All posts by csb10.top

1994-95 in South Africa
Wisden report | Cricinfo site
Pakistan arrived in South Africa with confidence high on the back of a hard-earned Test series victory over Australia, but would finish the tour with defeat amid rumours of dressing room unrest. Only the inaugural Test between the two nations was played, with both sides also taking part in the quadrangular Mandela Trophy held in South Africa before the tour started. Pakistan lost both their warm-up matches convincingly, to Western Province and Natal, and South Africa beat them by 324 runs in the Test at Johannesburg to record their largest win on home soil. Brian McMillan, with a maiden Test century, and Fanie de Villiers, who claimed ten wickets, were the heroes for South Africa, while Inzamam-ul-Haq gave further notice of his burgeoning talent with a defiant 95 in Pakistan’s second innings. Pakistan’s cause had not been helped by unfortunate injuries, with Waqar Younis pulling out on the eve of the Johannesburg Test, but it was clear that they had lost their discipline by the end of their stay. Worse was to follow, as they left South Africa for an ill-tempered tour of Zimbabwe.
South Africa 1 Pakistan 0

1997-98 in Pakistan
Wisden report | Cricinfo site
The first meeting between the two teams in Pakistan was a chance for both to lay claim to the position of the leading challenger to Australia at the summit of the world game. It was South Africa who emerged victorious, thanks in no small part to a strong unit and the allround talents of Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Brian McMillan. Pollock and Allan Donald made for a formidable opening pair, in stark contrast to their counterparts Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram who, afflicted by injury and fatigue, did not play together until the final Test. Ironically, after a dead pitch and poor weather had ensured draws at Rawalpindi and Sheikhupura, this was to prove the decider. South Africa, inspired by the words and deeds of Pat Symcox and four second-innings wickets in seven balls by Pollock, came back from a big deficit to bowl Pakistan out for 92 and record a remarkable 53-run victory. For Pakistan the spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq impressed throughout, while Ali Navqi and Azhar Mahmood became the first pair of same-team debutants to score a century in the same Test at Rawalpindi, but the defeat was an opportunity missed.
Tests: Pakistan 0 South Africa 1
1997-98 in South Africa
Wisden report | Cricinfo site
In the intervening four months before they met again in South Africa, Pakistan had regained the winning habit and thumped the West Indies 3-0 at home, while South Africa had gone down narrowly 1-0 in Australia. The stage was set for a battle between two well balanced sides, and accordingly the series was fairly drawn 1-1. Inevitably, however, the tour was dominated by controversy involving Pakistan. They arrived under a cloud surrounding Wasim Akram’s controversial omission, officially for fitness reasons, and Rashid Latif became their fourth captain in ten months. Allegations of match-fixing refused to go away and the gossips had a field-day when the first Test had to be postponed for twenty-four hours after two Pakistan players were supposedly mugged outside the team hotel. Whispers that the attacks had in fact taken place in local nightspots could not be proved, but the mud had stuck. The first Test at Johannesburg was a disappointing draw, notable only for Pat Symcox scoring 108 from number 10 in the order. Pakistan showed a fleeting glance of their remarkable abilities at Durban, with the spin of Mushtaq Ahmed helping them to a 29-run victory, but shot themselves in the foot in the final Test at Port Elizabeth. The recall of a clearly unfit Wasim Akram did little for team unity and Pakistan were heavily beaten, once more unable to convert their undoubted talent into a consistent level of performance.
Tests: South Africa 1 Pakistan 1

