Report
Goodwin spoils plan
Kingston - Things didn't go strictly according to plan for West Indians on the field or beyond the Sabina Park boundary yesterday
Tonu Cozier
25-Mar-2000
Kingston - Things didn't go strictly according to plan for West Indians on the field or beyond the Sabina Park boundary yesterday.
Zimbabwe's two most accomplished batsmen, Murray Goodwin and captain Andy Flower, combined with a lifeless pitch to spoil the opening day of the second Test for their 11 opponents and the 7 000 or so hopeful Jamaicans in the stands.
They had flocked in from early morning in the confident expectation of seeing their beloved Courtney Walsh overhaul Kapil Dev's record number of Test wickets and he and his fast bowling colleagues once more scatter the hapless Zimbabweans as they had done in the famous first Test victory at the Queen's Park Oval on Monday.
Instead, on a hard, bare, beige pitch without the grass covering of Queen's Park's, Goodwin and the left-handed Flower led a recovery from 40 for three at lunch with an untroubled partnership of 166.
Full postGoodwin century helps Zimbabwe recover
The West Indies pulled themselves back into the game late in the evening after a very composed fourth wicket partnership of 176 between Murray Goodwin, who made 113 before he was run out going for a non-existent single and captain, Andy Flower, who
Colin Croft
25-Mar-2000
The West Indies pulled themselves back into the game late in the evening after a very composed fourth wicket partnership of 176 between Murray Goodwin, who made 113 before he was run out going for a non-existent single and captain, Andy Flower, who was sensationally bowled, padding up, by Franklyn Rose for 66.
Both batsmen were dismissed from consecutive deliveries on Zimbabwe's eventual close of play score of 220-5. Not out are Alistair Campbell and Stuart Carlisle, both yet to score.
Goodwin's innings, his second century at this level, did have a chance, but was one of great concentration, containing only ten fours but lasting over five hours. Flower's innings was chanceless and had five boundaries.
Earlier, the morning session was dominated by the West Indian fast bowlers, as Zimbabwe slipped badly to be 40 for three with Grant Flower, Trevor Gripper and Neil Johnson all dismissed before lunch.
Full postPakistan make South Africa sweat for victory
Sharjah, March 24: South Africa clinched their 14th win on the trot over Pakistan but not before they were made to sweat in the Sharjah Cup match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Friday evening
Viren Varma
25-Mar-2000
Sharjah, March 24: South Africa clinched their 14th win on the trot
over Pakistan but not before they were made to sweat in the Sharjah
Cup match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here on Friday evening.
Pakistan, batting first, limped to 195 for eight from their allotted
50 overs. S. Africa reached victory with 33 balls to spare.
Pakistan staged a compelling fightback reducing the South Africans to
seven for 163 by the 39th over, but unheralded Nicky Boje rose to the
challenge from nowhere to blow their hopes. The gusty player, known by
spinning fingers, smashed a cool-headed unbeaten 35.
Pakistan, already handicapped by the absence of star players like
Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mahmood, suffered a further
blow when Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhar were omitted due to groin
injury.
Full postRailways women send Air India on leather hunt
Holders Railways sent last year's runners-up Air India on a leather hunt on the opening day of their three day CricInfo Trophy National women's cricket championship final at the Jorhat stadium in Jorhat on Saturday
25-Mar-2000
Holders Railways sent last year's runners-up Air India on a leather
hunt on the opening day of their three day CricInfo Trophy National
women's cricket championship final at the Jorhat stadium in Jorhat on
Saturday. After winning the toss, Railways rattled up 353 runs off
89.5 overs before being all out shortly before close.
Air India had the initial comfort of taking three wickets quickly.
The batswomen to be dismissed were Balvir Kaur (11), Rajani Venugopal
(13) and Reshma Gandhi (2) with only 65 runs scored. But then opener
Rajini Sharma and Hemlata Kale (32) added 54 runs for the fourth
wicket off 14 overs to initiate the recovery process. Hemlata faced 57
balls and hit five of them the ropes. Rajini Sharma, who anchored the
innings very well despite the early loss of wickets, finally fell in
the 42nd over. She was fifth out at 146 having scored 75 off 129 balls
inclusive of 12 fours. Deepa Kulkarni and Renu Margaret then got
together to add 46 runs for the sixth wicket off ten overs. Renu
dominated the partnership scoring 34 off 38 balls with six hits to the
fence. This was followed by a seventh wicket association of 47 runs
off 15 overs between Deepa and Rupanjali Shastri (23). Deepa, who was
going well, was now joined by Poornima Choudhury and the two increased
the score by 54 runs during an eighth wicket partnership that lasted
11.3 overs. Deepa, who had come in at 119 for four in the 36th over,
was finally out with the total 293 in the 79th over. She scored 69
off 127 balls with six fours.
