Before Rangana Herath wrapped up Pakistan’s second innings at Galle in his comeback Test in 2009, he was playing in the Staffordshire leagues

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Headingley17-May-2016Galle was the scene of Rangana Herath’s second coming as a cricketer, but before he wrapped up Pakistan’s second innings in that 2009 series, he was playing in the Staffordshire leagues. A domestic stalwart, but an undistinguished international bowler till then, Herath had begun to think of a career beyond the Sri Lanka team.”In 2009 I was 31, and at the time I was only in the A team, which didn’t play a lot of cricket,” Herath said. “So I gave the selectors a letter asking if I could play in England. Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis were both in the Sri Lanka team at the time as well. They let me come to England, but the chief selector told me to be ready to come back if we need to. That’s the one condition they imposed.”As it turned out, Murali injured his shoulder three days ahead of the Pakistan series, and a Kumar Sangakkara phone call found Herath in Stoke-on-Trent, about 90 miles southwest of Leeds. He left immediately for Galle, thinking this would be his final chance at the top level. In the seven years since, Herath has arguably been Sri Lanka’s most consistent Test matchwinner.He prepares now for his third and final tour of England. Those months in Staffordshire, then later Surrey and Hampshire, should serve him nicely in the weeks to come, he said. The trick in England is to outwit your opponent, not dazzle them.”All that time in England is a positive because a lot of people struggle in these conditions with the cold,” Herath said. “All that has added to my experience. More than the technique here, it’s more about identifying weaknesses in players and assessing situations here. It’s important to work out how batsmen are using their feet, and to figure out if they are stronger square of the wicket, or if they are driving well.”You have to know which balls they will try to attack, and which areas they will try to hit you to. It’s not easy conditions for any spinner. Your technique does also have to be sound. With my action, I’m confident that it is.”The seam attack that had success on the 2014 tour is back this time, and in them lies the present squad’s greatest strength. Dhammika Prasad has been ruled out of the first Test, but still there is enough venom in the attack to rough England up, Herath said.”We have a lot of confidence from having won the last series, and we have added to the attack since then,” Herath said. “I have lots of faith that we can take 20 wickets here. Last time we didn’t have Dushmantha Chameera. He is an extra quick option for us. When the quicks are attacking, I have to slip into that supporting role and keep it tight from my side. On the fourth or fifth day, I will get some opportunities as well.”England have at times struggled against slow bowling, but appear to have up-skilled on that front in the past 18 months. Herath was clear on identifying the players who posed the greatest threat to his bowling.”England have got some new players as well, in James Vince, Alex Hales and also Nick Compton, who’s been in and out of the side, but Joe Root and Alastair Cook are the really good players of spin,” Herath said. “Cook’s closing in on 10,000 runs. You have to be a good player of both spin and pace to do that.”But having arrived in England with little form and few victories in the past seven months, Sri Lanka are searching desperately for inspiration. Herath hopes the memory of their penultimate-ball triumph at Headingley in 2014 will spur those who had played in that match.”There are unforgettable memories at this ground,” Herath said. “It was a special win. There is Angelo Mathews’ innings, Prasad’s bowling, and that incredible finish. We will keep that close to our heart, and try to use that to help us win.”

India went 2-0 up with an eight-wicket win in the second ODI, and won the three-match series after bowling Zimbabwe out for 126 at the Harare Sports Club

