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India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja fetched the highest bid in the IPL 2012 auction, being signed up by Chennai Super Kings for more than $2m after they beat Deccan Chargers in a secret tiebreaker

Siddarth Ravindran04-Feb-2012India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja fetched the highest bid in the IPL 2012 auction, being signed up by Chennai Super Kings for more than $2m after they beat Deccan Chargers in a secret tiebreaker. Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene went to Delhi Daredevils for $1.4m and India medium-pacer Vinay Kumar to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1m. The auction was held under a cloud of controversy following the breaking news, an hour before its scheduled start, that Sahara was pulling out of its Pune franchise.Two other big buys on the day came from Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum for $900,000 and the relatively low-profile West Indies offspinner, Sunil Narine, for $700,000.Once again England players weren’t in demand. Most West Indies players also missed out as they have Test series with Australia and England clashing with the IPL season. With their availability for the IPL restricted due to the home series against West Indies in May, none of them attracted a bid. VVS Laxman, with a base price of $400,000 and originally an icon player when the IPL launched in 2008, also went unsold.The big surprises

Vinay Kumar has been prolific in Indian domestic cricket but does not command a permanent spot in India’s XI. He was certainly not considered a candidate to hit the million-dollar mark.

Sunil Narine was mystery bowler of the 2011 Champions League T20. But a player who has played only three internationals going from a base price of $50,000 to being one of the top-five most expensive buys was not on the radar.

Last year Thisara Perera was bought by Kochi Tuskers for $80,000. This year the allrounder went from a base price of $50,000 to $650,000 – the sixth biggest buy at the auction.

Tim Southee came into IPL 2011 as CSK’s replacement for an injured Jacob Oram, and impressed with his death bowling, especially against KKR. That, coupled with his big-hitting ability down the order, make his going unsold a huge surprise.

Among the most active franchises on the day was Mumbai Indians. They strengthened their bowling line-up by signing up the IPL’s highest all-time wicket-taker, RP Singh ($600,000), and three overseas allrounders: Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera ($650,000), Australia’s Mitchell Johnson ($300,000) and South Africa’s Robin Peterson ($100,000). Mumbai also made one of the smartest buys of the day, by hiring experienced Twenty20 specialist Herschelle Gibbs for a paltry $50,000.The Rajasthan Royals also made five signings but, unlike Mumbai, they didn’t splash the cash. Their most expensive purchases were Australia’s Brad Hodge ($475,000) and India fast bowler Sreesanth ($400,000). They made three low-cost buys: $180,000 for left-arm spinner Brad Hogg – who turns 41 on Monday and had received an unlikely international recall for the Twenty20s against India, following his good run in the Big Bash League – and $50,000 apiece for Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and Trinidad & Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper, whose medium pace proved hard to hit at the Champions League T20 last year.Another West Indies allrounder, Andre Russell, who impressed last year with his combination of fast bowling, big hitting, sharp fielding and made-for-IPL bling, was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for $450,000.Two players whose international days are behind them, Muttiah Muralitharan ($220,000 to Royal Challengers) and former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood ($200,000 to Kings XI Punjab) also earned contracts.For a full list of players who were bought at the auction, click here.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma are the latest additions to India’s long list of injured players during their tour of England

