Dubai-based TV channel Ten Sports and Pakistani sports channel Geo Super bagged the television rights for Pakistan’s upcoming series against South Africa and Sri Lanka, in the UAE, respectively

Umar Farooq06-Sep-2013Dubai-based TV channel Ten Sports and Pakistani sports channel Geo Super bagged the television rights for Pakistan’s upcoming series against South Africa and Sri Lanka, in the UAE, respectively. The values of the deals have been kept confidential by the PCB, but the board said they are “higher” than the previous contract. Both the broadcasters will cover the production cost as well as that of the technology used for the DRS on their own.”The PCB will not be announcing the rights-fee amounts finalised for these tours,” a PCB spokesman said. “The offers, however, are significantly higher than the values that PCB had received for these series under the previous media rights contract.”Ten claimed a series of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, while Geo will be televising three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s along with the one-off T20 between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan’s previous five-year deal with Ten concluded in July, with the PCB contemplating series-by-series deals while the caretaker board set-up, led by Najam Sethi, is in charge; the interim setup of the PCB affected the chances of securing a long-term deal, with Sethi’s powers limited and reduced to a day-to-day basis.Geo, apart from the international series, holds the TV rights for domestic cricket in Pakistan until October this year. The channel, which televised the feed of 2011 World Cup matches, is said to have run into financial difficulties with previous broadcast deals to show world events. The PCB, in order to counter financial defaulting, has asked the broadcaster for a full bank guarantee before the series.The deal with Geo is understood to be questionable, with Sethi involved in a case of conflict of interest as he is a key employee of Geo TV Network. He is Pakistan’s senior-most journalist and an anchor of Geo News’ popular political programme . The PCB however defended the process, saying it was fully transparent.”Two bidders participated in the bidding process,” the spokesman said. “The financial bids of both were evaluated in accordance with the terms of the invitation to tender. As a result of this process, the offer from Ten Sports for South Africa series, being the highest, and the offer of Geo for the Sri Lanka series, also being the highest, was recommended by the bids committee to the board of governors of the PCB for approval. This approval has since been received [and] the media rights for the two tours have accordingly been awarded, and this transparent tender process has been concluded.”The bidding process was conducted by former ICC President Ehsan Mani, who apart from being the advisor was the bids committee head, along with another independent member, retired justice Shabbar Raza Rizvi.The broadcasting deal is one of the major sources of income for the PCB. The previous TV deal, worth approximately USD 140 million suffered a hefty loss of USD 80 million following the cancelation of two bilateral series against India. While the PCB refused to reveal the value of the short-term deals, ESPNcricinfo understands the value of two series would negatively affect the long-term deal next year.

Even though Zimbabwe dominated most parts of the third day by taking a 64-run lead and then building on it, three wickets in the last nine balls of the day brought the Pakistanis back and has given both the sides almost equal chances of winning the Test

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2013Even though Zimbabwe dominated most parts of the third day by taking a 64-run lead and then building on it, three wickets in the last nine balls of the day brought the Pakistanis back and has given both the sides chances of winning the Test. Pakistan’s bowling coach, Mohammad Akram, said they were confident of getting a few wickets by keeping their line and lengths tight to build the pressure.”Our plan was to keep it tight,” he said. “We knew that if we did that, at some point the door would open and then we could push through it.”Zimbabwe had taken a first-innings lead in the first Test too but they had to bat last which put added pressure on them when they were set a target of 342 with a little more than a day left. This time, Pakistan will be batting last and are already 185 runs behind with six Zimbabwe wickets remaining. The pitch, Akram said, has not been causing difficulty till now and said it is still a “good wicket” for both bowlers and batsmen.”So far the pitch has played well,” he said. “Everyone was thinking there would be too many snakes in it but it has been good for batting, once you are in. Stroke-making was not easy but there is still something in it for batsmen and bowlers and it’s been a good wicket.”

‘Not a bad decision to open with Utseya’

Two of the four wickets Zimbabwe lost on the third day were of bowlers as Vusi Sibanda could not open due to illness and Prosper Utseya accompanied Tino Mawoyo at the top of the order in the second innings. Panyangara, the nightwatchman who fell for a duck, said Utseya was the right replacement to open with, instead of sending another top-order batsman. Even though Utseya scored only 5, Panyangara defended the decision of openng with him.
“He [Sibanda] was off the field after lunch because he was not feeling well,” Panyangara said. “The team decided Prosper would be the best one to go and open for us. If you look at it now, it wasn’t that bad. As much as we didn’t want to lose those wickets at the end, we are still in a good position because two of the guys who are out are not top order batsmen.”

