All posts by h716a5.icu

A preview of the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya14-May-2013Match factsWednesday, May 15, 2013
Start time 2000 (1530 GMT)Dwayne Smith has had a consistent run of scores, but hasn’t dominated at the top•BCCIBig pictureMumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals have been unbeaten at home this season, and their clash on Wednesday could be a prelude to what may follow in the play-offs. In their respective previous games, it seemed at one stage that their home advantage was about to be undermined, but Shane Watson and Kieron Pollard completely altered the course of the chases with destructive half-centuries that left their opponents scarred. Mumbai have been unshakeable at the Wankhede, Royals have had some trouble on the road.The No.1 spot in the table with a game in hand could be at stake in Wednesday’s clash, and it also likely that these two teams will not have seen the last of each other this IPL season.Sachin Tendulkar suffered cramps on his left hand and was struggling to grip the bat during the chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He retired hurt on 38, and it remains to be seen if he’s recovered well to take on Royals.Form guideMumbai Indians: WWWWL
Rajasthan Royals: WWWWL
In the spotlightDwayne Smith has been consistent with his starts, but has had matches this season where he’s struggled in the opening overs, slowing the innings down. It has helped that Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma have scored quickly later in the order, but Smith has played and missed often, got bogged down and hasn’t really dominated the start of an innings. His last five innings read 38 off 40, 22 off 24, 47 off 53, 0 off 1, and 21 off 17.It’ll be interesting to see what changes Rahul Dravid makes to Royals’ batting order. Sending James Faulkner and Sanju Samson at No.3 and 4 respectively in a big chase against Chennai Super Kings did raise some eyebrows, before Watson and Stuart Binny helped their side cruise home. It could depend on what happens at the toss, but if there’s been a team this season that has tweaked around its line-up and XIs, it’s the Royals.Stats and Trivia Shane Watson has done pretty well against Lasith Malinga in T20 cricket, taking him for 71 runs off 46 balls while being dismissed by him once. Rahul Dravid, in comparison, has been quite subdued, scoring 24 off 32. Simon Taufel is the most experienced on-field T20 umpire, having stood in 104 matches. However, he is tied with Marais Erasmus for the most number of matches as both on-field and TV umpire – 126. Erasmus has stood as on-field umpire in 96 matches, and as TV umpire in 30 games. Taufel’s numbers are 104 and 22. Quotes”Stuart Binny is a really improved cricketer now. The way he has handled the pressure shows he has really matured and it is time that the national selectors also take note of his performance. In T20 format he is a superb finisher and contributes with the ball too. I am really happy for him.”

Surrey made it two wins from three Friends Life t20 South Group matches by beating Kent by 31 runs at Canterbury with a second brilliant bowling performance inside three days

