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Central Zone qualified for the semi-final of the Deodhar Trophy after an allround performance against South Zone in the opening game of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2012Central Zone qualified for the semi-final of the Deodhar Trophy after an allround performance against South Zone in the opening game of the tournament at Mohali.Chasing a modest total, Central Zone maintained a brisk run-rate to overhaul the target in the 40th over. Jalaj Saxena, who made 32 runs off 26 balls, and Naman Ojha, with 26 runs from 23 balls, set-up the platform with an attacking start to the chase against a weak South Zone bowling line-up. Only India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who took 2 for 39, exercised some control over the batsmen. A half-century from Mohammad Kaif and solid contributions from Ashok Menaria (37) and a cameo by skipper Piyush Chawla (34 runs off 25 balls) knocked South Zone out of the competition.A number of South Zone batsmen squandered starts to give the Central Zone bowlers an upper hand after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had removed openers Abhinav Mukund and Srikkanth Anirudha with only 40 runs on the board. Dinesh Karthik, the South Zone skipper, steadied the innings with a half-century, but the spin duo of Chawla and Saxena accounted for five wickets between them to derail the South’s innings. Umesh Yadav, who was playing his first game after recovering from the shin injury he picked up in Australia, bowled a steady 10-over spell for 35 runs and picked up the wicket of D Ravi Teja.Central Zone now travel to Dharamsala to play North Zone in the second semi-final on March 18.

Netherlands failed to build on their strong performance against England, while West Indies flexed muscle against minnows after they were beaten by South Africa

Firdose Moonda in Delhi28-Feb-2011West Indies came sashaying back into this World Cup with a performance so calypso it was a pina colada for the eyes. It had flamboyant batting, destructive bowling, over-the-top celebrations and that essential ingredient, something orange that had been turned to pulp.The colour was provided by Netherlands, who came into this match on a high, anticipating a decent performance after their competitive showing against England. Ryan ten Doeschate’s century had propped them up comfortably, and even though they weren’t able to secure victory with the ball, they had shown a determination beyond their minnow status. They had arrived in Delhi with a real base on which to start from.They came to the capital with so much to live up to, so much promise, so much expectation and so much belief that they were going to compete in the tournament. Against West Indies, they were even spoken about as competing as equals. In a daze of hype, it looked as though the Dutch forgot that beyond the confidence and the positivity, they would actually have to turn up and play, before any of that became a reality.They had spoken about an improved performance in the field, which they were not able to execute half as well as they talked about. Even though batting has been their strength, without getting the other half of their game to work, it’s negated. Peter Borren had no answers, no excuses and by the looks of it, no motivation at the end of the match.After the game, his one statement summed up an evening that left his team gutted. “If we are going to bat and bowl and field as poorly as we did today, it actually makes no difference if we bat or field first.” With that empty statement, and the hollow expression that accompanied it, he left the room. It’s going to take a lot for Netherlands to pick themselves up from this demoralising defeat, and they only have three days to figure out how to.For West Indies, the three days between games can’t be over with soon enough. After their initial defeat to South Africa, their 12th in succession, the critics were saying the same thing: that the West Indians were not good enough and would have to battle for their place in the quarter-finals. Then, albeit against an associate side, all the big guns fired. Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard belted out half-centuries and Kemar Roach, their premier strike bowler, ended up with 6 for 27, including the tournament’s first hat-trick.Roach said the victory buoyed the team, particularly for their next challenge in Dhaka. “We take a lot of confidence into the game against Bangladesh,” he said. “This match was good preparation for the Bangladesh game. We’ll go there on a high. Bangladesh are an improving team but we are better than them.”That kind of confidence is rare for a current West Indian bowler, especially because bowling is considered their weak link, with some suggesting that they would always need big runs because they would struggle to bowl sides out. Roach, who often operates as the lone strike bowler, said that although being a seamer in the subcontinent is challenging, he is adapting. “It’s tough coming here as a bowler to the subcontinent, you have to be very accurate and consistent, once you get that right, you get wickets.”Roach opened the bowling with spinner Sulieman Benn in the last two matches, and even though West Indies were renowned for hunting in fast-bowling pairs, he said he doesn’t miss not having another quick on the other end. “I don’t feel as though as I am left out. Benn is a very good partner of mine. To see that two guys from Barbados are opening the bowling for the West Indies is great.”Although Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell are waiting in the wings to add to the seam contingent, Roach is happy to carry the load, with Kieron Pollard to help out, if he has to. Roach has been particularly inspired by a message the injured allrounder Dwayne Bravo gave him. “He is my big brother. He said go hard and enjoy it and be confident in whatever you do.”

