Report
Hundreds aplenty as one-day championship kicks off
A summary of the latest action in the Ranji Trophy One-Day Tournament
Cricinfo staff
11-Feb-2006
Amay Khurasiya hammered 157 to take Madhya Pradesh to a four-wicket win against Rajasthan at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Chasing 299, Khurasiya hit 19 fours and three sixes in his 134-ball innings that enabled MP to coast to victory with eight balls to spare. He was supported well by Abbas Ali (50) and Devendra Bundela (44). After losing the toss, Gagan Khoda struck a fine 116 to steer Rajasthan to 298 for 7. No other batsman crossed 30 for Rajasthan and in the end the total proved inadequate.
Railways, powered by Amit Pagnis's 143, coasted to a comfortable 59-run victory against Vidarbha at KL Saini Ground in Jaipur. After being sent in to bat, Pagnis and Tejinder Pal Singh (42) added 201 runs for the second wicket and set up the platform for Railways to finish on 310 for 6. Pagnis's innings included 17 fours and came in quick time. In their reply, Vidarbha were restricted to 251 for 9. The only fight came at the top of the order where Alind Naidu (72) and Faiz Fazal (52) added 110 runs to take the score to 136 for 1 but Shreyas Khanolkar (3 for 41) ran through the middle-order to reduce Vidarbha to 163 for 5 from which they didn't recover.
Punjab completed a resounding eight-wicket win after a fine bowling performance restricted Haryana to 196 for 9 at Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi. Dinesh Mongia starred with the ball with 3 for 27 off nine overs while Shafiq Khan top-scored for Haryana with 45 in a match that was reduced to 43 overs a side. Ravneet Ricky led a strong Punjab reply, thumping 80 off 76 balls, and was ably supported by Sunny Sohel (40) and Mongia (43) as Punjab eased to 199 for 2 in the 41st over.
Sangram Singh's 93 and Vishal Bhatia's 4 for 29 sealed a 45-run win for Himachal Pradesh against Services at the Palam A Stadium in New Delhi. HP lost Nischal Gaur in the first over after they were asked to bat in a match reduced to 40 overs a team but Sangram and Sandeep Sharma (59) led the recovery with a 109-run stand for the second wicket. HP lost seven wickets for 104 runs to finish on 213. Services didn't get a partnership going and were in trouble at 4 for 77 and Bhatia rattled the lower-middle order to reduce them to 168 for 9.
Full postYuvraj and Sehwag ease India to victory
Virender Sehwag and Yurvaj Singh guided India to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second one-day international in Rawalpindi.
India 266 for 3 (Yuvraj 82*, Sehwag 67, Dravid 56) beat Pakistan 265 (Malik 95, Younis 81, Pathan 3-43) by 7 wickets
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A scorching 105-run opening stand between Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, and a glorious unbeaten 82 from Yuvraj Singh were instrumental in India's emphatic seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second one-day international at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Having bowled Pakistan out for 265 in the final over, thanks to some disciplined bowling, sharp fielding and less-than-perfect shot selection, India chased down the target with 41 deliveries to spare.
Full postDelighted Williams sinks England
Zimbabwe's captain Sean Williams fulfilled his pre-tournament wish to beat England in the final match in Group D
Cricinfo staff
10-Feb-2006
Pakistan 78 for 2 beat New Zealand 77 (Anwar Ali 5-34) by eight wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams said before the tournament he was targeting England as a must-win game and he led from the front as his side secured a two-wicket win that ensured they topped Group D.
They now face holders Pakistan in the quarter-finals while England have an equally daunting task against Bangladesh. Williams' 3 for 35 was crucial as spin again dominated, and Zimbabwe knocked over England for 172 and then chased down the score for the loss of eight wickets with 2.5 overs in hand.
"I feel relieved after what I said beforehand," Williams said. "I am also very proud of my players because we stuck to our plans, worked hard and got our rewards." That plan involved spin, spin and more spin as Williams used four slow bowlers, including himself, to get through 34.5 overs between them. And in the face of that trial by spin England were found wanting.
Full postFielding lapses cost Sri Lanka dear
Dropped catches, an aspect of their game that Sri Lanka thought was a thing of the past, came back to haunt them in their Under-19 World Cup Group clash with India, as they dropped four ... and lost by as many wickets at the R. Premadasa Stadium
The Bulletin by Sa'adi Thawfeeq
10-Feb-2006
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Sri Lanka were made to pay dearly for their lapses after India had been reduced to 28 for 3 in the sixth over. They recovered through their fourth-wicket pair of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Tehlan, who added 132 from 188 balls to turn the match in their favour.
If Sri Lanka were to defend their moderate total of 207, they needed to capitalise on their opportunities. But Sharma was dropped three times en route to a Man-of-the-Match-winning 78 from 105 balls (six fours, two sixes), and together with Tehlan who made 64 off 114 balls (three fours) they rescued India from their early losses. Tehlan was also let off on 8.
Full postWindies waltz as South Africa stumble
West Indies secured their spot in the Super League with some of the more impressive batting in the tournament to date
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
10-Feb-2006
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South Africa's total was short of par, but not as light as West Indies made it appear by cantering home with almost seven overs to spare. Chris Alexander's mixed-bag of an opening over produced an inside-edge for four, a top-edge for six and the wicket of William Jenkins. When Wayne Parnell trapped Andre Fletcher lbw, leaving West Indies on 17 for 2 in the fourth over, it was certainly game on.
However, South Africa's bowling attack does not have much depth - as was harshly exposed when Australia racked up 316 on the opening day of the tournament - and once the new ball was negotiated Johnson and Mohammad began to increase the tempo. Dean Elgar followed the tried-and-tested method of introducing spin early, but there was no pressure on the batsmen to attempt anything outrageous. South Africa did have a chance to remove Johnson on 49 but Craig Kieswetter fluffed the chance behind the stumps.
