Report
Diwakar's gallant all round display in vain
A gallant all round display by M Diwakar proved to be in vain as Bihar went down by five wickets to Assam in the East Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at the Eden Gardens on Sunday
Partab Ramchand
10-Dec-2000
A gallant all round display by M Diwakar proved to be in vain as Bihar went down
by five wickets to Assam in the East Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at the Eden
Gardens on Sunday.
Put in to bat, Bihar were shot out for 134 in 45.3 overs. Opening bowler J
Zaman, who did most of the early damage and then cleaned up the tail, finished
with four for 15 off 7.3 overs. Bihar never really recovered from a bad start
(23 for three) and only modest contributions from skipper Rajiv Kumar (22),
Manish Kumar (23), K Sharan (21) and Diwakar (30) saw them limp to their
inadequate total. Diwakar came in at No 8 and shared the best partnership of the
innings - 35 for the seventh wicket with Sharan.
When Assam started their seemingly easy task, Diwakar, opening the bowling, had
them in trouble by dismissing the first four batsmen with only 17 runs on the
board. Skipper SZ Zuffri and S Ghosh (34) rescued Assam with a fifth wicket
partnership of 56 runs off nine overs. This was followed by an unbroken sixth
wicket stand of 67 runs between Zuffri and R Borah which steered Assam home with
19 overs to spare. While Zuffri faced 78 balls for his unbeaten 39, hitting five
fours, the much more aggressive Borah slammed 38 not out off 47 balls with the
help of two sixes and two fours. Ghosh too had wasted little time, hammering his
runs off 31 deliveries and hitting seven fours. Diwakar finished with four for
33 off ten overs.
Full postMumbai take lead against Saurashtra
Valuable contributions by most of their top order batsmen saw Mumbai take the first innings lead over Saurashtra on the third day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy league match at Ghandidham on Sunday
Partab Ramchand
10-Dec-2000
Valuable contributions by most of their top order batsmen saw Mumbai take the
first innings lead over Saurashtra on the third day of their West Zone Ranji
Trophy league match at Ghandidham on Sunday. Replying to
Saurashtra's 354, Mumbai were 377 for eight by close.
Mumbai were given an excellent start by their openers Vinayak Mane and Wasim
Jaffar. Resuming at 63 for no loss, the two went on to share a partnership of
128 runs off 39.2 overs. Jaffar was the first to leave, being leg before to
Sitanshu Kotak for 77. He faced 101 balls and hit eight of them to the ropes.
After Sairaj Bahutule was run out for 3, Mane and Amol Muzumdar added 65 runs
off 15.2 overs. Mane finally left at this stage, the first of the five victims
of Niraj Odedara. Mane faced 224 balls and hit eleven boundaries. Mumbai's
fortunes were then in the safe hands of Muzumdar and the experienced Vinod
Kambli. The two were associated in a 123-run stand off 19.4 overs for the fourth
wicket. Muzumdar was leg before to Odedara for 67. He faced 104 balls and hit
five of them to the fence.
Saurashtra now came back strongly in the game with some quick wickets, including
that of Kambli who was bowled by Odedara for 90. The former Indian left hander
hit his runs off just 74 balls and hit ten fours and three sixes. Mumbai lost
their eighth wicket at 354 - the same total as Saurashtra's. But Rajesh Pawar
and Abhijit Shettye added 23 runs for the unbroken ninth wicket till stumps were
drawn. Odedara was easily the pick of the bowlers, taking five for 78 off 28
overs.
Full postWilliams, Parab in unbeaten double century opening stand
After conceding a first innings lead of 134 runs, Baroda made a dream start in the second innings running up 236 without loss by stumps on the third day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy league match at Baroda on Sunday
Partab Ramchand
10-Dec-2000
After conceding a first innings lead of 134 runs, Baroda made a dream start in
the second innings running up 236 without loss by stumps on the third day of
their West Zone Ranji Trophy league match at Baroda on Sunday. Openers Connor
Williams and Satyajit Parab both hit centuries.
Resuming at 320 for seven, Maharashtra did well in ending up with 407. Abhijit
Kale, 158 overnight, was last out for 222. In a stay of 393 minutes, Kale faced
272 balls and hit 25 fours. With last man S Shaikh (12 not out), Kale figured in
a partnership of 68 runs off 14.2 overs. NV Buch was the most successful bowler
with four for 113.
In the Baroda second innings, Williams and Parab maintained a good run rate and
remained unbeaten at stumps. Both batted five hours. While the 27-year-old left
handed Williams faced 192 balls for 115 and hit 13 fours, the 26-year-old right
handed Parab faced 225 balls for his 116 and hit 14 fours. The partnership, off
69 overs, gave Baroda a lead of 102 runs. Eight bowlers were tried but none
could break the stand.
