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Result guarantees India a spot in the semi-finals, while the Bangladesh vs Pakistan match becomes a knockout

Shashank Kishore05-Nov-20222:21

How did Netherlands pull off the unimaginable?

That sinking feeling! The all-too-familiar ‘c’ thing, which will reverberate – again – for a while to come. And the despondency, knocked out of yet another World Cup despite having everything under their control…South Africa will have to deal with all of that and more after their horror run in Adelaide culminated in yet another heartbreak, this one perhaps bigger than anything they have endured in recent times on the cricket field.But Netherlands, they will celebrate long and hard after scripting a seminal moment in their cricket history. If qualification into the Super 12s was big, victory over one of the pre-tournament favourites on Sunday could be even bigger, for a top-four finish in the group will guarantee them automatic qualification for the next edition of the T20 World Cup, in 2024.Along with Netherlands, all of Pakistan and Bangladesh would have celebrated, too. The match between those two teams later in the afternoon – which could have been dead had South Africa won – was turned into a knockout contest to decide the second semi-finalists from Group 1, because Netherlands’ win also meant India qualified for the final four.The moment that changed the match, for good•Getty Images

Ironically, it was Johannesburg-born Roelof van der Merwe, who represented South Africa in two editions of the tournament [2009 and 2010], who put a dagger in South African hearts with an incredible catch to turn the game around.With South Africa needing 47 off 29, van der Merwe ran nearly 20 yards back, from short fine-leg towards square leg, to latch on to a catch from David Miller off Brandon Glover. Having covered all that ground, while looking straight into the sun all along, he put in a dive as he pulled off a blinder with the ball swirling in the air.The man who had been standing in the way of Netherlands and an unlikely win was gone. What followed was mayhem and magic in equal measure. South Africa imploded, Netherlands swelled with passion and pride. It was a victory to savour for the team in orange, a bitter pill to swallow for the men in green.The Myburgh boost at the top
The Netherlands’ charge started with Stephan Myburgh’s big-hitting up front. In the second over, he hit Kagiso Rabada on the up twice to the extra-cover boundary to make his intentions clear. Over the course of the next 20 minutes, he gave a fine exhibition of aggressive batting, seemingly unperturbed by the reputation of Rabada and Anrich Nortje, as he pulled, whipped, cut and drove his way to seven boundaries. At 56 for no loss in eight overs, he had set a firm base. Even as Myburgh went hell for leather, Max O’Dowd was happy to turn the strike over and play the perfect second foil.The win could mean a top-four finish in the group for Netherlands, and therefore an automatic spot in the next T20 World Cup•Getty Images

Cooper cranks it up
Netherlands lost Myburgh to a slog sweep, but Tom Cooper, with all his experience of playing in the BBL, kept up the tempo. Let off on 11 when Aiden Markram put down a tough return chance, Cooper used the shorter boundaries to his advantage as he punished Markram and Rabada. But it wasn’t just the pull that he profited from. With fields set for the shot, Cooper reverse-swept Keshav Maharaj for six over deep point where there were no boundary riders. He was beginning to look dangerous, but South Africa hit back with the wickets of O’Dowd and him in quick succession.The big finish
Going into the last four overs, Netherlands were in a slowdown with Colin Ackermann struggling for timing. He was on 9 off 11 and simply had to find his hitting range quickly. The wickets of Cooper and Bas de Leede didn’t help. But Netherlands managed to wrest back the momentum in the 19th over when Rabada was hit for three fours, including a neat reverse scoop by Scott Edwards. Ackermann then kicked up the perfect finish by muscling two sixes in the final over, bowled by Wayne Parnell, to finish with 41 not out off 26. The last two overs brought Netherlands 31 and all the momentum heading into the break.2:36

