MS Dhoni has said that losing wickets “at the wrong time” prevented India from successfully chasing the target of 243 after they bowled West Indies out for 134 in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2011MS Dhoni has said that losing wickets “at the wrong time” prevented India from successfully chasing down 243 in Mumbai.India had bowled West Indies out for 134 in a dramatic first session, in which eight wickets fell for 43 runs. That left them 243 to get in 64 overs, but playing shots on the fifth-day wicket was difficult, according to Dhoni. “Most of our dismissals were at the wrong time,” he said. “Some kind of partnerships were going on [and] we lost a wicket. That put pressure back on us.”Most of the batsmen who got out were the ones who were playing shots. I won’t say it was very easy. It was quite easy to stay at the wicket, but difficult to score runs. A few of us thought that if we can rotate strike and look for those singles, it will become a bit easy as the game progresses. But that [attempted singles] really went to the fielders and added more pressure.”The track offered assistance for both spinners and fast bowlers, Dhoni said. “I think there was bit of bounce for the bowlers, particularly the spinners. For the fast bowlers, the ball stopped. Once you looked to play a shot you had to be really careful, as you had to be to the pitch of the ball. If not, then you got out [caught] in the covers or midwicket.”With West Indies 81 for 2 overnight, the possibility of a win had seemed remote at the start of the day but R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha ran through the West Indies line-up in under two hours. Dhoni said his team had kept in mind the importance of picking up wickets in the first hour. “If you don’t get wickets in the first hour, the more runs they add means we will get less time to chase. But the bowlers bowled really well. We were able to get a good number of wickets and got them all out before lunch. That gave us the opportunity to chase down the target.MS Dhoni on R Ashwin: “If he scores runs that is a bonus for our side. Don’t put pressure on him.”•AFP

“We never started thinking [of] it as a draw. We tried to create a bit of panic [while bowling] and I think most of the time we were able to put pressure on them. That was one of the main reasons we were successful in the first session.”Dhoni was satisfied with the performance of his bowling attack in the series. Though the spinners picked up the bulk of the wickets, Dhoni also praised Ishant Sharma, who he felt created consistent pressure that was not reflected in his series’ return of five wickets at 67.40. “You have seen plenty of times that when bowlers [are] bowling well, the batsman doesn’t edge to the slips and when edges come there is no slip fielder or [it falls] short of the fielder. He [Ishant] was consistently bowling well and he was coming up, with regards to the pace, and he was bowling in the right areas. I was happy overall [with] the way he bowled.”Apart from Ishant and Ojha, India’s bowlers – Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and Ashwin – were in their debut series. Despite their inexperience, they managed to do what was needed, Dhoni said. “There will come a time when senior players will retire and [there is] no point putting pressure on youngsters [saying] ‘will they able to get as many as wickets as [Anil] Kumble or Harbhajan [Singh] did?’ They bowled well. There was nothing for them [in the pitches] but they did not let the opposition [get away] freely. There was not much turn for them. They had to keep it tight at the same time. Overall, very happy [with the way] they bowled throughout the series.”Ashwin took 22 wickets in the series to finish the top wicket-taker, and also performed with the bat, scoring his maiden Test century in Mumbai. Dhoni said Ashwin’s primary responsibility in the side, though, was as a bowler. “Let him take wickets. That is the main priority. If he scores runs that is a bonus for our side. Don’t put [extra] pressure on him.”With two half-centuries in the match, Virat Kohli displayed his potential, but could not push on to get a hundred. Despite being well-set on 63, he cut a short and wide delivery to gully with India only 19 runs away from victory. Dhoni said that this was a learning phase in Kohli’s career and something that would help his game in the future. “You learn a lot from these games, so the next time he is in the same situation he may bat in a different way.”Even the most experienced players tend to make these types of mistakes. There is nothing to worry about; if you learn from each and every game, that really improves you as a cricketer. I am hoping he [Kohli] learns a lot [from this match].”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Chittagong