Tinashe Panyangara also said the pitch had not deteriorated much so far but hoped that it would on the last two days. “I hope so,” Panyangara said with a laugh when asked if he thought the pitch would get worse. “Every day we’ve thought it would get worse and it hasn’t really. But maybe on the final two days it will. It has been playing up a bit but I wouldn’t say it’s got much worse so far.”Just like Pakistan who had plans of bowling tight, Panyangara said they had planned to bowl around the off stump to keep Pakistan’s scoring rate down. Pakistan had started the day at 163 for 3 but collapsed to 230 after lunch, losing their last six wickets for 19 runs. Brian Vitori, who had not been picked for the first Test, claimed the last three wickets in two consecutive overs to take his first five-for in only his fourth Test.”Our plan was to stay around off stump all the time and keep the run-scoring down,” Panyangara said. “If you look at the run-scoring especially after lunch, they never scored at more than three an over. We knew if we did that right, we would get wickets.”Despite Pakistan’s lower-order collapse, Panyangara said they would need “a day at the least ” to bowl Pakistan out in the fourth innings after setting them a target. With six wickets in hand, he said they did not have any target in mind and would try to get “as many as possible” before bowling in the fourth innings.

Lancashire may not have achieved promotion in the style they would have liked, but the hour-long wait to confirm their success completes a remarkable turnaround of fortunes

Myles Hodgson at Old Trafford14-Sep-2013
ScorecardBen Raine made his best first-class score as Leicestershire battled gamely to a draw•Getty Images

Lancashire may not have achieved promotion in the style they would have liked, but the hour-long wait to confirm their success completes a remarkable turnaround of fortunes. Relegated as reigning champions just a year ago, their return to Division One was confirmed after third-placed Essex were unable to secure victory against Kent at Canterbury.By the time news filtered through, there were precious few people left at Old Trafford to mark the event, after Lancashire’s final home match meandered to a draw on the final day. The players, of course, enjoyed their own celebration in the dressing room but the rest of the refurbished ground was empty other than a few members of the media writing up in the press box and the odd construction worker disassembling the temporary stands used for the Ashes Test and recent one-day international.Resuming the final morning trailing by 393 runs on 60 for 3, Leicestershire comfortably batted out the day and avoided a seventh successive defeat mainly thanks to a 69-run seventh-wicket stand between Ben Raine, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday, and Tom Wells. Raine top-scored with a career-best 72, while Wells also made his best first-class score of 43, and both sides shook hands on a draw after Leicestershire were dismissed for 329.It was a low-key end to Lancashire’s season at Old Trafford and, although they may finish the summer with silverware – Lancashire need only 12 points from their final two matches to secure the Division Two title – thoughts will inevitably turn to next year and whether the team can adapt to Division One cricket better than 12 months ago?They certainly have a bigger playing pool, with youngsters like Luis Reece and Andrea Agathangelou breaking through this summer to keep Steven Croft and Karl Brown, the two players at the crease when Lancashire claimed the championship at Taunton in 2011, out of the Championship side. They will also be able to call upon the experience of Ashwell Prince, the former South Africa Test batsman, who fulfils the final year of his two-year deal as a Kolpak player next summer.Reece’s emergence as an opening partner for Paul Horton has provided the foundation for much of Lancashire’s success this summer. In six innings opening together, they have recorded three century partnerships – in stark contrast to last summer when Lancashire had to wait until the final game of the summer for their first century opening stand – and should provide greater stability going into next season.Lancashire would also like to add Simon Katich, the 38-year-old former Australia batsman, to their squad for next season as an overseas player, after he contributed 1,097 Championship runs to their promotion push, including four hundreds and six half-centuries, at an average of 73.13. He will play no further part in their season as he is due to fly out to India this weekend to captain Perth Scorchers in the Champions League and discussions about next summer are expected to begin after the end of that tournament.Should Katich decide against another gruelling six months in county cricket, Lancashire have confirmed they would look to recruit another quality overseas batsman having already made the exciting signing of Kyle Jarvis, the 24-year-old former Zimbabwe Test bowler, on a three-year contract as a Kolpak player to strengthen their bowling resources. Jarvis claimed 30 wickets in eight Tests and has certainly looked the part during lunch-time bowling sessions at Old Trafford, bowling at a good pace and accuracy, but has yet to be tested in a first-team fixture.Jarvis’ pace will certainly add something to Lancashire’s attack, which has lacked a quick bowler for some years, and will ease the workload on Glen Chapple, their 39-year-old captain. They are well stocked in the spin department, with Simon Kerrigan having already proven himself in Division One. Stephen Parry, another left-arm spinner, should strengthen that department, having missed most of this season with a broken arm, while Arron Lilley, a 22-year-old offspinner, also made his Championship debut this summer.Do Lancashire have enough strength in depth to challenge for the title, as Yorkshire have done, in the season after going up? Much will depend on Lancashire’s recruitment policies during the winter. Their Roses rivals secures Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks a year ago, which has helped them mount a title challenge.Certainly Katich is confident. “Having played Yorkshire last year [with Hampshire], they’ve brought in Plunkett and Brooks and, apart from that, their team is pretty similar,” he said. “The batting line-up is almost the same, apart from one or two young kids. They played some good cricket last year, Jason Gillespie is a good coach and they’ve probably built on that confidence and had another good year, so there’s no reason why that couldn’t also happen here.”

