Report
Johnson leads from the front
Leon Johnson led the West Indies Under-19s to a last-over thriller over Pakistan Under-19s in the second one-dayer at Karachi
Cricinfo staff
24-Jan-2006
West Indies Under-19s 260 (Johnson 117, Ali 3-42) beat Pakistan Under-19s 253 (Ibrahim 56, Bachan 4-46) by seven runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Leon Johnson led West Indies to a victory in a last-over thriller over Pakistan in the second one-dayer at Karachi. Johnson anchored West Indies' innings with an excellent hundred, before taking two crucial catches to deny the hosts by seven runs.
Johnson came to the crease with his side struggling on 37 for 1, and quickly assumed the anchor role; only Kieron Pollard hung around with him for any length of time and the pair put on a vital partnership of 110 for the fifth wicket. Pollard's departure, for 52, spelled the end of the innings: West Indies crumbled from 242 for 5 to 260 all out.
With Mohammad Ibrahim making a steady fifty, and useful contributions from Ali Khan (39) and the captain Sarfraz Ahmed (34), Pakistan chipped away at the target and were still in the hunt for 261 until the final over. Jamshed Ahmed (20) and Imad Wasim (19*) put on 38 for the final wicket, before Ahmed was run out to give the visitors a seven-run win, squaring the series 1-1.
Full postBengal head to the finals
A face-saving hundred from Connor Williams only delayed the inevitable as Bengal drew with Baroda and made their way into the Ranji Trophy finals for the first time since the 1993-94 season
Cricinfo staff
24-Jan-2006
Baroda 241 and 252 for 8 (Williams 135*, Singh 4-66) drew withBengal 617
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A face-saving hundred from Connor Williams delayed the inevitable as Bengal drew with Baroda and made their way into the Ranji Trophy finals for the first time since the 1993-94 season. Resuming the day 277 runs behind Bengal, Baroda struggled against Shibsagar Singh's slow left-arm spin and lost a brace of wickets either side of lunch, and had it not been for Williams's valiant effort, Bengal would have progressed into the finals with another win to their names. Special mention must be given to Shekhar Joshi, however, who faced 100 deliveries without scoring a run in a 47-run stand for the ninth wicket that saved Baroda further blushes.
Baroda, 101 for 2 overnight, lost Jacob Martin, their captain, and Yusuf Pathan in the morning session. Martin was the first wicket of the day, caught by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala off the bowling of Ranadeb Bose, Bengal's opening bowler. Pathan followed three overs later, snapped up by the same fielder off Singh.
Full postPathan misses ton as Pakistan march on
Plucky contributions from the lower order helped India gain a slender lead before Pakistan responded in kind, confidently moving to 152 for 1
Pakistan 588 and 152 for 1 (Younis 64*, Akmal 59*) lead India 603 (Dhoni 148, Dravid 103, Laxman 90, Pathan 90) by 137 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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Batsmen from both sides refused to let up on a lifeless pitch as the game settled into a monotonous rhythm on the fourth day of the second Test at Faisalabad. Plucky contributions from the lower order helped India gain a slender lead before Pakistan responded confidently, moving to 152 for 1 at stumps and all but ensuring that the teams left for Karachi with a 0-0 scoreline.
Barring the first hour, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni thumped 33 off 29, the day had a certain predictability about it. Irfan Pathan, falling ten short of his maiden hundred, calmly guided the tail before the last four batsmen eked out 74 to edge India ahead. It would have required a collapse of sorts for Pakistan to lose the plot but Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal, opening for the first timein a Test, piloted them to safety with a cheery 100-run stand. Pakistan were 137 ahead at the end of the day but by then the game had entered a point of no return. Not many fifth days have been as uninviting.
