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Glenn Maxwell and David Miller can’t keep delivering every time, and soon, the rest of the Kings XI batting will be tested, if their bowlers continue to go for so many

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit21-Apr-20145:20

Agarkar: Sunrisers’ Indian batsmen have to chip in

Match facts Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Start time 1830 local (1430 GMT, 2000 IST)Big PictureWho will stop Kings XI Punjab? They chased 200-plus against Chennai Super Kings, then they hunted down 190-plus against Rajasthan Royals. And they did so with more than an over to spare both times. It has been basically the duo of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller who have done the damage; the others have either largely not clicked or have not been needed. They can’t keep on delivering at such levels every time, and soon, the rest of the Punjab batting will be tested, if their bowlers continue to go for so many.Sunrisers Hyderabad’s attack – Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Karn Sharma, Darren Sammy – has the potential to test them more than their previous two opponents did. This group of bowlers set up several wins for their side last season in their run to the playoffs. However, even Sunrisers’ attack could find it tough in Sharjah. The pitch for the Kings XI-Royals match was a belter without any help for the bowlers.While Kings XI have plenty of firepower all across their middle order in the form of Maxwell, Miller and captain George Bailey, Sunrisers’ batting appears lopsided, with most of the strength concentrated at the top in Aaron Finch, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan.Watch out forGlenn Maxwell’s scores so far have been 95 off 43 and 89 off 45. After being named Man of the Match against Royals, he said he had left the job “half finished” and should have taken his team to the finish himself. He may overwhelmingly favour the square leg/midwicket region against spin, but he showed another facet of his game against Royals. With Dhawal Kulkarni bowling on the stumps to a leg-side field and no sweeper on the off, Maxwell opened the face to pick up boundaries through cover.Amit Mishra has made legspin a wicket-taking asset in T20 without reducing it to quick-and-flat stuff. He lured several batsmen to their fall with big tossed up legbreaks in the recent World T20. He will be up against a man whose principal way of dealing with spinners is to slog-sweep them out of sight.Stats and trivia Glenn Maxwell’s strike-rate of 160.34 is the second-highest among batsmen who have made at least 1000 career T20 runs At 6.78, Amit Mishra’s economy-rate is the worst for spinners with 150 or more career T20 wickets

The one-day series between England and India began with an abandonment on a dank Bank Holiday in Bristol, as persistent rainfall prevented any possibility of the players taking to the field

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2014
ScorecardThe covers were firmly on in Bristol•Getty ImagesThe one-day series between England and India began with an abandonment on a dank Bank Holiday in Bristol, as persistent rainfall prevented any possibility of the players taking to the field.Rain had begun to fall the previous evening and continued through the night, with the pitch under covers ahead of the scheduled 10.30am start. Although it eased off for periods and the possibility remained for a 20-over game to begin as late as 3.45pm, another heavy shower spurred the umpires to call things off at around 1.30pm.It meant that for the third year running, the first ODI of the latter part of the English summer was washed out, after series against South Africa and Australia began in similar fashion in Cardiff in 2012 and at Headingley last year. There was also disappointment for Gloucestershire, with Bristol set to host its first ODI since 2010.The teams will move on to Cardiff for the second of five matches, taking place on Wednesday, with Alex Hales still awaiting his 50-over debut for England. Having lost the Test series 3-1, India will be hoping the change in format brings with it a change in fortune.

Which of the continent’s players still featuring in the UCL has the best chance of winning it?

Getty Images7Adel Taarabt

Benfica are the dark horses in the Champions League, but cannot be underestimated after eliminating Ajax in the Round of 16.

One-time wonderkid Taarabt, now reinvented as a central midfielder, remains a glittering talent on his day, and is enjoying a late-career revival at Benfica even if he’s dropped out of the international reckoning.

After his previous stints with Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan and Queen’s Park Rangers, Benfica’s showdown with Liverpool may be the biggest match of his career.

AdvertisementGetty6Samuel Chukwueze

The last Nigerian still standing in the Champions League, Chukwueze won’t be going to the World Cup, but will surely be targeting another European trophy this season after last year’s Europa League triumph.

