Category Uncategorized

The pair added a NSW record 195 for the second wicket then Lauren Cheatle claimed key wickets on her comeback

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2022Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia Wilson struck their maiden WNCL centuries as New South Wales put their early campaign back on track with a second victory in three days over Western Australia.The pair added 195 for the second wicket, a New South Wales record, which put the home side on course for a total that proved far too much after Western Australia’s second-wicket stand of 78 between Chloe Piparo and Maddy Darke had been broken.The centuries for Litchfield and Wilson continued the early trend of hundreds in this season’s competition with eight having already been scored.Litchfield, the left-hander who is tipped to soon play for Australia, was first to the landmark from 102 balls with a perfect straight drive, fitting for an innings that had showcased her timing and placement. Shortly after Litchfield was taken at mid-off, Wilson followed with her hundred coming from 125 balls.Ash Gardner and Erin Burns both scored briskly and New South Wales crossed 300 in the final over.Lauren Cheatle, the left-arm pace bowler, claimed a major scalp on her return to the side after another injury lay-off when she removed the in-form Beth Mooney in the fifth over after Western Australia made a brisk start.They were building a base from where the target may have been in reach, but Sammy-Jo Johnson struck in consecutive overs and Cheatle removed Darke shortly after her half-century. A ninth-wicket stand of 80 between Piepa Cleary and Taneale Peschel narrowed the margin.

Islamabad United two points clear of Lahore Qalandars at the top of the PSL standings

Varun Shetty14-Jun-2021Colin Munro and Iftikhar Ahmed pulled off a stunning turnaround in the second half of the innings as Islamabad United sealed a comprehensive victory over Karachi Kings. Overcoming a sluggish start, the pair finished unbeaten on 150 off 79 balls as they won with eight balls to spare. Munro finished with a 56-ball 88, while Iftikhar delivered the knockout punches at the end with a 39-ball 71 as the Kings came apart in defence.Dropped catches, extras, and visibly flustered bowlers were the picture for the Kings who had earlier put up 190 on a true surface. Babar Azam’s 81 and Najibullah Zadran’s unbeaten 71 had ensured that; it didn’t prove to be enough.Karachi do it smartKings were put into bat and went off to a decent start. While Azam took some time to suss the pitch out, they had the insurance of Sharjeel Khan, who managed to hit two sixes in the powerplay in an opening stand of 37. Once he fell, Babar opened up to find some boundaries. It was a role reversal, with No. 3 Martin Guptill struggling for timing during his brief stay before eventually chopping on.However, the steady start to the innings meant they were still going at nine an over. From there, Babar and Zadran kept the rate up, finding the pitch to be conducive to driving on the up. Babar used the bounce and lift in the surface to bring out some delightful flicks, and drives through extra cover, with the occasional indulgence of hitting fast bowlers straight over their heads. He took a liking to Hasan Ali, but did end up falling to him on 81 in the 19th over.Zadran outlasted Babar, with whom he had put up 117 in just over 12 overs, and came into his own with confident aerial shots towards the end. He was lethal with the cut shot early on, and particularly took a liking to Shadab Khan off whom he hit sixes off consecutive deliveries in the 14th over – one over midwicket, one over extra cover. That 14th over was the start of a phase in which they score more than 15 an over on four occasions. It hauled them to 190, which didn’t prove enough.A slow start to the chaseUnited had a streaky, ungainly start to their chase. Amir had Usman Khawaja in knots in the first over with outswing, and Waqas Maqsood kept Munro reasonably quiet at the other end too. In their first three overs, United had only three boundaries. At Khawaja’s dismissal in the fifth over, they had only 28 on the board, and a brand new No. 3 in Muhammad Akhlaq lasted only two balls, losing his off stump comprehensively to Maqsood.The pattern would hold – much like the pitch seemed to be. Munro and Iftikhar had scarcely any scoring opportunities on a pitch that suddenly seemed to have slowed. On the occasions Munro seemed to have bludgeoned the ball, he unfailingly found the fielders as well. At 72 for 2 in 10 overs, they didn’t look healthy in the chase – like a wicket would open up the gates for the Kings.Maqsood and Perera live the horrorThat wicket never came. But it could have. At the start of the 12th over, Munro toe-ended a pull shot in the direction of mid-off, having charged down the track at Abbas Afridi. A simple catch was presented to Maqsood, who didn’t have to move too much, but ended up dropping that.In the span of one over from there, Munro managed to hit four boundaries, including the one that took him to fifty. Iftikhar heaved one into the grass banks over square leg too. It was the start of the end for the Kings. United needed 80 off seven at that point, and Thisara Perera was handed the ball after the strategic break. Imad Wasim had suffered a finger injury trying to take a return catch, and couldn’t finish his overs.Munro sent the first ball for six, the second for four, and then dispatched a waist-high full toss – Perera’s second of the evening – over cover. His next ball, also a high full toss, was clubbed straight to long-off by Munro. But the third umpire intervened to rule it above waist height, and the resulting free hit was launched into the leg side by Iftikhar.Seventeen had come off the previous over, 23 came off Perera’s 14th. That was the pivot – Munro and Iftikhar unleashed a force that proved too much for the Kings; Munro ended having hit ten boundaries and two sixes, and Iftikhar five fours and five sixes. It was an indication of just how much Kings’ bowling fell apart in the final quarter of the game.

