Category Uncategorized

Fast bowler suffered cut to hand in January that will now require an operation

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2021Jofra Archer is set to undergo a surgical procedure on his right hand next week, having also received another injection in his elbow after being ruled out of England’s ongoing ODI series in India.The news means Archer’s participation in the upcoming IPL hangs in the balance, although it is understood that Rajasthan Royals, the franchise he represents, have decided to wait until next week before deciding their next step. The Royals were already braced to be without their star fast bowler for the first half of the tournament after he returned home early from England’s tour of India.In a statement the ECB said that Archer had suffered a cut to his hand in January, which had been managed on tour, but specialist advice had now recommended surgery.Archer missed two of England’s four Tests in India due to an elbow problem and although he subsequently played all five of the T20Is, he was sent home to rest after the injury was deemed to have “deteriorated” further.Related

• Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Josh Hazlewood withdraws from IPL 2021

• Sunrisers Hyderabad bring in Jason Roy as Mitchell Marsh's replacement

• Jofra Archer's finger injury caused by fish tank mishap as IPL decision looms

• Newsfile: Saba Karim joins Delhi Capitals as head of talent search

• Jofra Archer likely to miss first half of IPL 2021

Having returned to the UK earlier this week, Archer underwent a scan and a consultant review on his hand.”Jofra suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for the Test series,” the ECB statement said. “The injury was managed by the ECB’s medical team through the tour and it did not impact on his availability.”Further investigation and a specialist opinion was sought upon his return to the UK and, in conjunction with the ECB medical panel, it has been decided that surgery is the best option to manage his injury in the longer term.”Archer previously suffered a stress fracture of his right elbow in early 2020, ruling him out of the Sri Lanka tour that was subsequently called off due to Covid-19. His fitness is set to be carefully monitored by the ECB, with Archer central to the twin goals of a T20 World Cup and the Ashes in Australia later this year.

“Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing. Now I don’t think too much about those things”

Varun Shetty in Kolkata22-Nov-20192:09

I am enjoying my cricket right now – Ishant

A renewed approach to life has helped Ishant Sharma grow as a bowler, he said after taking a five-wicket haul in India’s first day-night Test. It was his first five-for in India since his first home match in 2007 against Pakistan.Ishant has more or less become a permanent member of this Indian team over the last two years, and is central to the pace attack that has progressively improved as India firmly established themselves in the No. 1 spot in Tests. This permanence and the recent bursts of improvement have not been enough to make Ishant consistently challenge for a limited-overs spot. But 12 years and 96 Tests later, he is not wasting time feeling sorry for himself.”In some sense [it hurts], yes. But I’m at a stage of my life where I’ve stopped worrying about these kind of things. I’m 31 now, I can’t keep worrying now about which format my name has been picked for.” Ishant said at the press conference in Kolkata. “Whether I play for India, whether I play Ranji Trophy – I just want to be playing at this point. It’s a simple thing. If you desire to keep playing, you’ll do well. Cricket’s given us everything. If we keep cribbing about small things like these, we will never improve.”Ishant Sharma’s two five-wicket hauls in home Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Just before Sri Lanka’s tour of India almost exactly two years ago, Ishant had taken 212 wickets at 36.93 in 77 Tests. Since the start of that series, he has taken 76 wickets in 19 games. His career average has gone up by a dramatic four runs per wicket and is presently at 32.94. That is precisely the average at which Zaheer Khan finished his career. If he plays in four more Tests, Ishant will be first frontline fast bowler since Kapil Dev to go past 100 Tests for India. These are all feats that were improbable some five years ago. What changed?”I think I’m enjoying my cricket now,” Ishant said. “Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing – that I need to take wickets, that I’m only beating the batsman…a lot of things used to run on my mind. Now I don’t think too much about those things, just how to take wickets. Obviously I’m experienced so I can assess conditions and adjust my lengths quickly, that makes it easy.”Ishant Sharma interview on The Cricket Monthly: ‘If I don’t take wickets even in one innings, I think my career for India is over’Another feat Ishant achieved on Friday was that he bowled India’s first delivery in a day-night Test. Bowling with the pink ball, he said, was not the same.”It was very different. In the start you must have seen that when we bowled a normal length, it wasn’t swinging that much. After that we realised what lengths we need to be hitting in order to get some more help. So the three of us [fast bowlers] communicated about hitting the right length,” Ishant said.Regardless of that rustiness, India managed to be consistent enough to have Bangladesh six down by lunch. The fall of those wickets began with Ishant trapping Imrul Kayes lbw. And it came with a ball he only started developing during the second day in the previous Test.Ishant Sharma picked up the first wicket for India on their pink-ball Test debut•BCCI

