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Bangladesh’s pace bowlers have had their moments even in the recent past, but very few times in this team’s history have they been as effective as a collective as they were against England

Mohammad Isam10-Mar-2015Bangladesh’s pace bowlers have had their moments even in the recent past, but very few times in this team’s history have they been as effective as a collective as they were against England in Adelaide. They took all the wickets that went to the bowlers, and it was evident that captain Mashrafe Mortaza placed a lot of faith in them.Two examples from Monday evening demonstrate what Mashrafe saw in Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed that the rest of the world missed. First was when he finished Shakib Al Hasan’s quota in the 47th over. Though he ended wicketless, Shakib had conceded just one boundary. Not many Bangladesh captains would take such a risk, but Mashrafe simply asked his two pace bowlers to defend 31 runs in the last three overs or take the remaining two wickets.When Rubel did take the first of those wickets, in the 49th over, he put a slip in as James Anderson took guard. Again, past Bangladesh captains have focused more on protecting boundaries in these situations but Mashrafe believed that Rubel would keep angling towards the left-handed Anderson’s off-stump, either hit the stumps or take the edge. Or he may have thought that a thin edge would slip past the wicketkeeper so a slip could even act as a stopper.Mashrafe has shown a lot of confidence in this particular bowling attack, even on bad days against Sri Lanka and Scotland. Bangladesh conceded 300-plus totals in both games, with the three-man pace attack taking only five wickets between them and giving away runs at 6.79 and 7.13 per over respectively. If Rubel had been dropped after giving away 60 runs from his eight overs against Scotland, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise.But that is not how Mashrafe thinks of the pace bowlers. He saw great body language from Rubel during the course of the England innings, and kept asking him to bring his side breakthroughs.Mashrafe passionately defended them, saying that it was time pace bowling is taken seriously across all circles in Bangladesh cricket. They need more respect and care and better pitches back home, he said.”I’m sorry to say but people have been talking rubbish about our pace bowling,” Mashrafe said. “We know what we are. We know how capable we are. I hope people will surely start giving some respect. I’m really happy with our quicks, that they have shown the world how good they are. Hopefully this will bring their confidence up, and they will show again and again in this sort of tournament.”Everyone expects us to be a team dependent on spin bowling. I think it is high time we get out of that mentality. If we want to take our cricket forward, we need to focus on pace bowling. Spin obviously works in certain countries, so it will be hard to shift to pace completely. But I think the pace bowlers need better care, and provide wickets where they feel some comfort. I would hope these bowlers continue to bowl in the same way back home – Rubel Hossain did so against New Zealand and Taskin Ahmed against India.”Mashrafe himself bowled superbly in this game, as he did against Afghanistan with the early breakthroughs. He would have given Bangladesh an early strike against Sri Lanka had it not been for Anamul Haque dropping Lahiru Thirimanne in the first over. Against England, Mashrafe bounced back after conceding three fours in his fourth over. He returned in the 20th over to get Alex Hales caught behind.At the start of his three-over spell in the batting Powerplay, he removed the dangerous Joe Root and with him went England’s chances. Two for 48 from ten overs was as good a spell he has ever bowled for Bangladesh.He also praised Rubel, who took four England wickets, for bouncing back from a personal problem that landed him in jail less than two weeks before the team departed for the World Cup.Rubel has been woeful in Tests and T20s for a number of years but has often used his skills better in ODIs. Less than two years ago, he took a hat-trick in a six-wicket haul against New Zealand. He has been expensive at this tournament but against England he generated enough seam movement and late swing to take the four wickets.”He has been fantastic the last one-and-a-half years,” Mashrafe said. “It’s nice to see his bowling from mid-on or mid-off. He’s swinging the ball, he’s bowling fast, and I’m really happy that he takes all the pressure on his shoulders and delivered from the start.”I should mention that he was been under tremendous pressure before coming to this World Cup. He put the pressure outside and showed his performance, and the whole world has seen how good he is. Hopefully he will continue.”Rubel and Taskin can be considered lucky to be playing under Mashrafe. He has often taken up the cause of the pace bowlers with authority, asked for better treatment and care. It is about time that Mashrafe is reaping the rewards of his conviction.

