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Top order struggles haunt Sri Lankans

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Scorecard

Andy Bichel pushed Queensland from trouble to safety with 125 © Getty Images

The Sri Lankans’ Test preparations suffered another severe wobble when their top order collapsed for the second time in the tour match against Queensland. After folding to 5 for 45 in the first innings, the visitors were in more trouble at 4 for 55 as they tried to overhaul the 85-run deficit created by Andy Bichel’s muscular century.Ashley Noffke continued his fine match when he raced through the openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu before Michael Vandort and Thilan Samaraweera added to the tourists’ pain. They finished the day at 4 for 62, still 23 runs behind, and will rely on Mahela Jayawardene (22) and Chamara Silva (2) to ease the headaches of a side already missing Kumar Sangakkara with injury.Jayasuriya began the tour with a century on a flat surface in Adelaide, but he has struggled with the pitch’s pop at Allan Border Field and managed only three runs for the game. Noffke, who captured five victims on Friday, forced him to fend a lifting ball to Clinton Perren and he departed to similar dismissals on both occasions.The exit of Atapattu, who was lbw to Noffke for 7, was less of a concern as he has performed strongly in both games, but Michael Vandort missed an opportunity for a meaningful contribution when he went for 26 to an excellent legside take from Chris Hartley. At least the Sri Lankans have an idea of what they will face at the Gabba from Thursday after dueling with a high-quality attack.Shaun Tait’s elbow injury means Mitchell Johnson is a virtual certainty for the first Test even though he has struggled for wickets in this match. He took one on Friday and was again out-bowled by Noffke, who had 2 for 8 off six overs in his opening spell. Bichel chipped in late to dispose of Samaraweera and complete a satisfying day of personal achievement.Bichel smashed seven sixes, the most in a first-class innings for Queensland, and 11 fours as he led the Bulls from the early-morning trouble of 4 for 60 to relative comfort. Entering at No. 6 in a bowler-heavy line-up, Bichel started the day cautiously but expanded his repertoire as he got comfortable and reached three figures shortly before tea.”I was a bit lucky today, I got away with a few things, but it worked for me,” Bichel said. “I’m feeling quite comfortable with the bat in my hand and I hope that continues.”The rescue mission of 125 from 168 deliveries ended when he top edged a sweep off Malinga Bandara, who suffered the most bruises from Bichel. Taking advantage of a dropped chance at mid-off on 18 and a run-out escape, Bichel hit freely and rushed to 99 with two sixes in a Bandara over before flicking a single to midwicket for his century.A couple of mistakes in the field did not help the bowlers, who were unable to shut down a pesky lower order despite regular movement off the pitch. Farveez Maharoof was the most successful with 3 for 72 while Bandara picked up 2 for 89 and Jayasuriya claimed the final two wickets as Queensland were dismissed for 285. Maharoof was unlucky, forcing numerous plays and misses, and eventually gained a reward when he had Hartley caught behind for 8 after Noffke had fallen for 34.Bichel and Noffke, who lost a ball with a six over mid-on, combined for an 80-run stand before Johnson and Bichel added 94 in quick time to pass the Sri Lankans’ first-innings total of 210. Johnson may have struggled for impact with the ball over the opening two days but he contributed a lively half-century to complement the work of Bichel.Maharoof, who was pleased with his return, said there was a lot of work to do on the final day. “Whoever gets in just has to bat on,” he said. “You can’t do that much on this wicket, the only thing you can concentrate on is playing down the line and occupying the crease. The first day the pitch was a bit spongy, but it’s dried out a bit and it’s taking off from a length.”

ICC needs to address ICL issue soon – Cairns

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Chris Cairns: “You have Australia, India and England earning well but even then how long can someone like Kevin Pietersen turn down £600,000 for 40 days’ work?” ©Cricinfo Ltd
 

