31.
Full postAndhra beat Orissa in a thriller
A round-up of the fourth day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
26-Nov-2007
Andhra 179 and 287 for 9 dec beat Orissa 140 and 224 (Behera 66, Mohanty 46, Kalyankrishna 3-22) by 102 runs
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The Orissa tail fought valiantly in an attempt to force a draw, but Andhra took the last wicket with only 3.5 overs remaining in the match to end the dramatic final day at the Barabati Stadium. Orissa started the day needing 295 with all their wickets in hand, but they lost half the side in a hurry to be reduced to 111 for 5. Niranjan Behera and Pinninti Jayachandra then put together a partnership, but the two fell just short of tea to leave the tail a tall order.
Debasis Mohanty batted well in the last session and every tailender applied himself to take the match into the final overs. The partnerships for the eighth, ninth and 10th wickets lasted 15, 8.2 and 5.1 overs, but it wasn't enough to save the game.
Full postHoggard and Bopara star amid injuries
Matthew Hoggard demonstrated his imperturbability in the face of a bowling crisis, while Ravi Bopara rose to the occasion with both bat and - less expectedly - the new ball
Andrew Miller in Colombo
26-Nov-2007
Sri Lanka Board President's XI 298 for 9 dec and 77 for 8 (Hoggard 5-25) lead England XI 134 (Bopara 47) by 241 runs
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Matthew Hoggard demonstrated his imperturbability in the face of a bowling crisis, while Ravi Bopara rose to the occasion with both bat and - less expectedly - the new ball, as England's cricketers turned their fortunes upside down on a frenetic second day at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo.
At the tea break, England were bracing themselves for embarrassment. Their batting had imploded for 134, less than half the 298 for 9 on which their opponents had declared overnight, and to make matters worse, they had been reduced to a solitary fit fast bowler in Hoggard. With Steve Harmison already receiving treatment for a back spasm, James Anderson reported soreness in his left ankle while warming up in the innings break and took no further part in the day.
Full postAll-round India seal six-wicket win
Sachin Tendulkar was unbeaten on 56 as India chased down a target they had never managed before at the Feroz Shah Kotla, with six wickets to spare
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
26-Nov-2007
India 276 (Laxman 72*, Dhoni 57, Kaneria 4-59) and 203 for 4 (Tendulkar 56*, Jaffer 53, Akhtar 4-58) beat Pakistan 231 (Misbah 82, Kumble 4-38) and 247 (Butt 67, Misbah 45, Kumble 3-68) by 6 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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When Akhtar bounced Sourav Ganguly and the ball got big on the pull shot, resulting in a swirling top-edge to fine leg, Pakistan supporters would have got a whiff of the unlikely. A wicket had fallen, Ganguly on 48, with 22 still needed for victory. But there would be no more heroics as Tendulkar took the lead and knocked off the required runs with a minimum of fuss.
In some ways it was ironic that Laxman was at crease when victory was sealed, for the lead-up to this Test match was full of questions over what the composition of the Indian team, especially the middle order, should be. Amid overwhelming calls to include the in-form Yuvraj Singh, Laxman came under pressure for his spot, as he often does. But he delivered in the first innings with a classy unbeaten 72, when it mattered the most, setting up an India win.
Full postThriller in store at Silchar
A round-up of the third day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
25-Nov-2007
Kerala 200 for 6 (Prasath 80*, Prem 53) and 85 require 66 more runs to beat Assam 198 and 152
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A sixth-wicket stand of 136, easily the biggest of the match, set the Silchar match between Assam and Kerala up for a thrilling finish as Kerala needed 66 more to finish a turnaround after they were dismissed for 85 in the first innings. They had four wickets in hand at the end of the third day.
Starting the day with 255 needed, Kerala were going down the first-innings path when they were reduced to 64 for 5. That's when P Prasanth came out to join PR Prem. The duo dug in deep, batted cautiously, and kept their wickets in tact. Prasnath ended the day on an unbeaten 80, but Assam managed a wicket off what turned out to be the last ball of the day. S Suresh, who has already scored 102 runs in this low-scorer, struck for the sixth time in the match to dismiss Prem for 53.
Jammu & Kashmir 133 and 85 for 4 (Bhatt 43, SS Rao 2-15) require 291 more runs to beat Jharkhand 105 and 403 (Tiwary 169, Ali 3-57)
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Kukreja and Nayar set up exciting final day
Sahil Kukreja missed a double-century, but his innings put Mumbai in a state where they can push for an outright win after having fallen behind in the first innings
The Bulletin by Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai
25-Nov-2007
Delhi 251 and 59 for 0 (Chopra 33*, Gambhir 22*) need 328 more runs to beat Mumbai 166 & 471 for 9 (Kukreja 199, Nayar 93, Sangwan 5-102)
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In what is turning out to be a fascinating tussle between two traditional rivals in domestic cricket, both Mumbai and Delhi ended the third day of their third-round Ranji Trophy clash harbouring hopes of victory. Delhi were 59 without loss, and need 328 more for victory after Mumbai declared at 471 for 9 in their second innings at the Wankhede Stadium. Sahil Kukreja and Pradeep Sangwan shared the honours for the day, with Kukreja thrashing a magnificent 199 before Sangwan dismissed him on the way to a maiden five-wicket haul to take his match tally to eight.
Sangwan started the day on a bright note, sending back the dangerous duo of Amol Muzumdar and Rohit Sharma in quick succession. A listless Muzumdar missed a front-foot flick and was caught plumb in front for his second failure of the match. Sharma played 13 dot balls before trying to pull a bouncer, but all he managed was a nick to Puneet Bisht behind the stumps.
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