ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Pune Warriors and Chennai Super Kings in Navi Mumbai

The Preview by Nitin Sundar26-Apr-2011

Match facts

Wednesday, April 27, Delhi
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Big picture

Less than 48 hours after walking out for the toss in Chepauk, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh will lead their sides out for the return game at the DY Patil Stadium. Even the IPL’s biggest supporters will be hard-pressed to defend this weird scheduling decision that is almost completely devoid of logic. It flies in the face of the IPL’s most captivating aspect: the ability of a ten-team field to provide variety on a daily basis. There is no logistical sense behind the decision either, unless the powers that be have managed to get a bulk discount on flight and hotel reservations for the teams. After all, this is the season for frugality.While the match-up will have an unavoidable sense of déjà vu to it, the complete contrast in conditions from the first encounter could make the second an interesting tussle. After surging to easy wins in their first two ‘home’ outings, Pune have run into a rut with three successive losses, the last two away from the DY Patil Stadium. They will be happy to return to the true track in Navi Mumbai, with bounce and movement to suit their pace-heavy attack. Jerome Taylor got steep carry off the sluggish strip in Chennai and could be a handful here, along with the impressive Alfonso Thomas.Chennai have won all their homes games, and are winless away. Dhoni has led them into the semi-finals in each edition of the IPL so far, and knows that his side will have to start travelling better if he is to extend the run. Can his spin-heavy attack shine on a surface where carrom balls are unlikely to bowl right-hand batsmen around the legs?

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai: WLLWL (fifth in points table)
Pune: LLLWW (eighth in points table)

Team talk

Shadab Jakati produced the best moment of the game in Chennai, when he flew and latched on to a lofted extra-cover drive from Yuvraj Singh. That, and two tight overs of left-arm spin, might have done enough to convince Dhoni to retain him. Will Chennai bench Suraj Randiv, who was economical but wicketless in the previous game? If they do, Tim Southee might come back in to join Doug Bollinger and Albie Morkel in a three-pronged foreign pace attack for the visitors.Pune are also likely to drop one spinner, which means either Nathan McCullum or Murali Kartik could sit out. Depending on the nationality of the spinner axed, Wayne Parnell or Shrikant Wagh will come in.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

This has been Suresh Raina‘s poorest start to an IPL season. He has managed only 119 runs in six outings, and wasn’t fluent even during his half-century against Kochi. No-one has scored more runs than Raina in IPLs, and he is too good a player to continue struggling. A swap in the batting line-up with the in-form S Badrinath could spark Raina’s revival.Manish Pandey‘s much-anticipated IPL return began with a superb catch on the boundary edge to dismiss Michael Hussey. Pandey went on to unfurl two boundaries on the trot before playing the next ball onto his stumps. The first Indian centurion of the IPL will want to make a more lasting impression in his second outing.

Prime numbers

• Murali Kartik had 16 wickets in 26 IPL games prior to this season. He is yet to get a wicket this year
• With 48 wickets, Albie Morkel is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. Only three seamers – RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Lasith Malinga – have more IPL scalps to their name

The chatter

“MS is not big on too much planning. He gets his information from how the pitch plays and how the opposition is approaching it. There’s a lot of gut feel about his captaincy. If you compare my captaincy with his, I was deadpan boring whereas he is adventurous.”

“Fielding is a massive part of the game – no doubt about it. Steve Rixon has played a big role in this.”

