Report
Good work by MP bowlers on second day
Haryana were bowled out for 463 in 154.2 overs, shortly before the tea interval on the second day of the Cooch Behar Trophy final against Madhya Pradesh at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds, Pune on Thursday
Waleed Hussain
14-Dec-2000
Haryana were bowled out for 463 in 154.2 overs, shortly before the tea
interval on the second day of the Cooch Behar Trophy final against
Madhya Pradesh at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds, Pune on Thursday. In
reply, MP weathered the fall of two early wickets to end the day at 86
for two.
Haryana resumed on a healthy overnight score of 316 for three. The
middle order batsmen failed to capitalise on it and the remaining
seven wickets fell for the addition of 147 runs. Skipper Ajay Ratra
was the first to be dismissed. He was adjudged leg before wicket
giving Omprakash Yadav his first wicket of the day. Ratra could add
only one run to his overnight score and fell to the last ball of the
first over.
Sumeet Sharma (71) soon followed and was in the pavilion, adding seven
runs to his overnight score. The fall of both the overnight batsmen
triggered a collapse in the middle order. Haryana lost five wickets in
the first session of the day and went to lunch on 387 for eight off
125 overs. The post lunch session saw a revival in the batting thanks
to Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vasishta. Mishra and Vasishta added 49 runs
for the ninth wicket off 22 overs. Their stay at the wicket ensured
that Haryana passed the 400-run mark. The partnership ended one short
of the fifty mark when Mishra edged an outswinger from OP Yadav to
stumper Naman Ojha. Amit Mishra scored 31 off 87 balls with four hits
to the fence.
Nitin Agarwal joined Vasishta at the fall of this wicket and the duo
added 50 runs for the last wicket off 16.4 overs. Gaurav Vasishta
played a fighting knock scoring 56 off 113 balls, hitting six of them
to the fence. He was dismissed shortly before the tea interval. Nitin
Agarwal was unbeaten on 15 off 52 deliveries. OP Yadav picked up three
wickets for 127 runs, Maninder Singh and Jitendar Likhar each bagged
two wickets each for 93 and 74 runs respectively.
Full postBihar turn the tables on Assam
After having conceded the first innings lead to Assam, Bihar came back strongly to score a three wicket win in the East Zone Under-22 tournament match at the Mangaldoi Sports Association Ground in Mangaldoi on Thursday
Natarajan Sriram
14-Dec-2000
After having conceded the first innings lead to Assam, Bihar came back
strongly to score a three wicket win in the East Zone Under-22 tournament
match at the Mangaldoi Sports Association Ground in Mangaldoi on Thursday.
Set to score 259 for a win on the final day and moreover with just under
two sessions of play left, Bihar were put on the right course, after the
early loss of opener A Vidhyarti (9), by a 132-run second wicket stand
between S Hussain (76) and skipper Neeraj Kumar (64). Thereafter, the
middle order chipped in with some useful contributions to take Bihar home
in 47 overs.
On the opening day, opting to bat, Assam came up against some good seam
bowling by Rajesh Thakur and Chakraborthy. Claiming eight of the Assam
wickets, the duo skittled out the opponents for just 188. Bihar in response
conceded a 30-run first innings lead. The fact that only four of their
batsmen crossed the double digits did not help their cause. Assam with
their tails up on taking the slender lead, scored 228 for nine declared the
second time around. The openers RM Gohain (64) and PJ Das (88) who shared a
110-run stand were the mainstays in the innings.
Full postSukhbinder Singh skittles out Tripura for paltry 116
There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 all out against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home
Anand Vasu
14-Dec-2000
There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 all
out against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home.
On winning the toss at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in
Agartala, Assam skipper SZ Suffri put the home side in to bat. It was
a decision that paid rich dividends at the close of play on the first
day. Left arm spinner Sukhbinder Singh was quite unplayable. Returning
the amazing figures of 15-7-15-5, Sukhbinder ran through the Tripura
batting lineup. Picking up wickets that spanned from the opening
batsman to the last man, Sukhbinder made sure that the highest
individual score was restricted to S Dasgupta's 42. Although
Sukhbinder's performance was the one that stood out, left arm seamer
Gautam Dutta with 3/30 gave a good account of himself.