GOAL selects the greatest players produced at one of the world's most famous talent factories

Ajax's youth system is considered one of the greatest in world football and they have been producing world-class players for quite some time. 

The renowned academy was formed on March 18, 1900 – the same day as the club was established in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Ajax’s ability to develop and nurture top young talent has been their biggest strength over the past 60 years, resulting in not only domestic success but European glory too. 

Indeed, some of the biggest names in football history have graduated from the Ajax academy, as GOAL outlines below…

GettyJohan Cruyff

Arguably the most influential figure in football history, John Cruyff made his professional debut for Ajax in 1964.

The naturally gifted winger with an unrivalled understanding of the game played for the Dutch club for 11 years in total, over two stints (1964-1973 and 1981-1983), winning eight Eredivisie titles and three European Cups.

The iconic winger is the club’s all-time highest goalscorer, scoring 194 times in 287 matches.

Cruyff also played for Barcelona, Feyenoord, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats and Levante. His subsequent work as a coach at Camp Nou had a major impact on a number of future coaches, including Pep Guardiola.

AdvertisementGettyRuud Krol

The full-back, who could also play as a sweeper or defensive midfielder, made his professional debut for Ajax in 1968 and spent 12 seasons at the club.

During his time in Amsterdam, Krol won six Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, four KNVB Cups and two UEFA Super Cups.

Krol also lined out for Vancouver Whitecaps, Napoli and Cannes before retiring in 1986.

PROSHOTSPiet Keizer

A one-club man, Piet Keizer began his professional career with Ajax in 1961 after coming through their academy and played in Amsterdam until his retirement in 1974.

In the 13 years of his professional career, the winger won 19 trophies, including six Eredivisie titles, five KNVB Cups and three European Cups.

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Getty ImagesMarco van Basten

Marco van Basten graduated from Ajax’s academy in 1981 after joining the club at the age of 16 and spent six seasons at the club before leaving for AC Milan, where he became a legend.

One of the most complete centre-forwards the game has ever seen, Van Basten's career was cruelly cut short by injury, playing his final game at just 28.

However, by that stage, he had already won a European Championship with Netherlands, as well as three Eredivisie titles, four Serie A titles and three European Cups at club level

The three-time Ballon d'Or winner also remains Ajax’s third-highest scorer of all time, with 152 goals in 172 matches.

USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter has suffered a serious blow as Burnley wonderkid Luca Koleosho has been ruled out for months with a serious knee injury.

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Koleosho got injured against Wolves Could be out until the end of the season Berhalter making efforts to commit him to the USMNT WHAT HAPPENED?

The 19-year-old winger went down to the ground in the first half during Burnley's 1-0 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux. Although Koleosho tried to run off his injury, he could not and Vincent Kompany revealed that his scan results were far from encouraging.

AdvertisementWHAT VINCENT KOMPANY SAID

Speaking to reporters after the match, Kompany said: "It’s bad news for us. He’s going to be out for a while apparently. I’d like to think he’ll still play this season, but it might be towards the end of the season. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that he’ll get back healthy and ready to go again.”

Kompany assured that the medical staff will not rush with Koleosho to prevent any long-term damage.

"I think now the key concern for us is to make sure he doesn’t sustain any long-term damage because he’s still young, we’ll do everything right by him,” he said. "Plus the fact that it’s a blow for a young player. I still think it’s for someone else now to step up and wear the shirt in a way that Luca has done. In these moments if you keep your head calm you can really get better, get stronger from these moments. I’ve no doubt he’ll come back stronger, but for us short-term wise, it’s an undeniable blow.”