USA Cricket Association board member Krish Prasad is unhappy over the way domestic tournaments are being handled and does not feel stakeholders are being given an honest appraisal of USACA’s current financial situation

Peter Della Penna27-May-2011USA Cricket Association (USACA) board member Krish Prasad is unhappy over the way domestic tournaments are being handled and does not feel stakeholders are being given an honest appraisal of USACA’s current financial situation. Prasad, who represents the New York Region and is also the USACA cricket committee chairman, feels that stakeholders are losing confidence in USACA’s leadership because of the organization’s inability to properly organize domestic tournaments.USACA general manager Manaf Mohamed sent out an events calendar at the start of the year detailing the dates and sites for tournaments in 2011. Already, the U-17 national tournament that was supposed to be held from May 27-30 in Orlando has been postponed while the inaugural Twenty20 national championship that is scheduled to be held June 17-19 was shifted this week from Dallas to New Jersey. USACA claims it was moved for budget reasons while local organizers in Dallas claim the switch was politically motivated.”My biggest concern is our financial embarrassment,” Prasad said. “We can’t tell regions, yes, you’ll definitely have this tournament. Go ahead and make the arrangements. Dallas wanted to make the arrangements and lock the hotels up. I mean you’re talking about a month before and we don’t have nothing locked up. We don’t have one thing locked up for a tournament that’s going to be held a month from now.”First the tournament was set in Dallas and this was done in January. All along we were planning to have this tournament in Dallas. Unfortunately it’s been pulled out of Dallas because the president said the hotels were too expensive. To be honest, I don’t know who is making the arrangements of where the games go because my say of where the games should go, it doesn’t seem like I have any say in the matter. Every time I speak to Manaf, he says well we have to get this approved. I guess all the approval is done by the president and the treasurer.”In Prasad’s opinion, the result of all of these changes is that stakeholders don’t have much confidence in the way USACA is operating. “Dallas is disappointed with us because we were supposed to have a tournament there. We didn’t have it. New York people feel the same way. They asked the question last night [at a town hall meeting]. Why are we not told what competitions we’re going to have, what New York region is going to host, or where and who is going to host these tournaments? Why can’t we have some time to prepare for it? If you don’t have that time, why should people be confident in what you’re doing?”One of the ladies spoke to me yesterday. She says, ‘Krish, I have asked you guys several times of your schedule. I have to go to a wedding in the Caribbean. I want to make arrangements to go and come back so I don’t miss anything.’ I can’t give her an answer.”Prasad feels that USACA still operates as if it is broke, in spite of the deal signed with several investors to form Cricket Holdings America and pump revenue into USACA. However, USACA Treasurer John Thickett wants to dispel any worries about USACA’s financial status. Thickett says that $1.1 million has come in so far as part of the deal and that $3.9 million more should come in over the course of 2011.”Part of my job is to make sure we have money to do stuff,” Thickett said. “The Twenty20 is a new tournament. We have funding in place right now to cover the Twenty20 going ahead. We’ve got the Under-19s we’re doing some camps for getting ready for Ireland.”Three million of that money was supposed to be delivered through what was labeled as a signing bonus, but that money may not come in until September or October at the earliest. It is contingent upon a stake in CHA membership being sold by one of the investors. An anonymous source is worried that this signing bonus money may never come, particularly as he feels the membership stake that is yet to be sold may depend on the results of USACA elections in October. Thickett denied this speculation in an interview earlier this month.”We’re hopeful to get it done by September or October,” Thickett said on May 2. “The elections will be over by October so whoever’s coming into power will be handling the money, but there’s no linkage between… I’m sure there are people who want to think that or speculate that.”USACA is also supposed to receive 31% of any profits generated through hosting matches between Full Members and selling television rights to matches. However, Thickett admitted on Thursday that profits are not realistic for 2011.”The LLC is a startup company. It’s got to put on events and get revenue,” Thickett said. “I don’t think we’re going to have an international between two Full Members this year. I think it’s more likely to happen next year along with the launch of the Twenty20 league. My prediction would be summer 2012. The state of the infrastructure, it’s going to take more time to put that infrastructure in. The issue of infrastructure around the country is a big issue.”Prasad hopes that there will not be any more snags with tournaments being staged this year, including the women’s national tournament that is supposed to be hosted by the New York Region from July 1-4, but he is not convinced by the messages he’s getting from other members of the USACA leadership.”I guess it’s the way we operate. The way we operate is poor governance,” Prasad said. “All of this is because we don’t have the finances in place. We are not making or putting great importance on these things. We have tournaments planned. The cricket committee puts things together in January. It’s there and it just falls by the wayside.”July 4th weekend, we don’t have a definite go ahead for the women’s tournament in New York.
We’ve been constantly going through this. Like our director said last night, this is embarrassing.
We can’t operate like this. This is nothing new to USACA. Maybe they don’t have any money.
It’s embarrassing.”

