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

The unpredictability of Pakistan shone brightly at Durban as they levelled the series with a 141-run victory which was as commanding as their effort at Centurion had been feeble. Shahid Afridi lit up the display with a scintillating onslaught, supported by a glowing century from Mohammad Yousuf, and even a floodlight failure couldn’t dim Pakistan.They were in control when Yousuf and Afridi joined forces in the 39th over, but what followed turned a tidy batting performance into a display of carnage. They added 129 in 11.4 overs, Afridi racing to 77 off 35 balls, and Yousuf a ton from 110 balls which lifted the total to a ground record 351 for 4, also Pakistan’s best against South Africa.The start of the pursuit suggested a match was on the cards – after all it is South Africa that chased 435 at Johannesburg – but in reality Pakistan always held the whip hand under the lights. Quick strikes either side of the 30-minute power outage, which came two balls before the 20-over mark that makes a match, secured the result. Mohammad Asif, sending down his 10 overs straight, was the bowler of the match while Abdul Razzaq and Afridi supported well.The result vindicated Pakistan’s tactics of jamming the side with batting, handing Mahmood a first ODI since February 2005, which meant the top order could play with freedom. The platform was laid by Imran Nazir and Younis Khan; then the pyrotechnics arrived.Afridi bludgeoned the ball to all corners of Kingsmead. His first six came off his fifth ball and five more followed, including two of amazing power from low full-tosses and another that hit the roof of a stand and finished in the road off a waist-high delivery. His half-century came off a blink-of-the-eye 20 balls. The South African bowlers, especially Andre Nel, fed him with the short stuff which stood up and asked to be hit. It was, a long way.This was also Afridi at his cheeky best, never better exemplified than when he twice walked across his stumps and swept Makhaya Ntini to fine leg. Then he brought out his best Kevin Pietersen impression, effortlessly flicking a full toss through midwicket on one leg.When Afridi walked out, Yousuf was on 52 and his century was almost a by-the-way moment such were the headline-grabbing feats at the other end. But it was a typical Yousuf knock, working the gaps and punishing the loose balls. He reached his 12th ODI ton in the final over and fed Afridi the strike at every opportunity.Even before the Afridi show, Pakistan had shown that they’d decided to get out of bed on the right side this morning. Nazir, recalled in place of Mohammad Hafeez, set the ball rolling with a rollicking 57 off 33 balls.

Charl Langeveldt hit back by trapping him with a fine slower-ball and with the innings only 12 overs old Yousuf and Younis Khan sensibly opted for accumulation, working the strike with sharp running which is not always a facet of Pakistan cricket. Younis was set for only his third ODI century but picked out long on against Graeme Smith’s offspin. When Inzamam-ul-Haq decided today was the right time to add to his run-out count, Pakistan’s progressed threatened to slow. Afridi put them firmly back in the fast lane.Asif again stood head and shoulders above Pakistan’s other bowlers and brought an edge from Smith which was well held at second slip. Inzamam gambled by using Asif for his full quota and in his final over showed signs of cramp. But just to sum up his immense efforts on tour he took drink, a deep breath, and removed Herschelle Gibbs.Either side of Asif’s blows Razzaq snapped up two equally sizable wickets. He took over from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan who’d bowled a miserable first spell, conceding 43 off four overs to loosen all Asif’s pressure. de Villiers had reached 43 off 46 balls before finding midwicket with a limp pull and two balls after Gibbs fell, Jacques Kallis feathered an edge to Akmal.With that the lights went out on South Africa’s chances of a win – and also on the stadium. For a while it appeared they might escape because 20 overs hadn’t been completed. However, play resumed and Ashwell Prince handed Mahmood a wicket with his first ball in ODIs for two years. After that the match faded away, but thankfully the lights didn’t and neither will the memories of Afridi.

