Report
Kambli saves the day for Mumbai
A typically belligerent knock of 88 in as many balls from Vinod Kambli lifted Mumbai to a total of 247 on the first day of their Group A Super League clash against Delhi at the Ferozeshah Kotla today
24-Feb-2000
A typically belligerent knock of 88 in as many balls from Vinod Kambli
lifted Mumbai to a total of 247 on the first day of their Group A
Super League clash against Delhi at the Ferozeshah Kotla today. Mumbai
struck back to take three quick wickets as Delhi limped to 49/3 at
stumps.
After Mumbai won the toss and batted, openers Amol Rane and Amit
Pagnis added 47 in 18 overs before both perished in the space of three
balls. Jatin Paranjpe fell cheaply to give Amit Bhandari his second
wicket but Kambli and Amol Muzumdar launched a swift relief operation
with a 99 run stand in just 19 overs. But with the score at 154,
Ashish Nehra delivered a double blow. He first induced a tickle from
Muzumdar(36) to give wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya his third catch of the
innings following which Mumbai captain Samir Dighe walked in and out
for a three ball duck.
After Kambli and Sairaj Bahutule had put on 49 for the 6th wicket,
Virender Shewag ended Kambli's fireworks by trapping him leg
before. Kambli's innings was studded with 16 fours and took his Ranji
aggregate this season to 424 runs at 70.67. The Mumbai tail was
cleaned up before long with Bhandari's 3-69 being the best bowling
figures for Delhi.
The Delhi reply began calamitously as Abey Kuruvilla and Santosh
Saxena fired out three men with just 16 on the board. Saxena, who had
taken just four wickets in his four previous matches this season,
rattled the stumps of Devinder Sharma and Mithun Manhas (both for
ducks) in the space of three balls. Ashu Dani and Virender Shewag
carried the score to 49 without any further inroads.
Full postRicky plays the anchor role for Punjab
Punjab, bolstered by opener Ravneet Ricky who played an anchor role in scoring 83 not out, were 191 for four wickets from 90 overs at close of play on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Super League group B match at the PCA stadium in Mohali on
24-Feb-2000
Punjab, bolstered by opener Ravneet Ricky who played an anchor role
in scoring 83 not out, were 191 for four wickets from 90 overs at
close of play on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Super League
group B match at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Thursday.
Opting to bat, Punjab lost their first wicket when their captain
Vikram Rathour was out for 19 runs off 31 balls in the 11th over.
Ricky and Reetinder Sodhi (20 off 48 balls) added 41 runs for
the second wicket off 18.5 overs. After Sodhi fell at 73, Ricky
and veteran Pankaj Dharmani (21 off 54 balls) added 39 runs for
the third wicket off 16 overs. Ricky continued to hold the
innings together and in the company of Dinesh Mongia (19 off 68
balls) took the score to 155. Finally Ricky and Youraj Singh
(14 not out off 68 balls) added a further 36 runs for the
unbroken fifth wicket. By close Ricky had batted six hours. He
has so far faced 279 balls and hit nine boundaries.
Full postSS Das and Odedra share opening day's honours
Orissa made a confident start to their Group C Super League tie against hosts Saurashtra at the Municipal Stadium, Rajkot today as they piled up 330-8 in 90 overs
24-Feb-2000
Orissa made a confident start to their Group C Super League tie
against hosts Saurashtra at the Municipal Stadium, Rajkot today as
they piled up 330-8 in 90 overs. The individual honours were shared by
Orissa captain Shiv Sunder Das who scored a hundred and Saurashtra's N
Odedra who grabbed six wickets.
SS Das and his namesake P Das ran up an opening stand of 169 in 47.5
overs before the former departed soon after posting his century. His
101 came in 153 balls and included 17 fours. P Das followed at 193 for
a cautious 69 (184 balls, 9 fours). Rashmi Parida shored up the lower
half of the order with a brisk unbeaten 55 in 71 balls which included
nine boundary hits. He was assisted by wicketkeeper Y Mohanty (30) and
Sanjay Satpathy (27).
At close Debashish Mohanty was accompanying Parida at the
crease. Odedra, who picked up the first six wickets, finished with
figures of 6-109 from 31 overs.
Full postDespite Tendulkar's 97, South Africa claim first day's honours
South Africa can look back with satisfaction on the opening day of the first Test against India
Anand Vasu
24-Feb-2000
South Africa can look back with satisfaction on the opening day of the
first Test against India. At the Wankhede stadium on Thursday, they
dismissed the home team for 225 runs and replied with 27 for no loss
when stumps were drawn. Even this total was made possible only because
of a brilliant 97 by Sachin Tendulkar and a last wicket partnership of
52 runs between Ajit Agarkar and debutant Murali Kartik.
