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ScorecardOne could be dismissive about cricket as a great leveler being a cliché , yet it came back to haunt the Bengal dressing room today. A resurgent Karnataka outfit put the first day’s humiliation behind them to move into a dominant position at the end of third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite division semi-final clash played at the Eden Gardens.Venkatesh Prasad’s boys knuckled down to post a reassuring 168-run lead with half the batting left. The visitors ended the day on 317 for 5, powered by impressive efforts from in-form allrounder Chandrashekar Raghu (78*) and the openers Bharat Chipli (95) and Barrington Rowland (52). Giving Raghu company at stumps was skipper Yere Goud (14*).If yesterday was all about clawing back into the match, today’s matured performance from the Karnataka batsmen put them in command with two full days to go. On paper, it may appear that the below-200 lead isn’t all that threatening for the home team. More so, considering that the Eden wicket is slowing down considerably as progressively rising totals of 89, 238 and 317 for 5 reveal.Today, much depended on the first hour’s play, and that’s where Karnataka pipped their opponents. Openers Chipli and Rowland played superbly, seeing off the first hour and a half, even as first innings heroes Ranadeb Bose and Sourav Sarkar varied their line and length far too much to be able to put any pressure on the batsmen.After Chipli and Rowland posted a telling 151-run first wicket stand, 25-year-old Raghu took charge of the proceedings for the larger part of the day, teaming up with newcomer KB Pawan (43) to take the total to 271 for 3. On a pitch that was increasingly becoming batsman-friendly, Bengal adopted the unspectacular leg-side line. It did work out well in the sense that the second session saw Karnataka manage no more than just 67 runs for the loss of Pawan’s wicket — the youngster played into Rohan Gavaskar’s hands, flicking a low full toss down the leg-side to a diving Laxmi Ratan Shukla at mid-wicket. “It wasn’t a negative tactics, really. The idea was to stop the run-flow since getting wickets through our pacers was getting difficult, and it worked. The second session is when batting sides score the most runs at Eden. And we succeeded to keep a check on the runs,” Deep Dasgupta, the Bengal captain, explained.Venkatesh Prasad, obviously, thought differently. “Bengal’s negative line was very depressing. What will the players learn if teams try such policies? I personally had a chat with the umpires, but again, I am not complaining. It’s over and got over it,” he said.But it was Raghu who won the battle within the war, patiently playing out the long, nagging phase unflinchingly, as Gavaskar and leg-spinner Manoj Tewari persisted with the negative line. “If we give them a 250-plus target, it will be interesting to see them chase,” Raghu, who hung around for 294 minutes, said.For Bengal, the much-awaited relief came when they took the new ball after tea. Bose and Sarkar struck right away, removing the dangerous Thilak Naidu (17) and Balachandra Akhil (0). But Raghu carried on running the show, safely seeing off the last session with skipper Goud. With the experienced Goud middling the ball well during his painstaking 96-minute stay, and young Raghu promising to do an encore tomorrow morning as well, Karnataka could well be heading for what Raghu called the magic 250-plus mark.Dasgupta put on a brave face saying, “we still have the edge, we are still dictating terms. 317 for 5 looks big, but look at the lead, it’s still within reach. At this point, we are on top, having allowed Karnataka to come back into the match a little”. He, however, reckoned that things could get out of hand if his much talked about pace department fails to turn things around in the first hour’s play tomorrow. Prasad would only be too happy to concur. “It’s just the kind of comeback that we wanted after the first day’s play. We knew it’s a five-day game and we have clearly put the 89 all out behind us. The target now is to bat as long as possible, particularly in the morning session” he said.

ScorecardCharlie Shreck and Steve Kirby shared seven wickets as England Lions completed a 30-run victory against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI in a warm-up match. The pair, neither of whom were in the original touring party, ensured the MCA XI fell short of their 261-run target and allowed the Lions to head into their opening Duleep Trophy match in good spirits.The Lions began on 86 for 7 and extended their second innings to 114 before Jonathan Trott was last man out for 34 to hand Dhaval Kulkarni a five-wicket haul. Mumbai were soon in trouble as Liam Plunkett claimed his first wicket of the match and Shreck struck twice with the new ball to leave them tottering on 48 for 3.Hiken Shah (23) and Aditya Tare (39) began to repair the damage with a fourth-wicket stand of 55 before Kirby snared both in the space of five overs. Shreck worked away at the middle order and Adil Rashid, given his first bowl of the match ahead of Monty Panesar who sat out the second innings, collected Kulkarni as the Lions closed in.However, they were made to wait by a feisty last-wicket stand of 42 between 19-year-old Omkar Gurav and Usman Malvi. They chipped away at the target, but just as it was coming into view Kirby returned to remove Gurav for a battling 46.England now travel to Vadodara ahead of their opening Duleep Trophy match, against Central Zone, starting on February 3.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, got a further reprieve after the Mumbai Metropolitan court adjourned the hearing for the case filed against him by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police for alleged embezzlement of funds from the 1996 World Cup jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The court set June 16 as the next date of hearing after Dalimya’s lawyers asked for more time to study the case.Last month the court had granted Dalmiya bail after the EOW had filed a chargesheet accusing him of misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore (approx US$725,000). It alleged that Dalmiya diverted funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses. There was a “technical arrest” but Dalmiya received a swift bail after he said he would produce surety of Rs 25,000 ($625).Dalmiya was absent from the hearing on Friday but his lawyer Satish Maneshinde said his client had been granted exemption from personal apperance. “The surety bonds were furnished in front of the court and since he [Dalimiya] had to attend to some [religious ceremonies], we requested the court that there was no impediment in granting him exemption.”

