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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.

To pull or not to pull? It is one of the more intriguing questions batsmen face. By choosing to take on the short ball, the intent is admirably purposeful. Never the shy, retiring type, Viv Richards said of the hook, a first cousin of the pull, “The fast bowler is testing your courage and your speed of reaction and you are trying to hit him either to, or over the boundary. You are telling the bully with the ball that you are not scared of anything he can send down at you.”It’s a fair point, for batsmen would much rather be accused of being compulsive hookers or pullers than being known for shuffling away to square leg when confronted by a short ball. Richards also likened hooking to riding a “roller coaster of risk,” and it is that risk which was rammed home to Pakistan today.Pakistan weren’t blown away by a short-ball barrage, as many had feared they might be. But they were hustled out by a judicious use of it. Three batsmen fell playing poor pulls, two of whom had been at the crease long enough to know better.Yasir Hameed and Younis Khan are not the two Y’s who normally put on big third-wicket partnerships for Pakistan but they had batted serenely enough to disentangle their side from a tricky position. As always, Younis let everyone know he was there; he clapped his own partner, nodded at bowlers who beat him, cheerily acknowledged fielders who athletically cut off his strokes and acknowledged his own shots, too.Hameed it was who appeared changed. It’s been 18 months since he last played a Test for Pakistan and longer since he was a regular. Not all of it was his own fault, for he was once dropped the match after scoring two fifties as opener in a Sydney Test. He had faults sure, chasing outside off with a relentlessness not seen since Smokey followed the Bandit. Gone was the urgency, the of his early years, replaced instead by an unsmiling grimness. If his shots weren’t so pretty, you’d be tempted to call him a grinder. But the timing remains, evidenced in a drive or two and a ridiculously good flicked six over square leg.Both knocks ended badly, as did Faisal Iqbal’s short stay immediately after, the three taking Richards advice gleefully, though not perhaps balancing it with that element of risk the great man pointed out as an afterthought.Mind you, the wickets weren’t pure freebies; they were just reward for the hosts. South Africa lacked a little fizz, perhaps understandably hungover from the monumental effort required to beat India. Nobody could blame them for that Test ended less than a week ago and by the time this one ends, it will be their fourth in a month.Bob Woolmer rightly complained about ‘nonsensical’ schedules which allow sides little time to acclimatize but South Africa might also back up the grievance in a different context: there just isn’t enough time for fast bowlers to rest. Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini bowled over a hundred overs each in the series against India and Andre Nel would have done comfortably had he played the last Test. Allan Donald advocating resting one or two key bowlers at some stage is increasingly sounding like sound, sagely advice.Yet, as you would expect of bowlers as wholehearted as this trio, they collectively muscled through the day, bowling 56 overs between them. Ntini hustled, Nel bristled and Pollock plotted, to lesser degrees than you might expect admittedly, but they eventually turned what could have been a long, flat day into a surprisingly profitable one. Run-rates never got out of hand, even during the afternoon session when no wickets fell, the fielding rarely lagged and the day ended just about in even balance.Pakistan, though, might rue not finding a balance between the bravado Viv Richards trumpeted and what another decent bat once suggested. Swaying out of the way, David Gower once wrote, avoiding the short ball can often “be more disconcerting to the bowler than attacking him…you commit the bowler to a growing sense of frustration, a loss of temper or control, or a change of tactics, which must work to your advantage.”

