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Group A

After having taken a big first-innings lead, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) took another step towards a place in the final as they set Sialkot a rather steep target of 367 for victory in the first-round replay match at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Resuming on 163 for 6 overnight, Sialkot were bundled out for 203 courtesy of a Wahab Riaz five-for. With a lead of 141, NBP went for quick runs in their second innings, scoring 225 for 5 in just 41 overs before declaring. With a mammoth task at hand, Sialkot openers saw out the nine overs before close to reduce the target by 33 runs with Kamran Younis stroking a 21-ball 25. For NBP, opener Nasir Jamshed (48 off 31 with five fours and four sixes), Shahid Yousuf (46) and Fawad Alam (46) all provided quick runs in order to gain maximum points from the match. Mohammad Imran, meanwhile, picked up four wickets for 66 runs but his team is left with a stiff task of holding the NBP bowlers at bay as they throw everything at them for a final-day victory.A majestic unbeaten 167 by Ijaz Ahmed allowed Faisalabad to finish the day on 330 for 6 against Lahore Ravi at the Iqbal Stadium. Facing 232 balls for his 30th first-class century, Ijaz hit 23 fours and two sixes and was involved in a 187-run third-wicket partnership with Ammar Mahmood, whose 76 came off 118 balls with 10 fours. However, apart from this duo, none of the Faisalabad batsmen were able to contribute significantly as leg-spinner Imran Haider (4 for 105) wrested some initiative for Lahore, who lost four wickets for only 86 runs towards the end of the day.Table-leaders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) started their final round match well by scoring 329 for 7 on the opening day against Karachi Whites at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex. Needing a win to confirm their place in the final, Habib Bank made use of internationals such as Shahid Afridi and Hasan Raza to post a decent total. Afridi hammered a characteristic 70 off 78 deliveries with the help of seven fours and three sixes in his 122 runs stand for the fourth wicket with Raza (65 off 130 balls). HBL, in a rather strange start to the innings, sent in their fast bowler Fahad Masood to open the innings as well as sending Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, at No. 3, both ploys that worked out well for the side. Fahad and Rehman put on 54 runs for the second wicket as Rehman’s 47 came off 90 balls with eight fours while Fahad hit three boundaries in his 33 off 45 deliveries. Rehman then added 53 runs for the third wicket with Raza before the in-form Aftab Khan (40) and Kamran Hussain (39) added 72 runs for the unbroken eighth-wicket stand to take Habib Bank beyond the 300-run mark.No play was possible on the first day of the match between Hyderabad and Pakistan Customs at Niaz Stadium as the pitch was unplayable due to wet conditions and overnight rain in the city.

