Triangular Series Sri Lanka vs New Zealand match news

In the first ODI of this tournament, New Zealand trounced India by 200 runs at Dambulla. The clash against hosts Sri Lanka was not likely to be as easy as the first match was, however. Sri Lanka boasted a string line-up, with Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene leading the batting. Matthews and Mendis were key bowlers in the Sri Lankan attack as well. New Zealand had a few newcomers, but the majority of their starting eleven was seasoned campaigners for the Kiwis.


Kiwi captain Ross Taylor won the toss and elected to bat first. The tourists had a poor start as Martin Guptill was out in the first over for nought. However, Taylor and ODI debutant BJ Gatling added 45 runs for the second wicket. With the score on 47, New Zealand lost two wickets; Ross Taylor departed for 16 runs while Kane Williamson made a two-ball "duck." Scott Styris (24) joined Gatling and the pair posted 52 runs for the fourth wicket. Rangana Herath had Styris out with the total on 99; New Zealand was 99/4.


More woe was to follow for the tourists, as Gatling, who made 55 from 68 balls, was the fifth batsman out with the score on 101. Gareth Hopkins and Daryl Tuffey fell with the score on 123; New Zealand was 123/7. Lower order resistance, and 36 runs off 64 balls for Nathan McCullum, enabled New Zealand to recover to 192 all out. From 143/8, the eventual score represented a recovery. The visitors were bowled out after 48.1 overs. Bowling for Sri Lanka, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Matthews took three wickets. The bowling was so disciplined that no bowler conceded more than 4.28 runs per over.


In reply, Sri Lanka had a poor start as well, losing T. Dilshan for just five runs in the third over. Despite that early setback, Sangakkara (48) and Tharanga batted positively to post an 85-run partnership for the second wicket. After Jayawardene departed cheaply, Tharanga and Samaraweera put Sri Lanka back on the victory path with a 43-run stand. However, when Tharanga (70) departed, the home side suffered a collapse.


Sri Lanka lost four wickets in the span of 18 runs to reach 180/7 in the 39th over. However, with just three wickets in hand, Chamara Kapugedera and Samaraweera ensured no further hiccups. Sri Lanka reached their target with 55 balls to spare. Kyle Mills (4/41) was the standout bowler for the tourists, but Upul Tharanga took the player of the match award for his half-century.

Triangular Series Sri Lanka vs New Zealand match news

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Triangular Series India vs New Zealand match news

India vs New Zealand / Ind vs NZ are playing the first match of Sri Lanka Triangular Cricket Series scheduled from August 10th to August 28th 2010.The participating teams in the Triangular Cricket Series are India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

In the opening match which is being played between the India and New Zealand at Dambulla of Sri Lanka is a day night international cricket match.

New Zealand cricket team won the toss and elected to bat and scored 288 runs in 50 overs while the start for the New Zealand team was not very good. Ashish Nehra took 4 wickets while P Kumar claimed 3 wickets. L Taylor and J Oram scored 95 and 89 runs respectively.

India’s start was also not good and Indian side lost 4 wickets at score of just 50 runs. Currently India is having score of 71 runs in 20.4 overs at the loss of 7 wickets.At last India were 88 runs in 29.3 overs.New Zealand win by 200 runs.

Triangular Series India vs New Zealand match news

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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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Pakistan on top after two sessions

Australia struggled to tea on one of its darkest days in Test cricket in living memory, on day one of the second match against Pakistan at Headingley.


Firstly, the Aussies were humiliated with the bat by being rolled for 88 in Leeds - the national side's worst Test total in a generation.


Then new Pakistan captain Salman Butt (38 not out) climbed into the shell-shocked Australian attack as his side marched to 0 for 64 at tea with opener Imran Farhat (20) also unbeaten.


The day was threatening to become even more disastrous than the opening day of the 1997 Ashes series at Edgbaston when Australia was dismissed for 118 with England reaching 3 for 200 by stumps.