Nagraj Gollapudi at Chester-le-Street03-Sep-2011Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma are the latest additions to India’s long list of injured players during their tour of England. Tendulkar missed the first ODI at Chester-le-Street because of an aggravation of an old toe injury, while Rohit fractured his right index finger off the first ball he faced, an injury likely to rule him out of the series.”Sachin Tendulkar is suffering from an inflammation to the bone in his big toe on the right foot,” Shivlal Yadav, India’s manager, told ESPNcricnfo. “In the past he had a fracture to this bone and yesterday, after the training, he felt a little pinch. In the morning he went for a light jog and felt pain. Immediately he spoke to Ashish Kaushik, the Indian team physio, and both felt it would be safe to rest him for this match. On Monday Tendulkar will visit a surgeon in London.”Rohit was struck on the glove by a short ball from Stuart Broad off the first ball he faced. He received some attention from the physio and grimaced when the swollen index finger on his right hand was touched. He left the field immediately and went to the hospital, where scans revealed a fracture.The extent of the damage will be ascertained when Rohit visits a hand specialist, Rupert Eckersley, in London on Monday, after which a decision will be taken on his continued participation on the tour. However, India’s captain, MS Dhoni, was not optimistic. “It does not look like Rohit will feature in the series,” he said after the game was washed out.India have been rocked by a series of injuries on this tour of England, beginning with Zaheer Khan’s hamstring pull on the first day of the Lord’s Test. Following his withdrawal from the series, the BCCI said he not only suffered from a recurring hamstring problem, but also required surgery on his right ankle. Yuvraj fractured a finger on his left hand, while Harbhajan strained his stomach muscle, during India’s crushing defeat in the second Test at Trent Bridge, ruling them out of the rest of the tour.Opener Virender Sehwag, it was understood, had not completely recovered from the shoulder surgery he underwent immediately after the IPL in May, and was suffering from hearing problems in his left ear, after being exposed to a loud sound on July 24, according to the team management. In another major setback, Gautam Gambhir failed to recover from a concussion he picked up while fielding on the third day of the final Test, subsequently missing the limited-overs leg of the tour. He had also missed the second Test at Trent Bridge after being struck on the elbow at Lord’s.Praveen Kumar had also joined India’s long list of injured, missing the fourth Test at The Oval because of an injury to his left ankle, before recovering in time for the Twenty20 international on August 31. Ishant Sharma wasn’t as fortunate, returning home after the Tests following a ligament injury to his left ankle, which will require surgery, during the third Test at Edgbaston.

David Warner shook the Chepauk pitch out of its death-like slumber through a mix of clean straight hitting, including a six out of the stadium, and audacious switch-hits, one of them a pull for a six over extra cover

The Report by Sidharth Monga04-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDavid Warner has the highest score in any edition of the Champions League T20•AFPDavid Warner shook the Chepauk pitch out of its death-like slumber through a mix of clean straight hitting, including a six out of the stadium, and audacious switch-hits, one of them a pull for six over extra cover. On a square on which 135 has often looked like a winning total, Warner alone scored 135 off 69, the highest individual score in Champions league history, his second Twenty20 century, and considering the slow-and-low conditions one of the best T20 centuries. In the process he took New South Wales to the top of Group A, and through to the semi-final.There was brute hitting involved, but that was only the latter part of the systemic dismantling of the Chennai Super Kings, who too had a chance of making it to the next round at the start of the match. That, though, was only until Warner started bringing the Super Kings down to their knees. After that all they could do was watch befuddled, and perhaps admire. They sure did beeline for Warner, to shake his hand once he was done.They were not sure which hand to shake, though, for Warner frequently switched hands to bat like a right-hand batsman. With the “other” hand, he scored 22 off six balls. Only once did he miss. At the receiving end of three of those hits was R Ashwin, the Super Kings’ ace and one of the best IPL bowlers. The other ace that Warner trumped was his New South Wales state team-mate Doug Bollinger, who went for 48 in his three overs.With attack the only option left for the Super Kings in their chase, Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina scored 65 off 41 balls between them, but once the wickets started falling, the slowness of the track reappeared, and batting didn’t quite look that easy. The Super Kings needed to win in 17 overs to qualify for the semi-final, but that just seemed to mock the defending champions.Their destruction, though, began with Shane Watson who hit Bollinger for three fours in the second over of the innings. He was not in full control, but it forced the Super Kings to introduce Ashwin in the third over. A Murali-Pietersen moment was about to arrive. Warner changed his stance to the fifth ball from the spinner, switched the grip, got under the ball, and went over what was cover for his original stance. In Ashwin’s next over Warner repeated the dose, and at 41 for 0 after five overs the Super Kings didn’t seem to have any answers.Ashwin came back to dismiss Watson for 21 off 19 with a carrom ball, but the Super Kings never recovered. NSW promoted last match’s hero Steven Smith, and he and Warner pushed the fielders with canny placement and aggressive running in the initial stages of the innings. Shadab Jakati dropped Warner off the last ball of the 10th over. That was cue enough for Warner to launch from 73 for 1.Warner was 40 off 29 then, and scored 95 off his last 40. The second assault, too, began with a switch hit. Raina was at the receiving end this time. The coup de grace, though, was even more brutal. Bollinger came back in the 13th over, and met a lovely straight drive for a six and a short-arm pull for four. Warner stood steady in the crease, and swung at whatever length Bollinger bowled.Jakati’s flat non-turners were fair game for some smashing, and he duly went for 15 runs in the 14th. Warner waited for Raina to fire them in in the 15th, and lofted him for a four and six too. Ashwin came back to take his punishment, to be switch-pulled for a six. Well and truly rattled, the Super Kings began misfielding all over the place.Some more punishment remained, though. This time for Dwayne Bravo, the only man with respectable figures of 3-0-19-0, including a drop off his bowling. As with Bollinger, Warner stayed still with Bravo too. The full balls went for two straight sixes. Almost forgotten was as big a six that Moises Henriques hit. Almost forgotten was that Steven Smith played a handy innings of 31 off 29, keeping Warner on strike as much as possible.The night, though, was about Warner. He would go on to switch-hit Bravo for a four past what was originally mid-off. For the photo album he would launch Bollinger onto the roof and out of the stadium, and watch in admiration, shielding his eyes with his hand, the way you would when watching a plane in mid-afternoon.