Group B

Leaders Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) bowled out bottom-placed Quetta for 195 at the Gaddafi Stadium and had their openers put on 75 before close on the first day. Adil Raza and Adnan Rasool captured three wickets apiece as Quetta batsmen failed to build on their starts and Sabir Hussain managed to get into the 30s. In reply, Mohammad Hafeez, SNGPL’s captain, had scored an unbeaten 45 off 57 balls and Yasir Arafat (23*) gave their team a solid start to the last match before playing the final in their debut season.Put into bat first, Karachi Blues reached 260 for 8 against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the National Stadium courtesy of a century of debut by Sheharyar Ghani. After having been reduced to 62 for 4, Karachi owed much to a 69-run fifth-wicket partnership between Ghani and Tariq Haroon (34) for the recovery. Ghani smashed 22 boundaries in his 122 that came off 224 balls. He also added 67 for the eighth-wicket with Tabish Khan, who is unbeaten on 48 scored off only 63 deliveries. Anwar Ali captured four wickets for PIA to send the national selectors a timely reminder ahead of the Zimbabwe series.Rawalpindi‘s 18-year-old Fawad Hussain achieved a century on first-class debut and helped his team reach 255 for 6 against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the KRL Stadium. Coming in at No. 5, Fawad scored 102 off 206 balls with 14 boundaries as wickets fell regularly around him. Fourteen extras from the Rawalpindi bowlers helped KRL on their way as well as none of the batsmen, bar Fawad, were able to make a big impact on proceedings. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took three wickets for 26 runs for KRL as Bilal Asad and Sohail Tanvir grabbed two apiece.Abbottabad opening bowlers tore through the Lahore Shalimar line-up and had them reeling at an astonishing 19 for 6 at close at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground after having scored 236 in their first-innings. Junaid Khan and Armaghan Elahi captured three wickets apiece as Lahore face a daunting task of avoiding the follow-on. For Abbottabad, asked to bat first, opener Ghulam Mohammad (32) and captain Adnan Raees (39) contributed well with the bat but it was Khalid Usman, batting at No. 7, who took his side to respectability with an aggressive 66 off 76 balls. Usman’s effort nullified to some extent the good work of fast bowlers Mohammad Naved and Mohammad Saeed, who bagged four wickets each for 77 and 54 runs, respectively. However, the nine overs before close changed the complexion of the match as Abbottabad look set to finish with a big first-innings lead.At the Arbab Niaz Stadium, Islamabad dismissed Peshawar for 202 and had reached 86 for 3 in reply by close of play. In trouble at 105 for 7 at one stage, Islamabad were rescued by a 65-run eight-wicket partnership between Sajjad Ahmed (62*) and Riaz Afridi (44). For Islamabad, Rauf Akbar captured five wickets for 48 runs and was ably assisted by leg-spinner Ameer Khan who captured three wickets. Although Islamabad stumbled to 19 for 3, Mohammad Fayyaz (44) and Asadullah Sumari (20) steered them out of trouble.

‘It’s brilliant to see the way he batted, and itgives us confidence for the World Cup’ © AFP

Mahela Jayawardene had no excuses after a shoddy performance with both batand ball that cost Sri Lanka the chance to win a bilateral series in Indiafor the first time. With the exception of Chamara Silva, no other batsmancrossed 28, and the Indians overhauled the 260-run target with ridiculousease as the shadows started to spread across the lush green outfield.Having taken a 1-0 lead in the series after a tense win at Rajkot, SriLanka batted poorly both at Goa and Visakhapatnam to hand India victory.”A lot of things went wrong, not just one,” said Jayawardene, when askedto assess a performance that he’ll hope has little bearing on the WorldCup encounter between the two sides on March 23. “Losing a lot of wicketsearly on was one of them. We knew the pitch was very good, and we probablyneeded 275 or 280 or even more. We knew there would be a little bit ofmovement early on, but we survived that. Then we lost wickets.”Having slumped to 56 for 4, Sri Lanka recovered to post 259 thanks largelyto the efforts of one man. “The only bright spot from the whole match wasChamara Silva,” said Jayawardene. “I thought he batted really well, with acouple of other guys chipping in.”Silva made a superb run-a-ball 107 in his first outing of the series,showing the sort of form that inspired Sri Lanka to a famous Test win atWellington last December. When asked if there had been a temptation toplay him earlier in the series, Jayawardene said: “Obviously, we wanted toplay him in at least two games. But unfortunately, the first game waswashed out, and our middle order couldn’t get a bat. We tried to givethose guys a couple of games, and also make sure that every top-order guygot a hit. We always knew the talent that he possesses, and the way hebatted in New Zealand. It’s brilliant to see the way he batted, and itgives us confidence for the World Cup.”Having put a competitive total on the board, Sri Lanka then let the gameslip with some woeful new-ball bowling. Farveez Maharoof started the rotwith a 10-ball first over, and though both Lasith Malinga and DilharaFernando were immensely quick, the radar was never switched on. “Onceagain, we didn’t start well with the new ball,” said Jayawardene.”Defending a total like 260 on a pitch like that, it’s crucial that we getearly wickets with the new ball, which we didn’t do. We bowled both sidesof the wicket, and too many wides and no-balls. We had no momentum fromthat point onwards. We played some poor cricket today, and India playedsome really good cricket.”If you have to control the Indian batting line-up, you have to do wellwith the new ball. You have to hit the right areas, which we didn’t. Ifyou take the whole series, we weren’t very consistent with the new ball.We gave away momentum and were always fighting to get back into the game.”

