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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Magnificent half-centuries from Shoaib Malik, the captain, and Younis Khanpropelled Pakistan to a formidable total and a miserly three-wicket spellfrom Shahid Afridi then choked the life out of the Sri Lankan chase asthey romped to a facile 33-run victory at the Wanderers. Sri Lanka hadstarted superbly, with Dilhara Fernando producing an impeccable spell of 2for 17, but their subsequent nightmare was best summed up by the plight ofthe legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, pummelled for 64 in his four overs andthen knocked over for just five.Malik and Younis added 101 at a tremendous clip after Pakistan werestruggling at 33 for 3. Once again, they gotno sort of start, with Salman Butt and Imran Nazir failing to make animpression yet again. Nazir pulled Fernando for a six behind square, butwas utterly clueless about a slower ball from Chaminda Vaas that he gentlybunted to cover.Butt got another start, but was cleaned up by a tremendous delivery fromFernando that was timed at 144.5 km/hr. And after Mohammad Hafeez had comein and clipped Vaas for two fours, Fernando delivered another scorcher, ayorker that crashed into leg stump at searing pace.But with Vaas bowling out and Fernando taken out of the attack after threesuperb overs, the pressure eased. Younis got going with a pull for fouroff Lasith Malinga, and Malik greeted Jayasuriya’s entrance with a hugeswipe that just cleared the man at long-on. Even then, Pakistan hadreached just 69 at the halfway stage, scarcely the sort of total thatwould have given Mahela Jayawardene too many headaches.It started to unravel for the Lankans after that though, with GayanWijekoon and Jayasuriya repeatedly lofted through or over midwicket as therun-rate mounted alarmingly. Younis struck a couple of meaty sixes overmidwicket on his way to a 32-ball 50, and Malik followed suit in just 27deliveries courtesy some scorching strokes down the ground and through theleg side.Both men departed lofting Malinga into the deep, but there was still timefor a 17-run cameo from Afridi, and a crisp contribution fromMisbah-ul-Haq, who followed up his splendid knock against India will twomighty sixes in Jayasuriya’s final over.Sri Lanka’s pursuit of 190 started in disastrous fashion, with UpulTharanga top-edging Mohammad Asif to third man before he’d opened hisaccount, and there was further drama in the opening over when a Jayasuriyamiscue was dropped by Sohail Tanvir at short fine leg.Tanvir redeemed himself in the best possible fashion though, yorkingJaysuriya with his very first delivery. That left Kumar Sangakkara andJayawardene to rebuild the innings, and Sangakkara set about it with amagnificent six over backward point off Asif. His defiance didn’t lastthough, and an unfortunate dismissal – bowled off the arm while going forthe pull – really appeared to have put the skids on Sri Lanka.

But after Jayawardene clipped Tanvir for a beautiful six over square leg,Chamara Silva concentrated his energy on Asif’s final over. A pull and acut started it, and when Asif bowled a no-ball, the free hit was hookedfor six over fine leg. With Shoaib Malik watching frustrated, Asif wasrather harshly called for another no-ball. This time, Jayawardene edgedthe free hit for four as 22 came from the over.Chamara Silva greeted Mohammad Hafeez with a sweep for four, but it wassoon apparent that the slow bowlers would be Pakistan’s trump card. BothHafeez and Shahid Afridi gave next to nothing away, and the pressurefinally told when Jayawardene mowed an Afridi delivery to Umar Gul at deepmidwicket. He had made 28, adding 53 with Silva.Silva was the last hope, but after heaving and then deftly cutting Afridifor two fours to move to 38, he was flummoxed by a full delivery thatcrashed into the stumps. Jehan Mubarak and Gayan Wijekoon both failed totrouble the scorers, and the Pakistani tactic of saving Gul for the endwas amply justified as the match was efficiently closed out.Tillakaratne Dilshan took three sixes from the penultimate over bowled byHafeez, but that was of no more than nuisance value after an emphaticstatement of intent from Malik’s men. For Sri Lanka, it was a rude wake-upcall, and they will now most likely have to beat Australia to make thelast four.

