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Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has been ruled out of the one-day series against West Indies and will be sent home to continue the recovery process on his right knee that he injured during the first Test in St Vincent.Shahadat Hossain Enamul Haque jnr and Saghir Hossain, who were part of the Test squad, will also return with Mortaza.In the absence of Mortaza and Shahadat, the bowling in the one-day series will be led by Rubel Hossain and Syed Rasel.Bangladesh also recalled left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak and allrounder Naeem Islam for the one-day series that starts on July 26.

Eleven supremely fit and ruthlessly efficient cricketers, on top of their game, had their dreams of a first-ever world title ended by one audacious man. That cricket is a team game is an oft repeated cliché but South Africa were eliminated from the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge solely because of Shahid Afridi’s intensity and all-round skill.Pakistan were yet to win a game against significant opposition in the tournament because of a team performance. They lost to England and Sri Lanka, beat minnows Netherlands and Ireland, and relied on Umar Gul to rout New Zealand. Their players hadn’t contributed collectively and so it was unlikely all 11 players would maximise potential against opponents as able as South Africa. To have a hope of playing at Lord’s on Sunday, Pakistan needed individual brilliance from one of their matchwinners: probably Gul, possibly Younis Khan, or perhaps Misbah-ul-Haq.Instead, it came from Afridi. Pakistan and Afridi supporters always hope that it will come from him. They roar him to the crease, brimming with optimism, hoping he will destroy the opposition with his recklessly cavalier approach. Thousands of fans celebrated his arrival at the crease at Trent Bridge after Pakistan had lost Shahzaib Hasan in the second over.Did they know that Afridi’s last half-century, in any format of the game, came 28 innings ago, against Zimbabwe at Multan in 2008? And the one before that was 19 innings earlier, against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi in 2007? It didn’t matter, for when it comes to Afridi, there’s always reason to hope. He’ll disappoint more often than not, but his successes are so spectacular that it’s worth the heartbreaks.Afridi batted at No. 6 during the initial stages of the World Twenty20 and having to necessarily find the boundary immediately didn’t work for him. He made 5 against England, holing out to mid-on, was bowled for 13 by Dirk Nannes against Netherlands, and was dismissed for a first-ball duck against Sri Lanka. Pakistan decided to push him up to No. 5 against New Zealand and he made 29 low-pressure runs off 18 balls, and 24 off 13 balls at No 3 against Ireland. Afridi said Younis supported him fully, put no pressure on him, and asked him to bat higher in the order, only requesting that he take his time and not attempt impractical risks like trying to pull Muttiah Muralitharan into orbit off his first delivery.On first evidence at Trent Bridge, Afridi appeared not to heed that request, whacking his first ball, from Wayne Parnell, over mid-on for four. He was bristling with aggression when Jacques Kallis tested his skill against the short ball. Afridi was beaten by the first couple but pulled two out of the following three to the midwicket boundary. Kallis walked up to him and stared and Afridi’s response was an attempt to get under the skin of the bowler. “He [Kallis] came close to me, I gave him a kiss,” Afridi said. “A flying kiss.”Afridi’s posture had betrayed disappointment when Kamran Akmal fell off his 12th ball, having scored 23 off the first 11, by top-edging a pull to mid-on. Afridi had also started quickly, scoring 15 off nine, but wasn’t about to go the Akmal way. No risks were taken immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted, Afridi being content with working the ball cleverly into gaps to score at a run a ball.Not until the 11th over did he cut loose, against Johan Botha, and his execution was precise. Three times in a row Afridi made room by moving towards leg, and all three times he placed the ball into the gap on the extra cover boundary. And when Graeme Smith reinforced his field, Afridi played the deftest of late cuts to take 18 off the over. His first moment of indiscretion was also his last for an ill-timed swipe across the line against JP Duminy’s first ball went straight in the air. Trent Bridge reverberated with applause as Afridi returned to the dugout, having scored 51 off 34 balls. And he was only half done.While Afridi’s batting has deteriorated over the last couple of years, his bowling has been vital to Pakistan’s limited-over success. He even told Cricinfo that he rates himself as a bowler first. So unlike his batting, Afridi’s legspin was in top form during the World Twenty20 with eight wickets and an economy of less than six an over, going into the game against South Africa.Buoyed by his batting, Afridi’s high intensity levels kept him in the thick of the action. He appeared stunned after Gul dropped Smith and hit his head on the ground, standing motionless for a few moments before realising the ball needed to be collected, and then attended to his injured team-mate. He was given the ball in the seventh over and found rhythm immediately, getting one to turn, bounce and rip past Kallis’ bat. Gibbs watched that from the non-striker’s end and so pushed forward, playing away from his body for the legbreak, a ball later. It didn’t turn. Instead it fizzed off the pitch and skidded straight through, knocking back off stump.Afridi had an edge put down by Kamran Akmal off AB de Villiers in his next over. Unfazed, he forced the batsmen to play on the next ball, and celebrated in trademark style: running to the side of the pitch, standing upright with his chest proudly out, a knowing grin on his face and his right hand raised in triumph while his team-mates rushed in from all corners of the outfield. As they mobbed him, the DJ got the crowd going by playing .Afridi finished with 2 for 16 to go with his half-century. After he was done, Saeed Ajmal dismissed Kallis, Gul bowled a succession of yorkers, and Mohammad Aamer kept his cool when entrusted with the final over. There was no doubt, though, why Pakistan had won. It was obvious from the number of times Smith mentioned Afridi’s name during the post-match press conference without even being specifically asked.

