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The Deodhar Trophy tournament had an anti climactic finish as contrary to expectations of a thrilling contest, the `final’ between North Zone and South Zone at the Nehru stadium in Pune on Monday ended in a tame victory for the former. In winning by seven wickets with 5.2 overs to spare, North Zone regained the trophy it last won in 1997-98.Few would have expected such a lop sided finish at the outset, given the fact that both teams seemed to be equally strong in all departments. This feeling gained momentum when South Zone, put in to bat, led off by scoring 278 for eight in 50 overs. But North Zone’s batting might proved too much for the South Zone bowling. Under pressure, the bowlers became wayward and the fact that not even one maiden over was sent down best illustrates the bat’s dominance.Skipper Vikram Rathour shone with the bat with an electrifying 106 off 87 balls. But in retrospect, it was Amit Bhandari’s opening spell in the morning which played a vital role in North Zone’s triumph. The Delhi medium pacer first had the consistent run getter J Arun Kumar caught by Mithun Minhas for 14. In his next over, he had Reuben Paul caught by Dharmani for 15. And then in his seventh over, he had the prized wicket of Md Azharuddin who was held by Rathour for five.South Zone’s troubles continued. Sharandeep Singh had Sriram caught by Jadeja and when Hemang Badani was held by Sharandeep Singh off Jadeja, South Zone were down in the dumps at 76 for five in the 24th over. Then commenced a splendid rally and leading it was Sridharan Sharath. The left hander from Tamil Nadu has been in very good form this season and only in the last match against Central Zone he scored 113 to star in his team’s triumph. He and his Tamil Nadu colleague S Mahesh initiated the recovery process by adding 93 runs for the seventh wicket off just 13 overs in a thrilling counter attack. Mahesh was finally bowled by Sehwag but not before he had scored 48 off 44 balls. The fact that he hit four sixes, besides one four, illustrates Mahesh’s aggressive approach.Sharath now found another able ally in Aashish Kapoor and the two continued the recovery process by adding 31 runs off five overs. After Kapoor fell for 12, Sharath and Dodda Ganesh then belted the North Zone bowlers all over the place during an eighth wicket association that put on 74 runs off just eight overs. Sharath was dismissed in the final over for a gallant 104. He faced 123 balls and hit six fours and five sixes. Ganesh remained unbeaten with 27 off 20 balls and South Zone could look back with some comfort at their final total especially after the wretched start.However, North Zone made light of what seemed to be a challenging target. They were given an excellent start with openers Rathour and Ashu Dani putting on 136 runs in 19 overs. Dani was the first to go after scoring 40 off 61 balls with four fours and a six. Then Rathour and Ajay Jadeja consolidated with a second wicket partnership of 46 runs off 10 overs. Rathour, who was in a belligerent mood, hit 106 off just 87 balls with 19 hits to the ropes.There was no respite for South Zone even after Rathour’s departure for Jadeja and Pankaj Dharmani then came together for a third wicket stand that added 84 runs off 14.2 overs. By the time Dharmani fell in the 44th over for 36 off 43 balls with five boundary hits, the match was virtually over. Jadeja and Virender Sehwag applied the finishing touches. Two successive wides by Ganesh gave North Zone the winning runs. Jadeja remained unbeaten with 60 off 86 balls with eight hits to the ropes.

Pankaj Dharmani’s 128 and Punjab’s batting depth saw them take a firmgrip in their North Zone Ranji Trophy league match against Services onSaturday. By stumps on the second day, Punjab after scoring 430 toobtain a first innings lead of 343 runs, had taken one Services wicketfor 69 runs.Dharmani who was 92 overnight was out this morning for 128. Batting ashade over five hours, the 26-year-old prolific run getter in domesticcricket who has played in one ODI for India, faced 233 balls and hit20 fours and a six.Dharmani and the other overnight batsman Reetinder Sodhi (35) fell insuccessive overs, but Harminder Jagnu (28) and Harbhajan Singh (52)kept the innings going with a seventh wicket partnership of 92 runsoff 24.4 overs. Harbhajan’s bright knock came up off only 63 balls andhe hit seven of them to the ropes. The No 9 batsman Sandeep Sanwal alsodid his bit in prolonging the agony of the Services players by hittingan unbeaten 41 off 53 balls with five fours and a six. He and last manGagandeep Singh (14) stretched the Punjab lead by adding 40 runs off8.3 overs.In arrears by a big margin, Services were off to a fair start withopeners Deepak Sehrawat (32 not out) and Narender Singh (21) puttingon 47 runs off 19.3 overs. Sanjay Verma (6) kept Sehrawat company atstumps with Services still needing 274 runs to avoid an inningsdefeat.