30-Jun-2013
ScorecardSurrey opener Steven Davies cracked an unbeaten 95 from 70 deliveries•Getty ImagesSurrey made it two wins from three Friends Life t20 South Group matches by beating Kent by 31 runs at Canterbury with a second brilliant bowling performance inside three days.As they had in victory against Sussex at Hove on Friday night, Jade Dernbach and Azhar Mahmood led the way with the ball as Kent could score only 145 for 9 in reply to a Surrey total of 176 for 3, which was based around a fine 95 not out from Steven Davies.At the halfway point Kent seemed on course at 87 for 2, with Sam Northeast and Darren Stevens rattling along in a third-wicket stand that was to bring 55 runs in seven overs. But when Stevens was lbw to Jon Lewis for 30 from just 17 balls the Kent innings fell away alarmingly, with seven wickets going down for 46 runs in eight overs.Mahmood, playing against his former county, struck a vital blow midway through the collapse by bowling opener Northeast for 61 from 53 balls, an innings which contained two sixes and five fours.He also had Sam Billings caught early on to finish with 2 for 22 from his four overs while Dernbach, who bowled James Tredwell and had Mitchell Claydon caught on the long-off boundary in the final over after having Rob Key caught at long-on for 17 in his first spell, ended up with 3 for 22.Kent’s batsmen had no answer to their accuracy and variety and Zander de Bruyn also chipped in with a useful 2 for 24, having Alex Blake caught on the deep midwicket rope and Matt Coles bowled first ball aiming a desperate swipe. Captain Gareth Batty snared Ben Harmison with his offspin, caught at long-on, and Kent have now lost their first two games in the group.Davies batted throughout the Surrey innings, swinging offspinner Adam Riley for six as the 100 came up in the 13th over and also hitting 12 fours. He shared in stands of 66 with Jason Roy, who chipped Coles’ first ball back to the bowler to fall for 16 in the eighth over, 47 with Ricky Ponting and then 57 with Glenn Maxwell.Ponting, given a generous welcome by a 4,000-strong crowd, made 19 from 17 balls before skying an attempted big hit against Coles, who did superbly to run back and get under a swirling ball to complete a diving catch. The former Australia captain did hit one six out of the ground, high over the short boundary at long-leg from a slower ball by Coles which turned into an inviting waist-high full toss, but otherwise the Kent bowlers kept him quiet during his short innings.Coles was the pick of the Kent attack, picking up 2 for 20 from a four-over spell in the middle of the innings and clearly happier not to have bowl in the Powerplay overs or at the death, as the England Lions paceman has generally been asked to do previously in domestic one-day cricket.Maxwell injected some much-needed urgency into the Surrey batting effort when he arrived at the crease in the 14th over. Warming up with a straight four off Tredwell and then a pull for six off the England offspinner, the Australia allrounder later hit Claydon wide of long-on for a massive six before mishitting to extra cover in the last over for an 18-ball 32.Mahmood swung the only ball he faced, from Claydon, for six over long-on to give Surrey 95 runs from the second half of their innings, and in the end their 20-over score proved to be more than enough.

A “clean slate” under the Darren Lehmann regime and centre-wicket nets mean David Warner remains in serious contention for the first Ashes Test

Daniel Brettig in Worcester30-Jun-2013A “clean slate” under the Darren Lehmann regime and centre-wicket nets mean David Warner remains in serious contention for the first Investec Ashes Test. Peter Siddle, however, has more to do after Lehmann said he would not accept senior players coasting through tour matches.Warner, who is currently suspended for throwing a punch at England’s Joe Root, was a consistently early arrival at Taunton’s County Ground for use of the practice pitches before play, meeting the training standards Lehmann said he will expect from here on. His poor disciplinary record under the former coach Mickey Arthur does not bother Lehmann, so long as Warner does not relapse.”Very much so a clean slate,” Lehmann said. “We can’t control what’s happened in the past. We’ve just got to worry about the future and make sure he gets enough nets and then comes into consideration like everyone else. That’s all we can do.”We were lucky enough the facilities that we’ve had centre wickets every day and he’s been the first there and last to leave, so I’ve been pretty happy with his preparation and what he’s trying to get out of what he can do without playing a game.”I don’t know what’s happened in the past, so for me he’s got to do that. And he’s not the only one, everyone in the squad’s got to train that way, we want to train as hard as we can and be the best we can be at training, and then transfer that into the games.”Lehmann’s attitude to training and warm-up matches also applies to his fast bowlers. While James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc were close to their speedy, swinging best against Somerset, Siddle gave the overall impression of saving his top level for Trent Bridge.In this, he reflected the bowling of Merv Hughes early on the 1993 tour, when he roared into life at Old Trafford having taken barely a wicket beforehand.Lehmann said he expected more, particularly if it is decided to give Siddle more overs against Worcestershire. “We’ll see whether he plays or doesn’t play in Worcester, the main thing for him is making sure he’s ready to go,” Lehmann said.”Bowlers are a different species at the best of times, mentally and physically, but for me it’s a case of making sure they play the best they can each game. We want him to bowl well each and every time, whether it’s a tour game or a Test match, and he knows that.”Australia’s players were given a day off in Worcester on Sunday ahead of training Monday and their final pre-Ashes match on Tuesday. Michael Clarke will play again as he chases additional match conditioning. So too Shane Watson, who will bowl at New Road after the selection of four other pacemen kept him from rolling his arm over at Taunton.

