Ranji: Mumbai in command against Gujarat

Valsad: (PTI) Mumbai's top-order fired in unison to steer their team to a commanding position against Gujarat at the end of the first day's play of their Ranji Trophy Group A Elite match here today. At stumps on day one, Mumbai were comfortably placed at 283 for two, with Ajinkya Rahane (54) and skipper Wasim Jaffer (47) at crease, here at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium. Electing to bat first, the visitors got off to a great start through openers Sahil Kukreja and Onkar Gurav to lay out a solid platform for Mumbai.

The duo made Gujarat bowlers toil hard as the hosts unsuccessfully tried to take wickets. Kukreja and Gurav went on to put up a 166-run stand together for the opening wicket, while completing their half-centuries each in the process, although both of them failed to reach their respective hundreds. Kukreja was the first one to depart, falling to Siddharth Trivedi after playing some fabulous shots for a well-made 81 off 150 balls, including 10 hits to the fence. Gurav also soon followed his partner into the dressing room after hitting a fine 195-ball 89 studded with nine boundaries.

However, Rahane and Jaffer did not let the advantage slip out of their hands and took over from where the openers had left, to keep Mumbai on top throughout the day. Rahane also reached his half-century today, besides sharing an unbeaten 99-run stand with Jaffer. For Gujarat, only Ishwar Choudhary and Trivedi could finish with a wicket each. Brief scores: Mumbai 1st innings: 282 for 2 in 90 overs (Sahil Kukreja 81, Onkar Gurav 89, Ajinkya Rahane batting 54; Ishwar Choudhary 1/57).

Gautam Gambhir sets up India's chase

India 259 for 2 (Gambhir 138*, Kohli 64*) beat New Zealand 258 for 8 (Guptill 70, Styris 59, Sreesanth 4-47) by eight wickets

In pic: Gautam Gambhir scored 138 off 116 balls

Gautam Gambhir's bowlers responded well to his call of bowling first, restricting New Zealand with smart, accurate bowling, and the captain reciprocated with a fluent 138 off 116 balls to make the chase look easy.

Gambhir, capping off a return to form that began with a struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad last month, never let his strike-rate come under 100 once he crossed the mark in the sixth over. He had for company an equally hungry Virat Kohli, who now has two centuries and a fifty in his last three international outings.

Dew, expected later in the evening, was the reason why India put New Zealand in on a cracking surface, but the towels were conspicuous by absence in the second half of the game. Which is what made the bowling effort special.

The pitch played slow and low, and India cut out the pace and the room. There was nothing spectacular done with the ball, just accurate, wicket to wicket bowling for most of the part. Martin Guptill and Scott Styris tried to take New Zealand towards a fighting total with important fifties, but India pulled the visitors back every time they threatened to break free.

New Zealand began with three boundaries in the first two overs, but Sreesanth's late swing removed Jamie How. Guptill and Kane Williamson looked solid but subdued in a 50-run stand for the second wicket. Those runs took 12.5 overs coming - all but seven of those deliveries in the Powerplay.

The duo did little to upset the bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel was allowed to hit the same spot again and again, with slight seam movement either way. One of those moved a bit more than expected, and found a way through Williamson's bat and pad, taking the top of off. The pressure showed when Ross Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's first delivery for a six, but found deep midwicket.

Styris came out in the 25th over with the score yet to reach three figures, and cut out the unproductive balls, taking singles with ease and finding timely boundaries. When he and Guptill asked for the Powerplay in the 35th over, R Ashwin responded with a carrom balls to remove Guptill. That set New Zealand back by a couple of overs.

Styris and Daniel Vettori had to take some time set up another charge, but Sreesanth pegged them back again. Like he did in the first match of the series, Sreesanth came back for a new spell in the 46th over, and took two wickets with his first two deliveries. He ended a threatening ninth-wicket partnership in the last game, and got rid of Styris and Vettori this time.