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

Harbhajan Singh racked the Sri Lankan top order, taking 4 for 24 asSri Lanka limped to 131 for 5 in reply to India’s 398. It was afrustrating day for them: first, their bowlers failed to skittle outthe remaining Indian batsmen, who added 151 to the overnight score of247 for 6, with VVS Laxman making 104 and Irfan Pathan making 82; andthen their batsmen handled Harbhajan’s offspin inadequately.Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara had shown signs of defiance,adding 60 after Upul Tharanga was out with the score on 14. ButHarbhajan changed all that. First, he induced a mistake from Atapattu,on 40, who top-edged a sweep to Virender Sehwag (74 for 2). The verynext ball, Mahela Jayawardene was defeated by spin and bounce, glovinga ball that turned into him to Mohammad Kaif at forward short leg. Notlong afterwards, Thilan Samaraweera, on the back foot, tapped asimilar delivery to Kaif (82 for 4.)Sangakkara was the next to go, for 41, bowled around his legs as hebent down to sweep (105 for 5). Tillakaratne Dilshan and Jehan Mubarak kept theinnings together till the close of play, but it was all so ironic:just a day after they had reduced India to 97 for 5, they were indanger of being made to follow on. The credit for that had to go asmuch to India’s batsmen as to Harbhajan.The story of India’s innings lies in these numbers: 86, 125, 37, 39,14. These are the partnerships, totalling to 301, that their batsmenput together after they lost those five early wickets. VVS Laxman andMahendra Singh Dhoni had added 86 yesterday, and Laxman and IrfanPathan extended their overnight partnership of 64 to 125 today. Andafter these men were out, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan allchipped in to take India close to 400. Through all this, Sri Lankabowled with fire, fielded with vigour, but were simply outbattled.They began the day with some sharp bowling, but the batsmen were up toit. Lasith Malinga was more accurate than on the first day, notoverdoing the short-pitched stuff, troubling the batsmen with a fullerlength than yesterday. He induced a couple of edges and false shotsfrom Laxman, who was otherwise unflappable. Compact and assured,Laxman played the ball late and eschewed strokeplay.Muttiah Muralitatharan, no stranger to wrapping up innings, gave theball a lot of rip and extracted prodigious turn, but the Indians wereunruffled. Pathan was watchful when the length of the ball was good,but quick to step up to the pitch of the ball when he got a chance,and unfraid to loft.It was Farveez Maharoof who eventually struck, as Laxman was beatenand bowled by an incoming ball (308 for 7). His 104 was his ninth Testcentury, in a career that has featured many exceptional innings but isinvoked for just one.At such times, seven wickets down, all their specialist batsmen out,India tend to panic. But Pathan and Agarkar, once touted as anallrounder, batted sensibly. Pathan mixed solid defence with somelusty strokeplay, seeing off testing spells from both Malinga andMuralitharan. It was Maharoof who finally trapped him lbw,as he stepped a bit too across to a ball, bowled from over the wicket,that pitched on leg and would have hit off stump (345 for 8).Agarkar and Kumble, playing his 100th Test, then had a partnershipthat spanned 73 balls, as Sri Lanka’s early advantage became just amemory. They were out in quick succession, but India’s bowlers, bythen, had plenty runs on the board to defend. And they got to work.How they were outIndiaVVS Laxman b Maharoof 104 (308 for 7)
Irfan Pathan lbw Maharoof 82 (345 for 8)
Ajit Agarkar b Malinga 26 (384 for 9)
Anil Kumble v Jayawardene b Bandara 21 (398)
Sri LankaUpul Tharanga c Dhoni b Pathan 2 (14 for 1)
Marvan Atapattu c Sehwag b Harbhajan 40 (74 for 2)
Mahela Jayawardene c Kaif b Harbhajan 0 (74 for 3)
Thilan Samaraweera c Kaif b Harbhajan 1 (82 for 3)
Kumar Sangakkara b Harbhajan 41 (105 for 5)

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 final of the inaugural Twenty20 competition between New South Wales and Victoria will be played at the North Sydney Oval on Saturday January 21. Tickets for the clash, which are expected to be snapped up fairly quickly, go on sale today.”More than 115,000 people have attended domestic and international Twenty20 matches in the past week, and we expect the final of the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash to be just as popular,” James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s CEO, told reporters. “Australians have responded incredibly to the Twenty20 Big Bash and the excitement that comes with this new format of the sport.”Matthew Nicholson, the NSW captain, welcomed the announcement. “The atmosphere at our last game at North Sydney Oval was awesome. The players are really enjoying playing this form of cricket and that comes back to the atmosphere at the game and the noise and interaction between the players and the crowd. That has got the players pretty pumped.”Cameron White, his opposite number, was equally bullish. “The players enjoy Twenty20 cricket just as much as the fans and we can’t wait to put on a great show.”Tickets available through ticketek on 132 849 or via www.tickettek.com.au