They have to get past Bayern Munich next, but after eliminating Juventus in the last round, the Yellow Submarine will fear no one as they look to reach the final four.

Chukwueze has had a limited impact in the UCL so far this season—starting just one match—although he could still have a big role to play during the latter stages.

Getty Images5Geoffrey Kondogbia

Atletico Madrid certainly have their work cut out against Manchester City, but could Diego Simeone be the man who inflicts the latest UCL heartbreak on Pep Guardiola?

Certainly, the Spanish giants have the resources to frustrate the Prem leaders, not to mention experience of reaching the Champions League final.

Kondogbia will have a major role to play in the heart of the park, having established himself as a key player at Atleti, while Mozambique’s Reinildo has settled quickly since signing from LOSC Lille in January.

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Getty.4Edouard Mendy & Hakim Ziyech

Chelsea will need to improve dramatically this week following Saturday’s humbling at home against Brentford.

The 4-1 loss was one of the low points of Thomas Tuchel’s time in charge of the Blues, where various failings were exposed against their lowly local rivals.

It was a game to forget for Mendy, who was defended by Tuchel after the match, while Ziyech was one of the West Londoners’ better performers during a tricky outing.

The German coach will be expecting from a big response from all of his team when they face Real Madrid on Wednesday.

A round-up of Syed Mushtaq Ali matches played on April 1, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2014North ZoneGautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag struck forties and guided Delhi’s successful chase for a six-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh.Gambhir and Sehwag shared an opening stand of 82 in little more than 11 overs. Sehwag was the first to be dismissed for a 32-ball 42 which included five fours and a six. Gambhir was out two overs later for 41 off 40 balls with six fours. Delhi lost Mithun Manhas and Unmukt Chand in the next over but Rajat Bhatia and Milind Kumar ensured Himachal would have no more successes, reaching the target in the 19th over.Earlier, Paras Dogra helped Himachal overcome a shaky start to post a competitive 134 for 6. Himachal were 10 for 2 in the second over, before Dogra strung partnerships with Prashant Chopra (24), Nikhil Gangta (29) and Rishi Dhawan (27) to rescue the side. Dogra was unbeaten on 40 off 41 balls with one four and a six.In Chandigarh, fast bowler Shadab Nazar’s 4 for 13 set up Services’ comfortable, seven-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir.J&K had a reasonable start to the innings after opting to bat, but they struggled to keep the score moving after Adil Reshi was dismissed by Nazar. Arshad Kawaja’s dismissal in the sixth over sparked a period where J&K slid from 26 for 1 to 59 for 8 in 10 overs. Samiullah Beigh’s 23-ball 24, which had just one boundary shot, and a useful 16 from No. 10 Vijay Dogra helped J&K to 91 before they were dismissed in the 19th over.In spite of the loss of their openers Nakul Verma and Yashpal Singh within three overs, Services reached the target in the 17th over, guided by Rajat Paliwal’s unbeaten 29 off 27 balls.Three-wicket hauls by Harshal Patel and Jayant Yadav triggered a batting collapse that handed Haryana a 32-run victory over Punjab in Mohali. Chasing 137, Punjab were struggling at 49 for 5 and there was no resistance from the lower order as they ended on 104 for 9. Patel, the right-arm seamer, took 3 for 35 while Yadav, the offspinner, took 3 for 10 from four overs. For Haryana, the captain Rahul Dewan top scored with 38 before he was stumped off Harbhajan Singh. There were no major contributions from the middle or lower order as Harbhajan and legspinner Himanshu Chawla shared five wickets between them. Chawla finished with 3 for 23.East ZoneAn unbeaten 53 from Laxmi Shukla and five wickets shared between offspinners Aamir Gani and Saurasish Lahiri helped Bengal beat Assam by 44 runs at Eden Gardens.Laxmi Shukla’s 53 off 42 balls provided impetus to Bengal’s innings and his fifth-wicket partnership of 38 with Arnab Nandi came off just 15 balls. Most of those runs came from Nandi who hit 28 off nine balls with five fours and a six.In reply, Assam’s batsmen, save for Dheeraj Jadhav, struggled against Bengal’s bowlers, specially the off-spin duo of Gani, who was making his T20 debut, and Lahiri, who ran through the side’s batting line-up. Jadhav scored 38 off 30 and Sibsankar Roy and J Syed Mohammad contributed a few runs lower down the order but Assam were too far behind to pose a threat to Bengal. Gani, who also represented India U-19 at the World Cup in February, finished with 3 for 18 in his debut