Captains rarely evoke sympathy. Darren Sammy does, because of the context of West Indies cricket

Sriram Veera in Port of Spain05-Jun-2011Captains rarely evoke sympathy. Darren Sammy does, because of the context of West Indies cricket. If he were captain of any other “weaker” side, it wouldn’t be this bad. It’s the burden of West Indies cricket, with its glorious past and strong leaders, which puts him under pressure. He almost doesn’t fit. It’s our fault really, for judging him based on nostalgia of West Indian glory, but it is he who bleeds.Apply salve on the wound and carry on with his chin up is all that Sammy can do. “My family sends up prayers and the blessings come down,” he says. “The almighty looks out.” When humans are criticising, he has no choice but to dive into his faith to look after himself. Before the series began, Sammy was asked about his place in the Test side. “I go out and do what I have to do. Check the stats and stuff, I have done quite well as a Test cricketer. Whenever I step on to the field, I have West Indian cricket at the heart.”He is not West Indies’ best bowler, he is not their best batsman but Sammy is their captain. It’s his cross to carry and Sammy has decided to simply focus on his game. He says all the right things. Yet cracks show in his visage. There’s a gaping Chris-Gayle sized hole to fill. Through the World Cup, Sammy often mentioned how Gayle was a motivational figure and how he sought his advice.Darren Sammy: “Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I have the support of my team”•Associated Press

This is when Sammy’s sympathetic figure helps. Not many in the Caribbean blame him for the Gayle fiasco. The heat has been turned on the board, the coach Ottis Gibson, and Gayle himself. “What can poor Sammy do? He is just doing a job that he has been asked to do, and he is doing it to the best of his ability,” says a fan. “It’s not his fault that he became the captain but he is trying his best to do justice.”It’s that sentiment that evokes sympathy. Sammy didn’t become captain because of his ambition. He became captain because the WICB was wary of the ambitions of other men, who have fallen out of favour. It’s a situation similar to when Raj Singh Dungarpur, then the BCCI president, caught Mohammad Azharuddin, shy and unambitious at the time, unawares with an often quoted line from cricket lore: “” (Do you want to be the captain?). Azharuddin, though, was in a different league as far as cricketing skills go compared to Sammy.Sammy knows all he can do is to keep doing his stuff. Shut out the world. Pull down the blinds. And keep improving his game. “I have enjoyed the captaincy. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I have the support of my team,” he says. “I believe in my ability and try my best. I can be more consistent with my performances and I am striving to do that.”The question, though, is still resonating in the Caribbean. Is the team more united under Sammy? Is he being the captain best for West Indies cricket? Or is he just a stopgap solution?

Abhimanyu Mithun, the India fast bowler, hopes the tour of the West Indies will give him the chance to establish himself

