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A preview of the IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Preview by Rachna Shetty10-May-2013Match factsSaturday, May 11, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 IST)Can Dale Steyn take early wickets to restrict Kings XI?•BCCIBig pictureIt’s one of the quirks of sport. As the league stage of the IPL draws to a close, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab play a match that’s as good as a final for them. The winner of the match might put an end to the other team’s campaign. Both teams can theoretically make it to the top four, but Sunrisers, fifth on the table with 14 points, have a better chance of doing so given their four-point lead over sixth-placed Kings XI.Sunrisers remaining matches, after this one, include one away game against Mumbai Indians and two home games against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. It’s not as tough a draw as some of the other teams but a loss here would make every match a virtual knockout for Sunrisers.They have had only one blemish in their home record – the 77-run thrashing that Chennai Super Kings handed them – but with only two wins in four matches, their away record is a concern. A lot will ride on how well their bowlers can contain the aggressive Kings XI batsmen with their batting still being a weak link.Kings XI are already in a knockout-like situation after their loss to Royals on Thursday. They squandered a solid start and erred by not sending Miller up the order when Gilchrist fell in the 14th over. From 74 for 1 in the 10th over, they could only add 71 in the next 10 overs. A performance on those lines might well bring an end to their campaign.Form guideKings XI Punjab LWLLL
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWLLWatch out for…Dale Steyn and Amit Mishra have led the Sunrisers attack this season. Between them, they have 29 wickets this season and while Steyn has been effective against the opposition top order, Mishra has managed to strike regularly throughout the innings.His knock of 42 after three games on the bench showed glimpses of form that Adam Gilchrist will desperately need if he plays and opens the innings against Sunrisers. Against the pace of Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma, Gilchrist will have to get some momentum going and build a platform for the big-hitters from his team to take charge.Stats and trivia Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only side where a batsman has yet to score 200 runs in this season. Hanuma Vihari is the leading run-scorer with 169 runs from 12 games. Adam Gilchrist has been involved in two of the highest partnerships for Kings XI. He shared a stand of 206 with Shaun Marsh in 2011 and was involved in a 136-run partnership with Paul Valthaty the same seasonQuotes”With these scenarios come some sort of calmness, we know what we have to do, we don’t need to look at other results and how they go and we just got to do what we have to do.”

Stuart Broad tore through New Zealand to record his best innings return in Tests and help dismiss them for 68 as England claimed a 170-run victory

The Report by Andrew McGlashan at Lord's19-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsStuart Broad was rampant during an 11-over spell broken only by lunch•PA PhotosIn a destructive spell of pace bowling, Stuart Broad blew away New Zealand with career-best figures of 7 for 44 as England surged to a 170-run victory at Lord’s. A Test that had begun at a cautious pace hurtled to a conclusion less than hour after lunch on the fourth day with New Zealand dismantled for 68.Broad took the first five of his wickets in 5.4 overs before lunch to crush New Zealand’s hopes that would have been reasonably high just an hour earlier after Tim Southee, with just the second ten-wicket haul by a New Zealander at Lord’s, had instigated another collapse, England losing their last eight wickets for 54 dating back to Joe Root’s dismissal on the third evening. Yet, to show that days of hard work can be undone in the blink of eye, they went to lunch six down having lost their captain, Brendon McCullum, on the stroke of the break to give Broad his eighth five-wicket haul and remove their last hope of making a dent in the target.History was still weighted against New Zealand at the beginning of their pursuit of 239. Only two sides had chased more to win at Lord’s: West Indies against England in 1984 and England against New Zealand in 2004. Still, with the sun peeping through and the day a touch warmer they might have been expected to get closer than they did.Instead, Broad produced one of the eye-popping bursts that have been dotted through his Test career and which make it all the more exasperating when he appears to divert from the full length that makes him such a threat. The only wicket he took with a short ball was when Southee dimly pulled to deep square-leg. When he bowled Bruce Martin, who was suffering a calf strain that could end his tour, he had his second haul of seven at Lord’s following his previous career-best against West Indies last year.For the first time since 1936, England had just two men bowl unchanged through a completed all-out innings, although Broad and James Anderson did not quite share all ten wickets. The last fell to a chaotic run out after one of the substitute fielders, Adam Dobb, had not quite been able to gather a top-edged hook from Neil Wagner, who then ended up in the middle of the pitch. It was New Zealand’s sixth-lowest total against England.After bringing some solidity back to their batting, this was a reprise of the efforts that haunted New Zealand on the tour of South Africa. Peter Fulton played a big hand in his demise when he fiddled outside off to a delivery he should have left alone, completing a match that made his twin hundreds in Auckland feel a lifetime ago. Hamish Rutherford, though, could do little about the ball he received, which seamed away off middle and extracted the off stump.Two deliveries later Broad added another, the key wicket of Ross Taylor, whose aggressive approach knocked England off their stride in the first innings, with a ball that seamed away and was edged low to first slip where Alastair Cook took an excellent catch. Like Fulton, Taylor may consider that he did not need to play but the early adrenalin of an innings can be difficult to control.Broad’s next success came in slightly more unconventional fashion for an opening bowler against the top order when Kane Williamson, the epitome of technical correctness and calmness, drove a fierce catch to catch to extra cover, which knocked Steven Finn off his feet.Anderson compounded New Zealand’s problems by producing one of the dismissals of the match. After hooping a delivery viciously back between Dean Brownlie’s bat and pad – unplayable was a term not out of place – he then made the next delivery hold its line outside off stump and the batsman edged to first slip. McCullum tried to make a statement by not resisting his shots but was taken on the pad; he used the DRS – he had to – but the impact was just in line with off stump.The final outcome was tremendously tough on Southee, whose six second-innings wickets had come in the space of 52 balls from late on the third day and placed him alongside Dion Nash on the ten-wickets honours board. In a hint of what was to follow over the next three hours, Finn (who would never have believed he would not be needed with the ball) edged the fifth ball of the day into the slips to begin a procession of 14 batsmen falling for 101.Southee’s five-wicket haul came when Ian Bell, still suffering from tonsillitis, edged loosely to third slip but his personal success will be scant consolation after what followed.