Chris Cairns, the former New Zealand allrounder, says the ICC needs to step in soon before players from countries like New Zealand and West Indies opt en masse for the lucrative contracts in the the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) over the contracts with their home boards.New Zealand are already reeling from the impact of the exodus, with players like Craig McMillan, Shane Bond and Lou Vincent joining Cairns, who had already retired from international cricket, in the ICL. Presently, a player joining the ICL is potentially banned from playing for his country, and also first-class cricket.”New Zealand is going to be susceptible to that because of our pay structure,” Cairns told Bigstarcricket.com. “If there was a 10% discrepancy or even 20% discrepancy between what you could earn playing over in India against your yearly wage [in New Zealand] then players would consider staying,” he said. “But when you are talking a 200% difference, no person in their right mind could turn that down – that’s the reality.”Cairns has called upon the ICC to create a window for the ICL and the IPL, besides revoking the bans on players joining the ICL. “The ICC are going to have to fix this – it is not a New Zealand Cricket issue, it’s an ICC issue. I just hope that they create a window for players to be able to do it [play ICL and not be banned] – ICL and IPL,” Cairns said. “West Indies will have this problem too, any country in fact where players are not that well remunerated.”You have Australia, India and England earning well but even then how long can someone like Kevin Pietersen turn down £600,000 for 40 days’ work? These are the dilemmas that are going to start to happen, though we might not see it for a year’s time until everybody comes off contract with their national boards.”New Zealand Cricket had recently announced a pay rise for its contracted players in a bid to prevent more players from being lured by the hefty sums waiting to be earned in India.

Australia show no mercy to wanton West Indies

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:24

Chappell: Holder captaincy call a monumental blunder

Towards the end of Australia’s latest gargantuan first innings in a summer of batting gluttony, the West Indies opener Rajendra Chandrika was struck a painful blow on the wrist by an Adam Voges stroke. Quickly to his aid was the hosts’ team doctor Peter Brukner. Chandrika recovered and later batted; it was the only moment’s mercy offered by the Australians to their hapless quarry all day.More representative was the bowling of Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon, all of whom harried their opponents relentlessly and were rewarded with regular victims. Lyon’s loop, Pattinson’s reverse swing and Siddle’s accuracy made for a highly complementary attack, augmented by the stingy Josh Hazlewood.By the close they had reduced the West Indies to a forlorn 6 for 89 in response to 551, leaving open the possibility of another follow on, another Australian innings victory and another three-day Test match. Even if the shorter turnaround to the New Year’s Test in Sydney stops Steven Smith from making such a call, not even the most staunchly patriotic Australian supporter can take too much joy from ritual executions of such lopsided brutality.A second day gathering of 40,416 was the sort of figure both Cricket Australia and the MCC would have been happy about. Nevertheless it was very apparent how on each day the crowds thinned after tea, as though they could not put themselves through the recurring spectacle of one of cricket’s domineers beating up on an opponent in dreadful disrepair. For all the rhetoric of Curtly Ambrose and the good intentions of Jason Holder, there is very little within the power of this touring team to avoid problems that have built up over decades of neglect, infighting and divided loyalties.The first half of day two had Voges and Smith batting without risk or any apparent danger. Their undefeated stand of 223 followed up the strong work of Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja on Boxing Day, and contributed to the statistical mountain being built by an Australian side growing daily under the leadership of their new captain.Smith showed evidence that a rest had helped his sore knee in compiling his sixth hundred for 2015, while Voges continued on the merry way he began at Bellerive Oval in the first Test. He has now made 375 runs in the series without being dismissed, while his career average against the West Indies has reached a scarcely credible 542.Though Smith’s century was marked by a subdued celebration, but Voges was far more animated in marking his fourth hundred of a debut Test year in which he has passed 1000 runs in a mere 12 matches. Only Sir Donald Bradman, Neil Harvey and Sid Barnes managed to get there faster.Together they ensured Australia’s bowlers had plenty of runs to defend once again, and after Chandrika and Kraigg Brathwaite resisted briefly they made steady then increasingly swift progress through the thin remnants of what was once a galaxy of Caribbean batting riches.Brathwaite’s hands were too low and firm to prevent a catch squeezed to short leg when Lyon found bounce and spin. Chandrika was too generous in allowing Pattinson’s in-ducker to strike him in front without offering a shot and then optimistically reviewing the decision. Marlon Samuels’ wretched tour then gained another stanza when he was pinned seemingly in front by Pattinson for a duck and declined to review a ball that EagleEye had passing over the stumps.Very nearly yorked first ball, Jermain Blackwood played a few smart strokes before he was reprieved when the inevitably grey of television replays meant Burns’ apparent clean catch at square leg was overruled by the third umpire Ian Gould. The injustice of that decision was not to linger; Blackwood bunting a return catch to Lyon and Denesh Ramdin flicking a clearer catch to Burns before Siddle snaked a straightening ball around Holder’s dead bat to make it six wickets in the final session.If Voges and Smith did not pile up runs at quite the same rate seen in Hobart, their security at the crease was seemingly unaffected by more patient spells from several West Indian bowlers. Both batsmen gave up edges, Smith an inside edge to fine leg when attempting to force Kemar Roach through the off side, and Voges skewing Carlos Brathwaite past slips 15 minutes before lunch.The MCG surface was flat and easy paced for batting when Smith and Voges resumed, intent upon stretching the hosts’ tally into an intimidating region for the West Indies. There were attractive strokes to be viewed by a crowd that grew steadily, but precious little tension between bat and ball.A reminder of the vast gap between the teams arrived when Australia knocked off their 1000th run for the series, all at a cost of just seven wickets. The scoreboard flashed a reminder that both sides have still got two DRS referrals in their pockets. It is perhaps the only area in which Australia and the West Indies have ever had parity in the series.

