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Williamson takes NZ closer, but SL keep fighting

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKane Williamson rose to the challenge of the short ball, when the rest simply crumbled•Getty Images

The sun was out, the sky was blue and the Sunday crowd added to a picture postcard day in Hamilton. Sri Lanka took a trip to Seddon Park to while the time away with a bit of cricket and were ambushed by New Zealand’s bouncers.Sri Lanka began the day needing one wicket to end New Zealand’s first innings; they got it in six balls. Then came their best opening stand in 2015 – 71 runs – and then they lost 10 wickets for 62 runs in 13.5 overs to hasten the Test to its climax. The hosts need 47 more for victory, and they have Kane Williamson at the crease, looking at a century and the record for most Test runs by a New Zealander in a calendar year. He is 22 runs away from both landmarks.Sri Lanka kept the contest alive with a few late strikes, and need five more to level the series. But they would rue the batting collapse earlier in the day – a wicket every six runs. You would think Tim Southee and company pulled elephants out of their hats to make that happen. Nope, all they did was decide they’d bowl short. Dimuth Karunaratne and Udara Jayasundera fell fending. Dinesh Chandimal picked out leg gully. Kusal Mendis, the top-scorer with 46, and Angelo Mathews, the captain, fell hooking and to cap it all off, there was a comical run out involving the tailenders. Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera were clumped at the keeper’s end, giving a gleeful Neil Wagner the time to collect the throw from third man, run to the other end and knock the stumps over.The bounce on this Hamilton pitch has been ample and true. Batsmen were given the luxury to leave balls even on middle stump if the length was short. They wouldn’t be bowled, but no one from either side has caught onto that fact. As a result 31 of the 35 wickets in this Test have been out caught.The other trait of this surface – its sharpish pace – may have worked against the batsmen though. So too the number of catching fielders for the defensive shot. Leg slip and short leg were permanent fixtures and as the day wore on, New Zealand dabbled with silly point, short midwicket and a fly slip as well. The ball was coming onto the bat, so aggressive strokes seemed a pertinent option to evade them. Except Sri Lanka couldn’t.Tom Latham and Martin Guptill fared no better in the second innings against Chameera. Williamson, even with a bum right knee, kept Sri Lanka at bay by putting on 67 runs with Ross Taylor and 52 more with Brendon McCullum. It took Chameera to break both stands and that was Sri Lanka’s problem; none of the others made New Zealand nervous, until three minutes to the stumps when a lovely Suranga Lakmal outswinger got rid of Mitchell Santner.There has been clear cut phases of play whenever this match has turned – Chandimal’s ferocity on the first day, Chameera’s burst on the second and on the third, it was Doug Bracewell’s two wickets in three balls.Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis had controlled the innings capably until then. They had walked out with a 55-run first-innings advantage on the back of their mind and the responsibility of turning that into a match-winning one on their shoulders. They were together for 22.4 overs; an age of prosperity in the context of the chaos that followed.It took an excellent delivery to break through their resolve, and it took a lot out of the bowler Bracewell as well. He had just changed ends, and changed tactics as well. Every ball of the 23rd over was short and the fourth one came right at Karunaratne’s nose. He was stuck in the crease and could only fend it into the slips. Two balls later, Jayasundera was walking back. He had barely marked his guard when a ripper of a short ball came his way. The attempt to sway away seemed to have worked – New Zealand’s appeal was denied by on-field umpire Paul Reiffel – but DRS came into the picture to change all that.It had seemed a straightforward call for TV umpire Richard Kettleborough when a flash appeared on Jayasundera’s glove as the ball went past. The problem though was it vanished in the next frame. There was no spike on real time snicko either. But a zoomed-in camera angle from behind the batsman broke the deadlock. There seemed to be definite deflection, Kettleborough said he saw the glove move as well and gave it out.Reiffel looked rather disgruntled as his call was overruled and Jayasundera was even more so as he made a slow trudge back. Later, a split-screen replay indicated the change in direction happened before the ball was anywhere near the glove. Kettleborough did not get to see this though at the time of his adjudication.Sri Lanka’s rage against the (DRS) machine would grow later in the day when Taylor survived a close lbw shout. Rangana Herath, who had induced the mistake by getting the ball to straighten, walked off in a stormy mood as replays showed the impact was marginally outside off. Had umpire Reiffel given it, DRS would have ended up confirming that and New Zealand could have been 34 for 3.Barring that episode, it was pace that had the greatest impact. Specifically bouncers, which are Wagner’s strength. He nabbed Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s best batsman of the series, at leg gully. Sri Lanka’s best batsman of the morning though was Mendis. He was approaching a maiden Test fifty at lunch, having weathered a blow to his right hand. It didn’t hurt his timing too much, considering the eight fours he had. Going for another one soon after the break to claim the landmark, he picked out square leg and Santner took a stunning catch on the boundary’s edge. Eighty-nine balls of hard work undone by a poor shot. It broke Southee’s duck in the wickets column, he went on to take four of them. Less than as many Sri Lanka batsmen made it to double-figures.

