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Monday, June 29, 2009
Malik struggling to find a place in Pakistan team
Karachi, June 29 (IANS) Six months after being dumped as Pakistan captain, senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik is struggling to keep his place in Pakistan's Test line-up.
According to sources, Pakistan team management is finding it increasingly difficult to offer Malik a place in the playing line-up as a genuine all-rounder and might play him as an opener in the first Test against Sri Lanka starting in Galle from July 4.
The return of senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf in the middle-order has also caused more problems for Malik. Yousuf was recalled in the Test squad after he broke ties with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) earlier this summer.
Interestingly, it was after Malik's ascent as Pakistan captain after the 2007 World Cup that Yousuf was forced' to leave national duty.
Yousuf defected to the ICL and later blamed Malik for treating senior players shabbily. Yousuf had claimed that it was because of Malik's behaviour that he was forced to switch allegiance to the ICL.
Sources said that the Pakistan team management will offer Malik to open the innings with Salman Butt. Malik has opened the innings in the past and has a good track record playing up the order in Sri Lanka.
On the 2006 tour of Sri Lanka, Malik played a match-saving knock of 148 - his career-best as Pakistan won the Test series.
Pakistan seems all set to give Test caps to rookie pacer Mohammad Aamer and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. The duo performed well in the ICC World Twenty20 in England where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final.
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Razzaq, Yousuf bag PCB 'A' category contracts
Lahore, June 27: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has awarded mid-term central contracts to all rounder Abdul Razzaq and middle order batsman Mohammed Yousuf, both of whom had terminated their respective contracts with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) earlier.
While, Razzaq made a dream come back in the Pakistan team through his balanced all round performance in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship, Yousuf still has to prove a point.
The PCB while giving the 'A' category contracts to both the players which would make them richer by 300,000 rupees per month, ignored rookie pace sensation, 17 year old Mohammad Aamir, The Dawn reports.
The PCB's decision to offer Yousuf a central contract, when he had not played any domestic or international cricket for the last eight months, and sidelining Aamir, even after his stupendous show in the ICC World Twenty20, has certainly raised questions over the board's criteria of giving central contacts to the players.
Experts believe that the board should have at least given a 'C' category contract to the young fast bowler to boost his morale ahead of the important series against Sri Lanka.
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Tendulkar rates ton against England at Chennai following 26/11 attacks his 'most important knock'
London, June 26: The century hit by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar against England just after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks gave him more satisfaction in comparison to his other tons in all varieties of the game, as it brought back smiles on the faces of terror hit Indians.
Tendulkar was a 14-year-old schoolboy, when Dilip Vengsarkar, then the Indian captain, judged him ready to play first-class cricket and he went on to hit 208 centuries in all forms of the game.
"I think the one against England in Chennai last year," he says, without hesitation when asked about his most important innings played so far for India.
"After what happened in Mumbai (the terrorist attacks), the mood of the entire nation was low. Something was needed to put smiles on people's faces. I am by no means suggesting that the people who lost near and dear ones could forget their terrible loss, but if we as a team were able to make them smile for just a couple of seconds, that was an achievement," The Independent quoted Tendulkar, as saying.
"And thanks to the England cricket team who came back very graciously and played against us. You know, cricket in India brings the entire nation together, from the poorest child to a billionaire. We are in a position to make everyone happy, which is very special for me and the whole cricketing fraternity," he said.
He pointed other innings which he considered important were played during his school days. "I would say that there were a couple in my schooldays that changed my life. In the semi-final of an Under-17s tournament I scored 326 not out, which is when everyone in Mumbai took notice of me. I then scored 346 not out in the final, with Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar watching."
"I was only 14 at the time, but Vengsarkar wanted me to join the Mumbai first-class team, which contained nine Test players. He had to be sure I was ready. So he invited me to play in the India nets. The Indian team had a camp in Mumbai, and he made Kapil Dev and all these guys bowl at me in the nets. After that session he gave a green signal to the selectors," he told The Independent in an interview.
The master blaster said that in his first domestic season he scored the highest number of runs for the team. "There are three trophies in India, and in all three I scored a century on my debut, so my performances were very good, but also the timing was perfect," he said.
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Rampaul and Taylor set the match for us: Gayle
Kingston, June 29 (IANS) West Indies captain Chris Gayle praised fast bowlers Ravi Rampaul and Jerome Taylor for setting up the second one-day international cricket match for the hosts against India here Sunday.