The debutant quick will, however, be able to bat if required

Andrew McGlashan in Perth12-Dec-20190:41

I am feeling nervous for New Zealand after Ferguson’s injury – Hodge

New Zealand are going to be a bowler short for the remainder of the opening Test against Australia after debutant Lockie Ferguson picked up a right calf strain*, but in Neil Wagner they have a lion-hearted performer who will do all he can to take up the slack.Ferguson’s injury occurred during the second session and he was quickly sent for an MRI scan to determine the extent of the problem. Later, a team statement said, “An MRI scan has confirmed a right calf muscle-tendon strain for Lockie Ferguson which will prevent him bowling in the remainder of the first Test in Perth, although he is available to bat. We are still awaiting a further report which will inform the next steps of his recovery.”The quick had earned his chance after Trent Boult was ruled out having not recovered from the side strain he picked up against England last month. He was denied a notable maiden Test wicket when Steven Smith was dropped at second slip by Tom Latham shortly before tea and pushed the speed gun into the high 140kph region.”Gutting, ain’t it,” Wagner said. “It’s just one of those things. It’s pretty heart-breaking for him. I know he’ll be devastated as well. We all obviously get right behind him. Hopefully it’s not too bad. We haven’t heard anything back yet. Hopefully, you know it’s good or better news than what everyone is suspecting. He’s a quality player and we would have loved to see him bowl more and see what he could have done.”Ferguson’s absence will put a huge onus on Wagner and Tim Southee along with the medium pace of Colin de Grandhomme and left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner. Marnus Labuschagne, who finished the opening day unbeaten on 110, knows it’s a situation Australia can take advantage of.”They do have an allrounder in their side so it does lighten the load a little, but it’s a massive advantage if we can really bat well tomorrow and keep them out there. We just have to keep putting those runs on the board.”New Zealand pulled through impressively in the final session of an oppressively hot opening day, taking two key wickets either side of the new ball when Wagner bounced out Smith and Southee removed Matthew Wade.The success against Smith, caught at leg gully hooking at Wagner, as he was against Ferguson during the World Cup match at Lord’s earlier this year, was an especially pleasing case of a plan coming together.”We’ve got him out like that before, once before, and we’ve seen him get out to it again,” Wagner said. “No doubt he’s a quality player. You want to bowl your best at him and dry him up. I thought we bowled really well to him, didn’t give him any width, or any room to score, the key was to try and dot him up and hopefully he would come at us. He didn’t give us much until that shot he got out to…and luckily it worked out.”The other highlight for Wagner was his stunning return catch to dismiss David Warner. “It was a nice catch,” he said. “At first I thought it as a bump ball and he’d hit it into the ground until it really got to him. Was one of those that went to hand and stuck.”Aside from Boult, the other pace bowler in the New Zealand squad is Matt Henry. After this Test in Perth there is a nine-day gap before the second Test in Melbourne.

A swimming pool, a beer or two and an Ashes Test in full swing – what better time to pop the question?

