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Match facts

Sunday, July 7
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)West Indies need their top order to set the base•Associated Press

Big Picture

West Indies’ horror of a match against India on Friday has not only been an eye opener for them, but has also opened up the tournament. India’s chances of qualifying for the final looked bleak after two consecutive defeats, but they trounced the hosts by a big enough margin to pick up a bonus point. West Indies are still on top with nine points and a game to play, and a win against Sri Lanka on Sunday will guarantee their spot in the final. A defeat will still give them a chance at qualifying, but it could come down to a three-way net-run rate scenario if the teams are tied on nine points. A win for Sri Lanka on Sunday will tighten the screws as it will at least put them on par with the hosts. It will also make things tougher for India, who are currently on five points with a game to play.While West Indies are not yet in grave danger of being knocked out, concerns remain. For starters, they will be without their captain Dwayne Bravo, who has been suspended for a slow over-rate. In all likelihood, Kieron Pollard will take over for the second time in three matches. Nothing went right for West Indies on Friday. If looks could deceive, the pitch certainly did. The grass looked inviting enough for both captains to have a bowl, but the decision to insert the opposition backfired on Bravo as his seamers failed to pick up early wickets. The opening partnership was allowed to develop and the West Indies’ death bowling was exposed by Virat Kohli. The batting suffered a bigger meltdown than the bowling, and while the afternoon rain may have spiced up the pitch for the Indian seamers to exploit, the hosts were struggling to get the start they wanted even before rain struck. Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo fell to poor strokes and the loss of two early wickets piled the pressure on the middle order, which looked just as inept. Perhaps the hosts lost the game in the mind after conceding 311. Perhaps batting first might not be a bad option if given the chance, going forward.Sri Lanka have two more games to play, are tied on points with India but have a superior net run rate. They peaked in all three departments in their previous game, losing just one wicket on their way to 348 and all their five bowlers contributed in bundling out India for less than 200. It remains to be seen if they will change their batting order and give players like Lahiru Thirimanne more time in the middle.

In the spotlight

The over-rates in the last two games have been costing the captains and players, literally. On Tuesday, India overshot by 20 minutes leading to Kohli being fined and on Friday, West Indies were worse by one more minute. It was costlier for West Indies, with Bravo now suspended. Changing captains during a tournament could upset a side’s rhythm and West Indies especially can’t afford too many stop-gap arrangements, at a time when Bravo is establishing himself as a full-time ODI captain.Sri Lanka’s new opening pair of Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga was formed after Tillakaratne Dilshan’s pre-tournament pull-out due to injury and that combination could stay at least until Dilshan returns. The question is whether Sri Lanka will be tempted to persist with it in future series, after their 213-run stand against India. Jayawardene has had success as an opener, but he hasn’t been a regular at that position; Dilshan is most comfortable at the top and Tharanga will be hard to ignore after his 174. With Kusal Perera earmarked for the future, Sri Lanka might find it hard to settle on one pair, once Dilshan returns. It’s a good headache to have.

Team news

Lendl Simmons, the opening batsman, was called in to the squad on Saturday as a replacement for Bravo.* West Indies could either play him or bring back Devon Smith.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Devon Smith/Lendl Simmons, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Tino BestSri Lanka may retain their winning combinationSri Lanka (probable) 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Lahiru Thirimanne, 8 Sachithra Senanayake, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith Malinga

Stats and trivia

Warwickshire could benefit from a change in the procedure by which the ECB allocates major matches.The county missed out when the lucrative Ashes Tests for 2013 and India Tests for 2014 were allocated but retain hope of winning the battle to host at least one of the games recently resubmitted for tender by the ECB.Durham were originally awarded the rights to host a T20 against India in 2014 and an ODI against Australia in 2015 but handed them back to the ECB, questioning how lucrative the fixtures would be, coming so close to their other international matches – ODIs against Sri Lanka in 2014 and New Zealand in 2015.That new tendering process has now ended and the ECB is expected to make a quick decision over the reallocation.The ECB no longer allocates matches to the highest bidder but instead offers them to counties at a fixed price while taking account of a raft of other criteria. On this occasion, the ECB will give extra weighting to a ground’s previous record of ticket sales and its capacity. It will also take into account the number of international games in a 50-mile vicinity and the anticipated ticket price of those games.While several of the top English grounds have bid for the two games, Edgbaston’s large capacity – only Lord’s can accommodate more spectators – and the absence of an India Test in 2014 may prove crucial. The Oval is also understood to have made a persuasive case for one or both of the games, with Bristol having also submitted a bid.Warwickshire announced losses of over £2m for 2012 as a result of poor weather and deprecation costs on their redeveloped stadium.