Rampaul (4-37) and Taylor (3-35) were destructive with the new ball and bowled out India for 188 runs. Gayle (64) and Runako Morton (85) then blasted 101 runs for the first wicket as West Indies achieved the target in 34.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Gayle said it was nice to square the series with a good all-round performance.
'Rampaul and Taylor set the game for us and from now on we will look to go strength to strength. There was moisture in the wicket and Taylor and Ravi utilised it well, and the catching was also good, so we just need to keep working on our game,' said Gayle.
Rampaul said he is delighted with his superb display against India. The 24-year-old was also adjudged the Man-of-the-Match.
'It was the best I have bowled for a long time. I was playing four-day cricket and coming back to one-day, my rhythm and everything went well - today I bowled really well,' Rampaul said.
Rampaul said that he was surprised to see Indian batsmen playing loose shots.
'I was getting a little swing with the ball so I was just waiting for them to play the rash shots,' he said.
Rampaul also said that he was well aware of Indian batsmen's weakness against short-pitched deliveries.
'They weren't too comfortable with the short balls so I used it as a surprise delivery,' Rampaul said.
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Srinivasan stays at helm, may amend constitution
N SRINIVASAN, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, was re-elected president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) at its 79th Annual General Meeting on Sunday. Not just Srinivasan, but all members of his panel were also elected unopposed with the AC Muthiah-led rival faction deciding not to contest these elections.
This will be Srinivasan's 8th consecutive year as TNCA president, and as per the existing constitution, he will have to relinquish office at the end of this term. Once a person has held office for two consecutive terms - or eight years - he becomes ineligible to hold any post in the TNCA in the year immediately after.
This bylaw came into effect in December 1987 through a ruling of the Madras High Court after MA Chidambaram had been president from 1952 through to 1988. It is widely anticipated that Srinivasan will attempt to have this bylaw amended to allow him to continue in office even after completing eight years. In order to do so he will have to convene a Special General Body Meeting and secure a 3/4ths majority of the 180-plus votes. In the TNCA, government recreational clubs, district cricket associations and some clubs that play in the Chennai leagues have voting rights adding up to more than 180 votes.
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"A" teams from Pakistan, Australia draw match
Umar Akmal was 100 not out and Sarfraz Ahmed scored an unbeaten 50 as Pakistan A overcame early second-innings batting problems to hold Australia A to a draw in a four-day match that ended Monday.
Set 318 off 60 overs for a final-day win, Pakistan A was in trouble at 77-4 and then 109-5 before Akmal and Ahmed combined to get the visitors to 207-5 for a draw.
Offspinner Jason Krejza top-scored for Australia A with an unbeaten 101 but took just one wicket in 31 overs.
Krejza, who hasn't played a test since being dumped following Australia's December loss to South Africa in Perth, finished with match figures of 1-147 after taking 1-79 from 14 overs on the final day.
Ahmed hit Krejza for five consecutive boundaries in his final over to bring up his half-century.
Australia A scored 399 and 256-5 declared while Pakistan A scored 338 in its first innings.
The teams play a second four-day match beginning Friday, again at Riverway Stadium in Townsville.
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PCB still hopes to persuade ICC to allow Pakistan host 2011 World Cup matches
Lahore, June 27: While the International Cricket Council (ICC) has made it clear that it would not revoke its decision of hosting any 2011 World Cup matches in Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is still hoping that it would force the apex cricketing agency to change its verdict.
After the ICC's confirmation of not hosting any of the 14 matches awarded to Pakistan earlier, the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, said he was still hopeful that the council would allow Pakistan to host its share of matches at neutral venues.
I still feel there is a scope for the PCB to work out a solution of these issues, which is acceptable to everyone. We will continue to explore various options," The Daily Times quoted Butt, as saying.
Butt said had the other three host nations India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh supported the PCB during the ICC meeting, the PCB would have surely succeeded in its aims.
"I thought we had made significant progress till last week but no support from the Asian countries meant that Pakistan may not be able to physically host these games at venues of its choice. But all is not lost as we are still optimistic and will continue to pursue this matter in the interest of the PCB and Pakistan cricket," he added.
Butt said that the option of neutral venues would be discussed again at a meeting of the ICC's cenral organising committee (COC).
Earlier, the ICC had rejected the PCB's proposal to stage its share of 2011 World Cup matches at neutral venues such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The ICC said that the 14 matches, which were allotted to Pakistan earlier, would now be shared between the other three host nations.