In response, the Assam side encountered no problems. Although PJ Das
was run out after he had made 28 (57 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) the first
wicket partnership was already worth 52. When stumps was called, Assam
were motoring on at a healthy 79 for 1. Skipper Zufri, coming in at
one drop was unbeaten on 21. The other opener, SB Saikia had helped
himself to a slow but steady 25 (96 balls) and he too was unconquered.
Assam are in a good position, and some steady batting from them on the
second and third days should see them take the initiative.
Full postVishwas Bhalla hits double century in Punjab's innings win
Punjab overwhelmed Haryana by an innings and 152 runs on Thursday in the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league match at the Maharaja Stadium, Rohtak
Santhosh S
14-Dec-2000
Punjab overwhelmed Haryana by an innings and 152 runs on Thursday in the
Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league match at the Maharaja
Stadium, Rohtak. Punjab captain Vishwas Bhalla led from the front and put
the match beyond Haryana with a swashbuckling innings of 250 as Punjab
amassed 526/7 declared in their first innings.
Winning the toss on Tuesday, Punjab elected to have a bat first and had a
bad start losing the first wicket in the second over in the form of Varun
Gupta for a duck. That brought Bhalla to the middle and he took the bowlers
by the scruff of their neck and blasted a double century by the end of the
day. He was involved in a 89-run partnership with Tavish Gupta (35) for the
second wicket. R Arora made an explosive 91 in 122 balls which included
nine fours and two sixes and helped Bhalla put on 161 for the third wicket.
Bhalla's hundred came in 153 balls including 13 fours. He went on to add 84
runs for the fourth wicket with Gaurav Gupta (42 in 43 balls, 8 fours). At
the end of the first day, Punjab were 451/5 with Bhalla on an imposing 204
not out. On Wednesday, the Punjab score kept bulging as Bhalla went on to
make 250 before being dismissed. Bhalla's heroics took him 398 minutes at
the crease as he faced 290 balls and smashing the ball to the fence 37
times and hitting the ball over the fence twice. At the fall of his wicket,
Bhalla declared the innings closed at 526/7 in 106.2 overs. It was a
bowling performance that the Haryana boys would like to forget in a hurry.
Haryana started their batting with much hope but Punjab bowlers were just
too good for them. They collapsed like a house of cards and came to an end
at a pathetic 117 all out in 33.1 overs. On a day when the Punjab bowlers
excelled, Ankur was the best of them with the figures of 9.1-4-14-3. For
Haryana, wicketkeeper Sunil tried to put up some resistance with a bold 37
in 43 balls. With a huge lead of 409 runs, Punjab asked Haryana to follow
on. Haryana got their act together in the second issue and started with an
opening stand of 180. Openers Puneet Gupta and Kailash Shah were keen on
putting up a fight, which they did. Gupta made 71 hitting 16 fours and Shah
made 95, also smashing 16 fours. Once the openers got out, Haryana lost
their way completely. As a matter of fact, all Haryana wickets fell for
just 73 runs. Tarun Kanish and Gaurav Gupta collected three wickets apiece
as Ankur Jand and Gursharan picked two wickets each. Punjab took home all
eight points on offer with their win and Haryana got none.
Full postIt's a consolation day for the Irish
Ireland lost the toss for the first time in the CricInfo Women's World Cup today but it turned out to be sixth time lucky as they made the most of some Netherlands' gifts to score their first win of the tournament
Chris Rosie
14-Dec-2000
Ireland lost the toss for the first time in the CricInfo Women's World Cup today but it turned out to be sixth time lucky as they made the most of some Netherlands' gifts to score their first win of the tournament.