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2017It could go down as one of the most romantic moments in Ashes history.It is certainly a contender for the most Australian act of the year.A marriage proposal, in a swimming pool, at an Ashes Test, while throwing down the Amber Nectar and wearing face paint daubed in Australian green and gold.But wait a minute, that looks like a marriage proposal•Getty Images

Not forgetting what the Australians like to call a pair of matching green-and-gold “budgie smugglers”.Michael Langridge was watching the cricket from the pool deck at the Gabba with his girlfriend Tori Roebuck when he got down on one knee and popped the question.Fortunately, for Michael, Tori said “yes” and excitement quickly spread from poolside around the Gabba and worldwide on social media.We think she’s said “yes”•Getty Images

The pool deck at the Gabba has become one of the most popular places to watch cricket since it was introduced last year.Emotions haven’t run so high since the Hon. Ivo Bligh fell for Florence Morphy in 1882 as the legend of the Ashes was born.Not that Ivo Bligh would have countenanced the idea of a marriage proposal in a skimpy pair of swimming trunks before a full house at the Gabba.It’s one of the great Ashes romances•Getty Images

The 18-year old batsman has been rewarded for his good returns with the India Under-19 team home and away against England Under-19

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-20174:14

Who is Shubman Gill?

Shubman Gill, the 18-year old batsman from Punjab, has been rewarded for his good returns in Youth ODIs with a place in the India A squad for the five-match, one-day series against New Zealand A that starts from October 6. The captaincy of the team has been split, with Shreyas Iyer to lead in the first three games before Rishabh Pant takes over for the final two matches.Gill was one of the standout performers for the India Under-19 team that swept the two Tests and five ODIs during their tour of England in July and August. He scored 174 runs in the two Tests, including a century in the second game in Worcester, and then made 278 runs at 92.66 and a strike rate of over 100 in the one-day series, comfortably finishing as the highest run-getter from either side.The England tour was preceded by a breakout home series against the same opposition earlier in the year, when Gill dominated the one-dayers with 351 runs at an average of 117, despite playing only four of the five games. That included back-to-back centuries in the third and fourth games in Mumbai.India A are currently playing a four-day game against New Zealand A in Vijayawada, after winning the first match by an innings and 31 runs. They then head to Visakhapatnam for the ODIs.The BCCI also named a 12-man Board President’s XI squad, also captained by Iyer, to play the New Zealand senior team in two warm-up matches in Mumbai ahead of their limited-overs series against India. New Zealand play three ODIs and three T20 internationals starting October 22.Prithvi Shaw, Gill’s team-mate on the England tour, was picked in the India A squad for the first three one-dayers and Board President’s XI side. The 17-year-old became the youngest batsman to hit a century in a Duleep Trophy final last week, when he made 154 in the first innings.India A team for first three one-day games Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Deepak Hooda, Shubman Gill, Shreevats Goswami (wk), Shahbaz Nadeem, Karn Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Basil Thampi.India A team for last two one-day games AR Easwaran, Prashant Chopra, Ankit Bawne, Shubman Gill, Baba Aparajith, Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), Shahbaz Nadeem, Karn Sharma, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Basil Thampi.Board President’s XI team Prithvi Shaw, Shivam Chaudhary, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Karun Nair, Gurkeerat Mann, Milind Kumar, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shahbaz Nadeem, Deepak Chahar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Avesh Khan.

Worcestershire have signed Matt Henry, the New Zealand fast bowler, for the first half of the 2016 season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2016Worcestershire have signed Matt Henry, the New Zealand fast bowler, for the first half of the 2016 season. Henry will fill the overseas role from April until the end of June, when South Africa’s Kyle Abbott is due to arrive.Henry’s combination of pace and swing ought to be potent in English conditions, as Worcestershire look to secure yet another promotion back to Division One of the Championship. Last season, Jack Shantry, Jack Leach and Charlie Morris took more than 150 wickets between them but there was little seam-bowling support and Saeed Ajmal, back with a remodelled action, was unable to replicate his previous success.Henry caught the eye of Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, when New Zealand played a tour match at New Road in 2015, with the 24-year-old taking 5 for 129 in a 15-run win.”Worcestershire have had strong links with New Zealand cricket going back to when Glenn Turner played for them for many seasons and more recently with Colin Munro and Mitchell McClenaghan and I am looking forward to playing for them,” Henry said.”They showed their quality in the tour game when pushing New Zealand all the way last summer and clearly have an exciting crop of young players who came so close to staying in Division One of the County Championship.”I hope I can play my part in getting them off to a good start in trying to regain that Division One spot – as well as having another successful run in the NatWest T20 Blast – and experiencing county cricket will be good for my all-round development as a player.”Henry has played three Tests, 20 ODIs and four T20s for his country. His most impressive performances have come in the 50-over format where, despite the competition for places in New Zealand’s seam attack, he has taken 41 wickets at 21.60 – including 13 in three matches during the recently completed series against Sri Lanka – and also played in the 2015 World Cup semi-final and final.In first-class cricket, he has taken 100 wickets in 26 appearances – the majority for Canterbury – at an average of 27.05. Henry also won an IPL contract in 2014 but has yet to play for his team, Chennai Super Kings.Rhodes said: “Matt Henry is a fine young bowler who has represented New Zealand in all formats. He also was trusted with both a World Cup semi-final and a final spot and his bowling early season will be huge asset to the Club. I am delighted he will lead our attack and join our current crop of terrific young seam bowlers.”

