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If Bangladesh manage to win again in Mirpur on Sunday, they will achieve their first ever series win against Pakistan

The Preview by Mohammad Isam18-Apr-2015Match factsSunday, April 19, 2015
Start time 1430 local (0830 GMT)Mashrafe Mortaza is set to return and lead Bangladesh in the second ODI•BCBBig pictureBangladesh winning the first ODI by a whopping 79 runs will be enough to stoke the fire of an opponent that had enjoyed an unbeaten 16-year run. For once, in the history of Bangladesh-Pakistan matches, it is a real contest. The second ODI holds so much promise; the series is on the line.Pakistan played the first match with seven changes to the XI that lost the World Cup quarter-final against Australia last month. Two players made their debuts and the batting line up was rejigged. The new ODI captain Azhar Ali did his part with 72 off 73 balls, while Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan also made half-centuries. Mohammad Hafeez and Fawad Alam did not contribute much.Azhar and the Pakistan coach Waqar Younis have a tricky job of fine-tuning the batting order. They won’t want to expose their best batsmen too early, but someone like Fawad Alam could also use more time at the crease. They need runs to enhance the threat posed by their strength – the pace attack and Saeed Ajmal.Wahab Riaz took four wickets, but Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan had little success or control. Ajmal conceded 74 runs in ten overs too. Pakistan have to pick a fifth bowler or Azhar Ali must juggle the part-timers with a more imagination.Bangladesh are still riding the wave of their World Cup performance. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim scored hundreds and put together a record ODI partnership for the team. They batted with a rarely seen confidence, while their bowlers did an efficient job of defending a large total.Arafat Sunny and Taskin Ahmed shared six wickets, but Rubel Hossain’s verve would have encouraged the team management. Mashrafe Mortaza now looks like the perfect foil for the two young pace bowlers, as he will return after serving his over-rate ban.Form guideBangladesh WLLWW (last five matches, most recent first)Pakistan LLWWWIn the spotlightArafat Sunny’s three wickets in the first ODI took his tally to 11 in his last three home matches. The left-arm spinner is accurate and has a mean arm-ball that is faster than his stock delivery. Bangladesh will expect more control from him in the second game.Azhar Ali had a tough captaincy debut but considering it was his first ODI in more than two years, he exceeded expectations. He scored at a brisk rate, much faster than his career strike-rate. He will be expected to contribute more as an opener and captain to justify his elevation to leadership.Team newsWith Mashrafe returning, he is most likely to replace Abul Hasan, who conceded 42 runs in five overs in the first game. The rest of Bangladesh’s line-up should remain unchanged.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Mahmudullah, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Sabbir Rahman, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Arafat Sunny, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Rubel HossainPakistan might pick a fifth bowler because their three part-timers went for 79 in ten overs. Ehsan Adil has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Umar Gul, who is part of the T20 team, has replaced him and could have a shot at playing his first international match since December 2014. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar is another option.Pakistan (probable): 1 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Mohammad Rizwan, 6 Fawad Alam, 7 Saad Nasim/Zulfiqar Babar, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Junaid Khan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Rahat AliPitch and conditionsThe Mirpur pitch will continue to make teams want to bat first. A bit of movement will be on offer if it is humid, but a 2:30 pm start usually makes for a big first-innings total. The forecast suggests a chance of a shower later in the evening.Stats and trivia Mashrafe Mortaza will become the third Bangladesh cricketer to play 150 ODIs. He has played 147 for his country, and two for Asia XI in 2007. Mohammad Rizwan is the ninth Pakistan batsman to make a 50-plus score on ODI debut.Quotes”We can win like we did in the first ODI consistently. I believe we can win the series. The first win has boosted our confidence but we must remember that the second game won’t be easy either.”
“I think my team will come back strong. I know my team. As a bowling unit they will bounce back, you will see a much more improved performance in the next game.”
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Jeevan Mendis will play no further role in the World Cup, said captain Angelo Mathews, after the allrounder had sustained a mild-to-moderate inner hamstring muscle injury at training on Tuesday

