Dhoni suspended for one ODI after India is fined for second minor over-rate offence

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been suspended for one match after his side was fined for a second minor over-rate offence within a year during the seventh match of the three-nation series against Australia in Brisbane on Sunday.

The India side was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration.

As such, Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed a 40 per cent fine on Dhoni while each of his players received 20-per-cent fines.

As this was India's second minor over-rate offence after it was fined for a slow over-rate in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on 2 April, Dhoni has also been suspended from India's next game on Tuesday against Sri Lanka in Brisbane.

The offence is contrary to Article 2.5.1 of the Code which relates to over-rate offences and reads: “where the actual over rate in any Test Match or any other International Match of at least four days in duration is up to (and including) five overs short of the Minimum Over Rate, or, in any One Day International Match, Twenty20 International Match or any other International Match of fifty (50) or twenty (20) overs per side up to (and including) two overs short of the Minimum Over Rate, such an offence shall be considered a "Minor Over Rate Offence'."

At its meeting in June 2011 in Hong Kong, the ICC Executive Board had discussed the issue of slow over-rates and accepted the recommendation of the ICC Cricket Committee that a captain of an international side should be suspended for one match if his side is guilty of two minor over-rate offences in the same format over a 12-month period.

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Steve Davis and Billy Bowden, both from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, as well as third umpire Bruce Oxenford and fourth umpire Paul Reiffel.

Dhoni pleaded guilty to the charge and the subsequent penalties were accepted both by Dhoni and India. As such there was no need for a formal hearing. Dhoni also acknowledged that he had been kept informed of the position regarding over-rates on a regular basis throughout the match and therefore accepted the decision.

To read the code, please click here.

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Malaysia and Singapore make it two out of two

Malaysia and Singapore secured its second victories of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL Div. 5) tournament in Singapore today after the teams beat Cayman Islands and Guernsey respectively.

Bahrain picked up its first victory of the tournament after it defeated Argentina by 65 runs at the Kallang Ground on a cooler day in Singapore.

Esteban MacDermott's side won the toss in overcast conditions in Singapore and elected to field first against Yaser Sadeq's veteran Bahrain team who had faced a heavy defeat yesterday to Guernsey.

Adnan Butt and Adil Hanif kept things going for the Gulf nation but the side struggled to make runs and at one point, had it not been for Tahir Dar's 46 not out looked to be struggling to make a defendable total.

Lucas and Matias Paterlini along with Alejo Tissera showed their wicket-taking capabilities in conditions that were far cooler than their native Argentina. Despite not taking a wicket, MacDermott proved to be the most economical of the bowlers by the time his side had dismissed the Bahrainis in 48 overs.

Post-lunch, wicketkeeper Shahzad Ahmed had a busy time behind the stumps - with the Argentine top three all caught behind by the diminutive stump man. With Grant Dugmore, Lucas Paterlini and Pablo Ferguson all out - it was then up to Gary Savage and Martin Siri to bed in for the South Americans.

Despite its best efforts, Argentina couldn't get the runs flowing despite Siri's fine turn with the bat; it was to be Bahrain's day with Tahir not only contributing with the bat but also the ball. The 36-year-old snaffled up six wickets as the Argentina batsmen attempted an aggressive run-scoring charge with the willow, an attempt that failed for the side with the last five wickets falling in less than five overs.

Argentina captain MacDermott admitted the side needed to have performed better in the field: "We should have been more clinical out in the field today, we let things slip when we had them on the back-foot and ultimately I think we let Bahrain score 30 to 40 more runs than we should have.

"We let things get sloppy and allowed the run-rate to creep up when we batted and when it got too much we tried to accelerate our run-making but it didn't work to our advantage.

"I think Martin Siri performed particularly well today, he had a good knock and kept us in the chase till about the 40th over while the Paterlini brothers proved their worth again in the field - so there are some positive aspects to today's loss.

"I think we improved today in comparison to yesterday's performance and we have the potential to do better. We need to remain focused and continue to improve on the basics. If we perform well with the basics then win or lose we know we've given it our best and have improved as a side."

Malaysia secured its second victory of the WCL Div. 5, the victory should have been wrapped up earlier in the day after the side had Cayman Islands on 8-36 in the 20th over but Conroy Wright had other plans and helped by the lower order ground out a more respectable total for the Caribbean islands to defend of 126.

