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The South African franchises will play between two and four rounds of first-class cricket before the national team’s tour to Australia in November

Firdose Moonda02-Aug-2012The South African franchises will play between two and four rounds of first-class cricket before the national team’s tour to Australia in November. Graeme Smith’s team will play three Tests on the tour and a single tour match, starting on November 2, while South Africa’s domestic season will start seven weeks before that on September 20.The Knights, Cobras, Dolphins and Warriors will each play four matches before the Australia tour while the Lions and Titans will only play two games, because of their involvement in October’s Champions League T20.”With the early start to the season our two representatives in the Champions League T20 will be able to find form ahead of this important inter-continental competition,” Jacques Faul, CSA’s acting chief executive, said. “They will be without those national players involved in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.”The Champions League, which runs from October 13 to 28, will not interrupt the domestic fixtures greatly, as the four franchises not involved will continue playing as normal. Their matches will all be hosted at grounds not involved in the competition, such as Buffalo Park in East London and the Pietermaritzburg Oval.All the competitions – first-class, one-day and twenty-overs – will be played over a double round. Each franchise will play ten matches, half at home and half away, in keeping with the changes that were made in the 2011-12 season.The limited-overs competition will involve a knockout stage that will see the team who tops the table automatically qualify for the final, while the second and third placed teams will contest a playoff.Although the formats will stay the same, the names of all three competitions will change because CSA have found new sponsors after being abandoned by most of their corporate partners due to the ongoing bonus scandal.The first-class competition is no longer backed by broadcaster SuperSport but funded by cooking oil manufacturing company Sunfoil, who are also Test sponsors. The one-day cup, which went unsponsored last season, now has the muscle of financial services company Momentum behind it.The twenty-over competition’s naming rights have not yet been claimed. Insurance company MiWay stepped in at the 11th hour last season, but have not announced a renewal of their sponsorship. A certainty about the tournament is that the composite seventh franchise, Impi, have been disbanded and the event will be played between the six existing teams, with no additions.

Shiv Thakor, surprisingly omitted from England’s squad for the U19 World Cup, hit his third half-century in six innings as Leicestershire reached 334 for 8 against Hampshire at Grace Road.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2012
ScorecardShiv Thakor, surprisingly omitted from England’s squad for the U19 World Cup in Australia, hit his third half-century in six innings as Leicestershire reached 334 for 8 on the first day of the LV= County Championship Division Two game against Hampshire at Grace Road.Thakor made a Championship-best 71 not out off 114 balls, to help Leicestershire fight back after slumping to 43 for three. They were the sort of qualities that England’s U19 side, which played Somerset’s two Overton brothers, all-rounders both, as specialist batsmen, might have valued as they crashed out of the tournament against South Africa at the quarter-final stage.Josh Cobb and Wayne White also scored half-centuries as the hosts middle-order batsmen battled hard to put a dent in Hampshire’s promotion ambitions.Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams put Leicestershire into bat on a green-looking pitch after winning the toss. With cloudy conditions as well, it looked a perfect morning for seam bowlers, and Kabir Ali quickly cashed in with a wicket in his second over, trapping Michael Thornley lbw as he tried to work the ball away through the leg side.As the ball continued to seam and swing, batting was hard work and Ned Eckersley decided on an aggressive approach, hitting three boundaries in an over off James Tomlinson before Ali struck again, having Eckersley caught at first slip. Will Jones, who had battled his way to 23, soon followed, caught behind off a fine delivery from David Balcombe that swung and lifted.That left Leicestershire wobbling at 43 for three, but resourceful batting by the middle-order slowly pulled them out of trouble. Cobb led the way with an excellent knock of 82, sharing stands of 75 with Ramnaresh Sarwan and 76 with Matt Boyce.Sarwan, who hit five fours in his 36, looked in fine form until he was undone by an inswinging delivery from Tomlinson and was out lbw.Cobb, joined by Boyce, reached his 50 off 87 balls and struck five more fours before his 139-ball innings came to end when he was bowled by Sean Ervine, and Boyce was caught at slip for 32 off the same bowler five runs later with the total on 199.But 18-year-old Thakor and all-rounder White shared a seventh-wicket stand of 109 in 27 overs to take the hosts past the 300 mark. White hit a half-century off 77 balls with eight fours and Thakor was still there at the close having struck 10 fours – four in one over off Balcombe – in another eye-catching innings.

