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Gambhir stars as India romp to convincing win
India A turned in a sound allround performance to humble Pakistan A by 130 runs in their limited-overs match in the Top End Series in Darwin
Cricinfo staff
06-Jul-2006
India A 3 for 313 (Gambhir 142*, Uthappa 72) beat Pakistan A 183 (Mohmand 84, Chawla 3-34) by 130 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
India A turned in a sound allround performance to humble Pakistan A by 130 runs in their limited-overs match in the Top End Series in Darwin. Opener Gautam Gambhir led the assault for India with an undefeated 142 which propelled them to 313. His 147-run opening stand with Robin Uthappa (72) laid the foundation for a big score. Rohit Sharma (47*) joined Gambhir after captain Venugopal Rao was dismissed, and the pair added 121 in the last 15 overs.
Pakistan began poorly, with Rudra Pratap Singh and Shib Paul, the Indian seamers, making early inroads. Rafatullah Mohmand was the only batsman to cross fifty, while the rest succumbed, mostly to the spinners. Leg spinner Piyush Chawla finished with figures of 3 for 34 from his 10 overs while Rao chipped in with two wickets, including that of Mohmand for 84. Parthiv Patel, India's wicketkeeper, too had a good outing, effecting five dismissals.
Full postHow's ton guides New Zealand to thumping win
Brad Hodge scored a fighting 123 to help Australia A set New Zealand A a target of 237 in their opening match of the Top End series in Darwin
Cricinfo staff
05-Jul-2006
New Zealand A 2 for 239 (How 123*, Papps 64) beat Australia A 7 for 236 (Hodge 123, Hopes 61*) by 8 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
An unbeaten 123 by opener Jamie How guided New Zealand A to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Australia A in their opening match of the Top End Series at Darwin. New Zealand looked at ease right from the start chasing 237, thanks to a 196-run opening stand between How and Michael Papps, who made 64.
How scored 17 boundaries and a six in his run-a-ball knock and the pair kept the Australian bowlers at bay till the 37th over, when Papps was caught behind by Brad Haddin off Shane Watson. Jessy Ryder fell two balls later but New Zealand cantered home with just nearly nine overs to spare after a quickfire 27 by Peter Fulton.
How's knock outshone Brad Hodge's fighting 123 which helped his side recover after a jittery start. Seamer Mark Gillespie rocked the top-order with three quick wickets to leave Australia tottering at 5 for 51, till Hodge and James Hopes staged a recovery act with a 175-run stand for the sixth-wicket. Hodge scored 16 fours and a six before he was bowled by Graeme Aldridge in the 49th over. Hopes remained unbeaten on 61 while Gillespie finished with figures of 3 for 49.
Full postSri Lanka break one-day record
Sri Lanka have broken the world record for the highest one-day international total in their match against Netherlands at Amstelveen
Cricinfo staff
04-Jul-2006
Sri Lanka 443 for 9 (Jayasuriya 157, Dilshan 117*) beat Netherlands 248 (de Leede 51, Fernando 3-39) by 195 runs
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Scorecard
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Sanath Jayasuriya led the way with a turbo-charged 157 off 104 balls while Tillakaratne Dilshan flayed the bowling with an equally crazy 117 off 79 balls. The Sri Lankans set the new record in the final over, four months after the match between Australia and South Africa at the Wanderers on March 12 where both teams went past 400.
The innings began at an electric pace and never let up. The Sri Lankans were not happy at having to play these fixtures after a tough tour of England and set about venting their frustrations on the Dutch attack. When Kumar Sangakkara fell in the 28th over - following a stand of 149 with Jayasuriya - the score was already 237 and Sri Lanka were well on their way.
Full postZimbabwe draw series after battling comeback
Debutant Admire Manyumwa picked up five wickets to inspire Zimbabwe A to a seven wicket victory Bangladesh A on the fourth and final day of their third and last four-day match at Queens Sports Club to level the series at one all
Cricinfo staff
03-Jul-2006
Zimbabwe A 353 and 90 for 3 beat Bangladesh 150 and 292 (Kapali 138, Manyumwa 5-43) by seven wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Debutant Admire Manyumwa picked up five wickets to inspire Zimbabwe A to a seven wicket victory Bangladesh A on the fourth and final day of their third and last four-day match at Queens Sports Club to level the series at one all.