Three days after he expressed reservations about flying to India due to security concerns, the England batsman arrived in Chandigarh to link up with Kings XI Punjab

Cricinfo staff04-Mar-2010Three days after he expressed reservations about flying to India due to security concerns, the
England batsman Ravi Bopara arrived in Chandigarh to link up with Kings XI Punjab. Bopara had delayed his arrival in India over concerns about the contents of security advisor Reg Dickason’s report, which had named Al Qaeda group Brigade 313 as a possible threat to the IPL, but Lalit Modi, the league’s commissioner, had been quick to say Bopara would play.While both Bopara and the franchise were tight-lipped about the sudden turnaround in Bopara’s participation, the England batsman’s presence at a promotional event in Chandigharh, the team’s headquarters, was enough to satisfy Punjab. “His arrival means he is willing to play,” said Punjab CEO Anil Srivatsa when answering a question as to whether the franchise has sought a reason for Bopara’s earlier comments to the . “We have not asked him any explanation for his comments in England as there is now no need.”Bopara, who was bought for $450,000 at the 2009 auction, is one of eight England cricketers involved in IPL 2010.Brett Lee, who is recovering from an elbow surgery, also arrived in India and bowled a few overs in the nets. “Our physio Patrick Farhat has met him and he is still doing rehab,” explained Col. Arvinder Singh, Punjab’s vice-president. “We will wait for his fitness status till March 11 and then decide.”

On a slow Delhi pitch, the West Indies bowling was disciplined without being penetrative

Sidharth Monga10-Oct-20252:11

Aakash Chopra: Jaiswal’s range of batting tempo is ‘remarkable’

Yashasvi Jaiswal consolidated his stature among best current Test batters with his seventh hundred, and B Sai Sudharsan moved closer to answering India’s call for a No. 3 with a near-flawless 87 as they piled on 318 for 2 after their captain Shubman Gill won his first toss in seven attempts.On a typically slow Feroz Shah Kotla track, the West Indies bowling was disciplined – no extras through the day – without being penetrative in the first and final sessions; in the middle session, they lost all accuracy as India plundered 126 runs without a wicket.Jaiswal just reacted purely to what was bowled at him. He was watchful for the first hour, then cashed in on some loose bowling, and then tightened up again as West Indies found their bearings in the final session. At one point, when Jaiswal was on 93, the fast bowlers had served him six half-volley boundaries, four short-ball boundaries, and one off just fuller than good length. Against good-length balls, Jaiswal didn’t try to score boundaries.Jaiswal is now level with Graeme Smith for most centuries as an opener under the age of 24. Among all India batters, only Sachin Tendulkar scored more hundreds before his 24th birthday. Of course, for the fifth time out of his seven centuries, Jaiswal went past 150. Only Don Bradman had more scores of 150 or more before turning 24.The other 23-year-old, Sudharsan, would have desperately wanted to get his count going. Chosen to play Test cricket with a first-class average under 40, he must feel under a little pressure as the No. 3 in a country full of batting talent. He came out to join Jaiswal early on after Jomel Warrican spun one alarmingly past the bat of KL Rahul. Sudharsan added 197 for the second wicket with Jaiswal, played his first false shot on 58 and was dropped, and got out to only his third false shot in a 165-ball innings: again a Warrican delivery that turned alarmingly.Sai Sudharsan was afforded a relatively easy start•AFP/Getty Images

