Report
Ganda shines for Haryana
Ishan Ganda scored his second consecutive century of the tournament, against Madhya Pradesh in the finals of the Cooch Behar U-19 Trophy at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds on Wednesday
Waleed Hussain
13-Dec-2000
Ishan Ganda scored his second consecutive century
of the tournament, against Madhya Pradesh in the
finals of the Cooch Behar U-19 Trophy at the
Deccan Gymkhana grounds on Wednesday. Haryana are
well placed on 315 for three off 91 overs on the
first day of the four day final.
Earlier in the day, Haryana won the toss and
elected to bat. The openers Bhuvanesh Sharma (70)
and Manvinder Bisla (35) did not disappoint the
skipper. Vindicating the decision to bat first,
the pair started brilliantly, scoring 50 runs from
just 5.3 overs in 27 minutes. Although the Haryana
skipper would have like to see the run fest
continue it was not possible on the day.
Bisla was the first man to be dismissed and the
opening partnership ended, just three runs short
of the three figure mark, on 97 off 19.3 overs.
Bhuvanesh Sharma added 65 runs for the second
wicket with Ganda off 21.5 overs. Bhuvanesh
played 135 balls and hit ten boundaries.
Although the openers had done their bit to help
the Haryana cause, the real magic was yet to come.
The star of the day was Ishan Ganda who scored his
second century of the tournament. Following his
knock of 160 in the semifinal against Bengal,
Ganda put up yet another impressive show. His 196
ball innings was laced with 15 hits to the fence.
Ishan and Sumeet Sharma (64 batting) added 135
runs for the third wicket of 260 balls. Ganda
(125) was finally dismissed in the 85th over,
trying to cut a short delivery edging it to the
keeper. Sumeet Sharma was unbeaten as stumps were
called on the first day , Ajay Ratra is with him
at the crease.
Full postRollicking Rolton's day at Lincoln
Karen Rolton had already established herself as one of the dominant figures of the CricInfo Women's World Cup but in the space of just 20 overs against South Africa today she made an indelible mark on the tournament
Chris Rosie
13-Dec-2000
Karen Rolton had already established herself as one of the dominant figures of the CricInfo Women's World Cup but in the space of just 20 overs against South Africa today she made an indelible mark on the tournament.
The Australian left hander must have been listening to the groundstaff when they described the pitch at Lincoln University's BIL Oval as a belter. From the moment she arrived with Australia 20 for one in their chase for 170 to the moment she left on 107 not out with the game won, she put bat to ball in an array of shots that left the South African field and the privileged crowd gasping.
This was no slog fest. Each shot was appropriately chosen for the ball, hit with power and placed with precision. Few of her 17 boundaries came from shots in the air. For all that the South Africans ran and dived themselves into the ground, they could not contain the onslaught. And when a diving fielder did parry the ball away to safety from the boundary, Rolton and her partner in crime, Belinda Clark, ran four. It was that sort of day for the South Africans.
The class of her century was such that it seemed almost incidental that it was reached off a world-record 57 balls. The quality belied the speed of the execution. At the other end, Clark was given the ideal opportunity to play herself back into the form that has been eluding her during the tournament. The Australian captain was much the junior partner but produced plenty in her 49 not out to signal that she is back.
Full postWest Indians eye reinvention
If there is to be a turning point on its current visit to Australia, then it's just possible that the touring West Indian cricket team produced it in the four-day match against Australia 'A' which concluded here at the beautiful Bellerive Oval in
John Polack
12-Dec-2000
If there is to be a turning point on its current visit to Australia, then it's just possible that the touring West Indian cricket team produced it in the four-day match against Australia 'A' which concluded here at the beautiful Bellerive Oval in Hobart today.
At least that's the hope of the encouraged coaching duo of Roger Harper and Jeffrey Dujon, each of whom believes that their team will emerge from this contest in better mental shape for the fresh challenges which lie ahead.
While the match ultimately finished in a high-scoring draw on one of Australia's more placid pitches, the West Indians could not help but to draw inspiration from the sizzling 365 run partnership between Brian Lara (231) and Ridley Jacobs (131) that lifted the team to a first innings total of 492 and toward their most honourable first-class result of the tour.
"We managed to put 492 runs on the board; we had two batsmen who played really tremendous knocks. And they put together a mammoth partnership," was Harper's assessment of the decisive factors to emerge from the match.
Full postFrustrating end to series
Like few other sports cricket has the ability to make itself look silly
Peter Robinson
12-Dec-2000
Like few other sports cricket has the ability to make itself look silly. On the very day that Shaun Pollock should have been celebrating a Castle Lager/MTN Test series victory over New Zealand, questions were being asked of him why he had chosen to play it the way he had.
With three out of the first four days in the third Test lost entirely to rain at the Wanderers, the fifth day was always going to be a matter of heading towards the inevitable draw. Unless someone grasped the nettle and tried to make something out of nothing.
Pollock had two choices when play finally got underway on the last day: he could either declare at some stage, throw the ball in New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming's court and see what happened; or he could bat it out.
He chose the latter, opted for batting practice, allowed Boeta Dippenaar a maiden Test century that will be special to the 23-year-old but tarnished just a little by the circumstances and condemned the day, if not quite the entire game, to a fairly pointless exercise in tedium.
Full postEngland beat Pakistan by six wickets
Home team's 34-match unbeaten record shattered: Karachi, Dec 11: Pakistan plunged to depths of despair under darkness when England earned a hard fought six-wicket victory in the third and final cricket Test to clinch the three-match series 1-0 and a
Samiul Hasan
12-Dec-2000
Home team's 34-match unbeaten record shattered:
Karachi, Dec 11: Pakistan plunged to depths of
despair under darkness when England earned a hard
fought six-wicket victory in the third and final
cricket Test to clinch the three-match series 1-0
and a cash award of $10,000.
