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After pouring rain stopped play in the India-Bangladesh encounterthere were fears that rain might strike on the second day ofthe match as well and ruin things for the organisers. Fortunately,the rain stayed away and cricket lovers at the Bangabandhu Stadiumwere treated to generous doses of good batting. To start theday’s proceedings, Akram Khan blasted an invaluable half centuryand took the hosts to 249 off their allotted 50 overs. Not tobe left out of the action, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly slammedan unbeaten 135 and took India to an easy eight wicket winin the Asia Cup at Dhaka on Tuesday.Though they used eight bowlers in all, the Indians could notbetter yesterday’s performance. Spinners and pacemen alike dishedout a series of less than inspiring overs. Former captain AkramKhan who has promised much but not really made good his promiseso far, used the long handle to good effect. The powerfully builtmiddle order batsman clouted the ball all around the park. Nobowler was spared.After Agarkar and company were hit out of the attack,Ganguly brought himself on and did worse than the rest. He waswelcomed into the attack by a firm thump over mid wicket andthat was just the beginning. Striking the ball cleanly, AkramKhan took 20 runs off Ganguly in one over.Kumaran was too short. Joshi too straight. Kumble too predictable.There wasn’t a single thing for India to be proud of. After slamming66 off just 52 balls, Akram Khan played one shot too many andwas caught by debutant Hemang Badani off the bowling of AjitAgarkar.Naimur Rehman, who was dismissed without facing a ball in thegame against Sri Lanka held one end up in solid fashion. Whenthe last ball of the innings was delivered Rehman was unbeatenon 39. With 249 on the board the hosts would be more than pleasedwith their performance. A healthy score, one made possible onlyby a vicious last minute assault that yielded 91 runs in 10 overs.Without taking away any credit from the Bangladesh batsmen, itmust be said that the Indians helped them along in every possiblemanner.A dazzling start to the Indian innings gave some hope that thematch could be conclusively decided before the rains started.With dark clouds hanging ominously all around thestadium, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly went berserk fromvery early on. The adage ‘coming out with guns blazing’ was putto practical use.In an attempt to introduce an element of variety, Bangladeshopened the bowling with spinner Mohammed Rafique. Ganguly lickedhis fingers in anticipation. After playing out one ball withcaution, Ganguly opened his shoulders and sent the ball intothe stands past midwicket. The floodgates opened and all hellbroke loose.Tendulkar had been away from the strike for a majorityof the initial overs and more than made up for that when he didhave a go at the bowling. Chalking up an over of 23 runs againstManjarul Islam, Tendulkar revealed his full array of strokes.Toying with the bowling in a manner that bordered on arrogance,Tendulkar destroyed Islam’s confidence in the spaceof one single over.Having taken the lion’s share of the strike, Ganguly was five shortof his half century when Tendulkar miscued a shot offthe bowling of debutant Mushfiq Rehman. The ball went high upin the air and came down into the waiting hands of Habibul Basherat mid on. Dismissed for an entertaining 25-ball 36, Tendulkarwas replaced by Hemang Badani.An innings that started in entertaining fashion ended tamelyas India coasted to victory. After Badanihit a long hop straight to the waiting hands of Aminul Islamoff the bowling of Enamul Hoque in the 25th over, Ganguly inthe company of former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin took Indiato an easy win. Although Badani made a compact 35, onethought he should really have gone on to make at least a halfcentury.Ganguly’s innings was generously peppered with trademark shotsthat cleared the ropes with ease. Although he played with authority,Ganguly came very close to being run out. The Bengal southpawstumbled when Azhar turned down a single, and made it back tohis crease just in time. Apart from that hiccup, it was a caseof Ganguly all the way.Azharuddin was restrained in his innings of 35 but everynow and then played the kind of shot that amply explained whyhe was a force to reckon with even at the age of 37. Unbeatenon 135 Ganguly would have heaved a sigh of relief as India collectedtwo points and opened their account in the seventh Asia Cup.