f you have to control the Indian batting line-up, you have to do well with the new ball. You have to hit the right areas, which we didn’t. If you take the whole series, we weren’t very consistent with the new ball

He himself was as culpable as any on the batting front, with an awfulheave that extended a fallow run without a 50 to 17 games. Consideringthat he had two centuries while averaging over 53 in the 16 games prior tothat, Jayawardene’s form is one of the team’s prime concerns heading tothe Caribbean. “Personally, I’m very disappointed with the way I’ve beenbatting the last couple of months,” he said. “I want to contribute to theteam, and I haven’t been able to do that. I’ve been hitting the ballpretty well in practice, but not spending time out in the middle.”It can’t be overlooked that Sri Lanka played this series without their twomost experienced bowlers, but for Jayawardene, that was no excuse. “Thelast time we came here, Vaasy played a few games, and so did Murali,” hesaid, referring to the series in 2005 when Sri Lanka were thumped 6-1. “Wealways knew it would be a tough task on Indian pitches. But these guyswill learn by playing on different surfaces. They didn’t bowl that well,but will learn from the experience. It’s good that the full squad isgetting prepared for the World Cup, and not just a few guys.”Though he was clearly disappointed with another poor top-order show,Jayawardene was pretty impressed by the manner in which India’s bowlersacquitted themselves on surfaces that were largely batsmen-friendly.”Throughout the tournament, the Indian bowlers did well with the newball,” he said. “To be fair to our guys, I thought they [the Indians] gotthe better of the conditions. The wickets had some moisture and were moreconducive [in the morning], but you can’t take credit away from them.”Our batting also contributed [to the defeat]. We played some really looseshots today and threw a couple of wickets away in tight situations. We hada poor game, you have to put your hand up and take responsibility forthat.”By contrast, India’s batsmen breezed past the target in just 41 overs,with Yuvraj Singh’s fabulous unbeaten 95 and Robin Uthappa’s breezy35-ball 52 providing most of the impetus. “Robin had the advantage ofbatting in the Power Plays,” said Jayawardene when asked to assess the twoknocks. “Yuvi had to play the spinners with the field out. We were tryingto attack and take wickets, and they had the opportunity to score freely.Both batted really well in different situations.”Unless Bangladesh play out of their skins in the Caribbean, these twosides will be tussling for top spot in their World Cup group. “It’s agreat combination with a lot of experience, and they’ll be toughopposition,” said Jayawardene, when asked about the Indians. “Obviously,playing in India, they cherish the atmosphere and you could see thattoday. But come the World Cup, it’ll be a different atmospherealtogether.”With a formidable Australian side suffering an almighty injury-hit wobblein the lead-up to D-day, both India and Sri Lanka, strengthened by theaddition of Vaas and Murali, will journey to the Caribbean with more thana smidgen of hope in the hearts. And on foreign fields halfway across theglobe, both will need to replicate the form that they habitually show onthe green, green grass of home.

ScorecardWestern Australia edged to a 13-run win against Tasmania despite a fighting 105 by Michael Di Venuto at the Devonport Oval. Shaun Marsh guided WA to a competitive 6 for 236 before their bowlers turned in a fine performance to dismiss Tasmania for 223 in 49 overs.Di Ventuo played a lone hand in the chase and received support only from George Bailey, whose 45 was the other score above 20. He and Di Venuto added 95 runs for the fourth wicket and Tasmania needed a comfortable 52 runs off 63 balls when Bailey fell (4 for 185). WA turned on the pressure and dismissed Rhett Lockyear and Luke Butterworth in quick succession (6 for 190), but it was Di Venuto’s wicket, after he had made a brilliant hundred, that derailed the run chase. Ben Edmondson was the best bowler with 3 for 31 and Peter Worthington chipped in with 3 for 34.After being asked to bat, Justin Langer and Luke Ronchi got WA off to a solid start with an 88-run stand. But it was Marsh who held the innings together after three quick wickets reduced them to 3 for 96. Marsh was unbeaten on 81 – he struck three fours and three sixes – and added 95 runs with Chris Rogers for the fifth wicket to take the score to 236. Ben Hilfenhaus provided some controversy when he was ordered from the attack by the umpires for delivering two head-high full tosses in a row.