Led by Stuart Broad, England kept the pressure on a fragile South Africa batting line-up to leave the opening Test fascinatingly poised after two days in Durban

The Report by Andrew McGlashan27-Dec-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLed by Stuart Broad, England kept the pressure on a fragile South Africa batting line-up to leave the opening Test fascinatingly poised after two days in Durban. Broad’s three wickets, including the kingpins of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, coupled with a valuable scalp for Moeen Ali left South Africa 137 for 4 in reply to England’s hard-fought 303From 247 for 5, England would have envisaged more than what they ended with but Morne Morkel blew a hole in the much-vaunted lower-order strength with three wickets in six balls. A last-wicket stand of 36, with Broad finishing unbeaten on 32, ensured the innings did not completely crumble and the contest was even again when Broad extracted two wickets in his first spell to leave South Africa 14 for 2.Broad later returned to find the edge of a threatening de Villiers, ending a third-wicket stand of 86 with Dean Elgar, and Faf du Plessis paid for an ugly swipe against Moeen. Elgar glued South Africa together with an unbeaten 67, although he would have been lbw on 58 had England reviewed an lbw shout from Ben Stokes, and Temba Bavuma held firm during the closing moments of a day where 11 overs were lost despite an early start.Leading the attack in the absence of James Anderson, it took Broad just two deliveries to make his first mark on the innings when, starting around the wicket in a clear piece of pre-series planning, he angled a delivery back into Stiaan van Zyl, who misjudged the line horribly and had his off stump smashed.The out-of-form Amla was given a working over and fell to arguably the third chance he gave in a difficult 24-ball stay. Evidence suggested that he offered a very thin edge off Broad on 1, which was not given or reviewed, and then he provided a clear chance on 2 when he nicked Chris Woakes but Jonny Bairstow grassed the chance diving in front of first slip. However, Broad produced a beautiful legcutter to nick the edge again and this time Bairstow snaffled a regulation chance.The early wickets meant the ball was still hard when de Villiers entered at No. 4 and he survived a close call on 11 when a leading edge against Steven Finn was ruled not to have carried to Stokes in the gully. Stokes dived forward for the catch and after initially claiming it indicated his uncertainty; the soft signal from the on-field umpires was not out and, as so often in such circumstances, it was not overruled on the TV evidence.De Villiers played himself in either side of tea and there were signs of him starting to dominate when he lofted Moeen straight for six. However, he was outfoxed by a cunning piece of bowling by Broad who rolled his fingers across another legcutter, which moved just enough to find the outside edge.Dean Elgar steadied South Africa in their reply•Getty Images

Broad, though, needed some wicket-taking assistance to chip away at South Africa. Woakes and Finn both bowled excellent spells – Woakes’ pace was eye-catching as he nudged 90mph – but it was Moeen who nipped in when du Plessis, perhaps carrying the residual baggage from India, came down the pitch and missed a swipe across the line. For a moment it appeared Bairstow had missed a stumping chance, but the ball grazed the bail with just enough force to dislodge it although there was the curious sight of a bowled dismissal being referred to the third umpire.As batsmen struggled to play the defining innings, Elgar stood firm. Much like Nick Compton for England he left well outside off, making the bowlers come straighter to him which allowed runs into the leg side, his dominant scoring area. His fifty came from 93 deliveries, brought up with a rare moment of freedom as he followed de Villiers’ lead by depositing Moeen over the boundary, but despite the sun being out conditions did not swing in favour of the batsmen.When England resumed on 179 for 4 following the late dismissal of James Taylor on the opening evening, Stokes was quick out of the blocks before top edging a pull off Morkel from a delivery that was not short enough for the stroke. The new-ball brought an increase in the tempo, firstly as Compton and Bairstow enjoyed the extra hardness of the ball to take their stand to 51 and then when Morkel changed the complexion of the morning.Compton under-edged a pull – a rare occasion in his 236-ball stay where he had not been fully committed to a stroke – then Moeen edged a ball angled across him and Woakes was pinned lbw by a delivery which would have clipped leg stump. With Dale Steyn a little down on pace, and a suggestion he was struggling with an injury, it was a vital interjection from Morkel at a time when Amla would have been pondering how to juggle his three-man pace attack.Bairstow ducked into a short delivery from Morkel and a short while later was well caught at second slip for 41 as he tried to be aggressive against Kyle Abbott – his third score in the 40s in England’s recent overseas Tests – but Broad played smartly. Finn showed a straight bat before missing a full delivery from Steyn who claimed his 50th scalp against England and moved ahead of Curtly Ambrose with 406 wickets in the all-time list.

