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Haryana right arm medium pacer Nitin Aggarwal (5 for 16) and legspinner Amit Mishra (5 for 10) reaped a rich harvest of wickets asHimachal Pradesh collapsed to 52 allout in their first innings on theopening day of their North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy cricket match atMaharaja Aggarsain Stadium here on Sunday.Put into bat, Himachal Pradesh made a disastrous start. None of theHimachal batsmen looked in touch as both Aggarwal and Mishra ranthrough the side. Their domination was so complete that five of thebatsmen failed to score. Only Shashi Kumar (13) could reach the doublefigure mark. Himachal innings’s folded in just 25.5 overs.In reply, Haryana made a solid reply in the remaining 240 minutes toscore 230 runs for the loss of one wicket including an unbeatencentury by opener Manvinder Bisla. Bisla (143 not out, 205 balls 214s, two 6s) in the company of Bhuvanesh Sharma (62) put Haryana incommand with a 158-run opening stand in 49 overs. After a 163 minutestay Bhuvanesh departed, falling leg before to Shashi. Then IshanGandha (16 not out) joined Bisla to and the two remained unbeaten tillstumps.

Jacob Oram and Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounders, have recovered from their injuries and will play in the second ODI against South Africa at Cape Town. Oram, who picked up a groin injury in the first game, will play purely as a batsmen while Styris will get his first chance on this tour, after being laid low by a hamstring problem.New Zealand, who choked in the final stages of the first game and lost by a two-wicket margin, also included Hamish Marshall and Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, for the crucial clash. Marshall, who made 16 from 40 deliveries in the first game, has had a torrid time with the bat and will need to rediscover the superb form he displayed last season, when he was named New Zealand’s batsman of the year.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said that the Supersub will be picked before the game. He also cited injuries to key players as the reason for the reverse at Bloemfontein. “We definitely didn’t plan that Nathan Astle would be one of the bowlers,” he said. “If Styris and Oram play, the bowling strength of the teams would be very evenly matched, no matter the type of pitch. We don’t have a lot of depth in New Zealand cricket and when both of our allrounders are out of action, the balance of the team is disrupted.”South Africa, though, have no such worries and were likely to stick to the same winning combination. Graeme Smith, their captain who will be looking to set a new South African record of 11 consecutive ODI wins, didn’t read too much into the victory at Bloemfontein and insisted that New Zealand were still the firm favourites to win the series. “I know that New Zealand consider themselves a small country [in terms of cricket] but they always give the big guns a run for their money,” he said. “They beat India in Zimbabwe last month and also beat us 5-1 in New Zealand last year.”TeamsNew Zealand 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Lou Vincent, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Andre Adams, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Shane Bond, 12 James FranklinSouth Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Boeta Dippenaar, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Hereschelle Gibbs, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Mark Boucher, 7 Justin Kemp, 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Nicky Boje, 11 Andre Nel, 12 Makhaya Ntini