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:06

India seal series by dismissing Zimbabwe for 126

Win toss, put opposition in, bowl opposition out cheaply, chase with minimal fuss. India ticked those boxes once again and won the three-ODI series after going 2-0 up, with a generous helping hand from Zimbabwe, whose shot selection contributed to an utterly inadequate total of 126. It took India only 26.5 overs to chase, and while they will no doubt be gladdened by their second-string team’s successes, they will wonder when their batsmen will be genuinely tested on this tour.KL Rahul, fresh off a debut hundred in the first match, and Karun Nair – who profited from an early life when he edged a no-ball from Tendai Chatara to the wicketkeeper – made attractive 30s, and Ambati Rayudu, batting with more freedom than in the first game, struck seven fours in an unbeaten 44-ball 41. But India will have learned nothing new about them – the target simply wasn’t enough of a challenge.Zimbabwe had looked set for a respectable total after Vusi Sibanda and Sikandar Raza added 67 for the fourth wicket, but both fell to suicidal shots, triggering a collapse in which six wickets fell for 20 runs in the space of 9.1 overs.Zimbabwe’s misery was compounded by Sean Williams’ absence from the batting crease. Having replaced Craig Ervine – who was out with a hamstring strain – Williams hurt his finger soon after the toss, and had to undergo scans to ascertain the extent of his injury.Zimbabwe had looked so secure at 106 for 3, but everything changed in little more than half an hour. Sibanda had just reached his 21st ODI fifty, bringing up the landmark with a trademark pulled four off left-arm spinner Axar Patel. Raza was looking far from fluent, but the partnership was flourishing, and more than half the innings still remained. He chose that moment, off the second ball of the 26th over, to try and take on the fielder at long-on and Yuzvendra Chahal was gifted a wicket.

Visualisation key – Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu is yet to be dismissed in this series, following his unbeaten 62 in the first game with 41 not out on Monday. After the win which sealed the series for India, Rayudu said he banked heavily on visualisation.
“Given the guys that we have in the team, somebody has to do the role that I am doing,” he said. “It’s just important for me to stay focused and take my opportunities when they come.
“For me it’s about getting my batting in shape first. And visualisation is the key, I feel. Because [at times] you’re out for a long period of time just travelling with the team.
“I try to keep myself motivated and focused. I prepare myself before the game as though I’m going to play it.”

Chahal’s next ball was a perfectly pitched legbreak, drifting into Elton Chigumbura and causing him to misread the line as he prodded forward to defend. It looked a tight lbw decision, but replays showed the ball had pitched in line with leg stump and had turned enough to hit middle and leg.In Chahal’s next over, Sibanda slogged at a loopy, wide legbreak, and just like Raza had done, picked out the fielder at long-on. Until that point, he had channelled all the qualities that had won him more than 100 ODI caps – the elegance, the range of strokes – and with that one shot, he now demonstrated the recklessness that has made him one of Zimbabwe cricket’s most frustrating figures.The end came swiftly. Jasprit Bumrah, who had bowled a superb opening spell, repeatedly beating the outside edge with balls that straightened after angling into the right-handers, had Richmond Mutumbami caught behind off the inside edge, Dhawal Kulkarni swung one past Tendai Chatara’s flick to take the off stump, and Axar speared in an arm ball to strike Muzarabani’s pad right in front. That was Zimbabwe’s ninth and last wicket: it fell with 15.3 overs still to play.India had bowled Zimbabwe out for 168 in the first ODI, and their seamers made another impressive start on a chilly Monday morning, taking three wickets in the first ten overs. Barinder Sran pitched a few inches shorter than he had on Saturday, and didn’t generate quite as much swing, but picked up two wickets nonetheless. Hamilton Masakadza chased a wide, non-swinging ball and sliced it into third man’s hands, and Peter Moor, for the second time in a row, played around his front pad as the ball bent into him. This time, he was struck above the knee roll, and on the hop, but the umpire Russell Tiffin did not hesitate to give him out.Chamu Chibhabha ensured he minimised the chance of lbw against Sran, batting with a slightly open stance, and looked largely comfortable against the left-armer. But he had no answer to a variation from Kulkarni that was either elaborately plotted or entirely unintended. Having sent down five away-swingers, the bulk of them short and fairly wide of off stump, and dragged Chibhabha across his crease, he trapped him with the fuller, straighter inducker. Zimbabwe rebuilt from that early wobble, but their repair job unravelled quickly.