Royal College 94 (Peiris 3-16) v St Thomas College 152 for 2 (Peiris 64*, Silva 35*)
ScorecardOn the day that England A wrapped up a comprehensive 197-run victory over their Sri Lankan counterparts at the Colombo Cricket Club, not many of the city’s cricket fans were paying attention. They were instead gathered half-a-mile down the road at the Sinhalese Sports Club, where Royal College and St Thomas’s – two of Sri Lanka’s most illustrious schools – were engaged in their annual "Battle of the Blues".This was the 126th meeting between the two school teams whose annual fixture puts even Eton and Harrow to shame. And, judging by the first day’s events, it was shaping up as one of the most one-sided as well, as St Thomas’s took the game by the throat, bowling Royal College out for 94 after winning the toss, and then easing to 152 for 2 in reply.St Thomas’s hero was their opening bowler and No. 3 batsman, A Peiris. He rocked Royal College back on their heels in his very first over, by trapping their opener, S Senaratne, lbw for a second-ball duck, and later returned to sweep up the tail, for figures of 3 for 16 from 11.4 overs. None of the Royal batsmen could come to terms with the probing St Thomas attack, and only two batsmen made it into double figures.St Thomas had a moment of anxiety when N Perera was removed for 4 in the third over of their reply, but Peiris returned to the fray to calm the nerves. By the close, he was unbeaten on 64, with the wicketkeeper, K Silva, alongside him on 35, and with a lead already standing at 58, the stage was set for a day of dominance when play resumes tomorrow.

Marlon Samuels: among the runs in West Indies’ tour opener © Getty Images

West Indians 404 for 5 dec and 343 for 6 (Samuels 147, Ganga 69*) drew with Zimbabwe A 242 and 246 for 9 (Evans 59, Taylor 6 for 58)
ScorecardA devastating spell of reverse-swing bowling by Jerome Taylor almost broughtthe West Indian tourists an unexpected victory over Zimbabwe A after thematch had looked dead and buried at tea, but the determination of GavinEwing, dropped from the Test team, denied them at the death. Zimbabwe Afinished with 247 for 9.Despite their lead of 408, the West Indians decided on more batting practiceon the final morning, presumably for the benefit of Daren Ganga, 25overnight after a century in the first innings. This decision was to costthem a chance of victory. Ganga and Marlon Samuels found it easy going until Samuels drove a ball from Stuart Matsikenyeri down the throat of long-on to depart for 147. The declaration came at drinks, with Ganga unbeaten on 69 and the target a token 506.The lbw curse soon struck Zimbabwe A again, with Vusi Sibanda adjudged infront to Taylor for 4, with the total on 9. Then came a long period ofattrition as Dion Ebrahim and Craig Evans, both playing for their Testplaces, dug in and withstood the West Indian assault. Ebrahim finally fellin mid-afternoon for 41, caught off bat and pad off the bowling of RamnareshSarwan, but Evans reached his fifty. He clearly set his eyes on a century,playing safe instead of employing his usual buccaneering style and penchantfor massive sixes, especially when the spinners were bowling.By tea it seemed as if the West Indians had accepted that the match wasmeandering towards a draw, with a score of 132 for 2. However, Taylor returnedimmediately after tea and his first ball kept low to shatter Evans’s stumpswith a ball that kept slightly low, bowling him out for 59. After a fourand two singles off the next three balls, Taylor gave the same treatment toMatsikenyeri, bowled for 5. Two overs later, it was the unfortunate EltonChigumbura’s turn, yorked by Taylor to complete a pair.Travis Friend scored just 4 before being caught at bat-pad, again offTaylor, who had now taken four wickets in four overs since tea, and ZimbabweA were 157 for 6. Drakes in the first innings and now Taylor had shattered themiddle order with their sharp reverse swing, a problem that the top playerswill need to confront in the Test next week.Barney Rogers, like Matsikenyeri in the first innings, stood firm through itall and appeared to bat without undue difficulty. But he fell just as heappeared to be making the match secure, driving uppishly at Drakes and beingcaught low down at short extra cover for 45.The last hour began with the West Indians needing three more wickets to winthe match. Alester Maregwede (5) became another lbw victim as Taylorreturned, but Gavin Ewing, who clearly felt he had a message for thenational selectors, and Blessing Mahwire were determined not to give ineasily. At this point the West Indians began to show boredom in the fieldand indulged in some quite ridiculous and pointless time-wasting – a problemwhich the ICC still does not have the guts to tackle effectively.Mahwire (10) fell to a slip catch by substitute Brian Lara in thepenultimate over, bowled by Drakes, but Ewing, unbeaten with 42, played outthe final over from Ravi Rampaul to ensure the draw. Taylor finished withsix wickets.