However, these were possibly the only threatening deliveries all day. Absent that, West Indies needed continued discipline to test India at a venue where they haven’t lost in 38 years. There was enough of it from the three seamers in the first hour: 12 overs, 29 runs, openers kept honest. Once the openers had sussed the conditions and the bowling out, though, runs started to flow more easily.Out of character, Rahul lofted the left-arm spin of Khary Pierre over long-on in only the second over of spin on offer. When he looked to do the same to Warrican, the more established left-arm spinner beat him in the air and then the ball turned 8.4 degrees to have him stumped for 38 off 54.Jaiswal, who missed out in the first match, likes to hit sixes more than Rahul, but stayed away from aerial hits in this innings. A nudge here, a flick there, and he went into lunch having accelerated from 10 off 35 to 40 off 78.Sudharsan was given a gentle welcome with a full toss on the pads, which he put away for four, but no generosity measures up to the start of the second session. Jayden Seales began with two short and wide balls, which Jaiswal put away for fours. You would hope Seales wasn’t bowling for the cut shot, which has got Jaiswal out five times in his career, because it is also a shot that is extremely productive for him. In the same over, Seales also bowled a half-volley for four.Sudharsan joined the party from the other end. Roston Chase started the middle session with a delivery similar to the one that got Sudharsan lbw in the first Test, but Sudharsan played the punch as opposed to the pull for four.0:57

Akash Chopra: WI bowlers were ‘much better’ and ‘a bit more disciplined’

West Indies were all over the place. There was a boundary ball almost every over of the first hour after lunch. Sudharsan got another full toss outside leg, then a half-volley for four to bring up his second Test fifty. In between, he played excellent punches off the back foot, something that would prove to be his downfall eventually.Seales ended the session as he began, getting cut for four, but came back immediately after tea to bowl a spell of 4-0-6-0 with the reversing ball. Nine overs at the start of the final session brought 24 runs, but West Indies needed someone to keep that pressure up. Pierre, though, offered five easy singles in one over immediately.Against the run of play, Warrican trapped Sudharsan lbw with a ball that turned 6.4 degrees. As with Rahul, though, the main job was done in the air. Bowled flat, but still full, it caught Sudharsan back when he should have been forward. Because it turned more than it had usually done, it gave Sudharsan no time to recover from the misjudgement of length.Jaiswal and Gill took India to stumps without any further loss. They were largely watchful except for two aerial sweeps from Gill. They even saw through a 44-ball period without a boundary, which ended with a full toss. Before going into stumps, the ever-hungry Jaiswal took another go at the buffet before packing up, scoring 17 in overs 87 and 88 to end up on 173 off 253.

The Titans spinners combined for 7 for 68 to restrict Kings to a modest score

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Apr-20241:48

Rapid Fire: Noor’s wizardry, Jitesh’s woes, Sudharsan’s strike rate

1:40

Is Gill’s captaincy affecting his batting form?

Tewatia finishes again

It’s not like Titans were in serious trouble, but they needed someone to come in and play the match-winning batting innings nonetheless. And Rahul Tewatia was the guy once more. At one stage, Titans needed 38 runs off the last four overs, with five wickets in hand. A couple of wickets for Kings right then would have changed the match completely.But Tewatia hit two fours off Brar’s over to bring the required rate back in hand, and restore Titans’ grip on the match. Then he hit three fours – two clubbed down the ground, and one tickled through fine leg – off Kagiso Rabada’s 18th over, in which Shahrukh Khan also hit a six. They reaped 20 runs there, and essentially made the game safe, bringing the requirement to five off 12 balls.

Kings shine in spurts

Some Kings players shone, but too briefly to make a defining impact on the game. The first of these was Prabhsimran Singh, who smoked three sixes and three fours in the 35 off 21 balls that raised the Kings innings off the ground. He was out before the powerplay ended though.When they were defending their poor score, Livingstone took 2 for 19 from his four overs, and Harshal Patel and Sam Curran backed him up – Harshal taking three wickets and Curran one. But Kings had lost too much ground already with the bat.

Both sides are highly unlikely to make the WTC final, but New Zealand will look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row