T20 game.Odisha won their opening game against Tripura by six wickets in Kolkata.Chasing 117, Odisha secured the win in 19 overs, losing four wickets in an otherwise easy chase that was set up by opener Paresh Patel’s 37-ball 43. Earlier, Tripura struggled to post a challenging total after being put in to bat and were dismissed for 116. Manisankar Murasingh was the top-scorer with a 31-ball 38 but no other batsman managed a score of more than 20 as the team lurched from one wicket to another. Jayanta Behera took 3 for 22 in four overs while Basant Mohanty took 2 for 17.Central ZoneKuldeep Yadav’s left-arm chinaman had an emphatic impact in his first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match as he picked up 3-15 to usher Uttar Pradesh to a five-wicket victory. Rajasthan had progressed to a decent start but from 74 for 2 they crumbled to 115 all out and posed little challenge with the ball thereafter.Rajasthan’s No.4 Puneet Yadav with 33 off 34 balls was the top-scorer, but since him none of the batsmen could reach double figures. Kuldeep’s strike of Rajesh Bishnoi in the 12th over kick-started the slide and Rajasthan barely held on till the 20th over as he claimed two additional wickets in the death. Piyush Chawla, the UP captain, contributed two wickets and a run-out while seamer Amit Mishra had dented the top order with two wickets of his ownA double-strike left Rajasthan at 12 for 2, but Eklavya Dwivedi stood firm with 45 off 39 and was in the middle when the winning runs were struck.The Saxena brothers ripped through the Railways batting, picking up six wickets between them, to send them crashing to 86 all out and take Madhya Pradesh to victory by seven wickets and with more than eight overs to spare.Jalaj, the offspinner, was the wrecker-in-chief with 4 for 12. A horrid start had enhanced his threat with two of Railways’ top-three being dismissed by the seventh ball of the match. A brief 38-run stand for the third wicket between Amit Paunikar and captain Mahesh Rawat sought stabilise the innings, but Saxena broke the middle-order and Jatin cleaned up the tail in the 19th over.A similarly poor start – Anureet Singh struck twice in four overs – would not prove too difficult to overcome as Harmeet Singh and Udit Birla guided the side from 24 for 3 to a straightforward victory.South ZoneA century from DB Ravi Teja laid the platform for Hyderabad to beat Kerala by 34 runs in Visakhapatnam. Sent in to bat, Hyderabad made a solid start before losing their captain Akshath Reddy in the sixth over. Ravi Teja and Hanuma Vihari took over after that, putting on 126 in 76 balls, before Vihari was run out three short of a half-century. Vihari had struck two fours and two sixes in his 36-ball innings. Ravi Teja went on to finish on an unbeaten 101 off 68 balls, with 11 fours and a six, as Hyderabad posted a daunting 179 for 2 in their 20 overs.Kerala were on course till they lost their first wicket at 56 in the eighth over. After that, the Hyderabad spinners struck regular blows, as the batsmen failed to convert starts. Opener KJ Rakesh top-scored with 48, but no one else crossed 24, as Kerala ended their innings on 145 for 9. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took three wickets, while legspinner Akash Bhandari, offspinner Amol Shinde and seamer Ashish Reddy took two apiece.An opening stand of 87 between Manish Pandey and KL Rahul was the bedrock of Karnataka’s seven-wicket win over Andhra in Vizianagaram. The target of 132 was achieved in 18.1 overs as Manish Pandey top scored with 60 while Rahul made 34. Rahul’s knock came off 34 balls before he was bowled by B Sudhakar who took 2 for 19. Pandey’s came off 51 balls before he was bowled by AG Praveen. Their knocks overshadowed Ricky Bhui’s unbeaten 53. Bhui came in with the score at 30 for 2 and added 47 for the fourth wicket with GK Chiranjeevi. Bhui’s knock came off 34 balls with four fours and three sixes. Abrar Kazi, the left-arm spinner, took 2 for 25.An unbeaten 89 by Sagun Kamat helped Goa ease to a seven-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in Visakhapatnam. Kamat and Swapnil Asnodkar took the game away from Tamil Nadu with an opening stand of 112, and that allowed Goa to overhaul the target of 149 easily. Kamat smashed seven sixes and five fours in his 61-ball knock. Asnodkar made 41 off 27 balls before he was dismissed by B Aparajith. Kamat ensured he stayed till the end to achieve the target with more than two overs to spare. After Tamil Nadu opted to bat, they lost M Vijay and Aparajith in quick succession. Dinesh Karthik and B Indrajith hit a couple of 30s to lift the innings with a stand of 47. Late hitting by M Shahrukh Khan took the score close to 150 but it wasn’t enough. Harshad Gadekar, the right-arm seamer, was the most effective for Goa with 2 for 17.