With Graham Grace hitting an unbeaten maiden limited-overs century, North West scramble to a one-wicket win over Border in a Standard Bank Cup match in Potchefstroom on Sunday.Grace, who went to the wicket with North West at 2 for one, stayed for the rest of the innings for his 111 not out, adding 21 with last man in, Jake Malao, to see North West home.Earlier, Border’s 205 for eight had been built around contributions of 54 from Stephen Pope and 42 from Craig Sugden.

Nick Speak produced a captain’s innings of concentration and careful shot selection to give Durham the first day honours at Taunton.Having won the toss and chosen to take first use of a typically batsman-friendly pitch at the County Ground, Speak found himself walking out at88-3, with Somerset threatening to get on top.By the time he was out in the final session the scoreboard read a healthy 287-6 and an unbroken stand between Andy Pratt and John Wood took it to 324-6 by the close.Speak faced 211 deliveries for his top score of 78, hitting 7 fours, but building his innings mainly on watchful defence.He shared stands of 128 with Paul Collingwood and 65 with Jimmy Daley during a day of attrition, which saw Somerset’s below-strength attack struggling to find any penetration.Jon Lewis and Michael Gough had given Durham a solid start with an opening stand of 52 before Lewis was well held low at second slip by Parsons off Graham Rose for 31.The tall Gough produced some sweetly-timed offside strokes in his 33, but fell to a poor shot, caught behind attempting to cut a wide ball from Jamie Grove.When Simon Katich was pinned lbw by Grove trying to force a straight full-length ball through mid-wicket Somerset may have sensed a collapse.But Speak dropped anchor, while Collingwood punished anything loose, hitting 11 fours in reaching his half-century off 71 balls.Collingwood was never as fluent from then on, but had battled his way to 74 when getting the one ball of the day that turned appreciably off a good line and length. He was caught by Rose at slip off left-armer Ian Blackwell.It was a solitary success for the two Somerset spinners. Blackwell and Adrian Pierson shared 36 overs, bowling tidily enough, but rarely troubling the batsmen.Their seam bowling colleagues also had to work hard while getting precious little encouragement from the pitchAt 281-4, Durham looked set to end the day in an even more commanding position. But then Daley and Speak fell in quick succession to avoidable dismissals.Daley had made a season’s best 34 when run-out by Keith Parsons from mid-off answering Speak’s call for a quick single. The throw hit the stumps without the assistance of wicketkeeper Rob Turner, with Daley inches short of his ground.It was a breakthrough Somerset’s bowlers, lacking Andy Caddick on Test Match duty and Peter Trego with England Under-19s, did not look like making.Soon Speak had hooked Grove’s first delivery with the second new ball for four. But he departed trying to repeat the shot, caught off a top edge by Pierson at third-man.The Durham skipper had reached his fourth half century of the season off 137 balls, with only 3 boundaries. He was prepared to await the bad ball, which came less often after tea when Pierson and Blackwell bowled in tandem.Pratt and Wood took advantage of some tired bowling to add 43 in quick time after the Durham innings looked to be getting bogged down and the visitors will be looking for maximum batting points on day two.