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

A valuable half-century from Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat before a tigerish bunch of fielders backed up accurate bowlers to pull off a memorable 50-run win in Adelaide. Few would have given Australia a chance from the depths of 5 for 73 but so tenacious was the fightback that they pocketed a bonus point as well.A scorching day saw the bowlers take centrestage. Irfan Pathan led India’s charge before another left-armer, Mitchell Johnson, played a big part in the fightback. At 1 for 55, India seemed on course for an easy win but the contest opened up after they lost three wickets in nine balls, all to injudicious swings outside off. Once Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell to a moment of fielding brilliance, the match was headed only in one direction.Australia were revived, quite fittingly, by James Hopes, a medium-pacer who surprised with extra zip off the pitch. He broke a promising stand, inducing an edge from Pathan, before luring Rohit Sharma into a false drive. Johnson managed to pocket a wicket in between, tempting the in-form Gautam Gambhir into a fatal flash to point. India were still in the hunt, though, especially with Yuvraj Singh showing signs of regaining form. But Yuvraj’s shoddy swipe across the line to a long-hop and Dhoni’s poor call shut the final window of opportunity.Australia’s intensity rarely wavered. Adam Gilchrist missed a simple chance against Sachin Tendulkar early on, when neither him nor first slip went for the catch, but made up with five dismissals by the end. With 73 dismissals against India, Gilchrist now has the most for a wicketkeeper against any country. He didn’t do much with the bat but his performance behind the stumps, including a diving catch to finish the game, sealed a fine Adelaide farewell.Australia’s early slide began with Gilchrist falling, smashing his bat in the dressing room after his dismissal. To Ishant goes the credit of providing the initial breakthrough. Gilchrist was laying into Sreesanth when Ishant castled him with one that came in a fraction. Even before the dismissal it was clear that Ishant had sussed up the conditions early. He clocked up serious pace, going beyond the 152kph mark on one occasion, and extracted plenty of bounce from what was a good batting surface. He was duly rewarded with another wicket in his second spell – Andrew Symonds failing to gauge the bounce and chopping straight to gully – and showed the rest the value of a disciplined approach.Pathan picked up the baton effortlessly. He moved the ball enough to create doubts in the batsmen’s minds before slipping in the sucker punch of a ball outside off. Hayden didn’t account for the extra bounce, snicking one to the wicketkeeper, and Michael Hussey wafted lazily at one outside off. Like all of India’s bowlers, Pathan used the bounce in the track well and came back to nab two more wickets.Clarke, who fell to Pathan towards the end, turned in an invaluable knock, adding 72 with the gritty Brad Hogg. The duo, coming together when James Hopes was left hopelessly stranded outside the crease to a Harbhajan doosra, played the percentages well. They decided to cut out the risks and chipped away with singles and twos.Clarke began slowly but upped the strike-rate as his innings went along. He struck six fours but the signature strokes were the taps in the gaps followed by quick running between the wickets. He didn’t go on to his hundred, holing out to midwicket in his first real slog attempt, but his knock was crucial in helping Australia post a competitive score.

Match facts

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The bottom-ranked Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers are desperately chasing their first victory after three outings each. As if the absence of Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t bad enough, Mumbai have been further hurt by the temporary suspension of Harbhajan Singh, their acting captain, after his row with Sreesanth on Friday. Top-order failures have hurt their batting, adding pressure on the middle and lower-order that mostly comprises young and inexperienced batsmen.Deccan suffer from the same problem too, with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman and Shahid Afridi failing to provide a rousing start yet. Laxman might feel his team was unlucky to have lost narrowly against Kolkata in the opener and then against Rajasthan Royals in the last game, but he has failed to be flexible if the original plan has not gone according to the script.

Watch out for …

… a final blast from Andrew Symonds before he returns to Australia for a preparatory camp ahead of the Caribbean tour next month. He won’t have to encounter Harbhajan, who had his number during the CB Series finals, which could make Symonds even more destructive.