A round-up of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Super Eights matches that ended on January 19

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2014Group AIslamabad booked a berth in the QEA final, against Rawalpindi, by thrashing Karachi Whites by an innings and 28 runs in Islamabad.Asked to bat, Karachi Whites produced only one fifty, from Asif Zakir (67), as they were restricted to 249 by Shehzad Azam (4 for 124), Hamza Nadeem (3 for 51) and Mudassar Ali (2 for 59). Hundreds from Zeeshan Ali (167) and Imad Wasim (139*) helped Islamabad put on a massive 478 for 4 before declaring. A five-for from Azam in the second innings meant Karachi Whites barely crossed the 200-run mark and gave Islamabad 10 crucial points with which they jumped from the bottom to the top of the Group A table.Karachi Blues fell just short of making it to the final despite beating Peshawar by four wickets in Karachi. They ended with nine points, one short of Islamabad’s 10, but were level with Karachi Whites and Peshawar. Karachi Blues were benefitted by an all-round effort from the players even though they conceded a first-innings lead to Peshawar.Put in to bat, Peshawar had fifties from top-order batsmen Iftikhar Ahmed (56) and Mohammad Idrees (63) but no other major contributions from the middle or lower order. Medium-pacers Adeel Malik and Rajesh Ramesh took four and three wickets respectively. Karachi Blues narrated a similar story with the only substantial contribution coming from opener Naved Khan (88) – the rest of the batsmen struggled to take them close to Peshawar’s score. Medium-pacer Afaq Ahmed took four wickets for 45 runs.But then, a collective effort from the Karachi Blues bowlers restricted Peshawar to 134 on the third day. Their batsmen then chased 190 with four wickets in hand, led by an unbeaten 84 from Yasir Hussain and 45 from Fakhar Zaman. The six points earned weren’t enough to take them to the final though.Group BRawalpindi, who started the round at the top of Group B, progressed to the tournament’s final despite not taking a point off Multan, in Islamabad. Rawalpindi were even in danger of losing the game at one point. They held on for the draw, after conceding the first-innings lead, meaning they were tied on points with Lahore Shalimar but still topped the group based on a superior net run rate. The final is scheduled for January 23 to 27.Left-arm pacer Nasir Malik picked up a five-for to ensure Multan did not get away to a huge first-innings total, but Rawalpindi’s batsmen flopped to cede any advantage built up by their bowlers; only one batsman got past 20 for them, as they folded for 102 in little over a session. Multan’s new-ball pair of Aamer Yamin and Kumail Abbas were the destroyers-in-chief, claiming nine between them.Multan’s top order was shaky in the second innings, but three half-centuries from the middle order ensured Rawalpindi were chasing over 400. Twenty-year-old opener Adnan Mehmood, in only his second first-class game, scored a hundred to lead the effort to knock off 430. While a few of his team-mates also got starts, they could not kick on, and several failed, meaning he was fighting a lonely battle for the most part. The second highest score came from No. 8 Haseeb Azam, who made 86. However, regular wickets dented their chances and in the end it was left to Nos. 10 and 11 to hold on for the draw, which they did. Play ended with Rawalpindi 85 short of their target.Lahore Shalimar, needed victory to book their place in the final, but with the first day’s play washed out against Sialkot, they were always in a race against time. Despite them batting at a brisk rate all through, and also declaring their first innings closed, they could only draw. They did manage three points for the first innings lead, but it was a close run thing – opener Imran Butt scored a century to lead them to 328 for 7 declared before Sialkot, courtesy a ton from Salman Ali, fell just 15 short of lead. That they didn’t get it was in large part due to seamer Abdul Matin, who took 4 for 68.In their second innings, Lahore Shalimar got to 4 for 186 before play was called off. Their three points brought them level with Rawalpindi on the points table, but it was just not enough.*16.30GMT, January 19: The report had said earlier that Lahore Shalimar had qualified for the final, not taking into account net run rate. This has been corrected.