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Foolproof security cover for Pak team during Sri Lanka tour
Colombo, June 28: The Sri Lanka cricket authority has made foolproof security arrangements for the visiting Pakistan cricket team, as it does not a repeat of the Lahore terror attack in which six Sri Lankan players were injured.
Spokesman of the Sri Lanka team, Charith Senanayake said military security have been hired by the board to safeguard the visitors.
"As many as 100 security men will be deployed for the Pakistan team security. Best ever security arrangements have been made for the Pakistan cricket team," The News quoted Senanayake, as saying.
Disclosing the details about the security arrangements, he said seven security vehicles would escort the Pakistan team from hotel to the stadium during the whole series.
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We erred in reading the pitch: Dhoni
Kingston, June 29 (IANS) Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that Indian batsmen erred in reading the pitch and that resulted in their poor batting display in the second ODI against the West Indies here Sunday.
Dhoni (95) and Rudra Pratap Singh (23) added 101 runs for the ninth wicket to help India get to 188 after they were reduced to 82 for eight in the 22nd over.
'We should have paid a little more respect to the bowlers. The wicket was a bit difficult, it was swinging around a bit. We didn't judge the wicket well and just went around playing our strokes which really brought our downfall,' Dhoni said.
Dhoni and Rudra Pratap's partnership was the fifth century-run stand for the ninth wicket in ODIs and it saved India from the ignominy of getting bowled out for less than 100 runs. West Indies openers Runako Morton (85) and skipper Chris Gayle (64) then blazed off to a 101-run opening wicket stand as they attained the target in 34.1 overs with eight wickets in hand.
'Once you lose too many wickets then the only thing that you are doing is catching up. Rudra Pratap and me had a partnership, otherwise it would have been quite embarrassing,' Dhoni said.
Dhoni blamed the top-order for India's failure to put up a challenging total.
'When you are batting first, initially you expect the wicket to do a bit and it is the first half an hour and after that you can capitalise if you get a good start,' he said. 'Later on, the wicket became better for batting.'
Dhoni also defended Yuvraj Singh, who scored a match winning century in the first game, saying the left-handed batsman was not going to win them every match.
'Yuvraj is the man in form, he is getting the runs for us but we can't expect one individual to score in every game,' he said.
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Oz pacers will hold key to Ashes result: Benaud
London: Australia's fast bowlers hold the key to which way this year's Ashes will go, feels former Australian cricketer, captain and noted commentator Richie Benaud.
In an article for The News of The World, Benaud believes England would be indulging in wishful thinking if it thought their spinners could make Australian batters dance to their wiles.
"Nothing makes my heart beat faster than the thought of spin bowling dominating an Ashes series.
Wishful thinking, however, has provided many problems for over-the-wrist spinners and orthodox finger-spinners over the 56 years I have been playing and watching England and Australia do battle," Benaud said and claimed.
According to Benaud, England off-spinner Jim Laker (1956) and Australian leg spinner Shane Warne (1993-2007) have been the benchmarks for both forms of spin.
"But I believe this time swing will dominate. As was the case in 2005, the skill of the swing bowlers will provide the main difficulty for the batsmen. I'm confident the Australian pace bowlers will carry on from that splendid series in South Africa and, led by Mitchell Johnson and with Brett Lee shaping well, they hold the key to victory," Benaud said.
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I'll give 110 percent for Pakistan in Sri Lanka series: Gul
Karachi: After a brilliant show in the ICC World Twenty20, Pakistan fast bowler, Umar Gul is all set to dazzle in the Sri Lanka tour as well.
Talking to reporters before leaving for Sri Lanka here, Gul said he missed the player of the tournament in the ICC World Twenty20, but would try his best to grab the title in the Sri Lanka series.
"I feel really confident because of my current form and fitness. It is because of that I'm targeting the man of the series award in Sri Lanka where I'll give my 110 percent for Pakistan," The News quoted Gul, as saying.
Gul, who is the leading Twenty20 wicket taker with 37 wickets from 21 T20 matches, admitted that he would have to toil hard on the tour as the playing condition in Sri Lanka would be much different from England.
"Things will be entirely different in Sri Lanka.The weather will be different and so will be the format," The News quoted Gul, as saying.
He expressed hope that the players would switch on to the Test mode fast, and the three-day warm-up game scheduled to start in Colombo from Monday would help them to acclimatize to the hot and humid condition of the country.
"The warm-up game would be very important for us because will we be aiming to switch to the longer version of the game and to acclimatize to the weather conditions," he said.
Commenting on the return of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq in the team, Gul said the return of such experienced players in the team would benefit the squad, and has increased chances of winning the series.