The brilliant Pakistan swing bowling trio of Mohammad Aamer (3 for 20), Mohammad Asif (2 for 33) and Umar Gul (2 for 16) earlier used the overcast conditions to perfection, producing wicked late swing to skittle Australia in 33.1 overs.


The last time Australia posted a lower score was back in 1984, the tally of 76 coming against a rampant West Indian attack consisting of Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding on a lightning-fast WACA pitch.


It was Australia's fifth batting collapse in six Tests on English soil and the performance provided further evidence of the side's inability to cope with the swinging ball in this country.


Australia's performance also mirrored England's capitulation on the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at this very ground last year.


Australia had come into the match with a 1-0 series lead in the two-match series and in pursuit of a record 14th straight Test win over Pakistan.


Since his fateful decision to send England in at Edgbaston in 2005, Ponting has batted first in the past 27 times that he has won the toss.


But from the outset on Wednesday, this looked like a decision he could come to regret in Leeds.


Pakistan's bowlers brilliantly exploited the swing-friendly conditions as Australia lost all 10 wickets for 68 runs following an opening stand of 20.


Left-arm paceman Aamer got the ball rolling by pinning opener Simon Katich (13) in front before Asif dismissed Shane Watson (5) eight balls later.


Gul stepped up the carnage by knocking back Michael Clarke's (3) middle stump and Asif showed that Ponting's (6) brilliant record at the ground meant little on Wednesday.


Even the normally reliable Mike Hussey (5) could not stem the flow of wickets with Gul adjudged to have trapped him in front, even if the ball might have slipped down the leg side.


Marcus North (16) looked like he was guiding Australia to lunch but medium-pacer Umar Amin had him caught behind just before the interval.


Aamer was inspired after the break, knocking over the stumps of Steve Smith (10) and Mitchell Johnson (0) with his first two balls after lunch.


He producing an excellent inswinger to Smith and followed that up with an even better delivery to Johnson that swung late and tilted back his off-stump.


Ben Hilfenhaus (3) somehow negotiated the hat-trick delivery, the tailender not good enough to get an edge on the ball as it screamed past his bat.


Hilfenhaus pushed Australia beyond its lowest Test total against Pakistan of 80 in Karachi in 1956 with a straight drive off Aamer.


But in a sign of the batting side's dirty day, he was run out going for a third soon afterwards.


Tim Paine (17) was the last man to go, trying to improvise a shot with number 11 Doug Bollinger (2 not out) at the other end.

Pakistan on top after two sessions

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Afridi could lose ODI and T20 captaincy

Shahid Afridi`s abrupt retirement from Test cricket, leaving the team in lurch during the ongoing England tour, has compelled Pakistani selectors and the team management to rethink their decision to continue with the flamboyant all rounder as captain of the one-day and T20 teams.

Afridi announced his retirement soon after Pakistan lost the first Test match against Australia at Lord`s by 150 runs, saying

he did not have the temperament to play Test matches, something which didn`t go down well within the team management, including manager Yawar Saeed, coach Waqar Younis and also PCB chief Ijaz Butt.

PCB officials, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, said that Afridi`s decision has infuriated the management and that his one-day and T20 captaincy is also under threat.

"If he wanted to quit as the Test captain, there were better ways of doing that. What happens in between we don`t know about that. Currently, we are focussing on the Test series," The News quoted the official, as saying.

Speculations are rife that the PCB is even contemplating to hand back the captaincy of shorter versions of the game to Shoaib Malik,or even to Salman Butt,depending upon his performance in the Test series.

"It all depends on the success in the remaining Tests. A good performance could see newly appointed captain Salman Butt dictating terms. A successful captain holds the power in Pakistan cricket," the PCB official said.

"Butt, who is a favourite amongst PCB officials for being educated and well behaved, could well take over as Pakistan`s future captain in all forms of cricket if his team performs well in England," team insiders added.

Afridi could lose ODI and T20 captaincy

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