2002-03 in South Africa
Wisden report | Cricinfo site
The chaos that traditionally surround Pakistan plumbed new depths as they were soundly beaten in both the one-day and Test series by a ruthless South African side. Pakistan arrived on the back of a demoralising thrashing at the hands of Australia, but had regained some pride with convincing displays in Zimbabwe. However, when the real contest got underway they were found severely lacking. Save for one inspired batting performance they were poor in the one-dayers and went down 4-1, and things did not get much better as South Africa won both Tests convincingly. Once again the Pakistan camp was split throughout, with Wasim Akram, predictably, at the heart of things. Shoaib Akhtar withdrew from the first Test through injury and subsequently threw himself with gusto into the Durban nightlife, epitomising the prevailing attitude of the tourists, and the captain Waqar Younis appeared to have little hope of changing things around. South Africa profited from the Pakistanis decision to enter both Tests with just three bowlers and an allrounder, racking up 368 at Durban and 620 at Cape Town to gain a firm grip on each match that they never looked likely to relinquish. Pakistan pleaded exhaustion, while the result moved South Africa above Australia to the top of the ICC Test rankings, an outcome that appeared farcical in the wake of their comprehensive defeats at home and away to the Australians the previous year.
Tests: South Africa 2 Pakistan 0
ODIs: South Africa 4 Pakistan 12003-04 in Pakistan
Wisden report | Cricinfo site
When a bomb exploded in Karachi 48 hours before South Africa were due to arrive it looked like the tour was a non-starter. However, the discovery that the explosion was gang-related and had nothing to do with terrorism made the United Cricket Board of South Africa’s decision to cancel the tour look unnecessarily hasty. Inevitably, after much wrangling, the tour went ahead after all, albeit with an altered schedule that saw two Tests played instead of three and a further two one-day internationals added. On the pitch controversy was never far away either. Andrew Hall was banned after getting unnecessarily physical in the ODIs while his captain Graeme Smith was also punished. South Africa hit back, accusing Shoaib Akhtar of verbally abusing Paul Adams in the first Test. Akhtar was suspended and honours were even on that score, but the atmosphere between the two teams did not recover as the remainder of the series was played out in near silence, with players straining to steer clear of trouble. Pakistan won the series 1-0, with the pace of Akhtar and 99 from Asim Kamal on debut guiding them to victory in the first Test at Faisalabad. The second Test was drawn, with South Africa once more left to rue costly dropped catches as Pakistan clung on. It capped a disappointing tour for the South Africans, who appeared to have little stomach for the trip after a gruelling tour of England and for whom further contests with the West Indies and New Zealand lay in store. They did have the consolation of victory in the one-day series, but Pakistan’s greater firepower proved decisive in the longer game.
Tests: Pakistan 1 South Africa 0
ODIs: Pakistan 2 South Africa 32006-07 in South Africa
Cricinfo site
South Africa, fresh from beating India 2-1, were thoroughly tested at home by a strong Pakistan side before winning by the same margin. The tourists initially left out Shoaib Akhtar, ostensibly on fitness grounds – and allegedly due to a strained relationship with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq – but recalled him three days before the series began as Umar Gul pulled out with an ankle injury.Makhaya Ntini and Mohammad Asif ran through each others’ batting line-ups in the first Test at Centurion, but Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs’ 213-run fifth-wicket stand ensured South Africa edged ahead. Paul Harris’ four wickets left the hosts with less than 200 to get, which they chased down comfortably. The one black spot was a two-match ban for Gibbs, on grounds of racial abuse during an altercation with spectators. Pakistan fought back in Port Elizabeth, a lethal Shoaib ripping apart South Africa – and then joining Gul on the injury list with a hamstring problem – before Ntini replied in kind, but Inzamam made the difference with an imperious unbeaten 92 at No. 8. Asif and Danish Kaneria ensured Pakistan would also chase under 200, which they did, after a few flutters. Inzamam hailed the win as his best. In the decisive Cape Town Test, Pakistan’s batting failed twice despite Mohammad Yousuf’s induction; the South Africans followed suit in the first innings, and threatened to implode again at 39 for 4, before Jacques Kallis and Prince gave them a second series win in under a month.South Africa’s bowlers, led by Shaun Pollock and Ntini, helped them to an emphatic 3-1 result in the ODI series as Pakistan collapsed in the last two matches.Tests: South Africa 2 Pakistan 1
ODIs: South Africa 3 Pakistan 1

Ten more players have joined the roster of the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to the Indian board.The players to come on board for the proposed Twenty20 tournament include Graeme Smith, the South African captain, and Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain. Four other South African players have joined along with Smith, including Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince and Albie Morkel. The remaining players are Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Justin Langer, Scott Styris and Chaminda Vaas, now the ninth Sri Lankan player in the IPL, with eight of his team-mates having signed earlier.A pool of 22 players is now available for the various franchises to choose from, with the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Yousuf and Stephen Fleming among them. Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, has also been approached, and is awaiting permission from the Pakistan Cricket Board to sign the contract.