Andrew Symonds’ colourful 26-Test career appears all but over after he was omitted from Australia’s 16-man Ashes touring squad. Symonds, who turns 34 next month, was overlooked in preference of younger allrounders in Shane Watson, Andrew McDonald and Marcus North for the five-Test series against England, beginning in Cardiff on July 8.Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel remained loyal to the young squad that defeated South Africa in three out of four Tests in 2009, ensuring McDonald got the nod over candidates such as Symonds and Brad Hodge. Watson, Australia’s allrounder of choice on last year’s tour of India, has also earned a call-up despite only recently returning to bowling after another stint on the sideline with back stress fractures.The move to select three all-rounders and no specialist reserve batsman is a considerable risk on the part of selectors, and leaves little wriggle room if members of the top order are beset with form or injury issues in England. But it will provide Australia with added bowling options to relieve the pressure on their paceman, all of whom shouldered heavy workloads over the past 12 months, resulting in injuries to the likes of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Peter Siddle.”Without a doubt this is the one of the most flexible squads we’ve taken away and that’s something I think the selectors were really looking for,” coach Tim Nielsen wrote on his blog. “Shane Watson adds plenty for us; he’s played well for Australia over the last little while in the one-day arena and has shown that he can make hundreds at the top of the order and bat anywhere between one and seven. Obviously when he gets over his groin injury we expect him to be able to bowl which will add another dimension to our squad also.”The inclusions of Watson and McDonald were the only contentious calls in an otherwise predictable Australian touring party. The five-man pace contingent largely selected itself – although Doug Bollinger can consider himself a trifle unlucky – and competition will be on in earnest when the Australians commence their first tour game against Sussex at Hove on June 24. Mitchell Johnson and Lee are likely to be given first shot at the new ball, leaving Clark, Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus to duel for the final one or two slots, depending on whether Nathan Hauritz, the specialist spinner, is played.The make-up of the Australian top order also went to script. The top six from the tour of South Africa were all retained, and Brad Haddin, unsurprisingly, held his position. Haddin will be supported on tour by back-up wicketkeeper Graham Manou.”The Ashes squad contains an exciting blend of experience and youth,” Hilditch said. “The core of the squad is made up of the side which successfully won the Test series in South Africa and includes Phillip Hughes and Marcus North who both scored hundreds on debut.”The young fast-bowling group which performed so well in South Africa of Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus will all be taking part in their first Ashes tour to England and as shown in South Africa, they have the skills to perform at the international level and will be well suited to English conditions. The bowling group has been further strengthened by the return from injury of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark.”The omission of Symonds was not entirely surprising given his recent controversial history and the strong cases presented by Watson, McDonald and North, but is notable after Ricky Ponting’s glowing endorsement on the eve of the squad selection. Ponting, though, was philosophical when assessing Symonds’ exclusion on Wednesday.”I can’t personally be disappointed,” he said. “The facts are he (Symonds) went out of the side … and we gave opportunities to others and they’ve played well enough to keep Andrew out of the squad. That’s as simple as it has to be.”Squad Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Graham Manou, Andrew McDonald, Marcus North, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Graeme Smith, along with Naman Ojha, batted Kings XI Punjab out of the match with a destructive 135-run opening stand•AFP