Scorecard

Coming into this match, the Mumbai Champs had lost their previous three games, and when Chris Cairns hit Avinash Yadav for three consecutive sixes, their hopes of a first win started evaporating.Cairns, the Lions captain, opted to bat first and his top order responded with a brisk start, the run-rate at exactly ten an over after nine overs had been bowled.Imran Farhat powered that start with five fours in his 34, with No. 3 Tejindra Pal Singh making 27. Cairns then joined Manish Sharma at the crease in the 13th over, and dazzled the Sunday crowd with a show of brute big-hitting. After Shridhar Iyer conceded 13 in the 14th over, 20 apiece were added to the bowling figures of Yadav and Rakesh Patel.With seven sixes, Cairns was the destroyer-in-chief, and having scored 70 with almost three overs to go, he looked on course to get a hundred. However, he fell to compatriot Nathan Astle while attempting to clear the boundary once more.Manish Sharma’s unbeaten 37 off 22 deliveries was overshadowed by Cairns’ 70 off 26, as the Lions finished on 219, by far the highest total in the tournament thus far.The Champs showed their intent by sending out their two most accomplished batsmen – Brian Lara and Nathan Astle – to deal grapple with the target of 220. Astle fell in the fifth over to Love Ablish, while Lara’s series of single-digit scores continued as he was dismissed for 9.Vikram Solanki didn’t last long either and it was left to Dheeraj Jadhav and Kiran Powar to try their luck. The duo responded with fifties, but Cairns’ belligerence had left with a little too much than what they could manage. The Champs finished 38 runs short of the Lions total, on a day of high-scoring matches in Panchkula.

The Rajasthan Royals have drafted in Darren Lehmann, the former Australian batsman, to fill in for Graeme Smith, who has been called up by the Cape Cobras for the business end of the Standard Bank Pro20 Series, South Africa’s domestic Twenty20 tournament.Smith, the South Africa captain, is out of the Royals’ first two matches – against the Delhi Daredevils on April 19 and Kings XI Punjab on the 21st – and will miss the third on April 24th if the Cobras qualify for the final. That will also put him in doubt for the match against the Bangalore Royal Challengers on the 26th.Lehmann, 38, has been confirmed for the first two games, but it’s likely he will stay on if Smith’s return is delayed. Lehmann, who was not involved in any of the IPL’s player auctions, made his farewell appearance for South Australia during the 2007-08 season, marking the end of a prolific first-class career in which he scored more than 25,000 runs at an average of 57.83.He will be coached and captained by Shane Warne, his former Australia team-mate, who offered the invitation. “It’s all happened so quickly,” Lehmann told the Advertiser. “They needed someone as cover for Graeme Smith so I didn’t hesitate to put my hand up. It will be good playing in the same side as Warney.”

Scorecard
Greg Thompson, the Ireland captain, took 5 for 26 from his ten overs as his team completed a 69-run win over Bermuda in Johor to head into the 13th place playoff final against Zimbabwe on Saturday.Set a target of 237, Bermuda lost their openers – Regino Smith and Pierre Smith – for just six runs on the board. Runs came at a slow trickle, and when Deunte Darrell fell for a 49-ball 7, Bermuda were slagging behind the required-rate at 59 from 23 overs.Bermuda captain Rodney Trott and Malachi Jones, their opening bowler, made a recovery with a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket. They took their side to 122 in the 32nd over, before the legspinner Thompson struck. Trott was dismissed for 53, which came off 73 deliveries, while Jones made a brisk 49 off 40.Thompson ended any hopes of a Bermuda win with three more wickets, which left them at 144 for 8, needing 93 more at nearly nine an over. Bermuda’s innings folded up for 167, Thompson the wrecker-in-chief with figures of 10-1-26-5.Trott was also the pick of the bowlers for Bermuda, taking 4 for 37 as Ireland made 236. James Hall scored an attacking 75 and added 137 runs for the third wicket with Paul Stirling, who made 59.Ireland batsman Christopher Dougherty was given an official reprimand by match referee Mike Procter, after being found guilty under Level 1 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct. Bowled by Trott for 25, a disappointed Dougherty knocked the stumps with his bat before heading to the dressing room.