Danyal Rasool01-Jan-2023

Big picture

For Pakistan, this game cannot come – and go – soon enough. A home Test season of historically miserable proportions will finally draw to a close for the hosts next week, and regardless of the outcome of the second Test in Karachi, that is precisely how it will be viewed. You might imagine the end of this week will allow Pakistan to take stock, assess what went wrong, perhaps even commission one of those reports that never really end up seeing the light of day.Most likely, though, with just two Tests to play in the next 11 months, they will instead turn their attention to white-ball cricket. By the time the Test tour of Sri Lanka rolls around, they’ll have found some new kid who smashed it around in the PSL or bowled really fast. Shahid Afridi will include him in that ever-expanding list of probables for the Test squad because six months is too long a time to remember what Pakistan’s Test problems actually were.For now, however, there is a series to be won, though New Zealand will wonder how they haven’t put that possibility out of Pakistan’s reach just yet. In a slow burner of a first Test, there was just enough time for the visitors to show their superior levels of patience with the bat, and greater potency with the ball. And yet, just a touch too much patience with the bat, and slightly too little potency with the ball as the clock ran out on the visitors as they stood about half an hour away from a well-deserved victory.On flat surfaces like that one, a solitary poor batting session can determine the course of a game. The first Test was shaped by the very first session, where some horrific decision making from Pakistan’s batters gifted New Zealand four early wickets, ensuring Pakistan would never be able to put up the sort of total to intimidate New Zealand. But with Pakistan promising a spicier surface for the second Test, and plenty of grass left on the strip overnight, there are opportunities for fast bowlers to get into the game, posing selection dilemmas and strategic reconsiderations.While Pakistan see out their season with this tour, for New Zealand, it is merely an hors d’oeuvre. A short white-ball series in India will be followed by a return home for a visit of England, and while conditions there will bear little resemblance to this, they will want to match England’s away series win in Pakistan with one of their own.For it, they have come reasonably well equipped. They boast arguably the most reliable opening pair in Test cricket at the moment, with Tom Latham’s exceptional record in Asia of considerable value on these strips. Kane Williamson has roared back into form with a solid middle order to follow. The spinners out-bowled their Pakistani counterparts this week, and while a green-top wicket might have them wishing Trent Boult was available, in Tim Southee and Matt Henry they have significantly greater experience than Pakistan can boast in that department.Both sides are out of form, and all but out of contention for the World Test Championship final. Pakistan are increasingly desperate to end a home Test drought, while New Zealand look to make it three unbeaten away series against Pakistan in a row. It feels like something of a free hit with the series trophy the enticingly dangled carrot at the end of it.Related

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Form guide

Pakistan: DLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: DLLLL

In the spotlight

Pakistan have enough on their plate without needing to worry about Abdullah Shafique, whose explosive start to his Test career solved one half of Pakistan’s opening woes. After a breakthrough first season in international cricket, though, the runs have dried up over this winter, with a hundred on an extremely flat track in Rawalpindi followed up by seven innings without a half-century.The good news is there doesn’t appear to be a glaring technical flaw – he has got starts in nearly each of those innings; only once in the last seven has he faced fewer than 20 deliveries. There have been several instances of losses of concentration, though, which accounted for both of his dismissals in the first Test. He would dance down the track to spin in each innings, only to be stumped in the first and caught at mid-on the second. Pakistan need him to rediscover the grit that marked him out as a standout opener in the first half of his career, and with no Tests scheduled for Pakistan until July, Shafique will want to sign off on a high.Pakistan did indicate they wanted to prepare a bouncier surface for the second Test, but New Zealand’s spin attack needn’t worry too much. The Karachi surface has always offered spin right from the outset, and while Ish Sodhi and Ajaz Patel are expected to be the main threats, watch out for Michael Bracewell. His four wickets in the first Test were more than respectable, but Pakistan have picked up a habit of gifting inexperienced opposition spinners wickets in clumps over the years.New Zealand’s own Will Somerville offers the most pertinent example – seven of his 15 Test wickets came on debut against Pakistan. Rehan Ahmed picked up a debut five-for a fortnight earlier, and Will Jacks’ six a couple of Tests before that. Marcus North, Paul Harris and Nathan Hauritz are all members of this unlikely, eclectic list, one Bracewell wouldn’t mind joining to kick off 2023.Ish Sodhi and New Zealand showed their class in the first Test, with the visitors perhaps a tad unlucky not to come away with a win•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch is expected for the final game, with conditions similar to what they were for the first Test. Pakistan want more bounce. Whether they get it in the weak winter sunshine is another question altogether.