Injury worries plagued both North Zone and Sri Lanka A ahead of their clash in the Duleep Trophy final at Kolkata tomorrow. VRV Singh, the Punjab fast bowler, has been ruled out with a viral fever while Malinda Warnapura, Sri Lanka A’s star batsman, and Upul Chandana, their legspinner, are unlikely starters.Warnapura, the only Sri Lankan batsman to score a hundred in the tournament, injured his shoulder during a fielding drill, while Chandana pulled a hamstring. Neither Warnapura or Chandana have been ruled out of the match and a decision will be taken tomorrow, according to the medical staff. The back-up options for both players are Jeewan Mendis, a left-handed batsman, and Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner with international experience. Ishara Amerasinghe and Kosela Kulasekara, both right-arm medium pace bowlers, are the other bowling options.The two captains, Mithun Manhas and Thilan Samaraweera, reckoned it was a good pitch to bat on after inspecting it during practice. “Its firm and should not break in five days,” said Manhas. “Gautam [Gambhir] and [Ashish] Nehra didn’t practice because they were yet to arrive, but we have no worries.”Sri Lanka A, in their Duleep Trophy debut, brushed aside West Zone by 195 runs before staging an improbable comeback, thanks to a battling lower order, against South Zone at this same venue. Samaraweera felt his side had the advantage. “We’ve been here [in Kolkata] longer than North Zone have, and we’ve played here before,” he said. “We’ve got contributions from everybody yet not many big scores from the top order. On such a pitch like the one here, it’s a case of getting runs on the board.”Sri Lanka A are the first foreign team to compete with the Indian zonal sides – after England A, Bangladesh Academy XI and Zimbabwe A had been completely outclassed. But they will need something special if they’re to upstage North Zone, a team with a record 16 Duleep Trophy titles.

South Africa, set a target of 152, has made a clean sweep of the Standard Bank One-Day International series by winning the third and last match in Kimberley by 8 wickets.Bangladesh, winning the toss and deciding to bat, was soon in trouble against the swing bowling of Steve Elworthy. Using the new ball to great effect he took the first two wickets in side the first five overs. Both catches going behind the wicket, one to Mark Boucher and one to Martin van Jaarsveld at slip.Habibul Bashar, in the team for the first time in the series, together with Sanwar Hossain played some positive cricket and were rewarded with a well played Bangladesh record partnership of 68 for the third wicket against South Africa. This is also the record partnership for any wicket for Bangladesh against South Africa.It is hard to understand why Bashar, who played some delightful shots, did not play in the first two internationals. He also became the first Bangladesh player to score a 50 against South Africa.Alok Kapali continued the positive attitude before he was trapped leg before from a Robin Peterson ball that kept a bit low. Peterson, capturing his first One-Day International wicket.Peterson took his second wicket ending a partnership of 37 between Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud when Mahmud charged past the ball and was bowled. At 150/7, and ten overs in hand, Bangladesh looked likely to improve on their previous high of 154 in Benoni.Pollock put an end to that theory by getting rid of Mashud, caught and bowled from a slower delivery, and then enticing Tapash Baisya to loft a high catch to Gibbs running backwards at extra cover.Van Jaarsveld being given the ball to bowl some off spin proceeded to take a wicket with his first ball bowled in an One-Day International, bowling Tulha Jubair and Bangladesh had collapsed to 151 all out in 43.1 overs.Pollock, named as Man of the Match, ending with 4/24, Elworthy with 2/25 and Peterson 2/39 were the main wicket takers.South Africa started tentatively in their chase of the 152, losing the wickets of Gibbs for 15 and Smith for 21. Both batsmen not finding their timing and having to contend with the odd ball staying low.Enter Martin van Jaarsveld who after a nervous few balls set about the bowlers, driving and cutting nine boundaries, before being caught at mid on for 42 off 33 balls. He may just have gone to a 50, in his first innings, if he had not got just a little too aggressive. South Africa had lost their third wicket for 103.Debutante Ashwell Prince and Jonty Rhodes put on a partnership of 49 with Rhodes slightly rusty, after his lay off from injury, but grew in confidence with every ball, to take South Africa home.Pick of the bowlers was 16 year old Tulha Jubair and a bright future awaits him. Bowling with late in swing he might have been unlucky not to have taken more than his two wickets. For the rest, just far too many wides and no balls, 22 in total, were bowled. An area, together with the fielding, that Bangladesh has to work on.Man of the Series went to Herschelle Gibbs for his 153 and 97 not out.