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Koleosho remains a top target for USMNT and Berhalter has been making efforts to lure him to the United States. However, it remains a tough job as he is also eligible to play for Nigeria and Canada. He was born in the USA but was raised by a Nigerian father and an Italian-Canadian mother which makes him eligible to represent multiple nations.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR KOLEOSHO?

Koleosho's international football journey has been diverse. In August 2019, he made four appearances with the United States U15 side. However, when he received a call-up to join a training camp with the Canadian senior side in June 2022, he took the opportunity with both hands.

In early 2023, Koleosho became a part of the Italian U19 squad. He made a late appearance during a friendly match against Slovenia. Subsequently, he was included in the squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship. However, Koleosho is yet to make a senior debut for any of the countries he has been associated with, which makes Berhalter optimistic that he can convince the youngster to choose the Stars and Stripes.

West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard in their World Twenty20 defence after he was ruled out due to a knee injury

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2014West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard in their World Twenty20 defence after he was ruled out due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury. All 13 men named for the Twenty20s against Ireland this month were included in the World Twenty20 squad, along with the batsman Johnson Charles and fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell, while there was no room for Tino Best.Cottrell, 24, has played one Test against India in Kolkata last year but is yet to make his debut in either of the shorter formats for West Indies. A left-arm fast bowler from Jamaica, he played for the Antigua Hawksbills at the Caribbean Premier League last year and collected eight wickets at 21.75 and an economy rate of 6.44.Charles was also included after missing out on the Ireland games; he struggled on the recent limited-overs tour of New Zealand but has the potential to be a matchwinner at the top of the order. However, West Indies will be hurt by the absence of another clean striker, with Pollard still recovering from a knee injury he sustained last year.Pollard injured his knee while playing in a charity football match and he said last month that he was holding out some hope of being available for the World T20, but his recovery did not prove quick enough to allow him to be considered for selection. West Indies are the reigning World T20 champions after beating hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo in October 2012.West Indies squad Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.

At precisely one minute past three o’clock on Wednesday afternoon a game which had begun in the freshly-minted sunshine of Sunday morning was finally put to sleep.

Paul Edwards at Tunbridge Wells28-May-2014
ScorecardThe weather wasn’t quite as bad as in 2012 as shown but the Tunbridge Wells festival was again ruined by rain•Kent County Cricket ClubAt precisely one minute past three o’clock on Wednesday afternoon a game which had begun in the freshly-minted sunshine of Sunday morning was finally put to sleep.After waiting around five hours for some of the saturated areas on the Nevill Ground’s square and outfield to dry out, umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Steve O’Shaughnessy finally decided that conditions were not going to improve sufficiently to allow the cricketers to play professional sport safely.The match will be remembered primarily for Joe Leach’s maiden first-class five-wicket haul, Sam Northeast’s half-century but very little else. It is doubtful whether Wisden’s sub-editors will need to prune the submitted copy about this game when they prepare the 2015 Almanack.Perhaps a hundred spectators were not deterred by the heavy overnight rain and turned up on Wednesday morning, hoping to see two sides battle it out for first-innings bonus points. By mid-afternoon the pints of Pig and Porter and Gravesend Guzzler were slipping down very nicely in the CAMRA tent. “What a lovely place!” declared a man making his very first visit to Tunbridge Wells. “You could have a cricket ground here.” Well, yes, you could.For officials of the local club the last three days of this game have been familiar exercises in frustration management. They are almost used to Kent’s visits being spoiled by rain, and attention turns now to ensuring that next year’s festival takes place.But for the umpires this sort of game is, to quote Lloyds, “horrible”. The pair of them had inspected the pitch and square on many, many occasions since the rain arrived on Monday but the conditions beat them. It would be a brave man or, more likely, a foolish one, who would argue that they had not done their best to get the show on.”First and foremost, Steve and I made the decisions together,” Lloyds said, as he sat amid the clutter of the umpires’ room at the end of the match. “The groundstaff worked really hard to get all the surface water off the sheets and down the sides with the water-hogger and the hogger is a great invention if you just want to take off surface water.”But the trouble is that once you keep on rolling over the same area time and time again, it compacts it and seals it, and when you put your foot down, water still comes up and you can’t get any more out with the hogger. That, as far as we’re concerned, is deemed to be unsafe, because you can’t have fielders trying to stand up and move one way or the other and feeling they can’t move that quickly.”If someone has an injury, which they could do very easily, we’re the ones that people look at and ask whether it was ever safe to be playing in the first place. Obviously, player safety is paramount. It has to be fit.”On Wednesday morning the square and surrounds at the Railway End of the Nevill Ground had taken all the water they could hold. There was no fresh breeze or sun to help the drying process take place. Instead there was a slate-grey sky and the briefest suggestion of rain around lunchtime.Ironically, perhaps, a half-hour shower would have settled matters. As it turned out, Lloyds and O’Shaughnessy waited to see what might be possible. The answer was that nothing at all could be managed. Water was still coming up in important fielding areas like backward point, gully, mid-off and mid-on. Eventually, to coin the phrase, the umpires pulled the plug.Kent take seven points from the game, Worcestershire, eight. Rob Key’s men next take on Gloucestershire in a NatWest Blast t20 game at Canterbury on Friday evening, when Worcestershire entertain Northamptonshire at New Road. The county cricket caravan rolls on.