A couple of days before the first one-day international, as the Indian team went through their paces at different parts of Kingston’s Chedwin Park, Mohammad Kaif and Ian Frazer were involved in an animated session on the concrete pitch at a remote corner of the ground.With the help of balls of different colours, shapes and material, Frazer delivered some fast short-pitched stuff on the jagged surface. Kaif decided to battle the pace and uneven bounce with a slightly open, two-eyed stance. Frazer would have none of it: “Go back to your original stance,” he hollered. And everytime Kaif veered even slightly to open out, Frazer kept urging him to change it. “Focus on the ball, don’t panic,” Frazer continued. “When you wait for the ball to come to you, you have more time than you think. Watch the ball carefully, but don’t glare at it.”Frazer later understood why Kaif was changing his stance. “It’s just one of those things batsmen try to do from time to time,” Frazer told Cricinfo. “I told him that it wasn’t the stance that was preventing him from scoring runs. It was the same original stance that helped him score so many runs, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be scoring again without resorting to a new stance.”In the practice game at Montego Bay, Kaif appeared far less fidgety than he had in recent months. He stood side-on and stuck a few gorgeous drives en route to a confident 49. In the first one-dayer at Kingston, he followed a similar approach, and though he rode his luck, surviving two dropped chances, the new-found confidence, for the first half of the innings at least, was there for all to see. “Only when you’re not batting well do you start analysing your technique,” said Kaif a day after the game. “You don’t think so much about your technique, bat-swing and head position when you’re in form. All you’re doing is watching the ball, everything else falls in place. When you’re not doing well is when all these things come into your mind. I changed a bit, it helped.”Kaif was glad he could get back his groove and looked to cash in for the rest of the series: “I’m happy I’ve got a good start in the first two games I’ve played. I wanted to stay till the end yesterday, and did just that. It’s good I didn’t panic. As long as I’m in the West Indies, I hope to carry on. You’ll see a different Kaif from now on.”

Norman Arendse, the new president of the South African board (CSA), has issued a statement clarifying his country’s stance of touring Zimbabwe following media criticism inside South Africa of the current A-team trip.”The Zimbabwe issue was debated fully, and at length, at the recent ICC AGM in London. Despite initial criticism from countries like Australia, England and New Zealand, after full debate and discussion, the Full Member countries of the ICC unanimously agreed to retain Zimbabwe as a Full Member.”The Full Member countries also agreed that it is not for the ICC to take up any moral or political stance on any issue in any of the Full Member countries. CSA is therefore committed to fulfilling its ICC obligations, and will only not do so, if instructed by the South African government whether to play there or not.”Arendse said that the issue had also been debated at the Africa Cricket Association meeting a fortnight ago, and also at a CSA board meeting last week, and the same conclusion was reached there. “The decision to continue with the tour was unanimous,” he concluded.The issue of Zimbabwe was always going to dog Arendse and he is likely to face ongoing claims that he is hardly impartial on the issue. As a lawyer, he was retained by Zimbabwe Cricket to act against its own rebel players, led by Heath Streak, in 2004.