Alam's alarming accuracy, Aftab's abomination

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Pakistan get together after one of Fawad Alam’s rockets © AFP
 

Selection of the day
All tour the question has been asked: why isn’t Shahadat Hossain playing? Bangladesh’s attack, Mashrafe Mortaza apart, has had all the venom of bubblegum thus far so the inclusion, finally, of Shahadat brought some bite. He went for runs and was particularly thoughtless with the shortball, but what is a fast bowler with brains? Pakistan still scored over 300 but without his overs at the start and at the death, it could’ve been much more.Are you Pakistani?
No matter how many times Pakistan rebuilds its side, as a fielding unit, they are rarely ever above mediocre. No different is Shoaib Malik’s side, though Fawad Alam stands out like a nun in a brothel. Similar in build to fellow Karachiite Asif Mujtaba, Alam is as nifty in the field, effectingtwo fine run-outs, one from out deep and one from the covers. He can bat, he can bowl and he sure as hell can field.Reverse curse
No one seems to have learnt from Mike Gatting’s reverse horror at the ’87 World Cup final. Aftab Ahmed reverse-swept almost everything he saw today and then some. He paid for it indirectly once, when Tamim Iqbal was run out going for a third run off an Aftab reverse-sweep. No matter, thought Aftab, I’ll try again. Three overs later he did and top-edged to the ‘keeper, effectively ending Bangladesh’s chase.Welcome to the club
Sohail Khan has, hopefully, many years ahead of him and many things still to learn. But he joined one not-so-exclusive club in only his second international match today: bowlers who curse Kamran Akmal. Khan had worked up considerable pace in his second spell in the middle of the innings when Shakib Al Hasan edged an outswinger to Akmal’s left. Promptly the chance was spilled. Khan smiled, but will learn in good time it’s not really that funny.Men of the match
The much-maligned folks at Water and Power Development Authority, who ensured that unlike the first ODI, the floodlights stayed on through the match. The odds on that happening,it is reliably learnt, were longer than those on Bangladesh chasing 309.

Porterfield to lead experienced Ireland squad for World T20

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William Porterfield will lead an experienced Ireland squad for the upcoming World Twenty20 in India, with as many as five players ready to take part in their fifth tournament.Porterfield, who also captained the team during their inaugural World T20 in England in 2009, will be joined by Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson as well as the O’Brien brothers Kevin and Niall in the 15-man squad. Boyd Rankin, who recently returned to the Ireland fold after playing seven ODIs, two T20Is and one Test for England in 2013-14, has also been included in the squad; he picked up six wickets in an Intercontinental Cup clash against Papua New Guinea last week.”We are really looking forward to this World Cup, particularly with the return of Boyd Rankin,” Alan Lewis, Ireland’s chairman of selectors, said. “He gives our attack so much more balance and potency, as seen in our Intercontinental Cup win last week.”As such a consistent performer I am also delighted to see Tim Murtagh in the squad for an event like this particularly as he missed the 2015 World Cup is such disappointing circumstances.”These are the events that players want to excel in so hopefully with the lead time involved and the energy the team always show we can emerge out on top of the group in the first phase.”Ireland, who are in the same qualifying group as Netherlands, Oman and Bangladesh, will begin their campaign against Oman on March 9, in Dharamsala.”The squad has got a real balance to it, with that blend of youth and experience that every coach likes. Ireland are now regular performers on the world stage so there’s no fear or intimidation factors,” John Bracewell, the head coach, said. “We will be well prepared for the competition, as we’re currently playing Papua New Guinea, will take on the UAE later this week, and will be India for a training camp ahead of the competition.”It’s another great chance for the squad to showcase Irish cricket to a global audience, and the guys are determined to prove they belong at the top level of the sport.”Ireland squad: William Porterfield (capt), Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Poynter, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Rain threatens to upset game plans