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Feb-2015Jeevan Mendis will play no further role in the World Cup, said captain Angelo Mathews, after the allrounder had sustained a mild-to-moderate inner hamstring muscle injury at training on Tuesday.The team had originally hoped the injury would only keep Mendis out for about 10 days, but scans have since shown the damage to be more severe than initially estimated. Sri Lanka have flown out Upul Tharanga to take Mendis’ place, and the replacement was approved by the ICC’s Event Technical Committee on Wednesday.”Upul will be arriving tonight, but Jeevan will be out for a minimum of two to three weeks,” Mathews said. “Jeevan will be out of the series and he’ll be going back after the next game.”Tharanga had been cut from the squad after mediocre outings in ODIs in 2014. He averaged 22.20 in five matches last year, but had been close to being named in the original 15-man squad despite this, thanks to his overall one-day record. Tharanga has 13 ODI hundreds and 5339 runs, and had opened the batting in both the 2007 and 2011 World Cup campaigns. While Mathews said Tharanga would return to the top of the order if he plays, chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya said he may also be considered for a place lower down he order.”Tharanga has batted at all positions from No. 1 to 7, and has performed equally well,” he told . “That is an advantage. His vast experience is the biggest plus. We also considered the fact that he has shown good recent form in domestic cricket.”Jayasuriya suggested Tharanga was unlikely to play against Bangladesh on Thursday, thanks to the time of his arrival. In any case Sri Lanka had moved Lahiru Thirimanne to the opening position, and may be wary of shifting him down the order again, at such short notice. Mathews was non-committal about Tharanga’s chances of playing.”Upul will be in contention. But between the management and the selectors, we will decide whether we want to play him or not,” he said. “We’ll look at how Upul is doing before making a call on if he will play tomorrow. There’s only about 12 hours from the time he lands, and the start of the game.”Sri Lanka are currently fourth in Group A, after they bounced back from an opening loss against New Zealand to win a tense game against Afghanistan.

Goal takes a look at the 20 highest-paid managers in football

France Football are set to reveal their annual lost of football's highest-paid coaches, and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone leads the way by quite some distance.

The Argentine has led Atleti to one of the most successful spells in their history and has been well rewarded for doing so by his employers. 

Simeone earns a staggering €10 million (£8.6m/$11.2m) more than Jose Mourinho did when the Portuguese was in charge at Manchester United.

In addition, France Football unveiled the list of highest-paid players in the game, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way. 

Below, Goal takes a look at the 20 highest-paid managers in football. 

saudi arabia20Dragan Stojkovic

Club: Guangzhou R&F.

Total income: €7 million (£6m/$7.9m)

AdvertisementGetty Images19Unai Emery

Club: Arsenal.

Total income: €7 million (£6m/$7.9m)

Getty Images18Zinedine Zidane

Club: Real Madrid.

Total income: €7.5 million (£6.4m/$8.4m).

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CHRISTOF STACHE17Niko Kovac

Club: Bayern Munich.

Total income: €7.5 million (£6.4m/$8.4m).

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's dad "is sure" that his son "dreams" of playing for Real Madrid.

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Badri Kvaratskhelia unveiled Khvicha's desire for Real MadridNapoli winger a childhood fan of Los BlancosChelsea, along with other clubs, monitoring Kvaratskhelia's situationWHAT HAPPENED?

The Napoli winger was living his dream when he stepped onto the hallowed pitch of the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night during the Champions League encounter against the record champions. Kvaratskhelia has been a childhood fan of Real Madrid, as earlier revealed by his agent, and his father Badri Kvaratskhelia reinstated that the winger still harbours the desire to put on the white shirt in the future. Real beat Napoli 4-2 in midweek

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Speaking to , Badri said: "For Khvicha, playing against Real Madrid was special. He has always dreamed and I am convinced that he still dreams of playing for Real Madrid. In my family, everyone is a fan of Los Blancos – except for me. For this reason, it was a very special match."

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Chelsea are reportedly keen to sign Kvaratskhelia, who comes with a €100 million (£87m/$109m) price tag. The 22-year-old Georgia international has been in sensational form since he moved to Napoli the previous summer and played a key role in their Serie A title-winning campaign in 2022-23, with 14 goals and 17 assists in 43 matches across all competitions. However, the Blues face stiff competition for the player from several European elites like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Newcastle.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR KVARATSKHELIA?

Napoli might be struggling to keep pace with leaders Inter in Serie A but Kvaratskhelia continues to shine for the defending champions with four goals and an equal number of assists in 12 matches in the Italian top flight. He has shown no signs of slowing down and will be eager to continue with his rich vein of form when The Parthenopeans take on Inter on Sunday evening in a league fixture.

Manchester United and Lionesses star Maya Le Tissier has revealed she was playing boys' football until Under-18 level.

Le Tissier discusses career journeySays playing boys' football helped her developmentIn England squad for upcoming friendliesWHAT HAPPENED?

