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Kerala upset favourites Baroda, notching up a thrilling four-wicket win in a Group A clash of the Super League at the Wankhede Stadium

The Report by Nagraj Gollapudi at the Wankhede16-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Irfan Pathan’s unbeaten 35 and two wickets went in vain for Baroda•BCCI

Kerala upset favourites Baroda, notching up a thrilling four-wicket win in a Group A clash of the Super League at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing 161, Kerala were only 51 for 2 at the halfway stage.However, with 26 needed from the last two overs, Padmanabhan Prasanth landed the crucial blows, changing his bat midway through the 19th over and clubbing Munaf Patel for successive sixes over wide long-off and long-on. Prasanth had also been influential with his left-arm spin, picking up two wickets while conceding only 15 runs from his four overs.With the equation now down to 11 off the last over, allrounder Raiphi Gomez picked up two doubles before hitting a low full-toss from the left-arm seamer Rishi Arothe past a sprinting sweeper cover fielder. Gomez ended the match with a six over long-on to finish unbeaten on 47 off 21 balls.It was the 45-run partnership between Gomez and Prasanth, which came off only 17 balls, that turned the match. But credit must also go to Kerala captain Sachin Baby, who stood solid and stitched a valuable 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Nikhilesh Surendran after Baroda seemed to have gained an upper hand with wickets in the first two overs for Irfan Pathan and Munaf.Irfan had got Sanju Samson leg before with a beautiful inswinger off the first delivery of the chase before V Jagadeesh played on off a seaming delivery from Munaf. Rohan Prem, the tournament’s highest run-maker, was Irfan’s second victim, the Kerala batsman playing all over an angled delivery.Irfan would have been most disappointed with the result, considering his all-round contribution to Baroda’s cause. Baroda scored 69 runs off their last five overs, with Irfan remaining unbeaten on 35 off 18 deliveries. His 33-run partnership with Deepak Hooda (32 off 16) for the fourth wicket helped Baroda inject urgency into an innings that had slowed down in the middle overs.Eventually, that phase of their innings proved crucial to the eventual defeat handed to them by Gomez and Prasanth.

Nick Compton lifted Somerset with a half-century that guided them to a tense four-wicket win at Derby and left Derbyshire bottom of the LV= Championship First Division.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2013
ScorecardNick Compton’s joy at Somerset’s victory was tempered by England fears•Getty Images

Nick Compton lifted Somerset with a vital half-century that guided them to a tense four-wicket at Derby and left Derbyshire bottom of the LV= Championship First Division.But Compton found bad news almost as soon as he left the field. While Somerset celebrated their first Championship win of the season, Compton was omitted from the England side to face Essex in an Ashes warm-up at Chelmsford at the weekend. Joe Root was chosen to open the inningsCompton made 56 in front of National Selector Geoff Miller but even as he did so the ECB was preparing a statement carrying Miller’s assertion that Root, not Compton, was the opener best suited to join Alastair Cook at the top of the order.Derbyshire’s problems were compounded when they were bowled out for 94 early on the final day. Jon Clare took 5 for 29 in eight overs to launch a fightback, but Somerset reached their target of 145 to get a disappointing season underwaySteve Kirby had earlier taken 4 for 18 and Craig Meschede 3 for 17 as Derbyshire lost their last eight wickets for 56 to be bowled out for 94 and remain at the foot of Division One.They had gone into the fourth day strongly placed with a lead of 86 and eight wickets intact but only two more runs had been added when Somerset got the big wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who dabbed Alfonso Thomas into the hands of third slip.It was a poor stroke by the experienced West Indian but there was plenty of seam and swing movement to make life difficult for the batsmen and Meschede blew away the middle order with a burst of 3 for four in 12 balls.Billy Godleman was caught behind as he pushed forward, Ben Slater was bowled first ball, and Richard Johnson gave Alex Barrow another catch to leave Derbyshire in deep trouble at 54 for 6.The next blow was self-inflicted as Clare wandered down the pitch and was run out by Jamie Overton’s direct hit from mid-on but former Somerset batsman Wes Durston and Tony Palladino gave Derbyshire hope by nudging the lead towards 150.They added 26 in nine overs but the introduction of Kirby at the City End saw the last three wickets fall for just four runs. Palladino edged to second slip, Tim Groenewald could only fend a lifting ball
to first slip and after Durston carved Overton over the slips for four, he was bowled going for a big drive.It had been an impressive morning’s work by the Somerset seamers but their batsmen knew the target would not be a formality in conditions that favoured the bowlers.Derbyshire knew they needed to strike early to spark panic in the visiting camp but Marcus Trescothick and Compton reduced the target by 30 in five overs before lunch, with Compton pulling Mark Footitt for six.The pair took their stand to 60 before Trescothick was caught at cover off a leading edge off Clare and although Compton was looking increasingly assured, it was a different story at the other end.Dean Elgar flashed at Clare and was caught at first slip, James Hildreth offered no shot and was lbw for three and although Craig Kieswetter drove his first ball through the covers for four, he was caught behind off the next to leave Somerset wobbling on 102 for 4.When Compton edged a big drive at Clare to first slip seven runs later, Derbyshire sensed they could still pull off an unlikely victory but Peter Trego settled Somerset’s nerves with some aggressive strokes to carry his side home with 41 overs still to bowl.Somerset took a vital 20 points to ease their relegation worries, while Derbyshire collected just five.