Leicestershire’s Clint McKay starred with bat and ball in blustery Canterbury, where 15 wickets fell in a day to leave the visitors with a real chance of ending a Championship winless run that dates back to September 2012

Press Association05-May-2015
ScorecardClint McKay took six wickets and then helped shore up Leicestershire’s position with the bat (file photo)•Getty Images

Leicestershire’s Clint McKay starred with bat and ball in blustery Canterbury, where 15 wickets fell in a day to leave the visitors with a real chance of ending a Championship winless run that dates back to September 2012.Having conceded a first-innings deficit of 118, Division Two bottom side Kent appeared to have Leicestershire on the run at 86 for 7 in their second innings, until McKay waltzed to a quickfire 43 from 36 balls and wrestled the initiative back Leicestershire’s way. The visitors will go into the final day of a fascinating tussle on 189 for 8 and a lead of 307 over a Kent side who are defending a 10-year unbeaten record against the east Midlands county.After a 15-minute delay to mop up overnight rain, Kent appeared set for a fair first-innings lead at the start of day three as fourth-wicket partners Joe Denly and Sam Northeast extended their stand to 139 – Kent’s best of the summer to date.However, Denly’s demise leg-before for a stoic 84, coupled with the arrival of the second new ball, sparked a dramatic collapse that saw Kent lose their last seven wickets for 53 runs.Northeast, who battled to his third half-century of the campaign, also missed out on a century when he fell lbw to Charlie Shreck for 84 then McKay ran through the tail to finish with 6 for 54 – the best bowling figures by a Leicestershire bowler since Robbie Joseph bagged 6 for 47 against Glamorgan in the opening match of 2012.Batting again soon after lunch, Leicestershire struggled initially against Kent’s rookie paceman Ivan Thomas, who found his range for the first time in the match to send both Matt Boyce and Ned Eckersley packing.The visitors lost three more wickets for as many runs in the run-up to the tea interval when Mitch Claydon trapped fellow Australian Mark Cosgrove lbw, leaving Darren Stevens to dislodge Angus Robson and Neil Pinner with naggingly accurate away swingers.Only 199 runs ahead on 81 for 5 at the interval, the visitors were in danger of throwing away their healthy position when Kent won two further lbw appeals soon after the restart, but McKay was having none of it. The willowy Australian clattered seven fours and a six in his cameo knock and featured in a crucial stand of 62 inside 13 overs with Rob Taylor before Stevens made him his eighth victim of the game by plucking out off stump with a shooting leg-cutter.Taylor remained unbeaten on 33 at the close, together with Jigar Naik, to restore Leicestershire’s ascendancy and take their side into the final day as favourites to secure a first four-day win since an edgy two-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Grace Road in September 2012.

There will be not just a new look but a new approach from England’s ODI team in the series against New Zealand, according to their interim coach, Paul Farbrace

George Dobell03-Jun-2015There will be not just a new look but a new approach from England’s ODI team in the series against New Zealand, according to their interim coach, Paul Farbrace.Farbrace has promised that, with bat and ball, England will play a far more aggressive style of cricket than they have demonstrated over the last few years.The talk has been heard before. Ahead of the World Cup there was talk that England would play a more aggressive brand of cricket but, under pressure, they struggled to turn the words into actions. England were the monochrome team in the age of high definition colour. Truly, you are never far from a new era in England cricket.But there is a freshness to this side. There is a sense, this time, that the talk is genuine and that the change is real. And, even if some of the names are not new, it seems likely that Ben Stokes, for example, will be given the freedom to bat in the top six and play his naturally aggressive game.What the players will not be expected to do is change. So the likes of Jason Roy and Alex Hales, young men who have made their name with explosive innings at county level, will be asked to relax and play in exactly the same manner for the national side.”The message will be, you’ve been selected because of the way you play at county level,” Farbrace said. “You have to go and do exactly the same at international level. The players who have the guts to do that will be the ones who make a success of it. I want them to go and enjoy playing international cricket and express their skills.