Ian Bell rated his century his “best Ashes innings” after helping England into a strong position going into the final day at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge13-Jul-2013Ian Bell rated his century his “best Ashes innings” after helping England into a strong position going into the final day at Trent Bridge.Bell, playing his fifth Ashes series, contributed 109 to help set Australia a target of 311 to win the first Investec Test. While it was Bell’s second successive century in Ashes Tests – he also made one at Sydney in early 2011 – he admitted that the context of this game, coming when his side were under pressure and helping to set-up a match-defining position, rendered it his most valuable and satisfying.His record in Ashes cricket has been modest. Going into this series he averaged 32.36 against Australia in 18 Tests. But, crediting the benefits of recent experiences in subcontinental conditions, he negated a slow, low pitch and an attack generating reverse swing to steer his side from a precarious position to one of some dominance. England were only 66 runs ahead when they lost their fourth wicket but, by the time Bell departed, the lead had been stretched to 306. On a surface on which no Test side has ever scored 300 to win a Test, it was a vital contribution.”Certainly it’s my best Ashes innings,” Bell said. “It was nice to put an innings together when the team needed it most.”The wicket was pretty slow, obviously reverse swing has played a massive part in this game so to use my skills to get us a decent lead on this pitch is very satisfying.”This wicket is quite close to a subcontinent wicket. I’ve played a lot of subcontinent cricket in last 12 or 18 months, so batting in such conditions is something we’ve had to work out.”I was disappointed with my performance in my first Ashes series [in 2005 when Bell averaged only 17.10] when I was a young lad. I always wanted to score as many runs as possible. You want to win Ashes series and be part of successful teams. But it’s not all about individual stuff; it’s about being part of a team.”Clarke praise for Bell

Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, rated Ian Bell’s century “a very important innings” in the context of the Test. “I’ve seen him play some really good innings so I’m not going to say that’s his best,” Clarke said. “But to make a hundred, with the ball reverse swinging, with little bit of spin and it being a hard grind to bat for that amount of time, was very good.”

That team ethic was apparent as England weathered an early storm from Australia’s batsmen to hit back strongly in the final session on day four. Shane Watson and Chris Rogers, feasting on some loose bowling, posted an opening stand of 84 to make deep inroads into their target. Graeme Swann took a long time to settle, delivering several full tosses and short balls, while Steven Finn’s first spell, peppered with short balls outside off stump, was horrible. It necessitated his captain posting a sweeper on the cover boundary which, in turn, led to a gap in the close off-side field that allowed the batsmen to pick of singles with dispiriting ease.Both recovered admirably, though. Finn returned for a much tighter spell, helping sustain the pressure built up by his colleagues and, once Swann had taken his first wicket, in his 23rd over, he settled into a much more penetrative rhythm.It was still a slightly frustrating day for Swann. Playing on his home ground and on such a dry surface, the expectations upon him may have been unrealistically high. Although he found turn, it was often too slow to unduly trouble the batsman and, perhaps in frustration, Swann attempted to force matters and failed to show the requisite patience for such a context. He adapted, though, and produced a beautiful delivery to account for Phil Hughes.The pick of the bowlers, by some distance, was Stuart Broad. Perhaps buoyed with confidence by his performance with the bat, Broad bowled at a sharp pace, generated some reverse swing to account for Shane Watson and maintained a probing line and length that eventually drew a false shot from Michael Clarke. Certainly Broad appeared unaffected by the furore surrounding his decision not to walk on the third day and proved he has fully recovered from the recent blows he has taken to his right shoulder.”Australia played very well when they first came out and we maybe didn’t bowl to the standards we’d like,” Bell admitted.”But we reassessed at tea. We came out with a plan to be very accurate and maybe a little more defensive with field settings. This is the type of wicket that, if two guys get in, then it’s hard to get them out. We wanted to keep the run rate down and create pressure. We got wickets at the end due to really accurate bowling. We’re happy with how patient we were.”Our bowlers have been good at adapting to the conditions. They’re not just guys who run up on green seaming wickets and take wickets. They take wickets in all surfaces. They’ve learned to adapt. That’s why guys like Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad have done so well in the last few years.”I’ve played too much Ashes cricket to take anything for granted. They have two guys at the crease who are dangerous players. We have to get them early in the morning. It is going to be a big first hour for both teams.”