The tail now wagged to make Air India's misery complete. Poornima and
Sunija Kanojia (24 off 22 balls with three fours) added 36 runs off
6.3 overs. And finally Poornima and skipper and veteran Diana Edulji
(11) put on 24 runs for the last wicket off five overs. Poornima
remained unbeaten with 48 off 72 balls with three fours.
It was a tiring day in the field for the Air India bowlers. Usha
Bogade sent down 28 overs to pick up three wickets for 113. Smita
Harikrishna, skipper Poornima Rau and Seema Pujare picked up two
wickets each for 41, 90 and 58 runs respectively.
Full postTour diary: Stunned on Miracle Monday
Stunned
Alistair Campbel
24-Mar-2000
Stunned! I suppose this is the only word that can sum up the mood of
the camp. "So close yet so far" -- a cliche so often used yet one
which offers no help. People who read this report who do not pride
themselves on knowing much about the great game will only see
statistics and probably wonder to themselves how a team chasing 99 to
win a game failed to do so and how a team who had controlled the game
for most of the match lose one hour of the game and lose the match.
The answers do not immediately spring to mind, but I suppose that is
why this is such a great game and why we as players train so hard
just to take part in matches such as this. Unfortunately somebody had
to lose, and on this occasion it was us. We need to feel honoured
that we were able to take part in such a fascinating and thrilling
Test match.
These are very philosophical words on my behalf, and the result a
bitter pill to swallow, but a pill that must be digested and passed
out in order for us to refocus our attention on winning the next Test
match to level the series. If this match showed us anything, it was
that the two teams are evenly balanced and that whoever plays the
more intense and disciplined cricket will emerge on top.
Day five of the Test match started exactly as planned. Streak mopped
up the last wicket in the first over over the day to have the West
Indies all out for 147. Streak's figures of 5-27 was a brilliant
return for some outstanding bowling. We knew the 99 needed for
victory was going to be a testing target on a deteriorating wicket.
The ball was staying low, sometimes running along the ground. Someone
needed to get in and bat through with the rest of the team chipping
in around him.
Full postIndians made heavy weather of an easy task
India and Pakistan have played a lot of exciting games in both versions of the game
Woorkheri Raman
24-Mar-2000
India and Pakistan have played a lot of exciting games in both
versions of the game. At the same time, both these teams can be as
unpredictable as the English weather. The talent in both the sides is
immense yet sometimes the scorecards suggest that both these teams
hardly play to their full potential. It was one of those kind of games
at Sharjah with India making heavy weather of chasing a low
score. Eventually the target was achieved after losing half the side,
which was not convincing by any standards.
Srinath, who has had very ordinary games on his return after a break
was left out, which would help him in sorting out his problems. The
decision deserves to be appreciated, as it is an indication that the
current form overrides either an individual?s reputation or past
deeds. One can only hope that this criterion is followed consistently
in order to produce the required results. Prasad replacing Srinath
provided the breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Afridi while
Agarkar got rid of the talented Razzak. It has been a while since an
early breakthrough was achieved and the heartening thing is that the
initiative gained was not squandered away.
The young opener Imran Nazir played with pluck and in the company of
Inzamam looked like putting Pakistan in sight of a big total. He hit
Kumble over the top for boundaries with elan before his inexperience
led to his downfall when he played across the line to Joshi. Much
depended on Youhana and Inzamam but a comedy of errors resulted in
Youhana being adjudged run out. Yet another coincidence where Inzamam
was involved in a run out but at least on this occasion he was not at
fault. Robin Singh had Inzamam snapped smartly by Karim behind the
wicket who had a very good match.
The lower order did not offer many problems despite some conscious
effort by Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. The low total of Pakistan can
only be attributed to their under par batting and some very ordinary
running between the wickets.
Full postKlusener, Boje star in South African triumph
The third match of the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah produced the first reasonably close finish of the tournament
Anand Vasu
24-Mar-2000
The third match of the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah produced the
first reasonably close finish of the tournament. Batting first,
the Pakistanis could muster only 196. This too, thanks mainly to
a 71 from Imran Nazir at the top of the order. The youngster
showed tremendous composure and ability, but was not supported by
anyone other than Younis Khan. Against a strong batting side like
South Africa, 196 was never going to be enough. As it turned out,
South Africa came through with 3 wickets to spare despite a
spirited bowling performance from Pakistan.
Lance Klusener was the wrecker in chief for the South Africans
picking up 5/47 off his 10 overs.
Injury kept both Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar out of the game.
This meant that the mantle of number one fast bowler fell on
Waqar Younis. Picking up the gauntlet admirably, Waqar produced a
tight opening spell, squeezing the South Africans with some
quality fast bowling. His rhythm was good and he was rewarded
with two quick wickets. However, the second string of Pakistani
bowlers could not quite keep things as tight. Off spinner Arshad
Khan was the only other bowler who made things difficult for the
South Africans. Bowling his off spinners extremely slowly, Arshad
Khan made it difficult for the South Africans to get him away for
runs. He ended with pickings of 2/34 off his 10 overs.