Farbrace on…

Trevor Bayliss

“We’ve chatted a lot. He’s had an influence in this one-day side. We chatted prior to selection and he’s had quite an input. He’s relayed some thoughts as to how he would like to see us working even though he will not be here. He’s watching and keeping a close eye. He knows a few of the players pretty well. He’s had an influence from afar.”

Defeat at Headingley

“The basics of the game we didn’t do well. We didn’t hold our line and lengths particularly well and we didn’t catch very well. You can’t afford to have to create 13 or 14 chances an innings to bowl a team out. We have to do the basics better.”

Senior players

“I couldn’t ask for any more from Broad and Anderson. There have been times when I’ve said, ‘we really need you to run in this session’ and they’ve done it. They have been excellent. And that’s what you need, your senior players giving you everything in the dressing room and supporting the young, less experienced players and making sure they are learning all the time.”

Slip catching

“Last summer, we missed a few chances in Leeds against Sri Lanka. So halfway through the India series, we put Ian Bell back in at second slip and started catching brilliantly. But we haven’t caught well in these games, so if we have to look at that – and the personnel involved – we will do so. I think it’s a confidence thing.”

Gary Ballance

“He has had a really good time at No. 3. Yes, he’s had a period where he hasn’t scored runs but he has played very well at No. 3 in the past so moving him down the order isn’t something we’ve discussed at the moment.”

“We need to move our one-day game forward. We need to look at other players. You only have to look at the last few months we’ve had in one-day cricket. There are people who need a really good go in this series. If you look at the way one-day cricket is evolving, we need powerful strikers right the way through the side and we need a left-arm seamer.”That left-arm seamer is David Willey. While Willey is not as quick as Harry Gurney, who seems to have been jettisoned for good, he does offer variation that England lacked at the World Cup and some powerful hitting in the middle-order.An obvious weakness of England’s World Cup campaign was the lack of potency with the ball. It was shown throughout the tournament that, if batting sides had wickets in hand going into the last 10 overs, they could cause havoc and add in excess of 100 runs. So Farbrace hopes that this squad will prove to have more bite and, in the absence of James Tredwell (injured) and Moeen Ali, who has been released to find red-ball form, has given another opportunity to legspinner Adil Rashid.”In one-day cricket we need to be taking wickets all the way through the opposition innings,” Farbrace said. “That’s why Adil Rashid is in there. We want wicket-taking bowlers to keep the opposition under pressure. If you don’t and teams have wickets in hand, then 100 to 150 is quite possible in the last 10 overs. And that takes games away from you.”While the batsmen in the squad are likely to be available for all five games, some of the bowlers – especially Mark Wood – might be rotated to ensure they are fresh for the Ashes.”We have to be careful with Woody,” Farbrace said. “He will probably play only two or three of the ODIs. We want him to be available for that first Test. We need to look after him. Liam Plunkett could easily play his role. We want some pace in there.”The basics of one-day cricket don’t change that much. But it is moving towards a power game. A strength game. And you have to have bowlers who can take wickets.”Reflecting on the Test series, Farbrace admitted England remained a developing team and that some patience would be required before results reflect any improvement.”We have a lot to do before we can be a consistent side that are winning games and series on a regular basis,” he said. “It takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of patience. But there’s no lack of hard work in this group. They give everything.”But you can’t just keep patting people on the back and say ‘keep going’ There are times when you have to say ‘that’s not quite good enough’ and look at ways to improve.”Meanwhile, the ECB have confirmed the availability of England players for the next few weeks of domestic action. Moeen, Gary Ballance, Adam Lyth, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell are all available for the next couple of rounds of Championship cricket, while all players – with the exception of Anderson and Wood – will be available for domestic NatWest T20 Blast action this weekend.That means Joe Root and Jos Buttler will face each other in the Roses match, while Broad, Taylor and Hales will all be available for Nottinghamshire’s match against Leicestershire on Friday. Taylor and Hales have also given permission to play on Sunday before joining up with the England squad 24-hours later than their colleagues.Alastair Cook will play for Essex in their Championship fixture against Derbyshire starting on June 14, which means a chance for Mark Footitt, the left-arm fast bowler who continues to flourish in country cricket, to impress against him.

