Report
Riaz Afridi takes PTCL to the top
A summary of the final day from the latest round of the Patron's Trophy
Cricinfo staff
20-Dec-2005
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) soared to the top of the Group B table as they defeated Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) by an emphatic margin of nine wickets on the final day of their Patron's Trophy match at the Iqbal Stadium at Faisalabad.
Having gained a first-innings lead of 120, PTCL downed ZTBL for 252 in their second innings after they had resumed yesterday morning at 104 for 2, still 16 runs adrift. PTCL were thus left with 133 to get, which they achieved in style by reaching 137 for 1. PTCL now have 15 points from their first two matches in the five-team pool. ZTBL have lost twice in as many appearances and have failed to collect any points so far.
Riaz Afridi, Peshawar's fast bowler who has played in a Test match for Pakistan, captured 4 for 34 in 18 overs for PTCL yesterday. He was ably assisted by Babar Naeem, the Rawalpindi left-arm spinner, with figures of 3 for 30 in 11 overs. Mohammad Khalil, another Pakistan player, picked up 2-70 with his left-arm pace to go with his first-innings 4 for 76. Faisal Naved top-scored for ZTBL with 49 off 124 balls that included five fours. During the 79-run seventh-wicket partnership, Zahoor Elahi, a former Pakistan batsman, and Adnan Akmal, the wicketkeeper, appeared to have tamed the PTCL bowling but this did not last very long.
ZTBL, who have won the Patron's Trophy title four times, were beaten by their 2003-04 runners-up Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in the first round. PTCL, however, took six points from their win over Service Industries in their opening game. PTCL will now play their third-round match against National Bank -- who beat Service Industries with a day to spare on Sunday -- at the Sheikhupura Stadium from Thursday. ZTBL have a period of rest until the fourth round.
Full postYuvraj and Agarkar put India on top
Sri Lanka were switched on, positive, and played with unrelenting intensity. But, yet again, they were outplayed by a determined Indian side
The Bulletin by Amit Varma
20-Dec-2005
India 398 and 287 for 9 (Yuvraj 75, Agarkar 48) lead Sri
Lanka 206 (Dilshan 65, Harbhajan 7-62) by 479 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
How they were out
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You cannot accuse Sri Lanka of letting things drift in this game: for
all three days so far, they were switched on, positive, and played with
unrelenting intensity. But, yet again, they were outplayed by a
determined Indian side. First, Tillakaratne Dilshan, with an assured
65, helped them to 206, thus saving the follow-on. Then they took
regular wickets to restrict India to 100 for 5. But Yuvraj Singh, with
a commanding 75 off 83 balls, and Ajit Agarkar, with 48 off 43,
attacked them out of the game. India finished the day on 287 for 9,
479 ahead.
The most exhilarating passage of play came when Yuvraj was at the
crease. He has always been suspected of weakness against spin, but the
way he batted today, you'd have suspected him of a weakness for
the thing. Whether rocking back to cut or pull or stepping out to the
pitch of the ball, he was completely in control. He drove and pulled
well, but his sweep was his most memorable shot today, powerful and
devoid of risk. Time and again he went down on his knees as if to
propose, but proceeded to dispose.
Full postResolute Rudolph thwarts Australia
Jacques Rudolph hit a superb 102 not out and battled for 283 deliveries as South Africa fought their way to a draw on the final day at Perth
The Bulletin by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
20-Dec-2005
Australia 258 (Ponting 71, Ntini 5-64) and 8 for 528 dec (Hodge 203*, Hussey 58, Ponting 53) drew with South Africa 296 (de Villiers 68, Boucher 62, Lee 5-93) and 5 for 287 (Rudolph 102*, Kemp 55)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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A back-to-the-wall classic from Jacques Rudolph, battling for more than seven hours, defied Australia through the day as South Africa, losing just three wickets on the final day, escaped with a draw in the first Test at Perth. Thwarting Shane Warne's mesmeric wiles and countering the variations from the faster men, Rudolph constructed an all-important 102 not out and left the series wide open with two games to play.
For most of the day, Rudolph was ably assisted by Justin Kemp, whose uncharacteristic obduracy ate up valuable time. The indefatigable Warne, who wheeled away for a 35-over marathon today, troubled all the batsmen with his prodigious turn but, with the pitch playing true, even he couldn't break the brick wall that Rudolph resembled.
