Sri Lanka level series beating Pakistan in 2nd ODI

DUBAI : Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 25 runs with 21 balls to spare after an interesting contest in the second One-day International played here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday.Chasing 236 runs to win, Pakistan were all out for 210 in 46.3 overs despite a brilliant knock of 91 by young Umar Akmal Other main scorers were Shahid Afridi (29), Sarfraz Ahmed (24) and Misbah-ul-Haq (21) as no other batsmen could resist against the Sri Lankan pacers.Lasith Malinga grabbed three wickets for 36 runs while Tishara Perera and Dilhara Fernando claimed two wickets each.Earlier, opener Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene notched fighting half-centuries to propel Sri Lanka to 235-7 Tharanga scored 77 while Jayawardene returned to form with 50 as they shared a fourth wicket stand of 85 to lift Sri Lanka, who won the toss and were restricted in the middle overs by a disciplined Pakistan bowling.The total reflected a big improvement in Sri Lanka's batting after they were bowled out for a mere 131 during their eight-wicket defeat in the first of a five-match series here last Friday.Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga gave a solid 56-run start to their team by the 12th over when leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, man-of-the-match in the first match for his 3-27, provided Pakistan with a breakthrough

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Ashraf vows to lure world's best back to Pakistan

DUBAI : Pakistan's new cricket chief Zaka Ashraf Monday vowed to bring international cricket back to the country, suggesting the game's governing body could form a board to assess security before teams' tours.International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, which left eight people dead and seven visiting players and their assistant coach injured.Those incidents, coupled with continued security fears in Pakistan, have led to refusals by international teams to tour the troubled country, where the national army is fighting militancy and a resurgency by the Taliban.Ashraf, who replaced Ijaz Butt as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman last month, said his first task is to bring international cricket back to the country."We are doing our level best to bring international cricket back to Pakistan," Ashraf, who met International Cricket Council (ICC) officials, told AFP. "I have suggested the ICC should form a board to assess security in Pakistan.After the terrorist attacks of 2009, the ICC was forced to strip Pakistan of its share of matches in the 2011 World Cup.Sri Lanka also turned down an invitation to tour Pakistan after a military base was attacked in Karachi in May this year, forcing them to play the series in the United Arab Emirates.Ashraf, regarded as a close friend of Pakistan president Asif Zardari, said he can take help from the government on implementing security for international teams."Once the ICC forms a security board we can also take help from the government and implement the best arrangements for international teams," said Ashraf.Ashraf said Pakistani fans are deprived of international cricket.What happened in Pakistan was disappointing and that left millions of fans in our country deprived of international cricket and we now seek help from the cricket world to restore activity so that our fans get to see that," said Ashraf.International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who met Ashraf on Monday, said the ICC was doing its best to revive cricket in Pakistan."It was something that could not get much time (for consideration) due to the spot-fixing issue, but now in order to have some teams playing in Pakistan the security situation has to be considered," said Lorgat.Ashraf said he has also written to Indian cricket chiefs to revive what he termed the "mother of all cricket" series.I have written to Narayan Srinivasan (President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India) to revive the series between the two countries because it's a game and should be kept away from politics," said Ashraf.It is a move backed by Lorgat. India-Pakistan is a seriously important fixture. It is also something which Ashraf has uppermost in his mind and we will support that. We can make a request to India, it is up to India to decide where they want to play.Ashraf said he has also met Bangladesh Cricket Board officials to break the ice.I have also met Bangladesh officials and in order to break the ice. I have invited them to tour Pakistan and I hope they reply in a positive way

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India on course for a big total against Windies