“You must have seen that normally I used to swing it away from the left-hander,” Ishant said, talking of his new incoming delivery. “So I needed to add a variation. Your game only improves when you bring variety to it, and build confidence to bowl those in the match. So I was trying to bowl more of that in practice. In this match, the first wicket that I got – Imrul Kayes lbw – I got him with that ball. The two bowled wickets I got were also that ball. The ball lands and stays straight, it doesn’t go away from the batsman.”On the flip side of this contest, Bangladesh have struggled to show any resistance, in any innings, against this Indian attack. While neither of the pitches have particularly difficult to bat on, Bangladesh’s top-order has crumbled in the face of relentless pressure. At the same time, their bowlers haven’t come as close to troubling India. But even as they face a grueling period, head coach Russell Domingo was optimistic, citing Ishant’s steep rise as a potential inspiration for his own bowlers.”I don’t want to keep comparing the two sides but if you think of the number of Tests their pacers have played, and compare that with Ebadot’s fourth Test match, we have a very inexperienced bowling line-up.,” he said.”Look at the way Ishant started, and the way his career is now. It takes a bit of time for these young fast bowlers to find the length and the discipline it takes to bowl to guys like Rohit, Virat or Pujara. It is a steep learning curve at the moment.”

The South African will slot into a batting line-up that already includes Chris Gayle and Alex Hales

Mohammad Isam27-Oct-2018

How the BPL squads look before the draft

Rangpur Riders: Chris Gayle, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, AB de Villiers, Alex Hales
Dhaka Dynamites: Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Hazratullah Zazai
Sylhet Sixers: Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Liton Das, Sohail Tanvir, David Warner, Sandeep Lamichhane
Khulna Titans: Mahmudullah, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Carlos Brathwaite, Dawid Malan, Ali Khan
Comilla Victorians: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shoaib Malik, Asela Gunaratne, Liam Dawson
Rajshahi Kings: Mominul Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Zakir Hasan, Qais Ahmed, Christiaan Jonker
Chittagong Vikings: Sikandar Raza, Luke Ronchi, Najibullah Zadran, Sunzamul Islam, Mohammad Shahzad, Robbie Frylinck

Rangpur Riders have signed up AB de Villiers for the 2018-19 BPL season as their second signing outside the player draft, which is set to take place on Sunday. It sets up the mouthwatering prospect of a Rangpur batting line-up that also includes Chris Gayle, whom the franchise retained after his fireworks in last year’s final, and Alex Hales, whom they signed earlier this month.Apart from de Villiers and Hales, other prominent recent signings in the BPL include David Warner for Sylhet Sixers and Andre Russell for Dhaka Dynamites. There was interest shown in players from Associates nations too, with Sylhet roping in Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane and Khulna signing USA fast bowler Ali Khan, who impressed in the CPL this year. Dhaka have picked up Hazratullah Zazai, who recently hit six sixes in an over in the Afghan Premier League.Each team has six players in their squad ahead of the draft. In all, each team can sign a maximum of 12 local and nine overseas players. Every side must include four overseas players in their playing XI this season.Dhaka already have five overseas players among their current squad of six, which means they will focus mostly on local players in the draft. Rangpur could add allrounders and spinners to their squad to complement their star-studded batting line-up and a bowling attack containing Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Islam. Sylhet have their top four sorted with Warner, Liton Das, Nasir Hossain and Sabbir Rahman, so they would look to strengthen their lower middle order and bowling attack which already includes Sohail Tanvir and Lamichhane.In the draft, the A+ category (USD 200,000) will include Shahid Afridi, Imran Tahir and Evin Lewis, while category A (USD 150,000) will include Mohammad Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga and Darren Bravo.The BPL which is scheduled from January 5 to February 8, will clash with the UAE T20x and the Big Bash League in Australia.

