If the Indians’ batting had a bad day at the office on Friday, hundreds
from Northants openers Mal Loye and Niall O’Brien ensured that their
bowlers were run ragged on the second day

The report by Sharda Ugra in Northampton 06-Aug-2011
ScorecardNiall O’Brien’s century helped sink the lacklustre Indians at Northampton•Getty Images

If the Indians’ batting had a bad day at the office on Friday, hundreds
from Northants openers Mal Loye and Niall O’Brien ensured that their
bowlers were run ragged on the second day of what has been quite a
trying practice game.The Indians’ two-day match against Northamptonshire
was meant to be their warm-up for Edgbaston. If a result was to be
decided on the basis of which team contained the less red faces in
their dressing room, the Indians would not be the winners.

Two-Day Tourist Matches

The playing conditions for three and four-day tourist matches shall apply to two-day tourist matches except where specified below. Numbering corresponds to Test Match playing conditions.
12.3 Test Match playing condition 12.3 shall not apply.
Matches shall be of 2 days’ scheduled duration and of two innings per side, and under Law 12.1(b)(ii) the first innings of the side batting first shall be limited to 100 overs or the close of play on the first day of the match, whichever is the later. The first innings of the side batting second shall not be subject to this restriction. If a side has scored more runs in its first innings than the opposing side scored in its completed first innings (refer Law 12.3), it shall be deemed to have gained a First Innings Win. If the number of runs scored by each side in their completed first innings is the same, this shall be deemed a Tie on First Innings.

The match ended in a draw that will be marked down as a ‘first-innings
win’ for Northamptonshire. After Northants lost seven wickets after
tea, their tailenders made use of the opportunity and the
opposition’s lack of intensity to cross the Indians’ first-innings total of 352, and register the first-innings win under the ECB’s regulations, which
are meant to ensure that two-day tour games, while not first-class
matches, can still entertain the viewing public.India are far from entertained by what happened today: it began with
the announcement that Rahul Dravid had been called up to the ODI team
after a two-year gap; which even took Dravid himself by surprise. Zaheer Khan then walked off the field after a three-over spell
this morning and questions about his fitness for Edgbaston grew
louder. All that he proved is that he can bowl off a full run-up but
what is still not known is for how long he can sustain himself.Then there was the Indians’ performance in the field, which ended in Northants’ Nos. 7 and 9 running off the ground to celebratory cheering after adding 54 for the eighth wicket.Once the Loye-O’Brien 201-run partnership was ended just after tea,
Northants lost wickets in a heap; six within 40 runs. Dave Burton and
David Murphy had read their rule books and stuck on to see the
team past their first-innings target, against a fielding side who
seemed keen to leave the field when the last hour of play began.Gautam Gambhir and then MS Dhoni had frequent discussions with the umpires but
play continued. The farce reached its conclusion when the Indians took the
new ball and Dhoni bowled the second over with it.The heavy duties of last week may have caused the Indian bowling to go
through mere motions for the better part of the proceedings. Yet,
ideally, the world ‘s No. 1 Test team, even when bowling within itself, could be
expected to take a wicket before the 48th over against a county side.The Indians’ two hardest-working bowlers today were Amit Mishra, who bowled
17 overs straight, out of his total of 25, and Munaf Patel who bowled
ten in a row before tea and seven in his second spell.There was very little that the Indians could consider minor
victories from this practice match. Harbhajan Singh’s injury put
Mishra onto centre-stage and in his 25 overs today, he was most
respectfully handled by the Northants batsmen, their aggression
reserved mostly for the quicker men. The wicket did little, but if
Mishra was advertising his wares as a pressure-builder rather than
strike bowler, he did adequately. Until, in his 12th over, Loye
strolled down the wicket and hit him over long-on for six.Loye, a giant right-hander who is one of the senior-most pros in
county cricket, and O’Brien, a less industrial-sized left-hander who
also keeps wicket for Ireland, put up a partnership of 201 before Loye was out four balls after he crossed his hundred. The Indians may have erred, but the Northants openers both played with the full attention required by the occasion and provided the entertainment required by their full County Ground. Loye’s trademark swept sixes and meaty
strokes, and O’Brien’s general sense of daring were both out on full
display.Zaheer Khan’s three overs began better than they ended, his first
containing two wides and the next two an alarming flood of 22 runs. Loye
swept him for six in the second, following through rakishly on his
knee, and O’Brien hit him for three fours in his third. After that, Zaheer walked off and was not seen again on the field. His performance
today was not a stern examination of his fitness by the management.
It was just a progress report on whether he can be risked at Edgbaston
because he is still the man who can claim to own much of the keys, locks
and doors that took India to the No. 1 Test ranking in the world.The match was meant to be a 12-a-side fixture with one extra batsman getting a
chance of a hit and one tired soul getting a chance to stay off the
field. Ishant Sharma found his name on the team sheet only to make the
minimum number of 12. He didn’t bowl a single over and was only briefly on the field, as men came and went like the supporting
cast of a long-running and somewhat-tired soap. Dhoni came on after lunch
for a spot of fielding and was replaced by Praveen Kumar. Virat Kohli,
not a part of the touring squad at the start of the week, was sent out to
do some menial duties a day after his first sighting. Dhoni then
dragged himself back out again and was to be seen mostly in the
wilderness of deep point or on the long leg boundary before he popped
up and decided to bowl a sprinkling of overs.The two-day practice match between the Indians and Northamptonshire should
have given out to neutral observers the signs of what was being
tackled after Trent Bridge. The sign came well before the first ball
of the second day was bowled. Dravid had, once again, after a two-year
gap, made it to the ODI team. The team that has just won the World Cup
needed its second-oldest playing pro to hack it in England.