On the tournament being wide open with different teams beating each other
Yes, it’s reflective of what I said at the start of the tournament. Any one of the eight teams are capable of winning this tournament. The results and performances have been reflective of that. There have never been any real favourites. That’s how it will be leading into the World Cup – seven or eight teams have a chance. Tomorrow’s game is an important one for us; we’ve got the chance to take things in our own hands. If we put in a good performance tomorrow then we have a chance of progressing further in this tournament.On the dew factor and whether India had an edge because they were used to playing these conditions
I don’t think you can say any team can be used to playing under dew. I don’t think anyone has cracked it, but we are as used to it. I’ve played five or six games in these conditions. It does play a part and you have to look at ways to counter it. You have to look at your strategy, at your combination. Irrespective of it we need to play as best as we can. It will play a part in the game, whether it affects the outcome, I don’ know.On the conditions during South Africa’s win against Sri Lanka
Pitch didn’t play any different from what we expected it to play. As evening wears on there’s a bit of movement for the seam bowlers with the hard new ball but as the ball gets older, softer, you lose the ability to utilise the ball. I think the South Africans bowled very well upfront, knocked over four of the Lankan top order very early and that made the difference.On whether there was a danger in premeditating conditions and picking a team based on that instead of just putting the best eleven on the park
That could be a danger but I think you got to have a balance of both. You can’t keep a blindfold to conditions as well; you can’t just say the conditions don’t exist. We’re trying to keep a balance. Irrespective of dew we’ve got to play good cricket. South Africa showed yesterday that whether you bat first or bowl first it doesn’t matter, you’ve got to play good cricket.On dealing with different things, like failure, as captain and as a batsman
I try not to confuse the two things. I’m there as a batsman and try and do the job as a batsman and I’m there as a captain and have a job to do as captain. I have certain responsibilities and roles as a captain and I try not to get them muddled up. Irrespective of whether I score runs or not, I have a responsibility as a batsman and try and fulfil that to the best of my ability. I mean obviously it does help if I score runs in the sense that it helps the team in terms of the batting. If all the batsmen contribute, it helps the batting but I personally try not to confuse the two.On Sachin Tendulkar returning to bowling fitness
He’s coming along well, bowling a few balls in the net. We’re trying to get him into it slowly. No point rushing him into something and risking it. We’ll take it slowly, monitoring it carefully. We’d like him to be able to bowl as we know how effective he can be and we’ve got some very important cricket coming up. So we might see him bowl a few overs in the games. He’s been bowling about 30 balls in practice but obviously it’s a bit different in practice and nets. The pressure and intensity is a bit different. You can’t always replicate that. But it’s an ongoing process to getting him back to bowling consistently, but hopefully he’ll be back to bowling 10 overs when the big tournament comes up.On what specifically the team had been working on in the last four days
We’ve been working at staying at the wicket, ensuring that we build partnerships. The tournament has not been very easy on batsmen. If guys who’ve got set have gone on and got a big score, it’s made a big impact on the game. These are the things we’ve been working on.On whether India’s recent inconsistent record against West Indies was a concern
Not really, it’s a new game, a new tournament. I don’t see the past as having too much of a bearing. Yes, we haven’t had a great run but I don’t think the past can have a bearing on what we do tomorrow. Tomorrow’s really about us focusing on playing good cricket. That’s the nature of the one-day game.On whether the team has thought about being knocked out of the tournament
Not really. We’re not thinking about defeat or leaving the tournament early. We have won the first game in the tournament and have put ourselves in a position where we control our destiny and I’m not thinking of losing.On the West Indian pace attack hitting their straps
I saw a fair bit of the Australia-West Indies game and I think they’re bowling well and like I said before, I think Windies are going through a period where they’re playing very good cricket. They seem to have found some of their key players in form. I think we were not very far from that. Our performance in the last game, and with some of our key players performing, it gives us back that depth and balance. There are a couple of areas we can get better. We can get back to that kind of consistency and performance we showed a little while back. It’s just a question of a few more players getting back into the kind of groove they can. The pieces are falling into place.