New Zealand opened their defence with Nathan McCullum, presumably to get through some overs of spin before dew appeared, and immediately troubled M Vijay, who struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the pitch.

Gambhir, however, was playing in a different world. He timed almost everything sweetly except for a couple of inside edges that went for fours. Against Kyle Mills, he walked down the pitch on a couple of occasions to create the driving length. When Mills pitched slightly short, he cut him away. The driving between mid-off and extra cover stood out.

By the end of the eighth over, Gambhir had scored four times Vijay's eight, taking India to 40, and putting Mills out of the attack. Against Styris he made room and went over extra cover. Andy McKay strayed too straight, and was clipped for four into the leg side. There was not a hint of power; the short back lift emphasised how well he timed the ball.

Vijay continued his patchy innings until he tried a premeditated slog-sweep off Vettori in the 18th over, and was bowled. Gambhir, though, had reached 54 off 48 by then, out of India's 87, and looked set to carry India through. A crucial moment came in the 22nd over when Gambhir's bat got stuck into the ground as he tried to slide it in, but Vettori failed to collect the throw cleanly and Gambhir was let off.

Every time Gambhir needed quick runs, he made room and went over extra cover. Kohli batted like he was never dismissed in Guwahati, pulling powerfully wide of long-on, and punching square for most of his runs. Over by over, the 116-run partnership brought the asking rate down, until it read 4.3 for the last 13 overs when Kohli found short midwicket with a pull shot.

It was a distraught batsman that left the wicket, 36 short of a third straight century, which was possible with 56 still required. His captain and a senior back in Delhi, though, was there to see India home and continue their unbeaten home season.

Darren Bravo stars on rain-marred day

West Indies 134 for 2 (Darren Bravo 63*, Smith 55) v Sri Lanka

Half-centuries from Darren Bravo and Devon Smith took West Indies to 134 for 2 on a rain-affected first day of the first-ever Test at the Pallekele Stadium. Play began in dramatic fashion when Suranga Lakmal removed Chris Gayle with the day's first delivery but only 40 overs were possible in the day. A wet outfield delayed the start of the match, and a heavy burst of rain just after lunch and bad light in the evening contributed to the shortened day.

Darren Bravo continued to impress on his maiden tour, stroking three boundaries to get his innings started. A glide through cover off Angelo Mathews was followed by a controlled edge behind point, before a wristy flick from middle stump in the next over signaled the confidence Darren had gained from his impressive half-centuries in each of the previous matches. The runs flowed either side of the wicket for Darren, with an elegant drive after lunch standing out, as he stood tall to crack the over-pitched delivery through extra cover. He continued assuredly alongside Smith, negotiating the Sri Lanka attack with little fuss for the majority of the day and brought up his third fifty in as many matches with a pair of delicate boundaries off Dilhara Fernando; the first, a late dab through the slips, followed by a leg glance to the fine leg boundary.

Devon Smith made use of some wayward bowling to race to his own half-century after tea, in his first Test innings in almost eighteen months, before he was dismissed by Ajantha Mendis on 55. Smith had played Mendis with assurance until his dismissal, working him comfortably for singles despite the turn on offer and twice dispatching him to the fence when he pitched too full. He punished the quick bowlers as well, glancing Suranga Lakmal for four when he erred down the leg side and crashing a misdirected bouncer from Dilhara Fernando to the wide long-on boundary. The leg-break that has proved so productive for Mendis throughout this tour proved to be Smith's undoing however, as he misread the straightening delivery after Mendis had bowled a succession of offspinners at the batsman.

In pic: Devon Smith made 55 before he was dismissed

Fernando was wayward through the day as he struggled to find a consistent length, but created opportunities nevertheless, particularly in the evening. His awayswingers shaved Smith's outside edge on occasions, and even prompted an unsuccessful review from the Sri Lankans, just minutes before the batsman finally fell to Mendis. Bravo then edged Fernando to second slip in his next over, only for Mahela Jayawardene to spill the straightforward chance, reprieving the batsman on 55.