Team news

A more pace-friendly surface should see Pakistan opt for a third seamer, with Hasan Ali and Shahnawaz Dahani both in the squad.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq 2 Abdullah Shafique 3 Shan Masood 4 Babar Azam (capt) 5 Saud Shakeel 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) 7 Salman Ali Agha 8 Hasan Ali 9 Mohammad Wasim 10 Mir Hamza 11 Abrar AhmedNew Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi acknowledged the wicket looked different to the one for the first Test, which may alter their bowling combination, too.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Ajaz Patel/Matt Henry

Stats and trivia

• Daryl Mitchell is 17 runs from 1000 Test runs, and Abdullah Shafique is 27 away. Should Mitchell get there in the first innings, he would join Devon Conway as the fastest New Zealand player to the mark.
• Pakistan last beat New Zealand in a home series in 2002. They have since lost one and drawn the other, both in the UAE.

Northants prove up for the fight as top-two contest in Group Three intensifies

David Hopps04-Jul-2021George Hill has already had one brush with stardom, not that many will have cottoned on. He was an England sub fielder who carried out a replacement bat for Ben Stokes before he won the Ashes Test at Headingley in 2019 in one of the most inspirational innings in history. Many decades from now, if he has any sense of a good story, he will regale his grandchildren with talk of how he gently pushed the cricketing Excalibur towards Stokes and muttered: “Use this, chosen one.”Two years on, as Yorkshire are undermined by injuries and England calls, the opportunity has come for Hill, a former England Under-19, to build his own career. His latest chance has come not just a little sooner than he might have anticipated, but in a way he might not have imagined.For the first time in senior cricket, Hill was charged with opening the batting. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Fraine were injured; Dawid Malan absent for personal reasons. What’s more, there was no sense that his own bat had magical powers.Related

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But in only his fourth first-class game, and in a match where victory could be crucial for both these sides in gaining a top-two place, he responded with a career-best 71, averting disaster with pretty much 50% of the runs off the bat, as Northants rolled Yorkshire for 158.And, more to the point, he did it on July 4. In the USA that might mean an Independence Day BBQ, but in county cricket this summer it was the day when batting was confidently expected to descend into madness – the day on which county batters briefly revisit Championship cricket after a month of solid T20.On Friday night, Hill had made a minor T20 breakthrough that probably resonated more with him than anybody else. During a match-winning stand in the Roses match at Headingley, in which he played a secondary role to Harry Brook, he struck Lancashire’s high-class quick, Saqib Mahmood, over long-on for six and banged the bat on the ground as if to say: “I can do this.”On Sunday morning, the mental switch from T20 to four-day had to be clicked, even more so on a day in which no other Yorkshire batter made more than 22. On a slow, used pitch, offering a little seam and turn, 158 was not a totally disastrous score, but Northants moved to 61 for 2 by the close in a manner that suggested it was considerably under par. Thanks to Hill, Yorkshire remain in touch.Hill did have a moment of fortune when he was dropped at second slip by Gareth Berg, off Wayne Parnell, when 31. But he generally displayed an unflustered air and adapted to the opener’s role as if it was made for him. He stands fairly still at the crease – no huge trigger movement back onto off stump that is so on trend.”It’s a bit of a relief to be honest,” he said. “I’ve played a couple of games in the past and didn’t really feel like I did a huge amount, so it’s nice to contribute to the team. I thought, ‘I haven’t got a huge amount to lose’. I haven’t really opened before, so I thought I would go out there, give it my all and dig in.”Tom Taylor celebrates with his team-mates•Getty Images

It will be interesting to discover whether it becomes a more long-term switch. It looked like a proper approach from a proper opener. A proper knock. What was proper once, of course, is not necessarily proper now. When Kohler-Cadmore, arguably more suited to the middle order, returns, Yorkshire will need to have a proper think.Hill’s first boundary – a calm pull of Tom Taylor – set the mood for his innings. The were deft moments, such as when he guided Berg’s medium pace to the third man boundary, and brief nod to the expressive side of his game that T20 has encouraged when he skipped down the pitch to strike the left-arm spinner, Simon Kerrigan, for a straight six. Rob Keogh’s offspin snared him, lbw, pushing forward, immediately after tea.Yorkshire, second in Group Three, led Northants, a place behind, by 12 points at start of play, and with two sides qualifying for the top division in the final stages, and only two games remaining, this match could hardly be more vital. Yorkshire held off Northants by one run in early May and once again they are proving themselves redoubtable opponents.Such is the importance of the fixture that Yorkshire have signed Sam Northeast, who has left Hampshire, on a short-term loan. It would be a shame if Northeast’s county career dwindled away, at 31, amid the recognition that England will never come calling. His chance to appeal to new suitors, though, did not begin well when he made 3 from 19 balls before Tom Taylor had him caught at the wicket, belatedly trying to leave.Not that others had much to boast about. Adam Lyth had fallen early, Ben Sanderson having him caught behind. Rain forced an early lunch before Yorkshire suffered self-inflicted wounds against the let-arm spin of Kerrigan, Gary Ballance failing with a slog sweep and Brook, the leading T20 run-maker in the country, falling off that pedestal when he flogged the same bowler to mid-on.Dom Bess did get a decent ball from Berg which bounced a bit, and it may be Bess’ offspin that is most likely to salvage a difficult position. At the close though, it was the Northants stand-in skipper, Ricardo Vasconcelos, 32 not out and possessor of a deserved county cap, who was much the happier.