An unbeaten century from Tom Cooper put South Australia in control on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2014
ScorecardTom Cooper scored his second hundred of the Shield season (file photo)•Getty ImagesAn unbeaten century from Tom Cooper put South Australia in control on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the Gabba. Sent in to bat by James Hopes, the Redbacks lost two early wickets – both to Hopes himself – but recovered to reach 4 for 278 at stumps with Cooper still at the crease on 156 and Johan Botha on 53.Cooper’s second hundred of the Shield season, and the fourth of his first-class career, moved him into top spot on the run tally this summer. He struck 18 fours and one six during his 259 balls at the crease and his effort was all the more impressive after he came to the crease with his team in trouble at 2 for 13.Hopes had Michael Klinger caught behind for 1 and then picked up Travis Head for a golden duck next ball. However, Cooper and opener Sam Raphael put on 92 for the third wicket to lead the recovery before Raphael was lbw to Luke Feldman for 39.Callum Ferguson was caught behind off Ben Cutting for 19 to keep Queensland in the contest but Botha and Cooper turned things South Australia’s way with their unbeaten 126-run stand. South Australia are on top of the Shield table and victory in this match would go a long way to earning them a place in the final.

Unmukt Chand hit his third first-class hundred in the Duleep Trophy semi-final as North Zone reached 329 for 2 on the second day against East Zone

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2013A full day’s play was possible in Kochi after the rain-hit first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final and Unmukt Chand made the most of it, hitting his third first-class hundred. North Zone resumed on 33 for 0 against East Zone and reached 329 for 2 by stumps, openers Jiwanjot Singh and Chand the men to be dismissed.While Jiwanjot could not make the most of a patient start and fell to Ashok Dinda for 24, Chand kicked on to make 116. He added 187 for the second wicket with Jammu & Kashmir batsman Ian Dev Singh, who had to retire hurt five runs short of what would have been his seventh first-class hundred. Mandeep Singh (40*) and Services batsman Rajat Paliwal (41*) ensured no further damage for North with an unbroken 81-run stand.South Zone captain Abhinav Mukund led his side to a strong position against Central Zone in the other semi-final in Chennai. Mukund was unbeaten on 61 with B Aparajith giving him company on 35 as South reached 137 for 2 in reply to Central’s 209. The visitors resumed in the morning at 123 for 5 and only captain Piyush Chawla put up some resistance. He hit three sixes on his way to 56 before falling to Pragyan Ojha, who ended with 3 for 49.South started steadily but Akshath Reddy and KL Rahul failed to kick on from starts, falling to Chawla and Umesh Yadav respectively. Mukund was joined by Aparajith at 73 for 2 and by stumps, the partnership had grown to 64.

The Kenya cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal international airport in Lahore amid tight security in the early hours of Wednesday