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Adil Raza will be a big threat to the South African batsmen © Getty Images
 

It hasn’t rained in Malaysia for the majority of the Under-19 World Cup but the luck has turned as we approach the business end of the tournament. There were short but sharp showers during the semi-final between India and New Zealand and it rained heavily throughout the afternoon on the eve of the second semi-final between Pakistan and South Africa.The coaches of Pakistan and South Africa, Mansoor Rana and Ray Jennings, said the rain, if it came in the evening, would favour the side batting under the lights. Although the batsmen will have to cope with sighting a muddy ball and grapple with a slower outfield, it’s the bowling side that would suffer more with a slippery ball, especially their spinners. Rana felt India would have had a tougher chase against New Zealand had it not rained, while Jennings cited England’s comfortable chase against Sri Lanka because rain interrupted play.”You need a bit of luck when the weather’s going wrong especially with the timing of the rain interruption,” Jennings told Cricinfo. “Sometimes it’s in your favour and sometimes it is not. It can play havoc on preparations and the chances of the best side coming through. There’s a definite advantage batting second if it does happen to rain”Rana said Pakistan had game plans for any eventuality but given the inexperience of the players in high-pressure situations, it will be hard to adjust quickly should the weather intervene in a big way.Head-to-head it’s hard to choose between the two sides. South Africa have qualified from the toughest group, which included India and West Indies, and they crushed Bangladesh in the quarter-final. Their strength lies in their pace attack, led by captain Wayne Parnell, which is backed up by an agile fielding outfit. Their strategy has been to create pressure in their middle overs through the tight lines bowled by their medium-pacers, with wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes standing up to the stumps.A chink could be their batting against quality spinners but Jennings brushed it off. “I think a lot of people are underestimating our batting,” Jennings said. “We have a mix of left and right-handers in our middle order. In these conditions the opposition will be using three or four spinners and our middle-order plays spin well. Against India we lost wickets to the seam bowler [Pradeep Sangwan] up front, who our guys obviously lost focus against. Beware of our middle-order players, they can play spin.”Pakistan have an assortment of spinners to attack South Africa with. Imad Wasim, the captain, bowls left-arm orthodox, while their opening batsmen Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal bowl legbreaks and offspin respectively. However, it is their pace attack that has caused the most damage in the tournament so far and the South African batsmen better be wary of Adil Raza, who struck twice in his first over in the quarter-final against Australia.The weakness for the defending champions has been their batting. Pakistan played their group matches in Johor where the wickets were damp and did not make 200 even once. Their first hit on a good batting track was against Australia and they chased 129 comfortably after a minor top-order wobble. Akmal hasn’t fired at as opener so far in the tournament – his highest score is 17 – but Rana wasn’t overly concerned.”Our openers scored a lot of runs in Sri Lanka,” he said. “My concern was the middle order and that was the reason we batted first against Zimbabwe on a difficult pitch [in Johor]. We had already qualified for the quarters and wanted to test the batsmen. Ali Asad scored runs.”The tournament has boiled down to a fitting finish. Pakistan are unbeaten in the tournament so far while South Africa have lost only to India, who have already qualified for the final. The teams are highly skilled and a tense contest awaits. All that is needed is for the rain to stay away.