Officials ‘heartened’ by UK Government guidance allowing for return to competition from June 1

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2020The ECB has welcomed the UK Government’s go-ahead for the return of professional sport behind closed doors as it presses ahead with plans to host international cricket this summer, and stage a domestic season.In a further easing of lockdown restrictions imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden announced government health and safety guidance on Saturday for elite athletes and professional sportspeople to return to competition in the absence of spectators from June 1. He added that it was up to individual sports to confirm they could meet the safety protocols and therefore when to resume.The ECB, who are hoping to host a condensed international schedule at so-called ‘bio-secure’ venues, starting with a three-Test series against West Indies in July, issued a statement on Sunday saying they were “heartened” by the news. The ECB will study the guidelines to determine how they will help the sport emerge from lockdown, but it clearly saw hope for the resumption of domestic and recreational cricket.ALSO READ: ECB backs Covid-19 substitutes as plans for return ramp up“We are extremely heartened by Saturday’s announcement from the Secretary of State, which will support the return of professional, domestic cricket behind closed doors, and provides a meaningful next step for recreational players to begin playing at their clubs again,” the ECB statement said.”Over the coming week, we will seek to understand the specific guidance from Government’s medical teams so that we can provide support for cricket clubs who will be eager to see their communities safely playing in small groups. We extend our thanks to all those in Government who have worked hard to support the return of sport and we look forward to seeing players from across the game start returning to the field.”The ECB has been working on plans to hold televised international matches at two grounds – understood to be Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl – with another base to allow a third team to train – likely to be Edgbaston. Each of the venues will be configured to encourage social distancing, along with the use of different zones to separate groups such as players and match officials from those not staying on site.England last week named a 55-man training group to prepare for the series against West Indies as well as planned visits from Pakistan, Australia and Ireland.Cricket West Indies has agreed to the scheduled tour of England in principle and is awaiting approvals from the various national governments in the Caribbean for player and staff movement on charterd planes. The Test series, part of the World Test Championship, was originally supposed to start on June 4 but was postponed when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.The ECB last week announced that no professional domestic cricket would be played in England or Wales until at least August 1, while recreational cricket would remain suspended until further notice, with the exception of using outdoor cricket nets and pitches for exercise under the government’s social distancing guidelines. It is investigating options for playing a domestic season possibly starting in August, including a County Championship split into regions and a T20 Blast competition.

Quetta picked up their third consecutive win after leaving Multan to play catch-up early in the match

The Report by Danyal Rasool20-Feb-2019How the game played outQuetta have a formula, and as of now, the equations are working in perfect harmony. For the third time in three matches, they won the toss, and opted to chase. Peshawar had set Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team 156, Islamabad 158, and Multan today 161. And just the way they cruised to win against their previous two opponents, Quetta put Multan to the sword thanks to a blistering start from Shane Watson, and fireworks from Rilee Rossouw at the end.Multan had posted 160; they will regret not racking up a bigger total after Shoaib Malik’s half-century had set his side a decent platform. Quetta weren’t quite as clinical with the ball as they have been in their previous two games, but in Multan they were up against a side that doesn’t possess the pure batting skill several others do. Ghulam Mudassar was the most sloppy, bowling two no-balls and conceding 44 in his allotted four, but the other four ensured they more than made up for it. Fawad Ahmed was the pick, conceding just 22, with an exquisite googly getting rid of Shan Masood.But bar a quiet first two overs, Multan were never given a chance. From the moment Shane Watson hit Nauman Ali for four fours in arrow in the fourth over, Quetta had the game in their grasp. It remained so right through till the 19th over, in which Rilee Rossouw knocked off the winning runs in what ended up being a canter.Shane Watson raises his bat after getting his fifty•Pakistan Super League