Moody: Regardless of captaincy, Bavuma shouldn’t be in this format

South Africa’s no-power powerplay
Quinton de Kock crashed a cover drive off the second ball but left-arm seamer Fred Klaassen stuck to his strengths – varying his lengths and being deadly accurate – to string up 12 dot balls in his first three overs, all of them in the powerplay. The bonus was the wicket of de Kock, who nicked behind while charing down the track. Temba Bavuma, who has been under pressure to score every time he’s batted, was the next to go for a run-a-ball 20 when he played all around a full delivery after shuffling a long way across. He saw his leg stump flattened and South Africa slipped to 39 for 2.The Glover and van der Merwe show
Six years ago, seamer Brandon Glover debuted for Boland in first-class cricket, hoping to earn his stripes with South Africa. Fate would have something else in store. Three years after debuting in T20Is for Netherlands, Glover made his most impactful contribution yet, nipping out three big batters, including the set Rilee Rossouw and dangerman Miller – to that van der Merwe catch – to tilt the scales in Netherlands’ favour. In between, Netherlands also had the wicket of Markram when Myburgh, who had let off Miller only a short while earlier at backward point, held on to an excellent catch at extra cover. The wheels had truly come off for South Africa. Glover and de Leede stuck to their lengths to ensure no late dramas as Netherlands sealed a historic win.

Batsman 48 not out heading into final day at Cheltenham with visitors three down in fourth innings

Paul Edwards07-Jul-2021
For two days, so we have been told, Cheltenham has dodged the showers. This attributes a degree of agility to the College Ground that even so magical a location might struggle to achieve but it is still a fair reflection of our good luck. While other matches in this round were hosed upon ‘big style’ on Monday and Tuesday Gloucestershire and Middlesex’s cricketers went about their business more or less unimpeded. Such splendid good fortune is no more than Cheltenham and its staff deserve but it came to a wet end this morning when a couple of determined downpours prevented any play before luncheon.The gruffer critics, recalling Middlesex’s disintegration on Tuesday afternoon, observed that a few showers at least offered the prospect of this game lasting into its fourth morning. Sadly there was brutal justice in that view. One of the tougher joys of the county programme is its insistence that a side’s capacity for resistance should be tested over six months and there were suggestions in the visitors’ first innings that one or two batsmen were resigned to a grim fate. Six defeats in eight games do that to cricketers.The job of the coach and captain at such times is to convince their mentally battered players that a seventh defeat is not pre-ordained, even at points in the season when they have mislaid their powers of resistance. Put simply, therefore, when Middlesex began their pursuit of 420 to win this game in the middle of this third afternoon their players had to believe a rot could be stopped.Related

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Two players’ innings suggested the message had been received. After both openers had been removed inside the first six overs, Stevie Eskinazi and Peter Handscomb, each of them with just one first-class half-century to their credit this season, defied Gloucestershire’s confident attack for 30 overs adding only 48 runs in the process but at least showing the kind of fight their side has frequently lacked this summer. The cricket was absorbing as James Bracey rotated his six-man attack intelligently, never over-bowling Dan Worrall and Matt Taylor, his main threats, but keeping all his bowlers fresh, secure in the knowledge that this game has another day to go.Handscomb, while he is no Hashim Amla, was unconcerned by his failure to score freely and went 45 minutes without adding to his 13 runs. However, having pushed a single to midwicket, he fell leg before to Worrall and it was left to Eskinazi and Daryl Mitchell to resist Gloucestershire’s bowlers for another hour. They did this in relative comfort and that rich period of play also featured the two huge sixes that Mitchell whacked over long-on when he came down the pitch to the off-spinner Ollie Price. All the same this was classic County Championship fare, old-school cricket, if you will. The fact that it took place at Cheltenham made the vintage even richer. And there will be cricket here tomorrow when Eskinazi will resume his innings on 48 not out.The cultured and discriminating defence offered by Middlesex’s middle-order was all the more vital given the early dismissal of their openers. First to go was Josh de Caires, who punched his third and fourth balls through midwicket for pleasant twos but was then dropped by Glenn Phillips at first slip off his sixth ball but caught by the same fielder off his tenth when attempting a drive. Given that de Caires nearly ran himself out at the non-striker’s end in the over between his first escape and final snaring, it would be fair to describe his second innings in big school as nervy yet even this was understandable given that he was facing Worrall, whose sponsorship by a firm of funeral directors is very fitting.But it was Matt Taylor, a slightly more civilised fellow and consequently receiving financial support from auctioneers, who took the next wicket when he brought one back in to have Sam Robson leg before for nought. There was the slightest suspicion the ball pitched outside leg but this did not really justify Robson leaning on his bat and delaying his departure with the air of a man visited by undeserved malignity. That, though, is what happens when the bottom has dropped out of your grocery bag too many times in one summer.We then settled into a wonderful few hours during which no home supporters barracked the batsmen and few spectators left the College Ground. All the same, the dot-stuffed tension of Middlesex’s innings had been preceded by a far more carefree 85 minutes’ cricket in which Gloucestershire lost their last four wickets in scoring a further 84 runs. The highlight of this session of play was a fine seventh-wicket partnership of 65 in 17 overs between Ollie and Tom Price, a stand in which both brothers played a series of attractive strokes. Ollie was eventually caught behind off Tim Murtagh for 33 but Tom ended the innings unbeaten on 35 and the pair’s value to Gloucestershire is plainly enhanced by their useful bowling. There was no value in the Prices simply occupying the crease – the lead was already 345 when their partnership began – but their self-possession was impressive and somehow emblematic of a county that is enjoying a prolonged and deserved revival in their fortunes. One does not need to hail from Prestbury or Painswick to be pleased by that.