Some of Bermuda’s most talented young cricketers will compete for an Americas XI in a mini World Cup to be held in the West Indies next month.The Under-15 tournament will also include West Indies, Ireland, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Holland and Zimbabwe. Bermuda were invited to send a team but because of exam commitments the board opted to be part of an Americas select instead.Lionel Tannock, the manager of the senior national team, has been selected as the Americas manager with Theo Cuffy, the Cayman coach, chosen as head coach.The group stages will take place in Trinidad and Guyana, from April 19.Bermuda coach Gus Logie said the selectors would choose five or six youngsters to be part of the squad, which will also include players from Canada, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.”The squad is in training at the moment,” he said, “and the selectors will be getting together over the next few weeks.”Grant Smith, the Under-15 national coach, said the quality remained pleasingly high – an age group Bermuda traditionally dominate in the Americas.The likes of Greg Maybury, Tre Govia and Deunte Darrell – who travelled with the Under-19s to the recent World Cup – along with Shea Pitcher, Josh Gilbert, Sinclair Smith and Kevon Fubler are all in contention for a place in the Americas side.”It should be a very competitive tournament. The last time they held an Under-15 World Cup was quite a few years ago,” Logie said. “A few of the big names, like Australia and South Africa, are not participating. I don’t really know what to expect to tell you the truth.”Bermuda Sun

While Tottenham Hotspur have seen a number of exciting academy talents come through the system over the years, perhaps no-one comes closer to matching the ‘what if’ story than one Marcus Edwards.

Speaking back in 2016, former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino raved: “The qualities – it’s only looks, his body and the way that he plays – remember a little bit from the beginning of Messi.

“He’s small, he’s left-footed, I remember a little bit (Erik) Lamela when he was at River Plate, remember he had long hair, when he was 14, 15 years old, there is a lot of videos on YouTube that you can see, that he took the ball, didn’t give a pass and shot straight away.

“He (Edwards) is a very good prospect and potentially he can be a top player, but we need to be patient and tell him that he has a lot of talent, enough talent to be a top player, a great player.”

In fact, his former teammate at England’s youth levels, Stephy Mavididi, had this to say about Edwards: “He is insane. Every time someone asks me about this guy, for me, he is one of the top three players I have played with.

“Dribbling, agility, low center of gravity, his change of direction. I haven’t seen anyone better than him with my own eyes. The guy is a joke, in the pockets and on the turn.”

But having been let go in 2019, Edwards has carved out a very fine career out in Portugal, first with Vitoria and now more recently with Sporting CP, whom he joined earlier this year in the January transfer window.

At the time of his exit from north London, the English ace was valued at just £1.13m (Transfermarkt).

Now with a buy-out clause of around €60m (£50m) at Sporting, Edwards has continued to light it up in the Portuguese top-flight.

In 23 games this season in the league, the diminutive winger has scored eight times and provided four assists, including featuring quite recently in the Champions League last 16 draw away against Manchester City – quite the difference from how his career at Spurs went.

Indeed, earlier this month, Edwards spoke candidly about some of the troubles he faced back at Hotspur Way, saying: “I definitely still think some people didn’t understand me. Now I know how to carry myself a bit differently. When I was younger, only certain coaches took the time out to really understand me and realise I’m just a normal guy, whereas now that’s a bit different.

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“You know how rumours spread in football. When I was leaving Tottenham, some people didn’t want to take me because of stuff they’d heard.”