Full postCanning six seals dramatic victory for Auckland
A slogged six that cleared the head of Warren Wisneski at mid-on from man of the match Tama Canning gave Auckland victory with two balls to spare in a dramatic second round Shell Cup encounter
Steve Deane
10-Dec-2000
A slogged six that cleared the head of Warren Wisneski at mid-on from man of
the match Tama Canning gave Auckland victory with two balls to spare in a
dramatic second round Shell Cup encounter.
Canning's 25 not out from 15 balls proved decisive after a superb
half-century from Lou Vincent had put Auckland in a winning position.
In a match that was in the balance until the final ball Canning's cavalier
innings, together with his career best four-wicket haul in the Canterbury
innings, proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Auckland won the toss and asked Canterbury to bat, but in doing so the Aces
gifted Canterbury the best batting conditions of the match on a pitch that
slowed in pace as the match wore on.
Full postOtago turns the tables in tense Cup encounter
After the dominance shown by Wellington in the Shell Tropy match one would have expected them to continue on when it came to the Shell Cup
Warwick Larkins
10-Dec-2000
After the dominance shown by Wellington in the Shell Tropy match one would have expected them to continue on when it came to the Shell Cup. Having said this the two games are so dissimilar that there is no reason most times to suppose such a situation.
However, when Wellington scored 244-6 in its 50 overs against Otago at Carisbrook on a good pitch it looked as it if may not be enough.
Wellington commenced in careful fashion but then accelarated with good innings from Richard Jones 45, Matthew Bell 38, James Franklin 28 not out and Roger Twose 23. The pride of their total would have to go without a doubt to Jason Wells who got 62 (6 fours and 1 six). He showed the small crowd at Carisbrook what a fine batsman he is which most cricketing Wellingtonians allready know.
Forde and Horne were the pick of the Otago bowlers. Both bowled very straight and their figures reflect this. Only O'Dowda and Billcliff were really collared with the former trying to bowl a little too fast and the latter some balls too full.
Full postOrissa defeat Bengal, qualify for Wills Trophy
Orissa qualified for the Wills Trophy after 16 years, defeating Bengal by eight wickets in their final East Zone Ranji Trophy one day league match at the Eden Gardens today
Sakysen Mittra
10-Dec-2000
Orissa qualified for the Wills Trophy after 16 years, defeating Bengal by eight
wickets in their final East Zone Ranji Trophy one day league match at the Eden
Gardens today. As a result, Orissa finished with eight points, sufficient for
them to make it to the Wills Trophy.
It was a wrong decision by the Bengal think-tank that proved disastrous for the
hosts. After winning the toss, Bengal decided to bat on a pitch that had a lot
of life in the initial period, an advantage that was used to the hilt by
Debashis Mohanty and Ajoy Barik. Bengal lost their first seven wickets within 20
runs and the match was as good as over during the first hour of the game. The
decision to bat was all the more surprising because only on Saturday, Bengal
skipper Devang Gandhi had said they would like to chase. It was the grave error
in reading the pitch that prevented the finalists of 1998 from qualifying this
season.
Bengal managed to reach three figures only because of a doughty knock from
Wrichik Mazumdar. He scored 37 in 80 balls and with Shiv Sagar Singh added 42
runs for the ninth wicket. Before that, it was simply a tale of going and coming
back. The slide started when the Orissa wicket-keeper Gautam Gopal took an
excellent catch on the leg side to dismiss makeshift opener Lakshmi Ratan Shukla
off the bowling of Barik. Then Mohanty got into the act. With his outswinger
working nicely, Mohanty cartwheeled Nikhil Haldipur and Rohan Gavaskar. Barik on
the other hand had Gandhi hooking, only to find the fielder at square leg.
Bengal had then been reduced to only nine runs for four wickets. Mohanty then
once more produced a lovely break back to bowl Deep Dasgupta in his third over.
Then in his fifth over he had Utpal Chatterjee playing on and with the fifth
delivery of the same over, had Sanjiv Sanyal edging to keeper Gopal. Bengal at
this stage, were 20 for seven. Srikkant Kalyani, Mazumdar and Singh managed to
take the total to over 100. However, that would not have been possible had not
the Orissa team given away 25 extras, 20 of which came from wides and no balls.
When Orissa batted, BBCC Mahapatra was bowled by Shukla trying to pull a ball
that kept low. Immediately after lunch, Shukla had Gopal caught at point with a
ball that bounced a bit more. However, Sanjay Raul batting with elan on a pitch
that had dried up, quietly guided Orissa to victory without a fuss. His driving
within the `V' was a treat to watch. He remained unbeaten on 42 with five fours.
With Pradip Das, the other opener, Raul added 78 runs to take Orissa to a
convincing win.