The Christchurch Junior Cricket Association Draw for Saturday 18 October 2003CJCA 18 October 2003All matches to start at 9amPlease note: (1)Syd Park numbering is as per the CJCA Red Book(2) BurwN (Burwood Park North)Senior Traditional Two-day:(One-day match only) Section 1:Es1 v Oc1 Cla2,Med1 v Hals1 Med1,Stac1 v Bwu1 Stac2,Es2 v Nb1 Avdl1.Section 2:Cagr1 v Syd2 Syd2,Oc2 v Hals2 Halsd2,Stac2 v Es3 Stal1,Syd1 v Horn1 Dent1,Hare1 v Hh1 Red1.Senior Traditional One-daySection 1:Es4 v Hsob1 Hgsc,Hals3 v Oc3 Malv1,Med2 v Bwu3 Burn10,Syd5 v Es5 Stal2,Sum1 v Oc4 Malv2,Bwu2 v Es6 Burn9.Section 2:Bwu4 v Pk4 Burn5,Med3 v Horn2 Dent2,Nb2 v Cagr2 Raw2,Lpw2 v Stac3 Stac3,Syd6 v Stc1 Syd4.Section 3:Bwu6 v Syd7 Beck2,Med4 v Oc8 Por1,Stc2 v Oc5 Ilam2,Bwu7 v Mp1 Emc1,Oc6 v Upr1 RiccHS5,Syd8 v Lpw4 Cash1,Med5 v Bwu5 Burn7,Oc7 v Med6 Ilam1.Junior Traditional One-daySection 1:Hals4 v Syd14 Cash2a,Oc10 v Oc11 Stal3,Es10 v Med7 Med2,Pk5 v Es11 Por2,Sum3 v Sum2 Bar1.Section 2:Cagr3 v Oc12 Cg1,Syd17 v Horn3 Dent3,Nb3 v Hals5 Southbd,Lpw5 v Syd15 Ens2,Sum4 v Oc13 Barn2,Bwu9 v Es12 Burw3.Section3:Lpw6 v Stac4 Ens3,Bwu8 v Oc15 Burn8,Upr3 v Upr2 Rd1,Syd18 v Oc14 Ilam3,Heath1 v Pk6 Hd1,Hare2 v Hals6 Red2,Oc16 Bye.Junior ModifiedZone 1:Bwu11 v Oc24 Burnp,Hals8 v Oc21 Polo1a,Med8 v Hsob3 Kirk1a,Oc22 v Hals7 Oak1a,Oc23 v Oc20 Fns1a,Bwu10 Bye.Zone 2:Es15 v Nb2 Chis2a,Es18 v Mp2 Polo2a,Mp3 v Es16 Polo4a,Syd21 v Es14 Sis1a,Syd20 v Syd22 Thor1a.Junior AverageZone 1:Lpw8 v Syd34 Brgn1,Heath2 v Syd32 Brgn2,Hals10 v Syd30 Brgn3,Hals12 v Hals11 Brgn4,Hals9 v Syd31 Brgn5,Syd33 v Lpw9 Brgn6,Syd35 v Sum7 Brgn7,Sum6 v Hh2 Brgn8.Zone 2:Nb6 v Oc34 Walt5,Cagr4 v Syd36 Walt6,Pk7 v Es25 BurwN2,Es24 v Es23 BurwN1,Cagr5 v Hare3 Walt7,Syd37 v Stac6 Walt8,Oc35 v Nb5 Walt9,Stac5 v Oc36 Walt4.Zone 3:Hsob4 v Oc32 Jel2,Ricc1 v Oc30 Jel4,Mp5 v Mp4 Jel6,Oc31 v Horn4 Jel3,Med10 v Oc33 Jel5,Med9 v Oc37 Jel7.KiwiZone 1:Syd41 v Hh3 Brad1,Syd43 v Hals13 Brad2,Sum9 v Sum8 Brad3,Hals14 v Syd42 Brad4,Syd40 v Heath3 Brad5,Lpw10 Bye Brad6.Zone 2:Cagr7 v Nb7 Walt3,Nb8 v Cagr6 Walt1,Med11 v Stac7 Walt2.Zone3:Horn5 v Oc45 Elm5,Oc40 v Mp6 Elm6,Ricc2 v Oc42 Elm7,Oc41 v Hsob5 Jel1,Upr4 v Mp7 Walt10,Oc46 v Horn6 Jel8,Oc44 v Pk9 Elm8,Pk8 Bye.

Division One

Nottinghamshire ended the first day on top against Kent owing to hundreds from Stephen Fleming and David Hussey who took the hosts to 381 for 5 at Trent Bridge. Nottinghamshire were in a spot of trouble after Fleming, the captain, chose to bat as Kent reduced them to 61 for 3. Fleming and Hussey were resolute, however, staging a fighting fourth-wicket partnership of 164. It was Hussey’s fourth hundred of the season, and he remains unbeaten on his highest score so far with 156.Warwickshire were indebted to a blitzkrieg knock of 76 from Timothy Groenewald and a more sedate, watchful fifty from Moeen Ali on the first day against Durham at Chester-le-Street. The visitors, moving along nicely at 139 for 2, lost a flurry of wickets and were stumbling precariously at 188 for 6 before Groenewald’s savage innings. In the space of 46 balls, he smashed 13 fours and cleared the boundary twice, as Warwickshire were eventually dismissed for 314. Buoyed by their late spurt of runs, their bowlers then nipped out three Durham wickets who went to stumps 261 runs behind.