More than a year since they were suspended from international cricket, the USA have named their side for their comeback in the ICC World Cricket League Division Five which takes place in Jersey next month. The side will be captained by Steve Messiah, who led them during their last outing in August 2006.The USA were, at that time, in the World Cricket League Division One, and were it not for the suspension imposed by the ICC they would almost certainly have been in the mix at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next year. As it stands, they will need to win promotion from Division Five and Four and then win the Division Three event next January to be invited to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup.The event in Jersey will also feature Afghanistan, Bahamas, Botswana, Germany, Japan, Jersey, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Singapore and Vanuatu. The top two sides will be promoted to Division Four which will be held in September.USA squad Steve Massiah (capt), Imran Awan, Orlando Baker, Lennox Cush, Rahul Kukreti, Rashard Marshall, Mohamed Masood, Sushil Nadkarni, Steve Pitter, Niraj Shah, Kwawaja Shuja, Wahab Syed, Aditya Thyagarajan, Carl Wright,.

Imtiaz Patel, chief executive of Supersport, the South African broadcast network, will succeed Malcolm Speed as the ICC’s chief executive when he steps down in June. The ICC executive board, which met in Dubai on Monday, also named IS Bindra, the former president of the Indian board, as principal advisor, a new role.Patel and Bindra were shortlisted by a four-man ICC sub-committee comprising the ICC president, Ray Mali, the president-elect, David Morgan, the Cricket Australia chairman Creagh O’Connor, and the president of the BCCI, Sharad Pawar.Patel, a South African of Indian origin, is seen as a compromise candidate after concern among other ICC member nations over an Indian stranglehold on world cricket affairs had Bindra become the chief executive. A teacher before becoming development director at the United Cricket Board of SA – the forerunner of the current national body – in 1991, he joined SuperSport in 1999 and rose through the ranks to be its chief executive.It is understood that the Bindra-Patel arrangement was worked out over the last “two or three days” between the Indian board and other ICC members. The BCCI had initially pushed hard for Bindra and the prospect of an age bar ruling out its candidate saw its president, Sharad Pawar, writing a letter to the ICC pointing out flaws in the argument.The appointment bypasses concerns over a possible Indian stranglehold with Sharad Pawar in line to take over the top job from Morgan in two years. At the same time, the BCCI will have a key man in the top levels of the ICC keeping a tab on, and influencing, major decisions.Bindra, 66, himself was reportedly not to keen to relocate to, and work in, Dubai on a full-time basis, especially since he is on the governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He recently told Cricinfo that he would also have to take into account his daughter’s education, and his position as head of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), the local association for the Mohali franchise.An ICC official said Bindra will be based in India and will be available to it whenever necessary to provide guidance.”We are delighted that Imtiaz is the board’s choice for the post of the next chief executive,” Mali said. “I have no doubt that if he accepts the position he will do a great job.”Morgan, who also takes over his post in June, said: “We are now negotiating the details of Mr Patel’s engagement. In anticipation of an early completion to that negotiation, I do look forward to working closely with him during my presidency. These are exciting and busy times for world cricket and I know that Mr Patel will bring his wide range of skills and broad knowledge of the game to the table in a way that will benefit cricket as a whole.”This has been a rigorous selection process and I am satisfied that we have exhausted every avenue to find the best person for the job. We are now in the process of negotiating the details with Mr Patel before he can be officially appointed.”The BCCI secretary, Niranjan Shah, told Cricinfo Bindra’s appointment was “an honour for a major cricket nation like India … Bindra is a man with great experience in cricket administration and his contribution at the highest level will be valuable.”