Zimbabwe’s four-run loss in the first ODI suggests the hosts will continue to competitive against an Indian side missing its senior players

The Preview by Liam Brickhill11-Jul-2015

Match facts

Sunday, 12 July
Start time 0900 local time (0700 GMT)

Big picture

It was expected that the absence of India’s senior players might reduce the gap between India and Zimbabwe in terms of competition, and the first ODI proved to be Zimbabwe’s narrowest ever home defeat. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s last-over mettle meant Elton Chigumbura never really had the chance to target the boundary, and India will be buoyed by their 1-0 series lead.They will, however, also have a few issues to iron out. Apart from Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny, who shored up the innings with a record 160-run stand, the batting looked docile and the performance of the middle order will be a worry. India’s bowling is in rather better order, and the spin pair of Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel will only gain in potency as the pitches tire in the matches to come.Despite another honourable loss, the margin of defeat suggests Zimbabwe will continue to be competitive. The team balance may be affected by the absence of Tinashe Panyangara, who suffered a minor side strain in the first match and will sit out on Sunday, but Zimbabwe still have the resources to run India close, particularly if their own middle order plays to potential.The new playing conditions didn’t seem to have a huge effect on team tactics on Friday. Both sides kept close-in catchers for most of the match, and India were still able to plunder 90 runs from the last 10 overs despite the presence of five fielders on the boundary. The rules appeared to make it easier to defend a total, however, so the toss may not be as great a factor in these matches as it has been in previous winter series in Zimbabwe.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Zimbabwe: LLLLL
India: WWLLL

In the spotlight

Ambati Rayudu clearly enjoys Zimbabwean conditions. He made an emotional half-century on debut here two years ago – his 63 easing India to a six-wicket win – and started this tour in even more impressive fashion. Rayudu weathered Zimbabwe’s spirited charge with the new ball before shifting gears towards the end of the innings, finishing with a career-best 124 not out. His adhesive qualities may well be needed once again as India look to seal the series.Elton Chigumbura has undergone various incarnations in his decade as an international cricketer. He’s batted as low as No. 9 in the one-day side, but when he was shorn of his pace by a back injury in 2006 his batting contributions started to gain importance. Now Zimbabwe’s No. 4, Chigumbura has taken to the move up the order with aplomb. He started with 54 in the first T20 against Pakistan in May, and has now added two centuries in the same position in ODIs.

Team news

Tinashe Panyangara pulled up short with a side strain in his 10th over in the first ODI and will sit out Sunday’s game. While there isn’t a clear like-for-like replacement in the squad, Prosper Utseya may be an option, especially as he will help Zimbabwe control the middle overs of the innings, where they let things slip in the first match.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Donald Tiripano, 11 Brian Vitori.India have little reason to change their playing XI, and the contingent of middle order hopefuls will be eager to capitalise on another chance to showcase their talent.India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (captain), 3 Ambati Rayudu, 4 Manoj Tiwary, 5 Robin Uthappa (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni.

Pitch and conditions

The first hour will remain a challenging one for batsmen against the new ball, but the opening match showed there was profit in occupying the crease. Without the merest hint of rain about, the pitch will remain dry and is expected to ease out during the day.

Stats and trivia

• Ambati Rayudu has been dismissed only twice in four innings in Zimbabwe and has scored 225 at an average of 112.5.
• In nine innings at No. 4 for Zimbabwe, Elton Chigumbura has scored 427 runs at an average of 61.00 and a strike rate of 95.73.
• In the eight ODIs that have been played at Harare Sports Club in the month of July, the average first innings score is 245. Chasing doesn’t seem to be an advantage either, with a 4-4 split in wins batting first and second.

Quotes

“If we get a chance to bat up front again early in the morning it’s crucial, with the Dukes ball that does swing and seam a bit, that we’ve got to give the bowlers a lot more respect.”
.”Obviously when you play at this level the main thing is to be consistent, and I’m going to try by all means to ride on the way I’m playing at the moment.”

