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ScorecardLancashire opener Tom Smith smashed one of the quickest one-day centuries in history before a rain-affected Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture against Worcestershire was abandoned. Lancashire were then drawn against Warwickshire in their semi-final, to be played at Old Trafford on Saturday.The 26-year-old allrounder made a triumphant return from a five-week injury lay-off by racing to three figures from 44 balls with eight fours and 10 sixes. His whirlwind innings was equal-fifth fastest in List A matches in the world and places him equal third in domestic cricket. Opening partner Stephen Moore also chalked up a century but a mammoth total of 324 for 4 in a 37-over match counted for nothing when further rain prevented a reply by Worcestershire.With Lancashire already qualified for the semi-finals and the home side scrambling at the foot of Group A, Smith seized his opportunity to put on a blockbuster performance. At first there was nothing to hint at the destruction to come when young seamers Jack Shantry and Nick Harrison bowled four overs for a respectable 19 runs, but the first warning shots were fired in 4-6-4 burst off Shantry.The real bombardment broke out in the eighth over of the innings as left-hander Smith targeted the unfortunate Harrison for three sixes and three fours, most of these heaved to the leg-side boundary. With his 50 posted in 24 balls, he became unstoppable, taking three successive sixes off medium-pacer Joe Leach and then driving offspinner Moeen Ali to long-on to complete his century with another maximum.Moore was content to stay in the shadows in a stand of 150, but when Smith departed for 106, bowled by Shantry from the 46th ball he faced, his opening partner moved smoothly to his century from 96 balls. An early escape in the gully, when Daryl Mitchell put down a sharp chance off Harrison, enabled Moore to reach 50 for the seventh time in 12 CB40 innings and also become the second batsman to go past 500 runs in this season’s competition.Moore hit 11 fours and two sixes before he was caught at deep mid-wicket for 113 after sharing in a stand of 142 with Steven Croft, who made 67 from 52 balls before holing out at long-on. Brett D’Oliveira weathered the storm with some credit, bowling his eight overs for 37, and Harrison picked up a couple of consolation wickets but Lancashire comfortably registered their highest total in the 40-over competition.The weather denied Vikram Solanki a final one-day innings for Worcestershire before he joins Surrey next summer. Former captain Solanki has been left out of this week’s Championship match against Middlesex at New Road. That would leave the final home game against Warwickshire as his last opportunity to play on the ground for Worcestershire.

Match facts

August 2-6
Start time 1000 (1500 GMT)Chris Gayle last played a Test at Sabina Park in 2009. He made 104 against England.•AFP

Big Picture

Kieran Powell was 19 when West Indies last won a Test series against opponents other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. He celebrated his birthday on the first day of the Trinidad Test against England, which ended with West Indies’ Nos. 7 and 10 clinging on for dear life to secure a scrappy 1-0 victory in a five-match series. He was 13 when West Indies won before that. Powell, now 22, is one of a generation of young cricketers who have grown up watching West Indies struggle to win series. At Sabina Park, he will have the opportunity to be part of a rare triumph if West Indies draw or win to protect their 1-0 lead.Kane Williamson was 15 when New Zealand last beat a Test side other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh – a 2-0 win against West Indies in 2006. He was 11 when New Zealand last won such a series away from home – in West Indies in 2002. New Zealand cannot win this series, but a victory in Kingston will secure a draw and build on their relatively satisfactory recent performances – a drawn series in Australia, a 0-1 defeat against South Africa.Like they did in Hobart so memorably, New Zealand will have to win without Daniel Vettori, who’s out with a groin injury. Vettori’s 2012 hasn’t been productive – he’s taken only one wicket in each of his last five Tests. What he does provide New Zealand unfailingly, however, is economy and, with it, a measure of control. Vettori conceded less than two and a half per over in four of those five Tests. His poorest return was 2.81. He reined in Chris Gayle after the batsman had raced to a half-century in the first innings in Antigua. Someone else will have to do that job in Jamaica.New Zealand’s challenge will be to control the pace of the game. Their inexperienced bowling attack needs to slow West Indies down at the start in order to allow Ross Taylor to keep wicket-taking fields. Their batsmen need to find a way not to stagnate against Narine and the rest in high-pressure scenarios like they did on the final morning of the first Test.West Indies, on the other hand, won in Antigua with no contribution from their most reliable player – Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Chris Gayle made a huge splash in his comeback Test, while Narine and Roach took turns to run through New Zealand in each innings. There were useful contributions from several others, too, and Chanderpaul hailed the “fantastic team effort.” A similar performance, beginning tomorrow, will make it extremely hard for New Zealand to force a win.