England captain confident Tests can be played this season

Matt Roller07-May-2020England captain Joe Root has said that no cricket should be played this summer if “the game itself, how it’s played and the intensity it’s played at” is compromised in any way.The ECB have drawn up extensive contingency plans to play cricket behind closed doors in a ‘bio-secure’ environment, with the intention of fulfilling scheduled Test series against West Indies and Pakistan.Root said he was “confident” that it would be possible for England to play international cricket at some point this summer, but stressed that the health and wellbeing of players and staff was “paramount”.ALSO READ: England players face ‘long stint’ away from home as part of Test planning“It’ll all come down to what the government decide we’re allowed to do,” Root told Sky Sports. “We’re obviously tied by their decision-making and all we can do is to try and plan as much as possible, and make sure that guys are fit and ready to go if and when we’re given the chance.”I think if the game is compromised then it shouldn’t be going ahead. I don’t think the game itself, how it’s played, the intensity it’s played at… I personally feel that if you can’t play Test cricket at its absolute best, then we shouldn’t be playing it because it’s not a fair reflection on the sport.”There’s been talking about changing the ball, and it’ll be interesting to see things that you could potentially change… [but] from a personal point of view I’d like to think that the product itself and the standard of Test cricket would not be compromised to play those games.”Root’s own situation is complicated by the fact that his wife, Carrie, is expecting a baby at some point this summer, and raised questions as to whether he would be able to attend the birth and then return back to a bio-secure “bubble” in time to play soon after.”It will be a challenge from that side, and there will be other guys involved that have similar problems,” Root said. “I suppose we’ve got to be quite flexible in these times. You’ve got to move with what’s happening. Within seven to eight weeks, things could drastically change and we could be in a very different position.”We’ve got to look at safe ways of getting guys in and out of the bubble. If that was a possibility, would I be able to get to the birth? Would I then be in isolation for two weeks? Would I be able to be tested coming back into a bubble? Who knows exactly how that would look right now. Those are discussions that will have to happen in the coming weeks.”As for the environment itself, Root said that things would look “very different” to a typical Test match week for players and backroom staff, but that “it’s probably manageable”. Games would have to be played at the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford – the two major grounds with on-site hotels with a significant number of rooms – with parts sectioned off to minimise outside interactions.”You’d all be together throughout – you wouldn’t be interacting with the opposition, with broadcasting crews, with media, officials. It would just be trying to keep that as tight as possible.”Within the grounds it would be very similar: going into separate lunch rooms, how the changing room would look still depends on a few things. It would be a very different look and feel to how a normal Test week would go and the environment we normally work in, but I do think it’s probably manageable.”

Both Sri Lanka captain Karunaratne and South Africa captain du Plessis shower the Durban hero with effusive praise