Adam Hollioake, the former England allrounder has said that most of the England cricket kit used by his late brother, Ben, and stolen from his parents’ home in Perth, has now been recovered

David Hopps19-Apr-2012Adam Hollioake, the former England allrounder has said that most of the England cricket kit used by his late brother, Ben, and stolen from his parents’ home in Perth, has now been recovered.”A person has been arrested and a search warrant issued to potentially retrieve remaining kit,” Hollioake suggested on Twitter.The success of the Western Australia police in recovering the stolen kit from a house in Applecross, in Perth’s suburbs, has been hailed as an example of cricket’s virtual community working together on social media for the general good.According to Hollioake, the kit was recovered in several stages. The collection, which includes England shirts, sweaters, bats and helmets, is treasured by the family since his death ten years ago when his sports car spun out of control and hit a wall in south Perth.”Kit turning up by the hour – probably 75% of it back now,” he tweeted. “No doubt in my mind that you guys instigated us getting it back.”On a positive note I know my bro would be happy everyone was talking about him again. He loved the spotlight. He probably arranged the theft himself from heaven.”

Daniel Vettori who led New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup, has been named the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2011Daniel Vettori who led New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup, has been named the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2011. Vettori, who was in the Delhi Daredevils line-up for the first three seasons, takes over from Anil Kumble, who has retired from the game, but will mentor the Bangalore team this year. Ray Jennings will continue to be the side’s coach.”Vettori is a hugely respected professional not only within his team but among his international peers as well,” Kumble was quoted in the team’s website. “His unique ability to get players to perform as a unit and deliver more than just the sum of their parts, as he has done time and again with New Zealand, will be a big asset to any team.”Jennings echoed Kumble’s views on Vettori’s leadership, and also touched upon his bowling abilities. “Vettori is probably the best spinner in the world at the moment and brings in tremendous skills that will be extremely useful on the Indian pitches,” Jennings said. “We hope that he will inspire the young Royal Challengers as much with his performance as with his leadership skills in the upcoming season.”Bangalore had a disastrous 2008 season, when they finished seventh in a field of eight teams, but fared much better in the next two editions of the IPL. They were losing finalists in 2009, and finished third in the 2010 edition. They also qualified for the first two editions of the Champions League, but failed to win the event on either occasion.”We are very excited for the upcoming season,” Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore franchise, said. “Vettori is a highly experienced and respected leader and we hope to ride to the pinnacle of success this IPL under his leadership.”Meanwhile, Deccan Chargers have announced that Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will lead their side in the IPL. Sangakkara swaps the leadership role with former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist who has taken over as the Kings XI Punjab captain. Australia batsman Cameron White will be Sangakkara’s deputy, while Darren Lehman will continue to coach the Hyderabad-based franchise.

A round-up of the action from the first round of matches in the 2009-10 Vijay Hazare Trophy