Bangladesh will tour India for a one-off Test, their first in the country, from February 8 to 12 next year

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2016Bangladesh will tour India for a one-off Test, their first in the country, from February 8 to 12 next year. The match will be played in Hyderabad.India is the last of the Full Members to host Bangladesh for a Test. Bangladesh have only featured in two limited-overs tournaments in the country – the 2006 Champions Trophy qualifiers and the 2016 World T20 – since getting Test status in 2000.”As a leading Test playing nation it is BCCI’s responsibility to give opportunity to every Test playing nation. It is my pleasure to announce the historic one-off Test match against our neighbours – Bangladesh early next year,” Anurag Thakur, the BCCI president, said. “This will be a great addition to our home season 2016-17.”In all, India’s 2016-17 home season will include 13 Tests, eight ODIs and three T20Is; 13 Tests equals the world record for the highest number of Tests in a home season. Apart from Bangladesh, New Zealand, England and Australia will also visit during the season.The one-off Test against Bangladesh will be played a week after the limited-overs series against England concludes in Bangalore on February 1.Nazmul Hassan, the BCB chief, said the match is a cause for celebration. “For the cricketers who will be representing Bangladesh and India this will be a much-anticipated game and, given the competitive nature of their limited-overs matches in the recent past, I believe the clash between these two cricket crazy nations will catch the imagination.” he said. “The long wait for us to play a Test match on Indian soil is finally over and this is a time for celebration.”This [Bangladesh’s first-ever Test in India] is certainly a big relief. It is just one Test match, it is nothing big. It won’t be doing much for the development of Bangladesh cricket. But this will be the first Test in India. It was a huge challenge for the board. It was supposed to happen earlier but we are happy that the date has been announced. At least we are starting to play there.”

Director of cricket Mick Newell castigated his top order after Nottinghamshire failed to chase down a target of 280 and left their chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Royal London Cup depending on results elsewhere

ECB Reporters Network31-Jul-2016
ScorecardLuke Wood hit a maiden fifty on his List A debut•Getty Images