Having overcome England in all three of their encounters and ending the losing streak of half a dozen games against Australia, going into the final at Lord’s on Saturday the morale in the Pakistan camp would be high. And so it should, for they have made quite a phenomenal comeback in this month of June, to be just a win away from a prestigious title.But can they beat the Aussies in two back-to-back encounters? I would say yes to that, because I feel that Pakistan is now getting back the right amount of aggression and positive attitude, winning those close encounters that till recently were being lost. That said, the Aussies are the professionals of professionals, and never like ending up on the losing side. Desirous of repeating their ’99 World Cup triumph at the most hallowed of turfs, they would be a different proposition in the final. But as Pakistan in this tournament, and India before that in the recent Test and one-day series, have established that the Aussies are not quite invincible if the attack is taken to them. Something England, down and out in this NatWest Trophy, long before their final league game, would need to remember in the context of the Ashes.Whether they chase or set up a target, depending on the team strategy, Pakistan would need to produce their best and then some to overcome the Aussies in the final. On flatter one-day wickets, with the reverse swing working for them in the latter part of the innings, the pacers would need to contain more in the initial overs than they did in the game they ended up winning. A few more overs of Adam Gilchrist’s onslaught may have maintained the Aussies unbeaten record in this event. And Saqlain for his part is bowling as splendidly as ever, even outdid his best with the delivery that got rid of Damien Martyn – one of the most remarkable deliveries I have seen an off-spinner bowl.It is good that Wasim Akram is back to full fitness, and I assume, Inzamam too would be back for the final. Pakistan would hope that both these stalwarts are in prime form. Inzamam after three or four glorious knocks got himself out in poor fashion twice in succession. Since he is the man for a big occasion, as he has proved many a time, I expect that he would deliver.The good thing for Pakistan is that most of its players are in reasonably good nick, and have performed well on a couple of occasions or more. They have been through pressure situations and come good. This should give them the confidence to take on the Aussies in a positive frame of mind.So far, they have been provided the lead by skipper Waqar Younis, who is known for his mental toughness. He has bowled with a lot of heart and led well. Any captain who could instil a never-say-die attitude in his charges and spur them to give off their best has done half the job. The rest is likely to fall in place, unless the luck factor deserts them. With Waqar providing the leadership and the wickets, and in bagful to boot, 13 in the two last games to be precise, the Pakistanis’ luck too seems to have changed for the better.In cricket, more so in the shorter version of the game, it is the side, which performs well on the day which normally carries the honours. Unless it is a day off for one of the two teams, with both very balanced outfits firing on all cylinders, this is most likely to be a final to remember.

Ed:Salahuddin Ahmed (Sallu) is a former Test cricketer, and has served as a PCB selector nine times; his last stint (1999-2000) was as chief selector.