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya08-Dec-2011

Match facts

Friday, December 9
Start time 0930 (0330 GMT)What does Mohammad Ashraful have in store this time?•PA Photos

Big Picture

It’s been 11 years since Bangladesh made their Test debut and 71 games later their status as a Test-playing nation continues to divide opinion. There have been those who’ve been dismissive of their ability, others have been more generous and patient about their progress. There have been some highs, though very rare. They challenged Pakistan in Multan and Australia in Fatullah, and beat a severely-depleted, strike-ridden West Indies in 2009, but 61 defeats, and most of them by a comprehensive margin – 34 by an innings – is a bitter, embarrassing fact to digest.Their fast bowlers aren’t express but their spinners have been quite effective, and remain their biggest strength. It’s in the batting that the team has been found most wanting. While their batsmen have promised much and even earned some success in limited-overs cricket, and won a few sessions in Tests, batting time, preserving their wickets and proving their durability are areas in which they’ve failed consistently.They’ve, once again, found the going difficult in recent weeks, struggling against Pakistan’s slow bowlers on pitches keeping low and taking turn, and face an even more testing challenge in the five-day format. If the results in the recently-concluded ODI series are anything to go by, Bangladesh don’t stand much of a chance but how hard they make Pakistan’s bowlers work for their wickets will be the focus.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LDLLL (most recent first)
Pakistan: DWDWW

In the spotlight…

Mohammad Ashraful is back in the Bangladesh squad. Again. Once their best batsman, his form underwent a serious slump and he was relegated to the fringes of the national team. He was dropped for the Tests against West Indies in the series before this, and Stuart Law, the Bangladesh coach, said he’d have to perform in domestic cricket to warrant selection. In his last three innings on the domestic circuit, Ashraful scored two half-centuries and a ton to win his place back. Some say his call-up is a backward step; that it’s time for other youngsters to take Bangladesh’s batting forward. He’s still only 27, and has plenty to offer. How desperate and determined he is to ensure his selection this time is one for some time to come remains to be seen.One of the best slow bowlers in the world currently, Saeed Ajmal, who is on top of the ODI bowling rankings, has had plenty of success in Tests as well. He’s well acclimatised with the tracks in the Middle East, where Pakistan play England early next year, and can be potentially lethal with his variations on even slower pitches in Bangladesh. At 34, recognition has taken time to come to Ajmal but in Pakistan’s post-spot-fixing revival, Ajmal has been a key performer. The Bangladesh batsmen didn’t have too many answers against him in the ODIs and it doesn’t bode well for the Tests either.

Team news

Bangladesh have left out opener Imrul Kayes and Raqibul Hasan from their Test squad. Mahmudullah, who missed the Test series against West Indies due to dengue fever, makes his way back and so does Ashraful. Bangladesh have also selected batsman Nazimuddin, and medium-pacer Robiul Islam in the squad. Allrounder Naeem Islam has been withdrawn from the Bangladesh squad for the first Test after failing to recover from sinusitis and flu-like symptoms.Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Nazimuddin, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Mahumudullah, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Elias Sunny, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Shahadat Hossain.Pakistan are without Junaid Khan and should they choose to go in with two seamers, Aizaz Cheema could open the bowling with Umar Gul.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema.

Pitch and conditions

It rained in Chittagong during the Test against West Indies but the weather forecast is encouraging for this game, with plenty of sun for the next few days. The pitch is usually slow with adequate assistance for spinners, calling for graft and patience from batsmen which is something Bangladesh have rarely shown.

Stats and trivia

• Both of Pakistan’s wins in Bangladesh, in 2002 which was the last time they played a bilateral series in this country, were innings victories. Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan and Mohammad Ashraful were part of that series.
• Younis Khan is 60 away from reaching 6000 runs in Tests.

