Report
Hyderabad restrict Baroda but concede lead
Hyderabad managed to restrict Baroda to a slender first innings lead of 12 runs and were 4 for no loss at stumps on the second day in their group B match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Monday
13-Mar-2000
Hyderabad managed to restrict Baroda to a slender first innings lead of
12 runs and were 4 for no loss at stumps on the second day in their
group B match at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on Monday.
Hyderabad still have two more days to pursue their objective of
an outright win to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.
Earlier, Baroda resumed at 2 for no loss, and soon were 70 for 5. HR
Jadhav (84 runs of 224 balls in 315 minutes), who came in at the fall
of the first wicket, played the sheet-anchor role for Baroda with
three valuble partnerships. Jadhav was initially helped by NR Mongia
(21 runs of 44 balls), in a sixth wicket partnership worth 41 runs in
12.5 overs. Then Jadhav was joined by AP Bhoite (42 runs of 85 balls)
and the two put on 65 runs in 25.3 overs for the seventh wicket.
Later, RB Patel and Jadhav helped Baroda to their first innings lead
with a eight wicket partnership of 32 runs in 11 overs. When Jadhav
was the ninth batsman out at the score of 211, he had made sure that
Baroda gained the vital 5 points from their slender first innings
lead.
For Hyderabad, Z Singh and Raju were the most successful bowlers with 3
for 54 and 56 respectively, while Satwalkar and Kanwaljit Singh picked
up two wickets apiece.
Full postChatterjee spins Bengal to position of strength against Mumbai
Mumbai won the toss as visitors at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta and did themselves no good over the first day against Bengal
13-Mar-2000
Mumbai won the toss as visitors at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta and
did themselves no good over the first day against Bengal. A Mumbai
batting lineup that looks very strong on paper folded up against the
wiles of experienced campaigner Utpal Chatterjee. The left arm spinner
picked 4/48 and sent Mumbai reeling to 182 all out on the first day.
Recently picked to play Test cricket for India, Wasim Jaffer opened
the batting for Mumbai with Amit Pagnis. The two have opened in each
others' company in various grades of cricket and are reputed to have a
good understanding. However, whatever understanding they might or
might not have was of no consequence as Jaffer was dismissed by Shukla
before he reached double digits.
Pagnis made 43, which itself was hardly a score worthy of mention.
However, the fact that it was the top score by a Mumbai cricketer on
the day speaks volumes. Three batsmen with big reputations - Jatin
Paranjpe, Amol Muzumdar and Vinod Kambli all failed to impress,
managing just 63 runs between them.
At 98/4 there was not much Mumbai could hope for from the day. Matters
were made worse by the dismissals of both wicketkeeper Amol Rane and
Ramesh Powar for ducks.
Full postSriram makes merry at UP's expense
Having already qualified for the knock out phase, Tamil Nadu could afford to go all out to press home their advantage against Uttar Pradesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur
13-Mar-2000
Having already qualified for the knock out phase, Tamil Nadu could
afford to go all out to press home their advantage against Uttar
Pradesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. The presence of Test cap
Sadagoppan Ramesh at the head of the order helped bolster a batting
line up that was in good nick as it is.
Opening the bowling for Uttar Pradesh, Ashish Winston Zaidi struck
early, getting rid of Ramesh after the south paw managed just six
runs. However, that was all the joy Uttar Pradesh were entitle to as
Sridharan Sriram stole the limelight with a scintillating unbeaten
hundred. Well supported by hard hitting youngster Hemang K Badani,
Sriram notched up milestone after milestone in the course of the
day. Reaching his fifty off a sedate 121 balls, Sriram then increased
the tempo, requiring only an additional 61 balls to reach the three
figure mark. Sharing a 109 run partnership with Badani, Sriram took
Tamil Nadu to a position of real strength.
When Badani (62) was stumped by Manoj Mudgal off the bowling of Raza
Uttar Pradesh might have thought they finally got the breakthrough
that would help them restrict the rampaging Tamil Nadu side. No such
luck. JR Madanagopal walked out to the middle and joined the
unstoppable Sriram. Helping himself to an unbeaten 80 that included
five boundaries and two sixes, Madanagopal saw Sriram through to
152. With Sriram unbeaten on 152, stumps were called. At 311 for 2, it
would be safe to say that Tamil Nadu are firmly in the driving seat at
the end of the first day.
Full postAshish Chopra's century bolsters Delhi
At the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, hosts Karnataka would have hoped to restrict the touring Delhi side on the first day
13-Mar-2000
At the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, hosts Karnataka would have
hoped to restrict the touring Delhi side on the first day. Delhi on
the other hand would have been looking to go through the day with some
steady batting after they lost the toss and were put in to bat. As it
were, neither team could fully accomplish their goal.
