Report
Jayasuriya leads the rout of Pakistan
Dew not a factor as Jayasuriya spins Sri Lanka to victory
Bulletin by Rahul Bhatia
08-Jul-2005
Sri Lanka 287 for 7 (Sangakkara 68, Atapattu 66) beat Pakistan 168 (Butt 40, Jayasuriya 5-17) by 119 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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It was a redemption of sorts for Sanath Jayasuriya (5 for 17), for he made the ball dance, and the Pakistanis who took him lightly fell flat. He had failed earlier that day, as his team-mates set about building a total of 287, but now he and Upul Chandana struck repeatedly, thrusting, bouncing, turning, and the batsmen committed one folly after another on their way to a 119-run defeat.
Pakistan had started hopefully with bat and ball, first removing Sri Lanka's openers for little and then nullifying the opening attack with youthful vigour. In both cases, Sri Lanka first got a toe-hold in the door, before blasting it wide open. The morning recovery was steady. The one later was more dramatic. Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed raced away because the bowlers were unsteady in line and length, offering width and the boundaries that went with them. Soon 40 runs had been scored.
Full postA familiar tale
South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third and final one-day international at Kimberley
Wisden CricInfo staff
08-Jul-2005
Close South Africa 152 for 3 (25.4 overs: van Jaarsveld 42) beat Bangladesh 151 (43.1 overs: Bashar 51, Pollock 4-24) by seven wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the third and final one-day international at Kimberley, completing a whitewash that was inevitable from the moment the miserably one-sided series was announced.
The match followed a similar pattern to Sunday's game, although this time Bangladesh did manage to take wickets and South Africa took more than half their overs - just - to reach their target. It would have finished far earlier were it not for some unpredictable bounce which served to give the Bangladesh bowlers a previously unseen edge and the failure of South Africa's run machine, Herschelle Gibbs.
Gibbs played round a straight one from Tapash Baisya for 15 - possibly even he had tired of milking runs off such poor bowlers - to give Bangladesh their first wicket since the opening innings of the series. Martin van Jaarsveld overcame a nervous start in his first international innings to unveil some superb shots off the back foot, but perished when overconfidence led to a loose flick to midwicket for 42. Jonty Rhodes, all scampering and improvisation on his return to the side, made 30 at the end. Bangladesh hardly helped their cause by conceding ten wides and 12 no-balls.
Full postJayasuriya spins a fatal web
Sri Lanka lift the Paktel Cup thanks to Jayasuriya's spin heroics
Rahul Bhatia
08-Jul-2005
Sri Lanka 287 for 7 (Sangakkara 68, Atapattu 66) beat Pakistan 168 (Butt 40, Jayasuriya 5-17) by 119 runs
Under lights at the Gaddafi in Lahore, Sri Lanka held aloft the Paktel Cup. They had won when it mattered most, and had weathered every crisis of the day. The dew factor, that scourge of bowlers under lights at this ground, was made irrelevant as they kept the pressure on Pakistan's stroke-makers, who stumbled, crumbled and hit the dust.
It was a redemption of sorts for Sanath Jayasuriya (5 for 17), for he made the ball dance, and the Pakistanis who took him lightly fell flat. He had failed earlier that day, as his teammates set about building a total of 287, but now he and Upul Chandana struck repeatedly, thrusting, bouncing, turning, and the batsmen committed one folly after another on their way to a 119-run defeat.
Pakistan had started hopefully with bat and ball, first removing Sri Lanka's openers for little and then nullifying the opening attack with youthful vigour. In both cases, Sri Lanka first got a toe-hold in the door, before blasting it wide open. The morning recovery was steady. The one later was more dramatic. Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed raced away because the bowlers were unsteady in line and length, offering width and the boundaries that went with them. Soon 40 runs had been scored.