Umar Farooq10-Dec-2014The Kenya cricket team landed at the Allama Iqbal international airport in Lahore amid tight security in the early hours of Wednesday. The five one-day matches between Kenya and Pakistan A is of considerable significance to the PCB, which hopes the successful staging of the series will be the first step towards convincing other nations to tour the country.”For us we were looking to play and get match practice,” Kenya coach Steve Tikolo said. “When Pakistan offered to host us, we never had hesitation in saying yes because we wanted to come to Pakistan and play cricket. I have come here twice in the past, to Karachi and Lahore, and for me it’s about playing the game of cricket.”Forget all the side issues, politics and whatever is being said. If you are a cricketer you just play cricket and we are here to play it and nothing else. We landed here this morning and until now they have looked after us very well, to say the least. So I think other countries should also come and play cricket. If you want to move world cricket forward this is what should be happening.”Pakistan has remained a no-go destination for international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus while it was en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the third day of the second Test. Eight people were killed during the attack – and some players were injured – at Liberty roundabout, located one-and-a-half kilometres from the stadium.The Kenyan team bus, flanked by police, was driven along the route where the attack took place. The visitors will be staying at the National Cricket Academy, adjacent to the Gaddafi Stadium, where all the matches will be played. The security measures put in place include the area being cordoned off by 14 giant gates.The stadium and the NCA are situated inside the Nishtar Park Sports Complex, which is a public space with several restaurants and shops. During Kenya’s stay, however, all the restaurants and shops will be shut for two weeks. Journalists intending to cover the series have had to get their accreditation cleared by the superintendent of police.”It’s an honour and privilege for us to be in Pakistan,” Tikolo said. “I feel Pakistan has done a great favour by hosting us. We have a tournament coming up in January, a world qualifier league in Namibia and this series is a part our preparation.”I believe the games we are going to play in the next 10 days are going to give my boys much practice and experience going into the tournament. So on behalf of Kenya Cricket, we are grateful to Pakistan and I hope this relationship goes further and becomes stronger.”Since the Lahore attack – nearly seven years ago – Pakistan have had to play their home series at offshore venues, primarily the UAE. THE PCB had tried to negotiate with the BCB about a tour but Bangladesh withdrew after committing twice.The PCB during the time tried to negotiate with the Bangladesh Cricket Board to commit to a tour of Pakistan but the series never happened, with Bangladesh withdrawing after committing twice.Pakistan also invited West Indies A in 2013 but the WICB refused to send the team and asked PCB to host them in UAE, which did not happen. Afghanistan, who received Associate status in the ICC only last year, had visited Pakistan several times but their fixtures were low profile. The PCB also had talks with Cricket Ireland this year but the tour was put on hold following terrorist attacks on Karachi airport in June.The PCB had, through this year, used diplomatic channels in a bid to win back lost confidence and there were frequent visits by the European Union delegation at the PCB headquarters. Kenya is the first country from outside the region to accept an offer to tour Pakistan.Kenya were scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on December 11 but the date was changed suddenly and the team landed a day earlier. The dates for the five matches remained unchanged, though, and they will be played between December 13 and 20.

With a draw the most likely conclusion on the fourth day at Chinnaswamy Stadium, hosts Karnataka utilised the time available for some batting practice