Early in the innings, the Asian side's bowlers tempted the men from the Caribbean into playing cheap shots and being caught by Malaysia's agile fielders.

Hassan Ghulam and Hiran Ralalage proved the pick of the bowlers along with captain Suresh Navaratnam as the team had Abali Hoilett's team on the back foot from the word go, opener Ainsley Hall was the first to receive his marching orders after scoring just one run. The 39-year-old hit the ball into the hands of Suhan Alagaratnam after the wicketkeeper-batsman had been tempted into a hit from fast bowler Hassan Ghulam.

The fast bowling duo ripped through the Caymanian top order leaving Hoilett's side reeling by the 13th over with just 26 runs on the board and six wickets down. The downward spiral continued for the team when Navaratnam took to the bowling attack, the 36-year-old off-spinner enticing the lower order into giving up their place at the crease.

Despite another spirited turn by Conroy Wright who was out on 56 runs batting at number nine, the team managed to make just 126 in less than 50 overs, a feat that didn't seem likely in the first half of the day after the Caymanians managed to edge nearly every ball to be caught behind by the nifty Malaysian slip cordon.

In reply, Malaysia took its time to reach the target, bedding in for some 30 overs and losing just one wicket in the process. Shafiq Sharif continued to show fine form in the tournament, the 21-year-old hitting 74 not out - the young wicketkeeper was assisted in his run-making first by Ahmed Faiz, who retired hurt on 31 and then by Suhan Alagaratnam.

The only wicket to fall was that of Rakesh Madhavan who departed for a duck after the inform Wright tempted him to strike the ball into the hands of Steve Gordon.

Malaysia head coach, Roy Dias said: "There was plenty of movement in the wicket in the first 30 or so overs but after that the wicket settled down which allowed Conroy Wright to bed in and make his runs.

"We bowled well at the start and the seamers did a fantastic job but ultimately our spinners came into it to finish the Cayman Islands up on 126. I was happy with our response, even though we took some 30 overs to get there. I feel Shafiq is settling well into his role and making good runs, I'm pleased to see he's got two Man of the Match awards in two days of games."

In the final game of the day at the Indian Association, tournament favourites Singapore took on Guernsey at one of the smaller grounds for the event.

Having won the toss, Singapore elected to bat and despite losing Chaminda Ruwan for a duck early on, Chetan Suryanwashi and Buddhika Mendis added a commendable 92 runs before the wicketkeeper-batsman departed after being caught by the ever agile Jeremy Frith.

Jamie Nussbaumer once again proved key for Guernsey snapping up three wickets as did Stuart Bisson who also claimed three, young bowler David Hooper also showed his worth once again, this time taking two wickets including that of key top-order batsman Anish Param.

However, despite some good bowling, Mendis managed to add 77 runs before being caught by GH Smit and Param 43 and at the conclusion of the host's 50 overs it had made the sizeable target of 224 for the Channel Island team.

In response, Guernsey's batsmen, apart from Frith, failed to fire for the team. Frith once again appeared to cornerstone the side's innings with his impressive shot selection which included him emulating the shot made famous by Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, scooping the ball over his and opposition wicketkeeper's head to add four runs to the total.

Frith's batting though could not save the visitors against Singapore's fast bowlers and the team struggled to put runs on the board and keep up with the required run-rate. The middle-order didn't help Frith, captain Stuart Le Prevost and Tim Ravenscroft making eight runs between them.

Things were looking positive for Guernsey when Ben Ferbrache joined Frith in the middle but the 23-year-old departed after attempting to hit to the on-side, failing and was caught by the ever athletic Param leaving Guernsey five down with 118 on the board, much to delight of the home supporters.

In the end, Saad Khan's men proved too strong and Guernsey never got into the flow of things and the side fell some 78 runs short of the target.

Guernsey coach Andy Cornford was obviously disappointed with the loss but had some praise for the likes of Hooper and Frith.

"It was a tough game; we always knew playing the hosts was going to be tough. I was really pleased with the way we bowled and fielded and I thought at one stage they were going to be set for a bigger score than they achieved.

"Young David Hooper made a particularly good show with the ball today, but our batting let us down today - we didn't perform well as a unit. Frith played well again but as a unit we didn't perform well today."

