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Australia’s forgotten spinner Nathan Hauritz is facing a difficult task to be fit for this year’s tour of Sri Lanka, as he continues his recovery from a serious shoulder injury. Hauritz had surgery on his right shoulder in March and hopes to start bowling in three weeks, but he is unlikely to be able to throw at full strength by the time Australia visit Sri Lanka, a trip expected to take place in August.Hauritz hasn’t played since January 21, when a fielding mishap during an ODI against England in Hobart left him in severe pain, and an arthroscopy shortly afterwards wasn’t enough to get him to the World Cup. In March, Hauritz had a major operation that ruled him out of April’s tour of Bangladesh and he watched on as Jason Krejza and Xavier Doherty pressed their cases in the one-day team.”In the back of my mind I probably knew, when we did the fitness testing we knew that it was nowhere near right [for the World Cup],” Hauritz told ESPNcricinfo. “It had to improve pretty rapidly while I was over there to be able to play. I understood the decision, they had to get a spinner over there and start straight away. I wanted it to be me, no doubt, but it just couldn’t happen.”It’s all progressing really well now. The last couple of weeks we stepped up the training with a bit more strength-based stuff, swimming and push-ups and that sort of thing, and it’s really responded well. I’m very happy with where it’s at.”I’m hoping to be bowling in about three weeks. Generally it’s about a four- to six-month recovery. I’m hoping to be fit for selection [for Sri Lanka in August], and bowling. I probably won’t be throwing by then, but definitely bowling and everything like that should be no drama.”However, being fit is one thing; being picked is quite another. The spin-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka might encourage the selectors to take an extra tweaker, but it’s far from clear who will have the front-running. The Western Australia left-armer Michael Beer played Australia’s most recent Test, the Ashes loss in Sydney, and although he didn’t bowl badly, one wicket for the match was not enough to make him a certainty for their next series.Doherty, the Tasmanian left-armer, played the first two Ashes Tests but was axed and is now likely to be viewed as a limited-overs specialist. The offspinner Krejza won a surprise call-up towards the end of the summer and despite having little impact at the World Cup, he might be seen as a player with greater Test-match potential. Then there’s the question of if and how Steven Smith fits into the side.It all adds up to a winter of uncertainty for Hauritz, who fell out of favour after struggling on the Test tour of India last October. However, since his second coming as a Test player began in November 2008, only Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle have taken more wickets for Australia than the 58 at 36.22 that Hauritz has collected, and he hopes there are more Test opportunities to come.”Fingers crossed. They went the way of the two left-arm finger-spinners for the Ashes, but I’ve always believed that if I’m good enough and I’m bowling well enough then I’m going to be there or thereabouts,” he said. “I think not playing in the Ashes gave me the opportunity to learn my game that little bit more. There were bits and pieces to improve. I think playing domestically my bowling improved, my batting improved and I’ve become a lot more confident in my game.”If he does earn another Test call-up later this year – and the South African tour in November might be a more realistic goal than Sri Lanka – it will be under the new captain Michael Clarke, who as a part-time spinner himself, might have a different approach to handling spinners than Ricky Ponting. Hauritz said Clarke was a calming influence on the field.”Pup has always had a pretty big impact on my game anyway,” Hauritz said. “He was always offering ideas, him and Punter were talking different tactics. It’s just going to be a difference of opinion now. It’s a different player with a different tactic and it might help my game, it might not. So far, every time I’ve played he’s been fantastic. He’s always tried to calm me down or talk to me, and he’s played that vice-captain role very well.”As captain, Clarke will now have some say in the matter of how closely Hauritz and his healing shoulder are considered.