Two changes, one of them a tactical masterstroke, made their impact in the very first over of each innings to hand Rajasthan Royals an imposing 78-run win against Kings XI Punjab, and propel them – in an intensely fluid tournament – to second place on the points table. The match was effectively decided in three overs: the first of Rajasthan’s innings, when Naman Ojha hammered 16 off Ramesh Powar; the penultimate, when Sreesanth went for 23, and the first over of Punjab’s innings when Amit Singh, playing his first Twenty20 game, took two wickets, including one off the first ball.Rajasthan have stayed in this tournament through their bowling but managed today to rectify the blips in their erratic top order to build on a solid opening stand between Ojha – promoted for this game – and Graeme Smith. If Rajasthan got their tactics right, Punjab certainly did not, undermining their decision to field in seaming conditions by opening with a spinner. Powar was punished for 16 in the first over as Ojha, using his feet to counter the flight, smashed two sixes over long-on. Seven balls into the game and Rajasthan had equalled their highest opening partnership of 20 in this year’s tournament – the first wicket had reached double figures just once in seven matches .Though Yuvraj Singh realised his miscalculation and immediately reverted to pace the momentum had been seized. Smith and Ojha timed their innings superbly, latching on to any available opportunity and presumably heightening the sense of regret in the opposing captain for gifting them the initiative.Ojha adapted to the conditions perfectly after the fielding restrictions were lifted. He combined his naturally aggressive flow with some deft touches, late-cutting Piyush Chawla for a boundary and following that up with an even more delicate dab wide of third man off Abdulla to put on display his varied repertoire of strokes.

Smith’s innings marked a contrast to his guarded approach against Delhi Daredevils, when, struggling for form, he took a backseat to Yusuf Pathan’s monstrous onslaught that won them the game. Here, he led the charge, smashing Powar for a six in the eleventh over, and finding the gaps in the leg-side consistently, favouring the short-fine and the midwicket region, and using the slog-sweep and the clip off the pads to good effect. The pair used their feet against spinners – Ojha charging down the pitch, and Smith favouring the sweep – to dent the tournament’s main bowling weapon, and adding 135, the best opening stand this IPL.Punjab sensed a comeback with three quick wickets, including the two openers and Yusuf Pathan, who entertained a sizable crowd with 7-ball cameo, and appeared within reach of restricting Rajasthan to around 180. But Ravindra Jadeja ensured there was no shift in momentum, with a blistering 33. Much of that came off the penultimate over from Sreesanth, returning from a three-month injury layoff – he overstepped twice, was dispatched for a six and a four over the leg-side field, and was left infuriated when a thick edge beat the keeper to the boundary to take Rajasthan past 200.Yuvraj’s opening gambit failed with the bowling and his batsmen failed to compensate. Amit, an unknown commodity on the international circuit from Gujarat, had a dream start with Sunny Sohal’s wicket off his first ball. Karan Goel, given another go after a poor run of scores, belied the faith by holing out at deep square-leg while attempting an ugly swipe off the final ball.Strategy, or the lack of it, failed Punjab yet again as Yuvraj kept himself off the top order, coming in at No 6 – by which time the match had been decided. Three more wickets in four overs sealed their fate as Kumar Sangakkara, Simon Katich and Mahela Jayawardene each fell while attempting to salvage an improbable chase. Eventually it was left to their captain to lessen the damage to his team’s net run-rate and limit the humiliation.Punjab’s problems at the top of the order have resurfaced, while Rajasthan appear to have fixed theirs. More worrying, though, is Punjab’s bowling as the failure of Abdulla and their spinners let them down at a crucial phase in the tournament.