Chamu Chibhabha and Graeme Cremer played starring roles as Zimbabwe finally coalesced their different strengths into a functional, all-round performance to trip up India by 10 runs in the second T20 international

The Report by Arun Venugopal19-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChamu Chibhabha and Graeme Cremer played starring roles as Zimbabwe finally coalesced their different strengths into a functional, all-round performance to trip up India by 10 runs in the second T20 international.After Chibhabha’s 51-ball 67 helped Zimbabwe put up a total of 145 – one that seemed inadequate at the halfway mark – Cremer garotted India’s batsmen with a spell of 4-0-18-3. Zimbabwe seemed to be headed towards another lopsided defeat when Robin Uthappa, who blasted 42 off 25 balls, was in the middle, but Cremer’s introduction in the seventh over saw India slip from 56 for 1 to 61 for 4. India took the equation to 25 off 12 balls, but Taurai Muzarabani conceded only six runs in the penultimate over, before Chris Mpofu, buckled India’s batsmen in the last over to complete Zimbabwe’s first T20 win over India.India’s start had an ominous portent to it when captain Ajinkya Rahane was run-out having been sent back by his opening partner, M
Vijay, who bailed after initially setting off for a run. Uthappa, however, produced an innings that bore no resemblance to his grinding effort in the first T20 international.Uthappa found his bearings with successive boundaries off Muzarabani, a well-timed cover drive followed by a powerful whip through midwicket. Two overs later, he collected three fours off Mpofu with rasping pulls off the front foot and a cheeky nudge behind short fine leg as India galloped to 57 for 1 at the end of six overs.It was the first delivery after the Powerplay, however, that brought Zimbabwe back. Cremer, who troubled India two days ago, slipped one past Vijay, and three balls later, had Manish Pandey out lbw, but the ball appeared headed down the leg side.India lost two more wickets in the next two overs. Uthappa was the prize wicket, as Sean Williams completed a sharp return catch. Kedar Jadhav’s departure in the next over was as much because of his laxity as some sparkling fielding from Muzarabani, who produced a direct hit from deep midwicket.Stuart Binny and debutant Sanju Samson, though, took charge of the restoration job, putting on 36 runs for the sixth wicket. With 41 required off 30 balls, however, India suffered another jolt through Cremer. Binny’s attempted thwack over long-off seemed to dip in front of Chibhabha, but the fielder flung himself forward to grab the chance. Zimbabwe’s seamers then removed Samson and Axar Patel in successive overs, effectively deciding the result.India’s tactics with the ball appeared to be pre-determined, as they persisted with bowling short. The short-ball gambit was particularly puzzling given that their seamers were getting the ball to move appreciably off a fuller length.Hamilton Masakadza and Chibhabha were alert to opportunities, swatting away half-trackers between square leg and midwicket. Masakadza, though, was dismissed by Sandeep Sharma, attempting to dab a short delivery that fizzed off the wicket, one ball after carting the bowler for six.Sikandar Raza, standing in as captain for the first time in international cricket after Elton Chigumbura was injured, showed intent before his slash floated into third man’s hands. India’s spinners – Axar Patel and Vijay – sent down a few tight overs immediately after the Powerplay in which Zimbabwe scored 49.But, Rahane didn’t have the luxury of a second specialist spinner – Harbhajan Singh was rested – and appeared loath to let Vijay complete his quota. Chibhabha and Sean Williams then knitted together a 37-run partnership for the third wicket.India’s bowlers, though, were chipping away, and Chibhabha found himself without much support at the other end. Once Chibhabha was bowled in the 19th over, the innings stagnated further. Zimbabwe eventually managed 69 runs in the last 10 overs, including 33 in the last five.

The schedule for South Africa’s tour to India, which will be played over 72 days between September and December, has been announced

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-20151:38

Moonda: SA’s chance to establish themselves as the best

South Africa will play three Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and four Tests on a 72-day tour of India this year, according to the schedule released today. The tour, which runs from September to December, will be South Africa’s longest trip to India and will feature their first Twenty20 international against India in India and the first four-Test series between the two teams in India.

South Africa’s schedule in India

September 29: T20 tour game, Delhi
October 2: 1st T20I, Dharamsala (D/N)
October 5: 2nd T20I, Cuttack (D/N)
October 8: 3rd T20I, Kolkata (D/N)
October 11: 1st ODI, Kanpur
October 14: 2nd ODI, Indore (D/N)
October 18: 3rd ODI, Rajkot (D/N)
October22: 4th ODI, Chennai (D/N)
October 25: 5th ODI, Mumbai (D/N)
October 26-27: Team-building session, Goa
October 30-31: Tour match v Board President’s XI, Mumbai
November 5-9: 1st Test, Mohali
November 14-18: 2nd Test, Bangalore
November 25-29: 3rd Test, Nagpur
December 3-7: 4th Test, Delhi