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-20190:57

First Lara, then Perera – all the records Sri lanka broke to beat South Africa

“I’m a little tired now, I don’t know what to say.”But for 309 minutes, Kusal Perera knew exactly what to do. Sri Lanka were rank underdogs in this fight. They were pummeled 2-0 in Australia, never even getting close to putting up a total of 250. Their captain was sacked. Their team stripped for parts. Rookies few had heard off were put on the plane to South Africa and now, after four days of outrageous cricket in Durban, they have emerged the victors, chasing down 304 with one wicket to spare.And it was all down to the man who didn’t know what to say.”Especially great effort as a team,” Perera finally managed. “Especially lower-order batsmen, they gave me good support. And because of that I believed in myself.”I did something … I did my part. But we won as a team. The partnerships in the whole innings were great – that’s why we were able to chase 304. You can’t just mention one person or partnership. Even if you scored one run, that counted to the win. All XI of us had to bat. It’s the best Test I’ve played for Sri Lanka.Perera was breathtaking with bat in hand. He barely flapped an eyelid when Sri Lanka lost their ninth man with the target still 78 runs away. He defended with unreal calm. ran like there were ants in his pants, took body blows – 150kph deliveries kept thudding into him – and brushed them off like they were mosquito bites.”In places like these [South Africa], it’s never going to be easy, like [it is] in Sri Lanka. These bowlers are all top five in the world. You never know what kinds of balls they are going to send at you. They don’t give you any room, and they have so much experience. There were very few loose balls.”In these couple of matches, I think I’ve copped six or seven blows to the head. In these tracks, if you’re not willing to wear balls on the body, you might as well not be batting. I don’t know how many times I got hit – honestly I’ve lost count. But you can’t think about those things while you are batting. In Sri Lanka the fastest you get is 130-140kph. Here you get balls that are 150kph. When you come to a country like this, if someone tells you you can bat without getting hit, that’s a lie. We have to be smart about it. That happened to me. That’s what cricket is about.”Highest tenth-wicket partnerships in successful chases•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

At the other end, the most No. 11 of No. 11s, Vishwa Fernando hung on. He made only six runs – four of those from overthrows. There were five extras in that time as well. But the rest of the 67 that Sri Lanka needed to record only their second Test win in South Africa came off Perera’s magic bat. And it spared no one.Dale Steyn was muscled for six over midwicket. Multiple times. One of the world’s greatest fast bowlers was reduced to shaking his head and scratching his chin. Faf du Plessis took the new ball hoping that would help them take the wicket but Perera farmed the strike so beautifully that Fernando faced only seven deliveries in this period.”I didn’t even look at the scoreboard when Vishwa came in and we had a lot of runs to get. I just tried to play it over by over and get us close, little by little. Vishwa told me: “I’ll hit the ball with my body, if nothing else. You do what you can, Kusal .” I took a lot of strength from that. Without any fear I took the single and gave the strike to him. He did a huge job. If he had got out, there wouldn’t have been a point, because we would ahve been all out. I don’t know how many balls he faced. Those are valuable, valuable balls. What he faced was worth more than my runs.”Eventually, in the 86th over, Perera glided a short and wide delivery to the third-man boundary and almost as soon as he made contact he let out a cathartic scream, holding his hands aloft and savouring that “special” feeling.”That was really awesome,” newly appointed captain Dimuth Karunaratne said. “We knew coming into this game that we had a chance. Earlier in 2012, we won a match here in Durban. We had a tough series in Australia but we learnt lots of things so I thought the boys will give their best in South Africa.”We lost lots of matches last few years. Even the Sri Lankan fans, who all are looking to see when we were going to win. So I think it’s a proud moment for us as a team, as a captain, and as a country as well. Winning in South Africa is a real proud moment.”It showed in the Sri Lankan dressing room, which flew into chaos upon seeing the winning shot. Coach Chandika Hathurusingha was leaping about, punching the air. The other players around him were on their seats, roaring in delight. Each of them went over to get a piece of their match-winner, so much so that Perera didn’t even have time to collect a stump as a souvenir. Someone else had to do it for him.Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando celebrate a sensational Sri Lanka win•Getty Images

In December 2015, Perera went through the ordeal of a false positive drug test. He faced a four-year ban from cricket, but Sri Lanka Cricket helped him fight the charge and eventually win the case in court. In December 2016, he toured South Africa for the first time but with the team in flux, he was made to bat out of position at No. 3 and discarded after one Test. Perera finally came back to the Test side in June 2018 and now stands as a hero. There might perhaps be only one other man who knows how he feels right now. Brian Lara, who too made an epic unbeaten 153 to win a see-sawing Test match against superior opposition in the company of a No. 11 batsman.No wonder that even the opposition captain couldn’t hold back his praise. “Perera was obviously unbelievable,” du Plessis said. “To get 160-170 out of that score will take a Superman effort. So he deserves all the accolades that come to him after this game.”I thought 300 was enough on this wicket. I’d be lying if there wasn’t emotions going through me on the inside. Difficult for a captain to tactically… you want to try and protect the lead and then you want to bowl at the tail-ender and he played that beautifully. Whatever we tried, we brought the field up, he still managed to get a one away or a boundary away. Just kept knocking away every over. Towards the end, we got a few balls at the tail-ender but unfortunately there were a few plays an misses. Would’ve been nice if there’d been a nick.”