Director of cricket Mick Newell castigated his top order after Nottinghamshire failed to chase down a target of 280 and left their chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Royal London Cup depending on results elsewhere”You have to look at the first 30 overs of our innings, not the last 20,” Newell said. “You have to look at the top six or seven batsmen, none made 50, that’s where the match was lost, and that’s really disappointing given the importance of the game.”Needing 95 to win off the last ten overs, a brilliant half-century from debutant Luke Wood, made off just 29 balls, kept Notts in the hunt, but the young allrounder was yorked by Cameron Delport in the final over the match, leaving the last pair of Harry Gurney and Luke Fletcher too much to do.”Luke had a fine game, and it’s good to have him available again after injury, but the senior players left him far too much to do,” Newell said. “Now we need to beat Worcestershire tomorrow and for other results to go our way.”Leicestershire’s innings began badly after Mark Pettini won the toss and chosen to bat. The Foxes’ captain lost his opening partner to only the ninth ball of the innings, left-arm seamer Wood striking in his first over of his first List A match with a swinging delivery which found the edge of Paul Horton’s bat as the experienced former Lancashire man drove at the ball without real conviction.Wood also picked up a wicket in his second over, another swinging delivery beating Kevin O’Brien and knocking out the Ireland international’s off stump, and when Luke Fletcher had Lewis Hill caught behind with a delivery which bounced and left the young right-hander, Leicestershire were struggling on 27 for 3.South Africa international Delport looked in good form, however, hitting eight fours in going to 46 off 45 balls and adding 58 with Pettini before shuffling across his crease to Samit Patel and being given leg before wicket after missing a delivery which turned back into him.Pettini, playing the anchor role, had just reached his 50, from 77 balls, when he tried to turn Steven Mullaney into the leg side and succeeded only in lofting a simple catch to Riki Wessels at midwicket.Niall O’Brien began the acceleration, the left-hander driving the ball sweetly through the off side and hitting nine fours in a run a ball 82, and with Michael Burgess carving 36 from 32 balls and Rob Sayer contributing a useful 26 off 19, Leicestershire reached what they hoped would be a competitive score.The manner in which Michael Lumb started the Notts reply suggested it could be well short of that, the left-hander stroking four powerful boundaries through the off side in the opening overs. Leicestershire seamer Ollie Freckingham adjusted his line, however, and was rewarded when Lumb drove hard at a delivery without getting to the pitch of the ball and edged to Niall O’Brien behind the stumps.Wessels and Brendan Taylor had taken the score past 50 when Wessels thick-edged at attempted drive at the medium pace of Ben Raine high to Rob Sayer at deep point, and Patel came and went quickly, bowled by a Kevin O’Brien delivery which seamed back and hit leg stump.Dan Christian’s arrival at the crease was greeted with a certain amount of dread by Leicestershire supporters, Christian having smashed 54 off just 16 balls in the T20 match between these sides at Trent Bridge on Friday night, but the Australian could not repeat his destructive innings. He did hit a couple of effective blows, but on 12 tried to force a Kevin O’Brien delivery off the back foot into the off side, and saw Delport hold a chest high chance at the second attempt.Taylor’s dismissal by Raine, bowled off the inside edge, ensured the Nottinghamshire innings continued to mirror that of the hosts. Mullaney, very much in form after a List A career best against Yorkshire at Scarborough in Nottinghamshire’s previous match, looked very much in control in going to 30 before missing with an uncharacteristically wild – and unnecessary – heave across the line at Freckingham.Greg Smith’s dismissal, leg before attempting a reverse sweep at the offspin of Sayer, looked to have ended the game, but Wood hit out magnificently to keep his side in the game until the final over.The result means Leicestershire themselves, who went into the game bottom of the north division, could still qualify for the quarter-finals. However they too will need to win their remaining game, against Derbyshire at the County Ground, and hope results elsewhere go in their favour.

Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has said that the one-day specialists and seamers in the side countered Sri Lanka’s spinners by ‘adapting really well on some of the toughest ODI pitches’

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2016Australia wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has said that the one-day specialists and seamers in the side countered Sri Lanka’s spinners by ‘adapting really well on some of the toughest ODI pitches’, helping the visitors seal the ODI series after a 3-0 whitewash in the Tests.”We have had the advantage, the one-day players getting the advantage to see what the Test pitches have played like and coming here with a clear gameplan,” Wade said. “Myself and George Bailey and a few others have just come over for the one-dayers, we have had a clear plan and it has worked so far.”The wickets have been some of the toughest you’ll get in one-day international cricket, we’ve come from the West Indies, which took spin. You don’t usually play on used wickets back to back in one-day internationals. It hasn’t been suited to the way we play but we’ve adapted really well. We are playing a few more quicks than what they (Sri Lanka) are, but with variable bounce and reverse swing, we’ve countered their spinners.”Despite not being picked as Australia’s designated wicketkeeper for the following T20 series against Sri Lanka, Wade acknowledged he is contributing more to Australia now compared to a few years ago.”Every time you don’t get picked for Australia is disappointing, but that’s the way it goes,” he said. “I’m not a 100 % sure of the reason. (Peter) Nevill played the T20 World Cup and I was told he was going to bat lower, so they wanted to go with his keeping. I’ll just keep playing the way I play in ODIs.”I feel my game is at a level now where I can contribute in ODIs. There was a period of time where my game wasn’t in order three or four years ago, where I felt I wasn’t contributing enough. At the moment, I feel my game is in good order. I want to get picked for every tour, every match because I feel I can do the job.”After Australia’s tri-series win in the Caribbean, stand-in coach Justin Langer challenged Wade to become the best wicketkeeper in the country by following a diligent work ethic. More than two months later, Wade said his keeping is as good as it has ever been.”It came as a bit of shock to me that it came out in the press like that. I spoke to JL (Langer) after and understood what he was trying to say,” Wade said. “I’m under no illusions that I need to work harder and get better at my game. If I want to play Test cricket again, I have to work harder.”I’ve improved with my glovework over the past 3-4 weeks in the subcontinent. I went to England and kept playing, that makes a huge difference in the off-season: going home or just training indoors or going to Brisbane to get work done. This time I went to England. I feel like I’m keeping as well as I’ve done for a very long time.”

Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, representing Dhaka Dynamites, will be the highest paid local player in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League. He is among seven players in the A-plus category

Mohammad Isam28-Sep-2016Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, representing Dhaka Dynamites, will be the highest paid local player in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League. He is among seven players in the A-plus category, which includes top Bangladesh cricketers.Shakib is set to receive at least Tk 55 lakh (approx. $68,750), the cap set for his payment. Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mahmudullah will get at least Tk 50 lakh each from Barisal Bulls, Chittagong Vikings, Comilla Victorians and Khulna Titans respectively. Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar are also among the A-category players but will get Tk 40 lakh each from Rajshahi.According to the BPL governing council’s secretary Ismail Haider Mallick, these players had made an official request to the board to choose their teams and have their salary cap raised to match the BPL foreign players’ cap.”These senior players had a prayer to us, to match what foreign players will get in this tournament,” Mallick said. “In other franchise-based domestic tournaments, foreign players get the same amount as local players.”They also asked to choose their own team, which they said would enable to earn a little more money than the cap given by the BPL governing council. The board however won’t take responsibility of the extra payment that they get from the franchise. They will only be responsible for the amount that we have put as cap.”Mallick said that Shakib’s higher payment than the other six in the same category is because of his experience having played in various T20 leagues around the world. He added that the BPL governing council had to keep seven players in the same category to distribute them evenly between the teams.”The pricing is merit-based. Shakib is the only Bangladeshi player who plays in the franchise-based T20 leagues around the world. His pricing has to be higher than the others. We have decided after discussing with the selectors. Shakib and Soumya Sarkar won’t get the same rate. Shakib and the rest of the senior players have little difference between them in terms of the money,” Mallick said.The tournament is scheduled to begin on November 4.

Younis Khan’s 33rd Test hundred gave Pakistan the ideal first-day platform in the second Test against West Indies, lifting them from an uneasy 42 for 2 to a commanding 304 for 4 at stumps

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsYounis Khan’s 33rd Test hundred gave Pakistan the ideal first-day platform in the second Test against West Indies, lifting them from an uneasy 42 for 2 to a commanding 304 for 4 at stumps. Returning to the side after missing the day-night Test in Dubai to recover from a bout of dengue fever, Younis looked like he had never been away. He added 87 with Asad Shafiq for the third wicket, and 175 for the fourth with Misbah-ul-Haq, as Pakistan ground down a limited West Indies attack in typically benign first-day conditions in Abu Dhabi.Younis made 127 before he fell in the 84th over of the day, slog-sweeping Kraigg Brathwaite’s part-time offspin to deep midwicket. It turned out to be the last ball of the day, with the umpires ruling that the light had faded too much to continue just as the nightwatchman Yasir Shah walked in to the middle. Misbah, who already has five hundreds in Abu Dhabi and averaged 99.77 at the ground before this innings, went to stumps batting on 90.West Indies’ bowlers endured a long and largely thankless day on the field, made worse by two costly misses. In the last over before tea, Kraigg Brathwaite failed to hold on to a return catch off a firmly-hit flat-bat drive when Younis was on 83. Then, batting on 54 in the eleventh over after tea, Misbah nicked a ball from Shannon Gabriel that straightened in the corridor. Wicketkeeper Shai Hope, having initially moved in the wrong direction, dived low to his right behind the stumps, and the ball bounced out of his right glove.Gabriel bowled impressively in patches, picking up two wickets and generating reverse-swing with the old ball, but the rest of West Indies’ bowling didn’t make much of an impact. Miguel Cummins and Jason Holder made up somewhat for their lack of incision by conceding less than three runs an over, but the spinners were neither threatening nor economical. Among them, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase and Brathwaite conceded 181 runs at an economy rate of 4.41.Having chosen to bat first, Pakistan lost their first wicket in the fifth over of the morning, Azhar Ali playing on while looking to drive Gabriel through the covers, the ball nipping in a little and not quite coming on to the bat. Walking in at No. 3, Shafiq got going almost immediately, rising to his toes to cut Gabriel for four off the second ball he faced. In the next over, he punished another short ball, this time swivelling to pull Miguel Cummins through square leg.Shafiq continued to play his shots, moving confidently forward to ease drives through the covers and nimbly back to cut and pull deliveries from Bishoo that were only marginally short. As he sparkled at one end, Sami Aslam played a strange innings at the other. He seldom got the strike, and barely scored any runs when he did, while not looking particularly troubled by any of West Indies’ bowlers. By the end of the 13th over, he was batting on 6 off 28 balls and Shafiq on 32 off 44. Then, off the second ball of the 14th over, he looked to drive Bishoo through the covers, against the turn, and was bowled through the gate by a dipping legbreak.Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan became owners of Pakistan’s most prolific partnership in Tests•Getty Images

