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1st A Test peters out to tame draw
On perhaps the most perfect day for cricket of the four for this "Test", India "A" batted slowly, but surely and soundly, to ensure that they did not go one down in this two "Test" series
Colin Croft
22-Nov-1999
On perhaps the most perfect day for cricket of the four for this "Test", India
"A" batted slowly, but surely and soundly, to ensure that they
did not go one down in this two "Test" series. At the end, the
teams were somewhat even.
In the meantime, Jacob Martin also took the opportunity to show
some of his stylish batsmanship.
Starting with a deficit of 9 on the last day, India "A moved from
54-1 to 115-2 at lunch, scored in 44 overs, in two hours of
glorious sunshine. The lunch-time not out batsmen were Jacob
Martin on a well made 63 and Jagdish Arun Kumar on 28.
The one wicket to fall before lunch was that of Gagan Khoda,
who, after playing very cautiously for 17 previous deliveries,
drove at the 18th he received, delivered by fast bowler Dwight
Mais, in the fifth over of the day, the 23rd of the innings. The
resulting edge was smartly held by Chris Gayle at second slip.
India "A" in a spot of bother at 59-2, and the deficit still not
completely erased.
Full postDelhi set to avenge one-day defeat against J&K
Delhi: On a day in which 387 runs were scored on the flat Kotla pitch, Delhi took firm control of the North Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Jammu & Kashmir here yesterday
22-Nov-1999
Delhi: On a day in which 387 runs were scored on the flat Kotla pitch,
Delhi took firm control of the North Zone Ranji Trophy league match
against Jammu & Kashmir here yesterday. Mithun Minhas' century powered
Delhi to 436-9 declared off 117.4 overs. For their part J&K scored at
more than five an over to end the day at 116-2 from 23 overs, needing
another 201 to make Delhi bat again.
Resuming at 165-3, Devinder Sharma and Minhas swelled their overnight
stand to 133 before Sharma was snaffled by keeper Bali off Surendra
Singh for 91 with the score on 266. Minhas was involved in another
century stand with captain Vijay Dahiya (57) before he was dismissed
for 139 from 183 balls with 16 fours. And after Dahiya left ten balls
later to make it 373-6, it was the turn of Nikhil Chopra to join the
onslaught with a quickfire 54 off 62 balls including 6 fours and 2
sixes. Vijay Sharma was the most successful bowler for J&K with 3-90.
After losing two early wickets, an unbroken stand of 82 between AP
Singh (67 not out;77 balls;10 fours) and D Mahajan (25 not out;38
balls;2 fours and 1 six) ensured that J&K lived to fight another day.
Full postRajasthan gain first innings lead
Jaipur: Saket Bhatia (72 not out) and Sanjeev Sharma (54) helped Rajasthan to the first innings lead against Madhya Pradesh on Day 3 of this Central Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the KL Saini ground here yesterday
22-Nov-1999
Jaipur: Saket Bhatia (72 not out) and Sanjeev Sharma (54) helped
Rajasthan to the first innings lead against Madhya Pradesh on Day 3 of
this Central Zone Ranji Trophy league match at the KL Saini ground
here yesterday. They came together at a crucial stage of the match and
put on 122 for the sixth wicket. At stumps Rajasthan were 372-6 -a
lead of 57- with four wickets in hand. Bhatia and M Singh (5 not out)
were patrolling the crease.
Resuming at their overnight score of 120-0, Rajasthan lost three
wickets before lunch. In the very first over of the day AS Jain was
trapped leg before without adding to his overnight score of 50. After
lunch Rajasthan lost captain P Krishnakumar and opener NS Dora in the
space of six balls to slide to 221-5, still 94 behind. Kumar was the
third leg before victim of the day and Dora ran himself out after
making a patient 87. But a sixth wicket partnership of 122 in 171
minutes off 43.4 overs between Bhatia and Sharma put paid to MP's
hopes of gaining first innings points.
Full postBangar, Sharma star in strong Railways reply.
Delhi: A century by Sanjay Bangar and 99 by Abhay Sharma kept Railways in the hunt on Day 3 of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Uttar Pradesh at the Karnail Singh stadium here yesterday
22-Nov-1999
Delhi: A century by Sanjay Bangar and 99 by Abhay Sharma kept Railways
in the hunt on Day 3 of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy league match
against Uttar Pradesh at the Karnail Singh stadium here yesterday. At
stumps Railways were 283-3 in reply to UP's 439, still 157 behind.
