It was easier than expected as Tamil Nadu wrapped up their Group C encounter against Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy Super League at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Monday by an innings and 26 runs with more than a day to spare

07-Feb-2000

Even though Tamil Nadu were in a position of some strength at stumps on the second day, few would have thought that the match would be over on the third day itself. But the hosts' dominance was complete. It started with Saurashtra, 189 for five overnight in reply to Tamil Nadu's first innings total of 471, being all out for 217. Saurashtra, at 204 for five seemed well set to make a fitting reply. But the last five wickets fell for the addition of only 13 runs in 6.2 overs. Hitesh Parsana held firm and remained unbeaten with 54 at the end of the innings. He faced 94 balls and hit nine fours and a six. But the tail was simply swept aside by J Gokulakrishna. The medium pacer took the last four wickets off 14 balls to finish with five for 42. Sadagopan Mahesh took three for 57.

Following on 254 runs behind, Saurashtra fared only a little better in their second innings. Mahesh took two quick wickets as Saurashtra were 20 for two. Then opener Vasanth Kumar (28) and PJ Bhatt (88) added 68 runs for the third wicket off 19.5 overs. Then off spinner Aashish Kapoor got among the wickets as Saurashtra slid to 113 for five. But Bhatt and Parsana (36) added 66 runs for the sixth wicket off just 7.4 overs before the latter was out. Bhatt was ninth out for a gallant 88. He faced 137 balls and hit 15 fours. The inevitable defeat was delayed for some time with the last two batsmen Narendrasinh Rana (37) and Rajesh Garsondia (4 not out) adding 33 runs off four overs. Rana slammed two fours and four sixes in his 29 ball knock. Kapoor, despite being expensive, picked up five wickets for 85 runs from 17 overs while Mahesh finished with four for 61. Saurashtra were all out for 228, giving Tamil Nadu eight points.

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Mumbai thrash Karnataka by an innings

It is not very often that the reigning champions lose a match by an innings and 74 runs with more than a day to spare

07-Feb-2000

It is not very often that the reigning champions lose a match by an innings and 74 runs with more than a day to spare. But that was the ignominous defeat that Karnataka suffered at the hands of Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday.

Mumbai, oft crowned champions in the National competition, had dominated from the first day itself but hardly anyone would have expected Karnataka to cave in so meekly. If they were outplayed over the first two days, little went right for the home team on the third day. In the morning Jatin Paranjpe, 93 overnight, reached his century and was then out for 107. He faced 189 balls and hit 15 fours. The last two batsmen Nilesh Kulkarni (19) and Abhey Kuruvilla however added 55 runs off 13.2 overs to take Mumbai's total to 391 and swell their lead to 182. Kuruvilla was very much the dominant partner and hit four fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 37 for which he faced 48 balls. Sunil Joshi who took the last wicket finished with a haul of five for 126.

Karnataka's second innings was a disaster from start to finish. Kuruvilla, in his first over, sent back the consistent Arun Kumar and that was virtually the beginning of the end. Only two batsmen, opener Mithun Beerala (34) and Dodda Ganesh (26) reached double digits as Kannan (2 for 34) and Kuruvilla (5 for 32) ripped through the batting. Joshi, who was hurt, did not bat and the best stand was the 35 runs that Ganesh and Mansur Ali Khan (9 not out) put on for the ninth (last) wicket. Thanks to this association, Karnataka were able to top the three figure mark and ultimately totalled 108. It was a most impressive start by Mumbai who picked up eight points.

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Minhas' century helps Delhi to imposing total

Rajasthan, with a score of 134 for one, had made a fitting reply to Delhi's 453 for nine declared at stumps on the third day of their Group A Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Ferozshah Kotla grounds in New Delhi on Monday

07-Feb-2000

Mithun Minhas' splendid unbeaten 102 helped Delhi, who were 279 for five overnight, reach their imposing total. Minhas, who resumed at 16, batted 225 minutes, faced 149 balls and hit eleven fours and a six. Vijay Dahiya (26) helped him add 65 runs for the sixth wicket off 21 overs and then the tailenders Amit Bhandari (28) and S Gill (20) supported Minhas in partnerships of 58 for the eighth wicket off 11.2 overs and 46 for the ninth wicket off 7.5 overs respectively.

