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3rd Test: Pakistan clinch historic win after extraordinary turnaround

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Misbah-ul-Haq with the series trophy. — AFP

Misbah-ul-Haq with the series trophy. — AFP

by Dawn

Pallekele: Younis Khan steered his team towards a historic victory over Sri Lanka as Pakistan chased down a mammoth 377 on the final day to clinch the third Test and the three-match series on Wednesday.

Pakistan sealed their highest run chase and the second highest in the sub-continent with the win. It was also sixth highest successful chase in history.

Shan Masood fell for 125 but Younis Khan continued from where he left off on the fourth day as Pakistan achieved the target for the loss of just three wickets at the Pallekle International Stadium.

Younis was unbeaten on 171 with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (59) at the other end as the visitors registered a remarkable win.

Off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal drew Masood out of his crease with flight and beat him with turn to have him stumped but not before the opener had added 242 runs with Younis to turn the match on its head.

Even after Masood departed after scoring 125, Younis played with characteristic fluency, hitting 18 boundaries in his unbeaten 271-ball knock.

Pakistan entered the final day’s play needing a further 147 runs with eight wickets in hand on a wearing, but easy-paced Pallekele pitch.

It was the first time a visiting team scored more than 300 runs in the fourth innings to win a Test on Sri Lankan soil.

Pakistan’s previous highest successful chase was 314, made against Australia in Karachi in 1994.

Pakistan won the first Test in Galle by 10 wickets and Sri Lanka took the second in Colombo by seven wickets.

The tourists finally ended a long streak of not winning in Sri Lanka where they lost the last three series in 2009, 2012 and 2014.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 278 and 313; Pakistan 215 and 382/3

Kiwis trounce Indian eves to take 2-1 lead

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Mithali Raj

Bengaluru: Half centuries by openers Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest and their 125-run opening partnership carried New Zealand to a comfortable six-wicket win over India for a 2-1 lead in their five-match women’s One-Day International (ODI) series here on Friday.

Skipper Bates (59, 87b, 7×4) and Priest 64 (101b, 7×4, 1×6), after surviving a few close calls early in their respective knocks, waded through the Indian attack to set up the victory as the Kiwis overhauled the home team’s total of 182 for nine.

India put up a seemingly challenging total as skipper Mithali Raj (30), Veda Krishnamurthy (61, 85b, 6×4) who batted with confidence and panache, and Deepti Sharma (22) held the innings together.

Krishnamurthy and Sharma were involved in a 71-run stand for the fifth wicket before the Kiwis checked the progress, although a small cameo by Niranjana Nanjappa (12 off seven balls) took India past the 180-run mark.

However, the target proved grossly inadequate as Bates and Priest made light of the Indian bowling with their century-strong opening partnership to effectively seal the issue. Although the hosts grabbed a couple of quick wickets, the Kiwis were not to be denied.

New Zealand, thus, staged a fine comeback after losing the series opener to win the next two games for a 2-1 advantage. The fourth match is scheduled for Monday and the series will conclude on Wednesday before the teams play three T20 games.

Brief scores:

India 182 for 9 in 50 overs (Mithali Raj 30, Veda Krishnamurthy 61, Deepti Sharma 22, Sophie Devine 3 for 30) lost to New Zealand 186 for 4 in 45.4 overs (Suzie Bates 59, Rachel Priest 62, Amy Satterhwaite 22).

(IANS)

Seniors rested for Zimbabwe tour, Rahane to lead

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Rahane

New Delhi: India on Monday appointed batsman Ajinkya Rahane as their skipper for the 15-member side to tour Zimbabwe for the three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and rested as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and seniors like Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee headed by Sandip Patil met here and decided to rest opening batsmen Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and pacer Umesh Yadav for the tour starting with an ODI on July 10.

The BCCI said that team manager Ravi Shastri has opted out of the tour “due to prior engagement”.

India squad for Zimbabwe tour: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), M. Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Karn Sharma, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.

(Agencies)

Shehzad, Azhar score gritty fifties as Pakistan chop deficit

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shehzad-azhar

by Dawn

Colombo: Gritty half-centuries from Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali steered Pakistan to 171 for two against Sri Lanka when bad light ended the third day of the second Test on Saturday.

Shehzad fell for 69 to the first ball after tea having shared a 120-run second-wicket partnership with Ali (64) who was unbeaten after registering his 20th Test fifty.

Veteran Younis Khan was on 23 not out at the close as Pakistan trailed Sri Lanka by six runs with eight wickets in hand at the P Sara Oval.

Earlier, Pakistan had claimed the last Sri Lankan wicket in the morning session to bowl out the hosts for 315 with leg-spinner Yasir Shah (6-96) dismissing Dushmantha Chameera 15 minutes after a rain-delayed start.

Younis held a good running catch to send back Chameera as Sri Lanka, pressing for a series-levelling victory, took a 177-run first-innings lead.

