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ScorecardIt is perhaps fitting that Derbyshire have started to host cage fighting events at the County Ground in an effort to boost their income. For if anyone doubts the tough and competitive nature of championship cricket, they would do well to reflect on events at Chesterfield over the last four days.Two sides with little hope of promotion stood toe-to-toe trading blows in a brutal, bruising contest, until the casualties were plentiful and almost everyone involved could be ranked among the walking wounded. In a truly bizarre finale, the dying overs saw an injured bowler limping in to bowl to a batsman with a suspected broken arm. That the bowler was eventually replaced by one with a broken finger probably tells you everything you need to know.The end result saw Surrey claim just their third championship win in three seasons with 55 deliveries of the match remaining. The 23 points lifts them off the foot of the table and up to seventh place. While it’s probably too early to suggest they’re a team on the rise, they have now won two of their last three games and here showed some impressive spirit in the face of considerable adversity. After a couple of dire years, that’s a considerable step in the right direction.”I couldn’t be any prouder,” Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown said afterwards. “I’m almost lost for words.What you’ve just seen is 11 guys who were desperate to win and, how ever the game ebbed and flowed, just kept coming back.”It shows how far we’ve come. We showed great character and great bravery. To have a fast bowler on one leg but who just keeps running in is amazing. It’s more than I’ve ever experienced.”That one-legged bowler was Andre Nel. Clearly increasingly incapacitated by his hamstring injury, he nevertheless delivered 25 overs in Derbyshire’s second innings off a greatly shortened run and fully deserved the three wickets he claimed.There is just one caveat to his performance. For a fellow who has already served two two-match suspensions this season, his reaction to Nigel Cowley’s ‘not out’ verdict to an LBW appeal against Greg Smith was foolish to the point of recklessness.Nel was not Surrey’s only hero. Gareth Batty also kept going admirably despite adding a broken left index finger (sustained while fielding during the day) to his sore ankle, while Usman Afzaal contributed two important wickets with his part-time left-arm spin.And then there was Chris Tremlett. While he was never at his most accurate or controlled, Tremlett showed admirable grit and determination in carrying the attack and delivering 32.5 overs of sustained fast bowling. For a fellow with questions marks over his heart and commitment, this was an impressive performance.”He’s been the best Twenty20 bowler in the country,” Hamilton-Brown said, “and he’s bowled as quickly as anyone this season. It’s testament to the work he’s put in.”But Derbyshire, too, deserve credit from this game. Not only did they achieve the highest fourth-innings total ever made on this ground, but they achieved the third-highest fourth innings total in the club’s history.At one stage it even appeared they might pull off a remarkable win. At 205 for 1, with Wayne Madsen and Garry Park going well, all the pressure was on Surrey. The pair added 160 in 59 overs, scoring just 20 runs in the first 17 overs of the day, but gradually wearing down the Surrey attack and picking off the support bowlers.Madsen, in particular, was highly impressive in compiling his second century of the match and his fourth of the season. While he drives pleasingly, his game is built more upon a sound defence and impressive powers of concentration. He became the 15th Derbyshire batsman to score a century in each innings and, oddly, the third of Italian heritage. The others – as if you didn’t know – were Chris Bassano (against Gloucestershire in 2001) and Michael Di Venuto (against Middlexex in 2002).Derbyshire never gave up, either. Even after the loss of the ninth-wicket, Steffan Jones gave them hope and it is ironic that one of the killer blows was self-inflicted. Lungley, at the non-striker’s end, was struck a horrible blow on the right arm from a Jones drive and was forced off the pitch with a suspected broken arm. It says much for his bravery that he returned to face a further 21 balls after the loss of the ninth wicket.Derbyshire will rue a couple of key moments, however. Firstly the dismissal of Smith, clipping obligingly to mid-wicket, was soft and unnecessary, while the ‘dismissal’ of Nel to a no-ball on day three proved very costly. The extra runs added by Surrey’s final batsmen could well have made all the difference.Derbyshire have now lost four of their last five championship games and sit perilously close to the bottom of the table. They have shown glimpses of better form here, though, and deserve better fortune in the weeks ahead. The return of John Clare and Graham Wagg would help greatly.Tremlett made the key breakthrough the ball before lunch when Park was drawn into playing at one outside off stump that kept horribly low. Afzaal then struck in successive balls, luring Madsen into edging an outrageously slow long-hop that was surely designed to entice a rash shot, before Chesney Hughes edged one that was pushed on with the arm. Wes Durston’s unhappy return to the first-class game ended when he shuffled in front of a straight one, before Smith and Peterson clipped to mid-wicket and Lee Goddard was trapped in front by one that nipped back. Groenewald edged to slip and Tremlett produced a perfect yorker for poor Lungley to secure the win. Moments later, the rain began to fall heavily.So, a dramatic end to a hard-fought contest containing nine players with international experience and played in a competitive spirit. Whoever said championship cricket lacked quality, intensity or passion? It’s just a shame that Mark Nicholas wasn’t in Chesterfield to see it.

