Report
Zimbabwe President's XI v Australians, day 2 match report
Two fine attacking innings, by Trevor Madondo of the President's XI and Steve Waugh of Australia, were the highlights of the second day's play between the two teams, which finished with the tourists 274 runs ahead with eight second-innings wickets
John Ward
10-Oct-1999
Bulawayo, close of second day:
Two fine attacking innings, by Trevor Madondo of the President's
XI and Steve Waugh of Australia, were the highlights of the
second day's play between the two teams, which finished with the
tourists 274 runs ahead with eight second-innings wickets
standing.
Trevor Gripper and Mark Vermeulen continued this morning from
their overnight score of 25 for one, against the bowling of the
immaculate Glenn McGrath and the somewhat more erratic Matthew
Nicholson. Vermeulen took his score to 15 before, playing
forward to McGrath, bowling accurately but within himself, he got
a thin outside edge to present wicket-keeper Ian Healy with a
regulation catch. The score was now 36 for two.
Trevor Madondo came in with more aggressive intent than his
predecessors, but looked capable and a more mature player than
when he made his Test debut eighteen months ago. Gripper looked
as solid as ever, taking most of McGrath before shattering the
latter's hitherto economical figures by turning him for three
through midwicket. Nicholson, in need of bowling practice,
bowled four wides down the leg side to Gripper; after a bye,
Madondo cracked him away handsomely off the back foot backward of
point for four.
Full postElliott, Vimpani steer Victoria to MMC victory
Victorian opening batsmen Matthew Elliott and Graeme Vimpani combined to lead the Bushrangers to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over the New South Wales Blues in the opening match of the Mercantile Mutual Cup season at North Sydney Oval today
Rick Eyre
10-Oct-1999
Victorian opening batsmen Matthew Elliott and Graeme Vimpani combined to lead the Bushrangers to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over the New South Wales Blues in the opening match of the Mercantile Mutual Cup season at North Sydney Oval today.
Elliott (103) and Vimpani (93) added 194 for the first wicket as Victoria successfully pursued a New South Wales total of 6 for 240 which never seemed adequate. The Bushrangers were in cruise mode when they secured the win with thirteen balls to spare.
NSW captain Michael Bevan won the toss and elected to bat in warm, sunny conditions. The Blues lost two early wickets, Rodney Davison (7) and Brad Haddin (8 in his NSW debut), before Bevan and Corey Richards combined for a 99-run partnership in 23 overs. The scoring rarely exceeded four an over until after the halfway mark of the innings. Bevan was dismissed in the 29th over after top-edging to Vimpani at mid-off. He had scored 41 from 81 deliveries, including the first six of the tournament.
Richards was finally dismissed for a impressive 75, supported by Graeme Rummans (45). The Blues scored seventy runs in the last ten overs, with late rallies from Shane Lee (19) and Mark Higgs (14*), the latter lofting the ball onto the roof of the O'Reilly stand past the mid-wicket boundary.
Full postZimbabwe President's XI v Australians, day 1
Justin Langer, after struggling for runs in Sri Lanka, welcomed the opportunity to get some batting practice in less testing conditions in Bulawayo, scoring a fine 148 to dominate the Australians' total of 335 for seven wickets declared against the
John Ward
09-Oct-1999
Day 1:
Justin Langer, after struggling for runs in Sri Lanka, welcomed
the opportunity to get some batting practice in less testing
conditions in Bulawayo, scoring a fine 148 to dominate the
Australians' total of 335 for seven wickets declared against the
ZCU President's XI. The home side should have done considerably
better against the unacclimatised tourists, but spoilt their
performance with a poor display in the field, several chances
being missed.
The Australians had arrived in Bulawayo to find unseasonably
wintry conditions facing them: overcast skies and an icy wind,
almost unknown for Bulawayo in traditionally the hottest month of
the year. The match day dawned similarly, but fortunately soon
after eight in the morning the skies began to clear and normal
October service was resumed. The crowd, if it can be so termed,
gradually swelled during the day until it reached several
hundred. Press facilities at Queens unfortunately remain
primitive, the media being housed in a decrepit old commentary
box without proper telephone lines. However we are assured that
a proper press box is next on the list of ground development.