Le Tissier has revealed her "footballing journey is a bit different to most people" after growing up in Guernsey where there were no girls' teams. The Lionesses and Manchester United star has revealed that she was still playing in boys' football in the Channel Islands right up to the age of 18 but believes it helped her become the player she is today.

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She told England's official website: "I think some players like going through the academies but if I was to give a young girl some advice, I would say go and play grassroots football with the boys because it does so much for you.

"I was playing boys’ football until U18 level, when they are basically men so it was physical and playing with the boys helped make me the player I am today. In Guernsey, there was no set player pathway to play for England get into the international pathway. So I'm proud that I've helped to create a pathway that other girls and boys can look at."

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Le Tissier may have had an unconventional path into professional football but it certainly has not held her back. The 21-year-old has already been capped by England's Lionesses and sealed a move to Manchester United in 2022, signing a three-year deal with the Red Devils. Le Tissier clearly has a big future ahead of her and is also proving to be an inspirational figure to young girls and boys.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR LE TISSIER

Le Tissier has been called into the latest Lionesses squad for a training camp in Spain ahead of friendlies with Austria and Italy. England take on Austria on February 23 and then face Italy four days later.

A round up of the Faysal Bank One-Day Cup matches on March 9, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2013Group AFile photo: Aizaz Cheema’s five-wicket haul gave Peshawar Panthers an 80-run win over Lahore Lions•AFPA maiden century by Mansoor Amjad took Sialkot Stallions to a five-wicket win – and thereby top of the points table – over Multan Tigers in Ghari Khuda Baksh.Multan’s innings of 234 revolved around Sohaib Maqsood’s 91. The rest of the batting, though, couldn’t last long enough to provide him much-needed support. Wickets fell regularly after a second-wicket stand of 96. From 122 for 2, they would be reduced to being bowled out in the last over. All six of the oppositions’ bowlers were among the wickets.In reply, Sialkot struggled at 27 for 3, with offspinner Aamer Yamin taking two of those wickets. But Amjad and opener Yasir Aziz staged a recover with 102 for the fourth wicket, before the later was dismissed for 66. Amjad found able support through Adeel Malik (44), which helped them get home in the 46th over.An all-round show from Bahawalpur Stags took them to a convincing six-wicket win over Quetta Bears in Karachi. The foundation for the win was laid by seamer Mohammad Mudassar and spinner Faisal Elahi, who shared seven wickets between them to bowl the Bears out for 144, and an aggressive career-best knock of 93 by opener Imranullah Aslam.Quetta were behind in the game from the outset, as they were 6 for 3. Although a recovery stand of 49 between Taimur Ali and Abid Ali followed, the lower order couldn’t follow it up with any resistance.They picked up an early wicket in Bahawalpur’s chase, but that proved to be a false dawn, as Imranullah punished the bowlers in his 88-ball knock with ten fours and four sixes, effectively taking the game away.A responsible 71 by Sami Aslam was backed up by a decent middle-order batting performance asLahore Eagles defeated Hyderabad Hawks by four wickets in Hyderabad. This was the Hawks’ first loss in the tournament, and the Eagles’ first win.They had a shaky start to their chase of 238, with two wickets falling early, but Jahangir Mirza, who scored 54, stuck with Aslam to put on a 111-run stand. Later, the captain and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal also chipped in with a half-century, to help his side get home with two overs to spare.Hyderabad, with a 132-run stand for the third wicket between Taj Wasan and Rizwan Ahmed, got to a commanding 173 for 2 at one stage in their innings. But the next eight wickets fell for 64 runs, as the middle and lower order crumbled. Wasan finished on 69, while Rizwan finished on 73. Adnan Rasool was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 28.Group BKarachi Zebras won their rain-affected encounter with Faisalabad Wolves in Rawalpinidi by 1 run through D/L method, and moved to top spot in Group B.Karachi were put into bat, and started solidly to get to 105 for 2. The innings lost momentum thereafter, as Faisalabad struck regularly. Contributions from Tariq Haroon (37) and Anwar Ali (37) helped push the total to 215, as they were dismissed in 46 overs.Faisalabad, in reply, were in trouble at 18 for 3. They lost two more in quick succession to be reduced to 60 for 5. Zeeshan Butt’s unbeaten 67, along with Imran Khalid’s 42, did their best to steer the ship, as they put on a 97-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, once rain intervened, Faisalabad were 1 run short of the D/L comparative score.Islamabad Leopards won their rain-affected game against Abbottabad Falcons by 20 runs through D/L method, in Islamabad.Islamabad chose to bat, with opener Raheel Majeed scoring 47. A brace of wickets left Umair Khan batting with the rest of the tail as Islamabad struggled to string substantial partnerships. Khan’s unbeaten 91, supported by small contributions from other batsmen, and 31 extras, pushed their score to 275 for 9. Kamran Ghulam was the pick of the bowlers with a career-best 3 for 29.Abbottabad started strongly with a 102-run stand between Ghulam and Sajjad Ali. However, with the fall of regular wickets, they fell behind in the chase, which was revived by a 51-run stand for the seventh wicket. A late rally from Yasir Shah, with an unbeaten 66, tried to keep them abreast of the required run-rate. But once rain intervened they were found short by 20 runs on D/L.Peshawar Panthers comprehensively beat Lahore Lions by 80 runs at Gaddafi Stadium, to move up to second spot on the points table.Peshawar, after electing to bat, lost Israrullah for 4. Nawaz Ahmed and wicketkeeper Mohammed Rizwan combined for 118 runs for the second wicket to stage a recovery. Nawaz finished with 93, with further contributions from Rizwan (55), Iftikhar Ahmed (81) and Gauhar Ali (26). Aizaz Cheema took wickets both up front and towards the end of the innings, as Panthers finished with 294 for 7 in their fifty overs. Cheema had best figures of 5 for 61.Lahore Lions didn’t start assuredly well, as they lost opener Imran Butt for 10. They could not string together meaningful partnerships, as the top and middle-order struggled to keep pace with the soaring required run-rate. The innings was kept in check through the bowling of spinner Mohammad Adnan, who picked up 5 for 46, and Zohaib Khan, who picked up 3 for 33. Despite a late order hit-out from Asif Raza (30) and Agha Salman (42), Lahore folded for 214 in the 48th over.