Eoin Morgan insists he will turn his back on his lucrative IPL contract if it helps him regain a place in England’s Test side

George Dobell27-Aug-2012While the riches on offer in the IPL may have turned the head of Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan insists he will turn his back on the most lucrative competition in world cricket if it helps him regain a place in England’s Test side.Morgan, who was dropped from the Test team after a grim series against Pakistan in the UAE, is contracted to the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2013 IPL season, but said that international cricket will always take priority and that he would prefer to play county cricket next April and May if it helps him win back a Test place.While Morgan would, under the terms of his England and Middlesex contract, be entitled to miss the first four or five weeks of the English domestic season in order to play in the IPL, he knows he will need to impress in first-class cricket if he is to force his way back into the Test side. Certainly Morgan’s chances of impressing during the 2012 IPL season were limited as he failed to make it into the Kolkata side, though he has previously gone on record to credit the experience of training alongside players from around the world as hugely beneficial to his learning experience.”The bigger picture for me is playing Test cricket,” he said. “As a 15-year-old I came across to England to play Test cricket. It’s always been my priority. I’ve had a little sniff of it and I’ve absolutely loved it. I was in the side when we became No. 1 and I was on the Ashes tour as a spare batter. Nothing can ever come close to the stuff you experience as a winning Test-match side. If it came about that I was back in the Test team during the IPL I’d be the happiest bloke in the world.”Morgan’s words will delight England coach, Andy Flower. Flower has previously stated that “you’re not going to learn much about Test batting in the IPL” and blamed Pietersen’s desire to play the entire 2013 IPL season and maximise his earning from his £1.2 million deal with the Delhi Daredevils, as “the catalyst” in unsettling the player over recent months.Morgan, however, feels that the opportunity to play Test cricket is more important than the money on offer in T20 leagues. While he still harbours the hope that his improved form in limited-overs cricket – he looked back to his best in scoring an unbeaten 89 in 63 balls in the ODI against Australia at Lord’s in June – will win him a Test recall, he knows that if he is to convince the selectors that he is committed to regaining his Test place, he may well need to prove himself playing for Middlesex in the County Championship. And if that means missing out on the deals available in the Big Bash and the IPL it is a price he is prepared to pay.”Is Test cricket my priority? Absolutely. I’ve never doubted that. If I’m involved in international cricket, it always takes priority and if I’m within one or two positions of the Test team, then I’ll probably make the decision myself to come back and play county cricket. If I’m in the frame for a Test place, then things might have to change [regarding IPL availability], definitely. I looked into it a small bit this year but, because I was three or four places off the Test side I left it. I don’t think I can play Big Bash. If all goes well I’ll be on the Test tour, if not I’ll make other plans.”When anybody gets dropped they need to show that they’re in substantial form and that they’ve scored enough runs to justify their position in the side. They need to show they’ve come back a better player. Looking back I’m a better player than I was at the start of the year. I’ve proven that in spurts over the summer. Hopefully again I can do that again during this ODI series against South Africa.”Morgan’s first-class record is modest for a man with aspirations of playing more Test cricket. He has not scored a first-class century since the Edgbaston Test over 12 months ago and, in his seven-year career with Middlesex, averages just 32.71. His record this season is even more disappointing: he has averaged only 18.16 in the five County Championship matches he has played. While he has scored nine first-class centuries, only three of them have come in the Championship and none have been in the top division.Morgan’s next chance to impress the England selectors comes on Tuesday in the second ODI of the series against South Africa in Southampton. While he is quick to clarify that he has never had any problem with Pietersen personally, Morgan did admit that the opportunity provided to other players in Pietersen’s absence might have been beneficial.”Kevin is a world class cricketer and any team around the world would want him in their side,” Morgan said. “But there are issues surrounding him at the moment and it will take time to resolve them; the quicker that happens the better. Personally I didn’t find him difficult but I’ve not been around the Test team a lot.”The guys who have come in have done really well. Ian Bell has come in and been amazing and maybe the extra responsibility, in Ravi Bopara’s case, has helped him blossom as a cricketer. I’ve practised with Ravi for years and it’s now that he’s really showing the cricketer is capable of being and that’s great.”The focus as a side to is to progress up the rankings and build towards the World Cup and Champions Trophy next year. We’re making huge steps towards bringing in match-winners who can take the game by the scruff of the neck and move forward.”