Turning point

• Multan were well placed at 137 for 3, with Shoaib Malik looking to cut loose having reached a half-century off 35 balls. He had just smashed Sohail Tanvir for six, and if he could stay on till the end, his side looked set to surpass 170. But when he holed out at cow corner, his departure also heralded the end of any momentum his side had. Only 23 were scored off the last 20 balls of the innings, with six wickets lost along the way
• After Watson had spent the first 11 overs finding one novel way after another to slice through the Multan field, he skied one off Afridi. He was gone for 61 off 40, and Quetta still needed another 66 off 53. Rossouw had struggled till then with 18 off 19, and any comeback would have had to happen then. But ordinary bowling in the next three overs allowed the South African to break free, bringing the rate down to six an over

Star of the dayRossouw has been a star for Quetta Gladiators ever since he joined in 2017, and has scored more runs than any other player who’s participated in the league in the last three seasons. While Watson’s explosiveness at the start is so habitual one may be forgiven for being blasé about it, Rossouw has finished off games when under real pressure. This was another to add to that Quetta canon as he made up for a slow start to carry his side home. With Watson there, he had the intelligence to play second fiddle to the Australian, but after his dismissal, he stepped up. He scored 48 off his last 26 deliveries to finish with 67 off 45, never really giving Multan a look-in.The big missMultan may lose the services of Andre Russell if West Indies decide to call him up, but on the evidence of today’s performance that international summoning may be a while away. At the back end of the innings, he managed 18 off 12. But he was well off the mark when handed the ball, barely able to get the requisite pace or accuracy to discomfit Quetta’s quality batsman. Watson smashed him for three successive fours in his first over, the ball sitting up for a man who doesn’t need any gifts right now. An hour later, his second over was little better as Umar Akmal and Rossouw tucked in. By then, he had conceded 29 off 12, more than neutralizing the 18 he himself managed off the same number of balls.Where the teams standQuetta break clear at the top with three wins out of three. Multan, like Islamabad and Lahore, slip into the bottom half with one win from three.

The back injury that Faf du Plessis suffered against Bangladesh may keep him out of the day-night encounter against ZImbabwe. Dean Elgar will likely captain the side in his absence

Firdose Moonda18-Dec-2017South Africa’s Test captain Faf du Plessis is in doubt for the inaugural four-day Boxing Day day-night Test against Zimbabwe, as Cricket South Africa opt for a cautious approach to managing his return from injury.Du Plessis has not played any cricket since late October when he hurt his back during the second ODI against Bangladesh. He was initially prescribed six weeks’ rest. However, at the same time, du Plessis had surgery on a problematic shoulder. As a result, he played no part in the recently concluded Ram Slam and was not named in the CSA Invitation XI to play Zimbabwe in a warm-up match scheduled for Wednesday.Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager who is also a medical doctor, told ESPNcricinfo last week that du Plessis was “on track”, but also emphasised that a late decision will be taken given the workload over the next three months.”If we reach next week and see that Faf would benefit from another week off, then we will give him that time,” Moosajee said. “We are not going to be foolish with his return, because there is a lot of cricket over the next few months.”After the Zimbabwe Test, South Africa host India for three-Tests starting on January 5, six ODIs and three T20s and then have a four-Test home series against Australia in March.Given that the South African management prefer their players to have some game time after returning from an injury and before representing the national side, it seems a better option for du Plessis to sit out the Test and perhaps even play in the upcoming domestic one-day tournament which starts on Wednesday. South Africa would have a ready-made batting replacement in AB de Villiers, who will play the warm-up match and has declared himself eager for a Test return. They will also likely turn to stand-in captain Dean Elgar, who led the side at Lord’s when du Plessis was on paternity leave.South Africa are only expected to name their Test squad after at least some of the warm-up match has been played and they have monitored the progress of some of their other players. Dale Steyn and Chris Morris are both due to play in the match and could make a return following significant time out of the game. Morne Morkel, who is coming back from a side strain, is not in the squad but recently played a three-day provincial match for Easterns, with positive reasons. He bowled 19.4 overs and took seven wickets for 43 runs.