Quotes

“It’s actually time for the batsmen to show something because our bowling and fielding was not bad in the series. Bangladesh always bounce back strongly when they fell in dire state.”
Shahriar Nafees
“If they stick to their goals, they will give us tough competition. It will not be easy for us since Bangladesh are playing in home conditions.”
Younis Khan

South Africa will enter the last two days of the Boxing Day Test under tremendous pressure, and Gary Kirsten said it was an opportunity for someone to be a put in a special performance

Firdose Moonda at Kingsmead28-Dec-2011South Africa will enter the last two days of the Boxing Day Test needing to achieve the highest successful fourth-innings chase to beat Sri Lanka in Durban, break a so-called jinx, and close out the series against Sri Lanka. It’s a tall order for a line-up that was shot out for 168 in their first innings, against an attack that many rated as incapable of 20 wickets in a Test match.With a task of this magnitude, South Africa can afford to be philosophical about what lies ahead. Gary Kirsten, the head coach, said one of the key things for them is simply to believe. “The one thing we do know is that it’s an opportunity for someone to do something special and be a hero for their country,” said Kirsten. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to dig ourselves out of this hole.”The hole was created by a poor first-innings effort with the bat, which showed a distinct lack of application by some of the side’s most senior players, such as AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince. It was deepened by a lacklustre showing with the ball, in which the bowlers leaked 249 runs in the day, of which more than half came in the second session.Sri Lanka scored 142 runs between lunch and tea and lost just two wickets. It was in that passage of play that Kumar Sangakkara came into his own and marched to his first century in the country as though he owned the place. Kirsten admitted the bowlers lost their way.”We probably had a poor second session where we didn’t really stick to our plans,” he said. “We got a bit both sides of the wicket and we didn’t do a good holding job. You’d like one of your seamers to be able to bowl one side of the wicket. They are all talented and skilled enough to do that.”South Africa’s lack of a containing bowler has been lurking as a problem since they dropped Paul Harris for Pakistan-born legspinner Imran Tahir. It did not stand up as a real concern when they were shooting sides out, like Australia for 47 in November and Sri Lanka for 180 and 150 in the last Test. In those instances, the attack was under no real pressure to stop the run flow, as they were today in Durban. When they were, Vernon Philander, who brought what Graeme Smith has called a “degree of control”, had stepped in.With the prolific wicket-taker, Philander, out of the side because of a knee injury, South Africa have no-one to stem the tide. Jacques Kallis was unable to, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Tahir were too focused on taking wickets, and Marchant de Lange was trying to repeat his heroics of the first innings while finding his feet. Too many short balls were wasted, too many boundaries were allowed to be scored and Sri Lanka were given enough rope to run away.The lack of consistency in South Africa’s performances is now glaring and Kirsten said they are trying to find a way to string together more than one strong showing. “What we’ve been trying to focus on is how we stack up the days and how we play the sessions,” he said. “What is concerning for us all is that we can have two really good sessions and then have a blow out session. We need to focus on ways and means of stopping the bleeding.”There is little they can do to close the wound with the ball, so it will fall to the batsmen to do the repair job, something which seems fair, considering they are the chief cause of South Africa’s current position. “You are always chasing the game when you get bowled out for a score like that,” said Kirsten, adding a clean slate will be needed in the second knock. “We’ve got to look at it like a first innings, like you are setting up a total. All these guys are capable of getting big scores. It’s still a fairly good batting wicket. The pitch played pretty well today, which is a good sign for the rest of the Test match.”Although deterioration of the surface is expected, Kirsten has to think positively because South Africa have to find some inspiration and he may be the man to provide it. Twelve years ago, he did something special at this ground. Kirsten made a then-South African record score of 275 to save the third Test against England. The Proteas need an effort which mirrors that one to win this match. “It’s a great opportunity for someone to be a hero. These are the reasons why we play the game,” he said. “I am still quite excited by what can come out of this Test match.”

Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said he feels like he has been dropped from the ODI side rather than rested

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2012Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said he feels like he has been dropped from the ODI side rather than rested. And Haddin believes that he could find it hard to force his way back into the one-day squad if his replacement Matthew Wade performs strongly in the first few games of the tri-series with India and Sri Lanka.Australia’s national selector John Inverarity said on Monday that Haddin deserved to put his feet up after a gruelling schedule of Tests over the past few months. However, he also said the selection panel had an open mind about who would keep wicket for the remainder of the one-day series, the squad having only been named for the first three matches.”I think anytime you’re out of the Australian Cricket team you’re dropped,” Haddin said on the Sydney radio station . “You give another guy an opportunity to take your spot. If they do well you could find it hard to get back in the team but that’s the way it is and I’ve just got to deal with that.”We need to see how young Matty Wade goes at this level. It’s seen as a good opportunity to play him and from my point of view, if he does well there’s no guarantee you’ll get your spot. Once you’ve given it up you give someone an opportunity and you might not play again … If you give your spot up, you’ve got no right to walk straight back in.”Haddin, 34, last year retired from Twenty20 internationals but remained part of Australia’s Test and one-day setup. However, a summer in which he failed to have a major impact with the bat and initially made some errors behind the stumps has left Haddin under pressure to hold his place, although he is expected to be one of the two keepers who will take part in the Test tour of the West Indies in April.He will captain the Prime Minister’s XI in a one-day game against Sri Lanka in Canberra on Friday. Wade, 24, will make his ODI debut against India at the MCG on Sunday.

Mark Gillespie took six wickets in the second innings and Josh Brodie led the chase with a hundred as Wellington completed a stunning comeback to win by five wickets against Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2012Mark Gillespie took six wickets in the second innings and Josh Brodie led the chase with a hundred as Wellington completed a stunning comeback to win by five wickets against Canterbury in Rangiora. Wellington had conceded a 133-run first-innings lead but Gillespie and Andy McKay demolished Canterbury for 144 in the second innings. Shanan Stewart (57) was the only batsman to resist as Canterbury folded to leave Wellington with 278 to get. Gillespie took 6 for 41 while McKay had 3 for 45.Wellington lost Michael Papps in the fifth over of the chase but Brodie steadied the innings along with Stephen Murdoch (43). Once Murdoch was dismissed with the score on 128, Brodie put on another century partnership with Jesse Ryder, who smashed 82 off 63 deliveries, and hit nine sixes in the game. Though Brodie and Grant Elliott fell in the space of four runs to Todd Astle, Ryder took Wellington within touching distance of victory before he was bowled by Matt McEwan. Luke Woodcock and Harry Boam finished the job in the 68th over.The win had looked unlikely when Wellington had collapsed to 201 in reply to Canterbury’s 334 in the first innings. Reece Young (104) had built on half-centuries from George Worker and Peter Fulton after Canterbury were asked to bat, and despite Boam’s 6 for 51, Canterbury managed a strong total. Logan van Beek and Astle then snapped up nine wickets between them as Wellington slid to 201, despite Brodie’s 50 and Ryder’s 74 off 50.

Centuries from Matthew Sinclair and Kruger van Wyk went in vain, as did Kyle Jarvis’ eight wickets, as Central Districts lost to Northern Districts by 65 runs in Gisborne. Jarvis, the Zimbabwe fast bowler, claimed a five-for in his first match for Central Districts to dismiss Northern Districts for 309 in the first innings. Hamish Marshall and BJ Watling made half-centuries to lift Northern Districts to a competitive total. Central Districts were poor in their reply. Brent Arnel and Graeme Aldridge struck thrice each as Central Districts were shot out for 183.Jarvis claimed three more wickets in the second innings and Bevan Small took four, but Marshall and Watling made their second half-centuries of the game to boost Northern Districts to 280.Central Districts were left with a tall chase of 407 and when Trent Boult reduced them to 78 for 4, it seemed an improbable one as well. Sinclair (121) and van Wyk (110), though, put on 222 runs to lift their side to 300 for 4. Daniel Vettori broke the stand in the 91st over and Sinclair fell to Aldridge in the 92nd. The rest of the line-up caved in soon and Central Districts were bowled out for 341.