Scorecard
Dinesh Chandimal and Banuka Rajapaksha scored brilliant hundreds but Sri Lanka had to be content with a draw in their opening game on the the tour of Bangladesh. Resuming on 110 for 2, both batsmen continued in strong fashion, with Rajapksha playing the aggressor.Both batsmen, however, were retired out, but not before Rajapaksha had smashed 16 boundaries and four sixes during his 130-ball innings with Chandimal hitting 16 fours during his 150-ball stay. Kushal Janith Perera’s 50 off 85 balls, comprising six boundaries, made it a day to forget for the Bangladesh U-19 bowlers as the visitors finished with a lead of 172.It was a much better showing from Bangladesh U-19 second time around as Mohammad Rubel tore into the Sri Lankan U-19 attack. He remained unbeaten on 73 off 71 balls, stroking 10 fours and two sixes en route.The two teams will face off next in the first Youth Test beginning Wednesday in Fatullah.

Match facts

April 18, 2009
Start time 16.30pm (14.30GMT)

Big Picture

Will Shane Warne again be able to lift Rajasthan?•Getty Images

It’s the top of the pile versus the cellar dwellers. The inaugural IPL winners take on the Bangalore Royal Challengers, who finished seventh of eight teams. Despite the loss of leading performers Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson, this is a Rajasthan Royals unit that, under Shane Warne’s expert leadership, did a fine job of masking their frailties in 2008. Rajasthan were largely written off after losing their first game, but an inspirational Warne made sure his players reveled in the role of underdogs. The result is fresh in everyone’s minds. It’s natural, then, to believe this bunch will improve and rise to the occasion – though the corrollary, of playing under the pressure of being reigning champions, is equally valid. The other big question mark is how well the crop of Indians who have never played in South Africa adapts.Bangalore suffered from a lack of confidence and inexperienced Twenty20 players in 2008. Like Rajasthan last year, Bangalore could use their underdog tag to lift their game. And, like Warne, the man to help them is the exuberant and brilliantly talented Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen will be available for only the first two weeks but how quickly he adapts and inspires Bangalore may dictate how they start their campaign. He could also be the buffer between the players and a difficult corporate boss. What should also work for Bangalore is the number of their clutch players in form.

Form guide

Bangalore’s Jesse Ryder was in super form in the home series against India, while Dale Steyn and Pietersen are coming off good series too. The allrounder Roelof van der Merwe has turned heads in the Twenty20s and ODIs against Australia, and is being marked out as one to watch in the IPL. Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher have done well in their recent international games against Australia. Nathan Bracken has been poor in the ODIs against South Africa, managing just three wickets at 60.33 in four games. Robin Uthappa has not played much cricket lately, nor have most of the other Indians in the squad. Rahul Dravid, though, is coming off a consistent Test series in New Zealand.From Rajasthan’s batting line-up, Graeme Smith will come straight off the ODIs against Australia. Yusuf Pathan played the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of New Zealand but the likes of Swapnil Asnodkar, Tyron Henderson and Ravindra Jadeja haven’t had any international competition for a while. Shane Watson, who recently came off a long-term injury, joined the Royals for their training camp in Cape Town but will fly out with the Australian team next week. Rajasthan will be boosted by the return of Munaf Patel, who achieved reasonable success with the Indian team during their tour of New Zealand.