Team news

Harbhajan’s suspension has compounded the problems for the team management, who now have to keep the dressing room atmosphere positive in addition to working out winning strategies. Shaun Pollock takes over as captain, while Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner, could be Harbhajan’s replacement in the XI. The question mark over Tendulkar’s fitness still remains to further add to the worries. The only piece of good news is the arrival of Loots Bosman, who is coming off an excellent Twenty20 season in South Africa – he was the highest run-getter of the tournament, with 257 runs at an average of 42.83 and a strike rate of 143.57. Bosman is likely to replace Luke Ronchi, while Pinal Shah will keep wicket in that scenario with Saurabh Tiwary missing out.Mumbai Indians (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Loots Bosman, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Pinal Shah (wk), 6 Shaun Pollock (capt), 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Musavir Khote, 9 Rajesh Pawar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Ashish Nehra.It is highly unlikely Hyderabad would change their line-up, but they might be tempted to open with Gilchrist and Afridi.Deccan Chargers (probable) 1 VVS Laxman (capt), 2 Adam Gilchrist, 3 Shahid Afridi, 4 Andrew Symonds, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Arjun Yadav, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Chaminda Vaas, 9 RP Singh, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 D Kalyankrishna.

Day 2
ScorecardA four-wicket haul by Tushar Saha, the left-arm spinner, helped East Zone bundle out South Zone for 204, in the process gaining a first-innings lead of 109 on the second day at the Wankhede Stadium.East, resuming on their overnight score of 265, added 48 before the seamer NC Aiyappa wrapped up the innings with his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Halhadar Das, who led East’s revival on the first day, fell seven short of his ton, The last-wicket pair of Shib Shankar Paul and Ranadeb Bose took the score from 290 to 313 before Aiyappa accounted for Paul to finish with figures of 5 for 84.South failed to get the partnerships going early on, the maximum being 59 for the fourth wicket between M Vijay and Arjun Yadav. Vijay, who hit eight fours in his 46, was Saha’s first victim, caught by Debasis Mohanty. Yadav fell for 41 to the offspin of Palash Das and at that stage South were struggling at 151 for 5. The lower order failed to build on their starts as Saha pegged away at the wickets and wrapped up the innings for 204, finishing with 4 for 47 in just under 23 overs. East extended their lead to 114 after the openers played out one over before stumps.
ScorecardPankaj Singh grabbed four wickets as Central Zone shot out England Lions for 155 and gained a healthy 115-run first-innings lead. Central, though, lost two wickets in the seven overs they had to face before stumps on the second day in Vadodara.In the morning session, Central, resuming from 238 for 7, could only add 32 runs to their first-innings effort before being bowled out. Alan Richardson, the right-arm medium pacer, took two more wickets to be the Lions’ most successful bowler with four wickets.The Lions’ batting effort got off to a poor start with Joe Denly, winner of the NBC Denis Compton award for four successive years at Kent, falling to Pankaj, who was part of the Indian squad that toured Australia recently, in the first over. Michael Yardy, the Lions’ captain, was Pankaj’s next victim, managing only 5. After some brief resistance, both Michael Carberry and Ed Joyce fell in quick succession to leave the Lions at 66 for 4.Uttar Pradesh’s left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta ably assisted Pankaj as the Lions were unable to put together any partnerships of note, tumbling to 120 for 8. It was thanks to No. 7 Adil Rashid’s 40 that the visitors managed to post their modest score – their innings ending when Sanjib Sanyal struck twice in the same over. Pankaj finished with 4 for 43 while Gupta had returns of 3 for 32 in 23 overs.

Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been declared fit for the Test series against South Africa after a test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.”As per the [fitness] report, both the players have recovered from injuries and are available for South Africa Series,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said in a statement.Harbhajan, who was diagnosed as suffering from a hamstring injury after the Australia tour, was put through specific drills at the NCA, including indoor tests and sprints outside under a light drizzle, by the fitness team of Paul Chapman and Paul Close before being declared fit. “I am very much fit,” Harbhajan said.Dhoni was put through routine wicket-keeping drills indoors and an X-ray taken on the injured finger on his right hand.Both Harbhajan and Dhoni were included by the selectors in the 14-member squad for the first two Tests against South Africa, and were asked to report to the NCA for fitness tests.