Eddo Brandes won the toss for the President's XI and, hopeful of
some early life, the only concession the Queens Sports Club pitch
usually makes to bowlers, put the tourists in to bat. He opened
the bowling with John Rennie, but was unable to trouble the
batsmen at first. Michael Slater began by pulling a four through
midwicket, and in Brandes' next over pulled and cut boundaries
off consecutive balls. He hooked again at a bouncer outside off
stump, but a confident appeal for a catch at the wicket was
rejected. Brandes then began to appreciate the folly of bowling
short to Australians and pitched the ball further up, as Rennie
did from the start, and the scoring rate dropped. Greg Blewett
led a less spectacular life than Slater, but hit a superb four
off Brandes through extra cover. Rennie caused both batsmen to
play with care, swinging the ball predominantly in to the
right-hander.
Full postLara's genius as West Indies take the series
With a swashbuckling 117 off 62 balls by captain Brian Lara, the visiting West Indies beat Bangladesh by 109 runs at the floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium Saturday to clinch the Biman Millenium Cup
Zahid Newaz
09-Oct-1999
With a swashbuckling 117 off 62 balls by captain Brian Lara, the visiting West Indies beat Bangladesh by 109 runs at the floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium Saturday to clinch the Biman Millenium Cup.
This was the second consecutive defeat for the hosts to lose the two-match day-night one-day series by 0-2. Bangladesh experienced their first defeat to the Calypsos by 73 runs on Friday. Earlier, they drew the rain-interrupted three-dayer on October 4-6.
Chasing the massive West Indies total of 314 runs, Bangladesh was dismissed for 205 in 49.1 overs.
In the day's second ODI match, minnows Bangladesh in fact met the defeat in the very early overs when Caribbean captain Brian Lara winning the toss opted to bat first and he along with the other opener Sherwin Campbell started to slaughter the Bangladesh bowlers.
Full postWest Indies defeat Bangladesh by 73 runs in first ODI
Minnows Bangladesh experienced a 73 runs defeat to test elite West Indies in the first of the two-match ODI series at floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium Friday
Zahid Newaz
08-Oct-1999
Minnows Bangladesh experienced a 73 runs defeat to test elite West Indies in the first of the two-match ODI series at floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium Friday.
Chasing a victory target of 293, the hosts struggled to reach 219 for 5 in stipulated 50 overs on a wet ground with slow outfield following rain during the break.
The rain delayed the Bangladesh innings, but no over was curtailed.
With 96 runs for 5 on the scoreboard, Bangladesh's unbeaten sixth wicket partnership of Al Shahriar Rokon and Khaled Masud Pilot contributed 123 runs to take the home side to a respectable total.
Full postRest of India win Irani Trophy with innings win
Medium pacers T.Kumaran and Harvinder Singh Sodhi skittled out Karnataka for just 91 runs in their second innings to bowl Rest of India to victory by an innings and 60 runs with more than a day to spare in the annual Irani Trophy fixture at the
Partab Ramchand
04-Oct-1999
Medium pacers T.Kumaran and Harvinder Singh Sodhi skittled out
Karnataka for just 91 runs in their second innings to bowl Rest of India to victory by an innings and 60 runs with more than a day to spare in the annual Irani Trophy fixture at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Monday.
Rest of India, with Sitanshu Kotak hitting a fine century, were in command
at stumps on the third day. Few however would have thought that the
Rest of India would wrap up the game so quickly and by an innings. But
with home team's generally reliable batting crumbling before the
seam bowling of Kumaran and Sodhi, the match, expected to be a keen
contest, was over in double quick time.
Rest of India who resumed at 298 for six, were dismissed for 321 with
Javagal Srinath in tremendous form. The 30-year-old spearhead of
the Indian attack brought the innings to a swift end with a spell of
6.3-3-9-4. His first victim this morning was Kotak who was out leg
before for 118. Kotak had put on 112 runs for the seventh wicket with HS Sodhi. The next to go was KN Ananthapadmanabhan whom Srinath
bowled for 10 with the total on 316. In his next over, Srinath had
Sodhi leg before for 55. And in his following over, Srinath ended the innings by having Kumaran caught by Somasundar with Nilesh Kulkarni
remaining unbeaten on nought. Srinath finished with 6 for 77 and
Rest of India on Monday morning added just 23 runs off 13.4 overs.
Karnataka's joy at keeping the Rest of India lead down to 151 however
was short lived. Their second innings was a disaster from start to
finish and lasted only 33.5 overs. HS Sodhi started the rot by having
Arun Kumar caught by Badani in his second over. Somasundar and A.Vijay, coming together for the second wicket, added 32 runs off 12.2 overs and the stage seemed set for a Karnataka fightback. However Somasundar was caught by skipper Mongia off Sodhi for 14 and this set off a
collapse. In his next over, Sodhi had Naidu caught by Das for one. In the following over, Kumaran got into the wicket taking act with Vijay edging him to Mongia for 15.