The happy ever-after fairytale ending to the league phase campaign that Kings XI Punjab were expecting slipped through their fingers, literally, in Dharamsala

The Bulletin by Siddhartha Talya21-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shikhar Dhawan got his highest Twenty20 score•AFPThe happily-ever-after ending that Kings XI Punjab were expecting for their campaign slipped through their fingers, literally, in Dharamsala. Their rise from the dead has been the story of the IPL, but they crumbled in the field in a must-win game and were eliminated from the race for the play-offs.Dropped catches galore, spiced up with misfields and missed run-outs, allowed Deccan Chargers’ openers, Shikhar Dhawan and D Ravi Teja, to deliver just the kind of a partnership that would lift the spirits of a struggling team in its final game. While Amit Mishra did his bit with a hat-trick, it was their stand that put the task beyond Punjab’s batsmen. The result meant Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders qualified for the play-offs.The first over set the tone for the day. There was encouragement for Praveen Kumar from the track, with the ball moving both ways, but there wasn’t much the bowlers could do when not backed up by their fielders. Ryan McLaren missed an attempt to run out Dhawan first ball and Ravi Teja was dropped by Paul Valthaty in the deep moments later. Both chances were difficult, yet manageable, and proved decisive in the outcome.The opening bowlers, Praveen and Ryan Harris, erred in line, particularly against Dhawan, who played through square leg and fine leg for boundaries. While Dhawan looked determined to bat through, it was Ravi Teja’s responsibility to maintain the high tempo. Dhawan focussed on the gaps, timing and power enabling him to pierce them with ease, while Ravi Teja went over the top, accomplishing the task he was sent out for, albeit with much fortune.Streaky as he was, Ravi Teja sent Punjab’s frustration levels soaring. He survived a run-out in the 11th over – umpire Asad Rauf didn’t call for a replay – and edged the next two balls from McLaren to the third-man boundary. He was dropped by Harris in the next over, and then launched Piyush Chawla for two massive sixes in another over that yielded 20 runs. By the time he was finally caught, he had smashed 60 when he should have been dismissed for a duck.Having fed on tripe bowled on the pads, Dhawan drove Harris twice for boundaries through the off side, then ceded the floor to Ravi Teja, before taking the lead once again following his dismissal. His intentions were clear right after the second time-out, as he slog-swept Chawla and Bhargav Bhatt. He scarred Harris in his return spell with consecutive fours, including one that almost decapitated the man at the non-striker’s end, Cameron White. Dhawan’s first six was over cow-corner, and he was unfortunate to miss out on three figures, not being able to farm much of the strike at the end of the innings.Punjab had changed their strategy in this game, opting to chase, leaving some a little surprised since Adam Gilchrist had scored a blistering ton at the same venue after batting first in their previous game. The pressure of a big target, despite the friendly surface and the small boundaries, was too difficult a challenge. Valthaty perished in the second over, Shaun Marsh smashed JP Duminy for successive boundaries but was caught on the third attempt, edging to short third man. Gilchrist stood in the way and there was hope when he launched Anand Rajan over extra cover and slog-swept Pragyan Ojha into the stands.Unlike Punjab, though, Deccan caught well and when Gilchrist drove Daniel Christian straight to White in the 11th over, the game was decided. Mishra got into the act: his first wicket, that of McLaren, was a product of an excellent diving catch by Christian in the deep. Mandeep Singh swung and missed to be stumped off the next ball, and Harris edged a googly straight to second slip to complete the hat-trick. The element of suspense Punjab brought to a mostly predictable tournament was over.