Centuries from Nakul Verma and Soumya Ranjan Swain went in vain as Punjab won by three wickets in a thriller to secure their quarter-final berth. Services posted an imposing 323 for 7 courtesy a 186-run stand for the fifth wicket between Verma and Swain. But the knocks were consigned to being second-best on the day as Punjab rode Yuvraj Singh’s 83-ball 98 to chase down the steep target with six balls to spare.Jiwanjot Singh (41) and Pargat Singh (49) added 82 in just 10.1 overs to set up the chase that was then driven around Yuvraj’s knock, with Mandeep Singh (45) and Mayank Siddana (46) chipping in with vital contributions. The winning runs were hit by Harbhajan Singh, who finished 16 not out courtesy two fours and a six.Tamil Nadu bossed their way to a fifth win in six matches courtesy centuries from Dinesh Karthik and B Aparajith and a six-wicket haul from Rahil Shah. Rajasthan, who were chasing 385, were bundled out for 132 in 26.2 overs.Rajasthan’s decision to field backfired as Karthik (108) and Aparajith (137) added 199 for the second wicket to set the platform for a final onslaught. M Vijay, batting at No. 5, provided the final flourish by smashing six fours and three sixes in his 44-ball 74 as TN smashed 161 off the last 15 overs.Rajasthan lost the top three inside the third over, and from there on, it was simply a procession as Shah, the left-arm spinner, finished with 6 for 37, his best List A figures. Rajat Bhatia, who made 94 in Rajasthan’s thrilling win over Mumbai on Thursday, was the lone ranger with the bat. He was unbeaten on 29 when the last wicket fell. Rajasthan finished sixth in the group with three wins and as many losses.Mumbai cruised to a seven-wicket win over Hyderabad, but Punjab’s win meant they were eliminated from the knockouts despite winning four out of their six matches. Hyderabad’s 217 for 8, achieved largely on the back of Hanuma Vihari’s 95, was chased down quite easily in 44.2 overs, with Akhil Herwadkar (85) and Shreyas Iyer (84) hitting the high notes. Their 134-run stand flattened Hyderabad, even before Ajinkya Rahane made a sprightly unbeaten 31 to take Mumbai home by seven wickets.

The England selectors sprung a major surprise as they unveiled their squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand. Though Andrew Strauss has been recalled to the Test squad as anticipated, the shock omission is that of the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has paid the price for one dropped catch too many in the Sri Lanka series.The uncapped Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose wins a place in both squads at the expense of Prior, while Kent’s offspinner James Tredwell has also been called up to the one-day squad for the first time. Strauss, who was dropped in October for the first time in his 43-Test career, will join up with the tour party in New Zealand after playing for Northern Knights in the State Shield and Twenty20 competitions.”Tim Ambrose fully deserves an opportunity at this level following impressive performances for the England Performance Squad in India before Christmas and for Warwickshire last season,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said. “Matt Prior performed well with the bat in Sri Lanka and it has been a difficult decision to leave him out of this tour. But the selectors feel that he needs to further improve his wicket-keeping in order to realise his full potential in international cricket.”Andrew Strauss needed a break from international cricket in our view and he will now be keen to re-establish himself in the Test side. His experience will be of benefit to the squad as a whole and his inclusion will also provide us with alternative options if required at the top of the batting order.”James Tredwell has performed well for Kent in the domestic one-day game and continued to impress in India with the Performance Squad. This is an excellent opportunity for him to show that he can step up to the next level.”Meanwhile, the Sussex batsman Michael Yardy has been named as captain of a 13-man England Lions squad which will compete in the Duleep Trophy in India later this month. Monty Panesar will tour India with the Lions prior to joining up with England’s Test squad in New Zealand.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.