In walked Younis, back in the side after missing the first Test to recover from a bout of dengue fever. He got an early freebie from Bishoo, wide and overpitched, to smear through the covers, but that was his only boundary in the 62 balls he faced before lunch, as West Indies tightened their lines and lengths. There was little in the conditions to challenge either batsman, and Younis moved safely to 29 without always looking at ease.His shuffle across the crease caused him a couple of uneasy moments: Cummins found his leading edge while he tried to work through the leg side, and Jason Holder got him to nick the ball when he moved across rather than forward, towards the ball in defence, but both balls fell safely short of fielders.Soon after lunch, Younis nearly played on to Cummins; defending firmly into the pitch, he had to stretch his left foot out to kick the ball away as it rolled back towards the stumps. But he grew increasingly comfortable at the crease after that, and took heavy toll of the spinners, pouncing on anything cuttable, and driving through the covers with and against the turn, the pick of his shots an inside-out loft over extra-cover off Chase’s offspin.Shafiq fell in the ninth over after lunch, chopping on while trying to force Gabriel through the covers off the back foot. Gabriel was reversing the ball both ways in this spell, and beat both of Misbah’s edges soon after he came to the crease, but Holder took him off after a spell of only three overs. The longest spell Gabriel bowled all day lasted four overs.With West Indies’ main threat out of the way, Misbah began enjoying himself, greeting Bishoo’s reintroduction by pulling his third ball, a rank long-hop, over midwicket for four, and then, three balls later, launching a flighted ball high over the long-on boundary. Younis and Misbah took 40 runs off Bishoo’s eight-over spell before tea, shutting the door in West Indies’ faces right after Gabriel had opened it a crack with the wicket of Shafiq. Misbah only hit six boundaries in his innings: four of them came off Bishoo, of whom he took 37 runs in 40 balls.Post-tea, West Indies went into defensive mode, getting Cummins to bowl wide outside off stump with a packed off-side field. But the tactic didn’t really stem Pakistan’s run flow; there was no movement available to him, and plenty of large spaces in the vast outfield for Misbah and Younis to push the ball into for twos. After four overs, Cummins gave way to Gabriel; he found Misbah’s edge in his second over, and Hope – playing this Test match because Shane Dowrich pulled up injured in training – put the chance down. Pakistan were 242 for 3 at that stage, and 242 for 4 may just have rattled them given they were playing five bowlers. Instead, Misbah and Younis added a further 62.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s second minor over-rate offence in the last 12 months has resulted in a suspension from the upcoming Hamilton Test against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2016Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been given a one-match suspension by the ICC for his side’s slow over rate during the first Test against New Zealand last week, meaning he has to miss the second Test in Hamilton. Misbah, however, was set to miss the Hamilton Test anyway, after returning home on Sunday evening following the death of his father-in-law.While the Pakistan captain was fined 40% of his match fee, the rest of the team was fined 20% after the side was ruled to have been two overs short of its target of 103 overs after time allowances were taken into consideration. Misbah was previously found guilty of a minor over-rate offence during the Oval Test against England in August; this was his second minor over-rate offence in the same format in a period of 12 months, and as per the rules two offences in 12 months equate to fines and a suspension from the immediately subsequent match in the same format.The charge was laid by on-field umpires Ian Gould and S Ravi, third umpire Simon Fry, and fourth official Shaun Haig. He had only briefly taken the field during New Zealand’s chase on the fourth day and was scheduled to leave the country on Sunday evening. He had made scores of 31 and 13 in the Christchurch Test.Misbah had previously missed only one Test since he was appointed captain in 2010: he was unavailable for a 2012 Test in Galle, due to a suspension for slow over-rates.Pakistan are currently trailing 0-1 in the two-Test series after an eight-wicket loss in Christchurch.