Ashish Chopra at the top of the order showed the way with some solid
batting. Defying the Karnataka spinners and mediumpacers alike, Chopra
compiled a good hundred. His knock was not one of flambouyant stroke
making, but rather one of patience and stability. At the other end, he
lost his opening partner Ashu Dani (19) pretty early on, but was
undeterred. In the company of Gautam Gambhir, Chopra rotated the
strike well and pushed the visitors' score on to 172 before Gambhir
was run out by Vijay. Gambhir's entertaining knock of 73 off just 116
balls included 9 boundaries.
Gambhir's role as support for Chopra was then ably filled by Virendra
Sehwag who has been on the fringe of national reckoning in the recent
past. Unlucky to be dismissed just one run short of a fifty, Sehwag
wasted no time while he was at the crease. His almost run a ball
innings included 7 fours before he became Vadiaraj's second scalp. By
this time, Chopra was motoring confidently on and Delhi were in a
position of reasonable safety.
Akash Malhotra (1) was the only Delhi man who did not get going. When
Chopra (101) fell soon after he reached his century, Mithun Minhas (39
not out) and wicket keeper captain Vijay Dahiya (10 not out) were at
the crease. Delhi were 308/5. With only 8 points so far, Delhi will
be keen to get a positive result from this game and pip Karnataka (11
points) to the post.
Full postPunjab in trouble despite Ricky's 97
After winning the toss and electing to bat first at the Karnail Singh stadium in Delhi, Punjab were in some manner of strife at the end of the day against Railways
13-Mar-2000
After winning the toss and electing to bat first at the Karnail Singh
stadium in Delhi, Punjab were in some manner of strife at the end of
the day against Railways.
Captain Vikram Rathour was the first to go after the scored just 3
runs. Caught by Goud off the bowling of opening bowler Rawat, Rathour
gave way to young sensation Yuvraj Singh. Coming off a successful
tournament in Sri Lanka, Yuvraj joined another youngster who is making
waves in Indian cricket - Ravneet Ricky.
Between them the two youngsters put together what was to be the only
useful partnership of the day. Ricky batted slowly, not hurrying
himself in any manner. At the other end, Yuvraj, a natural stroke
maker went about things in a much quicker manner. As is often the
case, the faster scoring batsman perished first. Yuvraj was dismissed
soon after he made his fifty, being cleaned bowled by Devendra Singh
when he was 54.
After that, it was very much a one-man show as Ricky attempted to
bring some semblence of decency to the Punjab innings. Pankaj Dharmani
made a first ball duck and the rest of the Punjab batsmen did not show
much initiative. Dinesh Mongia and (31) and wicketkeeper Jagnu (30)
got starts but could not go on top play innings of substance. When
Ricky was dismissed just three runs short of what would have been a
well deserved century, Punjab were in trouble at 216/6.
Full postOrissa bundle out Haryana but lose quick wickets in response
Haryana with just 3 points have no chance of qualifying for the knock out phase
13-Mar-2000
Haryana with just 3 points have no chance of qualifying for the knock
out phase. Perhaps this explained their lacklustre batting effort
against Orissa at Cuttack. What would have hurt more is the fact that
Haryana won the toss and elected to bat.
A combination of some effective bowling by leg spinner Jagannath Das
and a couple of run outs at the top of the innings stunned the Haryana
innings. Only Padamjeet Singh (51) and Parender Sharma (40) were up to
the task. The rest of the batting did not make scores worthy of
mention. Being knocked out for just 206, Das was easily the pick of
the bowlers with 4/62 off his 19.5 overs.
However, the drama was not over just then. After bowling Haryana out
for a small score, it would have taken only a steady batting
performance on Orissa's part to put them in command on the first
day. However, they failed to do just that.
Orissa were required to play out just eight overs, and in that short
period they suffered three causalities. Captain Shiv Sunder Das who
has had a good season with the bat succumbed to Jain after he had made
just 4 runs. P Das failed before he reached double figures and Orissa
were in serious trouble at 12 for 2. In an attempt to stem the rot,
Debashish Mohanty was sent as a nightwatchman. After surviving 15
balls without scoring, Mohanty was trapped LBW by Sonu Sharma adding
to Orissa's woes. At the close of play Orissa were 17/3, not a
position they would have envisaged after bowling the opposition out
for 206.
Full postShahid Afridi, Inzamam save Pakistan's blushes
Karachi, March 12: Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq and a gutsy rearguard action saved Pakistan's blushes on the opening day of the third and final cricket Test against Sir Lanka at the National Stadium here on Sunday
Samiul Hasan
13-Mar-2000
Karachi, March 12: Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq and a gutsy rearguard
action saved Pakistan's blushes on the opening day of the third and
final cricket Test against Sir Lanka at the National Stadium here on
Sunday.
Shahid stroked a punishing 74 with 13 boundaries and a six, Inzamam
hit a painstaking 86 with 10 hits to the fence and featured in
invaluable partnerships with Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar worth 83
runs to help Pakistan managed a respectable 256 before being dismissed
just before stumps.