Chris Gayle’s choice of the IPL over country has angered the West Indies Cricket Board, which said it granted Gayle a no-objection certificate only after he had made himself unavailable for national selection and flown to India. The IPL clashes directly with Pakistan’s Test and ODI tour of the West Indies. Gayle will take no part in either series, having joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Dirk Nannes.The WICB also confirmed that Gayle was in the midst of a rehabilitation program after a side strain that precluded his selection from the first two matches against Pakistan. Gayle’s flight to India has effectively cut across the middle of his rehab.”The WICB does not accept Gayle’s reason for making himself unavailable but as he has already clearly made his choice and has travelled to India, the WICB does not wish to stand in his way,” the board said. “The WICB is most disappointed in the manner in which Gayle has handled the entire situation, especially given the mature and cooperative manner in which two other players who refused contracts- Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – made themselves available for selection and agreed to an understanding in the best interest of West Indies cricket.”Gayle had refused the WICB’s central contract to leave him free for the IPL but ironically was not bought at the player auction in January because the franchises feared he would be unavailable because of international commitments.The board said it was surprised to learn that Gayle had been making arrangements to play cricket in India when it was under the impression that he was recovering from injury following the World Cup and was undergoing rehabilitation work and about to resume training. “In discussing his application for an NOC, the WICB has repeatedly informed Gayle that he is expected to resume training after which he would be required to undergo a fitness test and once passed fit, he will be considered for selection for the remainder of the Pakistan series.”Gayle was not picked for the one-off Twenty20 and the first two ODIs against Pakistan but the WICB did not publicly disclose that he was undergoing rehabilitation and was not fit enough at the time. “After the resumption of training the WICB Team Management would have organised a fitness test to assess Gayle’s fitness and decisions would have then been taken about his selection to the West Indies team to face Pakistan,” the board said.The WICB emphasised Gayle would have been considered for selection for the remainder of the Pakistan series had he passed the fitness test.After the refusal to sign retainer contracts, the WICB said it sought to engage the players in discussions to avoid any conflict over the IPL and commitments to West Indies cricket. However, in a media release on April 4 regarding the participation of West Indian players in the IPL, chief executive Ernest Hilaire had this to say about Gayle: “With Chris Gayle it has not been a productive discussion and therefore it is a little more difficult for me to make any pronouncements as it relates to Chris. But we are open to discussing with players what their plans and objectives are and how best we can accommodate them within the commitment that they must also play for country and to represent West Indies cricket.”

Hampshire allrounder Sean Ervine insists he made the right decision in opting to continue his county career rather than attempt an international comeback with Zimbabwe. Ervine had been named in both the preliminary and finalised squads for Zimbabwe’s World Cup campaign but pulled out weeks before the event and committed to Hampshire.Ervine, who was initially confident that a return to Zimbabwe was the right choice, suggested that the change of heart came after his consideration of the financial problems that remain in Zimbabwean cricket and the added security provided by a county contract.”Zimbabwe told me they wanted me to go back out there and play,” Ervine told . “We went through a few negotiations and talks but I wanted to speak to Rod (Bransgrove) and Chalky (Giles White) personally before anything went ahead. But Zimbabwe went ahead and just announced I would be in the World Cup squad. When I got to the Caribbean, I was probably 100 percent confident I would go with Zimbabwe. But then there were a few issues and I knew it would be a wrong decision if I made it.”It was either me going to play for Zimbabwe, which is a risk, or carry on playing for Hampshire, which is a security thing. It was hard but it was pretty clear in the end. Watching the guys play in the World Cup, I was a bit disappointed I wasn’t there but I knew that afterwards some of the problems would start.”While Zimbabwe Cricket has made positive strides in recent years, most notably with the return of Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak and Grant Flower to coaching and administrative positions, the contracting of Alan Butcher as national coach, and the return of several players to a revamped domestic system, Ervine suggested that certain problems continued and that he may have had “a lucky escape” in his decision to forego an international comeback.”All of the players are being cut 60 percent of their salary because Zimbabwe Cricket have got no money – that’s a big thing. My brother Craig was on £1,500 a month before that, not including match fees, but it goes to show you what it’s like. It was always the case that time would tell with Zimbabwe and it is showing already. There weren’t even any fixtures organised.”There were supposed to be games against Bangladesh in April or May and then Pakistan and New Zealand in August – now they have been canned and put back to later in the year. Everyone talks about it being back on track and in a lot of ways it has improved but it’s more about the ICC putting in their money and which direction this money is going.”Maybe I’ve had a lucky escape. Every cricketer is trying to achieve the goal of playing international cricket but they need to sort out a lot of things on the administration side.”