A rapid 139-run partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh set up Australia A’s win over India A in the fifth match of the tri series in Pretoria

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Glenn Maxwell combined with Shaun Marsh to plunder 139 runs in 97 balls for the third wicket•Getty ImagesIndia A’s bowlers were clueless against Glenn Maxwell once again as he struck a whirlwind 93, to back up his 79-ball 145 on Thursday, to lead Australia A to the final of the tri-series. Set a target of 311, India failed during the chase again, after being 175 for 2 as Josh Hazlewood and Moises Henriques took three wickets apiece to seal a 25-run win.Maxwell spearheaded a 139-run stand with Shaun Marsh, who composed a solid 96, that set up the 300-plus total. It could have been a lot more had seamer Stuart Binny not nabbed three wickets in three overs to deny Maxwell and Marsh their centuries and slow down Australia.Having chosen to bat, Australia’s openers enjoyed their second fifty-plus stand of the series before left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem bowled Aaron Finch off his fifth ball of the match. Nic Maddinson added 41 with Marsh but fell soon after reaching double figures to offspinner Parvez Rasool. With a foundation set, Maxwell signalled his intent early, striking Rasool for consecutive fours in the 28th and 30th overs before carting Rohit Sharma’s only over of the match for 19 runs on his way to his half-century.Maxwell’s onslaught continued as he raced toward a century, smashing Nadeem for three fours in the 35th over. Marsh, having held Australia’s innings together so long, also opened up slamming Siddarth Kaul for 16 runs in three balls.But Binny instigated a turnaround, knocking back the stumps of both Marsh and Maxwell in the nineties and then Henriques’ for a duck. Maxwell had struck 12 fours and three sixes and Marsh while matching the sixes count. Binny’s burst, 4 for 23 in his third spell, wasn’t enough to keep Australia below 300 as Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mitchell Marsh plundered 60 off the last 34 balls.India laid a solid foundation for the chase, with the openers Rohit Sharma and M Vijay, who took Shikhar Dhawan’s place for this game, scoring half-centuries. Rohit’s 58-ball 61 kept India within sight of the asking-rate but his run-out in the 15th over put pressure on Vijay, who had 16 from 32 balls. He opened up, eventually matching Rohit’s seven boundaries to go with a six off Maxwell. But Vijay, in an attempt to keep up with a required-rate that had swelled to seven, holed out for 60. India were 157 for 2, with over 21 overs and eight wickets left to get the remaining 144 runs.Cheteshwar Pujara struck his first half-century of the series but became one of two wickets in the 37th over as Josh Hazlewood tipped the game in Australia’s favour. Ambati Rayudu did his best to tackle an equation which had risen to nine-an-over, but Hazlewood struck again, removing him for 32 off 28 balls. Needing 60 off six overs, Rasool and Kaul, the ninth-wicket pair, hit 24 in 14 balls but Henriques had Kaul caught behind before picking up the last man Nadeem.The defeat means India need to win their next match against South Africa A to qualify for the final.

The probability of Zimbabwe holding out for a draw was extinguished early on the final morning, not by the expected threat Saeed Ajmal, but by Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman

