Faisal Bank T20:Lions outplay Wolves by 48 runs

RAWALPINDI: Lahore Lions defeated Faisalabad Wolves by 48 runs in a day-night match in the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Batting first after captain Kamran Akmal won the toss, Lahore Lions piled up a huge total of 194 runs for three wickets.

Umar Akmal top scored with an unbeaten 57 off 37 balls while Ahmed Shahzad made 48 from 29 balls with three sixes and six fours and Kamran hit three sixes and two fours in his 31-ball 46. Nasir Jamshed also contributed 27.

Later, the Lions restricted the Wolves to 146-9 in 20 overs as left-arm fast-medium bowler Zia-ul-Haq captured five for 23 and left-arm spinner Raza Ali Dar grabbed three for 25.

Opener Asif Hussain made 64 with three sixes and six fours. He was supported by Khurram Shehzad (26) and Sabir Hussain (25).

Geo Super showed this match live from the venue.

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Eagles record easy win over Rams

RAWALPINDI: Junaid Zia and Taufeeq Umar led Lahore Eagles to a comfortable 34-run win over Rawalpindi Rams in Rawalpindi.

Zia scalped three wickets, two of which came in his first over, and made the chase even tougher for Rawalpindi by giving away only 14 runs in his spell. By the time Lahore had bowled ten overs, Rawalpindi had lost half of their side.

Opener Awais Zia scored a half-century and was the eighth wicket to fall in an otherwise underwhelming batting performance, where the next highest score was 14.

Rawalpindi were all out for 124 in 17.5 overs. Batting first, Lahore had set a strong platform with a 64 run partnership between Taufiq Umar and Imran Farhat in 6.4 overs. But Rawalpindi controlled the second half of the innings with regular wickets.

In fact, except Umar and Farhat, no other batsman managed a double-digit score.

Umar, who scored 76, was run out in a dramatic last over by Sohail Tanvir, where including Umar, four wickets (three run-outs) fell off the last three legal balls.

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Sri Lanka beat England in first Test

GALLE: Sri Lanka defeated England by 75 runs in the first cricket Test in Galle on Thursday to take the lead in the two-match series.

The tourists, chasing a victory target of 340 runs, were bowled out for 264 in their second innings soon after tea on the fourth day at the Galle International Stadium

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Herath spins Sri Lanka to victory over England

GALLE: Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed a match haul of 12 wickets as Sri Lanka condemned top-ranked England to their fourth consecutive Test defeat on Thursday in the series opener.

The 34-year-old grabbed six wickets in each innings as the tourists, attempting what would have been their highest successful fourth-innings chase of 340, were bowled out for 264 soon after tea on the fourth day.

Off-spinner Suraj Randiv lent admirable support with six wickets in the match as Sri Lanka went 1-0 ahead in the two-match series with an impressive 75-run win.

Trott kept the tourists afloat with a defiant 112 before the last five wickets fell for just 12 runs in front of 8,000 bitterly disappointed English fans in the southern coastal town.

It was only the second win in 18 Tests for Sri Lanka since the retirement of world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan in 2010. They lost six while the rest were drawn.

England's highest successful fourth-innings chase had come way back in 1928 when they made 332-7 to defeat Australia in Melbourne.

Trott's seventh Test century included 10 boundaries in a patient 266-ball knock.

But the match turned decisively Sri Lanka's way when he was seventh out just before tea, flicking a Randiv delivery to backward short-leg where Tillakaratne Dilshan snapped up a diving catch.

Wicket-keeper Matt Prior had earlier helped Trott add 81 for the fifth wicket before he was dismissed by Herath for 41 as Lahiru Thirimanne clung on to a full-blooded sweep at forward short-leg.

Tailenders Graeme Swann, Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar fell in the space of five runs to hand Sri Lanka victory with a day to spare.

England, who will slip to number two in the rankings behind South Africa if they lose the series, lost Kevin Pietersen in the day's third over after just seven runs had been added to the overnight score of 111-2.

Pietersen, on 30, attempted to on-drive Randiv and only managed to spoon an easy catch to Mahela Jayawardene at short mid-wicket.

The sloppy dismissal ended a valuable 70-run partnership for the third wicket with Trott after England had been reduced to 48-2 late on Wednesday afternoon.

Bell, who top-scored with 52 in the first innings, missed a sweep shot off Herath and was given out leg-before by umpire Rod Tucker.

Bell immediately asked for a review, but he did not earn a reprieve from TV umpire Bruce Oxenford and England slipped to 152-4.