When asked if the side relied on Frith's batting, Cornford admitted that this was the case to an extent: "With someone as consistent as Jeremy we do tend to bat around him as we know he will score runs. However that being said, our batters need to perform better and they have got to deliver in this tournament.

"We love being in Asia and enjoy playing here so the conditions are not troubling us at all," concluded Cornford.

Man of the match Mendis said: "It's pleasing to get another win under our belt, I felt we could have scored more runs today but over 220 was a good score on this ground all the same.

"I'm happy with my knock but wish I could have stayed round longer - I have to say Guernsey did challenge us today, it's like they are always there in the field. They do rely on the likes of Jeremy Frith but he's a good player - at the same time the side is well-rounded and has very good basic skills which helped them against us today despite their loss.

"We just need to keep to our winning ways, two out of two is great but we need to continue this form and win our third match on Tuesday to ensure our promotion hopes stay alive."

Tomorrow is a rest day with play resuming on Tuesday.

Live scores for all the fixtures can be followed at www.icc-cricket.com

The results table can be viewed here

The full schedule for WCL Div. 5 can be found here

Scores in brief (Day Two)

Kallang

Bahrain 213 all out, 48 overs (Adnan 49, Adil 39, Dar 46 not out; M Paterlini 2-21, Tissera 2-31, L Paterlini 2-43)

Argentina 148 all out, 45.1 overs (Siri 46; Tahir Dar 6-18)

Bahrain won by 65 runs

Man of the Match: Tahir Dar (Bahrain)

Singapore Cricket Club

Cayman Islands 126 all out, 47.5 overs (Wright 56; Navaratnam 4-15, Ralalage 3-14)

Malaysia 130-1, 30.3 overs (Shafiq 74 not out, Ahmed Faiz 33 retired hurt)

Malaysia won by nine wickets

Man of the Match: Shafiq Sharif (Malaysia)

Indian Association

Singapore 223 all out, 50 overs (Suryawanshi 44, Mendis 77, Param 43; Nussbaumer 3-42, Bisson 3-42)

Guernsey 145 all out, 43.4 overs (Frith 76; Saad 3-23, Shoaib 3-31)

Singapore won by 78 runs

Man of the Match: Buddhika Mendis (Singapore)

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Whatmore to take charge of Pakistan: PCB source

KARACHI: Australian Dav Whatmore will replace the Pakistan team's interim coach Mohsin Khan after their one-day series against England ends this month, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) source told Reuters on Sunday.

The source said Whatmore would take charge as head coach for the Asia Cup tournament in Bangladesh next month.

"It has been decided to release Mohsin from his coaching assignment after the England series and Whatmore has been chosen as the man to guide our team over the next two years," the source said.

Whatmore, 57, coached the Sri Lanka side who won the 1996 World Cup.

He coached Bangladesh from 2003 to 2007, leading them to their first test victory in early 2005 against Zimbabwe and also guided them into the super eight stage of the 2007 World Cup where they defeated India and South Africa.

"He will be our coach from the Asia Cup. The Board has also decided to hire English professional coach, Julien Fountain as the fielding coach of the national team," the source added.

Mohsin coached Pakistan in their 3-0 clean sweep of the test series against the world's top-ranked side England in the United Arab Emirates this year.

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Cricket: Misbah credits England after Pakistan’s defeat

 DUABI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq heaped praise on England for their superb comeback to clinch the one-day series after being routed in the preceding Tests, saying they showed character and discipline.

England thumped Pakistan by nine wickets in the third match here on Saturday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead, leaving the fourth and final match here on Tuesday as inconsequential.

Misbah, who lost his first one-day series as captain after four wins, said England were the better side.

"It's not a nice feeling to lose," Misbah said after the match. "We need to give credit to England for the way they have come back after defeat in Tests. I feel they have played much better cricket than us and were very disciplined."

Steven Finn with 3-24 and Stuart Broad 3-42 helped England restrict Pakistan to 222 depite aggressive half-centuries from Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal.

England then chased down the target in 37.2 overs with Kevin Pietersen ending his 36 innings century drought with an unbeaten 111 and Alastair Cook scoring 80 -- narrowly missing a third consecutive hundred in successive matches.