Thami Tsolekile lived up to his reputation as an international in themaking with a superb innings of 95 as Western Province assumed total controlof their Supersport Series clash against Easterns at Newlands on Sunday.By the end of day three, Easterns had slipped to 36-2 chasing animprobable target of 390 for victory.Tsolekile made the most of his promotion to number three and, resumingovernight without a run to his name, faced a total of 208 deliveries beforebeing bowled around his legs by left arm spinner Anthony Botha just fiveruns short of a maiden first class century.He struck nine fours but worked the ball into gaps at will to accumulate a steady flow of singles.Andrew Puttick added 39 to his first innings 153 not out while NeilJohnson (50) and Ashwell Prince (40*) took the game beyond Easterns’realistic reach with a run-a-ball stand of 79 for the fifth wicket.Eastern’s skipper Deon Jordaan used seven bowlers in his attempts tobreak through but the home side never showed a glimpse of indecision on apitch that has played superbly throughout the match so far.Worse was to come for Jordaan when he was given out on the stroke ofstumps, caught at slip, despite the ball appearing to have bounce of hisfoot off the bowling of WP vice captain Alan Dawson.Roger Telemachus made the initial incision into the Easterns battingwhen opener Ernie Mokoenenyane edged the SA seamer into Tsolekile’s glovesin the first over of the final innings.With both teams guaranteed a place in the ‘Super Eight’ section of theSupersport Series, a win would count as almost double for either side – whostand in first and second place in Pool B – although Easterns would happilysettle for a draw needing a daunting 354 runs on the final day at a rate ofnearly four and a half runs per over.

Rajasthan scored an eight run win over UttarPradesh in their Central Zone Ranji OD encounterand yet could not qualify for the Wills Trophy.Tied at the top of the points table with Railwayson six points, the Rajasthan side lost out. Thiswas due to the fact that Railways beat Rajasthanin their encounter earlier. On winning the toss,Rajasthan led by National Cricket Academy wardNikhil Doru managed to get off to a good start.Doru (53) forged a useful 119 run partnership withAS Jain for the first wicket. Jain went on to makea solid 88 (125 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) despite thefact that none of the other Rajasthan batsmen madedecent scores.In response, Uttar Pradesh fell short by eightruns even as left arm spinner Anup Dave claimed3/29. None of the batsmen could stand up to theRajasthan bowling other than Mohammed Kaif. Havingplayed with Dave in the Under-19 World Cup, Kaifseemed to cope better than the others. The Indiahopeful made 58. Rizwan Shamshad made 38, but UPcould manage only 219 before they were all out in49.3 overs.

Kent wrapped up their first Championship win of the season inside three days by claiming 16 Essex wickets in a day to secure an innings and 152-run win at Tunbridge Wells.The Kentish hero was 26-year-old former Somerset seamer Ben Trott, who claimed match figures of 11 for 78 to dismiss the visitors for 298 and then a paltry 68 as they followed on 222 runs in arrears.Trott, playing the seventh Championship match of his four-year career and only the fourth since joining Kent last June, finished with five for 65 to polish off the first Essex innings an hour after lunch.The strapping Wellington-born bowler then went one better in bagging six for 13 second time around as Essex, following on, succumbed inside two and a half hours for 68 – the lowest score of this Championship summer to date.Only wicket-keeper James Foster (27) and seam bowler Mark Ilott (11) limped into double figures for the visitors as Kent claimed a maximum 20-point win for the first time since August 1999.Martin Saggers provided valuable support by claiming three for 30 in the Essex second innings, while Paul Nixon claimed six catches and Mark Ealham five in the match, his final Championship outing before teaming up with the England one-day squad.Kent’s batsmen dominated the opening four sessions of the match, amassing 518 for five declared built around centuries by David Fulton and Matthew Walker.

Eastern Province, after losing the services of Shafiek Abrahams to Northerns, look to still have a very strong bowling line-up after naming their squad for the 2001-02 domestic season.Led by arguably the fastest bowler in the country Ngam is backed up by pacemen Kruger, Hayward, Pringle and Kemp with Callaghan, Creed, and Peterson always there for backup.The squad is:C Bradfield
D Callaghan
M Benfield
M Creed
R Peterson
K Duckworth
B Frederichs
L Meyer
W Murray
J Bryant
U Abrahams
J Botha
M Pringle
G Kruger
M Hayward
J Kemp
M Ngam

Alan Mullally returned from England one-day duty to help end Durham’sunbeaten record in the National League.League leaders Durham arrived at West End looking for their sixth win butMullally uprooted Nicky Peng’s off stump with the second ball of thevisitors’ innings to set Hampshire on their way.And Mullally produced the catch of the afternoon when he ran 25 yards todismiss England teammate Paul Collingwood for four off the bowling ofDimitri Mascarenhas.That left Durham on 26-3 after ten overs in reply to Hampshire’s 222-7.James Hamblin weighed in with two wickets in the first of his five overswhile Zimbabwe international Neil Johnson finished with 2-13.And rookie seamer Chris Tremlett wrapped up the innings by bowling NickyHatch in the 37th over, leaving Durham 64 runs adrift at 158 all out.Only number three Martin Love offered any resistance, scoring 39 off 54balls before Hamblin trapped him leg before with his first delivery of theafternoon.In-form Hampshire batsman Derek Kenway produced the innings of the match onthe day he received his county cap.But he fell four runs short of a second successive National Leaguehalf-century before Robin Smith and Lawrence Prittipaul put on 58 in tenovers.