Shahid Afridi is unlikely to play in the final Twenty20 due to his ongoing thumb injury but Saeed Ajmal is expected to be fit after hurting his left shoulder during Pakistan’s win on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2012Shahid Afridi is unlikely to play in the final Twenty20 due to his ongoing thumb injury but Saeed Ajmal is expected to be fit after hurting his left shoulder during Pakistan’s win on Friday. The captain Mohammad Hafeez said Pakistan would make some changes after securing the series with a 2-0 lead and he was keen to give some game time to some of the men who were not used in the first two matches.Pakistan took an unbeatable lead over Australia by prevailing in the Super Over in Dubai in the second match and next week the teams head to Sri Lanka ahead of the ICC World Twenty20. With such an important tournament approaching, Hafeez said there seemed little point risking Afridi in Monday’s dead rubber.”I don’t think so, because he’s still not feeling that good,” Hafeez told reporters in Dubai. “I don’t want to take any chance because I want him in the World Cup. He’s a match-winner for Pakistan, there’s no doubt. I don’t think he will be available. We’ll have to see. If he recovers well he’s always the first choice for me as a captain but at the moment I don’t think he will be available for the third game.”However, Hafeez said he anticipated that Ajmal, who on Friday drew level with Afridi as the all-time leading T20 international wicket taker, would be available for the final game. Ajmal collected 2 for 20 from his four overs but injured his shoulder in the process, which meant Pakistan could not use him to bowl the Super Over.”He was not feeling well. That was the reason we decided to go with Umar Gul [for the Super Over],” Hafeez said. “He was having a little bit of pain [in his left shoulder] and that was the reason the physio suggested not to go with him. I feel he will recover in one or two days because it is not a big injury. But he will recover from that for the next game.”With the World T20 so close, Pakistan are keen to give an opportunity to some of the men who have missed the first two games, but who may be required in Sri Lanka. Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq and Yasir Arafat are in the squad but have not yet played in the T20 series and Hafeez said while a decision had not been made on who would come in, Pakistan would make some changes.”We might try a couple of things because I believe everybody should get a chance,” he said. “Definitely we will give a chance to some of the players who have been sitting on the bench. I know they are good enough.”Hafeez has now lost only one of his four matches as Pakistan’s T20 captain and the signs are encouraging ahead of the World T20, with runs coming from the top order and wickets being shared among the bowlers. He said he was happy with the way the team was building towards the world tournament.”As a captain I’m very pleased the way the boys are responding under pressure,” Hafeez said. “Especially matches like that when you win you always get the right feeling back in the dressing room and everybody is very confident to do the job for Pakistan. Whenever I ask for someone to do the job everybody is there. As a captain I feel very proud of my team.”

Sri Lanka’s erstwhile captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and their likely next leader Angelo Mathews did their best to drag their team back into the Test on the third day at Bellerive Oval, but a relentless Peter Siddle ensured Australia remained well on top

The Report by Brydon Coverdale16-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tillakaratne Dilshan made 147•Getty ImagesSri Lanka’s erstwhile captain Tillakaratne Dilshan and their likely next leader Angelo Mathews did their best to drag their team back into the Test on the third day at Bellerive Oval, but a relentless Peter Siddle ensured Australia remained well on top. Again the weather in Hobart was fickle, leading to all sorts of session adjustments, and by the time a late stumps time arrived Australia’s advantage had grown to 141, leaving them to set Sri Lanka a target over the next two days.David Warner and Ed Cowan had reached stumps safely, Cowan on 16 and Warner on 8, and Australia were 0 for 27. There had been nervous moments for both men – Cowan would have been lbw on 5 had Nuwan Kulasekara convinced his captain to ask for a review, and Warner edged just wide of second slip – but all that mattered was that they had survived.The Sri Lankans had been dismissed for 336 during the final session, their last four wickets falling for 20 runs after Dilshan and Mathews had earlier batted for the best part of two sessions without letting the Australians break through. Australia’s cause was not helped by an injury to Ben Hilfenhaus, who left the field with a suspected side strain while bowling his fourth over, and it meant plenty of extra work for the rest of the attack. It was a good thing they had Siddle.Against the South Africans in Adelaide last month, Siddle had carried Australia’s bowling in a similar situation, when James Pattinson had suffered an injury mid-match, and here again he was the man to whom Michael Clarke turned. Siddle responded by attacking the stumps, drying up runs, accumulating maidens and eventually was rewarded with a five-wicket haul, including the key dismissals of Mathews for 75 and Prasanna Jaywardene for 40.Smart stats

Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 147 is the third-highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman against Australia. The top four scores for Sri Lanka (in Australia Tests) have all come in matches played in Australia.

Dilshan’s score is the second-highest score by a visiting batsman in Hobart after Kumar Sangakkara’s 192 in 2007.