A round-up of the action from the Coca-Cola Pro50 Championship 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2012Matabeleland Tuskers produced a performance not in keeping with their last-place ranking, thumping Southern Rocks by eight wickets with over 19 overs remaining in Bulawayo. The Tuskers justified their decision to field, rolling the Rocks for 123 in 39.2 overs. The bowlers shared the wickets around, with Gavin Ewing finishing with the best figures: 3 for 24. Ewing then came good with the bat, scoring a patient 49 not out, to take Tuskers home with Steven Trenchard for company.In the other match, a rain-marred top-of-the-table clash in Harare, the Mashonaland Eagles beat the Mid West Rhinos via the Duckworth-Lewis method. After being asked to bat, the Rhinos could managed only 189 for 9 in their 50. The only real contribution for them came from Roland Benade, who made 67. After rain interrupted the chase repeatedly, the recalculated score left Eagles a very undemanding 61 from 20, which they easily surpassed.

Pakistan have included three uncapped players – top-order batsman Rameez Raja, legspinner Yasir Shah and seamer Aizaz Cheema – in their squad for the tour of Zimbabwe that starts on August 28

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2011Pakistan have rewarded some of their consistent performers in domestic cricket by including three uncapped players – top-order batsman Rameez Raja, legspinner Yasir Shah and seamer Aizaz Cheema – as well as fast bowler Sohail Khan, who has played only one Test, in the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe that starts on August 28. There are also recalls for opening batsman Imran Farhat, who hasn’t played for Pakistan since the one-day series against South Africa in the UAE in October 2010, and left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir, who was last included for the New Zealand tour earlier in the year.The squad seems to be an experimental one, with the bowling attack in particular featuring several new names and missing some of the senior players. Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz, who have been Pakistan’s three premier fast bowlers in recent times, have all been rested, with Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Cheema and Junaid Khan making up the pace attack. There is also a change in the spin department with Abdur Rehman being rested and Yasir being given an opportunity.Pakistan’s chief selector Mohsin Khan explained that the fresh look to the squad was an effort to blood youngsters. “We have to bring in young players along with seniors so that they could be groomed,” he said. “Because it’s a short tour we have selected only one squad for all three formats of the game and have rested Riaz and Gul in a hope to try out some youngsters.”Adnan Akmal has reclaimed the wicketkeeper’s spot in the squad, meaning Mohammad Salman, who failed to impress with the bat in the West Indies and Ireland, makes way. Allrounder Hammad Azam also failed to have an impact on those tours and has been kept in the standbys to make place for Raja. Ahmed Shehzad, who was dropped after the tour of the West Indies, has been left out again.Another development is the inclusion of Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, in the list of standbys. Malik has been involved in a battle with the PCB, whose integrity committee has not cleared him for selection since the controversial tour of England last year. Mohsin said Malik would only be included if he managed to obtain clearance from the PCB. Meanwhile, legspinner Danish Kaneria, who has taken his fight to get clearance to the Sindh High Court, continues to be ignored.Raja’s call-up comes on the back of consistent domestic performance in all formats. He was the leading run-getter in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One last season, and was top of the run charts again during the recent Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup. His performances in the T20 competition, which included a 97 in the semi-final and a half-century in the final, led to calls for his inclusion in the national side.Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir and Cheema were all recently part of an emerging players camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, where they received tips from former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz. Sohail Khan and Sohail Tanvir both brought themselves back into the limelight during the Super Eight Twenty20 competition; the former took 14 wickets in Karachi Dolphins’ road to the finals, while the latter captained Rawalpindi Rams to the title. Cheema, 31, earned his call-up through another strong first-class season in which he took 57 wickets in eight games in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.Yasir impressed with his 16 wickets in four games during the Faysal Bank Pentangular Cup at the beginning of this year, and then took 3 for 29 for Pakistan A against Afghanistan in a one-dayer. Farhat also did well in the Pentangular, hitting a century and two fifties, and was leading run-getter in the domestic one-day competition before that.Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Rameez Raja junior, Adnan Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema.Standbys: Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Khurram Manzoor, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Talha, Hammad Azam, Shoaib Malik (subject to clearance from PCB integrity committee)