Although the swing and seam movement that Kumar Sangakkara expected when he chose to field was less pronounced than he would have liked, there was considerable turn for Mendis and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Rangana Herath was not bowled today, but the spinners are likely to play a major role as the Test wears on.

Roof comes off at Sawai Mansingh stadium

Jaipur: (PTI) The roof of the north-west stand at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium which is currently hosting the India-New Zealand ODI match came down, injuring four to five people, here today. The incident happened just after New Zealand's first innings got over here. "The roof came down all of a sudden. around 4-5 people were injuried but there was nothing serious. It lead to a little scramble in the stands but there weren't reports of any untoward incident," a volunteer in the stadium said. Batting first, New Zealand posted 258 for eight against India in the second ODI of the five-matchs series.

Zimbabwe survive dogged Shakib for close win

Zimbabwe 209 (Chakabva 45, Razzak 4-41) beat Bangladesh 200 (Shakib 63, Mpofu 3-25) by nine runs

Zimbabwe overcame a stubborn Shakib Al Hasan to outlast Bangladesh by nine runs in the opening one-dayer in Mirpur. The margin of victory did not do justice to the Zimbabwe spinners' control for most of the chase, and emphasised Shakib's excellence in retrieving a cause that had seemed out of bounds at one point. He played the defining innings on a day dominated by the bowlers, but his team-mates succumbed to the pressure in a spate of poor shots and run-outs to end their team's dream run, and hand Zimbabwe an upset victory.

In pic: Zimbabwe celebrate after dismissing Tamim Iqbal

Bangladesh were in the middle of a major top-order collapse when Shakib walked out: in under six overs, they had gone from 76 for 1 to 98 for 5, with Ray Price and Prosper Utseya breathing down their necks. When Suhrawadi Shuvo was cleaned up with the score on 115, Bangladesh were pushed right to the edge of the precipice. Shakib, however, knew that the run-rate was under control, and chose to wait for the weaker bowlers to come on.

Displaying the kind of composure that made Michael Bevan famous, he turned things around without ever looking like taking a risk. When Price and Utseya hustled through their overs, he resorted to cautious dabs into the gaps before opening up against Keith Dabengwa who came on as back-up. Shakib used Dabengwa's angle and spin to find the leg-side boundary with a variety of sweeps, looting 13 runs off the 36th over. That assault reduced the equation to 65 from 14 overs and Zimbabwe began to sweat again.

With Mahmudullah holding up the other end, Chigumbura was forced to bring back the lead spinners. Shakib seamlessly shifted back into nurdle-mode, bringing up his 16th half-century in the 41st over, with one of several check-drives to long-off. Zimbabwe eventually broke through in the 43rd, Mahmudullah holing out against Chris Mpofu after adding 54 with Shakib. With the batting Powerplay in place for the last five overs, Mashrafe Mortaza helped Shakib narrow the gap further, biffing a couple of boundaries through the off side. Twenty-three to get off 21 and time for Bangladesh to show they could close things out. Unfortunately for them, there were more twists to follow.

A dreadful mix-up left Mortaza stranded mid-pitch, forcing him to sacrifice his wicket for the team's cause. It did not help; With 15 needed at run-a-ball, Shakib committed his first error of the day, top-edging a scoop into short fine-leg's lap. It was all over in the 49th over when Shafiul Islam perished to the fourth run-out of the innings, leaving Zimbabwe's fielders jumping for joy.

The sad part for Bangladesh was that their errors in the second half came after a very professional job in the first. Once again, they executed the slow left-arm choke they have become dangerously adept at, overcoming a strong opening and a resilient middle-order recovery to dismiss Zimbabwe for 209. Abdur Razzak played the lead role for the home side, prising out four wickets to go past 150 one-day scalps, while the supporting cast tied up things at the other end.

