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Di Venuto and Birt give Tasmania some substance

Travis Birt and Michael Di Venuto narrowly missed centuries, but their bright contributions gave Tasmania a solid start in their Pura Cup match against Victoria at St Kilda

Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2006


Travis Birt was given a life by Shane Warne, who came back to dismiss him for 89 © Getty Images
Travis Birt and Michael Di Venuto narrowly missed centuries, but their bright contributions gave Tasmania a solid start in their Pura Cup match against Victoria at St Kilda. The Bushrangers suffered a double blow before the match when the top-order batsmen Brad Hodge and Jason Arnberger were ruled out with flu, and the Tigers added to their problems until Gerard Denton's late strikes helped dismiss them for 295.
Michael Di Venuto lost his opening partner David Dawson when he offered no shot and was lbw to Denton's second ball of the match, but he settled his side against Victoria, who hold a two-point lead at the top of the table. Hitting 13 fours, Di Venuto found the conditions comfortable and he seemed certain to pick up a century before he edged Denton behind for 96.
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Mumbai and Maharashtra post wins

A summary of the latest action in the Ranji Trophy One-Day Tournament

Cricinfo staff
13-Feb-2006
Mumbai completed a comfortable 73-run win after a fine bowling performance dismissed Gujarat for 122 at the Motibaug Palace Ground in Baroda. Powered by three 30 plus scores from A Kadam (49), Hiken Shah (35) and Bhavin Thakkar (34) Mumbai reached 195 for 7. Aavishkar Salvi never allowed the run chase to hit the road, grabbing three top-order wickets to reduce Gujarat to 38 for 5. Hemal Watekar, batting at No 8, chipped in with 32 that lent some respectability to the Gujarat score but by then Mumbai had run away with the match.
Punjab routed Delhi by six wickets after VRV Singh and Gagandeep Singh rocked the top order to restrict the hosts to 193 for 9 at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. Singh picked 3 for 40 and Gagandeep Singh grabbed 2 for 18 to leave Delhi struggling at 14 for 4 before Manhas (54) and Rajat Bhatia (54) pulled the team out of trouble. Dinesh Mongia (97) and Reetinder Singh Sodhi (70) saw Punjab home in style. The visitors are now on eight points with two wins while Delhi have 5 points. The match was not without its share of off-field issues that had plagued Delhi cricket throughout the season with Aakash Chopra being made the captain in place of Mithun Manhas.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar's 48 and lower-order contributions propelled Maharashtra to victory against Saurashtra in a low-scoring encounter at Vadodara. Shitanshu Kotak came up with a patient 158-ball 73 but it was a breezy 70 from Rakesh Dhurv that lifted Saurashtra to a fighting 180 for 5 in the allotted overs. Kanitkar anchored the run chase and despite losing wickets regularly the lower order batsmen chipped in with small but vital contributions that enabled Maharashtra overhaul the target in 43.2 overs.
Yashpal Singh's 100 and Narender Kumar's five-wicket haul powered Services to a resounding 131-run win against Jammu & Kashmir at the Palam A Stadium in New Delhi. Narender Singh and Sarbajit Singh hit half-centuries to join in the run-fest with Yashpal to lift Services to a mammoth 304 for 6 in their allotted overs. For J&K Kavaljit Singh (42) put up a semblance of a fight but Narender Kumar, playing in his second match, removed four of the top five batsmen to leave J&K struggling at 71 for 5, a position from which they never recovered.
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Yuvraj and Dhoni clinch the win

An outstanding 102-run partnership in just 79 balls between Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made light of a difficult target as India romped by five wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series



Sachin Tendulkar's 95 went a long way in ensuring that India got through a difficult situation early in their run-chase © AFP
An irresistible batting force swept across the floodlit Gaddafi Stadium as India produced a superbly-paced run-chase, clinching their 11th consecutive win while chasing in a one-dayer to record a memorable five-wicket triumph.
Three dazzling half-centuries - with Sachin Tendulkar coating his with a varnish of genius, Yuvraj Singh reeking confidence from every pore, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni jam-packing his with immense power - blended into an intoxicating mix as India cruised to an imposing 289 and ran away to a 2-1 lead in the series.
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Cairns propels Canterbury to title