Dilshan’s century is his second in nine Tests against Australia. His first century (104) came in his first ever game against Australia in Galle in 2004.

The 161-run stand between Dilshan and Angelo Mathews is the second-highest for Sri Lanka against Australia. It is also the second-highest partnership for a visiting team in Hobart,

The 161-run stand is also the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for Sri Lanka in away/neutral Tests. Dilshan has been involved in three of the top five stands.

Peter Siddle’s 5 for 54 is the fifth-best bowling performance by an Australian pace bowler against Sri Lanka. It is also Siddle’s sixth five-wicket haul overall and fifth in home Tests.

Siddle finished with 5 for 54 from his 25.3 overs and his efforts were all the more valuable because Australia’s other fit genuine fast man, Mitchell Starc, struggled to find consistent lines and lengths. Dilshan and Mathews were allowed to rattle on at a fast tempo in the first session and although the runs slowed down after lunch, the wickets didn’t start to pile up for Australia until the post-tea period.Dilshan’s third Test century in his past four Tests was the key for Sri Lanka, who required someone to anchor the innings after they stumbled to 4 for 87 at stumps on the second day. Dilshan had ample support from Mathews in a 161-run stand, a Sri Lankan Test record for any wicket in Australia, and he reached his hundred shortly before lunch, which was called early due to rain.Although Dilshan was stuck in the nineties for half an hour, he eventually brought up the milestone from his 148th delivery by steering a ball from Siddle behind point for a boundary. His vocal celebration showed how important the innings was to him and his team, and it was important that he hadn’t let things stagnate in the morning.Dilshan was very strong through the off side, cutting and driving with power and he finished with 21 boundaries, largely in the region from backward point to long-off. Although he slowed down after lunch, and appeared to tire as the day wore on, he continued to blunt the bowlers, offering only the occasional half chance, an edge that flew safely or a swing and a narrow miss. By the end of his innings, Dilshan had played out 200 dot balls, a remarkable tally, but one that the Sri Lankans didn’t care too much about given the runs he provided.For much of his innings, Dilshan was accompanied by Mathews, who picked up a couple of early boundaries by pulling short deliveries and was very impressive down the ground to the spinner Nathan Lyon, using his feet well and taking few risks. He moved past his half-century from his 127th delivery but on 75 was lbw to Siddle, a review unable to save him from the umpire’s verdict.Not that the Australians were perfect in their use of the review system either. When Dilshan was on 125, the cordon gave a half-hearted shout for caught-behind but the bowler Siddle wasn’t interested; had they reviewed the not-out call, Dilshan would have been gone, as Hot Spot indicated the ball had tickled the outside edge on the way through to Matthew Wade. Eventually Dilshan was bowled by a Starc yorker for 147, and from there the wickets started to fall more regularly.Prasanna Jayawardene made a brisk 40 before he was the victim of a very judicious lbw review by Clarke off the bowling of Siddle. The umpire Tony Hill had turned the appeal down as it appeared to have come off the inside edge, but replays showed the ball had flicked the pad before the bat, and Jayawardene was sent on his way. Soon afterwards Rangana Herath was given lbw off Siddle and there had been an inside edge before pad, but Sri Lanka had no reviews left to reprieve Herath.The final two wickets fell with the score on 336, Nuwan Kulasekara, who had earlier survived a missed stumping by Matthew Wade, caught on the boundary by the substitute Jordan Silk off the bowling of Nathan Lyon for 23, and then Chanaka Welegedara caught at gully off Siddle for a duck. It left Sri Lanka 114 behind on the first innings, and although they had boosted their chances of playing out a draw, much work remained for them over the remaining two days.