History tells Dyson to remain hopeful of record win

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Dwayne Bravo’s move to the top of the order was a success on day four as he reached 46 © AFP
 

John Dyson, the West Indies coach, believes a record-breaking chase of 437 is possible for the hosts as they dream of a 1-0 lead in the series with Sri Lanka. West Indies chopped 96 from the target for the loss of Devon Smith as Dwayne Bravo, the stand-in opener, and Ramnaresh Sarwan combined for a 74-run stand.”We will wait and see what happens [on the final morning] and see how things pan out,” Dyson said. “History says that it is possible to get a total like that and it has been done in the West Indies before so you never put that totally out of the question. I think all teams these days look to win wherever possible and if the opportunity to win comes along then we will look to take it.”Chris Gayle, the captain, dropped to No. 4 so he could employ the attacking instincts of Bravo and the move has been a success so far. “Chris felt that it was a good chance to have a change in this innings,” Dyson said. “He feels that Bravo is a very positive player and also having a left-hand, right-hand opening combination in this innings was something we were thinking about.”Dyson was impressed with the returns of Bravo, who was 46, and Sarwan (34). “They handled the last session very, very well,” he said. The coach said the surface remained a “batsman’s paradise” although the Sri Lankans believe it is tricky for run-scoring.Another strong performance came from the left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who picked up 3 for 59 before Sri Lanka declared at 240 for 7. “I thought he bowled very, very well for his first Test,” Dyson said. “He came in, maintained a good line, a good length, he didn’t give away very many easy runs at all, and I was really pleased.”I felt sorry for him that he didn’t take a wicket in the first innings, although there was one opportunity missed form his bowling. I was pleased that he has come out there again and bowled pretty well.”

Superlative Nasir puts Gazi Group one win away from title

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Gazi Group Cricketers regained the lead in the Super League after beating closest rivals Abahani Limited by six wickets, courtesy Nasir Hossain’s all-round show – a three-for coupled with a half-century – at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar. The victory puts Gazi Group Cricketers only one win away from clinching the 2017 edition of the Dhaka Premier League, with the final round of matches to be held on June 5.Gazi Group’s decision to bowl received validation, with their spin contingent accounting for eight of Abahani’s batsmen and skittled the side out for 156 in 41.2 overs. Abahani’s innings, however, received its first jolt as left-arm pacer Abu Hider trapped Saif Hassan in front in the first over of the game. Hossain Ali inflicted the second dent to Abahani’s effort the very next over, cleaning up Shadman Islam. With both the openers having been removed for a duck, offspinners Mahedi Hasan and Nasir denied Abahani any real chance of a consolidation, as they chipped away at the middle and lower order to finish with a three-wicket haul each. Among the Abahani batsmen, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Afif Hossain and Shuvagata Hom all fell between 23 and 32, with a 40-run fourth-wicket stand between Mithun and Liton being the only partnership of note during the Abahani innings.In reply, Gazi Group stuttered intermittently during chase, despite Anamul Haque having set the platform with a 54-ball 41. While he lost his opening partner, Munim Shahriar, in the third over to Manan Sharma’s left-arm spin, Mominul Haque couldn’t sustain his innings beyond a 25-ball 21, as Hom had him caught by substitute Kazi Anik. Subsequently, Mohammad Saifuddin’s dismissal of Anamul and Manan’s removal of Jahurul Islam had Gazi Group struggling at 84 for 4 by the 21st over. Gazi Group captain, Nasir, however, took charge of his side’s chase thereafter, notching up an industrious 56 off 92 balls to overhaul the target with 13.2 overs to spare, in the company of Nadif Chowdhury (26), with whom he put on 73 unbroken runs for the fifth wicket.Mehedi Maruf’s 127 headlined Prime Bank Cricket Club’s five-wicket win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at the BKSP-4 ground in Savar, as he made short work of a 243-run chase.Maruf set the tone for Prime Bank’s innings, with an array of confident strokes, negating the impact of the early breakthrough that Dhanmondi Club had garnered through opener Shanaj Ahmed’s dismissal off Rubaiyat Haque in the fourth over. Maruf, whose marathon knock lasted nearly 47 overs, anchored the chase with three crucial partnerships, including a 44-run third-wicket stand with Rafatullah Mohmand (24) and another worth 64 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Asif Ahmed (26). The most significant, however, was his 115-run second-wicket partnership with Zakir Hasan, who fell one short of a half-century in the 24th over.Maruf clobbered ten fours and four sixes en route to his 143-ball knock, before he holed out to Tanbir Hayder off Sohag Gazi. Ariful Haque and Arifur Rahman then closed out the chase for Prime Bank with two overs to spare. Five out of the seven bowlers Dhanmondi Club used finished with one wicket apiece.Earlier, Prime Bank’s Al-Amin Hossain and Taibur Rahman forged a potent partnership with the ball to restrict Dhanmondi Club to 242 for 7 in 50 overs. The duo scalped five out of the opposition’s top six, after offspinner Nahidul Islam made the first strike in the sixth over of Dhanmondi Club’s innings. Having lost half their side inside 21 overs, with 100 runs on the board, Tanbir Hayder (58) resuscitated the innings with captain Elias Sunny (57) by means of a 104-run partnership for the fifth wicket. No. 8 batsman Mehedi Hasan Rana chipped in with a 21-ball 20 to help Dhanmondi Club near the 250-run mark.