The PCB has admitted that the endorsement of Zaka Ashraf for next four years as chairman was processed through a “representation process” and not purely a democratic process, but said it complied with the ICC’s recommendations. According to the amended constitution, the chairman is still a nominated candidate, though one who is “endorsed” by ten elected members in the Board of Governors.In 2011, the ICC stipulated that its member boards become autonomous and free of interference from governments by June 2013. Removal of government interference had also been one of the Woolf report recommendations approved by the ICC.The PCB’s 2007 constitution was then amended to change the method of appointing the board’s chairman and alter the structure of its governing board. However, the process is still complicated, and the president of Pakistan, who is the patron of the PCB, retains a central role in appointing the chairman. Ashraf defended the transition as “fair and transparent to prevent a malicious candidate to step up to take the office”.”The new constitution complies with the recommendations made by the ICC and has been accepted, appreciated and welcomed by the ICC,” Ashraf told a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “It has been a much-needed transition and a necessary step in ensuring the development and better administration of the game of cricket. The key features of the constitution were also discussed individually with the ICC president and CEO and it fulfills the requirements of parameters laid down by them. The PCB is fully compliant.”The PCB has been criticised in the past because its constitution allowed the chairman almost dictatorial powers. The amended constitution hasn’t changed that. The chairman can control and oversee income and expenditure in accordance with the budget approved by the board of governors. The major shortcoming in the new constitution is that the chairman has ultimate power with no recourse to remove him from the post in any circumstances. Also, the incumbent can be nominated for more than one term.”The new constitution entrusts the board of governors [BoG] with greater responsibility and the power to make regulations for the better governance of the PCB. Previously, most rules had to be approved by the federal government,” said Ashraf who insisted that “the constitution has been followed in letter and spirit and the PCB chairman has been appointed through the process defined in the constitution.”The restructured 14-member body includes five elected regional representatives picked on a rotation basis and five elected representatives of service organisations and departments who have the power of endorsement to the nominated chairman. The regions whose representatives accepted Ashraf’s nomination were: Peshawar, Islamabad, Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali while the fifth spot is yet to be filled. Punjab – which has 60% of Pakistan’s population – doesn’t have a representative in the BoG as Ashraf said the regions within Punjab hadn’t completed their own elections yet.The transition, however, was surprising and conducted secretly with the PCB revealing the appointment through a press release, citing it as an internal matter and not a public one. “This is a representative process, that’s why the word nominated as per process has been used (in the constitution),” explained the PCB solicitor, Taffazul Rizvi. “There are certain criteria which are defined in the constitution and the word democracy has a wide range. The PCB election is different from the way general elections are conducted.”It is understood that with the general election due on Saturday, a new government could bring in a change in PCB hierarchy. With his future as chairman uncertain, Ashraf implemented the new constitution and was eventually elected for a new term.”We had to implement the new constitution to meet the deadline given by ICC,” said Ashraf, to justify the abrupt move 72 hours before the general election in the country. “It was expected and we were already working on it from last many months. We didn’t want to delay it, we have to have the new constitution in place before June to satisfy the ICC requirement.”

ScorecardJordan Silk anchored Tasmania’s innings on the first day•Getty Images

You can’t win a Sheffield Shield final on the first day, but you can certainly lose one, and Tasmania ensured they did all they could to take a loss out of the equation in the first 92 overs of this decider.Shield finals are rarely cut and thrust, high-octane affairs, and so it proved as Tasmania crawled along at less than two-an-over through the entire day after winning the toss and batting first.Openers Jordan Silk and Mark Cosgrove combined for a 133-run stand before the first wicket fell in the 77th over, when Cosgrove defended a half-volley onto his foot and it rolled back to the stumps to gift Michael Neser the break-through.Until then, the Tigers pair showed scarcely any intent to push the game along, having mustered just 41 runs, and three boundaries, in the first session. They were 0 for 90 after 60 overs at the tea adjournment, and the score did not reach three figures until the 65th over of the day.Silk and Cosgrove showed tremendous patience, determination, and concentration throughout their stand.Silk’s effort was exceptional. The 20-year-old in just his third first-class match batted the entire day, facing 291 deliveries for his unbeaten 82. His concentration never wavered, even after he was struck a nasty blow on the left elbow. The tall right-hander’s technique matches his temperament; simple, uncomplicated, unflustered.The Bulls attack was disciplined and miserly, but not unplayable on a surface that appeared flat in nature, but in reality was a fraction slow, and at times difficult to score on.Queensland captain James Hopes was the most frugal. He bowled 13 maidens in his 21 overs.The Bulls had their chances, however. Silk was put down twice and should have been run out as well. Ryan Harris could not hang on to a flashing edge at slip off Nathan Hauritz in the 12th over of the day. Silk and Cosgrove were later stranded in a mid-pitch mix-up, but Cameron Gannon’s throw could not find the stumps, having created the confusion with a wonderful diving stop.Cosgrove, having survived some early shouts for lbw, fought his natural instincts to make one of the slowest half-centuries of his first-class career. His fall just before the second new ball brought the game to life.Alex Doolan, auditioning for an Ashes ticket, nicked Harris to slip for just 6. Silk should have followed in the next over when keeper Chris Hartley failed to cling to an inside edge that was induced by the tireless Hopes.Ricky Ponting breezed to 20 not out in the last half hour and looms as the danger for Queensland on day two, as Tasmania seek to build a mountainous first innings total.