The second Test in Bangalore, scheduled to start from November 14, is also likely to be AB de Villiers’ 100th Test. De Villiers has played 98 Tests so far and is not a part of South Africa’s squad in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh.The tour will begin with a T20 practice match in Delhi, before the three T20Is in Dharamsala, Cuttack and Kolkata, which will be played between October 2 and 8. The ODI series will be played between October 11 and 25 in Kanpur, Indore, Rajkot, Chennai and Mumbai.The visitors will have a two-day team-building session in Goa and a two-day tour-match in Mumbai against the Board President’s XI before the start of the first Test in Mohali on November 5. The remaining Tests will be played in Bangalore, Nagpur and Delhi.The BCCI had earlier allotted one of the Tests in the series to Ahmedabad. With the Motera stadium going under renovation, Mohali has been allotted the Test match, while the T20, which was scheduled to be held in Mohali, has been moved to Cuttack.”This will be the longest tour that we have undertaken to India and the first time we will play a four-Test series,” Cricket South Africa’s chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said. “Both countries are now working to develop this into an icon series. Another first is that we will be playing our first T20 International match against India in India.”Of note will be the second Test match to be played in Bangalore where the Castle Lager Proteas previously secured our only ever Test Series win over India in India in 2000. If all works out this will be AB de Villiers’ 100th Test match and it could not be a more appropriate venue as it has become AB’s second home through his involvement with the Royal Challengers Bangalore.”

KL Rahul’s second Test century was the centrepiece of a fluctuating opening day at the P Sara Oval, which saw India recover from a troubled start and move to a solid but never dominant position

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy20-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHaving capitalised on an early life, KL Rahul went on to make his second Test hundred•AFP

KL Rahul’s second Test century was the centrepiece of a fluctuating opening day at the P Sara Oval, which saw India recover from a troubled start and move to a solid but never dominant position. Rahul and Virat Kohli, who came together after two early strikes from Dhammika Prasad, added 164 for the third wicket before Rohit Sharma built on the platform they erected and scored the third half-century of his stop-start Test career.Rohit and Wriddhiman Saha put on 52 for the sixth wicket and took India past 300 before Angelo Mathews ended the partnership with what turned out to be the last ball of the day.Rohit came in at No. 5 – with Ajinkya Rahane taking the No. 3 slot he vacated – and eased his way into form, taking plenty of singles against spread-out fields and hitting only four boundaries in his first 50 runs. The scoring opportunities arrived late in the day, when Sri Lanka took the second new ball as soon as it was due.Prasad had already sent down 18 overs in the day, in five separate spells, and a sixth one proved too much of an ask. He sent down two long-hops in his first over, which Rohit duly pulled for a six and a four, and another short ball in his next over, which Rohit steered behind point for another boundary.But just when he looked set to have a good night’s rest and resume in sight of a hundred, Mathews dismissed him for the second time in two Tests in exactly the same manner, jagging one back off the seam to strike his front pad as he looked to play around it.Noting at the toss that “whatever grass we saw two days ago has disappeared”, Kohli chose to bat first. Mathews said he would have bowled anyway, expecting the pitch to stay true to its usual self and assist his seamers early on.Mathews’ hunch was proven right, as Prasad found seam movement to strike in the first over of the Test. Having swung two of the first three balls away from M Vijay – only gently, but perceptibly – he got the fourth to nip back in off the seam. Not quite fully forward to defend, Vijay’s front pad was right in front of off stump when the ball struck it.Next to go was Rahane. At his regular No. 5 slot, against an older ball, he may have gotten away with reaching away from his body to drive on the up. Against a new ball that curved away from him, he didn’t; the thick edge carried nicely to third slip.With Mathews taking the new ball from the other end and asking questions of the batsmen – he straightened one from wide of the crease to send it flying off Rahul’s edge between gully and point – India were under a fair deal of pressure.Dushmantha Chameera – in the team because of Nuwan Pradeep’s hamstring injury – released some of it when he came on as first change, but only after creating a clear chance in his first over. Rahul went hard at a shortish ball outside off and sliced straight to gully, only for Jehan Mubarak to drop the waist-high chance.Three fours came off Chameera’s first two overs – all from half-volleys driven down the ground or flicked off the pads – and two more in his next two, including a controlled pull from Kohli off a waist-high short ball.Rahul and Kohli grew increasingly comfortable as the ball lost shine and shape – the umpires called for a replacement after 10 overs – though the odd one still seamed around, as Kohli discovered when Prasad jagged it back into him and struck him on the back thigh. The pitch too lost its early juice and flattened out into an inviting batting strip.At lunch, Rahul was on 39 and Kohli on 48. Rahul overtook his captain with three fours in the first three overs after the break, the best of them a drive off Prasad between short cover and mid-off. It was the result of a big forward stride and immaculate weight transfer, and it brought up his fifty.Every now and then, Kohli lapsed into his old tendency of pushing at the ball away from his body, and one such hard-handed jab nearly cost him his wicket against Prasad, in the fifth over after lunch, the edge falling just short of first slip. This came in a phase when he was stuck on 50 for 11 balls: he also popped Prasad off the inside edge and pad into the vacant short leg area in this time.Having survived that stretch, Kohli grew dominant, clipping Chameera for two fours in an over and drilling Herath with immense bat-speed into a small gap between short extra cover and a deepish cover. With the batsmen growing increasingly dominant and the bowling increasingly ragged, Kohli and Rahul hit seven fours and a six from the 34th to 43rd overs.Just when Sri Lanka seemed at a loss for ideas, Kohli fell against the run of play. Rahul had late-cut Kaushal to the third man boundary in the previous over, and Kohli tried to play a similar shot off Herath, when the ball wasn’t quite short enough for it. Mathews anticipated well at slip, dived across, and snaffled the ball one-handed.The wicket re-energised Herath, who gave India a few nervous moments before tea with his changes of pace and trajectory. Rohit made the same mistake that got him out in the second innings of the Galle Test, coming forward to defend with his front leg a long way inside the line. The ball popped in the air, off the edge, but there was no silly point and Rohit escaped a second-baller.Herath then nearly had Rahul, deceiving him in the air as he skipped down the pitch, and forcing him to push his hands at the ball as it dipped and turned away from him. The edge, however, didn’t carry to slip.Aside from that moment, Rahul’s eagerness to dance out of his crease had served him well. All the Indian batsmen looked to do just that, against Herath, and Kohli, Rahul and Rohit hit him for a big six each.Sri Lanka turned to the short ball after tea, with Chameera steaming in from around the stumps, and the tactic brought them Rahul’s wicket. Rahul, who had reached his hundred five overs earlier, went for the hook, looking to fetch a shoulder-high ball from outside off stump, and could only spoon a simple catch to the keeper off the top edge.Stuart Binny, who never looked comfortable at any point during his 40-ball stay, fell while trying to take on Herath as soon as he came back into the attack an hour into the final session. Looking to hit him inside-out, over the covers, Binny only managed to spoon him to long-off.