The Report by George Binoy07-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSaeed Ajmal finished with 11 for 118, his second-best Test performance•AFPThe probability of Zimbabwe holding out for a draw was extinguished early on the final morning, not by the expected threat Saeed Ajmal, but by Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman. On a wearing pitch with turn and uneven bounce, Zimbabwe’s batsmen were simply ill equipped to combat a situation where only longevity at the crease, and not runs, mattered.Ajmal returned for a second spell late in the first session and cut through the tail, striking twice in an over to complete the fourth ten-wicket haul of his Test career. Pakistan took the nine wickets they needed during an extended session, and while they were always favourites to close out this contest, they might have expected Zimbabwe to be less feeble.With the luxury of runs, Misbah-ul-Haq deployed his catchers: three slips and a gully for Junaid, and a slip, a leg gully, a forward short leg and a short midwicket for Ajmal. As Zimbabwe’s batsmen prodded tentatively off front foot and back, the cries from these men grew louder.Junaid ensured Pakistan’s wait for success was brief. In his first over, he delivered one that angled into the right-hander from round the wicket but the ball did not bounce as much as Hamilton Masakadza thought it would from short of a length. He held his wrists around waist height, playing no shot, and the ball crashed into the bat near the gloves and popped up to gully. In his next over, Junaid trapped Vusi Sibanda lbw with one that kept lower. Zimbabwe were 19 for 3 before the coffee had cooled.Zimbabwe’s batsmen had a torrid time against Junaid. He sprinted in from round the wicket, targeting the stumps with the angle, and got several deliveries to beat the bat by straightening or seaming away from the right-handers. He did not take another wicket, though.Malcolm Waller and Sikandar Raza had begun to stitch a partnership together when Misbah replaced Ajmal with Abdur Rehman in the first over after the drinks break. Waller drove Rehman’s second ball to the straight boundary and then swept the third in the air and was caught at square leg.Zimbabwe’s middle-order batsmen got starts and they played shots but they could not last. Raza, another relatively set batsman, was caught at short leg, giving Rehman his second wicket and reducing Zimbabwe to 58 for 5.Elton Chigumbura was Zimbabwe’s last significant line of defence, and he found the boundary occasionally through the sparsely populated outfield. His last four came by pushing hard at a flatter ball from Rehman and edging past first slip. Rehman bowled a similar delivery next ball but slowed his pace, Chigumbura pushed forward again and this time the edge went straight to slip.Ajmal’s twin strikes came just before the scheduled lunch break, which prompted the umpires to extend the session by 15 minutes. It was only a matter of time. Towards the end of that extension, Rehman darted a flat one into Tinashe Panyangara’s pads.With Zimbabwe nine down, the umpires kept the players on for a little longer. Ajmal had the final word, taking his 11th wicket to give Pakistan their first Test win since February 2012, and Dav Whatmore’s maiden victory as their coach.

38-year-old veteran Janeiro Tucker has been appointed Bermuda captain for next month’s World T20 qualifier, for which they named a 15-man squad.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-201338-year-old veteran Janeiro Tucker has been appointed Bermuda captain for next month’s World T20 qualifier, for which they named a 15-man squad.Bermuda aim to shrug off the one-hit wonder tag at the tournament as they target a place back at a major event for the first time since the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies – to date their only appearance at a global competition.”I am happy to congratulate Janeiro Tucker on his appointment,” Bermuda Cricket Board president Lloyd Fray said. “Janeiro has been an outstanding player at domestic and international level for a number of years and has a keen cricket mind. He is respected by the players and our community and is a proven leader on and off the cricket field.”Many of us remember one of Bermuda’s proudest moments in July 2005 when Bermuda qualified for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. I hope that we all remember that is was Janeiro Tucker who was captain at that time, he had taken over the reins when Clay Smith was injured in an early match, and he lead our country to qualification. I hope that proves to be a lucky omen for our country in next month’s tournament.”The squad will travel to Dubai on November 8 for two warm-up matches against Italy and Canada before their first qualifier in Group B against Scotland on November 15.Bermuda squad for World T20 qualifier
Janeiro Tucker (capt), Dion Stovell, Kwame Tucker, Christian Burgess, David Hemp, Terryn Fray, Tre Manders, Christopher Douglas, Allan Douglas Jnr, Jacobi Robinson, Derrick Brangman, Lionel Cann, Malachi Jones, Kamau Leverock, Kamal Bashir

Virat Kohli has said his two manic centuries within 13 days of each other – off 52 and 61 balls – were a result not of brute force but his solid technique