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After a stuttering start, Somerset were powered to a five-wicket win almost singlehandedly by Kieron Pollard•Getty Images

Kieron Pollard singlehandedly took Somerset to a five-wicket win over Middlesex at Lord’s with the sort of power-hitting that has made him one of the most prized freelancers in Twenty20 cricket. A characteristically enterprising unbeaten 48 from Eoin Morgan had lifted Middlesex to 155 for 6, and the home side then had Somerset in trouble at 31 for 4 in the sixth over in reply, but Pollard slammed seven fours and seven sixes to guide the visitors to what was eventually an easy win. Just as in their game against Sussex last week, Middlesex had bossed the Powerplay overs but – again, just as happened last week – they then lost their grip on the game and never recovered it.Middlesex, uncertain after their mixed performance with the bat, suddenly began to show some hustle in the field when Craig Kieswetter, looking to dominate early on, flashed across the line at a full one from Tim Murtagh and top-edged to send the ball rocketing straight upwards, Gilchrist setting himself underneath the steepling chance. Gareth Berg also ran in with verve, beating the bat on more than one occasion and giving away just two singles in his first over.Marcus Trescothick settled the visitors’ early nerves with a seemingly effortless biff over long-off, but disaster struck soon after as a mix-up between Trescothick and James Hildreth saw the Somerset captain run out for 20. Jos Buttler’s dismissal – bowled by Pedro Collins as he shuffled too far to the off side and the bowler speared in a leg-stump yorker – brought Pollard, Somerset’s big name signing, to the crease.Murtagh almost had a second wicket when Hildreth drove too early at a ball pitched up to him to send back a sharp return catch which the bowler, tumbling over in his follow-through, couldn’t quite hold on to. Middlesex didn’t have to wait long to make amends, however, as Hildreth cut Murtagh straight to Tom Smith at point. Again, the chance was juggled, but this time it stuck.At the end of the Powerplay, Somerset were struggling at 31 for 4 and Shaun Udal brought himself on, and after a couple of nervy defensive prods Pollard chipped him just over the leaping straight midwicket fielder. Another uppish flick that sped past the same fielder and just five runs from his first over convinced Udal that spin from both ends was the way to go, but Pollard responded to Smith’s introduction at the Media Centre end with a monstrous strike that sailed over long-off and an imperious loft over cover that never got more than four metres off the ground but sailed easily over the boundary.With Pollard now in full flow, Udal was despatched for the biggest six of the day – straight over long-on and crashing into the pavilion wall near to the Middlesex changing rooms – and a cutter from Berg was flicked into the grand stand for another maximum.Barely 15 minutes had passed since Pollard had lumbered slowly to the crease with his side in a spot of bother, and yet now victory seemed almost academic for Somerset. Six No. 5, off Neil Dexter, went straight into the Somerset dugout, and No. 6 – a colossal thump to wide long-on – brought up his half-century.It could have ended there, as a botched call for a single lead to a mid-pitch meeting between the two batsmen, but, sensing that his team could not lose so long as Pollard remained at the wicket, Peter Trego sacrificed himself and was run out.Then came a flurry of fours as Pollard clipped Collins firmly behind square on the leg side and then scythed Berg for three more boundaries – aerial, but bouncing short of the rope – in an arc between wide long on and deep cover. The target had been reduced to 24 from 30, with Zander de Bruyn trundling along quite happily at better than a-run-a-ball at the other end but quite anonymous amid the carnage.Pollard swatted a seventh sixth off an attempted bouncer from Murtagh to take Somerset to the brink, and then sealed the result with a powerful paddle-pull that bisected fine leg and deep square leg. Unbelievably, considering the position they had been in, Somerset won with more than two overs to spare and Pollard, unsurprisingly, was named Man of the Match.Pollard showed his worth in Twenty20 cricket at this level with the ball too, picking up three wickets as Middlesex struggled to build any momentum in their innings until Morgan’s arrival at the crease. Coming in at 68 for 3 after a second failure with the bat for Adam Gilchrist – whose Middlesex record now stands at two runs from 11 deliveries for twice out – and two briefly threatening innings from Scott Newman and Neil Dexter, Morgan started slowly, running singles hard and looking to place the ball in the gap.But after Owais Shah’s dismissal – swishing Pollard straight to Alfonso Thomas at deep midwicket – Morgan unleashed his full repertoire of shots. He really got going with the shot of Middlesex’s innings – an utterly confident loft over cover and into the lower tier of the Tavern stand – and followed that up with an intelligent tickle to fine leg from a Murali Kartik free hit.After testing Udal’s fitness with three twos in a row in the final over, Morgan pulled off an extraordinary reverse-sweep off Thomas – who bowled at sharp pace throughout – to move into the 40s. A full toss chipped out to cover brought yet another two, a flowing clip through square leg brought him four more from the final delivery, and in all 16 had come from the final over. It looked like Middlesex had a competitive total, but Pollard made sure they were nowhere close.