Form guide

West Indies WDLLL (Completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand LDLDW

Watch out for…

New Zealand’s mongrel. For a country that earned a reputation by felling stronger sides, New Zealand showed little fight in Antigua. They dropped catches, their fielding was sloppy, and their batsmen’s ultra-cautious approach to saving the Test did not last long enough to be successful. Neil Wagner, who is one-Test old, promised New Zealand would come out fighting on Thursday. He spoke of being ruthless and giving West Indies nothing. Without Vettori, that will be a little harder.Sunil Narine was Man of the Match in his first home Test, taking eight wickets in the match. He had to toil through 85 overs for them, though, and called his performance a “big achievement” because of the conditions he had to bowl in. Martin Guptill, who made 97 and 67, said the New Zealand batsman had begun to play Narine better now that they’d seen a bit of him. The threat posed by Narine could be significantly enhanced if the Sabina Park pitch is to his liking.

Pitch and conditions

It’s hot and humid in Kingston and the forecast is for a chance of thunderstorms over the next few days.The pitch at Sabina Park is expected to have more pace and bounce than the one Antigua. “It’s a typical Jamaica wicket,” Darren Sammy said. “Plenty of runs in it andhopefully something in it for the bowlers. The wicket here has some early moisture,[but] most pitches in the Caribbean are good for batting. Sides come here, win tossand bat first.”Ross Taylor said: “It’s a welcome change. We struggled to maintain pressure on the West Indies batsmen and I’m sure the bowlers are looking forward to having some bounce and putting pressure on the West Indies batsmen.”

Team news

West Indies brought Fidel Edwards into the squad because Ravi Rampaul sustained a groin strain. However, with Tino Best, who sat out in the first Test, already in the squad, Edwards might have to watch from the sidelines.West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Assad Fudadin, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best, 11 Kemar Roach.New Zealand have to fill Vettori’s spot and the only other specialist spinner in the squad is the legspinner Tarun Nethula, who could be in line for a Test debut. They must also find a new opening combination after Daniel Flynn was ruled out due to a groin injury. BJ Watling is the only back-up batsman in the squad and could slot straight in to open alongside Martin Guptill, or could slot in down the order to allow Brendon McCullum to open.”Daniel has been carrying the grade one injury [a right adductor muscle strain] since the last day of the first Test but had responded positively to treatment,” Paul Close, the New Zealand physio, said. “We felt there was a reasonable chance he would be fit to play but his progress over the past 24 hours plateaued. He was still experiencing pain during the team training session today with a subsequent fitness test ruling him out. We are confident he will be fully fit in time for the upcoming tour of India.”New Zealand: (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tarun Nethula, 11 Chris Martin

Stats and trivia

• Since 2004, Gayle averages 65.25 against the top eight teams in wins (excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), and 31.10 in losses against them.
• West Indies’ total of 522 in Antigua was their highest in a result game against one of the top sides since February 1995, when they scored 660 for 5 declared against New Zealand in Wellington.
• New Zealand haven’t won any of their last 15 series against the top sides – they’ve lost 11 and drawn four (dating back to April 2006). During this period they’ve won four Tests and lost 22.

Quotes

“We’re pumped up. We did a great job in Antigua and we celebrated our achievements. It has been a while since West Indies won a Test Series at home, so this will be a chance to do it in front our fans.”
“We’re a young unit, very inexperienced in some ways. The boys learned a hell of a lot in the previous Test. It’s not an easy place to come and play … We will always come out fighting.”