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2013Virat Kohli has said his two manic centuries within 13 days of each other – off 52 and 61 balls – were a result not of brute force but his solid technique. The two innings were instrumental in India’s completing successful chases of 350-plus scores. India are the only team to have done so twice.”That’s the main thing when you want to take on bowlers who’re bowling at 150kph,” Kolhi said. “If you have worked on your technique properly, you can back yourself to hold your position and hit where you want to. More often than not, against very quick bowlers, you’re not in a good position to hit a big shot or two-three boundaries an over. But if you have a strong base and have worked on your technique, you’re much more confident about hitting the ball where you want.”That plays a major role; you need to have a strong technique to play the big shots as well. I keep working on that in practice sessions. I’m not a great fan of batting in the nets. All I do is some throw-downs before the game; I just hold my position, just middle the ball and time it properly in the practice sessions.”Another technique that came in for praise from Kohli was Shikhar Dhawan’s. Kohli is pleased Dhawan has sorted his thinking out to go with his game, which he – as a youngster – used to go to the grounds to watch. “Well, it’s funny because Shikhar was, when he played the Under-19 World Cup, a superstar straight away. He was the highest run-scorer. He came back to Delhi, and I remember we used to go watch his games. I used to be a small kid and we used to watch Shikhar bat.”It’s funny, because he never got a chance to play for India before because of the two greats of Indian cricket [Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir] who were so strong at the top of the Indian batting that he didn’t get a chance. But I think his batting was tremendous right from the Under-19 days. He was a standout performer all the time. But I think his thinking has evolved a lot in the last year and a half. He’s so sure about his game now, he knows where he’ll score his runs, he’s sure of his own batting, his own strengths. I think that’s the most important thing in international cricket, if you’re sure about what you want to do out in the middle. And he’s mentally very strong now.”Kohli, like others who followed Dhawan in domestic cricket, was also disappointed at his loose shots in otherwise attractive innings. “He doesn’t [do that] now… I think he was a little dicey about his thinking before,” Kohli said. “He’d play a rash shot at the wrong time and get out, and [only] he would himself know why he did that. Now he has become much more intelligent, he has become much more aware of his own strengths. That’s working beautifully for him. But he has always been a special talent and you can see it for India now. He’s a match-winner, you’ll see him winning more games for India in the future. I’m glad he’s doing so well at the top.”

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to sell tickets to Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test exclusively online and not on the ground which has left a lot of fans disappointed

Nagraj Gollapudi and Amol Karhadkar 11-Nov-2013The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided to sell tickets for Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test online and not at ticket counters at the venue, which has left a lot of fans disappointed. To compound problems, the highly sought-after tickets were available only on Monday, three days before the start of the match, making it difficult for fans from outside Mumbai to make plans for the Test.On Sunday, a MCA press release stated that 3500 tickets would be distributed to the public through the website kyazoonga.com from 11 am on Monday. However, the website crashed as soon as it opened, again raising questions over why the MCA didn’t sell at least some of the tickets offline.The MCA’s logic was that there would have been chaos had they sold tickets at the venue, due to the heavy demand. “Who says tickets were not put on sale?” Ravi Savant, a MCA vice-president told ESPNcricinfo. “We have certain channels through which tickets find their way to the members of public. There is a commitment that we give tickets first to our clubs, then the gymkhanas and then the Garware Club House. These clubs then in turn sell it to their members, who are members of the public.”Instead of opening five windows outside the ground, these are our windows.”When asked about fans without an internet connection having no opportunity of getting tickets, Savant said he could understand their issue but MCA could not satisfy every fan’s demand. “If the capacity is 30,000 and the demand is 30 lakhs I cannot give tickets to everyone. Also if I say I am releasing 5000 tickets to the public through our ticket windows and there are 50,000 people who turn out and there is chaos, what I should do? And even if I had put 30,000 tickets, there would always be a heavy demand.”Window sales have always been a contentious issue for international matches at Wankhede, which has a capacity of 32,000. The MCA, as per their agreements with the Garware Club House and Tatas, have to hand over almost 13,000 tickets to the two organisations. Besides, they also have to cater to other BCCI units, BCCI sponsors, their own sponsors and the state government, which has leased the land of the stadium to MCA. Add to that 25 tickets being distributed to each of MCA’s 329 affiliated clubs at subsidised rate and 500 tickets to be handed over to Tendulkar for his farewell Test, and the MCA could only manage to sell 5000 tickets directly to paying public.Of these 5000 tickets, 1500 were being sold as hospitality tickets ­ on the upper tier of the Sachin Tendulkar Stand ­ considering the high demand from overseas fans. Priced at Rs 10,000 per ticket, these tickets are being sold on a first-come-first-served basis based on applications MCA has been receiving. The remaining 3500 tickets are supposed to be sold via kyazoonga.According to Savant, kyazoonga officials had assured MCA the glitch with the website would be resolved soon and that online sales would re-start quickly. Only tickets priced at Rs 500, 1000 and 2500 were being sold via the internet. “We had given the contract to sell online tickets to an agency but due to some problems with the website the sale had to be stalled,” Savant said. “The problem is being repaired and we have been assured it will restart soon.”