In from the cold

Warne hasn’t played competitive cricket since lifting the inaugural IPL trophy last year. That may give cause for concern, but then Warne has never been one for rigorous practice. Just toss him the ball and wait. Always the entertainer and a shrewd tactician, the legendary legspinner is an impact player.

Watch out for

Warne v Pietersen. Both are solid mates, having played together at Hampshire, and both have swapped compliments in the press. Warne and Pietersen have had a few heated exchanges on the field at the international level. Pietersen loves attacking, Warne loves being attacked. Watch out for a battle of wits.

Friendly fire

Steyn v Smith: South Africa’s captain will now be facing his strike bowler. It’s nice to be able to give the new ball to Steyn and help him set fields, but having the world’s fastest bowler hurtling down in steamy Cape Town is something else. Both are tough cookies, so don’t expect either to lack in aggression.

Team news

Like Rajasthan, Bangalore have serious headaches when it comes to picking four overseas players. Bangalore failed to spark last season, but the addition of Pietersen and Ryder add much-needed oomph to the batting. That’s two spots, leaving the likely candidates to be Steyn and Roelof van der Merwe, both South Africans. Ross Taylor, Bracken, Kallis and Boucher are likely to miss out. Steyn is Bangalore’s best bowler and he has said the inclusion of van der Merwe, a great Twenty20 spinner and destructive batsman, was likely to balance out the loss of Zaheer Khan. Unlike Ryder, Taylor does not bowl. Bracken has been in poor form in South Africa, while Bangalore are unlikely to use an overseas spot on Boucher and Kallis, who did nothing worth remembering last season. Praveen Kumar is a shoo-in and the men to back him up include Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Pankaj Singh. Though Anil Kumble has done nothing of note in Twenty20 he may be considered for his experience.Bangalore Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Roelof van der Werwe, 7 Sreevats Goswami (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Pankaj Singh.Rajasthan will be keen to use Watson’s services – though he will play as a batsman – before he departs for Australian duty in the UAE from April 22-May 7. Last year’s Player of the Series is a likely starter, filling the No. 3 slot. Warne and Smith will fill two more non-Indian spots, leaving England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas and South Africa’s Henderson fighting over the other allrounder’s berth. Warne has talked up Henderson and his experience in local conditions so he may get preference. South African fast bowler Morne Morkel and the Australians Shaun Tait and Shane Harwood will be competing as strike bowlers. It is indeed a complicated situation for Rajasthan.Among the Indian players, Warne said he had high hopes from Kamran Khan, 18, the left-arm seamer from Uttar Pradesh who bowls with a slingy action and surprising pace.Rajasthan Royals (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Yusuf Pathan, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Tyron Henderson, 7 Shane Warne (capt), 8 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 9 Munaf Patel, 10 Sidharth Trivedi, 11 Kamran Khan.

2008 head-to-head record

Rajasthan won both games against Bangalore last year, one home and one away. The first in Bangalore was a seven-wicket victory and the second, at the fag end of the tournament, by 65 runs.

Quotes

“Having Kevin Pietersen as captain will be interesting, as he has knowledge of local conditions and of batting over here – and it will be good to have his experience.”

Ishant Sharma could miss the first ODI against New Zealand in Napier on March 3 because of a shoulder problem. Ishant injured his shoulder during the second Twenty20 international and was able to bowl only two out of his quota of four overs.”Ishant went for an MRI. The shoulder is still sore,” Niranjan Shah, the India team manager, said. “We will monitor him over the next two days. But he could miss the first one-dayer. He has already had an injury on that shoulder.”Ishant hurt his shoulder in the fifth over of the New Zealand innings when he dived to his right from mid-on to stop a blistering straight drive from Jesse Ryder. He bowled one more over after the fall before going off the field for treatment. He was seen sitting in the dugout with an ice pack on his shoulder.India suffered a last-ball defeat in the second Twenty20 international and lost the series 2-0 to New Zealand.