When Rajasthan batted, openers Gagan Khoda (73) and Anshu Jain (56 not out) put on 131 runs. Khoda was out shortly before close after facing 112 balls and hitting 10 fours. Jain by close had faced 120 balls and hit six fours.

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Ricky's century puts pressure on Hyderabad

Opening batsman Ravneet Ricky, fresh from his exploits for the victorious Indian Under-19 team in Sri Lanka, hit a splendid 134 as Punjab piled on the pressure for Hyderabad at the end of the third day's play in their Group B Ranji Trophy Super

07-Feb-2000

Punjab were already in command at stumps on the second day with a first innings lead of ten runs with eight wickets still in hand. They consolidated their position on Monday, taking their score to 363 for eight before declaring. Hyderabad, 246 runs in arrears, were 15 for no loss at stumps.

Ricky, 50 overnight and Pankaj Dharmani (46) added 90 runs for the third wicket off 34 overs. Then Narendra Pal Singh caused a middle order collapse and at 156 for five, Punjab had lost some ground.

However Ricky continued to bat confidently and first with Harminder Jagnu (32) and then with Sandeep Sharma (68 not out) put Punjab back in command. He and Jagnu added 57 runs for the sixth wicket off 23.1 overs. This was followed by a seventh wicket stand of 99 runs off 31.3 overs between Ricky and Sharma. Ricky was finally out for 134, bowled by Azharuddin. He batted 449 minutes, faced 342 balls and hit 15 fours. At the declaration, Sharma had faced 116 balls and had hit five of them to the ropes. NP Singh finished with five for 69.

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Jasvir, Sriwastava, share honours

Put in to bat, Haryana were 189 for six off 67 overs at stumps on the third day of their Group C Ranji Trophy Super League match against Uttar Pradesh at the Vishwarkarma college stadium in Rohtak on Monday

07-Feb-2000

Play was washed out on the first two days and the match finally commenced after lunch on the third day. Opening bowler Shallabh Sriwatsava, fresh from his exploits with the victorious Indian Under-19 team in Sri Lanka quickly dismissed Jitender Singh (5) but skipper Parinder Sharma (30) and Jasvir Singh (94) added 70 runs for the second wicket off 22.5 overs. Then Sriwastawa took three more wickets to cause a sharp middle order collapse and Haryana slid to 118 for five. Their fortunes were revived with Jasvir and wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra adding 64 runs off 18.4 overs for the sixth wicket. Jasvir was out just before close for a fighting 94. He batted almost four hours, faced 182 balls and hit 14 fours. But he had to share the day's honours with Sriwastava who took four wickets for 76 runs off 26 overs.

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West Indies Domestic: Wallace hangs tough

Port-of-Spain - With the tremendous resolve of a man on a mission, Philo Wallace compiled a century of immense quality here yesterday

06-Feb-2000

Port-of-Spain - With the tremendous resolve of a man on a mission, Philo Wallace compiled a century of immense quality here yesterday.

But the gutsy revival Barbados staged for four resilient hours against Trinidad and Tobago, was ruined in the space of eight disastrous minutes towards the end of the day.

The end result was that Barbados, having erased a first innings deficit of 87, were back in perilous waters, leading by 129 with four second innings wickets in hand ahead of the final day of this final preliminary match.

They could have had another three had it not been for the drama in the last five overs.

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Leewards come up short again!

The Leeward Islands are once again scrapping the bottom of the barrel after a keenly contested match Busta Cup match this past weekend at the Antigua Recreation Ground

Zach Kenworthy, The Anguillian

06-Feb-2000

The Leeward Islands are once again scrapping the bottom of the barrel after a keenly contested match Busta Cup match this past weekend at the Antigua Recreation Ground. In an attempt to stir up some motivation within the team, the selectors made a few changes that proved to be of no use. Stuart Williams, due to injury, and Colin Cannonier, due to personal circumstances, were replaced by Anguillian Alex Adams and Antiguan Wilden Cornwall. Ricky Christopher also made his debut after the in form Carl Tuckett fell sick with fish poisoning.