Shot out for 138 in their first innings, Pakistan did not make a great start in their second either as a leaden-footed Mohammad Hafeez (eight) poked at an Angelo Mathews delivery to be caught by Kumar Sangakkara in the slips.

Shehzad and Ali proved there were no demons in the pitch and they frequently used their feet to negate the threat posed by Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

Shehzad overcame a blow on his helmet by a Chameera bouncer to bring up his fifty in the 35th over.

The opener, however, perished straight after tea when he edged a pull shot against Dhammika Prasad through to keeper Dinesh Chandimal.

India beat Bangladesh in third ODI to salvage lost pride

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india-Bangladesh-Cricket

Mirpur: India came back strong and dominated with an all-round performance to win the third One-Day International against Bangladesh by 77 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium here on Wednesday.

The hosts, however, clinched the three-match series 2-1 having won both the earlier matches.

Chasing India’s total of 317/6, Bangladesh managed to get to a total of only 240 runs in 47 overs.

For Bangladesh, Shabbir Rahman top-scored with a knock of 43, while Suresh Raina picked up three wickets for 45 in eight overs.

In reply to India’s challenging total, the hosts were jolted early as Dhawal Kulkarni picked up the hard-hitting Tamim Iqbal (5) in the second over of the innings.

But Tamim’s opening partner Soumya Sarkar ensured that his side were off to a bit of a flyer as he struck a flurry of boundaries.

Just when Sarkar (40) looked set for a big score, the team in blue struck sending him back to the pavilion.

Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim then got together to knit another useful partnership of 50 runs the latter then edged one to India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off a Suresh Raina delivery with the score reading 112/3.

Das also fell thereafter as a fast delivery from left-arm spinner Axar Patel crashed onto his citadel with Bangladesh struggling at 136/4 in the 25th over.

Shakib Al Hasan (20) for once missed out in the series as he spooned one to long-on two overs later.

With India in the driver’s seat, the pair of Nasir Hossain and Rahman tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck with some brave and lusty hitting.

Rahman was the aggressor as he clobbered his way to a 38 ball 43 but was clean bowled by Stuart Binny in one of the turning points of the game.

The Bangladesh innings stuttered after that as they kept losing wickets with the batsmen succumbing to the scoreboard pressure.

Earlier in the day, opener Shikhar Dhawan (75) top scored for the visitors who also had notable contributions from Dhoni (69), Ambati Rayadu (44) and Raina (38).

For Bangladesh, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/76. Teen sensation Mustafizur Rahman finished with 2/57.

The visitors were off to a very cautious start and the openers looked steady from the very start. Right-hand opener Rohit Sharma managed to pick up a few early boundaries.

However, Rohit, going for a booming drive, edged one to the keeper (India 39/1). The wicket took Mustafizur’s tally to 12 victims in only his third outing.

The pair of Dhawan and No 3 batsman Virat Kohli then steadied the innings as they put on 75 runs for the second wicket in 12.5 overs. Kohli (25) began sedately but then fell to a Shakib Al Hasan delivery, getting bowled while attempting a big sweep.

Dhawan, unfazed with the loss of the two wickets, continued belting the bowlers to the ropes with Dhoni by his side who again promoted himself to the No 4 spot after batting at that position in the second ODI.

Dhoni was aggressive from the very start and steered India to 145/2 at the halfway stage.

Dhawan then fell after adding a few more runs to the total as he pulled one straight to mid-wicket off a Mortaza delivery in the 27th over.

His dismissal prompted Dhoni to take the batting powerplay he teamed up with Rayadu and consolidated.

The latter settled in nicely and was inching towards a half century but was controversially adjudged caught behind off a Mortaza delivery.

The experienced Raina took over charge after Rayadu’s exit and gave the Indian innings momentum with some meaty blows and, despite Dhoni’s untimely dismissal in the 46th over, guided the team to a challenging total.

(IANS)

India post 317/6 in third ODI vs Bangladesh

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shikhar-dhawan

Mirpur: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and elected to field first against India in the third and final ODI of the series here at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Wednesday.

India have dropped Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and brought in Stuart Binny and Umesh Yadav. Bangladesh were forced to make a change as Taskin Ahmed is not fit due to a side strain. Arafat Sunny is playing.

Bangladesh have already sealed the series with a 2-0 lead. Mustafizur Rahman has been their hero, claiming a world record 11 wickets in 2 matches.

M S Dhoni offers to quit captaincy following ODI series loss to Bangladesh

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ms-dhoni-Bangladesh

Mirpur: Under-fire India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a sarcastic tone said that if his removal from captaincy can help Indian cricket move in right direction then he is game for it.

“I am always the one who is responsible for anything bad that happens in Indian cricket. Everything that happens is because of me. Even the Bangladesh media is smiling,” Dhoni gave a tongue-in-cheek reply to a question at the post-match press conference after India suffered the ignominy of their first ever series defeat against Bangladesh.

When the question was asked differently about how long he would continue as captain, he made it clear that he would continue but not before taking a dig at the scribe.