South Zone

An aggressive 95 from M Vijay and good support from opener Srikkanth Anirudha and Arun Karthik handed Tamil Nadu a comfortable eight-wicket win – their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament – over Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. Tamil Nadu’s job was made easier by their fast bowlers R Suthesh and Yo Mahesh, who took five wickets between them to help restrict Andhra for 190. The duo struck to leave Andhra reeling at 37 for 6. However, Duvvarapu Shivkumar, who top scored for Andhra with 56, triggered a lower-order revival, with the last four wickets added 153. Garikina Prasad, the offspinner, who batted at No. 10, contributed 41. But the total proved inadequate, with Tamil Nadu’s batsmen scoring at more than 5.5 runs an over, led by Vijay, who struck 12 fours and two sixes.Fast bowlers M Arjun and Shoaib Ahmed took three wickets each to help Hyderabad inflict a 105-run defeat on Goa in Visakhapatnam. The two took the first five wickets to fall and left Goa – who were chasing 261 for victory – reeling at 48 for 5 in the 15th over. Though the lower order helped Goa salvage a more respectable final score, the flurry of wickets early in their innings meant they were always behind the eight-ball. Asked to bat, Hyderabad were provided a good start by opener DB Ravi Teja, who scored 69. Though the highest partnership in their innings was only 50 – between Teja and Anoop Pai for the third wicket – the middle order made important contributions to help their team post a competitive score. Amol Shinde made 43, wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar chipped in with 34, and Ashish Reddy scored a quick 29 to take their team to 260 for 8. Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner, took 3 for 52. Goa, at the bottom of the table, have no chance of making it to the knockout stage.A threatening 89-run stand for the seventh wicket between centurion Devraj Patil and Raju Bhatkal could not prevent Kerala from beating Karnataka by a narrow 15-run margin at the Port Trust Golden Jubilee Stadium. Medium-pacer Prasanth Parameswaran took 3 for 15 in 7.3 overs, and was ably assisted by the rest of the bowling line-up as Karnataka faltered in pursuit of 243. They started off poorly, losing their openers Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam with 19 on the board and slipped to a precarious 111 for 6, despite a 54-run partnership between Patil and B Akhil. Though Patil and Bhatkal took their team within reach of the target, Parameswaran’s two wickets ensured Kerala won. Earlier, Kerala squandered a solid foundation for a sizeable score, losing five wickets for 68 runs in reaching 258 for 9. Half-centuries from Karimutthatu Rakesh, Sreekumar Nair and Preambhastn Prem had put Kerala in a dominating position, but three run-outs jolted their hopes of getting a total beyond Karnataka’s reach. It was Kerala’s first win in the tournament.

West Zone

Mumbai kept alive their chances of finishing in the top two by beating Maharashtra by seven wickets at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot. Maharashtra, put in, managed a score over 200 thanks to an unbeaten 58 from No. 7 Ganesh Gaekwad, who added 71 for the eighth wicket with Rohit Motwani after they had been reduced to 110 for 7. Dhawal Kulkarni struck two early blows for Mumbai, while Iqbal Abdulla and Abhishek took three wickets apiece. Chasing 211, Mumbai’s openers – Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane – put on 145 in 22 overs. Gaekwad took the three wickets to fall in the innings, while Rahane reached his century before Mumbai completed the win with 12.4 overs to spare. Mumbai, who now are tied at the top with Maharashtra and Gujarat on eight points, will have to rely on the results of the remaining games in the group phase – Mumbai have completed their four.Half-centuries from opener Sagar Jogiyani and Cheteshwar Pujara helped hosts Saurashtra beat Baroda by five wickets. Set a challenging target of 248, Saurashtra began soundly with the openers adding 36 in under ten overs. However, Chirag Pathak’s dismissal slowed down the innings and Saurashtra were behind the asking-rate when they lost No. 3 Bhushan Chauhan with the score on 83 in the 26th over. But Jogiyani batted steadily, and Pujara stepped up the scoring after Jogiyani fell to finish with 75 off 68 balls and take Saurashtra past Baroda’s total in the final over. Pratik Mehta supported Pujara well with a 28-ball 33, adding 60 for the fifth wicket. Baroda, after opting to bat, wasted a solid foundation laid by a 106-run third-wicket stand between Azharuddin Bilakhia, who top scored with 85, and Rakesh Solanki. They lost their last six wickets for 78 runs, with medium-pacer Jayesh Odedra taking 4 for 44 to precipitate a quick end to the innings.