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has made a two-month contract extension for players in the national squad, with plans to review the payment structure based on performances in the National Cricket League.”The contracts expired on September 30, but we have decided to extended it by two months” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the chairman of the board’s cricket operations committee, told the Dhaka-based .”We have extended the contract to create a level playing field for the cricketers in the upcoming National Cricket League before confirming the new salary structure. We want to see how the national players make the difference with the others in the competition. Performance should be the only yardstick.”The BCB currently has 21 players, divided into three categories, under its payroll. Hossain said that stand-out performers would be given national contracts. “We are determined to ensure that the country’s first-class competition would be meaningful all the way. We will love to see them [cricketers] give the tournament similar importance like international cricket.”The BCB has also decided to conduct interviews for physiotherapists to handle the six divisional teams taking part in the competition.

South Zone

Hyderabad upset Tamil Nadu by 36 runs at the Rajinder Singh Institute Ground in Bangalore to make the knockouts. Hyderabad’s 333 for 9 was set up by an opening stand of 151 between T Suman and Ravi Teja. Suman hit 122 off 117 with 17 boundaries while Teja contributed 69 off 78. There were three cameos down the order that lifted Hyderabad well above 300. Tamil Nadu began with a big opening partnership as well, when S Anirudha and Abhinav Mukund put on 135 in quick time. Anirudha’s dismissal for 77 off 70 led to wickets falling regularly even as Mukund kept scoring at the other end. It was Teja who did the damage with his legbreaks, taking his maiden List A five-for. His victims included S Badrinath, Arun Karthik and eventually, Mukund, who was the sixth man to be dismissed with the score on 257. Teja also took the last wicket to fall as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 297 in the 48th over to be knocked out of the tournament.

Robin Uthappa made a century and Abrar Kazi took four wickets as Karnataka finished on top of the South Zone points table with a 56-run defeat of Andhra at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Uthappa, who cracked 104 off 95, added 78 upfront with Mayank Agarwal (42) and 117 with Ganesh Satish (67). Karnataka were in a dominant position at 195 for 1 in the 31st over but fell apart after Uthappa’s dismissal . They managed 275 in the end but it was to prove more than enough. Only opener Prasanth Kumar (61) challenged Karnataka’s attack as the rest subsided in several wasted starts. Kazi ended with 4 for 33 as Andhra were dismissed for 219.

Goa beat Kerala by 98 runs in an inconsequential match at the Aditya Academy Ground in Bangalore. Reagan Pinto (65) and Rohit Asnodkar (45) laid the base for Robin D’Souza to smash an unbeaten 44 off 29 which took Goa to 250 for 8. Kerala had a disastrous start to their chase when they were reduced to 26 for 4. Robert Fernandez (52) and P Anthaf (44) took the score past 100 but once they were dismissed, Kerala crumbled to be bowled out for 152 in the 40th over. Sher Yadav took 4 for 21 for Goa.

North Zone

Delhi secured progress from North Zone with what ended up being a tense win against Haryana at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi were cruising at 174 for 3 in the 41st over, chasing 214, but a couple of wickets caused a slowdown, and the game went into the final over before captain Rajat Bhatia struck the winning runs to maintain Delhi’s 100% record in this year’s tournament. It did not look like the game would be that close when Mohit Sharma was in the middle. He scored 68 off 65 balls, and after a slow start seemed to have put Delhi on course for an easy win. A couple of strikes from Haryana kept them in the game but their total of 213 was not enough.The below-par total was a result of Haryana losing three wickets in the first 20 overs, and their middle order not being able to accelerate. Parvinder Awana took two early wickets, and then returned to take another, to finish with figures of 3 for 31 from his 10 overs, with three maidens. Sachin Rana and Rahul Dewan put together a partnership of 75 to help Haryana recover from the early losses, but the runs came slowly. Haryana left the acceleration too later – Kuldeep Hooda played a couple of big shots right at the end – and their total was not big enough.