Duleep Trophy: Khurasiya, Yadav storm East citadel

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Central Zone’s Amay Khurasiya and Jai Prakash Yadav put a feeble East Zoneattack to the sword on the first day of their Duleep Trophy encounter atthe Green Park at Kanpur on Thursday. At stumps on the first day, Centralhad progressed swiftly to 231/3 off just 53 overs after the start had beendelayed to 13.20 hours due to heavy fog.After Central were put in to bat, they lost opener Amit Pagnis in theeighth over of the day to eighteen year old Bihar speedster Mihir Diwakar.Khurasiya and Yadav then proceeded to wade into an attack, depleted by theabsence of Debashis Mohanty, with gusto in a second wicket stand of 182 offjust 37.4 overs.Hell broke loose with the introduction of former Indian left arm spinnerUtpal Chatterjee in the 18th over of the innings which Khurasiya massacredfor 18 runs (4 . . 4 4 6). The hapless Chatterjee’s second over was evenmore expensive, going for 19 (6 1 6 6 . .), including one six by Khurasiyaand two by Yadav. The last of those sixes also brought up Yadav’s fifty(off 76 balls) and simultaneously the century of the innings.Chatterjee was immediately withdrawn from the firing line and replaced byhis fellow left arm spinner Sukhbinder Singh. At the other end, seamerJaved Zaman went off after a fairly longish spell of 11 overs for 37 andoff spinner Sanjay Raul made an appearance. Neither Sukhbinder nor Raulwere able to make any impression on the marauding duo and Khurasiya broughtup his individual fifty (off 46 balls) with a six in Sukhbinder’s secondover.Central went into the tea break at 168/1 off 32 overs. There was nostopping Khurasiya who reached his hundred off 96 balls, but with the scoreat 212, he was dismissed by the persevering Zaman for 110 (108 balls, 15fours, 4 sixes). Nine runs later, Zaman struck again, in his next over,rattling the stumps of Yadav for 95 (160 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes. By thistime Chatterjee had been restored to the attack and the veteran made amendswith a niggardly spell to finish with figures of 10-2-51-0, his last eightovers having cost just 14. Mohd. Kaif (12) and Gagan Khoda (2) took Centralthrough to stumps without further hiccups.

'We would like more pace and bounce' – Sarwan

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Ramnaresh Sarwan conceded poor shot selection contributed to West Indies’ struggles, but he managed to survive long enough to make 80 © Getty Images
 

Ramnaresh Sarwan says West Indies have been done no favours by a Providence Stadium pitch more typical of Sri Lankan grounds than Caribbean conditions. Sri Lanka have dominated the first Test in Guyana and Sarwan, who battled through 199 balls for his 80, said more pace and bounce would have been welcome.”The surface here is very similar to the ones they play on in Sri Lanka,” Sarwan said after the third day’s play. “When I toured Sri Lanka a few years ago it was the same sort of surface, Mahela [Jayawardene] seems to know the conditions pretty well with the sort of field placements that he has been putting forward to us.”You have to take into consideration the opposition you are playing against, whether you want a track that is faster and bouncier. So probably we want the opportunity to play on something that has more pace and bounce but that didn’t happen so we have to try and continue working hard as a team and try to work through that.”It has not been an easy task in the first three days and West Indies need their last pair, Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell, to add eight more runs on the fourth morning to avoid the follow-on. Sarwan was the only man to score a half-century as the home team finished the day at 269 for 9, and he said he never felt ‘in’ against Muttiah Muralitharan, who grabbed three wickets, while Chaminda Vaas also collected three.”Obviously they have the experience of Chaminda Vaas who has been doing this year in year out for them, especially on the flat surfaces they play on in Sri Lanka,” Sarwan said. “So basically it wasn’t a surprise to me because they know the conditions here pretty well.”You have to give credit to Sri Lanka. Their bowlers were pretty patient and the fact that they were bowling on one side of the wicket, they were having an attacking and a defensive field so it was pretty hard to get runs and also the discipline they showed.”Sarwan conceded poor shot selection contributed to West Indies’ poor showing but he was confident they were not yet out of the match. “First of all we have to save the follow-on then analyse it and put ourselves in a decent or good position,” Sarwan said.”There is still a lot of time left in the game. We have to make sure we play well as a team and continue to have a lot of partnerships going whether we’re bowling or batting.”