Former India captain Anil Kumble has said that Indian players could have slackened a bit following the IPL, where the pressure of performing for franchises is “quite intense”.

“Time to invest in youth” – Ravi Shastri in the

• Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Siddharth Trivedi, Ashok Dinda, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Piyush Chawla just to name a few should be given regular opportunities. Since Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra aren’t getting any younger, the gravity of the situation is apparent.

• India need a bigger pool and bowlers need to work out their cycle of work and rest in order to last longer and avoid a ‘wasteland’ for the country.

• Merely throwing your bat around wouldn’t take you far against quality fast bowling. It’s time to revamp the entire batting line-up with the focus on fielding and youth. India cannot perform worse than they have in last two World Cups.

• It’s also worth grooming a young captain for this format. Investing in youth will allow you to keep the seniors fresh for the 50-over and Test versions. With exposure, these youngsters will keep the seniors on their toes.

“The pressure during the IPL is very different, as you are performing for your franchises,” Kumble wrote in the . “It’s quite intense. Perhaps, the players felt more in their comfort zone when they went back into an Indian set-up and it cost them. It sounds odd but it makes sense.”Kumble was critical of India’s handling of their fast bowlers during the tournament. “After Praveen Kumar went back, Zaheer Khan seemed to be struggling with something and Ashish Nehra, on his own, wasn’t enough on that wicket. Our selection was wrong in Barbados, where we played an extra batsman. India did not show faith in Vinay Kumar on a wicket that offered both bounce and carry, which was a mistake,” Kumble wrote.Kumble was worried by the team management’s inability to nurture fast-bowling talents. “If you look at the number of players who have turned out for India over the past couple of years, there’s quality. Yet, they’ve all disappeared: You don’t have Sreesanth, RP Singh is completely off the selectors’ radar, there’s no news of Munaf Patel, and Ishant Sharma seems out of sync. Irfan Pathan, a key player in any format, is gone.”We need to look at how we’re handling our pacemen – just like we’ve picked Abhimanyu Mithun, who turned out for India in the last one-dayer against South Africa, for the India A team. He should have been picked for the Zimbabwe tour. We’re making the mistake of picking players for ODIs based on their IPL performance but bowling ten overs and four are completely different,” Kumble wrote.Kumble thinks India missed a trick in not including Irfan Pathan in the scheme of things, given his credentials as a seam-bowling allrounder. Instead, India was saddled with Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja, both spinning allrounders, who were umimpressive with the ball during the tournament. “In Irfan’s case especially, it’s worrying because while India have spinning allrounders, players who can do a bit here and there, they need someone for the role Shane Watson does so well for Australia, Jacques Kallis has done for years for South Africa or a Tim Bresnan, with his ability to bowl 137-138 kms per hour and then bat, is beginning to do for England,” Kumble wrote.Kumble also thought India paid for their lack of flexibility in the batting department. “Maybe, sending Yusuf Pathan out when the Sri Lankan spinners were bowling in tandem would have made more sense on that wicket. We needed someone to get a 20-ball 50. Also, someone like Dinesh Karthik, who’s batted in the middle for India, would probably have been useful in the games in Barbados, given his ability to play the rising ball. India have to address the problem – either ensure that the guys in the team adapt to the bouncing ball or pick people who can play it,” Kumble wrote.Kumble’s most telling observation was about the mindset of the team. “Despite knowing fully well what we needed to get before the game, we couldn’t – Sri Lanka didn’t look at getting 143, they looked at winning. They were not defensive and that’s where they got it right.”Their positive mindset was the difference between them and India, as evidenced by what Dhoni said after the loss to the West Indies. ‘We’ll play Lanka and go home’. India seemed already resigned to the fact that they were out and that was unacceptable,” Kumble wrote.