"Yousuf is world class batsman and we are all very happy that he is back," Gull added.
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Siddle will play first Ashes Test: Nielsen
Worcester (England): Australian cricket team coach Tim Nielsen has confirmed that in-form quick Peter Siddle will play the first Ashes Test at Cardiff.
Siddle was the outstanding quick in the four-man pace bowl-off with Sussex as Australia's bowlers failed to finish off the resilient county side in the drawn match.
The Victoria quick combined accuracy with serious menace in Hove to shift the pressure on Stuart Clark and Brett Lee to capture the last guaranteed pacer's spot for the first at Sophia Gardens starting July 8.
Nielsen said he had thought Siddle was a no-brainer to line up in the first Test alongside Mitchell Johnson even before the recently completed practice match on England's south coast.
"I think Peter Siddle is a lock, he is bowling beautifully. All things being equal, his body being in good shape, he is ready to go. He is one of our two outstanding bowlers in my opinion," Fox Sports quoted Nielsen, as saying.
Nielsen maintained his stance that the Australia side could field four quicks in Wales before his catch up this week with chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch in Worcester.
"I really am pretty open to the idea of waiting to see what we get in Cardiff as far as the wicket is concerned," Nielsen said.
"The quicks have had a lot of success there, just looking at the stats over the last couple of years, the opening bowlers have had some success. They perceive it to be a bit more of a seaming wicket at times," he added.
Clark and Lee, both on the comeback trail from injuries, had their moments in Hove but still looked short of a gallop and in need of playing in this week's hit-out in Worcester against a formidable England Lions outfit.
Swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus seems to have slipped to the back of the fast bowling queue after playing in all three Tests in South Africa this year.
The main question surrounds the selection of spinner Nathan Hauritz for Cardiff as that impacts whether there is room for both Clark and Lee.
Hauritz sharpened up his act considerably in the second innings against Sussex following a poor first-up performance.
There is a chance Siddle will be rested from the Worcester clash to be fresh for the back-to-back Ashes Tests at Cardiff and Lord's.
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KP claims gruelling fitness regime caused his Achilles injury
London: England middle-order bat Kevin Pietersen has said that his gruelling self-imposed Caribbean fitness regime caused his Achilles injury.
With the First Test against Australia just 10 days away, Pietersen is still not 100 per cent fit.
According to News of The World, Pietersen has already had a cortisone jab injected into the nerve in his spine to treat the injury.
He admits that too much running during England's winter tour of the West Indies fuelled his current fitness problems. KP's personal training schedule included:
- 3.5mile sprints on a treadmill the night before Test matches.
Running six miles from the ground in St Kitts to the England hotel instead of catching the team bus.
Mile-long shuttle runs up and down hills near the team hotel.
"Road running is what I absolutely love, but I did too much. I was doing huge runs in the Caribbean - too much - which hurt my back and was linked to the problems I've since had," he was quoted, as saying.
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Coach advises Pak to shed T20 hangover
Karachi: As Pakistan is gearing up to take on Sri Lanka during the three-match Test series in latter's own backyards, coach Intikhab Alam has advised his cricketers to shrug off Twenty20 hangovers and concentrate on technique suitable for the five-dayers.
Besides the Test matches, Pakistan will also take on the islanders in a five-match ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 match during the tour.
"The batsmen have to display better performance and cut out high risk shots that are acceptable in T20 cricket. They must concentrate for long periods if we have to gain the upper hand against Sri Lanka. We need to peg down one end and attack from the other to be successful in Sri Lanka," Alam said.
Alam, himself a former Test cricketer, also welcomed the return of senior player Mohammad Yousuf, who parted ways with the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League, into the national fold.
"We have some fine players and the return of Mohammad Yousuf is good news as he is a quality Test batsman. But I think despite all the experience, we need to focus and concentrate on the task ahead of us," Alam said.
"I have told the batsmen and bowlers to forget about the T20 format of the game to make a successful transformation to the longer version of the sport," he added.
Pakistan recently clinched the T20 World Cup title in England.
On the possibility of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's return for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Intikhab made it clear that the paceman has to prove himself fully fit first.
"He has to prove he is 100 per cent fit to be considered for selection," he said.
Akhtar was withdrawn from the country's T20 World Cup squad before the team's departure, following the Pakistan Cricket Board's medical panel advised him rest to recover from a skin infection.
Rumors were doing the rounds in recent days that Akhtar was contemplating about retiring from the Test cricket and concentrating on winning back his place in Pakistan's ODI and T20 squads.