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India's long journey for one-off clash

JOHANNESBURG: India and South Africa meet in a one-off Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium Friday with India coach Duncan Fletcher insisting the long round trip will be worthwhile.

India arrived in Johannesburg Wednesday with a near full strength T20 squad, with batsman Virender Sehwag and pace bowler Zaheer Khan the only key players being rested.

Superstar Sachin Tendulkar, reportedly receiving medical treatment in London, is not a regular T20 international player.

South Africa, by contrast, have picked only eight of the squad which won a T20 series in New Zealand last month, resting all their Test players with the exception of Jacques Kallis, who will be the recipient of a special tribute at the match.

The South African Test squad arrived back just over 48 hours ahead of the Wanderers game.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) will contribute to the Jacques Kallis Foundation, which provides scholarships for talented cricketers from under-privileged areas to attend leading cricket schools.

Kallis said he would, in turn, assist the Yuvraj Singh Foundation. India player Singh is being treated for cancer. Kallis' father died of cancer in 2003.

The South African squad includes three uncapped players and will be captained by off-spinner Johan Botha in the absence of the regular captain AB de Villiers and vice-captain Hashim Amla, who both played in the Test series in New Zealand.

India, though, will be led as usual by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Fletcher said the Indian team contained a significant number of young players.

"We've been trying to develop a young one-day squad and Twenty20 squad," he said. "These blokes have played well on the subcontinent and any game they play out of it must be very good from an experience point of view."

The announcement of the match was made as recently as March 5. It was one of the last acts of Gerald Majola before he was suspended as CSA chief executive following a judicial report on undeclared bonuses paid to him.

The game comes at the end of a long international season for both teams and only five days before the start of the Indian Premier League, which will feature most of the players involved this Friday.

South Africa: Johan Botha (capt), Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (wk), Dane Vilas (wk)

India: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Rahul Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa

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405 cricket World Cup final tickets unsold: report

MUMBAI: At least 405 tickets of the cricket World Cup Final between India and Sri Lanka remained unsold, an Indian newspaper said in a report.

According to the report, there was huge demand for the ticket and the Wankhede Stadium had only 33,000 seats. There were plenty of fans who missed out on being part of that historic night in Mumbai.

Mumbai's newspaper Mid Day said in its report that it had learnt about the unsold tickets. The information has come out of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) office.

"It is surprising to see that 96 tickets (Rs 1,500 minimum per ticket) of the Sunil Gavaskar Stand (lower bay) which was meant for public, going unsold. Something is fishy here," a source told the newspaper.

The MCA suffered a loss of nearly Rs. 73.5 lakh from the unsold tickets. Nearly Rs. 23 crore was accumulated through the sale of tickets, the report added quoting the same source.

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MCC mull Afghanistan tour

LONDON: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) are contemplating a tour of Afghanistan, the club's president said on Wednesday, indicating that a visit to the war-torn nation was more likely than a trip to neighbouring Pakistan.

MCC, which owns Lord's Cricket Ground, known globally as the "home of cricket", has played its part in supporting Afghan cricket by helping provide pitches in the capital Kabul, organising fixtures against the national side and coaching players.

Touring teams from the club, which used to run English cricket but still retains worldwide responsibility for the sport's Laws or rules, usually comprise former professional cricketers alongside promising club players.

"I am going to Afghanistan to look at Kabul and the cricket pitches we have put in," MCC president Phillip Hodson told BBC radio's Test Match Special programme on Wednesday. "Then I will go to Lahore as a private citizen.

"I think there is much more chance of taking a team to Afghanistan than there is to Pakistan. I think we could do something in Afghanistan and I don't think it will be long away."

Afghanistan is an emerging country in cricket terms and its national team has made dramatic progress in recent years, going from the equivalent of a standing start to competing alongside the sport's leading teams.

This month Afghanistan again qualified for the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, having competed in the 2010 edition in the West Indies.

Further details of touring plans may emerge after the MCC's annual general meeting in May.

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England begin tough chase to win first Test

GALLE: England launched their chase of a daunting 340-run victory target in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, reaching 27-0 from seven overs by tea on the third day.

Skipper Andrew Strauss was unbeaten on 14 and Alastair Cook was on 13 on a dry pitch at the Galle International Stadium that is making batting progressively difficult.

England, the world's top-ranked Test team, will have to defy history if they are to win the match and take the lead in the two-Test series.