Charge sheet to be filed against Dalmiya

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Dalmiya: “I have not received any copy of the alleged charge sheet” © AFP
 

The Economic and Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has found that former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore during the 1996 World Cup that was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The chargesheet will be filed in a Mumbai sessions court on March 26.”Till now, we have ascertained that there was cheating of over Rs 2,90,00,000 and we will be filing a chargesheet against Dalmiya and two others on Wednesday,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria told reporters.After investigations, the EOW accused Dalmiya of diverting funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses.Dalmiya however dismissed the development as another ploy by the BCCI to unsettle him ahead of the upcoming Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) elections, which he is contesting.”It’s an offshoot of the old game plan of my adversaries,” Dalmiya said. “Whenever something happens in cricket politics, they resort to such actions to settle scores with me. But, again, I don’t want to comment on speculative matters,” he told reporters in Kolkata.”I have not received any copy of the alleged chargesheet . However I’ll revert to [the] media if a charge sheet is filed and a copy of it is served to me”.The annual CAB elections will be held in the last week of July and the Dalmiya camp is threatening to come back into the reckoning against Prasun Mukherjee, the current CAB president and BCCI point man.The Kolkata High Court had stayed the order and allowed the Dalmiya to contest the elections of both CAB and the BCCI following FIR filed by the BCCI for misappropriation of funds, forgery and cheating in March 2006. Dalmiya had responded by filing a case of perjury against the Board officials.

New Zealand push for win on rain-hit day

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKusal Mendis showed a lot of grit, but not in the minutes before the rain arrived•Getty Images

