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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De Villiers and Clarke become number-one ranked Test batsmen

South Africa's AB de Villiers has reached the number-one batting position for the first time in his career where he has been joined by Australia captain Michael Clarke in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings which were released on Friday.

De Villiers' move to the top of the batting chart is due to a combination of his own good performances in the Hamilton and Wellington Tests, as well as Kumar Sangakkara's disappointing show with the bat against England in the Galle Test.

De Villiers scored 83 in South Africa's nine wickets victory over New Zealand in the Hamilton Test and then followed up with 38 and 68 in the drawn Wellington Test. These performances have helped him earn 35 ratings points which have given him a career-best rating of 821 and a lift of two places.

Sangakkara, who had entered the Galle Test as the number-one ranked Test batsman, scored nought and 14 in Sri Lanka's 75 runs victory over England. This meant the former Sri Lanka captain has dropped from 850 ratings points to 813 ratings point which cost him three places in the batting table.

Sangakkara is now ranked fourth but can regain the number-one spot if he performs strongly in the Colombo Test which starts next week as he trails the two number one-ranked batsmen by only eight ratings points.

Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers' team-mate, has also slipped one position to third after managing just six runs in his only innings in Hamilton and then missing the Wellington Test.

So the fall of Kallis and Sangakkara has helped Michael Clarke regain the number-one position -a week before he leads his side in the three-Test series against the West Indies. It is the second time Clarke has headed the batting table after he first topped the batting list in August 2009 after he scored 93 against England in Australia's victory by an innings and 80 runs in the Leeds Test.

Apart from a reshuffle at the top of the order, South Africa's Hashim Amla has moved up two places to eighth after scores of 16 and 46 in Hamilton and 63 in Wellington, England's Jonathan Trott has jumped six places to ninth after scoring 12 and 112 in Galle, New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has gained three places and is now in 10th position after scoring 44 and 17 in Hamilton and 18 in Wellington while Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena has lifted seven places to 19th spot after scoring 180 and five in Galle.

Other batsmen losing ground include South Africa captain Graeme Smith in 12th (down by two), Alastair Cook in 14th (down by nine), Kevin Pietersen in 22nd (down by two), Matt Prior in 24th (down by two) and Brendon McCullum in 25th (down by one).

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, South Africa's Vernon Philander has continued to climb up the chart. The fast bowler had figures of four for 70 and six for 44 in Hamilton and six for 81 and none for 29 in Wellington.

Philander has gained 148 ratings points which has not only given him a career-best rating of 764 but also led to a jump of 11 places which puts him in a career-best fifth position.

He is the third South Africa bowler inside the top 10 with Dale Steyn firmly holding the number-one position and Morne Morkel in 10th spot after slipping one place.

Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath is the other bowler to earn a career-best rating and ranking. The left-arm spinner took six for 74 and six for 97 for which he earned 92 ratings points which has put him on 752 ratings points and a seventh position in the bowling charts after a rise of six places.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is in number-one position but New Zealand's Daniel Vettori has slipped two places to fifth spot which has put England's Stuart Broad and Australia's Shane Watson one place up in third and fourth spots, respectively.

Meanwhile, England finds itself in a must-win situation in the Colombo Test if it has to retain its number-one position on the Reliance ICC Test Championship table. England's victory will keep it ahead of South Africa by a fraction of a point but its failure to win the Test will make South Africa as the new number-one ranked side.

If England loses the series 2-0, it will drop from 118 ratings points to 113 ratings points - three points behind South Africa - while a 1-0 defeat will mean it will slip to 114 ratings points.

Australia will also be eyeing to gain, at least, one place on the Test Championship table when it takes on the West Indies in the three-Test series in Bridgetown on 7 April.

While a series win will put it ahead of India in third position, a 3-0 series win will put Australia on equal points with England on 113 ratings points (if England loses 2-0 to Sri Lanka). And when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, then Australia will be placed above England in second position as it will have a rating of 113.10 against England's rating of 113.045.

The Test Championship table as well as the player rankings will now be updated at the conclusion of the Colombo Test.

West Indies v Australia series schedule

7-11 April - 1st Test, Bridgetown

15-19 April - 2nd Test, Port of Spain

23-27 April - Third Test, Roseau, Dominica

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Strauss flummoxed by England's run of defeats

Captain Andrew Strauss was at a loss to explain what had gone wrong for his England team after they were beaten for the fourth test in a row on Thursday.

Sri Lanka's 75-run victory in the first test in Galle means England could lose their place at the top of the world rankings if they suffer a 2-0 whitewash in the series.

"You need to be a rocket scientist to work out where things have gone wrong," Strauss told reporters after his side were bowled out for 264 on the fourth day.