Full postZaidi five-for forces Punjab to follow-on
A summary of the third day in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group
Cricinfo staff
19-Dec-2005
Punjab 238 and 34 for 2 trail Uttar Pradesh 433 (Dharmani 68, Sodhi 61, Zaidi 5-50) by 161 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Punjab's attempt at a third win this season took a heavy blow after five wickets from Ashish Zaidi, Uttar Pradesh's veteran fast bowler, dismissed them for 238 and forced a follow-on at Lucknow. Dinesh Mongia, Punjab's captain, will have his hands full tomorrow in an attempt to lead a recovery after two additional wickets fell before stumps on the third day. The day had begun well for the tourists as Pankaj Dharmani and Reetinder Sodhi scored fifties to lead Punjab's reply, but Zaidi and Piyush Chawla, the teenage legspinner, kept their cool to run through the batting order.
Maharashtra 318 and 6 for 0 require another 194 runs to beat Tamil Nadu 275 and 242 (Hemant Kumar 52)
Scorecard
Scorecard
An allround effort from Maharashtra's bowlers gave the home side a good shot at their season's maiden victory, restricting Tamil Nadu to 242 in their second innings and leaving the batsmen 200 to win. The pace duo of Suyash Burkul and Anupam Sanclecha shared the spoils during the first two sessions as Tamil Nadu's middle order came a cropper. A 64-run opening stand between S Vidyut and Hemant Kumar was snapped by Sanclecha, while Burkul struck three vital blows thereafter.
Full postCasson dents Queensland with five-wicket haul
Beau Casson added to Queensland's disappointment at losing first-inning points by taking 5 for 88 to give Western Australia a strong chance of their first outright victory of the summer
Cricinfo staff
19-Dec-2005
Western Australia 331 (North 79, Martyn 71, Kasprowicz 7-103) and 1 for 8 need 212 runs to beat Queensland 308 and 242 (Perren 70, Hopes 50, Casson 5-88)
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Scorecard
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Beau Casson added to Queensland's disappointment at losing first-inning points by taking 5 for 88 to give Western Australia a strong chance of their first outright victory of the summer. Casson, the left-arm wrist spinner, was responsible for the Bulls dropping 6 for 39 as they were dismissed for 242. The Warriors, who need 220 to win, were 1 for 8 at the end of day three.
Clinton Perren's 70 from 120 balls pushed Queensland to a reasonable advantage at 4 for 203, but his departure edging Ben Edmondson to second slip sparked the dreadful collapse and only James Hopes, who struck six fours in his 50, managed any significant resistance. Chris Hartley and Ashley Noffke departed to consecutive Casson deliveries and while the hat-trick was missed he quickly picked up Chris Simpson for his fifth wicket.
Full postFazal's 82 steers Vidarbha to vital lead
A summary of the second day in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group
Cricinfo staff
19-Dec-2005
Vidarbha rode on a patient 82 from Faiz Fazal, the opener, and a fighting 38 from Pritam Gandhe in the tail to gain a vital 22-run lead over Saurashtra by the end of the second day at Rajkot. Having resumed at 22 for 0, Fazal lifted Vidarbha to 171 before becoming the fifth wicket to fall. Gandhe walked in at a critical 211 for 8, 33 runs still in arrears, and added 55 runs with Madhusudan Acharya to clinch the lead. Saurashtra were 1 for 0 at stumps and must now be looking at their batsmen to put up a big target and give a chance to their bowlers to go for an outright win.
Thirteen wickets fell on a bowler's day as Jammu & Kashmir ended the second day with an edge over Rajasthan, 131 runs ahead, with six wickets still left in their second innings. J&K, bowled out for a paltry 182 yesterday, first fought back through Abid Nabi, the right-arm medium pacer, and Raman Dutta who shared seven wickets between them to bundle out Rajasthan for 108. Ajay Jadeja, the captain, offered the lone resistance, remaining unbeaten on 56 off 149 balls. Sanjay Gill's triple strike kept Rajasthan in the contest as J&K wobbled their way to 57 for 4 at stumps on an engrossing second day's play at Jhalwar.
Full postJames Franklin decimates Central Districts
Rain followed Auckland's cricketers home as just 17 overs were possible in their match against Northern Districts
Cricinfo staff
19-Dec-2005
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Rain followed Auckland's cricketers home as just 17 overs were possible in their match against Northern Districts on Eden Park's outer oval. Northern got through to 47 for 1, with former Aucklander Nick Horsley the only wicket to fall, leg before to Chris Martin for 18. The desperately out of form James Marshall battled through to be 13 not out off 47 balls when play was called off. Auckland's round two match against Canterbury in Christchurch was ruined by rain.