For the second time in the Test, Sri Lanka’s inexperienced batting line-up offered more resistance than expected, but New Zealand’s persistent fast bowlers supported by the safe gloves of BJ Watling ensured the home side made strides towards victory despite a bad-weather day in Dunedin. Rain and hail halted play three times at University Oval, and at stumps Sri Lanka had seven wickets left and 296 runs to get, with a better forecast for the final day.Brendon McCullum had given his attack 405 to defend and a little more than five sessions to dismiss Sri Lanka by declaring New Zealand’s second innings on 267 for 3 half an hour before lunch on the fourth day. The highlights of their quick run accumulation – 96 in 17.4 overs- was Tom Latham’s third Test hundred and McCullum’s record-equalling 100th six.New Zealand’s bowlers had to toil harder for wickets than their batsmen had done for runs. Play was halted either side of lunch soon after Sri Lanka began their chase but the openers’ approach was not affected. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis batted with more confidence than they had done at the start of the first innings.Their partnership could have ended on 28, though, but Martin Guptill dropped a straightforward chance off Mendis at first slip, leaving the bowler Doug Bracewell in anguish. In Bracewell’s last over, Mendis had played a perfect straight drive and then was beaten on an expansive cover drive. Having been dropped on 13, Mendis had another reprieve on 25, when Watling could not catch a tough chance down the leg side off a gloved sweep against Mitchell Santner. Mendis collected two fours off the left-arm spinner, punishing long-hops to the leg-side boundary.Like in his first innings, Karunaratne was dismissed against the run of play, when he tried to upper-cut Southee but edged to Watling. McCullum had held Neil Wagner back until the 29th over, and the left-arm quick broke through in his third. Udara Jayasundera ended a poor debut by fending a short ball off his ribs to Watling. Sri Lanka had gone from 54 for 0 to 64 for 2.Dinesh Chandimal took his chances against Wagner after tea, slashing and driving outside the off stump. He middle some balls, was beaten on others, and edged a couple over the cordon. Wagner countered by targeting the body with a short-pitched attack from around the wicket, forcing defence from Chandimal.Mendis took fewer risks, his attacking drives through cover and past Bracewell involving straight bats, as he approached his maiden half-century. He did not get there, though. Three balls after surviving a run-out chance, Mendis pushed at an outswinger from Southee that pitched on a perfect length and moved just enough to draw the edge. Watling took his ninth catch, and moved within two of the record for most dismissals in a Test. It began to rain and hail immediately after the wicket, bringing an early end to the day.Play had begun under sunny skies on the fourth day, with New Zealand ahead by 308 and two batsmen approaching milestones. Kane Williamson got to his half-century off the second ball of the day, dabbing to square leg and sprinting the second, an indication of the urgency with which New Zealand would bat against little pressure from Sri Lanka.Latham was playing at balls wide outside off, looking to score swiftly, and on 73 he edged Nunwan Pradeep between the wicketkeeper and first slip. It was Chandimal’s catch but he did not move. Latham drove frequently through cover but a lot of his shots found fielders. Then he found the gap at extra cover off Suranga Lakmal to move into the 90s and pulled Pradeep to the long-leg boundary.Williamson fell before Latham got to his hundred. He had lofted Pradeep to the midwicket boundary, and charged and hit Jayasundera in the same direction, but when he attempted the shot off Dushmantha Chameera, the ball nipped in, hit his pad and bowled him. Williamson’s partnership of 141 with Latham had come at 4.36 an over.Ross Taylor glanced his second ball, from Chameera, for four and hit two more boundaries in his next eight deliveries as New Zealand sped ahead. Latham drove Rangana Herath through midwicket and celebrated a Test hundred for the first time since November 2014, ending a run of seven double-figure scores without making more than 50.After Taylor was bowled, aiming to hit Herath to deep midwicket, McCullum charged at his first ball and smashed it over the straight boundary. Five balls later, he swiped Herath over deep midwicket to equal Adam Gilchrist’s record for most sixes in Test cricket, but decided he did not have to break it in this innings and declared.

Mission control for contrasting teams

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Match facts

Monday, April 28, 2008
Start time 20:00 local, 14:30 GMT

Final hurrah? Matthew Hayden will play his final game of a successful IPL stint for the Chennai Super Kings © Getty Images
 

The Big Picture

Overwhelmed by Rajasthan Royals over the weekend, the Bangalore Royal Challengers host the Chennai Super Kings at home in a match perhaps most significant for a shifting of guard. For Chennai, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey leave on May 1 while Jacob Oram catches a flight on April 30, which means it will be the last the fans see of the trio. Both Hayden and Hussey have scored valuable runs and Oram was Man of the Match against Kolkata. Table-toppers Chennai will surely miss them and it’s hard not to imagine them wanting to sign off in style. Bangalore have struggled to defend and chase totals at home, and their team composition needs serious addressing. Their best bets would be to bring in Misbah-ul-Haq and Dale Steyn, arguably their best players. While Chennai prepare to lose three stars, Bangalore need to embrace two.

Watch out for …

… final hurrahs from the aforementioned Chennai stars. The short boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will entice Hayden, and Hussey has been a bit quiet since his manic hundred against Mohali; if Oram gets promoted in his last game, well then …; and don’t forget Misbah and Steyn, if they play.