Punjab gave themselves a good chance of qualifying for the next round, with a 131-run hiding of Services, at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi, that earned them a bonus point. It was a comprehensive performance from Punjab: the top order fired to get them to a total of 288 for 6, and the bowlers skittled Services for 157. Gurkirat Ahluwalia, playing only his fifth List A game, scored 108 off 103 balls, and was given company first by Ravi Inder Singh, who scored 51, and then India Under-19 star Mandeep Singh, who got 62 off 65 balls.Services were out of the contest as early as 10.3 overs into the chase, by when they had slipped to 23 for 3. Ravi Inder Singh kept the middle order in check with his offspin, and finished with 3 for 38. Services lumbered to 157 in 43 overs before being bowled out.

Jammu & Kashmir’s winless run continued as they lost to Himachal Pradesh by three wickets at the Model Sports Club in Delhi. J & K did well to get back into the game, after Himachal were 152 for 3 chasing 212, and pushed the game till the penultimate over. Left-arm spinner Raman Dutta took 3 for 32 and helped make the game close, but Himachal’s top three had done enough to ensure the target was achieved. J & K had lost wickets regularly in the first innings with No. 10 Ram Dayal top-scoring with 34 not out off 25 balls. The wickets were shared around by Himachal’s bowlers. Rahul Singh was the most successful, taking 3 for 39.

Central Zone

A century by Shivakant Shukla helped Railways beat Rajasthan in Nagpur and finish top of the Central Zone table. Shukla’s 122 guided Railways’ chase of 246 and got them home with three overs and seven wickets to spare. Rajasthan lost early wickets after being put in but Robin Bist and Puneet Yadav helped them recover. Yadav’s 81 came off 91 balls, but Bist took 110 balls to reach 74, which meant Rajasthan’s run-rate did not rise much above four till the 40th over. Yadav and Raman Chahar accelerated towards the end but the total of 245 was not enough to challenge Railways, who finished the group stage with a 100% record.

A 37-run ninth wicket partnership gave Vidarbha a two-wicket win against Madhya Pradesh at Jamtha, but MP still qualified ahead of Vidarbha on account of having scored more bonus points in the group stages. Urvesh Patel was Vidarbha’s hero, as he helped them recover from 144 for 6 to chase 234 in 44.5 overs. Amol Ubarhande had given Vidarbha a platform with a half-century, but his dismissal in the 22nd over started a slide. Urvesh Patel stayed solid at one end as Vidarbha slipped to 163 for 7 and then 197 for 8. He found support in Nos. 9 and 10, and moved to 86 not out to take his team to victory. MP had reached 233 thanks to Rameez Khan’s 97, and though they lost they are still in the tournament.*

West Zone

Yusuf Pathan smashed ten sixes in making an unbeaten hundred as Baroda beat Saurashtra by 52 runs at the Bandra Kurla Complex ground in Mumbai. Yusuf built on the start given by Kedar Devdhar and Aditya Waghmode who put on 75 upfront. There weren’t any big contributions from the middle order apart from Yusuf, who kept hitting sixes all around the ground. He was finally bowled on 114 off 78 deliveries with six fours and ten sixes. Baroda set a stiff target of 316 and Munaf Patel immediately jolted Saurasthra, bowling Sagar Jogiyani off his fourth delivery which jagged in from short of a length. Shitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara could not carry on for long but Sheldon Jackson kept Saurashtra in the game with his maiden List A hundred. Jackson benefitted from a few dropped chances but did not back off from playing his strokes in making 117 off 120 with seven fours and five sixes. As with Yusuf, there wasn’t much help for Jackson from the rest of the line-up and Saurashtra were dismissed for 263 in the 45th over. Left-arm spinners Bhargav Bhatt and Swapnil Singh finished with three wickets each.

Ankit Bawne and Akshay Darekar starred as Maharashtra defeated Mumbai by 15 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. Bawne made an unbeaten 93 to take Maharashtra to a competitive 254 for 8. Sangram Atitkar chipped in with 54. Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar took two wickets each for Mumbai. Mumbai’s top order failed again with only Nayar (42) managing to make more than 20. Anupam Sanklecha and Darekar soon had Mumbai reeling at 130 for 6 before Iqbal Abdulla and Ankeet Chavan started the repair job. The duo hit fifties to take Mumbai past 200 but Darekar had both batsmen caught by Nikhil Paradkar and dismissed Kshemal Waingankar for a duck to end the innings on 239 in the 49th over. With this result, though, Maharashtra and Mumbai have both progressed to the knockouts.