A round-up of the second day of Group C matches in the seventh round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Snehal Kauthankar’s second first-class century – and maiden double ton – helped Goa recover from 190 for 6 to 413 against Haryana at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad. Goa had started the day on 197 for 6 with Kauthankar on 80 and Shadab Jakati on 4. The two stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 64 with Jakati contributing 28. After Jakati’s dismissal with Goa on 254 for 7, Reagan Pinto, who had retired hurt on 25 on the opening day, returned and helped add 73 for the eighth wicket with Kauthankar. Pinto struck 58 before he became left-arm spinner Ashok Sandhu’s fourth first-class victim. Amulaya Pandrekar, Goa’s No. 11, spent over an hour at the crease and batted out 40 balls to help add 67 more for the last wicket with Kauthankar. Pandrekar contributed just 5. Kauthankar was the last man dismissed, for 225 off 374 balls, which contained 30 fours and four sixes. Harshal Patel and Amit Mishra did the bulk of the damage, taking four wickets each.Haryana made a strong start to their reply, with Nitin Saini, not out on 76, taking them to 110 for no loss in the company of Shubham Rohilla, who was unbeaten on 32. Haryana ended the day trailing by 303.Kerala‘s bowlers fought back after their team was bowled out for 219 by Andhra in Guwahati. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla and offspinner Rohan Prem, along with Basil Thampi, the right-arm medium pacer, took two wickets each to leave Andhra 173 for 6 at stumps.The day had begun with Kerala 188 for 8 in their first innings. KS Monish (14) – resuming on 4 – and Thampi (15) used up 76 balls between them and took them to 219. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt dismissed both batsmen. DP Vijaykumar, who had taken a six-for on the opening day, ended with 6 for 47, his best innings returns.Andhra began solidly with Srikar Bharat and Prasanth Kumar both hitting half-centuries and putting on 81 for the first wicket. Abdulla broke through, having Bharat caught behind for 54. He followed it up with the scalp of Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari for 3. Prasanth stuck on to add 63 more with Ricky Bhui for the third wicket before being stumped off Prem. That dismissal began a procession with Andhra sliding from 152 for 2 to 170 for 6. Bhui stayed not out on 47. Andhra trail by 46 runs.In Surat, Rishi Dhawan’s five-wicket haul triggered a collapse as Services, resuming on 276 for 3, were bowled out for 401 by Himachal Pradesh. Services lost Nakul Verma, the overnight centurion, for 117 when he was bowled by Dhawan in the third over of the day. From there, Services lost two more quick wickets to slip to 288 for 6. That they got to 401 was courtesy Vikas Hathwala, who struck 69 and added 42 for the seventh wicket with Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (18) and 56 for the final wicket with Raj Bahadur (11 not out). Dhawan finished with 5 for 82.In response, Himachal ended the day 182 for 4. Paras Dogra top-scored with 70, while Prashant Chopra (47) and Ankit Kalsi (23) got off to starts, but none of them could convert into a big score. Robin Bist was unbeaten on 34 at stumps and had Mayank Dagar (3 not out) for company.At the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Valsad, Hyderabad lost six wickets for 84 runs to get bowled out for 351 by Chhattisgarh. Hyderabad began the day on 267 for 4 with BP Sandeep not out on 73 and Mehdi Hassan giving him company on 10. Hassan was caught and bowled by right-arm medium pacer Pankaj Rao, while Sandeep missed his century by four runs, becoming the eighth man dismissed, to the right-arm medium pace of Abhishek Tamrakar. Rao, playing his sixth first-class match, took his second five-wicket haul, ending with 5 for 89.Chhattisgarh responded strongly, with their openers Sahil Gupta and Abhimanyu Chauhan notching up identical scores of 55. Gupta was trapped lbw by right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj, before Chauhan took Chhattisgarh to 124 for 1 along with Sumit Ruikar. Chhattisgarh are behind by 227 runs.At the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir‘s bowlers reduced Tripura to 193 for 6 after they were bowled out for 315. J&K resumed on 270 for 6 with Aditya Singh on 65 and Samiullah Beigh on 35. Aditya added just nine to his overnight tally before being caught behind off Rajib Dutta, while Beigh raised a half-century and was the eighth man out, for 54. Tripura’s new-ball pair of Manisankar Murasingh (4 for 75) and Dutta (3 for 74) took seven wickets between them. Ajoy Sarkar took two wickets and Gurinder Singh had one wicket.Like Tripura, J&K’s bowlers hunted in a pack with each of the five bowlers they used making an entry into the wickets column. Opener Bishal Ghosh struck an unbeaten 86, but Tripura were hurt by the inability of several of their batsmen to convert their starts.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said the quick fall of Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman – the set batsmen – cost the side in a chase of 196 in Mount Maunganui