"We haven't put scores on the board and we are not going to win too many test matches if that's the case.

"I thought we showed in the second innings, technically and game-plan wise, there's a lot of skill in our dressing room against spin bowling.

"We just didn't apply ourselves in the right manner in the first innings," added Strauss, referring to their meagre total of 193.

England struggled to cope with spin when they lost 3-0 to Pakistan in their most recent series in the Gulf and the visitors were undone by the turning ball again in Galle as slow left-armer Rangana Herath picked up 12 wickets in the match.

NO EXCUSE

"In the fourth innings you can understand the odd ball spitting and you'll get the odd dismissal but the first innings was no excuse and that is what is most frustrating," said Strauss who is himself desperately out of form with the bat.

The skipper singled out second-innings centurion Jonathan Trott (112) for praise.

"Everyone has got different game plans," said Strauss. "There's always a balance between attack and defence in test cricket and Jonathan was a good example of that.

"He put the bad balls away and a lot of the time he was patient enough to wait for that bad ball.

"A lot of the guys have got great pedigree with the bat and they will get another opportunity to prove it in next week's second test in Colombo."

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was delighted with his team's win.

"It's a good challenge for us to go up against the world's number one team," said Jayawardene.

"We knew we would have to work really hard to get a result against them and the series will give us an idea where we are right now and where we need to improve.

"This is a good start for us, we just need to try and maintain it. The English batting lineup is top class and they were going to come hard at us," added Jayawardene.

"They had a few partnerships and we had to wait patiently. Once we got the new ball we knew we would create more opportunities and that's what we did.

"There were also a couple of really good catches to turn things around for us."

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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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South Africa close in on New Zealand win

WELLINGTON: South Africa were on the verge of victory over New Zealand at tea on the final day of the third Test at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday after speedster Morne Morkel skittled through the top-order batsmen.

New Zealand, set the near impossible target of 389, were 103-5 with Morkel taking all the wickets for the remarkable figures of five for 11 off 11 overs.

With New Zealand captain Ross Taylor suffering a broken forearm and taking no further part in the Test, the hosts have only four tailend batsmen left.

Morkel was on a hat-trick after cleaning up Dean Brownlie and Daniel Vettori with successive yorkers with the last two balls of his 10th over but Kane Williamson placed the first ball of his next over through mid-on for three.

The 21-year-old Williamson has been the sole rock of the New Zealand innings, surviving a painful strike in the groin and at least four edges behind the stumps to be 58 not out at tea with Kruger van Wyk on seven.

Morkel started his destructive campaign in New Zealand's second over when Daniel Flynn gloved a rising delivery through to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher to be gone without scoring.

Brendon McCullum also failed to get off the mark before Morkel trapped him lbw and New Zealand were two down for one run in the fifth over.

Opener Martin Guptill produced a gritty display, lasting nearly 100 minutes in the middle and facing 55 balls before he edged Morkel to Jacques Rudolph at gully and was gone for 18.

With the fiery Dale Steyn, Marchant de Lange and Vernon Philander supporting Morkel New Zealand were struggling for survival.

Brownlie faced 18 balls without scoring before launching into de Lange and taking 14 off one over, including three boundaries, but he was to add only one more run before Morkel struck again.

South Africa had resumed the day at 75 without loss and cracked on a further 114 at more than seven an over before declaring at 189-3.

AB de Villiers had a rollicking time with the bat racing to 68 off 49 deliveries, including eight fours and a six, before he was caught at long on by Williamson off Doug Bracewell.

The declaration came with de Villiers' dismissal leaving JP Duminy unbeaten on 33 off 23 balls including three sixes and two fours.

Meanwhile, Taylor, who suffered a broken forearm when hit by Morkel on the fourth day, was to undergo surgery Tuesday and the New Zealand management said he would be sidelined for at least four weeks.

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Cricket: Dolphins outclass Rams by 32 runs

RAWALPINDI: Karachi Dolphins outclassed Rawalpindi Rams by 32 runs with nine balls to spare in the fourth match of the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

After being put into bat by the Rams captain Sohail Tanvir, the Dolphins made 171 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs – the highest total so far in this tournament.

Opener Khalid Latif played the biggest innings of this tournament hitting 88 from 61 balls with eleven fours and two sixes. He got out in the final over.

Other main scorers were Asad Shafiq (31) and Rameez Raja Jr (28).

For the Rams, pace bowler Yasir Arafat took two wickets for 30.

The Rams could not chase the huge target and were bowled out for 139 in 18.3 overs.

Naved Malik scored 59 and Mohammad Nawaz made 37 while the Dolphins bowlers Faraz Ahmed and Sohail Khan captured three wickets each.