George Dockrell’s first four-for in nearly three years was followed by a century from Paul Stirling, who struck 101 off 97 balls, to chase down 178 with 12 overs to spare

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Sharjah10-Dec-2017Paul Stirling celebrates after notching his fifth ODI ton•Peter Della Penna

In a coaching tenure pockmarked by a lack of victories over Full Members, John Bracewell signed off on his time as Ireland coach with two straight wins in Sharjah as Ireland took the series decider by five wickets on Sunday night. George Dockrell’s first four-for in nearly three years was followed by a disdainful century from Paul Stirling, who finished as the leading run-scorer in the series.Afghanistan’s innings started in assured fashion with Dockrell being hit for six by Javed Ahmadi in the second over. In the sixth over, he carved Boyd Rankin through the off side for a series of boundaries. But the slightest pressure applied by Tim Murtagh resulted in the first mistake, Ahmadi forcing a pull in the seventh over to mid-off for 27. Rankin had Noor Ali Zadran dragging on in the next over and from there Ireland grew taller in the field.Whereas most of the Irish damage came from pace in the first two games, Dockrell and Stirling stepped up to take half the wickets. Stirling struck first, getting Asghar Stanikzai to skew a drive to backward point for 5 in the 18th over. Rahmat Shah then got out in arrogant fashion to give Dockrell his first, attempting to bring up a fifty with a six and instead picked out the tallest man on the field, Rankin at long-off.But it was the wicket of Mohammad Nabi that demonstrated Afghanistan’s lack of respect for Irish fingerspin, falling in identical circumstances to Stanikzai as a sliced drive found its way to Kevin O’Brien at short third man. Nasir Jamal picked out square leg with a sweep he middled, to give Dockrell his third and put Afghanistan on 109 for 6 with nearly 20 overs left.Rashid Khan fought gamely to keep Afghanistan in the match. He wound up finishing with a joint-top score of 44 and ended the series as Afghanistan’s second-highest scorer, a major indictment of the recognised batsmen. While he played orthodox strokes, his frustration grew as his remaining partners showed little willingness to apply themselves as Barry McCarthy ran off three straight wickets, two of those in the 41st over. Rashid began turning singles down in the 42nd over and stretched the innings into the 49th, giving the crowd a rise with a huge six off McCarthy into Second Industrial Street, before he was caught in the deep off the same bowler to end the innings.With Dawlat Zadran out nursing a niggling shoulder injury, Afghanistan made the curious call to bring in Shapoor Zadran, who had only played three ODIs since taking the new ball in the 2015 World Cup. Based on his performance on Sunday, he may have wrecked his chances of being in the touring party to Zimbabwe for the World Cup Qualifiers after he was dismantled single-handedly by Stirling. The bruising opener drove Shapoor through extra cover for the first of his 11 fours in the third over, and then nearly took Shapoor’s head off with a searing straight drive in the fifth to knock him out of the attack.Afghanistan’s spinners made inroads in the interim with Mujeeb Zadran bowling William Porterfield for 4 in the next over to land a hopeful blow. Nabi was curiously held out of the attack until after drinks but struck in his second over, drawing Andy Balbirnie into a dance down the pitch for a stumping. Rashid had Niall O’Brien lbw to a legbreak that held its line to make it 96 for 3.But Gary Wilson and Stirling teamed for a half-century stand to straighten Ireland’s chase once more as Afghanistan went crooked with the return of Shapoor to the attack. Stirling hooked the first ball of the 29th over a statuesque Rahmat at long leg for a six that could have been a wicket. But Stirling showed his disdain for Shapoor’s medium-pace two balls later, getting on a knee to slog sweep him over the square-leg rope for six more.Stirling’s hammering of Shapoor culminated in the 36th over. In the space of four balls, he moved from 81 to a century with hooks for four and six over long leg, then a tennis swat over cover for six more. A front-foot pull over midwicket finished the sequence to bring up his sixth ODI century, off 93 balls.Stirling fell to a Rashid googly to end the next over and several of Afghanistan’s players graciously shook his hand before he exited the field to more applause from the Afghanistan fans who remained. Two fours by Kevin O’Brien off Mujeeb in the following over sealed the win with 12 overs to spare.For Ireland, the back-to-back wins after a humiliating loss in the series opener were a major confidence boost in their final scheduled series before the World Cup Qualifier. The series loss for Afghanistan, only their second in nine ODI series since the 2015 World Cup and first since a 2-1 defeat in Bangladesh in October 2016, may dent their standing as one of the pre-tournament favourites heading into Zimbabwe.

