Report
Thriller 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.
Full postBaroda in command after taking first-innings lead
Hyderabad were left with a tough ask against Baroda, trailing by 175 runs in their second innings with nine wickets in hand
The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Hyderabad
25-Nov-2007
Hyderabad 261 and 40 for 1 (Teja 27*, Pai 12*) trail Baroda 479 for 6 dec (Williams 153, Solanki 78, Shah 68, Mohan 4-132) by 175 runs
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The question at the start of the third day was whether Baroda could score quick runs and give themselves enough time to bowl out Hyderabad. The visitors did most of the things right on a slow track, scoring 285 runs at 4.07 runs per over before declaring at 476 for 9, and claimed a wicket before the end of day's play. If they can remove Ravi Teja - unbeaten on 27 - early on the final day, they could well achieve the outright win.
Nearly every Baroda batsman chipped in with runs. Connor Williams went past 150, Rakesh Solanki cut and drove merrily to make 78 while Pinal Shah irritated Hyderabad with his 68. Baroda scored 123 runs without the loss of any wicket in the first session, 111 runs for the loss of three in the second and 51 runs came in 8.1 overs in the last before they declared.
Full postPunjab and UP set up a potential classic
A round-up of the third day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
25-Nov-2007
Punjab 381 and 238 for 7 (Inder 62, Ricky 76*, Chawla 3-50) lead Uttar Pradesh 375 (Kumar 38*, VRV Singh 7-112) by 244 runs
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VRV Singh took two quick wickets early on in the day to secure a six-run first-innings lead for Punjab but they then lost seven wickets to set up a tense final day's play at Mohali. At stumps, Punjab led Uttar Pradesh by 244 runs with three wickets in hand.
Needing 30 at the start of the day to take the first-innings lead, UP lost their last three wickets for 19 runs; Praveen Kumar was left stranded on 38 while VRV Singh finished with a five-for. Kumar then sparked off a top-order collapse, reducing Punjab to 92 for 4, but Ravi Inder, playing his third match, and the veteran Ravneet Ricky added 74 for the fifth wicket. Ricky continued after Inder's dismissal for a career-best 62. Chawla kept UP in the game with three late wickets, including Inder's.
Full postSmith hat-trick star turn in Victoria double
Clea Smith's five wickets, including a hat-trick, helped Victoria sink Western Australia in the opening match and she grabbed two in the second as they did the double
Cricinfo staff
25-Nov-2007
Clea Smith's five wickets, including a hat-trick, helped Victoria sink Western Australia in the opening match in Perth on Saturday and victory for them on Sunday too helped them to the double. In the opener, Mel Jones and Rachael Haynes boosted Victoria to 4 for 239, each reaching fifties in an opening stand of 139, before Smith came in to knock the Fury over for 142. She took the first two wickets, then Angele Gray was run out, to leave them in trouble at 3 for 11. Nicole Bolton and Jenny Wallace gave them some hope with a stand of 85 but Smith had the final say with her hat-trick of Renee Chappell, Charlotte Horton and Joanne Wilson as they won by 97 runs. She ended with 5 for 10 from eight overs.
Victoria batted first in the second time again on Sunday - this time by choice - and on this occasion they reached 191, an innings built around Kelly Applebee's 54. They then bowled out Western Australia for 149 at the WACA, to win by 42 runs. Again Smith's bowling was important, her 2 for 15 from 9.5 overs completing a solid weekend of bowling, returning 7 for 25 from 17.5 overs. Julie Hunter and Jane Franklin backed her up with two wickets each.
Full postDighton and Ponting slay Blues
Twin tons for Michael Dighton and Ricky Ponting drove Tasmania to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against New South Wales to chase down their target of 265 with 25 balls to spare
Cricinfo staff
25-Nov-2007
Tasmania 1 for 266 (Dighton 146*, Ponting 111*) beat New South Wales 264 (Haddin 74, Katich 56, Geeves 3-47) by 9 wickets
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Twin tons for Michael Dighton and Ricky Ponting drove Tasmania to an emphatic nine-wicket victory against New South Wales, as they chased down their target of 265 with 25 balls to spare. The pair added an unbroken 263 following Travis Birt's dismissal for 1, edging Nathan Bracken's first ball, to continue a miserable FR Cup campaign for the Blues.