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2011Abhimanyu Mithun, the India fast bowler, is back in the Test squad after injuries ruled Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth out of the tour of the West Indies, and is hoping that this latest opportunity will give him the chance to establish himself in the squad. Mithun made his Test debut against Sri Lanka last July – he replaced Zaheer who missed that series with an injury as well – but was then overlooked in favour of Jaidev Unadkat for India’s tour of South Africa at end of 2010.”It feels good to be picked again,” the 21-year-old Mithun told the after a practice stint on Saturday. “I did expect to go to South Africa but … I am hoping to get a chance and prove myself again, like I did on my debut in Sri Lanka.”Mithun took six wickets at an average of 62 in three Tests against Sri Lanka, similar figures to Ishant Sharma, who took seven wickets at 61.71. He was initially disappointed about not going to South Africa, but said he was lucky to have received good advice from a number of people who told him to concentrate on playing for the love of the game rather than obsess over not playing for India. In particular, he gave credit to Sanath Kumar, the Karnataka coach over the past two seasons, according to the newspaper.”Initially I felt sad and at the net sessions that followed I did lose some concentration, focus and so on. Fortunately for me, a lot of people spoke to me and advised me well. Everyone encouraged me, told me I am a good bowler.”But the best advice I got was when I was told that when I started playing cricket I did so as I loved the game. At that point I wasn’t thinking of playing for India and so why think about it now, I was asked. That set me thinking and slowly I regained my confidence and got back to normal.”When asked whether Test cricket was too much pressure to handle, Mithun said he actually found it easier than playing domestic cricket as it wasn’t his job to lead the attack. “I found it easier in the Tests. There I was a rookie, I only had to look after my bowling, for which to the seniors were very much around to help. I was freer in a way. But when I got back to first class cricket, it was very different. The expectations had gone up and I was looked upon as someone who will get wickets whenever I bowled.”That was something I found it tough to deal with initially but slowly got used to that as well and started to enjoy my bowling once again.”

Surrey clinched a nerve-tingling two-wicket County Championship victory
over Gloucestershire despite Mark Ramprakash being given out for obstructing the
field at Cheltenham

30-Jul-2011
ScorecardSurrey clinched a nerve-tingling two-wicket County Championship victory
over Gloucestershire despite Mark Ramprakash being given out for obstructing the
field at Cheltenham.The veteran batsman was on 35 when he was judged to have impeded Ian Saxelby as
the Gloucestershire player went to gather Kane Williamson’s throw at the
bowler’s end as Jason Roy went for a risky second run.Surrey were cruising at 137 for 4, chasing 184 to win, at the time. When
Zafar Ansari fell lbw to Jon Lewis for a duck two balls later it was 138 for 6
with 46 still required. But after Roy (45) and Gareth Batty (eight) had also fallen, Yasir Arafat (five not out) and Tim Linley (six not out) saw the visitors home to end a superb
match. Surrey took 24 points to Gloucestershire’s five.The hosts had begun the day on 249 for four in their second innings, with a
lead of 112. They soon lost Alex Gidman, caught in the slips by Zander de Bruyn
having added just nine to his overnight score of 57.Wickets fell steadily as Arafat sent back Richard Coughtrie (16) and Will
Gidman (20) for a return of two for 76 and match figures of seven for 162. Linley also finished with seven victims in the game for a total of 136 runs as he accounted for Jack Taylor (10) and Gloucestershire were bowled out for 320 shortly after lunch.That made Surrey favourites and they achieved a solid start in the face of
their modest target as Rory Hamilton-Brown and Steve Davies put on 50 before the
latter was caught behind fending at Will Gidman for 19.It was 60 for two when Hamilton-Brown (39) was taken at first slip by Alex
Gidman off Lewis and 80 for three when off-spinner Taylor struck in his first
over, having De Bruyn pouched by Hamish Marshall at slip – a sharp catch – for
11.Tom Maynard fell lbw to David Payne for two, the ball striking his pad before
the bat, and at 85 for four the match was in the balance. But Ramprakash was a reassuring presence for Surrey after his first-innings century and he looked in little trouble until his controversial dismissal threatened to change the game.The 41-year-old started to walk off and then returned for a further
conversation with umpires George Sharp and Nigel Llong before finally making his
way to the pavilion. In doing so Ramprakash joined an obscure list to be dismissed in bizarre ways.After Ansari’s departure, Batty was well taken at first slip above his head by
Alex Gidman off brother Will with Surrey still 23 short. Only three had been added when Roy edged Lewis to wicketkeeper Coughtrie, having made his 45 runs off 64 balls, with six fours. Despite several scares, Arafat and Linley survived with the latter hitting the winning runs.