North Zone

Ajay Mannu, the Himachal Pradesh wicketkeeper, made an invaluable 70 to help his team record a narrow two-wicket win over Delhi in Una. HP were struggling at 194 for 6 in pursuit of a challenging 282, but Mannu steadied the innings, getting involved in crucial partnerships of 31 for the seventh wicket with K Diwan, and 41 for the eighth with offspinner Sarandeep Singh to take his team within reach of the target. HP had begun their run-chase well, with opener Sangram Singh scoring a quickfire 57. However, the middle-order batsmen failed to build on starts – Vikramjeet Malik made 31 and captain Paras Dogra was trapped lbw on 44. Mannu’s rescue act, though, led the team to their third straight win. Delhi’s innings was anchored by opener Aakash Chopra’s century. He and was involved in a 96-run fourth-wicket stand with allrounder Rajat Bhatia, who made 77 off 68 balls.Haryana too completed a close two-wicket win against Services. Batting first, Services – who had complained about poor facilities in Una – managed only 181. Joginder Sharma struck three early blows, while India legspinner Amit Mishra grabbed 5 for 44 as only three Services batsmen made it past 20. Services’ opening bowlers Rakesh Kumar and Narendra Singh took five wickets to leave Haryana at 78 for 6, but Dhruv Singh and Joginder revived the chase with a 79 -run stand. Arun Sharma then removed Joginer and Sandeep Singh – he finished with 2 for 29 off ten overs – but Dhruv’s unbeaten 68 ensured his team reached the target with 4.2 overs to spare. At the other end, Gaurav Vashisht survived 11 balls for his 1.Uday Kaul top scored with 79 as Punjab posted the first win – a six-wicket victory over Jammu & Kashmir in Dharamsala. Set 219, Punjab’s chase was over in the 38th over, with Ravi Inder Singh and Ankur Kakkar chipping in with 40s. It was the third straight loss for J&K, who were off to a steady start after being put in. Openers Imraj Thakur and Ian Dev Singh scored contrasting 45s, but the middle order, barring Manoj Joglekar, failed to capitalise. Joglekar scored 73 to push his team past 200; the best from the rest was 12. Taruwar Kohli was the pick of the Punjab bowlers, with 3 for 28 off his 7.1 overs.

East Zone

Ranadeb Bose took a three-wicket haul as Bengal‘s bowlers put on an impressive display at Eden Gardens to help their side book their place in the knockout stage. Chasing 250, Tripura were bowled out for 158. Ashok Dinda and spinners Iresh Saxena and Manoj Tiwary scalped two wickets each. Shreevats Goswami scored 74 in Bengal’s 249, with Tiwary making 55 and wicketkeeper-opener Wriddhiman Saha 41. For Tripura, opening bowler Rana Dutta, playing his third List A game, took 4 for 43.A seven-wicket win over Jharkhand in Kolkata boosted Orissa‘s chances of qualification. Subit Biswal’s maiden List A century and an unbeaten 88 from Halhadar Das steered Orissa to their target of 261 with 5.3 overs remaining. Jharkhand reached 260 thanks to Saurabh Tiwary’s 76, and a 47-ball 62 from Shiv Gautham.