Full postSri Lanka stutter in sight of victory
Andrew Hall grabbed two wickets in two balls in a brilliant display of one-day death bowling, as South Africa snatched a thrilling nine-run victory from the jaws of defeat
The Bulletin by Andrew Miller
24-Jan-2006
50 overs South Africa 5 for 263 (Dippenaar 125*) beat Sri Lanka 8 for 254 (Dilshan 82*, Jayawardene 52) by nine 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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Andrew Hall grabbed two wickets in two balls in a brilliant display of one-day death bowling, as South Africa snatched a thrilling nine-run victory from the jaws of defeat in the VB Series at Adelaide. Chasing 264 for victory, Sri Lanka had been cruising on 224 for 4, but were unable to close out the game, despite the best efforts of Tillekeratne Dilshan, who finished unbeaten on 82.
It was a thrilling and improbable denouement to a match that Sri Lanka seemed to have under control throughout. Boeta Dippenaar compiled a brave and watchful 125 not out, his third and highest one-day century, but aside from Herschelle Gibbs, no other South African was able to break the shackles imposed by Sri Lanka's spinners, who bowled superbly in the middle overs and wheeled through 131 consecutive deliveries without conceding a single boundary.
Full postKaif leads Uttar Pradesh to final
Mohammad Kaif guided the run chase, Suresh Raina charged it with a cameo performance, and Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prasad Yadav chipped in with vital contributions that saw Uttar Pradesh, having resumed the day needing 175 runs to win, achieve the target
Cricinfo staff
23-Jan-2006
Uttar Pradesh 250 and 216 (Kaif 64) beat Mumbai 199 and 264 by 5 wikckets
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Mohammad Kaif guided the run chase, Suresh Raina charged it with a cameo performance, and Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prasad Yadav chipped in with vital contributions that saw Uttar Pradesh, having resumed the day needing 175 runs to win, achieve the target with five wickets in hand to beat Mumbai on the way to their third Ranji Trophy final.
In bitter-sweet irony the match winning shot - a square cut by the veteran Gyanendra Pandey - crashed against the Sunil Gavaskar pavilion at the Wankhede stadium. That said it all; Mumbai had been vanquished and in a manner that signalled as much Mumbai's capitulation as it exhibited UP's domination.
In a setting which screamed that it was a domestic game - a handful of spectators, the unused main scoreboard, the desperate appeals echoing around an empty stadium, the blue cylindrical plastic drum which carried the drinking water - Kaif was a man on a mission. "A great chance to probably win a Ranji trophy," he had said on the eve of the game and the onus was on him today to lead his side into the final.
Full postBengal continue their dominance over hapless Baroda
Bengal continued their dominance over Baroda by amassing 617 in their first innings and then dismissing both opposition openers to leave Baroda 101 for 2 at stumps on the fourth day at Kolkata
Cricinfo staff
23-Jan-2006
Baroda 241 and 101 for 2 trail Bengal 617 (Shukla 141, Lahiri 62) by 277 runs
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Bengal continued their dominance over Baroda by amassing 617 in their first innings and then dismissing both opposition openers to leave Baroda 101 for 2 at stumps on the fourth day at Kolkata. Having easily gained the first-innings bonus points, even a draw here will see Bengal progress into the finals against a resurgent Uttar Pradesh.
Much like yesterday, where the Bengal pair of Deep Dasgupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla dominated, at times slaughtered, and ultimately frustrated the insipid Baroda attack into submission, today the lower order fought well against a negative line to further their dominant position. Despite the fall of Shukla, for a career-best 141, to the persevering Shekhar Joshi in the fifth over of the day, Bengal's tail wagged well enough to see a further 102 added to their total.
Full postPlay abandoned again
A summary of the third day in the sixth round of Carib Beer Series matches
Cricinfo staff
23-Jan-2006
Play has been abandoned
for the third successive day in the Carib Beer Series match between the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands at the Mindoo Phillip Park on Sunday. The outfield, which was already drenched and waterlogged after rain on the first two days, was even more saturated because of its poor drainage. After an inspection at 2 p.m by umpires Eddie Nicholls and Lawrence Thomas, any further chances of play were ruled out. Nicholls said they would attempt to start the game on the fourth and final day depending on the conditions.