Razzak came on in the 10th over and he promptly made an impact with his variations, after the seamers had wasted the morning's favourable weather conditions. Chamu Chibhabha perished to an ambitious swipe across the line, before Brendan Taylor's back foot was coaxed out of the crease with lovely flight and spin. The track suddenly seemed full of demons, with Razzak getting every other delivery to bite and spit across the right-handers. As is often the case in such circumstances, Elton Chigumbura fell to one of the poorer deliveries, chopping a wide ball onto the stumps.

After Tatenda Taibu's dismissal, Zimbabwe quickly reassessed the innings and Craig Ervine combined with Regis Chakabva in a risk-free repair job. With Razzak out of the attack, survival became easier and both batsmen settled in to work the bowling around. Chakabva swept a couple of leg-stump offerings and Ervine guided a full toss through the covers, all for fours, but otherwise their 65-run stand was characterised by deft placement and smart running.

Mahmudullah eventually broke through with a flighted offbreak, foxing Chakabva into a return catch for 45. By then, Zimbabwe had survived the toughest phase of the innings without losing much ground. They failed to make the most of the platform, though, losing their way towards the end.

Ervine and Utseya failed to cash in on the batting Powerplay, exposing the tail to the spinners. The result was that the last five wickets fell for 25, ending the innings in the 49th over. At that stage it looked like a fighting score. A couple of hours later, it seemed to be more than sufficient, but Shakib was not going to go down without a fight. On the day, though, he could not do enough to deliver the knockout punch.

Sreesanth's four strikes help India restrict Kiwis to 258/8

Jaipur: (PTI) S Sreesanth's inspired spell at the death helped India restrict New Zealand to 258 for eight after Scott Styris and Martin Guptill notched up contrasting half centuries in the second One-Day International here today. Opting to field after the coin landed in his favour, the Gautam Gambhir-led India rode on S Sreesanth's four wickets to restrict the Kiwis to a manageable target after Styris and Daniel Vettori threatened to take the match away from India with a swashbuckling half-century stand at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here. Sreesanth's wickets included opener Jamie How, Styris, Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills.

In pic: Sreesanth and Yuvraj Singh celebrate the wicket of Daniel Vettori

Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket each even as opener Martin Guptill played the sheet-anchor's role to perfection. The Kiwi was given out in controversial circumstances when he fell caught behind to Ashwin after making a painstaking fifty. His innings was laced with three boundaries and a lofted six off Pathan over midwicket. Styris and Vettori took over after Guptill's dismissal. Styris powered his way to a breezy 59 off 56 balls with the help of five fours and a huge six, while Vettori contributed 31 off 32, an innings that included four hits to the fence. Sreesanth, however, had other ideas and struck when India needed him the most, removing dangerman Styris and Kiwi skipper Vettori off successive balls. Nathan McCullum survived the hat-trick ball. Often perceived to be profligate with the new as well as the old ball in the shorter format of the game thanks to his high economy rate, Sreesanth today bowled much better, hardly straying in line and length.

It was no surprise to see the Kerala bowler give India the first breakthrough, in the form of Jamie How's wicket. It was a fullish delivery just outside off that moved away late on landing. How went for a drive but only managed to get an edge and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha did the rest. The temperamental pacer not only used his stock ball - the out-swinger that moves away late from a good length - to good effect but also brought the batsmen forward without bowling half volleys and the occasional incoming deliveries kept the Kiwis on their toes. First change Munaf, coming in for the mediocre Ashish Nehra, impressed immediately, posing some serious questions to Guptill and Williamson. Maintaining a good line and length instead of bowling flat out, Munaf was rewarded for his discretion when he went through the gate of Williamson in his fourth over.

The young Kiwi was just shaping up to play a good innings when Munaf got one to swing in slightly from a good length that clipped the bail on the off-stump. Munaf could have had another in his bag, when Ross Taylor attempted an extravagant shot off the bowler, but Ravichandran Ashwin, positioned in the region between deep square-leg and deep mid-wicket, dropped a sitter to deny the bowler what should have been a well-deserved wicket. That miss, however, didn't turn out to be a costly one as Yusuf Pathan flummoxed Taylor with the first ball of his spell. Taylor, who top-scored for the visitors in their 40-run defeat in the first match in Guwahati, went for a slog-sweep to a delivery that pitched over midwicket, but could not clear the waiting hands of Virat Kohli.