Asked to make 117 for a win against probably the best of zonal teams,on the hottest day of the Cricinfo Rani Jhansi tournament Central Zonecould not hold the nerve and so lost to West Zone, giving the secondone run win match of the day.U Kalyani won the toss for West Zone in their last match of theCricInfo Rani Jhansi tournament at the SRMC grounds and decided to batagainst Central Zone on a wicket that had a lot of cracks. West Zonewomen were not looking very enthusiastic after their close loss to AirIndia yesterday.West Zone openers, Amrutha Shinde and Triptimani Rocue added 57 in thefirst 15 overs until the latter played a poor shot at Rahul Singh onlyto lose her off stump. Amrutha along with Kalyani manouvred the spinof Rahul Singh and Varsha Raphal sensibly and took the score to 77when the skipper ran herself out for 17. The consistent Amrutha alsofollowed her captain giving an easy catch to Bindeshwari at deepsquare leg after making a well played 40.Once these two players were back in the pavilion, a slide wasexpected. But Aarti Vaidya, capitalising on a dropped chance by VarshaRaphal of Bindeshwari, kept one end tight and helped her team to crossthe three figure mark. Aarti perished in the 47th over trying to stepon the accelerator.Off spinner Bindeshwari Goyal extracted good turn and bounce from thewicket and packed up the West Zone tail. She ended up with theexcellent figures of 5 for 16. West Zone slumped to 116 all out in 47overs from 116 for 6 at the start of the over. Bindeshwari took threewickets in that over and the other was a run out.Central Zone started well with openers Bharti Verma and Seema Sinhaadding 26 in 10 overs before Kalyani struck twice in successive oversto get rid of Seema and Arundhati Kirkire who has been in good formwith the bat in this tournament. But Arundathi was unhappy with thedecision and took a long and slow walk back to the dressing room.When Chitra Bajpai and Bharti Verma were slowly steadying the CentralZone innings, Sangeetha Kamat was brought on to bowl and she did thetrick for West Zone by uprooting Bharti’s stumps. Preethi Dudhe joinedChitra and looked good until she was well caught by Sangeetha Kamat ofher own bowling.Ranjana Gupta gave Chitra good company and at this stage the matchlooked like Central’s. But a misunderstanding between the twobatswoman had Chitra walking back to the pavilion after a responsibleknock of 21. Rahul Singh came in and hit the ball hard, though shecould not send it to past the ropes due to the heavy outfield. Ranjanaand Rahul fell off successive deliveries, sent down by differentbowlers.The tail enders batted with a sense of responsibility and took thescore to 114 for 8 at the end of the 47th over. At this stage Kalyanicalled Aarti Vaidya to bowl her first over of the tournament and shedid the job for her skipper by giving away a run and then dismissingVarsha Raphal with an ultra flighted delivery.With the score 115 for 9, Central Zone needed two runs from two overswith the last pair on the crease. Nilima Waghmare was continuing hersecond spell and was bowling tight. Nilima was making amends for herpoor first spell which cost 14 runs in just three overs. Trying toretain the strike for the next over to score the winning run,Bindeshwari called Varsha (running for Neetu Singh who had pulled athigh muscle while bowling) for a single, pushing the ball tocover. Amrutha Shinde picked up and effected a direct hit at thestriker’s end to finish a clean sweep of the zonal teams by West Zone.For nearly three quarters of the match umpire Vijayaraghavan was offthe field due to sickness and he almost fainted due to the heat. Astand bye person officiated the match.

Tasmania and Queensland have fought out a dawdling six hours of play on the third day of the teams’ Pura Cup match at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane today. But, after the visitors finished at a second innings score of 5/177 (and in the lead by 291 runs overall) at stumps, the action off the field did not prove so restrained – both captains firing parting shots at their rivals’ tactics.The Tigers still appear well placed to press for outright victory on the final day. But skipper Jamie Cox was seething after watching as his batsmen were held to their score of 177 runs from as many as eighty-five overs.”You’re not going to hit it far when you’re trying to score runs against a 10-1 field and they’re bowling two foot wide of off stump,” said Cox.”If they had bowled at the stumps and tried to get us out we would have scored a lot quicker, I’m sure.”The Tasmanians’ struggle for quick runs was typified by the containment of Test star Ricky Ponting, who was forced to labour over 187 deliveries before a dubious caught behind decision down the leg side ended his innings at 61. Cox, similarly, found many of his normal avenues to scoring blocked off as he constructed an innings of 44. And, most noticeable of all in the funereal march, Dene Hills (2) was able to score from only two of the fifty-three balls that he faced.Cox’s opposite number, Stuart Law, played down such claims, suggesting that the Bulls had no option but to stem the run flow and force the Tasmanians into error.”They could have taken a few more risks and it might have been a different picture. But we were in no position to do that because we could have been six hundred runs behind if we came out and went really hard at them,” Law argued.As for Hills’ approach, Law said that it was indicative of the Tasmanians’ second innings mindset.”He was letting cuts and cover drives go … but it was obvious that they just wanted to grind us into the turf.”Earlier in the day, there was no disputing the Tigers’ right to open up their Pura Cup scoring account for the season with the two on offer for a first innings win. The Tasmanians established a 114-run lead when they initiated a spectacular late collapse to end the Bulls’ innings at a mark of 289. Spinner Daniel Marsh (3/50) and paceman Andrew Downton were the architects of the slide, four wickets tumbling for the addition of a solitary run in the space of nineteen balls as they combined to share the spoils. Accordingly, they two left armers had put the seal on a very fine overall bowling performance from the visitors on what still remains a true batting wicket.