Manyumwa fully utilised the second new ball to claim all the remaining wickets despite a century from Alok Kapali for the visitors.
Bangladesh A resumed on 216 for 5, a lead of just 13 runs. Kapali continued to score freely, pulling Christopher Mpofu to the boundary to reach his century after facing 107 balls in 224 minutes at the crease and smashing 16 fours and three sixes. As soon as the home side took the new ball, Manyumwa started wrecking havoc with some late swing to mop up the remaining batsmen.
Full postKaneria turns the screw
Four wickets for Danish Kaneria and a fine hundred from Shoaib Malik helped Pakistan brush aside Leicestershire in the first warm-up match of their tour of England
Cricinfo staff
03-Jul-2006
Pakistanis 304 for 5 dec and 207 for 2 (Malik 110, Liddle 2-27) beat
Leicestershire 315 for 9 dec and 191 (New 67, Kaneria 4-32) by 8 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Four wickets for Danish Kaneria and a fine hundred from Shoaib Malik helped Pakistan brush aside Leicestershire in the first warm-up match of their tour of England. Leicestershire were dismissed for just 191 in their second innings to leave Pakistan the relatively simple task of knocking off 203 which they managed with ease.
Resuming the day in the precarious position of 45 for 2, Leicestershire lost their opener Darren Robinson immediately and Jeremy Snape, the captain, didn't last long either when he was bowled by Umar Gul for 5. Tom New, the 21-year-old middle-order batsman and John Sadler shared a fifth-wicket stand of 105 to steady proceedings, with New (67) playing the anchor role while Sadler struck 11 fours in his adventurous 58-ball 51.
The introduction of Kaneria after lunch was the key, however, as he ran through the lower-order to take 4 for 32 as Leicestershire lost their last five wickets in just six overs. This left Pakistan the relatively straightforward task of knocking off 203, albeit from just 58 overs. That they cruised to victory was largely thanks to Malik who, promoted to open the innings to give him time in the middle, struck an excellent 112 Imran Farhat and Salman Butt both fell cheaply to Chris Liddle - who bowled very tidily in his ten overs to concede just 27 runs - but both struck solid fifties in Pakistan's first innings, indicating that the tourist's batting form is already showing promising signs of form.
Full postBangladesh battle to avoid defeat
Alok Kapali scored an unbeaten half century to ensure to give Bangladesh A a slender lead after they were forced to follow-on on the third day of their four-day match against Zimbabwe A at Queens Sports Club
Cricinfo staff
03-Jul-2006
Bangladesh 150 (Maruma 4-49) and 216 for 5 (Kapali 74*) lead Zimbabwe A 353 by 13 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Alok Kapali scored an unbeaten half century to ensure to give Bangladesh A a
slender lead after they were forced to follow-on on the third day of their four-day match against Zimbabwe A at Queens Sports Club.
Kapali struck three sixes off the home captain Stuart Matsikenyeri to finish with 74 not out from 86 balls at the close of play on the third day as Bangladesh closed on 216 for 5, a lead of 13 runs after being bowled out for 150 in their first innings.
Bangladesh resumed on115 for 7, still needing to score 204 runs to avoid the follow-on. Christopher Mpofu struck with the fifth ball of his second over of the morning when he had Saghir Hossain taken at second slip by Keegan Meth for 21. Trevor Garwe was introduced into the attack for Mpofu and with the last ball of his first over of the day trapped Taposh Baishya leg-before wicket for 8. Maruma ended the Bangladesh A first innings when he had Enamul Haque caught by Stuart Matsikenyeri.
Full postKumble bowls India to historic win
Anil Kumble turned in another matchwinning performance, taking 6 for 78 as India clinched a historic win at Kingston, beating West Indies by 49 runs to win a series in the West Indies for the first time since 1971
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
02-Jul-2006
India 200 (Dravid 81, Taylor 5-50) and 171 (Dravid 68, Collymore 5-48) beat West Indies 103 (Harbhajan 5-13) and 219 (Ramdin 62*, Sarwan 51, Kumble 6-78) by 49 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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What appeared to be a leisurely stroll to victory turned into more of a roller-coaster ride, but it all ended well for India, with Anil Kumble's six-wicket haul sealing India's second series victory in the Caribbean, 35 long years after Ajit Wadekar and his men had seen off the challenge posed by Sir Garfield Sobers and friends. For West Indies, Ramnaresh Sarwan led the resistance with 51, and Denesh Ramdin chanced his arm for an unbeaten 62 at the end to send a few jitters down Indian spines, but ultimately, a target of 269 was a few bridges too far once Brian Lara departed for just 11.