ScorecardLeft-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar bowled an astonishing spell, taking 6 for 10 in eight overs, to help Baluchistan Bears defend a low total against Punjab Stallions in Karachi. It was a low-scoring contest at the National Stadium, with 20 wickets falling for 258 runs in 74.3 overs.Punjab would have fancied their chances of pulling off a victory after their bowlers restricted Baluchistan to 149, and even more so after their openers added 45. The seven-foot fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, however, jolted the chase by striking twice in the 12th over, leaving Punjab on 45 for 2.Another partnership of 38 followed before Zulfiqar began his act. He ripped out the next five wickets for only 20 runs, leaving the chase in tatters at 103 for 7. He claimed one more, his sixth, and Jalat Khan chipped in with two, including the final wicket of Asad Ali, with the score on 109 in the 34th over.Baluchistan had earlier scraped to 149 after collapsing from 20 for 0 to 23 for 5, with Asad Ali and Mohammad Talha causing the damage. Taufeeq Umar steadied the innings with 57 and Jalat contributed 38, which gave their bowlers a defendable score.

Sir Alec Bedser, the Surrey and England fast bowler who Don Bradman said “worried me more than any other Englishman,” died on Sunday evening at the age of 91.Regarded as one of finest paceman to play the game, Bedser’s playing career spanned 1939-1960 during which time he took 1,924 first-class wickets at 20.41 including 236 for England in 51 Tests. He then became chairman of selectors from 1969 to 1981 and also managed two England tours. In 1996 he was knighted for his services to cricket.A powerfully-built, naggingly accurate, medium-fast bowler, with a classical action off a short run, Bedser’s stock ball was the inswinger, his most dangerous the legcutter which fizzed off the pitch like a fast legbreak. Although his career began in 1939 he played just two matches without taking a wicket before the Second World War meant it was seven years before his next match.An ever-present in the Surrey side from the beginning of the 1946 season, he was immediately picked by England and made his Test debut at the age of 28 in just his 13th first-class match. He began with 11 wickets in each of his first two Tests, against India, and until 1954 he largely carried England’s attack almost single handed. He starred in England’s successful 1953 Ashes campaign, taking 39 wickets at 17 in the five Tests, including career-best figures of 14 for 99 at Trent Bridge.The problems he caused Bradman, who he dismissed six times, including twice for a duck, was a testament of Bedser’s skill and until his death he was believed to be the last man alive to have dismissed Bradman. “It was always great to get him out,” Bedser told Cricinfo during an interview in 2008. “I practised the legbreaks to work him out and sometimes I was successful.”Don was very kind. He gave me a lot of encouragement when I first went to Australia, and over the years we became good friends. When I asked him about my bowling after that first season against Australia, he said, ‘You might, perhaps, pitch the ball up a bit more, but if you can bowl balls like you bowled me at Adelaide, you don’t have to worry about anything else. Just get on and do that.'”At a time when bowler’s workloads are constantly being discussed – and players are rested from international cricket – it is worth recalling that Bedser bowled more than 15,000 overs for Surrey and England. “Our fitness came out of all the hard work we did when we were young,” he said during the same interview two years ago. “In my entire Test career I left the field only once. It was at Adelaide and the temperature was around a hundred. I went out but came back and bowled.”Bedser was England’s oldest surviving cricketer – a position he assumed late last year when Arthur McIntyre died – and that honour now passes to Nottinghamshire batsman Reg Simpson. Alec’s twin brother, Eric, died in 2006 aged 87.