KOLKATA : Rahul Dravid cracked a brilliant 119 to put India on course for a big total on the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
The 38-year-old batsman hit two sixes and nine fours in his 36th Test hundred, and the fifth of the year, as the hosts reached 346-5 in their first innings at stumps after winning the toss on a good batting pitch. Only India's Sachin Tendulkar (51), South African Jacques Kallis (40) and Australian Ricky Ponting (39) have scored more Test centuries than Dravid.India lead 1-0 in the three-Test series following their five-wicket win in the opening match in New Delhi.Dravid never looked in trouble in his 207-ball knock, impressing with his shot-selection during his long stay at the crease to put India in a strong position with three valuable partnerships.He added 83 runs for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir (65), 56 for the next with Sachin Tendulkar and 140 for the fourth wicket with Venkatsai Laxman, who was unbeaten with a solid 73 when bad light stopped play.Dravid completed his hundred when he turned a no-ball from paceman Kemar Roach behind square-leg for a four before inside-edging part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite's delivery on to his stumps in the day's penultimate over.India lost one more wicket when nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was caught behind off Roach.Laxman, who made an unbeaten 58 in the last Test, has so far hit five fours in his second successive half-century.Tendulkar, who needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100th international century, had been batting confidently before falling for 38, pulling leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo to Marlon Samuels at mid-wicket.Dravid continued to bat comfortably against both pace and spin, lofting Bishoo over long-off and part-time spinner Samuels over long-on for sixes.Tendulkar, who has also scored 48 hundreds in one-day internationals, looked in excellent form as he turned Fidel Edwards to fine-leg for his first four and then drove Roach through the covers for another boundary.He survived a confident appeal for leg-before on 25 while attempting to sweep Bishoo before being dismissed by the same bowler in the afternoon session, much to the disappointment of nearly 10,000 spectators.The West Indies struggled for success on a pitch which had little in it for the bowlers, with seamer Darren Sammy, Edwards, Bishoo, Roach and Brathwaite each taking one wicket.Gambhir fell to a loose shot, driving an Edwards delivery straight to Adrian Barath at short cover after adding eight runs to his lunch score of 57. He hit eight fours in his 17th half-century in 43 Tests.India got off to a solid start as Gambhir and aggressive Virender Sehwag (38) put on 66 in 12.1 overs for the opening wicket.Sehwag played some handsome shots against the West Indies pace attack, hitting eight fours in his brisk 33-ball knock before driving Sammy straight to Barath at short mid-wicket.

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Tharanga, Jayawardene lift Sri Lanka to 235-7

DUBAI : Opener Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene notched fighting half-centuries to propel Sri Lanka to 235-7 in the second day-night international against Pakistan at Dubai stadium here on Monday.Tharanga scored 77 while Jayawardene returned to form with 50 as they shared a fourth wicket stand of 85 to lift Sri Lanka, who won the toss and were restricted in the middle overs by a disciplined Pakistan bowling.The total reflected a big improvement in Sri Lanka's batting after they were bowled out for a mere 131 during their eight-wicket defeat in the first of a five-match series here last Friday.Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga gave a solid 56-run start to their team by the 12th over when leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, man-of-the-match in the first match for his 3-27, provided Pakistan with a breakthrough.Afridi bowled Sri Lanka captain Dilshan with a sharp googley after he had threatened to score big by hitting four attractive boundaries. He fell for a 40-ball 28.Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 516 in the preceding three-Test series which Pakistan won 1-0, managed just five before paceman Abdul Razzaq caught him off his own bowling, leaving Sri Lanka at 65-2 It became 3-94 when Dinesh Chandimal (15) fell to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, leaving Tharanga and Jayawardene to give the innings some respectability.Tharanga hit eight boundaries during his 120-ball knock before he was caught off Afridi.Jayawardene, who was lacklustre in the Tests as well as in the first one-dayer, hit five boundaries during his 57-ball knock before he was bowled by Ajmal.Ajmal finished with 3-61 while Afridi bagged 2-35.Pakistan kept an unchanged side, but Sri Lanka brought in Thissara Perera and Jeevan Mendis in place of Suranga Lakmal and Kosala Kulasekara.

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World Test Championship will be staged in 2017: ICC CEO Lorgat

DUBAI : ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat announced on Monday that the inaugural World Test Championship will be held in 2017.Earlier it was expected that the tournament would be staged in 2013, but that possibility has since been ruled out."I am afraid that's no longer going to happen in 2013. At the last board meeting we decided that the first opportunity that we can play the World Test Championship is at 2017. So I am disappointed that it is not going to take place sooner,'' informed Mr Lorgat while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the second One-Day International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai.The ICC attempted to switch ICC Champions Trophy and tried to host the World Test Championship in 2013 in England."It is a reality of the commitments that we have got already through to 2015. We were tempted to switch Champions Trophy to become a Test Championship but that's not going to be possible."We attempted to form the World Test Championship which I think would have been a very good context to ensuring the primacy of Test match cricket. But again we will have wait for 2017 to see that as a reality,'' added Mr Lorgat.

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