State Shield Final, 2005-06

Dylan Cleaver
12-Feb-2006


The victorious Canterbury team pose with the State Shield trophy at Christchurch © Getty Images
Chris Cairns showed what a loss he will be to New Zealand, with a brilliant allround performance to lead Canterbury to the national one-day title, against Central Districts at Christchurch. Cairns ended the match with a mammoth six to give Canterbury an anti-climatic five-wicket victory over a Central side that dug itself a ditch it couldn't extract itself from. His 41 not out and 4 for 53 was the dominant performance of the match.
It could have all been so different though. Central allowed its suspicion that Canterbury had prepared a sluggish pitch to assist their slow attack to effect its batting. Ross Taylor (50 from 40) and Mathew Sinclair (37 from 41), the class acts in the Central line-up, slowed how batting should be approached, but once Taylor played on to Nathan Astle, (1 for 34 off 10 overs) and Sinclair was needlessly run out, the wheels fell off the Central effort.
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Winning starts for Bengal and Jharkhand

A summary of the latest action in the Ranji Trophy One-Day Tournament

Cricinfo staff
12-Feb-2006
Rajasthan suffered their second four-wicket defeat in successive matches as Railways triumphed in a high-scoring match at Jaipur. Gagan Khoda, the opener, scored a scintillating unbeaten 166 off 151 balls with 18 fours and five sixes to lift Rajasthan to 293 for 3 after they were put in to bat. Railways started badly, losing Amit Pagnis for a duck in the first over, but Tejinder Pal Singh and Jai Prakash Yadav put the run-chase back on track with a 170-run stand in just 27 overs. Tejinder went on to make 107, and though Railways lost a few wickets towards the end, they still achieved victory fairly comfortably, with eight balls to spare.
A patient 63 by Jyoti Yadav was the difference between the teams as Uttar Pradesh sneaked a two-wicket win in a low-scoring scrap against Vidarbha at the KL Saini Ground in Jaipur. After choosing to bat, Vidarbha were bundled out for 145, with five batsmen failing to get off the mark. Uttar Pradesh were coasting at 79 for 1, but suddenly collapsed, losing seven wickets for 59. Samir Khare, a legbreak bowler, and Madhusudan Acharya, the offspinner, shared those scalps, but UP ultimately managed to squeeze through.
Bengal began their Ranji Trophy one-day campaign in style, thrashing Tripura by seven wickets in Dhanbad, and taking a bonus point in the process as well. Tripura chose to bat after winning the toss, but apart from Manoj Singh, who made 58, no other batsman made a significant contribution as the side folded for 157. Bengal romped home in less than 33 overs, with most of the top order making useful scores.
Jharkhand recorded a win in their first match of the tournament, beating Orissa by 39 runs at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Dhanbad. After being put in, Jharkhand overcame a poor start - they lost their openers for only 12 - to post a reasonable 232 for 8, thanks primarily to CM Jha, who made 64. Orissa lost their first wicket off the second ball and were always struggling, despite N Behera's 56. They were finally bowled out for 193, with 7.4 of their 50 overs still remaining.
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Revived Australia send series to third final

Two days after an embarrassing slip-up Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting led a stunning recovery to set an Australian-record total and an easy victory

Peter English
Peter English
12-Feb-2006


Ricky Ponting rescued Australia with 124 after a dreadful start in the second final © Getty Images
Two days after an embarrassing slip-up Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting led a stunning recovery to set an Australian-record total and push them to a series-deciding final in Brisbane on Tuesday. Australia slumped to 3 for 10 in the third over before Symonds muscled a brutal 151 and Ponting weaved a superb 124 that catapulted them to a barely believable 5 for 368 on the way to a 167-run win
Ponting's team entered the match needing victory to keep alive their record of not losing a VB finals series since 1992-93, and Ponting and Symonds ruled it out - at least in this match - by escaping from the early problems created by Chaminda Vaas with a 237-run stand, which was an Australian best for any wicket, that wooed a full SCG. The bowlers continued the demolition work under lights and the match ended with 14 overs to spare.
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Henriques' class sinks Sri Lanka U-19s