Full postPakistan crush hapless New Zealand
Pakistan crushed New Zealand by eight wickets to book their place in the last eight of the Under-19 World Cup
Cricinfo staff
10-Feb-2006
Pakistan 78 for 2 beat New Zealand 77 (Anwar Ali 5-34) by eight wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
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The win sends Pakistan into the last eight of the tournament where they will face the winners of the England-Zimbabwe clash on Saturday. For New Zealand there is the knowledge they have failed to qualify for the Super League for the first time in their history and they will now take part in the Plate Championship where they will face Ireland on Tuesday.
Conditions were extremely helpful for the Pakistan bowlers following heavy overnight rain that flooded the ground but the bowlers still had to exploit those conditions and Pakistan had two players who did just that. Anwar Ali and Jamshaid Ahmed were the chief wreckers in an innings that lasted just 24 overs.
Full postDilshan's brilliance sinks Australia
Australia suffered their first home finals loss in nine years as their chase froze under extreme Sri Lankan pressure and the brilliant fielding of Tillakaratne Dilshan
The Bulletin by Peter English
10-Feb-2006
Sri Lanka 8 for 274 (Sangakkara 83, Atapattu 53, Kapugedera 38, Bracken 3-61) beat Australia 252 (Clarke 80, Katich 56) by 22 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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Australia suffered their first home finals loss in nine years as their chase froze under extreme Sri Lankan pressure and the brilliant fielding of Tillakaratne Dilshan. Sri Lanka bowled well and their defensive effort was superb, but the home side's batting was a disaster as they gave up five run-outs - four horrible ones to Dilshan - and a 22-run loss in their most tentative effort of the summer.
Sri Lanka head to Sydney for Sunday's second final with a 1-0 lead and need to win only one of the following two games for an upset series victory. Australia led the group phase by 13 points, but that was not respected today as they were ambushed by a careful batting performance that carried a deadly sting in the tail. It was followed by a stunning display in the field that made their opponents' running between wickets look like the acts of social games. It could be their most costly showing of the season.
Full postSonnet on song as Bangladesh cruise
Bangladesh ensured they finished top of Group A with a 171-run demolition of Uganda
Andrew McGlashan in Colombo
09-Feb-2006
Bangladesh 255 (Mushfiqur Rahim 64, Ssemanda 4-43) beat Uganda 84 (Ishraq Sonnet 3-26) by 171 runs
Bangladesh produced a professional allround display to finish top of their group, routing Uganda by 171 runs after bowling them out for 84 at the SSC. Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with the bat, while there was an eye-catching display from the newcomer to the side, Ishraq Sonnet, who clubbed 37 off 25 balls, then knocked the top off the Ugandan batting with three early wickets.
Uganda are the weakest of the associate members in the tournament, so
there was little surprise that an on-song Bangladesh team were far too
strong for them. However, for half of Bangladesh's innings an air of
complacency threatened to undermine their effort, with the top order
guilty of playing loose shots, as they slipped to 88 for 4.
Allister de Winter, the Bangladesh coach, was satisfied with the
performance but admitted the start had been sloppy. "We weren't too happy
with what happened early, we wanted to make sure that we respected the
opposition and I don't think we respected their style of play as much as
we should have.
Full postCentral Districts complete 18-run win
State Shield round-up
Cricinfo staff
09-Feb-2006
Central Districts completed their two-day one-day semifinal against Otago with a 18-run victory. In reply to Central's 274 for 7, posted on Wednesday, Otago reached 256 for 7. Otago will be cursing its approach as it died wondering, waiting far too long to press the accelerator. Neil Broom (72) and Jordan Sheed (49) were the best of the batsmen but the hammer blow was struck when free-scoring import Jonathan Trott was run out for 34. Ewen Thompson (2 for 36) was the most effective of the Central bowlers.
Earlier, Ross Taylor piled further pressure on the selectors to name him in their New Zealand squad to face the West Indies this month by scoring his third one-day century (114 from 117) of the season. But the selectors resisted, for the first two matches anyway, naming a predictable squad with no new names. Taylor has scored 553 runs at an average of 69 for the State Shield, by some margin the best aggregate. The right-hander took a while to get going as he struggled for timing and had the unTaylor-like analysis of just 44 runs in boundaries (8 fours, 2 sixes). Jarrod Engelfield (31) and Bevan Griggs (36) leant the best support as the home team struggled on a sluggish wicket. Brad Scott was the best of the Otago bowlers with 2 for 45 from his 10 overs. Central now meets canterbury in Christchurch on Sunday.
Full postAustralia U-19s handed fortunate victory
The West Indies presented their Group B match to Australia on a platter when they lost by the slim margin of 13 runs on Wednesday
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
08-Feb-2006
Australia 251 (Khawaja 77) beat West Indies 238 (Mohammed 57, Henriques 3-32) by 13 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
The West Indies presented their Group B match to Australia on a platter when they lost by the slim margin of 13 runs on Wednesday.
Chasing Australia's total of 251, West Indies were well on course to victory at 192 for 3 in the 35th over, before collapsing to 238 all out in 48 overs. At that stage, they required 60 runs off the last 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. But Gajanand Singh's dismissal for 33, chipping a delivery to third man, triggered off a sensational collapse where West Indies lost six wickets for 25 runs in 58 balls.
The last pair of Javon Searles and Rishi Bachan valiantly tried to turn things around, and brought the West Indies to within 14 runs of victory, but a run out sealed their fate.
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