Lancashire have offered Steven Finn a lucrative, long-term deal in an attempt to lure him away from Lord’s

George Dobell12-Aug-2017Lancashire have offered Steven Finn a lucrative, long-term deal in an attempt to lure him away from Lord’s.Finn made his debut for Middlesex as a 16-year-old in 2005, the youngest man to do so since Fred Titmus in 1949. He is out of contract with the club at the end of the year, though, and has so far not signed the new deal offered him by Middlesex.Finn’s attraction to Lancashire is obvious. The sort of fast bowler who relishes a heavy workload and has a relatively good injury record, he appears to have dipped behind a few others in the England pecking order – he hasn’t played a Test since October 2016 or an ODI since May – so could be expected to be available for county action for most of the season. He also has a good record in all formats of the game and is bowling well enough that he was called into the England squad as cover when Mark Wood was injured.He might also feel that moving from Lord’s – where the pitches tend to offer bowlers very little – might provide more opportunities to impress. Aged 28, he should have several good years ahead of him.Finn currently has an ECB central contract, but it not certain to see it renewed in the next round of deals which kick-in from October.”There have been approaches for Steven,” Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been in negotiations and he’s asked for a bit more time. But he’s a Middlesex boy and we very much want him to say.”Lancashire’s leading seamer this season has been their overseas player, Ryan McLaren, and they may be concerned that Kyle Jarvis could be persuaded to return to international cricket with Zimbabwe.

Alex Hales might have missed out on a maiden century for the third time in the series but he could console himself with the knowledge that he has established himself in England’s top order for the foreseeable future

George Dobell at Lord's12-Jun-2016Alex Hales might have missed out on a maiden century for the third time in the series but he could console himself with the knowledge that he has established himself in England’s top order for the foreseeable future and given his side a decent chance of completing a third successive victory over Sri Lanka.Hales, who followed innings of 86 at Headingley and 83 in Durham with 94 here, admitted he was “frustrated” at failing to convert such scores to three figures. But, having answered many of the questions about his technique that hung over him at the start of the summer, he reasoned that, on balance, he had still enjoyed an encouraging series. He also conceded that he benefited from some significant luck during the course of this innings.Quite apart from being dropped twice, Hales also saw the DRS go his way when Sri Lanka reviewed an lbw shout and survived being clean bowled by Nuwan Pradeep when umpire Rod Tucker incorrectly called a no-ball.”It is frustrating,” he said. “But if someone had offered me nearly 300 runs at an average of 60 at the start of the series [he has scored 292 at 58.40], I’d probably have taken it. To have gone into the final Test 2-0 up and helped get the team off to some good starts, it could hardly have been a better. Well, it could if I had converted some starts, but so far so good.”I’d had my fair share of luck. I was bowled off that close no-ball and there were umpire’s calls and edges, so I guess my luck ran out. It’s disappointing to come so close and miss out again. When you get so close you have to be converting. But it was pretty decent delivery.”Hales was particularly pleased with his increased assurance outside off stump. While his tour to South Africa was dogged by dismissals to edges behind the wicket – he averaged 17.00 in the four-Test series, with a top-score of 60 – here he has dealt with Sri Lanka’s seam attack relatively comfortably and felt that he was also improving against spin bowling.”I had a lot of questions to answer after South Africa,” he said. “The biggest thing I’ve improved is my decision-making outside off stump. Whether it is leaving the ball or attacking the ball.”In South Africa, a few times, I was tentatively hanging my bat in the channel. So I’ve tried to be more positive. Positive in my leaving and positive when I’m looking to attack. It’s still something I’m improving on each game and there are other areas to work on as well, but I feel I’m heading in the right direction.”Maybe in the first couple games this summer, I have tried to go after the spinners more than should have. But this game I have played a lot better and picked my attacking options better against Rangana Herath. I’m learning from my mistakes and looking to build on this later in the summer. I know there are tougher challenges to come.”Hales admitted he had not changed his shot when bowled by the no-ball – it is doubtful whether a batsman has time to do so against a fast bowler at Test level – but suggested that, had a spinner been bowling, there may have been time to change his stroke. For that reason, it remains hard to envisage a scenario where an incorrect on-field no-ball call could be rescinded by TV evidence.”If the spinners are bowling, I guess your eyes could light up if hear the no-ball call,” he said. “But I have a bit of sympathy with Rod Tucker. You think about how fast the game moves and how close he was to the front line and it’s a split decision he has to make at the time. Rod had told him a few times that over he was getting close to the front line.”Perhaps the England declaration was also significant. While the first few years of Alastair Cook’s captaincy were marked by some low-risk, attritional cricket, here he has risked the possibility of losing in the attempt to win the game.The England side of a couple of years ago may well have batted on ensure they could not have lost the match before attempting to bowl out Sri Lanka but, in keeping with the more positive style that has characterised much of their cricket in the last 12 months, England have given Sri Lanka an outside chance of victory. Memories of West Indies’ run chase in 1984 were revived for some, though this pitch – offering a bit of spin and some uneven bounce at one end – looks considerably more demanding.”We could have batted on,” Hales said. “But this is the positive option. There’s still plenty of life in the pitch, so if they chase 350 or whatever it is, they deserve to win.”