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West Indies defeat India by eight wickets, level series
Kingston (Jamaica), June 29 (IANS) West Indies levelled the series 1-1 by defeating India by eight wickets at the second one-day international at Sabina Park Sunday.
The game was dominated by West Indies from the start. A painstaking 95 from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his defiant 101-run ninth-wicket partnership with Rudra Pratap Singh helped pull India out of a hole and reach a decent 188 after being 82 for eight.
On a pitch which produced 658 runs in the first one dayer between the two teams barely 48 hours ago, the West Indies new ball bowlers looked a lot more potent with recalled Ravi Rampaul (four for 37) seaming disconcertingly, Jerome Taylor (3 for 35) swinging at a lively pace and Dwayne Bravo (3 for 26) hitting the deck to make the ball bounce sharply. They exploited the moisture in the glossy pitch and exposed the technical ineptitude of the batsmen.
The three bowlers almost ran through the innings which never looked like getting even to cross the 100-run-mark when the eighth wicket fell in the 22nd over, save for a brief while when Yuvraj (35, 33 balls, 5x4, 1x6) and Dhoni (95, 130b, 2x4, 2x6) were together to add 47 runs after the first three batsmen fell for nothing.
In fact, all the six mainline batsmen were consumed behind the stumps, either caught by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin or at slip as he hopped and tentatively prodded at short-pitched deliveries.
Dinesh Karthik's dismissal was an exception as the opener received a peach of a delivery which he could not help nicking. But both Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma played reckless strokes to get out.
Only Yuvraj Singh, who scored a match-winning century in the first ODI, looked like getting the measure of the attack as he struck 35 off 33 balls but once he got out the innings seemed like collapsing till R.P. Singh joined Dhoni to stem the rot.
Yuvraj was caught behind and so was the other left-hander Ravindra Jadeja. Yusuf Pathan could only guide a short-pitched ball to slip Chris Gayle. When Harbhajan and Praveen Kumar fell, the Indians could not use even half the overs.
Ramdin pouched five catches and easily should have had one more if he had not parried the ball into the hands of slip Runako Morton. Rampaul, who in the closing stages dropped Dhoni on the log-off boundary and propelled the ball on to the boundary picket for six, finished with his best ODI figures.
But Dhoni, playing a real captain's innings, inspired R.P. Singh (23, 75b, 1x4, 1x6) to stay with him and the two gave their side something to bowl at and save them from an embarrassing collapse. He batted purposefully, shielding R.P. Singh to start with and then allowed him to gain in confidence.
Apart from Dhoni, the other nine batsmen collectively faced ten deliveries more than the 75 played by R. P. Singh. So much so, the left-arm medium-pacer struck a six in the slog overs.
Dhoni richly deserved a century, more so as he had been struggling to play a big knock in recent times. Eventually, he went in the penultimate over as he tried to make room to have a go at Taylor who deceived him to hit the stumps with a slower delivery.
West Indies' reply was led by fine knocks from Chris Gayle (64, 46b, 8x4,2x6) and Runako Morton (85, 102b, 5x4, 1x6). Gayle and Morton's 101-run partnership led their team to a comprehensive victory, which was sealed in the 35th over by a six from Morton, who remained not-out.
Ravi Rampaul, who took four wickets for 37 runs, was declared Man of the match.
Brief scores:
India: 188 in 48.2 overs (Dhoni 95, Yuvraj 35, R.P.Singh 23, Rampaul 4 for 37, Taylor 3 for 35, Dwayne Bravo 3 for 26).
West Indies: 192/2 in 34.1 overs (Chris Gayle 64, Runako Morton 85, Rohit Sharma 2 for 27).
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Bharti Vij Academy lifts LIC Trophy
In a nail-biting finish, Bharti Vij Academy defeated Sector 37 Academy by 1 run in the final of U-13 Inter-Academy Cricket Tournament played for LIC Trophy in a match played at Govt. Model School Sector 26, Chandigarh, on Sunday.
Batting first, Bharti Vij Academy amassed a huge total of 212 runs at the loss of five wickets in 30 overs. Vij Academy openers Abhishek and Priankit could not contribute much and got out early. After that, Akshdeep Singh and Rizul added 48 runs for the third-wicket. Rizul carried on his fine form and scored a fine knock of 100 runs in 76 balls. His innings included 15 fours and one six. For Sector 37 Academy Tushar Mehta picked-up two wickets, while Kulbhushan took one wicket for 52.