Full postSouth Africa defeat India in LG Cup final
South Africa's superior bowling and fielding skills enabled them to win the LG Cup final against India by 26 runs at Nairobi on Sunday
Partab Ramchand
04-Oct-1999
South Africa's superior bowling and fielding skills enabled them to
win the LG Cup final against India by 26 runs at Nairobi on Sunday. In
a well contested match, India were in the game on more than one
occasion but faltered at crucial junctures both when South Africa were
batting and during their own innings.
Put in to bat, South Africa were rocked by some inspired bowling by
Venkatesh Prasad and Mohanty and were 18 for three in the 11th over.
While Mohanty bowled Klusener first ball, Prasad removed Kallis and
Rhodes through slip catches.
Gibbs and Cronje initiated a rally by putting on 78 runs for the
fourth wicket off 13.5 overs before the South African captain was
beaten in the air and bowled by Chopra for 39, inclusive of three
fours and two sixes. The recovery process continued with Gibbs and
Crookes, promoted in the order, adding 53 runs for the fifth wicket in
9.1 oveers. Crookes was then well caught by wicketkeeper MSK Prasad
off Mohanty for 25. Gibbs' anchor innings came to an end when he was
sixth out at 187, bowled by Bhardwaj for 84, compiled off 124 balls
with the help of six fours and three sixes. India then came back
strongly into the game with Bhardwaj also dismissing Benkenstein and
Boucher while Dawson was run out. But Pollock hit a timely unbeaten 23
off 24 balls with a six and a boundary and he and Elworthy took 16
runs off the last over of the innings bowled by Chopra. South Africa
were able to post a challenging total of 235 for nine in 50 overs.
When India batted, they suffered two early blows with the dismissals
of both openers Ramesh and Ganguly with only 25 runs on the board in
the ninth over. Dravid and MSK Prasad, promoted in the order, set the
innings back on course with a third wicket partnership of 65 runs. But
accurate bowling and keen fielding saw to it that the runs did not
come at a nifty rate. Dravid fell in the 27th over at 90 for 30 off 65
balls but Prasad and Jadeja then gave the scoring rate some impetus
with a fourth wicket stand of 51 runs off 9.5 overs before the Indian
captain hit Pollock to substitute Dippenaar at square leg for 30 off
32 balls, inclusive of two fours and a six. Hereabouts Prasad was
overcome by cramps and had Dravid as a runner. But soon he was unable
to continue and retired when his score was 56. The game had reached an
interesting stage with India's target now approaching seven an over
but with six wickets in hand. Robin Singh did not last long, being
bowled by Crookes, trying to sweep and this made India 163 for five in
the 39th over. But India's batting depth saw them stay in the fight as
Bhardwaj and Joshi now got some quick runs. At 190 for five after 43
overs, India needed 46 runs off seven overs. But the fall of Bhardwaj
and Joshi in successive overs was a major double blow from which India
could not recover. Prasad came back to resume his innings but then
lost Chopra at 201 in the 46th over. With Prasad being run out in the
next over for a gallant 63 off 90 balls inclusive of six hits to the
ropes, India's hopes evaporated. The match ended in the following over
when Mohanty was leg before to Kallis and India were all out for 209
in 47.3 overs. In fact the end came all too swiftly as the Indians
lost their last five wickets in successive overs from the 44th to the
48th for the addition of only 19 runs.
Full postKotak's century places Rest of India in command
Saurashtra left hander Sitanshu Kotak held the Rest of India innings together on the third day of the Irani Trophy tie against Karnataka at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday
Partab Ramchand
03-Oct-1999
Saurashtra left hander Sitanshu Kotak held the Rest of India innings
together on the third day of the Irani Trophy tie against Karnataka
at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Sunday. The Rajkot born
batsman, who turns 27 on October 19, made an unbeaten 116 as
Rest of India made 298 for six off 116.5 overs at stumps in
reply to Karnataka's first innings total of 170.
In placing Rest of India in a happy position with two more days still
left in the match, Kotak was helped in no small measure by Reetinder
Singh Sodhi of Punjab and Harvinder Singh Sodhi of Madhya Pradesh. Rest
of India, resuming at 93 for three, were none too happily placed at
110 for five. First the left hander from Tamil Nadu Hemang Badani
was caught by Somasundar off Srinath for 13. Three runs later
skipper Mongia was caught by the same fielder off Ganesh for one.