Australia A’s top order again needed bailing out, this time by a century from Steve Smith, after Ireland had put them in difficultly on the opening day in Belfast

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2013
ScorecardSteve Smith gained his rewards for battling against the new ball•Getty ImagesAustralia A’s top order again needed bailing out, this time by a century from Steve Smith, after Ireland had put them in difficultly on the opening day in Belfast.Although the Australians secured an overwhelming victory in Scotland last week the frontline batsmen did not enjoy huge success, with the majority of runs coming from Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle.This time they slipped to 65 for 4 during the morning session and were later 139 for 6 when Max Sorensen claimed his fourth by removing Siddle for duck, before Smith and James Pattinson added an unbroken 109 until rain forced an early close. Smith’s hundred came off 164 balls.”It’s nice to get a few,” he said. “The wicket played a little better probably the last 30-odd overs, it was nipping around early and was quite hard work but I got through that and it got a bit easier. The new ball did a fair bit and it was quite a tough period.”It was Sorensen who made the early inroads after Ireland, missing some of their county-based players, had won the toss. He bowled both Nic Maddinson and Usman Khawaja during his first four overs to leave the Australians 22 for 2. Trent Johnston, the senior statesman of the Ireland team, followed those breakthroughs by removing Alex Doolan for a lively 40 and claimed the key scalp of Haddin.The first period of recovery came between Smith and Moises Henriques as the pair added 74 for the fifth wicket, keeping their concentration during breaks for showers. Sorensen’s return lifted Ireland, though, when he claimed Henriques and had Siddle caught in the gully four balls later. It was an impressive display from Ireland, following on from their two extremely close-fought ODIs against Pakistan last month.The Australians countered as their lower order, not for the first time, suggested more solidity than what was above them. Smith resisted against some accurate seam bowling in helpful conditions, and later took advantage of Ireland’s back-up bowling, while Pattinson showed some of the batting prowess he has produced in Test cricket.Fawad Ahmed, the legspinner, was included in an Australian side for the first time after being drafted into the squad following the news that his citizenship would soon go through and enable him to be eligible for the national team. Weather permitting, he will add much intrigue to second day.”He’s bowling really well in the nets,” Smith said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him in the game. He’s obviously a very skilful legspinner.”