High levels of pollution and smog have forced the cancellation of the Group A clash between table toppers Bengal and Gujarat, and the Group C fixture between Hyderabad and Tripura to a later date

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2016High levels of pollution and smog have forced the cancellation of two Ranji Trophy fixtures in Delhi: the Group A clash between Gujarat and Bengal and the Group C fixture between Hyderabad and Tripura.Both matches will now be played after the league phase, the BCCI announced, without mentioning specific dates or venues. With the league phase ending on December 10 and the quarter-finals scheduled to begin on December 17, it is unclear if the knockouts will be pushed back by a few days to accommodate these rescheduled games. The status of the next round’s games in Delhi, between Odisha-Assam and Hyderabad-Services, scheduled to begin from from November 13, also isn’t clear yet.Not a single ball was bowled in either game, at the Feroz Shah Kotla and the Karnail Singh Stadium. Play was called off on the second afternoon after there was no improvement in the air quality.”The teams were informed around 3.15 in the afternoon that the match was called off,” Sairaj Bahutule, the Bengal coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “Our eyes were burning. Some of the guys had headaches. Pollution was at the highest level. This is the first time in my cricketing life I have come across such a scenario.”At the Karnail Singh Stadium, Hyderabad and Tripura had a meeting at 11.30am, along with the match officials, and upon further inspection, the game was called off. “We could not even stand outside as our eyes started burning. It was impossible to run in or do anything,” Bharat Arun, the Hyderabad coach, said.The players had complained of burning eyes on the opening day as well. Although the sun came out, it failed to penetrate the thick layer of smog that has enveloped the national capital, resulting in poor visibility. The smog is believed to be an after-effect of Diwali fireworks, as well as the burning of paddy stubble in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.”Yesterday, in the afternoon, when light improved, we went out to toss. But the dust and pollution was so bad that our eyes started to water,” Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo. “In consultation with both captains, it was decided that we’ll call off play. But today, when the same situation persisted, the match referees decided it was unsafe to even attempt to play. It was called off a little after 3pm. We’ve played a lot of cricket in the north, especially Delhi, in winter months in the past. But I haven’t seen anything like this.”

A steaming 90 minutes in the hands of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah was reminiscent of the rich history of Pakistan cricket with a fast bowler and legspinner working in unison to wreak havoc