ScorecardDefending champions Leicestershire slumped to their fifth defeat in six games in the Friends Life t20 North Group clash as Yorkshire claimed a nailbiting four-run victory in a last-ball thriller at Grace Road.Leicestershire needed nine off the last over to reach their target of 152, but managed only four runs off Mitchell Starc, to finish on 147 for 9, having restricted the White Rose to 151 for 9.This victory took Yorkshire to the top of the group and the final over of each innings proved decisive. The visitors scored 16 runs off the last six balls sent down by Abdul Razzaq, with Richard Pyrah hitting sixes off his first two deliveries.Four run outs did not help Leicestershire’s cause either, but they looked on course for victory when Ramnaresh Sarwan and Wayne White shared a fifth wicket stand of 56 – the only half-century partnership of the game.But Sarwan, having hit 39 off 33 balls, was run out when he was sent back by White and from that point on the game swung Yorkshire’s way. Leicestershire were still very much in it when they required just 17 runs off the last two overs with five wickets standing, but an excellent last over from Starc put paid to their hopes.He bowled White for 22 off 20 balls and then flattened Nathan Buck’s stumps with his final delivery to clinch victory and finish with figures of 2 for 19.Leicestershire bowled and fielded well to keep Yorkshire in check for much of their innings, with Buck taking three for 28 in his first game in the competition this season. Razzaq claimed 3 for 37, but his final over that went for 16 proved crucial, even though three wickets came in it as well.David Miller top scored for Yorkshire with 37 off 35 balls while Pyrah hit 35 off 23 balls and was named man of the match.The result leaves Leicestershire bottom of the table and, with only four games left, they look to have little chance now of reaching the quarter-finals.

Graeme Smith has revealed that he considered stepping down from all forms of leadership last year but was talked out of quitting the Test captaincy by Gary Kirsten. Smith led South Africa in all three formats for eight years but relinquished captaincy of the Twenty20 and ODI teams in August 2010 and April 2011 respectively. The latter was timed to coincide with the end of the fifty-over World Cup and it was then that Smith also considered giving up the Test captaincy.”After the World Cup, when things were tough, it certainly was something that was on my mind,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the team’s departure to England. “Gary played a role in me keeping the captaincy. He talked me into doing it for longer and he was the reason I decided to carry on.”The World Cup was a massive turning point in Smith’s career. It seemed to change him on many levels. South Africa were knocked out in the quarter-finals, after failing to chase down a modest total against New Zealand in Dhaka. Having chosen a squad suited to subcontinental conditions, beaten India in a thriller in Nagpur to top their group, and been the only team to bowl out their opposition in all six matches, South Africa appeared set for a run to the final. With expectations growing, they were on track to finally lift an ICC trophy for the first time since 1998, only to run into a tenacious New Zealand, who forced a choke out of South Africa.The whole squad was shell-shocked by the defeat but Smith was particularly affected. He addressed the media almost in tears as he explained how he had wanted his last act as one-day captain to be a victory. He did not return home with the rest of the team but flew to Ireland to propose to the woman who is now his wife, Morgan Deane. A fickle public rejected him and his profile nosedived. Smith was criticised in many forums, for his lack of both leadership and form.When he eventually returned home in June, he apologised to fans for the World Cup defeat and his subsequent no-show. It was only through his match-winning century against Australia in the Newlands Test in November that Smith began to win back hearts and minds, although negative sentiment still surrounded his inclusion in the one-day team. Again, it was through a gritty innings, a century against Sri Lanka in January, that Smith regained the faith of the cricketing masses.He described the period that followed the World Cup as “the most difficult” of his career, because he was also going through a run drought. He thought reducing his load would allow him to concentrate on batting.However, without any clear replacement available, even though AB de Villiers was appointed limited-overs captain, Smith was asked to stay on and provide continuity at a time when everything, including the coaching staff, was changing. “Gary was a big instigator in me carrying on captaining the Test side,” Smith said. “I’ve certainly enjoyed working with him and the management team, which has also helped. As long as I can keep enjoying it and keep adding value then I will captain.”It is not a job Smith wants to do forever, though. “I don’t know if I will captain the Test side for as long as I play. I’ve only just turned 31 and I feel I still have a lot to offer from a batting perspective but I certainly don’t see myself captaining until the time I retire.”Retirement, however, is not in Smith’s current plans. “In the long run, I’m going to concentrate on performance. I’m still hungry, I’ve got a lot of things that I want to achieve.”First on his list of things to do, is captain the side successfully on the tour to England. With South Africa competing for the No.1 ranking in Tests, Smith said he will be required to contribute both with the bat and as a leader if they hope to topple England. He feels he has matured since his first visit to the country in 2003, as a 23-year-old novice captain.”In the early days I didn’t know who I needed to be and what was important from a leadership role. I wanted to come across as a strong leader,” Smith said, explaining why he was sometimes perceived as cocky. “But now I’m at peace with things and I think that comes through. I’m more relaxed in showing my personality and how I feel, and I’m much more at peace with understanding what I need to do.”