Cricinfo staff10-Feb-2010

South Zone

Hyderabad launched their Vijay Hazare campaign with victory after prevailing over Andhra by two wickets in a tense low-scoring fixture at the MRF Pachyappas Ground in Chennai. Hyderabad’s decision to field reaped immediate dividends when the opening bowlers reduced Andhra to a dismal 14 for 3. Despite steadying hands from the middle order, the innings seemed to have run out of gas at 104 for 6 in the 38th over. Duvvarapu Shivkumar changed the complexion of the innings with a belligerent 67 off 41 balls to take his side past 200. Syed Sahabuddin struck early to have Hyderabad stuttering at 8 for 2, before Ravi Teja and Anirudh Singh calmed the nerves with half centuries. That was when Shivkumar got into the act for the second time in the day. In partnership with Donnapaneni Kalyankrishna, he wrecked the middle order as 128 for 2 became 175 for 8. However, Amol Shinde and Alfred Absolem ensured that their side crossed the line in the penultimate over.Tamil Nadu overwhelmed Kerala by eight wickets with 84 balls remaining at the Central Polytechnic India Pistons Ground in Chennai. Asked to bat by the hosts, Kerala got off to a sluggish start before C Ganapathy struck to dismiss both openers. The middle order was unsuccessful in lifting the run-rate despite getting starts, which played into the hands of seamers L Balaji and Yo Mahesh. R Ashwin ensured that the innings never got into gear, and Kerala was eventually bowled out for 189. The visitors needed an inspired performance from their top bowler, Sreesanth, but the India seamer failed to impress. Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund grabbed the opportunity, scoring a ton and a fifty respectively to ensure that their side got a bonus point. Arun was at his punishing best, smashing eight fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 98-ball 106.Karnataka barn-stormed Goa in a high-scoring affair at the IIT- Chemplast Ground in Chennai, chasing down 287 with consummate ease. Goa’s innings was propped up by aggressive fifties from S Sriram and Saurabh Bandekar, with Ajay Ratra and Shadab Jakati also contributing substantially. In the middle of the mayhem, left-armer KP Appanna managed to pick a five-for. Karnataka’s chase was put on course by Robin Uthappa and Ganesh Satish who added 51 in 43 balls. Uthappa fell after reaching a quick fifty, but there was no let-up in the momentum as Manish Pandey smote the Goa attack to all corners of the ground in a murderous 95 off 69 balls. He missed his hundred closely, falling after raising 173 runs in 137 balls with Satish, who duly completed his hundred. Khesmal Waivankar picked 2 for 48, but it was not enough to deny Karnataka the bonus point and earn Goa the ignominy of a negative point.

North Zone

A spate of run outs towards the closing stages and some nerveless death bowling from Haryana handed Punjab defeat by the narrowest of margins at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak. The tone for a low-scoring scrap was set early in the piece by Love Ablish who struck two crippling blows, even as runs proved hard to come by. Seamer Jaskaran Singh and legspinner Rahul Sharma complemented his efforts and struck regularly to blight Haryana’s progress, and had it not been for a patient 76 from opener Rahul Dewan, they would have struggled to reach three-figures. Punjab’s reply got off to a similar start, with Sanjay Budhwar striking twice in his first spell. Ravi Inder Singh and Mandeep Singh combined to produce the only 50-plus stand of the day, and at 84 for 2 in the 25th over, Haryana had few backers. That’s when offspinner Ajit Chandila got into the act with a decisive double strike that set the cat among the pigeons. Vishwas Bhalla and Bipul Sharma seemed to have put the chase back on track before all hell broke loose. Chandila struck again, sending Bipul back before Jaskaran and Rahul were run out in quick succession. Bhalla found a calm partner in Gony and the pair added 20 runs to take their side two runs away from victory, but that’s as close as they got.A strong allround performance from Rajat Bhatia was the cornerstone of Delhi’s easy win over Jammu and Kashmir at the Cricket Academy in Sirsa. Imraj Thakur, R Bisati and Pervez Rassol made light of the early loss of a wicket to launch the J&K innings well, before Bhatia and Puneet Mehra intervened. Wickets fell at regular intervals, Bhatia accounting for three of them, to ensure that J&K did not reach 250, as three batsmen fell in the forties. No such problems for Shikhar Dhawan who gave the chase a rapid start, despite failures from Unmukt Chand and Virat Kohli. After Dhawan’s dismissal, Mithun Manhas and Bhatia joined in the fun to ensure an easy win for their side. Manhas fell for 70, but Bhatia saw it through with an unbeaten 59.Himachal Pradesh cantered to a six-wicket win against Services in their opening match at the Tata Energy Research Institute Oval in Gurgaon. Services’ innings came unstuck after a steady start, when Jitender Mehta struck in the sixth over. Sumit Singh and Tahir Khan struck 30s, but could not accelerate as wickets fell at regular intervals. Sarandeep Singh kept things tight in the middle overs, before Yashpal Singh and Mumtaz Qadir injected the much-needed momentum in the only passage of play that Services dominated. Both made fifties to take the score to 213 in the allotted 47 overs. Himachal’s openers put their side on course for a win with a 98-run stand. Hemant Dogra reached a fifty, while Sangram Singh missed by six runs. Paras Dogra and VA Indulkar gave the finishing touches to the chase that went past the target in the 43rd over.