Ashish Nehra, on the other hand, was nowhere close to his best in his first spell, though, he managed to hit the pads a few times. When he pitched the ball short, Kane Williamson was equal to the task pulling him over square for a boundary, his first scoring shot during his brief but impressive innings. The over-pitched ones were either driven through the cover or straight down the ground while the length balls were punched through the cover-point region by the Guptill and Williamson. Nehra was brought back in the 38th over of the Kiwi innings, immediately after Guptill's dismissal, but he hardly looked threatening.

Scoreboard in the second one-day international between India and New Zealand in Jaipur today: New Zealand: Martin Guptill c Saha b Ashwin 70 Jamie How c Saha b Sreesanth 5 Kane Williamson b Patel 29 Ross Taylor c Kohli b Pathan 15 Scott Styris c Saha b Sreesanth 59 Daniel Vettori b Sreesanth 31 Gareth Hopkins not out 11 Nathan McCullum run out 12 Kyle Mills b Sreesanth 13 Tim Southee not out 2 Extras: (LB-5, W-6) 11 Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 258 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-64, 3-96, 4-161, 5-219, 6-219, 7-242, 8-256. Bowling: Ashish Nehra 9-1-45-0, S Sreesanth 9-1-47-4, Munaf Patel 8-0-34-1, R Ashwin 10-0-52-1, Yuvraj Singh 9-1-48-0, Yusuf Pathan 4-0-23-1, Suresh Raina 1-0-4-0.

T20 cricket finds its new home in snow-capped HP

Shimla: Amid snow-capped mountains at approximately 10,000 feet above the sea level, twenty20 cricket has found its new home in the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh where T20 Mahasangram, world's largest tournament is currently underway. The Jaypee Cements T20 Mahasangram is in its second stage and the tournament has already got the approval from the Guiness book of world records to be registered as the world's largest tournament, owing to its record 1373 participating teams. Started in 2008, the twenty20 tournament will see around 19,222 players from 12 districts, 52 sub-divisions, 70 blocks, 2500 panchayats, 14000 villages and 50 towns participating under the vigil of 500 officials. Around 2000 matches would be played in total during the tournament. "It would provide the players an opportunity to show their talent. Each player will have a database profile where his performance will be recorded. And depending on the performances, some would be given a chance to attend camps and play for their state," BJP MP and HPCA President Anurag Thakur, the mastermind of the tournament, said. Around 150 matches are conducted everyday at 75 venues in 12 districts of the hilly state. In comparison, last year, 14,300 players from 1,017 teams participated in the tournament and matches were held at 60 venues.

The tournament, carrying the cash prize of Rs 30 lakh has representations from the remotest parts of the state such as Pangi, Bharmaur, Holi, Tissa, Leo, Spillo, Katgram, Sangla Kalpa (Kinnaur) Shishu Udaipur and Shillai. Chamba district, one of the remotest and most backward regions of the country, alone has send 231 teams, which is the highest in the state. "We are spending nearly 60-70 lacs on this tournament, out of which approximately 30 lacs will go into the cash prizes to the winning teams, while the rest will go in administration and providing infrastructural facilities and cricketing gears to the participating teams," said HPCA secretary Vishal Marwaha. The state winner will receive a cash award of Rs 3 lakh, the runners up Rs 2 lakh and the state finalist will be given Rs 51,000. Likewise, the district winner will also get Rs 51,000, runners up will get Rs 31000. Semifinalist will receive Rs 11,000 and quarterfinalists will bag cricket kits. The opening match of the tournament was inaugurated by Anurag Thakur at the Kalpa, 10000ft above sea level. The finals will be held under the floodlights at the picturesque Dharamsala international cricket stadium.