Mubarak takes a blinder

Catch of the day:
It was probably the best catch of the tournament. Bevan Griggs must have thought he would get a four when he smacked one to the left of short cover. Poor man. Jehan Mubarak flew to his left to take an absolute stunner. "There was no thought that went through my mind then," Mubarak said later. "It was almost absolutely blank. There was a bit of anticipation, that's all. It was purely instinctive. I don't know whether I will hold another catch like that."

Appeal of the day:
Jamie How comes across as nice lad and a pretty decent batsman. Some one should tell him about the lbw law, though. He bowled some offbreaks today and seemed more excited than a kid in a zoo. Once, he screamed out an appeal. If only it had not pitched well outside leg, not gotten the inside edge and was going towards the stumps, it would have been dead plumb. Next over he went up again for another lbw shout. The umpire signalled a wide. It's a cruel world.

Shot of the day:
Mahela Jayawardene is an elegant classy batsman who rarely looks hurried. Twenty20 cricket has made him the play the big shots but even here he rarely looks hurried. Today, he played his trademark Twenty20 shot against the new ball: A small side step before he lifted a length delivery up and over mid-on. There was no violence, there seemed no brute power; it appeared a mere waft, a caressed lofted shot as if that was even possible.

Hat-trick ball of the day:
Isuru Udana had taken two wickets from two deliveries; a slower one and then a wide. One wondered what the hat-trick ball would be. It was a slower one and it appeared as though the batsman had picked it even. He went forward slowly and left no gap between the bat and pad. But it was the leg cutter. It just about straightened after landing on a length around off and hit the off stump. Gone!