Misbah said England attained world number one ranking in Tests through consistent performance.

"We expected they will come back any time and they showed they learnt from their mistakes in Tests," said Misbah, who noted that playing away from home could be a factor in team's lackluster performance.

"I feel the fact that we are playing away from home can be a factor. Sometime you feel home sickness. It is not that I'm giving an excuse on this matter but it happens when you are not playing at home," said Misbah.

Pakistan have been forced to play its home series on neutral venues as teams refuse to tour them over secuirty fears.

They have not hosted international cricket since terrorists attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore three years ago

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Cricket: Pakistan lose 3rd ODI by 9 wkts and series to England

DUBAI: Pakistan lost three matches in a row after making clean sweep in three-Test series against England, who won the third One-day International by nine wickets remaining here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

The victory gave England an unassailable 3-0 win in the series, with the fourth and final One-day International to be played on the same ground on Tuesday.

Kevin Pietersen hit his eighth ODI hundred while Alastair Cook missed a third consecutive century.

The 31-year-old Pietersen notched an unbeaten 98-ball 111 while opening partner Cook hit 80 to help their team overhaul a modest 223-run target set by Pakistan with 12.4 overs to spare.

Pietersen, whose last hundred came against India at Cuttack in November 2008, hit his 10th boundary to bring up the win.

Pietersen, who also hit two sixes, crossed the 4,000 one-day run mark when he reached 57, becoming the seventh England batsmen to reach the milestone.

He pushed paceman Aizaz Cheema towards square-leg for two to reach his hundred off 93 balls, his first in 36 innings.

Cook, who hit a career-best 137 and then 102 in the first two matches, was shaping well for his third century but fell when he was caught behind off spinner Saeed Ajmal after a fluent 98-ball knock, hitting six boundaries and a six.

It was a one-sided win as the Pakistan bowlers looked helpless against some impressive batting by Cook and Pietersen who improved on the previous best opening stand of 147 against Pakistan, set by Michael Atherton and Robin Smith in Karachi in the 1996 World Cup.

Cook fell with 53 still needed before Eoin Morgan (24 not out) helped Pietersen see off the target.

Earlier, Shahid Afridi hit a 55-ball 51 while Umar Akmal scored a 92-ball 50 during their 79-run sixth wicket stand which lifted Pakistan from a precarious 97-5 after Misbah-ul Haq won the toss and chose to bat.

Pakistan lost Azhar Ali (five), Mohammad Hafeez (29) and Misbah (one) in the space of just two runs.

Two of these wickets went to paceman Stuart Broad, who finished with 3-42, while the impressive Steven Finn added Hafeez to his early breakthrough of Imran Farhat (nine) in this pace-dominated period.

Finn, who took four wickets in both of the first two matches after sitting out the Test series, finished with 3-24 off 10 overs.

Afridi and Umar repaired the innings, with Afridi hitting three boundaries and a six.

Broad returned for his second spell to dismiss Umar, caught by Samit Patel after hitting just one boundary.

Afridi followed four runs later when he failed to connect properly with a big drive off paceman James Anderson who finished with 2-52.

Pakistan, who made two changes from the second one-dayer, were forced to leave out experienced batsman Younis Khan who was suffering from a fever.

Asad Shafiq (18) added 46 for the fifth wicket with Umar before he was run out. Umar Gul made 27 not out to give some late momentum to the innings.

Both teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Dubai (February 23 and 25) and Abu Dhabi (February 27).

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Cricket: Levi powers Proteas to win over Kiwis

HAMILTON: South Africa's Richard Levi rewrote the record books with a magnificent unbeaten 117 as the Proteas crushed New Zealand by eight wickets in the second Twenty20 international on Sunday.

Levi's 45-ball century was the fastest ever in T20 internationals and included the most sixes, with 13, in a performance which had spectators at the sold out Seddon Park ground in Hamilton ducking for cover.

His 117 run total also equalled the highest ever score by a batsman in a T20 international, matching the mark set by Chris Gayle of the West Indies against South Africa in 2007.

South African skipper AB de Villiers (39) provided able support as his team reached the 174 target set by New Zealand with ease, but it was Levi who demolished the Black Caps in only his second international appearance.