“I am really enjoying my cricket. But when the earlier question was asked, I knew this question one was coming. These questions always keep popping. The media loves me. If it is justifiable if you remove me and the Indian cricket will start doing well, and if I am the reason for all the bad that’s happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away and play as a player.

“It doesn’t really matter, who is the captain because I was never really in line to become the captain. It was a job or responsibility for me. They want to take it away from me, I am fine,” he said.

(PTI)

Sarfraz counter-attack thwarts Sri Lanka's hopes of lead

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Sarfraz Ahmed (R) plays a shot as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal looks on during the fourth day of the opening Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Sarfraz Ahmed (R) plays a shot as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal looks on during the fourth day of the opening Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Galle: Sarfraz Ahmed narrowly missed his fourth Test century but his counter-attack put paid to Sri Lanka’s hopes of a sizeable first-innings lead on the fourth day of the opening Test against Pakistan at Galle on Saturday.

The hosts would have hoped for quick wickets when Pakistan resumed in the morning on 118/5 but a sixth-wicket stand of 139 between Sarfraz (96) and Asad Shafiq (64 not out) thwarted them.

Pakistan reduced their first-innings deficit to 41 by the end of the first session, reaching 259/6 with Wahab Riaz (eight) the other unbeaten batsman.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz put Sri Lanka’s disciplined attack in disarray with his innovative batting and hit 13 fours in his 86-ball knock.

A similar unorthodox shot, when he tried to play a sweep against fast bowler Dhammika Prasad, brought about his downfall as the ball took the inside edge and went on to hit the stumps.

The dismissal gave Prasad his third wicket of the innings and Sri Lanka their only success in the session.

Shafiq on the other hand was calm and composed during the partnership and hit three boundaries in his 149-ball stay as he completed his 12th Test half century.

(Reuters)

Hosts Bangladesh beat India by 79 runs in first ODI

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Bangladesh India Cricket

In a shocker, Bangladesh beat India by 79 runs in the first one-day international to take a 1-0 lead in the three match series. From the beginning of the match, Bangladesh looked in command setting India a target of 308 runs and then getting the visitors all out for 228 in 46 overs.

Initially, the Indian team started well with a 95-runfirst-wicket partnership in 15.5 overs. Rohit Sharma top scored with 63 and Shikhar Dhawan made 30. Suresh Raina tried to make a fight of it with a 40 in 40 deliveries but to no vain.

Top stars captain MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli made five and one respectively. For the hosts Mustafizur Rahman took 5 for 50 to do the damage.

Earlier, Bangladesh put up a gritty batting display to post a strong 307 runs. Openers Taim Iqbal (60) and Soumya Sarkar (54) and middle-order batters Shakib Al Hasan (52) and Sabbir Rahman (41) contributed richly for the hosts to put up a challenging target for their more fancied opponents at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the most successful bowler with 3/51 in his stipulated 10 overs. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/37) and Umesh Yadav (2/58) were also among the wickets as India bowled out the home team in 49.4 overs. The home team got a rollicking start to their innings and reached 119/1 in 15.4 overs afterBangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat before rain could halt the proceedings. Openers Taim Iqbal (60) and Soumya Sarkar (54) punished the Indian bowlers from the very beginning and put the home team in a strong position. They put together a 100-run partnership in only 79 balls. But just when they threatened to take the match away from India, their momentum was broken when Das was run out after getting involved in a mix-up with his partner.

Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin struck for India with three quick wickets and reduced Bangladesh to 147 for four in 24 overs after rain held up the game for about an hour. Tamim suffered a lapse in concentration following the break and lofted Ashwin straight down to Rohit Sharma at long-off. His 62-ball innings contained seven fours and a six. Ashwin trapped debutant Litton Das (8) in front before Mushfiqur Rahim (14) holed out to Sharma at long-on. But Bangladesh recovered from that mini collapse to reach 200 in 34.1 overs riding on a timely 83-run fifth-wicket partnership from Shakib Al Hasan (52) and Sabbir Rahman (41).

Left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1/48) finally broke that partnership in the 38th over. But the Indian bowlers were unable to restrict the smooth run flow with Shakib scoring his 29th ODI fifty. Shakib ultimately perished in the 44th over but not before setting up his team for a strong total.

(Agencies)

Bangladesh resume play after rain halts first ODI

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Soumya Sarkar

Mirpur: Bangladesh resumed their innings after rain halted their march against India in the first One-Day International (ODI) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Thursday.

The match was stopped for nearly an hour. But no curtailment in overs were announced when the play resumed.

Bangaldesh got a rollicking start to their innings and reached 119/1 in 15.4 overs after skipper Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and decided to bat.

Taim Iqbal (57 not out) and Litton Das (unbeaten 3) were at the crease when play was stopped because of rain.

Openers Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar (54) punished the Indian bowlers from the very beginning and put the home team in a strong position.

They put together a 100-run partnership in just 79 balls.

But just when they threatened to take the match away from India, their momentum was broken when Das was run out after getting involved in a mix-up with his partner.

(IANS)

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