Wesley Barresi was Netherlands’ hero as they chased a middling target set by Kenya successfully for the second time in two days

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2011
ScorecardWesley Barresi was Netherlands’ hero as they successfully chased a middling target set by Kenya for the second time in two days.Electing to bat, Kenya got off to a steady start thanks to Rakep Patel’s 40, but the innings failed to shift into higher gears as the overs progressed. Collins Obuya anchored the innings through the middle overs with a half-century, but Kenya finished well short of 200 despite batting out their 50 overs. Mudassar Bukhari who picked up three wickets, and Tim Gruijters (2-37) were the most successful bowlers.Netherlands’ chase began confidently but they slipped from 58 for 0 to 66 for 3. Stephan Myburgh battled through the collapse and made a half-century, but his exit at 103 gave Kenya another opening. Barresi however shut the door on them with 67, and Peter Borren ensured Netherlands surged home with five overs to spare.

Jonathan Trott, the England batsman, has been named the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year for 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2011Jonathan Trott, the England batsman, has been named the Cricketer of the Year for 2011, the ICC’s top accolade. He received the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy at the annual ceremony in London, after his team-mate Alastair Cook had won the Test Cricketer of the Year award.”It’s fantastic to be part of a successful team and I never envisaged winning this award. It’s a brilliant feeling to be recognised,” Trott said.In 12 Tests during the period under consideration, Trott scored 1042 runs at an average of 65.12, including four centuries and three half-centuries. He also played 24 ODIs, scoring 1064 runs at an average of 48.36 with two centuries and nine 50s. Trott was chosen for the award ahead of Cook, last-year’s winner Sachin Tendulkar and South Africa batsman Hashim Amla.Previous winners of the Cricketer of the Year award include Rahul Dravid (2004), Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis (joint winners in 2005), Ricky Ponting (2006 and 2007), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008), Mitchell Johnson (2009) and Sachin Tendulkar (2010).Cook, however, won the Test Cricketer award after having a prolific year in the format. Cook played 12 Tests, and in 18 innings he scored 1302 runs at an average of 76.58, including six centuries and four half-centuries. His 235 not out against Australia in Brisbane kick-started England’s first Ashes victory away from home since 1986-87.Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, was the only player to win two awards on the night. He was named the ODI Cricketer of the Year and also picked up the People’s Choice Award. Sangakkara scored 1049 runs at an average of 55.21 in 25 ODIs. He also had 26 catches and 10 stumpings as wicketkeeper and led Sri Lanka to the final of the 2011 World Cup.Though India spent most of the period under consideration at No. 1 in the Test rankings, and won the 2011 World Cup, their only award winner was the captain MS Dhoni, who was given the Spirit of Cricket accolade. Dhoni was not present at the ceremony despite being in England.The ICC chose West Indies legspinner Devendra Bishoo, ahead of other nominees Darren Bravo, Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali, for the Emerging Player Award. Bishoo, 25, played five Tests in the voting period and took 21 wickets at an average of 35.42. He also picked up 19 wickets at 21.57 each in 11 ODIs.Ryan ten Doeschate, the Netherlands allrounder, was named the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year for the third time in four years, and for the second year running. ten Doeschate was chosen ahead of Afghanistan allrounder Hamid Hassan, and the Irish duo of Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien, both centurions in the 2011 World Cup.New Zealand seamer Tim Southee won the award for Twenty20 International Performance of the Year, for his spell of 5 for 18 against Pakistan in Auckland.Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar has won the David Shepherd trophy for the Umpire of the Year for the third consecutive time. He beat competition from Steve Davis, Ian Gould and five-time winner Simon Taufel.Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies women’s allrounder, was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Marlon Samuels and Fidel Edwards have been handed Grade B contracts by the WICB for 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2011Marlon Samuels and Fidel Edwards have been handed Grade B contracts by the WICB for 2011-12, while Ravi Rampaul has been upgraded to Grade B after having been on a Grade C contract last year. Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo have not been offered central contracts after they turned them down last year. Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin, who are both in the West Indies squad for the Test series in Bangladesh, have been excluded from the list of contracted players, while Ramnaresh Sarwan has been ignored again despite a brief return to the Test team over the home season.Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had a tiff with the board after being ignored for ODIs following the World Cup, continues to be the only player with a Grade A contract. Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, has been given a Grade B contract again.Among the players who had contracts last year but have been ignored by the board this time are left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller, and batsmen Brendan Nash and Devon Smith.Samuels returned to the West Indies team this year after serving a two-year ban for alleged links with an Indian bookmaker, and has been in prime form on West Indies’ tour of Bangladesh. Fidel Edwards also got back to Test cricket this year, after overcoming a long-term back injury, and impressed against India in the home series. Rampaul’s promotion arrives on the back of 22 Test wickets at an average of 23.13 this year, along with 22 one-day wickets at an average of 18.90.Miller and Benn haven’t played for West Indies since the end of the World Cup. Benn was left out after unfavourable reports from the team management about his behaviour during the tournament.Nash was named vice-captain at the same time that Darren Sammy took over the national team’s captaincy in October last year. However, he made just 54 runs in his last six innings and was dropped midway through the series against India this June. He recently withdrew from the Jamaica squad for the Regional Super50, citing personal reasons.Legspinner Devendra Bishoo, and top-order batsman Devon Thomas, have been promoted to Grade C contracts from the development contracts they received last year. Bishoo was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year for 2010-11 after taking 21 wickets in his first five Tests, while Kirk Edwards scored a hundred in his debut Test, against India in Dominica.Shane Shillingford, the offspinner, who was cleared to resume bowling after undergoing remedial work on an illegal action, and is in the squad for the Tests in Bangladesh, has kept his Grade C contract.The WICB has also increased the number of contracted women players from six to eight, with the Guyanese duo of Tremayne Smartt and Shemaine Campbelle being added to the contract list.Men’s contracts
Grade A: Shivnarine ChanderpaulGrade B: Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy and Marlon SamuelsGrade C: Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell and Shane ShillingfordDevelopment Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Shannon Gabriel, Nelon Pascal, Kieran Powell and Devon ThomasWomen’s Contracts
Grade A: Anisa Mohammed and Stafanie TaylorGrade B: Merissa Aguilleira, Shemaine Campbelle, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Stacy Ann King and Tremayne Smartt