"It was good fun, every shot I played came off, which was quite nice and I just kept myself nice and calm and collected and kept going," the hulking 24-year-old said.

The win levels the three match series 1-1 heading into the final game in Auckland on Wednesday.

Levi came out firing, plundering 23 off 10 balls in the first two overs, and never relented even after Hashim Amla (2) and Wayne Parnell (4) departed early.

He punished all of New Zealand's bowlers but it was a particularly painful night for Doug Bracewell, who conceded 37 runs off his two overs.

New Zealand had made four for 173, never managing to dominate as South Africa's bowlers produced a far better display than in their six-wicket loss in the opening match in Wellington on Friday.

Martin Guptill top scored with 47, just missing out on his seventh successive international half century, as the New Zealanders set a target that, while solid, proved impossible to defend against Levi's onslaught.

Opener Rob Nicol dominated the strike early on with a quick-fire 23 from 17 balls but a moment's hesitation taking off for a single proved his downfall, as AB de Villiers seized the ball and fired it into the non-striker's stumps.

New Zealand still looked comfortable and were 79 for one at the half-way mark before de Lange coaxed a top edge from dangerman Guptill in the 12th over which looped through to Albie Morkel in the outfield.

The dismissal lifted the South Africans and they had New Zealand struggling for boundaries until Brendon McCullum lifted the pace with a six off Morne Morkel.

He was out in the next over trying to give Johan Botha the same treatment but Franklin maintained the aggression when he came to the crease, hitting four sixes in five balls in his 28 off 10 before also being out to Morne Morkel.

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Cricket: Australia cruise to 110 run win over India

BRISBANE: Australia cruised to a 110 run win over India in their one-day international tri-series match in Brisbane on Sunday.

After blasting 288 for five in their innings, the Australians ripped through the Indian top order to leave the visitors in disarray at 36 for four.

India struggled on but were never in the hunt, finishing 178 all out with skipper M.S. Dhoni playing a lone hand with the bat, scoring 56 off 84 deliveries.

Man of the match Ben Hilfenhaus was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 5-33, while veteran paceman Brett Lee continued his resurgence taking 3-49 off 10 overs.

Veteran Mike Hussey led the batting for Australia with 59, but he was well supported by newcomer Peter Forrest who made 52.

Irfan Pathan took 3-61 on a day when all the Indian bowlers lacked penetration. India return to the Gabba on Tuesday for the next match in the series against Sri Lanka.

Match scores: Australia 288-5 (50 overs), India 178 (43.3 overs)

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Cricket: Rajshahi record exciting win over Chittagong

CHITTAGONG: Duronto Rajshahi recorded a thrilling nine-run victory over Chittagong Kings in a low-scoring match in the 16th Twenty20 fixture of the Bangladesh Premier League here on Saturday.

Playing on home ground, Chittagong could not achieve an easy target of 127 and were collapsed for 117 runs in the 20 overs.

Their main scorers were Shamsur Rahman (24) and Nasir Jamshed (20) while for Rajshahi, left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib captured three wickets for 22 runs and fast bowler Mohammad Sami bagged two for 16.

Earlier, Rajshahi opted for batting first after winning the toss but they were restricted to 126-6 in the allotted 20 overs.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim top scored with 24 not out followed by 20 made by Pakistan’s in-form opener Nasir Jamshed.

For Chittagong, Arafat Sunny claimed three for 13 and Kevon Cooper took two for 17 runs.

cricket funzz group showed this exciting match live from the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

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Cricket: PCB seeks evidence as Kaneria leads Sindh

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket bosses will ask British authorities for the full judgment and evidence in a spot-fixing case that implicated leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, officials said Saturday.

Kaneria's Essex teammate in England, Mervyn Westfield, was sentenced to four months in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to taking money to bowl badly in a 2009 match between Essex and Durham.

At the Old Bailey Westfield admitted receiving #6,000 ($9,200) to bowl so that 12 runs would be scored in the first over of the contest, although in the event only 10 were conceded.

Prosecutors said the player had been lured into the fix after an approach by Kaneria, who was arrested in connection with the case in 2010 but later released without charge.

On Saturday Kaneria was captaining Sindh province against Punjab in the Pakistani domestic Pentangular Cup final in Lahore.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said the organisation had to seek evidence or material before it could act against the leg-spinner.