The Report by Rachna Shetty in Bangalore17-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile pic: Stuart Binny hit his seventh first-class hundred after Karnataka conceded the first-innings lead•Sivaraman KittaWith a draw the most likely conclusion on the fourth day at Chinnaswamy Stadium, hosts Karnataka utilised the time available for some batting practice against Gujarat. They finished the day at 245 for 4, boosted by Stuart Binny’s seventh first-class hundred, after dismissing Gujarat for 411 in the first session. The draw gives Gujarat three points based on a first-innings lead while Karnataka get one.Abhimanyu Mithun had an impressive morning session and was instrumental in ensuring that the Gujarat resistance lasted less than 20 overs. Mithun dismissed Rakesh Dhurv and last man, Jasprit Bumrah, while the remaining two wickets were taken by Mayank Agarwal, to restrict Gujarat to 411 with a lead of 105.The rest of the day belonged to Binny, who was promoted up the order to No. 4 after Manish Pandey’s injury. After scores of 2 and 4 in the lead-up to this innings, Binny was keen to get some runs, particularly as Karnataka prepare for three successive away games.Karnataka were 23 for 2 in the 10th over after Agarwal and Kunal Kapoor were dismissed cheaply but their next 100 runs came off 115 balls as Binny got into the groove straightaway, attacking the Gujarat spinners and pacers alike and forcing them to change their attacking lengths to defensive ones.At the other end, KL Rahul grew in confidence, hitting out against Akshar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah, but the young opener would be disappointed on missing out on a bigger score after getting yet another start as he was dismissed by Rakesh Dhurv for 47.His exit hardly affected Binny, who brought out the reverse-sweep to have the sparse crowd hooting in appreciation. By the time Binny reached his century, off 88 balls, Karnataka had only scored 184. He was dismissed playing in the manner in which he had started, attempting a big shot, but by then, Karnataka had played long enough to ensure a draw.Wicketkeeper CM Gautam and Ganesh Satish played out the remaining overs safely until play was called off.Binny was pleased that he had made use of an opportunity given by the team management to find some form. He also said that the spinners’ lines early on allowed him to settle quickly.”I have a pretty simple game plan,” Binny said. “I try and play 20 minutes to see what is happening, in terms of conditions, and then I play my game. The pitch was good to bat on and the spinners tried to attack me early on, which helped me attack them in turn. I won’t say I was worried that I didn’t get enough runs but it’s always good to start your Ranji Trophy with a few runs. I don’t think I played more than 10 balls in the two innings before this one, and therefore it’s crucial for me to play out the first 20 minutes.”With three away games against Vidarbha, Odisha and Haryana up next, Binny said the team would be focused on first securing a first-innings lead before attempting an outright victory. Manish Pandey is expected to recover from a twisted ankle in time for the next round on November 21 and with Robin Uthappa also expected to be join the squad, Karnataka are confident of their chances.”At the moment, we haven’t got the results we have wanted,” Binny said. “We shouldn’t try and think too much about where we are on the table because it’s still too early in the tournament. First we will try to get an innings-lead and then try for an all-out victory.”Gujarat, who are comfortable in the second place with 13 points, are scheduled to play an away game against Punjab on November 21.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on November 6, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2014North ZoneA half-century from Nakul Verma helped Services to a two-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. Verma’s 54, which included eight fours, had Services well-placed at 114 for 4 during their chase of 182. However, the team nearly made a mess of the chase, losing four quick wickets to stumble to 162 for 8. Vikramjeet Malik (3 for 36) and Rahul Singh (3 for 27) picked up three wickets apiece to give Himachal a glimmer, but Services’ captain Yashpal Singh scored a crucial 28 not out to guide his team home in 40 overs.Himachal, having been inserted, were earlier bundled out for 181 in 45.2 overs. Prashant Chopra top-scored with 43, and while few other batsmen made starts, none were able to stay long enough to string together a significant partnership. Medium-pacer Narender Kumar was the pick of Services’ bowlers, taking 3 for 38, while Suraj Yadav, Shadab Nazar and Avishek Sinha chipped in with two scalps apiece.An unbeaten 71 from Sachin Rana helped helped Haryana gun down 253 against Punjab in Nadaun. Haryana’s openers Avi Barot (53) and Sunny Singh (25) set the chase up with a 77-run opening stand, before Rana, coming in at No.4, took charge by collecting his fourth List-A fifty, which included seven fours. Punjab’s bowlers kept chipping away at Haryana with wickets at regular intervals to take the match to the last over, but Rana’s knock coupled with a 23-ball 32 from Jayant Yadav was enough to see the team home with five deliveries to spare.Rana’s innings trumped an equally important half-century from Mandeep Singh, whose 86 had powered Punjab to 252 for 8 in the first innings. Mandeep muscled six fours and a six during his 95-ball knock, before Taruwar Kohli struck a 39-ball 47 to provide a late surge. For Haryana, the medium-pacer Ashish Hooda claimed three wickets, while Harshal Patel took two.A three-wicket haul from the seamer Samiullah Beigh, followed by a fifty from Parvez Rasool helped Jammu & Kashmir to a two-wicket win against Delhi at the Luhnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur. Chasing 213, J&K were struggling at 31 for 3 before Rasool and Hardeep Singh stabilised the innings with a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket. Rasool hit 12 fours to make his way to 74, but three wickets in the space of three overs threatened to derail their chase. However, Waseem Raza and Beigh’s 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket helped seal victory with four balls left.Beigh had earlier picked up 3 for 35 to wreck Delhi’s top order and eventually restrict them to 212 for 8. Milind Kumar and Rajat Bhatia both stroked fifties and shared an 85-run association for the fifth wicket, but the team couldn’t pick up the pace as all the J&K bowlers went at under five an over.