Gloucestershire missed out on promotion from the second division of the County Championship, despite an exciting three-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire at Bristol.Mark Alleyne’s side were hoping to add promotion to their unprecedented one-day treble this season, but were undone by events elsewhere.Glamorgan secured enough bonus points from their draw with Middlesex at Cardiff to take one of the two remaining promotion places, while Essex secured the other with a run chase win over Warwickshire at Chelmsford.Even so, Gloucestershire can look take satisfaction from their championship campaign. Six wins and fourth place was a considerable improvement on last year, when they finished bottom.With Nottinghamshire also in the hunt for promotion, both captains were keen to set up a contrived finish on the final day.Play was delayed for an hour by a damp outfield and Nottinghamshire were handed a first innings advantage of 143 when Gloucestershire declared on their overnight 73-1.Nottinghamshire then raced to 104-3 in 18.5 overs before captain Jason Gallian declared their second innings shortly after lunch to leave the home side needing 248 for victory in a minimum of 59 overs.Usman Afzaal passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season during his innings of 36, which ended with a superb, one-handed catch by Ben Gannon at square leg off Jon Lewis.Guy Welton and Mark Bowen, in his final first-class innings before retirement, also fell victim to Lewis, whose 3-50 lifted his tally of wickets for the season to 72 – second only to Worcesterhsire’s Glenn McGrath.Dominic Hewson and Kim Barnett got the Gloucestershire run chase off to a good start with a stand of 42 in nine overs before Hewson was bowled by Bowen for 18.Bowen then had Barnett caught behind by Chris Read for 28, while Ian Harvey was caught down the legside by Read off David Lucas for ten.When Matt Windows was brilliantly taken by Bowen at mid-on off Lucas for 38, the game was neatly poised at 138-4 in the 33rd over.But Jack Russell then swung it Gloucestershire’s way with a fine 53 from 94 balls before he was caught by Read off Paul Franks.Left-arm spinner Richard Stemp had already taken the wickets of Jeremy Snape and Alleyne by then, but there was no denying Gloucestershire their victory.Chris Taylor was joined by Lewis and the pair shared an unbroken eighth wicket stand of 36 in six overs, as Gloucestershire got home with nine balls to spare.Taylor finished with three boundaries in his 51-ball innings of 38 not out, while Lewis was unbeaten on 16.

Tom Moody said there would be no sweeping changes in the Western Australia’s cricket team despite the fact the Warriors have not won a Pura Cup since 1998-99, when Moody himself captained them to victory. Western Australia scored a major coup by securing Moody, who recently guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup final and became one of the hottest properties in international coaching.Moody has initially signed on for three years and said one of his main aims was to set up the state for future success by helping junior players reach their potential. “It is important that the message we deliver at the top is learnt at under-17 and under-19 level,” Moody told .”We need to start the pattern so that 15- or 17-year-olds know what is expected to play state or international cricket. Whether it is technically, physically or mentally, or just game-wise, we want to make it clear that is the way the Warriors play and this is our brand of cricket.”Moody, one of Western Australia’s favourite cricketing sons, said he would initially take a careful approach with the Warriors. “I have to evaluate the cricketing structure and review what has been and what are the issues that need to be addressed,” Moody said.”I have my ideas but I am not going to come crashing through the door like a bull in a china shop. WA have been very successful but perhaps in the past couple of years they have stumbled a bit at critical times.”Moody confirmed he had approached Simon Katich, the former Western Australia batsman who has spent the last five seasons at New South Wales, about returning to Perth. However, Katich is likely to stay on at New South Wales and continue captaining the state.

