Report
Sri Lanka reach 88 for two on curtailed 1st day
Pakistan picked up two early Sri Lankan wickets on a rain-curtailed opening day of the second Test which started here at the Arbab Niaz Stadium on Sunday
06-Mar-2000
Pakistan picked up two early Sri Lankan wickets on a rain-curtailed
opening day of the second Test which started here at the Arbab Niaz
Stadium on Sunday.
Shoaib Akhtar clipped Sanath Jayasuriya's bail off a delivery which
kept low and Abdur Razzaq removed Russel Arnold off an outswinger to
reduce the tourists from 58 for no loss to 67 for two.
However, the in-form Marvan Atapattu and Aravinda de Silva batted
cautiously to see Sri Lanka through to 88 for two at stumps from the
37 available overs in the final session.
Atapattu, batting on 29, was lucky to see off the day when a very
confident bat and pad appeal against him was turned down by Englishman
John Hampshire. However, television replays confirmed that the ball
had caught the shoulder of Atapattu's bat while rebounding from the
pad before going into the hands of a waiting Yousuf Youhana at forward
short-leg.
Full postVeenstra's bag of six helps Natal beat Gauteng
In a match that had just about everything, including a Ross Veenstra hat trick (he took 6-34 overall) against his old province, the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins beat their traditional rivals Gauteng by seven wickets with 14 balls to spare before 5 500
Patrick Compton
06-Mar-2000
In a match that had just about everything, including a Ross
Veenstra hat trick (he took 6-34 overall) against his old
province, the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins beat their traditional
rivals Gauteng by seven wickets with 14 balls to spare before 5
500 excited spectators at Kingsmead last night. The victory kept
alive the Dolphins' hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of
the Standard Bank Cup. Their last pool match, against Eastern
Province in Port Elizabeth tomorrow, will settle the issue. For
Gauteng, whose record-breaking run of eight consecutive victories
was broken, the defeat was academic as they have already
qualified.
The nature of last night's match was determined by the very
similar tempo of both innings. Both teams enjoyed a productive
first 25 overs, then they both lost momentum.
KwaZulu-Natal enjoyed an excellent opening partnership of 112
between Doug Watson and Mark Bruyns chasing Gauteng's score of
197-8, but once Bruyns had departed, the scoring slowed as the
softer ball came on more slowly and made strokes more difficult
to execute.
First Jon Kent and then Watson perished trying to push the score
along, and things suddenly began looking a little sticky for the
home team. It was at this crucial stage that the experience of
Andrew Hudson and a typically impish Jonty Rhodes came to the
rescue as the two veterans added a brisk 62 to see the Dolphins
home.
Full postLogan match peters out to draw
The Academy resumed on 28 for one, and it soon became clear that the Academy were taking perhaps a realistic view of their position: that they had insufficient time to push for victory by conventional means and even to aim for a declaration game
John Ward
05-Mar-2000
The Logan Cup match between the CFX Academy and Mashonaland
petered out in a draw
The Academy resumed on 28 for one, and it soon became clear that
the Academy were taking perhaps a realistic view of their
position: that they had insufficient time to push for victory by
conventional means and even to aim for a declaration game would
bring about a situation where they were hardly likely to bowl out
Mashonaland in less than half a day. The overnight batsmen Ryan
King and John Vaughan-Davies settled in on a pitch that was
playing slowly with a bit of turn, and after an hour they were
still there and Mashonaland were growing disgruntled and
pressurising the umpires.
Then two wickets fell quickly. King was given out lbw to
Peacock, the ball hitting him quite high, and soon afterwards
Vaughan-Davies was deceived into shouldering arms to the same
bowler, who was spinning the ball quite sharply, only to find it
coming straight on and hitting his off stump - the third batsman
to be out this way in the match. He had mixed some good drives
with some vigorous fresh-air swings at balls outside the off
stump. Both had made 24, and the Academy were now 68 for three.
Greg Lamb scored only 10 before hitting a sharp return catch to
Viljoen, but Travis Friend was batting soundly, playing some good
drives and strokes to leg. Due to the slow outfield he hit five
threes against two fours in his 35 before becoming the eighth lbw
victim of the match, to Matambanadzo. The Academy went in to
lunch on 139 for five, 112 ahead (Colin Delport 22, Jason Young
2).
Full postTamil Nadu hold all the aces
Tamil Nadu, going from strength to strength, have taken a stranglehold over Orissa in their Ranji Trophy Super League group C match at the Barabati stadium in Cuttak
05-Mar-2000
Tamil Nadu, going from strength to strength, have taken a stranglehold
over Orissa in their Ranji Trophy Super League group C match at the
Barabati stadium in Cuttak. At stumps on Sunday, the visitors held an
overall lead of 187 runs with nine second innings wickets intact.