Sahara Matribhumi, the Bangladesh subsidiary of Sahara group, has made an offer of approximately $9.4 million for a period of four years for the sponsorship of the Bangladesh cricket team

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2012Sahara Matribhumi, the Bangladesh subsidiary of Sahara group, has made an offer of approximately $9.4 million for the sponsorship of the Bangladesh team for a four-year period. The bid was substantially higher than the $ 3.4 million offered by the previous sponsors, Grameenphone, and $4 million offered by Robi, another telecom company.BCB president Mustafa Kamal said that while no decision has been made yet on which offer to accept, Sahara’s bid of approximately $2.3 million a year, if finalised, would be beneficial for Bangladesh cricket.”The national team sponsorship, which is the main component of the tenders that we had invited, has been offered 2.3 million dollars per year by Sahara,” Kamal said. “We expect the revenue to be around Tk 110 crore during this four-year period. It was unimaginable a few years ago but more than the money, I think it will be a turning point if we can have Sahara with us.”All the tenders are for a four-year period. I hope that we can finalise the deals in the next few days. We haven’t made a decision on the tenders; I’m just letting you know what is the highest we’ve got.”Apart from the national team sponsorship, Sahara was the only company to bid for the sponsorship rights of the National Cricket Academy at a price of $130,000 per year.Last week, Sahara group chairman Subrata Roy had said in Dhaka that his company was interested in investing in Bangladesh cricket. Speaking at an event, he said that it ‘may be possible’ for Sahara to sponsor the Bangladesh team. “The Sahara logo is seen on the jerseys of Indian cricket team,” he said then. “Though I am not announcing it right now, but I can say it may be possible to see the same logo on the jersey of Bangladesh cricket team.”

Kolkata Knight Riders had their Champions League debut all but booked when they began the last over with 21 to defend

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga22-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
James Franklin followed up his two wickets with a match-winning 45•Associated Press

Kolkata Knight Riders had their Champions League debut all but booked when they began the last over with 21 to defend. Three edged boundaries off L Balaji and two missed yorkers later, James Franklin and Ambati Rayudu had seen Mumbai Indians to a highly unlikely win, breaking their three-match losing streak. The win set up a repeat clash between the two teams in the eliminator, an equivalent of a quarter-final.In all the chaos of the last over, which stunned the full house at Eden Gardens, Chennai Super Kings emerged the biggest gainers. Had Kolkata won the game, which they should have despite all those edges, Chennai would have finished third, and would have had to win two games in order to make the final. Now they need win only one of the two.Mumbai gained too: they needed to finish the chase off in 5.1 overs to make it to the top two, but by beating Kolkata they could have ensured a psychological advantage in their eliminator. For the best part of their 19 overs of batting, Mumbai scarcely looked like a team that could do so. Iqbal Abdulla removed T Suman in the second over, the pinch-hitter Harbhajan Singh managed 30 off 29, and Rajat Bhatia’s leg-rollers broke the batting order’s back with thee wickets in three overs.At 96 for 4 in the 13th over, it seemed too much was left for Kieron Pollard and Franklin. Pollard lived up to that expectation, but Franklin kept the fight up mostly with well-placed couples. A six and a four in between meant Mumbai were not completely out of it even when Balaji ripped Pollard’s leg stump out with 40 required off 15.If this was robbery in broad floodlights, Kolkata weren’t the most vigilant victims either. As much as the edged boundaries in the last over, Kolkata will also look back at little moments towards the end that proved to be decisive. Balaji bowled a wide with one ball left in the 18th over, and Ambati Rayudu lofted the compensation delivery over extra cover for a six. It wouldn’t be Rayudu’s last six of the night.The last ball of the 19th over hit Rayudu in the pad and rolled towards the keeper. The batsmen had all but stolen a leg-bye when wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami went for a direct hit, and conceded an overthrow. That kept Franklin – 28 off 18 now – on strike for the last over. L Balaji went for a wide yorker first ball, and a thick edge off the low full toss went between the keeper and the short third man. A slower bouncer followed, and the tope edge cleared the keeper again. Thirteen off four now looked so much more gettable.Balaji went back to the wide-yorker plan, and Franklin smacked the next low full toss past extra cover for four. Under pressure and in the face of some ill luck, Balaji was just not landing them right. The next ball was a low, wide full toss again, and another thick edge beat third man to make it five of two. The next low full toss found extra cover, and brought Kolkata some relief. However, just then Balaji chose to bowl the worst delivery of the over – a high full toss on the pads – and Rayudu helped himself to his second, and decisive, six.The stunned Eden gardens crowd could scarcely believe what they were seeing after they had cheered their team all night to what looked like a comfortable win. Most of it was thanks to Jacques Kallis who batted solidly at first and rapaciously towards the end. Along the way he was helped by breezy 30s from Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan, but it was Kallis who provided the innings the final impetus with 19 off the last five balls he faced. It was fitting then that the man who minimised the damage with the wickets of Kallis and Yusuf was none other than Franklin.