Yuvraj Singh has been replaced by Rohit Sharma in the India squad for the third and final Test against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2011Yuvraj Singh has been replaced by Rohit Sharma in the India squad for the third and final Test against West Indies. The rest of the squad is unchanged. Yuvraj was unable to convert his starts in the Delhi and Kolkata Tests against West Indies, managing 23, 18 and 25 in three innings. Rohit made a match-winning 175 against Railways and followed that up with 100 against Rajasthan in Mumbai’s first two games of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.While refusing to comment on selection issues before the announcement of the team for the third Test, MS Dhoni, the India captain, had said today that what mattered was scoring runs. “It does not matter where you score runs,” Dhoni said after the end of the Kolkata Test. “Yes, he [Yuvraj] is going through a tough phase but it’s important to show confidence in him. We all know he is talented.”One more reason is that he has been in and out of the side. It’s very difficult to back yourself. You have that bit of tentativeness. It’s a bit tough on him. But hopefully he will recover and do well for India.”Yuvraj has featured in only 37 Tests over eight years since making his debut against New Zealand in 2003. He was kept out of the Test side by a strong middle order that included Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Once Ganguly retired, he was given an extended run in the side but couldn’t cement his place.He fell ill before the second Test in Sri Lanka in 2010, and a century from Suresh Raina on debut in that game meant Yuvraj was once again relegated to the sidelines. His Man-of-the-Series performance in the 2011 World Cup put him back in contention for a Test place, but an injury kept him out of the tour to the West Indies and his series in England was cut short by a finger injury he sustained during the Nottingham Test.Raina, who made an unbeaten 204 against Punjab in Uttar Pradesh’s opening Ranji game, was ignored, as was Praveen Kumar.India squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron

Glenn Chapple, the Lancashire fast-bowler, will continue as captain for the 2012 season. Last year he led Lancashire to their first outright County championship title in 77 years

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2011Glen Chapple, the Lancashire pace bowler, will continue as captain for the 2012 season. Last year he led Lancashire to their first outright County Championship title in 77 years.Having been appointed captain in 2009, Chapple led Lancashire to fourth place in 2009 and 2010 before last season’s triumph. He will now take charge of the county’s campaign for an eighth title.”I am proud to be the captain of this great club,” said Chapple. “I look forward to leading this group of talented players into what we hope will be another exciting year.”Chapple, 37, enjoyed a vintage 2011, taking 57 first-class wickets – his highest haul in a season – at 19.75. He also scored 380 runs, including 97 against Hampshire at Aigburth, as he was named player of the season for the second year running.”Glen is an outstanding captain,” said the Lancashire head coach Peter Moores. “We have forged a fantastic working relationship which I am looking forward to continuing over the coming year. His captaincy – tactically – and his ability to deal with people, have been key factors in our development over the last few seasons.”His greatest strength is he trusts and respects his players, which gives confidence to everyone in the set-up.”Lancashire’s cricket director, Mike Watkinson, also praised Chapple’s leadership. “Glen leads by example and has inspired the team through his leadership and performance culminating in 2011 being a historic year for the club,” he said. “He is the ideal man to captain the club in 2012 as we look to build on our recent success.”

South Africa won their first home series since 2008, a period in which they had been denied on five occasions, prevailing over Sri Lanka by 10 wickets, to take the rubber 2-1

The Report by Nitin Sundar06-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThilan Samaraweera chiselled his second century of the tour, but Sri Lanka had little else to take from Cape Town•AFP

South Africa won their first home series since 2008, a period in which they had been denied on five occasions, prevailing over Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to take the rubber 2-1. An innings defeat seemed the most likely result at the start of the day, but a wicketless pre-lunch session and another century from the resurgent Thilan Samaraweera helped Sri Lanka barely avoid that ignominy.Needing two runs to win in the fourth innings, South Africa got home without facing a legal delivery, with Dhammika Prasad over-stepping and Alviro Petersen punching down the ground to trigger relief and smiles in the home camp. Graeme Smith has now captained his side to 41 Test wins – joint second with Steve Waugh in the all-time list. Only Ricky Ponting, with 48, lies ahead.

Smart stats

• Sri Lanka have now lost all the four series they have played in South Africa. However, this is the first tour in which they have won a match.

• South Africa regained form by winning their first home series since 2008. Their last home series win came against West Indies in 2008 (excluding Bangladesh matches). Since then, they lost to Australia and drew series against England, India and Australia.