Mitchell McClenaghan led with eight wickets in the match as Auckland beat Otago by four wickets in a tense chase in Dunedin. McClenaghan ended the first innings with 6 for 87 but fifties from Neil Broom and Derek de Boorder helped Otago recover from 56 for 4 to post 226.Colin Munro pulled Auckland out of a bigger hole from 46 for 5 with his maiden first-class century. Neil Wagner and Warren McSkimming had Auckland struggling before Munro arrived at No. 7 and proceeded to hammer seven sixes in making 130 from 115 balls. Munro was supported briefly by his captain Gareth Hopkins (46). Munro was the last man to be dismissed as Auckland managed 242.Auckland’s bowlers came hard at Otago in the second innings, and at one stage, had them reeling at 99 for 7. But de Boorder made another half-century to take Otago to 170 and set Auckland a target of 155.Auckland were soon in deep trouble at 28 for 4 with the openers departing for ducks. It was left to Munro to put in another recovery effort but, when he fell for 39, Auckland still needed another 27. Anaru Kitchen ensured there were no further wobbles and remained unbeaten on 46 to bring up victory after tea on the final day.

Lancashire have re-signed South Africa batsman Ashwell Prince for a third spell as the county’s overseas player

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012Lancashire have re-signed South Africa batsman Ashwell Prince for a third spell as the county’s overseas player. Prince will add experience to the top order as Lancashire set about the defence of their Championship title and will also participate in CB40 matches. He is not expected to play T20 cricket, leaving Lancashire with the potential for two more overseas players.Although Prince’s central contract with South Africa was recently renewed, the 34-year-old lost his place in the Test side to Alviro Petersen in January and was not included on the Proteas’ tour of New Zealand. Lancashire will hope to have him available for the full season, though South Africa may be tempted to offer Prince a way back when they tour England, should he score heavily in the early rounds of the County Championship and the experiment with Jacques Rudolph at No. 6 fail.”I am delighted to be returning to Lancashire for the 2012 season,” Prince said. “I love the place and how the lads go about their work. I’m really looking forward to joining up with the squad in early April and contributing to a successful campaign.”Prince has scored more than 12,000 runs in first-class cricket, with 11 centuries in his 66 Tests and an average of 41.64. He first joined Lancashire in 2009 as cover for VVS Laxman, subsequently returning in 2010 for the first few weeks of the season, and head coach Peter Moores has turned to Prince once again to strengthen the batting, following the retirement of Mark Chilton.”It is fantastic news that Ashwell has rejoined the club,” Moores said. “He is a tough competitor who has enjoyed success here before and he will bring some maturity to an emerging squad.”Mike Watkinson, Lancashire’s director of cricket, added: “Ashwell is a world-class batsman who has a wealth of experience and talent. He will bring additional quality to the top order and will have a positive influence on the squad. We are delighted to welcome him back to Old Trafford.”

Having emulated his technique, Darren Bravo has now sought to channel Brian Lara’s mental approach to building a major innings against Australia

