Report
Stubborn Atherton leads England towards safety against Pakistan
Michael Atherton's dogged effort in the third and final Test, in Karachi, has been chiefly responsible for keeping England fully in the fight
Andy Jalil
09-Dec-2000
Michael Atherton's dogged effort in the third and final Test, in Karachi, has been chiefly responsible for keeping England fully in the fight. Pakistan's bowlers struggled once again, as indeed they had for most of the second half of the previous day, to find a way through his impeccable defence.
With his extraordinary performance on the third day, he led England to 277 for four, and reached his 16th Test century from 317 balls, shortly after tea. His gritty batting, a mixture of solid graft and correct stroke-play, has frustrated Pakistan's bowlers who gave little away and bowled tidily enough to take three wickets on an unhelpful pitch.
The morning session totally belonged to England whose defiant approach brought only 66 runs from 32 overs to take the total to 145 for one. Playing with caution, Atherton and Nasser Hussain, achieved their main aim of keeping wickets intact.
For Hussain, who has been in such wretched form throughout this year, there was the added concern of his personal score. He will have had some satisfaction in reaching his first half-century since last winter in South Africa when he hit an unbeaten 146 in the Christmas Test in Durban. Before today he had scored just 318 first-class runs in 2000.
Full postAtherton scores a ton while the Test heads for a draw
It was a day for England's batsmen who dominated the field though with a slow and steady display of batting
Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim
09-Dec-2000
It was a day for England's batsmen who dominated the field though with a slow and steady display of batting. Creating any excitement in the game by playing thundering strokes was perhaps not on their agenda. Though the test heads for a draw the batsmen achieved the aim of thwarting all types of bowling. The play ended with England at 277 for 4, having scored only 198 runs in a full day's game losing 3 wickets. They trail behind Pakistan by 128 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
The day started with England resuming the innings at the overnight score of 79 for 1 with the batsmen keeping a low profile as far as the rate of scoring was concerned. There were only a few spectators at the stadium to watch the dull and dreary batting. Though Waqar Younis generated lot of pace to restrict the batsmen to a defensive posture, the batsmen also seemed to have decided not to take undue risks. Nasser Hussain was only able to add 7 runs to his overnight score raising it from 13 to 20 in 100 balls.
The 100 of England's innings came in the 9th over of the day with Mike Atherton acting as the main architect, completing his individual 50 in 134 balls. At one time Pakistan launched an all spin attack with Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria supported by a ring of close in fielders, but the batsmen were not perturbed. They continued scoring runs at a slow and steady pace. As the scoreboard showed 129, the two batsmen had registered a 100 runs partnership. In 60 overs England was 135 for 1, Atherton (70) and Hussain (38) going strong.
At tea England was 149 for 1, only 66 runs having been scored in 32 overs bowled in the session. The two batsmen were quite successful in their efforts to take England out of the woods. The bowlers received almost no support from the pitch. In the 76th over of the innings Hussain surprised every one by picking up the courage to hit a straight six to Saqlain, hoisting his 50 in 204 balls. Getting out of his defensive groove did not suit him because a little later he was caught in the slips by Inzamam ul Haq off the bowling of Shahid Afridi for a snail paced 51. England was down to 163 for 2. Not only that Hussain achieved the honor of scoring his first half-century of the year, the skipper also accomplished the wonderful task of laying a solid foundation for the innings along with Atherton who continued to hold his post with absolute mastery over the game.
Full postUtpal stars as Bengal defeat Bihar
Veteran left-arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee's best limited overs bowling performance helped Bengal to overcome Bihar in the penultimate encounter of the East Zone One-Day Ranji Trophy tournament at the Eden Gardens today
Sakyasen Mittra
09-Dec-2000
Veteran left-arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee's best limited overs bowling
performance helped Bengal to overcome Bihar in the penultimate
encounter of the East Zone One-Day Ranji Trophy tournament at the Eden
Gardens today. Chasing a paltry total of 114, Bengal suffered a scare
before getting home by five wickets. Chatterjee had figures of five
wickets for four runs in 5.2 overs. Bengal will now meet Orissa in
their final group league match tomorrow. That game will decide the
team to qualify for the Wills Trophy.
On a pitch that was uneven and had variable bounce, Bihar won the toss
and decided to bat. Initially, they were rocked by Lakshmi Ratan
Shukla's spell who sent back three batsmen with only nine runs on the
board. The Bihar side was rescued to an extent by Kunjan Sharan and
Rajiv Ranjan, who added 71 runs for the fifth wicket.
However, Chaterjee changed the complexion of the game with a superb
bowling display. Introduced in the 29th over, Chatterjee had Sharan
bowled with one that came in with the arm. The rest of the batsmen
then failed to cope with him on a pitch where the ball bounced and
kept low. From 110 for four, Bihar lost their remaining six wickets in
45 balls for the addition of only four runs.