Given how Edwards is now finally beginning to do his talking on the pitch, the likes of Daniel Levy and co back at Spurs may just be wondering whether they could have done a little more to convince the talented attacker to stay put in north London.

AND in other news: “Incredibly deadly”, “Robben-esque”: Paratici plotting Spurs swoop for £36m-rated ace

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Ramesh Powar’s four wickets put Mumbai on top in Jhalawar © Cricinfo Ltd

Wickets continued to tumble in Siliguri as Debasis Mohanty and Preetamjit Das, Orissa’s new-ball bowlers, shot Bengal out for 124 in the second innings to give their side a great chance of an outright win. Orissa had conceded an eight-run lead, in a low-scoring battle, but fought back splendidly in the second innings. Mohanty added four wickets to the two he had picked up in the first innings and Preetamjit, in just his fifth first-class match, ended with five for the match. For Bengal only Arindam Das, Sourav Sarkar, the bowling hero in the first innings, and Ashok Dinda, the No.11, managed double figures. Left to get 133, Orissa were solidly placed at 82 for 3 with Bikas Pati, Niranjan Behera, and Rashmi Ranjan Parida steering the chase. With 51 runs to get and seven wickets in hand, Orissa were favourites to wrap up their second successive win.
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Bowlers thrived in Uppal too as MP Arjun’s stunning six-wicket burst allowed Hyderabad to storm back into the contest against Andhra. Resuming on 52 for 5, Hyderabad fell short of Andhra’s 159, with captain Arjun Yadav playing a lone hand with 49. Having gained a 27-run lead, Andhra would have wished to close out the contest but medium-pacer Arjun, in only his sixth first-class match, claimed all the wickets to fall. He trapped Hemal Watekar in his third over but it was really his next, the eighth of the innings, which wrecked Andhra’s innings. He bowled ASK Varma for a duck in the third ball before nailing AG Pradeep and Shankara Rao off the fifth and sixth deliveries.
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Saurashtra’s new-ball bowler Sandeep Jobanputra, scythed through Karnataka’s batting line-up with a six-wicket haul, giving his side a great chance to gain the first-innings lead in Mysore. Having ground out 245 in the first innings, Saurashtra responded through their bowlers, striking at regular intervals. Jobanputra removed the top four, including the dangerous Robin Uthappa, before returning to knock off two tailenders. KB Pawan waged a lone battle, grinding out 110, and was still out in the middle with No.11 KP Appanna. Karnataka still needed 29 to gain the first-innings lead but Saurashtra should be favourites to gain the advantage.
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Oblivious to the bowler-friendly matches around the country, Punjab amassed 496 for 8 by the end of the second day against Baroda in Amritsar. Ravi Inder, one of the overnight batsmen, brought up his maiden century, going on to post 142, while the rest of the order chipped in too. Karan Goel, who had brought up his century yesterday, fell for 127 in the fifth over of the day but Sunny Sohal, who smashed a 64-ball 55, and Ankur Kakkar (56) continued the good work. Baroda’s bowlers managed only eight wickets in two days with Sumit Singh and Sankalp Vohra, the opening bowlers, sharing five wickets between them.
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Ramesh Powar’s four wickets pegged back Rajasthan on the second day’s play in Jhalawar, allowing Mumbai to eye an outright win. Having been kept down to 295 in their first innings, Mumbai fought back through Powar’s offspin, claiming wickets at regular intervals. Rajesh Bishnoi and Nikhil Doru managed half-centuries but Rajasthan couldn’t sustain the fight.
ScorecardVijaykumar Yomahesh and P Amarnath snared six wickets between them as Tamil Nadu sneaked out a slender 11-run lead against Himachal Pradesh in Chennai. Paras Dogra (49) and Manvinder Bisla (61) powered Himachal forward, with good support from Sarandeep Singh and Vishal Bhatia in the lower order, but Yomahesh broke the partnership and mopped up the tail.
ScorecardAakash Chopra and Mithun Manhas struck half-centuries as Delhi gained the advantage in Nagothane. Read the full report here.