Resuming at the overnight 33-1, Bangar and Sharma took the score to
191 (partnership 187) before Sharma was caught behind by keeper Manoj
Mudgal off Rizwan Shamshad one short of a well deserved ton. His 99
came off 190 balls with 12 fours and a six. Bangar fell at 266 to the
persevering Zaidi for an individual score of 130 (318 balls, 19x4,
1x6). But Y.Goud (35) and RS Rawat (5) marshalled Railways safely
through to stumps without any further setback.
Full postThe balance is tilting in Pakistan's favour
Hobart, Nov 21: The outcome of this Test, which has had innumerable twists and turns may well hinge on the unpredictable Tasmanian weather
A. Jalil
22-Nov-1999
Hobart, Nov 21: The outcome of this Test, which has had innumerable
twists and turns may well hinge on the unpredictable Tasmanian
weather. Rain has been forecast but if it should stay away Pakistan
having a firm grip on the match should wrap it up sometime before
mid-afternoon.
That is not to say that even at this stage trailing so far behind and
requiring as many as 181 runs for an improbable victory, Australia are
not going to contest the issue. They undoubtedly felt the enormity of
their task that lay ahead when Pakistan set them such a formidable
target of 369 runs, but despite that they have made quite a fist of
their response.
For a very considerable period this morning Australia, in their
batting, clearly indicated that they were going to push Pakistan all
the way. Their innings was well in progress for the loss of just one
wicket when suddenly the variation in Pakistan's attack rocked the
Australians back on their heels. Azhar Mahmood with his medium pacers
had done the trick after the blitz carried out by Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar
Younis and Wasim Akram had been thwarted
Giving the impression that he was still quite undeterred with the loss
of two wickets in successive balls, Steve Waugh, the most pugnacious
of batsmen, frustrated Pakistan for near enough an hour and a half
along with Justin Langer, while Wasim Akram constantly kept varying
Pakistan's attack. It paid off eventually with Saqlain, the hero of
Pakistan's bowling in the first innings, accepting a low return catch.
Full postYuvraj's century puts Punjab in pole position
Gurgaon: Punjab batted themselves into a position of strength despite the failure of their run machine Pankaj Dharmani on Day 2 of their North Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Haryana at the Nehru Stadium here yesterday
22-Nov-1999
Gurgaon: Punjab batted themselves into a position of strength despite
the failure of their run machine Pankaj Dharmani on Day 2 of their
North Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Haryana at the Nehru
Stadium here yesterday. Yuvraj Singh's unbeaten century and his 185
run opening partnership with Vikram Rathour lifted Punjab to 233-2 at
close of play.
Earlier, resuming at 242-8, Haryana were bowled out for 279 with off
spinner Sharandeep Singh finishing with 6-98. Rathour and Yuvraj then
put on 185 in 232 minutes before Rathour was caught behind by keeper
Ratra off Pradeep Jain for 80 (169 balls, 11 fours). Two runs later
Dharmani was out to the same combination for a six ball duck. Yuvraj
was still going strong on 131 (251 balls, 18 fours, 2 sixes) in the
company of Dinesh Mongia (14 not out).
Full postContest evenly balanced at Una
Una: The North Zone Ranji Trophy league match between Services and Himachal Pradesh at Una was evenly poised at the end of Day 2 at the Indira Gandhi stadium here yesterday
22-Nov-1999
Una: The North Zone Ranji Trophy league match between Services and
Himachal Pradesh at Una was evenly poised at the end of Day 2 at the
Indira Gandhi stadium here yesterday. After Services was bowled out
for 355 thanks to their tail being generously allowed to wag,
Himachal's reply had reached 173-4 by the time stumps were drawn.
Services which resumed at 229-6 were reduced to 277-9 before an
enterprising last wicket stand of 78 between S Kulkarni (29 not out
off 51 balls) and SV Ghag (43 off 31 balls) took them to a fighting
total. Shakti Singh finished with 4-89.After Himachal slipped to 43-2,
marathon man Rajeev Nayyar (60 not out) and Satya Prakash (54) put on
a 107 run third wicket partnership. But Services pulled back two late
wickets to reassert themselves in the game. At close of play Nayyar
was in the company of A Verma (0 not out).