Tamil Nadu who are leading the table in the group so far, have been
the dominant team in this encounter. They finished on top on the first
day thanks in the main to a record last wicket partnership of 137 runs
between the last two batsmen Gokulakrishna and Rajat Bhatia. On the
second day the bowlers helped them to consolidate. Orissa lost six
wickets for 89 before wicketkeeper Y Mohanty (59 not out) and S
Satpathy (35) added 63 runs for the seventh wicket off 13.2 overs. A
last wicket stand of 34 runs off eight overs between Mohanty and Bipin
Singh (6) stretched the Orissa total to 195. Mohanty faced 79 balls
and hit ten fours. The bowling honours were shared by opening bowler S
Mahesh (3 for 63) and off spinner Aashish Kapoor (3 for 45). Medium
pacer Gokulakrishna followed his timely knock with two for 42.
In the remaining time, Tamil Nadu strengthened their position by
hitting 55 for one in 21.4 overs in their second innings. Bhatia
promoted to open the batting after his heroics in the first innings
was unbeaten with 23 while left hander S Sriram was out in the last
over of the day for 31.
Full postUP poised for victory thrust
Uttar Pradesh were well set to complete an emphatic victory over Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group C match at the Municipal corporation ground in Rajkot on Sunday
05-Mar-2000
Uttar Pradesh were well set to complete an emphatic victory over
Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group C match at the
Municipal corporation ground in Rajkot on Sunday. At stumps on the
second day, Saurashtra, chasing a victory target of 369 were down in
the dumps at 39 for three.
It was an action packed second day's play. At stumps on the opening
day, Saurashtra were 89 for four in reply to UP's first innings total
of 206. On Sunday morning skipper Gyanendra Pandey brought about a
sharp collapse as Saurashtra were skittled out for 118 runs. They lost
their last six wickets for 19 runs in ten overs as Pandey finished
with five for 39. Only Firoz Bambhaniya with an unbeaten 35 showed a
semblance of a fight.
Enjoying a lead of 88 runs, UP went for quick runs in their second
innings and were all out for 300 after batting only 53.3 overs. Opener
Manoj Mudgal led the way with a stroke filled 44 off 55 balls before
he was run out. Then Rizwan Shamshad cracked a fine 81 off just 81
balls with nine hits to the ropes. Mohd Saif maintained the momentum
with a breezy 83 off 94 balls with seven fours and a six. These two
batsmen added 118 runs for the sixth wicket off 21.2 overs after five
wickets had fallen for 102. In the face of this tremendous onslaught,
N Odera did well to finish with six for 63 off 14.3 overs.
Chasing a tough victory target, Saurashtra were soon in trouble with
Sriwastava (2) and AW Zaidi (1) picking up the wickets and it surely
is only a matter of time before UP wrap up the game on Monday.
Full postRailways fight back against Hyderabad
Railways, after being at the receiving end, fought back to have their Ranji Trophy Super League group B match against Hyderabad evenly poised at the end of the second day at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds on Sunday
05-Mar-2000
Railways, after being at the receiving end, fought back to have their
Ranji Trophy Super League group B match against Hyderabad evenly
poised at the end of the second day at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds on
Sunday. Replying to Hyderabad's first innings total of 347, Railways
were 188 for six at close of play.
Hyderabad, 309 for eight overnight, were all out this morning
following a last wicket stand of 36 runs off 15 overs between JS Yadav
(23 not out) and Kanwaljit Singh (16). Balaji Rao took one more wicket
to finish with a five wicket haul conceding 56 runs.
Railways started disastrously, losing three wickets for 26. A short
while later, despite a fourth wicket stand of 51 runs between Vishal
Sharma (29) and Sudhir Wankhede (25) they had slumped to 77 for
five. Medium pacer NP Singh took three of the wickets. However skipper
P Rawat (35) and Devendra Singh (69 not out) were concerned in a
rescue act by adding 105 runs for the sixth wicket off 40.3
overs. Rawat played defiantly for 2-1/2 hours, faced 109 balls and hit
four boundaries. By close, the gallant Devendra Singh had faced 141
balls and hit nine fours.
Full postMumbai have Rajasthan in some trouble
Mumbai, continuing their good show in group A, had Rajasthan in a spot of bother at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Wankhede stadium on Sunday
05-Mar-2000
Mumbai, continuing their good show in group A, had Rajasthan in a spot
of bother at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super
League match at the Wankhede stadium on Sunday. After scoring 336 in
their first innings, they dismissed nine Rajasthan batsmen for 224
runs at close.
The Rajasthan bowlers did well in the morning to restrict Mumbai who
were 280 for five when they resumed their innings. Medium pacer
Krishnakumar was in the forefront taking three of the five wickets
that fell in the morning to finish with four for 69.
However when it was Rajasthan's turn to bat, they came a cropper
against the bowling of medium pacer SR Saxena who ended the day with
figures of five for 53. In the process he surpassed his previous best
Ranji figures of four for 61 against Maharashtra. A defiant 83 by
skipper Gagan Khoda provided the silver lining. Khoda opened the
batting and batted three hours before he was sixth out at 149. He
faced 122 balls and hit ten fours and a six. With RJ Kanwat (16)
Khoda added 55 runs for the second wicket off 8.2 overs. Then with
Sanjeev Sharma (33) he figured in a sixth wicket partnership of 74
runs off 21.3 overs. RB Jhalani (32) and JK Sharma (21 not out) kept
the innings afloat till stumps with a ninth wicket stand of 33 runs
off 10.1 overs. But Mumbai are in a position to call the shots from
now on.