Moises Henriques produced an allround display of sheer class as Australia crushed Sri Lanka at the SSC to progress to the semi-finals



Moises Henriques was outstanding against Sri Lanka © ICC
Moises Henriques produced an allround display of sheer class as Australia crushed Sri Lanka at the SSC to progress to the semi-finals. Not content with knocking the stuffing out of the Sri Lankan batting, he then smashed an uncompromising 79 off 60 balls against a deflated attack. Tom Cooper was no slouch either with 84 off 93 as the pair flayed a stand of 146 in 21 overs.
While the clean striking from Henriques was breathtaking, his massive hits were effortless, sailing miles into the stands. He cleared the ropes on six occasions, one of which landed on the roof of the press box - a monstrous blow - and never came down again. Cooper had begun the chase in emphatic style, piercing the field off front and back foot and displaying another example of the form he produced against South Africa in the opening match, where he made 104.
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Pakistan U-19s too efficient for Zimbabwe

Pakistan's U-19s chose efficiency over style on Saturday as they booked their place in the semi-finals with a straightforward win over Zimbabwe

Cricinfo staff
11-Feb-2006
Pakistan chose efficiency over style on Saturday as they booked their place in the semi-finals with a straightforward win over Zimbabwe.
Pakistan's bowlers, so impressive in Friday's defeat of New Zealand, impressed again to dismiss Zimbabwe for just 181, before knocking off the total in 48 overs. Anwer Ali Khan, whose 5 for 34 wrecked New Zealand, took 3 for 25 while his opening partner Jamshaid Ahmed captured 2 for 42 and Riaz Khail picked up 4 for 29.
Zimbabwe's innings fell into several distinct phases. First there was an early struggle as they limped to 31 for 3 in the face of an onslaught from Anwer Ali Khan and Jamshaid Ahmed. Then Donald 'Kuda' Samunderu (46) and Keegan Meth (33) pulled things around with a fourth wicket stand of 65 before another cluster of wickets fell and Zimbabwe slipped to 136 for 8.
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India sweep into semi-finals

India's opening batsmen blitzed the West Indies before their bowlers and fielders ripped the heart out of the West Indies' attempt to reach India's colossal 284

Cricinfo staff
11-Feb-2006


Cheteshwar Pujara's splendid 97 powered India through to the semi-finals © ICC
India's opening batsmen blitzed the West Indies before their bowlers and fielders ripped the heart out of the West Indies' attempt to reach India's colossal 284. India now face England in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Gaurav Dhiman (74) and Cheteshwar Pujara (97) added 110 from just 14 overs as India set off at a breakneck pace.And although Leon Johnson's men restored order in the second half of the innings - opening bowler Javon Searles captured 6 for 68 - the final total of 284 for 9 was always likely to be too many for the West Indies.
Dhiman and Pujara came out with all guns blazing after Ravikant Shukla won the toss and, against bowlers and fielders that looked off the pace, they raced along. The tone was set by the first ball of the match, by Searles. It went for five wides down the leg-side - one of 15 he bowled and 28 the West Indies conceded out of 33 extras - and after just one over India had 12 runs on the board.
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England U-19s shock Bangladesh by five wickets

England's Steven Mullaney and Graeme White ran through Bangladesh's batting lineup to propel their side into the Super League semi-finals

Cricinfo staff
11-Feb-2006
England's Steven Mullaney and Graeme White ran through Bangladesh's batting lineup to propel their side into the Super League semi-finals.
England, who went through an entire tour of Bangladesh in November and December without winning a single one of their 11 matches, came into this quarter-final clash off the back of a defeat to Zimbabwe. However, presented with a knock-out situation, Moeen Ali and his attack responded superbly by dismissing the previously unbeaten Bangladesh side for just 155 in 48.2 overs. They knocked off the required total in a little over 43 overs, with Mullaney adding an unbeaten 15.
Mullaney led the way with the ball, initially, with 3 for 26 but White, one of England's players of the tournament so far, performed outstandingly. The left-arm spinner conceded an astonishingly economical 11 runs from his 10 overs, and snaffled the key wicket of Md. Shamsur Rahman for 22.
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