A round-up of the second day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2011Group AFor the second day in a row, eighteen wickets fell at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. With two more days to go, Saurashtra brightened their hopes for a knockout berth by setting a target of 247 and then reducing Railways to 97 for 6.Railways, reeling overnight at 71 for 8, could only add a further ten runs in their first-innings. Subsequently Saurashtra, sitting on a comfortable lead of 94, failed for the second time in succession as they mustered a meagre 152, but the target set seemed to be enough going into the third day.With the exception of Ravindra Jadeja, who played late to top score with 45, the visitors showed the same lack of application as that of the Railways’ batsmen. Luckily it did not hurt Saurashtra so much as Kamlesh Makvana ripped apart the Railways’ batting order in their second innings with his fastish offbreaks, which fetched him his fifth five-for in first-class cricket. There was not much hope for Railways when senior batsmen like Sanjay Bangar and Shivakant Shukla gave away their wickets by charging out to Makvana.The Railways coach Abhay Sharma, however, didn’t blame the nature of the pitch for the slew of wickets. “Some of our batsmen played bad shots. I don’t think the curator is responsible in any way. When you have a three-day gap between two matches, a curator could have hardly done anything,” Sharma said. “In northern India, it’s difficult to water the pitch as it might remain wet and also you can’t just use the roller on a dry pitch.”Orissa were staring at a big first-innings deficit as they ended on 76 for 6 in reply to Rajasthan’s 423 in Jaipur. Robin Bist’s unbeaten 127 and Puneet Yadav’s 63 were instrumental in Rajasthan getting to an imposing score. The pair added 124 for the fifth wicket before Yadav was caught behind by Alok Mangaraj. The 24-year-old Bist, originally from Delhi, continued till he ran out of partners, hitting 16 fours in his knock. This is his fourth century in five matches for Bist, who at 829 runs is the top run-maker of season so far. Basanth Mohanty finished with 4 for 104.Rajasthan’s Pankaj Singh then made early inroads with the ball before Sumit Mathur, instrumental in Rajasthan’s victory against Saurashtra last week, took three wickets in five overs to leave the visitors in trouble. With Orissa still adrift by 347 runs, the defending champions would like the enforce the follow-on and try and go for an innings victory to get the bonus points and keep alive the chance of a knockout berth for second year in a row. If they do manage to do that, Rajasthan would have to thank Bist a lot. “This has been my best season in Ranji Trophy. Before this season, I had just one Ranji century. Now, I have five,” Bist told the at the end of the second day’s play.Wasim Jaffer became the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy and, along with the belligerent Suryakumar Yadav, steered Mumbai past Punjab’s first-innings total during a typically elegant knock. Punjab toiled all day but were blunted by Mumbai’s ultra-defensive approach in the first session, and later by Jaffer’s and Yadav’s aggression. With Saurashtra and Rajasthan in strong positions in their games, Punjab’s chances of making the quarter-finals were slim. Read the full report here.The second day’s play in Shimoga followed the course of the first, as Uttar Pradesh mirrored Karnataka’s batting effort to finish 39 runs short of the first-innings lead, with four wickets standing. Like their Karnataka counterparts on day one, UP built a solid base in the morning, only to lose wickets in a clump in the lead-up to tea. Like Stuart Binny on the first day, Mohammad Kaif battled through the slump, before stalling it with a dogged seventh-wicket stand. Read the full report here.Group BTamil Nadu strengthened their position against Madhya Pradesh in Chennai, with Dinesh Karthik scoring 156 – his second century in as many games – to take the team to 486. The hosts then consolidated their position by sending the vistors’ top order comprising Naman Ojha, Mohnish Mishra and