The first gift was the invitation to bat when the still, hot and depressingly humid conditions turned fielding into a trial of endurance. The second gift actually numbered 28, the wide balls that Ireland turned into 41 runs, the precise difference between the two teams at the end.
And the third gift was the second over of the match. The Netherlands had achieved their dream start, capturing the first Irish wicket with Sandra Kottman's fifth ball of the innings courtesy of a superb slip catch by their captain, Pauline te Beest. But it turned into a nightmare.
Cheraldine Oudolf put balls three, four and five of the second over outside Anne Linehan's legs and three times in succession the Irish left-hander despatched them backward of square to the rope. And for good measure she drove the sixth to the cover boundary. Nineteen off the over, 21 for one after two overs and the Irish knew it was their day.
Full postHauritz turns Final on its head
If it is the knack of successful captains to make exactly the right decisions at exactly the right times, then it seems likely that Nathan Hauritz will, ultimately, enjoy a long and fruitful career in the pursuit
John Polack
14-Dec-2000
If it is the knack of successful captains to make exactly the right decisions at exactly the right times, then it seems likely that Nathan Hauritz will, ultimately, enjoy a long and fruitful career in the pursuit. For, with one mere piece of initiative, the brazen Queensland skipper turned an engrossing National Under-19 Championship Final against Victoria completely on its head here at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.
Like many of his teammates, Hauritz was unable to set an overcast Hobart day ablaze with any great deeds with the bat. But, just under six hours after he and his charges had been asked to make first use of a never altogether-friendly pitch, he had them right back - possibly even holding the edge - in a game upon which they had previously been unable to extract a hold all day.
Victoria had entered the match a raging favourite and, for most of the opening stages, played in accordance with the status. Following his victory at the toss, captain Tim Welsford (0/20) joined with left armer Brett Anderton (1/49) to lead the way with excellent opening spells. On a charcoal-tinged pitch which offered significant encouragement to the bowlers, they set a pattern of impeccable line and length that their support cast could not help but follow. Albeit that only one wicket - that of Chris Simpson (16) to an lbw decision at the hands of Ben Waterman (2/25) - fell in the pre-lunch session, the Queensland upper order found itself under consistent pressure as the contest began.
Following lunch, the Victorians formally converted their early dominance into a comparatively rapid rush of wickets. Between the dismissals of Aaron Maynard (12) and Mitchell Chapman (1) to medium pacer Mark Simpson (3/31) and the departure of Chris Hartley (17) to a loose stroke at Paul Seeary (1/28) outside the line of off stump, further success came the way of Waterman with the prize scalp of Nick Kruger (61). With his clever control, changes of pace, and ability to produce notable variation in bounce from just short of a length, medium pacer Waterman was probably the pick of the attack throughout.
Full postParas Dogra hammers hurricane 207
Jammu & Kashmir played hosts to Himachal Pradesh at the Maulana Azad Stadium, Jammu in the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league match
Santhosh S
14-Dec-2000
Jammu & Kashmir played hosts to Himachal Pradesh at the Maulana Azad
Stadium, Jammu in the Vijay Merchant Trophy (under-16) North Zone league
match. After three days of eventful cricket, the match ended in a draw but
Himachal captain Paras Dogra was very much the star, hitting a hurricane
207 in 163 balls.
Winning the toss, J&K elected to bat first and were troubled by Kapoor
Singh who bagged 6/85. J&K were helped by a brilliant century by captain
Yasser Shafi who opened for J&K and made 112 in 269 balls including 16
boundaries. Shafi held the innings together for the best part and then came
a late order cameo by batsman number ten Abid Nabi who made a quickfire 56
in 61 balls including six fours and a six. J&K were all out in the 116th
over for 286.
Himachal lost a wicket too early and were 77/2 in the 21st over. Cometh the
hour, cometh the man in Paras Dogra. And Dogra wasted no time taking the
attack to the J&K camp scoring his fifty in 36 balls and completing his
hundred in 86 balls. There was no respite for the hapless J&K bowlers as
runs kept flowing from Dogra's bat. Dogra was run out for 207 and those
runs came in double quick time as he smashed a six and 32 boundaries. Dogra
and Gaurav Soni added 221 for the fifth wicket in 43.4 overs. On the final
day the Himachal innings came to an end at 407 in 94.4 overs thanks to a
late order collapse. Soni made 71 in 154 balls and hit seven boundaries.