Sri Lankan openers, skipper Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu,
safely negotiated two remaining overs of the day to finish on 10 for
no loss.
Pakistan's brittle middle-order once again remained clueless against
the magician spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who defied a green top pitch
to finish with figures of four for 89. He now has raised his tally of
wickets to 22 in the series as compared to 18 he had taken in 1995-96.
Full postCinderella province of Manicaland earn victory
The anticipated exciting finish to the Logan Cup match between Manicaland and Matabeleland duly materialised, with the final result in doubt until the last few minutes of the match
John Ward
12-Mar-2000
The anticipated exciting finish to the Logan Cup match between
Manicaland and Matabeleland duly materialised, with the final
result in doubt until the last few minutes of the match. When
the end came, it came quickly, with a few lusty blows eventually
giving the Cinderella province of Manicaland a well-deserved
victory by four wickets.
The third morning dawned comparatively clear, but there had been
heavy rain during the night which delayed the start of play for
30 minutes while the outfield dried. Manicaland were 117 for
three overnight, their last seven wickets needing another 93 to
win the match, no easy task the way the match had gone on the
first two days. They soon lost their night-watchman Terry
Denyer, who had not scored when, failing to get quite in line to
a delivery from Matthew Townshend, he was bowled, the ball just
flicking the bottom of the off stump enough to remove the bails
on its way through to the keeper.
He was replaced by Steve Lawson, who played one or two unorthodox
strokes but concentrated well. Overnight batsman Patrick Gada
hung in with great determination and showed more confidence in
attacking the bad ball. When spinners Ian Engelbrecht and
Stephen Brown came on the pressure increased on the batsmen, but
they handled it well until Lawson, who batted patiently for a
long time, decided to try to get on top of them. There was no
real need to do so, as the fifty stand had been passed and
victory was in sight at 180 for four. He swung once too often
at the off-spin of Brown and lofted a catch to Wisdom Siziba near
the leg boundary. He scored 24.
Three runs later, on the stroke of lunch, Gada (44) fell after an
admirable innings. Padding up to Engelbrecht, he was given out
lbw when well forward, a delayed decision in answer to a far from
unanimous appeal. He had shown great determination and
concentration, although beaten at times and having a lucky escape
on 31 when he skyed a ball into a gap in the cover field. As the
players trooped in, Manicaland were 183 for six and the match was
in the balance once again.
Full postRidgway's farewell as Tasmania and Victoria draw
On an increasingly benign wicket, Victoria settled for batting practice today as their match in the Apple Isle petered out to a draw, with the Vics 331 ahead with five wickets in hand when stumps were called
Lawrie Colliver
12-Mar-2000
On an increasingly benign wicket, Victoria settled for batting practice today as their match in the Apple Isle
petered out to a draw, with the Vics 331 ahead with five wickets in hand when stumps were called.
Victoria were never in any threat of outright defeat today as they lost only three of their batsmen today,
with Tasmania's bowlers unable to gain any success in the opening session and thus unable to apply
any pressure on their northern neighbours.
Mark Ridgway took his last first class wicket in the fifth over after lunch trapping left handed Matthew Mott
in front for 86 after over four hours resistance.
An hour later, Laurie Harper after a brisk 40, was bowled by a ball from Andrew Downton.
Full postQueensland prepare for final with win over Redbacks
Queensland will go into Friday's Interstate Cup Final against Victoria raring to go following their 56 run victory at Allan Border Field over South Australia
Lawrie Colliver
12-Mar-2000
Queensland will go into Friday's Interstate Cup Final against Victoria raring to go following their
56 run victory at Allan Border Field over South Australia.
In what was effectively a three day match, both sides whould be congratulated for gaining a result, but
I suppose Darren Lehmann should receive the majority of the plaudits for declaring 115 runs behind on
the first innings yesterday. The gesture opened up a game and also gave his team a chance of winning
a match that could well have petered out to a draw.
The South Australians had their chances to win as well
after they were set 274 to win in two sessions, when they reached 3/151 with still enough time remaining
to force a win. At that moment, innings backbone
Shane Deitz edged Matthew Anderson through to the keeper after making 85 and from there the Southerners
subsided to lose in all 7/66 to be out for 217. Andy Bichel did the early damage getting mainstays David
Fitzgerald (3) and Darren Lehmann (13) to complete the match with six wickets and Anderson's other two
victims were Jeff Vaughan (56) and Bradley Young (23) as he finished with 3/79 from twenty overs.
Earlier in the day, Jimmy Maher found form to make an unbeaten century and set the eventual target of 274
as Queensland declared at lunch. However at the start a couple of run outs and two wickets to Paul Wilson (2/16)
had Queensland at 5/69 in strife in the first session. Wade Seccombe joined the little leftie and alleviated
the situation with an unbeaten 30, in an unbroken stand of 89 in 70 minutes.
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