Tamil Nadu 269 for 9 (Karthik 102*, Sriram 51, Kulkarni 5-82) v Mumbai
ScorecardAn unbeaten hundred from 19-year-old Dinesh Karthik saved Tamil Nadu as they struggled against Mumbai on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group final at Chennai. At the close, Tamil Nadu were 269 for 9, with Karthik 102 not out.It was Nilesh Kulkarni’s 5 for 82 which broke the backbone of arguably the strongest batting line-up in the country. But most of the batsmen were guilty of irresponsible shots, and Tamil Nadu squandered a great chance to drive home the advantage of winning the toss. Were it not for Karthik, who was dropped at long-off on 45, it would have been so much worse.His innings showed tremendous maturity, and he was quickly into his stride with some neat drives. And it was not all dour defence – he had the tiny crowd on their feet immediately after tea as he laced Aavishkar Salvi for four fours in an over, in the process hitting him out of the attack. A flick off his pads was executed without fuss, a late-cut glided effortlessly. But two majestic cover drives made those who were still sitting stand up and applaud. He batted sensibly despite losing partners at regular intervals.The morning belonged to Mumbai. Munaf Patel found the spot immediately, inducing an edge from Sadagoppan Ramesh to Vinayak Samant, the wicketkeeper, in his second over (5 for 1). But Somasetty Suresh, dropped by Wasim Jaffer at second slip, and Sridharan Sriram guided Tamil Nadu to a comfortable position within sight of lunch. Suresh latched on to a few wide ones and slapped a few crisp drives through the covers.As expected, the pitch was a belter and a big total appeared to be on the cards until Suresh needlessly wafted at Kulkarni, was undone by the extra bounce, and gave Jaffer the first of five catches in the slips (74 for 2). And like a champion that had sniffed blood, Mumbai drove home their advantage when Kulkarni forced Subramaniam Badrinath to prop forward and Manoj Joglekar completed a sharp chance at forward short leg (74 for 3).Hemang Badani’s first four was a flourishing cover-drive off Kulkarni, but thereafter he grew increasingly frustrated. When Kulkarni threw one up, Badani didn’t hold back but only edged to Jaffer at first slip (122 for 4). And then Sriram’s impetuosity got the better of him. He had twice got himself into a tangle while attempting the reverse-sweep, and the third time he only succeeded in slapping it to Jaffer. His five fours were elegant, but his innings will be remembered for those three atrocious shots.As Karthik ploughed on, the rest succumbed. Sreedharan Sharath was unlucky to be given out caught in the slips – TV replays showed the ball struck his pad (207 for 6). And the tailenders were too intent on playing their strokes and hardly put up a fight, with Bahutule taking 3 for 46 in his final spell.But the day was Karthik’s. He reached his hundred off the final over, squaring up and carting Munaf over midwicket. Every Mumbai player shook his hand before he walked off and as far as the mood was concerned today, the kid had done his college proud.Syed Kirmani, chairman of selectors, termed it as a “gutsy, timely knock.” Chandrakant Pandit, the Mumbai coach, was more effusive. “I was looking at restricting them to 225 during the tea break. But Karthik played a fantastic innings. I don’t think we bowled too well after tea, but Karthik’s was a special knock.”But on this pitch, and given Tamil Nadu’s thin bowling resources, Mumbai already hold all the aces.

Wasim Akram has said that he is keen to get into coaching – but probably not in Pakistan.”There are too many failings in cricket systems in the subcontinent,” he told the PPI news agency. “We cricketers feel more comfortable with foreign coaches. We feel they don’t have any personal agendas against us and will be neutral. We feel we can trust them. That’s what I felt as a cricketer.”Anyway, he said, the Pakistan board has not approached him. “Coaching is a very organised thing, and I am not. I do commentary and leave; that’s better. But I would like to help children, under-16 and under-17.”In Pakistan,” he added, “if you have to become a cricketer you have to be a politician first.”

Craig McMillan’s woeful batting form in recent times has prompted David Trist, a former New Zealand and Canterbury coach, to call for his sacking from the national side.McMillan, who contributed just 20 runs from three innings in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against Australia, has been called by Trist as a batsman failing to deliver the goods. “I’ve been a tremendous supporter of Macca over the years, but I believe the bell is tolling for him now. He just hasn’t delivered of late,” Trist told the . “At times he does not seem to bat to a plan and if there is one it’s hard to work out. There was a lack of conviction about his last innings in Christchurch that concerned me.”Trist, who coached New Zealand from 1999 to 2001, offered the name of Mathew Sinclair, who has played as both opener and middle-order batsman for his country, as a suitable replacement. Sinclair performed credibly during New Zealand A’s tour to Sri Lanka during September and October, and Trist has cited the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and West Indies as the ideal platform to finetune the squad for the 2007 World Cup.Another name highlighting the domestic scene is that of Jesse Ryder, the Wellington batsmen who has scored 133 and 79 to get his season off to a flier. With McMillan out of sorts, and the struggling Hamish Marshall, with 47 ODI caps, getting a five-ball duck to go with a 4 against Central Districts in his last match, Ryder has been marked out as a potential name for the upcoming one-day matches against Sri Lanka.However, Vaughn Johnson, the Wellington coach, has quelled rumours that Ryder is set for the international stage. “There is a lot of talk about Jesse Ryder at the moment, but I think the guy needs to be left alone to have another season of domestic cricket,” Johnson told a Wellington daily. “If he has that, then I think he might be a contender for next year. He’s only a kid and he hasn’t got much of a domestic one-day record.”Ryder, 21, has scored 564 runs at 22 at State Shield level but his first-class record is far more impressive with 1369 runs at close to 50, including a highest score of 236.New Zealand host Sri Lanka for a five-match one-day series beginning December 31.