The ECB may prevent counties from playing in the Champions League Twenty20 unless payments are made up-front, according to a report in the Telegraph

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2011The ECB may prevent counties from playing in the Champions League Twenty20 unless payments are made up front, according to a report in the UK’s Telegraph.The board insists that the two counties that qualify for the qualification stage of the tournament – which will be the winners of the two Friends life T20 semi-finals; Lancashire v Leicestershire, and Hampshire v Somerset – have to receive the money to cover their costs from the tournament organisers before they are allowed to compete in the tournament that starts in September.Many of the teams that played in the first two Champions Leagues have either not received their payment on time or in full. Somerset and Sussex played in the inaugural 2009 Champions League in India, while no English county played in the second event, in South Africa in 2010, after a dispute between the ECB and the tournament organisers over scheduling.Richard Gould, who was Somerset’s chief executive when they went to the Champions League in 2009 and is now Surrey’s, told the Telegraph: ”The payment was late but was paid eventually, within about five months, and it was paid in full minus about 20% Indian government tax.”The Champions League is currently given a window in the Future Tours Programme, unlike the Indian Premier League which is regarded purely as a domestic competition.The qualification stage of the third tournament starts in Hyderabad on September 19, with both English counties scheduled to play the following day. Only teams from India, South Africa and Australia have been given direct berths in the main stages of the tournament, with teams from all other countries having to qualify first.

A innings of 124 by Vikram Solanki helped guide Worcestershire to within a whisker of County Championship Division One safety before they collapsed from 255 for 3 to 288 all out

13-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Vikram Solanki was the backbone of Worcestershire’s innings but they suffered a collapse•Getty Images

A innings of 124 by Vikram Solanki helped guide Worcestershire to within a whisker of County Championship Division One safety before they collapsed from 255 for 3 to 288 all out against Durham at Chester-le-Street.The visitors needed to reach 300, giving them the third batting point, but events at the Rose Bowl mean there is no more likelihood of them going down than there is of Durham winning the title.It will be beyond Durham once leaders Warwickshire have avoided defeat, which they surely must after amassing 493. Equally, Hampshire have next to no chance of the win they would need to send Worcestershire down.Trailing by 24, Durham had 18 overs to bat in their second innings and reached 51 without loss, despite the first runs off the admirable Alan Richardson not coming until the fifth ball of his seventh over.Worcestershire did not lose a wicket in the morning and only two in the afternoon, but the last five went down for five runs to the new ball, which was still six overs away when Paul Collingwood suddenly took two wickets in three balls in the first over after tea. The collapse was started by a stunning catch from Dale Benkenstein, who leapt to cling on one-handed at mid-wicket to get rid of Alexei Kervezee for 43.Two balls later left-hander Matt Pardoe sliced Collingwood to gully then Solanki and Gareth Andrew added 28 before the new ball produced extravagant bounce and four edged catches. Solanki departed for 124 when he fended Callum Thorp to second slip and the rest quickly followed, Thorp picking up three more wickets inside two overs.Both he and Graham Onions had been out of luck in the morning, when Durham kept four slips and two gullies for most of the session. The breakthrough finally came when left-hander James Cameron tried to paddle Ian Blackwell round the corner and was bowled for 74.He had put on 138 with Solanki, who had 11 fours in his 72-ball half-century but showed unusual restraint in adding only 42 during the afternoon. When legspinner Scott Borthwick was finally introduced Solanki edged him for four then drove him for six over extra cover to reach 99.He went down the pitch to the next ball and survived a stumping chance before turning the next ball just out of short leg’s reach to complete his third hundred of the season off 186 balls.

