Report
Rawat builds Assam's advantage
A summary of matches on the first day of the latest round in the Ranji Trophy.
Cricinfo staff
03-Dec-2005
Assam trailed Madhya Pradesh by just 37 runs, and were well set at 178 for 1 after an opening stand of 143 between Parvez Aziz and Chandan Rawat on the second day's play at Indore. Assam had bowled out MP for 215 in the morning session with Anand Katti's left-arm spin accounting for four economical wickets. At stumps, Rawat, the 18-year old prospect, was five runs away from his maiden first-class hundred, in only his fourth match, and his innings went a long way in setting up Assam's healthy position.
Kerala prized out three early wickets to leave Jammu & Kashmir at 151 for 3 after the second day's play at Jammu, still 96 runs behind its first-innings score of 247. Arshad Bhatt, J&K's wicketkeeper, scored a fine 65 before becoming the last man out on the second day's play. Earlier, Sadagoppan Ramesh top-scored with an unbeaten 64, but Kerala failed to add much to their overnight score of 216 for 6 with Sameer Khajuria, the offspinner, running through the tail to pick up his best bowling figures in first-class cricket.
Full postShoaib and Kaneria destroy England
Pakistan romped to an emphatic victory at Lahore with a stunning bowling display in the afternoon which blew England away and earned them a 2-0 series win
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
03-Dec-2005
Pakistan 636 for 8 dec defeated England 248 (Bell 92, Collingwood 80) by an innings and 100 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
 |
|
Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria ripped England apart with two stunning spells on the final afternoon as Pakistan surged to an outstanding innings and 100-run victory sealing a 2-0 series win. Pakistan claimed eight wickets in 69 balls after lunch, producing one of the more stunning demolitions of a batting line-up witnessed in recent times. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood had seemingly given England hope of a draw but Pakistan have played some special cricket in this series and saved their best until the final day.
It was a breathless display of pace and spin from Pakistan's two world-class bowlers; a combination that, if they remain fit, can carry them forward to a period of sustained success. The key moment came in the first over after lunch when Kaneria switched his line of attack back to over the wicket. During the morning session he had been too quick to bowl around the wicket, which negated some of his potency, but whatever the discussions had been during the interval they produced rewards beyond Pakistan's wildest dreams.
Full postSecond day's play also washed out
Play was called off for the second day running at Chennai after an inspection by the umpires at 1pm
Cricinfo staff
03-Dec-2005
|
|
|
With the rain that deluged Chepauk over the past 24 hours having moved away, the ground staff worked tirelessly to try and get the pitch and surroundings ready for play. They went as far as trying to iron dry a wet patch on the pitch, and there was plenty of sawdust used to try and make
the bowlers' run-ups less treacherous. But with vast stretches of the outfield still appearing muddy and slippery, the chances of any play were always slim.
Daryl Harper, one of the on-field umpires, said that certain parts of the ground had dried out considerably but quickly added that there were large areas that needed a lot more working on. He warned that more rain today could further worsen the situation and hoped that they could get things started as early as possible on the third day.
Full postLee roars in to lead New Zealand demolition
Brett Lee stepped up in the absence of Glenn McGrath and received impressive support from Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clark as New Zealand were shot out for 105 in only 27.4 overs
The bulletin by Peter English
03-Dec-2005
Australia 8 for 252 (Ponting 63, Katich 54) beat New Zealand 105 (Cairns 37*, Lee 3-5, Clark 3-19) by 147 runs
Scorecard
How they were out
Scorecard
How they were out
|
|
|
Australian concerns over leaving Glenn McGrath at home for the Chappell-Hadlee Series were dispelled as the back-up brigade stormed through New Zealand for an embarrassing 147-run victory in the opening match. Brett Lee stepped up in the absence of McGrath, who is resting in Sydney, with an amazing performance and he received such impressive support from Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clark that the home side imploded to 33 for 6 on the way to being dismissed for 105 in only 27.4 overs.
Boosted by a tailwind, the speed of Lee was the main danger as he reached up to 156kph in a six-over opening spell that was also impressive for its accuracy and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. Making the batsmen jump around with shorter balls, Lee then restricted their feet movement when he pitched up and was rewarded with the wickets of the Marshall brothers and Craig McMillan as he gave up only five runs.