East Zone

Assam entered the knockouts with a 46-run victory over Jharkhand at Eden Gardens. Dheeraj Jadhav made yet another century this season and R Sathish was not far behind with a quick 82 as Assam surged to 301 for 9. While Jadhav was relatively patient in his 107 off 120, Sathish clubbed nine boundaries in racing to 82 off 59. Shiv Gautam and Saurabh Tiwary did for Jharkhand what Jadhav and Sathish had done for Assam. Gautam struck 124 off 129 while Tiwary made 76 off 83 in helping Jharkhand recover from 27 for 2. The rest of the line-up, though, did not turn up and the third-highest score by a Jharkhand batsman was just 11. Deepak Gohain led Assam’s assault with 4 for 46 while Abu Nechim, back after injuring himself during the Duleep Trophy semi-final against North Zone, claimed 3 for 68.

Bengal also made the knockouts from East Zone with a 30-run win over Tripura in a low-scoring game at the Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata. Wriddhiman Saha held a faltering innings together with a patient 66 after Rana Dutta and Sanjay Majumder had rocked the Bengal top order. Saha took Bengal to 198 in the end. Laxmi Shukla and Sanjib Sanyal grabbed four wickets apiece in Tripura’s chase which seemed to be over at 80 for 8 in the 22nd over. Manisankar Murasingh (66) and Dutta (24 not out) more than doubled the score, though, in an 86-run partnership to bring the visitors back. Sanyal ensured Bengal would come out on top when he had Murasingh caught in the 37th over. The innings ended on 168 in the next over when Bengal captain Sourav Ganguly trapped Majumder lbw. Ganguly had gone lbw as well, for 8.*February 27, 2012 9:49 GMT: This report originally said Vidarbha had qualified ahead of Madhya Pradesh from Central Zone. It has been corrected.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:39