ScorecardA stubborn innings from Mushfiqur Rahim boosted Bangladesh to 273 on the opening day of their Test match against England U-19 at Taunton. After Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat, they made a shaky start with Mark Turner taking 5 for 57, but Rahim held things together with 88. England then closed at 33 for 0.Adam Harrison and Ravi Bopara both made early breakthroughs for England, with Harrison removing both openers in the 20s, including Nafis Iqbal, who was called up for the national squad to play in the ICC Champions Trophy in England next month. Bopara then had Aftab Ahmed, who has also been called up, and Dhiman Ghosh caught behind by Steven Davies, the wicketkeeper, in quick succession, and Bangladesh had slumped to 84 for 4.However, Nazimuddin and Nadif Chowdhury forged a recovery stand of 104 to put Bangladesh back on track until Bopara struck again for the third time when he trapped Nazimuddin for 35. Nafid then fell almost immediately when he was caught by Samit Patel off Turner for 36.Turner then pegged Bangladesh back further with two more wickets. Nazmul Hossain and Enamul Haque jnr both fell cheaply, caught by Davis, to leave the score at 167 for 8. But during that time, Rahim was quietly going about his business. He hit 10 fours and three sixes in his innings, which lasted over three hours.He received good support from Shahadat Hossain, who became Turner’s fourth victim for 12, and from Ashim Chowdhury, who hung about until Rahim was lbw to Turner shortly before the close.

After two series dominated by talk of building bridges and cross-border bonhomie, the cricket will push itself to the forefront at the third time of asking. While goodwill stays on the periphery, this will be a keenly contested series between two teams that couldn’t be separated in India ten months ago, and which have since gone on to consolidate and improve their positions in the ICC Test table.After victory against England which was as emphatic as the 2-0 scoreline suggests, Pakistan must surely start favourites on home soil. Until the victories at Multan and Rawalpindi in 2004, India hadn’t even won a Test across the border and there will be no hospitability on offer from a side that Inzamam-ul-Haq has transformed with the help of Bob Woolmer.As has traditionally been the case when these two old rivals meet, Pakistan’s hopes are centred on a fearsome pace attack and a middle order that looks full of runs. Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif – the back-up – can all comfortably exceed 140 kmph, with Rana also proving a dab hand at exploiting any juice there may be in the pitch.Shoaib, you sense, will be the key. Out in the cold when Pakistan toured India, and shredded by the Indian batsmen on their last visit to Pakistan, Shoaib has found a second wind in his fourth decade. England’s batsmen were often undone by his searing pace, but they were equally flummoxed by the slower delivery that he has worked on to such telling effect in recent months. With speed his calling card, Shoaib doesn’t need a seaming, grassy pitch to be an influence, and that makes him especially dangerous.Just as hazardous to Indian hopes will be Rana, who can combine genuine pace with swing. An innocuous trundler at first glance, he’s anything but, as India’s batsmen discovered to their cost in the one-day series last year. Even Sami, derided so often for bowling figures that would embarrass a part-timer, was a key performer when Pakistan restored parity at Bangalore last year.The batting, which came to the fore in that game, also appears formidable, with Inzamam in prime form. Salman Butt played with tremendous assurance against England, while Younis Khan has been a different batsman since his century at Kolkata last March. Then, there’s the stylist formerly known as Youhana. Mohammad Yousuf answered many critics with his displays against England, and his performances against India last year banished the ghosts of 2004 when he so often appeared clueless against Irfan Pathan.The Indian batting order is even more formidable on paper, but Virender Sehwag’s recent fallow run and the lack of a consistent opening partnership remain concerns. Sehwag has been peerless against Pakistan, and his turbo-charged starts are paramount if India are to upset the rhythm of a pace attack looking to draw blood. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman will also be expected to harvest their fair share of runs, after two seasons in which India have ridden piggyback on Sehwag and Dravid.Having led India to victory at Multan last year, Dravid knows better than most how important it will be to unsettle the opposition at Lahore. There will be no better way to do that than to produce an innings comparable to the ones he played at Rawalpindi (2004) and Kolkata (2005), when his unruffled accumulation of runs sapped both Pakistan’s energy and spirit.Sheer weight of runs will be imperative for India given the threadbare look of the pace attack. Irfan Pathan remains on the learning curve, while Ajit Agarkar has yet to convince that he can derail an innings. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh represent little more than a gamble, as India once again look set to rely on the slow-bowling duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Kumble was magnificent on the last tour here and his importance can be inferred from the result at Bangalore last year, when he had a poor outing in front of his home crowd.Fronting up against him will be Danish Kaneria. Frequently targeted by the Indians in the last series, Kaneria impressed everyone with his ability to keep coming back. His repertoire has expanded, but he will still need all his wits about him to take on a line-up that plays legspin far better than England ever could.There will be many eyes trained on the pavilion too, with Greg Chappell and Woolmer being old Ashes adversaries. Chappell proclaimed yesterday that neither coach could influence the result of the series – “That will be decided out on the pitch” – but he was just being modest. In contests of this intensity, the coaches’ primary job will be to ensure that their wards keep cool heads in situations where a moment’s agitation and over-eagerness could be the difference between glory and ignominy. Just ask Chetan Sharma.