Full postEagles stumble in run chase
A summary of the third round of matches from the Standard Bank Cup
Keith Lane
02-Dec-2005
In a much closer game in Centurion the Titans managed to clinch a tense two-run win over the Eagles with the match going down to the final over, with the Eagles needing 13 runs to win. Having been set a target of 227, the Eagles were well on the way to a win to extend their lead at the top of the table. An opening partnership of 140 between Loots Bosman (63) and Jonathan Beukus (88) was broken with consecutive wickets to Dale Steyn. A mini-collapse followed from which the Eagles simply never recovered from. Earlier, Titans had posted a total of 226 thanks mainly to a 79 off 73 balls from the hard hitting Gerald Dros, this after Pierre de Bruyn has steadied the top of the innings scoring 50.
In a low scoring match at Port Elizabeth the Warriors won their first
match of the series with a convincing 39-run victory over a depleted Cape
Cobras. The Cobras could only manage 135 after the Warriors, who won the toss, had scrambled to 176 for 7 in their 45 overs. Man of the match Carl Bradfield batted through the Warriors innings to score 86 valuable runs. Rory Kleinveldt was the most
successful Cobras bowler taking 3 for 38 in his nine overs while Mario
Olivier, although expensive in his 5.5 overs, took 5 for 53 for the Warriors.
At the Wanderers in Johannesburg the Lions, after scoring a massive 302 for 6 in their innings, outplayed the Dolphins by restricting them
to 252 for 7 to win by 50 runs. Sent in to bat first, the Dolphins bowlers took a pounding as first Adam Bacher (66) and Stephen Cook (93) put on 142 for the first wicket for the Lions, and then Neil McKenzie smashed the ball around the Bull Ring scoring 87 from just 64 balls. He
hit seven boundaries and three sixes on a batsman friendly pitch. With
the Dolphins losing three early wickets they were always against the
clock. Ahmed Amla (59), Duncan Brown (53) and Russell Symcox (50 not
out) did try to keep the Dolphins in the game but were unable to get in
touch with the run rate.
Full postNanda spins Delhi into contention
A summary of matches on the first day of the latest round in the Ranji Trophy.
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2005
Six wickets from Chetanya Nanda, the legspinner, helped Delhi dismiss Bengal for 211 - a lead of 63 - in the final session of day two, before Shikhar Dhawan and Aakash Chopra ensured that Delhi built on the advantage. Bengal managed to stretch its first-innings lead thanks primarily to a dogged fifty from Rohan Gavaskar and a useful contribution from Manoj Tiwari down the order. Earlier, Bengal had bowled the hosts out for a paltry 148, and Delhi will definitely need to make amends in the second innings if they wish to register their first points in the season.
Mumbai 237 for 4 (Indulkar 117*, Jaffer 62) lead Karnataka 186 by 51 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
A fine hundred from Vinit Indulkar, his second in first-class cricket, helped Mumbai consolidate their position on the second day of the Ranji Trophy clash against Karnataka at Bangalore. After bowling out Karnataka for a modest 186 yesterday, Mumbai rode on a solid 62 from Wasim Jaffer before Indulkar, 21, dominated proceedings. He crashed 18 fours in his 209-ball unbeaten effort and his 119-run stand with Omkar Khanvilkar, who made a patient 23, strengthened their position at the end of the day.
Full postRain signals disappointing end to West Indies tour
The Prime Minister's XI were declared winners by six runs on the Duckworth-Lewis system in the 50-over clash with the West Indians after scoring a massive 4 for 316
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2005
Prime Minister's XI 4 for 316 (Voges 91, Ferguson 70*) beat
West Indians 3 for 174 (Sarwan 90, Bravo 52*) by 6 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard
Scorecard
|
|
|
After winning the toss, the PM's XI got off to a shaky start, losing Phil Jaques and Travis Birt to the combination of Daren Powell and Tino Best. David Dawson, sent in at No. 3, contributed 41 to a 79-run partnership with the impressive Voges before edging Jermaine Lawson behind. Voges was especially severe on the part-time bowlers Ramnaresh Sawran and Dwayne Smith, collecting two sixes in the process. Callum Ferguson played his role to perfection, finding the fence at the right times throughout his innings. Justin Langer, the PM's XI's captain, then clouted 37 off 18 deliveries to boost his side's total past the 300-run mark. For the West Indians, Best was the most productive bowler with figures of 2 for 50 from ten overs.