Batting second, Sector 37 Academy fell short of just one run and were all out in the last over of the match scoring 211 runs. Arnav played a superlative knock of 56 runs in 55 balls, while Sayyim Sarin scored 48 runs. Sector 37 Academy needed seven runs off the last over. Vij Academy's Harish bowled the last over and getting a wicket on the second ball of the over. A small collapse followed as two batsmen got run out in the next two balls. Rizul and Divyanshu Sharma picked-up two wickets a piece.
Later, former Indian selector Bhupinder Singh and chairman of LIC Club gave away prizes to the winning team. Rizul (BVCA) was declared man of the series, while Abhishek (BVCA) was announced as best all-rounder. Harish (BVCA) was declared as best bowler, while Sayyim Sarin (37 Academy) was given a prize for being best batsman of the tournament.
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Vohra anchors Chandigarh's good show against Amritsar
A fine century by Manan Vohra (102) propelled visitors Chandigarh to a comfortable total of 434 for 8 in the allotted 95 overs on Day One against Amritsar in a match of the Punjab State Under-19 Cricket Tournament for Dhruv Pandove trophy played at Gandhi ground. Chandigarh won the toss and elected to bat first in conditions which looked suitable for batting.
Openers Jaskaran Singh and Manan Vohra were associated in an 89-run stand for the first wicket before Rahul Kanojia picked up the wicket of Singh. Singh played a knock of 39 runs which included six boundaries. Manan Vohra was then joined by Naveen Dhiman and the duo was involved in a 123-run stand for the second wicket before Vohra departed. Showing his complete dominance, Vohra played a fluent knock of 102 runs as he smashed 15 boundaries. Dhiman continue to flay the opposition attack before his innings was cut short by Rahul. Dhiman made 94 runs off 138 balls while Anshul Tripathi contributed 57 runs as Chandigarh ended the day at 434 for 8 in 95 overs. For Amritsar, Rahul Kanojia claimed five wickets for 139 runs.
Brief scores:Chandigarh: 434 for 8 in 95 overs (Manan Vohra 102, Naveen Dhiman 94, Anshul Tripathi 57,Vishal Thind 49, Rahul Kanojia 5 for 139, Amandeep Bawa 2 for 91).
Mohali in driver's seatIn the second match played at PCA Stadium, Mohali between Ropar and Mohali, hosts Mohali ended the day at 361 for 8 in the allotted 95 overs. Mohali won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Bir Kanwar and Sachin Sohal were associated in a 179-run stand for the second wicket before Bir Kanwar departed with his personal score of 106. His knock consisted of 15 boundaries. Sohal was then associated in a 77-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Prateek before Prateek departed after playing a cameo of 39 runs. His knock consisted of four boundaries and one towering six. Sohal completed his century with Mohali's score reading 320 for 4. Sohal played a fine knock of 133 runs consisting of 11 boundaries and one towering six.
For Ropar, Arjun Kumar claimed three wickets for 123 while Gurpreet Singh claimed two wickets for 63 runs. At end of the day, Ropar were six for no loss in 2 overs.
Brief scores:Mohali: 361 for 8 in 95 overs: Sachin Sohal 133, Bin Kanwar 106,Gurpreet 39, Arjun Kumar 3 for 123, Gurpreet Singh 2 for 63), Ropar : 6 for 0.
Baltej restricts Mukatsar to 167A six-wicket haul by Baltej Singh (6 for 59) helped hosts Ludhiana to restrict Mukatsar to 167 in 52.5 overs in their first innings. Ludhiana were 148 for 3 in 42 overs.
Harjit Singh was the top scorer for Mukatsar as he played a knock of 63 runs off 146 balls. He was ably assisted by Harjot Singh who played a knock of 38 runs. For hosts Ludhiana, Baltej Singh returned with figures of 6 for 59 runs. Mukatsar were 145 for 5 at one point of time but four quick wickets by Baltej meant that they were bundled out for 167.
Opener Akhil Aggarwal and Ashish Kumar were associated in an 81-run stand for the second wicket for Ludhiana before Kumar was bowled by Amandeep Singh at a personal score of 40 runs. At the end of day's play, Aggarwal was batting on 82. For Ludhiana, Harjot Singh claimed two wickets for 43 runs.
Brief scores:Mukatsar: 167 all out in 52.5 overs (Harjit Singh 63, Harjot Singh 38, Baltej Singh 6 for 59, Rahul Singla 2 for 36), Ludhiana : 148 for 3 in 42 overs ( Akhil Aggarwal 82 no, Ashish Kumar 40, Harjot Singh 2 for 43).