West Indies’ captain Darren Sammy did nothing to quash the theory after his side’s defeat at Lord’s that Chris Gayle should be invited to strengthen his side in the rest of the Test series against England, as well as the one-day matches that follow.Gayle’s involvement in IPL is over after Royal Challengers Bangalore were eliminated from the tournament and such has been his troubled relationship with the WICB that any emergency dash to the UK in time to play in one or both of the remaining two Tests seems hard to imagine.But Sammy refused to close the door on the possibility after West Indies’ five-wicket defeat against England at Lord’s put them 1-0 down in the series, suggesting that both he and the coach, Ottis Gibson, would be content to accommodate Gayle’s late arrival.”Whatever happens outside this squad takes its own course,” Sammy told Sky Sports. “Whoever comes in we will welcome them into the team and hopefully they will help. It is up to the selectors to select the team.”I think Chris has said he is available for Test cricket, one-day cricket and T20 so it is up to the selectors. We have been having some difficulties at the top of the order and if he comes in we would all welcome him, myself, Ottis and all the guys.”One change West Indies will consider for the second Test at Trent Bridge on Friday, and one which needs no political machinations, is the inclusion of Shane Shillingford, the Dominican who took ten wickets in his last Test, against Australia on his home ground in Roseau in April.Shillingford, according to Sammy, had been omitted at Lord’s partly because he could not cope with the cold weather – and with higher temperatures forecast in the build-up to Trent Bridge that could change.”Shane was experiencing a bit of difficulty gripping the ball but in the course of this Test match he has done some work and hopefully his fingers will be warm enough and ready for him to play for us in the next match,” Sammy said. “He played a crucial role in the last series and once he is ready to master the cold we will have him in.”

Pakistan are set to tour Sri Lanka for a full series comprising three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals between May 29 and July 13, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed.Pakistan are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on May 29 and will play the first of two Twenty20s in Hambantota on June 1. The one-day series begins in Pallekele on June 7. The first two ODIs will be played in Pallekele and the remaining three at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.The three-Test series commences in Galle on June 22 and the second Test will take place at the SSC in Colombo from June 30. The teams will return to Pallekele for the final Test starting on July 8.Pakistan and Sri Lanka last played a Test series in October 2011 in the UAE, where Pakistan won the three-match series 1-0. They last toured Sri Lanka in 2009, when they lost the three-Test series 2-0.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Hashim Amla was among the runs again•Getty Images

A fluent 63 from Hashim Amla eased South Africa to 136 for 2 at stumps, after a wet outfield in the morning and poor light late in the day only allowed 42 overs to be bowled. Ross Taylor chose to field on a green surface expected to seam, but although Graeme Smith was removed by one that jagged off the pitch, New Zealand struggled to achieve pronounced movement for extended periods, with spinner Daniel Vettori called on to contribute more than a quarter of the hosts’ overs. Alviro Petersen played a restrained knock to end the day in sight of his first half-century of the series, while JP Duminy, who replaced an injured Jacques Kallis, was unbeaten on 23.Amla was gifted a leg-glance to the fine-leg fence to ease him into his innings, but it wasn’t long before the offside repertoire was humming happily as well. A back-foot stroke through the covers was more unwound, than punched or played, while two cuts either side of point disappeared to the boundary before the fielder had budged, much less moved, to intercept the shot. He was beaten soundly twice on the inside edge, but didn’t allow either ball to dent his positivity, dispatching Dean Brownlie for three commanding boundaries in the same over he went past 50.But the languid nature of Amla’s strokeplay was increasingly matched by the slowness of his movement in the middle – perhaps hampered by a ball he’d edged onto his groin early on – and he perished playing an uncharacteristically flat-footed pull off Mark Gillespie soon after tea.Alviro Petersen was reserved in comparison, often finding sprightly fielders when he played full-blooded shots, but content to defend nonetheless. He had struggled with the ball that came into him, falling to it thrice in four innings so far in the series, but navigated Chris Martin’s inswingers with more poise on this occasion, dabbing it straight against the early movement. He charged Daniel Vettori to loft him over the ropes before leaning back to blast him through square leg as tea approached, but they were rare shows of violence in a dour display.New Zealand had started well through Martin and Doug Bracewell, but waned in threat as the movement steadily gave out despite their discipline. Gillespie could find neither the direction nor the pace that decimated South Africa’s middle order in the first innings in Hamilton, and was lucky to claim Amla with a short, wide ball. That wicket breathed some edge into the New Zealand attack in the nine overs after tea, but Duminy only helped himself to some quick runs into the vacant outfield with the bowlers attacking.Early in the day’s play, New Zealand’s first wicket was marred somewhat by controversy. Martin beat Smith’s outside edge repeatedly with movement in the air and off the pitch, but it was the other edge that brought the batsman’s demise, even though Smith felt he had not made contact. Aleem Dar and New Zealand were convinced ball brushed the willow when Bracewell brought one in past Smith’s cover drive, but despite a review from the batsman, and Hot Spot showing nothing, Dar’s decision was upheld.