Full postEksteen's little triumph as England XI crash
Centurion: While a pall of gloom hung over the England dressing room last night, and most of it they would have to admit is self-induced, Clive Eksteen finally managed to take Mike Atherton's wicket
Trevor Chesterfield
21-Nov-1999
Centurion: While a pall of gloom hung over
the England dressing room last night, and most of it they would
have to admit is self-induced, Clive Eksteen finally managed to
take Mike Atherton's wicket. As the England XI stretched their
overall lead to 238 when they reached 136 for seven in the second
innings against the combined Northerns/Gauteng XI at SuperSport
Park yesterday, Eksteen extracted a small measure of revenge
which was not lost on the yobbo element in the crowd, when he had
the former England captain caught in the slips by Daryll
Cullinan.
A pity the heavy cloud, which had been building since tea,
finally wiped a further 17 overs from the day's play with Chris
Adams and Alex Tudor all too eager to accept the bad light offer.
It was Eksteen's unsuccessful marathon duel with Atherton on the
last day of that second game of the series at the Wanderers four
years ago, now a part of modern Test folklore as the then England
captain batted all day, which led to the left-arm spinner's last
appearance for South Africa. It still rankles with some and stirs
the memory for others who have less than generous thoughts for
Eksteen's bowling abilities and tactics.
At Centurion yesterday the tourists had reached 88 without loss
at the start of the 23rd over when Atherton dipped at a delivery
from the Combined XI's captain only to find himself offering a
catch to Cullinan after a 94 minute innings for 39. Quite a
dashing effort from the tourists' opener. After his departure the
innings went into sharp decline for the visitors, or if you
prefer improved for the locals who after being dismissed for 201
fought back to be in with a chance of a victory of they can only
get their batting act together.
At one stage Mark Butcher, also on 39, Nasser Hussain, Alec
Stewart and Michael Vaughan all came and went in rapid succession
as first Eksteen and then Walter Masimula picked up wickets as
the visitors plunged 96 for four. Not the sort of parlous
position Duncan Fletcher, the England coach would have enjoyed.
It was all a matter of tight bowling, good fielding and poor shot
selection as at one stage Eksteen had the impressive figures of
three for 15 off 17 overs. That was before Andy Flintoff defaced
the figures with three boundaries which broke the stranglehold. A
six followed by a four and then a six took Flintoff into double
figures before he too perished one of the three Van Jaarsveld
catches in the innings.
Full postAbbas Ali ton sustains MP
Jaipur: Abbas Ali, with a fine 159, helped Madhya Pradesh to score 315 on the second day of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy tie against Rajasthan here yesterday
21-Nov-1999
Jaipur: Abbas Ali, with a fine 159, helped Madhya Pradesh to score 315
on the second day of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy tie against
Rajasthan here yesterday. At close the home team had made a good reply
scoring 120 without loss in 33 overs.
Abbas Ali, who was unbeaten with 41 overnight, was seventh out at
295. He batted 325 minutes, faced 208 balls and hit 22 fours. With JP
Yadav (50) he added 114 runs for the fourth wicket and with R Ali (28)
he put on 84 runs for the sixth wicket. Opening bowler Krishnakumar
was the most successful bowler taking six wickets for 84.
Rajasthan made a confident start and with both openers AS Jain and N
Doru hitting unbeaten half centuries, they had made a sound start by
close. Jain faced 101 balls for his 50 and hit five fours and Doru
faced 110 balls for 54 and hit six of them to the ropes.
Full postRain, bad light curtail play
Jaipur: Rain and bad light curtailed play on the opening day of the Central Zone Ranji Trophy match between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan here yesterday
21-Nov-1999
Jaipur: Rain and bad light curtailed play on the opening day of the
Central Zone Ranji Trophy match between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
here yesterday. Play started three hours late because of wet pitch
conditions. Play was halted in the evening because of bad light. In
between, MP put in to bat, were 109 for three.
Opening bowler Krishnakumar dismissed both openers Rajagopal and
Majithia with only 30 runs on the board. Then Sanjeev Sharma got rid
of Amay Khurasia and MP were 35 for three. JP Yadav (34) and Abbas Ali
(41) however retreived the position with an unbroken fourth wicket
partnership of 74 runs before play was halted.
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