Raj Kundra, one of the co-owners of the Rajasthan Royals, has said that he will hand over his stake in the franchise to the Supreme Court or anyone it appoints till the allegations levelled against him are cleared

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Nov-2014Rajasthan Royals distances itself from Kundra

In a separate affidavit filed on behalf of Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited, Shantanu Chari, the managing director of Royals, dissociated the franchise from the dealings of Kundra. Calling Kundra as an “investor” in the franchise, Chari said Kundra owned a 11% stake in Royals through his “family concerns” and not his own. Chari said Kundra family’s shareholding was the least among the four stakeholders that owned the franchise.
“Mr Raj Kundra was not part of the management of Respondent No. 4 (Jaipur) directly or indirectly and has never participated in any management decisions inter alia regarding the bidding of players, strategy adopted by the franchise for the games or any other decision taken by Respondent No. 4 in relation to its day-to-day functioning,” the affidavit said.

Raj Kundra, one of the co-owners of Rajasthan Royals, has said that he will hand over his stake in the franchise to the Supreme Court of India or anyone it appoints till the allegations levelled against him by the Mudgal Committee are cleared. Saying that the Mudgal report had “flaws”, Kundra said in an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court on Friday that the investigation panel’s conclusions were “unclear and definitely adverse”.In February, when the Mudgal committee had published its initial findings, Kundra had “categorically answered in the negative” when asked about whether he had engaged in any betting activities during the 2013 IPL. In June the BCCI suspended Kundra from participating in any cricket-related activity pending the court investigations.On Friday, Kundra’s affidavit reiterated that “all aspersions cast on his actions in his personal capacity were completely false”.Reacting to the BCCI’s action, Kundra had said he would transfer “ownership” of his shareholding in Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited (the parent company of Royals), until such time that he was given a clean chit. “Applicant, being a man of his words, hereby agrees to transfer his ownership in the shares of Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited in the custody of this Hon’ble Court or to such person, as may be appointed by the Hon’ble Court,” the affidavit said.”He agrees that in such a scenario, he will receive back the shares, or any benefit thereof, only in case he is cleared of all of the present allegations. However, the Applicant clarifies that the above mentioned act is without prejudice and should in no manner be considered as an admission of guilt or as an acceptance of the Said Report. The Said Report has inherent flaws and the Applicant would crave leave to oppose the same by filing a comprehensive reply after receipt of all relevant information, as sought herein.”Kundra said the Mudgal report could not only severely hurt his relationship with the Royals management but also cause “damage to his reputation in society and casts aspersions on his integrity”.The final Mudgal report, released this Monday, said Kundra “was in touch with the bookies” but, by not reporting contact with them, “has violated the BCCI/ IPL Anti-Corruption Code”. During the investigation, the Mudgal committee also found that the “investigation against this individual was abruptly and without reason stopped by the Rajasthan Police upon receiving the case papers from Delhi Police”.Kundra said although the court had asked him to submit his observations or objections, he first wanted to get the materials on which the conclusions are based (presumably collected by the investigating team) or the discussions/analysis thereof by the investigating team or the Mudgal Committee (on which the final conclusions recorded by the Mudgal committee would presumably be based). “In the absence of the aforesaid materials and discussions/analysis, the Applicant is unable to effectively and fully exercise his right to defend himself by inter alia pointing out the errors and anomalies in the material collected by the investigating team or understanding/analysis thereof by the investigating team or the Mudgal Committee.”

