Pakistan rally frustrates England in Edgbaston Test

Second Test, Edgbaston (day three, close):

England 251 v Pakistan 72 & 291-9

Zulqarnain Haider and Saeed Ajmal scored remarkable fifties as Pakistan fought back brilliantly against England on day three of the second Test.
Debutant Haider, who was reprieved by the review system after being given out first ball, made 88 to steer the tourists to 291-9, a lead of 112 runs.
Graeme Swann, who took a Test best 6-60, had reduced Pakistan to 101-6.
But Haider's partnerships with Mohammad Amir (16) and Saeed Ajmal (50) have given Pakistan hope of a shock victory.
It was an extraordinary comeback from Pakistan, who looked to be heading for another heavy defeat after slumping to 94-5 at lunch.
Haider's partnerships with Amir and Ajmal mixed discipline and courage with moments of class and aggression as England's bowlers were flayed to all areas of the ground.

JONATHAN AGNEW'S COLUMN
Pakistan have given England plenty to think about and set up an intriguing finale at Edgbaston
And if conditions are favourable on Monday, Pakistan's bowlers could yet cause England some headaches as the home side chase a victory that would put them 2-0 up in the four-match series.
Andrew Strauss's men were surprisingly sloppy in the field, with several catches going down, while Matt Prior had an inconsistent day behind the stumps and Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan fluffed run-out chances.
And perhaps more worryingly with the Ashes in mind, England's pace bowlers were far less effective when the ball did not swing, with Steven Finn and Broad letting their line and length stray later in the day.
Fortunately for England, Swann bowled superbly, taking four quick wickets either side of lunch and also broke the 105 stand between Haider and Ajmal.
His first wicket came with only his third delivery of the match - and 13th of the series - ending a partnership of 52 between Imran Farhat and Azhar Ali with a sensational ball to the left-handed Farhat, which drifted, gripped and turned from leg stump to clip the top of off stump.


Swann made his mark on the series with a stunning spell of spin bowling
It was the 20th time Swann has taken a wicket in the first over of a Test spell and an important breakthrough for England after Ali and Farhat, who was surprisingly dropped by Collingwood in the third over of the day, had begun to look settled.
Swann struck again in his next over, extracting alarming turn from the pitch to bowl Ali through the gate for 19.
Shoaib Malik, whose promotion from six to four in the batting line-up has done little to stiffen up Pakistan's top order, was the next to fall during a testing spell from Finn.
Malik withdrew his bat from a delivery which pitched outside off stump and straightened, but the ball brushed off his glove, gifting an easy catch to Prior.
Swann claimed his third wicket in the next over, with a delivery which did not turn as much but rapped Umar Akmal on the pads right in front of the stumps for a clear leg before wicket.
And it was almost two wickets in two balls as Haider was trapped by a ball which kept low. Umpire Steve Davis raised the finger again but a successful Pakistan referral showed the ball was missing leg stump.
Pakistan reached lunch on 94-5 but another wicket fell soon after the interval, with Swann drawing Umar Amin out of his crease and Prior pulling off a tidy stumping.
With six wickets down, it seemed as if an England victory was imminent but a disciplined partnership from Haider and Amir held England at bay for the remainder of the afternoon session.

606: DEBATE
Well done Pakistan. They might still lose but they haven't lost easily. They have outscored England and proven that they can get 250 plus 
Solo443
Broad cut a particularly frustrated figure. Seemingly angered by the umpire's decision to turn down a caught-behind appeal, he rashly threw the ball at Haider, and in the following over he misdirected a throw to the bowlers' end when Amir was well out of his crease.
England took the new ball after tea and finally the breakthrough came in the fourth over when Amir threw his bat at a ball angled across him by Broad and Strauss snaffled the catch at first slip.
The seventh wicket seemed to be the signal for Haider to go on the offensive, clipping Finn through midwicket for four to bring up his fifty and take Pakistan into the lead.
Haider found a worthy ally in Ajmal, who received several blows from England's pacemen but counter-attacked superbly to reach fifty in a thoroughly entertaining partnership.
But just when the duo seemed destined to see Pakistan through to the close, Swann rediscovered some of the turn that had been so effective earlier in the day and Ajmal's edge was well caught by Collingwood at slip.
Haider followed soon afterwards when he mistimed a drive off Swann and was caught by Strauss, but Umar Gul (nine) and Mohammad Asif (13) batted well to keep the Pakistan innings afloat going into what promises to be an intriguing fourth day.


Source:news.bbc.co.uk

Pakistan rally frustrates England in Edgbaston Test

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India Vs Sri Lanka- 3rd Test match-India defeat Sri Lanka

India Vs Sri Lanka- 3rd Test match-India defeat Sri Lanka-

Consistent Laxman helped team India to overpower a struggling Sri Lankan side in the fifth day of the third and final test match at P Sara, Oval, Colombo. India emerged as a victorious team at the end of the day, chasing the fourth highest total ever in their Test cricket history. The highlight of the day was a tremendous knock by star middle order batsman V.V.S Laxman who stepped out by leading his side in front. Laxman, who made an unbeaten 103, played intelligently throughout his innings and read every delivery to perfection. He once again proved to be the backbone for Indian team as he did in the first innings, finding gaps in the field and did his job with flawlessness. Laxman’s century came out at a time when India was in a spite of a bother and needed somebody to carry out the inning and bat through it. He was well supported on the other hand by the all time best Sachin Tendulkar, who guided him well, as per the set game plan. Both of them managed to take easy singles in the widely spread field by Kumar Sangakarra, with more than fifty percent of the total partnership score coming in singles and doubles. The plan clearly was to put pressure on the hosts, by making easy runs and to frustrate them in which Indian proved to be good. A dropped catch, a forward short leg gave the little master more confidence to place his innings in an undefeatable manner. Even after his dismissal, Raina did not let the inning’s moment to break and carried the mission ahead. He took the charge of the innings, being the in-form batsmen and smashed balls to all corners of the ground. Raina with a lovely batting display has once again not only proved to be a great asset for Indian cricket team but has also fixed his place in their Test team, thus making the deciding for the Board of Cricket Control in India tough when it comes to team’s selection. His valuable 41 runs innings included four marvellous boundaries and a massive six. According to the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it was Laxman who held the key for today’s game. He rated his innings as a very special one despite of the fact that he had a struggling back but he did not let the pressure come at him and affect his batting performance. The bowling department for Sri Lanka did not click the way, Sangakarra might have expected before the start of the day. Malinga tend to bowled much shorter in the innings, thus losing his focus and going off the track. It was an unusual scenario for him to go off wicket less in a game, where his efforts were needed the most by Sri Lankan cricket team. Ajantha Mendis, who entertained the crowd with the bat in second innings by scoring a fighting 79 runs, failed to impress with the ball by throwing deliveries full too much and not hitting the deck as required. The pick of the bowlers was the young athletic spinner Suraj Randiv, 6 feet tall; Randiv was a source of concern for the Indian batsmen as the entered the deciding day of the third test match. He was able to get rid of night-watchman Ishant Sharma but despite of extensive bowling display from a high angle, could not act as a partnership breaker, which lead India home with five wickets remaining in the hut. Sri Lanka have truly found dynamite in terms of young Suraj Randiv. The 25 years old, Randiv with his passionate bowling made Indian batsmen suffer and struggle with his off break deliveries. Levelling the series to a draw for India surely means that both batsmen and bowlers had their home done well. Things had gone for India’s way dominantly in the game but could easily have deteriorated, had the batsmen lost their patience in the fourth innings.

India Vs Sri Lanka- 3rd Test match-India defeat Sri Lanka

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