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran22-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outGraeme Smith was positive during his innings of 46•Associated Press

Playing out the final day was more of a formality for South Africa as the second Test ended in a high-scoring draw, confirming what many would have feared five days ago on taking a look at a road of a pitch at Warner Park. The surface hadn’t deteriorated enough over four days to give the bowlers any sort of advantage, so it would have been ridiculous to expect at least ten wickets going down to constitute a result.South Africa had all ten wickets in hand this morning when they took guard, and predictably went through the motions, with the aim of getting extra batting practice ahead of the final Test. It was, in other words, more of a televised nets session, with both teams resigned to the conclusion that no result was possible. The pitch was a poor advertisement for Test cricket, and the last two days in particular were completely overshadowed by other world sporting events viewers would have turned to – one in London and the other in South Africa.Despite the result, or the lack of it, West Indies had more to gain. Their batting was a shambles in Trinidad and perhaps a flat wicket here in St Kitts was the best thing for them to get their confidence back. In overhauling South Africa’s 543, they gained a moral victory, though the manner in which they got there was a topic of debate. The sudden shift of tactics from urgency to obduracy was questionable, but at least they ensured they wouldn’t lose. In their defense though, run-scoring on the fourth day wasn’t the easiest, with the left-arm spinner persisting with an over the wicket line to the right-handers.South Africa lost just three wickets till the final hour after tea, when the captains expectedly decided to call it off. But the extended morning session – to make up for lost time due to rain yesterday – wasn’t boring or lacking in action. Shane Shillingford got the ball to turn and bounce, there was a dropped catch, couple of confident appeals and a referral which was turned down. The batsmen weren’t too cautious either and weren’t afraid to reach out to the ball, even if the strokes weren’t convincing.Graeme Smith looked solid during his 46. He was positive against the spinners as well, rocking back to cut if it was slightly short. In one over, he chipped down the track to Shillingford and lofted it crisply over long-on and then leant forward to crunch one past covers. But Shillingford hit back by getting one to turn from middle and induced a thick edge from Smith, trying to cut.Smith’s opening partner, Alviro Petersen, was watchful and looked in control. He had a slip, silly point and silly mid-off but successfully negotiated the spinners, even reverse sweeping them. Hashim Amla, however, didn’t look so assured. There was a puff of dust when Shillingford landed it on the rough outside off and Amla was circumspect against the turn and bounce.Amla ought to have been dismissed on 21 when Bravo fluffed a sitter at slip, off Sulieman Benn. He managed five convincing boundaries against the spinners on both sides of the wicket, but perished to the impressive Shillingford, tucking it to backward short leg. Dwayne Bravo then ended the session in style by flattening Petersen’s off stump with a yorker.No wickets fell in the post-lunch session as the Test meandered towards a predictable draw. Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers went through the motions and built a steady partnership which extended to 104.Kallis began the second session in style with a couple of straight-driven boundaries off Shillingford. The offspinner, who took two wickets in the opening session, changed his line of attack to round the wicket to the right-handers as a very defensive option. The South Africans gave no chances, save for a run-out attempt at de Villiers – Roach’s throw from square leg missed the stumps at the bowler’s end. Kallis was solid as ever against the seamers, driving Bravo off the front foot and also pulling him for a powerful six. He reached his fifty with a clip to the on side just before the tea break.South Africa declared an hour after the tea break and the relief was palpable at the early finish to the game. The best the players can hope for is a sporting track at the Kensington Oval for the deciding Test.