"Since Kaneria is a Pakistan player we are obviously looking into the matter with a lot of concern," Rizvi told AFP.

"Since the match was an England domestic match, it's in the England board's jurisdiction and we will seek evidence from the concerned authorities.

"Once it comes we can only then summon him before the Integrity Committee of the PCB where his case is still pending."

Kaneria was selected for Pakistan's series against South Africa in October 2010 but was withdrawn at the last moment when the Integrity Committee did not clear him.

He challenged the decision in court but his case was dismissed in November last year.

"The stance of the PCB is one of zero tolerance towards any player with questionable integrity. The judgment of Westfield raised a lot of questions but in law everybody is innocent until proven guilty," said Rizvi.

The case implicating Kaneria is the latest blow to Pakistani cricket after a spot-fixing scandal on the team's tour of England in 2010 ended in lengthy bans and jail terms for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

That prompted International Cricket Council to force Pakistan to form an Integrity Committee to check players' assets and suspicions against them.

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Cricket: Umar, Afridi hit fifties to lift Pakistan in 3rd ODI

DUBAI: Half-centuries from Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal helped Pakistan to a challenging 222 runs in the allotted 20 overs against England in the third One-day International here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

After captain Misbah-ul-Haq won his first toss in the four-match series and chose to bat, Pakistan were looking in trouble as they were reeling at 97 for five.

However, Umar Akmal and Afridi came to rescue and took Pakistan to 176 adding 79 runs for the sixth wicket partnership.

Umar made a patient 50 from 88 balls, hitting just one boundary while Afridi smashed 51 off 55 balls with three fours and a six.

But Pakistan, trailing 2-0 after losing the first two matches in Abu Dhabi, initially failed to improve their fortunes as they lost Azhar Ali (five), Mohammad Hafeez (29) and Misbah (one) in the space of just two runs.

Two of these wickets went to paceman Stuart Broad, who finished with 3-42, while the impressive Steven Finn added one to his early breakthrough of Imran Farhat (nine) in this pacemen domination period.

Finn - who took four wickets apiece in the first two matches after sitting out the Test series - finished with 3-24 off ten overs.

Shafiq (18) also added 46 for the fifth wicket with Umar before he was run out. Umar Gul made 27 not out to give some late momentum to the innings.

Broad returned for his second spell to dismiss Umar, caught by Samit Patel after hitting just one boundary.

Afridi followed four runs later when he failed to connect properly with a big drive off paceman James Anderson who finished with 2-52.

Pakistan were forced to leave out experienced batsman Younis Khan who was suffering from a fever. Left-arm spinner Andul Rehman was also left out from Wednesday's line-up and Asad Shafiq and Adnan Akmal were brought in.

England remained unchanged from the second match.

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Cricket: Khulna beat Sylhet by 2 runs in nail-biting finish

CHITTAGONG: Khulna Royal Bengals snatched a thrilling two-run victory against Sylhet Royals in the 15th Twent20 match of the Bangladesh Premier League here at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing 172, Sylhet needed 11 runs in the final over to win for the first time in the tournament but it could make only eight runs losing two more wickets to finish at 169-6.

Opener Kamran Akmal was the top scorer with 84 runs. He smashed four sixes and eleven boundaries in his 41-ball innings.

Later, Scott Styris made an unbeaten 48 off 37 balls with four sixes and a four.

Earlier, put into bat by Sylhet, Khulna made 171 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Dwayne Smith top scored with 55 from 31 balls. He hit four sixes and three fours but it was late-order batsman Andre Russell who played a breezy innings of 35 not out with two towering sixes and three fours in only 14 balls.

For Khulna, captain Shakib Al Hasan, Abdur Razzak and Russell claimed two wickets each.

Russell was named man-of-the-match for his impressive allround performance.

The match was telecast live by cricket funzzgroup .

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English cricketer jailed over spot-fixing scam

LONDON: An English cricketer who claimed to have been lured into a spot-fixing scandal by Pakistan international Danish Kaneria was on Friday jailed for four months.

Former Essex player Mervyn Westfield had admitted receiving #6,000 ($9,200) to bowl badly so that 12 runs would be scored in the first over of a 40-over match between Durham and Essex in September 2009.

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