Middlesex’s day got better and better after Steven Finn’s arrival, thanks to another rock-solid innings from the hugely impressive Sam Robson

David Lloyd at Hove18-Jul-2013
ScorecardSam Robson’s 166 made him the leading run-scorer in the Championship•Getty ImagesMiddlesex’s day began well with the news that a tall, understandably upset fast bowler was on his way to pep up their attack – and then it just got better and better, thanks to another rock-solid innings from the hugely impressive Sam Robson.Steve Finn’s omission from the second Ashes Test could yet prove to be decisive so far as this contest is concerned. “Gutted not to be playing,” Finn tweeted before leaving Lord’s to drive to the south coast, where he replaced Gurjit Sandhu in the visitors’ line-up.Middlesex will hope that any lingering annoyance or frustration felt by Finn will be taken out on Sussex during the remainder of this match. And despite Robson’s best efforts to suggest that this pitch is a featherbed, a surface still producing steep bounce should be right up the England 12thman’s street.”All the guys were pretty gutted for Steve Finn when he was left out by England this morning,” Robson said. “But I think he’ll be a handful for Sussex here. The pitch does have some pace and bounce and at times it was pretty hard work batting today. Given the context of the game and the fact we really wanted a good lead, I think this was probably my best hundred of the season.”Whatever the outcome, and regardless of how Finn bowls, it will take something spectacularly special to dislodge Robson from the role of star man in a game that could see Championship leaders Sussex suffer their first defeat of the campaign while putting Middlesex right back among the title favourites.True, Ed Joyce batted beautifully on Wednesday in making an elegant hundred for Sussex. Even that innings was put in the shade, though, as Robson blunted the dangerous home attack for hour after hour while scoring his third century of a wonderfully profitable season.A good number of deliveries, rearing past the outside edge, were simply unplayable. But Robson chased nothing, shrugged off those balls that beat him and, with his splendidly tight technique evident throughout, accumulated runs so assuredly that Sussex were left close to despair well before the close.The 24-year-old opener – born in Sydney but only 12 months away from qualifying for England on residency grounds – came into this contest with 802 Championship runs to his name. By the time he trudged away in the evening, finally dismissed for 166 after six-and-half hours at the crease, that total had soared to within touching distance of four figures, leaving him alone at the head of the run-scoring charts.With Chris Rogers now playing for Australia, the responsibility on Robson to hold the Middlesex innings together has increased a notch or two. But on the evidence of this performance, the more pressure they put on him the better. As an example of how to open and anchor an innings while scoring at a perfectly decent clip, it could hardly have been bettered.Sussex perhaps missed a trick on the first evening when they bowled too short, too often during a 13-over session that saw the visitors reach 44 without loss. In any event, their three-pronged pace attack of Steve Magoffin, Jimmy Anyon and Chris Jordan was made to sweat buckets under a burning sun today in order to add only modestly to their pre-match aggregate of 120 Championship wickets.Dawid Malan, who has struggled in four-day cricket this season, did fall early to one from Anyon that lifted and left him. But that merely allowed Joe Denly to complement Robson perfectly during a rollicking stand of 120, in 27 overs, for the second wicket.Denly did most of the scoring – a Championship best of the season 77 – throughout a passage of play where almost every delivery seemed to either beat the bat or race across a brown outfield for four. The No. 3 led a charmed life at times (he was dropped at short leg on 31) but his attitude of making hay before something came along with his name on it paid valuable dividends.Even at 180 for 2, Middlesex did not appear guaranteed a lead but Robson’s stands of 50 with Adam Voges, 102 alongside Neil Dexter and 62 with John Simpson enabled the advantage to grow into match-winning proportions.Driving fluently whenever the opportunity arose, Robson reached 100 from 183 balls, 150 from 245 and was finally out – bowled while advancing on Monty Panesar – by the 261st delivery he faced, having just hoisted the spinner for a six to add to 22 fours. It had been an innings to cherish.As for Sussex, they have been in tighter spots this season – most obviously against Middlesex at Lord’s in early June when they were made to follow on. But this pitch, and these hungry opponents, will take some subduing.

