Report
Railways sneak past Tamil Nadu in a thriller
A round-up of the quarter-final matches that took place on March 17
Cricinfo staff
17-Mar-2006
Two run-outs in successive deliveries in the last over proved costly for Tamil Nadu as Railways prevailed by one run in a thrilling encounter and advanced to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament. Chasing 278, Tamil Nadu were in the contest after solid contributions from their middle order, particularly Hemang Badani (70) and S Badrinath (66), but collapsed shortly after. Sanjay Bangar, the Railways captain, swung it back in his team's favour, bowling a tight penultimate over and running out G Vignesh, the last to be dismissed. A five-run penalty imposed on Tamil Nadu earlier also proved decisive, courtesy Badani, their captain. He left the field but made the fundamental error of failing to inform the umpires once he returned.
Earlier, Railways chose to bat and put in a good performance after their openers got them off to a sound start. Amit Pagnis and JP Yadav scored half-centuries and added exactly 100 for the third wicket. Shreyas Khanolkar chipped in with 45 and got good support from the middle order which helped take the side past the 250 mark. Syed Mohammad was the most successful bowler for Tamil Nadu with 3 for 21.
Uttar Pradesh easily beat Karnataka by seven wickets in a one-sided encounter at Kanpur and advanced to the semi-finals. The UP seamers were particularly impressive, with Shalabh Srivastava and Ali Murtaza taking three wickets each as Karnataka struggled throughout after choosing to bat. Srivastava took a wicket off the first ball of the match, bowling Gaurav Dhiman. UP easily overhauled the target of 124 in the 26th over. with Ravikanth Shukla remaining unbeaten on 42.
Full postSri Lanka's opportunity washed away by storm
The first one-dayer at the Premadasa International Stadium was washed out after a spectacular mid-innings thunderstorm drenched Colombo
The Bulletin by Charlie Austin in Colombo
17-Mar-2006
Pakistan 201 for 8 (Yousuf 46, Maharoof 3-24, Lokuarachchi 3-47) v Sri Lanka - Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Sri Lanka's bowlers and fielders justified Marvan Atapattu's brave decision to bowl with a tight and disciplined display that restricted Pakistan to a modest 201-run total. The bowlers bowled gun-barrel straight and the fielders - aside from one blemish from Upul Tharanga who grassed a sitter off Younis Khan - were energetic and predatory.
Conventional wisdom at Premadasa suggests you bat first in day-nighters, and when Atapattu won the toss it was greeted with loud cheers as the crowd prepared for a Sri Lankan run feast. But Atapattu and the Sri Lanka team management correctly judged that this was an unusual two-paced surface with a smidgen of moisture lurking beneath the surface.
Full postLee's two-wicket burst gives Australia the advantage
Brett Lee showed South Africa the value of early dismissals as Australia's late surge followed a hard-working batting performance in the first Test at Cape Town
The Bulletin by Peter English
17-Mar-2006
South Africa 205 and 70 for 3 trail Australia 308 (Hayden 94, Ponting 74, Symonds 55, Kallis 3-51) by 33 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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Brett Lee showed South Africa the value of early dismissals as Australia's late surge followed a hard-working batting performance in the first Test at Cape Town. Whereas the home side failed to make an immediate impact on a helpful pitch, Lee struck twice in his third over to maintain his side's push and by stumps they had three second-innings wickets and a lead of 33.
On a day when their bowlers should have dominated with wickets instead of forcing tens of plays, misses and miscues, South Africa waited until after lunch to make a serious move and it came just in time as Australia threatened to sprint away. Matthew Hayden held up the top with a hard-working 94 and his 154-run partnership with Ricky Ponting, who benefited from a collection of fielding lapses, was a highlight in a game where penetrative bowling has been far easier than dominating batting.
Full postBangladesh prove themselves a cut above Kenya
Bangladesh crushed Kenya by 131 runs in the opening ODI of this four-match series at Bogra, and the margin of victory would have been greater had they not taken their eye off the ball in the final stage of a one-sided contest
Martin Williamson
17-Mar-2006
Bangladesh 301 for 7 (Nafees 91, Aftab Ahmed 62, Mortaza 44*) beat Kenya 170 (Mishra 43, Rasel 3-31) by 131 runs
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Where Bangladesh have markedly improved of late, Kenya have hardly played. Four matches against a dismal Zimbabwe side has been their only one-day exposure in a year and a half. The gulf in experience was all too evident.
The game was done and dusted by the halfway point. Bangladesh won the toss and batted on an easy-paced pitch - helmets were soon discarded - and in front of a disappointing crowd they were rarely troubled by a far from threatening Kenyan attack.