The match seemed as good as over at this stage. But Bengal too were
rocked initially by a controlled spell of medium pace bowling by Mohir
Diwakar and Dhiraj Kumar. They bowled their full quota of 20 overs and
had Bengal on the mat by dismissing four of their leading batsmen with
only 52 runs on the board. Of the four however, Devang Gandhi and
Srikkant Kalyani could have avoided playing the shots that brought
their dimissals. Both Diwakar and Kumar bowled with a lot of fire.
Bengal managed to recover through Rohan Gavaskar and Deep Dasgupta.
Gavaskar only scored 23, but saw out the remainder of the overs that
Diwakar and Kumar had. A lovely straight drive off Rana Choudhury was
the shot of the match. However, he fell trying to flick Angushaman Raj
over square leg, Nikhilesh Ranjan judging the catch to a nicety on the
30-yard circle. The Bihar bowlers also made Bengal's cause easier by
giving away 34 extras. Of these, 25 came from no balls and wide balls.
Full postPathak powers Andhra to victory over Goa
Goa's losing streak in the South Zone Ranji One-Dayers continued today at the CPT-India Pistons Ground against Andhra
Anand Vasu
09-Dec-2000
Goa's losing streak in the South Zone Ranji One-Dayers continued today at the
CPT-India Pistons Ground against Andhra. After winning the toss, Andhra skipper
Amit Pathak made a good 114 at the top of the innings and saw his team through
to a 48 run victory. Well supported by stumper Faiyaz Ahmed, the captain put on
116 runs for the second wicket. Ahmed made a brisk 63 (79 balls, 5 fours, 1 six)
while Pathak was the best among the batsmen with a sparkling 118 ball 114.
Pathak struck the ball to the fence 13 times in the course of his innings. With
the game being curtailed to 45 overs a side, 231/4 looked a good score.
Certainly, it was too good for Goa. RP Rane at number six made 52, but his was a
lone hand in a losing cause. No other batsmen crossed 35, and it was all but
curtains for the Goa side. The wickets were equally shared around, with all the
Andhra frontline bowlers picking up two wickets each. Goa could not last the
full quota of overs available to them and slumped to 183 all out in 43.3 overs.
Full postHimachal Pradesh coast to seven wicket win
Himachal Pradesh coasted to a seven wicket victory over Services in the North Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at New Delhi on Saturday
Partab Ramchand
09-Dec-2000
Himachal Pradesh coasted to a seven wicket victory over Services
in the North Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at New Delhi on
Saturday.
Put in to bat, Services were all out for 166 in 49 overs. Opener
MS Reddy top scored with 47. He faced 111 balls and hit two fours
and a six. Amit Sharma hastened the end of the innings and finished with
three for 34. Himachal, in reply were given a sound start by openers RK
Panta (65) and Rajiv Nayyar (51 not out) who put on
112 runs off 24 overs. Panta, easily the more aggressive of the
two, faced 80 balls and hit 12 fours and a six. Himachal lost
three wickets with the addition of only two runs falling to
114 for three. But Nayyar and Nischal Gaur (31 not out) steered Himachal to
victory with 9.5 overs to spare. Nayyar faced 112 balls
and hit two boundaries.
Full postJoshi, Bahutule share honours
Prashant Joshi and Sairaj Bahutule shared the honours on the second day of the West Zone Ranji Trophy league match between Mumbai and Saurashtra at Gandhidham on Saturday
Partab Ramchand
09-Dec-2000
Prashant Joshi and Sairaj Bahutule shared the honours on the second
day of the West Zone Ranji Trophy league match between Mumbai and
Saurashtra at Gandhidham on Saturday. While the Saurashtra opener
scored a patient 113, the Mumbai leg spinner finished with six wickets
for 104 runs from 50 overs.
Joshi, who had sustained the Saurashtra innings on the opening day
with an unbeaten 84 out of a total of 158 for three, was leg before to
Bahutule. He occupied the crease for 500 minutes, faced 391 balls and
hit 15 fours. He was fourth out at 233 in the 122nd over.
The other overnight batsman Birju Pathak scored 47 in a stay of four
hours. He faced 174 balls and hit four of them to the ropes. He was
also leg before to Bahutule. Valuable knocks by late order batsmen
Rakesh Dhuru (30), Niraj Odedara (23) and Kamal Chavada (26) pushed
the score along, which was also inflated by 47 extras. Saurashtra
ultimately totalled 354 which was compiled off 162.3 overs and after
eleven hours occupation of the crease.
Mumbai openers Vinayak Mane (14) and Wasim Jaffar (46) batted
confidently till stumps as the visitors were 63 for no loss off 16
overs. Jaffar, much the dominant partner, has so far faced 41 balls
and hit seven of them to the fence.