Tom Moody, the Sri Lankan coach, has said his focus lay was firmly on Sri Lankan cricket, and clarified that he had not given much thought to the news that he is one of the main candidates to take over as the next coach of the Australian team.”I haven’t been paying too much notice to it. It’s one of those things where there is always going to be speculation when vacancies in particular positions become available,” said Moody. “My name along with a number of other names has been thrown up. As far as I am concerned my main focus and concentration lies here with Sri Lanka. The Champions Trophy is the most important thing on my mind. I have had very little distraction with regards to that.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, echoed Moody’s views: “As far as we know Tom has told us that he is not going anywhere. It has not become a point of discussion and it has hardly affected the team’s preparations.”Ever since Australian coach John Buchanan announced that he was quitting from his post at the end of the 2007 World Cup, the names of Moody, Greg Chappell and Tim Nielsen, the coach of the Australian Centre of Excellence, have been thrown up as the likely candidates.Looking ahead to the Champions Trophy, Moody expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would be around during the latter stages of the tournament. “At the beginning of any competition I go into, I feel confident,” he said. “What gives me the confidence is our thorough preparation, the improvement of the individuals in the team and improvement of the side in general. The team carries a lot more confidence away from home than they have done in the past. There confidence and self belief is quite evident away from home now.”Moody also stated that Sri Lanka were a completely different team to the one that lost in India 6-1 last year. “The team is different in mental, technical and physical state of mind than what they were 12 months ago. It’s not a huge issue if it is India or any other team we have to beat. We need to worry about our game and execute it as best as possible. The results will take care of themselves,” Moody said.”The conditions over there are a little bit different to what we face here in Sri Lanka. The wickets can be a little bit slower than here. From a bowling point of view it can be hard work. There is a smaller margin for error. Unless your line and length are absolutely right you can disappear over there. All our bowlers have discussed this and worked hard on it.”

An unbroken 56 run ninth wicket stand between Vijay Prajapati andRajiv Dutta lifted Tripura to 213/8 on the first day of their EastZone Ranji Trophy clash with Bihar at the Keenan Stadium inJamshedpur. Play was called off five overs before the scheduled closebecause of bad light.Bihar won the toss, put the visitors in and quickly took control,Dheeraj Kumar bowling Pranab Debnath with the fourth ball of the day.The wickets which fell regularly were shared among five bowlers. Thestoutest resistance was provided by Mridule Gupta who swiftly moved to61 (84 balls, 9 fours) before having his stumps rattled by seamerMihir Diwakar. The end of the innings appeared near when the eighthwicket fell in the 58th over but Prajapati (37) and Dutta (23) heldout for the last hour and a half.

The confusion over the telecast rights for the India-Australia Test series shows no signs of ending. Just a day after the Indian board announced that Sony would telecast the series live, Zee Telefilms moved the Supreme Court and asked it to stop this from happening, reported NDTV. To complicate matters further, Prasar Bharati, the national broadcaster, stated that it would go to court as well to challenge the decision.”Prasar Bharati had bid higher than Sony in the initial bids invited by the BCCI for telecast rights,” KS Sarma, the chief executive of Prasar Bharati, told Press Trust of India. “However, the BCCI favoured Sony. We will challenge the issue in [the] Supreme Court.” Prasar Bharati’s bid amount was Rs704crore (approx US$153million), compared to Sony’s Rs600crore (US$130million).Another reason why Prasar Bharati, the parent company of Doordarshan, decided to take the board to court, Sarma said, was because the BCCI had earlier suggested that Doordarshan would telecast the feed, which would be produced by the board itself. “And now what we hear is a totally different thing.”If Zee does manage to get a stay from the Supreme Court, it will seriously jeopardise the chances of a live telecast of the first Test, which starts on Wednesday, October 6.