Steven Finn has waited a long time to get his place back in England’s Test team but he probably wished it was on a nice green-top rather than the parched, slow surface that greeted him in Colombo.However, despite England’s recent problems with the batting there is one thing the last few months have confirmed for certain. The bowling attack does not shirk a challenge. Heads could easily have dropped after Andrew Strauss lost another toss, or as Mahela Jayawardene constructed another hundred, but the discipline they have shown almost without fail was in evidence throughout the day.”As seamers we are all stupid enough to just run in every time the captain tosses you the ball,” Finn said. “It’s one of those things, you just have to suck it up and get on with it. I had a bit of cramp come the end of the day but that’s part and parcel of fast bowling.”Finn, who last played a Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, contributed 18 overs and although his figures do not stand out like some of his recent one-day hauls he played an important role in the reshuffled attack which reverted to three quicks, Graeme Swann and the support of Samit Patel’s left-arm spin.Finn highlighted the qualities he can bring to the line-up in a testing burst against Thilan Samaraweera who firstly survived a review for a catch at short leg and was then struck on the helmet when he failed to avoid a well-directed bouncer. It was a blow that shook Samaraweera: “For a few moments I wasn’t sure what had happened,” he said.England, though, were convinced they had removed him on 36 when the ball looped to Alastair Cook under the helmet. “I said to Straussy I heard two noises and was pretty sure it was glove then thigh pad,” Finn said. “Such is life it didn’t get given and we didn’t let it affect us. We kept plugging away, the worst thing we could have done is get pent up about the decision.”In the dressing room there was, perhaps, a little less calm response as Andy Flower, the team director, was seen making a quick visit to the umpires’ room to clarify the decision. “Andy is passionate about English cricket and winning and I’m sure it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary,” Finn said. “The downside of not having Hot Spot is there’s no conclusive evidence. We just have to get on with it.”England’s rewards came late in the day as Sri Lanka lost Mahela Jayawardene moments before the new ball was taken and Prasanna Jayawardene, edging Finn to the wicketkeeper, shortly before the close. When England were not taking wickets, such as during the 124-run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera, they did not allow the run-rate to escalate and, unlike in Galle last week, managed to maintain their intensity during the final session.”The fact they did not really go anywhere, they are 230 off 90 overs, maybe swings it a little bit to our favour,” Finn said. “I thought we played some good, attritional cricket and were very patient and we got our rewards towards the back end of the day. Jayawardene played very well and assessed the conditions excellently, but I thought that as a bowling unit we did good all day.”The leader in every sense, though, was James Anderson as he ended the day with 3 for 52 to follow his five-wicket haul in Galle. Finn, who made his Test debut in Bangladesh in 2009-10 in conditions not dissimilar to this during a series where Anderson was rested, was often seen sharing words with his senior team-mate at the end of his run.”I’ve learnt a lot off Jimmy since I’ve come into the team, especially over the last 12 months,” Finn said. “He’s an exceptional bowler and as a young bowler you can look towards him and how he gets his wickets. He knows how to extract the maximum movement, nip, swing or whatever in any given conditions and to have him talking to me as I’m walking back to my mark helps me get my mindset right. I feel as though I’m learning all the time.”Edited by Alan Gardner

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was another struggle for India’s batsmen on tour•Getty Images