Rangers travel away from Ibrox tonight as they face the exciting prospect of a Europa League semi-final first-leg match in Germany.

The Gers have enjoyed a sensational season in Europe and are now in with a shot of reaching the final as they clash with RB Leipzig on Thursday night.

Gio van Bronckhorst’s men can put one foot through the door with a win tonight ahead of the second-leg in Glasgow next week and they come into the game off the back of a 3-1 win over Motherwell in the Premiership.

How many changes will the head coach make to the team from that match? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make five alterations to the side, with Calvin Bassey, Ryan Jack, John Lundstram, Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo all coming in.

Starting off at the back, we published an article explaining why Bassey must be unleashed at centre-back to replace Leon Balogun – who was sent off against Motherwell. The veteran, who Sir Kenny Dalglish previously dubbed a “leader”, will be available to play as he now faces a domestic suspension but we are backing the head coach to axe him for this match.

In midfield, Jack and Lundstram should both come in for Scott Arfield and Steven Davis. The pair started together in the middle of the park in the wins against Braga, Red Star Belgrade and Borussia Dortmund in the earlier rounds of the competition.

This suggests that Van Bronckhorst has found the winning formula in midfield with the British duo and, therefore, they should both start against Leipzig in Germany tonight.

On the right, Aribo may come in for Amad Diallo. We published an article explaining why the Ivorian should be dropped from the starting XI and replaced by the former Charlton attacking midfielder as part of the front three.

Finally, we are predicting that Kent will come in on the left for Scott Wright. The gem, who Steven Gerrard dubbed a “constant threat”, has one goal and four assists in 10 outings in the competition and has the quality to be the difference-maker with his creativity, which is why he should start.

AND in other news, Gio van Bronckhorst provides big pre-UEL Rangers injury update…

Kumar Sangakkara has said that the Sri Lankan board should choose a long-term captain as his successor and not give someone a caretaker role