A year on from the spot-fixing allegations that rocked the cricket world, Pakistan’s Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif appeared in court as the trial into one of the sport’s greatest controversies began

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court04-Oct-2011The spot-fixing trial, involving one of cricket’s greatest controversies, has begun with Pakistan’s Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif appearing in court and a jury being picked and sworn in.Former opening batsman and ex-Test captain Butt and swing bowler Asif sat in at the start of the case at Southwark Crown Court in central London. They are yet to speak as two hours of legal arguments ensued and an appropriate jury was sworn in after lunch with a mixture of racial backgrounds and sexes (six men and six women). Both players were asked if they had any objection to the jury formed and they said: ‘No objections’.Just 30 minutes was required after the lunch break to settle on a jury and Justice Cooke informed the court that proceedings would resume at ten the following morning. Cooke told the jury: “I think you will find this an interesting and unusual case.” He also suggested that some of them would be aware of the case because of its high-profile nature but they were ordered not to research it or to discuss the case outside of the jury roomButt and Asif, who flew in at the weekend from Lahore, are facing the possibility of a custodial sentence if deemed guilty, though both are pleading not guilty. They are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired to bowl pre-determined no-balls.Both wearing suits, without a tie, they sat in a dock sealed off by a Perspex screen with holes in for hearing purposes. Butt sat alone and listened intently, often leaning forward with a concentrated look on his face. Asif was accompanied by a Punjabi interpreter. Butt’s barrister, Ali Bajwa QC, immediately informed Justice Cooke that his client did not require the services of an interpreter because he had a confident grasp of English.Behind the players’ dock sat interested journalists taking up every seat in the public gallery. They would no doubt have been pleased when Justice Cooke noted early on that they could ‘tweet’ from the courtroom as long as they did it quietly. With reporting restrictions in place, the detail of the legal arguments cannot be repeated at this stage.But Justice Cooke did agree to three clauses that he later read out to potential jurors who were walked into the courtroom. They were told they would need to be available for up to five weeks, and were also informed that they would need to fill out forms asking three questions and if they answered ‘yes’ to any of them they could not sit in the jury.The questions were: 1) Have they or any family members ever worked as a professional journalist or currently work in that capacity. 2) Do they or any family members earn their living from professional cricket? 3) Are they or family members working in the gambling industry?

Michael Clarke insists he will not let his fledgling Australian captaincy be derailed by worry over the myriad personnel and procedure issues swirling around the national team

Daniel Brettig07-Oct-2011Michael Clarke insists he will not let his fledgling Australian captaincy, nor his rejuvenated batting, be compromised by worry over the myriad personnel and procedure issues swirling around the national team ahead of the tour to South Africa.While Clarke made the ideal start to his time as Test captain by leading the team to a 1-0 series victory in Sri Lanka, something he secured with a rousing century on the final day of the third Test, he is facing further complications on his second tour with a back-room staff every bit as transitional as the team itself.He takes a squad featuring an interim coach in Troy Cooley plus two possible contenders for the fulltime job in Steve Rixon and Justin Langer. The national selectors are also in a state of flux following the changes wrought by the Argus review, though it is understood that members of the current panel, none of whom will remain once their replacements are named, have agreed to spend time on the ground in South Africa.Clarke’s leadership on the field in Sri Lanka was exemplary, but success in South Africa will not simply be a matter of planning effectively for the Proteas. He will need to find enough space between his on-field duties and those of team organisation even as the ways and means of that organisation are changing.”While you’re winning you’ll say it [the balance is right]. I don’t think you ever know,” Clarke said at the Australian Sports Commission Captains Forum in Sydney. “It is important for me that my preparation comes first – if I’m not scoring runs I’m not in the team so I can’t be captain.”So as long as I’m doing that, giving myself every chance to perform individually, and then putting my main focus on the team, how I can help them have success, then the stuff off the field I’ve got time for that, but I certainly won’t be compromising the team or my individual preparation for anything off the field. It’s been fine so far and I’m confident that will continue.”There’s going to be challenges along the way no doubt, as I’ve probably already experienced through the review, and with Troy coming in as our coach for South Africa there’s a few things off the field happening, but as long as I’ve got time to do my own preparation and make sure I’m ready to walk out onto the field and perform individually and also help my team, I think it’ll be fine.”Considered among the most hands-on of leaders, Clarke must at times be able to place his trust in other members of the tour party, so as not to be overburdened. Another key to this balance is Gavin Dovey, the team manager who replaced his long-serving predecessor Steve Bernard after a handover in Bangladesh in April.”That’s the important thing about having good people around you,” Clarke said. “Shane Watson being my vice-captain, the support staff and now Troy as our stand-in coach, they all have roles to play and it’s important I utilise their help, advice and a bit of their guidance as well to give me a hand because I certainly can’t be doing everything.”Troy’s taken over the coaching role, there’s been a lot of communication in the last week or so in preparation for South Africa. We’ve got really good people around with our support staff, Craig McDermott, Steve Rixon and Justin Langer, so they’re going to play a big part in South Africa as well.”Australia’s T20 squad depart for South Africa across the next 24 hours, with Clarke and other ODI squad members to join them from October 14. Clarke said the team’s meticulous preparations for Sri Lanka needed to be replicated in order for the tourists to stand a chance against the South Africans.”Our key to our success in Sri Lanka was our preparation,” Clarke said. “The boys worked really hard and put a lot of time and effort into their training, so I’m sure South Africa will be exactly the same.”All the boys are very keen to get to South Africa. We’ve got the T20s and the one dayers first and hopefully we can continue to build a bit of momentum from Sri Lanka and have some more success in South Africa and bring that back for the Australian summer.”

