The West Indies pulled themselves from the jaws of defeat to effect a tremendous 60 run victory in the 2nd of the three oneday finals at the Queens Park Oval on Saturday

Colin Croft

22-Apr-2000

The West Indies pulled themselves from the jaws of defeat to effect a tremendous 60 run victory in the 2nd of the three oneday finals at the Queens Park Oval on Saturday. The series is now tied at 1 game each.

Batting first after winning the toss, the West Indies struggled to 208-8 in their 50 overs, thanks mainly to opener Sherwin Campbell, the eventual "Man of the Match" winner, who made a well organized 77, with additional useful scores of 24 by Wavell Hinds and 33 from Chris Gayle.

When Pakistan batted, they started brilliantly, and with only 18 overs gone, they were well on their way at 72 for 1.

Then fast bowlers Nixon McLean and Reon King destroyed the visitors' middle order with four wickets in very quick succession, and Pakistan deteriorated badly to be 98-5. Chris Gayle and Jimmy Adams, the West Indies spinners, then completed the coup-de-grace and complete the turn-around for the West Indies.

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BCCSL XI fight back on day two as games drifts towards a draw

While this game looks to be destined for a draw, after a fine fight-back with both bat and ball by the BCCSL XI at Saravanamuttu Stadium today, the players of both sides cannot be faulted for the way they have approached this match

21-Apr-2000

After the heroics of Mark Vermeulen yesterday it was the turn of Avishaka Gunawardena (72) and Chamara Silva (100* ) to entertain us today. Avishka Gunawardena was particularly compelling to watch, perhaps less so for the Zimbabweans. After Zimbabwe was bowled out for on the stroke of lunch for a creditable 344, Avishka launched into the Southern African openers with a typically audacious innings of 72 from just 73 balls. Later on the test hopeful, Chamara Silva consolidated the Sri Lankan innings with a fine century leading his side the relative safety of 283 at the close, a deficit of 61.

Once again the first hour of play was dominated by the seam bowlers as the new ball taken in the very first over. The BCCSL captain opted for his two U19 openers first up and was rewarded when the persevering Weereratne had Greg lamb (31) caught by Bandarathililake. Both Lamb and Daniel Peacock (18) had adopted an understandably more defensive approach in the opening overs, as the ball once again moved appreciably and occasionally bounced steeply, especially from the Press Box End.

However when Daniel Peacock was run-out by a direct hit from Puspakumara, in the very same over that Lamb had been dismissed, the Zimbabwean batsmen reverted to the positive approach that had served Vermeulen so well yesterday. Donald Campbell (29) and Gus Mackay (26) both tried to get after the bowlers. Gus Mackay looked particularly dangerous as he swung his heavy bat successfully, twice lifting the ball over the boundary for six. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe he couldn't resist launching Pushpakumara for another six and was stumped by the impressive Prasanna Jayawardena.

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Zimbabwe 'A' in Sri Lanka: Rain hit match ends in tame draw

Mother nature served us a gentle reminder at P

Charlie Austin

21-Apr-2000

Mother nature served us a gentle reminder at P. Sara Stadium in Colombo today - the wet season is coming to Sri Lanka and this series is likely to suffer. Critics will question the wisdom of holding the series during this traditionally wet period, realists will understand that international calendar is based on money and power, not meteorological patterns.

On a day that started late due to a monsoonal downpour in the morning and ended early when heavy rains and dark clouds enveloped the ground in the afternoon, Zimbabwe progressed to 105 for 4 in their second innings, after the BCCSL XI had declared on their overnight score of 284-7.

Despite a lead of 61 runs when they started, the Zimbabwean's were just starting to struggle against this strong BCCSL XI, when the rains came down. The Sri Lankan spinners could well have had the visitors six down if it were not for some unusually poor fielding. Two relatively simple catches were dropped, one off Gavin Rennie (48*) when he had made 42, and one off Daniel Peacock (4*) just before nature's intervention.

Nevertheless Zimbabwe didn't lose the match. Competitive throughout the match, they would have surprised many people in Sri Lanka by the positive manner in which they approached the game. They batted extremely well in the first innings and the spinners bowled creditably yesterday. Considering that the majority of the squad has little experience of sub-continental conditions, The Management will have been satisfied with the team's performance.

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Hyderabad looking down the barrel

The third day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede stadium ended in much the similar fashion as the second

Anand Vasu

21-Apr-2000

The third day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede stadium ended in much the similar fashion as the second. Just overs before the scheduled close of play the batting side was bowled out. However, that's where the similarity ends. Hyderabad were in deep trouble yesterday and were bowled out for just 195. Mumbai on the other hand used the batting conditions superbly.