Full postPrice leads Zimbabwean fightback
Ray Price took a career-best 6 for 121 to bowl Australia out for 403, a first-innings lead of 95
The Wisden Bulletin by Lynn McConnell
08-Jul-2005
Close Zimbabwe 308 and 151 for 4 lead Australia 403 (Ponting 169, Price 6-121) by 56 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Mark Vermeulen hits out on the way to his 48 © AFP |
Zimbabwe ended the third day of the second Test at Sydney on the verge of setting Australia a testing fourth-innings target on a ground known for producing low fourth-innings totals. First, Ray Price took career-best figures of 6 for 121 to restrict Australia to 403, a first-innings lead of 95, which was far fewer than what Australia would have hoped for at the start of play. Then, Mark Vermuelen (48) and Trevor Gripper (47) led Zimbabwe's batting in the second innings, as they finished on 151 for 4, a lead of 56.
Bowling from the southern end for all but a few overs when the second new ball was taken, Price ended up with the scalps of the entire Australian middle order. This morning, he started the slide with Steve Waugh's wicket, for 61. The ball pitched on the rough, spun across Waugh, and took the glove and pad on the way to short leg, where Stuart Carlisle completed a fine diving catch. Waugh's stand with Ricky Ponting was worth 135 runs.
Full postLaxman plays a lone hand
VVS Laxman kept one end up as wickets fell around him and India struggled towards the follow-on target
The Wisden Bulletin by Anand Vasu
08-Jul-2005
Close India 390 for 6 (Sehwag 130, Laxman 86*) trail New Zealand 630 for 6 dec by 240 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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VVS Laxman - known for his flair, but boy, can he be solid (c) AFP |
Inderjit Bindra, the man with whom the buck stops at the Punjab Cricket Association, said yesterday on television that he would ensure that a pitch of this kind is never again prepared at Mohali. After an agonising fourth day, one hopes he keeps his promise. In 90 overs, India scored just 187 runs at a fraction over two runs per over. It was not fun, one can safely say, for anyone. India reached 390 for 6, and still need 41 runs to avoid the follow-on.
When the day began there was every sign that the Sunday crowd were in for a batting feast. Virender Sehwag was in sensational form and had brutally assaulted his way to 128. Rahul Dravid looked assured during his stay at the wicket late on the third day. The pitch showed no signs of breaking up. The stage was well set for a reply in kind to New Zealand's massive 630 for 6 declared.
Full postSA back in front despite Asim Kamal's debut 99
On an interesting third day's play Asim Kamal made 99 on his Test debut, Paul Adams took seven wickets in an innings for the first time ..
The Wisden Bulletin by Samanth Subramanian
08-Jul-2005
Close South Africa 320 and 99 for 1 (Gibbs 56*) lead Pakistan 401 (Taufeeq Umar 111, Asim Kamal 99, Adams 7 for 128) by 18 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Asim Kamal - what would he have given for just one run more? (c) AFP |
Pakistan had a splendid chance to build a substantial lead that, given their spin-fortified attack on a fourthand fifth-day track, might have ensured that they only needed to bat once. But after Kamal was dismissed, Paul Adams broke through the lower order to finish with 7 for 128, his best Test analysis.
Shoaib Malik and Kamal, when they began the day, seemed grimly determined to make sure that Pakistan got past South Africa's first-innings total. The runs, consequently, came slowly and stodgily, and the only excitement for much of the morning session lay in a close shave for Malik after an lbw shout. But he did not last much longer after that; once Pakistan got past 320 and into the lead, Malik played inside the line to Adams and had his off stump uprooted (322 for 5).
Full postCosgrove and Tait boost South Australia
South Australia and Victoria were evenly poised after a lacklustre opening day
Wisden Cricinfo staff
08-Jul-2005
Victoria 2 for 14 trail South Australia 254 (Cosgrove 82, Manou 50) by 240 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
South Australia and Victoria were evenly poised in their Pura Cup match at the Adelaide Oval after a lacklustre opening day. Mark Cosgrove hit a stylish 82, with 13 boundaries, and his contribution lifted the home side from 4 for 68 after the captain, Graham Manou, won the toss and elected to bat.
Manou chipped in with 50 while the No. 8, Mark Cleary, scored 40 as the lower order pushed the total past 250. The paceman Michael Lewis impressed early and finished with 3 for 34 while Mathew Inness also grabbed three as he cleaned up the tail.