Devendra Bundela – essentially the MP batting’s engine-room – back to the dressing room in no time.Earlier Karthik was bold in his strokeplay, despite having only the tail for support. Yo Mahesh, M Rangarajan and L Balaji all frustrated the MP bowlers, while Karthik went from strength to strength. After the debuant Amarjeet Singh failed to latch on a hard-hit return catch when Karthik was on 89, the former Tamil Nadu captain progressed to make 156. For MP, Ishwar Pandey finished with 4 for 123 off nearly 40 overs. Zafar Ali, the MP opener, witnessed three partners depart before stumps, leaving plenty for the visitors to do on the third day to match TN’s score.Gritty half-centuries from Sourav Ganguly and Anustup Majumdar put Bengal well on course to take a first-innings lead against Baroda at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. It was an eventful day for Ganguly who started the morning by wrapping up the Baroda innings while he finished with figures of 3 for 1. But Bengal were in for a rude jolt when they were wobbling at 98 for 4, which included the wicket of Manoj Tiwary, who had scored a century in each of his previous three matches. Bengal lost their opener Jayojit Basu to the left-arm seamer Gagandeep Singh, before Firdaush Bhaja had Arindam Das caught in the slips. Shreevats Goswami’s boundary-filled 38 came to an end when he nicked Gagandeep to the keeper. Gagandeep struck again when he had Manoj Tiwary caught at cover.Luckily Ganguly found a stable partner in Majumdar and the paired added vital 93 runs for the fifth wicket before the former Indian captain retired hurt due a left hamstring pull. Till then, Ganguly had 60 runs to his credit including nine fours. Majumdar, who ended the day unbeaten on 71, added a further 73 with Laxmi Shukla before stumps.Gujarat just about managed to take a slender first-innings lead of 21 runs against Haryana in Surat. Resuming on 46 for 1, the Gujarat top order showed an appalling lack of discipline and application, with no one managing even a half century. Luckily for the team, Pratharesh Parmar and Manprit Juneja showed some resistance, adding 63 for the fifth wicket, to help Gujarat to match Haryana’s score. For Haryana the job was done by India legspinner Amit Mishra and the debutant offspinner Jayant Yadav, as the pair took three wickets apiece to peg the hosts back. The other debutant, Mohit Sharma, took two wickets.Haryana erased the deficit of 21 by ending the day on a healthy 61 for no loss. If Gujarat lose this match, they would be relegated to the Plate division. And with the pitch aiding the spinners, a result seems likely. “The match is wide open and any target above 250-275 is going to be difficult to chase in the fourth innings on this ground with the wicket taking spin,” Jayendra Saigal, the Gujarat coach, said. “Our batsmen did not do justice to their talent today.”

Alastair Cook, the England opener, has been named the Test Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards ceremony in London

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011England opener Alastair Cook has been named the Test Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards ceremony in London. Cook beat off competition from his team-mates James Anderson and Jonathan Trott, and South Africa allrounder Jacques Kallis.”I think the highlight of year was when we won in Sydney to beat Australia, and Chris Tremlett to take that final wicket, it was truly a great year,” Cook said after receiving the award from ICC Hall of Fame inductee Curtly Ambrose. “This award is about the rest of the team not just me.”During the performance period – from August 11, 2010 to August 3, 2011 – Cook played 12 Tests and in 18 innings he scored 1302 runs at an average of 76.58, including six centuries and four half-centuries. His 235 not out against Australia in Brisbane kick-started England’s first Ashes victory away from home since 1986-87.Cook finished the Ashes with a phenomenal tally of 766 runs, but his best batting effort came against India at Edgbaston, where his monumental 294 helped England seal the series and knock India off the No. 1 Test spot.