Kerala ended the second day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy matchagainst Karnataka, trailing by 68 runs with seven wickets in hand inthe first innings at the Nehru stadium in Kochi on Thursday. Replyingto Karnataka’s first innings total of 236, Kerala were 168 for three.Resuming at 231 for seven, Karnataka were dismissed for the additionof only five runs. Medium pacer Tinu Yohannan bagged three wickets for61 whereas Sunil Oasis and Suresh Kumar picked up two each.Kerala scored at about two runs an over in making a confident replybefore play was called off an hour early due to bad light. PrashanthMenon was the top scorer with a steady 63. He faced 123 balls and hitseven fours and a six. Dodda Ganesh picked up two of the threewickets. Sunil Oasis (30), having been dropped twice, had Ajay Kudua(17) batting at the crease when play was halted.

Ricky Ponting is hoping for a quick wicket in Wednesday’s semi-final because he believes Jacques Kallis will score more slowly than the openers. While admitting Kallis is one of the world’s best batsmen, Ponting wrote in his column in The Australian they have plans to restrict him in St Lucia.Kallis was criticised after scoring 48 from 63 balls in the group-stage loss to Australia in St Kitts after Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers swept South Africa to 160 in 21 overs. “We feel [the openers] are the key to their chances,” Ponting said. “But if we can get Kallis in there early, I don’t think they can get off to the same sort of start.”He is a very good player and has a great overall record, averaging 45.68 in one-day cricket, but against us it’s not so great. I feel we have also had the better of him in Tests. If we get our plans right to him, we can restrict him. We all know that if we bowl a certain way and put him under pressure, we can keep him reasonably quiet.”Ponting has noticed Kallis, who has 480 runs at 96 in the tournament, has been playing more shots since the Australia game, “which may have been the result of a rev-up from their coaching staff”. “Those runs, though, have come against bowling attacks that haven’t had the pace of a Shaun Tait reverse-swinging the ball,” he said. “The new ball is going to be key in this game.”Ponting also said Matthew Hayden might try a “repeat act” on Shaun Pollock, who went for 83 runs in ten overs in the previous encounter. “If we can take down the opposition’s experienced players, especially in their bowling line-up, like Matty took to Pollock, then that puts extra pressure on other guys around them,” he said.South Africa are deciding how they will use Pollock after he went for the worst figures of his career. “We have a plan with [Pollock],” the coach Mickey Arthur said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I suspect he will take the new ball, but if there’s nothing happening, we will probably whip him off early and go for the pace of [Andre] Nel. It’s something we learnt from the last game.”Arthur hinted that Makhaya Ntini could sit out, owing to his ordinary form, with South Africa going in with an unchanged bowling line-up. “With Makhaya one knows what you are going to get because he bowls inswingers,” Arthur was quoted in Supercricket. “Therefore, there is no surprise element for the batsman. We have André Nel and his aggression, Shaun Pollock’s ability to limit the scoring and our two top wicket-takers, Charl [Langeveldt] and Andrew Hall.”Arthur said South Africa were “owed a bit of luck” after their previous near-misses in the World Cup, including the tied semi-final in 1999. He said there had been no discussion in the dressing room about the match, which included the key men Kallis, Pollock, Herschelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher.”When you get to the back end of these tournaments, you need your top players to have big games,” Arthur said. “The teams are going to be quite close so it’s going to be a bit of stability and a match-winning performance from one of them that could be the difference.”

Dav Whatmore, the former Bangladesh coach, is set to become the first director of operations of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.”I’ve agreed, but the announcement should come from the board … I don’t wish to break protocol,” Whatmore was quoted as saying by the , a Kolkata-based daily. “The contract is for three years and I’ll be in Bangalore by the end of this month.” Whatmore had been made the offer by Ravi Shastri, the NCA chairman.Looking ahead to the job at hand, Whatmore indicated that there were several plans for the NCA. “I’m excited and Ravi wants it to become a real finishing school. In fact, I’d like players from overseas too to graduate from there.”The specifics have to be worked out, but I expect the NCA to be operational for 8-10 months [in a year]. Eventually, one would like Indian coaches to impart all the training but, if needed, one may call specialists from overseas. However, one doesn’t have to cross that bridge right now.”Whatmore had been one of the leading contenders to replace Greg Chappell as India coach, but he wasn’t even called for the interview by a panel which included Shastri. Whatmore, though, said that didn’t affect his decision to take up the NCA offer.”I’d rather talk of the NCA,” he said. “It didn’t take me long to realise there’s value in being associated with it. Plus, I can give something. I know Ravi’s on the coach-appointing committee, but I didn’t bring up what happened in June. I’ve known Ravi for a number of years. We understand each other well and I’m looking forward to a formal association with him.”