Daniel Brettig in Port-of-Spain13-Apr-2012Having emulated his technique, Darren Bravo has now sought to channel Brian Lara’s mental approach to building a major innings against Australia. Bravo spoke with Lara ahead of the second Test between West Indies and Australia in Trinidad, after regathering confidence in his batting with a pair of starts in the Bridgetown match.Lara and Bravo met at a reception for the West Indian and Australian teams at the home of Australia’s high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago on Friday evening. Bravo, 23, has also been in contact with his half-brother Dwayne, currently preoccupied by the IPL, and said he had been seeking further advice on how to go on from the middling scores he managed at the Kensington Oval.Following a stretch of poor form that spanned the limited-overs matches against Australia and a regional four-day fixture for T&T against Barbados, Bravo hinted at a return to his best while compiling 51 and 32. He hopes that promise can bloom into a major contribution in his first Test match on his home ground.”I’m quietly confident in my form at the moment, and felt good with my timing in the last two innings I’ve had,” Bravo said at the Queen’s Park Oval. “I’ve had some advice from Brian and my brother as well, so I’m taking it one step at a time and hopefully sooner or later something special is around the corner.”[The advice was] just a matter of the way I go about building an innings, it’s something I’ve been working on and hopefully I can reap the rewards in this Test match. We know what the Australians are going to come with in this Test for sure and we’re going to come together as one big team and try our best, come up with the best plan, so we can execute it and come out victorious.”We want to level the series here and make it much more exciting for the third Test in Dominica.”Bravo’s second innings in Bridgetown had the potential to grow into a significant innings, holding up the tourists after they had cut their way past the hosts’ top order. However, he pushed at Peter Siddle and edged a catch behind in the closing overs of day four, admonishing himself as he left the field for giving up a valuable start.”To be quite honest that’s the way the game goes,” Bravo said. “One bad session or a few overs of bad cricket can cause you to lose the game, and I think that is what happened. But at the same time the guys gave a good account of themselves.”I was very disappointed that I got out in the second innings being when I was there already set, and I was trying to get my team to a respectable total. It was unfortunate but hopefully I can do better in the next Test.”In acknowledging the pattern of the first Test was a reprise of several earlier matches against India in 2011, Bravo said his team had to remain positive and not be consumed by doubt about whether they can sustain their efforts over five days. The Queen’s Park Oval pitch offers the possibility of sharp spin and variable bounce, making a result likely if Trinidad’s weather is kind.”Very important that we stay positive as much as possible,” Bravo said. “We went wrong in the first Test and it is something we need to rectify as soon as possible because we don’t want it to happen again. Hopefully we can come together as a team and find the best possible way to correct what happened in the first Test and get it right in this game.”I don’t know how the pitch looks at the moment, but we all know on the Oval that on the fourth and fifth day that spin is going to have a major part. This year hopefully we can set up the game in the first three days so it is much easier for us at the end.”West Indies were able to take advantage of fine morning conditions on Friday to train fully, before afternoon rain robbed the Australians of the chance to do likewise. The visitors made a brief observation of the pitch before returning to their hotel for work in the gym and the pool.

Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced – the 19th over – to pull off an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful chase in the IPL

The Report by Firdose Moonda12-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Faf du Plessis built the platform from which Albie Morkel launched his match-winning assault•AFP

Albie Morkel ransacked 28 runs off the first six balls he faced – the 19th over – to pull off an incredible heist for Chennai Super Kings, the second highest successful chase in the IPL. Pursuing 206, Super Kings needed 43 off 12 balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore would have thought the match safe, only for Morkel to shatter the notion by savaging Virat Kohli’s over.Morkel launched three sixes, two fours and ran a two, to leave Super Kings with 15 to get in the last over. Although he was caught on the boundary, and Super Kings needed 14 off four balls, Dwayne Bravo was on hand to finish it off, helped by a no-ball and a full toss from Vinay Kumar. It was a compelling finish to an innings that had its platform laid by aggression from Faf du Plessis and innovation from MS Dhoni, who promoted himself to No. 4, but until that rocket-fueled thrust from Morkel, Super Kings had been behind for 38 overs.In hindsight Royal Challengers were left to rue a late collapse in their innings, when five wickets fell in six balls and they scored only 11 runs off the final ten deliveries. Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli had done enough to ensure they were the first side to make more than 200 in this IPL, but they were set for more than 205 at one stage.While Royal Challengers swelled in the middle of their innings, scoring 21 off the ninth over, Super Kings waited for the end to lash out after a solid start. Du Plessis took control of the innings early on and scored risk-free boundaries off short balls. He dominated the first seven overs, while M Vijay batted in his shadow.Vijay became the first of Muttiah Muralitharan’s three scalps when he offered the Sri Lankan a return catch. Murali had to dive to his right and defy his age to complete it and he did. Murali broke the next two partnerships as well to prevent Super Kings from gaining too much ground. Suresh Raina and du Plessis both holed out as they fought a climbing asking rate.With more than 15 an over required off the last five, Super Kings needed a sustained attack. It did not come. Dhoni perished in the cause, attempting the helicopter shot to be caught at long-off, which proved a blessing in disguise as it brought Morkel to the crease.Kohli was given the responsibility of the 19th over because Vettori had exhausted the quotas of his experienced bowlers and Gayle was off the field with what seemed to be a groin niggle. Morkel got underway with an inside edge for four and then blasted the next delivery over long-on for six. An outside edge off the third ball flew towards third man for four and Morkel clobbered the fourth and sixth deliveries for six as well.When Morkel was dismissed, the advantage was back with a shell-shocked Royal Challengers but Vinay Kumar let it slip again. He bowled a high no-ball that Bravo pulled for four and the next delivery was a full toss, which got slapped for six. Vinay Kumar followed up with two boundary-less balls leaving Super Kings with two to win off the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja swung hard at the final delivery and outside-edged to the third-man boundary, sparking off delirious celebrations in the Super Kings dugout. Royal Challengers explosive efforts with the bat were a distant memory.During Royal Challengers’ innings, Mayank Agarwal had performed a similar role to Du Plessis, attacking at the start. He initially eclipsed Gayle, peppering the off side with powerful shots, lofting the ball over mid-off and timing it sweetly through covers. Agarwal ushered Royal Challengers to the first half-century score inside five overs this season.Unlike du Plessis, however, Agarwal did not build on his platform and top-edged a slower bouncer from Morkel to mid-on. He had done enough though for Gayle and Kohli to build a skyscraper on. Both scored half-centuries in contrasting styles. Gayle gathered runs with power while Kohli did it with placement and timing. Their partnership grew to the highest of this IPL but neither of them survived until the end of the innings, from where they may have been able to launch the kind of onslaught Morkel did, and break the game.