• South Africa improved on their Cape Town record with another victory. They have now won 16 matches and lost just three at the venue since their readmission. Their only losses have come against Australia.

• The win is South Africa’s sixth by a margin of ten wickets (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe matches). It is also their second ten-wicket win in Tests in Cape Town after the victory against England in 1995-96.

• Thilan Samaraweera, who scored his second century of the series, becomes the first Sri Lankan batsman and the 11th visiting player to score two or more centuries in a series in South Africa since 1990..

• Samaraweera became the seventh Sri Lankan player to score 5000 runs in Tests. His average of 53.42 is the second-highest among Sri Lankan players who have 5000-plus runs.

• Jacques Kallis became the second South African player to take six catches in a Test. Only five players have taken more catches (7) in a Test.

• Kallis also became only the fourth player to score a century and take six of more catches in the same Test. Matthew Hayden, Garry Sobers and Frank Woolley are the others to achieve this.

• Dale Steyn went wicketless in a completed innings for the second time in the series. While in Durban, he bowled 23 fruitless overs, on this occasion, he went 20 overs without success.

Once again, Vernon Philander made the breakthroughs for South Africa in a passage when they were beginning to look listless. Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews had extended their overnight association to 142 runs, and were looking at ease against the second new ball, when Philander ended the fun with a double-strike. The tail slogged along merrily, while Samaraweera chiselled his way to three-figures. Jacques Kallis and Imran Tahir side-stepped his defiance, and ended the innings at the stroke of tea.Samaraweera’s effort took his series tally to 339 runs, and put to rest all doubts over his ability to handle conditions outside the subcontinent. His century was only the fourth by a Sri Lankan in this country, with three of them coming on this tour, but it wasn’t enough to extend the match to the fifth day.As on the third evening, South Africa were persistent with their lines of attack at the start of play, but the rewards were not so readily available. The closest they came to getting a wicket before lunch was when Samaraweera was stranded mid-pitch following a misunderstanding with Mathews. Petersen picked up rapidly in the covers and had a good sight of the stumps as he threw, but missed. A little later, Mathews came close to being run out, but this time Hashim Amla’s throw went wide.Barring those two scares, Sri Lanka had few concerns in the morning. Samaraweera got going with a neat flick through square leg off the day’s second ball, and a couple of controlled edges through the off side. Thereafter, he settled down to wait and pick off the leg-stump offerings that came his way. He got to his fifty by steering Tahir to third man as the first hour drew to a close. Mathews’ first boundary of the morning came off a thick edge that flew past the cordon, but he gradually buckled down to seal his end. Progress came through dabs and tucks, until Tahir slipped a full toss on the pads that Mathews whipped expertly to the boundary.With the pitch slowing down and seam movement absent, Smith moved the cordon from behind the wicket to front. Armed with the old ball, Kallis sent down an energetic spell of fast bumpers, with slip, short leg, short cover, silly mid-on, and later leg slip, in place, but Samaraweera stayed firm. The gambit had failed, and it was over to Philander with the second new ball.Sensing the pivotal moment of the day, Samaraweera took Philander on. He cracked one square, plastered another down the ground, and pulled emphatically to take three boundaries in an over. Philander persevered, though, and dispatched Mathews in his next over, with an indipper that kept low to hit the pads. Two overs later, Dinesh Chandimal perished to a lazy waft away from the body, giving Kallis his fifth sharp catch in the match, all of them in the slips. He would later come on to hold a sixth off his own bowling, to go with three wickets and a double-century. The Man-of-the-Match adjudicators had an open-and-shut case in front of them.