The highest fourth-innings total at Galle is 253, made by Sri Lanka in a losing cause against Australia last year. The highest successful fourth-innings chase was Sri Lanka's 96-0 against India in 2010.

Earlier, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 214 in their second innings in the post-lunch session with England off-spinner Graeme Swann finishing with six for 82.

The hosts had been reduced to 127-8 just before lunch, a lead of 252 runs, when wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene stepped in to hit an unbeaten 61 in the company of tailenders.

Jayawardene, who was caught off a Stuart Broad no-ball when on 29, put on 40 for the ninth wicket with Chanaka Welegedara (13) and 47 for the 10th with Suranga Lakmal (13).

Swann bagged two of the three wickets that fell in the morning session after Sri Lanka resumed at Tuesday's score of 84-5.

The overnight pair of Dinesh Chandimal and Suraj Randiv took their sixth-wicket partnership to 42, before both batsmen fell in the space of one run.

Chandimal, who made 31, gifted his wicket for the second time in the match when he attempted a big shot off Monty Panesar and only managed to sky a catch to Kevin Pietersen at mid-off.

Randiv was declared leg-before by TV official Bruce Oxenford after he challenged on-field umpire Asad Rauf's decision, giving Swann his fifth wicket in the innings.

Rangana Herath became Swann's sixth victim when he was bowled trying to sweep the off-spinner

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Australia coast to victory in first T20

GROS ISLET: Veterans Shane Watson and Michael Hussey eased Australia to victory in the first Twenty20 international with hosts West Indies here on Tuesday.

Both Watson and Hussey hit half centuries with the former - who stood in as skipper for injured captain Michael Clarke during the one day series but stepped down for this format - scoring 69.

Hussey was unbeaten on 59 as the tourists coasted to victory with 11 balls remaining thanks to a fine century partnership by him and Watson after opener David Warner was out for a duck.

After electing to bat, the West Indies had made 150-7 in the first of the two-match series against Australia at Beausejour Cricket Ground.

The modest total owed much to a swashbuckling 26-ball knock of 54 from Kieron Pollard that featured two fours and five sixes -- four of those coming off consecutive balls in the 16th and 17th overs -- and off 20 balls was the fastest half century by a West Indian batsman in this format.

He beat former West Indies captain Chris Gayle's half century off 23 balls against Australia in 2009.

Daniel Christian was the tourists' most effective bowler, taking three wickets for 27 runs.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy had hit a blistering 84 in the final match of the one-day series two days ago, but he fell for just seven, misjudging a heave down the ground off Brett Lee that was easily caught by David Hussey.

Australia prevailed by 30 runs in the final one-day international to level the five-match series at 2-2.

Christian came into the Twenty20 team alongside James Pattinson, with George Bailey taking over the captaincy for the shortest format from Watson.

The West Indies were without Andre Russell, who was ruled out after battling a hamstring injury during the one-day series.

It is the first time the West Indies have played a T20 international for five months and for both sides the main concern is to get in some crucial practice ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.

The second Twenty20 match is in Bridgetown on Friday.

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South Africa rue weather but happy to win series

WELLINGTON: Poor weather undoubtedly halted South Africa's march to the top of the world test rankings after they claimed a 1-0 series win against New Zealand when the third and final test at the Basin Reserve ended in a draw on Tuesday.

Graeme Smith's side completed the series victory courtesy of a nine-wicket win in the second test in Hamilton, with the other two matches badly affected by rain. They also won both the earlier Twenty20 and one-day international series.

The Proteas did have an opportunity to clinch a 2-0 win on the final day of the third test after Morne Morkel claimed 6-23,only for Kane Williamson to graft his second test century and ensure New Zealand scratched out a battling draw.

"It's been a terrific tour for us," Smith said of the way in which the side had managed to build on their victories in theTwenty20 and one-day international series into the tests.

"Any tour where you can walk away with every trophy is a tick. There have been some great performances throughout the six-and-a-half weeks. "All teams in all formats have played well, which is what you want."

South Africa had the opportunity to claim the world's top test ranking if they swept the tests 3-0, but rain washed out the final day of play in Dunedin and more than seven hours in Wellington, something Smith rued.

"We've pretty much been on the front foot throughout this test series... (but) the weather played a big part in Dunedin and here.

"Losing close on 150-160 overs, we were the one team pushing to win... we gave ourselves an opportunity to win. "We missed some opportunities today that would have allowed us to win two-nil (but)... I think (one-nil) is a fair reflection." (Reuters)

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