Karnataka fast bowler Vinay Kumar is the only new face in India’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20, while legspinner Piyush Chawla returns to the national side after nearly two years. With both Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra declared fit, the rest of the squad pick themselves, Rohit Sharma retaining his place under massive pressure from Virat Kolhi through ODI runs, and Manish Pandey through a bumper Ranji season and impressive showing in the IPL. Vinay has edged out Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth, both part of India’s last Twenty20 squad.Parallels could be drawn with India’s selection of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, who were still recovering from injuries, for last year’s World Twenty20. Then, as the selectors said later, India had taken the risk and paid for it: Sehwag didn’t manage a single game, and Zaheer was not at his best. This time, though, Kris Srikkanth, the chairman of national selection committee, confirmed all players had sent in their fitness certificates, and that there were no fitness worries in the squad.The selectors resisted the temptation of looking outside the 30 probables they had earlier announced, after Robin Uthappa’s fireworks in the IPL, and Irfan Pathan’s return to fitness. Instead they went for the tried and tested names there: Rohit in the middle order, and Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja as allrounders. As expected, Jadeja’s controversial omission from the IPL didn’t hamper his future with the national side.While the selectors didn’t get carried away by a few good performances in the first third of the IPL, Vinay’s impressive bowling in the event so far, in addition to yet another big domestic season, was enough for the nod. Vinay, the fourth seamer in the squad, picked 46 Ranji wickets, and as a timely nudge, is currently joint-second on the IPL wicket-takers’ list, bagging eight for Royal Challengers Bangalore.The same formula didn’t work for his state-mate Pandey, though. He was the leading run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, and has been valuable for Bangalore in the IPL so far. The selection committee, however, went for the batsman more experienced at the international level, in Rohit.The choice of back-up spinner, which has been this selection committee’s weakest suit, continues to baffle. Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra, who have been taking turns in travelling as the back-up spinner without actually getting a decent run in the team, were both overlooked in favour of Chawla. All three spinners have been in reasonable form in the IPL, with Mishra leading the way. Chawla last played for India during the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan.”I had a really good Ranji Trophy season after a good county stint at Sussex. So I was confident about my cricket but about this Twenty20 selection it was 50-50,” Chawla told Cricinfo. “So this call is a big surprise. I knew I would come back in the Indian team but I was not very, very confident about making it to the Twenty20 squad.”That MS Dhoni is returning from an injury must have prompted the selectors to pick a reserve wicketkeeper, although they don’t lose much by way of a batsman because Dinesh Karthik has proved to be a good batsman in the Twenty20 format.The World Twenty20 starts on April 30, five days after the end of the IPL; India are grouped with South Africa and Afghanistan.Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma

Zimbabwe may be underdogs for the upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies, but batsman Tatenda Taibu has said the team will be aiming to “play hard cricket” and win games.”We really want to start playing hard cricket again,” he said. “We really want to stamp our authority now and start performing as expected.”Zimbabwe announced in 2006 that they were temporarily withdrawing from Tests, having last played India at home in September 2005. They continue to play ODIs and Twenty20s but languish at the bottom of the world rankings.Zimbabwe will begin their tour with a warm-up game against a WICB Vice Chancellor’s XI but will be without wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor, who did not arrive with the squad because his transit visa for London was misplaced. “He should be able to travel 48 hours later and join up with us on Thursday night,” coach Walter Chawaguta said.However, Taibu said this team had a good mixture of youth and experience in the 15-man squad and would perform well. He said Stuart Matsikenyeri and captain and offspinner Prosper Utseya, who have played 105 and 101 ODIs respectively, would be key to their fortunes.”They’ve [Matsikenyeri and Utseya] played a lot of games,” Taibu said. “They’ve got a lot of maturity at the moment. So we’re looking to play a lot of good cricket. I’ve been here before, so it’s great to play cricket here again.”There are a lot of times the guys have said there is a lot of talent in Zimbabwe, but we really have to put it to show now. It’s not (just) about the talent, we really have to join the two (talent and maturity) and play good cricket.”Zimbabwe take on West Indies in a Twenty20 in Port of Spain on Sunday and Taibu said the format wasn’t only about explosive cricket. “It’s about mental cricket, reacting to situations. It will be exciting. Twenty20 will be exciting for the crowd. I’m sure they’re going to come for some good cricket.”Zimbabwe will play five ODIs after the Twenty20 between March 4 and 14.

Javed Miandad, a former Pakistan captain, has written a letter to the country’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, in which he has criticised Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan board chairman, for being “too old” to hold a position of such importance. Zardari, who is also the patron of the PCB, had appointed 71-year-old Butt as chairman in 2008 in place of Nasim Ashraf.”The chairman has become too old for the position he is holding as he seldom remembers his own important official commitments and agreements,” Miandad, who is currently a PCB director general, wrote in a letter seen by Cricinfo. “Most of the staff working under the chairman, including many directors, are fed up with his style of working; evidence of which is that many directors have left their jobs during his tenure.”Aamer Sohail, the PCB’s director of academies, Salim Altaf, the chief operating officer, and Abdul Qadir, the chief selector, all resigned in 2009 because of differences with Butt. Miandad also quit in January 2009 before accepting the post of director general and returning, though his relationship with Butt has been frosty since; the pair recently exchanged bitter words publicly over Miandad’s salary. Incidentally, Miandad was also appointed to the board by Zardari, as the former captain acknowledges in the letter.”The chairman is being disapproved by the whole nation,” Miandad wrote. “Pakistan cricket is in real bad shape and the whole nation is looking towards me to be the saviour of their favourite sport. But unfortunately the chairman PCB is not willing to take me along and he has sidelined me for reasons only known to him.”The Pakistan team is currently in Australia where they have had terrible results, losing the Test series 3-0 and the ODIs 5-0.