Full postTamil Nadu beat Hyderabad in last ball thriller
Tamil Nadu beat Hyderabad by three wickets in a last ball finish at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk to stay in contention for the P Subbiah Pillai Trophy
Anand Vasu
09-Dec-2000
Tamil Nadu beat Hyderabad by three wickets in a last ball finish at the MA
Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk to stay in contention for the P Subbiah Pillai
Trophy. It was a last ball boundary from R Sathish that took Tamil Nadu past the
target of 257 off 47 overs. A solid 70 in the top order from Sadagopan Ramesh
off just 82 balls set the tone for the Tamil Nadu run chase. JR Madanagopal's 65
at the top of the innings too did no harm to the Tamil Nadu cause. However, the
loss of wickets when the job was not yet done caused more than a few flutters. A
brisk 32 (34 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) from Robin Singh saw Tamil Nadu to 237 off
44.3 overs before the skipper fell.
Then the heroics started. R Sathish was certainly the star as he slammed 10 runs
off just 4 balls to see Tamil Nadu through. Needing one run to win off the last
ball of the reduced 47 overs, Satish struck the ball to the fence and settled
the matter. This win was a vital one for Tamil Nadu and put them level with
Karnataka and Hyderabad at the top of the points table with six points.
Earlier in the day, Hyderabad managed to post 256 off fifty overs thanks mainly
to an innings of 107 (132 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes) from Vanka Pratap. Tamil Nadu
on the other hand got to face only 47 overs, being docked three overs for a slow
over rate. Apart from Pratap, the rest of the batsmen chipped in with useful
scores, but no one got stuck in for a long essay. At the end of the day the
score of 256 ended up being attainable for the hosts.
Full postKale's unbeaten 158 gives Maharashtra the lead
Veteran Abhijit Kale hammered an unbeaten 158 as Maharashtra raced to a first innings lead over Baroda on the second day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the IPCL ground in Baroda on Saturday
Partab Ramchand
09-Dec-2000
Veteran Abhijit Kale hammered an unbeaten 158 as Maharashtra raced to a first
innings lead over Baroda on the second day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy
league match at the IPCL ground in Baroda on Saturday. Replying to Baroda's
first innings total of 273, Maharashtra were 320 for seven wickets at close.
Resuming at two for no loss, Maharashtra lost opener D Jadhav quickly and then
veteran opener Surender Bhave (19) left at 54. Kale, who entered at this stage,
and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (55) added 55 runs for the third wicket off 12.2
overs. Kanitkar faced just 62 balls, hitting ten of them to the ropes. Then in
the company of KD Aphale (23), Kale was concerned in a stand of 52 runs off 19.5
overs. Two more wickets fell fairly quickly and Maharashtra were 183 for six.
Then Kale and M Sane (45) pushed Maharashtra in front with a seventh wicket
partnership of 106 runs off 30.2 overs. By stumps, the 27-year-old Kale, had
batted a shade over five hours, faced 199 balls and hit 22 fours in his
aggressive knock. After reaching his 100 off 152 balls, Kale raced to 150 off
only another 43 balls. VN Buch finished the day with four for 76.
Full postSachin Rana's scores a breezy hundred
Vijay Merchant Trophy North Zone League Under-16 match between Haryana and Himachal Pradesh played at Luhnu Cricket Ground, Bilaspur, produced a draw on Saturday
Santhosh S
09-Dec-2000
Vijay Merchant Trophy North Zone League Under-16 match between Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh played at Luhnu Cricket Ground, Bilaspur, produced a draw
on Saturday. Himachal won the toss and elected to bat first. They made 307
in 104.3 overs with useful contributions from the middle order batsmen. P
Dhutwalia was the only one to cross the half century mark making 52. For
Haryana N Mehtani picked up 4/47 and S Rana 3/79. Haryana in their first
innings made 336 in 98 overs. Sachin Rana scored a breezy 104 which
included 12 boundaries. Upinder Saini 5/85 was the best of Himachal
bowlers. Himachal made 202/5 in their second innings as the match meandered
to a draw. Haryana took home five points and Himachal were to be happy with
three.
Full postIndia smashed out of game by Kiwis
New Zealand were left scratching their heads over the Indian attitude to their batting effort in their 74-run loss at the BIL Oval at Lincoln University today
Lynn McConnell
09-Dec-2000
New Zealand were left scratching their heads over the Indian attitude to their batting effort in their 74-run loss at the BIL Oval at Lincoln University today.
The Indians lost three early wickets for 37 runs in their bid to head New Zealand's 224/5, and while Smitha Harikrishna and Chandrakanta Kaul added 51 runs for the fourth wicket, once they were parted the fight went out of the Indians.
They then seemed to decide to give their lower-order batsmen some time in the middle against reasonable opposition, all of which took the interest out of the match.
As games go, it was shaping as a thriller for three-quarters of its duration, but then it fell completely flat.
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