South Africa will approach their quarter-final match against New Zealand in much the same way as each of their group games – by playing to plans and laying a platform rather than attempting anything overly flashy. Some call it calculation, others cautiousness, but for South Africa it’s a tactic that’s worked on pitches that have made this World Cup a far more even contest between bat and ball.The Mirpur pitch has yielded one high-scoring game, in the tournament opener, and another, isolated meaty total from South Africa last week but all the other five scores have been low. It’s a surface that has been slow and required patience, and South Africa have reason to approach it with care. “It’s not a free-flowing wicket here, you need to set your base and work hard,” Graeme Smith said at his pre-match press conference in Mirpur.In their six group stage matches, South Africa have had practice in building an innings from the ground, with cautious starts that allow for explosive endings. They went at less than five runs an over in the first four games: on a tricky Delhi surface against West Indies, on the most seamer-friendly pitch they’ve come across in India in Mohali against Netherlands, on a crumbling Chennai pitch against England and even on a batsmen’s paradise against India in Nagpur. They crept over the five-an-over mark at Eden Gardens against Ireland and in Mirpur against Bangladesh, but not by much.Four out of those six times, the team has gone on to score more than 250, indicating that the acceleration in the run rate comes later on. It’s a move away from the style of one-day cricket that was seen a few years ago, when teams would look to reach 75 runs or more inside the first 15 overs. It may be the result of the additional Powerplay that can be taken later on, but even that’s proved to be a double-edged sword for batsmen, who can lose their wicket in a moment of rashness. On pitches where there is something for the bowlers, it’s created a delightful tension that can run through an innings and one that can only be broken if there is a solid base laid first on which the fireworks can shoot off from.West Indies’ capitulation to spin against Pakistan could prompt South Africa to retain a spin-strong attack•Getty Images

Smith expects the pitch on which the quarter-final will be played to be similar to the surfaces they have found throughout the sub-continent, perhaps with a little more life. “It looks very green, probably because we are not used to seeing grass here so it might be more even paced than the wickets we have played on previously,” Smith said. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be a strip the seamers can make merry on. “I expect it to turn a bit, because it’s still very dry.”It will present a challenge for the batsmen and the bowlers, who will have to exploit conditions to their advantage. After watching Pakistan’s demolition job of West Indies last night, South Africa may be prompted to go in with all three frontline spinners. The convenor of selectors, Andrew Hudson, only arrived this morning, and Smith could not reveal whether that is their line of thinking just yet. Going down that route will probably mean going in with only six, specialist batsmen which suggests that Morne van Wyk will have to be benched and AB de Villiers would have to keep, a decision that can only be taken later on.If de Villiers can’t keep and if the choice becomes two out of the three spinners, matters get more puzzling. Legspinner Imran Tahir is certain to play a role, because of his wicket-taking ability that complements the strikeforce of seamers. “Imran has been an asset. He is the most attacking of the spinners,” Smith said. There should also be place for left-arm spinner Robin Peterson, who took a career-best 4 for 12 against Bangladesh and is the team’s highest wicket-taker. “It’s been a process for Robbie. He has been around the team for a long time and in the last six to eight months people have been showing confidence in him and that has helped his self-belief,” Smith said.While Johan Botha didn’t get any special words from Smith at today’s press conference, his ability to control the game in the middle overs has already earned him high praise. Botha does exactly what Smith was referring to in a batting sense, about working hard and building a base, in the bowling sense. Because of his primary ability as a container, Botha works on drying up runs and in the process is usually on the receiving end of wickets, particularly in the crucial middle phase of an innings.Smith recognised that having someone who can perform that role is what has made the South African attack more dynamic. “We’ve been able to pick up wickets outside of the fist 10-15 overs in the middle period. It’s a mindset thing, the spinners believe they can take wickets and as the captain, I have to believe in them.”It could boil down to another selection dilemma for South Africa, one they will be only too happy to have. In keeping with the watchful nature of their approach, they will pick the starting XI on who best will contest with the opposition on the day. Smith said that New Zealand have “a top four with power hitters who take the game to you,” which could imply the need for a container in the Botha mould. Smith also said the New Zealand bowlers have done a good job of “taking the pace off the ball,” which means that the middle order, which is most likely to face those bowlers, will be expected to give another solid account of itself.