Darren Lehmann and Daniel Harris led a strong South Australian reply to a commanding Western Australian total at the WACA, as the batsmen continued to dominate. The pair added 133 for the second wicket to give the Redbacks a fair chance of matching WA, who had been boosted by Marcus North’s century and Brett Dorey’s 53.Lehmann scored at nearly a run-a-ball, striking 14 boundaries, but Harris didn’t loose much in comparison, hitting 13 fours during his 139-ball innings. However, Harris couldn’t quite play out the day, falling two overs before the close to North’s off spin. He had earlier played second fiddle in an opening stand of 79 with Shane Deitz, who scored 48 of his 55 in boundaries.WA consolidated their innings during the first half of the day, despite the best efforts of the South Australian attack to chip away. Jason Gillespie, Paul Rofe and Dan Cullen took a wicket apiece, and at 7 for 323 the home team were in danger of not building on their solid work from the opening day.However, North remained firm and reached his second hundred of the season. The total was then given a somewhat unexpected boost as Dorey clubbed a maiden first-class fifty, carrying WA towards their declaration.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

A sensational spell of seam bowling from Sreesanth inspired a rampage like few others in India’s cricket history, as South Africa were shot out for 84, their lowest total since readmission to the international scene. Only once had a home team capitulated for less against India – Australia collapsed for 83 at Melbourne in 1981, though that was the final innings of the match – as South Africa were positively outplayed on a day where 20 wickets tumbled at the Wanderers.India’s batsmen had a chance to control the game either side of the bowling carnage. Sourav Ganguly almost ran out of partners in the morning, before a surprising burst from No.11 VRV Singh boosted the total to 249 and allowed Ganguly to complete a pugnacious half-century. VVS Laxman’s classy unbeaten 42 stretched the overall lead to beyond 300 as India inched closer to their first Test win in South Africa.History might have pointed to India’s batsmen crumbling against South Africa’s pace battery but their fast bowlers reversed the trend dramatically at the Wanderers, conjuring up an incandescent spell in conducive conditions. And it was largely thanks to Sreesanth’s glittering maiden five-wicket haul.Starting with a peach of an inswinger to dismiss Graeme Smith, then replicating the delivery to the right-handed Hashim Amla, summoning a jaffa to undo Jacques Kallis, screaming past Mark Boucher’s defences and swinging out Shaun Pollock with a fuller one, Sreesanth was simply unstoppable. The seam position rarely wavered, the swing was mostly controlled and the pace was up near the 140 kph mark. In ten overs, he administered to South Africa a dose of their own medicine.Kallis’s dismissal summed up the story. First over after lunch. First ball shaped away and ricocheted off the splice; the second shaped away and turned Kallis inside out; and the third one, the , shaped away yet again, kissed the edge and flew to second slip. It was seam bowling of the highest class and South Africa’s best batsman was made to look like a novice.Sreesanth wasn’t without support. Zaheer Khan’s lifter that accounted for AB de Villiers, taking off from a good length and deflecting off the outstretched bat, was simply unplayable. The fielding – Virender Sehwag’s superb catch at gully and Laxman’s sharp takes at second slip -backed them up spiritedly as India entered unfamiliar territory in an overseas Test. Ashwell Prince and Andre Nel ensured against abject humiliation – Nel frustrated India with both his cross-batted swipes and cheeky outstretched tongue – but Kumble returned, removed the sticky Prince and blasted through Makhaya Ntini’s defences.