It was expected that Kumble would come to the fore on a pitch that was taking turn, but just as valuable was the part played by Sreesanth, who dismissed both openers and then put a full stop to a dangerous 70-run partnership between Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo. Harbhajan Singh couldn't replicate his first-innings heroics, and suffered the anguish of seeing Rahul Dravid drop Ramdin at slip, but every bowler played his part. Munaf Patel had just one entry in the wickets column, but it happened to be the most precious, Lara trapped plumb in front after misjudging the length.
Full postZimbabwe A tighten their grip
Young spinner Timycen Maruma picked up three crucial wickets to ensure Zimbabwe A maintained their grip on the second day of their four-day match against Bangladesh A
Cricinfo staff
01-Jul-2006
Zimbabwe A 353( Mufambisi 67, Hove 64 Haque 5-102) lead Bangladesh A
115 for 7 ( Hossain 27, Maruma 3-33) by 238 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Young spinner Timycen Maruma picked up three crucial wickets to ensure
Zimbabwe A maintained their grip on the second day of their four-day
match against Bangladesh A at Queens Sports Club. Maruma found some
turn on the Queens track to get rid of opener Mehrab Hossain, Alok
Kapali and Mahmud Ullah Riyad as Bangladesh A in reply to the home
team's 353 closed the second day on 115 for the loss of seven wickets.
The visitors still need 89 runs to avoid the follow-on and it is going to
be a difficult task with most of their reliable batsmen back in the
pavilion. Earlier on in the day, the home side added 77 to their
overnight score to take their first innings to 353 as their tail
enders continued to resist. Enamul Haque took all the
remaining three wickets to finish with five wickets.
Full postDravid rallies India again
Either side of fierce winds and a brief tropical shower, it rained wickets at Sabina Park as India took charge of the final Test of the series
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
01-Jul-2006
India 200 and 128 for 6 (Dravid 62*) lead West Indies 103 (Harbhajan 5-13) by 225 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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Either side of fierce winds and a brief tropical shower, it rained wickets at Sabina Park as India took charge of the final Test of the series. Having made just 200 on the opening day, they bowled West Indies out for a paltry 103 soon after lunch, and though Jerome Taylor snaffled up both openers in next to no time, the colossal figure of Rahul Dravid - who passed 9000 Test runs along the way - ensured that India finished the day with a healthy lead of 225 runs.
India had needed the bowlers to produce something special to keep their hopes alive in this decisive Test, and S Sreesanth duly delivered the wickets of Chris Gayle and Brian Lara. Anil Kumble and Munaf Patel also chipped in, before Harbhajan Singh cut a swathe through the lower order. Significant advantage gained, but it was soon in danger of being squandered. However, in a time of strife, there can be no better batsman to turn to than the man who is so much more than the prosaic Wall that he's made out to be.
Full postBrilliant Jayasuriya leads Sri Lanka whitewash
Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga led Sri Lanka to a quite brilliant eight-wicket win in the final one-dayer against England at Headingley to secure the most comprehensive of whitewashes, taking the series 5-0 - with over 12 overs to spare
The Bulletin by Will Luke
01-Jul-2006
Sri Lanka 324 for 2 (Jayasuriya 152, Tharanga 109) beat England 321 for 7 (Trescothick 121) by 8 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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Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga led Sri Lanka to a quite brilliant eight-wicket win in the final one-dayer against England at Headingley to secure the most comprehensive of whitewashes, taking the series 5-0 - with more than 12 overs to spare.
Though they won the series over a week ago, the method and destruction with which Sri Lanka's batsmen chased down 322 was a spectacle of remarkable audacity, self-belief and skill. Jayasuriya, of course, has been doing this for years but even he, the wise old man of Sri Lanka's side, looked over the moon at his 72-ball hundred and celebrated with the same wide-eyed enthusiasm as a young whippersnapper.
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