In the end, the South Africans had just enough firepower to get
past the Pakistanis. Needing just under 45 overs to get past the
total, the South Africans displayed a cool temperament through
the innings. Just when the pressure seemed to be building up,
Nicky Boje and Mark Boucher turned on the heat. It was once again
a case of not having enough runs on the board that caused the
downfall of the team batting first.
Full postPunjab women take third place
Punjab won the third place play-off match against Bihar by three wickets in the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground at Jorhat on Friday
24-Mar-2000
Punjab won the third place play-off match against Bihar by three wickets in the CricInfo Trophy Senior Women's National Cricket Championship at the Gymkhana Ground at Jorhat on Friday.
Set to get a meagre 76 for victory, Punjab had a shaky start when they lost opener Gulshan (0) with only one run on the board. Then Punjab were in even more trouble when three more wickets fell with the score at 25. But Aneta Thapa (14) and Sandeep (11) added 33 runs off 17.1 overs for the fifth wicket. This inched Punjab closer to their target, which they reached in 38.2 overs for the loss of only seven wickets.
Earlier, put into bat, Bihar were all out for 75 in 39.1 overs. The batting was a fair disaster and only two players Piyali Moitra (11) and Kavita Roy (12) reached double figures. The total was inflated by as many as 24 extras. Parvesh Sharma was the most successful bowler with three for 13 while Anjali Sharma and Sandeep took two wickets for 13 and 12 respectively.
Full postAnju Jain's unbeaten century steers Air India into final
Powered by an unbeaten 140 by opener Anju Jain, Air India defeated Bihar convincingly by eight wickets in the semifinals of the CricInfo Trophy Women's Senior National Cricket Championship at the Jorhat Stadium in Jorhat on Wednesday
23-Mar-2000
Powered by an unbeaten 140 by opener Anju Jain, Air India
defeated Bihar convincingly by eight wickets in the semifinals
of the CricInfo Trophy Women's Senior National Cricket Championship
at the Jorhat Stadium in Jorhat on Wednesday.
Set to get 247 for victory, Air India were given an excellent
start with openers Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra putting on 196 runs
in 35.2 overs. While Anjum was out for 87, compiled off 165 balls
and inclusive of eleven hits to the ropes, Anju Jain remained
unbeaten with 140 off 196 balls. Air India had virtually clinched
the issue by the time the first wicket fell. Then Anju Jain and
Smitha Harikrishna (6) added 23 runs for the second wicket in 25
overs. With Anju Jain quite unstoppable, Air India were home in
72 overs.
Air India, last year's runners-up now meet holders Railways in
a repeat final. The three day final, which will be played on 90
overs (first innings) and 45 overs (second innings) basis
commences from Saturday.
Full postIndian middle order is strong, but can be brittle at times
The psychological advantage the Indians had over the South Africans was annulled ruthlessly by the Springboks in the lung opener of the Coca-Cola Championship at Sharjah
Woorkheri Raman
23-Mar-2000
The psychological advantage the Indians had over the South Africans
was annulled ruthlessly by the Springboks in the lung opener of the
Coca-Cola Championship at Sharjah. The only positive thing for the
Indians was Ganguly winning the toss. After that it was a sort of a
nightmare with wickets falling like nine pins on a placid pitch. The
South Africans never let go of the initiative after breaking through
early in the innings.
Pollock beat Tendulkar with an inswinger to castle the little master
and not many would have thought that that was beginning of the end for
the Indians. Ganguly started off well before Kallis accounted for him
and with Dravid perishing early, the Indians were straight away
looking down the barrel. The idea of once again promoting Joshi is
debatable but he did what he was sent out for by smashing a few quick
runs. The Indian middle order is strong, yet at the same time can be
brittle at times.
The middle collapse started with the dismissal of the most experienced
campaigner Azharuddin, who played a loose shot. Elworthy and Ntini,
sensing that there was a good chance of running through the Indian
line-up, bowled with magnificent discipline. Ntini stuck to a line
just outside the off stump while Elworthy bowled straight to pick up
his wickets. Elworthy trapped Robin Singh and shortly after that Karim
chopped one on to his stumps. Jadeja was left to bat with the lower
order batsman and he tried his best to achieve some respectability to
the Indian total.
He looked well and truly in control throughout his innings and finally
it was Srinath who spent some time with him at the crease. The last
wicket partnership took the Indians past the 150 mark and in the end
the Indians were a million runs short to make a match out of
it. Cronje would have hardly expected the Indians to crumble as they
did and quite naturally he would not complain about it either. His
bowlers did a fantastic job under trying conditions and the reputed
Indian batsmen have only themselves to blame.
Full post