Sarwan takes reins from Gayle

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Ramnaresh Sarwan will have Dwayne Bravo as his deputy in the opening Test © AFP
 

Ramnaresh Sarwan will step in for the injured Chris Gayle and lead West Indies in the first Test against Australia at Sabina Park on Thursday.Gayle has succumbed to the groin injury that kept him out of the Indian Premier League and the home team’s leadership will revolve around Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo, the new deputy. Sarwan guided the team in two Tests in England last year and will face a tough assignment against the world champions.The opener Sewnarine Chattergoon, who made his debut against Sri Lanka in April, has been ruled out with a shoulder problem, leaving a spot for Brenton Parchment. Parchment is currently captaining a Jamaica XI in the tour game against the Australians and scored 25 on the opening day.Ryan Hinds and Runako Morton were included in the outfit, which is also without Marlon Samuels after he was found guilty of dealing with a bookmaker. The squad was named following a pre-series camp in Antigua.West Indies squad Brenton Parchment, Runako Morton, Ryan Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Devon Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Darren Sammy, Sulieman Benn, Amit Jaggernauth, Fidel Edwards.

Expect some royal fireworks

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Match facts

Saturday, April 19, 2008
Start time 17:00 local, (11:30 GMT)

Yuvraj versus Dhoni: a good way to build hype? © AFP
 

The Big Picture

The second match of the tournament features the Chennai Super Kings taking on Kings XI Punjab in Mohali – and it’s being touted as Royal Saturday. From an Indian perspective there’s a buzz around this game given that six of India’s ICC World Twenty20-winning squad, and some of the most expensive acquisitions, will be pitted together. No other match-up includes so many such players and that’s obviously a big draw. Chennai are lead by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who after the Twenty20 victory was snapped up for a whopping US$1.5 million. On the other side is Yuvraj Singh, he of the six consecutive sixes in the World Twenty20, leading a team of this magnitude for the first time. Punjab are a very young and promising team, with only three players over 30, whereas Chennai’s strengths lie in their batting. How each cope with the other’s strengths, and smooth over their own weaknesses – Chennai have solid batsmen but are thin in the bowling stakes, while Punjab lack a potent spinner – will determine the winner of this contest.

Watch out for …

Yuvraj has already spoken of the mini-battle that the contest is likely to throw up between him and Dhoni. “It’s a good way to build the hype (around the competition) by pitching it as a Yuvraj versus Dhoni contest,” Yuvraj said. “Maybe, I will share a joke with him after the game.” Dhoni, however, will play in the side as a specialist batsman with Parthiv Patel set to keep wicket.Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee have terrorized opposing teams for a few years now but now it’s going to be one versus the other. Hayden’s domination with the bat has extended into the Twenty20 format and it’s unlikely he will change his approach against Lee, who is at the top of his game. Lee will know Hayden’s penchant for walking down the track, so expect a few tricks.Another contest with the makings of a classic is Kumar Sangakkara versus Muttiah Muralitharan. Sangakkara has kept admirably to Murali all over the world, and has no doubt faced up to him plenty of times in the nets; but in front of a huge crowd, with so much at stake? Keep your eyes on Sanga v Murali.

Team news

Punjab will have to decide who among Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Ramnaresh Sarwan sits out. Sangakkara keeps wicket and Sarwan is due to fly back for an ODI series against Australia, so Jayawardene may have to sit out this one. There are no specialist international openers, so Sangakkara could partner James Hopes at the top, though Sahil Kukreja is an option. Karan Goel could slot into the middle order with Tanmay Srivastava, the Under-19 allrounder. Lee and Sreesanth are almost certain to share the new ball, with Hopes and Irfan Pathan to follow. That means Kyle Mills will miss out, with either the two Sri Lankans or Sarwan likely to come in to complete the overseas quota. Piyush Chawla, the legspinner, should make up the spin quotient.Punjab (likely) 1 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 2 James Hopes, 3 Sahil Kukreja, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Tanmay Srivastava, 8 Karan Goel, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Sreesanth.The team that spent the most money in the main auction has a host of talent. Dhoni has proved to be a smart captain in limited-overs cricket, and in Hayden and Stephen Fleming, Chennai have a couple of excellent, dominant batsmen. Jacob Oram has a key role to play with bat and ball, so he could be preferred to Michael Hussey. S Badrinath and Suresh Raina make up the Indian talent. Explosive allrounder Albie Morkel isn’t around till the third game, which means Joginder Sharma will fill that slot. R Ashwin and Manpreet Gony will back up Murali. Dhoni won’t be keeping in the first few games, which means Parthiv will fill that role.Chennai (likely) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Stephen Fleming, 3 S Badrinath, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 S Vidyut, 9 Joginder Sharma, 10 Manpreet Gony, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Stats and trivia