Division Two

A magnificent unbeaten 188 from HD Ackerman led the way for Leicestershire on the opening day at Northampon on against Northamptonshire. Choosing to bat, Leicestershire soon lost both their openers and were struggling at 48 for 2. Enter Ackerman, who received excellent support from John Sadler (69), the 24-year-old left hander. The pair put on 180 for the third wicket before Monty Panesar removed Sadler and, four balls later, Darren Maddy too. Paul Nixon batted with his customary steadfastness, remaining unbeaten on 70 at the close as the visitors closed on 383 for 4.In a western encounter at Taunton, Gloucestershire restricted the hosts Somerset to 315 for 6 thanks to a couple of wickets apiece for Jon Lewis and Alex Gidman. Matthew Wood, the Somerset opener, was cruising along smoothly before Lewis made the breakthrough – quite literally, bowling him. And though there were contributions from the middle-order, most notably 71 from James Hildreth, no batsman could capitalise.

Jacques Kallis is racing against time to be fully fit for the opening Test match against Australia at the WACA Ground in Perth, starting on December 16.Kallis has been receiving treatment over the last ten days after a scan revealed a grade 1+ in-substance tear to the common tendon of his left elbow. Kallis had a bowling session at the team’s practice today, under the watchful eye of Shane Jabaar, South Africa’s physiotherapist.”We have explored various forms of treatment to get him ready for the Test match. His response has been slow, but we are still hopeful that he will have a significant enough improvement to allow him to participate in the match,” Jabaar said. “We give him until Friday morning before a decision is taken on whether he will play or not.”

Sussex coach Mark Davis is confident of securing the services of Mustafizur Rahman this summer, despite reports in Bangladesh suggesting that he may skip the county stint.”We can’t confirm anything at the moment but I am confident he will still be joining us,” Davis told . “He is probably the best bowler in the world at the moment so we’re very excited about him coming and we should know for sure what’s going on in the next couple of weeks.”In March, Sussex announced that Mustafizur will be their second overseas player and will participate in the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-day Cup in the 2016 season. But since the announcement, Mustafizur’s side strain kept him out of the majority of Bangladesh’s Asia Cup and World T20 campaigns before he played in the first ten IPL matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 13 wickets at 17.61, with an economy rate of 6.18.ESPNcricinfo has since learned from multiple sources that Mustafizur has spoken to those close to him of his tiredness from playing continuously in the IPL. While the BCB has said that they have “agreed in principle” to his deal with Sussex, they have in the past considered saving him from playing in overseas leagues. In January, they considered withholding him from the PSL. As it happened, he was ruled out of the PSL by a shoulder injury he picked up during Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe.On May 5, BCB’s cricket operations chairman Akram Khan said that the decision lay with Mustafizur, and nothing had been finalised as yet. “A decision is still pending on Mustafizur’s participation in county cricket this season but then again it is his personal decision, we can only make suggestions,” he said.Mustafizur’s stint at Sussex could already be delayed because Sunrisers are likely to play in the knockout stages of the IPL, which could keep Mustafizur in India until the end of May.

ScorecardFile photo – Mandeep Singh and Uday Kaul added 124 together•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh made sure Punjab ended the third day against Uttar Pradesh in a position of strength despite hitting some speed bumps. On a day when either team could have seized the momentum to set up a win on the last day, Punjab first took a first-innings lead of 46 runs, and then accumulated 244 in the second innings to stretch the overall lead to 290, before bad light curbed the third day in a row. UP bowled well only in phases – first with the new ball and then in the second session to take three wickets in 13 overs – but things became easier for the Punjab batsmen as the pitch did not assist the bowlers the way it did on the first day.Punjab and UP, who are among four teams to be stuck with 17 points in Group B, will be desperate to get six points and push for a quarter-final spot.Mandeep and Uday did most of the work for Punjab in the first two sessions as they switched gears according to the conditions and the situation. They weathered a spell of 12 consecutive and probing overs from Praveen Kumar before lunch to soften the ball as the sun came out after an overcast morning. While Uday was patient and mostly defensive, Mandeep showed his aggression from the beginning by pulling Praveen for his first four, in the 13th over.

