Report
Resurgent England level series
England again demonstrated their ability to bounce back from adversity with a commendable 65-run win to draw level in the one-day series at Dambulla, England's first one-day victory in Sri Lanka since 1982
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
04-Oct-2007
England 234 for 8 (Shah 82, Collingwood 42, Maharoof 3-30) beat Sri Lanka 169 (Mubarak 44*, Sidebottom 2-23, Swann 2-27) by 65 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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The match was a case of role reversal from the opening game; this time it was Sri Lanka's turn to struggle under the lights after England had battled their way out of trouble. The first half of England's innings had been played in quicksand with the batsmen unable to make any advances against another consistent display from the home side's bowlers. But Shah showed his ability to marshall a recovery, adding 70 with Swann as 151 runs came from the second 25 overs. It gave the attack a target to bowl at, with England's quicks enjoying the evening conditions.
Ryan Sidebottom struck with his second ball when Upul Tharanga drove loosely and Alastair Cook snaffled the catch at second slip. The same combination should have accounted for Kumar Sangakkara two balls later, but this time Cook couldn't hold onto a chance which came higher and slightly quicker. Sangakkara continued to live a charmed life when Phil Mustard palmed a top edge off James Anderson.
Full postYounis keeps Pakistan in the hunt
Younis Khan's aggressive unbeaten 93 off 100 balls has set up an intriguing final day's play in Karachi, with Pakistan requiring another 278 runs to win while South Africa need seven more wickets
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
04-Oct-2007
Pakistan 291 and 146 for 3 (Younis 93*, Iqbal 44, Steyn 2-44)
need 278 runs to beat South Africa 450 and 264 for 7 dec (Kallis 100*, Prince 45,
Rehman 4-105)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Riding on Jacques Kallis' second century of the match, South Africa set Pakistan a daunting target of 424. South Africa got off to a good start as Mohammad Hafeez dragged an innocuous Dale Steyn delivery back onto his stumps in only the second over of the innings.
But Younis started off in aggressive fashion, driving uppishly past point before leaning into an elegant cover drive. Although Salman Butt got out to a remarkable catch by Hashim Amla at short leg, the flow of runs failed to cease as Makhaya Ntini, who is yet to take a wicket in the match, was driven, flicked and caressed past wide mid-on for more boundaries by Younis.
Full postSouth Africa take firm grip with 235-run lead
Pakistan spinners captured three wickets in 20 balls but Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince added 33 for the fourth wicket to ensure South Africa finished the day in a strong position with an overall lead of 235
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
03-Oct-2007
South Africa 450 and 76 for 3 (Kallis 18*, Prince 11*, Rehman 2-25) lead Pakistan 291 (Malik 73, Akmal 42, Harris 5-73) by 235 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Pakistan seized back some of the momentum in this Test on a riveting third day's play, first saving the follow-on and reducing the innings lead with some spirited batting from Shoaib Malik, the captain, and the tail, and then picking up three quick wickets in the last session. However, South Africa retained in the dominant position, ending the day with an overall lead of 235 and Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince at the crease.
Malik, who formed an 84-run partnership with Salman Butt, batting lower down the order due to a stomach ailment, combined solid defence with controlled aggression. He stuck to a bat-and-pad tactic against Paul Harris, who failed to get much turn and bounce in the morning, and hit the lacklustre Makhaya Ntini for six fours.
Full postButt admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis
Salman Butt, the Pakistan vice-captain and opener, was admitted to hospital early this morning with suspected gastroenteritis
Cricinfo staff
02-Oct-2007
Salman Butt, the Pakistan vice-captain and opener, was admitted to
hospital early this morning with suspected gastroenteritis.
Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, said Butt experienced severe pain in his
stomach late last night and a decision was taken to take him to hospital
early this morning. "He is still at the hospital. He was on a drip
initially but the doctors suspect gastroenteritis."
No word was forthcoming on whether or not Butt would take the field at any
stage but Yasir Hameed has taken his place in the field. This is Butt's
first Test for Pakistan in over a year and is also his first as
vice-captain.
Full postSouth Africa in control after Pakistan's batting collapse
Reaching 127 after Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, opening the innings due to Salman Butt's illness put on 71 in only 14 overs, Pakistan still trail by 323 runs on a pitch assisting spinners immensely
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
02-Oct-2007
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Pakistan 127 for 5 (Malik 9*, Rehman 1*, Harris 2-18) trail
South Africa 450 (Kallis 155, de Villiers 77, Rehman 4-105) by 323
runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
A middle-order collapse inspired by Paul Harris gave South Africa the upper hand at the end of the second day of the first Test in Karachi. Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, who was opening the innings due to Salman Butt's
illness, put on 71 in 14 overs before five wickets fell for 49 runs to leave Pakistan trailing by 323 runs on a pitch assisting spinners immensely.
Pakistan looked set to emulate South Africa with the bat as Akmal and Hafeez, their ninth opening combination in the last 16 Tests, began with some lovely drives on either side of the wicket. Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn built up a good pace and a few anxious moments were witnessed when Akmal played away from his body and edged either past the diving slips or between gully and point.