A second Championship win for Essex, this one by an in innings, sees them get off the bottom of Division Two. Their 23 points achieved in three days work here takes them to sixth in the table, with nine left to play.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Chelmsford16-Jun-2015
ScorecardGraham Napier helped whittle out the Derbyshire lower-order•Getty Images

A second Championship win for Essex, this one by an in innings, sees them get off the bottom of Division Two. Their 23 points achieved in three days work here takes them to sixth in the table, with nine left to play. Should they go on a run reminiscent of last season’s home-straight of six wins out of their last seven they would be, as they say, “in and amongst it”.Certainly Essex are a side that thrive of momentum – not too surprising given the players they have: an array of attackers in each discipline that thrive with time on the field and wither without it. No one typifies that more than Graham Napier who has gradually been building up to a performance like today.His 4 for 64 in 23 overs, a season best, was a triumph of the endurance he has built up through managing niggles in the middle of an unrelenting schedule. At times in four-day cricket he has switched to an abbreviated run-up, mid-spell. On the third evening, there was nothing by half as he produced a match-winning cameo of six overs, 3 for 13. As the ball approached its seventies, it started showing signs of reversing. With that, it was handed to Napier at the Hayes Close End and he used it to gut the Derbyshire middle order. It was a reminder that Napier is one of the best reverse-swing bowlers on the county circuit.

Paul Grayson, Essex head coach

On day one “It was a very important toss to win on day one with those cloudy conditions, but we exploited those conditions well. Young Jamie Porter bowled outstandingly well and we probably could have bowled them out for a bit less if we took our catches.”
On Essex’s sole batting effort “It was an interesting scorecard because we didn’t get a hundred – quite rare when you get a good score like that. It was great to have Cookie back, especially when he’s in this form. Browne looked great again and it was just a great first innings performance that we’d talked about as a group. We’ve got to take control of games more.”
On results up till now “We’ve felt like we’ve played some half decent cricket but we’ve been punished from mistakes in previous games. There were signs against Northants last week where we showed character and fight to get back into that match. We got a strong side out this game and I was expecting a strong performance.”
On Napier’s 23 overs, 4 for 64 “I think Napes was outstanding today when we needed him. He’s put a massive shift in today. He looks fit at the moment, he’s signed a new contract and he’s bowling well – long may that continue.”

Essex added 24 runs to their overnight score, 21 of which came from the bat of James Foster. It was Wayne White who kept the home entertainment to a minimum by removing Aron Nijar lbw and then dismissing Foster, who guided him perfectly to Billy Godleman at third man. The wickets gave White his second consecutive six-wicket haul, after a career best 6 for 25 against Kent in the previous round of matches.Derbyshire, 325 behind, got off to the worst possible start when Ben Slater chipped Jamie Porter’s fifth ball to Napier at mid-on, who pulled off an impressive jumping catch. It looked from a distance that the ball might have stopped in the pitch; Slater seemingly checking his drive, as if reacting late to the ball not quite coming onto the bat. Soon after Billy Godleman followed him back to the pavilion when he flicked Porter straight to Ryan ten Doeschate, who had been moved to leg slip a couple of balls earlier.And so began a third wicket partnership that would take 43 overs to break. The respective shapes, mannerisms and backgrounds of Chesney Hughes and Wayne Madsen suggests more buddy-cop flick than strong-willed resistance. Hughes used his power to punish anything juicy that came his way; Madsen simply drove and guided out of habit. Against the spin of Tom Westley and Nijjar, Hughes at times looked edgy, and frenetic. As it started to look like Westley had Hughes’ number – with Hughes on 25, Westley had a big lbw shout turned down – the Derbyshire No. 3 ended a sequence of nine dot balls against the offspinner with a powerfully struck six over midwicket. Madsen on the other hand was a picture of serenity. Still, they both took it in turns to pummel the back of Ryan ten Doeschate who, at short-leg, felt the full force of their cuts and pulls on five or six occasions.Their partnership of 166 showed that the pitch rewarded patience. But when Hughes departed for 80, bowled so emphatically by Ravi Bopara that just one stump was left standing, that was the end of any real accompaniment for Madsen.By the time the Derbyshire captain had reached his hundred from his 179th ball faced – his first of the season and career-first against Essex – Wes Durston had perished to the second ball after lunch. At that point, the deficit was down to 70 and there was a chance that Essex would need to bat again. Then Napier happened. The last six wickets fell for 33, with Ryder removing Scott Elstone thanks to a brilliant catch from Foster, diving high to his right, bowling White and then having Mark Footitt caught at mid-off to finish the match.But it was Napier’s spell that allayed any fears that Essex might not convert this to a win. When Madsen nicked him to Alastair Cook at first slip, the crowd jumped to their feet – well rose slowly, carefully and surely – in appreciation that one of their experienced first team bowlers was fit and firing.Speaking at stumps, Essex coach Paul Grayson confirmed that David Masters, who missed this match with a groin strain, is likely to play back-to-back on Thursday and Friday night in the NatWest T20 Blast. Currently, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make it through a four-day game. An assessment will be made after Friday night as to whether he will make the squad for Gloucestershire on Sunday.As for Reece Topley, who spent the day as a net-bowler for England at Trent Bridge, things are a bit different. With the back problems he has had over the last year, a specialist has advised the club that the left-arm seamer cannot play two four-day matches in a row. Having played at Northampton, he was subsequently unavailable for this game and will come back into squad for the trip to Bristol. Essex and Grayson will operate on those terms until the end of the season before reassessing Topley in the winter.