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South Africa secured their place in the 2009 Women’s World Cup after overpowering Ireland by seven wickets. South Africa have been a cut above the other teams seen in the tournament and proved too powerful as they knocked off the target with more than 22 overs to spare.”We’re really relieved and very happy to have pulled it off,” captain Cri-Zelda Brits said. “The team haven’t let me down since I’ve taken over the captaincy and we’ve stuck at it and come to the party at this event with the bowling.”The victory was set-up by another impressive bowling performance. Ireland suffered an early setback when Isobel Joyce was caught behind for 0 and the innings never got off the ground. Sunette Loubser produced another miserly spell of offspin and claimed two middle-order scalps while sharp fielding engineered three run outs.Cecelia Joyce fought hard and carried her bat with a determined 43, however the fact it took 143 deliveries show how difficult it was for the Irish.Isobel Joyce caused a few early alarms in South Africa’s chase with two wickets but there wasn’t enough firepower to seriously trouble the home side. Olivia Anderson anchored the innings and the job was finished off in rapid fashion by Annelie Minnie’s breezy 27.Ireland captain Heather Whelan said: “I think everybody is absolutely gutted. We trained so hard for so long for this in order to try to go to the World Cup in Australia but it’s not going to be.”We’re not going to the World Cup but we will battle on and we’ll be here again in four years looking for a place in the World Cup and we expect to make it next time.”
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A superb performance from Pakistan’s bowlers, dismissing Netherlands for just 68, handed their team a fine 94-run win and entry into the 2009 World Cup.Pakistan’s meagre total of 162 was set up by their openers, Tasqeen Qadeer and Bismah Maroof, who put on 79 for the opening wicket. But Netherlands’ bowlers hit back, prompting a collapse in which Pakistan lost 9 for 83 in 25 overs. Bismah Maroof top-scored with 45 from 77 balls but, after her and Tasqueen (27), only Sana Javed reached double figures as the lower-order capitulated to Lotte Egging’s medium-pacers.A target of 163, however, proved more than enough. Violet Wattenberg fell to the second ball of Netherlands’ chase, edging Asmavia Iqbal straight to slip, while Helmien Rambaldo was bowled by Qanita Jalil to leave them on 0 for 2. Annemarie Tanke cracked five fours in her brave 41 from 70 balls and Caroline de Fouw remained unbeaten on a defiant 11 (from 44 balls), but there was little else from Netherlands’ lower order who were skittled for 68 in the 32nd over.”It’s an absolutely awesome feeling. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels,” said Urooj Mumtaz, the Pakistan captain. “That was the task we came here to do and I think we pulled off a great win. We are very excited to be going to the World Cup.”Every single girl did their job on and off the field. In fielding, batting and bowling, everybody did their task – it was an absolutely brilliant performance.”Pakistan meet South Africa – who beat Ireland in the other semi-final today – for the tournament’s final on Sunday.5th place play-off semi-finals
In the battle for the remaining places, Scotland overcame Papua New Guinea by four wickets to move into the play-off final and Zimbabwe outclassed Bermuda, who have been embarrassingly out of their depth throughout the tournament, by 125 runs.

Simon Katich ended a week in which he returned to the Australia squad by picking up the Steve Waugh Medal as New South Wales’ outstanding player. Katich’s dream season included a record 1506 runs at 94.13 and the Pura Cup trophy before his promotion to the Test outfit for next month’s West Indies tour.He dominated the judging for the medal, which included Pura and FR Cup matches, picking up 269 votes and easily beating Brad Haddin’s 129 at the ceremony in Sydney on Friday night. Katich also received back-to-back Pura Cup Player of the Year awards after posting five centuries, including a career-high 306 against Queensland. Doug Bollinger, the left-arm fast bowler, earned 111 nominations to finish 80 behind his captain.Haddin, who will join Katich in the West Indies, was the limited-overs star and was recognised for his FR Cup form after winning one more vote than Dominic Thornely’s 87. International commitments meant Haddin appeared in only six games, but his 314 runs and seven dismissals swayed the judges and ensured he matched last season’s victory.The Belinda Clark Medal was won for the third year in a row by Lisa Sthalekar, the Australia vice-captain. Sthalekar, a batting allrounder, collected 312 runs and 12 wickets as she steered the New South Wales Breakers to their third consecutive WNCL title. The campaign was a successful one for Sthalekar, who had already been named the WNCL Player of the Year and the Australian Women’s International Player of the Year.”Simon and Lisa have both had fantastic seasons in leading their respective sides to victory,” David Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive, said. “Simon’s performances were phenomenal and winning the Steve Waugh Medal is a just reward for his outstanding, record-breaking summer. Lisa has also had an impressive summer and her form was a major factor in the Breakers winning the WNCL for an incredible 10th time in 12 seasons.”The Rising Star Awards went to Phillip Hughes, who at 19 became the youngest to score a century in a domestic final, and the 17-year-old Ellyse Perry, Australia’s record-setting Test debutant. Richie Benaud, Alan Davidson, Bob Simpson and Steve Waugh received medals and entry into the state’s Hall of Fame, which welcomed the 12 members of New South Wales’ team of the past 150 years.