Yorkshire have signed New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson for the last five matches of the County Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2013Yorkshire have signed New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson for the last five matches of the County Championship. Williamson will provide cover for Gary Ballance, who has been named in the England Lions squad for three one-day matches against Bangladesh A as well as add further depth to the top order.Williamson will be available for the match against Nottinghamshire on August 21 at Trent Bridge, and will remain with the county until the end of the season. Yorkshire are currently leading Division One with 158 points from 11 games.Williamson, who has been a regular in New Zealand’s Test side over the past three years, has played 25 Tests and scored 1385 runs at an average of 31.47. In 69 first-class matches, he has scored 4646 runs at an average of 40.40. Williamson was a part of the New Zealand squad that toured England earlier in the year and also has previous county experience, having represented Gloucestershire as an overseas player in 2011 and 2012.”Once we knew that Gary was unavailable, because of his international call-up, we made a conscious effort to bring in a proven international batsman to help bolster the squad,” Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, said. “The decision was made in consultation with Martyn Moxon, Andrew Gale, and Michael Vaughan, representing the board on cricketing matters, also played a pivotal role in bringing in Kane. It is the right thing to do and he is a quality player with a proven first-class record.”Williamson, who plays first-class cricket for Northern Districts in New Zealand, said the county experience would help him prepare for New Zealand’s summer of cricket: “Once I knew Yorkshire were in for me, I jumped at the chance of being part of their plans in the final part of season,” he said. “To play for Yorkshire will enhance my game and give me every opportunity to score some runs as I get ready for the summer back home in New Zealand.”

In a relatively quiet month for international cricket, save for the ongoing marquee Test series in England, Zimbabwe and Pakistan have managed to shoehorn a series to fill a gap in the calendar

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran22-Aug-2013Match factsFriday, August 23, 2013
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)Pakistan are coming off series victories in the West Indies•AFPBig PictureIn a relatively quiet month for international cricket, save for the ongoing marquee Test series in England, Zimbabwe and Pakistan have managed to shoehorn a series to fill a gap in the calendar. Shortly after the series was confirmed came the off-field distraction involving the Zimbabwe players and the cricket board. A familiar pay dispute led to fears over whether the tour would get under way but, thankfully, the players made peace with the board with the formation of a players union.The dispute, however, disrupted the hosts’ practice schedules and though they have since resumed training, it remains to be seen if it has been sufficient. This is in contrast to the preparations ahead of the recent home series against India. The players trained for ten weeks, but it wasn’t enough to stretch an experimental Indian side. The batting was the biggest let down, followed by the fielding. The result was a 5-0 thrashing. It will only get tougher against Pakistan, who’re playing full strength despite the low-profile nature of the tour.Prosper Utseya, the offspinner, has insisted that the players are in the right frame of mind. “We have managed to put that [contractual issue] behind now and some of the players have been offered contracts,” Utseya told the . “Obviously I am not sure what they’ve got, but they looked happy. It is good that ZC have managed to meet us halfway going into the series.”Series wins in the West Indies have given Pakistan confidence after the gloom of the Champions Trophy. The performances of the youngsters in the two T20s in the West Indies, including Umar Amin and Zulfiqar Babar, should have pleased them immensely. A few players have been busy in the Caribbean Premier League, though, among them, only Mohammad Hafeez features in the upcoming T20s. The rest of the squad have been training in Lahore.Form guide Pakistan WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LWLLLPlayers to watchSikandar Raza is likely to play his first game against the country of his birth, but that alone shouldn’t be the only talking point about him. Raza’s 82 against India was the highest individual score by a Zimbabwe batsman in the series and though his form fell away in the remaining games, it marked him down as a player to watch. What Raza needs is consistent scores to keep his place in the XI.Zulfiqar Babar had to wait till he was 34 to get his first opportunity for Pakistan. The left-arm spinner was picked in the T20 squad for the West Indies and had a dream debut, taking 3 for 23, but his job didn’t end there. Batting at No. 8, Babar had the honour of facing the final ball of the match with one needed to win. He finished the game with a swagger, hitting a six. He ended the two-match series with five wickets and the expectations off him would have increased.Team newsZimbabwe trimmed their practice squad to 15 on the eve of the series. There were no surprises in the squad.*Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Sikandar Raza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Shingi Masakadza, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Natsai M’shangwe, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Tinashe PanyangaraPakistan are without Umar Akmal for the series, after he was withdrawn after suffering a seizure while flying in the West Indies. Sarfraz Ahmed was named the replacement wicketkeeper.Pakistan (likely): 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 3 Ahmed Shehzad, 4 Umar Amin, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Zulfiqar Babar, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Asad AliStats and trivia In the last bilateral series between these sides in Zimbabwe, in 2011, Pakistan won both T20s Shahid Afridi needs 84 more for 1000 T20 runs. Mohammad Hafeez is the only Pakistan batsman to pass that milestone. Umar Akmal is second with 929.Quotes”Their batsmen are prone to cracking under pressure and that is what we will have to do if we are to get the better of them. We really need to put them under pressure and play smart cricket.”
* – 15.30 GMT, August 22, 2013 – Story updated following Zimbabwe’s squad announcement