Full postNew Zealand leave Windies struggling
New Zealand took full advantage of being asked to bowl first by reducing West Indies to 182 for 8 on a rain-interrupted first day at the Basin Reserve in Wellington
The Bulletin by Jamie Alter
16-Mar-2006
West Indies 182 for 8 (Morton 63, Franklin 5-44) v New Zealand
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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New Zealand took full advantage of being asked to bowl first by reducing West Indies to 182 for 8 on a rain-interrupted first day at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. James Franklin's impressive 5 for 44 - including the wicket of top-scorer Runako Morton - ensured the home side did not entirely miss Shane Bond, ruled out due to fever ten minutes before the start of play.
Franklin was rewarded for consistent, full-pitched bowling with the key wickets of Chris Gayle and Brian Lara in the first session, both batsmen falling to loose shots outside off. Bowling full in an attempt to swing the ball, Franklin ended Gayle's streaky innings of 30 by forcing him to drive loosely at one around off stump and edging to the 'keeper. He then added the big scalp by drawing Lara across his stumps and getting him to edge an outswinger to Stephen Fleming at first slip. In between these dismissals, Kyle Mills got Daren Ganga to nibble one down the leg side where Brendon McCullum dove full length and plucked a one-handed beauty. 43 for no loss had suddenly become 49 for 3 and those three wickets gave the home side new energy in the field, and a sluggish start made way for energetic saves and chirpy comments in the field.
Full postGanguly powers Bengal to semi-finals
A round-up of the quarter-final matches that took place on March 16
Cricinfo staff
16-Mar-2006
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Sourav Ganguly came roaring back to form with an unbeaten 89 off 104 balls to guide Bengal to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament, beating Punjab by four wickets at Kanpur. Chasing 230, Ganguly and Subhomoy Das (60), the openers, took the game away from Punjab with some aggressive hitting in the first 15 overs, as the pair put on 95. Ganguly's stay at the crease ensured Bengal's safety, following a brief stutter where they lost three wickets in 10 balls, still 23 runs adrift of the target. Vikram Singh, the fast bowler, struck double blows in different stages of the innings and finished with four wickets.
Earlier, the Bengal medium-pace duo of Ranadeb Bose (5 for 34) and Sanjib Sanyal (4 for 45) rocked the Punjab batting, restricting them to a fairly modest total of 229. Dinesh Mongia was the only batsman to cross fifty, scoring 76 off 84 balls before falling to Sanyal. Bose cleaned up the tail, taking the last four wickets in quick succession. Bengal will play the winner of the Railways-Tamil Nadu match which is to be held on Friday.
A four-wicket haul by Yusuf Pathan, the Baroda offspinner, helped his side advance to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament beating Jharkhand by 35 runs in a low-scoring encounter at Kanpur. After restricting Baroda to 213 for 8, Jharkhand began steadily but were in all sorts of trouble at 70 for 4, losing three wickets in one over by Pathan, who scalped two in as many balls. Manish Kumar was the last to be dismissed, top-scoring with 45, but the steady fall of wickets didn't help their cause.
Full postSouth Africa on the ropes after Clark five-for
Australia entered the first Test with concerns over their fast bowlers, but South Africa's batsmen were the ones with problems on the opening day
The Bulletin by Peter English
16-Mar-2006
Australia 63 for 1 trail South Africa 205 (Boje 31, Clark 5-55) by 142 runs
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How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
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Australia entered the first Test with concerns over their fast bowlers, but South Africa's batsmen were the ones with problems on the opening day as Stuart Clark's five wickets on debut dropped them for 205. While much of the lead-up was spent wondering about the missing Glenn McGrath, Clark, a 30-year-old first-gamer, and Michael Kasprowicz, one of Mark Boucher's "Ashes rejects", were responsible for flooring the host's ambitious plans after winning the toss.
Clark's stunning welcome of 5 for 55 was the best by an Australian since Brett Lee's 5 for 47 against India in 1999-2000 and Lee's three wickets finished off the work his back-up bowlers had started. It was not a day for fluent batting and by stumps Australia had cut the deficit to 142 for the loss of Justin Langer for 16.
Full postKarnataka and Railways enter quarter-finals
A summary of the pre-quarterfinal matches in the Ranji Trophy One-Day Tournament
Cricinfo staff
14-Mar-2006
Bharat Chipli steered Karnataka to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament with a five-wicket win over Haryana at Kanpur . Karnataka got off to a shaky start, losing their first four wickets for 58 runs, before Thilak Naidu joined Chipli at the crease. Chipli finished with an unbeaten 117-ball 90, studded with 12 fours, and, in combination with Naidu (58), polished off the target of 191 with nearly six overs to spare.