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander, who is recovering from a hamstring strain, will only be fully assessed next week for his availability for the first Test against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda28-Dec-2012South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander, who is recovering from a grade one hamstring strain, will only be fully assessed next week for his availability for the first Test against New Zealand. Philander is on the eighth day of a 10-14 day recovery program, and only has four more days to be declared fit.He injured his hamstring during a first-class match between the Cobras and the Titans, where he only bowled five overs before leaving the field. Philander is in training with the national team, but isn’t bowling to capacity yet. He is expected to be up to 80% fit by the weekend.”He is still in the rehabilitation phase but is coming along nicely,” Mohammed Moosajee, the team manager who is also a medical doctor, told ESPNCricinfo. “We are definitely not ruling him out.” Should Philander not pass his fitness test, Rory Kleinveldt will replace him in the starting XI, having done the same in the Adelaide Test against Australia.South Africa’s other injury concern is Jacques Kallis, who required a three-week break after also sustaining a hamstring niggle in Australia. Kallis batted with a slight tear during the second Test in Adelaide, and did not field. But he had enough time on the physiotherapist’s bed to play in the third Test in Perth, although he could not bowl.He has not played any cricket since the team returned home from that tour, although his franchise, the Cobras, have played. The rest has served him well and Kallis should be fit to score the 20 runs he needs to bring up his 13,000 Test runs next Wednesday. “Jacques is now symptom-free and he is ready to go,” Moosajee said.New Zealand also have minor worries about the health of their squad. Middle-order batsman Dean Brownlie suffered a severe stomach bug and could not travel from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town with the rest of the team. He made the journey a day later, and although he was not named in the 12-man squad for the tour match, he was at the ground mid-way through the first day and is reportedly recovering well.Opening batsman Peter Fulton’s knee was given a trial run during the tour match after he suffered a recurrence of an old injury and he emerged without trouble. Fulton batted for an hour and six minutes and scored 39 runs. Colin Munro has stayed with the squad after the Twenty20 series as cover.

Ray Price, the left-arm spinner, was dropped from Zimbabwe’s limited-overs’ squads for the upcoming tour of West Indies, but he would join the team for the two-Test series that follows the ODIs and the Twenty20s

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2013Ray Price, the left-arm spinner, was dropped from Zimbabwe’s limited-overs squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies, but he would join the team for the Test series that follows the ODIs and the Twenty20s. Left-arm seamer Brian Vitori, who has been part of all three squads since making his debut in August 2011 against Bangladesh, was dropped for the tour.Left-hand batsman Sean Williams, who has played 47 ODIs and a T20 before, was included for the Tests for the first time while he has been left out of the limited-overs team. He played his last international match – an ODI against Canada – during the 2011 World Cup.Another new name to feature in both Test and limited-overs squads is Tendai Chatara, the Mountaineers right-arm seamer, who has picked up 13 wickets in three first-class matches this season.The team will play three ODIs, two T20s and two Tests in what happens to be Zimbabwe’s first tour of the West Indies in 13 years. It is the first time they are playin a two-Test series since playing India in 2005.Four members of the limited-overs squad – Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi and Natsai M’shangwe – will return after the ODIs and T20s and will be replaced by Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer for the Tests.ODI and T20 squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Keegan Meth, Craig Ervine, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai M’shangweTest squad: Brendan Taylor (capt), Tino Mawoyo, Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Regis Chakabva, Malcolm Waller, Kyle Jarvis, Keegan Meth, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Raymond Price, Graeme Cremer

Abhishek Nayar rued his and Rohit Sharma’s failure with the bat in the first innings while looking back at Mumbai conceding a lead that ultimately sealed the title for Rest of India

Siddhartha Talya in Mumbai10-Feb-2013Abhishek Nayar rued his and Rohit Sharma’s failure with the bat in the first innings while looking back at Mumbai conceding a lead that ultimately sealed the title for Rest of India. Mumbai, who haven’t won the Irani Cup since 1997-98, were bowled out for 409 while chasing Rest of India’s 526 despite an unbeaten century from Sachin Tendulkar; Nayar was caught at slip for 1, and Rohit was dismissed to a poor shot for a duck.”It was important for one of Rohit or me to stay and get those runs, but we couldn’t,” Nayar told reporters at the end of the match. “You can blame the shot, you can blame whatever you want to, but I feel personally we should have been there and got the team through. It was our responsibility, but unfortunately we didn’t deliver.”Nayar got an edge while playing across the line to Abhimanyu Mithun, Rohit was caught after top-edging an attempted slog-sweep and the last three wickets were unable to support Tendulkar after he had revived Mumbai’s hopes by putting together a century stand for the seventh wicket with Ankeet Chavan. “Our batting has been our forte, with Rohit and me not getting runs that put added pressure on us. If one of us had put our hands up and done something with Sachin, we could have been on the winning side. It’s just that key players in the game haven’t really delivered and the responsibility has to be taken by us.”Mumbai were without Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar for this match – both ruled out due to injuries – and Dhawal Kulkarni led an inexperienced attack. “Shardul [Thakur] and Javed [Khan] have played three or four games this season, even Vishal’s [Dabholkar] played his fourth so we have a bit of inexperience. We are up against guys who are the best in their teams. So it’s been a learning experience for the guys.”Mumbai did have a chance to fight back in the second innings after picking up three wickets relatively early on the fourth day and Abhishek Nayar troubling Manoj Tiwary, who he has dismissed several times, before lunch. However, Nayar took himself out of the attack after the break and had his spinners – Dabholkar and Chavan – bowl 52 out of the day’s remaining 60 overs, and Rest of India dealt with them comfortably. “At that point, I had already bowled eight overs into the spell and sometimes it takes a toll on your body,” Nayar said. “The bulk of the bowling was done by the fast bowlers [in the first innings], so at some point the spinners had to put their hand up and bowl for us. At that point, the ball was swinging a lot and I thought I should have come on to bowl but I felt, at the time, the spinners should have done the job for us.”Nayar said he was disappointed that Wasim Jaffer, who had a prolific season, was not picked for the Tests against Australia. “He’s by far one of the best batsmen in India. It is disappointing that he’s not in the team, but like I said, he just has to do what is in his hands, and keep getting runs. Hopefully the time will come when he gets his opportunity.”Harbhajan Singh, the Rest of India captain, said he was proud of his team for having won the title, though he felt winning the game outright would have been difficult even if he had declared overnight – Rest of India batted on the fifth morning and gave Mumbai 63 overs to chase 507. “We saw the wicket, it wasn’t the kind where it was easy for bowlers to take those ten wickets. This is the kind of a match, where you know that if you take the first-innings lead, you will win the game.”Our fast bowlers had bowled quite a lot in the first innings, and by looking at the game, we saw their fast bowlers also struggled to take wickets. I just wanted to make sure we’ll declare whenever we feel we’d like to bowl and that’s what we did.”