Sriram Veera12-Apr-2011Kumar Sangakkara has said that the Sri Lankan board should choose a long-term captain as his successor and not give someone a caretaker role. Sangakkara said both Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews were ready for captaincy but said they should be given longer tenures if they are to be successful.”You have to look long term. Not just what is good for now. If you want to go for Dilshan, give him the confidence for a long term,” Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo. “Don’t give the captaincy to Dilshan and say, ‘You are just going to be captain for a year and half.’ It’s not going to be good for him, for he is going to think, ‘My days are numbered anyway.’ And so it won’t be good for the team.”Both Dilshan and Angie [Angelo] are suitable. If they think Angie is too young then Dilshan will do a good job because he has these little touches for success. Anything he does on the field, he has this little knack. I don’t know whether he will be the long-term candidate with his age, but if he keeps himself fit he can easily play the next World Cup.”Or they can take the plunge with Angelo. That is where the selectors have to really make a call. Pressure will have to be shared, if they make a call and if things don’t go well in the first or second year, they will have to be strong that they made a good decision. They will have to put everything possible in to make sure the captain has everything to do a good job. If it doesn’t go well even after that, maybe you can re-evaluate.”Reflecting on his own decision to resign, Sangakkara admitted that it was partly selfish but said the majority of the decision was based on what he felt was good for Sri Lanka. “No matter how much I try to deny it, there is a lot of ‘me’ in that decision. Having said that a large part of the decision is what I think is the way forward for the team. The way forward is not as difficult as people make it out to be. Players come players go and so do captains. Yet teams progress. That is the natural progression.Sangakkara said the administrators had the good of Sri Lankan cricket at heart but should never do anything that affects the players. “You can have your administrative scuffles but when it comes to playing cricket, players should not get involved with administration unless it’s something that directly affects their performance. And administrators should never cross that line. If they can maintain that familiarity and at the same time the professional distance it would be great. It can go wrong. It has gone wrong at times.”Sangakkara said he took the decision to resign three months before the World Cup and that Mahela Jayawardene supported it. “I am not resigning because I am unhappy. I can do this for longer but I don’t think it’s the right thing for me or for the team. Another World Cup is coming up in four years. We think four years is a long time but suddenly you will realise two years have already gone and the system hasn’t changed. A new guy is appointed with hardly any time to lead the team.”Sangakkara said the decisions to phase out Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas were the most difficult ones he took as captain. “It was a very delicate situation because Sanath and Vaasy are legends. You need to be 100% sure you are making the right decision. Personal likes and dislikes have nothing to do with what’s best for the team. We are a family, but you have arguments, your problems – that’s the way it should be, else nothing constructive is going to work.”Sangakkara said age wasn’t the criterion to drop these players and that it was purely about performance and team combination. “Sanath and Vaasy missed selection [for the World Cup] by a whisker. It was unbiased: it’s not about age. If someone is performing and contributing to the value of the dressing room, nothing else matters. It was a never a case of, oh he is old.”

Chris Gayle has said that he is hopeful about getting back into the West Indies side “as quickly as possible”

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2011Chris Gayle, who was named the 2010 West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Cricketer of the Year as well as Test Player of the Year during the eighth annual First Citizens WIPA Awards in St Ann’s on Thursday night, is hopeful about getting back into the national side “as quickly as possible”.Gayle, who had been omitted from the West Indies limited-overs squad for the Twenty20 and first two ODI games against India, following his ongoing dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over his controversial radio interview in April, wrote in his column in the that he wanted the “issue to be sorted out”.”We have a meeting scheduled sometime in the next few days,” Gayle wrote, “[and] I want to be involved in the game. But it is out of my control. The WICB people are the ones in charge. I have to see if we can resolve the issue. As I had stated to the board, they have known that I am fully available.”Gayle, who watched the Twenty20 game between West Indies and India in Trinidad on Saturday from the stands, wrote it was “disappointing to actually be on the sidelines” and “strange not to be involved in the game, not to be walking out to open the batting”.”The atmosphere was great but the stands are not a great place to be. I want to be in the middle.”Gayle had called on his fans to give him “a wake up call to go and watch cricket, wake me at 9-30am T&T plz [sic]” on Twitter the day before the match. After the game he tweeted that he had a “blast at cricket…It was really nice to see the support and appreciation by fans…thank you all for d [sic] support!!” During the game he had tweeted “WI Fans..Don’t worry about a thing,cause every little things gonna [sic] be alright…”, suggesting that that there could soon be a reconciliation between him and the board.The WICB was angered by Gayle’s decision to play in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore but Gayle had said the way he had been treated by the West Indies board (WICB) had left him with little choice but to join Bangalore and miss the home series against Pakistan. Gayle, who ended the IPL as the tournament’s top run scorer, called his stint “memorable.””The people and fans there showed a lot of warmth,” he wrote. “That was in contrast to how one’s own people fail to recall, tend to forget the things you have done for the team.”From a player’s point of view, that kind of respect is definitely deserved. In your own region you are made to feel like an outsider. It is sad but that is how it is. Yes, here I’m definitely talking about the administration. It is always important that you should feel absolutely relaxed to feel an integral part of an environment.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League Twenty20 qualifier between Trinidad & Tobago and Leicestershire in Hyderabad