The alleged plans to launch a rebel Twenty20 league in England have been brought back to the fore during Lalit Modi’s disciplinary hearing

David Hopps06-Sep-2013The furious stand-off between the ECB chairman Giles Clarke, Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner, and the global sports and media business IMG, over alleged talks about a rebel Twenty20 league in England has been stripped bare in the report of a BCCI disciplinary committee.Modi has been found guilty on eight charges of “various acts of indiscipline and misconduct” during his time in charge of IPL and he is expected to face recommendations of a life ban at a special general meeting of the BCCI on September 25.But it is previously unseen details of alleged emails between Modi, IMG and key administrators in English county cricket which will be read closely by those interested in the feverish debate which sounded three years ago about the future of Twenty20 in England.Clarke’s allegations that Modi and IMG were involved in embryonic plans to launch a rebel T20 league in England were denied by both parties and the protracted legal claims and counter-claims that followed were eventually settled out of court.Any introduction of a T20 franchise operation in England – which became known as Project Victoria – would have transformed professional cricket in England and left the game facing the most unpredictable period in its history.Instead, the ECB, with Clarke at the forefront, has reasserted its rule over professional cricket in England and has confirmed plans next season for a revamped T20 tournament based on all 18 first-class counties to be played over most of the summer, largely on Friday nights.The league has been presented as a solution which takes regard of England’s traditions, weather and potential, but critics argue it as unambitious and fear that it will not attract overseas players because it is played over such a prolonged period.The BCCI disciplinary report outlines an alleged plan “to create a rebel 20:20 league in England without the involvement of English Cricket Board by targeting weak and cash starved counties.”For the first time, a series of emails between administrators and IMG representatives have entered the public domain, with the BCCI disciplinary committee concluding: “It states that membership has been obtained of counties that are financially vulnerable and potential acquisition targets. The said counties are Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Northants, Derbyshire and Leicestershire as potential acquisition targets.”Under Project Victoria, according to further emails, the 18 counties could be amalgamated for the purposes of T20 into eight franchises. Scotland would also be considered as, according to one email exchange, “there were a lot of Indians in Glasgow”.The BCCI disciplinary committee concluded: “We are convinced that by being part of a plan to create a new T-20 League in England by targeting weak counties, which Mr Modi knew was outside the ECB’s knowledge and umbrella, Mr Modi endangered the harmony between the BCCI and the ECB. We hold that the charge is proved against Mr Modi on this count.”Clarke protested to the Indian board once he learned of a meeting in Mumbai between Modi and a party of county chief executives representing four Test match counties: Yorkshire, Lancashire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.Modi’s written submission stated that county representatives “were all frustrated about the lack of vision at the ECB and they wanted some form of ideas to stimulate discussion back home. However, no deal was offered or proposed. They simply talked about ideas and the respondent told them what was obvious: there was an opportunity in England to create an EPL.”Many county representatives involved, however tentatively, in confidential discussions about the future of Twenty20 in England have since moved on or have had to work hard to repair relationships with the higher echelons of the ECB.

New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson has said that the rain interruption in the first ODI worked in their favour but Rubel Hossain’s hat-trickmade the difference once play resumed