Zimbabwe are in unfamiliar territory heading into their short one-day series against Ireland. It is not often that they can reasonably be expected to win a series, but they should have an advantage in home conditions

Liam Brickhill08-Oct-2015Zimbabwe are in unfamiliar territory heading into their short one-day series against Ireland. It is not often that they can reasonably be expected to win a series, but they should have an advantage in home conditions and captain Elton Chigumbura admitted that this has created a different sort of pressure for his team.”When we go out there we want to win every game that we play,” said Chigumbura. “We’ve got more expectation on us to win these games against Ireland, so obviously there’s a little more pressure on us. So we have to rise to the occasion. It’s an important series for us. I’m sure if we play our best cricket we’ll come out on top. We’ve been looking forward to this series. It’s going to be hard cricket.”Unusually, in recent months Zimbabwe have also had the task of managing the workload of some of their senior players a little more carefully. After years of their cricket suffering from a paucity of games, Zimbabwe have had a packed schedule this year, with visits from India and New Zealand followed by the recent series against Pakistan and Ireland’s visit. Afghanistan, who they will play in five ODIs and two T20Is later this month, are already in the country warming up.”We had a day off after Pakistan,” said Chigumbura. “There’s lots of cricket, especially this month, but that’s what we’ve been asking for for a long time: to have more games. Now we’ve got them so we just have to make sure that we deal well with the short breaks that we’ve got in between.”Bowling coach Douglas Hondo added that his bowlers are not suffering despite their increased workload. “At the moment the bowlers are still fresh enough,” he said. “We’ve been managing their workloads and telling them after games, ‘do absolutely nothing, just rest’. Then we do a little bit of analysis and the day before a game have a little bit of a run around. The ball is coming out well for them, so we don’t have to do a lot of physical stuff.”Workload and pressure aside, Zimbabwe have also had to deal with the situation presented by some under-performing seniors. Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya and Hamilton Masakadza have all lost their places due to poor form. “He’s not in the squad, he has been dropped from the team,” Chigumbura explained somewhat awkwardly when asked about Masakadza. But he added that Zimbabwe also have much to be confident about.”If you look at the series we’ve played this year, compared to last year or two years ago, right now almost every series we’re winning a game so there’s lots of confidence from that. Some of the guys have been consistent, and hopefully the in-form guys can carry on with that.”