Pakistan’s first cricket tour to India in five years faced a media blackout after international news agencies, including AFP, suspended coverage.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2012International news agencies have suspended coverage of Pakistan’s cricket tour of India – the first in five years – over the BCCI’s decision to bar some of their photo counterparts.The blackout continued a stand-off with the BCCI that first began during England’s Test series in India in November and which shows no signs of being resolved.News outlets said they would not be filing any text or pictures after the BCCI again refused to accredit the international picture agencies Getty Images and Action Images as well as two Indian agencies. Some news organisations, including ESPNcricinfo, that have depended on these agencies have used the pictures made available on the BCCI website.The BCCI’s stance is based upon the belief that it has a monopolistic right to all commercial revenue from photographic coverage of the games it stages, immediate news coverage apart. Support is coming from behind the scenes from key commercial figures in Cricket Australia.”It is regrettable that the politically-charged Pakistan tour will be affected by the BCCI’s failure to recognise the long-standing importance of photographic news agencies in the flow of sport and news images every day,” said the News Media Coalition, which represents a group of media organisations.International agencies who are members of the coalition, such as AFP, Thomson Reuters and the Associated Press, will halt text and photo coverage.English newspapers and some websites refused to use images supplied by the BCCI during the England tour and instead used file pictures, cartoons or hurried paintings by the cricket artist Jocelyn Galsworthy.Great moments in England cricket history, such as the 19 wickets shared by the spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar in the Mumbai Test, have only scant photographic record. Getty Images’ Gareth Copley and freelance photographers such as Phil Brown and Graham Morris have a worldwide reputation for the quality of their cricket photos and all were either barred or supported the dispute during the England tour.”As a direct result of the BCCI stance, great sporting moments from the cricket tours to India are going unrecorded and therefore lost forever. England’s games were the hidden series and the Pakistan tour is heading for the same fate,” said Andrew Moger, executive director of the NMC.The World Association of Newspapers is backing the suspension, saying the BCCI was “denying the ability of editors to select from the best of photography for the benefit of readers”.A BCCI spokesman declined to comment but did refer reporters to a statement issued for the England tour, which said there was “no intention to censor or limit bona fide news reporting” and emphasised that news agencies had been accredited.The photo agencies however had been refused as the BCCI deemed “their primary businesses involved the commercial sale and licensing of images rather than the supply of images to news publications for bona fide editorial purposes”.The BCCI has refused to draw up specific agreements with these photo agencies so that they can cover the tour under new terms and conditions.Pakistan’s tour begins with a Twenty20 fixture in Bangalore on Tuesday.