Under extremely poor light with street lamps on,
England achieved the victory target of 176 with
six wickets and 15 balls of the mandatory overs
remaining.
Earlier, Pakistan resuming on the final morning at
71 for three were bundled out for 158 with the
last six wickets falling for a mere 30 runs.
Pakistan captain Moin Khan made several valient
attempts to appeal against poor light and in the
process received an official warning by West
Indian Steve Bucknor as the match finished at
5.55pm and before an empty stadium as the handful
of spectators had left the venue for Iftar (time
for breaking fast).
Full postRain restricts North West and Northerns' quest for bonus points
By the time North West and Northerns returned to the field of play in Potchefstroom at 3.45pm on Monday afternoon, even the merest possibility of a result had vanished and both had safely secured their places in the Super Eight stage
MWP
11-Dec-2000
By the time North West and Northerns returned to the field of play in Potchefstroom at 3.45pm on Monday afternoon, even the merest possibility of a result had vanished and both had safely secured their places in the Super Eight stage.
The field had been declared unplayable after regular showers had swept across the ground all day, following Sunday's complete wash-out. Yet the captains wanted to continue and grabbed the first window of opportunity.
The attraction for the two teams in playing on was that extra bonus point that could be carried through to the next, more important, phase of the competition. Northerns, on 152 for seven in reply to North West's 327, needed another 48 runs, North West a further two wickets.
Neither got close. Just four more overs were played, with 23 added to the visitors' tally by Kruger van Wyk and Nigel Brouwers, who finished on 19 and 28 respectively, before the rain returned.
Full postBoland's victory chase thwarted by waterlogged outfield
The four-day Supersport Series match between Griqualand West and Boland in Kimberley was abandoned on the fourth day after heavy overnight showers on Sunday night
MWP
11-Dec-2000
The four-day Supersport Series match between Griqualand West and Boland in
Kimberley was abandoned on the fourth day after heavy overnight showers on
Sunday night.
Boland were on the verge of victory, requiring a further 82-runs to win
with ten second innings wickets intact.
Set to resume the day at 31 without loss, having dismissed the home side for
137 and 205, the players were greeted with a flooded outfield on arrival at
the De Beers Oval.
The umpires inspected the ground and deemed that play would be impossible.
Full postWatery end for Dolphins' hopes
Rain drove the final nail into the coffin of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins' Supersport Series hopes, washing out the entire final day of their match against Border on Monday, although in reality, their hopes had been dashed on Sunday
MWP
11-Dec-2000
Rain drove the final nail into the coffin of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins'
Supersport Series hopes, washing out the entire final day of their match
against Border on Monday, although in reality, their hopes had been dashed
on Sunday.
Having ended the third day on 117 for five in their second knock and leading
by a paltry 49, it looked as though there was only one winner, and it wasn't
the Dolphins, who end their four-match programme in Pool B without a win.
Fortunately for Border, the victory they were denied won't affect the points
they carry through to the Super Eight phase, having secured their passage
when they picked up three bonus points for bowling to leapfrog Eastern
Province.
EP go through as well, despite no victories, the same record as the hapless
KwaZulu-Natal line-up.
Full postPakistan lose three quick wickets in 2nd innings
England score 388: Karachi, Dec 10: Pakistan were 71 for three at stumps on Sunday, the fourth day of the third and last Test against England at the National Stadium
Samiul Hasan
11-Dec-2000
England score 388:
Karachi, Dec 10: Pakistan were 71 for three at
stumps on Sunday, the fourth day of the third and
last Test against England at the National Stadium.
The last five minutes of the day's play left the
match intriguingly placed after the game had
seemed to be heading for a high scoring draw.
Pakistan appeared to have recovered from the
dismissal of both the openers inside 10 overs and
reached 71 for two in their second innings. But
just seven balls before fading light stopped play,
Ashley Giles produced the most deadly delivery of
the match which spun square from the bowler's
rough and hit the stumps of a shell-shocked
Inzamam-ul-Haq, team's most experienced and
reliable batsman.
The prized wicket gave the Warwickshire spinner
his 15th wicket in the series and eclipsed the
previous best by an England bowler in Pakistan of
14 set by Nick Cook on the 1983-84 tour.
Full postPoor handling of team cost Pakistan the test
England achieved an incredible victory over Pakistan in the Karachi Test
Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim
11-Dec-2000
England achieved an incredible victory over Pakistan in the Karachi Test. A test considered to be a sure draw ended in a decision in favor of England for Pakistan's own follies. The target of 176 runs was too small to defend when the pitch helped the batsmen throughout the game. Winning a test under miserably low light and other conditions may find a place in England's cricket history. With Pakistan's defeat at the National stadium Karachi vanished a record. Among the 34 tests played at the NSK Pakistan had not lost any.
An almost certain draw having turned into a fifty-fifty chance encounter on account of England's excellent performance both with bat and the ball, the first session held the key for a result. With 3 important wickets lost with only a moderate lead of 88 runs, it was more crucial for Pakistan. England was in a better position to put pressure on the opponents through an effective bowling-batting combination.
Saqlain Mushtaq who came in as the night watch man, did display some confidence by hitting Darren Gough for a blistering 4 but was trapped LBW by him a little later, providing England an early break-through. Pakistan was 78 for 4.
Yousuf Youhana a centurion of the 1st innings came in to bat. While Gough generated lot of pace, Ashley Giles kept the batsmen under pressure by placing a ring of closein fielders around them. After bowling 6 maiden overs, Giles was hit for a 4 to square leg when Saleem Elahi picked up the courage to break the cordon. An almost crisis situation having put Pakistan on the defensive, the 100 of its 2nd innings came in 42 overs, with an overall lead of 117 runs.
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