South Australia finished strongly as Shaun Tait picked up the valuable wickets of Matthew Elliott for 6 and the nightwatchman Lewis for a duck.
Full postInzamam puts Lanka in to bat
Pakistan took the field first after winning the final toss of the Paktel Cup
Rahul Bhatia
08-Jul-2005
Toss Pakistan won the toss and chose to field v Sri Lanka
Pakistan took the field first after winning the final toss of the Paktel Cup. The same move, two afternoons ago, met with success, as Pakistan went past a total of 293 with six wickets to spare. If it was a preview to the final, as it was made out to be, the signs weren't good for Sri Lanka.
Eight years ago, Shane Warne was rendered ineffective by fancy Lankan footwork and the evening dew during the World Cup final at the same ground. Under lights, as Sri Lanka found out the day before, the Gaddafi could be a bad place for bowlers. And then there was the matter of most of Pakistan's batsmen being in good touch. The top five scored above 30 in the last game, and built partnerships that slowly drained hope. Inzamam-ul-Haq struck a matchwinning 76 off 59 balls and Shoaib Malik continued his run with his third fifty in four games.
But Sri Lanka have been known to fight back, and they could turn logic on it's head, the way they did eight years ago when they fielded first in the World Cup final. Marvan Atapattu struck a fluent hundred in the last match, and though the bowling attack was shred to ribbons, it's not often that Chaminda Vaas and his mates go for many in successive games. The management brought in Farveez Maharoof for Thilina Kandamby, for his ability with bat and ball, while Pakistan went in with an unchanged side.
Full postWestern Australia gain slight edge at Perth
A bright clear sky greeted all at Tompkins Park for day three of the ACB Cup match between Western and South Australia
David Bebb
08-Jul-2005
A bright clear sky greeted all at Tompkins Park for day three of the ACB Cup match between Western and South Australia. The hosts were 57 runs shy of the follow-on target of 259, with a new ball due in 14 overs and with just three wickets in hand.
An early breakthrough for South Australia in the third over of the day saw Marsh adding two to his overnight score and falling at 67 (160), cutting Harrity to Ferguson at point. The fielder caught it low to the ground, and Western Australia slumped to 207, eight wickets down.
Callum Thorp was bowled by Harrity after playing a handsome knock of 13 (27), which included two fours, both deft touches to third man off the bowling of Cleary. Western Australia were now nine wickets for 216, and the last pair had to face the peril of the new ball.
Clark found the long-off boundary once and then went over point boundary with a cut off the third ball of Cleary's fifth over of the day. Cleary had the last laugh though when two balls later he bowled Clark, in doing so also cleaning up the Western Australian first innings at 230 in the 10th over of the day. James had faced just eight balls without troubling the scorers. Harrity (2-56) and Cleary (1-32) were the only bowlers used by South Australia this morning, and both enjoyed success during the short session.
Full postPonting rules the day
Ricky Ponting dished out a batting lesson of his own with an unbeaten 137, as Australia reached 245 for 3, just 63 behind Zimbabwe's first-innings total of 308
The Wisden Bulletin by Lynn McConnell
07-Jul-2005
Close Australia 245 for 3 (Ponting 137*) trail Zimbabwe 308 by 146 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
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Ricky Ponting: wresting back the initiative in style © Getty Images |
The fading light at Sydney towards the end of the second day's play did what Zimbabwe's bowlers couldn't - put an end, for the time being, to Ricky Ponting's outstanding innings. When Ponting and Steve Waugh accepted the offer of bad light, Australia were 245 for 3, 63 runs behind Zimbabwe's first-innings total of 308.
Ponting, unbeaten on 137, dominated the last two sessions with an innings full of quality strokeplay. His precision and timing proved unstoppable, and any of his 19 fours or two sixes could have been the shot of the day. His strokes off the legs were punishing, while he used his feet well against Ray Price and Gavin Ewing, with spectacular results. One of his sixes was nailed absolutely straight and sailed high in the stands behind the bowler.
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