Chilaw Marians are well set to play in the Premier Cricket Tournament nextseason after a fine run in the ongoing promotion and relegation matches. TheNorth West coastal town side has so far played in three matches and hasrecorded two first innings wins, one against Ragama Cricket Club and theother against Police Sports Club, while recording an outright victoryagainst Navy Sports Club, who play in the Division One in the domesticseason.The promotion and relegation matches are being played between the top twosides of the P.Sara competition and the bottom four teams of the PremierLeague. The top two sides will play in the Premier League next year, whichhas been trimmed to 16 teams.Chilaw Marians with two more matches to go appear certain to get themselvespromoted to play in the first Division with 37.3 points in three matches.The club, which was founded in 1970 by Rev Edwin Ambrose, burst onto thedomestic cricket scene in 2000 and has been a threat to more establishedclubs since. They won the P.Sara Trophy this year.The team, captained by Saman Tittagalla, has some up and coming youngstersin their ranks: Ishan Mutalip, a school boy, excelled as a fine batsman inthe Under 17 Asian Cup Championship in Pakistan; Arosha Perera, PraneethJayasundara, and Janaka Gunaratne have also performed remarkably for theside this season.Progress of the Chilaw Marians.· Sara Trophy Champions 2001.· Sara Limited Over Runners Up 2001.· Sara Qualifying Tournament Champions 2000.· Sara U-23 Champions 2000.· Sara Limited Over Champions 2000.

Nothing seems to be going India’s way in the Coca-Cola Cup in SriLanka and it would require an extraordinary effort from the side tobeat Sri Lanka in tomorrow’s do or die affair for them at thePremadasa Stadium in Colombo.The Indian side, already handicapped with the absence of SachinTendulkar, received the shocking news of the suspension of theircaptain Sourav Ganguly by match referee Cammie Smith for showingdissent in the last game against New Zealand when umpire Gamini Silva,ruled him leg before.After calling the Indian captain for an inquiry, Smith, known as alenient match referee, found him guilty of breaching the ICC code ofconduct clause three and suspended him for tomorrow’s crucial gameagainst Sri Lanka.From here on, to qualify for the final, the Indians have to eitherwin all three remaining games or win two games including the gameagainst New Zealand and then wait till Sri Lanka defeat New Zealand ina last round match. They’ve got to do all this while maintaining ahealthier run rate than the Black Caps.This morning, Indian vice captain Rahul Dravid needed to go for x-raysto determine whether he had a fractures on his right thumb. Dravid,attempting a catch in the slips in yesterday’s game against NewZealand was struck by the ball but fears of him too withdrawing fromtomorrow’s game were put aside as the x-rays ruled out any fracture.Ahead of tomorrow’s game, only six Indian players along with coachJohn Wright turned out for practice this evening, which was madeoptional – not for the first time on the tour. From the cricketers whoplayed in the last game, only Hemang Badani, Reetender Sodhi andVirender Sehwag turned up. Probably the management seems to feel thatfor an improved performance, relaxing is better than a net session.A wicket which has not been used so far in this series will be usedfor tomorrow’s game and the curator at the Premadasa Stadium, SusilAnanda feels the pitch is an ideal strip for one-day cricket andexpects it to provide a lot of runs provided the batsmen adopt theright approach.The Sri Lankans meanwhile had a good net session this morning and maymake a few changes for tomorrow’s game. They are likely to change theleft-handed opening combination of Avishka Gunawardene and SanathJayasuriya. Gunawardene is likely to be replaced by Kumar Sangakkara.Romesh Kaluwitharana or Marvan Atapattu could be the captain’s partnerAccording to the team management, all the players are fit fortomorrow’s game and the Sri Lankans are looking forward to deliver theknock-out punch to the Indians which will make their task ofqualifying for the final even slimmer.