Jalandhar hold edgeIn another match of the day, Jalandhar posted a total of 384 for 9 in 95 overs after winning the toss against Patiala. Their innings revolved around Abhishek Gupta and Rahul Vij, who put on a partnership of 197 runs for the sixth wicket. Abhishek scored a scintillating century (193) as he smashed 32 boundaries. Rahul Vij missed his century by four runs as he departed after making 96 runs. For Patiala, Robin Dhillon claimed three wickets for 63 runs while Bhavish Goel claimed three wickets for 150 runs.
Brief scores:Jalandhar: 384 for 9 in 95 overs (Abhishek Gupta 193, Rahul Vij (96), Robin Dhillon 3 for 63, Bhavish Goel 3 for 150).
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Rajat shines for Fateh Cricket Club
A three-wicket haul by Rajat (3 for 10) helped Fateh Cricket Club to force a tie against Youth Cricket Club in a league match of the JAL Mohali League played at Yadavindra Public School, Mohali on Sunday. Fateh Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat first.
Abhinav was the top scorer for Fateh Cricket Club playing a knock of 20 runs while Arshveer Singh also played an unbeaten knock of 20 runs. Harvinder and Harpreet contributed 14 and 12 runs each as Fateh Cricket Club posted a total of 117 in 23.1 overs. For Youth Cricket Club, Maninder claimed two wickets for 15 runs while Rajan claimed two wickets for 25 runs. Harman claimed two wickets for 33 runs. In reply, Youth Cricket Club were restricted to 117 for 9 in 25 overs. Rupinder played a valiant knock of 40 runs as he smashed six boundaries while Lalit played a knock of 33 runs. Rajat was the star for Fateh Cricket Club as he claimed three wickets for 10 runs while Navdeep claimed two wickets for 16 runs. Bhupinder claimed two wickets for 29 runs.
In the second match of the day, Sun Cricket Club scored a 10-run win over Yadavindra Public School Cricket Academy. Batting first, Sun Cricket Club posted a total of 185 for 4 in the allotted 25 overs. Irfan Khan was the top scorer for his team as he played a knock of 65 runs. Khan's knock consisted of 12 boundaries while Ranjeet played a knock of 40 runs. Ranjeet smashed six boundaries. For Yadavindra Public School Cricket Academy, Jatinder claimed two wickets for 32 runs.
Chasing a stiff target of 186 runs, Yadavindra Public School Cricket Academy were bundled out for 174 runs in 24.1 overs. A Brar played a valiant knock of 66 runs but his effort went into vain. G Brar scored 39 runs while Harpinder scored 23 runs. For Sun Cricket Club, Sukhvir Happy claimed three wickets for 21 runs while Irfan Khan claimed two wickets for 31 runs.
Brief scores:Fateh Cricket Club: 117 all out in 23.1 overs (Abhinav 20, Arshveer Singh 20 no, Maninder 2 for 15, Rajan 2 for 25), Youth Cricket Club: 117 for 9 in 25 overs (Rupinder 40, Lalit 33, Rajat 3 for 10); Sun Cricket Club: 185 for 4 in 25 overs (Irfan Khan 65, Ranjeet 40, Jatinder 2 for 32), YPS CA: 174 all out in 24.1 overs (A Brar 66, G Brar 39, Sukhvir Happy 3 for 21, Irfan Khan 2 for 31).
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Tanya fashions Chandigarh win
Eleven-year-old Tanya Bhatia played a blistering knock of 70 runs to help Chandigarh taste first win in the ongoing Haryana inter-district cricket tournament, beating Karnal by a huge margin of 207 runs in a match played at Karnal today.
On winning the toss, Chandigarh skipper Anit decided to bat first. Staging a brilliant fight back in the tournament, Chandigarh posted an impressive total of 231 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted quota of 50 overs. Tanya Bhatia emerged as top-scorer for Chandigarh making 70 runs. Jaswinder (30) and Anit (25 n o) too chipped in with useful knocks. In reply, Karnal's top-order was destroyed by Chandigarh medium-pacer Manuta who scalped five wickets. Karnal were bundled out for paltry score of 24 in just 14 overs.
Chandigarh will take on Sonipat in their last match of the tournament on June 29.