Mohammad Isam06-Jan-2017Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said the quick fall of Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman – the set batsmen – cost the side in a chase of 196 in Mount Maunganui. Sarkar and Sabbir added 68 off 40 balls for the fourth wicket before both batsmen exited in a space of 10 balls. The double-strike triggered another Bangladesh collapse, this time they lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs and lurched to a 47-run defeat.”We were hopeful after they made 195,” Mashrafe said. “We were batting positively after losing three early wickets. We were on course to the target but lost the last seven wickets far too quickly.”They [New Zealand] made 15 extra runs at this ground where 180 is a par score. We had two set batsmen chasing well. So when they got out, the match got out of our reach. We did create chances with the ball by taking three early wickets but we didn’t attack with the wind and then defend when the batsmen were hitting down wind.”Although Sarkar’s wicket contributed to the slide, he briefly found form with 39 off 26 balls, including three fours and two sixes, after scores of 0 and 1 in his last two innings. In fact, it was Sarkar’s first 30-plus score in international cricket since March last year. Mashrafe termed Sarkar’s effort as a “positive sign” but rued the lost opportunity.”He [Sarkar] is back in runs after some time, so he must also be feeling better,” Mashrafe said. “But he lost an opportunity to make a big score. It would have helped us because he was playing their pace well.”While Bangladesh struggled to come to come to terms with the wind, Colin Munro used it an ally to hammer seven sixes during his 52-ball century.”Munro didn’t start off with his shots early because they had lost three early wickets,” Mashrafe said. “Munro was constantly targeting to hit down wind. We couldn’t stop him from doing that. We knew his style of batting. He got out off the first ball in the last game. We failed to take advantage of the opportunity we created ourselves. I don’t think it has anything to do with Munro or anyone. We have the ability to keep creating opportunities but we should capitalise on it.”