ScorecardNetherlands’ last men hung on to secure a one-wicket victory over Namibia in Windhoek. Chasing 237, Netherlands were 22 for 1 before Wesley Barresi and Stephan Myburgh put on an 83-run stand for the second wicket. Daan van Bunge’s 60 helped further the cause once Barresi was dismissed for 58. Craig Williams picked up three crucial wickets for Namibia, those of Myburgh, Barresi and Tom Cooper, to halt the scoring midway through the innings. Netherlands slipped to 178 for 7 as the seemingly par target looked more difficult that it should have been. Mudassar Bukhari added 14, and Timm van der Gugten scored an unbeaten 11, as Netherlands’ last pair crossed the line with two overs to go.Namibia had been asked to bat and started with a century stand between openers Xander Pitchers and Raymond van Schoor. The pair put on 104 before Pitchers was run out by Myburgh. The next few batsmen did not contribute much to the cause, as they fell for single scores, but van Schoor continued to bat on. At 151 for 5 Netherlands smelled a chance of routing Namibia for a paltry score. It wasn’t until Nicolaas Scholtz came in that the pair could put together a healthy partnership of 85 runs. Scholtz scored an aggressive unbeaten 51 off 45 balls, while van Schoor made an unbeaten dogged 93. Namibia finished on 236 for 5 at the end of their 50 overs, Peter Borren was the pick of the Netherlands bowlers with 2 for 34.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Shakib Al Hasan led Dhaka Gladiators to a strong total•Bangladesh Cricket Board

Two attacking knocks, by Shakib Al Hasan and Tillakaratne Dilshan, and a collapse – eight wickets for 37 runs – secured Dhaka Gladiators’ 29-run victory over Chittagong Kings in Mirpur. The win gave the Gladiators second spot in the points table at the end of the group stages.They suffered an early blow after being put in to bat, when opener Joshua Cobb was dismissed cheaply in the second over. However, Dilshan helped steady the innings, with a 66-run stand with Anamul Haque, who scored 23. After Dilshan departed in the 12th over for 49 off 38 balls Shakib, who ended with 59 off 29 balls, added 75 runs with Darren Stevens, dominating the partnership, and lifting the run-rate to 8.40 by the end of the innings. Ryan ten Doeschate was the most expensive bowler, conceding 45 runs in his four overs.The Kings, however, were in the contest when Nurul Hasan and Marshall Ayub added 72 runs for the second wicket in 48 balls. But spinners Mosharraf Hossain and Dilshan brought the home side back with two quick wickets each, and the Kings couldn’t recover. Six of the last seven batsmen scored in single digits, and they slipped from 92 for 1 to 129 for 9 in the penultimate over. Four bowlers took two wickets each.The match did not hold much consequence, however, with both teams already in the final four.