Not even in their wildest dreams could Sri Lanka have hoped for abetter day in the second Test than the one they had in Galle today,where they brushed aside the India lower order inside the first hourand then stroked themselves confidently into a position of uttersupremacy.Prior to the second new ball being taken in fading light last evening,India were 155 for three and competing on level terms. Sixteen overslater the innings had closed after a breathtaking and quite lethalspell of fast bowling by Dilhara Fernando.Fernando, bowling with an intensity and pace not seen by a Sri Lankanbowler in their 20-year Test history, added three wickets to the twohe snaffled last night and also forced strike bowler Javagal Srinathto retire hurt. India lost their last six wickets for 32 runs and werebowled out for 187.Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya then scored a typicallyentertaining century off just 105 balls, his third against India andthe eighth of his 60-match career, as Sri Lanka finished the day 77runs ahead having scored 264 for three.The Sri Lankan batsmen were only able to take control of the gamebecause of Fernando’s second new ball burst, which left him withcareer best figures of five for 42, his second five wicket haul in hisseven Test career.Fernando’s emergence is of great significance to Sri Lankan cricket.He has added an extra dimension to the attack and removes some of theoverbearing responsibility placed on Chaminda Vaas’s and MuttiahMuralitharan’s shoulders. Finally, there is a new match winner.The key to his success today and his promise for the future lies inthe natural pace that is generated by his broad shoulders. Yes, thepitch offered some extra bounce, but it was essentially slow in paceand a good batting track. Fernando though produced deliveries thatspat from the dry surface and whistled through to Kumar Sangakkarabehind the wicket, who frequently resembled a goal keeper in a penaltyshoot out.The crucial wicket was that of Sourav Ganguly (15), who was adjudgedto have gloved a short ball, as he took evasive action. Televisionreplays proved inconclusive, but Ganguly certainly felt aggrieved,believing that ball had only flicked his shoulder.Ganguly’s wicket left a long tail exposed. Srinath was painfully hiton his left hand by Fernando and wisely decided that it was in theinterests of the team for their main strike bowler not to be maimed.He retired hurt.Sameer Dighe (9) committed the cardinal sin of ducking under abouncer, but leaving his bat in the air like a periscope andSangakkara took another acrobatic catch. Harbhajan Singh (4), clearlyanxious, flailed one boundary through the covers, but was eventuallybowled off his pads as he backed away to leg. Ventakesh Prasad (0) waspromptly cleaned up by Muralitharan’s straighter ball.When Sri Lanka batted, they breezed along at four runs per over, asIndia’s opening bowlers offered Jayasuriya generous width in hisfavourite areas. He duly accepted the offerings and carved the bowlersthrough the off side (79 of his 111 runs were scored on the off side).Prasad was flogged for three fours in one over and Srinath was cloutedfor 17 during one over in his second spell.The Sri Lankan captain added 101 runs with his opening partner MarvanAtapattu (33), who played patiently and correctly with perpendicularfront elbow, before he was caught at bat-pad off Harbhajan Singh.Indeed, were it not for a marathon bowling spell from Harbhajan Singh,India would have been batted out of the game. All the batsmenstruggled to score off him. Jayasuriya was able to cut him and, laterin the day, Russel Arnold swept him, but otherwise he could only beworked with great care.Kumar Sangakkara batted at number three and answered his critics witha battling unbeaten 54 in three hours. He was reprieved at slip whenhe had scored just eight and contributed only 14 runs to a 70-runpartnership for the second wicket with Jayasuriya, but he kept hiscool and accumulated steadily.After Jayasuriya was finally dismissed, caught at slip by Rahul Dravidoff a well directed short delivery from Zaheer Khan, MahelaJayawardene batted confidently, scoring 28 from 42 balls, before hewas caught behind in Srinath’s third spell.Arnold joined Sangakkara and the pair rounded off a fine day for SriLanka with an unbeaten 53-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Despite the stunning comeback into the Coca-Cola Cup triangular oneday series in Colombo, the big question facing India is whether theycan break their losing streak in the last four final appearances whenthey take on Sri Lanka on Sunday.India booked their place in the final from the brink of elimination.Having won three pressure games, India look to be better placed thanever to put a stop to their habit of faltering at the last hurdle.They have lost the last four finals they have played in – the slidestarting with the defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Knock-outtournament in October last year – but Sourav Ganguly and his men aredetermined to halt the trend.The confidence stems from the way they have played in the last threematches and also from the brilliant individual performances ofVirendra Shewag and Yuvraj Singh, who almost single-handedly won thelast two games for India.Shewag and Yuvraj must be giving headaches to the