A round-up of the Logan cup matches that finished on December 12, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Brendan Taylor struck hundreds in both innings against Mashonaland Eagles•AFPBrendan Taylor struck centuries in both innings and Regis Chakabva scored a career-best 240 as Mid West Rhinos and Mashonaland Eagles collected two points each in the opening match of the Logan Cup in Harare. Even though Eagles took a massive 249-run lead in the first innings, the Rhinos fought back through an unbeaten 150 from Taylor to draw the match.Rhinos had been dismissed for 296 in the first innings after they had only one strong partnership – between Taylor and Malcolm Waller (74) – of 151. No other batsman passed 30 as Brian Vitori claimed 4 for 67. The Eagles replied with a double-hundred from Chakabva and strong contributions from Mark Vermeulen (99), Sikandar Raza (73) and Elton Chigumbura (55) before declaring on 545 for 7.The Rhinos were in trouble at 21 for 2 in the second innings but another hundred from Taylor saved them from a defeat on the last day, as they ended on 280 for 5.
ScorecardMatabeleland Tuskers and Southern Rocks picked up two points each from a drab draw in Masvingo. Six batsmen scored fifties and 24 wickets fell over three days after the Tuskers chose to bat. Only two balls were possible on a final day marred by rain.The Tuskers got a strong start from openers Brian Chari (63) and Bornaparte Mujuru (54) but the rest of the batsmen failed to capitalise. From 79 for 0 they slipped to 178 for 6 before No. 7 Godwill Mamhiyo rescued them with a 62 to take them to 284.The Rocks were jolted early and were reeling at 25 for 3. Middle-order batsmen Prince Masvaure (37) Richmond Mutumbami (52) revived them with a stand of 49 and Mutumbami then put on 45 with Ryan Bezuidenhout before they became 135 for 6. No. 8 Tinashe Panyangara’s career-best 89 took Rocks close to 250 but Tawanda Mupariwa took 5 for 46 to restrict them to 246.The Tuskers were 131 for 4 with the help of a fifty from Keith Dabengwa when the match ended in a draw.

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Southampton are reportedly eyeing a move for Juventus defender Rogerio, per The Mirror’s live transfer blog (January 24, 6:59pm).

The Saints and Wolves are both said to be interested in signing the left-back, who is currently on loan at Sassuolo, with a £12million asking price mooted.

What’s the word?

Rogerio has been capped at Under-17 and Under-20 level by Brazil but has yet to make his breakthrough into the first-team at Juve.

Indeed, the Brazilian spent last season on loan at Sassuolo too, and he also attracted interest from Newcastle United prior to their move for Jordan Lukaku, per Sky Sports.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has yet to dip into the transfer market in January, instead choosing to trim his squad, with depratures including Manolo Gabbiadini to Sampdoria and Wesley Hoedt to Celta Vigo.

It remains to be seen, however, if that will change with the arrival of Rogerio, with Wolves also reportedly watching developments.