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the second round of the Ranji Trophy Plate League 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2011

Group A

Kerala and Services were involved in a thrilling draw at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi, where the hosts clung on to a draw with one wicket left. Kerala had the upper hand for much of the day, and were in an excellent position to win the game but ended up taking away just one point while Services took three. Seamer Sony Cheruvathur bagged four wickets and was backed up Prasanth Parameswaran, Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan and Padmanabhan Prasanth, who took two each, to bowl out Services for 148. Kerala had conceded a first-innings lead of four runs, but bounced back to reach a winning position.However, they faltered in their chase of 153 in 63 overs. They top order failed, with the team being reduced to 17 for 3 at one stage. Rohan Prem, Sachin Baby and Karimutthathu Rakesh scored 20s but couldn’t push on and at 103 for 9 in the 43rd over, Kerala were staring at defeat. For Services, Yashpal Singh starred with five wickets. However, Manukrishnan and Parameswaran, the last-wicket pair, not unlike James Anderson and Monty Panesar in Cardiff two years ago, saw off 125 deliveries, adding 27, to save the game for Kerala.Andhra Pradesh were made to wait and work hard but they eventually found success, beating Tripura by 124 runs in Visakhapatnam. They had reduced Tripura to 24 for 5 in a chase of 233 at the end of the third day, and left them in further trouble at 76 for 7. But wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant and the explosive duo of Manisankar Murasingh and Udit Patel put up a fight. Samant fell on 42 with the score on 109 but No.9 and 10 provided plenty of entertainment. Both Murasingh and Udit faced 39 balls, struck eight fours and three sixes. Murasingh made 52, Udit made 59 but soon enough, AP struck to seal victory. Seamet Tekkami Atchuti Rao took four wickets, supported by Syed Sahabuddin who took three.

Group B

Goa took three points from their draw against Assam in Guwahati, having gained a first-innings lead. On the fourth day, the tenth-wicket pair of Amit Yadav (68) and captain Robin D’Souza (35) continued their good work, extending their score to 306 before the last-wicket pair added a further 30. There wasn’t much to play for in the second innings as an outright result would take a miracle, and Assam batted out 68.3 overs to make 190 for 3. Opener Dheeraj Jadhav helped himself to a century.There was finally a fair amount of play in the game between Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand in Srinagar. Openers Adil Rishi and Ian Dev Singh shone for J&K, adding 171. Ian scored a century while Adil made 88. In 75 overs, J&K scored 270 before declaring. Jharkhand were left to face only 20 overs, but it was for enough for Manish Vardhan to make an unbeaten 58 in quick time.