  • Hayden has the most international Twenty20 runs out of all the other overseas players in Chennai: 308 at 51.33, at a strike-rate of 143.92, with four half-centuries.
  • Sreesanth’s spell of 2 for 12 in four overs against Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup is the second-best four-over spell in a Twenty20 international in terms of economy rate, after Syed Rasel’s 1 for 10 versus West Indies in the same tournament.
  • In eight Twenty20 matches Murali has taken 17 wickets at an average of 9.17 and an economy rate of 5.37 runs per over. He has twice taken four in an innings.

    Quotes

    “I will be bowling at Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara. They all know me well, particularly Kumar, still it will be a challenge to bowl at them. I will like to bowl them out for a duck and that too on the very first ball they face.”
    Murali

    • BCCI gags probe commissioner

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    The BCCI has asked Sudhir Nanavati, its probe commissioner, not to go public with his observations during his investigation into the controversial incident after an Indian Premier League match last month when Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth, his India team-mate and IPL rival.Nanavati has also been asked to refrain from commenting publicly on the issue even after he has submitted his fact-finding report to the BCCI next week, a senior BCCI official told Cricinfo.Nanavati had told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday that he was “shocked” after viewing the video clipping of the incident after the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on April 25. He had also reportedly said that he thought Harbhajan’s action “looks pre-meditated”.”The inquiry commissioner especially should not be going public about his observations during the probe. This is a fact-finding mission for the BCCI and the observations of the one-man probe panel are not for public consumption,” the official said.Nanavati, who is also vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association and chairman of the BCCI’s finance committee, is expected to submit his report on the incident to Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president on Monday. Pawar will refer the findings to a disciplinary panel, which he heads, for action against Harbhajan, if any.Harbhajan, who was leading the Mumbai franchise in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, was banned for the first season of the tournament by the IPL after Farokh Engineer, the match referee, found the off-spinner guilty of slapping Sreesanth, the fast bowler for the rival team.However, the BCCI ordered a separate investigation into the incident as Harbhajan is a contracted player with the Indian board, and asked Nanavati, the probe commissioner, to submit his report within 15 days.

    Kerala hands ten wicket hiding to Karnataka

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    Kerala beat Karnataka comfortably by ten wickets in their Ranji TrophySouth Zone clash at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi to complete only a secondvictory against their northern neighbours in 46 encounters in thecompetition. Set a princely target of five runs in the fourth innings,Kerala’s win came in slightly bizarre fashion. Vijay Bharadwaj bowled ano-ball, which went for four byes, to finish with the unusual figures of0.0-0-1-0.Earlier Karnataka, resuming at 31/4, folded up for 133. Overnight batsmen,Bharadwaj (32) and AR Mahesh (31) waged a grim battle in the first sessionbut both were out in successive overs at the stroke of lunch to leave thevisitors at 93/6. Little resistance was offered by the tail with theexception of Dodda Ganesh who hung around for an hour and a quarter toproduce 22. The curtain came down when skipper Venkatesh Prasad knocked offspinner Ramprakash into Tinu Yohannan at cover, Karnataka labouring for79.2 overs to make 133. Left arm spinner Sreekumar Nair and leg spinner MSuresh Kumar finished with three wickets apiece.Kerala’s only other victory over Karnataka – by six wickets – came at theGovernment Victoria College Ground, Palakkad on 28-31 December 1996.CricInfo’s zealous scorer, Sudhir Aly also informs us that umpire Sanjeeva Raoofficiated in both Kerala triumphs. The result queers the pitch in the zonalstandings, lifting Kerala to 18 points from four games, ahead ofKarnataka’s 16.