Full postHaddin and Symonds star in Australia's 84-run win
Australia went 1-0 up, stamping their authority even in the absence of Ricky Ponting, winning by 84 runs
The Bulletin by Anand Vasu
02-Oct-2007
Australia 306 for 6 (Haddin 87*, Symonds 87, Hayden 75, Sreesanth 3-67) beat India 222 (Dhoni 58, Hogg 3-40) by 84 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Australia duly claimed the 1-0 lead that they had threatened during Saturday's washed-out series opener, stamping their authority over India with an 84-run victory that was achieved even in the absence of Ricky Ponting. Mahendra Singh Dhoni put the Australians in to bat in the hope of exploiting the wet conditions, but as the sun dried out the pitch and its surrounding area, India's hopes evaporated. First, Australia amassed a total of 306 for 6, then prised out ten wickets with clinical efficiency.
With all the rain about, the decision at the toss was always going to be a tricky one but Dhoni's decision to bowl first, having chosen to play two spinners and to leave out a medium-pacer, smacked of a gamble on the weather intervening. That said, it seemed to be working when Australia were reduced to 8 for 2.
Full postMaharoof sends sorry England crashing
Sri Lanka took the opening honours of the one-day series against England with an overwhelming 119-run victory at Dambulla
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
01-Oct-2007
Sri Lanka 269 for 7 (Jayawardene 66) beat England 150 (Cook 46, Maharoof 4-31) by 119 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Sri Lanka took the opening honours of the one-day series against England with an overwhelming 119-run victory at Dambulla. Farveez Maharoof took advantage of some extra zip under the floodlights to floor England's chase with three key wickets and the innings fell apart for 150. Sri Lanka controlled the match from the outset with Mahela Jayawardene's 66 the leading contribution in their total of 269 - always worth more on a sluggish surface and England chasing in the evening.
The pursuit began in promising style with Phil Mustard producing the type of aggressive start that made his name at Durham. He squeezed a Lasith Malinga yorker through midwicket with excellent timing and launched Chaminda Vaas over long-off for an impressive six. But his fun couldn't last and he skewed Maharoof's third ball to Malinga at mid-off. From then on it was all one-day traffic with England's one-day winter not showing any signs of improving after their poor display at the World Twenty20.
Full postKallis and Amla put South Africa in charge
An imposing century by Jacques Kallis gave South Africa the honours on the first day
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
01-Oct-2007
South Africa 294 for 3 (Kallis 118*, Amla 71, Hafeez 1-40) v
Pakistan
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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An imposing century by Jacques Kallis gave South Africa the honours on the first day of the first Test after Graeme Smith had won the toss
and elected to bat on a hot Karachi morning. They ended the day on 294 for 3, with Kallis unbeaten on 118.
Starting cautiously and taking 14 deliveries to get off the mark, Kallis hit his stride soon with elegant drives square of the wicket.
The slow pitch and hot weather made bowling difficult and anything
short in length was ruthlessly cut and ended up penetrating a strong
off-side field. Dropped on 36 and 61, Kallis ensured an otherwise fluent innings playing majority of his strokes along the ground.
Full postSSC Under-23s retain title with ease
SSC showed all-round superiority on their home turf to retain their Under-23 Division 1 title by soundly thrashing Chilaw Marians by an innings and six runs
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
30-Sep-2007
SSC 326 beat Chilaw Marians 123 and 197 (MAIM Perera 55, Karunanayake 3 for 57, Gunasinghe 3 for 40) by an innings and 6 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
SSC showed all-round superiority on their home turf to retain their Under-23 Division 1 title by soundly thrashing Chilaw Marians by an innings and six runs.
Trailing by a massive 203 runs, Chilaw Marians began the third and final day on Sunday at 102 for 3, but their innings was soon in disarray as they lost two wickets on 134 and a further three wickets for one run as SSC, spearheaded by fast bowler Shalika Karunanayake, ran through the batting a second time.
Karunanayake and his new ball partner Chathupama Gunasinghe took 13 wickets between them in the match.
Full postIndia clinch last-ball thriller
India A rode on an all-round performance from S Badrinath to clinch a thrilling one-run win over South Africa A in the series-deciding ODI in Rajkot
Cricinfo staff
30-Sep-2007
India A 290 for 6 (Kaif 98, Badrinath 88*, Kleinveldt 2-34) beat South Africa A 289 (Morkel 61, Petersen 54; Badrinath 4-43, Kumar 2-51) by 1 run
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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India A rode on an all-round performance from S Badrinath to clinch a thrilling one-run win over South Africa A in the series-deciding ODI in Rajkot. Praveen Kumar, the UP allrounder, bowled the last over, with South Africa needing 12 off it. He gave only two runs off the first three balls. But Johan Botha, who brought South Africa back into the chase, scooped the fourth ball over short fine leg and hoicked the fifth one to the midwicket boundary.
Needing two to win off the last ball, Kumar produced a yorker, which Botha could only manage to play just to the left of the bowler. Kumar got a hand to it, which deflected it towards captain Mohammad Kaif who was already charging towards the stumps. Kaif collected it cleanly and ran the stumps down on the dive to seal the win.
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