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the third round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2011

Group A

A hat-trick from Siddharth Trivedi helped Saurashtra complete an innings and 144-run win over Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium. This was the only outright win in the third round of the Ranji Trophy Elite matches and pushes Saurashtra to fourth on the Group A points table.Trivedi, who is in his first season with Saurashtra after transferring from Gujarat, picked up the wickets of Karan Goel, Harbhajan Singh and Manpreet Gony in his eight over. This was the third hat-trick by a Saurashtra bowler, the other two being D Narottam and S Nyalchand, both of whom claimed hat-tricks against Boroda. Trivedi is also the second bowler to take a hat-trick against Punjab, behind Delhi’s Bishan Singh Bedi, who claimed his in 1968-69.Punjab had resumed on 44 for 4, with Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh batting. Opening bowler Sandip Maniar had Mandeep caught in the first over, following which Karan Goel, who had retired hurt the previous evening, returned. He did not last long though, trapped lbw by Trivedi for 10. Harbhajan and Gony were caught off the next two deliveries as Punjab slipped to 78 for 9, still trailing by 186. A 42-run last-wicket stand between Amitoze Singh and Brainder Sran only delayed the inevitable. Punjab were eventually bowled out for 120, without managing to bat out 24 overs on the final day.Mahesh Rawat recorded his highest first-class score, 145, to help Railways secure an unlikely first-innings’s lead against Rajasthan at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Rawat was backed up by Yere Goud, Marripuri Suresh, Sanjay Bangar and Shivakant Shukla, as Railways piled up an impressive 525 for 8 in reply to Rajasthan’s 521, before declaring. Their bowlers then knocked over four of Rajasthan’s top order cheaply, to finish the game with the upper hand.Railways had begun the final day on 274 for 4, with Rawat and Goud at the crease. The pair went on to add 153 runs before Goud edged Sumit Mathur behind on 70. Rawat found another reliable partner in Suresh, and they added 90 for the sixth wicket before Rawat finally fell, one of legspinner Vivek Yadav’s six victims. Once Bangar declared, offspinner Arlen Konwar and medium pacer Anureet Singh reduced Rajasthan to 20 for 4, and play was ended soon after.An unbeaten double-century from Parvinder Singh and Arish Alam’s 118 not out gave Uttar Pradesh the first-innings lead against Orissa at the Veer Surendra Sai Stadium in Sambalpur. UP had started the day on 287 for 3 facing Orissa’s 482, and moved to 590 for 4 by the end of the day thanks to Parvinder and Alam’s 267-run unbeaten partnership. Parvinder took his score from 39 not out overnight to 202 not out off 331 balls, his highest first-class score. Alam was playing just his fourth first-class match and got his maiden century.Karnataka declined the opportunity to enforce the follow-on against Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium and instead settled for the three points and opted for batting practice. Mumbai were bowled out for 441 after being 354 for 8 overnight and Karnataka then reached 147 for 3. Read the full report here.

Group B

Baroda hung on for a draw at the Moti Bagh Stadium keeping Haryana‘s return to three points. Baroda were faced with a target of 372 in just under a day. They played for the draw and reached 228 for 7 in 85 overs, earning a point. Haryana lost their last three wickets in just 2.4 overs on the fourth morning and managed to add eight runs to their total. Irfan Pathan took three wickets to complete his second five-wicket haul of the season.Irfan then opened the batting but was dismissed in the third over. Baroda were struggling at 31 for 2 but Ambati Rayudu dug his heels in and played a match-saving knock of 83 not out off 222 balls. Amit Mishra, who had taken four wickets in the first innings, took three this time around but Baroda’s middle and lower-middle order spent enough time at the crease to support Rayudu. The point keeps Baroda top of the table in Group B.Fog and then bad light prevented Tamil Nadu from pushing for an outright win against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla, and they had to settle for three points. Delhi started the day 139 runs ahead with five wickets in hand. Fog delayed the start on the fourth morning and when play started Tamil Nadu took 23.4 overs to take the last five wickets. There was resistance from Puneet Bisht, who scored 53, but L Balaji took three quick wickets to finish with four in the innings and leave Tamil Nadu with 218 to chase.They scored at a fair rate of 3.68 runs an over in the chase but the light faded, denying them an opportunity to go for the target. Dinesh Karthik managed a half-century, his second of the season.A strong performance from Madhya Pradesh‘s lower order earned them three points for a first-innings lead against Bengal at the Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata. MP started the day on 344 for 3 and were relying on Mohnish Mishra, who was on 130 not out overnight, to take them past Bengal’s 496. Mohnish was dismissed in the fourth over of the fourth morning but Nos. 5 to 10 all got more than 20 to give MP the lead.Bengal were kept in the hunt by seamer Shami Ahmed, who completed his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. When he dismissed Ankit Sharma for 31, MP were 477 for 8 and Bengal would have hoped to get the last two wickets quickly. But No. 10 Anand Rajan scored 21 and MP reached 533. Bengal had 20 overs to bat; Sourav Ganguly used the opportunity to open and raced to 42 off 28 balls before being dismissed. Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee remained unbeaten on 51.