Martin Guptill believes he can solve New Zealand’s top-order woes if he can recall the belief that helped him to a gritty century against Ireland in the warm-up match in Nagpur. Though Guptill did not need to break sweat in the massive drubbing of Kenya in New Zealand’s tournament opener, he fell cheaply against Shane Watson as the batting crumbled against Australia having struggled to 10 off 25 balls.His inability to force the pace encouraged Australia’s quick bowlers to cramp him for space with a tight line. It was not just him, though, as his partners forgot to rotate the strike as New Zealand ran only four singles in the first 15 overs. It was an appalling display and New Zealand were rightly thrashed by seven wickets, making the match, a marquee encounter on paper, a no-contest and at the same time conceded the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.”It is just a matter of me being tough,” Guptill said about his own performance. “Just making myself kick on and go deep into the innings. I did it against Ireland so there is no reason I can’t do it against other nations. So I am looking to go back to what I did against Ireland and hopefully it works for me.”Guptill, who was New Zealand’s best batsman in the recent two-Test series against Pakistan, said that seven-day break between the two matches, will allow New Zealand to start afresh against Zimbabwe on Friday. The captain Daniel Vettori has an ongoing hamstring problem and is one of three players along with Scott Stryis (finger) and Kyle Mills (back) with injury issues but Guptill indicated they will all be fit. “We need to win here. The guys are working towards it. So we want to put up good performances,” he said.Guptill is well aware about Zimbabwe’s strengths, one of which is their reliance on their spinners, who have bowled virtually 40 overs in each of the previous contests against Australia and Canada. To combat the dangers of the slow bowlers, Guptill said the batsmen were training against the spin pair of Vettori and Nathan McCullum bowling with the new ball. He also has first-hand experience of facing spin early in an innings after facing R Ashwin during the warm-up match against India although Guptill didn’t last long against the offspinner.Guptill felt there was nothing wrong with his batting, instead it was just a matter of staying strong. He said that John Wright, the coach, and an opener during his playing career, had been a positive influence. “He hasn’t done too much technical work with me,” he said. “It is just a matter of him saying to believe myself and go out and do it really. I have been doing it reasonably well but I just go to do it for longer periods and that is what I am looking forward to do this week.”

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh allrounder, has not been included in the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Mortaza had injured his right knee while playing club cricket in Dhaka in December and was striving to recover in time for the tournament. He had begun bowling off a short run-up during net sessions in the last few days but the selectors decided against including him in the campaign. Shakib Al Hasan was named captain of the squad and Tamim Iqbal will be his deputy.”There is little chance that Mortaza will be fit before the World Cup,” chief selector Rafiqul Alam told AFP, adding that coach Jamie Siddons supported this assessment. “Mortaza, however, has the chance to be included in the team later if he fully recovers and an opportunity arises.”Mortaza’s absence is a blow to Bangladesh but they have enjoyed a string of positive results under Shakib recently, including beating New Zealand 4-0 in October 2010 and Zimbabwe 3-1 in their most recent outing in December.The doubt over Mortaza’s selection was the only major question ahead of the announcement. And though his exclusion effectively means that Mortaza won’t be part of the World Cup, Siddons was optimistic. “He [Mortaza] is on track with his rehab. He was supposed to bowl today, bowl off a full run-up at the end of the month in eight to ten days,” Siddons had told the day before the squad was announced.”We definitely want him to be fit. If the selectors don’t pick him, and if he’s fit by the first match, we can use him as a replacement in the World Cup. There are a few good reasons for him to bowl. I expect him to be fit by the start of the World Cup. I want him in the team, I want a fit Mashrafe.”The Bangladesh physiotherapist, Michael Henry, had said Mortaza had “responded well and there were no negative repercussions after his bowling stint.”Mortaza described his exclusion “as the most painful day” of his life. “I was 100% confident of regaining my fitness,” Mortaza told reporters. “However, this is life and I am quite accustomed to it.”I respect their decision and you can say this is just bad luck.”Bangladesh will play the tournament opener against India in Dhaka on February 19 after which they play their remaining group games at home.Squad: Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