Scorecard
Points table

Victoria experienced a few nervous moments before capping a fine preparation for Saturday’s Pura Cup final with a six-wicket victory over Queensland, who will finish with the wooden spoon. Ryan Broad’s century made sure the Bushrangers had to bat again and the target of 75 was looking uncomfortable when Scott Brant and Grant Sullivan dropped them to 4 for 34.Cameron White found a willing partner in Andrew McDonald and there were no further stumbles. White added 28 while McDonald got 13 to seal the three-day success.Broad’s 107, which included a six to bring up his century and another next ball before he was bowled by Bryce McGain, went with his 75 in the first innings, but he did not receive much assistance from his team-mates. Queensland started the day 119 behind and the task to stay competitive became even tougher when they lost five wickets before lunch. Clint McKay started the problems when he removed Nick Kruger (11) and Aaron Nye in consecutive deliveries – the hat-trick effort to Shane Watson was a no-ball.Watson skipped to 32 before falling to a diving take from Adam Crosthwaite and McDonald added to the damage when he captured the lbws of Nathan Reardon (1) and the captain Chris Simpson (0). The Bulls were 5 for 71 and struggling to force a second Bushrangers’ innings.Broad achieved that with help from Chris Hartley’s 17 and Daniel Doran’s 23, but when the tail exited quickly Queensland did not have much to defend. McKay grabbed 3 for 69 while McDonald and McGain earned two wickets each in a strong warm-up for the final against New South Wales in Sydney.

ScorecardFile photo: Mohammad Mithun hit three fours and a six during his 60•BCB

Half-centuries from Rony Talukdar and Mohammad Mithun set up Bangladesh A’s 122-run victory against Zimbabwe A at the Harare Sports Club, ensuring the visitors also swept the series 3-0.Bangladesh A, after being inserted, began positively as Talukdar and Tasamul Haque shared a 90-run opening partnership. After Tasamul fell, Mithun kept the runs flowing by stroking a 64-ball 60, with three fours and a six, while Talukdar hit six fours and three sixes for his 77. The pair’s 57-run stand laid a solid groundwork, which Bangladesh A’s middle and lower order built on, as handy knocks from Mahmudul Hasan (31) and Muktar Ali (20*) powered the team to 286 for 8.Zimbabwe A lost wickets right from the off during the chase, and were eventually bundled out for 164 inside 42 overs. The opener Kevin Kasuza top-scored with 43, and Ryan Burl chipped in with 41, but only one other batsman – the captain Godwill Mahmiyo with 36 – managed to make more than 12. Mohammad Shahid was the pick of Bangladesh A’s bowlers, collecting 3 for 13.

Faf du Plessis, who is recovering from a knee injury, will begin training at full intensity only by the end of September, days before he is due to captain South Africa’s T20 side in India. Du Plessis has been named in South Africa’s squads across all formats despite the niggle, which has kept him out of action since August.Du Plessis had hurt himself at practice ahead of the home series against New Zealand in August, and played no part in either the T20s or the ODIs. At the time, he was told he would be out for up to four weeks, during which time he was advised not to even run. Consensus had been that du Plessis would be ready in time for the India tour but now, it seems touch and go.”The injury has responded slower than expected,” South Africa’s team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said. “Faf saw a knee specialist in Cape Town last week, where he received a second cortisone injection into the area. This seemed to have worked as he is currently pain-free. However, we need to see how he progresses. The plan is to commence training next week and build up to full intensity by the end of the month.”South Africa also have four other walking wounded, although two of them have recovered. Hashim Amla complained of a chronic neck issue, and was also found to have fractured a bone in his left thumb after the New Zealand series. But Moosajee said “both have settled.” Imran Tahir had to return home early from a stint with English county side Nottinghamshire owing to a thigh injury. It was since diagnosed as a hamstring issue and Moosajee said Tahir has “responded well to treatment.”The news was not as good for Rilee Rossouw, who was ruled out out the T20s against India with a stress fracture in his left foot, but has been named in the squad for the ODIs, which begin three days after the final T20.”Healing for this type of injury takes six to eight weeks,” Moosajee explained. “Rilee is currently non-weight bearing in a moon boot but he is being assessed weekly in Bloemfontein. A decision will be made as to when he can start full-weight bearing and light running, but the aim is to have him ready for the ODIs.”Chris Morris, also in the ODI squad, will hope to recover from a groin strain he picked up while on tour in Bangladesh. He has been receiving treatment from his franchise physiotherapist in Centurion and will have a fitness assessment next week before playing in some T20 warm-up matches for Titans. Moosajee said Morris, “should be fine for the start of the India tour.”