It was a frenetic day, one that began with India losing their way and then recovering due to a battling effort from Ganguly and some hilarious slogging from VRV Singh. Ganguly, who continued his composed effort from last evening, appeared to be running out of partners at 205 for 9 but VRV Singh not only provided him valuable support but also crunched a quickfire 29.Ganguly impressed in both attack and defence. A clattered pulled six off the ferocious Ntini was straight out of the memory bank and it was followed by a thumped straight shovel off Kallis. He didn’t farm the strike, allowing VRV Singh a chance to free his arms, and was vindicated by some effective slogs that boosted India’s total. It also allowed Ganguly a chance to get to half-century, a gritty effort in trying circumstances.He played a role in the second dig as well, as India rode on several cameos. Sehwag’s chancy, yet splintering, 29-ball 33 set the tone before Ganguly and Laxman steadied the innings. Laxman was regal in his strokeplay, making exquisite drives and even venturing some confident pulls. A couple of swished straight drives, with the bat in a horizontal position owing to the twist of the wrist, sent gasps around the Bullring.South Africa’s bowlers let them down yet again, favouring a short length on a pitch that demanded pitching it up. Incidentally, Pollock became the first South African, and tenth bowler, to reach the 400-wicket mark, a fully deserving milestone for such a champion peformer. South Africa were expected to have home advantage but they played their part in handing India the advantage on one of the most memorable days in their Test history.Short Cuts
Dileep Premachandran at Jo’burgHighlight of the day: On any given Saturday, it would have been ShaunPollock’s 400th wicket, but today he was eclipsed by a young man who canpoint to a haul of 24 Test wickets from five-and-a-half Tests. Sreesanthwas consistently the quickest bowler on either side, and he hit the seamas effortlessly as Glenn McGrath on a good day. Some atrocious battinghelped, but this was a day that will live long in India’s cricket lore, aday when the quick bowlers outgunned the opposition with their weapons ofchoice.Lowlight of the day: Several of the South African batsmen could tussle forthat accolade, but Herschelle Gibbs probably shades it for the half-asleepshot he played to get out. Lucky for him that it’s Mickey Arthur and notRay Jennings that’s coaching the side.Shot of the day: VRV Singh’s swat off Jacques Kallis that screeched to thecover fence. He batted only 19 balls, but his 29 was still more thananything South African managed.Ball of the day: It takes a special ball to get rid of a great batsman,and Sreesanth produced one to Kallis. It arced in a touch and then movedaway just enough to catch the outside edge. That was half the job done.VVS Laxman did the rest, pouching a superb low catch, even as Gangulydived across him.Catch of the day: Pollock’s stunner at mid-off to send off Mahendra SinghDhoni. Most eyes were already on the boundary rope when the shot was hit,but Pollock threw himself to his left, stuck out the left hand and held ondespite landing fairly heavily.Message of the day: Should have been: “Can we change to colouredclothes?”. South Africa have made tremendous progress as a one-day sideover the past two seasons, but their Test displays have been embarrassingat times. Too many of the players seem to be stuck in a complacent secondgear, a state of affairs that shouldn’t be acceptable.Off the park: All eyes turned to the Indian dressing room as SouravGanguly reached 50 in the first innings. Greg Chappell was on his feet andapplauding, like everyone else. Those who expected anything else appear tohave forgotten that Chappell needs a victory as much as every man in theXI. If they can pull it off, it will be an unparalled achievement.

A number of Zimbabwe players have signed a petition calling on Peter Chingoka, the board’s chairman, and Ozias Bvute, the managing director, to resign, Cricinfo has reliably learnt.It is said to contain a number of demands and was signed by 30 players, including captain Tatenda Taibu, who was reportedly the first to sign it. The move came as a result of ZC’s announcement last Thursday that it was introducing performance-related contracts.”The players signed a petition with a number of demands, chief among those demands was that Chingoka and Bvute must step down because they are the greatest failures in Zimbabwe cricket,” one of the players said. “Thirty players signed it but it has not been handed over to Chingoka and Bvute as some of them are now worried about some of the things in the petition.”Chingoka and Bvute need to act swiftly and wisely if they are to defuse a rapidly deteriorating situation before next week’s opening Test against India.