Sameer Dighe and Wasim Jaffer both got starts but could not go on. Dighe in particular was aggressive from the word go. Though he has never looked extra special, Dighe has made his share of half centuries this season. Alongside him, recent Test cap Wasim Jaffer batted solidly. He took very few chances and helped himself to a half century before he was snared by veteran spinner Kanwaljit Singh.

The wily old fox of Hyderabad cricket had his second scalp when an appeal for LBW was upheld against Sameer Dighe. Dighe had made 46.

The pattern of getting starts and not being able to cash in continued as Jatin Paranjpe made a confident 42 before he fell to the other ace spinner in the side Venkatapathy Raju. But with the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar at the crease the complexion of the game changed completely. Cutting and pulling with gay abandon, Tendulkar was in majestic touch. In the company of first innings centurion Vinod Kambli, Tendulkar decimated the Hyderabad bowling. If he had batted Mumbai to a win against Tamil Nadu in the semifinals, he blasted Mumbai to a winning platform today. His innings of 128 came quicker than a run a ball and included three majestic sixes in addition to 13 boundaries.

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Disciplined bowling helps Pakistan take 1-0 lead

Bridgetown (Barbados), April 20: Pakistan struck a timely blow when they defeated the West Indies by 17 runs in the first final of the triangular one-day series here on Wednesday (partly reported in Thursday's edition)

Qamar Ahmed

21-Apr-2000

The victory would surely serve as a morale-booster for the remaining one-day matches that would be followed up by a three-Test series starting at Guyana from May 5.

The win, if not sensational, was dramatic to say the least as West Indies struggled against some fine bowling by Pakistan bowlers who at no time allowed the home team batsmen to take liberty against them while defending a rather small total of 197.

During the course, the Pakistan bowlers occasionally faltered in line and length but generally it was an overall spirited display that saw then bundle out the West Indies for 180 in 49.3 overs.

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UP women maintain unbeaten record

Uttar Pradesh's women cricketers maintained their unbeaten record in Sri Lanka with an exciting five run victory over a Young Women's XI at the Colts Club in Colombo on Thursday

Charlie Austin

21-Apr-2000

Uttar Pradesh's women cricketers maintained their unbeaten record in Sri Lanka with an exciting five run victory over a Young Women's XI at the Colts Club in Colombo on Thursday.

In scorching heat, the Young Women XI made the surprise decision to field first after winning the toss. They may well have thought that they had made the correct decision at the half way stage, after bowling out UP for just 116. However the tourists had defended a low total on Tuesday and they repeated the trick again, by bowling out their opponents for just 111 in 45 overs.

Having been put into bat, the mainstays of the Uttar Pradesh innings were the opener, Priyanka Shally, with a breezy 22 off 34 balls (She was the top scorer in the last match with a fine 34), and Rahul Singh with a not out 26. Apart from these contributions none of the batsmen got to grips with the bowling and wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the innings. Wasanthi and Janakanthi were the pick of the bowlers for the Sri Lankans, both picking up three wickets.

In reply, the Sri lankan openers made a positive reply, putting on 26 for the first wicket. When the second wicket partnership took the score to 48, the visitors must have feared the worst. However this UP side appears to never give up. Once again it was the mid-innings bowlers that did the damage, Rahul Singh following her fine batting with a match winning 4-24 off her allotted 10 overs.

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Pakistan gain upper hand

Zach Kenworthy

21-Apr-2000

The West Indies cricket team lost for the first time in six matches this past Wednesday when they were defeated in the first of three Cable and Wireless one-day finals against Pakistan at Kensington Oval in Barbados. West Indies captain, Jimmy Adams lost the toss and was asked to bowl for the first time in the one-day series. Pakistan scored steadily but lost two early wickets in Shahid Afridi (17) and Imran Nazir (12), but as Younis Khan (23) was joined by Inzamam-ul-Haq (66) Pakistan made a recovery with a 49 run partnership. It was obvious that the game was going to be dominated by slow scoring as both batsmen, who are typically attacking, struggled to put together the first substantial partnership of the innings from 18 overs. After Khan was brilliantly run out by Jimmy Adams and Ridley Jacobs, however, the wheels of the Pakistani innings began to come off.