India succumbed meekly to the pressure of a chase of 253 – a chase they were required to nail to remain in serious contention in the triangular series – and were bowled out for 165 by an Australia side that eagerly grabbed the chance to seal its own spot in the competition deciders.Short of a bonus-point victory in their final match against Sri Lanka and a subsequent loss to the hosts by Mahela Jayawardene’s flourishing side, India will fly home earlier than desired from an Australia tour that peaked all too early with Rahul Dravid’s Bradman Oration and has disintegrated steadily ever since.Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson compensated for a poor showing with the bat by nipping out Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, and generally led his team soundly in the field in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke. He had a bonus point victory in front of 33,639 spectators to show for it.The folding of India’s batting was a familiar tale of patterns and misadventures. Virender Sehwag extended his horrid run on tour by punching a return-catch to Ben Hilfenhaus, Sachin Tendulkar found another way to fall short of 100 international centuries when he was run-out after a mid-pitch collision with Brett Lee, and Gautam Gambhir battled for fluency then dragged Clint McKay onto the stumps.All this rather undercut the efforts of the touring bowlers, who had done well to restrict Australia to 9 for 252. India were given a fine start by the intelligent and miserly bowling of Praveen Kumar, whose opening spell of six overs harvested two wickets at a cost of 14 runs, including only one boundary. Umesh Yadav also made a mark with his speed and aggression.Praveen’s victims included Shane Watson, playing his first international of the summer as Australia’s stand-in captain while Michael Clarke recovers from a flare-up of the back trouble that has been an intermittent problem across his career. Australia have now had four captains of the national side in various formats this summer – Clarke, George Bailey, Ricky Ponting and Watson.David Warner fared the best of the batsmen, striking his way to 68 from 66 balls before skying Ravindra Jadeja. Suresh Raina claimed the catch despite a heavy collision with Irfan Pathan that left both fielders laid out on the outfield. Matthew Wade and Hussey also chimed in, but the latter was perhaps fortunate to get past 17.Running a single, Hussey held out his hand to block Suresh Raina’s return from the edge of the fielding circle – whether this was an attempt to simply prevent getting hit was unclear – and MS Dhoni immediately appealed either for handling the ball or the recently changed laws for obstructing the field, which forbid a batsman from changing his running line to intercept a ball headed for the stumps. After a lengthy television consultation the appeal was rejected, much to the consternation of the visitors. They exchanged plenty of words with Hussey when he was dismissed, 37 runs later.On a night when a rapid half-century might have set his side on the path to victory, Sehwag’s exit in the second over arrived courtesy of a fine Hilfenhaus take, scooping up a low catch near his ankles. Tendulkar and Gambhir prospered briefly against the new ball, but when the former was called through for a single, both he and Lee ran in more or less the same direction. Lee’s pursuit of the ball ended when he saw David Warner in better position, and Tendulkar had his path interrupted by the bowler as Warner threw down the stumps.Kohli again hinted at a decent score, only to be undone when Watson introduced himself to the attack. Following Lee, Watson’s seamers were noticeably slower, and the reduction in pace had Kohli playing too early as he looped a catch to Daniel Christian.McKay ended Gambhir’s cussed stay, and Watson struck again when he angled the ball across Raina to induce a simple edge to Matthew Wade. Ravindra Jadeja fell in a similar manner, though his edge from Daniel Christian flew to Watson at first slip, where he held on to the catch having earlier grassed a chance to pouch Dhoni.For as long as Dhoni remained at the crease India had a chance, however slight, so there was plenty of relief in Australia’s huddle when Hilfenhaus pinned him in front of the stumps for a painstaking 14. The rest melted away.The match appeared destined for a closer contest when Australia’s early progress was slowed by Praveen’s wiles, though more runs were collected from Pathan at the other end. Watson pulled at a delivery shaping away from him and managed only to spoon a catch to mid-on, while Peter Forrest fell to a slower delivery that he dragged onto the stumps.Warner’s innings provided the hosts with some momentum, but he lost Michael Hussey due to a running mix-up, and his own bright stay was ended by Jadeja. David Hussey’s reprieve offered him and Wade the chance to regather the innings, which they did well enough in a stand of 94.Wade’s stay was ended when he steered a swift Yadav delivery into Dhoni’s gloves, before Hussey fell to the same combination, snicking behind in his attempt to pull Yadav from outside off stump. The fact that Hussey appeared to walk did little to soothe India’s frustration about the earlier incident.Clint McKay was not long in staying before he wafted at Virender Sehwag and was stumped, and late blows from Christian and Xavier Doherty took the tally past 250. It looked a mediocre total, but then there have been times on this tour when India would have given much to achieve such mediocrity. So it would be again this night.Edited by Nikita Bastian