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Stallions beat Eagles in low-scoring match

RAWALPINDI: Sialkot Stallions defeated Lahore Eagles by five wickets with an over remaining in the third match of the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday.

After the Stallions captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to field, his bowlers restricted the Eagles to 129 for eight in the allotted 20 overs.

Saad Nasim top scored with an unbeaten 27, followed by Ali Azmat (24) and captain Taufiq Umar (22).

For the Stallions, Bilawal Bhatti was the most successful bowler with three for 33 while Raza Hasan claimed two for 21.

The Stallions achieved the target of 130 in 19 overs, thanks to an unbeaten sixth wicket partnership of 47 runs between Shahid Yousuf (27) and Ali Khan (18) after Shakeel Ansari made 32.

However, Shahid Yousuf was declared the man-of-the-match.

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Cricket: Jayawardene thwarts England in first Test

GALLE, Sri Lanka: Skipper Mahela Jayawardene crafted a classy century to steer Sri Lanka out of trouble on the opening day of the first Test against England in Galle on Monday.

Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 168 as the hosts recovered from a disastrous 15-3 by the fourth over to move to 289-8 by stumps at a Galle International Stadium packed with some 8,000 English supporters.

Fast bowler James Anderson claimed two wickets off successive balls in his second over and new-ball partner Stuart Broad chipped in with the third after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat.

Jayawardene retrieved the situation by adding 52 for the fourth wicket with Thilan Samaraweera (20) and 61 for the fifth with young batsman Dinesh Chandimal (27).

Tailender Rangana Herath contributed just five runs in an eighth-wicket stand of 62 with his captain, who reached his 30th century with a paddle sweep off Graeme Swann for a boundary.

As the bowlers wilted under the hot sun, England were left to rue three dropped catches -- two by Monty Panesar and one by Anderson -- that reprieved Jayawardene.

The Sri Lankan captain has so far hit 20 boundaries and three sixes.

Jayawardene surpassed Australian legend Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test hundreds and moved to fourth place among those still playing at the top level behind Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (42) and Ricky Ponting (41).

Number 10 Chanaka Welegedara kept Jayawardene company at stumps on 10, the pair having added 36 valuable runs.

Sri Lanka's South African coach Graham Ford hailed Jayawardene's "special innings" and said the fightback had ensured his team will be competitive in the match.

Anderson, who claimed his 250th Test wicket with the dismissal of opener Lahiru Thirimanne, said England needed to get over the disappointment of allowing Sri Lanka to bounce back.

Anderson had Thirimanne caught at second slip in his second over and then forced Kumar Sangakkara to edge the next ball to wicket-keeper Matt Prior.

Mahela Jayawardene denied Anderson a hat-trick with a defensive push, but saw his partner Tillakaratne Dilshan perish in Broad's next over to another catch in the slips.

Samaraweera was run out soon after lunch when he backed up too far at the non-striker's end as Anderson deflected a ball on to the stumps.

Panesar conceded just 42 runs in his 23 overs, but Swann's 23 wicketless overs cost 92 runs on a pitch that is already providing uneven bounce

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Cairns wins libel action against Modi

LONDON: Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns was awarded £90,000 ($142,000) damages on Monday after winning a libel action against former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi in London.

In the first libel action heard in England against a post on the micro-blogging site Twitter, Cairns, 41, sued over an "unequivocal allegation" of match-fixing on Modi's Twitter account in January 2010.

Judge David Bean, sitting at London's High Court, said Modi had "singularly failed" to provide any reliable evidence that Cairns was involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing, or even strong grounds for suspicion of cheating.

"It is obvious that an allegation that a professional cricketer is a match-fixer goes to the core attributes of his personality and, if true, entirely destroys his reputation for integrity," he said.

"The allegation is not as serious as one of involvement in terrorism or sexual offences (to take two examples from recent cases). But it is otherwise as serious an allegation as anyone could make against a professional sportsman."

Cairns, who captained his country in one-day internationals, was not in court on Monday to hear the ruling of the judge, who heard the case without a jury.

Earlier this month his lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said Cairns, who lived in England as a child when his father Lance played there and had himself played seven seasons for Nottinghamshire, was extremely concerned about his reputation in Britain.

The court had heard that Modi's tweet was picked up by leading cricket website Cricinfo.

When Cairns complained, Cricinfo withdrew its report, paid damages and apologised -- but Modi declined to apologise and pleaded justification, maintaining the charge was true.

Cairns's case was that it was "wholly untrue" and a very grave libel which could destroy all he had achieved in a 20-year career where, despite being plagued by injuries, he completed the rare double of scoring over 3,000 runs and taking more than 200 wickets in Test cricket.

At the time of the tweet, Modi was one of the most powerful men in cricket.