Wickets fell at regular intervals and at one point Pakistan were 144 for 8 with just 8 overs remaining. However, experience once again displayed its worth as Wasim Akram (42 not out from 36 balls) played with authority as he and Mushtaq Ahmed (11 not out) lifted Pakistan's total to 197 for 8 from 50 overs. The West Indies' bowlers bowled with continued accuracy and consistency as Reon King claimed 2 for 37 and was ably assisted by Ambrose, McLean, Adams and Gayle who all picked up 1 wicket apiece.

In reply, the West Indies never truly got going. They made a valiant effort to pace themselves for the chase but continued to fall too far behind the required run rate. After Campbell fell for just 11, Philo Wallace (47) and Wavell Hinds (35) plodded along as they built a partnership of 87 from 24.3 overs. Like the Pakistani innings, wickets then began to fall at regular intervals as the lower order batsmen realised that they were under immense pressure to score runs quickly. Only Sylvester `Bouncin' Joseph, in his debut was capable of guiding the West Indies toward the Pakistani total as he crashed 28 from 32 balls with 1 four and a six. His teammates crumbled around him as the West Indies innings closed at 180 all out. All-rounder, Shahid Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he cleaned up the lower order with 3 for 16 and pacer Waqar Younis claimed 2 for 34.

It was a disappointing start to the West Indies' 3 match finals as much was expected of them as they crushed Zimbabwe in the two test series and won 4 one days in a row. However, the spirit within the dressing room is still very high and after the match, West Indies captain, Jimmy Adams expressed that he is still a believer that the West Indies will win the inaugural three-way one-day series in the Caribbean.

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Zimbabwean batsmen surprise confident Sri Lankan's

If the Sri lankan's expected the Zimbabweans to lie down and die on this five week tour, they had better have a rethink

Charlie Austin

20-Apr-2000

If the Sri lankan's expected the Zimbabweans to lie down and die on this five week tour, they had better have a rethink. The tourists surprised the Sri Lankans with an impressive batting display at the P.Sara Stadium in Colombo today, finishing the day on 254-4.

Kevin Curran, who has just arrived in Sri Lanka and will be coaching the Zimbabwean side, was very satisfied with the team's performance. Speaking to CricInfo after the match he said, "we lost one wicket early on but the guys just got stuck in. For one guy to get a hundred and another to get a fifty in the first warm-up game it is very pleasing. Its good to see how enthusiastic the players are and how quickly they have adapted."

The coach has every reason to be pleased with his players and especially with Mark Vermeulen, who batted brilliantly today, scoring 152 off 199 deliveries. The manner in which they battled hard in the opening hour when conditions so favoured the bowlers and then the positive intent they displayed thereafter, could well set the tone for the tour. To succeed in Sri Lanka they know that they have to play positively and take the game to the confident Sri lankan's.

Kevin Curran saying afterwards that, "I always played positive when I played and I as a coach I have adopted the same approach. I am not one for boring draws, I like to see the guys play the game in the right spirit and play the game positively at all times with bat and ball."

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Hyderabad falter as Azhar, Laxman flatter to deceive

Hyderabad's big guns, Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman looked like they might have it in them to steer Hyderabad past Mumbai's first innings total in the Ranji Trophy final

Anand Vasu

20-Apr-2000

Hyderabad's big guns, Mohammed Azharuddin and VVS Laxman looked like they might have it in them to steer Hyderabad past Mumbai's first innings total in the Ranji Trophy final. However at the end of the second day, neither could do enough to cement Hyderabad's position. Having conceded a lead of 181 and with three days left to play, Hyderabad will have to fight hard to dig themselves out of the hole they are in.

At the end of the first day, centurion Vinod Kambli thought that even 300 was a good score for Mumbai. He added that anything more would be a bonus. It's always handy to have a bonus of 76 runs. Ending on 376 all out, Mumbai got ready to have a go at the Hyderabad batsman.

Even the 73 runs they managed on the second morning was thanks to a late in the order 75 from Paras Mhambrey. He has been in good nick with the bat this season, with 117 against Maharashtra in the season opener being his best. Coming in at number 7, the Mumbai medium pacer kept Kambli good company yesterday. Even after Kambli was dismissed, Mhambrey continued to bat confidently. Approaching the bowling more like a batsman than a bowler, Mhambrey shared a partnership of 60 with Ajit Agarkar and gave the Mumbai total the extra solidity that could prove crucial.

Venkatapathy Raju who is a past master at bowling spin on Indian wickets bowled efficiently on the second day of this five day encounter. Bowling a spell of 3.2-1-10-2, Raju helped himself to the wickets of Mhambrey and Saxena, Raju ended with innings pickings of 37.2-11-110-4.

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