Sri Lankan camp butIndia would need contributions from all the players in order to winthe cup tomorrow, considering the hosts would be all charged up toavenge two successive losses to India in the league phase.Sri Lanka had started as favourites to win the tournament and they hadproved their top billing by winning their first three matches,including one against India, with relative ease. But they lost theirnext two matches to India comprehensively.The 2-1 advantage in the series does give a psychological edge to theIndians but they must be wary of the Sri Lankans who are capable ofbouncing back especially since they are playing on home soil.After their sterling performances, Shewag and Yuvraj will featureprominently in the Indian scheme of things. Shewag, whose 69-ball 100against New Zealand in the last league encounter was the seventhfastest century in one-day history, will most probably open theinnings again with Ganguly who is slowly coming back to play hisnatural innings.In fact, a lot will depend on the opening partnership. India had lostearly wickets in each of their league matches except the last oneagainst New Zealand where Shewag and Ganguly shared a 143-run stand.The opening pair will once again be required to put up a good scoreeven if it is not in the hurricane manner it was compiled against NewZealand.Rahul Dravid has been the most consistent of Indian batsmen in thisseries and he can be expected to build upon the solid foundation. TheIndian vice-captain has looked as solid as ever and his performancewill be vital for the team’s fortunes.As will be that of Yuvraj Singh who is beaming with confidence afterhis career-best unbeaten knock of 98 against Sri Lanka. The bowlerswill be on the backfoot against him and the Punjab youngster mustcapitalise on the situation. He has shown his tremendous potential onnumerous occasions but has perished while trying to be too flashy. Itis time Yuvraj realises that he needs to play more responsible knockslike the one against Sri Lanka.VVS Laxman is another batsman who can turn the match around. Thestylish right-hander from Hyderabad has had a mixed series with hisunbeaten match-winning 87 against Sri Lanka standing out for its sheerbrilliance. Laxman has been undone on many a occasion due to his habitof playing away from his body and he needs to restrain suchtendencies.Another Punjab youngster Reetinder Singh Sodhi has also shown a lot ofpromise especially under pressure situations. Coming at number six, hedoesn’t get much opportunity but he has been chipping in with quicktwenties and thirties.Hemang Badani has struggled in this tournament though he looked goodin his 35-ball unbeaten 37 in the last match. The team has reposed alot of faith in him and Badani will be looking to start from where heleft off on Thursday.The Indian batting line-up is suddenly having a lot of depth after thethree victories but it will be put to the real test only tomorrow.The Indian bowling has been pretty consistent and with the exceptionof Thursday’s match against New Zealand, the bowlers have done theirjob admirably. Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan have developed into apotent force and a lot will depend on their performance in the final.Harbhajan Singh has also been among the wickets and his role in themiddle overs has been crucial for India’s fortunes. The part-timerslike Ganguly, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Badani have also done a fine job andcan be expected to come up with a similar good performance.Sri Lanka had inflicted one-day cricket’s worst-ever defeat on Indiain Sharjah in the two teams’ previous meeting in a final last October.And the hosts are aiming for a similar result this time in the wake oftheir two successive losses.They have a very balanced side with Sanath Jayasuriya leading anexplosive batting line-up that includes the likes of RomeshKaluwitharana, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold.All of them have been in fine form in this tournament – withJayawardene too getting runs in the previous two matches – and arecapable of producing match-winning innings. They have come outsuccessful from sticky situations, amply exemplified in their fivewicket win over New Zealand after reeling at 27 for four at one stage.With a partisan home crowd expected to fully occupy the PremadasaStadium on a Sunday, Sri Lanka could make things difficult for theIndians. Muthiah Muralitharan, who claimed a world record 7-30 in thatSharjah final, will once again be at the helm of the Sri Lankanbowling to haunt the Indians. He will have able company in ChamindaVaas, Dilhara Fernando and Kumar Dharmasena who have been troublingthe opposition batsman a lot in this series.Both teams will announce their final eleven tomorrow.The teams (from):India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, VirenderShewag, Hemang Badani, Yuvraj Singh, Amay Khurasia, Reetinder SinghSodhi, Sameer Dighe, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, AjitAgarkar and Rahul Sanghvi.Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Marvan Atapattu, MahelaJayawardene, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold,Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Dulip Liyanage,Avishka Gunawardene, Suresh Perera, Dilhara Fernando and DinushaFernando.