Dighton and Ponting rained down fours and sixes against a sorry Blues attack which had no answers to their venom. It was a polished display of batting, with boundaries to all places, but particularly square of the wicket.
Full postNel clinches thriller
Not even New Zealand's best performance of their arduous tour of South Africa could earn them their first win
The Bulletin by Will Luke
25-Nov-2007
South Africa 249 for 8 (de Villiers 87, Boucher 35*, Nel 10*, Mills 5-25) beat New Zealand 248 for 6 (How 90, Styris 40, Nel 3-46) by two wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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How they were out
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Not even New Zealand's best performance of their arduous tour of South Africa could earn them their first win against the national team. After dominating periods of the first one-dayer at Durban, and with 27 needed from the last three overs, their nerves and lack of confidence came back to haunt them as Andre Nel creamed two fours in the last over to take South Africa home off the final ball.
With three overs to go, the match was New Zealand's for the taking, and on came Mark Gillespie - who until then had showed reasonable control. Whether it was his choice or that of his captain, Daniel Vettori, the decision to bowl around the wicket to Mark Boucher, then on 24, was flawed and spoke volumes of New Zealand's lack of belief. A clip through midwicket for two; a nudge for a single and a full toss on his legs was dispatched to fine leg for four. New Zealand's slim advantage was lost, and the match was slipping away.
Full postTop-order batsmen take India close to victory
The Indian batsmen occupied the crease with purpose as they knocked off 171 of the 203 runs needed for victory
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
25-Nov-2007
India 276 and 171 for 3 (Jaffer 53, Tendulkar 32*, Ganguly 48*, Akhtar 3-41) need another 32 runs to beat Pakistan 231 and 247 (Butt 67, Misbah 45, Kumble 3-68)
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Shoaib Akhtar briefly rocked the boat but India's batsmen played in pleasant contrast to their Pakistani counterparts, applying themselves and picking the runs when scoring opportunities came their way as they reached the doorstep of victory in the first Test.
First Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid, and then Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, occupied the crease with purpose as they knocked off 171 of the 203 runs needed for victory. When play was called off for bad light, only 32 runs stood between India and glory.
Full postPanesar mops up after Tharanga 50
Steve Harmison's new back injury cast a shadow over what was otherwise an encouraging day's labour for England's bowlers, as Matthew Hoggard and Monty Panesar warmed up for the first Test with three wickets apiece
Andrew Miller in Colombo
25-Nov-2007
Sri Lanka Board President's XI 298 for 9 (Tharanga 86, de Silva 1*, Amerasinghe 0*, Hoggard 3-57) v England XI
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Steve Harmison's new back injury cast a shadow over what was otherwise
an encouraging day's labour for England's bowlers, as Matthew Hoggard
and Monty Panesar warmed up for the first Test with three wickets
apiece. By the close of the first day at the Nondescripts Cricket
Club, the Sri Lanka Board President's XI had slipped to 298 for 9,
having at one stage been well placed on 287 for 5.
The mainstay of the Sri Lankan performance was once again Upul
Tharanga, who enhanced his own prospects of a Test recall with a
fluent innings of 86 to add to his century in England's opening
warm-up. Another member of Sri Lanka's Test squad, Jehan Mubarak,
chipped in with 68 from 143 deliveries, while the young wicketkeeper,
Kaushal Silva, made a dogged 53 despite being struck a painful blow on
the wrist by a loose shy from Kevin Pietersen.
Full postSahil Kukreja leads Mumbai's fightback
Sahil Kukreja hit a belligerent 89 to turn this match on its head and put Mumbai back in the reckoning against Delhi at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday
The Bulletin by Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai
24-Nov-2007
Mumbai 166 and 154 for 2 (Kukreja 89*, Mujumdar 2*) lead Delhi 251 (Gambhir 89, Salvi 3-44) by 69 runs
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Sahil Kukreja hit a belligerent 89 to turn this match on its head and put Mumbai back in the reckoning against Delhi at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. With the match at the halfway stage, Mumbai have a 69-run lead and will relish the chance of bowling on a fourth-day pitch.
The day revolved largely around Kukreja, who has had an impressive start to the season, with two centuries in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy, against Karachi Urbans in the Mohammad Nissar Trophy and Rest of India in the Irani Trophy.
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