"I won’t be seeing you tomorrow, sir. I am going out of town," says an eight-year-old to the 70-year-old grey-haired gentleman in whites.Nari Contractor chuckles. "You see they are not in awe of me," he says to this reporter. "This is the result of interaction." Contractor is the director of the Cricket Club of India’s (CCI) Cricket Academy, and Interaction and Correction are the two buzzwords of the guardians of this academy. Contractor’s colleagues in this venture are: Hanumant Singh, the former director of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, and Vasu Paranjpe, former Mumbai player and coach.Interaction is an important tool coaches forget when they impart training to the players, feels Contractor. "If you can make the player express his viewpoint then half the job is done." Contractor says that the age gap between the coaches (average age: 60-plus) and the trainees (under-16) doesn’t matter, because the kids have respect for the elders and the transparency means that the unit gels well together.The unique thing about this academy is that players from across the country, plus a few from outside, get to hone their skills during the two-month-long camp at the spacious lawns of the Brabourne Stadium. The academy invites two players from each state association and prunes it down to 20 players after the selection trials. These players are not the top players of the individual state as the cream visit the NCA or the NCA’s three zonal academies or the state academies. Two players each from Kenya and Nepal respectively also took part in the camp this year.The normal day of the CCI trainee lasts up to six hours split into two sessions – morning and afternoon. The morning session starts at around 7am with stretching exercises, nets, a mini-break for breakfast and then nets again. The players come back in the afternoon sun to go through another session of nets along with physical training. Three days a week, there are yoga sessions, and then there are random, strenuous fielding practise slots.The academy is two years old and keeps adapting to the modern standards of the game and its various demands. Video analysis of each player is carried out, once when the trainee is inducted and again when the camp is ending. The video helps the player understand how he has progressed and also aids the coaches in correcting any defects that they may see.Films on cricket are also shown so that the trainees learn about the game from the likes of Don Bradman, Garfield Sobers et al. Fitness tests are carried out at the beginning and at the end of the camp to monitor the physical condition of a player. The player is given a programme he can work on after he leaves the academy and a CD about his progress at the camp.Bob Simpson paid a week-long visit and religiously worked with the players which boosted their spirits. One of the trainees who met Simpson’s eye was the 24-year-old Nepali Raj Kumar. Already a national player, Kumar is a short, sturdy, legbreak bowler and has impressed the coaches here with his fielding. Speaking in Hindi, Kumar says, "my action was very clumsy and back in Nepal there are no coaches to correct the faults. But this visit has taught me many things … like my body movement when I bowl. He [Simpson] told me the importance of each part of my body movement as I deliver the ball and now it has helped me get into a nice rhythm."Maurice Ouma, who was there for a week during Simpson’s visit, impressed everyone with his glovework behind the stumps. In fact, Simpson mentioned him in his column in The Sportstar as being better than their [Kenya’s] World Cup wicketkeeper.Contractor delivers the final word. "We can only take the horse to the well," he says. "From there, what it does is its business." Outside, the youngsters run, and run, and run.

Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the remainder of the current IPL season for his altercation with Sreesanth at the end of Mumbai Indians’ match against Kings XI Punjab on Friday. The ban is for 11 matches, including last Sunday’s game, extendable to 13 if Mumbai progress to the semi-final and final.Sreesanth was let off with a warning after video evidence showed Harbhajan slapped him without any provocation. The duo embraced at the end of the hearing after Harbhajan offered an apology in front of the cameras. Harbhajan will not be appealing against the ban.”The referee studied video tapes of the incident and found the assault by Harbhajan was totally unprovoked. The footage exactly showed that Harbhajan went down the line, wishing all the players, shaking hands with a few players,” said Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL who is also a vice-president of the BCCI. “Sreesanth was the third player that he met. Instead of shaking his hand he actually slapped him and continued down the line, shaking hands with the other players.”Farokh Engineer, the former Indian wicketkeeper who was the match referee, fined Harbhajan 100% of his match fee for Friday’s game. He will now be paid only for the first two matches of the IPL.Lalchand Rajput, the coach of the Mumbai side, has also been found guilty of a level 2 offence and fined 50% of his match fee. “Rajput was right behind Harbhajan when the incident took place,” said Modi. “He didn’t take any step to restrain him. He has been fined 50% of his match fee.”The ban on Harbhajan comes as a jolt for Mumbai, who have lost all four games so far in the tournament. “We don’t have a say in matter as far as the ban is concerned,” said Tushar Pania, head of corporate communications at Reliance Industries Limited, who paid US$111.9 million for the Mumbai franchise. “But it does have an impact on the team now especially considering Sachin Tendulkar is injured.”Harbhajan also faces separate action from the Indian board, which has asked him to explain, “as a contracted player”, his role in the incident which came to light after Sreesanth broke down in front of the cameras.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said on Monday that Sudhir Nanavati, a lawyer, has been appointed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” and submit a report “within 15 days” to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, who will refer the findings to the board’s disciplinary committee for possible action.Shah also confirmed that Harbhajan had replied to the board’s show-cause notice. “He has given his reply, but I cannot reveal its contents.”