Full postSoujan Biswas too hot for Sikkim
Bengal completed an impressive 222 run victory over Sikkim in the Vijay Merchant Trophy East Zone League Under-16 match on Sunday at the East Calcutta District Sports Council Ground, Calcutta
Santhosh S
10-Dec-2000
Bengal completed an impressive 222 run victory over Sikkim in the Vijay Merchant
Trophy East Zone League Under-16 match on Sunday at the East Calcutta District
Sports Council Ground, Calcutta. There was no joy for Sikkim other than winning
the toss and asking Bengal to bat first. Bengal powered their way through to
declare at 231/3 in 67 overs backed up by the brilliance of AS Garai who scored
100 in 178 balls. Garai was severe on Sikkim bowlers as he illuminated his
innings with 17 shots to the fence. Garai was given good support by AS Choudhury
(66 not out) as they added 119 for the third wicket in 30 overs.
Bengal bowlers were quickly on their job, reducing Sikkim to 40/2. Sikkim lost
the last eight wickets for 37 runs and was bowled out for 102 in 55th over.
Soujan Biswas had an amazing spell and finished with the awesome figures of
21-10-25-8. Bengal started their second innings with a comfortable lead of 129
runs. A third wicket stand of 128 between SM Ghosh and AS Choudhury finished all
hopes of a Sikkim fight back. SM Ghosh played a strokeful innings and was
unlucky to be dismissed for 96, just four short of a hundred. Ghosh was at the
crease for 126 balls and hit 15 boundaries. Choudhury who had made an unbeaten
66 in the first innings made certain he got his century in the second knock.
Choudhury blasted 16 fours to reach his score of 101 in 127 balls as Bengal
declared their innings at 246/4 in 55 overs.
Sikkim had to make had to score 376 for a victory, which always looked
impossible. Bengal started claiming wickets at regular intervals. Sikkim's tail
wagged a little with Dawa Denzongpa making an unbeaten 45 in 145 balls and Sunam
Tshering making 34. Soujan Biswas was again lethal as he picked 3/35 in 24.1
overs to complete his ten-wicket haul for the match. Bengal collected eight
points and Sikkim went home with none.
Full postRailways score 18 run win over MP
The Ranji One-Day clash between Railways and Madhya Pradesh at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi saw the Railways side win by 18 runs
Anand Vasu
10-Dec-2000
The Ranji One-Day clash between Railways and Madhya Pradesh at the Karnail Singh
Stadium in Delhi saw the Railways side win by 18 runs. After winning the toss
and electing to bat first, Railways slumped to 1/2 as the twenty-four year old
mediumpacer Sanjay Pandey got rid of Amit Pagnis and Gagan Khoda in the very
first over. Soon after, there was more trouble and Railways were reeling at
41/4. An innings of 108 from Raza Ali at number six saved Railways the blushes.
Ali's 119 ball essay saw the ball reach the fence on 12 occasions. Riding on his
innings, Railways managed 240/6 in their allotted 50 overs.
In response, the Madhya Pradesh team started well, as openers Jai P Yadav (54)
and Chandrakant Pandit (40) put up a century partnership for the first wicket.
Amay Khurasiya at number three was among the runs as well, making 62 from just
63 balls (5 fours, 1 six). After the top three gave MP an ideal start, things
began to go wrong. India Test left arm spinner Murali Kartik and TP Singh
scalped 3 wickets apiece as MP lost their way completely. Just ten balls short
of the fifty over mark, MP were all out for 222.
Full postAuckland fall just short of first innings target in tame draw with Canterbury
Auckland's gallant attempt to overhaul Canterbury's score of 477 and earn first innings points fell agonisingly short when it was dismissed during the morning session for 435
Steve Deane
09-Dec-2000
Auckland's gallant attempt to overhaul Canterbury's score of 477 and earn
first innings points fell agonisingly short when it was dismissed during the
morning session for 435.
The Aces' failure to reach the imposing frist innings target was largely due
to the efforts of Warren Wisneski, whose career best figures of 7/151 came
from a gruelling 52 overs.
As well as the seven dismissals, five of which were bowled, Wisneski scored
an invaluable 58 not out in Canterbury's first innings.
He said it was the first time he had bowled over 50 overs in an innings but
surprisingly fatigue had not been a factor. "With the makeup of our side
going into the game, Bondy (Shane Bond) and myself were the only two real
strikers, the other three being containment bowlers, one of us had to do it
and because I'm a bit more senior so it had to be me really."
Full postND tops Trophy table with eight wicket win in Taupo
Northern Districts is top of the Shell Trophy table after two rounds of the competition, the only team with a hundred per cent record
Peter Hoare
09-Dec-2000
Northern Districts is top of the Shell Trophy table after two rounds of the competition, the only team with a hundred per cent record.
An eight wicket victory over Central Districts was completed shortly after lunch on the final day. It was ND's seventh successive victory in the Shell Trophy.
CD resumed this morning on 180 for eight, a lead of 97.
Any lingering hopes of victory for CD were ended when the last two wickets managed only two runs between them. The first wicket was the run out of Ewan Thompson following hesitation over a short single, a disastrous start to the day.
Full postMost Read
Writers