Match facts

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Start time 15.00 (local), 9.00 (GMT)

The Big Picture

Overworked v Undercooked probably sums up the state of the two title contenders in the tri-series. India travel-weary bunch are probably more match-ready but they will be up against a set of players who’re coming off an extended rest. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lost just one series since being handed captaincy (against Australia) but it would require his side to stop a side coming off a 12-game winning streak.India taking on Pakistan in a neutral venue was almost a norm in the ’90s – when the teams faced off in conditions as diverse as Sharjah, Toronto and Singapore – but the two sides have managed that only for five games in the last five years. The form guide also looks slightly different from the last decade – India have an 8-3 advantage in the last 11 games – and have a side that’s learnt how to hold its nerve in the crunch.Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, has wished for his side to hand India a drubbing. The result of the game may not have a bearing on the finalists in this tournament but the confidence built up will no doubt come in handy during the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy – two titles both sides would want in their kitty.

Form guide – India

Last five matches: WWWLW (most recent first)
Player to watch: India might be tempted to hand Yusuf Pathan a one-day debut, especially after his sparkling performances in the recent IPL. Apart from his explosive batting skills, which will no doubt come in handy lower down the order, he could be useful with his fastish offbreaks and electric intensity on the field. He’s shown the ability to clear the boundary under pressure and often guided his side – the Rajasthan Royals – in tense run-chases.

Form guide – Pakistan

Last five matches: WWWWW (most recent first)
Player to watch: Wahab Riaz’s three wickets set up Pakistan’s big win the other night but this will be his first real test. His three ODIs and a Twenty20 have all come against lesser opposition and it will be interesting to see how he stands up to a relatively stronger batting line-up. India, on the other hand, will be wary of one of the rising stars in Pakistan cricket, someone whose rhythmic action and pace has already caught the eye.

Team news

Virender Sehwag didn’t practice on match-eve but Gary Kirsten, the coach, said it was only because of a slight cold. India would want to try out a few options early in the tournament – particularly giving Yusuf a chance.The series offers India a chance to rotate a few players, allowing a few to get some valuable rest. Ishant Sharma would be expected to take the new ball and there could be a toss up between RP Singh and Praveen Kumar to share it. Piyush Chawla would lead a spin department with Yusuf, Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag providing back-up.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Robin Uthappa, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Ishant Sharma.Pakistan are unlikely to change the combination that comprehensively beat Bangladesh. Fawad Alam, the left-arm spinner and batsman, didn’t have a great outing but is likely to get another chance with no real spin back-up in the squad.Pakistan (probable): 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shoaib Malik (capt), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Fawad Alam, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Wahab Riaz.

Pitch & conditions

India and Pakistan will play on a different pitch from that which was used for the first game but it is expected to play in similar fashion. Lawson said that the new ball bounced and came on to the bat but Salman Butt, who made 70 against Bangladesh, said there was grip and turn as the ball got older which did not make stroke-making easy.The weather on the eve of the match was clear, after a short shower in the morning when the Indians were going through their fielding drills. It remained sunny through the afternoon and the evening but the climate changes quickly in Dhaka. The BBC’s forecast is for heavy showers.

Stats and trivia

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, said on Monday he will consider coaching the Pakistan team if offered the role.”Coaching Pakistan is a matter of great pride. It is my way of returning something back to cricket which gave me so much,” he told reporters on the opening day of the specialised coaching camp for fast bowlers at the Gaddafi Stadium.Akram, along with National Cricket Academy chief coach Mudassar Nazar and coach Aaqib Javed, is supervising the seven-day long camp aimed at polishing the talent of 16 upcoming bowlers .Akram said he was busy with his media commitments but that he would definitely consider an offer from the Pakistan board. “But I am already serving cricket as I am always there to take on short coaching assignments the way I am doing now,” he said.He also said Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, currently in his home town in Australia, should join the national team’s training camp as soon as possible. “I think the coach should be there when the camp starts and he must be there to supervise the training,” he said when told that Lawson might arrive late for the team’s training camp for the tri-series in Bangladesh, which starts on June 8.