Tendulkar won the toss and India opened with VVS Laxman and another
debutant Wasim Jaffar. Allan Donald, getting good lift off the wicket
once again made it clear that he can be a handful on any
wicket. Although he did stray down the leg side initially, the batsmen
were forced to play at the ball, offering strokes and not making
contact on more than one occasion. Shaun Pollock however came close to
picking up the first wicket when Wasim Jaffer closed the face of his
bat too early on a full delivery. The ball flew off the outside edge
between first and second slip. Lance Klusener diving across to his
right got his hands to the ball but could not hold on to the catch.
The batsmen were being squared up time and time again by the
bowlers. Donald who had bowled well within himself in the match
against the Board President's XI generated express pace. His bouncers
virtually flew off the wicket, sending Jaffer scurrying for cover.
The first wicket fell in the fifth over, as a nervous Jaffer played
around an in coming delivery from Donald. The ball clipped the inside
edge before removing the bails. It was a disappointing debut for the
Mumbai lad as he managed just four runs.
Full postPakistan: Irfan, Akram bowl well
Islamabad, Feb 22: A century first-wicket stand between Test aspirants Wajahatullah Wasti and Mohammad Naveed Qureshi helped Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) XI reach a formidable 191 for three at stumps on the second day of the three-day match against
23-Feb-2000
Islamabad, Feb 22: A century first-wicket stand between Test aspirants
Wajahatullah Wasti and Mohammad Naveed Qureshi helped Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) XI reach a formidable 191 for three at stumps on the
second day of the three-day match against Sri Lanka at the KRL Stadium
on Tuesday.
Wajahat scored a cautious 85 and Naveed hit a punishing 62 to feature
in a 122-run stand after teenage pacer Irfan Fazil and Mohammad Akram
had dismissed the tourists for 278 shortly after lunch. Sri Lanka had
resumed at 162 for five this morning.
Irfan finished with impressive figures of five for 120 and Mohammad
Akram ended up with figures of four for 91. Wasti, dropped by Upul
Chandana at covers when 54, was out on the last ball of the day's
play. His 182-ball knock was studded with 12 boundaries and a six off
Ranga Herath.
Naveed Qureshi, who belted five boundaries in the first two overs by
Nuwan Zoysa and Ravindra Pushpakumara, was adjudged leg before off
Zoysa but not before he had struck 12 boundaries in his 119-ball
innings.
Full postMercy for England women as tour ends
Twelve games in 28 days in two countries for one win and eleven losses
Rick Eyre
23-Feb-2000
Twelve games in 28 days in two countries for one win and eleven losses. One
of the most unsuccessful overseas tours by an England cricket team came to a
merciful end in suitably gloomy conditions last night as New Zealand
defeated their English counterparts in the fifth womens one-day
international at McLean Park, Napier. England finished on the receiving end
of a 5-0 whitewash by the Kiwis, to follow Australia's 4-0 clean-sweep of
the series at the start of the month.
It was always going to be an awkward tour, coming as it did in the middle of
the northern winter with indoor facilities the only hope for practice since
the England season ended last September. But no one could have predicted
just how poorly this team performed at times against the world's number one
and two women's international sides.
They finished their tour yesterday with a sub-hundred total, just as they
ended their Australian leg with a sub-hundred total. At least this time it
was nothing approaching a 220-run loss, with runs hard to come by for both
sides in conditions affected by intermittent rain.
It was a tour which saw long-standing captain Karen Smithies, who led
England to World Cup victory in 1993, step down at the end of the Australian
leg in favour of her deputy Clare Connor. This, however, was a move rather
akin to taking a chair off the deck of the Titanic and shifting it to a
downstairs cabin. The boat still sank.
Full postDodgy half century by Jayasuriya against PCB XI
Islamabad, Feb 21: A dodgy half century by skipper Sanath Jayasuriya helped Sri Lanka recover from early setbacks against a spirited Pakistan Cricket Board XI on a rain-effected opening day of the three-day match at the KRL Stadium on Monday
22-Feb-2000
Islamabad, Feb 21: A dodgy half century by skipper Sanath Jayasuriya
helped Sri Lanka recover from early setbacks against a spirited
Pakistan Cricket Board XI on a rain-effected opening day of the
three-day match at the KRL Stadium on Monday.
Jayasuriya scored 60 as Sri Lanka reached 162 for five when bad light
forced an early closure with 12 overs still to be bowled.
Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga (19) and wicket-keeper Romesh
Kaluwitharana (8) will resume Sri Lanka's first innings on Tuesday
morning. The play will start 30 minutes early to recover some of the
lost time.
In the morning, the start of the proceedings were delayed by 155
minutes because of overnight rain. The play was halted again at 2:00pm
when Jayasuriya complained of a dangerous spot in the middle of the
pitch. An early tea was taken but 25 minutes were lost as the
groundsmen used heavy roller to dry the patch.
Full postWest Indies Domestic: Rose pulls Guyana up short
Kingston, Jamaica - Franklyn Rose grabbed six wickets and even though West Indian team-mate Shivnarine Chanderpaul cracked a hundred, Jamaica easily ecured first innings points over Guyana in their Busta Cup semifinal match yesterday
21-Feb-2000
Kingston, Jamaica - Franklyn Rose grabbed six wickets and even though
West Indian team-mate Shivnarine Chanderpaul cracked a hundred,
Jamaica easily ecured first innings points over Guyana in their Busta
Cup semifinal match yesterday.
Guyana, replying to Jamaica's first innings' 348, were dismissed for
242withcaptain Chanderpaul hitting a fine 112 - his 17th
first-class century.
Rose ended with six for 71 in 20 overs and now has 20 wickets in the
season.
West Indies fast bowler Reon King bowling with great hostility in an
11-over spell in late afternoon then grabbed two quick wickets
including first innings centurion Chris Gayle to leave at Jamaica 39
for two.
Full postMatch ends in a tame draw
The third day's play opened up with the faint glimmer of hope that a result would be possible
Anand Vasu
21-Feb-2000
The third day's play opened up with the faint glimmer of hope that a result would be possible. If Hansie Cronje and Pieter Strydom had a dash at the bowling, then a declaration might follow. Even if a result was not on the cards, Hayward and Donald steaming down the wicket would infuse some enthusiasm in the match. Murali Kartik, recently selected as part of the Test squad was introduced into the attack. In a concerted attempt to demoralise the young spinner, both Cronje and Strydom went after him from the first ball. Even Strydom who had not played the spinners with and degree of felicity came down the track and flat batted the ball straight back over Kartik's head for four.
Soon after Kartik was hammered, he was removed from the attack and the pacemen were brought back on. Cronje got to his fifty early on, but it was of little importance given the situation of the game. He attempted to pull a short ball from Mohanty and was deceived by the lack of bounce. The ball kept low and rapped him on the pads. The umpire had no hesitation in sending him on his way.
Lance Klusener who made a duck in the first innings did not look his usual self in the second essay even. After middling the all regularly and not finding the gaps, Klusener pulled a Bhandari short ball straight to Kaif at mid wicket.
Strydom continued to motor on and about half an hour before lunch brought up his fifty with a huge six over long on off Harbhajan Singh. His fifty came off 102 balls and included three boundaries in addition to the six that brought up the landmark. There was very little left to play for before lunch for the Indian Board President's XI and Amit Bhandari used the opportunity to test out the batsmen with some short pitched bowling. Strydom was well up to the task as he waited for the right ball and pulled it away powerfully.
Full postAnother Pollock to the fore
KINGSMEAD had another Pollock to honour last night, although it was not to the advantage of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins who were the victims of his flashing blade
Patrick Compton
21-Feb-2000
KINGSMEAD had another Pollock to honour last night, although it was not to
the advantage of the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins who were the victims of his
flashing blade.
The son of former South African great Graeme, Anthony Pollock of
unfashionable Easterns maintained his team's unbeaten record in the
Standard Bank Cup, and took them to the top of the log, when he clinched a
nail-biting three-wicket victory for his team with three balls to go.
With Easterns needing nine off the last over, chasing the Dolphins' total
of 229-7, Pollock effectively wrapped it up when he casually flicked the
first delivery from Keith Storey off his legs into the old West Stand. The
stroke also brought up his own half-century in 53 balls and match
adjudicator Denzil Bezuidenhout had no hesitation in making him man of the
match.
Pollock, at 26 the same age as his more eminent cousin Shaun, showed great
character under considerable pressure to take his team to victory. He may
be a more limited batsman than his dad, but his father's flowing cover
drives lived again in his son last night as the Dolphins fed his favourite
stroke.
Easterns had made an explosive, almost Sri Lankan start to their run chase
with opener Derek Brand playing the role of Jayasuriya with considerable
aplomb, smashing a brilliant half-century in 45 balls and severely
punishing Ross Veenstra, in particular, who eventually went for 61 in his
nine overs.
Full post