Choosing to bat first, Haryana let themselves down after being well placed at 167 for 3 in the 35th over. A major collapse ensued, where they lost the last seven wickets for only 23 runs. Sunny Singh stood out, scoring the bulk of the runs during his stay, but was unfortunate to fall five short of his century. NC Aiyappa and Vinay Kumar, the Karnataka seamers, shared five wickets between them while C Raghu, the offbreak bowler, captured three wickets in an economical spell. Karnataka meet Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final in three days' time.
An aggressive 81 off only 64 balls by Sanjay Bangar helped Railways storm into the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament at Kanpur, beating Gujarat by eight wickets. Bangar, the captain, struck five fours and five sixes in his knock as he and Tejinder Pal Singh (43*) overhauled the modest target of 149 in the 23rd over. Bangar had a good outing with the ball as well, with figures of 3 for 23 off seven overs after sending Gujarat to bat.
With the exception of Akash Christian, who top-scored with 51, the Gujarat batsmen struggled against a varied attack. Kulamani Parida chipped in with three wickets with his offbreaks as Railways set up a quarter-final clash against Tamil Nadu on March 17.
Full postWellington and Central Districts post wins
A round-up of the fourth day's play in the State Championship matches
Cricinfo staff
14-Mar-2006
Wellington defeated Northern Districts by 90 runs in their State Championship match at Hamilton, despite a fighting century by Joseph Yovich. Chasing a challenging 354, Northerns were in all sorts of trouble at 33 for 5 after Scott Rasmussen cut through the top order with an incisive spell of fast bowling. Yovich, coming in at No.7, started the fightback and was supported by Peter McGlashan, the wicketkeeper, who hung around for a patient 29 off 89 balls. Yovich was finally dismissed for 111 and helped take the score to 183 before he was caught by Kyle Mills off Jesse Ryder. His innings came off 212 balls with 21 fours and his stay at the crease caused a few anxious moments for the fielding side, given their commanding position earlier in the day. Graeme Aldridge offered some resistance with an unbeaten 40 but by then, the loss of wickets prevented them from pulling off an unlikely victory. Rasmussen finished with four wickets while Elliot bagged figures of 3 for 52. With this win, Wellington retain their position at the top of the points table.
Min Patel, the former England left-arm spinner, took his second five-wicket haul in as many matches, guiding Central Districts to a 140-run win
against Auckland in their State Championship match at Palmerston North. Patel's 6 for 121 ended Auckland's spirited chase as they were bowled out for 315, in pursuit of 456. Tim Lythe and Matthew Horne, the overnight batsmen, both made half-centuries before Patel accounted for both and cut through the middle order, dismissing Rob Nichol (43), Lou Vincent (13) and Reece Young (8). Tama Canning hung around for nearly two hours for his 43 before getting bowled by Michael Mason. Andre Adams (24) played an entertaining cameo towards the end to take the score past 300.
Full postHussain hundred sets up Faisalabad's commanding win
A round-up of the second round matches that took place on March 13
Cricinfo staff
14-Mar-2006
Asif Hussain's century powered Faisalabad Wolves to 352 for 7 as they trounced Karachi Zebras by 110 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi. Hussain scored 104 and put on 125 runs for the second wicket with Mohammad Hafeez who struck ten fours and a six for his 97. Karachi's chase began with a 52-run partnership before they lost three wickets for four runs. Saeed Ajmal picked up 4 for 32 as Karachi were dismissed for 242 in 47 overs.
Rashid Riaz's maiden hundred took Lahore Lions to the top of the Silver league table with a six-wicket win over Quetta Bears at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Chasing 255, Lahore were struggling at 54 for 3 when Riaz (91) and Adnan Raza began their 191-run partnership that shut Quetta out of the game. Riaz's 108 came off 111 balls but included just seven fours. In the first innings, Quetta Bears rode on half-centuries from Tariq Aziz and Adil Nisar, who scored 74 off 71 balls with 7 fours and a six, to reach 253. Mohammad Hussain was Lahore's best bowler, taking 3 for 31, as Quetta were dismissed in the 50th over.
Peshawar Panthers coasted to a 75-run victory against Lahore Eagles in their third-round Gold League match at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi. Rafatullah Mohmand and Wajahatullah Wasti struck half-centuries, after Peshawar were asked to bat, and took the score to 259 for 6. In the second innings, three run-outs and Mohammad Aslam's 3 for 24 helped skittle Lahore for just 184 in 40.4 overs. Sohail Ahmed was Lahore's top-scorer with 41.
Rawalpindi Rams won a low-scoring contest against Multan Tigers by six wickets at Karachi to move up to second place in the Gold league. Chasing 215, Mohammad Ibrahim, Usman Saeed and Naved Ashraf scored fifties as Rawalpindi finished the game in the 48th over. Their bowlers took advantage of winning the toss and didn't allow Multan to get a partnership going by taking wickets at regular intervals. Azhar Shafiq top-scored with 49 as Multan were restricted to 214 for 9 in 50 overs.
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