Zaheer Khan, the India fast bowler, has said he wants to continue playing for the next three to four years but hasn’t set a timeline for his return from a calf injury he sustained during the Ranji Trophy. Zaheer missed the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai as a result and will also not play the Irani Cup starting on February 6; he hasn’t played for India since being dropped for the Nagpur Test against England in December.”I want to continue for another 3-4 years,” Zaheer told . “By no means am I done. I still have that hunger. I just need to sort things out and make the right calls. I know that I definitely have three-four years and I will make sure I come back and come back strong. I want to prepare fully, in terms of bowling, fielding and fitness. I want to cover all angles now and use this time really wisely in preparing.”Zaheer hasn’t resumed bowling yet, but said he has been running and expects things to speed up from there as he works with Ashish Kaushik, the physio at the National Cricket Academy. Zaheer said he was keen to play both Tests and ODIs. “Test matches have been my priority but I want to be there in ODIs as well. I definitely have to work more on my fitness which I’m ready to do.”India take on Australia in a four-match Test series starting on February 22. “I don’t want to jump the gun,” Zaheer said when asked if playing in the series was a realistic target. “The long-term picture is on my mind. I definitely have a lot of cricket left in me. I need to figure out things.”Zaheer had a poor 2012, picking up 15 wickets in eight Tests at a strike-rate of 98 balls per wicket. “Obviously, I wasn’t expecting it [being dropped]. You have to take things in your stride. At the highest level you are just as good as your last game. If you look at it that way then, whether I am rested or dropped, you got to take it as a professional and move forward. That’s what I have been doing. I went and played Ranji Trophy, which is the next best thing.”I still have plenty of things to offer. That’s my faith. I have had that kind of faith in my ability and that’s what drives me to try and make this comeback.”

ScorecardUttar Pradesh consolidated their position at the top of the table with a comfortable 195-run win over Tamil Nadu in Chennai after bowling them out for 225 on the final day. Chasing 421, Tamil Nadu made a solid start, with the openers adding 67 runs, before Ali Murtaza claimed M Vijay’s wicket. Two quick wickets followed, and from then on Tamil Nadu slid out of control.Wickets kept falling regularly and only Arun Karthik provided some resistance with a doughty 70. He was the final batsmen to be dismissed, in the 65th over. Ali Murtaza, who claimed his second ten-wicket match haul in first-class cricket, and Praveen Gupta did most of the damage, taking seven of the ten wickets. Tamil Nadu are now effectively out of the race for the knockout stages.
ScorecardMaharashtra and Baroda played out a boring draw on the final day, after Maharashtra had already gained the valuable first-innings lead on the third day. Baroda, despite gaining only one point out of the fixture, sit second in the points table and remain likely to qualify through to the knockout stages. Maharashtra built on the lead by scoring a further 73 runs before declaring, and Baroda replied confidently by scoring 225 for 1, thanks to two centuries, before the game was called off.Resuming at 376 for 7, Shrikant Mundhe added a couple of productive partnerships, with Akshay Darekar, and later No. 10 Nikit Dhumal, who scored 27. After declaring the innings at 449 for 8, they picked up an early wicket, that of opener Anupam Gupta. But a 217-run stand between Saurabh Wakaskar, who scored 100, and Abhimanyu Chauhan (109), steadied Baroda and forced a draw.
ScorecardIt is not often in sport that a team completely dominates the final quarter of a match but still ends up distinctly second best. In Hubli, Karnataka’s batsmen looked in terrific touch as they piled up 330 for 2 on the final day against Haryana, but the massive first-innings lead they conceded left their side with only one point from the match.Read more of the report here.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTino Best, nursing an injured hamstring, was at it again•Associated Press

Shakib Al Hasan had been Bangladesh’s superman again. He’d bowled 52 overs in the West Indies first innings and become the second Bangladesh bowler to take 100 Test wickets. He had watched the first five Bangladesh batsmen disintegrate and proceeded to cut the 261-run deficit with thrilling, defiant strokes. But in the end, Shakib fell to the same lack of patience that plagues the Bangladesh Test line-up. He did not have the patience to sleep tonight three short of a Test hundred. First ball of the last over of the day, he charged Veerasammy Permaul, and holed out to mid-off. Shakib, along with Nasir Hossain, all but ensured West Indies would bat again, but his survival had promised so much more.Shakib and Nasir got together after a three-wicket burst from Tino Best, nursing an injured hamstring, had reduced Bangladesh to 82 for 5. This was just before tea, and with a session left, it seemed Bangladesh would struggle to take the game to day five. As it turned out, Shakib and Nasir dominated after tea, with 141 runs coming in 35 overs.It is a fine line between aggression and suicide, especially when you are looking to first avoid an innings defeat, but Shakib and Nasir got it just right. Shakib was in imperious touch through his favoured backward point region. Deliveries with next to no width were steered and cut for boundaries, at times against the angle. Sunil Narine, who has made no impact this series with figures of 3 for 343, was hit for three successive boundaries.Nasir, only 20, again played a mature knock that belied his age and his batting position – his series returns have been 96, 21, 52 and 64 not out. He was the defensive foil to Shakib but did not let any width escape both sides of the wicket as he drove, swept and flicked confidently.