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran19-Sep-2011Match factsLeicestershire v Trinidad & Tobago, September 20
Start time 16.00 (10.30 GMT)
Can Paul Nixon and Leicestershire stop T&T?•PA PhotosBig PictureTrinidad & Tobago are one win away from securing a place in the Champions League main draw and a big financial boost after their victory over Ruhuna on September 19. The track at the Uppal Stadium has plenty to interest the spinners, which suited T&T who played only one genuine quick bowler in the attack, and a raft of slower bowlers. Their captain Daren Ganga will have few complaints about the bowling and fielding, but the top-order batting would have been less satisfactory, with only Darren Bravo showing the judgment necessary to thrive on a difficult pitch.Standing in their way will be Leicestershire, surprise Twenty20 champions of England. A county in financial difficulty, coming off a dreadful first-class season and having few crowd-pulling stars may seem like an easy opposition, but as Paul Nixon and Co. showed in the Friends Life t20, Leicestershire have the ability to upset star-studded teams. With losses of around £400,000 last year, the big money on offer for teams qualifying to the main draw will provide an added incentive for Matthew Hoggard and his team.Team newsT&T will be tempted to go in with the same XI that beat Ruhuna. One problem they have to ponder is that with Sherwin Ganga not at his best with the ball, they had to turn to the gentle medium-pace of Lendl Simmons, who was promptly punished for 30 runs in two overs. There aren’t too many alternatives in case one of the frontline bowlers have an off day.One of the oldest members in the Leicestershire squad, 39-year-old Claude Henderson, will have a big role to play, leading the spin department. One of the youngest, Joshua Cobb, who turned 21 last month, will assist him but Cobb’s major role is providing an electric start with the bat which more restrained batsmen like the talented James Taylor can build on.Watch out for …Abdul Razzaq will hit the headlines not only for being a big-hitting game-changing allrounder but because he will become the second Pakistan player to participate in the Champions League, after Yasir Arafat in 2009. “I am sure after this trip our [Pakistan] players will also be able to play in the IPL again,” he said. “I know if I perform well it is a good thing for Pakistan cricket and players as well.”Ravi Rampaul was the only fast bowler used by T&T and he was spot-on in his four overs. He didn’t concede a single boundary in his spell, removed the dangerous Dinesh Chandimal before delivering an accurate final over in which Ruhuna could only score one run.Stats & trivia Andrew McDonald was the highest run-getter in the Friends Life t20 this season, making 584 runs including seven half-centuries Lendl Simmons hit the highest number of sixes in the 2010-11 Caribbean T20 (15) but his strike-rate was still only a modest 111.65Quotes”This team is the most balanced we have ever had in Twenty20 cricket in my career at Leicestershire, no question.”

Jonathan Foo, the Guyana batsman, has been named in the West Indies A Twenty20 squad that will take on Pakistan A at home next month

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010Jonathan Foo, the Guyana batsman who starred in the Caribbean Twenty20 earlier this year, has been named in the West Indies A Twenty20 squad that will take on Pakistan A at home next month. Devendra Bishoo, the legspinner who topped the wickets chart in that tournament, has also been included. All-rounder David Bernard, who was part of the weakened West Indies team that played Bangladesh in 2009, will captain the side.Foo helped Guyana snatch victory against Barbados in the nail-biting final of the domestic event, hitting a 17-ball 42 under immense pressure. A hard-hitting lower-order batsman, the 20-year-old is among a rare breed of West Indies cricketers with Chinese descent.”The selection committee has identified this core group for Twenty20 cricket,” Clyde Butts, chairman of the WICB selection committee said in a statement. “We are now looking forward to seeing how these players do on the next level up, how they respond to the pressures and the challenges.”The A tour beginning on November 3 consists of two Twenty20s, three one-day matches and two four-day games.West Indies A Twenty20 squad: David Bernard (capt), Jason Holder, Miles Bascombe, Devendra Bishoo, Johnson Charles, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher (wk), Jonathan Foo, Danza Hyatt, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Ravi Rampaul, Krishmar Santokie