Former Zimbabwe medium-pacer Gary Brent, who retired from international cricket in 2008, has continued his involvement with cricket in Zimbabwe as a coach.Brent, 34, has been part of a coaching clinic for junior cricketers from high density suburbs, as well as working with the national Under-13 and Under-19 teams, and has indicated his desire to give something back to the sport by fostering young talent.”As I was getting towards the end of my career my body was getting sore and the last straw was when I broke my finger in a domestic game,” he told .”I decided that it was about time I did something else and it was an easy decision to start coaching. It’s something that I have a passion for and I want to pass on the knowledge that I have acquired to the upcoming youngsters and see cricket develop in this country.”Brent, who played 70 one-day internationals, four Tests and three Twenty20s for Zimbabwe, has been involved in coaching at various levels for some time and has also worked with high school first teams, including Prince Edward High in Harare.He holds a Level Three coaching certificate, which he acquired in England, and is also a Level Two certified fitness instructor. An all-round sportsman, Brent also has Level One coaching certificates for hockey and rugby.His current assignment is a coaching clinic for young players from high density suburbs, including cricketers from Chipembere Primary School in Highfield, which produced Elton Chigumbura and Tatenda Taibu.The clinic is being held at the Interfin High Performance Centre, formerly the Country Club, in Harare and will take place over a period of 100 days every year. David Mutendera, the tall seamer who played the last of 10 matches for the national side in June 2001, is also involved as a coach at the clinic.

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has said he hopes the absence of himself and hard-hitting batsman Kieron Pollard from the Trinidad & Tobago squad for the 2011 Caribbean T20 event will give young players a chance to take up the mantle for the regional side.Bravo and Pollard have both opted to play in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash, which will be played from December 30 to January 5, and will miss their domestic tournament that will be held in Antigua and Barbados from January 10 to 23. Bravo signed for Victoria, while Pollard will play for South Australia.”The decision not to play for T&T was a tough one, as we remain committed to T&T’s cricket,” Bravo told . “However, with Pollard and myself not being there, I hope two young players can step up to the plate and make a name for themselves.”Bravo and Pollard are the most experienced players in the T&T squad, and were key in their successful run in 2008 and 2009, when they won the now defunct Stanford 20/20 and then reached the final of the 2009 Champions League Twenty20.The pair’s decision to skip the domestic event had raised concerns over their commitment to West Indies cricket, but Bravo said they had been encouraged by the support from the T&T Cricket Board. “We felt a lot better by the fact that we got the support of the board and we wish T&T all the best in the tournament. I will be following the exploits of the team very closely from Australia and will be in touch with the team giving my support.”In September, T&T team manager Colin Borde said he believed Bravo and Pollard were both still committed to West Indies cricket, despite their decision not to sign national contracts with the WICB. Bravo’s decision not to sign a contract means he does not have to make himself available to play for West Indies all the time and can play in tournaments such as the Big Bash and the IPL. Bravo and Pollard were both given no-objection certificates to play in the Big Bash by the WICB, however they do run the risk of not being selected to play for West Indies in Twenty20 internationals if the board follows up on their rule of participation in regional competitions being mandatory for national selection in the corresponding format of the game.Bravo pointed out the CT20 was an important tournament for T&T as they had failed to win any trophies in the last year. “I see no reason why T&T cannot go on and win the tournament and make up for the disappointment of the 2010 season. We really did not have a good season and the guys should keep this in mind and got out there and play their hearts out.”

Sri Lanka fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has said that the wicket at Pallekele, Test cricket’s newest venue, didn’t help the bowlers like they had expected. Chris Gayle was out lbw to the first ball of the match, but the home side managed only one other wicket in the 40 overs that were possible on yet another rain-shortened day.”We didn’t know anything about the wicket. There was some moisture and we thought we can capitalise on that. It didn’t seam that much. The first ball was a good one, but it didn’t seam or swing. We had a good start. We expected the wicket to do a lot, but it didn’t do as much as we expected.”Ramanayake also gave credit to Darren Bravo and Devon Smith, who added 115 for the second wicket in 32.1 overs, with Smith making 55 before Ajantha Mendis got him with the carrom ball. “[Darren] Bravo and [Devon] Smith batted well too. Test cricket is like that. You can’t expect to lose wickets every over or in every session. Sometimes you don’t get a wicket. There was only one spell where we didn’t bowl well, but I thought we had a good spell in the first session,”Sri Lanka were compelled to play Dilhara Fernando after Nuwan Kulasekara was ruled out with a side strain. An MRI scan revealed a small tear and team management felt it was better not to play him, though he is expected to be fit for the ODIs. Fernando wound up having both Smith and Darren dropped off his bowling, and ended the day wicketless.Ramanayake said they made the decision to go with Fernando because they didn’t want to risk another inexperienced bowler in the side, with Suranga Lakmal playing in just his second Test. “We expected Dilhara to get a few wickets. We had only 40 overs and still he can come back and take wickets. He struggled in the first spell with his run up, but he was getting better as he bowled more overs. The first few overs I felt the same. He was unfortunate not to pick up a few wickets.”It would have been a different game had those two catches been taken. I still feel he can deliver and he can bowl well tomorrow. They would have been three or four down by the end of the day. I feel if we can get one or two wickets early, we can wrap them up. From No.1 to No.4 they have some good batsmen, but from thereon we can pick up wickets. Had we got one more wicket, it would have been ideal.”