East Zone

It proved to be a close-fought encounter at the Ravenshaw College Ground in Cuttack, as Tripura narrowly beat Bengal by two wickets in a low-scorer. Put in to bat, Bengal never really consolidated as both the seamers and spinners reaped dividends regularly. Opener Shreevats Goswami’s 67-ball 36 proved to be the highest in a limp total of 162. Tripura openers Wilkin Mota and Kaushik Aphale looked to have given them the perfect start during the reply, with a stand of 65. But Bengal’s seamers hit back well, led by Sayan Mondal’s 3 for 25 and two wickets apiece from Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Ashok Dinda. Tushar Saha, coming in at No. 9, hit a steady unbeaten 30-ball 19 to take nervous Tripura home with 10 balls to spare.Right-arm seamer Rahul Shukla was the main architect of Jharkhand‘s convincing win over Assam at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. His five-for ensured Assam were bowled out for a paltry 117, a target that Jharkhand overhauled in the 24th over for the loss of two wickets. Shukla never let Assam settle down after they were invited to bat, taking out four of the top six batsmen. Varun Aaron gave him good support with 3 for 39. Abu Nechim hit a valiant 32 lower down but it was never going to be enough for the Ranji quarter-finalists.

West Zone

Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai made an impressive start to their campaign with a 108-run thumping of Baroda at the Sardar Patel Stadium C Ground. Leading the way was Sushant Marathe, with a classy 108, comprising 11 fours. He figured in two big partnerships, with fellow opener Ajinkya Rahane (66) and captain Wasim Jaffer (78). Abhishek Nayar blasted 49 off 22 balls to lift Mumbai to 328. With Dhawal Kulkarni removing openers Kedar Devdhar and Pinal Shah early in the reply, the going would always be uphill for Baroda. Though Rakesh Solanki shone with a 127-ball 94, including 10 boundaries, Mumbai held the upper hand to bowl Baroda out with seven balls to go.Captain Harshad Khadiwale led from the front with a quickfire fifty as Maharashtra eked out an eight-run win against Gujarat at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground. Put in, Khadiwale and fellow opener Rohit Motwani (48) made a strong start, putting on 106 by the 18th over. Khadiwale was in fine touch, hitting seven fours and a six during his 57-ball 66. Key contributions down the order finally saw them end on 286 for 7. The match was evenly poised throughout the chase, thanks to Gujarat’s solid beginning and Bhavik Thaker’s fluent 56 at No. 5. But the task of getting 14 off the last seven deliveries proved too difficult for the eighth-wicket pair of Jayesh Makla and Siddharth Trivedi.

Central Zone

A stupendous spell of legspin from Piyush Chawla handed Uttar Pradesh a 28-run win against Railways at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore. Asked to bat first, UP never got going despite a host of starts for the top-order batsmen. Tanmay Srivastava top-scored with 52, and Ashish Yadav scored 46, but four other batsmen were guilty of not pushing on after entering the 20s. Defending a score of 239, the strong UP attack got into the act through Praveen Kumar who prised out Faiz Fazal and V Cheluvaraj for ducks. TP Singh and Sanjay Bangar got the chase on track before Chawla began to wreak havoc. He got Singh to give him a return catch, and then castled Bangar to bring his side back into the match. Marripuri Suresh did not last long, nicking Chawla behind to set the cat among the pigeons. Yere Goud and Dhiran Salvi looked to repair the innings, but Chawla had plans for both of them, as Railways slumped to lose their last seven wickets for 110 runs.A well-rounded team performance from Vidharba ambushed Rajasthan by 63 runs at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore. Pankaj Singh’s hostile spell of seam bowling gave Rajasthan the early momentum, with Amit Paunikar falling in the first over. After a steadying hand from Akshay Kolhar, Ravi Jangid and Ranjit Paradkar gave impetus to the innings with sparkling half-centuries. Pankaj snared four wickets in an economical spell, but Gaurav Upadhyaya smashed four sixes and ensured that the innings ended with a flourish. Despite Rashmi Parida’s steady 61 and a frantic 54 off 56 balls from Robin Bist, Rajasthan were never in the hunt and were eventually bowled out in the penultimate over. Umesh Yadav and Shrikant Wagh shared five wickets to take the bowling honours.