Manjrekar: India should have eyed 350-400 on this pitch

Considering they were effectively operating with a three-man attack, South Africa did incredibly well to take seven wickets on a pitch that was better for batting than the one in Nagpur. However, the surface was not docile enough to afford India the luxury of facing an inept fourth bowler, and the lack of support for South Africa’s frontline meant the batsmen could score freely when the first-choice bowlers were taken off or were tiring.India ended the day on 231 for 7, the highest total of the series, but they might have struggled to make 200 had Imran Tahir not been in awful form. The two new bowlers in South Africa’s XI, offspinner Dane Piedt and seamer Kyle Abbott, were incisive and displayed impressive stamina, taking four and three wickets apiece, and though Morne Morkel did not strike he offered control. Tahir, however, was bowled for only seven overs on the first day because he conceded 36 runs, serving up a buffet of full tosses and long-hops. The real damage to South Africa was in the overs Tahir could not bowl, because the rest were less threatening to face and easier to score off as they tired: Piedt bowled 34 overs, Morkel 17, and Abbott 17 for only 23 runs.The only Indian batsman good enough to battle through the hard periods and cash in on the good times was Ajinkya Rahane, who achieved his maiden half-century in India in his seventh innings and was approaching a fifth Test hundred, when bad light ended play six overs before stumps. His brisk partnership of 70 with Virat Kohli steadied India after a top-order wobble, and his rear-guard stands with Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin ensured India survived the day. A first-innings total of 250 will prove challenging on this surface, especially if a team has four reliable bowlers to defend it.Batting was difficult in the morning, when the ball was new and there was some moisture in the pitch, but Shikhar Dhawan managed to anchor India through the first session for the loss of only one wicket. He took 18 balls to score his first run. India scored only 6 in the first 30 minutes, and 16 in the first hour.Abbott had figures of 8-3-11-0 in his first spell; the variable bounce made facing him trickier. One good-length ball to Dhawan passed the off stump a little above the knee. Another short-of-a-length delivery climbed on M Vijay and was collected by wicketkeeper Dane Vilas at head height, but the ball immediately after kept low, forcing a crouching defence from the batsman. Vijay was later smashed on the right elbow by one that rose from a length, and wrung his hand in pain.Abbott had Vijay caught at slip in the 12th over but he had over-stepped, his foot erring by the smallest of margins. Vijay scored only two more runs, though, before he nicked a delivery from Piedt that drifted away from him but did not spin, to Hashim Amla at first slip.In the third over after lunch, Piedt broke Dhawan’s resistance with a classic one-two combo. The first ball drew Dhawan forward and spun away from the left-hander from around the wicket, passing the outside edge. The next delivery slid on with the arm, beating Dhawan’s inside edge as he played for the turn, trapping him lbw. Abbott then found the gap between Pujara’s bat and pad, the delivery angling in to uproot off stump after grazing the inside edge. India had gone from 60 for 1 to 66 for 3.In the middle period of the second session, however, Rahane and Kohli batted superbly, putting away loose deliveries and taking frequent singles to ensure pressure did not build. Their 50-run partnership came off 67 deliveries and they looked set to cash in on South Africa’s weak support bowlers, when Kohli suffered a freak dismissal.Kohli slog-swept Piedt, making clean contact. Instead of racing to the boundary, though, the ball thudded into the thigh of the fielder at short leg and lobbed back up towards the pitch. The wicketkeeper Dane Vilas reacted quickly and dived forward, taking the catch at full length and ensuring that Temba Bavuma, who was hopping about in pain, had something to celebrate.That wicket resulted in two more in quick time. Rohit Sharma was dropped at slip by Amla off Abbott on 0, but two balls later he tried to slog Piedt over deep midwicket, and got a leading edge to Tahir at long-on. Abbott then bowled Saha off the inside edge in the final over before tea, reducing India to 139 for 6. Rahane went into the break on 31 off 62 balls, having scored only one run off the 20 balls he faced since Kohli’s dismissal.India’s best session was the one after tea, during which they scored 92 runs for the loss of Ravindra Jadeja. Rahane and Jadeja added 59 for the seventh wicket, and scored freely against a tiring Piedt. Rahane slog-swept and pulled the offspinner for a six and a four in one over to pass 50, while Jadeja punished loose deliveries from Tahir and Duminy.South Africa had two moments of misfortune, too, after Jadeja was caught deftly by Dean Elgar at midwicket for 24. Ashwin was given not out when Piedt appealed for a bat-pad catch though the ball had brushed his glove, and then Rahane, on 78, was dropped by Amla at slip, capping a frustrating day in the field for the South African captain. Both those moments deprived Piedt of a fifth wicket, and allowed India to end the day in a far better position than they should have been.

The confusion surrounding Praveen Kumar, the Uttar Pradesh allrounder, has been put to rest with the player confirming that he was joining the Bangalore Royal Challengers for the forthcoming Indian Premier League.Both Delhi and Bangalore had claimed they had snapped Kumar but he clarified to Cricinfo that he would join Bangalore franchise for US$ 300,000. Rajeev Shukla, a vice-president of the Indian board, had said Kumar was to join the Delhi Daredevils but TA Sekar, the cricket operations manager for the Delhi franchise, also confirmed the same.It is learnt that Kumar was first signed up by Bangalore before Delhi entered the picture with a bigger offer. The Bangalore franchise objected and raised a complaint with the IPL governing council. The IPL then stepped in and said that the initial agreement had to be upheld and Bangalore decided to match Delhi’s price and rope in Kumar.Kumar is currently part of India’s one-day squad that’s taking part in the CB Series in Australia. He was the only member of the squad not part of the 77 players included in the IPL pool. Kumar’s stocks rose after his fine domestic performances this season and the fact that he fell in the Under-22 category added to his demand.