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur29-Oct-2013New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson has said that the rain interruption in the first ODI worked in their favour but Rubel Hossain’s hat-trickmade the difference once play resumed. Rubel’s six-wicket haul got Bangladesh off to a good start, and made sure they defeated New Zealand for the fifth time in as many completed games.”The rain actually brought it back to where we would have liked it,” Anderson said. “It became a shortened game with the big hitters down the order. You cannot take anything away from Rubel, he bowled very well. Hat-tricks don’t come around often. A cluster like that will always make a difference in the game. The hat-trick didn’t do us any favours at all.”In his short career, Anderson has become the first victim of two hat-tricks. Sohag Gazi trapped him lbw in the first Test, before taking the wickets of BJ Watling and Doug Bracewell. This time it was Rubel who clean bowled Anderson in the 24th over to soon complete his hat-trick and changed the complexion of the game.”We made the run rate come down a little bit,” Anderson said. “I probably didn’t need to play the shot I did. We thought we were going well, but that hat-trick put us a long way behind the eight-ball. He bowled smartly. We bowled cross-seamed and slower balls. He did the exact same thing [and a] couple popped off the gloves.”Before the rain or the hat-trick, New Zealand had other problems. Tim Southee gave them a good start but they let Mushfiqur Rahim and Naeem Islam off the hook, the pair adding 154 runs for the fourth wicket. The visitors pulled back the run rate considerably but still had to chase 265 runs in 50 overs.Their frontline spinner Nathan McCullum was not very effective, giving 28 runs in four wicketless overs. Part-timers Anton Devcich and Kane Williamson too bowled nine unsuccessful overs between them.”I don’t know if it was Bangladesh’s tactic to attack Nathan, but I think they got on top of us in the middle period,” Anderson said. “We started standing up in the last 15 overs. We got them 30-40 runs short of what they would have liked.”But Anderson doesn’t think alarm bells are ringing despite the loss. They have one day in between to turn it around, and they have chosen to rest on Wednesday, on the eve of the second ODI.”I don’t think we have to get worried about anything,” he said. “Someone got a hat-trick, and fingers crossed he doesn’t get it in the next one. I think we have to come back firing in the next game.”

A round-up of the President’s Trophy matches that finished on November 19

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2013Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited took 10 points from the victory against Pakistan International Airlines, beating them by the same margin – innings and 46 runs – by which Port Qasim Authority beat Khan Research Laboratories yesterday.Opting to bat, PIA saw only one respectable contribution, from captain Kamran Sajid of 58, and were reduced to 169 by pacers Samiullah Khan, Asad Ali and Imran Ali, who shared eight wickets among them. Four other batsmen reached double-figures but failed to convert them into bigger scores.In reply, SNGPL were led by opener Naeemuddin’s 187, his eighth first-class hundred, but he didn’t get as much support from the others. Aizaz Cheema was the leader of the bowling attack with his six-wicket haul but contributions from middle-order batsmen Hussain Talat and Saleem Mughal ensured a lead of nearly 200 with their score of 362.When PIA batted again, a few of their batsmen got starts again but failed to capitalise on them to avoid the innings defeat. Shehzar Mohammad top-scored with 38, but didn’t get much support from the others. Shoaib Khan stayed unbeaten till the end on 31 after three wickets each from Asad and legspinner Yasir Shan, and with two run-outs ended the innings on 147.

A round-up of the third day’s play of the eighth-round Group A games of the Ranji Trophy 2013-14

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2013
ScorecardVidarbha collapsed against Jharkhand legspinner Samar Quadri, losing their last nine wickets for 82 runs to concede a big first-innings lead in Jamshedpur. Vidarbha were strongly placed at 136 for 1 in reply to Jharkhand’s 332. But Quadri provided the breakthrough, breaking a 69-run partnership between Faiz Fazal and Ravi Jangid by removing the latter for 30. He then bowled Vidarbha captain Shalabh Shrivastava for 4 and also sent back Rashmi Parida for a duck. Vidarbha were 150 for 4, but opener Fazal and wicketkeeper Urvesh Patel pushed the total past 200 before Jharkhand captain Shahbaz Nadeem broke the stand. Nadeem caught-and-bowled Fazal for 89, and Quadri ran through the tail to end with 6 for 65. Trailing by 114, Vidarbha hit back, Shrikant Wagh reducing Jharkhand to 45 for 3, before Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary steadied the innings.
ScorecardOdisha’s Natraj Behera made his fourth successive century but Gujarat were favourites to take the first-innings lead in Ahmedabad. Odisha began the day on 111 for 1 in pursuit of Gujarat’s 479. Behera moved from his overnight unbeaten 64 to complete another century after making 158 against Delhi and twin hundreds against Mumbai. Odisha were 177 for 1 at one stage but just when partnerships developed through the day, they lost a couple of quick wickets every time. Rakesh Dhurv gave Gujarat the opening, having Behera caught for 106. Govind Podder and Biplab Samantray took Odisha towards 250 before both departed for forties, to Dhurv and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom kept striking to reduce Odisha to 345 for 8 by stumps.