Karnataka, after being bowled out for a moderate total, seemed to have
come back into the game strongly. But Kotak who was on 12 overnight,
started playing his strokes freely. He and Reetinder Singh Sodhi
started the recovery process by adding 80 runs off 30 overs. Sodhi who
matched Kotak in run production was then out for 39, being held by
Anand Katti off Yalvigi. Sodhi, who turns 19 on October 18, faced
96 balls, hitting four of them to the fence.
Harvinder Singh Sodhi joined Kotak and the two carried on from where
Reetinder Singh Sodhi had left. Kotak gained in confidence and soon
reached a well deserved century. Sodhi, who turns 28 on October 17,
gave him able support and when play was stopped because of
bad light with 10.1 overs remaining, Rest of India had gained a first
innings lead of 128 runs. Kotak and Sodhi have so far added 108 runs
in 39.3 overs for the unbroken seventh wicket partnership. Kotak
has faced 278 deliveries and has hit 11 boundaries. He came to the
crease on Saturday evening when the score was 69 for three and
sustained the innings in an exemplary manner. Sodhi, shortly before
close, reached his half century. He has faced 110 balls and hit
eight of them to the ropes.
Full postWet start to New Zealand tour
It was a most disappointing start to their Indian tour for the New Zealanders
Partab Ramchand
02-Oct-1999
It was a most disappointing start to their Indian tour for the
New Zealanders. Rain washed out the first day's play in their game
against India A at Pune on Thursday. On the second day there was time
for 44 overs to be bowled during which the visitors struggled to make
135 for six. Whatever hopes the tourists might have entertained of
having some further match practice were dashed by the inclement weather
as rain ruled out play on the final day on Saturday.
One recalls how the scheduled opening three day game of the West
Indies tour in 1987-88 at Hyderabad was a total washout, with not
a ball being bowled. But on that occasion, the West Indies had already
played much cricket in the sub continent over the preceding month
since they had taken part in the Reliance Cup. So much so that they
were still able to win the first Test by five wickets. This lack of
match practice does not augur well for the New Zealanders. All
they can hope for now is for better weather at Jodhpur where they take
on Board President's XI in a three day game commencing on October 5.
They have to make the most of it for it remains their only match
before the first Test starts on October 10.
Full postRest of India hold advantage
Rest of India held a slight edge over Karnataka at stumps on the second day of the five day Irani Trophy tie at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Saturday
Partab Ramchand
02-Oct-1999
Rest of India held a slight edge over Karnataka at stumps on the
second day of the five day Irani Trophy tie at the Chinnaswamy
stadium in Bangalore on Saturday. After bowling out the home team
for 170, Rest of India scored 93 for three off 37 overs at close
of play.
Resuming at 65 for two, Karnataka lost wickets at regular
intervals. First to go was Naidu who was bowled by Kumaran for
five. Arun Kumar, the other overnight batsman who had opened the
innings on Friday, and had batted steadfastly was finally out at
80, when he was adjudged leg before to Kumaran for 30. The medium
pacer from Tamil Nadu, continuing his fine spell, had Sriram leg
before in his next over and Karnataka had slid to 81 for five.
The collapse did not stop for at 96, Kumble was caught by
Kulkarni off Reetinder Singh Sodhi for one.
Shiraguppi, who was holding one end up firmly, was now joined by
Srinath and the two got entrenched in the highest partnership of
the innings - 34 runs for the seventh wicket. Kumaran then got
his fourth wicket when he had Srinath caught by Laxman for 12.
The recovery of sorts continued with Shiraguppi and Yalvigi
adding 25 runs for the eighth wicket. At 155, however
Shiraguppi's fighting innings of 42 came to an end when he was
caught by Kotak off Reetinder Singh Sodhi. Shiraguppi had faced
107 balls and hit four boundaries and a six. Sodhi then brought
the innings to a quick end by dismissing Yalvigi (23) and Ganesh
in successive overs. Kumaran (4 for 47) and Sodhi (4 for 33)
shared the bowling honours while Harvinder Singh Sodhi who had
taken both the wickets on Friday, finished with two for 46.
When Rest of India batted, Javagal Srinath gave Karnataka an
early breakthrough when he bowled VVS Laxman in his third over.
But Haldipur and Das steadied the innings with a second wicket
stand of 60 runs off 20 overs before the latter was caught by
Somasundar off Ganesh for 23. Das faced 68 balls and hit two of
them to the ropes. In the next over, Yalvigi bowled Haldipur for
40. Haldipur faced 75 balls and hit four boundaries. Rest of
India were now 69 for three but Badani and Kotak batted through
till stumps, both having made 12 runs.
Full post