West Zone

Gujarat ran through half the Baroda batting line-up cheaply, but then ran into a ruthless Yusuf Pathan whose 42-ball 89 gave Baroda a three-wicket win•Associated Press

Yusuf Pathan rescued Baroda from a desperate situation with a savage half-century to carry his side to a three-wicket win over Gujarat at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Baroda were seemingly dead and buried at 7 for 5 chasing 129, but somebody forget to tell Yusuf. He proceeded to bludgeon five fours and eight sixes in a 42-ball 89, sharing a 92-run partnership with Ketan Panchal for the seventh wicket that came off only 8.2 overs. Yusuf fell with eight runs still to get, but by then the damage been done, and Baroda cruised home with 17 balls to spare.Before Yusuf’s staggering assault, Siddharth Trivedi appeared to have won the game for Gujarat after knocking over three of the top five Baroda batsmen with only six runs on the board. Trivedi would eventually get Pathan as well, to finish with 4 for 29, but by then the match had swung completely the other way.Yusuf had starred with the ball as well, taking 3 for 25 as Gujarat stuttered to 128. Bhavik Thaker top scored with 32 from 30 balls, with two fours and a six. Opener Pratharesh Parmar, who made 28, and Jay Desai, who made 25, were the only other batsmen to go past 10.Iqbal Abdulla spun Mumbai to an emphatic 54-run win against Saurashtra at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Saurashtra had got off to a poor start in their chase of Mumbai’s 144, losing three wickets with 11 runs on the board, including the one of India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for 0. Shitanshu Kotak and captain Jaydev Shah tried to steady the innings, but the asking rate climbed steeply during their slow resistance. After Kotak fell, left-arm spinner Abdulla ran through the lower order, taking 4 for 7 as Saurashtra finished on 90 for 9.Mumbai themselves had earlier started poorly, losing captain Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane cheaply. But Paul Valthaty and Abhishek Nayar ensured they didn’t get bogged down, like Saurashtra did. After Valthaty fell for 32 off 18 deliveries, Nayar took over. His 48 off 44 took Mumbai to a healthy total, despite the regular fall of wickets at the other end.

North Zone

India leg spinner Amit Mishra spun Haryana to an easy nine-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi. J&K got off to a sedate start after choosing to bat first, before Mishra ripped through the heart of the middle order, reducing them from 54 for 2 to 59 for 7. He twice took two wickets in an over to finish with figures of 5 for 19, as JK were bowled out for 82.Haryana made quick work of the small target, getting there with 6.4 overs to spare and for the loss of opener Mukul Dagar. Rahul Dewan led the way with a solid unbeaten 44, which came from 41 balls, and contained seven fours. Haryana top the North Zone points table, ahead of Delhi on net run-rate. Both teams have won their first three matches.Mithun Manhas and Puneet Mehra’s unbroken 80-run partnership gave Delhi a comfortable seven-wicket win over Punjab at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi. Mehra and Manhas came together with the score at 58 for 3 and made identical scores of 39, as Delhi chased down their target of 138 with eight balls to spare.Punjab never really got going after choosing to bat, as their batsman struggled to stitch together decent partnerships. Opener Sarul Kanwar top scored with 31 from 33, but it took some lower order hitting by allrounder Bipul Sharma, who made 27 from 16, with three fours and a six, to push Punjab to 137. Sharma and Karan Goel, who remained unbeaten on 30, racked up 36 from the last 4.3 overs, but it proved to be too little too late.Himachal Pradesh slid to their third-straight defeat, losing to Services by 14 runs by way of the VJD method after rain intervened at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi. Medium-pacer Abhishek Sinha grabbed four wickets for 22 to restrict HP to 111 for 8. The opening bowlers had struck a couple of early blows and HP had to rely on contributions from Abhinav Bali and Manvinder Bisla to revive them. VA Indulkar chipped in with a steady 24 while Sinha was making inroads at the other end, to give the HP bowlers something to defend. Services, in their reply, had progressed to 76 for 3 in 13 overs, with opener Sumit Singh making 27, before rain prevented any further play. According to VJD calculations, Services needed to have been just 65 for 3.