Worcestershire have signed James Cameron, an attacking left-hand batsman and medium pace bowler, on a two-year contract. A British passport holder, Cameron was born in Zimbabwe and was the contemporary of the likes of Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya and Sean Williams in the Zimbabwe Under-19 side in 2004.”I have always dreamed of being a professional cricketer and I am thrilled to take up this opportunity with Worcestershire,” said Cameron, who has spent the last four years playing A grade cricket for University CC in Perth. “I see it as a real challenge and cannot wait to come over in a few weeks time.”Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, added: “I am delighted with this signing. James has been highly recommended by people I respect and was scouted by Matt Mason on a recent trip home to Perth. We look forward to him arriving in March to prepare himself for the new season.”Cameron will join a Worcestershire squad which has spent the winter re-grouping after the departures of Steve Davies, Gareth Batty, Stephen Moore and, most recently, Kabir Ali from the county. Despite the disappointments of last season, Rhodes insisted the team remains upbeat. “I detect a really good spirit within the squad and real anticipation for the forthcoming season,” he said.

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Defending champions Mumbai’s ship continued to cruise towards the Ranji Trophy semi-finals on a day of smooth sailing in Rohtak. Led by their veteran spinner Ramesh Powar they dismantled Haryana for the addition of only 130 runs on day three, and by stumps – despite the loss of three wickets – sat pretty with a big lead. Haryana, from 34 for 2, struggled to form partnerships. Manav Sharma fell 76 deliveries into the day, bowled by Powar, to cue a period where three wickets went down for two runs in four overs. Rahul Dewan held up one end with 71 but a lack of support told against Powar, who returned figures of 4 for 42 from his 22 overs.After Mumbai took a 236-run lead, Sahil Kukreja lost his opening partner Sushant Marathe for 0, but a century stand with Rohit Sharma put the second innings on track. Rohit, a day after he was recalled to India’s ODI squad for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh, fell for a brisk 51 and Vinayak Samant followed for 0. But with a lead of 355, Mumbai remain in command.
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The proceedings on day three at the Palam A Ground have nicely set up the final one. An interesting battle for the first-innings lead, which will determine which team will move to the semi-finals, awaits. Delhi came into the third day facing a stiff uphill battle and applied themselves watchfully. They added 225 runs in 89.1 overs, losing only two wickets. The overnight pair of Aditya Jain and Mithun Manhas scored half-centuries at contrasting rates. The pair had teamed up on the second evening at 33 for 2 and attempted to stave off whatever came their way. Manhas was more aggressive, hitting 76 from 122 deliveries; Jain ate up 259 for his 76.Rajat Bhatia, Delhi’s captain, walked out needing to keep the side floating and did so commendably. He remained not out on 67 from 176 balls and denied Tamil Nadu further success with an alliance of 60 with Gaurav Chabra (32*). Aushik Srinivas bowled tidily for figures of 26-11-43-1 and Abhinav Mukund proved a partnership-breaker when he got Jain lbw in a four-over burst. Delhi are three sizeable partnerships away from achieving a lead, while Tamil Nadu need six quick wickets.
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Uttar Pradesh stand in a healthy position after three days in Guwahati. Having already taken a first-innings lead, they put themselves in prime position to wrap up a win over Assam on the final day. From 25 for 0 they finished the day nine wickets down with a lead of 320, with Tanmay Srivastava (49) and Piyush Chawla (53) providing the impetus. UP lost Shivakant Shukla and their captain Mohammad Kaif early in the day, and then three further wickets after the before and after the century mark. But Rohit Prakash Srivastava (42) and Chawla put on 66 to get UP past 200 and Chawla found some support with the last two before he fell for a half-century. Leading Assam’s bowling were Ranjitkumar Mali and Dhiraj Goswami with four wickets each. Given how meekly Assam folded in their first innings, UP will fancy their chances of wrapping up a win.Click here to read Sriram Veera’s report from the other quarter-final in Mysore.