Pakistan’s new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has said he expects a tough contest in all three formats against Sri Lanka

Sa'adi Thawfeeq28-May-2012Pakistan’s new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has said he expects a tough contest in all three formats against Sri Lanka.”We all know that Sri Lanka is always good on their own soil and we are looking forward to a very tough series,” Hafeez said at a media conference held a few hours after the team’s arrival on Monday for a seven-week tour.”We have experience playing them in the recent past and had good success against them,” he said, referring to the Test and ODI series victories when the sides met in the UAE late last year. “I personally feel the boys have worked really hard in the last one and a half months. Although we were not playing any international cricket (recently) some of the guys were doing their own training and the PCB arranged some matches for us to get match practice.”The Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore was happy with the team’s preparation for the series. “Although Pakistan is unable to play any international matches at home due to the security concerns in their country, they managed to practice together before coming to Sri Lanka,” he said. “We had a pretty decent two weeks camp before we came here finishing up with some practices that were attended by conservatively 15,000 people who were starved of cricket and they just loved them.”The advantage a country like Sri Lanka has, apart from IPL of course, is they are all centralised in one spot. In our case a lot of the boys are spread out. There are a lot of weeks of build-up before we come together for a camp. From that point of view you can’t be in all the places at once taken in good faith that they are working and the boys have. But the two weeks was very good at the other end.”Whatmore served as head coach of the Sri Lanka team on two occasions and is best remembered for guiding them to win the World Cup in 1996 in his first attempt. “That was a long time ago when I finished with Sri Lanka and a lot of water has passed under the bridge. I maintain some friendships which are always good but the task here is to win. It will be nothing less than working 100% to achieve that. The longer goal is to take Pakistan high up in the rankings in all three formats. It’s a simple statement but it requires a lot of work.”Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said that it was a good challenge for his team to play Pakistan at home. “If you take their performances in the last six months they have performed well in all three formats. To play them in our conditions is a good challenge,” Jayawardene said. “We must move forward from the series against England. One-day cricket is important to us and also the T20 because in another 3-4 months we have the World T20 so the T20 matches against Pakistan and the two we will play against India in July are extremely important to us.”Pakistan being their tour of Sri Lanka with two T20 Internationals at Hambantota on June 1 and 3 before moving into the five-match ODI series and the Tests.