Central Zone

Uttar Pradesh opened their account in the tournament with a 10-run win over Railways at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Their star was RP Singh, who picked up five wickets for eight runs in four overs, among the best figures for a bowler in Twenty20 matches. The UP openers Rohit Srivastava and Tanmay Srivastava laid the platform for a competitive score with a 41-run stand and Ravikant Shukla and Piyush Chawla provided the innings impetus in the late overs to extend the score to 165. The Railways reply began in encouraging fashion with the openers adding 33 but things soon went downhill. Praveen Gupta dismissed PM Madkaikar and set the stage for RP to run through the top and middle orders. The next four wickets fell for just 13 runs in a space of 4.1 overs but when it seemed UP had the game in the bag, Railways staged a recovery. Shreyas Khanolkar fought back with 61, adding 60 with JP Yadav and a further 29 with Avishkar Salvi to keep his team in the hunt. But when he fell, caught by Mohammad Kaif off Kamran Khan in the penultimate over with 17 needed off 8, UP had struck a decisive blow that secured them a win.On a day of fascinating contests, Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh served up a thriller at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The teams played out a tie but Vidarbha won the one-over eliminator and notched up their first victory of the tournament. Vidarbha opted to bat and were boosted by a 64-run stand for the second wicket between Alind Naidu (20) and captain Shalabh Shrivastava (41). However, Jalaj Saxena, with his offspin, triggered a slide and grabbed a career-best 5 for 16 to limit Vidarbha to 141. The chase began in positive fashion for MP, with openers Naman Ojha and Monish Mishra racing to 49 in 5.2 overs. At 92 for 1 in a little over 11 overs, MP looked good to bag a win but the Vidarbha bowlers fought back with Naidu proving the pick of the bowlers with his offbreaks, taking 3 for 12 in four overs. MP still had their noses ahead as late as the final over but lost three wickets, including two off the last two balls with just one run needed for victory.MP were to rue their lapses in the end as Vidarbha edged the one-over eliminator. MP batted first and were able to take seamer Umesh Yadav for just 9 runs. Vidarbha, facing Anand Rajan, took five balls to scale their target.

East Zone

Bengal‘s bowlers stifled Jharkhand in their chase of 133, restricting them to 117 for 6 at the Sunshine Ground in Cuttack. Jharkhand had raced to 37 without loss in the fifth over, before allrounder Laxmi Shukla removed Akash Verma. Bengal came right back into the game, drying up the runs through some tight bowling. The pressure told on Jharkhand as they lost three wickets for four runs to limp to 78 for 4 after 14 overs. The asking rate proved to be too much for the remaining batsmen, and Jharkhand finished 15 runs short despite captain Rajiv Kumar’s 43. His counterpart Manoj Tiwary had earlier lifted Bengal from 22 for 2 to 132 for 5, hitting four fours and two sixes in his 59 off 53. He was supported by opener Arindam Das who made a patient 42.An all-round performance by Assam enabled them to beat Tripura by six wickets at the Ravenshaw College Ground in Cuttack. Assam’s bowlers scythed through the Tripura top order, leaving them struggling at 38 for 5. Swapan Das and Wilkin Mota added 52 runs in quick time to lead the recovery, but Mota’s dismissal triggered yet another collapse, and Tripura lost their remaining wickets for 27 runs to be dismissed for 117. Das top scored with 36 off 29 while four Assam bowlers took two wickets apiece. Pritam Debnath began solidly for Assam, and S Sriram ensured they capitalised on the good start, guiding his team home with an unbeaten 39 off 29.