Upon winning the toss, Guyanese captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul asked the Leewards to bat on a pitch that looked as if it would help the pacers early. This proved to be a wise decision as the first three wickets fell for just 54 runs. Adams (14) and Cornwall (22) were both impatient and were caught off the bowling of Reon King. Wickets fell at regular intervals as both King (4 for 40) and Mahendra Nagamootoo (4 for 51) bowled with venom and rip. Only a 64 run partnership between skipper Ridley Jacobs (60) and Warrington Phillip (33) added some respectability to the Leeward,s scorecard of 221 all out.

In Reply the Guyanese started badly. Nicholas DeGroot was struck by Ambrose and it was confirmed overnight that his hand was broken and his fellow opener Azemul Haniff was dismissed for just 4. Quite similarly to the Leeward's first innings wickets fell regularly. Only Keith Semple (51) and captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul (83) managed substantial scores. Semple batted with grit and determination and Chanderpaul looked like he was regaining form as he grew in confidence with every shot he played. Despite his class display, Chanderpaul,s men were dismissed well short of the Leeward,s first innings total for just 204. Christopher took 4 for 47 on his debut and was ably supported by fellow pacer Kerry Jeremy who claimed 3 scalps.

In an attempt to build on their first innings lead, the Leeward Islanders lost their footing and crashed to 136 all out. It was another poor batting display by some talented men. The only partnership of any merit was between openers Adams (34) and Cornwall (21) who were both dropped early. Adams, however, was questionably adjudged lbw by umpire Eddie Nicholls and looked somewhat dejected as he trailed back to the pavillion. King (3 for 43) once again bowled well and Nagamootoo took his match tally to 8 wickets as he claimed 4 for 45.

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Tamil Nadu hold advantage

Tamil Nadu held a distinct advantage at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match against Saurashtra at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Sunday

06-Feb-2000

Tamil Nadu held a distinct advantage at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match against Saurashtra at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Sunday. Replying to the home team's imposing first innings total of 471, the visitors were a very shaky 189 for five at close of play.

In fact, Saurashtra reached this score only because of two notable partnerships. After openers Vasanth Kumar and AA Merchant were out with only 16 runs on the board, Saurashtra recovered, thanks to a third wicket stand of 92 runs off 20 overs between skipper Sitanshu Kotak (35) and PJ Bhatt (61). While Kotak faced 68 balls and sent four of them to the ropes, Bhatt faced 85 balls and had eight boundary hits.

Just when Saurashtra seemed to be making a fitting reply to Tamil Nadu's first innings total, medium pacer S Mahesh struck twice, having Kotak caught behind the wickets by Reuben Paul and bowling BM Jadeja in quick succession. And when off spinner Aashish Kapoor bowled Bhatt, Saurashtra were in dire straits at 122 for five.

However FU Bambhani and HJ Parsana then came together for the second notable stand of the innings and by close had added 67 runs off 18.4 overs during an unbroken sixth wicket partnership. Parsana was the more aggressive of the two and by close had faced 53 balls and hit six fours and a six in his 39, while the more obdurate Bambhani had faced 64 balls and had hit two fours in his 23.

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Mumbai take firm grip

06-Feb-2000

Adopting a methodical approach, Mumbai had taken a firm grip on their Ranji Trophy Super League match against reigning champions Karnataka by stumps on the second day at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday. Replying to Karnataka's first innings score of 209, Mumbai replied with 322 for eight wickets at close.

Having obtained an advantage on the opening day by dismissing Karnataka for a modest total, Mumbai consolidated, thanks to invaluable contributions from their first three batsmen, Wasim Jaffer, Amit Pagnis and Jatin Paranjpe, and Mumbai received a bonus when No 8 batsman RV Pawar hit a bright 45.

Jaffer and Pagnis countered the varied Karnataka attack of medium pacers Dodda Ganesh and Mansoor Ali Khan and spinners Sunil Joshi and Yalvigi with some fine batting. The openers put on 125 runs off 40.2 overs before Jaffer, the more aggressive of the two was out for 72. He faced 125 balls and hit ten of them the ropes.

Joshi then brought Karnataka back into the game when in successive overs, he dismissed Pagnis (54 off 135 balls with seven fours) and Amol Muzumdar (0). Vinod Kambli, in buoyant mood, hit a breezy 22 off 20 balls with one four and two sixes. Joshi then dismissed skipper Sameer Dighe (11) and Amit Dani (4) in successive overs and Karnataka had recovered some ground by reducing Mumbai, after their great start, to 214 for six.