Umar Farooq24-Oct-2015A steaming 90 minutes in the hands of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah was reminiscent of the rich history of Pakistan cricket with a fast bowler and legspinner working in unison to wreak havoc. It was an evocative sight in Dubai as Pakistan rattled England’s batsmen, inspiring in them awe and fear.The thrill of the Wahab-Yasir combination was a peep into history, recalling Imran Khan-Abdul Qadir, Wasim Akram-Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar-Danish Kaneria. It brought back memories alive as both fought, and narrowly failed, to take five wickets.Wahab bowled five terrific maiden overs, three with a wicket, conceding only 15 runs while Yasir’s attack was initially less threatening, giving away 34 runs with one wicket. Such a lengthy spell by Wahab was unusual; he is chiefly used for attack. He withdrew after nine overs, missing out on his second five-for, last taken on his debut during an infamous tour to England in 2010.”When I got a good start I felt that I can get more wickets and that is why I prolonged my spell and that was my own decision,” Wahab said. “In cricket when you bowl well you get wickets, even the bad balls sometimes. I pushed myself hard.”Obviously that was one of my best spells. If I could have got a five-for it would have been a very special one but it’s still good because it helped my team.”Pakistan took a 136-run lead on first innings and by the close of the third day had extended that to 358 with seven wickets intact.In general it was expected that the left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar would pair up with Yasir but that did not materialise. Babar looked off-colour and is already averaging over 50 this year. The Yasir-Zulfi combo was meant to supersede Saeed Ajmal-Abdur Rehman but the pair have yet to make an impact. That led to a change of plan allowing Yasir and Wahab to get in on the act.”I think Yasir has done well in the past few Tests and he is our main weapon,” Wahab said. “Babar and Imran [Khan] also give me an edge, in a sense that they keep up the pressure which allows me to attack. I might leak many runs but with them around I feel comfortable.”But I enjoy bowling with Yasir and the expectation was that we would both get wickets from both ends and we knew we had to wrap them up soon to get an important lead.”I think Yasir will be the key player tomorrow because there is good spin on the pitch and if we have the kind of score which we are looking for so England will be under pressure. It’s not easy to play spin here and we fast bowlers will also play our part.Pakistan’s head coach Waqar Younis had an extra session with the bowlers before start of play in the search for an immediate impact. For England, Root had stood his ground to be 76 at start of play; his wicket was the main hunt of the morning. “Root’s wicket was important as he is the one who plays freely and doesn’t take pressure,” Wahab said. “We knew where to dry up his runs, we did that and got him out which was a crucial wicket.”It is my role to lead the attack. That’s my responsibility and every day and in every spell I want to produce my best because my team has expectations of me and I want to fulfil those. My energy is always there.”

India will tour South Africa for three Tests, seven ODIs and two Twenty20s beginning in December this year and extending to early 2014

Firdose Moonda12-Apr-2013India will tour South Africa for three Tests, seven ODIs and two Twenty20s beginning in December this year and extending to early 2014. This will be the teams’ first meeting since two seasons ago when they battled for the No.1 ranking which India held onto under Gary Kirsten. Now, South Africa are mace holders with Kirsten in their camp.There was talk of a fourth Test being built into the schedule but that has not materialised. Mike Gajjar, CSA’s manager cricket operations, said it was only ever a “possibility” to have an additional Test and the two boards stuck to what was “entrenched in the FTP.”But there is some good news for fans of the longest format. ESPNcricinfo understands the traditional Boxing Day Test will return to Durban after it was cancelled previous season because CSA opted to play three festive T20s instead. Although the other venues have not been confirmed, it is a given that Cape Town will host the New Year’s Test and either Johannesburg or Centurion should get the third fixture.Both teams will be short on Test cricket before the meeting. South Africa last played the format in February and will only meet Pakistan for two matches in the UAE before hosting India while their opposition will not play a single Test between now and then. India whitewashed Australia at home in March but have only fifty-over engagements until they fly to South Africa.That includes seven ODIs against Australia after the Champions Trophy which adds to the glut of matches in the format. South Africa do not usually host ODI series of longer than five matches so India’s scheduled seven is unusual. It should present an opportunity for some of the less visited grounds in the country, such as the Maritzburg Oval, the chance to host international cricket.India’s tour forms part of a bumper summer for South Africa. They also host Australia for three Tests in February-March 2014. Both series are among the more lucrative incoming tours with only England being the other team to bring in sizeable profits from television rights.

An unbeaten century and four wickets from allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla helped Bengal beat Mumbai at the Feroz Shah Kotla, and lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since the tournament’s inception