A round-up of the third day of the second round of matches in Division 1 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2010Habib Bank Limited’s bowlers ran through Multan for the second time in the match to bowl their side to an innings-and-167-run win at the Multan Cricket Stadium on the third day. Multan began the day needing 289 runs to make Habib Bank bat again, after they declared on their overnight score of 429 for 7. The fast-bowling trio of Shahid Nazir, Sarmad Anwar and Kamran Hussain scythed through the Multan top and middle order to leave them reeling. Only opener Zaka-ur-Rasheed resisted with 41, but he fell to Danish Kaneria, who then mopped up the lower order as Multan collapsed to be dismissed for 122. Kaneria finished with 4 for 41, giving him ten wickets in the match, and also taking him past 900 first-class victims. He has taken 18 wickets from two games in the tournament so far.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited face an uphill task against Karachi Blues at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi. They need another 349 runs for victory or to bat through the last day to ensure a draw. Led by Rameez Raja’s 81, Karachi made 289 in their second innings after taking a first-innings lead of 77. Left-arm spinner Imran Khalid was the pick of the bowlers, taking 5 for 57. SNGPL lost opener Naeemuddin to the last ball of the day with 17 runs on the board.Sialkot ended day three of their match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot on 31 for 1 chasing 354. ZTBL declared their second innings on 254 for 8, with Yasir Hameed cruelly run out five runs short of a century. Hameed’s innings came off just 106 balls, and included 15 fours and a six. He was supported by Inam-ul-Haq, who remained unbeaten on 52, but no one else went past 40. Sialkot lost Adnan Zaheer, trapped lbw by Pakistan medium Sohail Tanvir, without scoring before Tariq Mahmood and Majid Jehangir shepherded the side through to the close of play.Islamabad closed the third day of their game against Pakistan International Airlines at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad on 228 for 7, giving them a lead of 217 runs. Anoop Santosh’s unbeaten 52 helped PIA take a slender 11-run lead. Nasrullah Khan was the most successful bowler, taking 6 for 71 from 24.4 overs. In their second innings, Islamabad had lost their openers with only eight runs on the board wen Ameer Khan and Zeeshan Mushtaq came together to add 102 for the third wicket. Zeeshan had raced to 97 from 101 balls when he was caught by Shoaib Khan off the bowling of Ali Imran, who ended the day with four wickets.Wicketkeeper Ahmed Said’s unbeaten century enabled Water and Power Development Authority to take a 107-run first innings lead over Faisalabad, and two late wickets ensured their domination was complete on the third day at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha. WAPDA began the day needing 48 runs to take the lead with four wickets remaining. Said first ensured they did so in a 77-run partnership with fast bowler Umaid Asif. After Umaid’s dismissal for 39, the lower order stayed long enough with Said to stretch the lead beyond 100. Said remained unbeaten on 113. Hasan Mahmood, the 19-year old left-arm spinner, took his maiden five-wicket haul, bowling 50.2 overs to take 6 for 123. Faisalabad began well but Umaid struck late to leave them in trouble at 90 for 3.National Bank of Pakistan tightened their grip on the third day against Rawalpindi, who lost four wickets for 95 chasing an improbable 432 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Earlier, Kamran Akmal, resuming on 58, carried on after Umar Amin fell for 132, smashing 11 fours and a six in his 103 off 127 deliveries. He was supported well by the lower order before National Bank were dismissed for 374, an overall lead of 431. Sadaf Hussain, the Rawalpindi left-arm medium-pacer, finished with 5 for 82. Mohammad Talha, the fast bowler who debuted for Pakistan in the ill-fated Lahore Test against Sri Lanka last year, then had Rawalpindi fighting to save the match with a three-wicket burst.