Smart stats

• West Indies’ total of 648 is their highest in the subcontinent, surpassing their 644 in Delhi in 1959. Their last 600-plus score in the subcontinent was in Mumbai in 1975.

• The total of 648 is the highest against Bangladesh. The previous best was India’s 610 for 3 in Dhaka in 2007.

• Shivnarine Chanderpaul registered his fifth score of 150 or more in Tests. He was unbeaten in four of those five innings.

• Shakib Al Hasan, who became the second Bangladesh bowler to take 100 wickets, went past Mohammad Rafique to become the highest wicket-taker for his country.

• Shakib’s dismissal was the ninth instance of a Bangladesh batsman falling in the nineties. Shakib has been dismissed in the nineties on three occasions.

• The 144-run stand between Shakib and Nasir Hossain is the third best sixth-wicket stand for Bangladesh. It is also the fourth-highest stand for Bangladesh against West Indies.

Bangladesh’s early collapse, though, had left too big a hole to fill. The first five Bangladesh wickets lasted a collective 88 deliveries, which wasn’t exactly surprising for a side that had spent nearly seven successive sessions on the field, and had lost 64 of its previous 74 Tests. What was surprising was the source of their woes. Best, who hadn’t batted and had been doubtful to bowl, needed 16 deliveries to take out three batsmen, including Tamim Iqbal.West Indies had closed their innings on 648 for 9, the highest total made against Bangladesh, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul remaining unbeaten on 150, having also made an unbeaten 203 in the Mirpur Test. Bangladesh had the task of batting at least four sessions to avoid losing the series 2-0 on a slightly deteriorating pitch. The surface, though, had nothing to contribute to the fall of the home batsmen. For once, it was not even their usual tendency to self-destruct. They were just not good enough against the pace of Best and Fidel Edwards.Nazimuddin played his first delivery, the third of the innings, from within the pads and Edwards swung it in just enough to trap him in front of middle and leg. Tamim and Shahriar Nafees, once again, batted as if hitting aggressive boundaries was the only way to bat in Test cricket.As it had in Mirpur, the exhibition delighted the Khulna crowd for a few overs before the inadequacies took over. Shahriar had no clue how to deal with the short ball. He tried to back away and upper-cut one aimed at his head, and was caught at gully, but Edwards had overstepped.Best, who came on in the ninth over, was to make no such mistake. He was in no position to go flat out as he had in Mirpur. But his first delivery had enough bite to jag in from short of a good length and bowl Tamim. Naeem Islam shouldered arms to his third delivery, which swung in late and hit off stump. Shahriar’s misery ended four overs later when he hopped and fended a bouncer to the slip cordon. At that stage, Best’s figures were 2.4-0-6-3.All that was needed now was a batsman throwing it away. Mushfiqur Rahim did just that as he charged at a Permaul delivery, missed and was bowled.Shakib was left, yet again, to push the match to day five, after having taking four wickets in the morning. The Khulna pitch, after three days of slumber, had started producing deliveries that reared and spun sharply, though Narine and Permaul did not get as much out of it later.Since Chris Gayle fell before lunch on day three, Bangladesh had toiled more than 180 overs for two wickets. Shakib produced two in an over, twice, close to lunch today. Chanderpaul, though, chugged untroubled to 150 and even his rate of scoring was constant over the three sessions he batted.Though Shakib and Nasir fought for a while, one constant through Bangladesh’s innings was the nervy, fidgety feeling that it could come apart any moment.

Scorecard
Mitchell Johnson pressed his Test claims with four wickets but Tasmania remained in complete control on the second day against Western Australia in Hobart, where the Warriors faced a challenge to avoid an innings defeat. At stumps, Western Australia were 1 for 54 in their second innings, with Marcus North on 33 and Sam Whiteman on 19, and after their disastrous first innings they needed another 327 runs to make the Tigers bat again.Tasmania had started the day on 2 for 201 and they added another 246 for the loss of their remaining eight wickets. The opener Ben Dunk missed the chance for his maiden first-class century when he was caught behind off Nathan Coulter-Nile for 97 and George Bailey became the first wicket for Johnson when he was caught for 66.Johnson, who could come into calculations for the third Test against South Africa in Perth, picked up two more middle-order wickets before James Faulkner offered some serious resistance with an unbeaten 76. Evan Gulbis (35) and Jackson Bird (26) also provided important tail-end runs and Johnson finished with 4 for 103.