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2012
ScorecardAn unbeaten century and four wickets from allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla helped Bengal beat Mumbai at the Feroz Shah Kotla, and lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since the tournament’s inception. Mumbai had scored 295 at the Kotla in the semi-final, on Saturday, but could only manage 248 this time, after Shukla prevented the top-order batsmen from kicking on from starts, and repeated strikes in the middle overs prevented an acceleration.It was still a competitive total, though, and Shukla came in after Bengal had crawled to 69 for 2 in 17.5 overs. He took control of the chase, and, after losing a couple of partners, found company in Anustup Majumdar, who scored 50 not out off 45 balls. The pair shared an unbeaten 107-run partnership to take Bengal home in 46.1 overs. Both were aggressive: Shukla hit 12 fours and two sixes in his 106 not out off 90 balls, while Majumdar struck seven boundaries in his half-century.The partnership came after Sourav Ganguly’s 38 off 53 balls and Shreevats Goswami’s 42 off 73 had left Bengal behind the asking-rate. When Wriddhiman Saha was dismissed for 11 in the 33rd over, Bengal were 145 for 4 and the match was still even. Shukla and Majumdar took it away from Mumbai, whose spinners were expensive.Mumbai chose to bat, after the strategy had worked in the semi-final, and had a bright beginning thanks to Wasim Jaffer’s 61 off 48 balls, which included 10 fours and a six. They were 83 for 0 in the 13th over when Shukla bowled Jaffer. Shukla then dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Anup Revandkar to slow the run-rate down. The dangerous Abhishek Nayar was dismissed for 11 and Bengal kept chipping away at the wickets after that. Suryakumar Yadav held one end up, and scored 50 off 68 balls, but once he was dismissed, Mumbai’s lower order failed to make significant contributions, and they were bowled out in 49.2 overs, Shukla taking the final wicket.

England captain Andrew Strauss admitted to being shocked and disappointed at his side’s three-wicket defeat to Ireland in Bangalore

Liam Brickhill in Bangalore02-Mar-2011England captain Andrew Strauss admitted to being shocked and disappointed at his side’s three-wicket defeat to Ireland in Bangalore, as Kevin O’Brien’s record-breaking hundred highlighted lapses in the field and a worrying lack of penetration with the ball. Strauss backed his side to bounce back from the loss, however, and insisted “we’re not out of the World Cup by any means”.”It was a bit of a shock for us if I’m honest, and bitterly disappointing because we did a lot of things badly in the field again,” said Strauss. “We could have taken our catches. I dropped him and we dropped three other catches as well, which in the end cost us the game, there’s no doubt about it.”Our bowling could’ve been better, certainly in the Powerplay,” Strauss added. “I think we got a bit taken by surprise there. And we just can’t afford to give away that many chances on these sorts of wickets. It’s very hard to get people out on very flat wickets, and if you’re dropping four of them then you’re asking for trouble.”England appeared to be cruising to victory after Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell all fired with the bat to boost their side to 327 for 8, and the bowlers followed that up by dismissing half of Ireland’s line-up with just over 100 runs on the board. Then came O’Brien’s no-holds-barred innings, which utterly changed the complexion of the match the longer it went on.”I thought we were in a great position to win the game, absolutely,” said Strauss. “We knew they had some dangerous hitters in the back end of their batting order but with the rate climbing as much as it was, it seemed that if we just kept very patient then wickets would fall, but O’Brien had other ideas. It was an outstanding innings. Just the gall he showed to take the game to us in that situation. They took the Powerplay and [he] struck the ball beautifully. He rescued them from a perilous position to one where they were up with the rate and just had to keep their heads at the end.”England were bewildered by their shortcomings in Bangalore•Getty Images

The inability of his bowlers to stem the flow of runs towards the end of the innings will be a particular worry for Strauss and 62 runs came from the batting Powerplay, effectively bringing Ireland back into the game. Strauss pointed out that bowlers on both sides had struggled, and would continue to do so on wickets tailored to suit batsmen.”The wickets here have been very, very flat wickets. We’ve easily got 300 in two of the three games and chased 290 in the other, so the bowlers have got to expect to go for the odd run here and there. But what we don’t want to be doing is haemorrhaging runs on both sides of the wicket and chasing our tail too much, which potentially we have done in those last three games, and we’re going to have to improve.”It’s hard work, certainly the two wickets we’ve played on here haven’t suited any one particular bowler. All bowlers have suffered at the hands of the wicket. But it’s still a game of cricket, you’ve got to get more runs than the opposition team. You’ve got to handle those conditions better than the opposition team, and if you don’t you’re going to lose the game.”England remain second in their group, with three points, despite the defeat, but Group B has been thrown wide open and their next game, against South Africa on Sunday in Chennai, is sure to provide a stiff challenge.”The game coming up against South Africa is a huge one for us. Generally we’ve bounced back from defeat well in the past, whether it’s in Test cricket or one-day cricket. We’re going to have to do that very quickly and probably be honest with each other and realise where we can improve and make those improvements very quickly. Hopefully it’ll galvanise us as a team. The equation is pretty simple now: we can’t afford any slip-ups and we’re going to have to go out there and deliver.”