Nonsensical link

This all makes very little sense.

Southampton are blessed with depth at left-back; Ryan Bertrand and Matthew Targett are already both vying for the spot on the left-hand side, while youngsters Kayne Ramsay, Yan Valery and Tyreke Johnson could all fill in there too if needed. The trio have shown in their first-team outings already that they have the ability to play if Hasenhuttl requires them to.

Bringing Rogerio in, then, goes against Saints’ strategy of bringing through their young players and there appears very little logic in adding a third senior left-back to the squad.

Southampton would do well to bow out if they are indeed tracking the Brazilian and let Wolves have a free run at him.

Quite simply, he isn’t needed at St Mary’s.

Jonathan Trott believes England have “proved a few people wrong” about their approach to one-day cricket by reaching the Champions Trophy final

Andrew McGlashan21-Jun-2013Jonathan Trott believes England have “proved a few people wrong” about their approach to one-day cricket by reaching the Champions Trophy final and putting themselves within one win of their first piece of 50-over global silverware.Throughout this tournament, especially after the defeat to Sri Lanka at The Oval which left them needing to win every subsequent match, England’s tactics have been picked apart. The chief area for debate has been the top-order, of which Trott is a crucial part, and whether they score at the tempo required in modern one-day cricket.Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler have had lean tournaments with the bat – although Ravi Bopara has provided late impetus – but England have rigidly stuck to their formula and order, even in the 24-over contest against New Zealand, which was win or bust for them.In that game they were led by Alastair Cook’s 47-ball 64 and Trott says that the rest of the team feed off the example laid down by their captain, who is leading in a global event for the first time, and that they have the utmost belief in how they approach the game.”A lot of people were a bit sceptical,” Trott said. “But this team has proved a few people wrong with regards to their takes on the game of cricket and how it should be played.”He’s a really good leader and he’s always got the backing of the changing room, for whatever he decides is the direction of this team. He’s fully in charge, with Andy Flower and Ashley Giles, and the guys are always following him.”There has been plenty for Cook to deal with during this tournament, from the fallout of David Warner’s punch at Joe Root in a Birmingham bar to the accusations of ball-tampering, which started to fly around after the defeat to Sri Lanka. Trott, though, said Cook had taken everything in his stride as he has since making his England debut in 2006.”He got brought in and played straightaway as opening batsman and captain, from not having played,” he said. “A lesser person could have maybe buckled under the pressure. We’ve seen how he handles pressure, going to India for his first tour as Test captain and winning there – and now this.”There is added significance for Trott with the final being staged at his home ground of Edgbaston – the same applies to Ian Bell, Chris Woakes (who has not featured during the tournament) and the coach Ashley Giles, who was previously in charge at Warwickshire – and the prospect of a defining match in England’s history at a place he knows so well had long been in Trott’s sights.”You always have a little cheeky sneak at the fixtures, and where the final is going to be played, and I was very excited about getting here – and it’s happened. For me personally, I’m very excited. The guys are looking to seize the opportunity. They don’t come around very often.”The most recent major final England played in was the 2010 World Twenty20 in Barbados where they beat Australia to claim their only piece of global silverware. From that team there could be four players appear in this match, although it could be as few as two.The management will have to make a decision whether to stick with the same bowling that demolished South Africa. Steven Finn played his first match of the tournament, claiming the vital wicket of Hashim Amla, while James Tredwell continued to deputise superbly for Graeme Swann and earned the Man-of-the-Match award.Tredwell could earn a place in the team by right, regardless of Swann’s fitness, but on a ground where the surface can encourage reverse swing Bresnan, now a father after the birth of Max Geoffrey, is slight favourite to be preferred over Finn.If you ask any of those involved in staging or promoting the Champions Trophy, England versus India is probably the final they will have dreamt of. Home side pitted against the powerhouse of world cricket.What they won’t have dreamt of is the less-than-ideal forecast for Sunday which currently predicts rain of varying heaviness throughout the day. Even for the final there is no reserve day. In 2002 the trophy was shared when India and Sri Lanka could not complete a match even with two days at their disposal because the match had to restart on the second day.England trained at Edgbaston on Friday but India opted for a day off following their victory against Sri Lanka.