The court was told that, in 2007 and 2008, Cairns captained the Chandigarh Lions in three competitions in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which flourished briefly before the rise of the IPL, a lucrative domestic Twenty20 competition featuring many of the world's leading players.

The allegation made by Modi related to the second and third of these competitions, between March and April 2008 and October and November that year.

Caldecott told the court that in October 2008 Cairns was called to an ICL directors meeting at a hotel where, according to the cricketer, his denial of rumours of his alleged involvement in match-fixing appeared to be accepted.

"No specific charges of match-fixing were ever put to Mr Cairns. No names of any accusers were mentioned.

"He was never informed after his departure that statements had been taken -- mainly later -- from Indian players alleging corrupt activity by various players including him."

Caldecott added Cairns was then effectively suspended for not declaring an ankle injury which had been exacerbated by a charity walk completed in memory of his late sister.

He returned to New Zealand for an operation, was never contacted with any complaint and, in 2009, was entered for the IPL auction. (AFP)

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Asia Cup: ACC rejects BCB's final over plea

KARACHI: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) plea to review the final over of the Asia Cup final between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Geo News reported.

ACC Chief Executive Ashraf-ul Haq told Geo News that the field umpires didn't report about the incident and as per laws their note of concern was necessary. 'The chapter is now closed for the ACC.'

The council has also informed both the boards about the decision, the CE said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday expressed disappointment with Bangladesh for considering appealing an incident in the last over of the Asia Cup final which they believe cost them the match.

Bangladesh Saturday said it would appeal to the ACC to review the last over, accusing Pakistani paceman Aizaz Cheema of deliberately blocking batsman Mahmudullah Riyad from taking a second run.

Pakistan beat Bangladesh in a thrilling final on Thursday by two runs to lift the four-nation Asia Cup.

PCB director Intikhab Alam called Bangladesh's stance "disappointing".

It's really sad and disappointing to hear the statement from the BCB official," Alam said.

"It was a thrilling final and everyone praised Bangladesh for their fight and their decision to appeal is just an after thought after the result.

"The fact of the matter is that no match umpire of referee complained about this to Pakistan management and Bangladesh's complain will spoil a wonderful final which everyone enjoyed," said Alam.

BCB said it would seek five penalty runs for deliberate obstruction and a reversal of the result in their favour.

"We have seen video footage of the incident repeatedly. It is clear that Cheema blocked Riyad deliberately," Enayet Hossain Siraj, chairman of the BCB operations committee, told reporters.

"We will lodge a written appeal to the ACC very soon and will also give a copy to the International Cricket Council."

Bangladesh is currently considering an invitation to tour Pakistan for a limited over series next month.

They sent a delegation to assess security arrangements in Pakistan for the tour but said a final decision will only be made by the country's government.

Should Bangladesh go they will be the first Test playing nation to tour Pakistan since terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore three years ago.

The attacks, which left eight people dead and seven visiting players and an assistant coach wounded, suspended all international cricket in Pakistan as teams refused to tour the troubled country because of security fears.

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Anderson, Broad rock Sri Lanka in first Test

GALLE: James Anderson and Stuart Broad ripped through Sri Lanka's top-order to hand England the early advantage in the first Test in Galle on Monday.

Anderson claimed two wickets off successive balls and Broad chipped in with a third as Sri Lanka slumped to 15-3 by the fourth over after electing to bat at the Galle International Stadium.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene (30 not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (19 not out) carried the hosts to 66-3 by lunch on the opening day as the harsh sun dried moisture from the pitch and made batting easier.

The pair have so far put on 51 for the fourth wicket.

Anderson, who had a review for leg-before against opener Lahiru Thirimanne turned down in his first over, removed the left-hander in his second over to make Sri Lanka 11-1.

Thirimanne hung his bat out to edge an easy catch to Graeme Swann at second slip and give Anderson his 250th wicket in his 67th Test.

The fast bowler added to the tally off the next delivery as veteran Kumar Sangakkara edged a rising ball to wicket-keeper Matt Prior.

Jayawardene denied Anderson a hat-trick with a defensive push, but lost his partner Tillakaratne Dilshan in Broad's next over.

Dilshan, who edged Broad twice over third-man for boundaries, was caught by England captain Andrew Strauss at first slip as he attempted another wild stroke.

The tourists awarded a Test cap to all-rounder Samit Patel, who will bat in the middle-order and bowl left-arm spin, the third slow bowler in the ranks after Swann and Monty Panesar.

Patel was preferred over Ravi Bopara, who could have played only as a specialist batsman after a side strain ruled him out of bowling in the series.

Sri Lanka left out Chamara Silva, who hit 163 against the tourists in a practice match last week, to play young batsman Dinesh Chandimal

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