A round-up of the first day’s play of the seventh-round Group C games of the Ranji Trophy, 2013-14

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2013
ScorecardMaharashtra’s opening pair of Vijay Zol and Harshad Khadiwale shared a stand of 92 against Kerala•ESPNcricinfo LtdPrasanth Kumar’s third first-class hundred led Andhra’s cautious batting display against Himachal Pradesh in Visakhapatnam. Prasanth finished the day unbeaten on 113 off 265 balls with 13 fours.Prasanth, captaining the side after Amol Muzumdar’s departure from Andhra, endured the loss of opener KS Bharat early and stitched together a 75-run, second-wicket stand with Murumulla Sriram. Sriram and Bodapati Sumanth fell for 43 and 14 as Vikramjeet Malik and Bipul Sharma tried to wrest an advantage for Himachal. Prasanth and Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi thwarted Himachal with a 73-run stand for the fourth wicket, but Malik struck a few overs before the close of play, dismissing Chiranjeevi for 27.
ScorecardLeft-arm spinner Akshay Darekar and offpsinner Chirag Khurana picked up seven wickets between them to restrict Kerala to 151 in Tellicherry on the first day. Maharashtra were on track to overhauling that total as they finished the day at 106 for 1, with Harshad Khadiwale unbeaten on 67.Darekar and Khurana dismissed the Kerala top-order to leave them reeling at 75 for 4. A fifth-wicket partnership between Robert Fernandez and Sachin Baby offered hope but the spinners struck in tandem between the 48th and 51st overs to reduce Kerala to 127 for 8. The last two wickets couldn’t add too many runs between them as the hosts were dismissed for 151 in 57 overs.Maharashtra’s reply was confident as Khadiwale and Vijay Zol shared an opening stand of 92. Zol was dismissed a few overs before stumps, but Khadiwale held steady, scoring his third successive fifty.
ScorecardGokul Sharma’s fourth first-class hundred, along with his eighth-wicket stand of 102 with Prasanta Sonowal lifted Assam from 150 for 7 to a respectable 263 against Jammu & Kashmir in Jammu.Assam were dealt an early blow after being put in to bat as J&K pacer Mohammed Mudhasir bowled opener Rishav Das off the first ball of the match. The pacer struck regularly, picking four of Assam’s first five wickets, as the batting side limped to 83 for 5. A 44-run, seventh-wicket stand between Assam captain, Abu Nechim, and Gokul tried to stem the flow of wickets, but it was the Sonowal-Gokul partnership that boosted Assam. Sonowal, playing his third first-class match after nearly two years, struck a handy 85-ball 40, while Gokul scored 108 off 203 balls. Mudhasir picked up his third five-for in as many matches this season to end with figures of 5 for 71.
ScorecardAkshath Reddy narrowly missed out on a second successive first-class hundred, but his 99, and a fifty from Dwaraka Ravi Teja, led Hyderabad to a strong 234 for 3 on the first day of their match against Goa.Hyderabad lost opener T Suman early after opting to bat but recovered through a 101-run, second-wicket partnership between Ravi Teja and Reddy. Ravi Teja scored his third fifty in a row before falling to Buddhadev Mangaldas. The Goa bowlers were made to toil for another breakthrough, however, as Reddy and Hanuma Vihari added 53 runs to keep Hyderabad on track for a big score. Once Harshad Gadekar had Reddy caught behind for 99, Vihari and Bavanaka Sandeep consolidated with an unbeaten 47 for the fourth wicket.