A round-up of the second day of the seventh-round Group B Ranji Trophy matches played on December 15, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Mohnish Mishra’s unbeaten 158 took Madhya Pradesh to a massive score on the second day•MPCAJalaj Saxena, Mohnish Mishra and Naman Ojha hit big centuries to take Madhya Pradesh to an imposing 619 for 8 before declaring their innings, with Saurashtra making 49 for 0 before stumps were called at Visakhapatnam. MP resumed the second day on 342 for 2, with Jalaj unbeaten on 157, along with Mishra on 6. The pair added 55 more before Jalaj fell just six runs shy of what would have been his maiden first-class double century when he was caught by Bhushan Chauhan off the bowling of Jaydev Unadkat.This brought the captain, Devendra Bundela, to the crease, and together with Mishra was able to put on 70 runs for the fourth wicket. With Bundela out on 25, Mishra enjoyed a 51-run stand with Anand Bias, who scored 39. Mishra finished not out on 158 when the innings was declared on 619 for 8. Saurashtra had 15 overs at the end of the day, and the openers did the needful, putting on 49, with Chirag Pathak and Chauhan not out on 24 and 13.
ScorecardMunaf Patel struck in his second over after Dhiren Mistry struck his maiden first-class hundred to keep Baroda on top on the second day against Services in Vadodara.Continuing from their overnight 62 for 0, Baroda took a lead of 178 even though their middle order didn’t capitalise much on Mistry’s hundred. Five of their top six fell in the 20s or 30s after Saurabh Wakaskar and Mistry put on 92 for the opening stand. Medium-pacer Shadab Nazar broke the stand and dismissed Kedar Devdhar for a brisk 33, breaking the 50-run stand. Two more wickets fell quickly as Mistry and Irfan Pathan, playing his first match of the season, fell within five deliveries.After dismissing Pathan, Rahul Kanojia got rid of Pinal Shah and Gagandeep Singh in successive overs to leave the score at 263 for 7. No. 9 Murtuja Vahora stitched two useful partnerships – of 42 with Yusuf Pathan (31) and 55 with Bhargav Bhatt (22) – to stretch the lead. Vahora’s was the last wicket to fall for 46, featuring four fours and a six, as their innings ended on 369.Munaf handed Services an early blow in the 2.2 overs they faced when he bowled Pratik Desai for 2, with them still trailing by 176.
ScorecardAnureet Singh took five wickets to help restrict Tamil Nadu to 246 but the Railways batsmen failed to cash in on the opportunity as they finished the second day on 152 for 8 at the Jamia Millia Cricket Ground in Delhi.R Prasanna scored his second hundred of the season when he resumed on 88, and stretched the score from 200 for 8 to 246 with J Kaushik and Aushik Srinivas. Prasanna’s was the last wicket to fall for 117, a knock which included 13 fours and a six.Railways opener Rongsen Jonathan was caught behind on his first ball to L Balaji with the score on 2. Medium-pacer J Kaushik then dismissed No. 3 Nitin Bhille for a patient 13. Railways kept losing wickets at regular intervals as three of their top six batsmen scored in double figures. M Mohammed dismissed HD Rawle and opener Shivakant Shukla within six overs, and Kaushik got rid of Arindam Ghosh and Murali Kartik to leave them struggling at 88 for 7 which soon became 101 for 8.However, a counterattacking and unbeaten fifty from Karn Sharma took Railways past 150 as he got support from No. 10 Krishnakant Upadhyay. Karn struck three fours and as many sixes as Railways were still trailing by 94.Read the full report of Bengal v Uttar Pradesh here: Blazing Shukla ton puts Bengal ahead.