Inconsistency with the ball made way for another disappointing performance by the West Indian openers, with Devon Smith and Denesh Ramdin falling cheaply to the impressive Brett Dorey. Perhap sensing the impending storm already on its way, Sarwan chose this final opportunity to make a mark. He opened up with some solid strikes and defiantly took the attack back to the PM's XI, clubbing 90 from only 73 deliveries. Sarwan put on 119 runs for the third wicket with Dwayne Bravo, the allrounder, but fell at the halfway mark going for his eighth boundary, Ferguson snapping up the chance at deep midwicket off the offspinner Chris Simpson.
Full postKhoda hundred puts Rajasthan in command
A summary of matches on the first day of the latest round in the Ranji Trophy.
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2005
Gagan Khoda hit an unbeaten 138 to propel Rajasthan to an imposing 302 for 2 against Jharkhand at Jaipur, and was aided by valuable fifties from Rahul Kanwat and Nikhil Doru. Khoda displayed an array of shots in posting his 16th first-class hundred, and Rajasthan threatened to run away with the match on day two. The sole wicket-taker for Jharkhand was Mihir Diwakar, the medium fast bowler, who dismissed opener Anshu Jain early in the day's play. From there on, however, it was Rajasthan's day in the sun.
Vidarbha were 78 for 1 at stumps on the first day at Nagpur after Madhusudan Acharya and Pritam Gandhe, the offspinners, combined to bowl Goa out for 150. It was a dismal batting effort from Goa, with only three batsmen reaching double figures. Goa did manage to claim the wicket of Faiz Fazal to break a 53-run opening stand, but with Vidarbha just 72 runs behind, it will take some very good work from Goa's bowlers to dent their progress on the second day.
Full postInzamam slaughters England before Bell rallies
Pakistan completed another dominant day, piling up 636 for 8 before Shoaib Akhtar grabbed two wickets. But Ian Bell held firm with a stylish half century
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
02-Dec-2005
England 288 and 121 for 2 (Bell 60*, Collingwood 37*) trail Pakistan 636 for 8 dec (Yousuf 223, Akmal 154, Inzamam 97) by 227 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
|
|
|
Pakistan's dominance reached overwhelming proportions on the fourth day as flamboyant batting crushed England's sagging spirits. With a day remaining Pakistan will sense a 2-0 winning margin after Mohammad Yousuf surged to a career-best 223 and Inzamam-ul-Haq's blistering 97 humiliated a wilting attack. Only a spirited rearguard innings from Ian Bell left England clinging to hopes of draw following another electric burst from Shoaib Akhtar.
The groundwork was laid yesterday by Yousuf and Kamran Akmal and today they cashed in with stunning ruthlessness. Yousuf reached his 200 with a crunching square drive off Andrew Flintoff, from his 347th ball, then eased past his previous best of 204 made against Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2001-02. Pakistan's intent had been clear from the outset as they tucked into the bowlers, who lacked any spark and were visibly exhausted after their efforts during the series.
Full postRain plays spoilsport on opening day
With Chepauk semi-submerged by torrential rain, the match officials called off play at 11:30am local time
Cricinfo staff
02-Dec-2005
|
|
|
With Chepauk semi-submerged by torrential rain, the match officials called off play at 11:30am local time. Assuming that the rain stayed away, and the sodden turf dried in time, play would start at 9am on the remaining days, with a minimum of 97 overs to be bowled every day. With forecasts predicting further downpours over the next 24 hours, this was likely to become a three-day lottery, with overcast conditions and a pitch full of cracks promising some condensed entertainment.
The shower began around 10am local time, but overnight and early morning showers meant that the start was delayed anyway. With the pre-match talk hovering mainly around Cyclone Baaz, stationed in the Bay of Bengal, around 300 km from the ground and expected to hit the south-eastern coast of India within the next 24 hours, the match was always tipped to be curtailed by rain. The last three international games played here have been affected by rain and, with the imminent threat of the cyclone, the trend was bound to continue.
Full post