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on March 20, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2013North ZoneDelhi’s seamers restricted Jammu & Kashmir to 116 for 9, to gain a 17-run victory, and push them to the top of the table.Delhi, batting first, were in a spot of bother at 48 for 4, but Jagrit Anand (34) and Milind Kumar (40) put on a 69-run stand for the fifth wicket, to push the total to 133 for 6. J&K were unable to build substantial partnerships in their chase, with only Manish Dogra (20), Parvez Rasool (26), and Bandeep Singh (32) contributing, as Delhi bowlers’ kept them in check throughout. Delhi’s captain Rajat Bhatia was their most productive bowler, taking 3 for 26.East ZoneBengal comprehensively beat Tripura by eight wickets, to go to the top of the table.After choosing to bat, Tripura’s top-order batsmen took their side to 49 for 3, before a collapse had them losing seven wickets for 55 runs, to be eventually bowled out for 104. The wickets were shared around, with seamer Sanjib Sanyal and offspinner Arnab Nandi doing maximum damage with two wickets each.Bengal’s top-order, in reply, played their part, led by Subhomoy Das’ 37. Sayan Mondal’s unbeaten 29 ensured they won comfortably in the 17th over.A collective batting effort ensured Odisha beat Jharkhand by 24 runs.Contributions from Govind Podder (41), Biplab Samantray (34), and Bikas Pati (25) took Odisha to a competitive153 for 7. Seamer Rahul Shukla was Jharkhand’s most effective bowler, taking 4 for 30.Jharkhand lost both openers early in their chase, and despite contributions from Saurabh Tiwary (26), Kumar Deobrat (31) and Ajatshahtru Singh (24), they lost wickets regularly, and were unable to keep abreast of the required run-rate, losing by 24 runs.

A third successive century from Rafatullah Mohmand and a four-wicket spell from Junaid Khan helped Water and Power Development Authority storm into the final

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2013
ScorecardA third successive century from Rafatullah Mohmand and a four-wicket spell from Junaid Khan helped Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) storm into the final of the President’s One-day Cup, by crushing National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) by 119 runs in Karachi. WAPDA will take on Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at same venue tomorrow.WAPDA lost the toss but they had a strong start, with their openers adding 135 for the first wicket in 23 overs. Saad Nasim was the first to fall, for 57, but Mohmand went on to add 93 for the second wicket with Shoaib Maqsood. Mohmand’s 115 – his third century in as many innings – came off 118 deliveries. Maqsood scored 68 and cameos from Aamer Sajjad and Mohammad Ayub led WAPDA to 330. They scored 79 in the last 51 balls.NBP’s chase began poorly as opener Nasir Jamshed was dismissed for 9. The rest of the top-order batsmen got starts but only Fawad Alam made a significant score – 60 – and his solitary effort wasn’t enough to take NBP close to the target. Pakistan left-arm quick Junaid Khan ripped through the middle and lower order, taking four wickets to skittle NBP for 211 in 40.2 overs.