Full postDhoni guides India out of danger
Two contrasting centuries, one reeking off supreme confidence, the other off swaggering brilliance, bailed India out of strife on an absorbing day at Faisalabad, after a frenzied 11-over spell had tilted the scales Pakistan's way in a batsman-dominated Te
India 441 for 5 (Dhoni 116*, Dravid 103, Laxman 90) trail Pakistan 588 by 147 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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Two contrasting centuries, one reeking of supreme confidence, the other of swaggering brilliance, bailed India out of strife on an absorbing day at Faisalabad, after a frenzied 11-over spell had tilted the scales Pakistan's way in a batsman-dominated Test. In one gripping session between lunch at tea, Pakistan stormed ahead with four quick wickets, but a spectacular maiden Test hundred from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when he produced strokeplay reminiscent of Caribbean aggressors of the past, steered India past the stormy seas.
Rahul Dravid's second successive hundred, and his fine partnership with VVS Laxman, appeared to have guided India towards safety but somewhere around the half-way point the series, with a draw looking like a distinct possibility, the game turned. Led by a scorching spell by Shoaib Akhtar, in the most engrossing session of the series so far, Pakistan put India on a skiddy slope, with 107 still needed to avoid the follow-on. What came next was plain sensational as Dhoni counterpunched his way to an audacious hundred, waving the bat like a cowboy with a lasso, and, along with Irfan Pathan, partly nullified Pakistan's advantage.
Full postAsad takes Pakistan U-19s to victory
Ali Asad's 77-ball 70 saw Pakistan Under-19 through to a four-wicket win over the West Indies Under-19 in the first one-dayer at Karachi
Cricinfo staff
22-Jan-2006
West Indies Under-19s 254 for 8 (Pollard 53, Ali 2-48) lost to Pakistan Under-19s 255 for 6 (Asad 70*, Ahmed 52*) by four wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Ali Asad's 77-ball 70 saw Pakistan Under-19 through to a four-wicket win over the West Indies Under-19 in the first one-dayer at Karachi.
The home side were stuttering in response to the West Indies total of 254, with Sharmarh Brooks picking up three wickets with his offbreaks. But Asad found a reliable partner in Sarfraz Ahmed (55*) with whom he put on match-winning stand of 101.
After Pakistan asked the visitors to bat, three of the West Indies top seven got starts without going on to post a sizeable score. Leon Johnson's relatively pedestrian 49, from 100 balls, steadied the West Indies whose innings threatened to wobble at 43 for 2. Despite an aggressive fifty from Kieron Pollard, their eventual 254 for 8 was well within reach for Ahmed and Asad, who took their side through to a win with more than two overs to spare.
Full postMorkel saves Titans' blushes
A summary of the latest action from the Standard Bank Pro20 Series
Keith Lane
22-Jan-2006
At Willowmoore Park in Benoni, the Titans were stretched to the last
three balls by the Warriors in their effort to pass a small target of 113 to win by four wickets. Having been asked to bat first on a two-paced
pitch the Warriors collapsed to 112, with Justin Kreusch scoring
73. The next highest was 16 from Robin Peterson as first Brendon Reddy
picked up 3 for 31 and then Pierre de Bruyn mixed it up to take 4
for 11. Some poor batting from the Titans top order saw them collapse to
39 for 5 after 10 overs. It was left to Goolam Bodi and Albie Morkel to
sensibly bat the Titans back into a winning position. Their 73-run
partnership was ended with the scores level and Bodi failing to clear
mid-off for 43. It was, however, the 46 off 30 balls from Morkel that
saved the Titans some embarrassment.
Rain in Bloemfontein saw the Lions beat the Eagles by 28 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method when rain ended all chances of play after
the Eagles had faced 7.4 overs. The Lions had earlier totalled 174 in
their 20 overs with Neil McKenzie striking a brilliant 85 off 49 balls.
Andy Blignaut, making his debut for the Lions, waded in with 32 off 16
as the Lions set a reasonable target. Rain however spoilt any chance of
excitement with the Eagles scoring 40 for 4 as they tried to reach the
adjusted target. With the rain increasing the umpires had no alternative
but to leave the field of play after only 7.4 overs.
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