Brief scores:Chandigarh: 231 for 6 in 50 overs (Tanya Bhatia 70, Jaswinder Kaur 30, Seema 25, Anit 25 n o)Karnal: 24 all out in 14 overs (Seema 3, Manuta 5 for 4, Jaswinder 3 for 7)| Search Here For More Information : |
Morton leads West Indies to emphatic win
KINGSTON (Reuters) - An unbeaten 85 from Runako Morton guided West Indies to a convincing eight-wicket victory over India to tie the four-match one-day series at 1-1 on Sunday.
India made a modest 188 after a patient 95 from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni rescued them from 82 for eight, West Indies seamer Ravi Rampaul responding to his recall with impressive figues of four for 37.
But West Indies won with over 15 overs to spare as Morton and captain Chris Gayle made a thundering start by leading their side to 69 without loss in the first 10 overs.
Left-hander Gayle bludgeoned 64 in 46 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, before he fell to a superb diving catch on the boundary from Gautam Gambhir off spinner Rohit Sharma to end the partnership at 101.
Although Sharma had Ramnaresh Sarwan stumped for 15, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (18 not out) joined Morton to seal victory with more than 15 overs to spare.
Morton clinched the win by blasting Harbhajan Singh for a huge six over mid-on.
The West Indies seamers did the damage with Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor taking three wickets each along with Rampaul's four.
The match was in marked contrast to the opening game of the series on the same wicket when India won by 20 runs after 658 runs were scored.
India were always struggling after Rampaul and Taylor produced a devastating opening spell to have the tourists reeling at seven for three.
Yuvraj Singh, a century-maker in Friday's first ODI won by India, struck a sprightly 35 from 33 balls but his departure when caught behind by Ramdin off Taylor prompted a second slump.
The outswing generated by Rampaul and Taylor was the key factor and the first eight wickets in the India innings were all caught by either keeper or the slip cordon.
"I don't think there was that much in it for the bowlers, they bowled really well, they were swinging the ball well and it when it stopped swinging they were able to get reverse swing," Dhoni said.
"I think it was a good wicket. Before we knew it we had three down. Once you are in that situation you are just playing catch-up," he said.
The series continues in St. Lucia on Friday and Sunday.
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West Indies v India scoreboard - second one dayer
KINGSTON (Reuters) - Scoreboard from the second one-day international between West Indies and India at Sabina Park on Sunday:
India innings
D. Karthik c Ramdin b Taylor 4
G. Gambhir c Ramdin b Rampaul 0
R. Sharma c Morton b Rampaul 0
Yuvraj Singh c Ramdin b Taylor 35
MS Dhoni b Taylor 95
Y. Pathan c Gayle b Dwayne Bravo 0
R. Jadeja c Ramdin b Rampaul 7
Harbhajan Singh c Ramdin b Dwayne Bravo 7
P Kumar c Gayle b Rampaul 1
RP Singh c Benn b Dwayne Bravo 23
A Nehra not out 0
Extras (lb 4, w 12) 16
Total (all out; 48.2 overs) 188
Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-6 3-7 4-54 5-57 6-70 7-81 8-82 9-183
Bowling: J. Taylor 9.2-0-35-3, R. Rampaul 10-2-37-4, D.Bravo 9-0-26-3, S. Benn 10-1-37-0, D.Bernard 7-0-36-0, C. Gayle 3-0-13-0
West Indies innings
C. Gayle c Gambhir b Sharma 64
R. Morton not out 85
R. Sarwan st Dhoni b Sharma 15
S. Chanderpaul not out 18
Extras (lb 5, w 4, nb 1) 10
Total (two wickets; 34.1 overs) 192
Did not bat: Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, D. Ramdin, J. Taylor, D. Bernard, S. Benn, R. Rampaul
Fall of wickets: 1-101 2-132
Bowling: Kumar 7-1-37-0, Nehra 4-0-36-0, RP Singh 3-0-15-0, Pathan 2-0-15-0, Harbhajan Singh 8.1-0-45-0, Sharma 8-0-27-2, Jadeja 2-0-12-0
Result: West Indies won by eight wickets. Four-match series now tied at 1-1.
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Vaughan fuels retirement speculation
LONDON (Reuters) - Former England captain Michael Vaughan will attend a news conference on Tuesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement on Sunday.
There has been speculation that the 34-year-old was poised to announce his retirement with newspaper reports saying he was ready to quit after failing to win a place in England's preliminary squad for this year's Ashes series.
Vaughan enjoyed his finest hour in 2005 when he led England to a long awaited Ashes victory over Australia on home soil and he was the world's top-ranked batsman in 2003.
He has struggled with a succession of injury problems in recent years, playing the last of his 82 tests in 2008.
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