Mandeep Singh on…

Punjab’s declaration: “We’ll look to score another 30-40 runs and then ask them to bat. The wicket will be difficult to bat on the fourth day because there are some patches now. If we can give them 70-80 overs also, we can turn it into a match.”
Punjab’s approach for the last day: “It will be tough to get them out but both teams need those six points. If we can give them 325-odd then they will also have a chance to score quickly and chase. But we will have to take a chance to go for a win.”
His recent form: “I didn’t score well in the last three to four innings but at Patiala we played on a rank turner and Baroda had a lot of uneven bounce. I’m not saying I got out only because of that but…it wasn’t playing on my mind that my last few innings had been a flop or anything. Overall I knew I was batting well. Like in the first innings my target was to leave as many balls as possible because it was cutting a lot. I did what I wanted to do in the first innings – to wear the ball down and then score some runs.”
Batting on the third day: “Initially it was a bit difficult to bat because the ball was hard and new. But it was a bit easier in the second innings so I was looking to score freely and big today, and we were looking to declare today itself but unfortunately we couldn’t do it.”

The two batsmen put on 124 runs after Punjab had lost their openers in consecutive overs to UP’s pacers. Manan Vohra started briskly with two fours before he pulled Praveen straight to deep square leg and Imtiaz Ahmed drew Jiwanjot Singh’s outside edge with an outswinger.Punjab were left in a spot of bother at 28 for 2, but Mandeep and Uday showed confidence and steered the score past 150, not allowing UP to press the accelerator. Mandeep, who had scored three ducks in his last five innings, made sure that he capitalised on a good start this time.Suresh Raina was forced to change his tactics, as he brought spinners from both ends about 40 minutes after lunch, and Mandeep cashed in further by shifting to accumulation mode. Piyush Chawla conceded nine runs from his first over, including two no-balls, and a four that brought up Mandeep’s fifth-fifty plus score of the season. He soon launched left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar over long-on for six but was bowled by a flatter delivery only three balls later, for 84.Seeing Yuvraj Singh walk out next, Raina replaced Chawla with Praveen, gifting the crowd another PK-Yuvi show. Yuvraj went about his innings fluently, taking three fours and a six off Praveen in consecutive overs. He started by steering one off the pads, one through the covers, and a back-foot cut before Praveen switched ends and Yuvraj unleashed a six on the leg side.But Yuvraj’s show ended when Ankit Rajpoot trapped him lbw with a short ball; a decision that left the batsman seemingly unhappy. To make things worse for Punjab, first-innings top-scorer Mayank Sidhana swatted Praveen to midwicket for a straightforward catch for 4 in the last over before tea with the score reading 197. The loss of five wickets meant Punjab’s score was not commanding, but their lead of 243 meant they were well ahead.Punjab were hardly troubled after tea. With Mandeep gone, Uday took charge as the main run-scorer and pushed Punjab’s score past 200, and lead towards 300, by scoring 36 runs from 52 balls with five fours, in the last session. He took minimal risk, played most of his shots along the ground, and nudged the ball easily in the gaps as UP tried several bowlers in pursuit of breakthroughs. Gitansh Khera fell when he gave an easy catch to over off a leading edge at the score of 239 but Punjab had consolidated their position by then.UP’s assistant coach Mritunjay Tripathi, however, was confident of his team staging a comeback on the last day, saying that they would not hesitate to chase a target beyond 300. “If we can get them out in the morning and have a target of 300-350, it’s chaseable in about 80 overs. We’ll try our best and go for it. We’ll go with a positive intent and win hopefully.”Earlier, Siddarth Kaul foiled UP’s plans to minimise the deficit, from their overnight 205 for 8, by removing Imtiaz and Rajpoot in quick succession, even as Saurabh collected boundaries at the other end. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 226.