Pool A

The business end of the tournament began with a tie between Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Sheikhupura Stadium. Chasing 268, KRL were on course to win after a middle-order slide with Ali Khan slamming a 30-ball 54, but the ninth-wicket pair of Zulfiqar Jan and Saeed Ajmal failed to see their side through.NBP, after being asked to bat first, were powered by Kamran Akmal’s 118 and Naumanullah’s 66. The pair added 190 for the third wicket before Yasir Arafat took 5 for 42 to bowl them out just before the 50 overs. Akmal’s knock included 11 fours and three sixes while Naumanullah hit seven fours in his 87-ball knock. Saeed Anwar Jnr and Ali Naqvi led the chase with half-centuries and KRL progressed well thanks to their stand of 131 for the second wicket. However, the middle order succumbed to Qaier Abbas’ left-arm spin and Akmal made a strong impact behind the stumps as well by claiming five victims, which included four stumpings. Khan revived the chase from 178 for 5 and smashed five sixes in his knock but his efforts weren’t enough to seal the victory.An undefeated ninth-wicket stand of 57 between Yasir Ali and Mohammad Rameez guided Rawalpindi Rams to a tense two-wicket win against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in Lahore. Chasing a modest 202, the Rams had all but lost it at 148 for 8 before the pair combined to see their side home in the 45th over. Rameez compiled a run-a-ball 27 with four fours and a six while Ali’s 26 off 36 balls included three fours. Earlier, WAPDA failed to bat out their fifty overs, with Aamer Sajjad op scoring with 49. Babbar Naeem, the left-arm spinner, finished with 3 for 50.

Pool B

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) began their Super Eights campaign with a three-wicket win over Lahore Eagles at the National Stadium in Karachi. Shahid Afridi wrecked the Eagles with figures of 5 for 49 and rounded off a solid all-round performance with a quickfire 45 off 29 balls as his side chased down 220 with more than seven overs to spare. Aftab Alam and Younis Khan too compiled 40s to back Afridi’s effort.For the Eagles, Ahmed Shehzad and Ashraf Ali compiled half-centuries after they were sent in to bat. The innings wobbled at 157 for 7 before an eighth-wicket stand of 52 lifted the score past 200. Junaid Zia, the right-arm seamer, inflicted early blows in HBL’s chase to reduce them to 49 for 3 before the middle order stepped up. Younis missed his half-century by a run, Alam compiled 40 off 62 balls, while Afridi slammed two sixes and a four in his knock before Zia returned to dismiss him and finish with figures of 4 for 45.A half-century by the opener Khurram Manzoor helped Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ease to a six-wicket win against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. Manzoor scored 68 off 90 balls with nine fours to lay the platform for PIA to chase down a modest 206. Fahad Iqbal chipped in with 40 while Faisal Iqbal finished with an unbeaten 39 to seal the victory in 46.4 overs. Earlier, SNGPL were rescued by Tauqeer Hussain’s battling 51 at No.8 after the innings wobbled at 96 for 6. The PIA seam attack of Anwar Ali, Najaf Shah and Ali Imran claimed three wickets each.