The whispers began three years ago. A banana farmer’s son had arrived in the big smoke and was punishing bowling attacks across Sydney grade cricket. “I’ll tell you this,” said his coach, Neil d’Costa, who had just chaperoned Michael Clarke to cricket’s grandest stage. “This kid will go all the way.”The prophecy unfolded rapidly. Runs for Western Suburbs. Runs for the New South Wales and Australia Under-19s. Runs for New South Wales and Australia A. And all this by the age of 20. Hughes was not so much a batsman as a cricketing tsunami, swamping competitions with torrents of runs and earning the reputation as Australia’s next big thing.Hughes is an intriguing subject on both sides of the boundary rope. Away from the game, he is a quietly-spoken country kid who, paradoxically, has developed a taste for high fashion, suave hairstyles and diamond earrings. On the pitch, he is a positive-scoring, free-flowing batsman, albeit with a technique that is not to everyone’s taste.But it is runs that define him as a cricketer, and runs that caught the eye of Andrew Hilditch’s selection panel. With 1570 to his name in 17 first-class games at an average of 60.38, Hughes has given Australia every reason to believe his is not a premature selection.”Watching [South Africa] on TV in Australia, they all seemed pretty good,” Hughes said. “I’d love to have a crack at all of them.”Hughes’ elevation to the Test squad was not entirely surprising – his 117 in last season’s Sheffield Shield final prompted a wave of media calls for his promotion – but it certainly sparked excitement across the Australian cricketing landscape. Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, was equally impressed with Hughes’ 151 and 82 not out in Newcastle over the past week, when he knew the spotlight was on him.”It’s probably one of the most exciting things I’ve had to do since I’ve been a selector, picking a 20-year-old player who’s scoring that volume of runs under pressure,” Hilditch said. “We probably haven’t done that since Ricky Ponting, so it’s pretty exciting.”He’s got a fairly simple technique and certain areas where he scores, he’s basically a very controlled sort of player. You probably don’t want to draw comparisons but maybe similar to Justin Langer when he started his career. He just seems to have a really good head about his shoulders.”Both Ponting and Langer spoke at length with Hughes during this week’s Allan Border medal presentation. Hughes was awarded the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year on the same evening Ponting was named joint winner of the Border medal, and the Australian captain was glowing in his praise for the man tasked with replacing Matthew Hayden at the top of the order.”It’s going to be a huge step up for him,” Ponting said. “It’s going to be a demanding tour on all the players, even us more experienced guys will find it difficult at times over there I’m sure.”Everything that he’s shown or indicated with his first-class cricket over the last couple of years would suggest that under pressure and in big moments he’s tended to stand up and do the job for New South Wales. That’s a great thing for him to have behind him already.”Hughes scored a breezy 64 in a tour match against New Zealand earlier in the summer, and on Thursday declared himself again ready to duel an international attack. “It’s all going very smoothly at the moment and I’m loving it,” he said. “I’ve batted a lot with Simon [Katich] for New South Wales now and he’s been great. It’s definitely great to bat with him and if [the opportunity] did come up [to open with him for Australia], it would be great.”

Michael Vaughan has said he “would dearly like” to be part of the England side during next year’s Ashes after missing out on the tour of the Caribbean. He also wrote, in his column in the , that he turned down the chance to tour New Zealand with the England Lions and instead focus on getting runs for Yorkshire as the best route to a national recall.Opinion had been divided over whether Vaughan should be included in the touring party to the West Indies, but Vaughan said he “understood” the decision to exclude him. Vaughan was expected to press his case for selection during the Lions’ visit to India last month, but the tour had been called off after the Mumbai terrorist attacks.”I still feel I am mentally fresh and dangerous as a player,” he wrote. “Now I just want to bide my time and enjoy a proper, settled pre-season with Yorkshire. Preparing for the summer and scoring runs at the start of the season is the best way for me to force my way back into the England side.”If that happens then I will put the guys under pressure and still have the chance to play for England again.”Vaughan, 34, was looking forward to being a part of Yorkshire’s Pro-Arch Trophy defence in Sharjah next March. Last season, Andrew Flintoff had played in the tournament during his bid to come back to the national fold after a long injury lay-off.