Sumit Silwal with 5/97 was the pick of the J&K bowlers. Having gained a
first innings lead, Himachal pressed on for a victory only to be denied by
some good middle order batting by Munish Sharma (42) and Silwal (33 not
out) as J&K made 165/8 by the close of play. Kapoor Singh was again
successful with the ball picking up three wickets. Dogra followed his
brilliance with the bat by picking up 2/23 in 15 overs. Himachal took home
five points and J&K three.
Full postOtago take first day honours on tricky pitch
Otago could be well pleased with the way they handled the first day of their Shell Trophy match against Auckland today for they seldom play to their best on the foreign field that is the outer Eden Park field with its pitch of variable quality
Don Cameron
13-Dec-2000
Otago could be well pleased with the way they handled the first day of
their
Shell Trophy match against Auckland today for they seldom play to their
best on
the foreign field that is the outer Eden Park field with its pitch of
variable quality.
This time Otago gained most advantage of the lively pitch as they
dismissed
Auckland for only 157 in 79 overs, and then scored 77 for three wickets.
But Otago must have wondered whether they actually bowled well on the
pitch which heavily favoured the faster seam bowlers, or whether they
should have
smashed the Auckland first innings into little pieces.
Obviously overjoyed that their skipper Matt Horne had won the toss and
put
Auckland in to bat on a greenish pitch, the Otago seamers David Sewell,
James
McMillan, Karl O'Dowda and Craig Pryor reacted like a lot of
super-charged
schoolboys just starting their holidays.
Full postWellington out-bat and out-bowl Central to gain big early advantage
James Franklin, with the exuberance of youth, and Roger Twose, with impatience which may be the by-product of experience, respectively bowled and batted Wellington to a first innings lead over Central Districts on the first day of their Shell Trophy
Steve McMorran
13-Dec-2000
James Franklin, with the exuberance of youth, and Roger Twose, with impatience which may be the by-product of experience, respectively bowled and batted Wellington to a first innings lead over Central Districts on the first day of their Shell Trophy match at the Basin Reserve today.
Franklin took 5-39 from 20 overs, the best return of his formative Trophy career, as Wellington impressed Central into batting, then rolled them for 111. And Twose, seemingly reluctant to dally at the crease - batting like a man with a pressing appointment - took 57 from 46 balls as it reached 153-3 by stumps in reply.
Their joint efforts and the patient unbeaten innings of Wellington captain Matthew Bell, who was 71 at stumps, left Wellington in firm, satisfied control of the match with three full days still yawning before them.
But the efforts of the batsmen, who enforced Wellington's superiority this afternoon, can be considered secondary to those of Franklin and his fellow bowlers who so forcefully supported Bell's decision to field on winning the toss.
Full postNorthern fight back to share opening day honours
Canterbury finished the day on 257/5 but honours were shared on day one after Northern Districts fought back during an intriguing day of Shell Trophy cricket in Rangiora
Steve Deane
13-Dec-2000
Canterbury finished the day on 257/5 but honours were shared on day one
after Northern Districts fought back during an intriguing day of Shell
Trophy cricket in Rangiora.
With Canterbury 107/0 at lunch and both openers looking untroubled on a
benign pitch it looked as if a repeat of last week's one innings draw
against Auckland could eventuate.
But the defending champion Northern side showed what a hardened,
professional outfit it is by strangling the Canterbury run-rate and chipping
away with wickets throughout the second and third sessions.
Early on it didn't appear as if the pace bowlers would prosper on a pitch
that was slow in pace and low in bounce. Edges didn't look like carrying to
wicket keeper Robbie Hart, despite him standing close to the wicket.
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