Bangladesh kept themselves in the running for a spot in the final of the Zimbabwe tri-series, just, with a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club

Liam Brickhill21-Jun-2012
ScorecardHamilton Masakadza made his fourth consecutive score over 50, but it wasn’t enough for Zimbabwe•AFP

Bangladesh kept themselves in the running for a spot in the final of the Zimbabwe tri-series, just, with a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. Nasir Hossain held Bangladesh’s pursuit of 150 together, responding to Hamilton Masakadza’s half-century with an unbeaten 41 to guide his side home with 15 balls to spare. The real credit for the win must go to Bangladesh’s bowlers, however, as they scuppered Zimbabwe’s charge at the death of their innings to keep the target within reach.An aggressive start from Zimbabwe’s batsmen had put the home side in a position to reach at least 160 after Brendan Taylor won his third toss in a row and, once again, decided to bat first. Zimbabwe were well-placed at 125 for 3 at the end of the 16th over, with two set batsmen at the crease before Bangladesh clawed their way back into the game.Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny provided the breakthrough by having Stuart Matsikenyeri caught at long on for an industrious 27, and from that point onwards wickets fell regularly. The complexion of the match changed completely as Mashrafe Mortaza returned to have Masakadza caught behind, heaving at a slower ball, for 56. In the same over Elton Chigumbura’s run out reduced Zimbabwe to 132 for 6 before Prosper Utseya was undone by an Abul Hasan slower ball and Graeme Cremer sliced an attempted slog to be caught in the deep off Mortaza, who was named Man of the Match for his efforts.Zimbabwe’s stumble, during which they lost five wickets for just 31 runs in the last five overs of their innings, gave Bangladesh a gettable target at which to aim and their openers, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful, launched the chase with gusto. Taylor opened the bowling with Prosper Utseya, the offspinner promptly being despatched for two crisp boundaries in his first five balls. Chris Mpofu’s first over went for 15, and Bangladesh were flying at 25 without loss.Bangladesh then suffered a stutter, courtesy some needlessly reckless batting from Ashraful, who was bowled attempting a paddle, and some equally casual running from Tamim. Graeme Cremer had Anamul Haque caught behind in his first over to reduce Bangladesh to a wobbly 52 for 3 in the seventh over, but Nasir Hossain then joined captain Mushfiqur Rahim in the middle and the pair set about repairing the innings.Theirs was a watchful partnership, and apart from Mushfiqur’s solitary six, their entire stand of 47 was made up of scampered ones and twos. Zimbabwe’s hopes will have been briefly raised when a superb pick-up and throw from Vusi Sibanda had Mushfiqur run out for 31, but Hossain and Mahmudullah closed out the match in a flurry of boundaries. They put on an unbeaten 54 at almost 13-runs an over to keep Bangladesh’s hopes alive in this series.Earlier, Masakadza had once again provided the backbone of Zimbabwe’s innings and his extraordinary run of form has now extended to a century and three fifties in his last four innings.
After Masakadza lost his opening partner, Vusi Sibanda, to a run out, a partnership of 48 in 32 deliveries with his captain Taylor helped Zimbabwe to weather the early breakthrough and briefly keep the ascendancy. Taylor contributed watchful 38s in Zimbabwe’s previous two wins, holding the middle order together, but with his side seemingly assured of a place in Sunday’s final he chose to take the attack to the bowlers.Taylor raced to 27 from just 12 balls but then played one shot too many, a top-edged hoick ending up in Mahmudullah’s hands at deep midwicket. Taylor’s dismissal meant that Zimbabwe’s middle order, which hasn’t really been tested yet in this series, were offered the chance for some time in the middle. Craig Ervine couldn’t make anything of the opportunity, however, as his dreadful run with the bat continued when he played outside the line of a Mahmudullah straight-break to depart for a golden duck.While Masakadza remained Zimbabwe still looked like passing 160, and he was cheered to a 47-ball fifty in the 15th over. The crowds attending the matches at Harare Sports Club have swelled as Zimbabwe racked up consecutive wins, and a particularly noisy rabble around Castle Corner kept warm on a wintry afternoon with choruses of exuberant and vocal support.
Once Masakadza was prised out by Mortaza, however, they had much less cause to celebrate.