Ed Cowan wants to force Shane Watson down the Australian batting order on his return to the Test team by making himself indispensable at the top

Daniel Brettig20-Jan-2012Ed Cowan wants to force Shane Watson down the Australian batting order on his return to the Test team by making himself indispensable at the top.Appointed vice-captain to Michael Clarke in April last year, Watson has missed every Test match of the home summer due to hamstring and calf problems.Before his injury Watson, 30, had been Australia’s senior opening batsman, but the promotion of Cowan and David Warner has opened an avenue for him to be shuffled down the order into a position more favourable to an allrounder. Cowan, 29, said he wanted to dissuade any lingering thoughts of Watson resuming at the top with a hefty score in the fourth Test against India at Adelaide Oval.”He (Watson) is probably the best player in the country so they certainly do have to fit him in,” Cowan said in Sydney. “It’s no different to any other team, when guys are coming back you’ve got to hold your place in the team through weight of runs.”How I see my job is to make it so difficult for the selectors that Shane Watson has to bat somewhere else in the batting order. That’s simply done by me going out and making runs and the rest takes care of itself. If they’re having a discussion ‘should Shane Watson be opening the batting’, then I’m not doing my job.”Successful as he has been as an opening batsman and change bowler since his Test match recall in 2009, Watson may still be capable of more. A tendency to be dismissed between 50 and 100 means he has never been able to make the truly match-shaping scores expected of the best openers, while he has admitted to struggling with the mental demands of walking off the park a bowler and zipping straight back out after the change of innings as a batsman.Moved out of the top three, Watson would have more time to re-train his sights. Such a demotion would also sharpen the focus on Watson’s bowling, a skill he has wrestled with jettisoning entirely at times during a career more speckled with injury than anyone would have liked.Cowan’s focus is entirely devoted to blunting the new ball then prospering aftewards, and he has already formed a partnership of ideal contrasts with the combative and aggressive Warner. However Cowan admitted that his scores so far had not yet made him safe in his position, as the selectors cast an eye ahead towards Test matches in the West Indies in April.”Two fifties in three games … that’s okay, that’s a pass, but it’s not brilliant,” Cowan said. “The only disappointing thing for me is to have two 50s rather than two 100s. I pride myself on being able to score the big score once I’m set so that’s been a disappointing aspect but I am trying to rectify that this week.”That’s why there’s excitement for this Test as well, to really cement that spot and make that a really difficult conversation for the tour of the West Indies.”There was an admission from Cowan that he had perhaps diverted his focus from the narrow objective of the next ball when he had advanced to 68 in Melbourne and 74 in Perth. Thoughts of a century had clouded his thinking, leading to his dismissal in each case.”I have probably thought about it too much once I am in,” he said. “There was that moment in Perth where I looked up and thought ‘I am flying again this morning, if I keep going like this I will be 100 by lunch’ and all of a sudden I was sitting on my bum back in the change room.”The key to those big scores [in the lead-up to his Test debut] has been to continue with my rhythms and mental routines and maybe not look at the scoreboard too much.”Australia’s players flew into Adelaide from home ports on Friday afternoon, reconvening for the chance to inflict a second 4-0 drubbing on India in as many away series for the world’s No. 2-ranked Test team. Cowan said he detected no trace of relaxation among the hosts despite the series being won conclusively in Perth.”It’s exciting that we’re on the verge of something special as a team,” he said. “Four-nil would be an absolute drubbing of the second best team in the world.”

Khulna Royal Bengals’ spinners set up an unlikely win for their side, bowling out hosts Chittagong Kings for 93 while defending 137

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2012
ScorecardNasir Hossain top scored in the low-scorer with 42•BPL T20

Khulna Royal Bengals’ spinners set up an unlikely win for their side, bowling out hosts Chittagong Kings for 93 while defending 137. The win puts Khulna at the top of the points table after seven matches.Chittagong chose to bowl, and the decision seemed to pay off as they struck at regular intervals. None of Khulna’s top five could go past 20 and it was chiefly due to a 38-ball 42 from Man of the Match Nasir Hossain down the order that they were able to push on past a hundred. Enamul Haque jnr produced the best figures for Chittagong, claiming three middle-order wickets while conceding just 5.50 runs an over.Khulna’s ploy of predominantly bowling spinners in the chase worked: they bowled 16 of the 18.1 overs it took to bowl out Chittagong. Legspinner Marshall Ayub was the most effective, taking four wickets for 20 in his four overs. The other wickets were shared among Abdur Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan and medium-pacer Dwayne Smith. The only batsman who could get past 12 in the chase was No. 3 Jason Roy, who picked up a couple of fours and sixes before being run out for 30.