Bowlers dominated proceedings at the Basin Reserve as high-flying Wellington hosted bottom-of-the-table Central Districts. James Franklin, who struggled for form against Australia recently, decimated the Central batting, taking 7 for 30 off 16.5 overs. Only Mathew Sinclair (31), Jacob Oram (41) and allrounder Ewen Thompson (47) got starts as Central stumbled through to 181 in conditions tailor-made for swing bowling. When Wellington batted things didn't improve. Michael Mason, Lance Hamilton and Oram ripped through the top order with Luke Woodcock offering resistance with 35. Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, was caught behind off Oram for just 6. At stumps Wellington were 102 for 7 with Franklin on 27.
The bowlers also held sway in Dunedin as Otago hosted a star-studded Canterbury side. Otago slumped to 146 all out, with Shane Bond, New Zealand fast bowler, picking up 4 for 13 off 12.4 overs. Wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins top scored with 40. Canterbury's top order fared no better. The out-of-form Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan posted just one run apiece as the visitors slumped to 72 for 5. However Brendon McCullum launched a vicious assault on the bowlers, in particular Jonathan Trott, to score a half-century off just 35 balls. At stumps Canterbury were 147 for 5. McCullum finished 53 not out and Chris Cairns 22 not out.
Full postPakistan see off England
Pakistan took the series with victory at Rawalpindi
The Bulletin by Jenny Thompson
19-Dec-2005
Pakistan 210 (Inzamam-ul-Haq 81*) beat England 197 (Flintoff 40, Afridi 3-34) by 13 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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Fresh from consigning England to their worst-ever defeat, Pakistan rubbed in the salt with a sparkling bowling performance which took them to a series win at Rawalpindi. It was their tenth victory in 11 ODIs but it was no easy task; a composed display from the bowling attack was required to hold off Kabir Ali and James Anderson's last-gasp charge. They added 33.
England had looked dead and buried at 114 for 8, chasing 211, but Ali added 50 for the ninth wicket and Ian Blackwell and then he and Anderson took England agonisingly close. In the end, though, Pakistan held their nerve to win by a slender 13 runs.
Full postRehman spins KRL to big win
A summary of the third day from the latest round of the Patron's Trophy
Cricinfo staff
19-Dec-2005
Abdul Rehman, Habib Bank's left-hand allrounder, returned career-best bowling figures of 6 for 28, as Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) crashed to a nine-wicket defeat on the third day of the second-round Patron's Trophy Cricket Championship match at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex at Karachi.
The game seemed to be ambling along even after Habib Bank had taken a first-innings lead of 90, having replied with 337 yesterday. But, in their second outing, KRL were simply decimated by Rehman's slow left-arm and managed a poor 132 all out.
Needing only 43 to win, Habib Bank got there in nine overs for the loss of one wicket and completed an emphatic triumph with a full day to spare, something that must have left them a bit surprised.
Rehman, 25, picked up a match haul of 11 for 148, taking ten or more in a first-class encounter for the first time in his career. A third-wicket partnership between Mohammad Wasim (35), the captain, and Ali Naqvi (30), also a former Pakistan opener, yielded 53 runs before Rehman returned to spin a web around the batting order. Eight wickets fell for the addition of only a further 62 runs, as only two other batsmen managed to get into double figures. Although he finished on the losing side, Naqvi made valuable scores of 74 and 30 in the match in addition to taking 4 for 47 with his medium-pace in Habib Bank's first innings.
Full postHarbhajan spins it India's way
Harbhajan Singh racked the Sri Lankan top order, taking 4 for 24 as Sri Lanka limped to 131 for 5 in reply to India's 398
The Bulletin by Amit Varma
19-Dec-2005
Sri Lanka 131 for 5 (Sangakkara 41, Atapattu 40, Harbhajan 4-24) trail India 398 (Laxman 104, Pathan 82) by 267 runs
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Harbhajan Singh racked the Sri Lankan top order, taking 4 for 24 as
Sri Lanka limped to 131 for 5 in reply to India's 398. It was a
frustrating day for them: first, their bowlers failed to skittle out
the remaining Indian batsmen, who added 151 to the overnight score of
247 for 6, with VVS Laxman making 104 and Irfan Pathan making 82; and
then their batsmen handled Harbhajan's offspin inadequately.
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