Full postAbsorbing tussle at the Eden Gardens
At times even a four-day match can turn out to be more interesting than a one day game
Sakyasen Mittra
05-Mar-2000
At times even a four-day match can turn out to be more interesting
than a one day game. The ongoing Ranji Trophy Super League group A tie
between Bengal and Karnataka at the Eden Gardens has all the
indications of developing into a real thriller. At close of play on
Sunday, the visitors were 119 for three wickets chasing Bengal's first
innings total of 316.
Karnataka have to score another 198 for the first innings lead. With
seven wickets in hand that does not look to be too tough a
proposition. However, on a pitch where left arm spinners Utpal
Chatterjee and Vishal Yadav are making the ball turn and jump up to
shoulder height, batting has become a wee bit difficult.
In the morning, Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh polished off the
Bengal tail. Ganesh had the misfortune of seeing umpire Giridhar turn
down a caught behind appeal off the very first ball of the day against
Saba Karim. The batsman himself confessed at the end of the day's play
that he had indeed nicked the ball. Karim went on to remain unbeaten
on 129 with 19 boundaries as Bengal lost their remaining five wickets
for the addition of another 35 runs. Ganesh removed Chatterjee and
Laxmi Ratan Shukla in one over. Then Prasad struck having Vishal Yadav
leg before with a ball that came a long way back. Both bowled superbly
in the morning making the ball move both ways.
Karnataka in reply suffered a rude jolt when Shukla had Arun Kumar
plumb in front with an off cutter. The batsman had shaped to play the
ball as an outswinger and was surprised when it nipped back. Then it
was a battle between Chatterjee and the Karnataka batsman. Strokeplay
was not possible and survival became difficult. However, one drop
Roland Barrington showed tremendous grit and determination as he
scored an unbeaten 43 in 272 minutes of 211 balls. After Karnataka had
lost Mithun Beerala and Tilak Naidu, Barrington found an ally in
A. Vijay. These two saw the side through till stumps without any
further loss.
Full postRathour places Punjab in command with unbeaten 137
Punjab captain Vikram Rathour, with an unbeaten 137, placed his team in a commanding position at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match against Bihar at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Sunday
05-Mar-2000
Punjab captain Vikram Rathour, with an unbeaten 137, placed his team
in a commanding position at stumps on the second day of their Ranji
Trophy Super League Group B match against Bihar at the PCA stadium in
Mohali on Sunday. Replying to Bihar's first innings total of 244,
Punjab were 268 for four at close of play.
Bihar, who were 197 for six at the end of play on Saturday, battled on
to add another 47 runs. Rajiv Kumar, 43 overnight, was out for 55. He
was one of Gagandeep Singh's three victims this morning. The medium
pacer finished with four for 44 while Harbhajan had five for 69.
Punjab were given a rousing start with openers Rathour and Ravneet
Ricky putting on 107 runs off 25.5 overs. Ricky hit 50 off 83 balls
with the help of seven fours. Medium pacer Sanjeev Gupta who dismissed
Ricky took two more wickets, those of Youraj Singh (2) and Pankaj
Dharmani (0) and when RS Sodhi (5) was leg before to S Khan, Punjab
had slumped to 128 for four. However Rathour found an able ally in
Dinesh Mongia and the two figured in an unbroken partnership of 140
runs for the fifth wicket off 35 overs by stumps. Rathour, a former
Indian opening batsman, who reached his hundred shortly after tea had
by close, faced 198 balls and hit 16 fours and a six. Mongia, for his
unbeaten 67, had faced 120 balls and hit seven of them to the
ropes. Sanjeev Gupta had figures of three for 82 at close. But it is
Punjab who currently hold all the aces.
Full postAzhar stands in the way of South African whitewash
The fourth day should have seen the end of the second Test match
Anand Vasu
05-Mar-2000
The fourth day should have seen the end of the second Test match. Having bundled out India cheaply in the first innings there was no reason for people to expect any less from them in the second essay. However, the pitch had slowed down considerably and there was almost nothing in it for the fast bowlers. Bowling a good line and length would be crucial.
By not declaring on their overnight score, South Africa kept everyone guessing. India were quick to polish of the last two South African wickets. By this time, South Africa had accumulated a lead of 321. Almost twice what India made in the first innings. There was almost no conceivable way in which India could win this match. To just save it would require a Herculean effort.
Wasim Jaffer looked in good nick early on, especially so when the ball was pitched on leg stump. Flicking the ball through the onside with ease, Jaffer made 23 including five boundaries before he was dismissed by Nicky Boje. Boje then accounted for the struggling Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
With the top three gone, the onus was once again on Sachin Tendulkar to take India towards safety. Tendulkar blunted the spin of Boje well, but pace at the other end proved to be his undoing. Allan Donald won another round of his ongoing battle with the Indian captain when he had him caught at gully. Chasing a wide delivery that he should have left well alone, Tendulkar edged the ball straight to Gibbs. Not one to drop catches like that one, Gibbs pouched the catch and celebrated wildly with the rest of the South Africans.
Full post