Team news

Misbah didn’t feature on Saturday – surprisingly – but he should slot in this time for Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The longer Bangalore keep him on the bench, the harder they’ll find it to win games. He’s a bona fide Twenty20 star and Bangalore seriously need some power in the batting. Ross Taylor departs on May 1, and given his hard-hitting capabilities, he should get as much playing time as possible, perhaps even open the innings. Steyn’s pace and his ability to swing the ball gives the side plenty of firepower with the ball. He reportedly touched the 150kph mark in the Standard Bank Pro20 final and should play given his form. It may sound harsh, but dropping Jacques Kallis for him seems the best option. Kallis has failed to click in three games; his bowling especially has been pedestrian. Bangalore have persisted with 37-year-old Sunil Joshi but three games and no wickets isn’t encouraging. Charu Sharma, the team’s chief executive, had to field some questions on the logic of fielding Joshi and Kumble after the latest loss, so a change isn’t entirely improbable. There are plenty of local players to pick from.Bangalore (probable) 1 Ross Taylor, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Praveen Kumar, 8 B Akhil, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Anil Kumble, 11 R Vinay Kumar.Chennai are unlikely to change their final XI after a convincing win over Kolkata Knight Riders. The South African duo of Albie Morkel and Makhaya Ntini has joined the squad but both will have to wait for Hussey and Hayden to go before slotting in. The two young pace bowlers, Manpreet Gony and Palani Amarnath, have improved with each game.Chennai: (probable) 1 Parthiv Patel, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Michael Hussey, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 S Badrinath, 8 Joginder Sharma, 9 Palani Amarnath, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

  • S Badrinath has batted just twice, but he has the second-highest strike-rate of the IPL: 220.00.
  • Bangalore’s B Akhil has the lowest bowling average; his two wickets cost just 8.50 runs each.
  • Amarnath’s 1 for 57 against Mumbai was the most expensive spell of the tournament.
  • Chennai’s Joginder Sharma (4) and Badrinath (3) top the list for the most number of catches so far.

    Quotes

    “In the last two games, I bowled too short or too wide. This time I bowled a better line and length. Yet, I am not completely happy with my bowling. But I am getting there.”
    Oram, who netted a match-winning 3 for 32 against Kolkata, prepares to sign off.

    • VRV five-for puts North in control

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    Scorecard

    VRV Singh snared five of East Zone’s top six batsmen to put North Zone in control © AFP
     

    VRV Singh’s five-wicket burst put North Zone in control on the second day of their match against East Zone in Rajkot. East were skittled out for 143, to give North a massive 213-run first-innings lead and put them on the brink of a place in the final.Resuming at 260 for 7, North’s lower-order continued their spirited showing to take their side to 360. Chetanya Nanda did the bulk of the scoring, carting nine boundaries in his 59-ball 58. After Shib Paul dismissed overnight batsman Uday Kaul (48) to grab his 15th first-class five-wicket haul, Vikramjeet Malik (13) and VRV (20*) chipped in with aggressive cameos.East’s reply started off belligerently and despite the early loss of Arindam Majumdar and Anustup Majumdar, the run-rate continued to hover around the six an over mark. VRV, who had inflicted the first two blows, removed the experienced Shiv Sunder Das (23), and Manish Vardhan off successive deliveries to reduce East to 69 for 4.VRV, who was part of the Indian squad to the Australia tour, was still not done though, removing wicketkeeper Halhadar Das four overs later to leave East in serious trouble at 93 for 5. Wriddhiman Saha was the only batsman to stand firm against the onslaught, remaining unbeaten on 56. The next highest contributor was extras with 25, including 17 no-balls.With East’s prospects of making the finals looking bleak, North piled on the agony in their second innings with Aakash Chopra’s unbeaten 56 taking them through to 109 for 2 at stumps, an overall lead of 326.

    Zia five-for lifts National Bank into final

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    ScorecardKamran Akmal struck seven fours and two sixes in his 79-ball 63•Getty Images

    A five-wicket haul from Zia-ul-Haq led National Bank of Pakistan into the final of the National One-Day Cup with a six-wicket win over United Bank Limited at the Gaddafi Stadium. Having sent them in to bat, National Bank quickly had United Bank in trouble at 10 for 2, with both openers departing in the space of three balls. There wasn’t much of a recovery after that, with only Younis Khan (41, 65b, 5×4) and Hammad Azam (59, 83b, 5×4) getting past 25, their 42-run stand for the fifth wicket the best of the innings. Zia, the left-arm quick, finished with figures of 5 for 33 in 7.5 overs as United Bank were bowled out for 185, with seven balls still remaining.National Bank slipped to 10 for 2 themselves, losing opener Hamza Paracha and No. 3 Nasir Jamshed in successive overs, but Kamran Akmal, walking in at No. 4, steadied their chase. First, he added 37 with Ahsan Ali (23) and then put on 73 with Akbar-ur-Rehman for the fourth wicket. Akmal fell for a 79-ball 63 (7×4, 2×6) with 69 runs still required, but Akbar steered National Bank home in the company of Umar Waheed (27), remaining unbeaten on 70 (84b, 10×4).